The Nightmare - One shot
Rated T
A thick coat of rust claimed the solid metal door that towered before him, cased in from both sides with tall crumbling brick walls.
Flicking above him the lights strain to keep alight, casting playful shadows about, taunting him and reminding him he was alone.
Steadily he tried his best to keep the small flashlight within his hands from shaking, giving the hellish door a malicious aura, which didn't help his already poor nerves or imagination.
Silence surrounded him other than the consistent dripping of water in the far distance and the buzzing of the light overhead.
Even with them the silence was still thick in his ears, while his breath became the chorus for it.
Mikey stared forward not bothering to look back to the path he used to get here, biting his lip with uncertainty, while his right hands tremble as he dared to reach the forbidden door.
What was behind it? Could this door lead to the source of the foul stench that he has been following so far? The overwhelming aroma of rotten flesh or worse…
Where there unspeakable horrors waiting for him behind door number one?
Or where the current events a figment of his imagination, that was enjoying playing tricks over his current situation?
He was lost and the only path available, was forward…
2 hrs Earlier…
Crouching down low the turtle of eight waited silently, as the large hair raising shadow approached his hiding spot.
His tiny heart wildly burst out of his chest, thumping like a local motive, that he was sure it would give him away if it continue to persist.
By no means could he afford being caught. He had to remain still and count his lucky stars to survive this ordeal.
No matter what, there was no way over the pizza goddess he would allow himself to fall victim to his hunter.
The heavy footsteps echoed above, accompanied by a screeching sound of metal scraping against the brick wall.
That came sluggishly closer to his position, breaking what little courage the turtle might have had.
With a gasp Mikey shook his head feeling like he was about to cry, not believing this might be the end of him.
His body responded to the overwhelming feeling of his hunter's presence looming towards him, with goose bumps and the alarming new heights of his fear.
Quickly Mikey pressed his body against the wall firmly as turtlely possible.
The cool rough brick wall didn't ease his dread, for his body continued to tremble, while small whimpers under his breath escape threw his tight lips.
This was not doing him any good, acting so fearful. He had to find a way to calm down or he will blow his chances of not being noticed.
Recalling one of the most painfully boring training lessons his fathered taught him a few days ago, Mikey took the instructions that were drilled into his head into consideration.
He wasn't one that remotely enjoyed that lesson one bit, but he did pay attention. Well, most of it, at least to the point he could remember what actions he needed to perform to achieve his goals.
Swallowing his fear, the young turtle closed his eyes tightly, focusing on one thing only, his breathing.
Mikey made his breath the only thing there at the moment, forcing everything around him to not exist.
It was rapidly coming from his nostrils like two wind tunnels, he needed to make them flow quietly like a stream.
Using his heart beat to help to keep a rhythm and to settle it down at the same time, Mikey steady his breathing.
Breathing in from the nostrils and out of the mouth, it was working, that was until he came to the horrifying realization his enemy was now only inches above him!
Losing all composure, Mikey grabbed his mouth in fear to avoid from making any unexpected noises to catch his hunter's attention.
What was he to do?
His predator was just above him… What if he decided to look down?
Would the blood thirsty hunter notice his light green skin in the depth of the shadows, like some beacon in the night?
Fighting against the overwhelming impulse to run and to flee for his life that dully clawed at the young turtle's mind, Mikey didn't move an inch.
His body felt weak and numb, why did he think he could beat the odds?
How could he be so foolish?
Shaking his head, the turtle reasoned with his self doubt, he shouldn't put himself down, he can do this!
Throwing away all the rash ideas the clouded his judgment, Mikey stood firm, holding his ground.
Hours that have been just mere seconds, Mikey could feel the sticky sweat trickle down his brow.
How long was his hunter going to stand there?
Surely by now he must have considered this as some dead end.
Which in truth it was, Mikey was hiding in a small square hole that the above path dropped down into, to allow water from the heavy rain to flow into a pipe that was on the far wall from the where he stood.
The space was high enough for Mikey to stand tall, which gave him more room to crouch down and blend into the ground.
There was even some wire gate to prevent any large objects to consume the space, but with age some of the fence was corroded, leaving a small hole for Mikey to fit in so well.
It was the perfect hiding place for any turtle that wish not to be found.
Suddenly to Mikey's relief, the assailant sighed in utter frustration.
Was he finally going to give up?
Mikey with his hopes up, pried his ears open to make sure, then became startled when his hunter spoke abruptly.
"I give up… I can't find Mikey. Damn, I guess he wins," Mikey's older brother Raphael huffed angrily, tapping his foot in annoyance.
Pure joy and bliss consumed the small turtle to finally have his hunter, Raph finally admitted defeat.
Inches away in responding to the hothead of his whereabouts, Mikey stop himself as he came wary on this so called defeat.
What if this was a trick on Raph's behalf?
If Mikey recalled of the rules that his other brothers and him agreed upon, the person that was IT in this hide and seek game was to respond in a certain way.
Raph never did that, he was to say, 'Come out, come out Mikey. You defeated me. I crown you king of the hide and seek.'
Backing down Mikey contemplated on this, Raph was never the type that would say such things, but he could use that as his defense to say he was the winner and found Mikey fair and square.
Crossing his arms Mikey was furious; did Raph think he was that naive? Foolish enough to give away his hiding spot, in order to let the hothead to WIN?!
Leaning his shell against the wall, Mikey stared into the darkness, he desire to end this game, but not crown Raphie in the process.
Raph would rub it in his face, calling him a cry baby again, a wussy that was afraid of the dark.
He wasn't no such thing, sure he was afraid of the dark, yet his fear wasn't so potent to succumb to Raph bowing down to the hothead!
Making his mind, Mikey was going to win this, becoming victorious in the end by wearing out Raph into submission, not the other way around.
Putting his patients to a test, Mikey crossed his arms tighter, waiting for his brother to admit he was the loser.
Overhearing the aggressive growl coming from his red clad brother, Mikey's spirits lifted more, as he grinned in glee.
Many believe he was the one without patients but when it comes to it Mikey could overcome Raph any given day.
With a sigh the brother lost all interest of this area.
His heavy footsteps that showed off his raging anger, slowly moved away, fading into the distance.
Taking a deep breath, letting out all the build up tension that he didn't realize was there, Mikey could feel his body becoming lighter as he allowed it to relax.
If he was right, it wouldn't be long before he would hear those charming words seeping out of his stubborn turtle brother's lips.
What enjoyment he will have when those words hit his ears, which will be the highlight of his day!
That said there was still time to kill until that moment was upon him.
To bypass that time, Mikey stretched his stiff limbs, letting gravity pull his small body down, for a much needed nap.
What better way to get things rolling then taking a break?
Soundly sleeping the turtle stirred feeling the damp, cold crawling in, making his body shiver.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes Mikey suddenly blinked wildly, on the notion of something brushing against his leg.
Startled the young turtle jump letting out a yelp of surprise, as his heart raced.
Grabbing his flashlight from his belt with shaky hands, Mikey dared to turn it on, ignoring the fact it would give his hiding place away.
Scampering off with a little hiss in annoyance beforehand, the matted rat escaped through the metal pipe that was big enough for even Mikey to fit in.
"Ahh… it just a rat… pfff… Why was I even scared?"
Chuckling Mikey shook his head at himself for being scared of a silly rat.
Letting out a yawn, he stretched, scratching his head, while he took in his familiar dull surroundings.
How long was he napping?
It couldn't have been that long could it?
The stiffness in his neck made him doubt it was a short one, so could he had slept longer then he anticipated?
With nothing surrounding him to show indication of time, he could only ponder with no real notion at all.
Yet surely by now, even if it was long, his brothers would have sought him out.
He wasn't a heavy sleeper, their calls would have awakened him.
Heck the rat had a good impact, which other than the cold, was probably what originally woke him up.
Thinking on the line of rat, Mikey cringed.
What if his father was looking for him?
If that was true, that would spell serious trouble for the young turtle, he would be grounded for sure over this.
There were strict rules that he and his brothers were to obey if they wish to play outside the safety of the lair, one was not to get lost… Well something on that line at least.
Not wasting a second more, consumed in his fear of being forbidden to touch one of his video games or comics, the orange clad turtle scrambled to his feet.
No punishment from father was a pleasant one, he would prefer letting Raph have is glory, then finding himself at the end of his Master's stick.
Turning around to look at the large wall before him, the ledge he climbed down to the small four by four hole, Mikey's doubt started to cloud his optimistic ways.
He couldn't see how he could even achieve to reach the top.
Even if he did focus on scaling up the wall, using the corner would end in a bitter defeat.
The brick wall from all sides were moist and slimy to the touch, making it impossible for him to gain any form of grip or leverage.
Taking a breath he had to try right?
Even if he could get up on any given side and get a hold of the metal fence, he could attempt to reach the hole he came through.
One attempt after another, falling on every side of his body from his shell to his side and even painfully flat onto his face, Mikey groaned in pain as his beak throb in agony.
This wasn't happening; he couldn't even reach the wire fence.
Bubbling with frustration and the daunting nagging feeling of his own stupidity for placing himself in this situation in the first place, Mikey huffed crossing his arms.
He wanted to cry, wishing one of his brothers were just around the corner above waiting for him to admit he was a loser.
Mikey losing hope slumped to the ground sniffling, still feeling the sting on his beak.
Why did he believe this was even remotely a good idea?
What was he to do? Should he call out for help?
Biting his lip, Mikey scratched that idea, no matter how much he wanted to, doing that would be costly.
Not that he was worried of Raph finding him, it was the fact of what if some human, heard him and investigated.
He was trapped and easy bait if it came to that.
Letting out a sigh Mikey flashed his flashlight around, in hopes his brothers would see it.
Though this action was also risky for him to perform, when it boiled down to it, it wasn't as bad compared to him screaming his lungs out.
Suddenly a light bulb within his head fired up, as his light flashed over towards the pipe the rat used, it was big enough a young turtle like himself to fight through.
Though the question was, where did it lead to?
So was it wise for him to stick put? Or was it for the best that he figures out where that pipe leads to and then find his way back home?
Fiddling with his belt Mikey double check to make sure everything he had was still in their proper spots, not on the floor when he attempted to climb the walls.
Before leaving the lair Mikey always made sure he had the necessities.
His flashlight, for his playground had many dark places, which the light was a most needed comfort for those moments.
Then in one pocket was his trusty yo-yo, a couple marbles and even a handful of Jacks.
They were a boy's most treasured items, ones he wouldn't dare to leave without.
Out of all that stuff there was one item that was required of him to have at all times when he left home.
One signal smoke bomb.
His father insisted on this item, stating Mikey's brothers and him were not to leave unless they had one on their person.
This was a safety measure on his fathers behalf.
If needed be they were told to use them if they must escape from danger.
Yet they were reminded countless times, that by no means necessary where they permitted using them otherwise, wasting them on any foolish games or reason.
Even he didn't dare to disobey… Well, that's not fully true; he once did use them to perform one of his famous pranks, which resulted in long hours of one lecture to another.
Let's just say he would never do that again.
With everything accounted for Mikey braved it, he didn't want to stay there any longer, the cold was creeping in more and he didn't know how long he could last.
Approaching the pipe, the young turtle crawled in ignoring the slimy and smelly sides, moving forward.
It was slow going.
Taking deep breaths Mikey focus his flashlight ahead seeing only darkness.
Thought of turning around hounded him, filling him with doubt this was a good idea.
Maybe it would have been wise, he did head back?
Shaking his head, he knew that wasn't an option, besides he could be close to the end, how long can this pipe really be?
Continuing crawling forward Mikey felt like something was off. Was it him or was he getting fast in moving forward with less effort on his part?
Stopping where he was, his body didn't stop moving, instead slowly slid forward by some unseen force.
Was the pipe not straight?
Seeing this as a bad sign, Mikey attempted to move backwards.
Instantly his leg slipped, pushing him to continue down the pipe.
Any desperate action to stop himself ended in bitter defeat, which only made things worse.
He wasn't stopping or slowing at all, instead gaining speed as the pipe appeared to descend more to the point Mikey was moving so fast he couldn't do a thing.
Panicking the young turtle tried everything to slow down his increasing speed, feeling the pipe's walls coated in a thick slime that aided his body to move quickly through.
"No no no!" Mikey screamed, feeling the sheer terror of his body falling.
In a flash everything blurred as he swore he it something yet wasn't sure what.
Quickly the darkness consumed him like a thick fog, throwing him into a spiraling abyss of nothingness.
Flickering within the dark, Mikey's flashlight kept disconnecting and reconnecting, while the small turtle laid there unconscious on the dirt ground, which was surrounded by stone walls.
Gasping for air, Mikey clawed at the soil under him, confused with the feeling of it between his fingertips.
With his head swimming, the young turtle slowly got up placing his hand on his head.
It hurt so badly as if he was hit or did it hit something?
Mikey blinked to clear his hazy vision, just noticing the flickering flashlight.
His body refusing to make any sudden movements, Mikey grabbed the light source sluggishly.
Tapping it against his palm of his hand, the young turtle finally made it to shine with a steady beam.
Warily the turtle got to his feet, hissing at the pain that originated on his side.
What happened?
Flashing back on his not so fun pipe ride, Mikey took a good look around, that only brought him dread sinking his heart into despair.
What he could tell, which made no sense at all, was that he was in a cave?
Shaking his head that didn't like that sudden movement at all, Mikey's body wobbled almost making him lose his balance.
How could he be in a cave, in the middle of New York City?
Trailing his light source up the wall, Mikey understood more about how he found himself in such a place.
The pipe he was falling from ran across from one end of the wall to the other.
In the middle was a corroded hole in it, which was big enough for his body to fall through.
So he must fall... Then what, black out as his body continue to follow the flow of the pipe and eventually ending with him here?
Looking over his body, he was dirty and full of slime, which was horrific to his beak.
Whatever was covering him head to toe was so strong a coughing fit occurred.
More than anything, Mikey wanted a bath to wash it off, he must smelled like death himself.
It was rotten to the point that his gag reflects sprung to action next, making him hack up a lung.
Finally, his body adjusting to the stench, it came to his attention that the smell he was experiencing wasn't fully coming from him; something else was emulating this foul aroma that clung to the air.
Seeing only one way out of this dead end, was a corridor before him.
The frightful turtle cringed while every horror movie plagued his poor soul.
This was really happening and he was alone?!
Gulping trying desperately to swallow his fear, Mikey hands violently shook uncontrollably, making the flashlight reflect off the walls around him.
Did he have to go forward? What was this smell, it was so potent, it was worse than anything that rotted under his bed.
What if it was a monster? Did they really exist?
What should he do? What would his brothers do?
Leo would press forward with no fear; Raph would shrug things off and continue without a care.
Then there was Donnie, who would just evaluate this as just a mishap looking for a way home.
Each one would press forward regardless of reason, was he as brave as them?
Sighing Mikey held his sides, what was he kidding; he was never brave or strong.
He was the one everyone else protected; he didn't know how to protect himself for that, not like he could have if they weren't a factor.
Whimpering Mikey fell to the ground in a heap of dust, which scattered around him from the dirt.
He was scared and this smell that kept invading his nostrils didn't help.
Crying into his arms, he couldn't see how he could find his way home, he was lost and no one was going to save him.
His sobbing that was deepening, was surprisingly overpowered by another sound startling him so.
Jumping to his feet in confusion, all breath escaped him as he could hear yelling, screaming.
It was not an adult, he could tell or a monster at that… it sounded like a kid just like him.
The screaming quickly dissipated into the distance, Mikey held onto his flashlight with an iron grip.
Was someone in trouble? Should he help?
Hearing the faint words that changed his mind, Mikey broke into a dead run.
Someone said something on the line "Daddy… I want my Daddy!" those words struck a cord with him.
It was a female he could tell, there was a girl screaming for her dad, why?
Grinding his teeth Mikey pushed away his fear using her faint screams for help to give him courage, he had to reach her!
Every fiber in his body told him he had too, regardless the fact the more he pushed forward, the fouler the stench that linger there thicken.
Now
The corridors that were similar to a labyrinth, that a few times seemed to have some paths that reconnected to the rest of the sewers, finally ended at this door.
There were many moments Mikey could have left, not following the screams and foul stench, yet he couldn't get himself to do that.
Her cries strung him along, it could be a trap or some evil plot, but he couldn't bear the idea of just walking away.
Besides, he had no clue how far home was, the girl could be badly hurt if he took the risk of leaving this place to fetch his father.
Putting all his strength into it Mikey opened the door, shuttering on how it creaked like the ones in the horror movies.
If the devil that had the girl in its mercy, didn't know he was following it, it sure did now…
Taking him by surprise a rush of hot sticky air rushed out, hammering the young turtle down flat to the ground.
Laying there stunned Mikey wondered what hit him, it was awful.
It didn't really hurt, but man the powerful aroma in the air was unbearable to the point for the first time he had to take his orange bandana off, to cover his beak the best he could.
That alone did little good, for his head started to spin out of control.
His vision blurred, filled with sparks of light flashing and exploding before him.
Then once again the darkness came to him as one thought burned into his mind…
He really hated the dark.
The echoing of sobs reached him in the pit of the abyss that consumed him.
Mikey recognized it, it was similar to the screams he was following, was it the girl?
Moaning while his head that seemed to have gotten worst hindered him, the young turtle sluggishly sat up.
The sobbing suddenly stopped, replaced with small whimpers followed by a wave of fear that he could smell clearly.
The girl must have been near; to his surprise that accusation wasn't far off.
Beside him there was a human female with long red hair with the greenest eyes he has ever seen.
Her yellow dress tattered and painted with blotches of red, just hanged off of her.
All the areas that her skin was visible showed off all her scratches and bruises.
She was scared of him, he could tell, yet he wondered if that was what she should be afraid of.
All around him was some white bars, that were not metal caging him in.
They were thick and designed in bizarre shapes, looking very suspicious.
To the turtles horror he realized why they look odd and very familiar, they were… bones?
Human bones made this cage!
Hyperventilating Mikey wanted to scream, this was a nightmare it had to be!
Who the hell would make a cage out of human remains?!
Remembering he wasn't alone, the girl was still there, Mikey got a hold of himself, putting his attention onto her not on his prison.
Fear still had a hold of her, he had questions, but first he had to let her know he wasn't there to hurt her.
Attempting to make contact, all the small turtle could get out wasn't very impressionable on his part, "Hello?"
Startled by the fact he could speak the red head cringed pulling her legs tighter to her chest.
Mikey had to do something else to get her to stop being scared of him, pressing his lips together, he took a big breath, trying desperately to put on a smile.
Even if it was fake, it was better than nothing.
"Hi… I'm Mikey… What's your name…"
Cowering more the girl whimpered, burying her head into her arms.
Whispering under her breath during sobs, the young girl spoke not realizing he could hear her, "I want my Daddy…"
Heart sinking, Mikey pressed his own legs to his chest, "I want my Dad too…"
Stopping her crying the girl looked up at him, puzzled, tilting her head at him, "You have a Dad?"
Smiling for real Mikey nodded, then the sadness came back just as quickly, "Yeah, I wish he was here…"
"April," the girl whimpered making Mikey give her the puzzle look this time around.
"April?"
Sniffling the girl nodded, "My name is April O'Neil."
Finally getting somewhere Mikey made sure not to come off too strong, all he needed was her to be scared of him again, "I don't have a last name, but my full name is Michelangelo."
"That's a weird name," a light chuckle came out of the girl, her eyes started to become warm towards him.
Scratching his head Mikey chuckled too, "I guess it is, but it's a cool one! You know what, April is a pretty name."
Smiling, April beamed, "My mommy name me that, did your mommy name you Michelangelo?"
Shaking his head, Mikey crossed his legs, ignoring the fact he was still sitting on bones, "No, I don't have a mom, I only have my dad and three brothers."
"Oh," April crawled up to him sitting beside him, it appeared April wanted the comfort of another beside her. "My mom passed away when I was born, I only have my dad too…"
"Sorry," Mikey apologized, finally looking back at the cage wondering what they should do next.
"It's okay… Mikey do you think the scary monster will come back?" April clenched his hand shuttering while closing her eyes.
"Monster?"
Biting her lip April nodded, "The evil monster that brought me here and you…"
With a gulp Mikey took a good look outside his cage, which was useless, all he could see was darkness.
What monster was she speaking of?
Fear consuming him, Mikey searched himself desperately for his flashlight.
It should be able to allow him to see what is around and maybe he could figure out how to get him and the girl out of this cage.
Not able to find it, the daunting dread started to set in again, did he lose it?
Curiously April watched him, "Mikey what are you doing?"
"My flashlight, I had a flashlight."
"You mean this?" April held his flashlight that wasn't on.
Feeling the relief wash over him, Mikey smiled at her in excitedly, "Yes, that's it," holding out his hand April gave it to him.
"Mikey it doesn't work…"
Pressing the button on and off, she was right, it didn't work.
Not giving up Mikey tapped it against his hand, then decided to check the batteries.
Sure enough, that was his problem, the batteries were put in the wrong way, how did that happen?
"April, did you take the batteries out?" Mikey took them out to fix it.
"They were on the ground when the monster brought you in. Why?"
"Well they are in the wrong way that's why it's not working," Mikey instructed finally, getting them in order and then turned on the flashlight.
A screech of pure terror came from the two children, as the light flashed into what appeared to be a disconfigured face that was staring at them through the bars.
In a frenzy, Mikey slammed his shell into the back of the cage, shutting the flashlight off quickly.
He started to wish he never had a flashlight; he didn't want to see what was outside his prison anymore.
His heart pounding he could feel April clinging onto him, shaking like a leaf.
He wasn't any better off, he was breathing so hard his chest felt like it was on fire.
What was that he just saw? Was it human? Do monsters really exist!
Panicking Mikey froze as the cage door opened, while a large hand thrust inside, grabbing the frighten girl by the hair, forcefully pulling her out of the cage.
Screaming the girl kicked the air even hitting Mikey in the face, preventing him from able to aid her.
Pure horror claimed both the children.
Helplessly Mikey couldn't do a thing watching April being dragged into the darkness begging him for help.
"Mikey help me! Please Mikey!"
Scrambling forward Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs, "Leave her alone you monster! Don't you dare hurt her!"
Feeling the hot tears dripping down his face Mikey gripped his flashlight in rage.
Turning the device on, Mikey directed it over towards the six foot thing that had April.
Not considering the repercussions of his actions, Mikey found his yo-yo still in his pocket, taking it out chucking it with all his strength at the thing's head.
With a direct hit the think yelped in surprise, flashing its deformed face at Mikey with a growl.
Letting go of April's hair, the girl went limp onto the floor while she continued to cry.
The thing with disgust glared at Mikey, making its way back towards him in a hot boiling rage.
Consumed by his fear Mikey stumbled back as the cage door swung opened and the thing tried to grab him.
Kicking and fighting with all his strength, Mikey kept slipping through the monster's thick human like hands that were full of bumps and other things.
On the ground in the distance April still laid there not moving, Mikey wasn't sure why she didn't run for it.
Mustering the courage Mikey yelled at her, "April run for it!"
The girl only cried harder, "I can't…. I'm too scared…"
Biting his lip Mikey knew this wasn't good, she had to make a break for it!
Managing to get a hold of the Jacks he had on him, Mikey did the only thing he could think of.
With a scream, Mikey threw them at the monster's face, managing to get some of the Jacks' pointed endings hitting its eyeballs.
Shock by the assault, the thing roared in surprise, stumbling back away from the cage in agony.
Quickly Mikey rushed forward, leaving his fear in the cage, he had no time for it.
Rushing towards the girl, Mikey grabbed her arm, helping her to her feet, "April you have to run! Please… I promise you I will protect you, but you have to move!"
Nodding April didn't say a peep only to scream as the thing charged towards them.
Using one of his other tricks Mikey resorted to his smoke bomb throwing it at the thing's face, but not before making sure he had a good grip onto April's trembling hand.
On impact the bomb exploded casting a misty haze confusing the thing more, yet giving Mikey another advantage to take.
With April's hand in his, Mikey ran in the direction he believed was the door.
He wasn't sure, but it looked like it before the bomb went off.
With luck, it was, it was the metal door he originally tried to get into in the first place.
The corridors flashed by as the two children ran for their lives.
Breathing heavily unsure if the monster was on their trail, either way both were hitting their limits.
Suddenly April lost her footing, falling flat to the ground, banging her knee against the cement floor hard.
Hissing April cried as Mikey stopped in his tracks, coming back to her to help her.
A tidal wave of dread came over him when he saw the skin on her knee was split open and was bleeding badly.
Taking his bandana he wrapped it around the wound in hopes it would help.
"Thanks…" April smiled at him, then her face went grim hearing the roar of the monster behind her.
Flashing back Mikey faced turned white seeing the thing approaching them with speed.
Grabbing April's arm Mikey tried to get her back to her feet, which wasn't working.
The injury to her knee was hurting her so much; the human girl was unable to stand.
Seeing the thing lunging forward at them both, Mikey made the bold decision.
Shielding her with his body, Mikey wasn't going to let that thing hurt her, if he could help it.
The turtle not sure how this was going to end, closed his eyes waiting for the worst.
Then something else happened unexpectedly, out of nowhere a large bang commence almost deafening the turtle.
Followed by the odd noise was accompanied by a horrific blood curdling scream.
Shell shock Mikey didn't move as his poor brain tried to figure out what was going on, hearing more sounds that echo off the walls of the corridors.
Shaken Mikey finally looked up only to see a barrel of a gun pointed at his face, instinctively he cringed holding April more to protect her.
It was a human man with brown hair and a thick beard, which held the gun at him with no remorse.
Mikey wasn't sure he was going to shoot him next.
Then out of the clouded fear a voice dominated over all else, "Whoa Augustus I think that's a child… put the gun down."
Hearing the voice April stirred under Mikey, "Daddy? Uncle Augie?"
"He is your dad?" Mikey once again dared to look up warily at the other man that stood there beside the human with the gun.
"April what is this thing?" April's father asked as Mikey got off of her making himself smaller, unsure if the adults would hurt him.
"My friend, his name is Mikey and he saved me from the monster," April took Mikey's hand, looking at her uncle who put his gun down.
"Is that true, son?" Augustus asked, eyeing the turtle.
Nodding, Mikey held onto April's hand harder.
The adults turning to each other sighed, as Augustus placed new bullets in his gun, "The police are going to be down here soon, I think you need to get the kid out of here. They won't understand what he is and either cage him or worse."
"I believe you might be right… Mikey is it. Do you have a family?" Mr. O'Neil asked, going to April swooping her up into his arms, as he gave his free hand to Mikey.
"I do, my dad is probably worried," Mikey took the hand sniffling.
"I see then let's go find him. The police aren't bad guys, but unfortunately they will not understand what you are… I'm not sure what you are either other then you look like a turtle. Either way they might hurt you in fear. But don't worry, I will not and won't leave you until you find your family, it's the least I can do for saving my little girl."
Walking forward Augustus staid behind stating he was best to make sure the thing didn't go after them, right now it was trapped with nowhere to run.
Once again in the sewers Mikey started to recognize his surroundings.
April's dad was very nice to him; he was nothing like he thought a human would be.
Mikey always thought humans were scary people that wanted no more than to hurt him, but maybe not all of them are, April sure wasn't.
Suddenly Mr. O'Neil stopped in his tracks, noticing the large rat that stood there evaluating him and his daughter.
A wave a happiness consumed Mikey as he saw him, "Dad!"
Surprised Mr. O'Neil looked down at Mikey, "This is your father, Mikey?"
Nodding the turtle beamed, overly happy to see his father, knowing that the nightmare was truly over.
"Who are you and what are you doing with my son?" Master Splinter inquired still reading the nervous human.
"I was helping him to bring him home after he saved my daughter from…" stopping what he was going to say Mr. O'Neil looked at both of the children contemplating how to explain without them knowing the truth.
Figuring it was best to phrase this another way, the human father hoped the rat would understand what he was talking about, "You might have heard about the recent disappearances of children lately?"
Nodding the rat recalled hearing about it and understood why the man wasn't coming out blunt with the horrific murders, "Yes I have."
"You see your son save my little girl here. If it wasn't for him, you would know all to well what would have happened…" the father choked as Master Splinter too seemed sadden on the idea of a father losing his child.
"What would have happened?" both children asked.
Exchanging looks the adults fell silent, then Master Splinter finally spoken up, "Come now Michelangelo, its time to go home your brothers are worried."
"Ok father," Mikey let go of Mr. O'Neil's hand running to him, just to stop when April called him.
"Mikey!"
Making her father to let her go April limped up to him, giving him a big warm hug, "Thank you… you're my hero!" April shyly kissed him on the cheek.
With a chuckle Master Splinter smiled, "It's funny how children keep reminding us adults that there is really no true boundaries between our differences, we are the same.
Agreeing Mr. O'Neil smiled too, "I agree. Mikey, thank you again in saving my daughter's life. I hope one day I can repay you."
Picking up April again the human father walked away as the rat father took his own child home.
"Father, I'm sorry," Mikey finally said to break the silence that was between them both.
"Michelangelo I am disappointed you disobey me… But I am proud of you my son for protecting that girl."
"Thank you father… does that mean I'm not grounded?" Mikey asked cheerfully.
Smirking the rat shook his head, "Nope, you're still grounded."
Sighing the turtle kick the ground, well one good thing did come out of this frighten rotten smelly adventure.
He gained a new friend and was a hero to her.
FIN