Those Who Prey on Monsters

Chapter One: Dust is a Deceptive Foe

Usually the sound of the six o'clock Michigan to Detroit train rumbling above woke Donatello but today was different. It was finally his eighth birthday and although the little turtle only got three short hours of sleep the previous night his body was still full of energy so immediately he decided to get up and out of bed before that most hated train was even close to passing overhead. Luckily for him, he remembered that his bed was quite high off the ground and slowed himself down enough to jump down carefully.

Michelangelo, who slept in the bed below Donnie, was snoring quietly so the older turtle tiptoed out of the room in silence. Knowing that his brothers wouldn't be awake for at least another two hours, maybe more if the trains were late, Donatello sought out the company of his Sensei. As he padded quietly into the room on his small green feet Donatello wondered if Master Splinter would notice him. He was never up so early before; maybe Master Splinter wouldn't be listening for him?

'Good morning Donatello.' The purple masked turtle stared in awe at his Sensei who still had his back turned. How does he do that? The little turtle thought to himself.

'Morning Sensei!' Grinning widely Donnie slid onto one of the rickety chairs around the table and listened to his Sensei moving around as he pondered excitedly about what he might get for his birthday. His thoughts were cut short though, when loud shouts echoing around the sewers seeped into the lair. Donatello glanced nervously at Master Splinter. The rat's ears were pricked up, his eyes narrowed. A silent nod of Splinter's furry head told Donatello to hide so, his chocolaty brown eyes wide with fear, Donnie dived beneath the kitchen table and sat in silence.

The voices were growing closer with each second and the specs of dust he had disturbed when he leapt beneath the table made Donnie wrinkle his beak. Panic rose up inside the young ninja. Don't sneeze, don't sneeze, don't sneeze! Unfortunately for Don his silent mantra didn't help anything.

'ACHOO!' Donatello was left paralysed as his deafening sneeze cut through the stale silence of lair. Then the shouts became piercing.

Master Splinter realised that escape was their only option now and he turned to his son.

'Donatello, go wake your brothers! Whatever happens you must stay together!' Stifling a tiny whimper of fear Donatello ran to his room and woke Mikey first. The youngest turtle was still fuzzyheaded and pleasantly warm from sleep but Donnie didn't wait a second. Pulling along his only little brother by the hand Donatello rushed into the room Leonardo and Raphael shared. He told Mikey to wake Leo and the orange wearing turtle did so obediently now that he could hear the terrible screams from outside the lair. Meanwhile Donnie clambered onto the high up platform similar to his where Raphael slept. He could already hear Leo stirring so he quickly shook Raphael roughly to wake him up, dodging the expected smack to the head Raphael aimed at him. At that moment a resounding crash resonated through their home and those terrible voices became clearer and more terrifying than ever; they had found the lair.

Trembling fingers clutched the rigid edges of kaki coloured shells as the four turtles peeked carefully into the den. There was Master Splinter fighting the Intruders, who all wore bulletproof vests and heavy belts holding guns, sedatives and handcuffs. In fact, had it not been for the large triangular yellow symbol that was stitched onto each of the Intruders shoulders, the family might have thought they were police officers. The turtles tiptoed across the room, blending into the shadows and hiding from the vicious enemies that had invaded their home. Kneeling behind the end of the couch Leonardo peered around at their Sensei, who was battling their new foes with a fierce determination. While the Intruders' attention was fixed on Master Splinter the young turtles made a dash for it.

Menacing yells and shouts sent chills down the turtles' spines but it did not slow their frantic legs. They had through some miracle escaped into the sewers but their troubles were far from over. A bunch of the Intruders had chased after the young ninjas and now they found themselves trapped, several of their strange enemies blocking any route that might lead them to safety. But apparently their attackers weren't the brightest bulbs and so Donatello, his mind buzzing with different ideas on what to do, decided to act on his gut instinct. He glanced at Leonardo meaningfully and his older brother nodded in understanding.

In a flash the purple masked turtle snatched up Mikey's hand and sprinted through the gap between one of the Intruders' legs, hoping and praying that Leo had reacted quick enough to do the same with Raph. Thankfully when Donnie looked up his older brothers were both there. One of the Intruders made a snatch for Michelangelo and for one terrifying moment it looked like they had caught him but Raphael bravely kicked the huge man in the shins while Donatello punched at the mans knees, and Mikey was able to struggle free. Triumphantly they began to run as fast as possible. On instinct their little green legs splashed through the sewer water, leading them automatically to a small pipe leading off to a pumping station. They were so close! Only a few more metres to safety, to freedom. But then disaster struck. Without warning Donatello felt a large hand closing around his neck, which yanked him off of his feet and pulled him high into the air. No one noticed this time. He tried, and failed, to scream after his brothers who were still running with all their might, unaware of the young turtle hanging helplessly in his attackers grasp. All the air was slowly disappearing from the turtle's lungs.

'What did I tell ya Jack? I knew there were monsters down here! This little freak is gonna set me up for life.' Said the man holding Donnie, an evil edge to his voice.

'Stop playing around Greg! You know we've gotta sell him to that Stockman guy, I wouldn't expect him to be too generous, y'know?' With every passing second Donnie could feel the life being squeezed out of his body and he wished for a miracle…

Panting in exhaustion but relieved all the same Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Raphael slumped down in the small chamber Master Splinter had showed them to hide in if there were ever an emergency. While they sat gasping for breath and clutching painful stitches, Raphael noticed something amiss. His blood turned to ice in his veins.

'Where's Donnie?' he whispered. The two other turtles looked confused as they stared around and then panic caught them just as it had Raphael. There was nothing they could do. If they left their hiding place then they might get caught too, but what would happen to Donnie? Silently they sat waiting, hoping that their lost brother would come running into the secret chamber any second.

With almost every last breath of air gone from his body, Donnie was losing hope. In desperation Don began to flail his legs, squirm and writhe in the Intruders grasp. Just when he thought he would suffocate in the mans clutch Donatello felt his foot strike against something and the burly man cried out in shock and pain, his grip loosening enough for the ninja to jump away and flee… in the opposite direction to his brothers. He dodged quickly around the remaining Intruders and slipped around the corner; he sunk into the shadows as he heard footsteps approaching. While the Intruders crashed noisily through the sewer tunnel Donnie held his breath and waited silently. At last the sounds of shouting and running vanished but that didn't make things much easier, because now, alone and scared Donatello had to face the dangerous sewer tunnels alone. What a birthday.