What we want is not necessarily what we truly want…
Another endless grueling day finally behind her, April held in the unforgiving sigh that wanted to escape her ruby lips.
Sadly, the end wasn't near as she would have wished. Her body two feet from her grave was aching all over, beckoning her to take a long hot bath to soothe her muscles.
Like most days, she worked in her shop, and then performed workouts that Splinter has instructed her to do on her own time and near the end of the day, she had arranged a visit to the lair just before nightfall.
Not every day was this routine, but the past week it lagged on as such. She was run down and needed some personal time if she was permitted.
Nevertheless, she had a promise to keep and a turtle to visit, Donnie.
With his new discovery, he found the night before, leaving her thousands of messages upon his findings… well that was an exaggeration of course, but it felt that many, by the time she finally got around to reading them, he insisted upon her to come over tonight to give him a hand.
April didn't mind, yet the nagging protests of her body did question her.
When was she to take a break of her own, to relax and not worry about anything, just invest in nothingness for a while to reenergize her body and soul?
Ghosting her hand over the button on the elevator, which would bring her to the lair's main floor, she started to pondered if she might consider taking that little vacation, she had been putting off to the resort for a three day of relaxing in a mud bath and be pampered as a princess?
The door pop opened, she stepped in and then leaned her side against the wall while the hum of the elevator was all she had for company.
Down it went as her mind wandered to the delight of some R&R.
Drifting on that thought she was startled suddenly by the door opened before her.
With a light chuckle, she painted a smile to cover her exhaustion as she stepped forward with the door closing behind her.
The lair oddly to her surprise was lifeless and pitched black, with no light as she squinted with the little glow from the symbols on the elevator behind her.
Unable to make out a thing she gazed into the thick loom that at one moment, she swore moved?
"Hello? Donnie?" April called out. Impatient, she tapped her finger on her arm, finding that she some reason refused to move forward.
She has visited the lair on a blackout in the past with no issues, then why was the hair on the back of her neck sticking out?
With no response she bit her lip as she fumbled with her pocket, taking out her cell that luckily had the torch app applied to it.
Using its light, she flashed it forward, only to take a step back.
The increasing fear within her rose to new heights as she questioned her sanity, was the darkness impenetrable?
Her light couldn't break through and all she saw what one would describe as some thick fog or was it shadow?
Clearing her throat, she examined the lair that she couldn't see past four feet beyond where she stood.
"Leo? Mikey… Raph?" April called out again as her body shivered and the little voice in the back of her mind said to run!
Taking another step back now with her back against the elevator doors, her heart raced and her palms sweat.
Something was wrong! Terribly wrong!
Aiming her free hand towards the button to open the doors, she kept her light forwards as her eyes widen in disbelief.
The shadows were creeping towards her!
The panic consuming her, she desperately pushed the button rapidly, as it wouldn't open its doors, "Open! Please open!"
The shadows now becoming forceful, charged towards her just as the doors swiped open making her lose her balance.
Unable to stop herself, she fell backwards with a yelp, slamming her back to the hard ground.
April feeling the sting from her fall, she let out a painful moan as she collected herself, unfortunately not soon enough.
The sounds of rattling chains came first as she blinked, trying to comprehend what was happening or was going to happen!
The sound echoed in her eardrums, which were the first warning before the agonizing pain that suddenly shot up both of her legs.
Screaming, she instinctively reared up to a sitting position, reaching for the area in question, only to find the sounds of chains wasn't in her head at all!
There were these long thick chains extended out of the shadows and were burrowing into her flesh, taking a hold of her very bones.
"Oh god!" April screamed daring to put her hands on the chains, to pull them away just as quickly, as she shrieked more when the flesh of her hands burned.
Black veins web through her hands and continued towards her heart as the one in her legs were doing the same.
"DONNIE, LEO, RAPH, MIKEY… PLEASE HELP ME!" she cried out for her heroes, only to have neither aid her nor answer at that.
Just as if the chains were amused by her attempts suddenly snapped straight, tightening up as they started to pull her back into the lair with speed.
With quick reflexes she grabbed the door's edge, entering into a tug a war for her life.
Her body weakening by whatever was poisoning her, she lost the battle as her body dragged further into the darkness. Screaming, she clawed the cement digging her nails as they started to crack and bleed.
Finally, she stopped abruptly with eyes full of tears and pain like no other invading every inch of her body.
Then she heard footsteps coming towards her. Snapping her head toward the sound with wishful thinking it was finally someone there to save her, her face became blank in a mix of confusion and fear.
What she believed to be her best friend Donnie, appeared to be him, yet he was covered with thick black veins.
She knew right away it wasn't her Donnie but something else…
His eyes weren't kind and caring for starters and then it was the way he was looking at her, that made her shiver more.
Trying to speak to demand on what was going on, she suddenly found that was impossible. Her voice wasn't there.
The stranger, let out a small chuckle, knelt down to her level, smiling wildly at her as he held on some-odd object in his hand.
The next thing she knew, it her chest felt like it was on fire as she screamed an unvoiced cry.
The chains exited her by ripping out of her chest, taking with it, her?
Watching her leave her body, she was plunged into the darkness as she flung her arms forward in a desperate attempt to escape, instinctively knowing she was going to be devoured by the shadows!
Surrounded by nothingness, feeling her body breaking apart inch by inch, she cried wishing she stayed home… Out of the darkness a voice made her heart fall even further.
"Yo April? Raph? Hey is anyone home?" Casey's voice asked, then was accompanied by his own blood-curdling screams… The shadows now had him too, and this only made it savage hunger demand for more souls to consume…
FIN