It was freezing outside. Literally. Three inches of snow and it was still coming down with no sign of stopping, by tomorrow morning, there was supposed to be more than six on the ground. School was already cancelled, which is something that almost never happens, so I could stay up later than usual.
I was sitting in my dormer with a blanket, music, and my sketch book with the blinds open so I could watch the snow fall. When I draw, I get into it and block almost everything out except for the music. As I was finishing up an eye, something flew past my window—which caught my attention. I squinted out my window to try and figure out what that something was when another something hit my window. I jumped in my seat with a yelp and then saw the unmistakable splat of a snow ball. Who could've thrown it? My neighborhood was a quiet one with no rouge pranksters. Then another hit it in almost the same exact spot.
Wow, nice aim. I thought as I leaned against my widow with my hands cupped around my eyes. I couldn't see anything for a moment then a little figure passed by the beam of light from the window in the front yard.
"What in the world...?" I said as I squinted through the window and blowing snow. Then another snow ball flew up towards my window, but fell to the roof a few feet short of it. I stared out the window, trying to find this little person again and gasped when it suddenly collapsed right in the beam of light; moments later it was swarmed by three other little figures. One of the three turned away from the fallen one and started waving its arms in the air, wanting my attention. Well, it got it. From what I could tell, they looked like little kids without coats; but something was off about them, they didn't seem to move right. I continued to stare at the waving kid until I clicked back to reality. Those kids would freeze if they didn't get inside sometime soon! I glanced hastily around and then help up a finger and nodded, meaning that I was coming.
I jumped out of my dormer seat, fumbled with getting my boots on, grabbed all of the blankets from my bed, and ran downstairs. I fumbled with the stubborn handle of the front door and yanked it open; a blast of bone chilling air flew through the door, catching the attention of both Mom and Dad. They asked me something, but I didn't hear them, I was too focused on getting those kids inside. Without closing the door, I jumped into the snow, the flakes and biting wind burning on my face as I trudged out to the four freezing children.
When I got to them, they were all huddled around the one laying in the snow, watching me with worried, concerned, and fear filled eyes. I still couldn't really get a good look at them, but they didn't seem to be human at all.
"Please miss, please help us." One of them begged as he walked up to me and put a cold hand on my arm. The little boy was about elbow height to and shaking like a leaf.
"Here." I handed him a blanket and he took it gratefully, wrapping it around his shoulders and neck, burying his face in it. I knelt next to the unconscious one in the snow, looking at the two others who were almost lying on top of him (they all looked like they were boys.) I could see their wide eyes and shivering bodies I only had two more blankets, so I gave them the biggest one and they wrapped up in it faster than the blink of an eye. I reached down and touched the one on the ground and gasped when I felt how cold he was.
"He's ice cold! Oh God—" I frantically touched his forehead and cheeks, but was slightly relieved when I felt his pulse in his neck and that he was still breathing. "How long have you been out here?" I asked one of the two in the big blanket.
"I-I don't know. B-but it's been a long t-time." The taller of the two stuttered.
"We need to get you four in right now." I said quickly as I flung the blanket over my shoulder and reached into the snow and pulled the poor boy from it and wrapped him up in the blanket. As I cradled him, I noticed that his back was really hard and round—as if he was wearing a plastic shell. I was cold too, but that didn't matter. These boys were going to die if they didn't get warm soon.
I turned and trudged through the snow back to the house. Mom and Dad would probably freak out that I was bringing in four stray boys without telling them anything about it, but they'd also be upset if we woke up to four frozen children in our front yard. They followed me in, sticking close to my sides, the smallest one gripping the side of my sweatshirt. When we got back inside, I kicked the door shut and ran to the linen closet to get a thicker blanket for the boy in my arms. I put him against my shoulder as I pulled out the heating pad and a layered comforter.
"Jessie, what's going on? Who is that?" Mom asked me as I came into the living room and sat on the hearth, next to a crackling fire.
"They were outside." I said as I moved the blanket away from his face and stuffed the comforter under his shivering body.
He wasn't human. But what could I do? I have a guilty conscious if I turned my back on someone who needed help.
He was green and didn't have any hair or a nose, but nostrils instead. I opened up the blankets and saw that his chest and stomach was covered by a plastron (knowing that from being the little biology nerd that I am) and only had three fingers on each hand. I pushed back the blanket a little bit more and saw that he did have a shell and it wasn't plastic. This kid was a giant humanoid turtle.
"They?" Dad asked from the recliner.
"Yes, they. This poor kid collapsed from the cold and the others were close to doing the same themselves. If I didn't help, then all of them would've died." I said defensively as I covered him back up. "Speaking of which, where are they?" I got up and went back to the foyer to find them huddled on the landing of the stairs, shoved into a corner with fearful looks on their faces and still shivering from the cold.
"Come on," I said softly as I squatted in front of them. They all looked like the one in my arms only they had their own physical builds and different colored eyes—sky blue, light green, and light brown. "We're not going to hurt you." I was still holding the other one in m y arms and they all craned their necks to look at him.
"Is Leo going to be all right?" The turtle with the blue eyes, who was the smallest, asked with tears welling up in his eyes.
"Yeah, he'll be okay." I soothed. "Come into the living room, there's a fire in the fireplace. You need to warm up."
They all looked at each other wearily then back at me. The green eyed one took the one with blue eyes gently by the arm and nodded at the other one as they all got up and followed me back into the warm living room. They almost hugged my legs and stared at Mom and Dad in fear as we walked into the living room who returned the stare with shock. I held my chin high as I took wide steps to the fireplace and sat down on the hearth without taking my eyes off of my parents. After a brief stare down, I turned back to the three little turtles who were warming their hands by the fire, smiling with relief from the cold.
"Can you please plug in the heating pad?" I asked Mom in a steely tone. She was still awestruck and gaping at the turtles and didn't take her eyes off of them as she slowly got up and did what I asked; any other day, I would've been scolded for using that tone of voice. As Mom handed me the small, salmon pink blanket, the one with brown eyes glanced over his shoulder and did a second take as I adjusted the heating controls and placed it on the chest of the turtle in my arms.
"What is that?" He asked with worry as he looked between me and the heating pad.
"It's a blanket with a heater in it. This guy is still really cold, he'll need all the warmth he can get." I said as he turned around and watched him as he placed the back of his hand on the other's forehead.
"You're right. He needs all the heat he can get, he may be hypothermic." He stated as he pulled the comforter over the top of the other's head.
"Hypo—hypoder—hyper... Wha?" The one with blue eyes asked in confusion.
"Hypothermia. It's what happens when your body temperature drops too low, you get weak and eventually go unconscious if you aren't warmed up in time." He explained. This kid was smart. The blue eyed one looked at the one with green eyes, still confused.
"Too cold for too long, not good." He sighed and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"What's your name?" I asked the brown eyed one as he turned his attention back to the one in my arms.
"Donatello..." He said cautiously, looking at me with the same caution. This caught the blue and green eyed turtles' attention, making them turn around to face me.
"And you?" I smiled warmly.
"I-I'm Michelangelo," The blue eyed one said. "B-but you can call me Mikey." He glanced shyly at me.
"I'm Raphael," The green eyes one said. "Call me Raph." He poked his thumb against his chest.
"He's Leonardo." Donatello said and nodded towards my arms.
"All Italian..." Mom breathed.
"Do you have a thermometer?" Donatello asked, ignoring my mother's random comment.
"Yes." I looked at the couch where my parents sat. They were still staring at the turtles until I cleared my throat and pressed my lips together, silently asking someone to go and get it. This time Dad got up and went to retrieve it from the kitchen; he tried to look casual like nothing was happening, but the sound of his footsteps said otherwise.
"Do you want the digital or the traditional one?" He asked from the kitchen.
"Traditional please." Donatello called back. "A digital thermometer probably wouldn't read a body temperature as low as ours. It was created for humans after all." He explained with a shrug.
"At least he's warming up." I said as I touched his forehead.
"Yeah, but not warm enough..." He placed his small hand on Leonardo's head and cheek.
"Does anyone want hot chocolate?" Mom cleared her throat as she got up from the couch.
"Yes! Yes please!" The little turtles chirped happily over each other.
"Your mom is really nice, Miss." Michelangelo said with a bright smile.
"Are you getting any warmer?" I asked him and Raphael. They both nodded as Michelangelo brought the blanket up to his cheeks and looked up at me with his big, blue eyes.
"What's your name?" Raphael asked.
"My name is Jessie." I smiled. "Now, who was the sharp-shooter who pegged my window?" Raphael looked away and blushed with a small smile.
"I-I did." He said in a small, bashful, voice.
"Well, nice aimin' there Ace." I said with an even bigger smile. It was a pretty big feat to throw a snowball that fat in a storm like this and the fact that it was done by a half frozen turtle makes it even bigger. He grinned shyly and pulled the blanket around his face.
Dad came back with the thermometer and handed it to Donatello, who took it with a nod, uncapped it, shook it down, and stuck it into Leonardo's mouth. I adjusted it so that it fit under his tongue and held it in place.
"What's a healthy temperature for you guys?" I asked. I figured that they'd be warmer than a regular turtle but was definitely cooler than a human.
"A regular land or water turtle is in between 63 and 73, it's about 85 for us." He shrugged as he leaned in and squinted at the thermometer. It didn't take long to get warm and top out at 83.
"Being cold sucks." Michelangelo complained as he scooted closer to me, leaned against my side, and buried his face into his side of the blanket.
"Well, it's a good thing that the hot chocolate is done." Mom said with a smile as she came into the living room with four mugs of the steaming beverage. "I made you a cup too." She said quietly to me as she handed out the three others to the eager turtles who were now nothing but smiles. She was more relaxed compared to before; maybe she thought this whole thing over in the kitchen.
"Put in on the floor," I nodded to a spot next to my foot. "My hands are kinda full." I chuckled. Then Leonardo quietly sighed, looking more peaceful than he had earlier.
"I think he's actually sleeping now." Donatello said as he craned his neck to look into the bundle of blankets as he held his mug close to his face, letting the steam waft around it. "He needs it." Then the living room was filled with silence except for the crackling of the fire and quiet sips of hot chocolate.
"Why did you help us?" Raphael asked, breaking the heavy and tired silence.
"Huh?"
"Why did you help us? You could've let us freeze out there and ignore us. Why did you do it?" He asked, looking at me with his steely, green eyes.
"Because..." I started. There were several reasons and I knew them, but they just wouldn't come to mind. My brain drew a blank. "Because—I couldn't watch you freeze."
"Is that all?" He persisted.
"Raph!" Donatello hissed.
"No, I want to know. Plenty of people could've just ignored us or killed us." He snapped and then turned back to me. "Why did you save us?"
"I don't know... I-I just can't leave someone behind like that," I stared out into space. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"And it's not because we're freaks?"
"No," I chuckled. "I couldn't really see you guys from my window. All I saw was four little kids out in the cold." I looked at him solemnly. "I've learned that you should never judge a book by its cover." I looked down at him as tears began to well up in his eyes.
"We've-we've never met a human who didn't want us because..." His voice cracked as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Because of what we are."
"Dude, are you crying?" Michelangelo asked, leaning in towards him.
"So what if I am?" He snapped in his face.
"Oh Honey," I chuckled as I slid my arm out from underneath Leonardo's back and opened up. "Come here." I waved my hand at him to come, but he only turned away and sniffed as a tear ran down his cheek. "Come here." I said in a softer tone with my arm still open. He whimpered and pulled himself into a ball and a moment later, he flung himself into my side and cried into my sweatshirt.
"You don't know how much this means to me." He sobbed. All of this was coming from fear of being alone and having someone who actually cares about them for who, not what they are. To be honest, I would probably act the same way if I was in their situation.
"Raphael," I said and lifted up his face so he could look at me. "I know that you probably haven't had good experiences with humans, but you're gonna be safe and loved here." I wiped a tear off of his cheek with my thumb as he looked at me with watery eyes.
"Loved?" He whimpered softly.
"Loved." I nodded with a smile. He hugged my waist and continued to cry but now with a small smile. Then I heard a soft groan and felt Leonardo begin to move in my arm, catching everybody's attention.
"Leo!" Michelangelo cried as he jumped out from underneath his blanket and stood in front of me and watched intently.
"He's waking up." Donatello scrambled around excitedly and pushed the blanket away from his face. Leonardo squirmed and sighed as his hands went out above his head as he stretched then came down and rubbed his eyes.
"This sucks." He grunted as he continued to scrub his eyes. With a yawn, he opened his eyes and squinted at me, looking confused. Then it clicked. He squirmed out of my arms and jumped out into the middle of the living room and into a fighting stance with wide eyes and fists up.
"Leo," Raphael put a hand out in front of him, still holding my waist with the other. Leonardo was looking around in a frantic panic and froze when he saw Dad sitting in the recliner reading a newspaper. "Leo," Raphael repeated, he got his attention this time. "It's okay. We're safe here." He stiffened when he looked at me and stared at Raphael, he looked shocked that he was actually hugging me.
"What did you do to me?" Leonardo growled as his stare turned into a hostile glare.
"I brought you inside to warm you up." I shrugged.
"Dude, we're fine." Michelangelo said. "She's really nice; she even gave us hot cocoa." Leonardo glanced wearily at Dad, who was probably listening in on the conversation, but stayed behind his paper.
"Leo, seriously, calm down; she saved our lives. If it wasn't for her, we'd all be knocked out in the snow and you'd probably be dead." Raphael snapped and got up and grabbed Leonardo by the shoulders. "Give her a little thanks." His tone softened as he looked over his shoulder at me.
"I-I," Leonardo started as he looked down at his two-toed feet. "Guess you're right."
"What?" Michelangelo chuckled in disbelief. I looked at Donatello in confusion who had the same shocked expression on his face.
"They always fight and Leo almost never confesses that Raph is right." He explained as he watched them with a smile. "It's kind of an ego thing."
"Oh." I nodded as I watched Leonardo look Raphael in the eyes then up at me. He gently pushed off Raphael's hands and walked up to me, lips pressed together and guilt in his eyes.
"I'm sorry for being mean and yelling at you." He bowed and couldn't make eye contact as he apologized. "And thank you for saving me and my brothers." So they are brothers. They seemed too close to be just friends, and what are the odds of finding three separate turtles who weren't raised at the same time? Which brought up a thought.
"Where did you come from?" This caught all of them off guard and they all exchanged sad glances. Leonardo took in a deep breath and slowly let it out
"We are from New York," He sat down on the floor and hung his head. "We were taken from out home by men in yellow suits and put in the back of a van in cages. They were taking us somewhere when we broke out and ran away."
"I remember Dad's face..." Michelangelo whimpered as his eyes began to water and got a hug from Donatello who squeezed his eyes shut. Leonardo tried to continue, but he just couldn't get anything out.
"I don't—we don't know what to do." He choked out as he glanced around at the ground with wide, fear-filled, watery eyes.
"Well, first off," I started. "You boys aren't going back outside without something to keep you warm. Secondly, you're going to stay the night here, I'm not gonna let you leave until the weather improves." I looked around at them with my head held high as a smile grew across my face. Leonardo looked at me with his deep blue eyes that started to lose their fear and fill with relief as he relaxed. The other boys looked shocked at first at my orders then softened and started to smile. Michelangelo threw himself around my chest and hugged me with a huge grin and only a few moments later Raphael and Donatello joined him. I hugged back and saw Leonardo who still stood on the carpet in front of us, looking defeated.
"Leonardo," I said quietly. "You don't have to be scared anymore." He glanced up from the floor.
"I know..." He nodded quietly. "But I'm not supposed to be scared—I'm not supposed to show fear. I have to be strong and brave. I have to be the leader. Leaders aren't supposed to be scared." So that was his problem.
"Leo—I can call you that right?" I said; he nodded as he looked back down at the floor. "Nobody's completely fearless—it's just not possible. You can't have courage without fear and, from what I've seen, you are one of the most courageous kids I have ever met." He blushed but still couldn't make eye contact. "Nobody's invincible."
"But in movies—" He started and I cut him off with a raised hand.
"Movies aren't real, all of that is acting." I said sternly. "Now, you come over here and stop beating yourself up over this silliness." I said in a warmer tone. He looked at me with a gasp then he finally gave in and ran to me and buried his face into my shoulder and began to shake. I pulled all four in closer and hugged them. They needed this.
Hundreds of miles away from home, no one to turn to for help, scared out of their wits, and completely helpless... I was glad that they found me and I found them. Fate works in mysterious ways and always finds ways to surprise you with incredible things.