I glance around the sewers nervously. In the short amount of time I've been out here in the tunnels, everything's been quiet. Like, way too quiet. I haven't heard a car rumble above or the small talk of pedestrians once, and that says a lot. Well, it is three in the morning, so maybe everyone's asleep. Doubt seeps in as soon as the thought completes itself. The whole New York City never sleeps. There's always a beeline of cars and people swarming the streets, 3am or not. I splash through the sewers and look behind me. Maybe if I try hard enough I might hear something. I quickly dismiss the thought, seeing how I've already passed a whole bunch of manhole covers and haven't heard a single thing besides the wind and slight rustle of trash skidding through the streets. Something is definitely wrong. I just wanted to get a breath of fresh air and maybe see if April wanted to train a little. Well, looks like I might be heading towards a lost cause. I wonder what my brothers are doing and grit my teeth. They're probably making fun of me right now for heading out a three am to see April. Well, too bad for them. My gaze wanders from the sewer walls to the water beneath my feet. It's actually cleaner than some of the sewers I've trodden through, so I don't stick to the sides of the tunnels where there's solid ground to walk on. I kick at the water and watch the arc of droplets fly through the air seamlessly. They glimmer as they shoot back towards the water they came from and make a faint splash. I sigh and trudge through the water.
The city's too quiet for my liking. In all the time we've been up there, I've found the constant hum and buzz of noise sort of comforting. Now the silence is making me skittish. I jump when a rat races past me as if to prove my point. Now I feel like Casey, scared of a tiny rat minding it's own business. I take a turn and smack face first into a wall. Guess that wasn't a turn. I growl and kick the wall I walked into. Why am I feeling so uncoordinated? I take a real turn and walk down the new tunnel, coming closer to April's street. I'm still a fair distance away when I hear something that chills my blood. A low, deathly moan echoes through the tunnels. My heartbeat picks up and I freeze midstep. It sounds again, this time further away. I backtrack and go a different way to April's place. For some reason, that moan made my heart leap into my throat and almost escape my body. I hesitate a moment when I reach the manhole cover on April's street, wondering if I should turn around. I've come this far, so I might as well shoot for the stars. And miss. I climb up the ladder and slide the manhole cover off, poking my head up and glancing around. Not a soul in sight. I silently climb the rest of the way out and place the manhole cover back on, my eyes wandering over to April's apartment. The window to the living room has it's curtains drawn and not even the faintest sliver of light escapes the glass. I make sure to stick to the alley wall while I make my way over to the fire escape that leads to her bedroom window. I'm about to climb up the ladder when I hear a scream. I react immediately, crouching down in case someone saw me.
But no, the person didn't see me, the person saw something else. I can see him now, a man running towards me, fear and panic clouding his eyes and making him run faster. His gaze lands on me, but he's unfazed.
"Help me!" he screams, and then I see what he's running from. At first I think I'm hallucinating. Then I know I'm not. Because what chases after the bolting man seems so unrealistic, so horror movie-ish that I freeze up. The man is closer to me, but all I can see is the thing that pursues him. It looks like a man, only torn and bedraggled. It's eyes and foggy and unfocused, but it knows what it's after. I flinch when I see it's stomach is cut open, internal organs trailing behind it. The man is almost on top of me when I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I come back to reality and leap onto the fire escape, holding out my hand to pull the man up. He accepts my offer and I heave him onto the fire escape. I back against the brick wall of April's apartment and stare at the thing that is trying to get up on the platform where I stand. It grabs onto the metal after several attempts of jumping and tries to pull itself up, but then it's arms buckle and they snap off at the elbows. My stomach twists and I warily glare at - well, at the zombie. It wails in frustration and swings its stumps of arms. I help the man up and stare at him. He seems sickly and weak and I have no idea how he managed to run as fast as he did just now. His face is pale, and it seems to lose all of its color when he looks at me. He lets out a shriek and stumbles away. I sigh. Why do people always react like this? The man backs away and realizes that he's on a fire escape. I block the stairs and glare at him.
"Calm down!" I shout. "I just saved you!" The man pauses and stares at me fearfully. I see he's shaking and sit down. "I'm not going to hurt you." He seems at a loss for words and keeps his eyes glued on me, as if I'll attack attack him if he looks away. I roll my eyes and stand up. "Look, if I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would've left you down there with him?" I motion towards the zombie and wait a few moments before starting to make my way up the stairs. "Now if you want to live, follow me." The man seems taken aback and slowly starts to trail after me. When I reach the right level on the stairs I walk over to April's bedroom window and tap on it. I wait. I tap. I wait. I tap. She finally cracks it and sees me. Her sky blue eyes fill with relief and she opens the window all the way before seeing the man. She points and I see panic in her eyes as she starts to say something.
"It's okay, he's with me," I say. April lowers her hand and wraps me in a hug.
"What's going on, Donnie?" she whispers.
"Well, the simplest way to say it is that there are zombies attacking New York." She steps back and looks at the man again.
"Who's he?" she demands, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. I follow her gaze and stare at the man as well. He looks right back and glares at me.
"Anyone care to tell me what this thing is?" he snaps, making a sharp motion towards me. April glares daggers at him and I feel anger start to worm it's way into me. I push it back and take a deep breath. I can't let anger get the best of me.
"My name is Donatello and this is April," I start. "I just so happened to be on the same street as you when you were running from that zombie and saved your pitiful life, so before you start to insult me, buddy, remember that." The man's eyebrows furrow and I see anger smoldering in his brown eyes. I turn back to April and look her in the eye. "We need to get out of here, and quick. If there's one thing I know about sickness is that when it gets bad, the government quarantines it. And we need to escape before that happens, so let's go." Panic sears through me. "We need to get my brothers!" April's eyes widen too and we push past the man, who grabs my shoulder and glares at me.
"Where are you going?" I can tell he's trying to fight down the panic in his eyes. "We need to get out of here!"
"I'm going to get my family," I shoot back. The man's grip tightens.
"We need to leave!" I brush his hand off.
"We're not." His eyes widen. "We need to find my brothers and father."
"Please!" he cries as April and I start to walk away from him. "You'll never make it!"
I growl but then he gasps. I follow his gaze quickly and see what made his body go rigid with panic and shock. The street is flooded with zombies, screaming and wailing at us. I almost want to climb onto the roof alone and run away, but I know I can't.
"Fine. We'll leave," I say flatly. April backs into my arms and buries her face into my shoulder. We have to go before one of them finds a way up here. I hate to say it, but a little bit of fear claws its way into my chest. These things are gruesome. One is practically torn in half, holding onto its upper half with only a few threads. One is missing a leg and an eye and is covered in something dark that I can only guess is blood. One is missing both of its legs at the knee and is dragging itself on its hands. I feel sick. I climb onto the roof and grab April's hands, pulling her up. I do the same with the man and start to run from roof to roof. I look back and see April is following, using her kunoichi training from Master Splinter to jump and perform a kohotanki roll. The man stands on April's roof and stares at us, dumbfounded. I roll my eyes and remember not everyone is trained to be a ninja. I stop April when she reaches me and motion for the man to follow us. He visibly swallows and jumps the five feet onto the next roof. He lands on his stomach and quickly scrambles to his feet, repeating this until he reaches us. This is going to take a loooong time.
TMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNTTMNT
We reach the edge of the city way past daybreak and I note that there aren't any zombies walking around. The road that goes out of the city keeps going until it curves and disappears behind a hill. Out there it's all woodland and fields. We went to April's old farmhouse when the Kraang took over the city and Leo was badly hurt. We could go out there, to her farmhouse again. I look back at New York City mournfully and see something stir in the distance. Is that a . . .
"Zombie!" I scale the wall down and wait for April and the man skittishly. If one of those creepy things jumps out at me, I swear, I'm going to have a heart attack! April reaches me first and the man clings to the wall like his life depends on it. It probably does. "Come on, hurry!" The man inches down the wall and jumps the last four feet. I turn around and look for any mode of transportation. I see a car that looks like the person who owned it jumped out while it was still moving, by the way the door is flung open and looks torn off its hinges. I run over and see that the keys are still in. "Guys, this car has keys! Come on!" They both run over to me and jump in the car. I take the driver's seat and turn the keys. The engine starts and I drive right out of the city. Even if the owner took the keys, I would still hotwire the engine. I'm cool like that. I see April staring back at the city and then a pang of regret stabs through me. I should've gotten my brothers. They'll never forgive me for leaving them. I round the curve and keep driving. I need to keep my head high and my eyes clear. The world peels past slowly to me, as if everything is in slow mo. I glance at April. She's still staring after the city. Probably worrying about my brothers and her dad and Master Splinter. I feel the same worry start to tear me apart. Will they make it out? If they do, will they know where to go? I sigh and keep my eyes on the road. Suddenly headlights appear in front of me and I slam on the brakes, causing April, the man and I to jar to a stop. I lock the doors automatically and squint at the car. I land a hand on April's arm and look her in the eye.
"I'll go out there." She starts to protest, but before she can get a word out I'm already approaching the car. I hear a scream inside and pause. That didn't sound like a zombie scream. It sounded like a human scream. I leap onto the car and glare into the windshield just to make sure. I was right. A woman, man, three children and a dog are in the car, huddled together. The people scream when they see me again and I tap on the windshield. The people's eyes are filled with terror. To them, I'm just another monster. I tap on the windshield again and point back to my car. It's big enough to hold nine people crammed together, even if it is uncomfortable. One of the children, who I see is now about thirteen, pushes their dad off and jumps out of the car. The man screams for him to come back but he ignores him. I leap off of the hood of the car and stare the teenager in the eye. He pulls out a knife and glares at me.
"Hey, I just want to help!" I reason, holding out my hands in an apologetic gesture. He stares at me, probably shocked I can speak, and puts his knife away. He doesn't take his eyes off of me while he pulls his family members out of the car. When the dog, a German shepherd by the looks of it, gets out, it sees me and jumps on me. Literally. I hold up my hands to fend off any attack, but all I get is a tongue licking my face and arms. I laugh and push the dog off, sitting up. The family is still warily keeping their distance as I stand up.
"What are you?" The teenager asks.
"A red eared slider. And you?" He seems taken aback.
"Um, a human?" His answer comes out like a question.
"Are you sure?" I grin mockingly and start back to my car. "Come on, we don't have much time!" They follow me slowly and cram into the back of the car. I resume my position in the driver's seat and start to drive again. Curiosity gets the better of the teenager.
"What's your name? What's going on? Are those things zombies?" His questions pour out like water from one of the drains in the sewers.
"Donatello, an apocalypse, and yes, they are in the simplest way zombies." My eyes flicker to the rear view mirror and I see his blue eyes staring back at mine. I turn and keep driving. We drive in silence for hours, possibly evaluating what sinks in. The world is at its end. There's no cure. Those things are zombies, for crying out loud! I still feel bad I left my family, and now the sorrow is literally making my heart ache. I sigh and take another turn. The sooner we get to April's farmhouse the better. The dog pushes up to the front of the car and licks my face again. I suppress a smile and scratch his ears. I guess only then do the people notice my weapon strapped across my back.
"What's that?" The teenager asks, tapping my staff. I glance up at him again.
"Well, it's crazy to believe, but I'm a ninja, and this here is my Bō Staff." The father snorts and rolls his eyes. I glare at him. "I told you it's crazy, but it's true and if you don't believe it I can prove it." April touches my arm and shakes her head. Not the time, her eyes say. I glare at the man and continue driving. We drive in silence for another few hours before I recognize the dirt road that leads to April's farmhouse. I turn sharply and the car bumps down the road. The man I saved in the city wakes up from his sleep and looks around warily. The five other people I saved nestle closer together as the car comes to a stop.
"We're here." April steps out of the car and walks right up to the farmhouse, me following her quickly. The other six people exit the car more slowly and trail after us like zombies. I roll my eyes and open the door, walking right in with April behind me. I turn to see the father of the three kids looking at me, and I don't like the gleam that adorns his eyes. I quickly turn away and scan the house for anything changed. Everything is how we left it. I hear a soft cluck and perk up, racing outside. Dr. Cluckingsworth! There he is, just a few yards away, pecking at the ground. I scoop him up and hug him. He sees me and starts clucking madly, and I guess he's scolding me for being gone so long. I sit down and pet his wings.
"Yeah, I missed you too," I murmur. He rubs his brain against my arm and I pat his head. I hardly notice the strange looks the people are giving me. I don't care right now. The dog comes over and sniffs Dr. Cluckingsworth before barking playfully and lowering his chest to the ground. His tongue lolls out and his eyes shine. I grin and stroke his back. The father tries to call him back with a sharp whistle, but the dog curls up against me and lets me pet his belly. I lay back on my shell and breathe in the sweet smell of the forest.
"Donnie!" April calls. "Stop laying around and come help me!" I roll my eyes and stand up, giving Dr. Cluckingsworth a final pat on his head before strolling past the six people who stare at me. I go inside and help April spread out the dusty medical supplies that she found in the cupboards of the bathroom. I quickly identify each of them, varying from bandages to aspirin, and pack the ones we need. We can't stay here long, just enough to catch our breath and recompose ourselves. I scoop all kinds of canned food from the cupboards in the kitchen and pack them all into a duffel bag that we found in one of the bedrooms. The six people haven't come in yet, so we bring some food out to them. They accept it without a word, but the teenager who first confronted me comes into the house to eat. I have to say, I'm surprised, but it's fine with me. When we all three sit at the kitchen table, stuffing our faces with food.
"So are you really a red eared slider?" The teenager asks with a curious look at me.
"Unless I'm wrong, then yes, I am." April looks amused and keeps eating a can of peaches. The teenager shovels more canned pears into his mouth and swallows before asking another question.
"Are you really a ninja?" I grin and nod. His blue eyes shine with curiosity. "Can you show me some stuff?" I nod again and swallow a mouthful of peas. Mikey would've thrown up just looking at them. Mikey . . . Apparently the teenager sees my eyes darken and he glances at April, seeming to say 'what's up with him?'. She looks at me, and I see concern deep in her blue eyes. I try to stop thinking about my brothers who I left behind, who I left for the zombies. I sigh and rest my chin in my hand.
"What's wrong?" he asks me, probing for answers. I shake my head and look away.
"It's nothing," I mumble. Let him worry, but I'm not about to mouth off about my brothers to this kid yet. I don't even know his name! Or his age! I just guessed he was thirteen years old, no one actually confirmed it for me. I just wish I'd gone back for my brothers, and now I know I might never see them again. Sorrow stabs through me. I miss them so much. I just wish I could go back and get them. And Master Splinter . . . I put on my poker face and start eating again. I finish my can of peas and throw the can away.
"I'll be upstairs," I say, then I run out of the kitchen and up the stairs before they can say anything else. I close the door as quietly as I possibly can and sink to the floor. I miss them . . . I let the tears silently stream down my face and ignore the quiet, muffled talk of April and the kid. He reminds me of Casey somehow. We left Casey too! As much as I hated him sometimes, he was the closest I was ever going to get to a best friend. My mask is soaked by now and I tear it off, letting the tears drip down my face freely. They're probably all dead. I sigh and wipe tears off my face. I just want this to be a nightmare, something that isn't real. My thoughts are interrupted rudely by footsteps coming from the stairs. Yeah, don't mind me, I think. Just crying for no reason here. I know it's not April by the way the footsteps land. Her footsteps are more quick and pattering, so that leaves the kid and the rest of the people we saved. I press my shell against the door. No way am I going to let anyone see me like this. I sound like Raph. This makes more tears tumble down my cheeks. I mute myself as someone knocks. Maybe if I don't answer they'll go away. The person knocks again, louder this time. I lean my head back and close my eyes. Just go away. Check out in a different room. Just leave me alone. The person knocks again. Can't they get the message?
"Go away," I mumble. My voice sounds weak and small. I know it's the kid now by the way he doesn't leave. I can sense him hovering by the door, debating whether or not to listen and go away. I hope he does. I'm not in the mood for some kid to come and try to cheer me up. He stays silent for a long stretch of time before I hear the doorknob turn slowly and he tries to come in. I don't let him. Why won't he just leave?
"Donatello?" his voice asks. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" I snap. Immediately I regret lashing out at him. I put my head between my knees and rock myself back and forth. I just miss them all so badly. The kid is silent for a long couple of moments before I hear him sit with his back to the door and sigh. I let the tears go again, not caring if he hears my cry. I just want to be left alone for maybe a couple years. Then I might consider coming out. I still can't believe I left my brothers. If any of them die, if any of them never make it out, I'll never forgive myself. I stop crying and wonder if I ran out of tears. Maybe, maybe not. I sit still for a couple minutes, maybe hours, before finally dragging myself to my feet and flopping on the bed. I sigh, wondering where my brothers are and if they're alive. I lay there, worrying that we won't make it through the week, much less the month. I sigh and trace the squares on the quilt with my fingers. I wonder if Mikey, Leo and Raph are okay. I hope they are. I don't know how many times I've screamed at myself in my head for leaving them, for abandoning them to help this random man and family I don't even know. I bury my face into the cold pillow and breathe in the fresh scent. I wish I'd gotten to say goodbye, because most likely, I'll never see my brothers again. I slip into sleep, still thinking my loud, worried thoughts. It seems only a moment later I'm jarred awake and see the most unpleasant and terrifying thing a person(or mutant turtle) would ever want to wake up to.
There's a gun pointed right between my eyes.
Cliff hanger(sort of)
Who do you think wants to shoot Don?
And why?
By the way, readers of Rooftops, I kind of postponed it to make this. I was itching to write a zombie story and combine my favorite TV show with it, so here it is.
I'll try to update as soon as possible.
Also, who should the next chapter be about?
Mikey, Raph, Leo or Casey?
Please review your answer!
Thanks!
:D