A/N: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed Chapter 1! It is very encouraging to receive positive feedback from readers. I hope to keep the mojo going strong as I progress through this fic. Also thank you to those who went on to read my other fics and reviewed those!
A/N 2: Revised with corrections.
Chapter 2: The Turtle's Luck
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart pounded hard in his chest and seemed audible to his ears. He willed his body not to shake lest he disturbed the now sleeping infant in his arms. Try as he might though, Yoshi could not ebb the waves of panic washing over him. If the other three turtles were also exposed to the green substance, then surely they had transformed as well. If that was indeed the case, why were they nowhere to be found? Yoshi searched every corner of the alley: behind the dumpster, under trash bags, between the crates. All the while keeping a careful ear for passers-by and ensuring the infant turtle remained calm as he lie in the homemade sling fashioned from old, discarded bedsheets. Yet in his thorough search of every niche, no turtles were to be found – large or tiny.
From around the alley's corner, soft giggles danced through Yoshi's ears, causing them to twitch about. A new wave of panic punched him in the gut. His now larger ears seemed to pick up on the faintest of sounds. Being unaccustomed to his new ability, Yoshi had difficulty gauging the distances between him and any approaching sounds. Therefore he could not time accurately when unwanted strangers would appear.
Kuso!
Yoshi crouched behind the dumpster, peering around just enough to see the alley's entrance without leaving the safety of the shadows. He carefully shifted the child's weight to relieve his aching back. Yoshi was certainly out of practice with the child rearing and, which was more discouraging, out of shape.
"Ooh, how about we hit that new dessert shop?" the giggling woman suggested.
"What new dessert shop?" questioned her date.
"It's called Heavenly Delights. The food critics have been giving it really great reviews though I forgot which street it's on. Ooh! Let me borrow your mobile so I can call my friend who recommended it. Pleeeeease!"
The man sighed and reached into his pocket for his phone. As he pulled it out, he cursed as loose change spilled out and landed on the ground. The coins rolled and disappeared into the curb. The distant sound of metal hitting pavement echoed back up to the street level.
A storm drain!
"Phew!" the man chuckled. "Good thing it was a few pennies and not my keys."
The couple's giggles and chatter faded away as they continued down the street. Yoshi sighed in relief at not only that the people moved on, but he may have finally solved the mystery of the disappearing turtles.
But how do I get to the storm drain unseen?
As he sat back to ponder the situation, Yoshi spied from the corner of his eye the metal plate covering the entrance to New York City's underworld. Like all big cities, the sewer system was nothing more than an underground labyrinth of tunnels. Every manhole cover and storm drain eventually led to the same destination; it was just a matter of finding the right tunnel. In this case it should only be a short walk.
Yoshi carefully repositioned the sling so that the turtle was secured to his back. He crept to the manhole entrance and silently pulled back the lid. Waves of noxious fumes infiltrated his nostrils, immediately churning the contents of his stomach. The smell would have been awful enough for human senses, but this was intolerable for the rat-man's keener nasal passage. He froze, allowing himself to adjust to the fumes and then lowered his body into the hole.
As he attempted to shimmy down the ladder, Yoshi's bare foot slipped off the rung. His arms flexed to brace for the sudden shift in weight as his lower body slammed against the metal. As soon as he found his footing again, he forced his digits to grip tighter, which in his new form was more advantageous as his feet curled around the metal in a way human feet could not. Despite not having rained for several days, the metal ladder was surprisingly slick. Upon closer inspection, he found mildew thickly coated the rungs. Yoshi slowed his pace to avoiding losing his grip again and falling.
Once his feet were firmly on the ground, Yoshi exhaled softly and verified that the infant was still secured safely in place. In a turn in his series of unfortunate events, Yoshi was relieved to find that contrary to his expectation the sewers were not enshrouded in perpetual darkness. In fact, a few dim lamps illuminated the tunnels though the lighting would have been better if several of the lamps had not been burnt out. Despite the inconvenience Yoshi still located the intersecting the tunnel – the tunnel that should have been located under the storm drain in question. As he approached the intersection, faint echoes vibrated off the walls – a mixture of concerned chirps and crying. Yoshi's pace, as well as his heartbeat, accelerated to the sounds. Once he rounded the corner a sigh escaped his lips as his eyes fell upon three oversized turtles. One had all of his limbs tucked entirely into his shell. Another turtle was nuzzling his cheek against a third turtle who was stuck on his back, releasing pained cries. The second turtle finally noticed Yoshi's arrival and peered at him with pleading blue eyes. Stepping closer, Yoshi caught a glimpse of red trails against deep green skin. His heart skipped a beat and instantly fell next to the third turtle.
The little turtle, perhaps the smallest of the four, gripped his eyes tightly shut yet tears spilled unrelenting from the corners. Inspecting the turtle, Yoshi's fears were confirmed – the little one was indeed injured. The upper left corner of his breast plate had chipped with a sizable chunk having been dislodged. Streams of blood trickled from the gash that began under the broken shell to the infant's shoulder. Peering up, the city lights illuminated the storm drain grate. The surrounding wall had begun to crumble through its years of neglect. Because of the progressive deterioration, a piece of a worn out metal that ended in a sharp hook hung menacingly just under the storm drain. Looking back at the turtles, Yoshi concluded that they must have fallen through the grate before the ooze initiated their transformations. Yoshi was unsure how close to the alley's entryway he was when he dropped the turtle bowl or whether he unknowingly flung the turtles over great distance to get them where they were now. What he did know was that regardless of how they landed here, the turtles needed him now. Yoshi carefully untied the sling and lowered the sleeping the turtle to the ground, earning him whimpers of protest.
"My apologies, Little Kame, but your brother is in need of bandaging."
He inspected the sheet for the cleanest portion available and tore off several strips. He folded one strip and pressed it against the length of the gash. The turtle hollered and squirmed under the pained pressure. Undeterred by the turtle's fight, Yoshi used one hand to hold him down as his other began wrapping the more strips around the shoulder and across the width of the infant's chest. As he proceeded to tie the final strip, the turtle's fighting spirit dissipated. His wails softened to exhausted whines and his eyes parted to reveal brilliant green irises. Yoshi reached down and scooped the injured turtle into his arms. He glanced at each of the three remaining turtles. The first one he had found was once again asleep on what remained of the original bedsheet. The other blue-eyed turtle silently studied the giant rat but did not seem to hold distrust of the mutant rodent. The timid one had started poking his head of his shell but was content on keeping his distance.
Yoshi leaned his head back against the cold, slimy wall. Waves of exhaustion beckoned his eyes to close. That was until the tunnel suddenly trembled with the passing of a large truck, blaring its horn while a man screamed a string of curses. His body jolted, jerking the green-eyed turtle's body, causing a round of angry protests to escape his lips. The timid turtle once again retreated back into his shell. The nuzzling turtle scrambled toward Yoshi for cover while the sleeping one….well…kept sleeping.
Yoshi peered down at the blue-eyed turtle now by his side and sighed. "Well what do you suppose we should do now?"
The turtle responded with a slight cocking of his head.
"We will not get much sleep staying here, but where can we go?"
Where to go, indeed? I will not be able to transport them unseen to my apartment. Not that we would have much room to work with, but we would have access to food.
A car pulled up near the storm drain. Doors opened and a few people exited. Laughter echoed briefly through the drain before steadily fading away.
"Oh, New York City, you truly are a city that never sleeps."
I wonder if the tunnel under the alley would offer a quieter refuge.
Yoshi contemplated the best way to relocate all four of the turtles when a nearly overlooked observation forced its way to the front of his mind. The infant turtles were not helpless immobile babies. The blue-eyed one had crawled to him. If they all were at the same developmental stage, Yoshi would have less turtles to juggle. Perhaps he could get the turtles to follow him. After all he was only relocating them a short distance. To put this idea to the test, Yoshi scooted his body down a couple of feet, careful not to aggravate the already agitated, injured turtle. The blue-eyed turtle stared in wide eyed concern at the rat's abrupt departure. Yoshi held out his hand and signaled for the turtle to follow. The turtle momentarily hesitated, but then proceeded to crawl forward. While turtles naturally walked on four legs, Yoshi noted in amazement that this turtle's movement was less terrapin and more human. In fact, the little turtle's knees supported his hind legs' weight with the lower legs and feet trailing behind while his front limbs resembled human arms.
So you didn't only grow in size but your overall physiology has changed.
Yoshi replayed the events of the night and realize he indeed came in physical contact with a rat. Was that briefest of touch enough to leave a genetic footprint from which his mutation resulted? If yes, perhaps the turtles had traces of human DNA between the pet shop employee and himself. That would indeed explain the turtles' more humanoid behavior.
Yoshi snapped out of his thoughts with the sudden plopping of the turtle into his lap. Blue eyes blinked up at him as if asking "what's next?" In response, Yoshi slipped out from under the turtle and scooted down a few feet more. The turtle cut his eyes in annoyance but complied and crawled to him. Then the turtle turned to stare at his timid brother who refused to move an inch. A rumble reverberated through the blue-eyed turtle's throat – almost like a kitten's purr but resembled more like how Hollywood dinosaurs sounded. The timid one finally extended all of his limbs out of the shell and took a few hesitant crawls forward. Confident the plan would work Yoshi stood and gathered up the sleeping turtle. Now juggling to heavy babies in each arm, he continued down the tunnel and turned back into the direction of the alley. The decrease in traffic was evident. No thunder-like rolling of car tires. No shaking walls. No blaring horns. No people. With an exhausted huff, Yoshi sunk down against the walls and repositioned the two turtles he held in a more relaxed position. He laid their bodies on the ground but allowed them to prop their heads on his legs. He carefully turned the injured turtle to his back as to not soil the area protecting the wound. From around the corner came the remaining two turtles. The blue-eyed one upon seeing Yoshi quickened his pace until he crashed into the rat's abdomen. The turtle nuzzled his face into the thick fur before settling into much needed slumber. The timid one took his time. While he mustered enough courage to follow his brother, the largest of the four turtles seemed to be sizing the rat up. Something about the situation played against the turtle's instinct and thus he proceeded with caution. Too tired to coax the turtle into reassurance, Yoshi resigned to closing his eyes and listened to the shuffling of the turtle crawling around. Then all movements ceased. Peering through one half-open eyelid, Yoshi spied the timid turtle lying across from him staring back with the most incredible reddish brown eyes unlike anything he has ever seen. The turtle yawned widely yet willed his eyes to remain open.
The cautious one. I cannot blame you for distrusting me. I failed to protect you all, causing injury to your brother. I hope in time I can remedy the situation and earn back your trust.
With his final thoughts, a wave of exhaustion finally claimed the rat's consciousness and pulled him into the dark recess of sleep.