Michelangelo was startled to discover that Donatello's phone signal would lead them exactly back where they started. When he informed Raphael of the closest address that the location software on his phone recognized, his brother looked just as confused.
"Why would he be back at the dang haunted house he didn't wanna see to start with? It don't make no sense," Raphael proclaimed.
Mike shook his head. "Maybe he dropped his phone when he and Leo had their 'mild' tour."
"Mikey, Don treats his technology like his babies. Do you think the Genius is just gonna drop his phone?"
"No," he agreed softly.
"Me neither. But when we figure out what's going on, someone is gonna get dropped," Raphael fumed.
"Raph, do you think…do you think that blood on the van could be theirs?"
"Don't ask me that, Mike. Don't even consider the possibility yet. Someone's probably messing with us here. You don't see a body dump, do you? There's a good chance this guy is just taunting us. Nobody's dead."
Mike wished he could share his brother's confidence. "We heading back to the haunted house then?"
"Yup. Get out of the car."
"We're not taking the Battle Shell?"
"Heck no, Mikey. The bad guy, whoever he is, already knows about it. Do you wanna drive around with a big sign reading 'come after me next'? No. We're going in on foot so we can get the drop on whoever is behind this crap."
Mike climbed out of the van, finally feeling a little encouraged by his brother's determination. A chill wind greeted him as he set foot on the sidewalk, and he swore the temperature had dropped about ten degrees in fifteen minutes.
The pounding in his head became more pronounced as he trailed just behind his brother. Mike rubbed his temples firmly, but he didn't say anything about the pain. "Don't you think we should call Sensei?" he finally asked.
Raphael sighed heavily. "I don't wanna, but yeah…I guess we have to."
The red-masked turtle paused in his stride to lean against a brick building and drew out his phone. Mike watched him bleakly, wondering how Raphael would choose to describe the scene they'd found to their father. After a few seconds, the older turtle lowered the phone.
"He's not answering, Mike."
The orange-masked turtle fidgeted on his feet. "Should we keep trying?"
Raphael's fist plowed into the building half-heartedly. "I don't know, Bro; I don't know if we can afford to wait! Maybe that note was an empty threat, but then, maybe it was telling the truth. They could be in huge trouble."
Maybe they're already dead, the thought inserted itself in Mike's mind like poison, making him feel worse than he already did. No, he responded swiftly. We don't know that anyone is dead. We're not believing that anyone is dead.
Mike's blue eyes narrowed as he shoved the disturbing thought aside. "I don't want to wait either. Let's go find our brothers."
The two turtles lingered in the shadows outside of the attraction for a full ten minutes as Mike played with the functions of the location software, trying to change the settings to operate as a homing beacon that would lead them directly to the phone, rather than simply an address.
Raphael growled in frustration. "You said Donny showed you how to do this."
"He did," Mike returned indignantly. "I'm getting there, okay? We'll find them."
"Mike, there are too many people in there for us to try tearing the whole house apart. We need that phone. Where is the phone?"
"You're not helping, Raph!"
"Neither are you!"
Mike clenched his jaw angrily, and pulsing in his skull intensified. "I'm doing the best I can!"
Raphael crossed and uncrossed his arms. "Then do better."
He was tempted to tackle his older brother, but decided to ignore Raphael and use his last ditch resort of pushing all the buttons at once. A medium tone sounded and tiny dot began slowly flashing on the screen of his phone.
"What'd you do?" his brother demanded.
"It's Donny's phone. As we get closer to it, the flashing gets faster and brighter," he recited from memory.
"Well, why didn't you do that to START with?"
Mike flicked the tails of his mask with annoyance. "Why don't you shut up and we can try following the flashy thingy?"
The orange-masked turtle took a couple of steps around the right side of the building before his brother could say anything in return, and the flash immediately dimmed.
"What's it doing?" Raphael asked.
"It's not that way," Mike replied. "Let's try the other side."
The two turtles slipped around the left side of the haunted house, with Mike never taking his eyes off his screen.
"You see anything?" Raph pressed.
"Yeah. His signal is definitely getting brighter."
They fell back into ninja mode as naturally as breathing, easily avoiding the notice of other happy celebrators trying to get their "scare" on. The turtles crept alongside the house until they ran into a six-foot tall privacy fence
Raphael scaled the fence first and carefully scoped out the surrounding area from the higher perch. "I don't see no one, Mike." He dropped down to the other side without making a sound.
Michelangelo boosted over the fence into the new space, which was little more than worn patches of grass standing like feeble islands in a sea of dirt.
"You sure this is the right way, Bro?"
Mike turned to look at Raphael. "I'm sure. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but Don made this easy to follow. His phone has to be close by."
Raphael looked to the left and right, then focused on the small structure standing on the edge of the property. "You wanna check that thing out?"
Mike glanced down at his phone and took a couple of steps toward the building. "It's stronger in this direction. We're going the right way."
"Good," the red-masked turtle said gruffly. "If you can get us to Leo and Don, I might just call you 'Genius Junior' once in a while."
"Really, Raph?"
"No. But I won't hit you in the head as much."
"Can I get that in writing?"
"Later, Pipsqueak. We've got brothers to find."
Mike trotted ahead of his older brother, adrenaline surging as he neared the obscure building. There was nothing special about the structure; no identifying numbers or a sign that would indicate a real purpose.
He began looking for a point through which to access the space, and found a door in seconds. Mike tried the handle, and was surprised when the fixture turned with ease. Unlocked. Almost like we were expected. Mike jerked backwards at the thought. Haven't I seen this movie before?
Raphael was beside him in a flash. "What's wrong, Mike?"
"It's unlocked, Raph. This feels really weird."
"Of course it's weird, Chucklehead, but we're still going in."
Raphael drew his sai, and Mike put away his phone so he could carry both nunchucks. The orange-masked turtle held his breath as he followed his brother inside, afraid that his air-intake would be too noisy within the silence that was surrounding the structure.
The interior was dark and felt musty, as though no one had taken any care for the space in years. Why would Donny come in here? Could he have been hiding from someone? Is he still around here? Mike might have called out his purple-masked brother's name if Raphael hadn't grabbed his shoulder.
The older turtle motioned to a familiar-shaped object which was barely illuminated by the faint light passing through the open door. Mike yanked his arm away from Raphael and dashed forward to pick up Donatello's bo. The weapon was in one piece, but it was sticky with a disturbing residue. "Blood," he whispered.
"Probably just means Donny got a piece of the guy," Raph insisted. "He'll be okay, Mikey. You'll see. He and Leo gotta be close by. His bo is here, and his phone—"
As though Raphael had set off a hidden cue, Don's favored ring-tone suddenly filled the air. Mike jerked to look around, and spied the device not five feet from where they were standing. He dropped the bo like it was a live wire and ran to grab the ringing phone.
Mike's hand trembled as he answered the device. "Hello?" He swallowed deeply when the caller didn't respond. "Hello? Donny? Leo?"
The chuckle that sounded in his ear made his heart skip a couple of beats.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"