Chapter 3

-All Alone… Or Not

A whole boring week had passed in the hospital since that terrible night in the rain. Rina was being dischared today and was going to have to get sent to a foster home.

'Now to put my plan into action!'

The nurses unhooked her from cords and cables and got her things. She got dressed and sat in the wheel chair that she didn't need. Rina was to be taken to her house to get her things by a woman called Ms. Stemmer and then sent to a foster home. Only she didn't want that.

When they got to her house Rina nearly broke down. This house held so many memories of her parents. Besides them she had no other family to go to.

Rina ran into the house and wasted no time in grabbing her old backpack and placing her most prized posessions in it. She grabbed photos and toys. She even grabbed her toy tabby cat that had been a present from her mother when she was six. They never owned a pet.

Rina had been planning this for a week

When Rina was finished packing she heard the nose of footsteps on the porch. Rina froze and tried not to make a sound.

"Rinalpha? Are you ok in there?" Rina recognized Ms. Stemmer's voice.

She didn't answer and slowly made her way over to her bedroom window. She pushed it open, grunting and threw her backpack to the ground of the two story house. She climbed out the window and slid down the awning landing on the flowerbed. Recovering Rina grabbed her bag and ran. She ran as fast as she could. Being part of the track team gave her an advantage.

She was about a block away when she heard Ms. Stemmer calling her to come back, even threatening her. But she didn't look back, not once. As she headed into the unknown city beyond, she felt free.

Rina finally started to get tired as she trudged into the city of Manhhaton, far away from her home in Brooklyn. She soon found what she was looking for. An old abandoned house near an old a dead allyway. Rina smiled and walked into the house through a broken window. She hissed with pain as the broken glass dug into her skin leaving scratch marks on her hands. She tummbled into the house and looked for a place to live. She soon found a child's bedroom with a bed on it.

Rina dragged herself over to the bed and collapsed on it gratefully. She knew that the room would need cleaning if she was going to live here forever and she didn't know what she would do when her alowence money ran out but that could all wait for tomorrow. Right now Rina just wanted to dream about her parents peacefully living in the afterlife.

Rina woke up early to the sound of her stomach growling and her great thirst.

She groaned as she reluctatly got up and put her shoes on. She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and Rina knew that she had to go to the store… wherever the store was.

She grabbed her allowence and climbed out the window again, the glass reminding her that she needed to get some gauze for injuries.

For about an hour Rina walked the streets blindly looking for the store until she gave up and went over to a young woman about her age waiting at the bus stop.

"Excuse me." Rina said politly, "Could you please tell me where the nearest grocery store is?"

The teenager put down her newspaper and looked up at the young girl.

"Sure. You just keep going down this street for ten blocks, turn left and walk for another five, and then turn right and walk till you see it."

"Thanks miss!" Rina pulled out her charming smile that everyone loved so much.

"May I ask you you're name young one?"

"My name is Rina." Rina smiled. Maybe she had made a new friend.

"Well that's quite a nice name isn't it?" Rina suddenly rethought the friend idea as the strange girl got up and walked towards her, reaching into her pocket.

"Well it was nice meeting you but I think I'd better go, my parents will be waiting." She lied as she turned to run.

Rina felt a tight grip on her shirt and looked up fearfully to see the girl holding her tight, "Oh I don't think you're parents are waiting since you don't have any anymore!" The girl pulled out a needle and began to pull her towards him.

"How do you know I have no parents?" Rina started to panic, she hated needles! In fact she was terrified of them!

"Because I heard it from my old friend." She said evily, "Come now Rinalpha. Master Shredder is waiting."

"Shredder?!" That was the last thing Rina said as the strange girl injected the substance into her. Everything went dark.