Chapter Six

Leo was up early the next morning, excited about the prospect of swimming. He had slept like a log, not waking once during the night. He couldn't even remember if he had dreamt. It had been one of the best sleeps he had had in a long time. He had awoken at seven, the warm sun spilling golden rays of warmth across his bed. Birds chirped outside, and the inviting blue sky promised a warm day. Stretching, Leo tied his mask around his eyes, letting the warm sun wash over him. Donny was still asleep in his bed, his face peaceful and content in slumber. Leo didn't want to wake him, but he could hear Mikey in the next room jumping up and down on Raphael's bed in an attempt to wake the hot-head up.

"Donny," Leo whispered, shaking his shoulder gently.

"Huh-what?" Don blinked, looking bleary-eyed up at Leo. "Is it time to get up?"

"Mikey has just woken up Raph," Leo explained with a smile. "I thought I'd save you before he came in here and jumped on your bed too."

"Good plan," Don smiled, stretching his arms above his head. "Beautiful day," he commented, looking out the window at the blue sky.

"Should be perfect weather for swimming," Leo agreed.

They made their way down to the kitchen to find an exuberant Mikey already jumping up and down around a still tired Raphael. Master Splinter was sitting calmly at the kitchen table, ignoring his son's bouncing energy.

"Morning guys," Don greeted, giving Mikey a levelled look.

"We're going swimming, we're going swimming!" Mikey chanted, dancing around the room.

"We know," Raphael growled, seconds away from pummelling his brother. "The whole of New York probably knows."

Mikey stuck his tongue out at Raphael, not letting his brother's early morning mood damper his elevated spirits.

"Glad to see you guys are ready," April said with a smile, walking into the kitchen, already packed and ready to go.

"Are you kidding? I've been ready since five-thirty this morning!" Mikey exclaimed, his blue eyes bright with unrelished excitement.

"Yeah," Raphael grumbled, looking like he was moments away from slogging Mikey round the head, "you jumped up and down on my bed, like a child."

"Well, excuse me for having a fun bone in my body," Mikey retorted with a pout.

"Come on guys, let's not fight," Leo cut in, stepping in-between his brothers.

"Leo's right," April added, "it's such a lovely day. I've packed us a breakfast and lunch. Let's go and eat down by the lake."

"That is the most sensible thing I have heard all morning," Master Splinter smiled.

"Cowbunga!"

"Agh, Mikey! What did I say about splashing?"

"Oh lighten up, Raph," Mikey smiled, bobbing in the water. "Live a little."

The day was bright and the turtles' spirits were light. A magnificent azure sky stretched on forever over their heads, not a cloud in sight. The sun warmed the soft grass and dappled the crystal water. An old oak tree provided cooling shade on the edge of the lake, where April and Master Splinter were lying with contentment on a spread out picnic blanket. The four turtles and Casey had been quick to jump into the water, and were now happily swimming around.

"You want me to live a little?" Raphael growled, though a smile curled his lips. "Fine." Propelling himself through the water, he launched himself at Michelangelo, grabbing him and pushing him under the water.

"Ahhh! No, Raph!" Mikey squealed as he was pushed under the water.

"Be careful with him, Raph," Donnie called out. "He's delicate."

"Ah, children, you two must be so proud," Casey joked as he lazily swum past Leo and Don.

"Trust me, at times I think they are children," Leo shook his head.

Casey chuckled and continued to swim further out into the lake. The water was nice and cool without being too cold. It felt great to unwind, and going for a swim on a beautiful day with his best mates, Casey couldn't think of a better way to get some much needed rest and relaxation. He only hoped that the turtles were as relaxed as he was. They needed it more than he did, especially after what had happened with the demon.

Casey was about to swim back over to the shore to grab a bite to eat, when he felt something grab his ankle.

"What-ahh!"

Casey waved his arms wildly as whatever had grabbed him suddenly pulled him under the water. A stream of bubbles raced past his face as he was dragged further and further towards the depths. The water grew murky and dark; Casey couldn't see what had a hold of him, but whatever it was, it was strong, very strong. He reached down, blindly trying to free himself from whatever held him by his ankle. His chest started to hurt, and Casey realized with a jolt of fear that he desperately needed oxygen.

He couldn't tell which way was up or down. He was going to drown.

Strong hands suddenly grabbed him under the arms and started to pull him up. Casey broke the surface with a gasp, desperately sucking in the much needed oxygen.

"Casey! Casey, are you ok?"

Casey blinked water from his eyes, Raphael materializing in front of him, his eyes wide with fear and worry.

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay," Casey coughed, his body feeling suddenly drained of energy.

As if sensing this, Raphael swum forward and wrapped his arm around Casey.

"Thanks bro," Casey murmured.

"What happened, Casey?" Leo asked, concern evident on his features.

"I don't know," Casey said honestly. "One moment I was swimming and the next something grabbed me by the ankle and pulled me under."

"There aren't any alligators in here, are there?" Mikey asked, his voice turning into a frightened squeak as he scanned the water around him, looking for any signs of alligators.

"No, Mikey, there aren't any alligators in here," Don sighed, swimming into view. "In fact, there's nothing in here but a few small species of fish."

"Than what grabbed Casey?" Raphael demanded.

"This," Don said, holding up a long green weed. "I unwrapped it from around your ankle. You must have swum into a deep patch of pond weed and got your foot caught," Donnie explained. "When you struggled the weed got tighter."

"Few, that's a relief to hear," Mikey sighed, obviously glad there were no alligators.

Casey shook his head in disbelief, his heart still racing wildly in his chest. Raphael noticed this, and a look of concern flashed across his face.

"Casey, you sure you're okay man?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Casey assured him. "It's just..."

"Just what, Case?"

"It didn't feel like pond weed," Casey confessed. "What grabbed me, it felt like a hand."