Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT and the song titles belong to Evanescence. I own Ayla and Michel A. Griffith though…
Chapter Six: Hello
Raphael cursed as he scanned the empty apartment room. They came to investigate in the morning hoping to find something when the room is not too dark. However, nothing seemed to change. His vigilante friend sneezed behind him and he heard the man sniffled. The red banded turtle marched toward the grandfather clock, it wasn't moving and it wasn't even ticking.
The turtle was getting frustrated, they have nine more days left until the Friday 13th and still they haven't found a single clue about Ayla and the apartment. And another bad news is that his brother had a new mark on him. It was like God for once was against them, not that he believed in God.
'Yo, what're we lookin' for again?' asked Casey Jones, looking around.
'Clues… anything out of the ordinary,' replied Leonardo as he scanned the floor and walls, staring at every pattern visible to his eyes.
'Are ya sure ya couldn't find anythin' about this apartment?' asked Raphael.
The vigilante shrugged, 'Not much, they said the documents about this here apartment were burnt ta crisp when the warehouse which keeps all the files and documents of the apartments in this area was burned down five years ago. The police suspected arson but the case was never solved.'
'The only information April and I got is that this here place used to be an orphanage before it was turned into an apartment. Then everybody moved out ten years ago when it was reported that this here place is not safe to stay because of the weak construction.'
'If it's been empty for ten years, why hasn't it been demolished?' asked Leonardo.
Casey raised a brow, 'You askin' me?'
Raphael froze, 'Hey, did ya hear that?'
'Hear what?'
'Shh! I heard it too,' said the blue banded turtle.
The turtles prepared themselves for anything bizarre to happen again. Casey's ears perked when he heard a soft tune, like from a music box. The trio looked at each other before walking off toward different direction to look for the source of the tune. Raphael paused when he heard a creak, he let out a startled yelp when the floor under his feet broke and he fell.
'RAPH?!' cried both the Fearless Leader and the vigilante concerned.
The red banded turtle groaned as he pushed himself up from the debris of wood and dust. He blinked his eyes rapidly, 'What the shell?'
'Raph! Are you okay?' asked Leonardo.
'Yeah. Hey, Leo. Get yer shell down here!'
The blue banded turtle jumped down the hole followed by Casey who landed ungracefully on the level below. The Fearless Leader's eyes narrowed at the sight. The walls were covered by strange symbols and writings, in red paint. But what caught their attention the most was the huge eye drawn on the wall, it seemed as if it was staring at them.
Casey gave an involuntary shudder, 'Whoa…'
'What do ya think?' asked Raphael as he stood beside his brother.
'I'm not sure… but it looks like some sort of spell.'
'Umm, should I take a picture of it for Donnie and Ape ta investigate?' asked their bulky friend.
The red banded turtle smirk, 'Well, look who's prepared.'
'Hey, we hafta bring something back don't we? Or Ape will kill us!'
Casey took out a small camera and began taking pictures of the wall. Leonardo approached the eye and stared at it. The longer he stared at it, the stronger the strange feeling he felt. He shut his eyes and tried to understand what the feeling was and he felt anger, fear, sadness and hatred. The whole room was surrounded by negative energy and it was suffocating. His eyes snapped open when he realized his brother was calling out to him.
'Are ya just gonna stand there all day? Lets get movin'. There has ta be more clues in the other rooms.'
The blue banded turtle sighed and turned to follow his brother and their friend. None of them noticed the ghostly figures of various ages of students who stood close to the wall with the eye. They stared at the intruders with solemn eyes, 'Su pleh… su pleh…'
Michelangelo stared at his bandaged wrists. Ever since he got 'marked', he no longer has nightmares about people, children, dying in horrifying ways. Instead, he's been having dreams about Ayla and the boy called Michel. In most of those dreams, he was seeing through Michel's eyes.
Michel fell on his knees in the alleyway, gasping for air. He looked over his shoulder warily for his pursuer and was glad that he lost them. He slowly got up with a hand supporting him against the wall. He cursed under his breath, 'Man, I hate this job!'
'Hello there,' said a voice.
Hs eyes widened and when he looked up, he saw the muzzle of a gun aimed at his forehead. He stood still and stared at the man with short jet black hair and a Purple Dragon tattoo on his left face. The man smirked smugly, 'Give me the stuff Griffith.'
'Eheh, what stuff?' asked the teenager innocently.
The man scowled, 'Don't play games with me kid. Give it to me!'
Michel pointed at something behind the man and made a shocked expression, 'YOU?!'
'Huh?' asked the man as he turned around. The teenager took his chance and ran the opposite direction. The man realized he'd been tricked and with a growl ran after the teenager. The dark haired teen need not to look back, he just ran as fast as he could.
Michel couldn't help bun grin with excitement. Adrenaline was pumped into his blood stream and he sped up a bit. He exited the alleyway and stopped. The man slowed down and smirked, 'You're not getting away from me!'
The teenager grinned, 'You know why they call me the Prince of the Streets? Cuz this here is my territory! See ya!'
'Get back here!' said the man as he tried to grab the teen's bag.
Michel vanished into the crowd of people walking in the New York streets. He zigzagged through the mass of people without bumping into anyone and while he's at it, he pick-pocketed people randomly. He kept his senses high to make sure he was not followed before he stepped into a random alleyway.
'That was way too ea-' He froze when he met face to face with a pale girl whose face was hidden by her long dark hair, she was wearing a preppy school uniform underneath her navy jacket but he got a glimpse of her school emblem.
'Do you have it?' she asked softly.
The teenager blinked, 'Huh?'
'Do you have the book I wanted?'
'Oh… you mean this book?' asked Michel as he slipped his hand into his bag and pulled out a black book decorated with golden letterings of unknown origin.
The girl smiled, 'Thank you. I thought I'll never see this book again…'
'What's so great about that book anyway?'
'That's my little secret. Now, as for your reward.'
'Don't need it. Not necessary,' said Michel as he waved his hand. The girl grabbed his wrist and he stared at her oddly.
She shook her head, 'No I insist.'
Michel tried to pull himself free from her iron grip, 'Hey, I gotta be somewhere. So, could ya let me go? Pretty please?'
A blush crept onto his face when she intertwined their fingers and kissed his hand with her surprisingly cold cherry lips, 'If you have someone you hate, I will help you eliminate him.'
'Huh? Look, I really gotta go now. So…'
The girl released his hand, 'I am Ayla, remember that.'
'Uhh… okay. I'm Michel Griffith.'
'A pleasure to meet you, Michel,' said Ayla as she tucked her hair behind her ears. Michel blinked at the sight of her crimson eyes. He'd never seen eyes like those before.
Michelangelo looked up and stared at Ayla, 'You're here…'
Ayla smiled, 'Hello Michel.'
'Who are you?' asked the turtle.
'You already know who I am, Michel.'
Michelangelo's eyes narrowed, 'No I don't. I'm not Michel, I'm Michelangelo.'
They stared at each other in silence until Ayla suddenly vanished from his sight. The turtle let out a sigh. He turned to his pet cat when the orange tabby entered the room. Klunk's eyes narrowed as it stared at the empty spot where Ayla was moments ago.
'Ayla wake up!' said a brunette with curly locks.
Ayla moaned as she opened her eyes. She pushed her face off the book she slept on and scowled at her friend, 'What is it Lily?'
Lily fidgeted and didn't say a word. The young witch looked up and held back a curse when her eyes met the scrawny old librarian's disapproving glare. The old woman shook her head, 'This is not a place for napping Miss Sinclair.'
'Yes ma'am…' she replied grudgingly.
The old woman stuck up her nose and walked away, her high heels clicking on the tiled floor. Ayla groaned and slammed her forehead on the book, 'Aww man…'
'What's wrong with you Ayla? You've been acting strange lately. Are you sick?'
'No. I'm fine. Just… fine.'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes.'
Whooopy! A new idea just popped up in my head about Serph, the ghost that possessed Klunk! Well, I haven't decide to use it though... might have to re-think and re-plan everything all over again!! As usual, R & R! Arrrrrrr...
