Blood ran in rivers down his body...the manacles had worn deep grooves into his wrists...and the flesh was imbedded with the corpses of flies that had bitten and stuck...
His shell was beginning to flake ...and crack...his body was eating itself...malnourished... Starved...beaten...cut open...how could he still be alive?
His skin had dulled to a sickly gray instead of green...the only thing keeping him from dying of gangrene was his reptilian immune system...Wasn't it true that crocodiles could survive even the worst wounds without getting infected?
Dimly he remembered a nature program Donny had been watching...he welcomed the memory...Mikey had been working in the kitchen...the smoke from his burnt pizza wafting through the lair...
Splinter had been so angry...the smell of scorched pepperoni hadn't left for days...
Leo smiled...the dried blood on his cheeks crackled like the paint on ancient roman frescoes...
How long had he been here?
The unwelcomed question invaded his mind...he pushed it back and tried to return to the half dream he had been lost in...but that one question wouldn't be ignored...
How long?
Leo tried to remember...at first he had been able to count the days...but he had been unconscious so many times everything had blurred together...his nights were just like the days...and Saki made sure that there was no schedule... Nothing to go by...no way to mesure time...
There was just the white room...the dojo...and the pit...
Leo opened his eyes a little...both of them were swollen...they didn't hurt really...in fact his whole face felt numb...what pained him the most were the two knives that were stabbed deep into his knee caps...
You would think he would have bled to death after all of this...
He almost wished he had...
It wasn't that he wanted to die...it was just the pain was to much for him to bare...his resolve had not lessened...he would never betray his family...but he wished his body would just give up...what point was there to live anymore?his world was one of torment and suffering...and he knew it would only get worse...
Eventually he would die,and his brothers would find what was left of him somewhere...
More pain...more misery...all because of this foul evil monster ...the shredder...
If only he could fight back somehow...he was in the perfect position to strike...but how could he?he was chained like an animal...he screamed out in agony whenever he put pressure on his legs...his arms were numb from lack of blood circulation... How could he fight?
For the first time in his life He was completely helpless...
Suddenly the lights turned on over head ...someone was coming...
Leonardo felt his body shake ...fear tore at his insides and he fought to control it...
The door began to open...
He gritted his teeth together...preparing himself for yet another battle of wills...
Yes during torture he had screamed but only in pain...never had he pleaded for mercy...or begged for death...always the hatred and rage he felt would flicker back to life and burn in his eyes...as long as this happened ,Oroku knew he hadn't yet broken him...
Leonardo knew he still had his honor...
Foot soldiers entered...with them they carryed cattle prods and chains...even now Leo could smell their fear...the first time they had entered, the young warrior had killed two of them ...back then he could still use his legs...
One of them stepped forward to unlock the chains,Leo growled at him,and watched as the man drew back ,reaching for his sword ,they still were afraid...even after all of this...they were still afraid...
