Day 1:
My head was pounding as I tried to recall what had hit me. Every inch of me felt as if Rocksteady had plowed me right into a brick wall.
"Ugh." I moaned as I stretched my neck slowly.
The room I was in was darker than a cloudy night, colder than one too. The cold pricked at my skin until I shook. It was no worse the the sewer tunnels in the harsh winter, but at least in the tunnels I could eventually find my way back to our warm home.
Icy Iron shackles kept me dangling from the wall almost too dramatically. No matter how hard a thrashed they held fast.
I hope my bro's got far enough away before I was caught. Tears formed quickly at the thought of them being captured. No, they got away I know they did. I watched every enemy carefully to make sure none followed them.
'They probably searched for them after chaining me up.' I thought sadly.
'But they didn't find them. They couldn't have; I bought them enough time.' I cried to myself.
I wonder if I'll ever see them again. My brothers, my father, my friends. Are they looking for me? Or am I just a fading memory now? Tears stream down my face at the thought. They've never abandoned me before, so they won't now.
I grin to the darkness, "Now I just gotta survive whatevers gonna come." I say to no one.
In this cold unforgiving cell I have no means of keeping track of time. It had felt like an eternity by the time my captors had decided to come see me. I heard them coming, their footsteps loud on the stone floor. It was almost a relief to hear them, the silence of the dungeon was driving me insane.
I heard a key click into place and then I was blinded by a simple light bulb once they opened the door. With squinted eyes I stared at the monster in front of me. As per usually he resembled a cheese grater only uglier. His pets loomed behind him-how he gets a cat and a dog to get along is beyond me.
Without uttering a word Shredder marched up to me and punched me on my jaw. My head snaps to the side by the force of his hit. I could feel the blood dripping from my mouth.
"That the best you got?" I taunt-truly a bad idea. My mouth is dry, how long has it been since I had a drink?
He turns away from me, "Your family had escaped thanks to your idiocy and now I have exactly what I needed."
He spun on his heels, landing a fist to my stomach. I bit my lip as pain swelled in my lower abdomen. "Scream for me turtle!" His gruff voice demanded as he landed another hit to my ribcage. I sucked in a sharp breath, but didn't scream-I don't want to give him the satisfaction.
"So that's your plan huh? Torture until I talk? I thought you'd get a bit more creative." I distracted.
I had already narrowed it down to a few possible plans; torture being the best of them. Based on what his end goal is I figured he was going to either torture me until I talked or use me as bait to lure out master Splinter and my brothers. My family will come for me eventually, that I know. But they will come on their own terms, not his. And until they come I will do my best to escape or die keeping them safe.
"Tell me where your family is hiding." Shredder demanded.
I looked up to meet his eye, "Yeah...I'm not really a big fan of that option. What else ya got?"
Pain flared up in my hand consuming my body and mind; I let out a sharp gasp. Shredder was uncomfortably close to my face, one arm raised up to keep his gauntlet blades piercing through my hand. It was then that I really realized the severity of my situation. Looking into his eyes I saw a monster. I clever monster with a plan to destroy everything I hold dear. Shredder is not stupid like his henchmen; I cannot simply outsmart him. At that moment, as my blood dripped down the length of my arm, I knew whether my family come or not I was not making it out of here alive.
With his hot breath on my face he spoke, "I will make it very simple for you turtle. Either you tell me where Hamato Yoshi is and I will make your death quick and mostly painless. Or I will visit you every day, torturing you slowly, never giving you a chance to heal until you body begins to rot while you're still alive. And I will never grace you with death; I'll leave you to suffer for as long as it takes to break you." he grins at the thought. "So what will it be?"
My eyes widen at his threat as white hot tears threaten to fall. Maybe I could buy some time and lie about my family's location? No that could backfire too easily. Telling the truth was a big fat no and on top of my options: I am not ready to die.
He's slowly moving his blade side to side,expanding the wound. This pain is nothing compared to a few passed injuries I have had. I breathed to expel the pain as master Splinter has taught us; it still tingles but ultimately it worked. I move my fingers just to make sure I still can. I truly believe that I have a naturally high pain tolerance hence why I almost always get back up faster than my brothers. With the combination of that and the breathing techniques there's only one option for me.
"Option two sounds pretty fun! I'll go with the rotting flesh, torture of never dying." I say with the biggest smile I could muster.
Shredder swiftly retracts his blade only to run the tip if it from my wound to my shoulder. I hold onto Splinters lessons.
He shouts angrily, "You will come to regret your choice real soon!" He turns to leave. As the door shuts behind him I hear him shout "No food or water for three days!"
What did I get myself into?
Day 5:
Well a good week has passed now...I think. Shredder made good on his promises, even going above and beyond them at some points. I went the full three days without food or water, but not a day without some kind of pain. It started out as punches and cuts only to escalate rather quickly to stabbing and bone breaking.
If I could see myself would I even recognize my own face? I could feel how swollen my body was. My thumb, witch he had broken earlier today, was unbendable. The hole in my hand from the first visit still bled if I tried to stretch my fingers. My mouth tasted like metal and I would be in shock if none of my ribs were at least cracked by now. By far the most painful wounds were those left from the shackles. Thought not deep, the wounds were definitely irritated and the shackles were always there to make it worse.
Shredder personally came to visit me twice a day; always getting more creative with his sadistic methods. He wants me alive so now and again he pours rubbing alcohol onto my wounds- usually only to give me a new one shortly after.
I grit my teeth in pain. My tolerance is running out; the pain is constant, never letting up even when I sleep.
I wonder how Donnie would have handled this situation? I think as the pipes in the walls come alive with running water. I sigh to myself, he'd have gotten out by now. They all would have. 'Except for me of course.' I cry as ice cold water pours over my body. I begin to shiver almost instantly. Once a day I get to 'shower' for a solid twenty minutes. This 'shower' will either be ice cold or scolding hot, most of the time its cold.
"Why haven't they rescued me yet?" I sob to myself. I felt cold and alone and abandoned. I know they didn't abandon me, but I need them now. I wanted to feel Raphs surprisingly gentle fist against my shoulder when I say something stupid, I wanted to hear Donnie's nerdy voice explaining things I don't understand, I wanted Leo to hold me through this nightmare.
I continue to cry through the rest of the shower and for a short while afterwards. Only stopping when I heard footsteps outside my prison.
The door swing open to reveal tigerclaw, "You're coming with me."
Day 8:
I spend the nights in my cell, no longer shackled to the cold stone wall. During the day they give me a chance to fight. They drag me into a dojo and there I remain from sun up to sun down for any foot members to see if they can best me. Of course I'm given no weapon, but I have won a few rounds usually earlier in the day before they exhaust me. Between my injuries and sore muscle my body protests every move I make, yet I fight on to the best of my abilities. I am surviving for now.
Day 10:
God damn in! I failed! I was nearly free and I failed! Today I went up against the Shredder himself. The price of my freedom on the line. The door was open behind him letting in a nice breeze. He told me that if I could get out that door I was free to go.
I should've known it was a trick. But I was so desperate for fresh air, so desperate to be free, to return home. I was so stupid! I ignored my foe entirely, only focusing on getting out the door. That was my mistake. I could bounce around Shredder all day any day with the exception of right now. The passed four days were spent wearing me down, tiring me out for this moment. They knew that in a fight I wouldn't stand a chance, but my dodging skills were impeccable. Normally I am the fastest in my family, rivaled with master Splinter himself, but not now.
I was sluggish and my movements were sloppy. My muscles ache as I felt my week old wounds rip back open. For the most part I was doing good, with the exception of a few close calls here and there. The door was soon mere feet away. But this was his torture of today.
I did escape and he caught me just as I could feel the fresh air hit my lungs. But I fought, I fought and cried as he gained the upper hand, it hurt. The pain unimaginable, he snapped my arm like a twig and didn't stop there. Throwing me to the ground he kicked me until I flew across the room, landing again pathetically close to the open door.
He laughed as I crawled desperately to the only escape I had. He let me taste the freedom before pulling me back by my broken arm. I cried harder! I can't go back! No, help me! Anyone! Leo, Raph, Don! Papa! Please save me!
Day 15:
I accept that my family hasn't been able to save me. Be it from wounds the sustained during their escape or simply that they didn't want to. I was alone. I was going to die alone. I was done fighting the fog that clouded my mind.
With that mentality in place, I didn't struggle when they roughly dragged me from me cell by my broken arm. Nor did I fight them when they secured me to a chair with my broken arm painfully extended. With my hand flat on the metal armrest the crushed my fingers one by one with a hammer. Pain radiated up my arm as the fog took over my mind. I bit my tongue to keep the screams at bay.
I looked to the sky lights, wanting to look for shapes in the clouds one last time. Remembering the good old days that now seemed lost in the passed. The sun was rising with a powerful orange color that overtook the room.
'I am their sunshine' that's what they all said to me when illness nearly took me a good three years back. I remember letting this same fog calmly taking over me, ready to meet my end. Death has never scared me for I know it's a part of life. Those three years ago I was too tired to keep battling the poison that had taken over my bloodstream. I had no control over that though, I had just laid there hoping that the antidote Don whipped up would work. There was nothing I could do. Much like now.
The foot clan gathered around me, watching with eager eyes to see if today was my final day. I was to in awe at the sunrise to care. I wonder if the sun ever wants to stop burning? To have such immense responsibility as to keep an entire planet alive must be tiring. I couldn't help but smile. The sun glowed my favorite color as Shredder sauntered towards me. Again I paid no mind to him finding the sun almost to inspirational to look away from.
I felt the pain of someone holding my arm by the wrist and closed my eyes unwilling to watch what they were doing. The orange sunlight lit up my eyelids and suddenly the will to live floods back into me...a little too late.
Something heavy and jagged clamped down onto my broken arm. I could feel the blood spitting out from the fresh wound. Everything slowed down in that moment as my eyes flew open. My heart pounded painfully in my chest when I see a bear trap clamped onto my elbow. My screams were muffled by my dry throat.
No amount of breathing was going to make this pain lessen, so I took it and fueled myself.
"Tell me where your family is and I will end your pain right now." Shredder bargained.
I gathered the blood that was dripping down my throat and spat it into his face, "You'll have to kill me."
A manic laugh broke through Shredder's mouth, "Oh Michelangelo, but I can cause you so much more pain when you're alive". He plunged his blade through my bicep and I bit my lip to keep from crying out. "You think you're being brave?! You are foolish! You. Will. Break!"
"Not before you." I half grinned. I will gladly accept my death as long as Shredder loses.
Fueled by rage from my comment, Shredder lifted his armor clad first high above my head and brought it down to meet my skull with a sickening thump. The fog spread quickly through my mind, trying to banish the pain.
"Get away from my son!" A familiar voice commanded.
The sound of a battle filled the air around me, blades clashing. Was I finally being saved?
"Guys?" I whispered before giving in to the dense fog.
