NOTE: I had to completely rearrange my story outline thanks to this chapter. It grew a mind of it's own and decided to go in a direction I certainly didn't plan or see coming. But I like it, and I hope you will too. =)
She half ran to keep up with him through the sewer, stumbling here and there, scraping the heel of her hand on the rough wall. She watched as Raphael jumped through the opening, no hesitation and no need for the ladder. Marlowe knelt at the lip, peering into the brightness below. He wasn't there, at the bottom. He wasn't waiting for her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her nose involuntarily scrunching up from the assault of rot and decay that made permanent residence in the tunnels.
He had been angry on the roof. She understood that. His jaw tightened and his hands had balled into fists after what she told him. How could she blame him? These last weeks he and his brothers had been harboring someone they barely knew, a stranger with a secret that could get them all killed. Voices drifted up to her from below. They were yelling, arguing, and she was sure it was about her. Right now Raph would be yelling to have her kicked out, thrown unceremoniously back on the streets. She was sure Mikey would object, but would the others? Leo might, but his case wouldn't be strong. Donatello wouldn't. The only interest he ever showed in her was for her past.
Images flooded her mind, rocking her back on her heels. Her mother's angel face mutilated in a grotesque mask of terror, eyes struggling to escape their sockets as she stuffed her six year old daughter in the hollow space under a loose floor board in the living room. She could almost feel again the reverberate crack as the front door collided with the wall. Her mother's screams, the heavy thud of unknown footsteps. Then a moment of silence. Sonja wanted to cry out, to call for her momma to take her out of the dark hole and feed the fish with her. But Sonja held her tongue, trusting with her childish innocence that her mother would come for her. Trusting that her mother had a reason for telling her to be quiet.
Marlowe's eyes snapped wide. She didn't want to remember what came next. Mouth working in a silent plea, she spun around, clawing at the ground in an effort to move forward. Slimy, slick things attacked her hands and feet in a conspiracy to keep her from fleeing but she broke free, lurching to her feet and bolting back the way she had come. Leave. She had to leave. Now before she could change her mind. Now before she had to face the accusing eyes of Raphael and his brothers.
Back through the tunnels she ran with no destination in mind other than away. Marlowe would sentence herself back to the streets so the turtles wouldn't have to, so the turtles could get back to their lives. She ran, twisting and turning through the labyrinth beneath New York until white hot claws dug at her sides and her lungs threatened to burst from her chest. She grabbed the nearest ladder and made her way to the top, struggling with the bulky cover. Free of the darkness and the stench, she stood on an empty street corner and let the brisk morning air soothe her aching lungs as she looked around. Down the street was a run down warehouse with most windows boarded up and those that were not staring back with the filmy glaze of the blind.
It would work as a haven for now, she thought. Assuming that no one else held claim to it. If it was occupied, she'd find somewhere else. Simple as that. Arms wrapped around herself, holding her sides, Marlowe made her way down the street. A slow circuit around the building revealed a small single door in the front and several loading docks in the back. Expectations low, she tried the front door and was shocked to find that it opened easily inward. She stepped over the threshold and quietly shut the door.
Little light filtered through the grime covered windows but what light there was revealed mostly empty space. To her left was a little square room jutting out from the corner with a door that had a busted hinge. An office, she thought. To her right and midway along the wall was a hodgepodge group of boxes and crates. Marlowe made her way toward the mess, wishing she could call out and see if anyone was already squatting there. She approached the boxes slowly, letting her footsteps fall heavy to announce her presence. She searched through the boxes and crates, half expecting a grimy man or toothless woman to pop out like a jack-in-the-box. Satisfied that she was alone, she made her way behind the pile. Hunkered against the wall like a bulbous troll was a large tank with many pipes escaping from its top. She approached it slowly and, curious, placed a hand on it's surface. A furnace? What ever it was, she'd appreciate it's warmth once night fell again.
She sat down heavily against the wall and near her heat machine and sighed. The guys were safe now that she was gone. That was all that mattered to her. So why did she feel there was a chasm opening in her chest? And why couldn't she stop thinking about Raphael?
"And you left her out there?" Leonardo said, both shock and anger coloring his voice.
"She was right behind me." Raph replied, waving dismissively in his brother's direction as he traced his steps back to the ladder. "Hey Mar. You comin' down or what?" No response. "Mar?" He called louder. Nothing. "Damn." Up he went, looking around and calling for her again before taking off down the tunnel.
"Raph! Wait up!" Mikey called behind him.
"I gotta find her, MIke. There's a nut job out there that wants ta kill her." He stopped at a junction with one tunnel leading to the left and one to the right. "Marlowe?" He called. "Hey! Marlowe!" His voice echoed back to him, mocking him.
"I know." Michelangelo said. "I want to find her too."
"You can't go wandering the city in broad daylight." Leonardo said, coming to a stop behind them with Donatello in tow. "Sonja's a bright girl. She'll find somewhere to hide for a while."
Raphael took off down the right tunnel, walking fast and scanning the ground and walls. "If she's smart enough, she'll leave the city. I need ta find her before that." He glanced over his shoulder at Leo. "And don't call her Sonja. She doesn't like it." He stopped at a ladder he knew led to service grate down an alley. As he started to climb up, Leonardo grabbed his arm. Raphael's instinct was the shake it off and even slug his brother if that's what it took. But the grip on his arm wasn't very firm and he thought Leo was probably about as worried about Marlowe as he was. "I'm goin' after her, Leo."
"Raph... It's broad daylight in a busy city." Leo said.
"Don't worry Leo." Raph grinned, shaking off his brother's grip and climbing up. "I'm a ninja, remember?"
Marlowe had been squatting in the warehouse for almost a week. It had taken her a couple of days to get used to the gnawing pains of hunger but now she hardly noticed them. Being dirty again, that was something harder for her to get used to. Try as she might, she couldn't keep the dirt from caking in under her nails or covering her clothes. She grew tired of feeling her greasy hair swarming around her face so she kept it tied back with a discarded blue ribbon she found.
She had grown soft while living with the guys and she was angry with herself for that. All along she knew she couldn't stay with them. All along she knew she would end up back on the street. As long as her father was looking for her, she couldn't risk staying in one place too long. The thought had crossed her mind several times to leave the city. She'd thought of California, where her mother had been born, but some how she could never bring herself to leave the city her mother had grown to love so.
Closing her eyes, she leaned against the large furnace and thought of her mother and how her arms had felt when wrapped around her. Not for the first time, she wondered how it would feel now that she was bigger. Her thoughts wandered from her mother to the night she had cried for Murry and Raphael had held her. He had been surprisingly warm and as muscled as he was, his arms had been gentle. Marlowe opened her eyes and sighed.
The turtles were looking for her and she knew it. One night while rummaging through an alley dumpster she had seen a figure leap from roof to roof over the alley. She wasn't sure which turtle it had been but she had a feeling it was Raphael. Raphael... Her stomach jumped when she thought of him, when she thought his name. Her heart thumped faster in her chest when she pictured his face. It was a feeling different from anything she had ever felt. It crept in when she let her guard down, laying in wait to emerge only when the object of those feelings was no longer within her grasp. She had to wonder... Had she fallen in love?
Her stomach gave a half hearted growl, providing her a welcome distraction. She left the warehouse, heading toward a familiar area of apartments where she knew that if she could forage some food, she was likely to get a hand out. People were sympathetic in this neighbor hood. Most were elderly or over worked. They could all imagine how easily some one could misstep and end up on the streets. She wandered down an alley and poked her head over the dumpster. She thought she smelled bananas and began sifting through to see if she could find them.
Something brushed against her ankle and she jumped, looking down. A smile graced her face as she looked into the lively eyes of a grey stripped cat. She was skinny and her fur was matted and bare in places. Marlowe bent down, forgetting about her stomach for the moment, and gently ran her hands over the friendly stray. The cat returned the affection, purring and butting her head against Marlowe's palm. The cat meowed and turned her head towards the alley opening, cocking her head. Marlowe followed the cat's gaze and froze.
A young boy stood just inside of the alley, well dressed with a book bag slung over his shoulder. He had the look of a well bred and wealthy family. She couldn't understand what a well kept boy like him would be doing in this part of town or in an alley. The cat pranced over to him with out hesitation and Marlowe cringed, expecting the boy to take a shot at the poor thing with his shoes. Her mouth dropped when he picked the cat up and cradled her gently in her arms.
"Hello." He said, staring intently at Marlowe. "Is she yours?"
Marlowe shook her head, standing and taking a few steps closer to him. Someone who would pick up such a bedraggled animal with out flinching couldn't be worth fearing. She began to smile in greeting but froze, noticing his eyes for the first time. They were like rounded almonds in shape but it was the color that made her breath stick in her throat. Milky jade. Other than for photographs of her father, she had only seen eyes that color in a mirror. She took a step back just as he took one forward.
"Would you mind if I took her home? I live in a large house with plenty of room. She'd be warm and well fed." He looked down at the cat for a moment and when Marlowe didn't respond, he looked up. "I could bring her by once in a while if you-" He broke off in mid sentence squinting a bit in the dim light. "You have the same color eyes as me. But... Father says that's a family trait."
Marlowe saw his eyes widen just as she turned and fled as fast as she could down the other end of the alley, her hunger forgotten. He called after her but she ignored it. Her mind was racing faster than her legs, thoughts tangling together, tripping over one another. She needed to get back to the ware house, to calm down and think clearer. Her brother... She had a brother. It had to be! She was thrilled and frightened, angry and sick and more feelings she couldn't put a name to. She pushed through the crowds, ignoring the angry cries and threats as she barreled on.
Feeling she would collapse and her lungs would explode, she reached the ware house and fell through the door. She lay on the ground, trying not to think or move as she struggled to catch her breath and slow her heart. After several minutes she pulled herself to her feet and made her way to her box mountain. Safely behind it, she slumped against the wall. She had a little brother. If that little brother told anyone he had seen a girl with eyes like his, she was dead.