Italics - Don's thoughts

Bold - Flashbacks

Chapter 11 (Memories and Injuries)

"Hey, Don? You need to get up," a voice echoed above me. I ignored the voice and buried myself deeper under the blankets.

"Donatello, please wake up!"

Foreign hands were now shaking me. I frowned. I weird sense of déjà vu over came me. "David?" I mumbled into my pillow.

Flashback

I woke up with some one touching me. I whimpered and tried to move away from the curious hands.

"Shhhhh," a voice tried to quiet me. "It's me, David."

David? Do I know a David? I thought, confused. Oh yeah, the doctor.

"Donatello, please wake up," the voice begged me.

End Flashback

"David!" I gasped snapping my eyes open. My deceased friend stood before me; his hands on my shoulders in the process of shaking me awake. Wait, you're dead. How can you be here? "You're dead?"

I began to panic. I didn't recognize my darkened surroundings. My heart sped up and my breathing became erratic. I stared back at the face of my fallen friend. He was now deathly pale and blood dripped from his gaping mouth. Blank, glassy eyes bore into mine.

"Don?" the figure said.

I screamed.

A hand connected with my cheek and my head snapped to the left. I raised my hand to my stinging cheek.

Flashback

Bishop's open palm suddenly met my face. I raised my hand to the red mark that I now adorned. I stared in fright at the angered man above me. "Just because you now look human does not mean I forget what you once were. You are still a freak, an abomination, an accident," he spat. "Do not forget your place."

End Flashback

This new memory flooded my senses. Still gripping my cheek I scooted back to the far corner of my bed trying to get away from Bishop, who's form had now replaced David's. Bishop's signature smirk danced across his face. The lenses of his sunglass glinted in a nonexistent light.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered. "I didn't mean it. I now my place, I know my place," I tired to convince both the man before me and myself that this statement was true. I covered my head with my hands and apologized again, "I'm sorry, Bishop, I'm sorry."

Suddenly hands grabbed me. I tried to struggle but they snatched at my flailing limbs and pressed them against my bed. My moving appendages got tangled in the blankets forcing me to become still. I was unable to move.

Flashback

A guard grabbed me. Another guard caught my fist that I had raised to try and punch the first guard with. These two guards started to drag me to the examination table. I started to struggle like a wild animal, biting and thrashing about. I elbowed one guard in the face but another replaced his hold on me. Fear overtook me.

"No!" I screamed and lashed out again at a guard. Then suddenly pain blossomed on my lower back. I screamed in anguish and fell to the ground twitching. The doctor stood above me with a cattle rod in hand.

End Flashback

"No!" I yelled. I broke free of the set of hands but suddenly more replaced them: grabbing, snatching, hurting. I tried to rip free but couldn't. Another memory seized me.

Flashback

I tried to struggle against the guards' strong hands but my body was not as awake as my brain and moved sluggishly. I was shoved roughly on top of the cool table. I tried to talk my way out of the situation but my mouth couldn't seem to form the words, instead they come out as jumbled syllables. Why can't I move or talk?

My circulation was cut off when the restraints were wound tightly around my wrists and ankles. Once immobile the doctor told the guards to leave. I tried to beg them to stay, to not leave me alone with this sadistic man, but no words crossed my lips.

I stared at the man before me. Fear had completely over taken my mind.

End Flashback

I screamed. Bishop and the three doctors stood above me. The dark-haired male doctor raised a cattle rod. I screamed again and began to struggle anew. The cattle rod met my neck and pain blossomed. After a second or two I blacked out.


The low hum of people talking woke me up. I lay still and listened to the voices, refusing to open my eyes.

"-my fault," I heard Mikey say.

Leo's voice responded saying, "No it's not, Mikey."

"If I hadn't tried to wake him up-"

Raph cut Mikey off, "Or if I din' slap 'im to get 'im out of it-"

"Or if I hadn't grabbed his arms to keep him from hurting himself…" Leo finished.

I could hear the awkward shuffle of feet and someone sigh. After a moment Mikey's voice whispered, "Thank goodness Master Splinter was here to do that Volcan Nerve Pinch thingy on Donnie. I can't imagine what would have happened if he hadn't been knocked out."

More silence.

"I'm goin' ta kill Bishop," I then heard Raph mutter. "I'm gonna kill 'im."

"No you're not Raph," Leo chastised.

"Yeah I am," Raph's voice grew in volume in response. "Did ya see how Donnie was reactin' when he thought I was Bishop?"

"I saw. I was there!" Leo's volume had now matched Raph's.

"Ya coulda fooled me," was the heated response.

"We can't just go and take revenge when Don is still hurt, he needs us to be with him right now. And going out and getting yourself killed will not help matters. You will not go!"

"Is that an order?" I heard Raph snarl.

"It is now."

Fight, I thought. Better do something before they kill each other.

I slowly shifted my position in bed to make it look like I was waking up from my slumber. My bed groaned in protest of my now moving form. My movement didn't seem to be noticed because I still heard Leo and Raph arguing so I decided to bring it up a notch. I whimpered.

The effect was instantaneous. Silence met my ears. I shifted my form again and whimpered for a second time.

I hand reached out to comfort me but I quickly shifted my body away and winced from the sudden contact. The hand withdrew and a voice replaced it. "Donnie?" it whispered.

Trying to make my voice sound as tired and as scared as I could, which wasn't a hard task. I spoke, my voice like sandpaper, "G-guys?"

I slowly opened my eyes to see my brothers standing before me. Leo hovered over me, his hand cradled in the other as if it had been burnt when it touched my shoulder. "Don, are you okay?" he asked me.

I closed my eyes tiredly. Fight adverted, I smugly thought.

My fatigue over took me and I relaxed, allowing myself to sink further into my warm bed. I forgot my brothers were in my room when-

"Don?" Mikey questioned.

"Hmm?" I hummed, not opening my eyes.

"Do you need anything?"

I thought about the question. Food, drink, new bandages… "Bathroom," I mumbled.

Silence.

I cracked my eye open. "Can you help me to the bathroom?" I asked the occupants of my room. My brothers stared back at me, clearly uncomfortable with helping me to the bathroom because of my current human form. I sighed. "You don't have watch," I said rolling my eyes.

"Come on. I'll take ya," Raph grumbled. He pushed passed Leo to be next to my bed. I held out my pale hand so he could help me up. Raph gently grabbed it, evidently afraid he would break me, and helped me get out of bed. With his assistance I made my way stiffly into the hallway toward to bathroom.

"I got it from here," I told Raph as we stopped in front of the bathroom's closed door. He nodded and opened to door for me. I stepped onto the cool tile and made my way towards the toilet.

After washing my hands I painfully made my way back to the door. My old injuries began to throb. With each step I aggravated the healing wounds on the bottom of my feet and the blisters on the souls began to burst. I gasped in pain. After taking a few deep breaths I opened the door to face Raph. He glanced at me when I exited the bathroom. Raph grabbed my elbow and directed me back to my room. Halfway there another blister opened. I tried to contain myself and not make a noise but when another burst I wobbled and gasped. Raph snatched at my other elbow to steady my now teetering form.

Raph slowly lowered me to the floor. "What's wrong?" he inquired, staring at me intensely.

"F-feet," I informed him, squirming underneath the scrutiny of his gaze.

His eyes traveled to my feet that were now oozing blood and puss onto the clean floor around me. I glanced behind me and saw that there was a trail of bloody footprints leading from the bathroom to my seated form on the ground. Raph followed my gaze and stiffened at the sight of the bloody prints. Then, suddenly, without asking, he picked up my crumpled, bleeding body and threw me over his shoulder. I squeaked in protest but did nothing further to complain about the harsh treatment of my body.

After scooping me up he rushed down the hall to my room. Raph burst, unceremoniously, into my room and announced, "Get 'im some bandages."

Mikey quickly ran from the room to get the first aid kit.

"What happened?" Leo questioned as Raph placed me on my bed.

"His feet started bleedin'," was Raph's gruff reply.

Before Leo could ask more Mikey reentered the room with the bandages that

Raph had requested. Leo took them and went to the foot of my bed to examine my feet that Raph was now propping up on an extra pillow. Leo poked a blister on my foot. Pain shot up my nerve endings in my leg to my brain to tell me that that had hurt. I gasped at the pain and tried to contain the tears that were threatening to spill.

"How did you get these?" Leo demanded.

"Burnt them," I said. "Second degree."

Leo gave me a look that said, "I know that's not the whole truth" and began to wrap my feet in gauze. "How did you really get them?"

"He gave them to me."

"Who? Bishop?"

I shook my head, "I don't know his name."

"Why?"

I closed my eyes and lay back on my bed. "So I couldn't run," I whispered.

"That's sick," Mikey said.

Instead of voicing my agreement I simply hummed my compliance.

Leo must have interpreted my fatigued response because once he finished bandaging my feet he said, "We'll go now and let you sleep." He waited for me to reply but I was too tired to. "Call if you need anything."

I heard him usher Raph and Mikey from the room before snapping the door firmly behind him locking me in with the darkness of my room. I shifted to find a comfortable position. Listening to my older brother's advice I then fell asleep.