Chapter Thirty-Four
Where are you?
At April and Casey's apartment, Pandora and Kemeko were watching 'The Lion King' on the TV and both were dancing along to the song 'I just can't wait to be King'
April watched them with a small smile as she sat at the kitchen table sipping another mug of hot chocolate whilst Casey was laying on the sofa, sleeping, he seemed so tired that the boisterous girls weren't annoying him.
"I just don't know how Leo and Raph handle those girls." April thought with a smile "They have so much energy!"
She watched as the girls laughed then sat down when the song was finished to watch the rest of the film.
"Maybe I should settle them for a nap when the films over." she thought "But then again, Splinter and Jake will be in touch to say they found Callum, so I may not need to."
She looked at her cell-phone wondering if Splinter and Jake had been in touch, but found nothing.
They had been gone for over half an hour, but she didn't think they would be that long.
"I wonder what's keeping them?" she thought "Unless they're giving Callum a good telling off for leaving the lair, and in his condition?"
Sipping her hot chocolate, she wondered what the situation was, and she leaned back in her chair.
Mona had confided in her that Callum had been very distant, and barely spoke to anyone unless he was spoken to.
She also told April about his alcohol and drug abuse back in Wisconsin which shocked both her and Casey.
"I feel sorry for Callum." April thought to herself, "But all behaviour is a choice? Did he even think that's what Mona would have wanted? Or even their mother, God rest her soul."
She sighed sadly.
"I do hope he comes round, but with how things have been, I don't know," she sipped her drink again "I can only hope for the best and just hope nothing happens between now and when they have to return to Wisconsin."
But April had no idea of what had befallen the Freeman Boys and Master Splinter.
A strong smell of rotten fish and low tide filled Jake's nostrils as he started to come to.
Blinking his eyes, his vision was blurry, and he soon remembered what had happened. Last thing he remembered was being in that dark smelly alleyway and being confronted by a mutant Cobra and Nile Monitor along with many ninja, he had managed to use his gun and Hun's Uzi to shoot many of the ninja down, yet Cobra had thrown a gas bomb at him and it had knocked him out cold.
Pulling his head up fully, Jake blinked to clear his vision and he saw that he was in some old abandoned boathouse!
He then felt something moving by his feet and he looked down to see few large wet rats crawling around his feet!
He yelped in horror and to get away from the rats, but felt that he couldn't move either his hands or feet as they were bound tightly to a chair he was sitting on!
Suddenly he saw one rat sniffing around him get snatched up!
The rat squeaked in shock and soon a crunch and squishing noises was heard!
Jake looked up and he saw Nile Monitor chewing up the rat in a mess of flesh and bone and drooling venom and bloody saliva.
"Errughh!" Jake exclaimed in disgust resisting the urge to throw up.
"Tasty!" Nile Monitor sneered then Jake heard a girlish laugh behind him and a clawed hand was placed on his shoulder!
"Good sleep?"
Cobra's head was soon seen as she leaned forward over his shoulder and he saw her dripping fangs next to his face.
"Hey! Get off!" Jake cried, he then looked to the side to try and get away from Cobra and saw Callum next to him tied to a chair and still out for the count!
"Callum!" he cried in fear.
"Where are we?" he demanded glaring at the Lizard and Snake.
"Somewhere you can't be found!" Nile Monitor smirked "And no-one can hear you scream!"
Jake glared, then realised he couldn't see Splinter.
"Splinter?" he said "Splinter! Where is he? What did you monsters do to him!?"
Cobra hissed and licked her lips making her venom drip more as well as moved closer to Jake, so close he could smell her breath, and it wasn't pleasant!
"He's all ready for the boss to deal with!" she hissed dangerously, she smirked up at Nile Monitor and the giant lizard moved aside to show an unconscious Splinter tied tightly to a makeshift cross made from wet wood and missing his brown sensei robes.
"Oh Shit!" Jake gulped.
Nile Monitor also smirked and held up the shell-cells Donatello had given them.
"Those turtles and their lizard slut can't save you!" he mocked as he crushed them in his large hand "And by the time they realise what's happened, it'll be far too late!"
Jake felt terrified yet he tried not to show it.
"Fuck you!" he spat.
"Be as defiant as you want boy!" Nile Monitor smirked "The rest of our Venomous Comrades will be here soon, along with the Masters! And then the fun truly begins!"
"Oh boy! I can't wait!" Cobra hissed then giggled like a little girl as she ran her hands over Jake's shoulders and through his hair.
Jake grimaced as he felt Cobra's long nails and held his breath so he couldn't smell her dripping saliva.
"Oh God..." he thought wondering what horrors awaited them when the other Venomous Five turned up, along with their Masters.
He remembered what Mona had told them and he wondered if his sister and turtles would wonder what happened to them or even know where to look for them.
Meanwhile, the turtles and Mona had made it back to the lair.
"I wonder how Jake's been handling the girls?" asked Michelangelo placing a hand on his stomach as he felt it growl with hunger.
"He seemed to be bonding with them well." Mona said "And Callum, I'm pleased to say, despite everything is starting to make an effort, If just a little." she added quietly.
"I'm still unsure about him babe." said Raphael "After everything we've found out, that he's been taking drugs and getting into trouble and they way he speaks to us, he doesn't trust us or anything."
Mona sighed sadly.
"He's right sis." said Donatello "But like you, I want to see the good side of him you knew."
"Agreed." said Leonardo "I hope that he'll find his way again, despite everything that's happened, if it can't happen here, maybe he's found the closure he needs and he may find help back home."
"And knowing Jake, he'll give him a kick up the backside to get there." Raphael commented.
As the gang approached the lair, they noticed how quiet it was.
"Hello?" Leonardo called out "Master Splinter?"
"Jake? Callum?" Mona enquired as she looked around.
"Girls?" Michelangelo said, his eyes scanning the lair.
"Hmmm, sure is quiet here." Raphael said.
"Too quiet if you ask me." Donatello said, he looked at a watch that was strapped to his wrist bands "It's not the time the girls have their naps or quiet time, normally they'd be playing or watching TV."
Mona walked further into the lair.
"Maybe they're all taking a nap?" she asked.
Leonardo closed his eyes as he listened carefully to the silence, trying to catch even the slightest sounds.
"Fearless?" Raphael asked.
Leonardo said nothing but continued to listen.
"There's no life here." he said.
"What!?" everyone asked in shock.
"No-one here?" asked Mona "How can you be sure?"
"Let's check everywhere!" said Raphael "And leave no stone unturned!"
Mona nodded and raced to Jake and Callum's allocated rooms, Donatello went to his Laboratory and Medical room as well as the TV area.
Michelangelo checked the kitchen and bathrooms and Raphael went to the girls bedrooms and playroom.
Leonardo also went to check Splinter's quarters as well as the rest of the lair.
"Master Splinter?" he called "Master? Are you here?"
He knocked on the sliding doors, yet he heard nothing.
Normally he wouldn't think twice to enter his sensei's quarters without permission, but this wasn't normal.
He was sure he sensed there was no-one in the lair, but he needed to be sure.
He slowly opened the sliding doors and at once the smell of incense hit his nose.
"Master?" he called through softly "Sensei?"
But he still heard nothing.
Stepping inside the room, the eldest Ninja turtle looked around, but he couldn't see his master at all.
Sighing he turned back to walk back to the main lair and saw the others were in the centre, all looking worried.
"You were right Leo." Raphael called over "The whole lair's deserted!"
"Yeah! Practically a Ghost Lair!" Michelangelo commented "Ow!" he groaned as he felt Raphael's hand whack him over the head.
Mona rolled her eyes and turned to Leonardo.
"I wonder what's happened?" she asked.
"I don't know." said Leonardo "But it's not normal, I would have thought Sensei would have let us know if he, The Freeman Brothers and the girls would leave the lair, whether we were patrolling or not."
The others nodded.
"Something's not right guys." Donatello said "Really, I got a bad feeling."
"I wonder if April and Casey know what's going on?" asked Mona "They might have gone up top to see them?"
"Would they still be awake around this time?" asked Raphael.
"They should be." said Michelangelo "It's Friday night."
"Well, Saturday technically." said Donatello "It's 12.45 in the morning."
"Lunchtime!" Michelangelo grinned yet he got another slap up the head from Raphael.
"Will you two stop it?" Mona groaned.
Raphael and Michelangelo looked like two naughty schoolboys who had just been told off by their teacher.
"I'll give them a call." Donatello said, frowning at Michelangelo and Raphael.
He held his shell-cell to his ear as he waited for April or Casey to answer the phone.
Before long he heard April's voice.
"Hello?"
"April?"
"Oh Hi Donnie! You okay?"
"Yeah! We're okay April, we just got back from Patrol, and it seems that the lair is desserted, you don't know where Sensei, Jake, Callum and the girls are, do you?"
"What? The lair's empty?" April's surprised voice was heard "That's strange! Well I can tell you that Pandora and Kemeko are with us."
"The girls are with you?" asked Donatello in surprise "Why?"
The other turtles and Mona were confused at what they heard.
There was silence on the other end and Donatello could hear April cursing slightly.
"April?" Donatello asked in a serious tone "What's going on?"
The others frowned and Mona looked worried.
"Jake and Master Splinter came here asking us to watch the kids because Callum left the lair!" April confessed.
"WHAT!?" Mona cried as she heard what April said.
The other turtles saw Mona's reaction and looked concerned.
"Uh oh!" Michelangelo said.
"Idiot!" Raphael growled.
Leonardo just frowned harder.
"Callum left the lair?" asked Donatello.
"Yeah." April confirmed "He left the lair and Splinter and Jake went to look for him, that was like over an hour ago, and they haven't come back...yet."
"Damn!" Donatello said "Okay, thanks for letting us know April, We'll be back in touch, are you okay to still keep watching the girls?"
"Sure Don!" April said "They're watching a movie right now."
"Thanks." Donatello said "We'll call back once we find out were they are." he then hung up his Shell-cell.
"Callum left the lair?" Leonardo repeated "What a dumb thing to do! Especially after everything we warned him and Jake about!"
"Callum! I'm gonna kill him!" Mona hissed "More than likely gone up for a smoke or..." she gasped in exasperation "He's gone to look for drugs! He was on Wacky Baccy!"
"Calm down Mona." Donatello placed his hand on Mona's shoulder "Don't jump to conclusions, there has to be a rational explanation for this!"
"Well standing here yaking and wondering ain't gonna do shit." Raphael said.
"So now what?" asked Michelangelo.
"I'll see if I can reach the Shell-cells." said Donatello taking out his and pressing a button to see if he could locate the shell-cells he had given the Freeman Boys and Splinter.
At once, he saw Mona, and his brother's signals come up in front of him, yet he couldn't locate the others.
"Huh?" he said as he pressed the button again.
"What is it Don?" asked Mona, her heart was starting to beat hard in fear as she saw the expression on the purple masked turtle's face.
"Donatello?" asked Leonardo in a serious voice.
"Their signals aren't coming up." he said "All three of them!"
"You suppose they didn't charge them or something?" asked Michelangelo in a hopeful voice.
"No." Donatello said "Master Splinter, as much as he knows hardly anything about technology, he always makes sure his is charged properly."
Mona's blood ran cold.
"Oh no..." she said "You...you don't mean?"
"If You can get the signals?" Raphael said.
"Then the Shell-cells were destroyed!" Leonardo finished in horror.
Mona placed her hands on her head in terror.
"No! Shit no!" she said "They haven't!"
"And without the Shell-cells, I can't track them!" Donatello finished in dismay.
"Master...the Boys..." Michelangelo said quietly in fear.
Mona gritted her teeth then snapped her fingers before whipping out her Shell-cell and dialling a number.
"Mona?" Raphael questioned yet Mona ignored him and she placed her Shell-cell to her ear.
The turtles watched her worried face and saw her lips move as she mouthed "Come on! Pick up Jake!"
She sighed as she heard Jake's voice-mail.
"Hi, this is Jake, you know what to do!"
"Shit! Jake? Where the hell are you? Please, pick up if you can? Are Splinter and Callum with you?" she hung up and tugged at her hair in stress.
"Jake's not picking up his own cell-phone either!" she said looking flustered.
"I knew something wasn't right!" Donatello said as he looked to the surface "Shit..."
Oh no! The Freeman Boys and Master Splinter are in big trouble! Especially in the hands of two of the Venomous Five! And the others are on their way along with the Masters! And I think you know who I mean!
And the Turtles and Mona have realised that Splinter, Jake and Callum are missing! Will they figure out what's happened? Or are things really going to get bad?
Well find out in due course!