Chapter 13
Chapter 13
April realized she's been in tighter places than this. But to be on her hands and knees for a good length of time with the backside of a mutant turtle in her face was definitely uncomfortable.

"This air ventilation is our only entrance." Splinter said from the front. "We must slip through without being seen."

"I feel like we're in the fun house of Coney Island. Mike, don't stop like that."

"Huh?" Mike paused just as April's head bumped into his rear. "Hey!"

"Sorry, Mike! This is too close for my comfort."

"Mine too, dudette. Mine too."

"I dunno know about you, but I'm enjoying my view." Raph's voice echoed from the back. Kate blinked to that comment, discovering that her Levis logo on her butt made contact with his eyes.

"Would that explain why you wanted me to go in front of you?"

"Hey, someone has to cover the rear. And speaking of which-"

"Raph! Don't you ever take your work seriously?"

"All the time." He spoke with a grin.

"April, think you could speed it up?"

"Sorry, Kate. My knees are bothering me. I need to stop here for a minute."

"Me too, April. Whew!"

April and Kate abruptly paused within the tight area of the air duct. Michaelangelo crawled forwards and rested up against the wall. It was so hot and stuffy inside the small ventilation room, everyone was sweating bullets from the added winter clothing.

"Shouldn't one of us have waited outside for Leo? He may be trying to find us." Mike glanced down to his communicator.

"I've gotten no word on him. You?" Raphael twitched his head to April.

"I..." April breathed heavily. "I was talking to him before those forest rangers approached us. Raphael frowned to her when she said that. "I tried to call him back but he didn't respond. I'm worried about him. And Shadow."

"Michaelangelo, this way." Splinter motioned Mike to follow him. Mike nodded and left April's side.

"Right, sensei...."

"Hope we find Casey and Don too. And end this nightmare of an evening. Right, Splinter?" She noticed Splinter and Michaelangelo weren't in front of her anymore. In a panic she started to crawl forward, looking left to right. "Splinter? Mike? Where'd you-" Two hands reached up from a square opening below, startling her. "Eeek! Mike! How'd you get down there?" She heard him quietly giggle.

"Sorry. Should have given you a warning. Didn't mean to startle ya!"

"You're a bit late for that!" She groaned.

"Splinter found an open vent. Come on. Let's get you guys out of this claustrophobic space."

Mike didn't have to say it twice. April slid over on her stomach and took his hands, feeling herself get pulled down into a cool, wide-spaced room. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she was lowered onto some stacked boxes before finally climbing down to the solid, cement floor.

"Thanks, Mike." Next, she turned and pulled out the communicator from her pocket. He watched her carefully. "I'll try Leo's line one more time." Mike nodded to her. "Leo, this is..." She swallowed and wiped her brow. "This is April....are you there?"

Leonardo carried his niece up the side of the hill to the first trail. The path was slippery from the new fallen snow but he was not about to wait down below and have her die without a fighting chance. Her body was limp and unmoving in his arms as if she were dead already. He couldn't hear a breathing pattern but was relieved to see her chest rise and fall. It was breathing nonetheless and that's what mattered to him the most.

"You're going to be alright, Shadow. I know it." No response. He glanced down to her face. She looked like a sleeping porcelain doll; a vision he had never seen in his whole life until now. So young and so fair was this creature. A gift sent from the heaven's above. She did not deserve this punishment.

Leonardo reached the top where his legs felt like they had just pulled 200 pounds of lumber. It was a steep, slanted hill of snow, small patches of grass, and tiny jagged rocks. The rocks would explain how the skin had ripped off from the tiny palms on her hands. A pathetic beeping noise came from his belt. Leo groaned and paused to collapse on the bed of snow. Shadow limply slid back on and off his lap like a teeter-totter. The communicator begged to be answered while Leo situated the child accordingly.

"Don't move." Shadow said nothing. "Leo, here."

"Leo? It's me, April. Where are you?"

Leonardo glanced around. "Same place I've been for the past 6 hours. Shadow is with me-"

"Shadow! You found her!"

"Yes, I did." He swallowed. "But, I regret to inform you that she's been hurt."

"What? Dear God, no! How bad is she hurt?"

"Um...all I can say is, she is in desperate need of medical care."

April clenched a fist and yelled silently into the walkie talkie, occassionally getting shushed by the others around her.

"What?!! What do you mean you can only say that?! Dammit, Leo! That's my little girl out there for Christ's sake! I want to know how she is! Don't you dare be hiding anything from me!" There was a long, silent pause on his end. That worried her into thinking she said something out of turn.

"Of all the years that we have known you, April...I would NEVER hide anything from you." He gritted his teeth tiresomely.

"Then, what is it?" She whispered softly. "What's wrong with my baby?"

Leo sighed before speaking. "It's hard for me to know what is wrong with her. I only know what I see." He paused again to listen for a response. She quietly mumbled an okay to continue. "And from what I can see...Shadow is lapsing into a coma." She let out a gasp at him.

"No..." Her line went dead and Leo closed his eyes to hear her sobbing quietly in his ear.

"Oh, April. I know how you feel and I'm telling you that I'm doing my damndest from letting something like that happen to her."

"Can I...I mean is it possible to talk to her?"

"Um..." Leo could also feel himself getting choked up as well. "I'm afraid not, April. She's not being responsive even to me right now."

"Ohhh!" He could hear other voices exchanged, then the sound of movement.

"Leonardo?"

"Sensei. Shadow's been-"

"I know, my son. Where are you now?"

"I'm back at where we left Casey."

"What is Shadow's current condition?"

"Uh....no response, low pulse, small heart-beat...um, her skin feels cold to the touch..." Splinter heard him sniff quietly.

"Leonardo..."

"I...uh...I know, sensei. I can't let her down...but...I...just..."

"Leonardo..."

"Yes, Master?"

"I know you will not let her down. You have faced far more difficult challenges in the past that many could not have acheive in one lifetime." Splinter could still hear him sniffling. "Oh, Leonardo. Shadow needs your help and you must not allow your emotions to interfere with the tasks that need to be done to save her life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master. But, I myself, can't help her. I need to find a hospital."

"And with my guidance, you shall. Please, listen very carefully." Leonardo nodded but Splinter couldn't see him. He sensed him doing it. Splinter sighed before speaking again. "You are in the clearing of the northen woods. The nearest hospital is about 3 hours on foot. You must head south east until you reach the main road where it will lead you to town.

"Okay, south east..." Leonardo lifted Shadow onto his shoulder with one hand and with the other, held the communicator close to his face. He stared at it for a moment. "Master, I have a confession as well as an apology."

"Hmm? And what is that, Leonardo?"

"I told April if we needed her, we'd use these walkie talkies to communicate. I knew you meant well by watching over us but...I preferred to rely on modern technology. Forgive me, Master. There is no such device out there more stronger and supportive then you have ever been to us."

"Ahh...There is no need to forgive, Leonardo. The communicator is a fine tool for keeping in contact with one another. Your instincts told you to follow the voice on the outside. Not on the inside. I do not feel an apology is needed here. Only truthfulness is what I ask of you and your brothers."

"Guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Wrong? No, Leonardo. I would not say you were wrong. I would say you were being...'self-reliant.'" That made Leo smile. Splinter smiled back.

"Thank you, Master."

"Take care of her. And yourself."

Leonardo beeped off the communicator and lowered the antenna with his chin. Back in the pocket it went to allow both hands to support the lifeless soul sleeping in his arms.

"South...east..." The snow crunch and crumbled as he headed in that direction, repeating encouraging words into her ear on the way. The wind took away most of his voice but he knew what he whispered to her. And to her alone.

It was her first night on the job. Her first unusual case. She was a mere college student practising in medicine and science. All she wanted was a degree and part-time wage. In her past job as an assistant veterinary, she had displeasing experiences with animals urinating on her coat, vomiting back up medicines that were an attempt to cure them, and the ultimate gross out for her was, attending to open gash wounds where the insides were practically laying on the outside. Now, came the challenge of healing and tending these creatures. Without any help.

Donatello blinked and shook his head. The narcotics were wearing off finally but something felt unsettling in his stomach, forcing it to come back up. Oh, no. Not again. He attempted to cover his mouth but discovered his wrists were chained to floor of the cell. He glanced down to see his chin and chest were dripping with a milky-white liquid. Gross! He felt movement walk past his cage followed by the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, dear. Not again." Just like I said, lady. Lark sighed and wiped his face and chest with a damp cloth. "That's twice now. Your body is definitely rejecting this medicine for some reason."

"Help...me..." He mumbled to her sickly.

"What? Did you say something?"

"Hands...wrists....so sore..." He lifted the connecting chains up to show her. "So...sore."

"Oh, my God! You can talk! Um, um...yes, I know. I'm here to help you, I know...what can I do?"

He rattled the chains to her like a ghost. "Skin is raw beneath...please, help..."

"God, poor thing..." Lark dug into her pocket to find the cuff keys. With her head down, she missed him giving an evil grin. She's buying it! Yes, yes! Lark's hands trembled as she turned and clicked the cuffs loose around his wrists. Both fell to the bottom of the cell with a clank. "There, I couldn't understand why I had to bind you since you were already locked up in-" Donatello grabbed her wrists with a quick swift move, making her gasp.

"You're such a gullible woman." He whispered slowly.

"Noooo!" Donatello shushed her and held her wrists tightly with one strong hand. "God, don't hurt me!"

"I swear on my life, I will not hurt you." He moved forward then paused. "But, damn, I think you hurt my insides more by giving me that disgusting medicine!"

"I- I'm sorry. It was my orders to give it to you."

"Maybe if you stopped giving it to me, you wouldn't have to deal with the mess."

"I don't mind that. Please, I never meant any harm to you."

"If I wasn't so out of it, I could have told you I'm allergic to that crap." He gestured to the bottle in her pocket.

"I'm sorry it upset your stomach. Really." She stared down to her wrists which Don had a death-grip on. "Um, my hands...please-"

Don ignored her and continued. "Being locked up in this cage upsets me more than anything. It would upset any living creature. Even the ones that don't deserve to be locked up." He looked to see Casey was asleep on his side, still in beast-form. "He is a man. A HU-man. He does not belong here nor does he belong in that steel contraption."

"I-I know he's human. We all know he is. I tested his blood over there..." Lark pointed to a low-lighted table. "But, I'm not required to release him just yet. We've seen a miracle of a man becoming a werewolf and want to experiment on how it's humanly possible that it could happen."

"He got bit by werewolf. How much more experimenting do you need to do?"

"I don't know! Please, let me go." He can hear the whine in her voice. She must have been 18 or 19 years old by the lack of maturity shown in her. Don kind of liked holding her wrists. He could see she had beautiful hands. Nice, French manicure, smooth, pale fingers with two gold rings on the index and thumb. She didn't notice him staring oblivously at them. "Why won't you let me go?"

Cuz I like your hands. "Because you're my ticket to freedom." He grinned finally.

"What are you?"

"It was your orders to leave me chained in this steel cage. Aside from that, you have been very kind to me. I will be honest with you. What you see is what I am. A turtle with mutantgenetic properties."

Lark sank down to his level, resting her knees on the floor.

"A mutant...turtle. I knew you were something of the reptilian class..." She paused with her eyes glistening. "I don't want to hurt you. Please, believe me. I would let you go but, if I disobey orders, I will get in trouble."

"And then what?" He challenged.

"Um, lose my job, I guess."

"Oh, so, that's more important to you. Losing your job."

"Well, yes, but-"

"A job that I wouldn't consider to be a legal one in the first place."

"Wait, please-"

"You are working with a madman here without even knowing it. I recognized him the minute I walked in to this building to rescue my friend whom your men have captured."

"Please, stop-"

"And another thing, if disobeying orders is all you're worried about, then I suggest you let me do my job by escaping, tying you up to a chair, releasing my friend and getting the hell out of here on my own two feet."

"Stop it!" Donatello watched her squint her eyes shut, followed by her shoulders shaking.

"I know you're not one of them. I can tell you aren't the type to do bad things to good people." She shook her head no. "Let me go, lady. You will be thankful that you did."

"Well...then there's something you must do first."

"And what's that?"

"Let go of my wrists."

Donatello did what she said by loosening his grip and slowly pulling away. Lark looked down to her wrists and rubbed where his hand imprinted white to red marks on them .

"I'm not slimey, if you must know."

"I know. You just had a tight grip on them; it hurts a little."

"Hurting you was not my intention. Getting you to listen was."

"Well, I heard plenty." Don cocked his head to the side as he watched her stand to her full 5'5 height. He slowly crawled out and stood up alongside her, using the cage for support.

"Hey..." He reached up to take her arm. "Thanks. For letting me go." She nodded and noticed he still had his hand on her. He looked to her face, then his body. "I lack in strength...to stand."

"We should wake up your friend." Lark glanced over to Casey. "To tell him his ticket to freedom has been validated." Donatello smiled crookedly to her.

"This has certainly been one hell of a vacation."

Kate consoled a weeping April, trying to shush her as much as possible. The two stayed in the room from where they entered from the air ventilation. Raphael led the way with sai in hand down a small, dark corridor. Michaelangelo came next, followed by Splinter in tow. Small whisps of wind filled the air from Raph spinning his weapon like a baton. Mike sensed the boredom coming from him, realizing it was effecting him, too.

"Raphael, cease with that now."

Raph looked to Splinter and flipped it back in his belt like it were a six shooter.

"Pardon me if my boredom is contagious."

"It is not the boredom." Splinter leaned closer. "You are too loud." Michaelangelo snickered but stopped when a stick came in his direction, inches from his face. "That goes for you, too."

"Hey, I didn't say anything!"

"You didn't have to, Mike." Raph glared to him.

"Silence starts now. I sense humans are near-by."

All three reacted and rolled into shadows, continuing their trek in slow, breathless mannuvers. Sure enough, a group of men were walking toward them, carrying what appeared to be large animal cages. A few rattled from the contents within, some remained deathly still. A whiff of animal excrement mixed with chemicals filled the area. Michaelangelo covered his beak as the other two narrowed their eyes in confusion. Raphael pulled his sai out again with a soft clang sound. He looked to Splinter for the pounce command. Splinter did nothing but stare continuously.

Raphael signaled next but got no reaction. Michaelangelo saw him and frowned. Next came sign language. Get Splinter's attention, Mike. Mike shrugged, not understanding his hand movements. Raph groaned softly, pointing to Splinter then to himself. Mike shrugged again, followed by a whispered 'I don't know' with his lips. Raph almost fell over from the stupidity of it all. By now, the men had passed by on to the adjoining rooms down the corridor. Raphael grabbed Mike by the bandana strands and dragged him closer to him.

"Ack! Hey!"

"What the hell's wrong with you?! I wanted you to get Splinter's attention!"

"Heck! Why didn't you say so?"

"Uh, hello! There were people walking by! I couldn't say anything without the risk of getting caught! Jesus, Mike! You should try this thing called using your brain and think with it for once!"

"You worry too much! Whispering or lip talking would have been just fine with me. I lip talk and it works."

"Listen you, I'm about to give you a fat lip if you don't start doing what you're told to you!"

"Don't boss me around like that! I think it was more wise not to go after them, anyway. Right, sensei?" Splinter didn't respond. Only an ear twitched to them. "Sensei? Hello?" Mike waved a hand over his eyes, snapping him out of it.

"Yo, what is it, sensei?" Raphael lowered himself in front of him. "What's wrong?"

"The animals...in those cages...they are in grave danger."

"Whoa. How do you know that, master?" Mike knelt down also.

"Because, Michaelangelo. They told me."

"I didn't mean to yell at him, Kate. I really didn't...oh, God, he must hate me!" April paced around the room with Kate sitting on a dusty table, watching her.

"He doesn't hate you, April. Hate is a very strong word to use for someone like that. I haven't met him personally, but from what I heard, he doesn't seem the type to hate a person unless they did something to hurt him or a family member." Kate giggled and looked away. "Raph said he thinks he's more of a bothersome brother than the other two. A real take-on-charge kind of guy that seems to annoy the hell out him the most."

"That's Leo, alright." April looked down. "And there's no one else like him or his brothers in the whole world."

"Mind if I smoke?" April shrugged. "I haven't had a cigarette all night and am almost having a nervous breakdown."

"I don't mind. Well, I mind the odor but if you want to, go right ahead."

"Thanks." Kate fumbled through her pockets to get her pack and lighter. "Damn, where the hell is it?"

"Of course, the odor might send someone over here..."

Kate stopped searching. "Good point. Damn it! I just want a fucking cigarette. Is that too much to ask?"

"I just want my life back to normal." April sunk down to the floor. "Is that too much to ask?"

Kate crossed her arms and looked to her sadly.

"Of course not, hun. I think that's something we all want." She sat on the floor next to her. "They'll find your husband, we'll get out of here, your daughter will be okay, and all will be back to normal."

"What about you? The Turtles, well Mike and Raph, have shown you who they are."

"I promised to Raph that I would not tell a living soul about him and his brothers. And my family, my brother and son, they love me more than the earth and will keep it a secret of any unusual friends I have made. This you have my word and trust on." Kate placed a hand on April.

"I believe you, Kate. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Sounds of men and feet walking filled their ears. Kate shushed her with a finger raised.

"I know they said to wait here, but, here is not a safe place to be." Kate stood up and helped April to her feet. Both got quiet again as the sounds got closer. The room was empty. No boxes or walls to hide behind. The desk had a little space for one person to fit underneath. Hand in hand, the girls left the room into a dimly-lit corridor. One of many lined the building vertically. Over their heads were lamps with dull light bulbs inside of them. They almost looked like bug-lights from their color. An occassional wind would pick up, causing the lamps to sway left to right.

"We gotta find the others." April whispered with her 'safety in numbers' talk again. Kate only nodded.

The girls followed more sounds where they ended up in a large room full of scientific equipment from corner to corner. It was the room of all that went on in the building. All that was looked upon through mico and telescopes great and small were done in this section. Every machine possible was running and lit up, including a miniature coffee vender that served the very best in gourmet tastes. April was craving a cup from the smell of the many workers holding various coffees of French Vanilla, Mocha, Cappuncino, Hazel Nut, and April's favorite, White Chocolate.

"This is madness." Kate whispered.

"I know. They couldn't even invite us for a cup!" Kate gave her a look.

"Nevermind the damn coffee! We gotta tell the others about what we found!" Now, Kate was using the 'safety in numbers' talk. She was starting to get into the whole adventuresome act.

"We may not have to." April gestured to a lower corner in the room. Kate saw nothing. If she were quicker, she would have seen someone darting behind a large machine. Someone with green skin. "Did you see? Look..."

"I don't see anyone."

April clutched the railing. "I know what I saw. They're here. And they're not leaving without Casey, Don and... a good fight to the death." Kate blinked to her.

"What are the odds of getting out of here...alive?"

"Kate...I've risked getting myself killed every time I'm with these guys. And that's been everday of my life."

Kate looked back and sighed heavily.

"God, I wish I had that cigarette."

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