Hanami -- Chapter 6
Donatello came back upstairs. "Sensei? I left the first aid stuff downstairs with Mike." He cleared his throat, "Shall we start on the next one?"
Splinter sighed, he felt like he had aged 20 years in a matter of minutes. "Yes, my son." He gestured for Raphael to help his brother.
Before Raphael could round the tub, Donatello lifted the second child out of his box. Unlike Mike's patient, the body was not rigid and Raphael watched helplessly as the legs unfolded like a stepladder. It's heels hit the floor with a 'thud' that made Donatello wince. Arms limp at its sides, the body began to slide to the floor. "Dammit, Raph, help me!" Raphael rushed over and took up the body behind its knees. Standing up, the kid would have been a few inches taller than Donatello, though considerably skinnier. Since his legs were so much longer, his knees were in terrible shape from the coarse wood of the crate. Unbending the joints had forced the partially formed scabs to crack. By the time the brothers had placed the patient in the tub, Raphael's hands were bloody.
"Um, you guys got it from here? I'm gonna take a break. Gotta wash off. Get some air, ok?" Splinter nodded absently.
Donatello prepared a rag and thought to himself, "Poor thing. I remember when I hit my growth… awkward as hell, never figured I'd fit back into my shell again. Shit, and I thought I had it bad." As his attentions brought him around to the plastron, he froze. It was subtle, after all, the rest of the body was so thin, but he thought he … "Sensei, do you think, this kid's a gir—"
"Nng…" She raised her head maybe an inch before it fell forward again. Her eyes fluttered open. The edges of her beak were raw and cracked, her tongue thick from dehydration, but she struggled to speak, "Sisters…" There she paused, and on the next breath, "Three…" "Where?.."
"All of your sisters are here with us. Do not trouble yourself. You are all safe." Splinter's words calmed her and she shut her eyes.
Afraid of her silence, Donatello blurted out, "What's your name?"
Her eyes remained closed, but she mumbled, "Unit … C-3 … sec-tion …29." She relaxed and drifted off to sleep.
The two worked in silence. Donatello concentrated solely on the task of cleaning her and preparing her for first aid. With a better grip, he wrapped her in a towel and held her close. He never noticed that his thoughts skirted well around the humans who caused the train-wreck he carried downstairs in his arms.
As Donatello decended the stairs with his arms full of turtle, he looked for Raphael, but couldn't spot him. "Well, if you can't find Raph, then Leo, it's your turn."
Leo swallowed. "Right."
Leonardo would never have admitted it, but his search for Raphael went on longer than strictly necessary. He found his brother outside on the back porch dry heaving. "Geez, Raph, why are you outside? It's freezing out here," he stood closer to the wall of the house, "And it's wet, too. Why don't we go in, huh?"
Raphael shook his head, "Not yet. God, Leo, is it my turn? I found that letter. The one Perry sent Splinter. I hate those fucking humans." He brought his fist down on the porch railing. Leo watched it crack. "Those stunted things upstairs are OUR AGE!" He gestured wildly, rage pouring from his mouth. "They're not KIDS. Sure they LOOK like children, but he knew about 'em for 18 years –18 FUCKIN' YEARS — and didn't DO a GOD-DAMN thing! THAT FUCKIN SACK OF SHIT met us. CAME INTO OUR HOME, Leo! LIED to us! And the whole FUCKING time that FUCKING CUNT must've been thinking, 'Wow! These are just like the ones I'm starving at home!'" Raphael paused for air. He was shaking, trying to get a grip. "What if he had decided to add to his mutant collection, huh, Leo? That could've been US in those boxes! That could've been MASTER SPLINTER!" Raphael turned away from his brother and looked out into the storm. "I'll kill 'im Leo. PERRY is a DEAD MAN."
Raph suddenly bent double and wretched onto the dead grass near the porch. As he came up he wiped the bile from the corner of his mouth, he said, "Yah know the sick thing, Leo? I took one look at those miserable things in those boxes, and said to myself, 'If that was me in there, I know what kind of help I'd want.'"
Raph's words took Leo's breath. He stood staring stupidly at his brother. He shook his head, what was he supposed to say to that? He turned to go back into the house, and mumbled at the floor, "That sort of thing won't help, but there's a child- a turtle- any way, who needs you upstairs."
Raph looked at Leo funny, "You helped yours yet?" Leo shook his head and the two went upstairs together.