Shattered Mirrors
Chapter 2
"Calm before the Storm"
Mike sighed as he looked out the window of the van. He watched the snow covered fields zip by with a detached disinterest. He wondered why he was going here. Why this pull had come to him. He knew that it had come last year, and the year before... always around the anniversary of Leo's death. The first year the hurt had been too much, the wound too fresh, and Michaelangelo had ignored it as best he could.
The next year Mike was too busy with Ty's birth and all.
This was the first year he had been able to answer the call... it seemed he had been forced to answer it. The fates seemed to punish any resistance he had put up. Losing his shop and home, forced to flee. He had only been able to think of here to go. It was home.
Mike looked over at Venus. She played with Ty on the floor of the van. She was a casualty of Mike's rejection. She had left behind everything when she had fled with him. She still seemed happy though. He loved her. He truly did. She was so kind.
She had been the impossibility come true for all four of them in the beginning. Now she was his, and the next generation was there. Mike smiled at Tyler. The little boy was the joy of his life. All his life, Mike had loved kids. Now he had one of his own and he could barely believe it was true. He only wished that Tyler could have met his other two uncles.
Mike sighed and looked out the window again.
She sat on the sun porch, listening to the radio and painting her nails. Her mother had just told her to come in because it was cold out, but she wasn't worried when Abigail didn't obey her. Why should her mom worry? Today was one of her good days. Her scattered mind could almost forget him today... almost.
Abby took a deep breath of the cool, crisp air. She loved the smell of snow. It smelled so clean. She didn't mind the cold. She liked it. It was a distraction in a calming way.
She finished with the last dabs of blue onto her nails then looked up around the large yard. A small movement caught her eye. Something in the trees... "the fuck?" she muttered.
Her study was interrupted for the moment as her mom came out onto the porch. Handing Abby her coat, she fussed about how Abigail will catch her death of cold. She then informed her daughter that she was leaving for town and would be back late tonight.
"Yea, k." Abby says in her normal, distracted, monosyllabic communication.
"Now you be good. I'll leave my cell phone on if you need to reach me. Bye, baby." Her mom kissed her on the forehead as if she was only 7 or something.
Abby nodded and a few minutes later she heard the old Cadillac of her mom's start up and leave.
Abigail turned her attention back to the windbreak and the movement she had seen earlier. As the sun rose and started shedding more light on the landscape, it was more apparent that something was in those trees. Abby wanted to know what.
Stepping into her oversized black snow boots, Abby opened the door on the porch and stepped out into the snow. The wind had a cold bite to it, and she half wished she would have put a sweater on over the spaghetti strapped pajama top she had on. As she walked, she quickly adjusted though, and by the time she reached the trees, she was relishing the cold.
She knew someone was there, she could see someone sleeping, and hear their breathing. The form seemed oddly familiar. Something she just couldn't place. She quietly came into the clearing where he slept. Then she got a good look at him.
"Oh God, Leo!" she gasped "But.. you're dead!"
Raph was on his feet with sai in hands in a flash, awakened by her voice. He growled deeply.
"L-le-Leo?" the girl sobbed "Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" She sobbed into her hands and turned and ran towards the small farmhouse, leaving a befuddled Raph behind.
He scratched his head. How had she seen him? and snuck up on him for that matter? and more importantly, why had she called him Leo? and why had she said Leo was dead? Raph stuck his sai in his belt and quickly packed up. He slung his pack on his back and headed towards the house. It was time to get some answers.
Inside the house, Abigail slumped against the wall by the door. She started to sob. Why were they coming today? She thought she was getting better, she hadn't had an episode like this in months. Damn it, and this was supposed to be one of her good days!
Raph approached the door and opened it. Abigail shrank as small as she could and tried to disappear. Raph entered, looking around with a none too nice look on his face. He spotted Abigail.
"Who are you?" he demanded, "And how do you know Leo?"
Abby shivered and looked up into the turtle's face, she looked at him and she realized he wasn't Leo. "I-I'm Abigail. I knew Leo." she said in a shaky voice, "Who're you? You're not Leo."
"No." Raph said darkly "I'm Raphael."
A flicker of recognition went off in her mind... something he had typed once to her about someone named Raphael. "Isn't it funny how you don't really miss someone until they're gone? I had a friend named Raphael that I've lost contact with, and god I miss him." She looked at him with fear in her eyes. What was he gonna do to her?
"What do you mean you knew him?" the mutant growls.
She looked up at him.. didn't he know? "I... I watched him die." she said in the quietest voice she could.
Raphael's eyes flashed fiery with anger. In a movement faster than the eye, he had her pinned up against the wall, a sai held threateningly against her neck. He hissed, low and menacing. "You better be lying, lady."
Abby gulped and looked at him with terror in her expression. Raph sighed and his expression of anger calmed a little. He just glared at her, then finally let her go. "You are coming with me."
"What?" Abby said, getting panicky "Where?"
"Don't ask questions. I will give you five minutes to get whatever you need. If you are not back here in five, I will come after you." Raph put the sai up into her face, "and I do know how to use these. I know how to use them so it's very painful. So don't try any funny stuff."
Abby shuddered. Raph moved the sai from in front of her in a flashing arch. He pointed at the stairs with his sai. "Go." Abigail scampered up the stairs faster than she thought she could ever move.
Raph snarled as she disappeared. He headed into the kitchen and started looking for food to pack into his backpack. Abby had not done a good job to settle his feelings. She had almost confirmed them. They better not be true, or she would be dead.
Abigail reached the top of the stairs and collapsed in a befuddled heap against the wall. What the hell was going on? Her scattered mind was hysterical. Who was this? What was he? God, she needed help.
Slowly a small calm came over her mind as she accepted the situation. She went to her room, she took out her camping backpack. She packed an extra shirt, her stuffed kangaroo, her sandals, her toothbrush and toothpaste, a package of sanitary pads, and a maroon blanket. She sighed and took a small box out from under her pillow. She opened it and looked in it, running her finger over the fabric in there, she sighed sadly.
"YOU GOT ONE MINUTE GIRL!" came a gruff holler from downstairs, disturbing. Her eyes went wide and she snapped the box closed and stuck it in the front pocket of her pack. She stuffed a pair of jeans in the pack, then pulled on her waterproof sweatpants over her pajama bottoms. She grabbed a red gymnastics sweatshirt and pulled it on.
She headed out of her room, then thought again, and turned back and grabbed an old winter coat out of the hall closet. She came down the stairs, trying not to show the fear she felt when she saw his growling face.
She shoved the coat into his hands. "Here." she said simply. She quickly slipped her feet into her black boots and grabbed the coat her mom had been trying to get her to wear earlier and put it on. She turned to him. He looked puzzled at her sudden attitude change, but when he looked into her eyes, he recognized the hidden fear and shrugged it off.
"I want to leave a note so my mom won't worry." she said.
Raph was surprised. She was taking the whole thing a lot different than he had expected. He nodded. "Write a note and I'll see if it's okay."
Abigail scribbled on a piece of paper and showed it to Raph. Raph nodded his head. He handed Abby a bag of food, which she stuck in her pack. They left out the back door.
On the table, this note was left.
Bye Mom!
Went with someone to finish up some business.
Don't worry, I took my coat.
~Abby
"Man, isn't there anything you can do, Don?" Mike asked, fanning some of the steam away from the van's engine.
"No way, Mike. I may be smart, but they've changed so much with these new cars. Everything's digitized. There's no way I can fix it without special tools, which unfortunately, I don't have at this time and place." Don answered, looking at the van's complicated motor.
"Oh great." Mike said sarcastically, a tinge of anger and frustration in his voice, "You know, this was fine when we were alone, but I've got a wife and a kid in there. I don't think they're up to hiking to the farm through the snow!"
"You act like I wanted this to happen!" Don snapped, "I ain't exactly thrilled with the damn situation either, Mike."
There was a short awkward pause. Mike was the first to talk, he put his hand behind his head, looking at Don. "Sorry, Don. Didn't mean to get snippy with you. It's just, ya know, I'm worried. What are we gonna do though?"
Don chuckled a little, "We're gonna do what normal people do, call a tow truck." Mike's eyes widened as Don pulled out his cell phone.
"What? Don, are you crazy? What about our appearances? Disguises don't usually work in close quarters you know, and Ty's way to active to keep his on. Also, what about the cost?"
"Mike, I've made quite a nest egg from the inventions I've marketed over time, don't worry about the cost. As for disguises, don't worry about it. I've found that if a good amount of green is involved, most humans don't mind if part of it is your skin color." Don grinned.
Mike paused for a minute then chuckled. "Well, you always were our resident genius, Donnie. Heh, make that call!"
A wolf howled somewhere off in the distance and the mutant once again wondered what he was doing. Raphael now knew the destination of this foolish pilgrimage, but he still didn't know quite why he was heading to the farmhouse.
Something was pulling him back there. Something he had no control over, and yet no desire to fight. Something was wrong, he knew that... Something was very wrong.
He looked over to where the girl lay sleeping. She was a puzzle. He didn't know quite why he had brought her with. Maybe to keep himself safe? Maybe.. just maybe because he was a little lonely? ...
She was quiet... very quiet. It creeped him out. Getting answers out of her was like pulling teeth. He feared what she had said. Leo couldn't be dead.. could he?
Raph sighed and pulled the coat tighter about him. He lay down, watching of the embers of the fire die out as he tried to silence the nagging thoughts in his head.
They would be to their destination early tomorrow, barring misfortune or bad weather, then he would know the truth.
Raph looked over at Abigail one last time before he closed his eyes and gave into a haunted sleep.
Mike sat in the waiting room of a dirty gas station, waiting quietly for Don to finish talking to the mechanic in the garage.
He looked over at Ty. The little boy was happily stacking boxes of air filters, and then just as happily, knocking them down. Mike smiled.
He then turned to Venus. She was asleep. Mike's smile grew. Ty must have tired her out. He had learned how to walk, and was becoming quite a handful. 'Alot like his dad.' Mike thought, 'Wonder how the heck Splinter handled all four of us as kids.'
"Mike?" Don asked as he came in from the garage. Mike looked up at him, an unsaid question in his eyes.
"Don't worry." Don said, "It'll be ready in a few hours. We should be on the road again by nightfall. Meanwhile, there's a restaurant next door if you wanna go grab a bite to eat."
"I'm not really hungry, but I think Tyler is." Mike said, then he gestured to Venus, "Plus, I don't really wanna wake Meih."
"Oh, no problem." Don said, "I'll just take Ty with me and go get something to eat. I'm famished."
"Ok" Mike said. He turned to Tyler, who had just successfully knocked down another pile of air filters. "You wanna go get some yum-yums with your uncle Don?"
"Fwies!" Ty squealed happily and toddled over to Don.
"I'm pretty sure that means yes." Mike said, chuckling slightly.
"Okay then." Don said, grabbing Ty up, "Let's get going, then. Bye you two." and they headed out.
Mike looked at Venus and sighed as he lay his head on hers and gathered her into his arms. She mumbled something incoherent, then lay her head on his chestplate and went back to a peaceful slumber.
'What more could anyone ask for?' Mike thought to himself as he drifted off.
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