ORPHANAGE

August 28, 1995

-5 Hours, 14 Minutes

I began writing this book while I was on pain pills, and it didn't occur to me that this plotline would not be POSSIBLE in the USA, because of the way we handle foster care. So *poof!* I changed it. Please don't tell me about how there really aren't orphanages in the Unites States, because now there are. LOL

ANNA:

I turned the light on as the light from the window became too dim to see clearly. A bright yellow light replaced the pale blue and flooded the room filled with open, half-empty boxes. I stood in the middle of the pile and looked around. A six-year-old sat on my new bed, doing the same. "What's that?"

"What's what, honey?" I looked up and in the direction that she was pointing. "Oh, that."

I turned and sat down on the edge of the bed, and took the small, gray box into my lap. "I call this my Treasure Box," I explained quietly, adding a twinge of mystery to my words. "I've never opened it."

Kaylie eyes widened. "Really?"
I smiled. "Yeah."

"What's in it?"

"I don't know," I grinned. "My mama gave it to me when I was very young. She told me not to open it until my twentieth birthday."

She stared at me for a moment. "That's in a few months, right?" she reminded me.

I nodded. "I've waited a long time."

She studied the box. "What do you think's inside?"

I smiled mysteriously. "I dunno. What do you think?"

"I think I wanna know when you open it up!" she cried.

I dropped the box on the comforter and wrapped my arms around the little girl, tickling her sides. "Comere you!"

She shrieked and doubled over, feet flailing as she fell back on the bed. She wriggled away from me and bounced off the bed, running to the opposite side of the room. She watched closely to see if I would follow her. I smiled and began rummaging through the cardboard box at my feet. I pulled out a pair of jeans. They were far too small for me now, and I wondered why I had not yet given them away. "Were those yours when you were little?" Kaylie asked.

"Yes, they were," I smiled. "I think they're a little too small for now me though. Would you like to have them?"

She raced over to me and grabbed the pants. Her red hair fell in her face as she held them up to her legs and looked down. She shook them to straighten out the wrinkles, and a piece of paper fell from one of the pockets. Quickly losing interest in the jeans, she picked it up and began to unfold it.

"Careful, Kaylie," I directed. "It looks fragile."

She slowed down and unfolded each crease carefully. Completely unfolded, I saw the drawing on it. Japanese writing was in the corner, but I could not read it. I could recognize the language easily, but reading it was a different story. And even if I were able to read Japanese, half of the letters were smeared. The paper was dirty and old. "What is it, Miss Anna?" Kaylie asked in wide-eyed fascination.

"I don't know," I admitted, taking it from her hands. "It looks like some kind of map, but I don't know where it's to."

"Maybe it's a treasure map, Miss Anna!" Kaylie exclaimed.

I laughed quietly and studied it for a moment. "I'm not sure what it is," I admitted. "But if you'd like to use it to go look for treasure, you may have it."

"Wow, thanks Miss Anna!" she cried, snatching it from my hands. "Hey guys! Look what Miss Anna gave me!"

She ran from the room and I smiled after her. I sighed as I looked over remainder of my belongings. Some of them, I had not looked through in years. I wasn't entirely sure what I'd find.

DONATELLO:

"Man, this guy sucks," Michaelangelo observed, studying the TV.

"The drugs had a potential street value of thirty... er, thirteen hundred dollars..." the reporter droned on.

"Where the hell is April?" Mike whined.

"She's on vacation, remember?" I reminded him.

"Still? She's been gone for, like, a week now!"

"She had a week and a half off, remember?"

"Hey guys?" I looked over the back of the couch and saw Raphael walk into the room. "Just wondering but... has anyone seen our fearless leader lately?"

"He came back earlier and went to his room," I informed. "Haven't seem him since."

"I think somethin's botherin' him," Mike added.

"Mmm," Raphael mumbled. "Well, I'm going out. I'll see you all in the morning."

I waved over my shoulder at him. I couldn't stop him if I'd wanted to, and I didn't feel like trying. Mikey stood up. "I think I'm going to bed," he mumbled. "This is too pathetic to watch."

I shrugged. "G'night."

He disappeared, leaving me alone in the living room.

LEONARDO:

It was dark when I finally decided that I had to eat something. I was surprised by the fact that it was almost evelen o'clock. I yawned. Physically, I was awake. Mentally, I felt exhausted. I'd spent an hour at the orphanage, looking for any signs of danger, and about an hour in practice before I retreated to my room and to meditation. Something was wrong, and I knew it. It was a feeling in the pit of my stomach. But I couldn't identify it. Hours of trying to pinpoint it had gotten me nowhere.

I'd talked to Splinter. But for once, he was unable to help. Though he felt the same, subtle warning, he was no more able than I was to understand it. I told him of the encounter at the orphanage, and went back to check again. But there was nothing, and I didn't want to be seen. Logically, it would seem as if I was being warned that they would attack again. But it did not feel like that kind of a warning. It felt... strange. Unfamiliar.

I opened the fridge and stared inside. There was really nothing to eat. Strangely, I wasn't very hungry. I fixed a sandwich, ate quickly, and went back to my room. I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. I was missing something. What was I missing?

I pondered the thought as I drifted off to sleep.

***

Blue sparks fly from the hands of the dark figures as they seal the metal box. I feel disembodied, as if I don't belong here. But I am here. I am watching. "Maybe we could just... like... go up there and get her now," one of them suggests. This is a basement. They're kneeling in front of a large furnace.

"Why? We did what we came here to do."

"Yeah, but... I don't know Rich..."

"You don't know what? We're just following orders, you know that."

"Yeah, but... A whole building fulla kids?"

I'm watching myself as the scene fades and reforms. Outdoors. I take them down without hesitation. Quickly trained and hardly worthy opponents. Two of them talk in the background, but I don't hear it. "Let's just get the hell outta here. We'll get her tonight."

"But what if she talks?"

"She ain't gonna be sayin' nothin' after midnight."

"But what if she talks before then?"

"Then it ain't our problem. We did what the boss said to do. And there ain't nobody gonna stop that bomb..."

I bolted out of bed, nearly giving myself a heart attack. "The building!" I screamed into the darkness. "They're going to bomb the orphanage!"