Disturbing Recollection
~
It was white. All white. The light was so bright, it made everything look white – everything WAS white, and so was the light. He could see nothing. He could hear nothing. He was aware he was lying down, on what he didn't know, and looking at just whiteness. He didn't know if it was a ceiling he was facing, or a bright light, the source of which he couldn't see; if there was a source. He wasn't even aware his body was strapped down at the arms, the ankles, and the chest. He moved his head, turning it left, and saw three other figures strapped to a table surface, which was rectangular, continuing like a big rock, smoothing corner as it met the white floor. They looked like rocks that had been cut through and made soft to create a flat surface. Upon these surfaces, spaced out at about seven foot each, were his three brothers, asleep, not moving, oblivious to the white 'room' and the bright white light. It was so difficult to tell what color they looked, because of the extreme bright light. It seemed to make everything lose its color almost completely. But he could only just make out a very, very light shade of orange around the nearest brother's head. Mikey, like Donny and Raph, were completely still, they didn't even appear to be breathing, and their expressions were of a perfectly normal sleep, non-troubled no frowns. The turtle, breathing slowly, felt his heartbeat beating steadily, almost as though it had been controlled to do so, because this turtle knew, that had he been himself, his heart would be racing, and his breathing would be fast. How did he get here? Before he could consider answers to that out-of-the-blue question, the whiteness was fading rapidly to black –
"Agh!" Leo bolted up, eyes wide, breathing painfully fast. He took a few seconds to recognize he was staring at the dark brown-gray wall of his bedroom as his eyes darted over it. He jerked his head to his right, looking at the floor between the bunks and the end wall of his and Donny's car. There was nothing there. Leo looked down and found he was under his sheets. He pushed them off, frowning, as though they shouldn't be there. But they shouldn't be there. He had had a dream, a dream, just a dream of whiteness – No, it wasn't a dream; it was real. He had been in a white room, with that bright light.
In a quick movement, Leo had spun on his bunk and slid off. He threw open his car door and looked into the lair. Donny had fixed the lights in the lair, quite ingeniously, to imitate the sunlight through a normal house, so, set with the clocks, they would slowly brighten with the sunrise above, and slowly darken with nightfall. As Leo looked into the lair, it looked early morning, about six, maybe seven, thanks to the soft light. Leo walked further in to see Donny exactly where he had been last time Leo had seen him: Asleep on the couch with his head against the couch arm. Leo looked past him to Mikey – no – it was Raph sharing the couch with him, and Mikey was sat in the armchair. Leo frowned. Why would they swap sleeping places in the night? They didn't – they were with me – in that white room, I saw them, and the aliens, or whatever they are, returned them to where they were. But why return only Donny to his place and not Raph and Mikey, when they want to keep themselves secret, and try their best to remain inexistent, to try their best to make it seem nothing had happened? Or am I just crazy, and it WAS a dream? Leo looked back at Donny. No, it wasn't a dream. He remembered seeing the back of the couch from his room, and seeing Donny's bandanna tail over the edge, and he couldn't have moved because he was in exactly the same position as when Leo looked at him before he went topside . . . Was Leo just being totally crazy now? There was also something different about his brothers . . . he couldn't put his finger on it. Leo realized he was staring unblinkingly at Donny's arm, and blinked away, but a split second after shot his eyes back to Donny. He looked . . . darker, His skin was a darker green, Leo was sure it was. He looked at Raph, and then at Mike. Yes, they looked darker, as if they were tanned . . . Leo held up his own hands, turning them over to look at his arms. Yes, he knew himself enough to know when his skin had darkened.
One of his brothers groaned, and Leo dropped his hands to see Donny turning over and pushing his front up on his elbow. He glanced at Raph and Mikey before turning around, feeling Leo's presence, and seeing his oldest brother.
"Hey Leo, how are you doin'?" He asked. He then squinted at Leo. "Are you okay? You look, er, a bit of a different color."
"I'm okay," Leo replied.
"Wassa time?" Donny closed his eyes and stretched his arms high.
Leo looked at the VCR clock. It was 6:40. Last night he had left the Lair at about 1:00am, and had taken around twenty minutes to reach the park bench. What had happened in the time when he had been taken from that bench right up to now? The white room was becoming fuzzy, and the memory seemed to be fading. It wasn't as clear as it had been when he had woken a few minutes ago.
"Donny," he said, taking his eyes from the VCR to his brother. "Did you . . . have a strange dream last night?"
Donny paused for a second before slowly shaking his head. "No, no dream, not that I remember, why?"
Leo didn't frown, but he felt like doing so. "Oh, er, I just thought I heard one of you in the night," he lied quietly. Should he tell Donny what he thought had happened to them in the night?
Donny watched his brother. "I didn't hear Mike or Raph, are you sure it wasn't you? Are you feeling alright, Leo? You really do look a different shade than usual."
Leo, having been looking at the floor at Donny's feet, look up. "Donny, we're all different shades than usual." He informed with a very slight air of irritation, as though Donny should have noticed already. But he wasn't irritated.
Donny frowned, and then looked back at Raph on the couch, and after a second looked at Mikey, who turned over in his sleep with a small noise.
"Yeah," Donny said slowly, frowning and turning back to Leo, examining his own hands. "We are." He glanced up at the lights.
"No, Don, it's not the lights," Leo told him before Donny could suggest it. "You're not gonna believe me, but it was a bright light that caused this . . I think."
"Bright light?" Donny repeated. He pointed up with both first fingers. "Those lights -?"
"No, not those," Leo said quickly. "The same kinda lights that we saw in the park, last night. But much, much brighter."
Donny's frown deepened, and underneath, his eyes were slightly wide. "What were they doing in here?"
"They weren't here – they were –" Leo opened his palms out, trying to find words "– up there, I think. We were taken up there, I saw it, we were all in a white room, filled with bright light, and we were strapped down on these kinda tables, but I was only awake for a few seconds, I dunno, it's not very clear now . . ." Leo slowed himself down, "I went for a walk last night, in the park; and I saw a beam of light, and it trapped me. Next thing I know is I'm laid out on something, and everything around me is white with a bright light as well. I remember seeing you, I think, I definitely remember seeing Mikey, and that was when I woke up in bed . . ." he paused. "You see? It wasn't a dream as they wanted me to think, because I was in the park, I was definitely in the park before it, and then I end up back here hours later."
Donny was still staring at him, the same expression on his face all the time Leo spoke.
Leo felt he needed to prove it better. He suddenly pointed at Mikey. "Look, see, Mikey wasn't in that armchair when you guys fell asleep." He paused again. "He was where Raph was, and Raph was in the armchair. And don't go telling me that they could just change in the middle of the night because you know how deep sleepers those two are."
"Well," Donny said, looking at their other brothers. "I guess that's true . . . and yeah, they were in the opposite places."
Mikey groaned and his arms straightened out in a stretch. He woke and saw Leo and Donny turn their heads towards him.
"Hey guys," he said, a morning smile on his face. "Hey Leo, how –"
"Mikey," Leo said, "don't move, you're evidence." And he turned back to Donny, explaining that the aliens or whatever they were didn't want anyone to know they were being taken.
"Evidence?" Mikey said to himself as Leo turned his attention away from him again. He raised his voice a little and said to Donny, "Is he okay?"
They both turned back to him and made their way next to the chair. Leo crouched down.
"Did you have a dream last night?" He asked. "Anything, can you remember anything?"
Mikey shook his head. "Nope, which is strange because I usually do have dreams. Pizza is the main topic in mine, but sometimes these little anchovies walk in and it spoils everything –"
Leo rolled his eyes as Donny smiled, and they both stood up straight as Master Splinter's voice spoke up behind them.
"Leonardo," he said. "Are you alright my son?"
"I'm fine," Leo said, as Mikey shifted in his seat, frowning at his place. He couldn't remember sitting down here and falling asleep.
"Good, I hope you got some sleep," Splinter said. "Will you please wake Raphael, we will be practicing as normal. Leonardo, you may miss out if you feel you would like to. I understand that the news last night was shocking." His tone was gentle.
Leo thought back to last light when his Sensei had told him of his 'dream' that had happened ten years ago, and he suddenly felt cold. Maybe he still wasn't over the shock and surprise of the things that had been happening, or maybe he just wasn't reacting to them like he should be. Wouldn't normal people be totally freaked if they found out they had been abducted? But, maybe the reason for his lack of emotion to this strangeness was because he had no idea what had happened to him that night ten years ago. He couldn't remember it, so it wasn't particularly scary, and he didn't know what they had done, or why they had kidnapped him last night. Though at this, he shuddered. He DIDN'T know what they had done, did he? Leo felt colder, he didn't realize he was shivering, and it took his another few seconds to realize he actually did feel scared. What had they done to him, if anything? Leo and all his brothers hated the idea of humans poking and prodding them, never mind things that weren't even from this earth! His hands were cold and clammy, and he balled his fists.
"Leonardo, what is wrong?"
Splinter's voice brought Leo out of his hazy trance, and looked at his Sensei. He was now aware his hands were rubbing his arms, and he could only guess he didn't look at all well.
"Leo? Leo I think you oughtta go back to bed," Donny said, moving towards his brother and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Man, Leo, you're freezing, c'mon –" and he guided his brother towards their car as the mumbles of Raph waking up came from the couch. Splinter followed his two sons in the car and watched as Donny lay Leo down on his own bottom bunk.
"I don't know – what's wrong," Leo shivered, feeling very confused, as Donny pulled the sheets over him. The sheets felt cold to the touch as well, but he knew they would warm up.
Splinter looked at Leo in bed, and then looked at Donny. "Donatello, I want you start the practice in the dojo, I will join you shortly."
Donny bowed to his Sensei, and the, glancing at Leo, left the car, and closed the door behind. Splinter looked back into Leo's face, but his son spoke first.
"Master, I think – I think they did it again," Leo said. "I dunno, I'm having second thoughts that it was a dream, but when I woke up a few minutes ago I could have sworn it was real –"
"Leonardo, tell me what happened," Splinter ordered, firmly cutting across Leo.
Leo paused at his interruption, but nodded and told Splinter of what he thought had been a dream, from where he noted Donny on the couch, to waking up in the bed he was now sat in without knowing how he got back. Once he had finished he took a breath and studied his Sensei's expression, but he could not read it.
Finally after a few slow, deadly silent seconds, Splinter said, "I do not know what is happening, my son . . . but whatever it is, I feel you will find out, and I hope it will end for you . . ." Splinter got up and left the car, leaving Leo to wonder why Splinter had used a tone that sounded as though Leo had some deadly illness that may clear up if he chose his actions wisely. He felt more confused than ever.