A Turtle's Journey Beyond
Chapter 2: Road to Nowhere
The early morning hours soon arrived, too soon for anyone's liking. While some wanted to sleep in a little or enjoy a good romp of exercise, the time had come to drive out to a place none of them knew exactly what to expect. Although Shadow used Saturdays as a well-deserved rest from work, her uncles and grandfather treated it like any other day. The routines remained on a daily basis, consisting of hefty martial arts training and keeping their home dust-bunny free. When things like that are briefly set aside, the four turtles knew it would be worth their while to attend this sudden, and very suspicious, weekend getaway.
Within her brand new Chevy Suburban, the young girl sat at the wheel with Donatello, holding a Map Search print-out, in the passenger seat. The two exchanged silent glances, both unsure of what they were getting themselves, and the others in the back seat, into at Roxanne's humbly abode. A few minutes or so into the drive, Shadow pulled off the road to fill the tank at a local gas station. She peered in the window to look at the four turtles and rat sitting there.
"Hello." She waved. "Are you all awake back there?" They did nothing except stare right back at her. Maybe they didn't hear her through the glass. She smiled a little, but their silence told her a deep tension was growing inside, one that was as strong as ten heavy weight champions combined. She hoped it was just a mental strain of a rude awakening and nothing else. Starbucks. Stop in the famous coffee store, buy them each a huge cup of Java, and all will be in a loving, harmonious frame of mind!
Later...
"I need sugar." Mike made a sour face as he lifted the lid off his cup.
"Like a hole in the head." Raph nudged his shoulder from behind his chair. "You don't need sugar, Mr. Already Hyper."
"Yeah, I do. This is bitter! Here, taste it..." Mike gave his cup to Raphael who also made a sour face. "See, told ya! Hey, Shadow my love, do you got anymore--" Four packets flew back from the front, two smacking him square in the face and the other two going in Leonardo's direction. "Hey!"
Raph grinned broadly. "Heh, heh, heh, good shot, kid."
"What?" Shadow blinked and looked in her rear-view mirror to the steamed turtle. "Did you get them, Uncle Mike?"
"He got them all right," Leo lifted the sugar packets from his lap, "and so did I."
The coffee had done its job of waking everyone up, but now it also made them recollect of where they were going to and why. Shadow could see this trip had, once again, put a slight damper on the mood. Whatever the reason for traveling was, it caused her parents enough times to keep calling on her cell phone and after every time, someone else would pick it up and answer it.
"Vinnie's Pizza? If it's not there in thirty minutes, it's free! Oh, hi, April for the fourth time." Shadow rolled her eyes as Mike handled the call this time. "Yeah, she's still alive or else the Chev would've hurdled off a cliff and we'd all be dead. I-- huh? No, that was a joke."
"Uncle Mike?" Shadow looked up to him in the rear-view mirror. "Just ask her what my last phone bill was and she'll hang up."
"Right, uh-huh..." Mike looked around, noting the others watching him. "So, tell me, how much was Shadow's last cell phone bill? Mm-hmm. Yeah, the most recent one...two hundred bucks!!!"
"Bye, Mom!" Shadow yelled out, glancing to Donatello. "That makes 4 times she's called since we left New York."
"She's just worried about you." He told her earnestly.
"Yeah, okay, mm-hmm, I'll be sure to tell her. Yeah, uh-huh, uh-uh--bye!" Mike beeped the 'end' button and placed the phone back in the little cup holder in the center. "April says she loves you and hopes you're okay."
"Great, and I hope she knows that the more she talks, the higher my bills get."
"But two hundred bucks, I mean that's a little high for a cell phone bill." Mike said with shame in his voice.
Shadow sighed. "Pleeeeease, if you don't mind, I'd rather not go there."
"Then, let's change the subject and discuss where we are going." Leo leaned forward behind her chair. "Other than hiding ourselves while in Roxanne's presence, is there anything else we need to be cautious of?"
"Um...sort of." Shadow answered, quickly looking away from him and onto the open road. She didn't answer for a moment, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't freak them out. Maybe if she stayed quiet, it wouldn't matter to them.
"Like what?" Leo asked. Damn, maybe not.
"Well, like the reason why we're going there."
"To check up on your friend." Mike said. "Right?"
"Right." Her eyes panned to him. "But, why do I have to check up on her?"
"Because you were asked?" Raph suggested next.
"No, I mean, why do I have to check on her, meaning, it sounds as if she's in some kind of distress. Joe's e-mail worried me, that's all, and I guess what we should be cautious of is we'll be expecting some rather unusual events going on at her house."
"But nothing is going to hurt us while we're there, right?" Mike asked.
"I won't say no, but I'm not going to say yes, either." Shadow looked to Michaelangelo's expression before continuing. "The company I'm with is ideal for making paranormal equipment, and the only way to test it out is to place it in a house with ghostly activity, good or...um, bad."
"In other words, we're in for some big surprises." Raph said with a widening smile.
Shadow nodded. "We're going to a house with a reputation of unusual occurrences. Anything out of the norm can happen to us."
"Cool!" Raph whistled out.
Leo gave him a look. "Your tune sure quickly changed."
"So, what if it did, Mr. Leeeeeoder?" Raph returned the same look with the grin still there. "Now, that I know we'll be dealing with good or bad ghostly activity, I'm starting to like the idea of a challenge!"
"Bad ghostly activity? Okay, let me out." Mike pointed to the side of the road. "I'll hitchhike home--"
"Wha--why?" Shadow flipped her head to him. "Wait a minute, you're bailing out on me already?"
"You said we were going to check on your friend and that's it!" Mike's voice started to squeak a little. "You said nothing about us going up against evil spirits--"
"Well, I...I..." Shadow rolled her eyes a little, "um...er, yeah, I know...but before we left, I did say it'd be a task that will keep us on our toes. I didn't want to flat-out tell you we're going to a house full of ghosts! That would freak you out."
"Oh, and hearing about you joining a company that makes paranormal equipment didn't have the same effect." Raph stated sarcastically, making her shrink down in her seat. "Unless you'd like to share your reasons with us now."
"Hey, did you know this vehicle comes with a DVD Player? Can't beat that!" Shadow shrugged with a laugh yet no one joined in with her. "Look, I'm sorry I never told you all why I joined this company. I assumed you wouldn't care what job I chose as long as I made money."
"Shadow, the only thing we care about is you." Leo said, his eyes locking with hers. "As long as you work within a safe and trusting environment, we would support whatever job you choose."
"I know, but, I wasn't even sure if safe and trust were two things I would be getting with this place." Shadow looked over to Donatello. "I mean, it started out as simple office work, easy stuff anyone can do. But as I started to work with Roxanne more, she began to confide in me, showing me sketches of her newest project in the works. Whatever happened to her at this house, please be assured that I'm very grateful for you all coming along with me."
"Yeah, but I don't want to run into any hostile haunts!" Mike whined.
"Oh, what are you, a turtle, or a mouse?" Raph asked, looking to his brother with repel.
Mike twitched his beak. "Got any cheese?"
"Oh, don't be silly!" Shadow groaned and gave a harsh glare in her rear view mirror. "What about all the times you went on those weird and wild adventures? All those heroic deeds you told me through bedtime stories that would put Grimm Fairy Tales to shame?" Shadow looked to him again, more softly this time. "Uncle Mike, I was five years old when I called you one of the bravest turtles in the world, and coming from a child at that age, it holds a lot of truth!"
"Hey, I can be brave, and I was back then, too!" Mike said, suddenly getting his courage up. In his voice, at least. Raphael held back a laugh. "As for bailing out, it was just a suggestion that we shouldn't get involved with something that would be considered...uh..." He looked right at Leonardo and uttered, "dangerous."
"And that's one reason why I was asking what we should be cautious of," Leo looked to Shadow again, "incase we run into someone or something that would put any of our lives in danger." A throat cleared in the back seat. Shadow and the turtles looked back to Splinter who now perked up into the conversation.
"While we are discussing the events we will be facing, allow me to give you all some very strong advice. The spirits of the underworld are very keen on negative energy, so much in fact that it could cause a great disturbance while we are in their presence. It would be best, and also wise, to remain as positive as can be. This includes the usage of your language, attitude, weaponry, and above all, your intellectual being."
"Hmph! Why should that make a difference, sensei?" Raph groaned, assuming Splinter's speech was pointed in his direction. "If a spirit is evil, it's going to do evil things no matter how sugary-sweet you act to it."
"I don't think Roxy would buy a house that's demon-infested, Uncle Raph." Shadow glanced to him. "But, I see Grandpa's point. The spirits we'll be dealing with are very benign, but at the same time, confused of their present state. If we keep our thoughts at a normal, positive state, they should react to us as mere guests in their home and not try to do something irrational...such as throw a butcher knife at us, for example."
"So, now that we've gone over what to expect, what is your exact order of business?" Leo, yet again, asked a honey of a question. Even Donatello was waiting for an answer when he caught her face crinkle in deep thought.
"Simple." Shadow said, though she knew it wasn't going to be. "I'll go over to the house, check the equipment, see if Roxy needs help with anything, then go stay at a hotel before we drive home again." Before Leonardo could ask another question, she darted her eyes over to Donatello. "Okay, we're reaching the North Carolina state line, what exit do I take?"
"Ummm." Don unfolded the print-out sheet, flipping it right side up with shaky hands. "You've got two more exits after that one we just passed. We should stop in a town and fill up the gas tank."
"Looks like we'll need food more than gas." Shadow took a strong note to his hands. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, just haven't eaten in over 12 hours," He heard her gasp, "no, it's okay. I've kind of lost my appetite."
"I'll turn off at the next exit instead."
Shadow ignored his protest and did as she said. It wasn't okay that certain passengers were becoming ill due to lack of food. She knew this wasn't the first time he acted this way around meal times. The overdo assignments that made upper management cram memos down her throat also made Donatello spend many sleepless nights with stacks of paperwork. The figures, numbers, and percentages, all of which drove both of them on the brink of insanity, is what caused him to skip breakfast, lunch, dinner or all of the above. Shadow didn't consider herself much of an employee since Donatello was doing 90% of the workload and wasn't even getting a single paycheck out of it.
Then, there was the worry of his, his brother's, and Splinter's exposure that added to the ever-increasing stress level. Less than a year into the company and after all that time, this was her first assignment ever to go on the road. She herself has asked why the company has given her this favor. Other workers closer to the house could have gone. However, now that she had a much closer relationship with her boss, she felt destined to do it, with or without the turtles and Splinter there.
I hope we get there soon. Roxy had better be okay!
She caught Splinter still watching her as if he knew what she was thinking. The changing of the subject meant she was very unsure if she should share what they're about to expect. They'd find out soon enough.
The skies started to turn a darker blue when the SUV hit the city of Raleigh. Night time was soon upon them and, according to Raphael, the pit stop wouldn't have been as long if a female wasn't along for the ride. Shadow had her reasons of needing a good hour's rest before resuming the agonizing drive.
"You got us lost, kid. Admit it." Raph told her flatly as she pouted in the driver's seat.
Within the five-hour drive, the SUV started to bounce and sway more uncomfortably than before. The directions stayed true but the black pavement eventually turned into a winding, off-road dirt path. At one point during the drive, the heavens opened a down-pour and Shadow had to turn on the windshield wipers. She had driven in bad weather before, but this time, it made her nervous when she was in an area unfamiliar to her.
"Are we on the right road?" Don asked while eyeing the directions in his lap.
"You tell me, navigator." Shadow squinted through the cellophane-like windshield. "We're in the town of Summeria. I turned off at the sign marked South Gate Drive so we must be on the right road." As the SUV winded a sharp turn, they noticed a beautiful lake to the right side of the road.
"The house is supposed to be located beyond a lake. There it is." Don pointed out to the right side. "If that's the same lake, then we must be getting close." Shadow looked to it briefly before her eyes met a glowing white figure standing in the middle of the road. "Shadow, look out--"
"Whoa!" Shadow screamed and swerved off the road, heading for a much better view of that beautiful lake. The vehicle soared high over the small grass bank, crashing heavily into the water and disrupting a series of ripples upon the surface. "What the hell was that?" Shadow looked behind her, seeing the figure had vanished. Attempting to rev it in reverse, the tires only rolled in a pit of mud. "The tires are stuck!"
"Oh, great!" Don turned to unlock the door, finding the button not working. "Can't get the door unlocked. Try your window!" Shadow turned to push the button to open her window, also not getting any results. "Damn, I knew it! It's all the power locks! The water must have damaged the wiring underneath."
"Ugggh! I don't want to die like this!" Mike started to punch at the window next. "Help!"
"Screw power locks. Forgive me for doing this Shadow, but..." Raph climbed to the trunk area and, with a powerful kick, broke through the glass of the door. "This way!" He bellowed while grabbing Splinter and pushing him out the new exit. "There's broken glass so be careful!"
"Ahhh! My new car! Nooo!" Shadow screamed when the water started creeping up her ankles. "The carpet's getting all soaked!"
"That's not the only thing that'll be soaked. Come on..." Don unbuckled his seat belt and went to grab her arm but she pulled away, staying put. "What are you doing? We gotta get out of here!"
"I don't want to leave my car!" She wailed. "I'll just have to go down with it--"
"Oh, stop playing captain of your ship! There's no way I'm going to let you stay here and drown!" Don grabbed for her again and this time, was able to drag her with him toward the back seat. Shadow swung her backpack purse around her shoulder, moaning along the way.
"But, what about my car--"
"What about our lives?!" Don shouted as he threw items aside to make a clear path to the trunk. Pausing near the edge, they noticed Michaelangelo grabbing as much of their stuff as he could. "Mikey, what are you doing?"
"Is this a trick question or something?" Mike looked up to him wide-eyed. "Saving our stuff, of course!"
Don groaned and rolled his eyes. "Mike, there's far more important things to save than just stuff!"
"Like what?" He actually looked confused.
"My car!" Shadow yelped.
Don looked to her and Michaelangelo with disgust. "No! People are a first priority!"
"All right, fine! I'll just get my backpack!" Mike swung a large bag around his shell before hopping off the trunk and into the lake. "Aaaaieeee! Oh, man! This lake is freezing! I'll probably lose function to some parts of my body that I'd prefer to keep working!"
"Oh, brother." Don noticed Shadow trying to sleek past him toward the front but stopped her. "I don't think so, missy. The only direction you're going is that way!" A light push sent her forward and closer to the trunk's edge.
"Nooo!" Shadow looked down to the water. "I don't want to get wet!"
"I'll carry you, then." Mike grunted as he lifted the rest of her body into his arms. "That way, one of us will still be able to have children later on in life--"
"Mike!" Don bellowed. "Would you just go already?"
"I can't believe this is happening..." Shadow felt Michaelangelo's body slump a little lower from the added bulk of her weight and backpack. In a quick haste, he began to wade to the shoreline, ignoring the cold water as it continued to bite at his lower half. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. With the weight of her body, the weight of their stuff, and the numbness of the frigid water, he could feel he was starting to weaken in strength.
"It's not too far." Mike assured her, and his own self. "We'll be out of this ice-cold torture in no time."
Splinter pulled himself out of the dark waters and collapsed onto the grass bank. Although clad in fur from head to toe, the wind began to chill his half-soaked clothes and body. Leonardo was at his side within minutes, attempting to keep him warm with an arm wrapped around his shoulder.
"Are you all right, master?"
Splinter nodded miserably. "Yes, Leonardo. Remind me to thank Raphael later."
"For saving your life?"
"No. For having such a spirit so strong and..." A grin lifted, "...persistent."
"Come on, Don! We're almost there!" Raph shouted like a drill sergeant ordering his soldiers to hustle through a water exercise with no questions asked. By then, it was Donatello's slow but desperate turn to start wading away from the trunk and on towards the grass bank. "Yo, Boy Genius! You're just now leavin' the trunk? Get those legs hopping! Come on!" Donatello gritted his teeth and closed his eyes with a silent, venomous anger swelling on the inside.
"Raph, when I open my eyes, I'd better not see you..."
With pins and needles for feet, Michaelangelo staggered out of the water and made his way over to Leonardo and Splinter whom gladly welcomed more warmth. Raphael reached the shore next with Donatello inches behind, still giving him evil looks. Although Shadow was out, completely dry and safe, she protested for one of them to go back and rescue her poor drowning vehicle.
"You know, you're starting to sound like Mikey?" Raph said, thumbing over to his panting brother. "Just sit and relax, kid--"
"Relax? How can I relax when my beloved car is sinking?!" Shadow yelled up to him with tears in her eyes. "I've only made two payments on it!"
The six sat on the grass bank and stared out at the lake, sighing heavily. Michaelangelo looked like he was going to faint at the sight of her gorgeous brand new SUV sinking lower and lower into the depths of the lake. He glanced down to the bag he managed to save and suddenly felt guilty he couldn't save her vehicle.
"What do we do, Leo? We don't have a car!"
"I know." Leo turned to him. "It looks like we're stuck here for the moment."
"Oh, great!" Raph whipped his head around to stare at the wilderness. "Where the hell is here?"
"That does it. I'm calling roadside assistance." Shadow dug into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. While explaining she was a member of the Triple A Club, three words of dread flashed across her phone screen. "Oh, no! Oh, please, you can't do this to me!"
"What? What's wrong?" Don started to rise but paused when Shadow raised a hand. She could see dread filling the other's faces and scooted over to him instead. Don took the phone and stared down at it for a good five seconds. No wonder she didn't want to say it out loud. "Ut, oh. Looks like we won't be able to call anyone on this thing. It's--"
"Out of service, right?" Leo said promptly.
Don clicked his mouth. "Bingo."
"What?!" Mike felt a chill go down his spine. "How is that possible? And how did you know that without looking, Leo?"
"He's psychic." Raph nudged him.
"No, I'm serious!" Mike rolled his eyes, then quickly turned to Shadow. "Oh, wait. You didn't pay your outrageous phone bill, did you?"
"That's not why. We're beyond city limits, Mike." Leo told him, noting Donatello was about to say the same thing. "The trees are blocking the phone's signals."
"Damn trees." Raph looked to them evilly. "Got any other ideas, kid?"
"Yeah, the direct approach." Before he could ask, Shadow was back on her feet and climbing up the bank to the dirt road. "I'm gonna head back to the main road and try to flag someone down." She paused, thinking she might flag some crazy hick boys, and grabbed Michaelangelo's arm. "Come with me."
"This isn't happening, this isn't happening..." Mike chanted to himself as he ran down the dirt road alongside of her. A few minutes had passed. Something didn't seem right, or even feel right when they noticed they had been jogging for a good length of time. Shadow knew it couldn't have been that long of a drive from the main road. Reaching a sign, Mike stopped to read it, eyebrows dropping in question. "Um, Shadow? Did you say we're on South Gate Drive?"
"Yeah, why?" Shadow stopped and turned to match his face as he stared at the sign which now read Road to Nowhere. "Oh, my God. That's not what it said when I first turned in!"
"Where did you turn in?" Mike suddenly realized there was no other roads around. "Where's the main road?" The two ran past the sign and looked all over for the main road, only coming in contact with more wilderness. Shadow was determined to find the road and kept running, now having Mike in tow. As they kept running, a familiar scene came into the view. "Now, where are we?"
"Back where we started." Shadow moaned, glancing to Michaelangelo whom looked extremely confused.
They circled around back at the lake. The SUV's entire front end had already sunk down with just the headlights sticking out by the time they reached the embankment. Both frowned when they caught the three turtles and Splinter sitting by a lamp post and boathouse, faces all looking sullen.
"Oh, no." Shadow breathed out, feeling the tears come back to her eyes. "Oh, no no no no...."
"I'm sorry, Shadow." Leo sighed. "We couldn't get to it--"
"NO!!!" Shadow rushed to the water, tumbling over a broken plank by the boathouse. "Not my car!"
"Hey!" Mike ran after her and dropped down to help her up. "Honey, I know how you feel, I know you loved that car, but right now, we've got bigger problems...such as getting out of here." Upon the lake's surface, the water began to ripple and from it rose a hydrogenated figure surrounded in an eerie, orange glow. The light started to spin around the figure and the sound of a child giggling reached their ears.
"Whoa." Mike went to touch it but as quickly as it came, the figure disappeared and the glow died down in the rippling waters. "Please, tell me you all saw and heard that?" He turned around to see his brothers and sensei with their mouths hung open.
"We all saw it." Shadow stood up and hugged her shoulders from the sudden chill. "I don't know what it was but I'm sure there's more than meets the eye."
"Here." Don approached from behind and wrapped her coat around her. "It's a little damp but it should keep you warm."
"Thanks." Shadow turned to notice them holding all their backpacks on their shoulders. "So, you did manage to get your belongings?"
"Yeah." Don nodded. "Actually, while you and Mikey were gone, Leo and I grabbed everything from the trunk before it..." He heard her sigh heavily. "Sorry. We'd need a tow truck to get it out and I doubt there's one for miles."
"I doubt there's anything for miles." Raph looked to the surrounding trees again, not liking their closeness at all. He loved nature but not when it seemed to have something within their branches, something foreboding and dangerous. "I guess the best thing to do is look around the area."
"Good idea." Shadow agreed. In a slow turn behind the lamp post, she noticed a cement path leading through small pine trees up to a clearing. "I'm following this trail. It probably leads to the house." Michaelangelo was the last to follow after staring long and hard at the lake. More than meets the eye all right. He was curious to know where the strange water figure and giggling came from. He'd be back at the lake again. That he could count on.
The group took the winding path up toward what they could see a large house on the style of a bed and breakfast hotel. The rain may have cleared away but the scattered clouds lingered around the dark blue skies. Only out in the country you can see for miles upon miles of empty space in the heavens. The city usually covered that beauty from the watchful eyes. That was one reason why the four adolescent turtles loved to go up on rooftops most of the time. Not just to watch the streets below but to catch a wonderful glimpse of the skies above.
Puffing out a smoke breath, each paused at the top of the hill and stared at the house. The passing winds tossed around Shadow's bangs, Splinter's fur and the turtle's bandana strands behind them. Michaelangelo was the first to break the silence.
"Is this the place?"
"Aw, man." Raph complained. "I wanted to see how long we'd stand here and be quiet!"
"Yes, this is it, Uncle Mike." Shadow answered, smirking a little to what Raphael said. "I recognize it from the photos I was shown. 16 South Gate Drive." The five all turned to her as she continued to stare. "This is Roxy's house."