Red Trail

"In a blink, everything can change."

Day 3. 08:00 AM.

The alarm started ringing in all the apartment. Raphael opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was the big window in front of the bed. He sighted angrily. Even though it was his second night there, somehow his instinct thought that he would be in his room at the sewers. It was hard getting used to not being home.

Raph then, remembered what had happened last night as he saw a pill bottle in the little table next to his bed. Just as Dr. Collins told him, the maids would put the bottle on his room. He noticed also that he wasn't feeling as tired as the day before. It was maybe the lack of sleep what had him feeling so tired.

Raph sat down and grabbed the pill bottle. He read the label. "Seconal Sodium". There was no way that he was taking that pill once more. Suddenly, there was a beeping sound on his room. Quickly, Raph left the pill bottle on the bed and stood up trying to get where the sound was coming from, with no success. After the beep, a women's voice started sounding.

"Subject Raphael, it is not necessary for you to take the pill today. Thank you and have a great day." With that said, the room became silent once more.

Raph sighted in relief, when he heard three knocks on his door.

"Raph, wake up." It was Leo.

Raph rolled his eyes as he walked to the door and opened it. Without saying a thing and before Leo could say something, he pushed him away and started walking to the bathroom. Leo wanted to talk, but he just kept his anger to himself as Raph closed the bathroom's door.

When Raph was inside, he opened the faucet of the sink, then he washed his face, when he heard Leo shouting his name.

"Raph! Raph, get out! Neither Mikey nor Donnie are in their rooms!"

As soon as Raph heard that, he ran out of the bathroom without hesitation.

"What?" He shouted in desperation.

Before Leo could answer, Raph ran downstairs and stopped as he saw Mikey, just getting up from the couch.

"Damn it Leo, they're down here!" He yelled.

"Looks like I fell asleep on the couch." Mikey yawned.

"Yeah, looks like you did. Where's Donnie?" Raph asked as Leo climbed down the stairs.

"I don't know. Isn't him on his room or something?" Mikey asked.

Raph and Leo looked at each other with fear, then, Raph ran to the kitchen.

"He's not here either!" He shouted.

"What? He must be somewhere." Leo responded.

"Donnie!" Raph scram. "Shit, Donnie, answer us!"

"What's going on?" Mikey asked, getting up from the couch.

"We can't find Donnie!" Leo answered, running upstairs to keep looking for him, as if he was going to appear out of nowhere.

They looked and called Donnie for some minutes, until they finally realized that he wasn't there.

"Those freaking scientists took him away!" Raph yelled.

"Mikey, yesterday, when Raph and I went to sleep, you stayed down here with him, right?" Leo questioned.

Mikey nodded. He couldn't believe that his brother was missing.

"What happened? Do you remember anything unusual?" Leo kept going.

"No… I mean, when you got upstairs, we went into the kitchen, I asked him if he wanted pizza, he said that he would have a sandwich, and when my pizza was ready, I went to the living room to watch TV and while I watched Transformers, he was at the table, eating his sandwich and then I fell asleep, but he was still there when I did."

Leo sighted as he looked at the clock in the wall. It was almost 9:00 o'clock.

"Okay, I say we wait till Sophie comes to get us for the gym, then we make her talk." Leo said.

"What about the guards?" Mikey asked.

"We knock them down before they can call for help." Raph responded.

With that said, the turtles got ready for action. After they accorded what were they going to do, they just waited for the clock to say 9:00. Raph, without his brothers noticing, got to the kitchen to grab a knife. He could use it in case that he needed some help.

Finally, the clock said 9:00. Suddenly, the door opened. Sophie entered with two guards behind her. Sophie saw no one inside.

"Good morning turtles. Are you ready? Time for the gym." She called.

No one responded. Then, out of nowhere, Leo and Mikey attacked the guards from behind, while Raph grabbed Sophie, putting the knife on her throat. Leo and Mikey applied pressure points with both guards and in no time, they were knocked on the floor.

"Mikey, close the door." Raph ordered.

Mikey obeyed and then, both, Leo and him, walked to where Raph was, holding Sophie.

"Turtles, what the hell is going on?" She said suffocated.

"You tell us what the hell is going on! Where is our brother?" Raph yelled.

"Donatello? I don't know!"

"Cut the crap! When we woke up, he wasn't here anymore! We're sure that you and your stupid scientists took him away and we want him back!" Raph kept shouting.

"I'll tell you what I know, just, would you please let my throat go?"

"She's right Raph. She can't talk that way." Leo said.

Raph, without taking away his angry sight from her eyes, put the knife away.

"Thanks." She said as she slowly grabbed her cellphone.

"What the hell are you doing?" Raph shouted at her, threatening her with the knife once more.

"Wait! I'll just tell Bastian that you're not going to the gym today." She said.

Raph sighted.

"Alright, but as soon as you alert someone, I swear to god I'll cut your tongue out."

Sophie nodded, shaking as she called Bastian.

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

"Hey Bastian. I just wanted you to know that the turtles will skip the training today."

"Okay… Why?"

"I'll tell you later, bye." She said as she hung up the phone.

"Fine, you did what you wanted, now tell us, where is Donnie?" Leo questioned.

"Look, as I told you, I don't know where he is. I pretty much know as much as you do."

"How so?" Raph asked.

"My boss called me this morning and told me to un-do his schedule for today. When I asked her why, she just told me to obey orders. That's all I know. Maybe he escaped, and the owner of the lab doesn't want us to know. I'm sorry, but I don't know anything else."

"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Raph asked.

"Raph, she is. She looks sincere and you know it." Leo answered.

"Do you think that Donnie really escaped without us?" Mikey finally talked.

"No, he wouldn't do that. Donnie is not like that." Leo answered. "And if he did, it was because he was going to look for help to get us out of here. Don't worry Mikey."

Raph sighted as he walked to the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Leo asked.

"To have breakfast." Raph responded, entering the kitchen before Leo could say something.

"Mikey, watch her and don't let her move." Leo ordered him as he stood up and followed Raph.

When Leo entered the kitchen, he founded Raph pouring milk in a plate with Lucky Charms.

"Seriously Raph?" He said annoyed.

"What?" Was his only answer.

"This is no time to have breakfast!"

"Oh, forgive me. Then when do you have breakfast? At night?"

"Stop the sarcasm! You know what I mean."

"What Leo? What do you mean? Donnie is gone and I don't believe that he's out for a walk!"

"You don't know that! He could be looking a way to get us out of here! What if he escaped?"

"Is that so, Leo? Or is it just what you want to believe? What you want us to believe, because you don't even do!" Raph yelled, tears started to fill his eyes.

Leo didn't respond. He didn't have an answer to that.

"First of all, you know Donnie is not like that, if he had founded a way out, he would had told us! Also, what do you even want us to do? We can't torture her to make her talk! It's evident that she doesn't know a thing! We can't use her to escape because, number one, this place is full of freaking guards and they would stop us before putting a foot out of the door and number two, I'm not leaving without Donnie! I may had done lots of bad things in my shitty life but abandoning one of my brothers it's not going to be one of them! So, unless you have any plan at all, I'll stop having breakfast!"

"Raph! Can't you help me for once? As much as I would like to know what to do all the time, I don't! So please, if we want to find Donnie and get out of here, we need to work as a team!" Then, Leo got interrupted by Mikey, who entered the kitchen.

"Uh, guys… The guards are waking up."

"Oh crap." Raph exclaimed, wiping off his tears.

Before they could get out of the kitchen, Leo and Raph saw a guard, behind Mikey.

"Mikey! Behind you!" Leo yelled.

When Mikey was turning, he felt a strong pain in his leg as the guard electrocuted him. Mikey felt to the floor, shouting.

Without hesitation, Raph and Leo tried to attack the guard once more, but they got electrocuted before they could do it. The three turtles were lying on the floor and both guards approached them, but before they could start hitting them, Sophie stopped them.

"Guys wait! They need to be in a good health for today's tests!" She yelled.

With that said, the guards stood up.

"And you three, please don't try anything else." She begged.

"Why would we do that?" Raph shouted.

"For your own safety. Now, Quinn, Herbert, please get them on handcuffs." She ordered the guards.

The guards lifted the turtles and did what they were ordered. The turtles didn't even fight.

"Alright, guess we'll start with the tests earlier." Sophie said.

"Are you sure? Can't I have my breakfast?" Raph asked sarcastically.

Sophie didn't respond, just rolled her eyes.

"Let's go." She ordered.

The guards and the turtles followed her and got out of the small apartment and into the elevator.

"What will you do to us today?" Leo asked angrily.

"You'll see." Was her only answer, as the doors from the elevator closed.

One of the guards pushed the button for the 8th floor of the elevator. None of the turtles or Sophie said a single thing. The elevator opened once more, then, the turtles, the two guards and Sophie got out and started walking. They walked one or two hallways. The three of them were lost in their thoughts. They couldn't stop thinking about Donnie. They felt like something was missing. They had to found him. Suddenly, a voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Good morning Sophie." A red-head woman at a desk said.

"Good morning Dr. Pike." She said with a smile.

"So not everyone here hates you…" Raph whispered. Sophie just ignored him.

Suddenly, something caught their attention, even including Sophie's. They saw three maids, each one with a mop, but that wasn't what made them have a fright, but what the maids were doing. The white floor was painted in a trail of red. It was a long way.

"Is that… blood?" Mikey said, turning pale.

Neither Leo nor Raph could say a thing. Raph just nodded, without taking his sight off the maids.

"Sophie… who's blood is that?" Leo asked, still looking at the blood.

"Uh… I don't know… but still, walk. It's not of your damn business." She said. She seemed as impressed as the turtles.

As she said that, the guards pushed the turtles for them to start walking. None of them could talk. The three of them were supposing the same thing, but none of them wanted to say it out loud. Maybe, after all, Donnie hadn't escaped.

Once again, they were lost on their thoughts. What if that was really Donnie's blood? What if he was dead? Would they still escape without him? They had to find him! Maybe they were wrong, and Donnie was completely fine. Maybe he was now with April and Casey, asking them for help. Maybe they were on their way. Maybe that blood was a guard's blood that Donnie had injured on his way out.

Then, for the second time on the day, their thoughts were interrupted once more when they entered to a waiting room. A doctor was waiting inside. He was brunette, tall and bald.

"Turtles, this is Dr. Hadden. Dr. Hadden, this is Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. I'll wait here for them." Sophie said.

"Thank you, Sophie. So, nice to meet you, turtles. Would you want me to pass you one by one or would you like to get inside all at once?"

"All at once." Mikey exclaimed instantly.

"Dr. I don't think that's a good idea." Sophie suggested.

"Don't worry Sophie. If that makes them feel calm, then it's going to be that way."

Sophie sighted.

"Do you want me to call for another guard?" She asked to both guards.

"Don't worry, we'll have this covered."

"Okay, then, let's get inside." Dr. Hadden said, opening the door for them to go inside.

Once the turtles and the two guards entered, Dr. Hadden closed the door behind him.

As they got inside, the turtles got the terrible smell of ethylic alcohol. The room was not that small, but it wasn't a big room either. It had a door to another little room. It had one desk, one stretcher, and some chairs.

"You can take a sit if you want." Dr. Hadden told them as he entered to the little room.

"What is he going to do to us?" Mikey asked nervously as the three of them sat down while the guards stayed stood.

"Just keep calm Mikey." Leo told him as he succeeded to fake a smile. He couldn't stop thinking about the blood trail.

"Ugh, I hate that smell." Raph complained.

"You and me both." Mikey talked.

After a long silence, the doctor finally got out of the little room with a tray full of syringes.

"Alright, who's going to be the first one?" He asked.

Mikey's heart started beating harder. He started to breathe quicker.

"Woah, what are all of those?" Raph asked.

"What? Didn't Sophie tell you?" Dr. Hadden asked.

"No, she definitely didn't mention anything about this." Leo recalled.

"Okay, I'll explain it then. The scientists wanted you to have some of the basic immunizations. In your medical reports you all said that you had none of this."

"Well, that's true, but how many of them will we be receiving?" Leo asked concerned.

"Six each."

"What? That's a lot!" Mikey exclaimed.

"I understand. I know that this can be scary, but don't worry, I promise they don't hurt as bad as they seem. I'll be careful." He said. "So again, who will be the first one?"

"Well, we're all going to get them anyways so, I'll go first." Raph said.

"Nice, please sit on the stretcher. I'll be fast." Dr. Hadden told him.

"Would you want us to hold him down? He can be violent." One of the guards said.

Raph let out a small laugh.

"Am I violent or are you weak?" He said with a smile as he sat down.

"Don't worry guys, I'm sure he'll behave himself, right Raphael?"

"That's right doctor." He sighted.

"Okay, then hold still for me. You can look away if it makes you feel more comfortable." Dr. Hadden suggested as he rubbed a cotton with alcohol on his right arm.

Raph looked at Leo and Mikey. Mikey was pale for the second time on the day. He saw Leo, giving him his hand to hold. Raph sighted, when he felt the first needle coming into his arm.

"Son-of-a-bitch!" He exclaimed as he, by pure instinct, moved his arm.

"Relax, the first one is done." Dr. Hadden said, taking the needle out.

Raph just rolled his eyes as the second needle got into his arm. He shut his eyes and started taking deep breaths. After some seconds, he heard Dr. Hadden's voice.

"You're doing great. Just three more to go."

"What? Are you done with my right arm?" He asked surprised.

"Yes I am." He said as he rubbed another cotton in his left arm.

"I didn't even felt the last two."

"See? I told you they're not as bad as they seem." Dr. Hadden said, pushing the fourth needle into his arm. Again, Raph didn't felt a thing and so he did with the fifth shot.

"Okay, last one." Dr. Hadden said.

"Finally, I thought you would never… Ouch!" He yelled.

"Hold still, I know that's the worst one." Dr. Hadden said, pulling out the needle.

"You think?" Raph asked with sarcasm.

"You're free. Who's next?" Dr. Hadden asked as Raph stood up from the stretcher.

Mikey couldn't even talk. He was frozen in fear. Leo just looked at him, worried.

"Mikey, do you want to go next?" He asked.

"What? Are you serious Leo?" He shouted. "I don't even want to go!"

"Mikey, listen. You know that this guards won't let us go without getting these shots, and I really don't want you to get electrocuted or hurt. I think being the last one getting shots will just get you more nervous, so just get it over with." Leo offered.

Mikey was frightened. It was very hard to breathe, but then, he remembered what had happened last time. He remembered Leo getting shocked and that it was all his fault. He looked down and he saw the little burn mark on Leo's plastron.

"Mikey, I promise you that you won't feel a thing. They don't even hurt." Raph helped.

Mikey sighted and then, he nodded. He wouldn't let his brothers get hurt again for his fault.

"That's my little bro." Raph smiled.

"Come on Michelangelo. I'll be extra careful with you." Dr. Hadden promised with a smile.

Michelangelo stood up and walked to the stretcher. He sat down.

"Okay, just relax and look away. Promise I'll be done before you even notice." Dr. Hadden said as he rubbed the cotton on his right arm. Mikey didn't say a thing, until he saw the syringe approaching to his arm.

"Wait!" He said as me moved.

"What is it Michelangelo?" Dr. Hadden asked.

"Raph, can you please hold my hand?" He begged.

Raph smiled and stood up.

"Of course, Mikey." He said, grabbing his little brother's hand. "Just as the old times, remember? When Donnie used to give us flu shots every winter. I hated that because Leo and I would have to chase you all around the sewers."

Mikey let out a small laugh.

"You guys could never… Ouch!" He yelled as he moved his arm.

"Relax. I'm done, I'm done. Just five more to go." Dr. Hadden said, pulling the needle out.

"You said that they wouldn't hurt!" Mikey cried.

"I know, but that was one of the worst ones." Dr. Hadden responded.

"One of the worst ones?" Mikey exclaimed.

"Mikey, take a deep breath and look at me, okay?" Raph interrupted.

Mikey sighted.

"Okay…" He shuddered.

"Hey Mikey, what will be the first thing you do when we get back to the sewers?" Leo asked.

"I'll go watch Crognard." He talked as Dr. Hadden gave him the second shot.

"No you, won't because I'll be watching Space Heroes." Leo responded.

"Not again with that stupid show…" Raph sighted.

Mikey giggled and then, he saw Dr. Hadden moving to his left arm.

"We're halfway there Michelangelo. You're doing an amazing job." He said rubbing the cotton in his left arm.

"What?" He said surprised.

"I told you that you wouldn't feel a thing." Raph smiled.

Dr. Hadden continued giving him the shots while Leo and Raph distracted him.

"Last one Michelangelo."

"Deep breath Mikey." Raph told him.

Suddenly, Dr. Hadden pushed the needle in.

"Ouch!" Mikey yelled, and a few tears ran down his face.

"I'm sorry Michelangelo. That was the last one. You're done getting shots." Dr. Hadden smiled.

Mikey didn't respond. He just kept crying and grabbing his arm.

"Mikey he's done. Congratulations! You did great!" Raph smiled.

"I just want to find Donnie and go home." Was the only thing Mikey said. Then, he got up and walked to sit down on the chairs.

That sentence made Raph's and Leo's heart break. They also made them remember that Donnie wasn't there with them and the long blood trail in the hallway.

After Leo got all his shots, Dr. Hadden told them that he was done. The three of them and the two guards got out, finding Sophie, who was sitting outside, at the waiting room.

"Okay, guys, let's go. We need to get with the scientists."

"The scientists? For what?" Leo asked.

"Their first experiment with you."


So, I hope that you liked the chapter! Thanks JillieBean for your reviews!

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Bye!