"Fearless."
Leo jerked awake when Raphael touched his shoulder. When did he fall asleep? He sat up and rubbed his face when he realized they weren't in danger.
Donnie and Mikey were huddled together, both asleep. Blinking a few times to wake himself up more he turned to look at his immediate younger brother. Raph was watching the sky, that was starting to tint.
"The sun's about ta set." Understanding, Leonardo nodded and stretched shortly before crawling over to their sleeping brothers while Raph started to pick up their bottles and food, putting them in the blanket again.
"Donnie. Come on, wake up." Leo slightly shook the olive shoulder, rolling his eyes good-naturedly when Don only mumbled something incoherent and snuggled closer to Mikey, burying his beak in the space between his shoulder and neck.
"He had some sorta nightmare before. Didn't wake up, but he calmed down when I talked ta him." Raph shrugged one shoulder as he watched their brothers.
"That was to be expected. I can't even imagine how horrible it must've been to see what he did."
"I jus' hope that it stays the only thing he saw. I hate to say it, but this all kinda feels too easy." He and Leo exchanged a long serious look.
"It does. But I don't think it's gonna stay that way." With a sigh and a glance at the now pink and orange sky Leo shook Donnie again. "The sun's setting pretty fast." he observed, trying to wake his brother more urgently.
"I noticed. Here, try this." Raph's hand shot out to squeeze Don's tail hard, eliciting a gasp and earning a swat from the now wide awake Donnie.
"Ow! Are you nuts?!" The genius sat up with a surprised glare, jerking Mikey accidentally.
"Sorry, babe. Had to wake ya somehow. It's getting dark." Whatever Donnie was about to say was interrupted a deep cough from his side. The three older brothers winced at the sound.
Don patted his shell until the coughing stopped.
"Sweetheart?" Mikey sniffed hard through his blocked 'nose', groaning when he realized he wasn't getting any air that way. His head was still pounding, so he kept his eyes closed as he drew breaths through his mouth.
"He's burning up..." Leo stated, keeping his hand on his baby brother's forehead when Mikey leaned into it.
"Mikey, are you awake?" A short nod. "Good. Here, hold this under your tongue for me, okay?"
Glassy blue eyes shot open and he turned his head away when Donnie tried to put a thermometer in his mouth.
"No, ew." He complained breathlessly, shifting uncomfortably under his blanket.
Don needed a few seconds to realize what the problem was and chuckled at the looks Raph and Leo sent him.
"It's a different thermometer." At the skeptic expressions he rolled his eyes. "They're color-coded. Give me some credit, will you?"
Mikey curled up against Leo when he coughed again, shivering.
"Come on, baby. Let Donnie take your temperature. It's getting dark, we have to hurry..." Mikey sniffed again, giving his eldest brother an unhappy look.
"We don't have time for this." Raph rolled his eyes. "Just put it in his ass again."
The broken whine turned into another cough when Leo's hands kept him from moving and he heard Donnie shift through the bag he brought and then the uncomfortable feeling at his entrance again. He squirmed at the momentary coldness, relaxing when Raph's cool hand soothed his headache.
He knew he was being difficult. They were in a dangerous situation and he needed to pull himself together. He just felt so miserable with how his back and muscles hurt, how he couldn't stop shivering and how utterly exhausted he felt.
"102.8" Donnie read out loud with a sigh. "Let's hit the pharmacy, I don't want it to get even worse."
"Then what are we waiting for." Raph got up, swinging the food bag over his shoulder. "Ya got him, Fearless?" Leo nodded, scooping Mikey up bridal style after wrapping him up in his blanket. The youngster rested his head in the crook of Leo's neck as they started walking to the direction of the pharmacy.
"I'm sorry..." he croaked miserably, sniffing again before settling for just breathing through his mouth again.
"No, baby. You've got nothing to be sorry about. Just focus on getting better, okay?"
They reached the pharmacy before the sun set completely. It was a sobering sight though.
"I can't believe we haven't thought of this..." Donnie rubbed his temples in annoyance.
The door swung open easily enough, but instead of shelves full of medicines and antibiotics they found nothing but dust and dirt. As if abandoned for a long time now.
"We should've raided the hospital..." Leo let out a soundless breath, so mad at himself.
"It was too dangerous with those ghosts or whatever around anyways."
"Still. Now we don't have any medicine to help Mikey..." The turtle in question didn't move an inch, dozing with his head buried in Leo's neck.
"There's still a chance we find something at the mall..." Donnie suggested carefully. "Or, and that's just a theory, we're too late and it has to do with the dark. Like, at night the hospital was empty too. Maybe during the day the buildings are all filled with life." The genius stood closer to Leo and put the back of his hand against Mike's flushed cheek. "If we wait for sunrise we might get something."
Leo had his lips pressed tightly together. He didn't like the idea of staying another night in this hellhole. On the other hand, they didn't know how long they'd have to live without supplies and Mikey's health was more important.
"Do you think it'll get worse?" Donnie shrugged, eyes fixed on Leo's.
"It's pretty chilly at night. We're probably going to be exposed to the weather for a while until we find a way home. His cough sounds bad enough, it could easily turn into pneumonia. And if his fever doesn't go down on its own... I really don't want to risk it, Leo."
"Alright... Raph, what do you think?" When there was no answer, Leo and Donnie both looked up, eyes searching for their hothead brother. "Raph?"
Leo's heart started pounding harder. Did the shadow take Raphael? Did someone attack him without them noticing? Now that the sun was gone there were enough dark corners and alleys for something to hide in.
"You gotta see this!" Both Don and Leo jumped at Raph's unexpected voice. He was hanging on the wall to a house, using the semi-lose wooden boards as leverage. The streetlamp right in front of it was on, and from the window Raph was hanging by came a dim warm glow.
"You're not supposed to run off on your own!" Leonardo whisper-shouted when they stood under Raph, who rolled his eyes.
"I didn't run off. Now look at this!" The sound Leo made was a messy mix between annoyance and desperation. Donnie held his arms out wordlessly to take over carrying their sleeping brother. As soon as the weight left him, Leo climbed up to where Raphael was and peered inside the window carefully.
"Are they..."
"I told ya. Really wanna leave them alone here?"
In the middle of what appeared to be a bedroom were a few children. Leo judged them to be around six to ten years old, and he counted twelve of them. They sat huddled close together, a few candles around them to lighten the room. None of them have taken notice of the turtles yet.
"Do you think they're real? They could be ghosts too..."
"Shell, Leo. Don't be ridiculous. We weren't even inside that house. And we didn't see any ghosts at night, except for that fucking shadow."
Raphael and Leonardo jumped down to stand by their younger brothers again.
"So what? You throw every ounce of caution out the window and just barge in? Last time I checked we were mutant turtles. I don't think they're gonna react too well." At Donnie's confused face the leader quickly explained what they saw.
"They could be scared of us." The genius supplied, affirming Leo's thoughts. "They'd mistake us for monsters..."
"They're scared children. We'll tell them they're dreaming and help them."
"Just because you have a soft spot for kids we won't walk blindly into what could be a trap."
"Fuck, Fearless! Would ya stop pissing yaself one fucking time? Not everything's a death trap."
"In this creeptown it might as well be."
"We're gonna have to stay the night anyways, and I'd rather be somewhere inside than on the streets. Mikey needs a good place to rest, and I don't think the damp muddy ground is the best solution." As if on cue Mikey coughed deeply, grimacing as the headache flared up again and woke him from his light doze.
"Raph's kinda right... a bed would be good. Preferably with a fireplace close." Don shushed his baby brother when he mumbled something incoherently into the blanket he had pulled up until his eyes.
"Fine, then we go find an empty place."
A sound from the distance cut Raph's retort off before it even started.
"What was that?" he asked instead.
Again the sound filled the night air. It sounded like...
"Wolves?" Donatello whispered.
"This... this is strange. I didn't encounter a single animal yesterday. Not even a bug..."
The howling got closer, making a rather uncomfortable shiver run through each of the turtles. Don felt the urge to run and hide. They really shouldn't be just standing there.
"Shit! Inside now!" Raph hollered taking the lead and barging into the house, making sure his brothers were following him. They've trusted him blindly, sensing the threat and as soon as the door was closed and locked they gathered at a window, watching the street.
First there was nothing. And then, very slowly, a wolf was appearing. He was large, almost as large as the turtles themselves, and had long silver fur that shimmered in the moonlight. The eyes were a vicious shade of yellow, seeming to glow through the dark. The teeth were bared constantly as it snarled, long and sharp intimidating.
It let out a long howl before sniffing the ground. Feeling his blood rush in his ears, Raph crouched with his back against the door, his brothers right next to him. Mikey was nestled between Leo and Donnie, fully awake now.
The window right next to the door brought a good amount of moonlight inside. The turtles had a pretty good view of the illuminated square it created. Expecting it, but still unprepared for it, they tensed when a shadow appeared in the square. The wolf was at the window.
The four terrapins pressed themselves as close to the wall as possible, hoping the angle was good enough they wouldn't be seen. It was silly, as ninjas they could blend into the shadows and be invisible in milliseconds, but none of them liked the shadows here.
It couldn't have been more than two minutes, but it felt like an eternity until the shadow vanished, the paws scraping the molding wood of the outer window pane before they hit the grass. There was no sound, until there was another howl, though it sounded farther away now.
"So much for stuff being too easy..." Raph breathed out, being the first to get up.
"Looks like The Shadow got some new ideas to freak us out..." Donnie mumbled, staying on the ground and thumping the back of his head against the wall. "This would be so much easier if we had our weapons."
Or at least proper substitutes. They'd have to use great force to kill the wolf with a broom and a pair of crutches. And Raph's scalpels wouldn't do much damage with their size.
"Where could we find weapons?" Raph asked, crouching in front of his seated brothers again. Leo shook his head.
"Nowhere. On the map I didn't see a weapon shop anywhere."
"I don't get this..." Three heads turned to focus on Donnie when he spoke up. The genius bit his lip in frustration.
"Outwards this whole town seems to be really old, like, one or two hundred years back maybe. And yet we find really new and high-tech stuff too... It just doesn't make sense."
"What are ya talking about?"
"Back at the hospital, for example. We passed some really weird rooms, one especially for venesection." He ignored the confused gazes of his brothers and continued. "That's a pretty old treatment used back then. Another room held lasers. How... how can they mix up such a neanderthal technique with hi-tech? Or like, this house. It looks almost medieval, it doesn't even have electricity." He pointed at the oil lamps standing around and dusty candle-holders on the walls. "And just across the street is a pretty modern pharmacy with an ATM."
"So what?"
"You don't think we're on earth anymore, do you?" Leo's quiet words sounded really loud in the dark and silent room. Donnie sighed and shrugged again.
"I first thought we were sent back in time or something. But that theory fell when I saw some of the equipment in the hospital. I considered that we were abducted by aliens, too. Has happened before, after all. However, with the things occurring... The Shadow, the hallucinations, I think this is more of a spiritual place."
"Like when we're meditating?" Mikey asked hoarsely, thinking back when they would meditate with their father and whenever they would all reach the astral plane. "But it doesn't feel like it."
No, when he was there he felt light and floaty, even more so than usual. Right now he felt the complete opposite. In the astral plane nothing ever hurt him.
"I know. I haven't figured that out yet. But I'm pretty sure leaving this town won't help us in any way. If we can leave, that is."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Leo clenched his fists. He didn't like this one bit. How was he supposed to keep his family safe like that?
"I have no idea, Leo. It's all just a theory. There's also the chance the way out is to leave the town. I just don't know." Don put his head in his hand and let out a sigh. This was so fucked up. Like a never-ending nightmare.
"Who are you?" All of them jerked at the small voice that came from the doorway. A small girl, around eight years, watched them with a curious expression. The turtles got up, wary. Automatically Raph and Leo stepped in place in front of their mates.
"Do you belong to the shadow monster?"
Leo kept a tense pose while Raph relaxed a little.
"No. We were kidnapped and brought here. You too, right?" The girl tilted her head before nodding.
"Me and my friends woke up here." Leo didn't trust this girl. She was way too calm for a child in this situation. She didn't even comment on their looks. "Are you here to help us?"
"Yes we are." Raph smiled, before glaring at Leo, who had slapped his biceps.
"Raphael!" He hissed, eyes not leaving the girl.
"What?! We're not letting them fend for their own." They spoke in a hushed tone, the girl showing no signs of hearing or caring what they talked about.
"Don't you think her behavior is a little strange?!"
Donatello could already tell this was leading to another argument.
"Leo, she's really pale. Who knows what the shadow made them see? She's probably in shock."
"See, you wanna leave a bunch of innocent scared kids alone? Just cause you're scared yourself?" Leo worked his jaw in frustration, eyeing the child more closely.
She was pale. But that could mean a thousand things. She wore a yellow pajama with little pink unicorns scattered randomly. Her silvery blond hair was disheveled, her dark eyes wide as she watched them quietly. Maybe Don was right? Was it shock?
"I don't like her..." Mikey's croaky voice sounded grave as he watched the child. He had both arms wrapped around one of Don's, clinging to him and shivering. "Something's not right with her."
"She's just a child, Mike." Raph sighed when his baby brother's glassy eyes met his. "Look, they're a tiny group of children. If, and that's a big if, they really attack us, we're way stronger than them. Even with one of us weakened."
"Technically, if they are a trap, they could be way stronger than- Ow!" Don rubbed his shin, where Raph had kicked him to shut him up. "What I was going to say," he hissed, "is that even though it could be a trap, staying is the best solution for us. I don't really wanna go out and face the big bad wolf with a broom as a weapon."
Leo was watching Raph, who seemed really exhausted, not having slept enough. Then his eyes swiveled to Don, whose paleness was showing the fear he was trying to hide. And Mikey, who couldn't stop shivering, with sweat from the fever glistening on his skin, that could get worse every minute they'd be exposed to the cold night air.
"Fine. But we'll keep watch, and as soon as the sun rises we're leaving this house. With or without the kids."
Raph made a face, but nodded. He got what he wanted, at last.
"What's your name?" The emerald turtle asked the girl, who blinked slowly.
"I'm Mia."
"Okay Mia, you can call me Raph. We'd really like to help you. Why don't we go to your friends so we can think of a plan together?" His brothers almost didn't believe this was Raph, their Raphael, speaking. They've never heard him so patient and nice.
"This is scarier than the wolf..." Mikey whispered to Donnie, who nodded, both of them chuckling at the deadpan look Raph sent them over his shoulder. The chuckle set off another round of coughing, and afterwards Mikey rubbed his forehead with an uncomfortable expression.
"I wish we had some cough syrup at least..." Donnie murmured, squeezing Mikey's shoulder in a comforting way.
"We have cough syrup." Mia spoke up, a little livelier than before. "In the bedroom we're staying in is a medicine box. Come!" And with that she started walking towards the stairs, waiting for them halfway up.
Leo's stern gaze didn't falter, his eyes only narrowed more as he stayed behind his little brothers when they followed the girl. The feeling that this was a trap got stronger. It could've been his paranoia too, but what other option did they have?
Upstairs there was a long hallway, eerily illuminated by the moonlight that shone through a large window at the end. A few open doors lined left and right. As they passed them, Leo recognized more bedrooms and a bathroom. From what he could tell, this could've been an orphanage back then.
"My friends, these turtles are here to rescue us!" Leo looked up from where he'd been studying a closed door to see Mia skip into a dimly lit room.
Raph stood by the doorway, waiting for him, while Don led Mikey inside. Some childlike voices could be heard, some of them in awe as they watched them. One or two seemed a little wary, but they were just kids after all. What other choice did they have than to take every help that presented itself?
There was a short round of greetings, and Leo didn't even bother to learn any of the names. He wasn't happy with this and he wouldn't pretend to be. He rather concentrated on his two youngest brothers while Raph played big hero for a bunch of potential killer children.
Donnie made Mikey lay down on the queen-sized bed, whispering softly to him with a smile.
"Can you show me the medicine box?" Leo asked Mia curtly, and the girl obediently walked over to an old dresser. Underneath was a beige box, looking rather new in comparison to the rest of the house.
At the expectant look from the child he cleared his throat and picked up the box. "Thank you."
That seemed to please her as she gave him a wide grin. "You're welcome!" Deciding he didn't want to linger, he quickly turned and stepped over to the bed.
He put the box next to where Don sat on the edge and patted Mikey's head affectionately while their genius rummaged through the box.
"That's exactly what I meant..." he mumbled with a small huff. "It's not even expired yet." Donnie pushed aside more gauze and band-aids to retrieve a package, squinting his eyes to read what's written on it in the dim light. Without looking up from it he rummaged through his own stolen medicine bag and pulled out the box of matches he'd picked up in the hospital's kitchen. "Can you light the fireplace, Leo?"
Glad he could do something useful, the leader grabbed the offered matches and busied himself with trying to get the fire started.
When he got back to the bed, the fire was crackling and warming the whole room. The children were keeping to themselves, getting comfortable on the carpet in front of the fireplace. They were settling down for sleep, apparently. Whatever Raph had said to them, it had calmed them enough to try and sleep in this creepy environment.
"Found something useful?" He asked, standing on the side of the bed with his arms crossed.
"Mhm. Cough syrup and some pain relievers. They should help with the fever too. Never heard of the brand, but that's what it says. How are the children?"
"They're not as scared as I thought. The Shadow only showed up once and warned them to never leave the house. Nothing came to attack them. Still think it's a trap, oh fearless leader?" Leo rolled his eyes and brought over a bottle of water from their stash, handing it to Mikey so he would drink.
"I'm not convinced yet. Maybe if we get through the night without an incident."
"Tch. Your nickname doesn't fit ya anymore, Fearless." Leo let out a suffering sigh, deciding to just ignore his immediate younger brother for the time-being as he took the water back.
"What's wrong?" He asked Donnie instead, who still held the little brown bottle in his hands, making no move to pour a cap full for Mikey.
The chocolate eyes flickered to Mikey briefly before settling on Leo. Michelangelo seemed to be dozing off already, gently breathing through his mouth, hands twitching ever so slightly where they held the blanket.
"It's too easy..." Donnie finally answered quietly, looking down at the bottle. "What if it's poisoned? Or the pills... what if they're drugs? The bad kind."
"Damn, Leo's paranoia is contagious..." Raph rubbed a hand over his own head, but had his face in a concerned frown. "It's a med kit, why would someone put poison in it?"
"I don't know, Raph. Why would someone kidnap four mutated turtles and a bunch of kids to some ghost town?" The sarcastic tone earned him a deadpan look from Raph, while Leo seemed deep in thought.
"The food and water was kinda easy to get too. We didn't even consider it to be poisoned." He rolled his shoulders uneasily. "And none of us is dead yet..." Leonardo trailed off, eyeing the bottle too now. Now that Donnie mentioned it, he was pretty sure he didn't want Mikey to drink it.
"Right. After all, it could really be medicine... It could help Mikey..." Or it could kill him, but he didn't say that.
All three of them exchanged uneasy glances, before Donnie wordlessly put the bottle and pills back into the box, closing it and pushing it under the bed with a sigh.
"He's gonna be fine." Raph tried to assure. "Meds are for weaklings, and Mikey isn't weak."
That brought a smile on both of his brothers' faces while their youngest softly snored, face snuggling into the pillow now. Leo watched him shift for a few seconds before he sat down next to Donnie on the bed.
"Raph, you had the least amount of sleep. Rest now and I'll wake you when it's your turn." This time Raphael didn't argue. He was tired, indeed. With a nod, he lifted the blanket and settled under it, spooning Mikey and getting comfortable.
In the meanwhile, Donnie ripped a piece from their make-shift food bag and poured water over it carefully, using it to wipe the sweat from his little brother's face.
"Those kids are really quiet..." Leo observed, watching them with a frown.
"They're probably exhausted too." Don hummed, wringing out the excess water on the ground and resting the cloth on Mike's forehead before turning to look at Leo.
"That's not what I meant. They didn't even ask for food or water. You'd think children would want something to eat and drink after a whole day of being copped up in a creepy house." Donnie blinked, leaning forwards to watch the little bodies with a frown.
"Maybe they have food here. I mean, there was also a med box. The kitchen could be stocked for all we know."
"Why would The Shadow do that?"
"Maybe it needs the children for something bigger... Like Raph said, they haven't been attacked or anything." Leo had his lips pressed tightly together, looking so unhappy with this situation. Don grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Stop worrying so much, Leo. It's gonna be fine."
"I wish I had your optimism."
"One of us has to stay optimistic. And since Mikey's out of commission it's my job now." That brought a smile on the leader's face.
xxxxx
It couldn't have been more than an hour later when one of the children moved. Leo eyed it warily when the boy stepped closer to them.
"I have to pee..." The blue-banded turtle blinked.
"Did you forget where the bathroom is?" Wow, Leo couldn't believe how much he sounded like Raph right now. He totally deserved the jab of Don's elbow.
"I don't wanna go alone... I'm scared." Donnie already moved to get up, but Leo's hand on his arm stopped him.
"You're not going alone." He hissed. He couldn't imagine what he'd do if something happened to the genius.
"The bathroom's just down the hall, Leo. Do you wanna leave Raph and Mikey alone while they sleep?" Donnie rolled his eyes and tugged on his arm, but Leo held tight.
"I'll go with him. You stay with Raph and Mike."
"Okay, fine."
Eyes fixated on the fidgety child, Leonardo rose to his feet soundlessly, taking one of the crutches with him as he followed the boy out the door.
He had a bad feeling. Okay, he's had a bad feeling the whole time they're here, but right at this moment it was way stronger.
The bathroom was rather big. Two sinks and a wide mirror were right next to the door, a bathtub with a shower curtain on the left and on the opposite wall of the sinks was the toilet. The boy lifted the seat and lowered his pajama pants, so Leo turned around to give him some sort of privacy. The mirror he looked into was a little cracked in the corners, but the-
What. The. Shell.
From Leo's angle he could see almost the whole bathroom in the mirror, the toilet included. But, there was no one there. Turning his head, Leo made sure the boy was still standing there. And yet, he wasn't in the mirror.
He watched his own hazel eyes narrow before he turned around completely. Just don't freak out.
"It's not nice to watch people pee." The boy's voice was darker than before. Leo was about to reply, when the boy suddenly spun around and attacked him. The turtle stepped aside and swung with the crutch, but the weapon went right through the child.
Leo watched him vanish before he got a kick in the back of his knee, forcing him down. A scratch on his arm when he wasn't fast enough to dodge. The child was vanishing and reappearing so fast Leo couldn't keep up with it. And whenever he managed to hit, it went right through him. How was he supposed to defeat a ghost?!
The door slammed closed just as he thought of running back to his brothers to get them out of here, and his next punch landed right on the mirror. He hissed at the sting of some of the shards, staying still now as he waited for the ghost to attack again.
xxxxx
Donnie watched his big brother leave with the kid, shaking his head with a smile. Leo was such a worrywart.
The genius brought his attention back to the map and squinted his eyes to see something in the dim light of the fire. The past hour he and Leo had discussed their next plan of action. They would try leaving the town first. If it worked, they'd find a way home from there somehow. Walk to the next city and call Casey or something.
If it wasn't possible, as he feared, they'd have to find another way. Worst case scenario was that they had to fight The Shadow at some point...
A sudden shiver that overcame him made Donnie look up. Something wasn't right. He heard a door slam shut and stood up, looking to the hallway. He was torn between going after Leo, or stay with his other brothers.
"L-Leo?" He tried calling, but the only response he got was a shattering sound.
Muttering a curse, Donnie jumped on the bed and shook Raph hard.
"Raph! Wake up!" Amber eyes opened and blinked, the owner letting out a small groan before he sat up. At seeing the panic on Don's face he woke up fully.
"What's wrong?"
"Leo went to the bathroom with one of the kids. There was a crash, we gotta take a look!"
Raph grabbed Don's shoulders and moved him to the side before jumping to a standing position.
"Stay with Mike." And with that he was out the door.
Donnie just sat there with wide eyes. Were they attacked? What if Leo had been right about the kids? The chocolate orbs moved to the pile of children with dread knotting his stomach, only to see them flickering.
Instead of laying there, they were hanging from the ceiling now for a few short seconds, before the pile appeared again. Panicking, he shook Mikey.
With a cough the younger turtle squirmed.
"Five more minutes..."
"Mikey. Get up!" The urgent tone forced Mike to focus and with great difficulty he managed to sit up. As soon as the genius saw his little brother was awake he practically flew off the bed, frantically grabbing as many water bottles as he could and shoved them into his med bag, swinging it over his shoulder.
"Donnie?" Mikey frowned, not quite understanding what was going on. Donnie grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet, not even bothering with the blankets.
"No time to explain, baby. We have to leave." But as they turned around, the kids were standing instead of sleeping, and staring at them.
"We don't want you to leave."
Raph had reached the bathroom. The door was locked, and the muscular turtle made short work of kicking it in.
"Leo!" he yelled when he saw his brother on his knees, holding his bleeding biceps.
"Careful, Raph! It's a ghost!"
Raphael looked around and after dodging a kick to the shin he skidded towards Leo.
"C'mon, we gotta get back to Mikey and Donnie." Leo nodded getting to his feet again. They managed leave the bathroom, but the way to the bedroom was blocked by more children. Way more than before...
"What the..."
They couldn't hit them. The punches and kicks went right through them. But the kids were able to hurt them. The sheer numbers of them were making it hard to move at all.
"Donnie! Mikey!"
From the bedroom, they heard Donnie's voice.
"We're okay!" The panic was hard to miss. And they couldn't even see their little brothers. Those kids were herding them away from them.
"Guys, we have to leave this house! Out the window if you have to! We meet on the roof of the pharmacy!"
Leo just hoped leaving the house would save them. Anyways, everything was better than being beaten up by a bunch of ghost kids.
He hated that they were separated now, but they didn't have another choice. They ran down the hall, leading the majority of the attacking kids away. He just had to trust his brothers would manage to get out...