The book was quite interesting. The drawing of the wolf gave Leo a shudder, especially since the scribblings said it was vicious and ruthless, deadly when you moved the wrong way. It was rarely attacking on its own, mostly just trying to herd you to certain directions or well, into trouble.
There was a vague description of the hospital and some other smaller buildings as the police station. There was a prison too on the far side. Apparently the same as the hospital and this mall, full of ghost people during the day that reacted to sound.
He studied the way it was written, the writer seemed to have been in a hurry. The drawings were accurate, but Leo could also see that it was done quickly, lacking some details.
Leonardo was really curious. Who exactly wrote this book? And why did they find it in that orphanage of all places?
Only when he saw the words blur together Leo noticed how tired he was. He's been so caught up in reading he completely forgot the time. It was still pretty dark. The prolonged nights were annoying... but the turtle was glad The Shadow left them alone for the time-being.
On the other hand it was something that irked him. He didn't want to be plagued with horror visions and hallucinations like his brothers. He just didn't understand why he was spared.
Rubbing his eyes he reached out and shook Raph's shoulder, careful not to jostle Mikey too much. The amber eyes opened immediately, alert due to the circumstances.
"Are you up to taking a shift?" Leo asked quietly as he put the book away.
Raph reached up to rub a hand over his face and nodded tiredly. He felt better already after a few hours of sleep.
"Yeah..." Leo carefully lifted Mikey so Raph could scoot out from under him. The youngster shifted a little, but didn't wake up. When he was lowered on the nest again he snuggled close to Donnie with a small mumble. The medicated tea quelled his urge to cough, which they were all grateful for. At least he could get some real rest now.
"Something interesting in the book?" Raphael asked, taking a large gulp from a water bottle. Leo shrugged and laid down on Mikey's other side.
"It just describes the town. But not why things are the way they are, or any way out."
"So it's useless?"
"Not really. We should avoid the jail, it's the same as the hospital. And I guess as long as we stay in this drugstore it stays empty. The ghost people only react to sound. I'm not through with the book... it could be there's some more information at the end."
"You suggest we stay here?"
"For the time-being, yeah. Until Mikey's better and we figure out a plan." Leo yawned. "And we can finally get some real sleep..."
Raph rubbed a hand over his face and gave a humorless laugh.
"Yeah... until the next shit happens." When Leo didn't give an answer, Raph pulled one of the jackets over his leader's shoulders, giving them an affectionate squeeze.
To keep himself awake, he grabbed one of the books Leo and Donnie snagged and thumbed through it.
xxxxx
Moonlight illuminated the hospital room. Donnie was standing near the window, facing the single bed. Next to him were Leo and Raph, while Mikey was... strapped to the bed?
"This isn't you! Fight it! Fight him!"
What was his baby brother talking about? Donatello wanted to run to him, to set him free, but his body wouldn't move. Instead, Leo stepped forward and crawled on top of Mikey. The leader had a wicked grin on his face as he shoved a gag into the mouth, not fazed at all by the begging and crying that broke Donnie's heart.
"We want this... that's why we're here. He's given us permission. Stop fighting it, little brother..."
Don felt his stomach turn when Leo roughly grabbed Mike's thighs and lifted his legs, and shoved his length into the unprepared hole. Eliciting muffled screams of pain from their baby brother. He wanted to help him! Why won't his body follow his commands? When he finally moved along with Raph, it wasn't to untie Mikey. Leo moved away, making room for Donnie to settle between the quivering sea-green legs.
Donatello wanted to barf at the sight of the bloody and torn sphincter. His uncooperative body grabbed the thighs, roughly digging his nails into them before shoving-
"NO!"
Before even realizing he was awake, Donatello hurriedly crawled away from their bed pile on shaking limbs. Trying to get as far as possible before he simply broke down, emptying his stomach on the tiled floor. There wasn't much in him anyways, so it was blessedly short, still it left his whole body quivering and weak. The tears wouldn't stop.
When he felt strong arms pull him away from his mess, he collapsed against the hard chest, clinging to his brother as sobs wrecked him.
"Ssh... it's okay... it was just a nightmare..." The rough voice was soothing, just like the hands rubbing his shell to calm him down.
It took Donnie a few minutes to collect himself, but his rational mind was quickly taking over. They were in the drugstore. The fire was still going in the barbecue bowl. It was still dark, though through the glass doors and windows he could see the sun was starting to rise.
The genius took a few deep breaths to calm himself down before sitting upright again. Raph kept his arms around him for reassurance, looking at him with concern.
Leo was in front of him, a warm hand also on his his shell. Worry clouded his tired hazel eyes. Donnie's heart was thumping hard against his ribcage at the sight sight of his oldest brother. He knew it was just a dream, Leo would never hurt any of them like that... but...
"Mikey..." he whimpered, breaking away from his older brothers in favor of getting to his younger one.
Leo and Raph exchanged worried glances, while Donnie let out a relieved sigh when he could see Mikey sitting up on their nest, appearing to be fine.
The youngest also had a worried frown on his face, shivering a little because the jackets he's been covered in had fallen to his waist when he had sat up.
"Donnie... are you okay?" He asked hoarsely, not all that surprised when his genius brother engulfed him in his arms. Mikey wrapped his arms around Donatello, enduring the butterfly kisses to his head. After a few more moments Donnie gave the lither body a tight squeeze, letting out a cleansing breath.
"Yes. Just a dream."
He flinched when Leo touched his shoulder, cursing himself for this reaction when the leader recoiled.
"Sorry Leo... I... The dream... it just..."
Leo sighed and nodded, forcing a small smile.
"It's okay. Do you wanna talk about it?" The genius shook his head hard, still pressing Mikey to his plastron.
"No." There were a few beats of silence before Donnie relaxed again.
It was getting brighter, the artificial lights from the mall turning on on the outside. Inside the drugstore the lights stayed off, though the light that came through the windows was enough to illuminate their little corner.
Don's chocolate eyes skirted the scratches on his older brothers' arms and legs and he let out another sigh before prying himself away from Mikey.
"Let me disinfect those." Raph and Leo didn't say anything, knowing how Donnie got.
Mikey settled down again, curling up on his side so he could watch his brothers while Donatello rummaged through his bag for disinfectant and wipes. He started with Raph's wounds, staying quiet for a while.
Just as predicted, he started talking, feeling secure and comfortable while doing his 'job'.
"We... we encountered your clones last night." Raphael tensed and pressed his lips tightly together.
"Did they hurt you?" Leo asked, busying himself with rearranging the jackets around Mikey.
"No. They just... scared us. Me. I didn't realize it wasn't you at first... only when they touched me."
"We saw your clone..." Leo admitted, noticing the way Raph averted his eyes. "He taunted us. It... it was horrible."
"I killed him." Raph blurted out, not daring to look into Don's eyes as the olive turtle stopped his movements. He was so ashamed. It was a stupid clone, but still. In a sick and twisted way he killed Donatello. And the genius would come to the same conclusion. He would-
"Good."
Put off by the clipped tone, Raph met his gaze. But Donnie wasn't looking at him, he rather finished patching him up, putting a band-aid on one of the deeper scratches.
"Aren't you... mad?"
Don's usually gentle face was twisted with something, but he was sincere when he told Raph "I'm glad you did it.
"The dream I had... I was doing bad stuff and I had no control over my body. I'd rather have my clone dead than see him hurting you guys."
Relief was flooding Raphael's system, and he couldn't help himself when he grabbed Donnie and pressed his lips to the olive ones.
Donatello relaxed into the kiss clinging to his brother for dear life. This town wouldn't kill their love for each other. Never.
Leo had been watching them, a relieved smile now on his face. The past hours had been nerve-wrecking, the things they've been through, it pulled on everything they had. Especially the times of calmness in between. The sense of security only to kill it in a matter of minutes.
He stroked the side of Mikey's face, smiling more when his baby brother snuggled into it.
"You know what's weird?" Donnie's close voice startled him. Raph gave him a smirk as he settled down next to Mikey, pulling him into a sitting position to help him drink another cup of the tea. Meanwhile Donnie started patching Leo up. How long has he been lost in thought?
"What?" Leo asked, not even flinching at the slight burn of the disinfectant.
"There is no clone of Mikey." Leonardo blinked. Yes... that was true. At the carnival it was only their three clones. And while Donnie and Mikey encountered their look-alikes, they only saw Don's.
"We only had two encounters with them. It could be he appears next."
Mikey coughed a little, pushing the cup away.
"If we see him, kill him. Before he can open his mouth." The three older brothers exchanged glances. They all were so protective of Mikey... could they really kill the clone? "Please. I don't want him hurting you."
"It's best if we kill every clone we see. They mean trouble." Donnie agreed, still distracted by his task. He sensed it was a hard topic for his older brothers, so he cleared his throat and changed it.
"Did you find anything useful in that book, Leo?"
"Uh. Yeah. There's much information about this town." The leader told Donnie what he told Raph just a few hours ago.
"And it's all pretty rushed. Hard to decipher at some parts."
Mikey grabbed the book while Leo talked, leaning comfortably against Raph's solid plastron and enjoying the strong hands rubbing his sides and thighs.
"Whoever wrote this was left-handed." The exclamation made the other turtles look at Mikey in confusion.
"How do you know?" Michelangelo blinked, tapping a scribbled page.
"The way the lines are blurred everywhere." He mimicked writing with his left hand. "When I'm writing or drawing with a pencil I always brush over the lines with my hand accidentally. It looks just like this."
"Huh. That doesn't bring us closer to whoever wrote this. Or why he did it."
Leo took the book from Mikey and found the page he stopped the night before.
"The light is better now. I wasn't done reading. Maybe there's more."
"Yeah no. You're gonna sleep some more now. We have to use every bit of rest we get and you only had a few short hours. I'm gonna read that shit."
Leo gave his hothead brother an unhappy expression, but handed the book over. He was tired.
"Here, all done. Go lay down, I'll check Mikey over and then you two can cuddle up and take a nap."
"I'm not tired anymore..." Mikey protested with a frown. He was tired of sleeping. For the first time since getting sick he was feeling a little better.
Donnie rolled his eyes with a smile.
"You're feeling better because you slept soundly. Because of the tea." He raised an eye ridge with an amused expression at the pout of his baby brother. "You just had some more tea. It's gonna make you drowsy soon."
Donatello could tell the fever was still raging through his body by the way his eyes looked. And Mikey was always cranky when he was running a temperature.
"Tch, you know you're not gonna get out of this one, baby." Raph chuckled as he got up and Mikey couldn't hold himself up, giving a small whine when he was forced to lay down again.
Leo rested an arm over Mike's plastron, pressing a kiss to the temple while Donnie took his temperature and examined his throat.
"Doesn't look too good..." Donatello winced at the angry redness inside his baby brother's throat.
Mikey turned his head away to cough. His fever was still persistent, though it was fortunately lower than the past night. As soon as the coughing fit was over Donnie grabbed the heated cheeks again and tilted Mike's head to look into his mouth again.
"Not getting any better?"
Don sighed and pressed his lips to Mikey's forehead shortly before letting go of his face and letting Leo gather their baby brother close, stroking his shell until both their breaths evened out.
Only when he was sure they were both asleep did Donnie speak up again, after he settled down next to Raph, resting his head on the emerald shoulder.
"Not really. It's weird..." With a frown he crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes moving to their sleeping brothers.
"Weirder than this whole experience?"
Donnie grimaced, but relaxed when Raph kissed his head softly.
"Leo said Mikey was exposed to the rain and cold for quite a while. Could be that made him sick. But considering the timeline... it progressed way too fast. His temperature is too high for a common cold, and it ranges higher than usual in general."
"... You don't think it's a normal sickness?"
Don's face was deeply concentrated.
"I don't know... it's been a while any of us got sick. And suddenly Mikey's down with the flu? Just think about it..." Donnie voiced his string of thoughts slowly, growing more sure the more he talked.
"We wouldn't have taken the break after raiding the hospital if it wasn't for Mikey feeling worse. We would've left the town immediately. Leo would've made us leave when the pharmacy was a bust, but Mike's health made him reconsider. We wouldn't have entered the ghost house either. Well okay, the wolf played a big role in that, but still. It seems... planned, you know? Like... like The Shadow wants to slow us down."
Raph's eyes narrowed as he thought it over. The reminder of the ghost house made a small wave of regret wash over him, but he wouldn't dwell on it. He had to be strong now and keep a clear head.
"But why didn't it make Leo sick? Or me? No offense, but we're the strongest. Wouldn't it be logical to go after us first?"
"Seriously? If you or Leo were sick you would both play it off and soldier on like the stubborn mules you are."
"..." Raph was silent, and the deadpan look on his face was amusing. Donatello felt relieved, letting out a shaky chuckle.
"Since he knows of our fears it probably also knows that Mikey's the youngest and that we're overly protective of him. We wouldn't put him in danger, especially when he's sick."
"It's seriously pissing me off how much this Shadow knows about us... And we still don't know how to get out of here, or how we can fight it."
Donnie nuzzled his beak to Raph's neck, unfolding his arms to squeeze the muscular biceps for comfort.
"Our only chance is the book. Maybe we find something... We just have to keep reading."
Raphael took a cleansing breath and nodded, propping the book up on his knees while his right hand came up to rest on Don's left thigh. Both of them concentrated on the blurred scribblings, hoping to find something useful.
xxxxx
"The hospital."
The Shadow. A hospital bed. Blood.
"The hospital."
Darkness. Lighting. A pair of glowing eyes.
"Michelangelo... the hospital..."
His brothers. More blood. The picture of a lighthouse.
"The hospital..."
The sound of rushing water. Cries of agony. He couldn't breathe.
"WAKE UP!"
With a gasp Mikey shot up from their nest, chest heaving and constricting as a coughing fit left him breathless. Hands were holding him upright, rubbing his shell and arms and neck, hoping to ease the heaves.
Something cold touched his face and neck, someone was wiping the sweat off of him. He let out a small whimper when he realized the aches tormenting his whole body.
His shell was pressed against a plastron then, strong arms holding him close. He blinked a few times, recognizing the drugstore, relieved that it was still light out.
"Ssh... you're okay. Here." Leo's calm voice helped him relax, and after swallowing painfully he accepted the cup that was handed to him.
"We have to make some more tea. The effect isn't that long-lasting, but it helps." Mikey sipped the slightly cooled tea, glad that it quelled his urge to cough again. Slowly he came more to his senses, remembering what woke him up.
"The hospital." He repeated what the voice in his dream had said. The quiet murmurs of his brothers stopped in favor of listening to him. When he didn't elaborate, Donnie put a hand on his cheek.
"We're at the mall, sweetheart."
"No..." Mikey shook his head, swallowing with a grimace again. "We have to go to the hospital."
Donnie tensed. His nightmare. It happened in a hospital room.
"It's too dangerous Mikey. Why would we go back there?"
"I... I don't know. I got this... this weird feeling..."
Raph's cool hand on his forehead was soothing, and Mikey couldn't help but slump more against him.
"Ya got a fever. Bet that feels weird."
"No, it's not that. I think... I think that's our way out."
The three older brothers exchanged glances. Their study of the book had been fruitless so far. There weren't many pages left, and they doubted there anything more useful inside. It was helpful to know where they shouldn't go, but it was useless if they didn't know how to get out.
"Why do you think that, Mikey?" Leo asked softly, gently massaging the sea-green shoulder.
"I had a dream... A voice kept talking about it."
"It could be The Shadow messing with your dreams, trying to lure us into another trap..." Don really didn't want to go back there.
"We already were at the hospital. If The Shadow wanted to keep us there he would've found a way..." Leo mused, the tone of his voice telling of his thoughtfulness.
"This fucking Shadow is sneaky. Wouldn't be the first time it gives us a false sense of security."
"The voice..." Mikey rasped, taking a second to clear his throat, "... It sounded familiar. Like... I just know I can trust it. I've heard it before..."
Donnie bit his lip hard. He had a bad feeling. His stupid nightmare...
"It's not like we have another plan..." Leo stated, putting a calming hand on Don's arm when he saw him shaking.
The genius took a deep breath, forcing his rational mind to take over. They should take the chance. Everything was better than to stay holed up here for who-knows how long.
Seeing Don slowly giving in to the idea, Leo squeezed his arm.
"We're not going immediately. We're taking time to prepare, and wait till Mikey's better."
Raph and Donnie blinked. Oh yeah, they haven't told Leo about Don's theory yet.
"Might as well leave sooner. We don't think it's a normal sickness." Mikey turned his head up to frown at Raph. Leo had a similar expression on his face.
After explaining the theory, Leo's frown deepened.
"This is really... disconcerting."
"You tell me."
"The Shadow also knew about Raph's weakness for children; it knew Raph would want to save them. And Mikey's sickness helped with the decision."
"And when you still persisted we'd stay out of it, the wolf appeared, forcing us inside." Donnie finished the string of thoughts.
"That strengthens the theory that we're in a spiritual place... So fighting and defeating The Shadow is probably the only way out."
"And we're gonna find him at the hospital..." Mikey added, determined to finally get out of this hell.
They used the rest of the short day time to prepare for the night. They ate their fill for strength and gathered everything they could use as weapons.
In the light of their campfire, they sat around their map with Mikey leaning against Donnie, wearing one of the bigger jackets to keep him warm when they were going to leave the mall later.
"If we're right with our theory, the wolf will try to stop us. In the household supply store where we got the pot were heavy iron pans too. Raph, you can use them to fight. If you hit it hard enough on the head it's gonna kill it, or at least knock it unconscious." Raph nodded, happy with his task.
"We're gonna take this route, straight to the hospital. Don't stop, don't look into any windows, don't get distracted." Leo's finger ghosted over the paper of the map where it stopped to tap on the hospital.
"We don't know if the inside is the same as last time we were there. Chances are high that The Shadow altered it to make it harder."
"What if we get separated?" Donnie asked, mouth in a tight line. "And we encounter the clones again...?"
Leo mulled that over, before taking off his mask and tying it around Mikey's biceps. He ignored the questioning glances and took Mikey's mask to tie it around Raph's biceps.
"That way we can tell immediately. Even if they catch on, they won't know who wears whose mask if they try to mimic us."
Understanding, Raph copied Leo and put his mask around Don's biceps and Don did the same to Leo with his purple mask.
"When we see them, we kill them. They don't have any knowledge of fighting the way we do." Donnie nodded in agreement, thinking back to the house.
"It didn't seem they're trying too hard, though. Raph's clone would've been strong enough to hold me down, and both of them should've been fast enough to catch us when the house blew up."
"I don't think Don's clone could've gotten away with the way I was holding him down... but when he squeezed me before grabbing my tail I felt he was stronger that he'd let on."
Leo sighed and shook his head. His tactician brain was already storing that information for later, but right now he had more important things in mind.
"Doesn't matter what their motives are. Our priority is to find The Shadow and defeat it. Maybe we can capture one of them and get them to talk. There has to be a way to defeat this spiritual being."
"Fine. What about Mikey?" Michelangelo opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by another coughing fit. Yeah, maybe he wasn't up to running around.
"I'm going to carry him." Donnie stated before Leo could say something. "I can keep an eye on him in case he gets worse and you two can concentrate on the mission." Leo let out a puff of air, but nodded.
"Alright. Mikey, you said you had this dream. Do you have any idea where in the hospital The Shadow is?"
Mikey rubbed his beak and blinked.
"Uh... not really. There was this hospital room... and a picture of a lighthouse. But I'm not sure if that's the place. There was rushing water."
"Rushing water in a hospital? Like, a tap running?" Mikey shook his head with closed eyes.
"No, it was more like... I don't know. Stronger. Like a waterfall."
Donnie lifted an eye ridge.
"That doesn't really make any sense... I can't think of anywhere in a hospital that..." The genius trailed off, realization hitting him.
"What?"
"The sewers..."
"Donnie, I scanned everything when I was out looking for you guys. There's no sewer grates or anything..."
"But there were sinks in the hospital. And the orphanage had a normal bathroom too. The water has to go somewhere. There has to be a way down there... and... and I guess it's possible the entrance is at the hospital. Somewhere in the basement I'd say."
The four turtles exchanged looks, all of them determined. It was their first real trace, their chance for freedom, and they wouldn't let it go to waste...