Three days. It had been three long, agonizing days and Leo hadn't found even one of his brothers. Tears had been prickling at the back of eyes since he woke up this morning. So far, he'd succeeded in pushing them away but the urge grew with every passing moment, every new stretch of forest he didn't see his brothers. Leo stared at the ground. He was the leader. He didn't have time for tears. Right now, he had to focus on finding his brothers, on finding Mikey. Leo nervously shifted his crutch. I'm coming, Mikey.
The trees sparkled in the early morning dew and strange bird calls echoed through the forest. The temperature had risen slightly with the rising sun, dispelling the morning fog and warming Leo's frozen skin. The night before had been especially cold since he'd been drenched from the storm a few hours before. He'd shivered the whole night wanting nothing more than to curl up with his brothers and sleep together like they did when they were little. Leo let a sigh escape his lips, letting his cloudy breath join the dissipating fog. He would find them. It was only a matter of time.
But his throat hurt and his stomach ached. He'd yet to find any sort of food he trusted or water source save for a few droplets of rain. He wasn't sure if he could survive another three days. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering the cool, wet drops falling down and across his tongue. No, he could keep going. He could do it.
Of course, it didn't help that the entire forest had turned into a giant puddle in the rain. The slime slipped and gushed under his feet in a vain attempt to suck him down into the earth.
He'd been tempted to comply. Lie down, just for a breather. It seemed to call to him. Let your battered body rest.
Leo sighed. He was sure his leg was getting worse. The swelling had yet to go down and his leg bit painfully every time he almost lost his balance in the mud. The pain was overwhelming, monopolizing his attention and focus.
His thoughts swirled around ignoring the pain and hunger and thirst and avoiding the mud. He nearly missing the sound of slight buzzing to his right. Leo blinked refocusing his senses on pinpointing the unfamiliar hum. He walked a few steps towards where the noise seemed to be coming from, stepping around a particularly broad tree.
He paused. In the middle of a clearing, swarmed a cloud of insects, moving like a school of fish. The mass undulated, creating the effect of waves on a pond, and gently drifted around the glade. Spellbound, Leo watched the hypnotic motion. He felt his mind numb. He had to get closer. Leo took a mesmerized step forward. What were they?
The swarm immediately froze, buzzing in place, as if staring straight at Leo. He gulped and slowly stepped back. The horde reacted instantly, racing straight towards Leo. He turned and ran as fast as he could, his leg burning with the effort, sending stabs of pain up to his hip but the humming behind him drove him on. He could hear the horde closing in, feel the air shift under their wings. His vision blurred with the pain and effort. He could feel himself slowing down.
The buzz grew to an angry roar as it closed the distance. Leo let out a gasp as he felt a prick on his arm. The sting immediately burst into searing pain, tearing at his muscles and making him cry out in pain. He shut his eyes. A shard dip in the landscape sent him flipping over and down a hill. As he tumbled, he forgot about the angry mob behind him, only comprehending the throbbing in his arm.
Leo crashed at the bottom of the hill, cracking his shell against a tree. He curled into fetal position, clutching his arm. His breath came out in ragged gasps. For a blissful moment, it was only his breath and the pain.
"Leo?" He opened his eyes slightly at the noise. They grew from slivers to wide circles at the sight of Raph leaning heavily on a tree, drenched in blood. "Leo?" Raph spoke again, pain threaded through his voice. "Leo, help." Leo tried to call out, to reassure his brother, but his throat caught and sent him choking on his own voice. "Leo." Raph murmured before collapsing just out of reach. Leo tried to move to his little brother, needing to hold the motionless body. His limbs felt like clay, dragging and heavy.
"Leo!" The oldest turned to see Donnie sprinting through the trees, the Foot at his heels. Leo tried to stand to fight, to protect Don, but his arms wouldn't obey him. Donnie cried out as the mob of foot soldiers caught up to him and covered him, all stabbing, stabbing, stabbing. Then, just as quickly as they had arrive the Foot vanished, revealing Donnie, eyes wide and unmoving. Tears of blood soaked his cheeks, his lips set in a wordless cry.
"Having fun, Leo?" Leo's attention snapped towards the new voice. Karai stood with Mikey held tightly in her grip. His little brother shook with the effort of trying to free himself. He was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises but Karai just smiled as her grip tightened. Mikey choked out a yelp, eyes growing wide with panic. His feet kicked just above the safety of ground with the last of his energy, desperately trying to break from Karai's grasp. Then Mikey went still. Kara laughed and dropped the lifeless body right next to Leo's tear streaked face. "That's what you get for loosing your team." She mocked. Leo ignored her stinging words, crawling towards his little brother. "Mikey… Mikey…" He cried, his voice breaking. As soon as Leo reached his youngest brother he pulled him closer, cradling Mikey in his arms. As he lay there among his brothers corpses, Leo couldn't stop shaking.
Oh no! Poor Leo! Are his brothers really dead? I'll let you know Wednesday! In the mean time tell me what you think in the comments. I love to hear form you guys. :)