The Spark

Chapter Four: Deliverance

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The sounds of frantic breathing and hurried footsteps filled the narrow alleyway. Sharp turns, dead ends, and debris made running very difficult for the two boys. Fox looked over to his left and quickly assessed the agitated face of his brother. He watched as Skull's eyes frantically searched for something, anything that could help them, but as the seconds quickly passed, their situation was looking hairier.

Good, they were both feeling the same thing.

Statistically, it was bound to happen, and Fox was surprised that it did not happen sooner. They had robbed so many stores and farmers markets; it was only a matter of time before they got caught. That is how they ended up in their current predicament. They were caught stealing food and spray paint from a high end convenience store in an upscale part of town. They were not familiar with this area which made escaping even more difficult.

"Quickly, there are those two punk kids!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Fox eyes widened as he saw the three security guards in hot pursuit. By their red angry faces, exposed teeth, and long string shouts of profanity, even a stranger could tell that these men meant business. These guards were not the typical fat-asses that normally decorate stores. Fox noticed that these men were actually in shape, and were slowly closing in the gap between him and his brother.

"What are we going to do?" Fox quickly asked, his words drenched with panic. He knew the dangers of being captured, and did not want to think of the fate of him and his brother.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Skull exhaled and he pumped his arms faster to increase his speed. Looking around frantically, he locked eyes with his younger brother. "I know that you are not going to like this idea," Skull hissed, "but we need to split up. When we get up to this next alleyway, you go right, and I will go left. Run until you reach the next corner and then quickly get your ass into the first shop you see and hide. We will meet at the old hotel on fourth street in an hour."

Before he could object, the split in the alleyway appeared and Skull shouted at him to run as if his ass was on fire, so he did. Fox had never ran that fast in his life. He couldn't hear anything. The sound of his heart pounding filled his ears and his mind was locked onto one goal. His feet and legs were like the wheels of the locomotives he read about in his encyclopedia. Powerful and designed to crank out as much power and speed as possible. He imagined himself barreling down steel tracks, destroying everything that got in his path.

Over and over again he kept repeating his brothers instructions. When he reached a corner, he sharply turned and smiled in relief. The area was densely populated, and there were numerous shops that would offer a decent place to hide. Weaving in and out of the pedestrians, Fox quickly sprang up the steps to one of the more older looking buildings, and ducked away inside. Running to the far corner, he hid behind a shelf which offered him just enough room to wiggle in.

"Where did that little punk get off to?' He heard one of the guards in his pursuit shout near an adjacent window.

"Lets go find that other one, come on!"

Moments passed, and the only thing that Fox could hear was the hustle and bustle from outside, and his own breathing. Sighing in relief, he let his head fall forward. He had never had such a close call before, and he knew that he would do anything to prevent that from happening again.

As his brother instructed, he waited. However, the curiosity of knowing where exactly he was hiding became too much, and he slowly wiggled out of his hiding spot to explore his surroundings. As he looked around, he could not help but to gasp. The shop he was in was filled with books. There were shelves of all shapes, colors, and sizes that were weighted down with various types of reading materials. As he weaved in and out of the wooden structures, his eyes widened in complete awe. These books were not damaged, in fact, they practically looked new. The young turtle had no idea how long he walked around the shop, but his eyes immediately fell on one book in particular.

The book was entitled Absolutely Everything That You Need To Know About Anything, and he knew that he had to have it. Its beautifully bound pages and thick stature made his mind race with the possibilities that lied within its pages. Reaching up and gently lifting the books off its shelf, Fox neatly placed it in one of his deep pockets in his jacket. As he turned away from the shelf, he was surprised to run into a very tall man.

"What do you think you are doing young man," the figure questioned, and Fox immediately felt his stomach drop to the floor. He escaped one situation just to find himself in yet another. As he looked up at the man however, he noticed that he was wearing thick black sunglasses indoors.

"Nothing," Fox replied softly, trying to sound as innocent as possible, "I was just looking around at all of these books."

The man smiled, never making direct eye contact with him and said, "Well, I would sure hope so young man. This is a library of course, why would you be in here otherwise?"

A library. He hid inside of a library.

He had only read about libraries before in his encyclopedia. Fox never thought he would actually be able to visit one is real life. He was in awe, that explains the large quantities of books.

"However, I must ask, why are you trying to take one of my books young sir?"

Oh. The man did see him. Guiltily, he reached into his pocket and stared at the book that he tried to steal. Shifting from one foot to the other, he mumbled, "It looked interesting. I like books with a lot of information."

To his surprise, the old man smiled. I know exactly what book you are talking about. You must be interested in reading Absolutely Everything That You Need To Know About Anything. That book was one of my son's favorites when he was a young one. Its filled with a lot of information about various topics.

Silence passed between the two individuals. The old man, which Fox assumed was the librarian cleared his throat and softly asked, "would you like to borrow this book young man?"

Fox stared up at the mans unmoving face in disbelief. He couldn't believe that the man was offering to let him borrow the book after he just tried to take it. He was confused, and this offer did not make sense. Staring down at the thick book in his hands, he could not resist the proposition and eagerly whispered yes.

The librarian smiled and stuck out his arm to Fox. The boy quizzically looked at the mans arm, shocked by the gesture.

"Young man," the elderly librarian boomed, "in case you have not noticed, I am blind. I have been for the past year or so. When I heard someone enter my shop, I left the front counter area without my cane. May you please take me there so that I may check this book out to you?"

A blind man. Fox had never met anyone who was blind before. He couldn't help but to sigh in relief. The man was standing extremely close to him, yet he didn't have to worry about his identity. Quite frankly, he thought it was rather ironic that a man who was blind worked in a store that catered to the sighted. However, he wanted his book, and would do anything it took to have it. Gently, he grabbed the man's arm with his free hand, and slowly walked him back to the front counter where he sat down.

"You have very large hands for a young man," said the old man, chuckling as he sat down in his chair.

"I get that a lot, I think I inherited them from my father," said Fox, rolling his eyes at the obvious lie he just told.

Clearing his throat, the man rummaged around his desk. When his fingers touched the object he was looking for, he smiled in with satisfaction. "Seeing as you tried to steal this book, I think it is safe to assume that you do not have a library card. I am going to issue you one. With this card, you will have access to all of the books within this library, and you will be allowed to even check out up to seven at a time if you wish.

The man held out the thin slick plastic card for Fox to grab, and then returned to his desk. He rummaged around for a few more minutes, and then handed a black pen to Fox.

"Now young man, what is your name?"

Fox was quiet for a few seconds. He wasn't entirely sure if he was supposed to give that much information to a human. However, he has already spent this much time in close proximity to this man, and he was completely harmless. He saw no imminent consequences.

"My name is Fox," said the young turtle, standing up straighter and clearing his throat.

Moments passed and the library fell completely silent. The librarian slowly rotated in his chair and for the first time, looked in Fox's general direction.

"Now son, I have been very patient with you so far. I would like to know your real name, not one of those made up names you kids give yourself just to sound cool."

Fox shifted uncomfortably on his feet, and whispered his name.

"What was that young man, I could not quite hear that. I do not speak mumble."

"My name is Donatello," he shouted, probably a bit too loud, but he wanted to make sure he was heard this time around.

The old man smiled and leaned back into his chair, stroking his scruffy face. "Donatello, like one of the great renaissance masters. What an excellent name. I am assuming that you go by Don or Donny for short?"

"You are correct sir," he said, clicking the pen in his hands.

"Well, good. You can call me Ed. Now, if you look on the back of the library card that I just handed you, there is a spot where you need to manually write your name in. Please write your real name and not goat, or sheep, or pig, or whatever hogwash name you tried to feed me earlier."

"Yes sir."

Sighing, Fox, did what he was told. He carefully wrote his birthname on the back of the library card, and placed the pen gently on the counter in front of the man. He felt chills. Signing his name on the back of the card made him feel powerful. He had access to something that he could only dream about in his safe place. He hugged the book closer to his chest as he looked back at all of the books, waiting patiently for him to read them.

"Now Don," Ed said softly, inching his way to the edge of his counter, "the library offers those who wish to use it a chance to access vast amounts of knowledge. In here, you can go anywhere you want to go, or be anything you want to be. I am going to allow you to check out that book you are holding onto for dear life. You may keep it as long as you feel is necessary. Please come back and visit any time you wish. I'd like to see you around every now and again. The hours are posted up outside."

With that, Ed smiled, and Fox could not help but to smile too. He thanked him and quickly exited the library, holding the book, his book, to his chest. Slipping the book into the waistline of his pants, and hiding his library card in one of the pockets on the inside of his belt, he quickly ran in the direction of fourth street. For the first time in months, a genuine smile made its way to his face and he ran faster than he had ever ran before.

He was no longer tired or sore. He felt energized and free. In his mind, he now had access to all the information in the world, and his vision became brighter. He had somewhere to go, another space that was his. Filled with books, both old and new, that contained many secrets tucked away within their bindings. He was a new person, and he had never felt so alive.

When he arrived to the rendezvous point, He saw his brother and quickly ran towards him. He still had that goofy smile on his face, which caused Skull to look at him with a look of complete confusion.

"You alright there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What took you so long," Skull questioned, crossing his arms.

"I got lost. I made a wrong turn somewhere and I had to ask for some directions."

"Fair enough," Skull said, as a sly grin slowly creeped up on his face, "come on, we have to get home before this sparring session. I don't want Splinter kicking our asses for missing another one."

With that, the boys took off running to the nearest manhole cover, grins plastered on their young faces.

Skull was happy because he finally evaded people affiliated with security and safety. To him, it was a big fuck you to the justice system. He rebelled against laws and order, and came out victorious. Nothing, in his mind, could stop him now. He fought the law, and he won.

Fox was happy because for the first time in months, he tasted freedom. He felt direction and purpose in a world where his existence did not fit the equation.

(A/N): Here is another chapter for The Spark. I am very happy with the direction the story is taking, and I hope you all do as well. This chapter was a pleasure to write, and I hope it is a pleasure to read.

-Peace