Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT
A/N: I've just finished the last chapter but I was on such a rush that I pumped out most of this one SO easily! I was actually waiting to post this, trying to space them out (I posted Expectations recently) then thought, what the hell! I'm going to refer to the monster sometimes as a gremlin. This is not a spoof from the movie, but the word gremlin literally means small monster, so that's why. Mikey's going to do something in this chapter that some might consider OOC, but it isn't intentional in that way. I just wanted him to do something different, like a person who's normally quiet yelling, you know? Kinda like Robin Williams first starring in serious movies.
Chapter 6
Straight From Hell
It stared at me with piercing eyes that seemed to sizzle a hole through me. I gulped and it licked it's teeth with a long pointed tongue.
Yes, I'm talking about a bona-fide monster. Not like the ones from the underground, which looked scary, this one was not only scary but looked evil. Like it had crawled from the pit of hell. It was about the size of a small cat, but was completely hairless. Not in a comical way, though I sure wish that it was, but in a kinda gross, tortured way. Like all the fur (if it ever had any) had been burned off. On the same account, its skin literally looked like it had been charred. It was black, brown, and red, wrinkled like a shriveled prune and smooth like the head of a blister at the same time. It was folding and peeling in some areas. It's body was long and sinous, like a weasel, with a little nubbin for a tail like those dogs who get their tails chopped off for the sake of breed standard. It was wide shouldered, like a rhino, and its legs were short and squat with long fingered/toed paws with claws so long and curved it was almost comical. The legs were odd, though. I don't know the exact definition for double jointed, but this must be what it is. If I count each joint as an elbow, then each leg had at least three. Somehow, at moments it seemed like more. They weren't stuck out like a spider, but rather bent at seemingly unnatural angles as though they were just thrown on. It's head was the worst. It's ears were tiny and pointed, as though stuck on there as an afterthought. The skin looked as though it had been pulled back tight like a hollywood actress, making the eyes wider than looked natural. As though following along the same rule, there were no lips to be seen, exposing the teeth to plain view. The thing's fangs were thin and needle like, sticking out of the mouth at such an odd collection of angles that if it did have lips, then they would be shredded with each movement of the jaw. Beneath the first row of teeth, countless rows could be seen like that of a shark. But it's eyes, they were white and seemed to have no real depth, like they'd go on forever. Somehow they didn't seem like eyes, either, but merely empty sockets that glowed with an evil brilliance.
We stared at each other for what must've been a solid minute. It never blinked. Just kept on staring at me with it's hypnotic gaze. My chest hurt, it felt as though my heart simply stopped beating. My limbs trembled and my skin puckered with a sudden chill. When did it get so cold in here? My eyes were burning and I realized the I hadn't blinked the entire time I was staring at it. I closed my eyes, my lids seeming to scrape along my eyeballs in slow motion. When my eyes opened again they were still glued to that spot where the gremlin was...only it wasn't there any more. My heart skipped in panic. Then I saw it. The thing had gotten off its perch and onto the pipe where I was standing on.
It was poised like a cat, its small head and unblinking eyes, one foot raised off the ground. It was eerily silent, as though even the roaring water had decided to take a break. Then the thing's foot touched the metal, it's multiple joints turning and rotating unnaturally, like you'd see on a wooden string puppet. It took another step closer to me. I took a slow step back. It took three steps so quickly that I almost thought that it was charging me. But it came to a sudden stop less than ten feet from me, it's eyes still staring straight into mine. I took a breath. During that mock charge I had nearly fallen from my spot. The fear was still sizzling through my veins, my legs felt rubbery and weak. Staggering slightly, I backed up from it. I was almost back to the spot where the line was wrapped around the pipe.
Slowly it opened its jaws, bristling with teeth, and flexed them, thick streams of saliva falling on the metal. It's eyes stayed ever open, like sockets. Then it let out a scream, so unnatural and terrifying that I don't know how to describe it. It was like nails on a chalkboard, a yowling cat, and a shrill siren all at the same time. The sound pierced the air with such a sharpness that I'm surprised the walls didn't shrink away from the onslaught. I winced, more out of fear than of pain and brought up my hands to cover my ears. My busted hand was still on fire, but somehow it didn't matter right now. I almost squeezed my eyes shut but thought better of it. My body shivered and I squatted low, hugging my legs with my elbows. I felt like a child hiding under the covers. The scream continued, ricochetting off the walls, filling the entire space with it's blind fury. But what echoed back terrified me more than anything.
Give me what I want...
Michelangelo...
Give it to me...
"No, no, no!" I whimpered. Against all better judgement, I closed my eyes and ducked my head between my legs and chest, rocking back and forth slightly. The screaming seemed to get louder, more intense. Scraping against every fiber of my being. "No, no!" My entire body trembled violently, and my breath came in burning, ragged gasps. My vision blurred even as the screaming stopped. Something clicked in front of me and I looked up. The thing was now a mere five feet from me. It grinned, if you could call it that, and opened its mouth. The most tormented type of raucous laughter spewed out of it's mouth, it was the laughter of people who got a kick out of lighting kittens on fire, the child abusers, the killers and souless people. It seemed like there were hundreds of them laughing at once, shrieking their pleasure at the pain of others. I could clearly picture inconcievable bony demons dancing in the light of open flame, revelling in the sound. Closing it's toothy mouth it continued it's grotesque grin as it crept closer, popping it's joints in an odd, broken gait. Then the laughter crept down to a lower volume, until it was a single, muted chuckle. Manevolence oozed from it. But the laughter changed, morphed until it was something that it was that was impossible for me not to recognize.
It was Leo.
I stared at it in complete shock as the thing bobbed quickly like a child recieving a lollipop. It was enjoying this. In some sick, twisted way, it was enjoying this!
Leo's voice, the voice of my oldest brother and leader, was coming out of that...that...that things mouth! Mocking me, laughing at me in the voice of my own brother! The brother that they did something to, the one who for all I know might be lying dead somewhere right now! How dare they! Images popped into my head, memories of my brother, so happy. Then my imagination took flight and I imagined Leo in the clutches of these things, his scream echoed through my mind even as the monster laughed at me in his voice.
Something odd happened to me then, something that I don't think ever happened to me before. As that monstrosity got so close to me, laughing at me in Leo's voice, all my muscles tightened violently as I was filled with such a righteous fury that if my brothers saw me right now, I might not be recognizable.
My good hand brushed my nunchuku, the one they didn't break. My fingers closed around it so tight that the wood dug into my palm. The thing took another step, it was now a foot from me. My teeth clenched so tight I'm surprised they didn't shatter. It let out a hiss while still laughing in Leo's voice, bobbing it's ugly head quicker, letting it's long, pointed tongue roll out of it's mouth. I'll never know what it planned to do next, for at that instant I pulled my arm out, swinging it with more force than I ever used before. The light piece of wood became a missile as I swung it through the air. Baring my teeth like a mad animal, I watched as it collided with the thing's head. It connected with a wet crunching sound, right below the ear. It sunk in a bit as spittle and blood flew out of the monster's mouth. The monster flew off the pipe with the force of the blow, completely silent as it's limp body was swallowed up by the surging water below.
I sat there for a good minute, body trembling, my arm still extended holding my nunchuku. Waves of anger and hatred seeped out of me as my heart thudded hard against my chest and sweat oozed out of my skin. Eventually I calmed down. I stood up shakily. I couldn't believe that I had harbored that kind of anger, or that anything could bring it out of me. I still couldn't explain quite where it came from, but obviously it was there. Is this what Raph feels? Wow, what a rush! But a dangerous rush. The adrenaline flushing from my veins right now might be intoxicating, but I didn't want to get it again. It felt...bad.
Either way, I was glad that the gremlin was dead.
No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, then I could hear screeching in the tunnels. After coming face to face with this monster and hearing it's voice, I knew what it was.
I practically sprinted down the pipe. Once again I bless my extreme physical prowess that I didn't slip and fall to my doom. My legs still trembled. The last time I ate was yesterday night's snack, but that wasn't why. It was everything else. Monsters, family attacked, me kidnapped, me almost dying, then the evil monster. It was almost too much. It was all waiting for me. But I couldn't think about it right now. When I slowed down it would hit me like one of Hun's punches.
I leapt into the opening and hit the surface running. My heart thudded in my chest so loud that I thought that my eardrums would burst, but it wasn't enough to drown out the screaming of the monsters. I almost squeezed my eyes shut at the sound, but of course thought better of it. I just kept sprinting. Turn here, duck there, turn there, I don't know what I'm doing. I tried to imagine myself as one of those heroes on the monster movies, but all I could picture were the guys who unknowingly did something stupid and ended up decapitated. Great.
I heard a funny noise behind me, like tin foil, and my blood turned to ice when I realized that it was countless (sure sounded like a lot, at least) claws scratching the brick and metal of the sewerline. A fierce scream pierced the air, not unlike the one I heard earlier, but this one ticked off rather than taunting and superior. The sounds echoed throughout the sewers. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, though I was sure they were behind me. (Oh, geesh, I didn't even think that they could be up front!) Man, I couldn't even tell how far behind me they were!
Suddenly I recognized some of the area. I wasn't too far from the Lair! Excitement surged through my veins, replacing the drag the adrenaline left there. I had to hurry.
Running, I passed a gaping hole and sprinted on for at least twenty feet before I skidded to a halt so quickly I flopped in the sewer water. Getting up, I accidently used both hands to get up and hit the ground again with a loud cry, clutching my crippled hand to my chest before heaving myself up once more, cradling my injury. Scrambling over, I looked at the broken hole in the sewer system. Through a couple of layers of brick and past some pipes, I could make out the unmistakable mess that was my room (last time I saw it, at least). The hole wasn't that tall, so I had to get on my hand (yes, hand not hands) and knees and squeeze between some pipes to get in. I guess it's easier to dodge them when you're hogtied and being pulled by a pack of monsters.
The monsters behind me screamed. It seemed to echo straight into my ears. I winced. They were closer now, I could make that part out now. I took too long getting in the Lair. They were almost on me.
Swimming through the sea of shredded belongings, I struggled to go faster. My fist closed around the doorknob just as I heard one of the monsters scramble it's claws on the piping behind me. Not even ten feet. Then they'd get me.
I yanked open the door, whipped to the other side of it, and slammed it shut with my shell. Something thumped on the other side of the door just as it clicked closed. Many somethings. The doorknob twisted beneath my palm. I gripped it tighter.
But now I was in the Lair, maybe my brothers would be here.
As I opened my eyes, however, the scene before me told me something completely different.
A/N: I BLEW through the first 3/4 of this chapter, writing it immediately after posting the other one. It did make for confusing reviews, though. Each time I read one I had to remind myself that they were referring to the other chapter. I kinda gurgled through writing the rest of the chapter, though. Hope that it lives up to standards, I really like most of it.
Remember, if you read it, review it!
Toodles!