A/N: Well, I found a way to type for my fanfic stories at work without using the website and without me having a word processor (yes, I'm a neanderthal). I hope that you like this one and thank you for the wonderful responses.
Chapter 10
What it Wants
I halfway expected to wake up dead, if that statement makes any sense, that is. Even though none of those evil forces had so much as touched me so far, I still expected death for some reason. I guess that those kinds of thoughts go through your mind when you willingly plunge yourself into a teaming sea of gigantic water monsters after your brother. Who would've thought, right?
Well, when I woke up I wasn't dead. Wow, never though I'd be saying that. But even when I did wake up, I still had to ponder wether or not I was dead. Everything was completly black, black as death. I waved my hands in front of my face couldn't see a thing. I actually had to touch my nose to be sure that they were even there. All of this is unnerving on its own. What was going to happen to me? Things couldn't get any worse.
Then I heard it.
snicker
The evil little laugh sounded through the air, richochetting off of unseen objects to echo into my ears once more. It sent a chill down my shelled spine. Nervously I looked around, but of course as I stated before I could see nothing. My skin pricked as a warm, moist breeze wafted against my side.
Then I heard a muffled groan, in a voice that I recognized in an instant. RAPH!
My limbs were instantly seized with energy and I began to scramble frantically forward on my hands and knees in that direction, my hands reaching out for anything substancial to grab a hold of, something I could use. Another warm, moist waft of air drifted purposely by me.
Then I heard it again, this time from the opposite direction. What's going on? I swifly turned around to follow this new source until it came again to my left. The warm humidity in the air made my skin feel clammy. Turning around I started forward before I hesitated. Was it deliberately goading me?
My thoughts were answered by a raspy chuckle. The sound made me shiver even as another patch of moistened air drifted by me. It was an unhealthy sounding thing, like a chainsmoker who screams all the time and likes to down shots of pure whiskey. Dry, crackly, raspy, moist, painful, corroded and uneven. The laughter continued until it multiplied. It was as though I was surrounded by thousands of creatures laughing at me in their raspy voices. They did this all at once until they echoed and reverberated off of each other until the effect was like nothing that I could possibly describe.
Abruptly it stopped.
Michelangelo...
Give me what I want...
Give it to me...
Licking my lips, I hesitated for the first time. For all I knew, my future and the future of my family was riding on my answer to this question. So far, I'd said no to each question. The resulting events weren't somthing that I'd care to repeat. Who would it go after next? April and Casey? I didn't want them to end up like my family. Hopefully they were still alive. I clung to that hope. I needed to give it a different answer.
Opening my mouth, I spoke into the chilling darkness. "What is it you want?"
Surprised that the terrified tremor didn't appear immediately in my voice, I waited for a response. There was a slight pause, and for a horrifying moment I though that it wouldn't answer, would just go after someone else if it wasn't the answer it wanted. Or it was just toying with me, and all this was just some sick, cruel joke for the amusement of some evil demon. Or maybe it would finally strike me down as well. I suppose that wouldn't be so bad. At least I'd be with my family...
When it finally answered, it broke the eerie silence so suddenly that I started at the sound.
Your soul...
The response took me aback so swiftly that I almost laughed aloud. My soul? Really not what I expected. It could have anyone's soul, why mine? Better yet, why not ask for that in the beginning instead of being so damned vague that all these things have to happen! Anger, something I'm not really used to, flashed through my brain. Gritting my teeth I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.
"Why didn't you just take it? Why put me through so much hell?!"
It snickered again, which was enough to make me tremble uncharacteristically with rage. Did it really think that all this stuff was funny? But I kept my mouth shut until it finally answered.
Rules...
That gave me a pause. There must be some type of higher power that this thing answers to that won't let it just take things like that. My mind was working to see if I could possibly manipulate the situation for my benefit. Geesh, when did I become so scheming? I guess that considering everything that was riding on this situation had something to do with it...
"Is that why you haven't hurt me yet?"
Yes...
Now time for the million dollar question. One of two answers. I swallowed hard, half dreading it's response. "My family, are they alive and well?"
They are alive...snicker...
Shell, I sure didn't like that answer. Sure is a heck of a lot better than a flat no, but still not made of roses and sugar either. "What do you mean by that?"
There was a small pause.
I am losing patience...
Chewing on my lower lip, I knew that the ice was getting thin. Time to take charge, or try to at least. "Why are you keeping them alive?" Once again I dreaded the answer, but something told me that I needed to see all the cards. Would probably be better if I could see, of course.
Collateral...
Crap! What does that word mean? Like the movie Collateral Damage...no, stop thinking of movies. Collateral like...money?...no...hostages?... That was it. Of course. He can't hurt me, he needs them to manipulate me. "Why do you need my soul? Why not someone else?"
Special...
"How am I special? What will happen if you get it?"
Power...power to rule...
The thought of giving the thing my soul made me feel uneasy. Hey, who wouldn't? "What if I don't want to give it to you?"
In that moment light shot over me, as though there were overhead lamps that just got switched on. Something stabbed me in my gut as it reminded me eerily of the nightmare that I had this morning. At first the small ringlet of light stayed only on me. But then four more switched on, slowly, dramatically. As each light appeared, what it illuminated turned my blood cold.
First Leo appeared, though at first he wasn't recognizable. One of those monsters, the ones from the water, had itself wrapped around him. It resembled a black eel that had been dipped in some sort of slime and was thicker around than my torsoe and shell. It's head was sharp to the nose, and other than that mouth full of jagged teeth was completely blank. Leo's head and the brim of his shoulders were visible through the slimy, wet coils. He was clearly struggling to free himself. The thing visibly tightened it's hold and he gasped. For a moment he turned an odd shade of purple until he managed to control it somehow. He was clearly gasping, crying out and making all sorts of noises, but I might as well have been watching a TV on mute for all I heard. His face was a clear picture of panic and fear. The creature lifted it's featurless head and opened it's jaws over Leo's head. The threat was clear.
Then I saw Master Splinter. His beloved robe was in raggs and he was shackled to some type of unseen wall. He was wide awake, but like Leo didn't make a single sound. He strained against the steel, gritting his teeth with the effort, his limbs trembled. It was then that I saw his breathing. He looked like he was struggling to make each breath. With each inhale his skin clung to his ribs so tightly that for a brief moment he looked like a skeleton. Then he exhaled, though he clearly didn't get enough air. His eyes never met mine but looked about, once going in my direction but somehow looking right through me. He couldn't see me. He struggled painfully to breath in again. The effort was clearly exhausting him.
Instinctively my good hand clawed at my own throat as a lump formed in it. Just watching him was torture to me. Before I could react a third light came.
Donny was propped up on a chair, completely limp. A rope was tied loose around his waist to keep him from toppling over. The back of the chair was high enough to keep his head propped up. He was looking around nervously. Then one of those spider monsters appeared. It skittered over to the leg of the chair where his foot lay. Raising one pointed leg it touched the top of his foot tentatively. Finally the limb sank into Don's flesh, no more than an inch. Blood immediatelly welled up thick at the wound. The only movement was Don opening his mouth in what was clearly a cry of pain. Still paralyzed, he was powerless to stop it. Several more monsters skittered up to him, then loitered around expectantly, the little white faces grinning in anticipation.
Finally it showed Raph, shackled to an unseen ceiling by his ankle. It was the leg that was paralyzed. He hung there, swinging back and forth, pumping his arms furiosly as he attempted to right himself. For some reason, though I knew that he could, he just never reached the shackle on his ankle. The familiar bat-monkey monsters appeared, flying in ominous circles around his swinging form. They started darting down, claws outstretched. Raph fought them furiously, but there wasn't much he could do. I winced as I saw the blood well.
"NO! NO! STOP!" I screamed into the air and ran towards them. But I got nowhere. It was as though I were running on air, my feet were moving but I wasn't. Furiously I tried harder, clawing at the air with my hands, teeth gritted, tears streaming from my face. This couldn't be how it was. It was all my fault. This couldn't be how we end up!
I felt the moist breeze once more and stilled. The soft, raspy laughter made me ball my fists until my knuckles turned white.
Give me what I want...
A/N: So what do you think? I wrote the very last bit in kind of a rush because I need sugar so bad that I'm shaking but I want to get this out so bad! I'm excited about continuing this story. Please tell me what you guys think. Reviews can be very uplifting!
Toodles!