Thanks for all the support, so here is the real chapter 1, and I really hope you guys like it! This chapter introduces many things, such as Zarah's parents, the only problem is, I can't spoil the surprise…LOL!
Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT, they belong to Mirage; all I own are Zarah, Philip, and Sally Thompson, if you wish to borrow them, then please ask me permission!
Void: Chapter 1-Silent Cry
The sound of a pencil tapping on a table top caused her to look up from her spaghetti, causing her to stare at the aging man before her, his large lensed glasses caused his eyes to seem larger then they really were.
"Daddy, somethin's been botherin' ya since Mom passed on," she stated, twirling the fork in the sauce-covered noodles.
The man looked up from a wide-open file on his desk, a slight frown on his lips, "Zarah, not now."
"Daddy, it ain't gonna get any better unless ya talk 'bout it," she whispered.
The man shook his head, "Zarah, I have to finish this project up."
She shook her head, closing her eyes, as she dropped her fork with a 'cling' on her plate, "Can I be excused."
The man made a slight sound that she knew gave her permeation to leave the table. Bracing her hands on the table, but she pushed the oak chair she was sitting in back, before standing up. Sending one last glance at her father for the night, she turned on her left heel and stormed out of the dining room.
------
"Hey, Don, you've been staring at that sheet of paper for half an hour now!" Michelangelo moaned, "I thought you'd be working on a project or invention or something…what's so interesting 'bout one sheet of paper anyways."
Mikey stared at Don as his genius brother gazed at the paper at the kitchen table, for what seemed like too long in his terms. Heck, he'd been like that since he walked in the kitchen to make himself some lunch.
"July 8th, 1997," Don suddenly murmured.
"Huh?" Mikey blinked, staring at his brother, a confused look on his face.
"Why does that date in particular come into mind," Mikey blinked, noticing that Donatello was talking to himself, tapping a balled point pen on his chin.
"Dunno, maybe you should talk to Splinter," Mikey suddenly blurted out.
Don suddenly tensed, finally noticing Michelangelo was sitting at the kitchen table with him, "How long have you been sitting there?"
"Half an hour," Mikey stated bluntly, drumming his fingers on the table, a bored expression on his face, "and what's with all this July 8th, 1997, crap?"
Donatello sighed, rubbing his temple as a child like laugh entered his mind, muttering, "I've been hearing things."
Mikey perked up, "Like what?"
"Listen baby brother, some things even I can't explain," Don stated, closing his eyes.
"Zarah, ya get back 'ere with those pictures!"
Don blinked, noticing it was a woman's voice, thick with a Southern Accent.
"But Mommy, Donnie and I were just goin' ta look at 'em!"
The little girl's voice again, something about it made his heart swell when it said his name.
Zarah, why does that name ring a bell?
Bringing the pen to his mouth, he sucked it a bit, the bitter taste of ink resting on his tongue. Something did not add up about it, he knew exactly how the name was spelled, and yet he had no memory of meeting such a person. Pulling the pen from his mouth, he quickly scribbled the word 'Zarah' underneath the date.
"Then explain that," Mikey pointed at the word his brother had just written, "because it sounds like that hostess from that one show…" he scratched his head, "I know it has to do something with music."
"Mikey, shouldn't you be feeding Klunk?" Don finally asked, "Or go mess with Raph and Leo or something?"
Mikey thought for a bit, "Fed Klunk this morning, and both Raph and Leo threatened to kick my ass if I messed with them today."
Just great.
Don rubbed his temples for the second time that conversation, a migraine forming pressure in his skull. A slight tingling feeling was set on his forehead; he could make out the long slender fingers of a woman's hand.
"Don' worry lil' one, I'll help ya feel better."
The pain suddenly began to subside, but he could still feel the tingling.
What the shell?
------
She had returned to the attic after avoiding the storage room for several days after the incident that caused her mind to be on the edge. She kept on hearing her mother talking in the Southern drawl, telling her repeatedly that everything would be getting better…
But why does everything seem to be gettin' worse?
She flipped on the flashlight in her grasp, shutting out the light to the upstairs room. Her father reacted drastically after finding her whimpering and crying in front of the trunk, harshly punishing her from opening it.
Gently fixing her lime green pajama shorts she walked forward, the light casting an eerie glow as she made her way to the trunk on the opposite end of the room. She repeated what she had done days before, opening the trunk as silently as she could reaching in and fumbling around with the papers.
She blinked when she felt the hard cover of a book, "What the?" She pulled it out carefully, flashing the light at the cover, which was a deep brown in color. She stuck the flashlight in her mouth opening the book carefully. Her eyes furrowed at the words written inside the cover.
Property of Sally Thompson, this must have been 'er writing notebook she lost shortly after I turned eight.
Flipping the page, her eyes widened slightly, the flashlight threatening to fall out of her mouth. She clamped down on the flashlight with her teeth, her eyes twinkling in the darkness at the date scribbled at the top in the black ink similar to the date written on the picture she found days before.
May 23, 1997
She shut the book with one hand, pulling the flashlight out of her mouth, and grabbed a small stack of pictures that were yellowing. Some how she knew that the book would be the key into finding out what happened on June 8th of 1997; she would search until it killed her.
Mom, what are ya tryin' ta tell me?
-Three Weeks Prior-
"What's the meetin' 'bout anyways, Mom?" Zarah asked the fair-haired woman as she stepped out of the bathroom wearing an eggplant purple business suit. The woman's chocolate brown eyes twinkled with laughter.
"That Father of yours is goin' ta hell an' back to finish this project, and he's been pesterin' me to come along," she ran her fingers through her curled hair, "plus I wanna see what's so special about a machine that translates baby talk. I mean, I remember when you were in diapers and cowboy boots, and I could understand every lil' thing you babbled out."
She flushed, a pink tent covering her freckled cheeks, "Mama! Ya know how I feel when ya talk about me from my baby years!"
The woman rolled her eyes, before messing up Zarah's blonde hair with her hand as she walked past, "But ya were a cute lil' baby."
Zarah sighed a bit, adjusting her spaghetti strapped pajama top, "So?"
"Zarah," her mother smiled a bit, standing at the door, "One day, I might not be here, and these talks will be all that ya have in your memory of me."
"Mom, you're acting like you're goin' ta die any day now," Zarah stated.
"Honey, ya gotta live like there's no tomorrow," the woman stated, shaking her head slightly, "because you'll never know when your life's gonna be over."
-That Night-
Zarah was sitting crossed legged with a textbook in her lap, "Poor lil' Doodle, his brother was a big fat creep jus' thinkin' of 'imself." She shook her head slightly writing her name on the carpet with her right index finger as she stared at the book silently. Unshed tears glazed her eyes, and she had no idea why.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!
She jumped slightly, glancing at the cordless phone that sat next to her. Snatching up quickly as it rang loudly, she pressed the speaker button, "Thompson residence this is Zarah speakin'."
"Zarah, it's Dr. Brians," a male voice spoke on the other end, voices were muffled in the background, but she could hear her father talking to her father's doctor, "there's been a terrible accident."
Mom…
-Present Day-
She furiously scrubbed her hands in the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. It was hard to be strong, especially after that talk with her mother.
I didn't even get ta say good-bye.
She shook her head, causing the childish statement to escape her thoughts. She was trying to be strong to prove to her father that she could handle living without the woman she looked up to and adored in her life.
Something suddenly reached out of the void of her mind.
"You're Mommy loves you, I wish I had one."
She stopped in mid-movement, allowing the water to continue to soak her hands. Her milk chocolate eyes staring at herself in the mirror; she had not noticed the dark rings underneath her eyes, or how sickly she looked. Suddenly a wave of dizziness slapped onto her and she braced the sink with her water-slicked hands, and the gut wrenching pain of nausea kicked in.
"You're not afraid of me?"
"Of coarse not, I've seen scarier things in my cousin's toilet."
She closed her eyes tightly, "Get out of my head." A dry sob escaped her lips as her hands gripped her sink harder, causing her knuckles to go white.
"Hush, it's alright, just let go, and don't fight…"
"Mommy, I need ya," she drew in a shaky breathe as she fought back the tears, "I don't wanna be alone."
Suddenly out of the darkness of her mind, a little boy's voice called to her.
"Zarah, you'll never be alone."
-----
It had been three hours since Donatello felt that weird presence and he felt as if everything would be back to normal. Well, as normal as it gets being a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle can get, and normal in Donatello's terms was sitting in his lab, working on his latest invention.
"Whatcha doin'?" Donatello tensed suddenly, glancing at the opening to his lab. Raphael was standing there with a smug expression on his face.
"Working on a way to put a holographic simulator into a watch," he stated flatly.
Raphael nodded slightly, "Fer what?"
"So we can camouflage better topside," he stated, setting his screwdriver down.
"Well, Master Splinter told me to come 'ere and let ya know that ya better get to dinner before Mike inhales all the pizza," Raphael smirked slightly, throwing his right thumb over his shoulder, and nodding his head towards the kitchen, "and Mike's blabbin' that ya lost yer mind."
Donatello blinked, "I haven't lost my mind…"
"Then what's with this June 8th, 1990, crap," he stated, "I mean, it ain't like ya Donnie."
"Donnie, I don't want ta forget."
"The year is 1997, Raph," Donnie shook his head. Raph suddenly blinked.
"Ain't that the day ya came home when we were six, afta disappearin' for a couple of months?" Raph blurted, scratching his head.
"I never disappeared," Donnie shook his head.
"Ya got to be kiddin' me," Raph sighed, shaking his head, bringing a hand to his forehead, running it down his face, before letting it limply hang at his side, "Don, ya did disappear when we were kids," Raph stated, "Are ya feelin' alright?" The tougher turtle tilted his head, staring worriedly at his brainy brother.
"I feel fine, Raph," Don blinked, "and I didn't disappear, because if I did I would have remembered."
Raph stared strangely at Don for a bit, "I'm goin' ta talk to Splinter."
"Raph, I'm telling you, there is no way I vanished when we were kids, I would have remembered," Don cried.
Raph narrowed his eyes, "That's it I'm gettin' Splinter."
Don only stood there helplessly watching as his stronger brother stormed out of the lab area.
"Ya should know that you're brother is right," a feminine southern drawl stated from behind him. Don turned sharply, his eyes widening at the translucent woman sitting on his workbench, with long fair hair curling at the ends, and wearing a long silk gown that hung gently on her body.
"Hello, Donnie, it's been awhile," she smiled at him. Don blinked, staring at her with his eyes wide.
"Aww, come on, jus' say somethin', or do somethin'!" she cried.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he fainted, landing directly in front of her.
She sighed, putting one of her hands to her forehead, "Damn it! Why do people either scream of faint when they see a ghost?"
PLEASE REVIEW!
I hope this chapter was just as good as the default. As you can tell Zarah is basically a Raph/Leo hybrid when it comes to hiding things, but you'll see her true personality eventually.
Special thanks to Crystal Persian for reading chapters before I post 'em!