Chapter 3: Awakening

Everything hurt when I opened my eyes.

My head was pounding in my skull, my right arm was throbbing, and I felt like I could puke.

A dim sunlight shone through the windows, the sky slightly dark, which meant it was getting close to evening. I blinked, and when I looked around, I realized something.

This was NOT my house.

It seemed I was in a living room of some sort, but it certainly wasn't my living room. The floors in this living room were wooden, whereas the floors in my living room were all carpeted with a lavender color. My living room didn't have couches either, only bean bags and one recliner chair. This living room had two couches, the one of which I was laying on. It was all a lot different compared to my living room, in my house.

That's when I felt the beauteous emotion of panic kick in, and the only thought I could process was, "WHERE IN THE HECK AM I?!"

Was I kidnapped?

My memory was kind of fuzzy as I desperately tried to remember something before I ended up in this living room. I took in a deep breath to try and calm myself down. My head rested on a soft pillow, and I had a fuzzy blanket covering my body. I pulled the blanket up to my chin. C'mon Riri. Thinkkkkkk. Think. Thiiiinkkkkk. Thiiinnn-

Then it all came back to me full force.

I remembered it was my birthday, and I was visiting my parents grave at around midnight-which now that I think about it, was a really stupid thing to do, even if it was the most private time of the day-and when I went through the stupid alleyway I had to go through to get home, I was….attacked. By a…a…c'mon Riri it was a…um…a…ninja cosplay dude? A guy dressed in a ninja costume? I don't know what he was, but he had a stupid sword and stabbed me…ugh and all that blood…but then when he looked like he was about to kill me, these things came and saved me. Giant…giant green…uh…turtles? I think that's what they were. Maybe they were also dressed up…there's no way giant turtles existed…really…and then one with a….purple mask? Came and bandaged me up. Then I blacked out I think…and woke up here, wherever here was.

It was all really asinine though…but I could've sworn it was real. I remembered the harsh bite of the chilly night air, the excruciating pain of when I was stabbed, then a sort of numbness, and the turtle's cold hand as it tried to bandage my arm…I glanced down at my arm, and my eyes widened.

It was all bandaged up…so it couldn't have been a dream. I was stunned. All on my birthday, the worst day of the year for me, I was stabbed, saved by giant turtles, and now in an unfamiliar place that may or may not have someone who could potentially harm me inside. Was this karma? Did I deserve this for not saving my-

Just then I heard a door close from somewhere within the house, and I bit my lip.

I tried my best to control my breathing, which was speeding up now. Great I was getting scared…but what if I was like, kidnapped somehow when I passed out? What if it was by a child molester or killer or something? I'm really a small person, so I don't think, even though I really, REALLY don't want to admit it, I'm strong enough to fight anyone off. Especially in this condition. Maybe if I unleashed hell, I could take down a girl, but a guy? Fat chance there Riri.

As the footsteps ominously became closer, I prayed to god it wasn't a ninja or a giant turtle or something abnormal or dangerous like that. Cause I was not in the mood to be threatened and/or scared of a giant turtle or killer. The turtle would be kind of maybe possibly cool to deal with later though, since they did try to help when I was, you know, bleeding horrendously out of my arm and possibly on the verge of death and all.

A red haired lady walked into the room then, and I gawked slightly.

Wait…what?

My scary and oh so intimidating captor was a…skinny red headed lady?

I was dumbfounded for a minute, before remembering that this could still be a dangerous situation, and glared at the lady.

She didn't even seem to notice.

"Oh your finally up! You had me worried there!" she exclaimed happily, as she walked over to me, putting one hand over her chest, "Does anything hurt? Do you feel nauseous? Hungry? Thirsty?"

She seemed so frantic and…concerned….it was really weird. Wasn't she my kidnapper or something? But then again, why would a kidnapper be asking if I was thirsty or nauseous? But maybe, just maybe, she was…the person who saved me? I took a deep breath, and decided to speak as calm and normal as I could, as if I was talking to a normal everyday person, and not a possible kidnapper.

"Who the hell are you?"

Okay….yeah…I know what your probably thinking, "why would a thirteen year old girl talk like that to a 'normal everyday person'? Sadly, lets just say I have…issues….lots of issues….

She frowned, most likely at my language, then attempted a warm kind of smile, "My name's April. April O'Neil."

"That's a stupid name." In all honesty, I thought it was kind of cool. Maybe. But I wasn't going to tell my possible enemy that.

"Oh….well…um oh how about you? What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Well unless you'd like me to call you 'little rude girl'" Damn it looked like she had some attitude.

"Then I'll call you 'stupid old lady'" Luckily, so did I.

We sat, scowling at each other for a minute or so, before she finally sighed and put her fingers against her head, "Looks like I'll have to be the adult here. It looks like we got off on the wrong foot, so I'm sorry."

"…." I was silent for a minute, debating whether or not to accept her apology. I guess it was kind of my fault for being snippy….in all honesty, I didn't think she was a kidnapper at this point anyway. She seemed to…to….I didn't know the word for it, but there was no way she could be one. That's what I knew. But I still didn't know if she was a good or bad person, you could never just tell from a first look. I looked back up at her face, still frowning in annoyance, but taking another deep breath and attempting to be calm and a little less rude,"…well if it really bothers you that freaking much anyway….my name's Riri."

She seemed to sigh in relief at me cooperating, "What a unique name. How old are you?"

I was feeling a bit annoyed with all her questions, but replied anyway, "I'm thirteen. Now can you start answering some of MY questions?"

She seemed surprised, "Wow really? Your so tiny though! I could've sworn you were ten or eleven!"

I have never wanted to bitch slap someone more than her then. EVER.

Seriously. Why oh why did everyone think I was just a kid because I was so tiny! Its not like I wanted to be so freaking short! If my arm wasn't severely injured then, I would've jumped up, grabbed her by her shirt collar, and shook her 'till she saw stars! So many flipping stars…

Instead of doing that though, I did grab the pillow from under my head with my non bandaged arm, buried my head into it, and screamed my lungs out. Gosh it just pissed me of . people though I was just a kid! I was thirteen! Thir to the freaking teen! I bet you if I was inhumanly tall though, I'd probably be respected! And-

I wanted to scream more, but I was suddenly sent into a coughing fit. April looked over at me worriedly, still looking a little confused at why I screamed. When she reached out to pat my back, I glared at her. She instantly retracted her hand. When the coughing fit was over, I noticed my chest was aching, and I put a hand on it.

"Ow…" I mumbled.

"You shouldn't move or talk to much, let alone scream. You have a big bruise on your chest."

I blushed, "You saw my chest? Perv!" I covered my hands over my chest in mock shock. Of course, obviously, I knew she probably had to cut off my undershirt because it was probably all bloody and you cant fix someone up if they're shirts sticking to you with blood and such. She did, however, manage to save my sweater, which was what I was wearing now. I probably got the bruise from when that ninja guy kicked me in the chest, though. Stupid ninja…

Instead of being all flustered like I hoped, she instead got annoyed, "How else could I have fixed up your arm if your shirt was sticking to you, all ripped up! It was horrible! You should be happy I saved your sweater and-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know I know. I'm just screwing with you, sheesh take a joke." I retorted.

She huffed in annoyance, and that's when I decided to get straight to the point. "So…how'd you find me? Your not a kidnapper or anything right?" At this point in time, that was a joke.

She smiled a bit, and I didn't fail to see that she was still annoyed, but trying to hide it, "No, I'm not a kidnapper. Like I said, I bandaged up your arm, after I found you."

"Was I….in an alleyway?"

She was quiet for a second, before replying quickly, "Oh, um…yup! You looked pretty beaten up. What happened? Do you remember anything?"

"…." how was I going to explain that I was attacked by a ninja, then saved by giant turtles before passing out? It sounded crazy in context right? Right. After a moment or so of debating, I just straight out blurted, "I was walking home but I have to go through an alleyway to get home, so when I was walking through it, I was attacked by a ninja dude. Right when he was about finish me off and stuff, these giant turtles came and like, opened a can of whoop ass on him, and one tried to help me. Then I blacked out. And I swear if you call me crazy I'm gonna jump up and slap you so hard you'll go blind." I said it pretty fast, so I wonder if she even understood it all.

April was quiet for a few moments, before laughing slightly, "Riri…I…I think that was just a dream. When I found you, er…you were…passed out, and your arm was damaged, but nothing was there, and your arm wasn't bandaged up. It looked like you were mugged really."

My face fell, then I arched my eyebrows angrily, "No way…that's a lie! Cause…but I could've sworn all that happened! How can someone just dream all that up? HOW?! I remember….wait, mugged? What could someone have stolen from me?" I asked April to show me my stuff, like my coat and such, and realized, my scarf was missing. "Wait…my scarf isn't here…April was it there when you found me?"

"….no…." Aprils voice held uncertainty though, and I wondered why.

"So...no way…but…but…." The turtles and the ninja….I really could've swore….

Just then my stomach gave off a loud grumble, and to my chagrin, very loudly. April giggled and asked,

"Hungry?"

"Nope." Okay Riri, now is NOT the time to be stubborn.

"You sure?"

"Yup." Dammit Riri!

She frowned for a moment, obviously seeing through my lie, before giving a sly smirk, "Oh okay then, because I just bought a whole thing of chocolate cookies, and there's so many, I wouldn't be able to eat them all."

I cursed inwardly. It was the oldest trick in the book, and yet it was super effective! How could she pick out my weak spot so fast?

April must have seen my confused look, because she grinned and said,

"What kid doesn't like sweets?"

"I know one who doesn't." Zatch. Man he despised them so much, I had to hide them away from him in my bedroom just to eat them! If he even see's some sort of sweet, he goes ballistic! It's harder for Mimi to hide and eat them to, what with being blind and all, and Zatch almost always finds her hiding spots.

"Really? Must be one serious kid then."

I gave a small laugh, "You have no idea. He's like another mom! It's crazy!" Just talking about Zatch and Mimi made me realize just how much I missed them, and I frowned. They were probably worried sick. They might've even got so worried, that they called the police! They were the type who would do that…but oh man, that would ruin everything for us! The police would find out we're living alone, without an adult, and put us in a foster home! The very though made me ready to go into panic mode, and I asked April how long I'd been here.

"Um, for about almost half a day or so. I found you sometime around midnight, and when I um….took you back…I patched up your arm, but you were unconscious for a while. It's almost five now." That was long enough for Mimi and Zatch to flip their shit.

While I internally panicked, April seemed to notice something on me and made a noise.

I glanced at her, "What?"

"Well…Riri, if its okay to ask, how'd you get that scar on your face? It looks pretty bad."

I immediately froze. The whole scar on my face business was kinda a sensitive subject for me.

I glared at April harshly, silently signaling for her to change the subject. Great, just when she went from 'really stupid annoying lady' to 'weird lady that might be kinda cool' on my like meter, she plummeted right back down again.

April seemed to get the sign, and stood up hastily. Its not like she was scared of me cause I glared at her or anything, but I guess she knew it was a subject I didn't like to get into.

"So how about those cookies? Can you stand?" She held out her hand, but I ignored it and sat up, throwing the blanket off me with my good arm. I stood up too fast, making me dizzy because I was still in a weaker state, and ended up falling back on my butt on the couch. I stood up again, but slower this time, and when I finally regained my balance and stopped wobbling, I blinked a few times before turning to April.

"Yeah, yeah I can stand. I don't need help." I mumbled. She withdrew her hand dejectedly, and started walking to what I assumed was the kitchen.

My assumption was right, and although it was small, it was very well kept. I sat down at one of the chairs without waiting for April to offer, and she brought over a big plate of cookies and put it on the table in front of me. She also put down two glasses of milk and I frowned.

April saw my look, "What's wrong?"

"I hate milk…it tastes like vomit…" Man oh man did I hate milk. It was horrible and I hated it! I would never ever EVER drink it! Even if it was childish, there was no way I could ever bring myself to drink it! Never ever!

"Oh I see. Sorry, I just kind of assumed most kids liked it. Most of the kids I know do so…"

"Well don't assume that then. Stupid." This time April frowned angrily.

"Riri your being really rude! I've been trying to keep calm and deal with your mean comments, but enough is enough!"

I stuck my tongue at her, and she scowled.

"What could have possibly happened in your life to make you such a bitter person?" I heard her mumble to herself.

My eyes widened then, and I stopped breathing for a moment. Then I growled angrily and shot out of my chair, making it fall over and hit the ground loudly. April seemed taken aback.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! You don't know anything about me! SO JUST FREAKING SHUT UP!" By then, even though I tried to will them not to, tears started flowing out of my eyes. But they were tears of frustration. Argh not with the tears again! I yelled at myself. Weakling! Baby! Wuss! I tried to wipe my face off with my good arm, getting snot and tears all over the sweater I'd gotten for my birthday. "You'd be like this to if you went through what I did! I know you would!" Okay enough with this stupid sob story. I grabbed my cheeks and pinched them hard, willing myself to stop crying and distract myself. It took about a minute, but I was finally able to calm myself and I sniffed. I was about to wipe my face with my sleeve again, but April grabbed my arm.

"Here, wait, I'm sorry for saying that…Let me get you a tissue, you'll ruin your sweater." she had on a sad face, and when she turned around, I wiped my face anyway. She gave me the tissue and I blew into it harshly. "Riri I'm sorry…I can tell you've had it pretty hard. But you know…that's still no excuse to act rude. As an adult, I have to just tell you that okay?"

I was about to say something snippy again, but bit my tongue. I had been acting out of hand, even though she did take me in and basically saved my life…instead of apologizing though, I stood there awkwardly, my good hand's fingers fiddling with the hem of my sweater. April must have taken this as a silent apology, because she went over and picked up my chair, putting it on its legs again. She then went and sat down across the table, grabbing a cookie and munching on it silently. I reluctantly sat back down, and grabbed a cookie. As I bit down into it, I immediately felt a little better. Sweet stuff always did that to me. It helped. To be honest, it was a wonder I was still so skinny. Zatch said before it had something to do with something called a 'high metabolism'. Which for some reason, Mimi was jealous of. I think it basically meant I could eat anything and not gain much weight. Which kind of sucked because everyone always nagged me about eating more because I was to skinny. Honestly it didn't make much sense to me.

I realized I got caught up in my own thoughts, and glanced through my eyelashes at April. She gulped down a big swig of milk, and I had to try and hold down the cookies that were in my stomach. Ugh I hated milk so much.

When she finished her milk, she finally spoke up, "So do you feel well enough to not go to the hospital?" I had to think about her question for a second. I was still feeling kind of woozy, I think it was because I lost a lot of blood. But I didn't think I needed to go to the hospital.

"Nah I'm cool. A little woozy, but nothing really big…"

April grinned, "That's great then! I'm glad."

Me to April, me to. I needed to get home to Zatch and Mimi as soon as possible. I needed to figure out why I was attacked, whether it was a ninja or not, there had to be a reason behind it. When I thought about it, there was a lot I needed to sort out. Great. And I also wanted to know…those were giant turtles that helped me right…they had to be. Because what person could just imagine all that?

I wasn't THAT imaginative.