"Experiments on insanity."
Chapter 4
"The monsters that surround us."
#Raphael's POV:
It…was…moving…
The lungs that, even a nuttjob like Michaelangelo, would say were drowned in their own blood for far too long, were still breathing.
I can't even think straight!
Was all this just a hallucination?! A game of shadows?! Was I turning insane?! WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME?!
I wasn't even sure, I was sane anymore.
And that stage only deepened, when I saw the lady's eyes focus on me.
I gulped, as she mentioned for me to come closer.
Everything in my head shouted for me to not go, that it's a trap that I might end up just like her.
But a part of me, arguably the more human one, decided to honor her dying wish.
I walked up to her.
She reached out her tumbling hand and wrapped it around my neck, then pulled my head lower faster than I could blink.
Her voice, raspy, shaky and breathless. "The other one will die."
My eyes were wide, and again I was frozen against my will. "No…no he won't." I took a deep breath. "I won't let them."
A creepy smiled made its way on her face. "Poor little one, you may be able to save him from them." She took a shaky breath, with her failing lungs. "But who will save him from you, Raphael?"
That moment, I could feel the needle dot begin to sting and my insides going cold. I winced as, along with it, the doctor dug her claws into my neck.
"You're one of them now, little one." She whispered, as her claws dug deeper into my flesh. "There is no escape for you. In the end, you're only prolonging his suffering." I hiss, cutting her of as my blood began cursing down my skin. "The toxic in you will strengthen you in ways, you would rather be weak in, as well as weaken the one thing that keeps you from giving in, to your animal self." I felt both cold and hot, my heartbeat getting faster and louder by the minute. "Your self-control." I almost couldn't hear her, over the sound of my heart. "You will give in little one, why be forced to kill him then, when you can do it while your sane?" He words were growing weaker, probably because of the blood loss. "Do him a favor, and do it now. A quick death from a beloved brother, will be way better than one from the bloodthirsty monster that hides within you." By now, I barely heard what she said, I was going to have a heart attack, if my heart won't stop pounding like crazy. "Think about it Raphie." She added weakly. "Your other self won't be so merciful." And that was it.
He hand fell limply, as if it was never used.
She didn't say anything else, but I could still feel her hot breath on my cheeks and her sharp claws, digging into my flesh.
I placed one hand on the holes she created and the other on my plastron.
The cuts were still dripping with blood, and my heart was hitting way too quickly.
If Donnie felt what I feel now, he'd tell me I should be dead.
Our bodies are not supposed to withstand, that amount of blood pressure.
And yet…mine did.
You're one of them now. The woman's voice echoed in my head, reminding me precisely about just why I'm alive. Because of one stupid injection.
I felt rage build up in my chest, hatred for a man, long dead and ripped apart by his own creations, called Dr. Hamilton.
Because of him, I can't leave this place anymore. If I did, I'd become a ticking time bomb of destruction. I'm a danger to all beings. Even Leatherhead wouldn't be able to stop me, once I enter the "berserker rage" mode.
Because of him, I'm no longer safe to be around. If there was anything the lady has taught me, it that I'll snap and eventually kill Leo. Whenever I like it or not.
Because of him, I'm one of those freaks he created. I'm not myself anymore. Slowly but surely, I'm changing into one of them. Whoever they are.
Because of him…I no longer have a family. Sure, they'd want me back but that's just too big a risk. I can't go back. I, am already dead. He, is just waiting patiently to take over.
That's why I need to get Leonardo out of here.
I can't bear the thought of him dyeing by my own hands. I've seen it enough times in my nightmares. I don't want any of them to become reality.
Lowering my head, I accepted my faith.
It wasn't as if, I could do anything to stop myself from turning into a killer machine.
But that didn't mean I can't save my brother, before that happens.
I took a last glance at the hanging doctor.
She had the same look on her face as before.
Deciding to give the body a last squeeze in the shoulder as a 'farewell', I reached out a hand and placed it on her arm.
The minute I did that, something didn't feel right.
Her body was very cold and considering that, not so long ago, I felt hot breath leave her mouth, that wasn't possible.
Frightened, I placed a hand on her forehead.
Her heart was beating a minute ago, how can she be so cold?!
The answer was clear, but I chose to ignore it.
I didn't want to believe it was true.
I shook my head and looked at the tongue in her mouth, surely if it was used not so long ago, there had to be at least a bit wet from the saliva.
But there wasn't.
The pink organ was drier than one of Donatello's puns, and that meant-
My eyes widened more than ever before.
That she never really spoke.
