Chapter Four

Scarlett's P.O.V.

"I think it's time for me to go," I said, putting out a fake yawn. The turtles said their farewells, and I did too. But before I left to go up-top, Leo stopped me dead in my tracks. He had his hand wrapped tightly around my arm, and for a split second, I didn't know what to think as a shooting pain went into it. The pain was soon gone, but all I could wrap my head around was that the turtles were traitors. I thought I could trust them!

"Scarlett, you've got to promise me (all of us) something."

Soon my panic turned into curiosity. "What?"

"That you won't tell anyone about us." His dead stare was cold and harsh, gnawing away at my head, making me overthink coming down here and the wonderful times we'd all had.

But I wanted to see these guys more; it was almost like having my old friends back that I'd graduated with, even though I would never get them back. "I promise," I said.


Third person P.O.V.

Leo stared off into space, watching while Donnie worked away in his lab. "Leo, did you get that tracker into her?"

"I did. Right into her arm." A wave of guilt fell over him suddenly. "I like her, Don, I really do, but I don't feel like she's trustworthy enough yet. We only just met her."

"Exactly, and if she spills, we'll know about it from the tracker."

Again, Leo looked to the floor and attempted hiding his emotions. He felt it was wrong to track someone as good as her, but knew that it was all just a precaution.


Scarlett's P.O.V.

Usually, when I wake up every morning, I feel groggy and never motivated to do anything. But this morning when I woke up, only after six or seven hours of sleep, I felt rejuvenated and so full of sincere joy. This has never happened before. Waking up and feeling so fresh, so ready to start the day, so happy. I felt like a kid again, and the joy I used to feel from playing under the honey-golden Georgia sun with my neighbors and best friend, Gabby, was the same joy I felt in that one moment whilst waking up.

The joy soon dissipated, however. Perhaps it was because thoughts of going to college made their way into my mind, or thoughts of missing my old friends that I'll never see again, and so on and so forth. For one moment, I was a child and indulged in it. For one moment and one moment only. Because all over again, I became sad. So many times I can be happy, rambunctious, in complete joy, and then just get so down in the dumps I won't rise back up again for a while.

"Scarlett!" I heard Gabby's voice exasperate as she came in through the door.

"Hey, girl! Where were you last night? You weren't here when I came back to the apartment and-"

"No, where were you last night?" she butted in. "Girl, you gotta get your act together. I told you not to stay out there for so long, and then you don't come back until the next day? I frickin' called the police and everything, and had to spend the night at the police station."

"Are you serious?" I practically yelled. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know you'd gone to all that trouble! I was gonna come back last night, but-" I almost spilled about nearly getting raped and the mutants.

"But what?"

I quickly came up with the simplest lie I could at the time. "I got lost, and I didn't have my cell phone with me so I couldn't get directions back to the apartment."

"Oh, okay. Well, you'll have to explain that to the policemen when they come here to investigate. I'll go ahead and call them and tell them that you're back."

"Alright."


The policemen were soon at our apartment, and I told them the lie about how I was lost and didn't have my cellphone with me at the time. That's when one replied, "This is a reason why you should always have your phone with you." I became rather angry with him at that comment, as I don't like the over-usage of technology in this country, and other countries as well. I try to keep my cell phone usage at a minimum so that I can spend more time with other people, friends, and family. It's not like you need your cell phone with you at all times of the day.

After that, Gabby and I both went out to lunch together. I'm so glad I have a friend like her, always there for me, and even calling the police and spending the night at the police station if I'm nowhere to be found. I came back early this morning and had the intention to call her and let her know I was there, but fell asleep instantly and didn't get the chance to.

Once lunch ended, Gabby and I came back to the apartment. She wanted to go to a local shop and get a couple groceries for us, and I said I would stay here as I didn't really care to see the New York City version of a supermarket.

Three urgent taps on the window awoke me from my train of thought, and suddenly my heart escalated as jolts of fear ran up and down my spine. Who was at the window? What did they want from me? I knew there was a smaller building right next to our skyscraper, and that someone could've easily climbed across it and gotten to our window, but who would do such a thing?

I carefully shuffled my feet over to the window, and soon noticed that it was... why it was Raphael!

All the burdens that had been laid out upon my shoulders lifted at the thought of my new friend being here. I opened the window quickly and hastily, soon asking him, "What're you doing here?"

He seemed to blush, and would not make eye contact with me for some reason. His expressions were so bland and tasteless, almost as if he were mad at something, but at the same time, I just couldn't tell. "Well, Donnie wanted me to give this to you."

I looked down at what he held in his hand. It was some strange version of an iPhone, but with a turtle shell as the case. "What's this?" I asked, grabbing it from him.

"A T-Phone, in case you want to call just us."

"Oh, thanks!" I said. He began to turn back around and walk away, but I stopped him. "Wait! Don't you wanna stay for a couple minutes?"

He looked back at me and, rather excitedly, voiced, "Sure!"


If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong and brave go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; others don't. What qualities are in those who fight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those that go under? I only know that survivors used to call that quality 'gumption.' So I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn't."

~ Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind ~ (1936)