Chapter Nine

Fallen

In the dark alleyways, Mona staggered through the snow, her side hurt a lot and she felt the need to rest, but she could hear the thugs behind her, even though she couldn't see them, she knew they were on her tail and not far behind.

Looking back she saw the trail of blood behind her and she started to panic.

Looking down at her side she soon saw a switchblade sticking out of it and blood was erupting from the wound.

Mona soon realised the thug hadn't hit her; he had stabbed her and left the blade in her.

Feeling sick, Mona kept going, but she felt terrified, she knew she couldn't run fast and soon she'd bleed to death, her legs started to feel like they weighed a ton, and she felt faint.

She felt around for her Shell-Cell, maybe she could press the distress button and the turtles would come and find her, but to her horror, she soon realised that she had left the shell-cell in her coat, and she had thrown it off to fight!

Tears came to the Lizard Lady's eyes as she thought about the last things she had said to Tyroth, Amber and Sephie, oh how she regretted them now.

How she wished she could turn back time and say she was sorry.

But there was no good thinking that, what was done was done.

"Those thugs will find me…" she thought bitterly "They'll catch up with me soon…they'll find me bleeding to death….and they'll do many atrocities to me as I lie dying…."

She could only imagine what they would do with her once they caught up, the first time she was mutated, what happened before was brutal, but now the gang was larger, it was terrifying.

Mona then thought about the turtles and how none of them knew where she was. She thought of Raphael and the tears flowed, she'd never see him again.

"Oh Raph…." She sobbed "I'm so sorry…I'm sorry to leave you…I wish I hadn't been so stupid..." she staggered more, the pain in her side was growing more and more painful by the minute and she felt like she was going to collapse.

"Donny...Leo...Mikey..." she saw the faces of the other turtles and her heart hurt more than the wound in her side "Master Splinter..." she saw her adopted father and sensei and she cried more.

She soon heard the jeering and laughing of the thugs getting louder as they were following her blood trail "I don't want to go…." She whispered terrified "I don't want to leave…"

Just then, the heavens opened and a huge falling of snow appeared, Mona shivered as it fell around her, and began to cover the ground thickly. As it did, she noticed her footprints and the blood trail was getting covered by the snowfall.

A light of hope shone in Mona and she kept going, she had to find a place to hide, she kept going until she suddenly came to a nook in an alley behind some dustbins. As she did, she felt on the verge of collapsing, she quickly walked over to the nook and quickly curled up into a ball, hiding in the shadows of the dustbins.

The snow then fell harder and Mona soon saw her footprints and blood trail disappear completely, and she soon saw the thugs appear from behind a corner.

"Where did she go?" asked one of them as he looked around.

"Damned if I know!" said another holding up a bowie knife.

"Fuck!" said another "I was hoping to nail her good and hard for what she did! The little slut!"

Mona curled up even tighter and she felt terrified as well as furious as she heard what the third thug said.

"You idiots!" cried a forth voice, the lead thug and the one who stabbed Mona "You let her get away!"

"She can't have disappeared!" said the first one "Nor very far with that wound you gave her!"

"I lost my damned blade in her too!" the lead thug snarled "Fuck it! She'll freeze to death in this weather! With that wound, she can't get far!"

"Let's get out of here!" said the second thug "Before it gets any heavier!"

The others agreed and to Mona's relief, they left the area.

After they disappeared, Mona huddled tighter in the nook, the pain was becoming greater and greater and she was feeling so tired, she could barely feel the cold anymore, her fingers were so frozen, as were her feet and the rest of her body, she never imagined she would be sitting there alone at Christmas.

She remembered the story of the Little Match Girl hiding in a nook and trying to warm herself with the matches, yet she had none of her own.

She wrapped her tail around her, hoping to hold in what body heat she had in left, she was getting so sleepy.

"Raph…" she whispered "Leo…Donny…Mikey…." She repeated the names of her loved ones "Master Splinter…Tyroth….Sephie….I'm so sorry….please….don't hate me….I regret everything I ever said or did to hurt you….I wish I could turn back time….and realise….how foolish I was…."

The cold was taking over, she could barely feel her body, and she felt so tired, her body was crying out for sleep.

She closed her eyes and continued to keep repeating her loved one's names, as she did, she heard singing in her head.

"If you're lost, you can look, and you will find me….time after time…."

Was she dreaming? Going mad with the cold? Or something else, but the singing sounded so clear and so sweet.

"If you fall….I will catch you, I will be waiting…time after time…Time….after time….."

Mona opened her eyes again, she didn't feel any pain and she didn't feel cold, but rather at peace, she stood up and looked around, she was still in the nook, yet the snow was undisturbed and there was no sound to be heard, no traffic, no voices, not even wind.

"Where am I?" she thought as she looked around, as she did, she suddenly saw a young woman in a long white dress and flowers in her long dark hair standing nearby.

"Hello…" she said softly and smiled.

Mona almost jumped out of her skin when she saw her, not just because of seeing her, but also because there was something about her, her appearance looked almost like hers! She had the face and her hair, except it was curlier and slightly lighter brown in colour.

"Who…who are you?" asked Mona.

"Don't be scared." the woman said softly "I mean you no harm...I'm your Guardian Angel."

"Angel?" asked Mona, then she felt panic rise "Oh no…" she whispered "I died…." She looked back at the nook expecting to see her frozen body half buried in the snow, but she saw nothing, just an empty space and covered with undisturbed snow.

"It's okay…" the woman said "You're alright, but I need you to listen to me…"

"What?" asked Mona "Why are you here?"

"There have been many things in your head my dear, many negative, and some words have been spoken, many negative and aggressive…"

Mona was confused, then she realized what the woman was talking about.

"Tyroth…" she whispered.

"The Dragon man." Said the woman "He has been hurt by your words, as has his sister, once human but now a mutant iguana, and his lover, the gecko…"

"Amber and Sephie." Mona said.

The woman nodded.

"That's right!" she said "I am here Monalisa, because I have been sent to show you just how much joy there is in your life, even if you fail to see it, and how you've changed people's lives for the better, and of course how much you are loved..."

Mona looked at the woman in surprise, she opened her mouth, yet she couldn't think of anything to say.

"Take my hand…" the woman said softly extending her hand out to Mona "And walk with me…"

Mona hesitated, but she walked over and placed her hand in the woman's, no sooner did she do so, than felt a slight breeze through her hair and the snowy scene began to change as everything turned bright.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see soon enough." the woman replied "And after this journey, your mind will be clearer and you will start to see sense."

Mona chewed her lip with worry, yet she held the woman's hand and wondered what she might see...

Mona has escaped the thugs, but now looks like she's got her own Angel to show her a thing or two!

What will she see?

Stay tuned to find out!