Disclaimer - Sorry, I still don't own them, but then if I did, I'd let all of you help write the comics and the cartoon. :0) Now, if that isn't an incentive to band together and buy out Mirage's copyright on the turtles, I don't know what is, just as soon as someone wins the lottery, of course. LOL
Anyway, this week my son is due home from pre-deployment training. For a while after that, I will be busy with everyone else in our family spending time with him. So, with that said, it may be a a couple of weeks or more before I update this or any other story; at least until I know of his safe arrival to where the Air Force is sending him and until I can get my head (and heart) wrapped around the fact that he'll be gone and not so safe for the next six months. I will appreciate all prayers and good thoughts to his protection, too. :0)
Be blessed.
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Chapter 6 - Land 'o Lakes
When they had had their fill, the turtles shared some of the leftover caiman meat with the pond's resident fish. Then, they buried the rest. They would have tried smoking some of the meat, thereby preserving it, but it would have required more time spent at the lake and they all were in agreement with getting back home.
Yet, it was when they were feeding the fish that Don noticed that there weren't as many in the pond as there had been the previous day - when they first encountered it.
"Probably because of the caiman," he had reasoned to his brothers, "It most likely fed during the night while we were still up in the tree."
Mike was quiet for a moment and then shrugged, "Better them than Leo, I guess, eh?"
They couldn't help but laugh at Michelangelo's comment, with Leo wholeheartedly agreeing with his youngest brother. Then, before showing them to the streambed he had seen the day before, Leonardo dove back into the lake again to retrieve his katana harness and their sheaths.
Of course, he was a little nervous going in, considering his experience that morning, but, once he was back on dry land again and had shrugged into his wet gear, Leo showed his brothers the creek. From there they followed it as it flowed away from the pond.
Meandering down the mountain slope, the small tributary led the four brothers into a denser part of the jungle. There, towering, overlapping trees shaded their walk - similar to what they had encountered right after emerging from the tunnel. Fortunately, with the cooler temperatures, the shadows offered the turtles a break from the ever increasing and oppressive tropical heat. Of course, all four brothers instantly went on guard, remembering the caiman they had killed that very morning. They wondered and hoped it would be the only one, too. In fact, there was one particularly dark stretch in their jungle hike when Michelangelo nervously withdrew his nunchukus. Instinctively, his other brothers armed themselves as well, yet not once were they challenged. In fact, with the exception of the various birds that flitted about, the largest creatures they encountered were geckos.
After a while, though, the forest thinned out and allowed more of the cloud-filtered sunlight to seep through the canopy of leaves above. It speckled the ground in a dance of soft shadows and subdued light. The turtles relaxed a bit, but still kept on guard. As they continued their journey through the patchwork of sun and shade, the buzz of insects and chirp of birds created a serene ambience for them. Consequently, as they walked, the brothers chatted amicably amongst themselves, where before - while in the darkest shadows - they had walked in silence.
As they continued hiking alongside the stream, they followed it as it widened to that of a brook, and eventually to where it grew into a full-blown river. Then, the gorge narrowed and the river became a torrent of rapids for a short ways, before widening again. When they encountered a waterfall, it forced the turtles to scale down the drier side of the drop. At the bottom, they found a pool, smaller than the one they had swam in the day before. However, the force of the falls dredged up too much silt, making the water too murky to tell if there were any fish - or caiman - living in the diminutive pond. Then, it flowed through a narrow opening at one end, spilling out and into another stream. It didn't take long before it grew in size and became a river once more.
As their trek took them further downhill, they discovered several side streams feeding into the main tributary. Narrower and shallower than the wider body of water, the turtles easily waded through them. Always, though, the larger river led Leo and his brothers further away from the first pond, now far behind them and tucked up into the rainforest above.
After another hour of hiking, the turtles found the terrain leveling out a little more. The trees seem to spread out some, as well, until the four brothers came to a break in the forest. Now, beyond them, was a small meadow. They hesitated, though, knowing that by stepping into the open, they would find themselves exposed to any kind of threat.
A moment past and then, "You see anything or hear anything…dangerous, Leo?" Mikey whispered, anxiously watching his brother in front of him.
Leonardo stood perfectly still, assessing the broad, spacious pasturage beyond. He gave no answer to his brother's question, but remained observant to the surrounding area.
Knowing better than to persist with his concerns, Mike walked up silently next to Don, while Raph stood in-between them and their leader brother. With Leo situated just inside the tree line, hidden from the meadow by the shadows there, Michelangelo gazed out towards the pasturage ahead of him. He could see sporadic clusters of trees, low-lying bushes, but with much of the meadow made up of green and yellow grass that grew as tall as their thigh. Large boulders of the all-too-familiar black, volcanic rock littered the ground, too, as if flung from the volcano's mouth eons ago, standing as testimonies to the great power of the once-active mountain.
For Mike, it was a rather unsettling sight to see. He could just imagine himself running for his life, while flaming volcanic missiles rained down around him. He could easily imagine the concussions they created, too, from hitting the ground, causing mini earthquakes.
Donnie better be right about that volcano being dead, he thought ruefully to himself.
Finally, Leo glanced back and whispered, more sober than he had been since leaving the pond, "Everyone on alert. Again, it bears repeating that we are strangers here and don't know the dangers."
Suddenly, and despite his previous misgivings, Mikey chuckled, a little too loudly, in fact, "Hey, Leo, that kind of rhymes!" Then, he sensed something and ducked. He felt a breath of air from what could only be Raphael's hand, as it narrowly missed Mikey's head. This time, he had avoided another thwak by his brother in red, who had turned sharply around to do the deed. "Hey, Raph, I was only kiddin'," Mike insisted, defensively putting his hands up and taking a step back.
"It's all right, Raphael." Leo remarked, "I'm kind of glad Mikey's found his sense of humor again." He smiled at his youngest brother, understanding how freaked out he had been over the caiman. Michelangelo grinned back in reply.
Then, Leonardo faced the meadow again and, taking a deep breath, led his brothers out into the open. They continued along the river's edge, though, hoping it would lead somewhere - like the ocean. After a while, they discovered a drop in the land just in front of the river, as if part of the meadow had fallen away. Beyond it was another lake, much like the first one. Now, as they stood at the edge of the short bluff and peered down, Mike voiced what everyone else was thinking.
"Any crocs in this one?" His eyes were wide as he gazed eagerly into the waters below.
"Caiman, Mike, and - hard to tell, since we just arrived." Don smiled and then shrugged as he, too, looked around.
From where they stood, the lake sat a good twenty feet below them and the upper meadow. The river ended at that point, but because of the abrupt change in topography, it created yet another waterfall, feeding the lake at a steady pace.
Like the first pond, this lake was just as clean and clear, too. In fact, Mike was in awe with how beautiful it was.
"Wow, who would'a thought there'd be two like this?" Despite his misgivings with the predator in the first pond, he could not believe their good fortune. He didn't have any problems seeing the bottom of this one, either. The ridge from where he and his brothers stood allowed them to easily see that the lake was just as deep and clear as the other had been, but wider in girth. A narrow strip of sandy beach trimmed the shoreline, as well, yet, strangely enough, the sand appeared disturbed in spots, as if someone or something had walked across it.
To Don, the prints appeared ominously familiar, but he didn't say anything at first. Instead, he kept his eyes and ears alert as he walked up to Leo. Casually, Donatello whispered, "Need to be careful here."
"I know, Don, I see it," Leo replied softly, mindful that their youngest brother was already too edgy from the earlier encounter with the meat-eater.
"There might be more caiman here on this island. Even though there isn't enough foliage for it to hide in, it might be resting under the falls. "
"Right," and then Leonardo unsheathed his katana.
Mike, not missing Leo arming himself, was instantly alarmed, "Um, you guys - see - something?"
As his brother unhooked his chuks, Leo turned slightly in his direction, "I'm only taking precaution, Mikey. We don't want to be surprised, okay?"
"Yeah, sure dude, who wants a surprise with teeth, right?"
Raph chuckled, "Hey, Mike - Don an' I decided that the next hero gig is yours."
"What?" Mike went instantly wide-eyed and stepped back, waving away the offer, "No way, dude, no way, nuh huh. In fact, I think we need to keep going." Whether it was to verify the lake residents or out of curiosity, Mike now scanned the lake with nervous intent and as he did, he finally noticed something odd. There was a strange quality about the lake that just didn't seem right to him. There was something about it that made it different from the first one they had encountered. At first, it stilled Mike's voice as he tried to figure it out, his inspection of the lake becoming more curious than cautious.
Then, it finally occurred to him, "This lake doesn't have any fish!"
Don looked at his brother and smiled, "Of course it does. You're just not looking in the right place, Mikey." Don chuckled and patted his brother's arm reassuringly. After finding a path and with Leo leading the way - his katana at the ready, Don and his brothers walked along the top of bluff running just above the beach area, where it encircled almost the entire lake. It was almost as if the lake rested within a depression and it would have been a seamless one, if not for the fact that the rise didn't go all the way around its perimeter. At the far end, it stopped; where a gap, or break in the encircling bluff, created an opening. It was there they discovered another waterfall. From there, the fall cascaded a good thirty feet down to where the river began again. With the land now sloping slightly downhill from the lake, the tributary rushed through a cleft in the valley as it hurried away.
"It's almost like the mountain we're on plateaus at different levels, like a series of - steps…," Don thought aloud, recalling the first pond with how its stream led down to this point in their hike. Then it occurred to him, "Kind of like those stair-step lines in that hieroglyphic back in the cave,"
"So, it might be a picture of this area, then, rather than of an earthquake?" Leo turned to face Donatello.
"Maybe, or just a coincidence. Still, it is rather similar."
"Maybe the earthquake and the two hurricanes back in New York have something in common with this island's lake system?" Mike asked thoughtfully.
"Might be, Mikey." Don pulled out his notebook and pen, "Just the same, I'll make a note of it." He then began scribbling, recording what they had found so far. Once done, he returned his writing utensils to his pocket and then began walking back the way they had come.
After they had thoroughly inspected the pond from their vantage point, Don, Leo, and Raph finally had to agree with their youngest brother.
The lake was indeed devoid of fish.
"Could it be a simple matter of not having fish to begin with?" Leo wondered, "Maybe there's something wrong with the water?"
Don was silent for a moment as he pondered this new mystery. He kept staring at the lake, then at the sand encircling it, with how scattered and molested the sand appeared. He glanced back the way they had come, where 'their' lake was, and probably several miles up the mountain by now. He turned partway around in the direction they had been heading, noting the gradual descent in the terrain.
"The footing is steep, but not too steep for an animal that's desperate," he murmured.
"What?" Raph asked as he walked over to Don, "What are you thinkin', Donnie?"
"M'not sure," he replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "but, what if that caiman," he looked at Raphael, now, "had already been here and depleted the fish supply. He would need another food source, right? Otherwise, he would starve. Instincts and his sense of smell would have him following the river up stream to the next body of water that had fish - which would have been our pond." He looked at the lake again and pointed at the disturbed sand, "He was here; I just know it. Look at the way the sand is, like something crawled out of the water or maybe into the water?"
"What difference does it make for us?" Raph asked, glancing over at Mike, who now nervously looked all around him, as he worked one of his nunchukus.
"It means," Leo interrupted, understanding where Don was going with his theory, "that if the croc or caiman isn't natural to this island, then it's been trying to find food ever since it arrived. If this is the first lake it visited, then that explains why there aren't any fish in it."
Don added, "And, if there are other ponds and lakes between this one and the beach, it's a good bet that there won't be any fish in them, either, because the caiman would have eaten all of them. It wouldn't have any reason for migrating up the mountain until it ran out of food. It's too early to assume, but if I'm correct, we won't find any fish between here and the ocean. If we want fish for dinner, we'll have to hike back to that first pond."
"Um, how long does it take for fish to hatch and become big enough to eat, Donnie?" Mikey asked, "'cuz, from what I could tell this morning, there weren't very many left back there. We'll go through them pretty quickly."
"You're right, Mike, and it would take too long for their offspring to get big enough for eating," Don glumly answered.
"That means - we'll - eventually - starve?" Mike's eyes went wide with genuine concern.
"No, not so long as there are mangos and bananas," his genius brother assured him, smiling.
However, when Raphael groaned, it caused Don to smirk wider, "Hey, Raph, don't worry, if the mangos give you the runs, then the bananas will stop them."
"Ho, ho, ho - aren't we funny, Dr. Poolittle," Raph harrumphed and then gave an indignant snort.
Leo chuckled, "Well, let's get moving, guys. I want to find that beach today if we can," Leo then turned heel and continued to head downhill once again.
The next path Leo blazed forced his brothers and him away from the falls. The rocks lining the river were gigantic and numerous and slightly more dangerous to traverse, so they took a less imposing route. Yet, for the most part, the lay of the land matched that of the river, so they were still able to follow it. They encountered more trees, as well, which adequately blocked their view of the river, but the sound of rushing water never quieted, letting everyone know that the tributary was still close by. Soon, they found themselves intersecting the waterway again and, this time, the flow seemed busier and more dangerous. As it careened down through the gullet with a mighty ear-splitting roar, the water spilled generously over boulders and trees that either had rolled there or were in the river naturally. Best of all, though, a fine spray of water drenched anything along its banks. Taking advantage of the natural shower, the four brothers walked as close to the ravine's edge as they dared, if only to get a wet reprieve from the oppressive tropical heat.
After an hour's worth of walking, they came to a fork in the river. The split in the tributary now created twin waterways. At that point, the ground rose a few feet to separate the river, with the water running greedily around it. The rocky rise, mixed with long-ago seeded grasses, told them that the immediate area had undergone some tectonic upheaval. Still, with both rivers near to equal in width, one side kept to the direction that Leo and his brothers were heading, its waters cascading down the mountain cleft into another brief run of rapids.
Contrarily, the second tributary turned slightly away, running more on an even keel to the lay of the land that ran above the first river.
"More than likely, the riverbed convexes at some point before this split, forcing the water to each side of the rise." Don theorized.
Just the same, the farther the second river went, the wider the difference was between the two, until the turtles lost sight of it as it moved out of the meadow and back into the jungle again. Yet, since the first half seemed to go in the direction that Leo believed led to the ocean, he opted to follow it. He much preferred accepting the steeper decline rather than the less strenuous path leading along the artery as it flowed back into the forest.
"You sure about this, Leo?"
"No, Raph, I'm not, but I don't want to split up, either, so we stay together. This side either leads us to the ocean or it doesn't."
"Well, ya better not get us lost." Raph looked around, his unease quite apparent as his jaws clenched and unclenched.
Don chuckled from behind his red-banded brother, "Raph, we're already lost, how much more lost can we get?"
"I just don't wanna to end up going in circles, s'all." The turtle in red snapped a glance at Donatello.
"Hey, if we're on an island, going in circles is bound to happen!" Mikey reasoned glumly.
"Yeah, well…still…I'd like to get to a beach, see something different, maybe there'll be a boat there and we can get off this island, did'ya think about that?" Raph shot his baby brother a stern look.
Mike hooked a thumb in the direction from which they had traveled, "Yeah, I did, in fact when we were on that cliff back there."
"I mean a boat that floats, dimwit."
"Or one that's patchable, so it's sea-worthy," Don added thoughtfully. "Maybe there's a town along the coast; that's where most people live when on an island."
"Assuming there are people here, but considering how unafraid of us the wildlife seems to be…" Leo remarked, "I'll be surprised if we do find civilization."
"You mean we might be on a desert island?"
"Mike, does this place look like a desert to ya?"
"I meant desert as in deserted, okay, Raph?"
"Yeah, I know whatcha meant, just messin' wit ya, s'all."
"Sheesh, lay off of me, 'kay? It's bad enough we might end up staying here for the rest of our lives!"
"That's not going to happen, Mikey," Leo assured, as he walked, "We'll find a way off, don't worry, okay?"
"Yeah, whatever, but if we can't find a boat?"
"We'll build one, then!" Donnie exclaimed, "There's certainly enough trees to make one and we have the right tools to do the job."
Mike smiled a little at that thought. "Leave it to you, Don, to think outside the box." He stepped over and then hugged his brother in purple, "Thanks for being so smart!"
Don chuckled, "No problem, Mikey; my pleasure, in fact." He returned the hug and then continued to follow the river as it led further down the mountainside.
After a while, the river narrowed, slowing its race through the valley. Soon, they came to yet another lake, this one much larger than any of the previous ones had been, and one without an outlet, in fact. Best to their ability to see, though - for it was quite deep and, therefore, its lakebed was dark and bottomless looking - it, too, seemed devoid of any aquatic life.
Yet, there was more to its attributes than just the lack of fish. There was a subtle smell in the air that almost seemed to scream death.
"This is so spooky, guys," Mike whispered. "I mean, this lake doesn't even have vegetation in it. And look around you, there aren't even any birds or insects. It's - too quiet."
Without the turtles realizing it, the forest had grown silent…as silent as a graveyard, in fact.
Leo, Don, and Raph cocked their heads and listened. After a moment, they once again had to agree with their youngest brother.
"Can caiman go after birds and insects, Don?" Raph asked, staring in disbelief at the lake. "Because, there doesn't seem to be any here.
"Not unless it can fly and that reptile didn't have wings." Don then recognized that the forest ahead of them seemed thinned out, more so than what they had seen so far. A larger assortment of volcanic rock littered the ground, too. Trees that had thrived at one time now seemed long dead, their bark ash gray in color and crumbling from years of decay. "What happened here?" he asked softly to no one in particular. Don then looked back the way they had come and noticed the gradual decline of healthy forest. Not far beyond the dead or dying trees, he could see some green, where the wood was healthier, and it was then when Don suddenly realized he had missed the change entirely. He snorted; it wasn't like him not to notice things like that.
He gazed back across the large lake again, deep in thought. He sniffed and then his nose wrinkled. Suddenly, Donatello bent down, picking up a large dead stick, before throwing it as far over the lake as he could. The moment the branch hit water, steam began rising from around it, but it was not steam from heat as much as it was vapor coming off the wood. Then, the branch quickly began to disintegrate.
"Acid," Don declared excitedly.
Mike jumped back and sucked in a breath, "DUDE!"
Raph cocked an eye ridge at his youngest brother as he teased, "Wanna go for a swim, Mikey?"
Shaking his head vigorously, Mike exclaimed, "No way, but an acid lake?" he queried, his voice going an octave higher, "H-how?"
Don glanced his way, "Volcanoes create a variety of chemicals, Mike. Sulfur dioxide is one, as is hydrochloric acid."
"Uh huh," Mike stared at his brother, an angry expression now blooming on his face, "And I thought you said the volcano back there," he jerked his thumb towards the mountaintop behind them, "was extinct! How can it have sulfur or acid if it's dead?" Mike was mad, because he now believed his brother hadn't been completely honest with him. "You lied to me, Don!"
"No, I didn't, Mike," Don shook his head, pointing towards the mountain "The volcano we were in is extinct, I'm sure of it, but this entire island has been formed by volcanic activity. That means there might be other areas that are still active. Fumaroles, or steam vents, are quite common around volcanoes. It's very likely this lake has one at the bottom of it. That alone can provide enough hydrochloric acid to poison the water."
"Any chance of it blowing up?" Mike grumbled as he glared at his brother, still feeling deceived.
"No, Mikey, no chance - at least…not right now." Don smiled mischievously. He couldn't resist, he really couldn't. However, when he saw his brother take a deep shuddering breath and then narrow his expression in discontent, Donatello thought that maybe he still should have tried harder, been more sensitive to Mike's insecurities.
Nevertheless, all four brothers turned and stared at the lake again and noticed that the stick had already disappeared.
Don then theorized, "I bet that caiman found out the hard away about this acid lake. It would explain his injuries." His three brothers nodded in agreement. "Although the smell alone should have warned him, he was probably too hungry to notice. Water means food to these creatures."
There was a long pause of sobering silence as the four turtles stared at the ominous lake. Suddenly, a small, thin voice broke the stillness.
"I don't think I'll ever go swimming again - not ever!" Mike shuddered and then asked determinedly, "So, we done here, cuz, I wanna find a way off this creepy - whatever it is."
"Island,"
"Whatever, Don, I only know that I want off this island. I want out of here, be somewhere else, be ANY place else but here!" Mike turned and began marching down the hillside towards what he hoped was a better area. As he did, he muttered under his breath, "This whole - vacation - has lost its charm." Throwing his hands around in frustrated gestures and now working his chuks, Mike continued to rant, "Between the cave and its weirdo heiro-whathaveyou, the volcano, that CROC! - an' I don't care what it's really called, DON!" he yelled back, "…and now acid lakes, this is by far the worst 'adventure' I've ever been on!" He paused in his rant for a moment, never breaking stride or his chuk kata, to then add with an irritable shrug, "…well…maybe next to Don turning into a dinosaur!"