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CHAPTER 05

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"Donnie! Run!"

It was a bad decision. I realized it right away. I'd opted to draw their attention, instructing him to circle around and try to find a way out. With the catwalk blown to bits, there was no going back the way we came. Instead, our only way out was through the tunnels. There were numerous stainless steel doors, similar to what you'd find on a garage, circling the outskirts of the room. When we'd first entered this place, Don had pointed them out to me, saying that was how they released the hatchlings into the tunnels, and into the city beyond. Each dome had an identical opening, sealed tight now, with a retractable passageway leading to the doors. I had to stop Don at that point again from geeking out over the design, or we never would have made it this far.

The scorpion queen was enormous, easily a story high or more, and heavily armored in plates of black and red. At first I'd faced off with her and held my ground well. I'd chosen to keep her focus on me and sent Don off to do his thing, to see if he could crack open one of the doors leading out. The problem wasn't so much that I was fighting a massive, clawed, stinging nightmare but that when she burst through her cage, she'd brought dozens of her offspring with her. As I dodged her attacks, I found myself having to keep from tripping over a floor filled with them; I couldn't even see the tiles beneath my feet, there were so many. Instead, I focused on leaping off their backs one by one, while impaling the occasional one where I could. Even so, the little ones (which were the size of bulldogs, and not so little) were just as fast, and I could feel my legs burning with the many welts from their stingers. I hoped that the venom wouldn't be enough to affect my ability.

The queen's tail was astonishingly fast for such a large thing. I dodged left and right as it came smashing down on both sides, trying but failing to slice the barb off of it. Between that and the two giant, snapping claws, I had my hands full. I kept trying to steal a look at Don to gauge his progress, worried that the other cages might not hold. Worse yet, the gas from the busted scorpion cage was now entering the space we were in. The room was huge and the gas might not stay on long enough to fill it, but I wasn't about to stick around to test that idea. We had to get out of here.

It was the door opening that caught their attention.

I heard the metal slats rolling up and knew my brother had come through again. To think, I felt happy when I heard that sound. I took my attention away for just a second, to look – that's when the claw came around, belting into my side and throwing me off my feet. I landed hard, the wind knocked out me. The next thing I knew, I was covered in scorpions, overrun by a wave of them scrambling to get out, converging on the only escape from this place, which also happened to be exactly where Don was positioned. And if all of that weren't bad enough, I heard another, and unfortunately recognizable, sound: glass shattering.

I knew what I was going to see even before I made it to my feet. There was only one other queen still moving, the largest of them. I pushed myself upwards in a frenzy, shoving scorpions off of me even as others were crawling over them. I grabbed the tail of one, ripping it out of my arm where it had stuck into me and tossed it the entire beast aside. I was getting tired, but whether it was due to the battle or the stings, I couldn't be sure. I stood, and finally I got a look at my brother.

One bad decision could turn a battle. I knew this, I planned for every eventuality because of it, yet I knew that even the best strategy could fail. As a rule it was impossible to plan for every outcome, but I would not accept that. I had made it my life's study to have the ability to do exactly that thing. I still made mistakes though, and I knew right away where I'd gone wrong: I never should have split us up.

"Donnie! Fall back!"

I kept screaming at him to run, to get out of there, even as I ran full tilt towards him. I'd had my hands completely full fighting the scorpions alone; now Don was trying to fend off attacks from them and a new addition – a colossal, praying mantis. It was easily twice the size of the scorpion queen and just as fast.

I kept running it over in my head as I approached. I should have stayed closer to him. I should have defended his position. I thought drawing them away would be better, but I could hear the mantis queen slamming against the glass. Why didn't I see this coming? Why did I not assume that the door would draw their attention? I kept my eyes trained to Donnie. He was backing up, trying to dodge their attacks, but it was too much. He was being assaulted on all sides; the razor claws of the mantis coming down from above in tandem with the swiping claws of the scorpion; the scorpion's tail stinging with a mind of its own. Even as I watched, I saw the mantis sever his staff in two, leaving him utterly defenseless.

I wasn't going to make it. My hand went to the grenade pack on instinct, forgetting momentarily that I'd used the last of our supply in fighting the infected. If only I'd saved a couple. Even a single well-placed explosive would have been enough to stop one of them. I ran, ignoring the broken glass cutting my feet, ignoring my fatigue, pushing to get to him. I had to get to my brother.

The mantis was closest to me. I came up behind it, diving at the last second and swiping my sword in a wide arc, severing one of its back legs. It screeched with an awful sound, but I'd gotten its attention. It turned to face me, its head twitching robotically from side to side, sizing up its next attack. A claw came down impossibly fast, smashing to the tile where I'd been just a second before. I rolled and sprung up with my free hand just in time to miss the second claw. One after another, the barbed ends of its long arms jabbed at me, and I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace long. I had to try another approach.

I ran around it in a circle. It turned with me, but not fast enough. I dove between its legs and skidded onto my shell, getting beneath it. With every bit of strength, I drove my sword upwards, into its belly. It screeched again, backing up and away. Furious, it snapped its claws out again and again, enraged and in pain, striking at the air wildly. It backed up into the wall and turned. Ducking its slender neck downwards, it squeezed into the dark opening of the tunnels and disappeared.

I picked myself up, woozy now – there was no doubt anymore that the scorpion stings were having an effect. It didn't matter. I fought it with everything I had, advancing on Don's position, needing to get there. I could see he was in a similar state. His movements were slower, the timing off. He was exhausted and also covered in welts from the smaller scorpions, most of which who'd now abandoned their monstrous mother for the tunnels as well. It snapped at him again, nearly taking his leg. He stumbled, and fell. The stinger reared up again.

"Donnie!"

He heard me and got his hands up in time, holding the two pieces of his staff high above his head and blocking the thing's tail. There they sat struggling for several seconds before the inevitable happened; the scorpion's tail flicked in a rapid motion, burying its stinger deep into the meat of Don's shoulder. He let out a terrible scream.

"Donniiieeee!"

I got there just as it was retracting, the barb so large it was pulling Don along with it, right off of the ground. He hung limp and dangled from it, the severed pieces of his staff falling from his hands onto the dirty tile with a clattering sound.

I sprung upwards, bringing my sword down with both hands, slicing the end of the beast's tail off in a single hit. I barely registered the meaty sound of Don falling back to the floor before the thing's pincers swung around at me. I dodged, putting myself between it and my brother, determined to end this quickly. It jabbed at me again, but I was ready. I leaped on top of the wide claw and brought my sword around again, slicing the appendage off at the joint. It squealed, retreating backwards but I didn't want to lose the advantage. I ran at it while it was stunned, leaping onto its back. It tried to sting me unsuccessfully with its wounded tail on instinct, which did nothing more but shower me in the disgusting gunk it was dripping with. The creature bucked like crazy, and I stood on the thick, smooth plating fighting for my balance like I was at the rodeo. I crouched instead and grabbed at the rim of the closest plate, steadying myself. With a yell I drove my sword downwards, through its head, twisting the blade. It thrashed a few more times but I held fast. Finally it crashed to the ground. It was over.

I freed my sword and ran towards my brother. He'd already pulled out the stinger and I couldn't believe the size of it. He was sitting, one hand planted over the wound. I moved behind him without a word and peeled away his hand, inspecting the damage. It had gotten him in the back of his right shoulder, just under the ridge of his shell. The wound alone was enough to contend with, but right away I knew it was going to be worse than that.

I dug into his satchel without asking, grabbing a roll of bandages. "Leo the gas… we have to get out of here," he said.

"You're bleeding a lot. I have to wrap this up first." He sucked air in through his teeth as I pulled back the flayed parts of his ruined shoulder, stuffing it full of gauze. A quick wrap job and it was as good as it was going to get. I took a quick look at our escape route. I could still hear the screeching of the mantis queen echoing back at us, almost taunting in its defiance to remain alive. I circled around to the front of Don. "How do you feel?" I asked. I laid a hand on each of his shoulders, careful of the wounded one, and studied him, checking his pupils, wondering just how much poison a stinger like that could deliver. "Be straight with me. Are you poisoned?"

I could already see the answer in his face. "Venom," he said between breaths, "not poison."

"Donnie!"

"Scorpion venom is… not typically lethal," he said, his breaths coming harder by the second. "Common misconception."

"Don it was a giant, mutated monster! There was nothing typical about that thing!" He tried to answer but it was getting the better of him. I helped him stand. He swayed suddenly and I reached out to catch him, thinking he was going to fall. Instead he bent and vomited on my feet. Oh good. This was getting better by the second. I was back to thinking that this whole thing had been a bad idea, but there was no time to regret our course of action now. I grabbed Don's good arm and swung it around my neck, pulling him towards our exit.

We ran as fast as we could, as cautiously as we could. I was concerned by what we were going to encounter in the tunnels. This was still bug central, and just because we'd taken down the hive didn't mean there weren't thousands of them still out there. The mantis queen seemed to be clearing a path for us, though. I wasn't sure if the smaller bugs were scared of her or giving her the tunnel out of respect, and I didn't care. All I knew was that we weren't going to waste the opportunity. We followed after her until we'd put a good amount of distance between ourselves and the hive.

After we'd run at least a mile, Don stopped dead in his tracks, bent, and threw up again. I couldn't see his features in the dark, but when he finished he sounded almost ashamed, like he'd done something wrong. "I can't go any farther, Leo," he said. I had studied poisons and Don knew it. He could be very sick, or, his organs could be melting one by one. We both knew there was no sense in lying to each other. "Whatever happens to me, it's too late now. You've got to take down that queen! She could start another nest… in an uncontrolled environment… can't… can't let it happen..."

He was sounding worse by the minute. "And what, leave you here? Are you crazy!"

"I'm alright," he said. "We're far enough away… from the gas. Over here." He tugged me towards a small, diverging tunnel maybe twenty feet deep and sealed on the end. There was moonlight shining in from a grate above. I helped him sit down underneath it, trying to get a look at him in the slotted beams of light.

"It's not safe here!" I tried again. "This place is infested, there are bugs everywhere!"

"Leo, please." He was shivering all over, uncontrollably, even though it was the middle of July and muggy in the dampness of the sewers. "If you don't, then all of this… what we did… is for nothing."

Dammit. I didn't answer him. I stood and looked at him long and hard, making sure this is what he really wanted. I reached back and grabbed the hilt of my single sword, tearing it from its sheath, never taking my eyes from him. A second later I broke into a sprint, leaving my brother, my wounded, poisoned (envenomed, I could almost hear him correcting me again), brother behind while I chased down another one of these damn bugs.

As I ran, I kept chanting it in my head: don't die, don't die… don't die until I get back, at least. I didn't want him to die alone down here and the thought of that happening was too awful to bear. I tore through the sewers at top speed, heading straight for the sound of the mantis queen. Don was right. Once I put her down, it would bring an end to the entire mess. And I intended to end it. With a vengeance.

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It would be easier to fight her down here, I was sure. There was little room for her to maneuver, but plenty enough for me. I didn't want to waste any time trying to take her by surprise. I just ran as fast as I could, my muscles screaming at me with overuse, my blood also filled with trace amounts of scorpion venom. I put my mind past it. I had to do this, and I had to do it as quickly as possible.

It didn't take me long to overtake her. I was skilled at blind fighting and could hold my ground well even without a speck of light, but fighting a monster of this size would not be the same as going up against the average enemy. Lucky for me, there was no need. Visibility was low, but there was just enough ambient light shining in from the full moon above to give me her outline. It was more than enough for me. A lifetime of living underground and operating out of the shadows had given me better than average sight while in them.

She of course heard me coming and shifted around to meet me head on, struggling to do so in the cramped tunnel. I bared my teeth like an animal. I was operating on pure adrenaline now. I tried a varied approach. The entire tunnel in front of me was claws, with mantis behind them. I had to get around them, to get to her vital points. As soon as I was close enough, I hopped up, running along the side of the tunnel wall for a few steps. I launched off the stone, driving my sword forward, trying to get a shot at its head. It didn't work. It swung a long arm in the way just in time, causing my sword to ricochet off of its thick, green armor. I fell back, dodging in time as the claw smashed down. I tried to counter, using its lowered arm as leverage, vaulting off of it and making for its head once again. Again, the other claw came around too fast, knocking me back.

I landed on my feet, breathing hard. We traded blows for a while, until I backed off a moment to consider my options. This was taking too long. I reached to the strap across my chest and slid out two shurikens. I snapped my wrist outwards and they flew; one hitting it in the torso, the other in the fat part of its left arm. It didn't even seem to faze the beast. Its armor was just too thick for small projectiles. I was losing patience quick, but forced myself to swallow it. It wouldn't do any good to lose my cool now. How many times had I said the same to my hot tempered brother Raphael? Only through the serenity of one's mind, will the battle turn in one's favor.

I felt a quick pang of loss at the thought of him. How I wished he was here with me now, fighting by my side. For all of our arguments, Raphael was my second-in-command in battle. Where we couldn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, we fought together like were born to. In a way, we were. Our mutation was a rebirth, a new life, and one given to the study of martial arts. Fighting was what we did best together. Or, as Mike would often joke, the only thing we did together, both on and off the field.

What would he say, if he saw me now? Abandoning Donnie, to fight this horrid thing? Even if it was what Don wanted, would he have done the same? When it came to looking out for the others, Raph and I were really equals. It was a known fact that he could have been leading this team, were he only better at controlling his mental state.

Raph. Wherever he was, I hoped he doing better than we were.

The mantis queen advanced on me suddenly and I pushed those thoughts aside. I had to get my head back into the fight. Whatever he might think of my decision, Raph would want me to end this and get back to Don as soon as possible, and that was what I intended to do. The mantis was on the offensive now, darting claw after claw outwards, pushing me back the way I came. It had an amazingly long reach, making it impossible to get close enough for a solid strike. The arms themselves were too thick to penetrate, and the joints too far up its body for me to reach. I had mistakenly thought that it would be at a disadvantage in such a small space. I could see now that it was just the opposite.

I sidestepped another blow but didn't make it in time. The arm smashed into my side, driving me into the stone wall of the tunnel. Stunned, I shook my head, unprepared for the next attack – it lunged suddenly, knocking me backwards onto my shell and pinning me down. This was bad. I gripped its arm, trying to shove it off my chest, but it was too strong. With mounting dread, I struggled, watching as its head lowered towards me. In the dim of the light, I could just pick out its mandibles, splitting into three ragged, sharp points. They were coming right at my face.

I had to think. Instead of shoving its arm off, I gripped underneath it and slid downwards, scraping my shell along the grit of the sewer. I kicked upwards just in time, hitting it in the side of the head as it closed in. It screeched, the sound piercing in the close quarters, but I stayed calm. My sword arm free now, I swiped it around, severing one of its front legs. It screamed again and toppled. I pushed forward, rolling beneath it, slicing off the leg on the other side. Too top-heavy, it crashed head first into the ground.

I stood and gripped my blade with both fists and drove it downwards, impaling it between the eyes. I planted my foot on its neck, tearing the head free. I held it up just a second, watching as its mandibles twitched their last. Panting, I unceremoniously flicked my blade outwards, freeing my sword from the disgusting thing. It was over.

Finally, it was all over.

I looked back down the tunnel, the way I'd come. "Donnie," I said out loud. Without hesitation, I tore off in that direction, pleading in my head with the powers that be: please. Please let my brother be alive.

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Out of breath, I rounded the corner where I had left him. He was lying on the ground with his back to me. He wasn't moving. I fell to his side and grabbed him, sure I was too late. Right away I could sense signs of life and the relief I felt was so great I nearly fainted from it. That feeling wouldn't last long.

"Oh god Leo, it huurrts…" he moaned. He was lying in a fetal position, his arms crossed tight across his abdomen.

I couldn't believe how much worse he looked. My heart sunk. He wasn't going to pull through, I just knew it. "Where?" I blurted. "Where does it hurt?"

"Be easier to ask… where it doesn't," he said, trying a laugh a little in spite of it.

I squeezed his arm. I'd had my own personal experience with venoms and poisons. There were some, even in small doses, that could make you feel as though your entire body had been set on fire. "Just hold on," I told him. "I'm going to try and get us out of here." I went for my phone and paused. There was a time when we had allies here, when I had people to call. But with our friends and family scattered, I wasn't sure what to do. I could call Splinter, but he was out looking for Raph. At our last check-in he was following a potential lead somewhere near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. With the military blockade it would take him hours to get to us; he might not be able to make it until morning. Plus, how close could he get? This place had the highest concentration of bugs, both above ground and below. I could hear them scurrying in the tunnels all around us and it only made me more uneasy with every passing second.

Retching sounds broke me from my thoughts. Don was throwing up again. I grabbed his shell and helped him turn over so he wouldn't choke, then sat him up when he was done just to be safe. He was still conscious at least, but I could tell he was really suffering; so much so that he was fast losing the ability to speak. I leaned his back against the wall and sat down next to him. I was exhausted and finally feeling the fatigue of my own tainted blood. Looking at Don I could see just as many welts all over his legs. He was pumped so full of their venom that I couldn't even believe he'd held out this long. I wrapped one of my arms around his shoulders and left it there, keeping him upright and steady.

"Donnie… don't die," I said. "Please."

So that was my great plan. Beg my brother not to die, because I couldn't do anything for him. What could I do? Topside was a mess in this area, full of soldiers and bugs. Even if I could get Don up there, then what? You couldn't get a car though the ruined streets. The tunnels were a marginally better route (at least there were little to no humans down here), but we were easily ten miles from the lair and there was no way I could carry him that far before we'd be overrun by bugs.

Maybe this was it. Maybe all I could do was sit here with him and wait for the end. Or, maybe we could sit and ride this out. His body might purge the toxins in a day or so, maybe enough so that he could walk again. Maybe we'd get lucky and the bugs wouldn't find us here.

It was a lot of maybes. I hated not having a clear picture of the road ahead. I needed a better plan than this.

I checked his bandage. It was already soaked through red and a small stream was running down, pooling into his shell. That wasn't good. Even if the venom didn't get him, if we lingered here too long, he might just bleed to death. So much for waiting it out. I searched through Don's minimalist pack, but there was really nothing in there that could help. And I'd talked him out of stopping to get more supplies. Don always brought too much stuff, more than we ever needed on a mission. I'd assumed this would be the same. Better to have too much, than too little, he always said.

I was so tired. "I'm sorry, Donnie. I should've listened to you. You knew we were unprepared. We should have gone to the lair first, like you said." One brother miles away, bedridden. Another here, dying. The last one MIA… maybe already dead. Some leader. I couldn't believe how badly this was all turning out. I thought about going topside to scavenge for first aid supplies, but I'd already left Don once and I couldn't do it again. He was completely defenseless. As if to prove the point, I heard the skitter of feet in the main tunnel, followed soon after by more of those long, squat centipedes. I covered Don's mouth to stifle his gasps and grunts of pain. They kept moving, without seeing us.

As soon as I relaxed my hand, Don reached up and grabbed it with his. It was clammy to the touch. "D-don't be… sorry," he said. "Never thanked you…"

"Thanked me… for what?"

He leaned heavily against the wall, his head dipping to the side slightly. He seemed strangely calmer all of the sudden. "Coming to... rescue me. Finding Mike. Killing the… mantis." He tried to smile. "Stopping the invasion… saving the world."

"The world, huh? I still think that's an exaggeration," I said, forcing a smile back. "I think Mikey's rubbing off on you too much."

"You're… gonna find… Raph too." His breaths were coming shallow, now. "Tell Mikey… tell him I'm sorry again… that I got him hurt."

"Donnie, stop," I said. This sounded too much like a deathbed speech. What was I doing? I couldn't let this happen. Sensei is often fond of saying that Raph and I butt heads because we share an equal measure of stubbornness, but there are times when that stubbornness pays off. This was one of those times. I decided right there: I was not going to accept this. I swore to protect my brothers to the end and I sure as hell wasn't going to stand by and watch one of them die here in these bug-infested sewers.

I began by controlling my breathing. I closed my eyes, I steadied my mind. I channeled my Chi. In a few moments I could feel strength returning to me, if only a little. I pushed on. Pictures began to form in my mind, visions, abstract and indecipherable at first. I concentrated harder. I heard sounds, like roaring, and then the image came together: it was a motorcycle. Raph's bike?

Raph's bike!

I'd stashed it not far from here, when I'd first come north looking for Mikey. Of course! How could I have forgotten? I pulled my phone, checked the map and sure enough – it was less than a mile northwest of here. That was it, our ticket home.

When I tried to move him, I found out why Don seemed calmer before. The neurotoxin in his system was beginning to have a paralyzing effect. His right arm below the wound was completely unresponsive, and it was starting to spread throughout that side of his body. I also knew this of venoms and knew something else – if it reached his lungs, he would stop breathing. There was no time to lose. Fumbling a little, I managed to hoist him onto my back. All we had to do was make it a few blocks. The bike was chained up in an abandoned lot, or at least I hoped it still was. We made it as far as we could through the tunnels before attempting to go topside. Luck was on our side; we saw a few bugs but I managed to duck into hiding before they detected us. Above ground would be another story.

Getting Don up the ladder and out the manhole was a chore, but I managed. When we got to the top, I set him down for a second between some parked cars so I could assess the situation. What I saw just made me angry. I could almost hear Raph muttering it in my ear: turtle luck.

The tall buildings surrounding the overgrown lot were covered seven stories high in thick, white webbing. Spidermen. Out of all the bugs we faced, they were the worst. They were fast, unpredictable, and it was hard to see them coming. I didn't detect any right then, but I knew that didn't mean anything. They had a tendency to hide in their nests, before jumping out like – you guessed it – a spider after its prey.

I heard a groan from Donnie and knew I had to weigh my options quickly. I thought about taking a car again but wasn't sure if we could get around the city with it. You really didn't want to reach a dead end and have to turn around, because you never knew what would be on your tail. Plus, no one used cars except for the military; anything else would stick out and we'd be pulled over for questioning in an instant. No, it had to be the bike. The bike was fast, much more maneuverable, and could be ditched easily if need be. The question wasn't really how I was going to get to it, because I was fairly certain that I could jump on and peel out before I was attacked. The problem was, how was I going to get Don on with me?

I had thought about how to secure him on the way over, so that he wouldn't fall off as we were riding. I didn't really trust him to be able to hold on tight at this point. We were just going to have to do those steps first. I crouched down next to him and started removing his elbow and kneepads.

"Hang in there, Donnie. We're almost there." He was still breathing, but he acted like he hadn't heard me. I shook him a little. "Don?" With what looked like a great effort, he looked at me and nodded the tiniest bit. "Okay. Save your strength. I'm taking you home."

I sat down on the ground with my back to him. I wrapped his arms and legs around me and started tying them in place. Once I had him secure, I stood, again carrying him piggyback. When I was sure we were ready, I broke into a hard sprint, making a beeline for the bike. As soon as I stepped into the lot, I caught movement within the webs. A lot of movement. I kicked open the chain link gate and that's when I saw them. Hundreds of them, descending on us from the webs above; horrible, malformed, humanoid torsos atop black, hairy bodies, the bulk carried swiftly on eight legs. They reminded me of a more horrifying version of those horse men you'd see in fantasy movies, centaurs, I think they're called. They had amazing speed over all types of terrain and I knew that even after I got the bike started, it was going to be hard to outrun them.

I jammed the key in the ignition and gave it some juice, but the engine didn't turn over. I tried again. Nothing. I didn't want to look, but I couldn't help myself. The Spidermen were nearly on us.

I tried a third time, cursing at the stupid thing. "Come on you piece of -"

The engine came to life. I gunned it and tore out of the lot, just as I felt the first of their human hands claw at us. We pulled away and out of its grasp just in time, but it didn't stop them from taking up the chase. I could hear the thunderous noise of their legs everywhere, on the street and buildings all around. It sounded like a hailstorm behind us, coming down hard on stone, and glass, and metal. I pushed the bike as fast as I dared. I knew how to ride but I wasn't proficient at it. If the spiders didn't get us, I was afraid I might kill us trying to escape them.

I checked the mirrors and saw them gaining on us. I had to do something. I hit the brakes, skidding sideways, taking a sharp turn to the left in an attempt to throw them off. There was a military Humvee there, gun mounted and gunman wide-eyed in surprise at the sight of us. I revved the bike forward, skirting them, immediately sorry for what they were about to encounter. I heard the rat-a-tat behind us a second later, hoping that the armored vehicle would be enough to protect the unfortunate souls from the hoard of monsters we'd led straight to them. Piggybacking on that thought, I also hoped they would take out a few of them for us.

That gave me an idea. We weren't too far from the Harlem checkpoint. I gunned the engine, heading off in that direction, desperate for help, hoping I was doing the right thing.

I could barely keep the bike steady. I found myself skidding more than I meant to; the streets were unpredictable and more than once we nearly crashed into overturned cars and junk in the way. Even so, I surprised myself, pulling off maneuvers that I'd never attempted before. Really, it was more a testament to the vehicle itself. I was by no means a gear head, but even I could appreciate the precision of the custom built device. That was thanks to our engineer, who'd given no small amount of time to crafting the machine. As for him, I could still feel his chest moving, breathing, against my shell. At least I thought so. He was slumped against me, passed out, or as close to as possible. Dead weight against my back. I gunned the engine, concentrating on moving us forward. I knew there wasn't much at the lair that would help his condition. I just wanted to get him somewhere safe.

The Spidermen were relentless. One ran along the building to the right and leaped suddenly, trying to tackle us. I evaded him just in time and he smashed into the pavement. Another jumped at us from the other side, with the same result. They were getting more aggressive. I cranked the bike around another sharp bend with a screech, taking a path through a small, overgrown park. It didn't slow them down. In the mirrors I could see them in the trees all around us, leaping and bounding from branch to branch, after us like they were hungry. Maybe they were; the northern part of the island was all but deserted and I couldn't imagine what they were eating to survive. I shivered a little at the thought.

Just as we exited the park, I felt something wet and heavy hit my right side. I looked to see white strands of webbing there, disgusting, but not too much of an issue. They hit us with a few more shots and I cringed at the sticky warmth of the stuff, trying desperately to keep it off my face and out of my eyes. The last thing I needed was to lose visibility at this speed. We came to the end of the street and I had to slow down to make the turn. It was there that one of them finally hit its mark.

It cut the corner and ran alongside us. The next thing I knew, it was grabbing Donnie, trying to rip him off the bike. I hit the gas trying to shake it but the thing somehow hung on, using the ridge of Donnie's shell as an anchor point, threatening to pull us both off. The bike wobbled as I fought to correct it, all while trying to balance with the added weight. I couldn't slow down or the rest would overwhelm us. I had to think fast. I glanced at the mirror on that side and saw its black, needled teeth snapping, biting at Don, trying to get past his shell into something it could sink its fangs into. Slipping the last of my shurikens from the strap at my chest, I held it like a dagger and threw my arm backwards, impaling the vile thing in the side of its head. It fell back, screaming, tumbling over and over onto the street behind us.

I steadied the bike once more, feeling a little more confident. I was beginning to get the hang of this, I thought. As crazy as it sounded, I was starting to understand the attraction to driving the thing. It did take a certain finesse I hadn't previously been aware of and I promised myself, if we made it out of this, that I would concede that fact to Raphael.

Ahead, I could see army vehicles. Finally, the checkpoint was coming up. I hoped the soldiers there would realize we were not a threat, though I knew how risky this plan was from the beginning. We didn't exactly not look like aliens ourselves (at least in the eyes of the humans) and there was a chance they might just open fire on all of us. I had never seen one of the bugs operate a vehicle however, and hoped they would consider that before shooting. Also, funny enough, the webbing covering us would probably work to our advantage, hiding our features somewhat. Either way, we were out of options. There were just too many of them and I knew from previous battles with the things that they would viciously pursue us to the end.

I rounded the last curve and saw it: a mobile army unit stationed on top of what used to be several baseball diamonds, now surrounded by barbed wire and lined with army trucks. Men stood at the gates holding rifles. There were more stationed up high, sentry units on towers overlooking the area. I had a straight path and went for it, pushing the bike as fast as I could, driving directly alongside the checkpoint. I saw men raising their guns and braced myself. This was it.

Gunfire erupted and I grit my teeth, expecting them to blow Don and I full of holes. A second later I realized that we were not only spared, but the Spidermen were under full assault. I heard their terrible screams behind us, saw them turn their attention to this new threat, and knew my plan had worked. To my relief, they were dropping by the dozens amongst the burst fire of the men's rifles. I didn't wait around to watch. I kept on towards the direction of the lair, weaving in and out of streets and alleys, checking the mirrors as often as I dared. After a few minutes we managed to shake the last few and I didn't waste any more time. I headed directly for the garage.

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I pulled into the alley and cut the engine. I sat there for just a second, catching my breath. We'd made it. We were home.

The ties had come loose in our escape, but the knots held enough to do their job. I slipped Donnie's hands and feet free and caught him before he fell off the seat. I dragged him to the wall and set him down against it. I said his name a few times, but there was no real response. His eyes were open but unfocused, clouded over. He wasn't really there. I'd already called Splinter when we were in the tunnels and knew he was on his way. There was nothing to do now but wait for Sensei to arrive. I stashed the bike quickly and dragged Donnie inside.

I set him up in the infirmary and made him as comfortable as I could, before tending to his shoulder. I knew how to clean and suture and we had all the necessary items. It didn't take long. He never moved once.

When I finished, I dropped into the chair next to him, utterly drained, both physically and mentally. For the second time in less than forty-eight hours, I was taking watch over one of my brothers, waiting to see if he would survive through the night. It made me suddenly anxious to check in on Mike, but it was the middle of the night and I didn't want to wake April and Casey. I supposed it could wait a few hours.

Donnie's eyes remained open, blinking slowly with a zombified look. His chest rose and fell in wheezing breaths. I wondered if he was in a lot of pain. I laid a hand down on his forehead for a moment. His eyes moved slightly, his pupils shifting in my direction. So maybe he was still aware after all, just unable to move or communicate. Paralyzed, though not entirely. He still shifted from time to time. He was still breathing on his own. If his condition was peaking, he might pull out of this. I offered encouragement, hoping he was able to hear and understand. I wanted to keep talking to him, but it was hard to find words. I talked about Mikey some more, about April and Casey and our brief time at the farmhouse. I told him about searching the city with Sensei and shared my miscalculation in trusting one of Hun's girls. I told him that his lab was a damn mess and it had taken me hours to find anything in there that I could use. I shared with him how hard this had been without him to plan with, without Raph to back me up, and without Mike to keep my spirits up.

We sat like that for I don't know how long, me talking, him lying still, until I felt a vibration at my belt. I went for my phone and saw it was the disposable. On it was a text message from Hun.

two shipped up north, sold to a man named John Bishop

Great. Really could have used that information a few days ago. I waited a moment to see if there would be more. There was.

the other went to the Foot

I stared at those words, my worst fear come true. I'd always known this was a possibility from the start, but for some reason I just couldn't believe it. Maybe I just didn't want to believe it.

I messaged back questions. Where? When? What did they want him for? Was there a message to us? He was vague in his answers but gave me what he had. There was no message to us from them, no demands, as far as Hun knew. As for why they wanted him, Hun thought that a good time to joke around with me, saying that he didn't know, but he guessed it wasn't to give Raph dance lessons. They'd had him for almost two weeks and were holding him at Foot HQ.

Two weeks. That would put it around the time Mike and Don had been brought to the waterfront, probably right after they'd split them up. That meant all this time – all the time I'd been searching for city for them, rescuing Mike and looking for Don, waiting at the farmhouse, infiltrating the hive – every one of those days, Raph had been in captivity with our greatest enemy. I buried my face in my hands, rubbing at the temples. It was the worst possible news.

I heard the door and knew Sensei had returned. I wasn't looking forward to sharing this information with him, but his presence brought nothing but a sense of overwhelming relief to me. If anyone could offer me advice now, it was my father.

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