This chapter might be a little weird because I'm going to change POV during the story. Assume whenever I make a bold caption I'm also changing the POV.
ENJOY! Thanks for the awesome reviews!
: Chapter 14:
"But why can't I go with you! This is my problem too! Leo are you listening to a word I'm saying!" It was almost midnight and I was following Leonardo around April's house like a sick puppy while he gathered last minute supplies before He and Raph would head to the subway tunnel where Hun and the Purple Dragons were "supposedly" keeping fort.
"I already told you Austria it's too dangerous why can't you understand that?" He said, obviously trying desperately to keep his cool
"Are you sexist or something?!" He stopped what he was doing and looked at me
"Why does you being a girl have anything to do with this?" He started to raise his voice a little
"All I'm saying is…I'm ready to kick the butt of those idiots who tried to kill me!"
"Austria you don't even know how to fight" Raph chimed in from the living room
"Not only that but if we do get caught, which is highly unlikely, they will kill you right there and then. At least if you stay here with Mikey, Donnie and Casey you'll be safe if worse comes to worst ok?" He tilted his head and gave me a small smile. I brought him close to me and whispered in his ear
"The only reason I'm not arguing with you anymore is because Donnie is here" I pushed him back
"I know" He kept his smile and walked into the living room. "Ready Raphael?"
He jumped up off the couch and walked towards the door of April's apartment "I've been ready since yesterday bro. Haven't kicked bad guy ass since I can't remember when"
"Be safe for evens sake" April hugged each of them under Casey's watchful eye. Raph shot his bud a wink once he wrapped his arms around her. Casey smiled and shook his head then pointed to Raph, then himself and pounded his fists together. He rolled his eyes and let go of her with a grin on his face.
"Don't die!...on second thought….Don't die Leo!" Mikey waved to his brothers from the lazy boy chair next to Don in the living room
"You better hope I do Mikey cuz if I come back here it's to slay your sorry little ass" Raph said
"I'll be here as often as I can to keep you up to date" Donatello was seated at the small table in the living room with all his computers hooked up that made wires run all around the room. He had on this black head set with a microphone lowered to his mouth. If he wasn't attractive already this kind of put the icing on the cake.
"Thanks Don. We'll be back as soon as we can" Leo waved goodbye and took off out the door with Raphael close behind him. He swung the door shut and then the room was quiet, so quiet you could probably hear a pin hit the floor.
"Well…ANTM comes on in thirty minutes" Mikey said while turning the TV on
"You watch America's Next Top Model?" I popped a hip and raised my brow at him
"Donnie does too" He said
"I do not!" He swung around in his chair and slapped his brother on the head. "Don't be making up stories Michelangelo"
"I'm not making up stories! Me and Donnie boy watch it together and pick out which girls we think will make it to the finals. It's pretty rad" He nodded his head while stuffing his fifth slice of pizza into his mouth "You should know Aus…you won the last season didn't you?" He smirked at me
"Oh Mikey…your compliments fill me with unfathomable joy" I snickered
"Didn't she Don!?" He yelled
"Go away" He was typing things into his computer and I wondered if he was trying to hide his most likely blushing face
"Oh hey Mikey didn't you win one of those shows too? What was it again? Americas Ugliest Mutant?" Casey rubbed his chin and looked at the ceiling
"At least I wasn't nominated for Worlds Hairiest Gorilla!" Mike could throw those comebacks like a baby could throw spaghetti O's. I could learn a few things from him.
"Long hair is in this year Mikey!" Casey grabbed his long black hair and twirled it in between his fingers
"Right, just like crocs and silly bands" Don said
"Hey! Those were cool!" Casey pointed his finger at the olive green turtle
"Yeah while they were interesting, now they're just a pigment of what used to be the "Hip" thing" Don replied. Listen ladies, geeks are probably the most attractive thing in the world get them while their hot and this one, is the exact definition of that with a capital H.
"Casey's just mad cuz his entire wardrobe consist of Crocs and Silly Bands" Mikey laughed
"At least I have a wardrobe!"
"OOOHH" Me and Don held our hands to our mouths and laughed
"Someone get the first aid and treat that burn" I started to laugh uncontrollably then I don't know why but I fell onto the couch because I couldn't hold myself up anymore from all the laughter. Mikey slouched in his chair, defeated. Score one for Casey Jones.
: Beneath NYC:
They walked with the steps of a feather, barely making a sound as they used flashlights to scope out the subway tunnel. Left and right they scanned the walls for any secret passageways they might have missed or are invisible to the naked eye. They walked slowly and it was as if ghosts were prowling the tunnels. They foundation above them rumbled from the passing cars overhead and the flimsy structure of the abandoned subway tunnel rocked back and forth with every breath the turtles took.
"Seems like a perfect place to hideout in" Raph whispered while pointing his flashlight at the cracked cement walls and the broken gravel floor. "This place is gotta be at least a hundred years old or somthin." Suddenly the structure started to shake more than it already was.
"Raph we gotta keep it down" Leo hushed his brother. It settled and dropped dust onto the two turtles, turning their head and shoulders a light brown
"I know man, but the more we go into this place the more I start to think the dragons couldn't possibly be here. Their too…rowdy and stuff and this place is so fragile yah know?" He tried his best to whisper
"Yeah I'm getting that feeling too Raph" He answered finally
"I'm doing some diagnostics now. I'm trying to find maybe a blueprint or something that can show me the layout of the tunnel but I can't seem to find anything" Don spoke through Leo's earpiece. "Oh wait found something...that's strange…its only half completed. I can walk you through up to the first cut off but that's all. It's a possibility the print is correct and maybe the tunnel just ends there. You guys will have to find out."
"Don't worry Don. We'll soothe ya curiosity" The tunnel was so quiet, Raph could hear his every words through the small earpiece.
"Shhh" Leo held up his hand and stopped moving. A piece of wood fell from the ceiling and landed in the spot where they were about to walk. "We have to be more careful. This thing could collapse any minute which could be a great reason to set trip wires so watch where you step"
"Good thing you're in front me bro" Raph said
They continued down the dark abyss and listened to Donatello's directions on where to go. Most corridors led to dead ends or strange drop offs that fell into the sewers.
"Ok take the next right, my map ends there but let me know what you see" He said
Leo cautiously looked down the tunnel on the right. He flashed his light on the floor to make sure it wasn't a drop off. He slowly proceeded through and was instantly embraced by a cold draft, even colder than the one already creeping through the subway.
"Well?" Don asked
"It's cold and really dark. My flashlight can't see ten feet in front of me"
"That's strange. Maybe you should just come back. It might not be safe"
"No way! The dragons are probably just tryin to scare us away!" Raph yelled and his voice echoed all throughout the subway, making small pebbles fall from the ceiling and walls.
"Raph…did you hear that?" Leo asked. He hesitated and leaned into the small passageway. "More like what you didn't hear, your voice didn't echo through this tunnel"
Raph walked up to his brother and looked in. "Yooo" He said but his voice only went around himself and ran down the tunnel going the opposite direction.
"Hey Don, there's no sound coming from this tunnel" Leo said
"Umm…well it could mean you're at a dead end. Or, there's a vacuum…like in space" He replied
"What's it like in space?"
"Well, there's no oxygen, temperatures can reach up to -129 degrees Celsius, and it's a vacuum so you wouldn't be able to physically hear anything. There's a lot of pressure…"
"Let me stop you there" Leo interrupted. He reached his hand out into the tunnel then slowly started to walk in. "Don…I feel like something is pulling at my arm" He pulled it away and walked back out. When he looked at his hand it was a yellow color but slowly returned back to its sea green tint.
"Is it possible that whoever lives down here has created some sort of environment similar to the ones out in the solar system?" He questioned
"We were hoping you could tell us" Leo said
"It seems highly impossible but perhaps the Dragons are more advanced than we thought. That or the abandonment of the subway has caused some sort of chemical reaction from the rotting materials and created this atmosphere" Don sounded bewildered "I can't wrap my head around it"
"Maybe they went up into space and brought some of it back" Raph smiled
"You'll have to come back and get proper equipment to explore further" Don commanded
"We're ok Don…I could breathe when I walked in there"
"Leo you don't know how far it goes! What if it gets worse as you go deeper!?"
"Then we'll turn around and come back" Leo started to walk into the vacuum. Raph hesitated but slowly followed him in. Their lights were practically useless, they couldn't see anything more than a few feet away so they were clueless as to where they were stepping. Raph opened his mouth and spoke words but couldn't hear anything.
"We should bring Mikey in here" They thought simultaneously
The mysterious corridor seemed to go on forever. It got colder and colder as the progressed further and the pressure began to steadily increase making their hearts pound. Eventually, a small red light emerged from the other end. It grew bigger and bigger as they walked closer to it.
: At April's Apartment:
"Don, how are they doing?" April put her heads on his shoulders
Donatello, not wanting to worry his friend about all the danger his brothers may have just walked into, simply told her they were doing well.
"Good, I'm going to make some tea would you like some?" she asked
"No thanks April, I'm good"
She patted his shoulders and walked into the kitchen to prepare the Tea
"I know a liar when I see one" Austria was sitting at the other end of the small table finishing her first real dinner of meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Yes, it was a little late to be eating but no one could sleep that night so April made a meal to try and calm her nerves
"What are you talking about? Their fine"
"Donnie…Are you just telling yourself that?" She put her fork down and looked at him. He sighed and waved her over.
"You can't tell anyone else. I don't want them to worry. Especially April"
"So you don't care if you worry me?" she teased
"No, I mean Yes! I do but…" He stuttered
"It's ok, just tell me" She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder sending chills up his spine.
"They found this corridor that has the same atmospheric qualities as a subzero environment, low pressure, cold temperatures and no sound waves. Its mind bobbling really" He said in his best "I'm totally not worried about this" tone
"Why would they go in there? That's totally not safe"
"I know I tried to tell them to come back but Leo insisted on investigating" Donatello slouched in his chair and whimpered.
"Aww don't worry I'm sure they'll be fine. Have a little hope" She cupped his face in her hands and let them be warmed by his burning cheeks. "Are you catching a cold? You're like burning up"
"Yeah you could say that" He reached his hands up and wrapped hers in his own. He closed his eyes and for once in his life, actually started to relax. He got a feeling in his stomach that no even April could have created while he thought he was desperately in love with her. Austria sparked something inside him that only she could have created. It was the most calm he's ever felt in years and what he thought he felt for April, was nothing compared to what he felt for this injured girl that he found dying on the street not even a week ago.
: Austria's POV:
For some reason I slept like a baby that night. While Don was up all throughout that time period trying to keep contact with his brothers, I was on the couch with my pillow and blanket snoring like a grizzly. At least that's what Mikey told me once I woke up at noon the next day. Only one thing was out of the ordinary for me, I remembered that night I almost died but I didn't remember the making out with Donatello part, ok maybe not making out but you get the idea, I remembered the dream I had that caused me to "Die." It was that creepy ass darkness, and the temperature, and my heart beating fast, and not being able to hear my own screams for help. It all came back to me once Don mentioned the environment Leo and Raph had discovered in the subway. I wonder if they saw red and purple lights too.
I knew I was abnormal once I saw my gunshot wound heal out of nowhere and when I looked at my knees where the scratches had been from the accident, they had completely vanished and those were some pretty deep cuts too. Maybe I could see things. I'm not sure what kind of things but I know Raph and Leo are probably heading for trouble. If I died in that dream, there's a good chance they will too.
I hope all the jumping around POV's didn't make the story confusing! I'm sorry about all the "cliff hanging" or as you guys call it. I simply call it "Suspense" and that's what keeps it interesting! :D