Wow, another update...scary, huh? This was going to be the last chapter before the epilouge...but I split this one, so one more chapter to go :) And I am working hard to get it posted by Christmas. *crosses heart* Promise.

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...wait I got my teeth...I want the turtles!

~.~.~.~

Chapter 6: …Or My Last Breath Will be in This Grave

"Donny! What do we do?" Raph could feel his nerves snap. Leo was freaking out again and Mikey looked on the brink of a fit too.

Don pushed Mikey's head between his knees. "Breath deep, Mikey. Stay calm."

He reached over and grabbed the communicator. "Leo! Please you have to stop."

The movements continued as the clocked ticked down. Don's mind was spinning. If Leo kept this up his air was going to run out before they even get to the next cemetery.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Leo could hear Don and Raph loud and clear from the speaker. They were desperately trying to get him to calm down. He wanted to call out to them…but he was busy.

He wasn't able to see anything in the coffin, but he could feel. And with all the thrashing that he had done earlier the bones of the dead man under him were scattered. He could feel a long straight bone next to his head that was sticking up. He wiggled himself around and tried to get the edge of the tape covering his mouth caught on the end of the bone.

It was jagged from being broken and his first attempt only left a long scratch down his cheek. He bit back the pain and tried again.

"Come on…" he thought when the next two tries left two more marks. He squeezed his eyes shut and blocked out the image of what he was scrapping his face across. Several times he was afraid that he would throw up. The man's burial clothes were dry rotted and itchy against his skin. The smell of death still hung in the air even after all the years of being in the ground.

The feeling of suffocation was overwhelming. From the position he had to put his body in to the silky touch of the liner that was falling on his face. But he couldn't give up. Time was running out.

Finally the tape got snagged and a spark of hope made his heart beat faster. Raph and Don were yelling louder, fear and desperation in their voices. He carefully moved his head and prayed that his plan would work.

At first it didn't budge and he was afraid to pull harder. But then it started to give and slowly tore away from his mouth. When it as halfway off he used his tongue to push the cloth from his mouth.

He thought that being free of the gag would make breathing easier, but the air was thin and he choked on what air he could pull in.

"Guys?" Leo pulled in another strained breath. His throat was dry as cotton. "Y-you there?"

The few seconds of silence seemed to stretch on for hours. Leo's heart dropped. Did he take too much time? Was the communicator dead?

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Don and Raph both tried to get through to Leo. But it seemed they couldn't get his attention this time.

"How did you calm him down before?" Don asked.

"I-I don't know," Raph snapped. "I just told him that he was gonna use up all his air. That we would find him."

Don's eyes grew wide when he heard a cough coming from the device.

"Guys?"

You could hear a pin drop.

"Y-you there?"

Raph felt like he couldn't catch his breath. He grabbed the communicator from Don, almost dropping it, before he spoke.

"Leo! Oh God, how did you…are-are you ok?" Raph could have smacked himself. Of course he wasn't ok! His brother was stuck in a casket six feet under the ground.

"S'gettin' hard to breath…"

Don's heart squeezed. Leo sounded so tired…so far away.

"Just try to relax. Meditate," Don suggested. "You have to conserve what air you have."

"The communicator d-doesn't have much time."

"We're on our way, bro," Mikey spoke up. "Just hold on."

"I-I know."

Leo sounded like he choked back a sob.

"I don't know where I am."

"It don't matta', we'll find ya." Raph wiped his eyes. He didn't realize that several tears had leaked down his face.

The clock screamed at his face, two minutes and five seconds.

One minute and forty five seconds.

"The c-cemetery is old…really old. Um…I only saw one tree and-and a statue by it."

Don's face lit up. "The statue was it an angel? Jesus?"

"Not a-angel...no wings. J-Jesus…maybe Mary."

Mikey and Raph gave him confused looks. "What's this got.."

Don cut Raph's question off with a wave of his hand.

"Were the hands of the statue outstretched? Or were they close to the body?"

The silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"Close. L-like praying."

Don grabbed his laptop and feverishly tapped the keys.

Raph shook his head, if Donny had an idea then he didn't want to break his concentration.

"Can you remember anything else?"

"Um…I-I don't…there's um…"

Raph could hear tears in Leo's voice. There was something he wasn't telling…something he didn't want them to know.

He growled under his breath. Now was not the time to hold anything back.

"What Leo? If it can help…tell us!"

"The-the coffin is used. Look for Dolan…Mis…

The communicator clicked and Leo's voice was cut off.

"No!"

Mikey ducked when Raph hurled the device across the vehicle.

He turned to Don, who was looking up from his computer.

"Please tell me ya have a plan."

Don nodded, a smile spread across his face.

"Casey, turn around. Take the interstate to exit 47. We are going to Mt. Olive Catholic Cemetery."

~...~...~...~

Ok, the statue idea was something that I cooked up. I know that is not how it is...but I needed it to work in my story. ;)