Oh wow! Finally! I really wanted to have Leo out by Christmas...but that didn't work out. Sorry, Leo :( And this is my longest chapter...ever! I really thought about splitting it, but I wanted to at least have him out by the new year. So here ya go :) I hope it is not too long.
Oh, and if Leo seems to wig out again...I've read something about people who are drowning or suffocating will hallucinate. And I remember in the C.S.I episode, where Nick gets buried alive, he had a weird vision about his autopsy...so um..yeah. On with the show :)
I own nothing...and that makes them happy.
Chapter 7: Amen
"I don't understand," Mikey said. "What does statues have to do with where Leo is?"
"If that is a statue of Mary," Don replied, his eyes still looking over his computer screen. "Then he is more than likely in a catholic cemetery."
"More than likely," Raph grumbled. "What if this lead fizzles? What then, Donny. We don't have much time."
Don looked up from the screen, his eyes leveled with Raph's and matched his glare.
"Don't you think that I know that," Don snapped. His own stomach was churning. What if he was wrong. Then he pretty much just signed Leo's death warrant.
He swallowed hard and tried to bite back his anger. He wasn't mad at Raph and he knew that his red banded brother was not angry with him. It was the situation that had them tore up.
"But this is better than nothing." Don's voice was almost a whisper as he dropped his eyes back to the screen. The light from the laptop reflected in the tears that had welled up.
Raph crossed his arms and his stared turned to the floor.
Mikey cleared his throat. "What are you looking for now?"
"Leo said to look for Dolan," Don answered. "I'm trying to find if there is someone named Dolan buried there."
Mikey nodded but the fear and doubt still knotted in his gut.
"Ok, Donny," Casey called from the driver's seat. "Here is exit 47, which way do I turn?"
"Right at the bottom of the ramp," Don replied. "Then go straight."
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Hun was getting more and more frustrated. Each cemetery that he passed, there was no sign of the blue clad turtle's family. He knew that they were searching.
"Where to now, sir?" The foot soldier that was driving the car chanced a peak in the rearview mirror.
Hun angrily tapped his fingers on the arm rest of the car door as he watched the next graveyard pass by the window. It was completely empty and there was no sign that anyone had been there.
His mind was telling him there was no way that the turtles could have found where their brother was. But his gut was telling him something different.
"Go back."
"Sir?"
"You heard me!" Hun blasted. "Go back!"
The soldier glanced over to the ninja that was in the passenger seat. He nodded and turned the sedan in the direction of Mt. Olive Catholic Cemetery.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
After the communicator went dead and clicked off, the silence in the grave was deafening. Leo squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to slow his breathing. The air was growing thinner and his head started to swim.
It felt as if the casket was rocking back and forth in the dirt. He tried to ignore the dizzying feeling and latch on to the familiar comfort of the spiritual plane.
He took as deep of a breath as he could and held on to it. They were on their way and all he had to do was stay alive until they got there.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Cold chills ran through Mikey as he stared out of the window at the old church. The huge stained glass windows were boarded up and the roof was caving in.
"Don, are you sure about this?" Mikey tried to keep the quiver out of his voice.
Casey turned on a dirt road by the church and flipped the headlights on high beam. The gates of the cemetery came into view. They were rusted and broken but the chain that was around them was new.
Don's breath caught in his throat when saw the fresh tire tracks in the mud. He doubted before…but now he was sure.
"Yes, Mikey," he finally answered. "I'm sure."
Raph was the first one out of the vehicle, he went straight to the gate and cut the chain.
Don was behind him, he handed him a shovel and a flashlight. "Look for Dolan. There are several people with that name buried in this cemetery. The dirt will be disturbed.."
"I know what to look for," Raph interrupted and headed into the graveyard.
The clouds had rolled in again and the moon was no longer visible. The flashlights barely cut through the thick darkness that hung over the cemetery.
Mikey's chest felt tight. This was the biggest graveyard he had ever saw. The tombstones and crosses stretched out for miles it seemed. He quickly passed his light across the names, trying to find a Dolan.
He was deep into the grounds when he heard a car's engine. Doors slammed and then angry shouts split the air.
"No." Mikey raced back to his brothers and Casey. When he got to them they were already in battle with Hun and two foot soldiers.
Raph glanced over at his orange clad brother. "Mikey! You and Don find Leo!"
Don swiped the feet out from under one ninja and grabbed his flashlight and shovel. "Come on Mikey, Casey and Raph will handle them! We're running out of time!"
Mikey nodded and ran after Don. He hated to leave Casey and Raph, but splitting up was the smartest thing to do.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Leo thought he was in the astral plane, the familiar place that he often goes to when he meditated. But he couldn't find the peace that is normally there. There was no peace.
He felt a cool wind against his face. He opened his eyes and found himself standing in the graveyard. It was daylight, but he didn't feel the need to hide.
The smell of death still hung in the air.
He walked further into the graveyard, toward the tree and statue that he knew was there. He drew in a sharp breath when he saw his brothers standing by a grave.
"Guys!" Leo called out and ran toward them. But they didn't look up they just stared down at the tombstone.
As Leo got closer he could see the grave marker.
Leonardo
"No."
"They didn't make it." A voice came from behind.
Leo turned quickly to see an older gentleman with a dark suit and cane standing by the tree.
"Who are you?" Leo's couldn't seem to catch his breath.
"You know."
"I-I don't." Breathing was getting painful.
The old man just nodded. The old man with the dark suit…dry rotted and itchy. Bones that cut deep.
Leo looked back to his brothers. They were leaving.
"Wait!" Leo took two steps and his legs gave out, he fell to the ground on his hands and knees. The soft dirt seemed to swallow them.
"Wait." It was barely a whisper.
"They didn't make it." The man repeated. "You didn't make it."
Leo raised his eyes to the old man. His face had a look of pity and sorrow. "Don't worry, son. I will share. We won't be alone."
Darkness swept through the graveyard. Deep and suffocating, blacking out everything that it touched.
"Never alone." The old man's face contorted into a frightening grimace and the skin began to drop off of him in chunks. Nothing but unnaturally bleached bones remained. Bones and an itchy blue suit.
Leo wanted to cry out, but he was afraid that the last bit of air that he had left in his lungs would be his last.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Raph's emotions were tore. He was ready to take revenge on what Hun had done to his brother. And that anger was behind every punch that he threw. But he also didn't want to waste his time while Leo was still in danger. He need to be helping Don and Mikey.
Casey had already took out one of the ninja and was dodging punches from the other. His hockey stick was knocked from his hand and he had to quickly duck the katana that was swung at his head. Casey rolled out of the way of a kick and grabbed his shovel. He swung it as hard as he could and watched with satisfaction as the black clad man crumbled to the ground. Now he could help Raph with Hun.
"I don't know how you figured it out," Hun taunted. "But you are too late, his air ran out a long time ago."
Raph didn't get baited by Hun's words. He concentrated on bringing him down as fast as he could.
Casey crouched behind Hun as Raph landed a kick to his chest. The huge man toppled over and his head crashed down on a tombstone.
Raph carefully approached him and nudged him with his foot. Hun didn't stir.
Casey reached for a pulse. "He's alive."
Raph glanced around the graveyard. A smile crossed his face when he spotted a mausoleum. He would have liked to bury Hun six feet under, like he did Leo. But there was no time. The above ground crypt would have to do.
Raph picked the lock on the door of the old building and pulled it open. The squeaking hinges echoed through the night.
"Come on, Case," Raph said as he grabbed Hun's arms. "Help me get him in here."
Once they got Hun into the mausoleum, Raph pushed the door closed locked it back. He then took one of his sai and stuck it into the top of the door jam.
"See how he likes it," Raph said as he picked up his shovel and light and ran toward his brothers.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Don and Mikey were still looking through the grave markers. So far they had not spotted anything disturbed or anyone named Dolan.
"Don?" Mikey began to ask if he was sure again, but the look on his brother's face when he turned stopped him mid-thought.
"This is the place," Don replied to the unasked question. He felt it stronger now. They were close.
Mikey's heart skipped a beat when he flashed his light across a grave marker.
ELIZABETH DOLAN
But there was no disturbed dirt. The flower pot next to the marker was filled with old plastic flowers. Dirty and faded from the years in the weather.
"I have a Dolan," Mikey told his brother. "But the grave hasn't been touched."
"Look around this area," Don said as he crouched down by a faded stone.
PATRICK DOLAN
The etching was barely visible, but the only thing that had be disturbed was the weeds that Don was standing on.
He swung his light wildly around the area, frustration creeping up his spine. He stopped when it fell on a lone tree and a statue. The arms of the statue were held so close to the body, cradling the baby Jesus.
"Leo, where are you?" Don's mind screamed.
"Here!" He heard Mikey scream from somewhere to his left. "Don! Here, he's here!"
Don ran to where Mikey was already digging. He threw his flashlight down and began helping. Blindly throwing dirt out of the way. The beam of the light hit the tombstone.
JOHN DOLAN
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
"Here! Don! Here, he's here!"
Raph didn't think he could run any faster, he felt that he was pushing his body as hard as it would go. But he heard his baby brother scream…they found the grave. His legs pumped harder as he weaved in and out of the tombstones.
Mike and Don were already about two feet into the hole when Casey and Raph arrived. They quickly found a spot and started to help move the dirt out of the grave.
"Where's Hun?" Don asked between labored breaths.
"Taken care of." Was Raph's reply and Don accepted that. He knew that Raph would do all he could to make sure his brother's rescue would not compromised.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Leo slowly opened his eyes but with the thick blackness surrounding him, he wasn't sure if they were open or not. He couldn't meditate any more…not if it took him back to that place.
He would take one shallow breath and hold it as long as he could. Then he would slowly release it. The air was so dry, it made his chest burn and his throat raw.
The silence of the grave was broken by a distant sound. Leo's brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what it was. It got louder and closer…more than one. He turned it over and over in his mind what it could be.
There were more…so loud now.
It sounded like a gravely voice saying…Hush.
Hush…Hush.
Hush…..Hush.
The sound was getting comforting now. Almost like a lullaby.
Hush….Hush.
Hush…Hush.
Leo knew that he was supposed to be concentrating on something. But his memory became jumbled. All he heard, all he remembered was the voices telling him to, Hush.
It would be alright now…Hush.
He let the darkness embrace him like an old friend and released his breath. He didn't even realize that he didn't draw another in.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Casey was the first to hit something solid. "I got it!"
"Careful!" Don warned.
Everyone but Don scrambled out of the grave. Don dropped to his knees and started to remove the dirt from what he hoped was the head of the coffin.
"Leo!" Don screamed as the casket came into view under his hands.
"Give me some light!" Don dug his fingers into the dirt, searching for the lock on the side of the casket. He flipped the latch and prayed that it wasn't damaged…that it would open.
It clicked and Don quickly opened the lid. He didn't hear Raph scream his brother's name. He didn't hear Mikey gasp. All he heard was his own heartbeat that was pounding through his head.
His brother lay motionless in the casket. Don could feel his stomach churn when he saw the bones and tattered clothes scattered in the coffin with him. But he bit back the nausea and reached out for Leo. He quickly lifted him out of the casket into the waiting arms of Mikey and Raph.
"Leo!" Raph shook his brother. His heart dropped when he got no response.
"Don?" The red banded turtle's eyes burned into his brother as he picked himself out of the grave.
No time for shock or grief. He had to do something.
Don reached out for a pulse. He felt a small spark of hope when he felt a small thump under his fingers.
He moved out of the way and let Raph cut the ropes away from Leo's arms and wrists. Just as soon as the bloody nylon fell away Don moved back in. He put his head by Leo's mouth and tried to feel for his breath. He felt nothing on his cheek.
"I need some light." Don's voice sounded foreign to his own ears.
Casey and Raph trained their lights on Leo's body. Don watched for Leo's chest to rise and fall.
It didn't.
"He's not breathing!"
Don pulled the rest of the tape off Leo's mouth and tilted his head back. He swiped his mouth and checked again.
Nothing.
Don quickly started mouth to mouth resuscitation.
Two breaths.
Check for breathing.
Two breaths and then check.
Still nothing, a pulse but no air.
He wanted to urge his brother to wake up…to be alright. But he didn't want to waste his own air. The same oxygen he was giving to Leo.
Two more breaths…nothing.
"Please, Leo." He could hear Mikey somewhere behind him.
Again and again, Leo's chest would rise with the air that Don blew into his lungs and then fall again. But would not rise on it's own.
He check his pulse again and felt relieved at the tremor under his finger.
Don put his face back down by Leo's face. He tried to hold back the sob that was building in his throat. He couldn't check his chest because his eyes were clouded over with tears.
Raph started to panic when Don didn't raise back up to give Leo more breaths. When he saw his shoulders start to shake and heard him start to softly weep.
"Don't give up, Donny! Keep going!"
"I-I can't…I," Don started to raise up but a soft wisp of air caught his attention. He wasn't sure if it was just the wind. Or if it was what he wanted to feel.
He quickly rubbed the tears out of his eyes and watched Leo's chest. The seconds seemed like an eternity but then he felt it again.
And Leo's chest rose a fraction before slowly going back down.
"Oh God, Leo…" Don choked out.
Don took a deep breath. "Ok, let's get him out of here."
Raph didn't miss a beat. He scooped his brother up and quickly started back toward the battleshell. Mikey, Casey, and Don were not far behind.
~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~
Recovery and epilogue up next. :)