Good afternoon, everyone! I hope you're having a great weekend, and that you are ready for the next string of events in this story! Thank you to everyone who has supported it thus far, your words, follows and favorites have been greatly appreciated! So, without further ado, please enjoy this chapter!
Back in the turtles' living space, Leo's mind was in a fog, sounds and sights seeming to meld together. The sound of Mikey's laughter as he and Casey played a video game blurred, April watching while Donnie advised Mikey on how to play his character more effectively. Raph laughed as he rapidly pressed on the buttons of his controller, relentless in trying to outdo his younger brother. Leo's head was bowed, his gaze pointed towards the ground. Before he approached the couch, he felt someone suddenly take his arm, snapping him out of his stupor as Splinter held one of his bloody hands up to inspect it a bit closer.
"My son... what happened?" Splinter asked after a few moments.
Leo finally looked at his father. "I was just wandering around, and... I found her. That girl that was missing, Amelia Smith. Her attacker spoke to me, but I didn't get a good look at their face. I lost them. Amelia... I had to help her."
Splinter rose his brows. "The fact that the child was found is good news indeed. But, my son... something tells me that this is nothing to celebrate. Is she-... will she be alright?"
"She's alive, if that's what you're asking, but... her arm..." Leo's voice faded, holding up his bloody hands. "... it was like something had-..." Leo shuddered at the memory. "I got her to a hospital, but..."
"Leonardo, she is in good hands, now. That is all that matters." Splinter replied.
Just then, after Mikey and Raph switched off their video game console, the orange masked turtle did a double take, smiling when he noticed his brother had returned. "Hey, Leo!" He hopped down, heading over to him. "Leo, I totally just kicked Casey's butt in-..." He stopped when Leo turned, seeing the blood on his hands. "Leo?" His voice quieted. "Why do you have blood on your hands?"
Leo sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "Where is Donnie?"
"Leo, are you hurt? Did someone attack you-"
"Where is Donnie, Mikey?" Leo asked firmly.
Mikey quieted, clearing his throat. "I'll go get him." He frowned deeply, heading back where he came.
Donnie came barreling in a minute later, stopping when he saw Leo. "Oh for-... Mikey made out like you were completely drenched in your own blood..." Donnie said, rolling his eyes a bit as he sat in front of Leo.
"Not mine..." Leo muttered.
"Clearly... are you okay?" Donnie cleared his throat when Leo said nothing, silently placing a bowl of water down, taking out some damp cloths to clean him up with.
Splinter frowned as he watched this, listening to Raph shouting loudly from the lounge and laughing.
"I body slammed you, Jones." Raph smirked, Casey snickering as he rolled his eyes.
"Maybe I should actually try, next time." He replied.
"Raphael." Splinter said his son's name as he approached. Raph glanced back before jumping to his feet.
"Yes, sensei?" Raph asked, his full height making Casey and April look like dwarves in comparison.
"Your brother needs you." Was all he said before heading out of the lounge. Raph rose a brow, hopping over the couch and heading to where the others were. When he saw the back of Donnie as he took a damp, bloodied cloth, he hissed, storming over.
"What happened?" He demanded.
"Leo found one of those kids on the missing posters... her kidnapper apparently..." Donnie cleared his throat. "He amputated her arm."
Everyone fell silent, April putting a hand to her mouth as she overheard the last bit. "Leo, where did you find her?" She asked.
"Tunnels. Quarter mile from here." He replied quietly as Donnie got up to dispose of the bloody water. Casey fell unusually silent, his expression dark before he took his hockey stick, smacking it against the wall and nearly breaking it in half. They all looked at him, his jaw tense.
"Where is this shithead?" Casey asked. "I'm going to beat the piss out of him."
"Lost him. I had to get Amelia to the hospital or she would have died from the blood loss." Leo replied before glancing up. "I want you to beef up the security equipment down that entire strip, Donnie. That freak is still out there somewhere."
"On it." Donnie replied, getting up to go over to his lab area. Raph stared at Leo with a serious expression, exhaling slowly.
"I'm going with him." Raph said, Leo looking up at him. "If this guy is that dangerous, none of us should be alone."
Leo nodded. "Thank you, Raph."
Raph gave him a nod in return. "Donnie, wait up."
April slowly sat down, taking a moment to process this information. "Leo, where is she now?" Leo told her which hospital he had brought her to. "I'm going to get her parents' contact information, give them a call... see what kind of condition she's in." She got up.
"I'll come with you." Casey said, following her. At this, Donnie briefly glanced over at them, shaking his head for a moment to resume concentration on his current activity.
"I'll keep you guys posted." April said, Splinter giving her a small nod of thanks as she and Casey headed out. "That poor girl..." April said once they were out the door. "I feel horrible for Leo, finding her like that."
"Yeah well, you can say 'poor asshole' when I crack that guy's skull in." Casey said rather darkly.
"Casey, don't do anything rash... besides, we want him behind bars, not six feet under."
He huffed a bit. "Even in prison, the ones who hurt kids aren't treated well by other prisoners."
"I suppose you have a point." They walked a bit longer, eventually reaching the hospital. There were police in the area, taking statements from the staff present at the time Leo had arrived. April approached, moving past people to get inside. She and Casey went up to the front desk, getting the receptionist's attention. "Excuse me, could you tell me the room where Amelia Smith is being kept?" She asked.
"M'am, only family is- wait a second... you're April O'Neil for Channel Six." The receptionist rose her brows. "Here, this is where she is..." The woman scribbled on a piece of paper. "ICU is down the hall and to the left. That poor child could use some coverage, maybe people will donate more to her family if you make a report."
"Thank you." April said, hurrying down the hall as Casey followed her. She glanced on the paper, stopping to peek in one of the rooms. She stopped when she heard the sound of sobbing, seeing a couple inside as they hovered near a bed. April's heart sank when the mother moved back enough to reveal a small child, a steady beep sounding from the heart monitor. April's brows furrowed deeply, able to see that one of her arms had been reduced to a stump, the wrappings stained with her blood. Her breath hitched as a doctor approached, apologizing quietly to the parents as he slowly covered the child with a blanket. April shakily moved back, looking at Casey with a somber expression.
"April, is she-..." Casey hissed, shutting his eyes when April nodded wordlessly. "This is going to kill Leo. And I'm going to kill the one who did this. Come on, Red. We need to go." April could only nod, trying to keep from crying. As they made their way down the corridor, Casey glanced at her, reaching to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. It was rare when he wasn't trying to bust her chops or tried to be flirty with her. As he noticed her bottom lip beginning to tremble, he stopped, taking her shoulders and turning her to face him. "Listen, April. We're going to get this fucker. This isn't going to happen again. There was nothing else we could have done at this point. Leo hauled his ass here. I just hope they got to see her alive."
"Me too." April replied with a trembling voice, swallowing the lump in her throat as she took a moment to compose herself. "Let's just go back."
As they entered the main lobby, the receptionist noticed them walking by, looking up.
"Ms. O'Neil? Are you alright?" She then saw her expression. "Oh..." She clicked her tongue. "She didn't make it, did she?" April shook her head, quietly thanking her for her help. She was about to head out of the hospital when the receptionist spoke up again. "Oh, Ms. O'Neil?"
"Yes?" April replied.
The receptionist tilted her head a bit. "Would you perhaps like to send some flowers? Or... balloons?"
April blinked at this, a funny feeling suddenly coming over her. "Excuse me?" She shook her head in confusion.
"You know, for the family." The receptionist said. "Red ones were her favorite, you know." Since when did she have a lazy eye? Was it like this the entire time? April furrowed her brows, backing up right into Casey.
"April, you okay?" Casey said, snapping her out of it. "I thought you were right behind me, I was already outside." April blinked as she looked between him and the receptionist again, the woman just looking at her as if nothing happened. She slowly smiled lightly, staring unblinkingly at her.
"I was just asking if you needed some water." She said then, getting up to go around and place a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Go home, sweetheart. You did everything you could." She leaned in a bit then. "A good night's sleep will do the trick." She winked.
April nodded, a chill running down her spine as she cleared her throat. "Thank you. I may be back here to... assist with the investigation." She said before grabbing Casey's hand, her heart pounding as they moved quickly out of the hospital. As they did, they did not see the receptionist watching after them, licking her lips for a moment.
Back underground, April rubbed her temples tiredly as Leo sat silently. Finally, his head rose. "Thank you, April." He slowly got to his feet. "All of you, listen close." He looked around as his brothers gathered. "This will not be happening again. Not while we're still kicking. Now I have nearly two dozen missing child posters, all from this area alone. You know what the time span they all went missing is? Barely a month. We need to find this heartless freak and put him behind bars. Donnie, I want you to keep beefing up visuals- above, and below. Raph, Mikey, I want patrols along these sewers and be ready to chase if Donnie detects something. April, Casey... I need you both to be my eyes and ears above the ground. Casey, you know these streets like the back of your hand. April, you have access to a wealth of information at the push of a button. If we're going to get this guy, we need to stick together. We all have our own strengths. It's time to use them." All nodded in response, feeling more determined than ever. "We owe it to Amelia to see to it that she didn't die in vain."
As he spoke, Splinter watched on silently, nodding to himself. He had watched all four his sons grow up, and he realized then and there that Leo had truly taken the stand as a leader.
He would need to be... especially now that lives were on the line.
Later on that night, Donnie approached April. "Hey... are you alright?"
She nodded. "I will be. It was just... heartbreaking. I can't imagine what my dad would have been like if he was looking over me like that."
Donnie sat beside her as she got her things together. "Same here." He looked over. "It's a bit of a trek back to your apartment... are you sure you don't want to stay here for the night?"
"It's fine... thanks, Donnie. I have work in the morning, anyway..." She replied.
"You know, you could stay at my place if you want." Casey said as he approached the pair. "It's not as close to Channel Six as yours is, but at least it's not too far off. I have a bus stop right on my block that goes that route. Also, you wouldn't be alone."
Donnie's gaze lowered to the ground, his chest tightening for a moment as he held his tongue. "Sure, um... thank you, Casey. That will work." April responded.
Casey nodded, helping April with some of her things before the pair told the others they would be heading out. Donnie got to his feet, striding over to her. "April?"
"Yeah?" She replied, Casey raising a brow as Donnie glanced between them a bit anxiously before releasing the breath he was holding.
"Please be safe." He finally said, April smiling lightly.
"Thank you, Donnie. I will."
"Don't need to worry about that." Casey said as he gave Donnie a wary glance, turning to walk out with April.
Donnie returned his glance, not sure what it was supposed to mean. At once, the unspoken message between the three of them was all the more frustrating to him. If only April would just choose someone and be done with it, but that was a selfish thought. For all he knew, April just wanted to be friends with all of them, and there was no decision that needed to be made. Perhaps she was completely unaware of the stirrings within their hearts- or vice versa.
He shook his head, going back to his computer to get a head start on his assigned task. He decided to put this from his mind for now- after all, he knew he was the overthinking, analytical one of the bunch.
And we end it here, folks! A bit of a darker chapter- but with Pennywise involved, there's bound to be darker moments ahead. So, who can our heroes trust? Will they solve the mystery before more lives are taken? Will they be endangering themselves in the process? Be prepared for more action, more horror, more twists and turns to come! Thank you so much once again for reading, and I hope to see you next time!