Raphael didn't know how long they had been walking for. It felt like it had been days. In reality, it was probably only a few hours. Leo was barely conscious, and Raphael struggled with most of his weight. Leo's head was bowed ad sweat coated his skin in thick drops. His breathing was ragged and he couldn't put much weight on his affected leg. Raphael suspected he had been slipping in and out of consciousness ever since they started walking.
Raphael wasn't going much better. Sweat dripped freely down his body and his breaths were coming out in short, sharp gasps. His prosthetic leg was barely holding him up. A searing pain flared through his leg, making him want to cry out in agony. It took every last reserve of his self control and countless years of martial arts training to continue struggling forward.
He had no idea where they were going. He knew they were in the Underground City, but he didn't remember much of the layout when the first stumbled across it years ago. Right now Raphael was hobbling through a dark tunnel that felt like a twisting capillary. He wanted so desperately to stop, to lie down and rest and stretch his injured leg out before him. But he knew he couldn't do that. He knew if they stopped, Leo wouldn't be able to get back up and Raphael would be too weak to continue. Instead, he gritted his teeth and struggled on, praying that Donnie and Mikey would figure out a way to save them soon.
The tunnel started to veer down a sharp slope, and Raphael nearly stumbled more than once. He could see a light a few metres ahead and realised that the tunnel was coming to an end. Hoping to magically turn up in the sewers, Raphael hobbled faster, dragging Leo with him.
The first thing Raphael noticed when he got closer was the heat. A thick, coiling heat filled the air. Raphael felt like he was being burnt alive. Stepping out of the tunnel, Raphael realised, with a jolt, that the light he had seen had been the flickering light coming from the red-hot lava that now lay below him like a rolling sea.
Raphael staggered to a stop and glanced around, trying to blink through the heat that seemed to suck away every last drop of his energy. He was standing on a rocky platue one hundred metres above the see of laver. In the distance, he could just make out tall shapes, like buildings, becoming him to a safe haven. Looking around for a way to cross the yawning gap, Raphael spotted, off to his left, a small cable car, dangling precariously from an old length of wire. Following the line, Raphael saw that the wire ran the length of the chasm. Realising the only way to go was forward, Raphael half-dragged, half-carried his unconscious brother over to the small cart.
There was just enough room for them both to fit, and as soon as Raphael had closed the squeaking door behind them, he collapsed onto the floor. His eyes started to drop and Raphael felt the allure of dark shadows starting to embrace him, whispering things in his ears, promising to take the pain away. Raphael shook his head and forced his eyes open. He had to get across the chasm. He was praying that there would be supplies or tools or anything Raphael could use to help his brother in the city that loomed ahead. Looking around the cable car, Raphael found an old switchboard, which thankfully, didn't look too complicated. After pressing a few random buttons, Raphael finally made the car start its deep incline up towards the city.
The car crawled at a snail's pace, and shook side to side with every movement it made. Raphael held his breath and closed his eyes, feeling like each second could be his laugh before the old cable wire snapped and they plunged into the lava below. But, astonishingly, the wire held, and the cable car made it up to the city.
Raphael heaved a sigh of relief and struggled to stand back up. Draping Leo's unconscious body across his back, Raphael stepped out into what he realised was the Dead City. Last time they had visited the city had been abandoned. It was still abandoned now, in various states of disrepair. One hundred metres away, Raphael spotted a small building carved from black stone. The few windows that remained had long since been smashed, and the rickety door hung on rusted hinges. Knowing he couldn't walk much further, Raphael decided the small building would be their best chance for the night.
Struggling up to the crumbling building, Raphael pushed his way inside. It was surprisingly cool inside, and old paper was scattered across the floor like a nest. Carefully placing Leo on the floor, Raphael inspected the building with more scrutiny. He noticed a few side rooms that led from the main room and decided to investigate to see if he could find anything that would help them.
The first room held nothing but shattered glass and old, decomposing furniture. In the second room, Raphael had more luck. In the corner of the room he spotted a large backpack. Praying to any god that would listen, Raphael unzipped the pack and wanted to cry out in relief. In the back was a small first aid-kit, various tools used for chipping away at rocks, and three lengths of rope. Clutching the treasure to his chest, Raphael continued his exploration. The next room was much like the first and held nothing that Raphael could use. The room after was a small victory, as upon rifling through what had once been a storage cupboard, Raphael found a single, tattered blanket.
Raphael almost cried out with joy when he entered the last room. It appeared to have once been a small communal kitchen. Cupboards with broken boards hung off the walls and small shelves lined the space in between. Rushing over as fast as his leg would let him, Raphael began frantically rifling through the cupboards. What he found didn't disappoint. Raphael found a handful of what appeared to be beef jerky, a few tins of old beans, and a handful of what looked like muslie bars. In one of the bottom cupboards he found two strange jars of glowing blue liquid. With a cautious sniff, he realised with a jolt that the strange substance smelt like water. Cautiously touching it with his finger, Raphael looked at the jelly-like mass and took a hesitant lick. As soon as the jelly touched his tongue coolness exploded over his tongue, and Raphael felt like he had just been emerged in water. With a shock he realised it was water! Well, the equivalent of water in the Dead City anyway.
Clutching his prizes, Raphael hurried back to where he had left Leo. Leo was starting to stir, but kept his eyes firmly shut. Bending down beside his brother, Raphael carefully feed him some of the jelly water. Leo sighed when it hit his tongue, and seemed to become more relaxed. Raphael desperately wanted more of the cool liquid, but he didn't know how long they would be trapped down here and if he would be able to find anymore of the saving gel. He knew Leo needed it more than he did. With a sigh he screwed the lid back on and carefully placed the jars in his backpack.
Digging through the first aid kit, Raphael found some antiseptic wipes. Moving closer to Leo's injured leg, Raphael shuddered at the smell he was greeted with. The wound had stopped bleeding, but grey-yellow pus had started to ooze out of the wound.
Oh no, he must have caught an infection from the water we fell in, Raphael thought with a jolt of panic. He had spent enough time around Donnie to know that infections were not a good thing. He quickly cleaned the wound as best he could, and wrapped Leo's injured leg in a small bandage he pulled from the first aid pack. Retrieving the small blanket he had found, Raphael carefully placed it over his brother.
With a weary sigh Raphael moved to lean up against the wall next to his brother. The rocky ground was surprisingly cold but was very hard. Raphael tried to make himself comfortable, and tried to supress the gasp of pain as he stretched his wounded leg.
They would stay here for awhile, Raphael decided, at least until they had both slept and regained some of their strength. Raphael would save their food until they were both awake. Tomorrow they would continue through the Dead City.
Please, Mikey, Donnie, Master Splinter, we need your help.
Raphael closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.