Chapter 5
Author's note: sorry for not updating so long! I've been incredibly busy with my studies, mostly, and just never found the time to work on my story. I'll try to update a little more regularly! Hope you enjoy :)
"In the spring, we made a boat
Out of feathers, out of bones
We set fire to our homes, walking barefoot in the snow
Distant rhythm of the drums
As we drifted towards the storm.
Baby lion lost his teeth
Now they're swimming in the sea…"
I sang along to my favourite song of Of Monsters and Men, an Icelandic band I had discovered a few days ago. Their music enticed me, gave me goose bumps and had me searching for deeper meanings every time I listened to their songs. Their lyrics were so random, I couldn't stop wondering how they thought of them. Although I'd ditched my crutches a few days ago, walking still wasn't easy. My left leg still couldn't support all my weight, so I limped along like I was trying to cosplay as House. The bruises on my upper legs and hips didn't help. Chloe had been pissed when she had found me home again. She probably hoped I'd died or run away – anything, as long as she didn't have to see me again. I sure had felt it in the beating I'd taken. Chloe hadn't been gentle with the vacuum cleaner, which had been the thing closest to her that could inflict some serious damage. Somewhere in the process, I'd fallen down, and my lower body had suffered. Still, I got in a few punches at least.
And yet, in spite of my hurting legs, my half-healed ankle and my shitty excuse for an aunt, I felt quite happy. OK, maybe happy wasn't the right word, more like… not depressed, I suppose. I feel better than expected. That's probably because of the few hits I managed to land on Chloe. Feels good not to be entirely helpless.
And so, I found myself singing along to music, something I hadn't done for a long time. I was on my way to the library, as I'd finished my stack of books. Their weight in my backpack, slightly cutting into my shoulders, was comforting, somehow. A wealth of knowledge on my back. I was pretty slow, but I didn't mind. The sun had decided to show its face today and that combined with the ice cream I'd bought a little while back, plus the slight breeze that played with my dark blond hair, brought the feeling of summer. The trees were green, people were tanned, shorts and skirts and flip-flops were worn. I'd decided to wear shorts as well, not caring about the bruises on my legs; I could always pass it off as a result of playing soccer, if someone asked.
I hadn't seen the turtles since the moment they'd dropped me off at school and embedded a throwing star in the building. That was about ten days ago. They hadn't tried to contact me, and I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when I thought of it. Then again, it's not like I tried to get in touch with them either, now is it? Maybe I should. I brightened at the thought. But what do I send them? Aren't they gonna think it's weird? Do they even want to see me? I smacked my forehead. Geez, Dana, you're like a love-struck girl who has a crush on this celebrity she's never going to see in real life, let alone have a date with. Why am I overanalysing this? I snorted.
Because you're afraid, doofus.
That's a damn good point.
I pulled my headphones out of my ears. Enough with the internal monologue. Determined, I whipped out my phone and promptly dropped it. I dropped to my good knee to retrieve it, then straightened back up again – and noticed my surroundings for the first time. A dark alley, the next intersection about a hundred paces away. Two dumpsters stood next to the dangling end of a fire escape, garbage bags protruding from them. The smell suddenly hit me: a mixture of urine and rotting food and something that reminded me of dirty socks after an intense work-out. I wrinkled my nose. Looking back to the street I'd come from, I saw the sun hitting the pavement with fervent rays. Only shadows here. The houses are too high. I turned around and marched towards the sun-lit street. Suddenly, my back was tingling. Oh, that's not good.
I emerged from the alley, heaving a sigh of relief, then looked around. The street was abandoned, the few people around a group of youngsters laughing and sharing a cigarette among themselves. They didn't look reliable. I started walking, in the direction where I hoped people would be.
The tingling sensation increased. I sped up.
Checking a store window to find out what was going on behind me, I saw two guys trailing me. I think. They were clearly Asian and looked like they were somewhere in their mid-twenties, although reaching the age of a quarter century seemed to be their only achievement in life. Probably no education, no job, possibly no house – but an addiction to either alcohol or heroine instead. And crime. Their clothing was worn-out and dirty. The taller one, black hair modelled into spikes, was wearing a training suit, an Adidas, the three stripes leaning towards grey rather than white. The original colour had probably been a light blue, but there was no way to tell. He swung his arms quite a lot while walking. Nervous? The shorter one was bald, one side of his neck covered with a purple dragon, its head just visible below his ear. The tattoo covered part of his chest as well, the crinkled tank top not leaving much to the imagination. His jeans showed skin at the knees. Not good.
Trying to keep my calm, I looked for Leo's number in my phone and pressed the button. A few dials, then the call was answered.
"Hi, Leo speaking."
Relief.
"Hi, Leo. Er, it's me – uhm, I mean, it's Dana."
"Oh, hey! How've you been? We were hoping you'd call, sorry we haven't, we've been so-"
"Are you close to the Public Library?"
"Dana? What's going on?"
"I think I'm being followed," I whispered. "And not in a cute-guy-who's-too-shy-to-ask-for-my-number-straight-away kind of way."
"The Public Library, you said?"
"Yeah, the one on 115th street."
"How far away are you?"
"About two blocks, I think."
"OK, we're on our way. Stay on the line."
"Got it."
My phone produced the noise all phones make when wind is blowing into the speaker. Even though I didn't hear their voices, I felt safe, knowing they knew I was possibly in danger.
"Dana?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"OK, good. Where are you?"
"About one block from the library."
"Gotcha. We're almost there. What do these guys look like?"
"Losers, to be frank. No? No laugh?"
"Dana."
"OK, sorry, I'm panicking and then I tend to make stu-"
"Dana!"
There was a lot of noise, then Raph's voice came through. "Dana, cut the crap and tell us what those idiots look like."
I swallowed, throat dry. I turned my head, catching a glimpse of the two guys still trailing me. They were starting to run. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
"They're catching up to me, I can't run! What do I do, what do I do?"
"Donnie's got your location. Turn left, then make a right into that alley."
"Are you crazy? No way I'm putting myself-"
"Do you trust us?" No aggression. No mockery. No sarcasm – nothing of the sort. He was dead serious.
I gritted my teeth, clamped my eyes shut for a second. Why is the answer so difficult when the question is so simple?
"Dana?"
I swallowed, then turned left and headed for the alley on my right. "Yes."
"We're almost there."
Where are they? Shit, this wasn't looking good. I'd ducked into the alley and my chasers, seeing easy prey, had followed. Fuck, why weren't they here? C'mon, guys. Please. The alley was a dead-end, and I was slowly backing up against the wall, frantically checking my surroundings for anything that could serve as a weapon. Of course I need garbage when there is none around. The thugs closed in, grins on their faces. The tall one spoke. "Looks like you're not so smart, huh?" The short one chuckled. "She's got a nice pair on her, man. Look at them!" he said, then grabbed my wrists with one hand, locked them over my head and clamped the other over my mouth.
No, no, no, no. Please, no, no, I don't want this. Fuck, fuck. Let go, let go.
The other was eyeing me predatorily. Hungrily. Panic was taking over. No, no, no. I rammed my knee up towards my captor's crotch, but he was quicker and blocked it with his leg. I gasped and buckled, my good leg now injured too and my bad one not able to support my weight.
"You go first, dude. You earned it, you spotted her."
Fuck.
I struggled against the hands clasped around my wrists, then suddenly brought my head forward towards my captor's nose, grinning savagely when I heard a crunch and the pressure disappeared from my wrists.
He hissed in pain. "You little shit! You're gonna pay for that!"
His companion cracked his knuckles and advanced. Guys!
"There!"
Suddenly, four figures swung down and dropped to the street.
"Get away from her."
Raph's voice made the hairs on my neck stand up, even though I knew it wasn't directed at me. Gods, that voice promised so much pain. I felt oddly honoured.
The tall guy turned to face the turtles. He snorted. "Bring it, freak." As I looked up, the guys attacked as one, Donnie and Leo going for the tall guy while Raph and Mikey rushed towards the tattooed thug. Mikey hit him feet-first, the force behind the blow propelling the guy away from me – taking me with him. He'd somehow gotten a hold on my shirt without my noticing. With a startled yelp, I slammed into the guy, who hit the wall with a hard thump. "Mikey!" I yelled. "Over here!" The youngest sibling spotted me and was at my side in a flash, hitting the short guy for good measure, even though his collision with the wall had already knocked him unconscious.
"Can you stand?" he asked worriedly.
I shook my head. "Don't think so, I hurt my good leg as well. Fuck, my ankle wasn't even fully healed yet." Raph joined us and dropped to his knees next to me. "Dana? Dana, you all right?" I nodded to indicate nothing was seriously wrong. "Just hurt my wrists and my good leg a little, but nothing a few days won't fix, I think," I replied, carefully bending and twisting my limbs to ascertain everything was still working as it should. It was, luckily, even though it hurt.
Raph held out his arms. "Can you stand?" he said, parroting his brother. "Nope." Of course, that led Raph to pick me up bridal style. "You OK, kiddo?"
I nodded again, still a little shocked from what almost happened, then shivered at the thought. "Hey. Hey, you're with us, OK? It's fine, don't worry. Leo and Donnie already took out the other guy."
"Dana," Mikey's voice cut through, "you don't need to try to hide. They're gone."
Oh. Only just now did I notice how I'd tried to curl into a little ball in Raph's arms. "Oh. Yeah, sorry, I guess it just hit me all of the sudden."
"Shit, your legs!" Raph exclaimed, a frown on his face. "Fuck, they sure gave you some bruises." His eyes suddenly darkened and a hiss escaped from his throat. "They'll regret this." He gently handed me over to Mikey, then took out his weapons. "I'm handling that shit right now," he growled. "Mikey, take care of her, OK?" Mikey nodded solemnly.
"Wait, Raph!" I yelled, but too late - he was gone. Only then did I notice the Purple Dragons were no longer in the alley. The one with the tattoo must have awoken already, and fled with the other guy.
Leo and Donnie joined us and immediately directed their attention towards me. "I'm fine, guys, really," I said, answering the unspoken questions. Then I smiled. "Thank you. For saving me." "I'm so sorry we didn't get to you in time!" Leo said, his face displaying panic and guilt. "I wish-" "Shut up, Leo," I grumbled. "Learn how to take a compliment, all right? That could have ended a lot worse but thanks to you guys, I'm OK. OK?" The hesitant look didn't entirely leave his face but he ran a hand through my hair, while Donnie laughed sheepishly and Mikey hugged me a little tighter to his chest. "OK, OK, fine. No problem, kiddo. We're your friends, remember?" Leo said, smiling. An explosion of warmth burst through my chest. "Yeah, but I doubt I could swing in to save the day if you were in danger, you know?" I made some hacking motions with my hands, then cringed a little at the slight pain that caused. "No ninja training and stuff." Leo shrugged. "You never know." He turned around, studying the alley. "Where's Raph?"
"He's chasing the Purple Dragons," Mikey answered.
Leo frowned. "What? Why? We just kicked their asses."
"Yeah, but he saw Dana's legs and then went all Raphael-Hulk-ish and went after them."
Leo shifted his gaze to my legs, studying the purple and blue spots for a moment. Much like his brother, his eyes darkened a fraction but, unlike his brother, he managed to let it pass. "I'm just happy nothing too serious happened," he said. "Though we should probably have a look at your legs. There are some scratches that look pretty dirty." He grabbed my hands, raising an eyebrow (the turtle equivalent, that is) when I flinched in pain.
"OK, so maybe my wrists are a little sprained. No biggie."
"Yeah, no, sorry, kiddo. Not buying it."
I sighed, although I couldn't completely hide the smile tugging at my lips. "Fine, fine, take care of me, my valiant knights!"
Laughing, the three brothers carried me up to the roof and made their way towards their home. I found I didn't mind going back into the sewers again. Warm feeling still nestled in my chest, I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation of being carried across rooftops in one of the biggest cities in the world, by teenage mutant ninja turtles. Life really is freaky and unpredictable. Mum, Dad, I bet you had no idea how right you were when you said that. For a brief moment, I wondered at the extent of Chloe's anger when I wouldn't get back home for the second night in two weeks but the regular rise and fall of Mikey's chest quickly drove that thought away, and into the night we disappeared.