Song: Spinning - Disciple

"RUN!"

   At Raphael's command, he and I turn to climb the ladder out of the sewers. Unfortunately, more zombants have already collected around the exit. Their glowing teeth and sharp claws glint in the darkness, revealing a soulless expression in their eyes. In the midst of them stands a creature that I can only label as one thing: a zombant dog.

    I shudder as I take multiple steps backward. A jolt of pain shooting through my body reminds me of my injury. I groan softly and place a protective hand over my abdomen, distracted by the agony.

    "Casey, move!" Raphael grabs my arm just in time to save me from a pair of relentless claws. Before I can regain my balance, the turtle pulls me down an empty tunnel and into blinding darkness. Raphael leads me to pipe after pipe, arch after arch. The painful adventure never seems to end.

    Finally, I collect my strength and tug myself out of Raphael's grip. We both stop, doubled-over and panting.

    More disturbing moans split the silent air. Another patrol of hungry zombants leak in through a sewer pipe, eager to sink their claws into us.

    "Seriously?!" I complain around my heavy inhales. "Why can't we catch a break?"

    "Come on," Raphael growls. As one, he and I bound off into a different tunnel at a slower pace than before. He limps along with a hand around his bruised throat, while I carry on with a lean to one side.

    "Where are we going?" I question as my friend and me round a corner.

    "These tunnels go right to Lucy's place," Raphael responds as he dodges a swarm of rats racing passed.

    "Ahh!" I scream and leap onto Raphael's back to avoid the creatures, my heart pounding faster than light.

    After the rats disappear and the zombant moans grow louder, Raphael throws me to the ground. "Get off me, big baby," he snaps. Then, after a swift glance over his shoulder, he tears off down the tunnel again.

    A ladder gleams at me through the darkness. Raphael and I take flying leaps onto the metal and start to ascend to the surface. Haunting groans follow us upward, and continue to do so even after I slam the manhole cover down. Chills linger on the back of my neck.

    Panting, I rise with my gaze connected to Raphael's. "Wicked," I choke out around my excessive breathing.

    Raphael nods in agreement.

    We both shake ourselves out, our injuries becoming the center of attention, and hobble toward Lucy's front door. We keep each other propped up as we burst through the door. As we step into the building, we both fall flat on our stomachs.

    "Whoa!" Michelangelo, who is walking by with a stack of DVDs in his hands, drops them all in surprise. He stares at me with wide eyes as I pant on the ground in front of him. "What's going on, dudes? You look dead!"

    Leonardo and Donatello, who are sitting around the main room, stand up with equally astonished looks on their face. "Yeah, what's the problem?" Leonardo questions in a more concerned tone.

    "Docks," I get out around my desperate need for air. My injury has left me breathless. "Tiger Claw. Crates. Something bad."

    "That's comprehendible," Donatello remarks sarcastically as he looks down at Raphael and me.

    Leonardo silences his intelligent brother with a stern look. "What do you mean?" he asks me.

    I open my mouth to attempt to explain again, but Michelangelo prevents me.

    "No, wait! I totally got this." The orange-clad turtle strokes his chin as he thinks over what he heard. "He said that Tiger Claw got mutated into a crate down at the docks! No, that's not it. Tiger Claw got stuck inside a crate and he's down at the docks! Wait, no. Tiger Claw is-"

    "Tiger Claw, Rahzar, and Fishface are trying to steal a crate at the docks!" Raphael interrupts Michelangelo's ridiculous guessing. With all of the turtles looking at him with gaped mouths, he continues. "I don't know what he's up to, but I'd bet my sais that it's some scum-bagged plan to take over the entire city!"

    Donatello immediately furrows his purple bandana like eyebrows. "So, Shredder's henchmen haven't given up. I guess we should have expected this, especially after destroying their leader. If they're looking for power, we can safely assume they'll use it to get revenge on us as well as take over New York City," he predicts with a faraway expression on his face.

    Leonardo frowns. "We need to stop them immediately," he decides authoritatively. Before he can make a move to gather his weapons, however, a blonde girl appears around the corner with a horrified look in her gray eyes.

    "What happened?" Lucy gasps as she darts over to Raphael's side. She gently tugs him to a sitting position and looks over his wounds with a quivering lip.

    "They said Tiger Claw is down at the docks," Leonardo explains with a slightly irritated look on his face. "We think that they're going to try and take over New York like Shredder did. We need to stop them."

    "There's no point," I say with a shake of my head as I try to ignore the couple beside me. Their closeness makes my stomach twinge. "They're long gone by now. Once they threw us in the sewers, they ran like chickens."

    "They threw you in the sewers?!" Lucy raises her eyebrows in horror. Clearly, worry brings out her vocal side.

    Karai materializes in the doorway at the mention of this, her jade-green eyes narrowed suspiciously. The turtles each take a step back and mimic the serpent mutant's gaze. It isn't until April speaks that I understand why.

    "Did you get scratched?" the redhead questions.

    "No," Raphael responds immediately. "Just broke a few ribs and gained some new bruises. No big deal. Don't worry about us," he adds sarcastically.

    "Yeah," I mumble as I get to my feet. "We aren't practically dying or anything."

    Leonardo ignores our complaints. "If Tiger Claw and his rookies aren't at the docks right now, then we will waste our time heading out there. Instead, we will start patrolling that area frequently until we track them down," he decides.

    "Then we take 'em out," Raphael rumbles as he pounds his fists together.

    "Not yet," Leonardo says sternly. "We need to follow them back to their hideout to find where their staying. Then we can find out what they're up to and completely destroy the operation at the base."

    "Right," Donatello agrees, while April and Karai nod. Michelangelo nods as well, but the look on his face shows that he wasn't really paying attention- as usual.

    Leonardo glances around his teammates. "Mikey, April, and Karai will go on patrol with me. Donnie, tend to Raph and Casey's wounds," he orders.

    "Got it," Donatello agrees as the patrol heads for the exit. "Be safe," he adds, before the front door closes behind the departing group.

    There's a small silence, and then the short blonde girl breaks it. "I'll help you take care of them, Donnie," Lucy volunteers as she rubs Raphael's shoulder.

    "Fine," responds the purple-clad turtle. "Let me go get my first-aid kit." Then he disappears into the dark hallway.

    I glance at Raphael and Lucy as they gaze into each other's eyes. Seeing them together makes me smile a bit, but it also brings a lonely feeling to my stomach. If I hadn't walked out on Evelyn, would we be close like that? Would she have given me a chance to explain why I do 'suicidal' things? Would she respect my wishes, even though it scares her to think I'm in danger? Would she have explained why she cared in the first place?

    It occurs to me that I should drop by her house and say I'm sorry. However, there are two problems with that. One is that I don't know what to apologize for. And two, she'd probably be unaffected by it. She only sees me as her student, so why should she give two hockey pucks about our argument? She will probably just carry on and act like it never happened.

    Bummed, I decide to leave as soon as Donatello hands me an icepack for my injured stomach. I say my farewells and then I walked out of Lucy's house, unable to think of anything other than Evelyn.