Liz: A TMNT Story

Chapter 1

I hurried through Central Park- well, not hurried. More like raced at a hundred miles an hour while my lungs threatened to burst. My tiny duffle bag thumped against my back as my worn out sneakers pounded against the sidewalk, trying in vain to put distance between myself and the Kraang.

I heard people scream in terror behind me as more of the floating ships sailed over my head, blasting pink lasers in all directions. More portals popped up in the street behind me, letting more alien robots into the city.

An agonizing shriek pierced the air, and I glanced over my shoulder to see a huge Kraang, doning an enormous robotic suit, turning the buildings in its path to rubble.

I willed myself to go faster, sides aching and head whirling. How could this have happened? One minute, you're heading out of school on a normal day, and the next, you're running for your life away from pink alien brain things.

Gotta get to Mom, I thought as more shouts echoed through the city, Gotta get to Mom.

I rounded the corner, and there it was- my apartment building. Except the last time I saw it, I wasn't watching the world fall apart around it.

I dodged the fleeing people, trying to make my way to the front door, but stopped with my hand grasping the doorknob, mouth open in horror.

The huge Kraang had pulled out some sort of gun, and it leveled the weapon at a small group of people. I winced, waiting for the sound of gunshots, but a glowing green ooze splattered onto them. There was a millisecond of silence, as everyone stared at the people covered in slime, curious, hesitant.

The next millisecond, the whole group yelped and screamed as their bodies began to smoke, their skin turning pink. My eyes widened as I watched tentacles sprout from their backs, their faces morph into disfigured Kraang resemblances. Within seconds, what had been a few innocent, unknowing people... were now some sort of Kraang/human...mutants.

I unglued my feet, pushing through the door and slamming it shut. I stood there for a moment, leaned against the door, trying to unsee that horrible sight. I tried to remember what it felt like to have a normal life, tried to grasp that feeling of nothing being wrong. For a moment, I had it. I could see my life, the way it had been before... Not perfect, but everything I needed. Now, it was all slipping away, mutating into another life... one lived in fear.

I once again had to shake myself out of my thoughts, glancing at the winding staircase and groaning inwardly. But I thought of Mom, and my feet automatically jumped into action, propelling me up the stairs of their own accord. A huge CRASH! erupted from outside the building, and I knew I had to hurry.

I didn't even think as I threw open the apartment door. My mother stood at the window, gaping in angst at the end of the world before her.

"Mom!" I cried out, and she whirled around to face me. I sprinted over to her, collapsing into her arms and hugging her, never wanting to let her go. But another CRASH! jolted us out of our embrace, and we knew we didn't have much time.

"Mom, we have to..." I started, but trailed off as my mother pointed to the bags already packed by the door.

"Already booked a ride," Mom stated, hurrying toward the bags, "The bus leaves in ten minutes. We've got to hurry, or we'll lose our seats."

I picked up the two packs of mine: a sports backpack, and my messenger bag. Both were extremely light as I lifted them onto my shoulders, but I didn't have time to dwell on how much we'd be leaving behind. I only had time to glance around before the door closed: a coffee mug still on the table, books lined up neatly on the shelf, my collection of ceramic animals. Then I was staring at the wooden door frame.

We hurried down the hallway as quickly and quietly as we could, and I heard a faint noise. I glanced down the hall at the last door on the left.

They're still in there? I thought, as we neared the staircase, I thought everyone would have left.

But there was no time. No time to worry about anyone else. We had to go. I spared one last glimpse at the still-occupied apartment.

Don't stress yourself out, I scolded myself, The O'Neil's will be out soon.

It occurred to me that I didn't even know where we were going. My eyes just focused on my mother's deep brown hair, swinging to and fro in her pony tail as we ducked in and out of alleys, trying desperately to stay out of sight. It was all a blur now. It became a pattern: out into the street for a few seconds, into the alley to hide. In and out. In and out.

Suddenly, we were there, we were in a crowd of people bustling around a Greyhound shuttle bus. They were already boarding. I tightened my grip on the straps of my sports bag and gritted my teeth as more people shoved me. We slowly made our way to the front, showing the tickets and waiting anxiously.

For a moment, I thought it would be alright. We would take the bus out of the city, start anew. No more Kraang, no more running.

Then the huge Kraang rounded the corner. Everyone screamed, and the engine revved. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, dodging feet and bags and more feet. I heard my mom call my name, "Liz! Liz!" I saw her being carried onto the bus with the crowd, unable to stop.

A heavy boot collided with my head, and my limbs went weak. My forehead fell to the ground, making my brain ache even more.

The smell of gasoline. The shriek of the Kraang. A helpless shout. I opened my eyes to hear the bus shift out of park, whisking away the passengers at top speed. I managed to hurry out of the way, landing in some bushes near the sidewalk, and peered out of the shrubbery just before my vision blurred.

A figure poked its head out of the rear window of the bus, brunette hair swirling in the wind. It shouted something... "Liz! LIZ!"

Then the bus turned, and disappeared, and I laid my pounding head on the ground. A single tear slid down my face as another alien squeal sounded.

She was gone. My mother was gone. And I was all alone.