Transient | A ROTTMNT Future Story

discoveries whilst detaching oneself

"You can't tell anyone about this, Todd. Not even my family."

"Your neck is absolutely messed up." Todd turned the conversation in a different direction. He knew that just arguing with the stubborn turtle would be ornery and laborious, so he decided it would be best to avoid the possible reaction for now. "How long did he have a grip on you?"

"I don't know." Leo replied earnestly. "Maybe a minute. But it wasn't like normal choking. I thought if the suffocating didn't get me, something in my throat would have snapped for sure."

"Well, I don't exactly have green foundation. Your hood's been doing a good job hiding all of the markings he made. Based on how your face looks, your arteries didn't burst completely."

"Completely?" Leo threw up his eyebrows, followed by a weak cough. "Hurts."

"I can imagine." Todd pried Leo's right eye open with his hand. "This eye's a bit red. Was there anything else that was bothering you afterwards?"

"My face felt like a giant heartbeat."

"Blood coming back into your face after it was constricted." Todd dabbed some peroxide and ointment on Leo's chest wounds. He couldn't sew them together, so he tightened fresh gauze on the injured area in a wraparound fashion, the gauze going over Leo's shell. "Did you have a hard time hearing or something like that?"

"No, I just felt dizzy. I also hit my shoulder pretty bad, but it might just be bruised." Leo pulled the drape of his short cornflower blue outer wear to the side, revealing a lesser purply bruise smack dab in the middle of the area.

"It's not bad." Todd agreed. "Unfortunately, we don't have any ice for either of these bruises."

Leo dismissed the news with a head shake. "That's fine, I didn't expect you to anyways. But could I get some fluids? I haven't had anything to drink in two days."

"Yeah." Todd pulled down on a pack with clear liquid and set it on a makeshift IV pole, also known as a wooden coat hanger. He fed a thin tube through his hands and got a needle (separate from the glorified straw) ready. "Hand or arm?"

Leo shrugged. "Hand's fine; whichever is easier for you."

Todd prepped Leo's left hand, rubbing an alcohol pad over the back of it and finding the vein. He dug it into the artery, then clicking the luer lock into place with the tube that ran the fluids. Leo could feel his skin cool down instantly.

"That feels so much better." He sighed a breath of relief.

Todd felt concerned for his friend. "Has it been hard finding things to drink?"

"What? No. I think runs are going fine, as far as I can tell. I've just been busy." Leo rubbed his forehead with his free hand. He could smell the dreadful metal that clung to his skin like a ghostly presence, now part of him and forever lingering. "I've just been-"

Trying to keep Raph and Donnie alive when I know they're...ugh. Shut up, you stupid brain.

"Exhausted."

"We all are." Todd sat across from Leo in a wheeled exam stool. Just then, he observed the freshly healed scars that shaved into Todd's furry arms at angles Todd couldn't have possibly reached himself. "Listen. You are my friend. Your whole family is. If you ever want to talk about anything, or just need to vent, I'm here for you. Always."

"Thank you, Todd." Leo forced a smile to wane the strained atmosphere the advice gave. "But I'm okay, really. What you've been doing now for the resistance is more than enough help."

Todd pushed himself out of his seat using the hands on his knees. He dusted himself off and turned towards the curtains that shielded himself and Leo from reality. Holstered at his sides were two laser guns. "I have to go right now. See how everyone in here is holding up and then head out again. You can stay until that thing runs out." Todd pointed to the pouch of fluid.