A sinister cackling noise echoes through the ghost house. Paintings of monsters decorate the walls, cardboard cutouts and life-size figurines are propped up in any dead space, and fake bats hang from the ceiling. It's your typical scary carnival attraction.
Leonardo presses onwards, his face set in a determined glare. Destiny looks around at the different paintings, finding none of them remotely scary in the slightest. Her fears are nothing like these. Diaval sticks to keeping watch outside under the guise of needing fresh air, but the others know that he just really doesn't want to go into the dark, confined space.
Michelangelo is a similar story.
"Uh, this place isn't so bad," he gulps, his voice quavering.
Frankenstein's monster appears in their path, making each of them jump and let out short screams. Leonardo narrows his eyes, stepping forwards and pressing his hand against the cutout with an unimpressed look.
"It's just a painted board," he says.
A goblin head drops down right in front of him, roaring. He screams, unleashing his katanas and cutting the thing down as he pulls Destiny against him. He pants, katana aimed at the fallen head, and Destiny squirms in his grip.
"Leo...you're smothering me," she gasps, trying to get her face away from the sturdiness of his bicep.
The blue-masked turtle releases her and straightens up, clearing his throat. "Sorry, uh...just protecting you," he says.
She arches an eyebrow and smirks. Her teeth glint in the dim light. "Sure, Leo. Let's say you were."
Michelangelo lets out a laugh and creeps past them. "That didn't scare me at all," he claims.
He takes one more step, screams at nothing, and hugs Leonardo's arm, curling his body upwards so that he hangs in the air. His brother shoots him a glare, to which the younger turtle releases another nervous laugh.
"Have you been working out?" he squeaks.
Destiny eyes Leonardo's biceps momentarily, absentmindedly moistening her lips with her tongue. Leonardo glances over at her and snaps his fingers in front of her nose, making her let out a quick bark of surprise. She blinks a few times, composing herself. Leonardo flashes a grin.
A faint hissing sounds through the darkened house, making the three mutants tense up, and Karai zips by in the hallway ahead of them. The trio goes after her, moving into the part of the attraction that's filled with mirrors. Leonardo holds his finger up to his lips, earning an understanding nod, and he readies the retro-mutagen before they press on.
Leonardo peeks around a corner, just able to see Karai's back from where he is. Leonardo pulls the trigger on the retro-mutagen and releases the orange cloud, but it hits the surface of a mirror instead. They round the corner to see the real Karai at a different spot, and she hisses at them loudly before taking off.
"Guys, don't let her escape!" Leonardo shouts, sprinting after her.
Their footsteps echo against the metallic floors. Michelangelo stops in front of some mirrors, giggling and waving his arms around as his reflection wiggles and wobbles. Destiny doubles back and grabs his arm.
"Come on," she urges, tugging him along after her and Leonardo.
They split up, Destiny managing to keep on Karai's tail as she deftly avoids the confusing maze of mirrors by following the snake's scent trail. She can hear Leonardo and Michelangelo shouting behind her, their confusion evident by their raised tones.
YOU ARE READING
Forest Mutation (Book Two)
Fanfiction"In Saskatchewan, when I couldn't fall asleep, I'd watch the moon and think about how across the country and over the border, you were probably out on a rooftop beneath the same moon. You were the first person I enjoyed the moon with. Every other ti...
