Forbidden

Chapter 8 - An Unlikely Friend

After rescuing Karai and attempting to haul Splinter into the sewers, I had been knocked unconscious. The last thing I saw was a dark figure enter the cloud of poison smoke, but little did I know the information this mystery man held...

I awaken on the cold concrete floor of what I assume is a laboratory. My head is pounding, and my vision is still slightly blurry. By the time I finally gather the strength to stand and the room has stopped spinning, I look around desperately for Karai and Splinter.

"Karai?" I call. "Sensei?"

"They're alright, Leonardo." I jump when I hear an unfamiliar voice echoing through the room. A strong English accent. I prepare to reach for my Katana's, when an older looking man in a white lab coat and coke-bottle glasses emerges from the shadows, holding both hands above his head as if he's surrendering. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

I narrow my eyes. "Who are you, and what have you done with Karai and Splinter?"

He lowers his hands, and politely lifts one to his chest. "My name is Doctor Francis Cauffield. I'm an ex-scientist from TCRI." I shudder when I hear that name. He takes a step forward. "...And I already know a lot about you and your brothers."

I lower my Katana's. "You-- you're from TCRI?"

He nods. "I left the organisation about twelve years ago, after I unearthed some disturbing secrets regarding your brothers and a certain alien race."

"The Kraang?" I ask.

He nods again. "I'm afraid so."

Suddenly realising what this man knows, I slide my Katana's into their pouches on my back. I take a step forward. "Where are Karai and Splinter?"

He turns around. "Follow me."

He leads me into another room, where I find Karai crouched in a corner. I rush to her side. "Are you okay?"

She reaches up and hugs me. "I thought that I'd never see you again."

I hold her tightly. "Hey, if you're willing then so am I." I whisper quietly. "We're in this together, remember?" She clutches the back of my neck like a python, never wanting to let go. Doctor Cauffield clears his throat, and I gently let Karai down. I turn around to see his arm extended, pointed towards a motionless Splinter, lying on what appears to be an operating table.

My heart skips a beat as I stare at his body, almost as if he was frozen in permafrost. His eyes are tightly shut, and his arms rest peacefully at his side. Doctor Cauffield rests a hand on my shoulder. "He's alive, Leonardo. Don't worry."

I slowly walk towards him, each step I take making my stomach twist more and more. By the time I finally reach the operating table, I feel like my lungs have swapped places with my liver. I examine Splinter's inanimate body, and my eyes slowly drift to his now stitched up wound. The blood is still soaked deep into his robe, turning it a deep burnt burgandy colour. I breathe a gentle sigh of relief when I see his stomach slowly rise and fall - at least he's breathing.

Karai comes to my side, and her hand wraps tightly around mine. "He's going to be okay, Leo." She says gently.

"He took quite a beating." Doctor Cauffield says. "Had that wound been even an inch deeper, he surely wouldn't have made it." I shudder at the thought of Splinter dying in my arms. He would have had so much left to fulfil, so much he would have left behind, not to mention my brothers and I. "He's a very lucky man."

Karai turns around. "Doctor Cauffield--"

"Please, call me Frank." He says, cutting her off.

"Okay, Frank;" Karai replies, starting again. "How did you find us exactly? It's not like your laboratory is close by."