Race. [TMNT 2012]

11. Tale of the Taken; Charlotte

I grunt as I'm thrown onto my stomach inside a jail cell. The cold floor nips  my exposed skin as I roll over and grit my teeth in displeasure. I glare at Tiger Claw, the one to force me into such an uncomfortable place.

"Hey! Watch it, tough guy!" Casey warns as Tiger Claw shoves him inside the cell as well.

The mutant tiger gives my twin brother a sly smile. "Better be cautious of what you say, hockey boy. I can make this whole situation a lot more unpleasant for all of you," he sneers.

Raphael gets pushed into the cage and Tiger Claw locks the entrance behind the turtle. He tosses us one last dirty look, before walking down the hallway and out a door. It slams shut  and the noise from it echoes throughout the room.

I sit up and lean against a brick wall. I dust the grime off of my legs, feeling my body heat absorb into the floor. It won't be hard to freeze to death in such a place.

Across the cell, Raphael is banging on the bars and yelling. "Let me out of here, you big, ugly, disgusting dirtbags! Come and face me, cowards!"

I let out a sharp breath and shield my ears. "Will you shut up already?!" I snap. "You aren't accomplishing anything except giving us splitting headaches."

Raphael spins around, his lips drawn back into a snarl. His bright green eyes glow through the half-light; there is no mistaking the fury in them.

"This is all your fault!" he shouts, pointing at me. "If you had fled while Tiger Claw was distracted, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"My fault?!" I echo, deeply offended. Of all the things he has said to me, this is a new low. "How was I supposed to get away from a mutant as big as him? I'm only human!"

Raphael clasps his hands together in mock sympathy. "Oh. Well, you see, there's this new thing: it's called running!" he bellows the last word, his mouth practically foaming with rage.

"He had a knife to my throat, in case you've forgotten!" I remind him loudly, my fingers absent-mindedly tracing the small wound it left on me. It finally scabbed over, but it still hurts.

Raphael narrows his eyes, a dangerous look in them. "Yeah, well, I'm starting to wish he had used it! At least it would have shut you up!" he retaliates.

I open my mouth for a stinging retort, but Casey interrupts. "Leave my sister alone!" he snaps, jumping to his feet to face the short turtle. "It isn't her fault she got nabbed by the Foot! She can't control the future!"

"She could have at least kicked Tiger Claw away!" Raphael insists impatiently.

"She isn't a ninja, Raph!"

"She doesn't have to be a ninja to defend herself!"

I pull myself to my feet as well, getting in both of their faces. "Stop it! This is my argument!" I hiss at Casey. "And you," I flare up at Raphael. "Quit yelling at my brother! He hasn't done anything wrong."

Raphael retires from his rage and switches to being scornful. He throws his hands up in fake surrender. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your pathetic little feelings," he scoffs.

I poke a finger at his plastron. It's hard and cold, much like the floor. And his heart. "Back off. I mean it."

Raphael rolls his eyes. "You don't scare-" he starts to argue, but a deeper, more chilling voice interjects.

"So, Tiger Claw did manage to capture one of you bothersome turtles." A man covered in iron steps in front of our jail cell. Sharp, curved blades extend from the iron plates along his arms. One of his eyes is faded and useless, while the other seems to stare straight into my very soul. Just the sight of him strikes fear into me, and I involuntarily take a step back.

"And he brought me some other meaningless pests," he adds, lazily looking Casey and I over.

"Shredder!" Raphael gasps, almost in joy. "Finally! I've been waiting to rip you apart piece by piece, after what you did to Splinter!"

"Ah, yes, after what I did to Yoshi," the man laughs coldly. "That was long overdue."

Out of my peripheral, I see Raphael's eye twitch. "You're a monster!" he yells, rage creeping its way back into his voice. He throws himself against the bars and shakes them violently, growling.

The Shredder ignores him. "Tell me where the other turtles are. Now," he orders, his tone making the ground shiver.

"Never!" Raphael spits through the cell and into his face.

Shredder wipes the saliva from his eye and narrows it angrily. "You bore me with your piteous behavior. Tell me where they are, or you will watch your friends die before your very eyes."

Raphael glances back at me. "She's not my friend," he clarifies, more to me than to the man.

"Very well," Shredder says. "Then maybe you will change your mind after a small trip. Xever, Bradford, take him to the torture chamber."

A large, purple-ish fish with robotic legs step out of the shadows. A skeleton of a dog follows, his sharp, vicious teeth glinting through the darkness. They walk forward, unlock the cell door, and each grab one of Raphael's arms.

"Raph! No!" Casey exclaims, running to his rescue. "Let go of him, you mutant freaks!"

The skeletal dog whacks my brother out of the way, smirking. The enemies remove Raphael from the cage and lock it behind them so we can't follow.

Raphael struggles against the creatures holding him captive the whole way down the hallway. Even after the door cuts off my view from them, I can  still hear his insults dripping through for several seconds.

Though I don't like him, I also don't want him going to a torture chamber. The thought of going in there myself makes me shudder.

My brother groans in agony, bringing me back to the problem in front of me. "Case!" I gasp, bending down beside him. "Are you alright?"

Casey clutches his stomach as he sits up. "I'm fine. But Raph..." He peers through the bars at the door the turtle disappears behind. "He's definitely not going to be."