Race. [TMNT 2012]

12. Electric Foot; Raphael

Song: Forsaken - Skillet

The room they bring me into smells of cold, dank air. It's so dark that I can only see a few feet in front of me. The room could be huge and I wouldn't know; the shadows surrounding me swallow it up almost completely.

   I glare at Fishface as he throws me into a chair. My legs sink into something wet surrounding the seat. I realize I'm sitting right in the middle of a huge bucket of water.

   Fishface tightly chains my legs and arms to the chair. "Hope you don't mind getting wet," the mutant fish sneers as he backs away from me.

   I smirk. "We all know you don't mind it, Fishface," I shoot back, causing him to throw me a nasty look. "Did you come up with this plan all by yourself? So threatening! My toes might prune!"

   I glimpse the Shredder flickering through the darkness of the room until he stands directly in front of me, just outside the pool of water. He stares straight at me with no signs of anger. He actually looks quite amused.

   I decide to mock him as well. "Hate to break it to ya, Iron-head, but I'm a turtle mutant. Not a cat. You should've saved this for Tiger Ugly over there," I say, jerking my head at the tiger mutant, who is only two feet away.

   The Shredder does not respond. "Xever, Bradford. Get the wires," he orders stiffly.

   My heart skips a beat. Wires?

I watch as the dog and fish mutants each grab large, thick cords. Electricity sparks fly off of the tips, burning out before they touch the water.

My palms grow sweaty and I shift in my seat. Fear makes my throat tighten. In the midst of my panic, insults naturally come to my lips.

"What? Not gonna electrocute me yourself, you over-sized flatiron?" I growl at Shredder, though I sound more scared than confrontational. "Why don't you do the job yourself for once?" I don't really care who abuses me; I'm just hoping to stall them. For what, I don't know.  It's not like anyone is going to save me.

There's no hope of me escaping, no matter how long I hold them off. Casey and his sister are caged up stronger than rabid animals, and my brothers have no idea where I am. Even if they do, the whole place is sure to be heavily guarded. They can't possibly break in.

The Shredder laughs coldly. "Why should I do it myself, when I can receive just as much entertainment from watching someone else destroy you?"

"Because it proves you're not a coward!" I snap, trying to break free from the restraints on my limbs. I take in a sharp breath as Fishface and Rahzar move the wires closer to the water.

The Shredder stops laughing instantly and narrows his eyes dangerously. "Show him how it feels to be turned into turtle soup," he commands.

Before I can react, a bolt of electricity shoots through my body. I scream as the jolt rattles my bones, all the way to my brain. It feel like I'm being thrown on pavement repeatedly. Except the pavement is electrically charged.

"Stop!" I hear the Shredder snap through the vibrations inside my skull.

The pain stops as quickly as it started. I sit there, stunned, my brain spinning in circles. It takes a minute for my vision to clear.

The Shredder's eyes are glinting more menacingly than ever. "Now that you know what will happen if you don't talk, tell me where the other troublesome turtles are," he thunders. "Tiger Claw foolishly let them escape, and I want their location NOW."

Though I am badly shaken, I still have my common sense. They won't be at the garage anymore, because it's so close to where the attack was. We don't have a base; therefore, I literally have no way of knowing where they've gone. For the first time in my life, I am as in the dark as the Shredder.

"I don't know!" I say in the most honest way I can.

"Wrong answer," the Shredder growls, and I am immediately electrocuted again.

I groan in agony as the current surges up my legs and through my body. I attempt to pull my legs out of the water, but it's no use; I'm in too deep.

The pain subsides once again, leaving me panting for oxygen. My head drops back as my neck goes limp. I am quickly getting worn out.

Shredder steps around the pool of water so he can look at me while my head dangles over the chair. "Where are the turtles?" he demands viciously.

He looks a bit hilarious from my view, as he is upside down. It inspires me to make an uncivil joke. "I am a turtle, numbskull," I retort through my heavy breathing.

The wires touch the water, and I spaz out again. The pain coats me from head to toe. We carry on like this for a long time; Shredder asks where my brothers are, and I deny any knowledge of it. The more he hurts me, the harder it is to stay awake.

It's a bit of a strange experience. The agony terrorizes me just to the point of going over the edge, and then it stops. As the bolts of electricity continue, I suddenly find myself longing for the sweet relief of death.

But it never comes to that. It can't, because the Shredder needs me. He needs my information.

I suddenly find myself glad I don't know where my brothers are. One, I'm not tempted to give them away to save my own life. And two, the Shredder believes I'm lying. As long as I continue to refuse to give him information, he won't kill me.

Right?

The Shredder finally gives up on the electrocution method. "Put him back in his cell!" he snaps at Tiger Claw. "I'll see to him again later," he adds angrily, before fading into the shadows of the room.

I am numb the whole trip back to the jail cell. I am completely unaware of anything I travel by. Occasionally, I pause to catch my breath, and Tiger Claw roughly shoves me forward, uttering insults.

I finally reach my jail cell and get shoved inside. Casey surprisingly greets me with worry, while Charlotte stares at me from a corner.

"Raph, dude, are you ok?!" Casey asks in alarm. For a moment, I see a flash of how warm our friendship used to be.

"F-fine," I reply hoarsely. My voice scratches my throat, making it painful to talk. "Do you smell that?" I suddenly question.

Casey looks at me in puzzlement. "Smell what?"

I turn around when a rather nice aroma wafts passed my nose. Did Tiger Claw bring food with him? But the mutant tiger had vanished.

That's when I realize the smell is my feet. They are blackened from the electric currents and they do not look at all appetizing.

Disgusted, I take a step forward, only to fall onto my face. I lay on my cheek and sigh, too exhausted to feel any more pain.

"Raph!" Casey gasps in shock, bending down beside me. "Seriously, are you ok?" he inquires once again.

"Fine," I repeat, yawning. My insides are still vibrating from the electrocution, and I need to rest. It will take a bit before my body realizes that the pain os over.

"I think... I'll just... stay here..." I mumble sleepily, before dozing off into nothingness.