Race. [TMNT 2012]

055. Fading; Raphael

Song: Thank You - Simple Plan

As my feet touch the ground, anxiety swamps my chest. I thought I was going to meet up with everyone else once I got into the sewers, but I am alone. They must have headed straight for the lair without waiting for anyone else. I understand because they were afraid, but that doesn't make me feel any better about being left behind.

    I can't bring myself to make my own way to the lair, though. Instead, I find my eyes looking upwards at the manhole. I catch glimpses of movement on the surface, but they are too slow and clumsy to be Casey. With a sinking feeling, I realize that my ex-best friend must have gotten overpowered by all of the mindless mutants.

   I look down at the ground, feeling grief wash over me like a rogue wave. Casey is gone, and I hadn't even gotten a chance to properly fix things with him. Telling him what Charlotte said was just been the icing on the cake; it wasn't enough to justify my terrible behavior towards him.

   Remorse rips my heart like claws. If had a chance to redo how I had treated him, I would. In a heartbeat, I would mend everything. We would be best friends like we are supposed to, not enemies. Everything would be different.

   But it's too late.

   With a weighed-down heart, I turn away from the ladder and head for the lair. I drag my feet across the wet ground, my eyes drooping with despair. Life has suddenly become a lot darker.

   Before I make it three feet away from the ladder, a thud makes me twirl back around. I see Casey standing at the foot of a ladder, not a single scratch on him. His brown eyes are lit up with exhaustion, but his lips are formed in a triumphant smirk.

   "Goin' somewhere?" he asks as he dusts his fingerless gloves off.

   I thought I would be able to patch things up.  I convinced myself that I would have the guts to apologize.  But seeing his face again reminds me of how he has betrayed my family.  As of this moment, my brothers are my number one priority.  I can't make amends with him until I know they're safe.

   "Yeah.  To the lair," I grunt in a monotone voice.  I stiffly twirl around and head in the direction of my home, ignoring the awkwardness encasing us.

    I truly don't know if we will ever be close again.

~*~*~*~

   Back at Donatello's lab, Michelangelo acts as if nothing serious had happened. He plays with his action figures, making them have a boxing match as he bubbles on about the mindless mutants.

   "Those things were insane, dudes!" the orange-clad turtle exclaims, beaming with blissfulness. "They were like zombie mutants! Like... like zombants!"

   I glare at him, annoyed at his insensitivity. Beside me, Lucy's mother is mortified at Michelangelo's pun. She wears an expression that tells me she want to get out of the lair as soon as possible.

   "Mikey, not cool," Casey agrees through gritted teeth, though I can tell he likes the new nickname for the mindless mutants.

   Michelangelo ducks his head regretfully. "Sorry," he mumbles, before going back to playing with his action figures.

   A few feet away, Elizabetta is lying across a lab table. Her eyelids are closed tightly as her mind swims around in blackness. She hasn't budged in the slightest since we got back home.

   Mrs. Jersey sits in a chair beside her daughter, obviously having flashbacks of the last time she was here. She was a mutant spider then, but Donatello's retro-mutagen had saved her. She has been grateful to him ever since then, but that doesn't mean she is willing to relieve it. Still, at least that means she trusts him to examine her daughter.

   I understand Mrs. Jersey worry for Elizabetta. She has already lost her son to a vicious fate; it would be terrible for the same thing to happen to her daughter.

   Leonardo, who is towering over Elizabetta, watches anxiously as Donatello analyzes her. "Is she going to be alright?" the blue-clad turtle demands impatiently.

   Donatello is quiet for a long time as he stalls to reply. But in the end, he has to answer. "I'm not sure," he admits reluctantly.

   "What happened to Liz, anyway?" I question with my arms crossed. She looks to be in critical condition, yet no one has even bothered to explain why.

   It's Elizabetta's mother who elaborates. "She got pulled out of the restaurant by those creatures," she answers with a hoarse voice.  "They attacked her, but she somehow managed to get back into the restaurant.  She passed out and hasn't woken up since."

   With a jolt, I jerk my head towards Lucy. She is already looking at me with wide eyes, my own trepidation reflected in her gray depths. Her pink lips are curved into a glower, informing me that we are thinking that same thing.

   "They attacked her?" I echo, tearing my gaze away from Lucy.  Clearly, she hadn't thought about warning them of what might happen to her.  Why is she such a coward?

   There must be alarm in my voice, because Leonardo becomes puzzled. "What's the problem?" he asks as he makes a disoriented face.

   Lucy starts shaking her head, while Leonardo, Donatello, and April slowly switch to panic.

   "What?  What's going on?" Casey presses when no one explains.

   Lucy, who is practically wearing her guilt like clothing, blinks sadly. "I forgot to tell you that if the zombants scratch you, then..." She trails off and screws her eyes shut, as it if tears her throat up to speak.

   "Then what?" Mrs. Jersey presses, her deep brown eyes aglow with consternation.

   "Anyone who gets attacked turns into a zombant, too," I finish, knowing no one else is brave enough to explain. I don't blame them, though; telling a mother that her daughter is going to become a monster isn't exactly easy.

   Straightaway, the air is tense enough to cut with a knife. The entire room seems to hold its breath as the truth sinks into everyone's mind.

   Michelangelo breaks the silence with a rather idiotic statement. "I don't get it," he announces, his orange bandana wrinkled to copy his perplexed expression. "Why is everyone wiggin' out?"

   Casey throws his hands up, evidently done with Michelangelo's ignorance. "Lizzy's gonna turn into a zombant, dude!" he says sharply.

   Michelangelo seems to recognize the gravity of the situation. His eyes shoot wide open, dread swarming every inch of them. "No... No, she won't! Donnie won't let her!" He turns his expectant puppy dog gaze on the purple turtle. "Right?"

   Unfortunately, Donatello doesn't jump right on a reassuring reply. Alternatively, he bites his lip and shifts his weight with lack of his usual confidence. "I'm afraid I can't help her, Mikey," he confesses. "I don't know how to neutralize the effects of this infection."

   That's apparently all Michelangelo can bare to hear. Pained, he bows his head and turns his back on us. He holds his action figures to his chest, as if they will save his life.

   I'm no longer the only one who has lost my best friend.