The Girl From Another World ( TMNT 2007 Universe )

Chapter 26 - Mutual Fear

Raphael

The next six days went on with little to no amusement. The exhaustion of being on the road all day got to us all, even Mikey who desperately tried to keep the mood light. His obnoxious game of "I Spy" was endless. By the fourth day he was the only one playing and everyone else kept to themselves. Leo drove like a zombie, Donnie giving him directions. April and Casey were extremely quiet and kept to themselves, not really making conversation. And Jazmin stayed right next to me.

She fell asleep several times a day and I held her as she slept, admiring her beauty as she did. Baring her soul and confessing her past had made her even more beautiful in my eyes. The fact that everything had happened to her as it did and she still managed to be the strongest girl I had ever known amazed me. She amazed me.

We hadn't stopped at any more motels either. With that had happened at the last stop, all of us agreed that it was safer to just camp out in the bus. Unfortunately, that meant limited food and sleep. It also meant no showers or any way of cleaning ourselves up. Not that I minded. Living in the sewers my whole life, I didn't really think anything of it. But the girls were bothered by it. So much that they constantly asked when we were gonna be there.

"Are we in L. A. yet?" Jaz shifted in my arms and opened her eyes so she was looking up at me. "I don't want to go in the woods again."

I leaned down and grazed her lips with mine. "Almost." I glanced out the window to see the city finally coming into view. It was definitely bigger than New York. The end was nowhere in sight. "But you can see it now."

Jazmin sat up and looked out the window too, her green eyes scanning the large endless island looking scene. Anticipation mixed with worry filled her emerald orbs. "It's big."

Her words took me by surprise. "Weren't there big cities on Earth 6?"

She didn't look away from the window. "Yeah. But not like this."

I was about to ask her what she meant when Leo's voice carried throughout the bus. "We're here guys! Fasten your seat belts!"

I took a firmer hold on Jazmin as we entered the city. New York had always fascinated me with its size and bright lights but L. A. did something else. It mesmerized me. Larger than NYC by atleast two times, this city was a lit with so many lights that it made the night sky invisible. For as far as I could see, the brightness didn't end.

And there were many, many people, traveling in cars and on foot. The streets were crowded to the point where the traffic was slower than New York on New Year's Eve. Amongst the beauty, was intimidation. I'd never been around this many humans before and neither had my brothers. And judging by how hard Jazmin was gripping my hand, neither had she. Good thing the crowd couldn't see through the bus windows.

"There's so many of them." She whispered.

I squeezed her hand for comfort. But I was kind of curious as to why she was acting this way. After all, she was a human herself. "Aren't there a lot of people on Earth 6?"

She tore her gaze from the window and looked at me. "No. Tesh wiped most of the population out. His army is larger than the citizens united. They come to kill. Many people mean death on my Earth."

I hadn't expected such a chilling explanation. Her home sounded like what our world would've become if Shredder had had his way. His dictatorship would mean the end of most of the population of the earth. Earth 6 would be a visual of what that would've looked liked.

"These people won't hurt you, Jaz. They aren't with Tesh." I tried to say something to calm the storm in her eyes. She was on high alert and I wanted her to relax.

"You can never be too careful. That's why I was so concerned about you guys. He has allies everywhere."

I reached up and cupped her cheek with my free hand, willing her to know she was safe. If anyone would try to hurt her I would take care of them and I wanted her to know that. Some of the fear left her eyes at my touch but not all of it.

"Nobody's going to hurt you. I won't let them." I kissed her gently and she relaxed completely as she kissed me back. I found it amazing that amongst all the commotion outside the bus and even inside, with the rest of our companions' attention being on what was outside, the both of us could be in another world. In this moment, we were totally oblivious.

She pulled back before I did but not before going back in for another soft kiss. When she pulled back the second time, I could see that her eyes were back to normal, not clouded by fear anymore. She felt safe again.

But I still longed for the warmth she possessed. I rested my face against her neck, lazily leaving small kisses up and down her throat. Her skin was smooth and sweet and even more inviting than I'd thought. The warmth of her mixed with the softness of her skin made me want to lose myself in her existence.

But I had promised to move slow.

So I stopped and wrapped an arm around her, still holding her close to me, as I still held her hand. Her gaze had moved to the window again. And mine went to my older brother.

"Leo? How long until we get out of the city?"

Leo made eye contact with April through the rear view mirror. "How far out did you say Kellerinn's base was?"

April pulled out her phone and glanced at the screen before meeting Leo's gaze again. "About 30 miles out. On the outskirts of L. A."

Leo nodded and stepped on the gas. Most of the traffic had cleared out now which gave us an open door. Finally we started moving.

Jazmin breathed a sigh of relief as we drove past the many bright buildings of the city, seemingly content to leave the mass of people behind us. It wasn't a holiday or anything which is why I didn't understand the crowd. In New York, the only time that many people are in the streets is when it's New Years or Christmas. Or some rock concert is happening in Time Square or Central Park. It was odd to me that here in California, people were in an over abundance.

I was glad to leave them behind too.

We neared the edge of the city and Leo picked up the pace. Once we headed out of L. A. and we'd left the bright lights behind us, Jazmin relaxed into me again. She looked as if she was about to fall asleep. Her eyelids fluttered and closed over her green eyes as she leaned against me.

I held her close and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Not long now, Jaz." I whispered.

"Alright guys!" Leo yelled, completely unaware of the girl on my arms. "We're out of Los Angeles!"

A chorus of cheers spread throughout the bus, except for me. Everybody was obnoxiously excited to be out of the city. And now we were one step closer. After being on the road after what seemed like forever, we were almost to Kellerinn and so close to answers.

But with the anticipation of finding the Professor came apprehension. We had no idea what was going to happen and what the rest of our journey to win back Jazmin's Earth would bring us. It was scary to be unsure of what we didn't know.

I knew one thing, though.

Tesh would not win.

I made the silent promise to myself.

Whatever it takes. Jazmin won't suffer again.

Whatever it takes...

***

Stay tuned for another update later tonight!! Hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am writing it!

- Jaz