The Shadow's Secret│TMNT

44 || Restless Nights

Someone is watching me.

Whoever it is, they're close enough to set my internal alarms off and wake me from my peaceful sleep. I can feel their dark and heavy presence flowing through my room and over me like oil. It presses down on my chest, making breathing a significantly more difficult function.

The Footclan.

Panic begins to settle in my stomach like pebbles tossed into a pond, and I fight the hysteria with everything I have to keep my mind clear and my body prepared for whatever—or whoever—I may have to face. Luckily though, I don't have to face it alone.

"Raph?" I whisper as loud as I dare, but it's not enough because his light snoring remains undeterred.

I can feel them stalking closer, and somehow I know that it no longer matters how loud I am. With that knowledge in mind, I roll off my bed and land right on top of him. But still, he doesn't wake up.

Oh god. He's not waking up, why is he not waking up!?

They continue to gradually creep closer, giving me less and less time to wake up Raphael, which seems to be impossible. It's like he's dead, yet still breathing—comatose. But that's not okay because I can't protect him and Olivia and me!

Then they're upon me and I'm left with no other choice.

I wrench a sai from Raph's belt and hold it up to deflect an incoming blow, but I'm tossed aside like a rag doll. I look up in time to see them draw a sword and promptly slice open Raphael's throat. His fearful, jade eyes shoot open to meet mine for a nanosecond before permanently fluttering shut. The assassin rips his mask from his face and ties it onto their belt, completing their collection of trophies. Red, purple, blue and orange. Somehow, I know that Splinter is gone as well.

And I shatter into more pieces than I can possibly hope to reassemble.

I try to fight it but the anger and the rage is burning red across my vision—a never-ending, uncontrollable wildfire of fury—and it's utterly unstoppable. The hungry flames spew promises of vengeance, so I allow it to consume me. And then I unleash myself upon the Footclan assassin.

But it's not enough. They're stronger than me and I can do nothing to stop them.

And then Olivia's dead too. I can feel it in my very being—as if the threads holding me together have been severed. Her death presses down on me like an irremovable weight on my chest, compressing my lungs and once more rendering respiration a painful and miserable task.

I can't stop them, and I know without a doubt that soon, Uncle Tom will join the death count as well. And I can't do anything. Not one, single thing.

Just when I found myself a place in the world and a real family, it's torn effortlessly from my weak, incompetent grasp.

And I feel so utterly alone in this cruel world I can hardly recognize who I am. I just keep breaking over and over and over again into smaller and smaller fragments until I feel as if I'm no more than dust suspended in the dead, unmoving air.

••• 影の秘密 •••

"Raiya?" I did my best to suppress my groan when he whispered to me in an undoubtedly concerned tone.

Of course I woke him up.