the lazarus job - tmnt (2)

nineteen

CHAPTER 19 

LEFT BEHIND

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DONNIE FELT like he forgot how to feel. His fingers were numb and if they were not green, they'd most likely be blue. 

His teeth, quivering against one another, clacked in his brain like a repeated pecking. He wanted it to be quiet; pure silence. No cries of fear. No constant calls of worry. Nothing at all. 

But it seemed to him like his guilt was the strongest voice in his mind. 

Even as he helped direct all of the people through the portal spheres, he felt as if he wasn't doing anything to help. He felt useless. 

And it was all because he left Florence behind. 

It wasn't soon after they left Nadia that the shrill thumps of war drums vibrated the grim stone walls. Every flicker from every torch jolted at the thunderous drums. 

They had no time to go for Florence. They didn't know where they were, let alone where she was. For all they knew, she could have been miles under the stone surface of Kuldor. 

Either way, there was just no valuable time to run after Florence who hid in the maze of tunnels like a needle in a haystack. She was no where to be found. 

The thoughts alone crushed Donatello to the point where his whole body felt numb. Her missing presence was one thing, but knowing that she was somewhere, undoubtedly an even worse location than Nadia, and alone. 

The exit out of the entire underground kingdom was through a cave; one that was hidden perfectly by a blood red waterfall. On usual occasions, the crimson colored liquid would have fascinated Donatello, yet he hardly found it in himself to even look up from the burned grass under his feet. 

His red eyes were filled to the brim with tears. 

"Donnie! We need to get these people out of here!" Leo yelled over the panicked cries of men and women as they jumped through the portal. It was a line of men and women; neatly arranged so that the children went first, then the women, then the men. 

Donatello slowly looked up, his blurry vision resting on Leo who was speaking, but his voice was far away; as if he was shoved under water. Donnie's forehead creased in confusion but when he slowly turned his head to the side and looked past the silent Raphael, he paled and went numb. 

As if his hearing quickly returned, all sound came rushing back in his ears. 

The sound of feet slamming against the floor was reverberating, enough to make Donatello's body shake. They first looked like a sea of back; a rushing wave that was marching right towards them. 

First Donatello noticed the tattered clothing, then the bandannas, and then the glimmering silver and bronze guns that gleamed in their gloved and spiked hands. He swallowed hard just as the last man walked through the portal; disappearing through the liquid under him. 

"No need for that," Leo ordered as he walked backwards to the portal. "We're leaving out of here." 

"We're not even going to look for Flo?" Mikey mumbled as he held Avi's hand tightly. The little girl, with wide eyes and quivering lips, looked up to Donnie. She watched as his expression soon mirrored her own; despair. 

"We don't have enough time," Leo swallowed thickly. The words killed him to say it. "They'll have to last until we come back." 

Raph grit his teeth and clenched his fist; holding himself back from having a fit in front of Avi. She was already hurt enough with bruises and scratches along with the pain of leaving her sister behind.