The Rising (final book of The Call series) ~ TMNT Fanfiction

Chapter 15: Tell Me

Being in the lair again is, at first, a little uncomfortable. It's familiar, yet foreign. There are so many things that have happened, so many memories I have here...it's almost like a dream. Never did I ever think that I'd hear the sound of Mikey's video games and the guys training in the dojo.

And it feels like years since I've heard Mikey's voice; and it feels like never since I've heard him sound worried.

I reach over to give him a hug, but Noah scoops me into his arms and rushes me down the hall.

"Sorry Mike," Noah apologizes. "April's already in the infirmary room; she wanted us to bring Lexi to her as quickly as possible." Noah and Mallory pretend not to see Mikey's disappointed face because it's a face that nobody can resist. I give the orange-clad turtle an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Mike," I say, just as Noah had. "But don't worry; I'll be patched up soon and then I'll get that big turtle hug of yours." That makes him smile again and his smile makes me smile. That's the thing about Mikey's smiles; they truly are contagious. Sometimes, you don't even know that you're smiling back; it's just a natural thing.

I turn my head away from Mikey and towards where Noah and Mal are taking me. My breath catches in my throat when Leo comes around the corner. His eyes seem to pop out of his head when he sees me. 

Leo opens his mouth, trying to say something but nothing comes out. He starts to say my name a few times, and once he finally does, we're already past him.

"Sorry, Leo," I call, trying to turn my head around. "I'm on a train that only goes forward and no stops. Maybe I can reverse the track in like an hour and a half." I turn to my friends. "Guys, I can walk now."

"No, you can't," Mallory insists, as we enter the infirmary room.

"You only say that because you enjoy being in control of my every action," I point out, and suddenly, I'm set down. I look up and see April, bringing her medical tools in a box. She smiles sadly as she looks at my face, which is probably hideous seeing the amount of bruises I have. She gives me a hug.

"We were all so worried about you, Lexi," she tells me, shaking her head.  I try to smile to let her know that I'm okay, but to be honest, I don't actually know if I am.

Noah, Mallory and Rose leave the room and April looks over my injuries and writes down every single one she can find. I don't know what I expected; maybe about one hundred pages full of injuries and broken bones and each and every little bruise I had received. It isn't that bad; in fact, the list looks like it's only a page long and that's better than anything I could have expected.

"What hurts that most?" April says after what seems like forever. She steps back and takes a seat on a stool that's behind her. 

"My stomach," I say honestly. "She kicked me a lot in the stomach." April purses her lips, thinking.

"Yeah, that would make sense; the stomach area and rib cage are very badly bruised, but somehow, you don't have a single broken rib."

"Thank goodness," I mumble, genuinely glad. "Do I have a broken anything?"

"No," she says, smiling a little. "That's the good news."

"What's the bad news?"

"Your cheeks have been badly bruised, your nose has clearly been beaten a lot and you've lost a lot of blood from it, so you'll probably need a blood transfusion just to replenish everything. Your ankles and wrists are badly swollen, and you may be walking with a limp for a little bit. You have a really bad black eye one your right, and your left looks like there used to be a black eye there, but it's been given the chance to heal so it isn't as bad."