turtle tot stories | tmnt 2012

Fears In The Night

Splinter walked out of his sons' bedroom, closing the door behind him. It was another night in New York City, and down in the sewers, the mutant rat had just put his adopted sons to bed fo the night.

Inside their bedroom, the four little Turtles were closing their eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep. Tiny smiles were on their faces as they left consciousness and entered sleep. Mikey hugged his beloved teddy bear to his chest; Splinter had sewed it back together after it was destroyed in the alligator attack.

"You guys better look out tonight," Raph warned his brothers. "Or the Shadow Man might get you."

"Sh-Shadow Man?" Michelangelo squeaked, opening his blue eyes. "Who's that?"

"You don't know who the Shadow Man is?" Raph asked, his voice full of mock surprise. "Then I'll tell you."

His brothers were all awake now, looking at Raphael with interest glimmering with interest. Mikey's eyes had a hint of fear in their baby blue depths.

"When kids go to sleep at night," Raphael said in a spooky voice, "the Shadow Man comes into their room."

"And?" Leo asked.

"And he gets them in their sleep," Raphael finished. "When their parents come into their rooms the next morning, their kids are nowhere to be seen."

Mikey hugged his teddy bear closer with a tiny whimper.

"But we're not kids," Donnie pointed out. "We're turtles."

"Then the Shadow Man will definitely come," said Raphael. "He loves kids that are not human way more than he loves human kids. Not human kids are way more delicious than regular kids."

"Shut up, Raph!" Leo snapped. "You're scaring Mikey!"

The little orange-clad turtle was crying now, tears rolling down his cheeks from his scared blue eyes. He burrowed under the blanket and covered himself up with it, shaking with fear.

"Aww, it's okay, Mikey," Leonardo crawled across the bed and patted the lump under his blanket that was his brother. "There's no Shadow Man."

But his voice had a hint of fear in it.

"Yeah, Mikey," Donnie chimed in. "It's just a spooky story to try to scare you."

But his eyes had a glimmer of fear in them.

"Spooky story, huh?" Raph said. "Okay, but when the Shadow Man gets you, don't say I didn't warn you."

Leo jabbed him with his elbow and he fell silent.

"Come on guys," the little blue-clad turtle said. "Just ignore Raph. Let's go back to sleep. There's no Shadow Man."

He crawled back under the Space Heroes blanket and closed his eyes. Donnie followed his lead, and Raphael-after a quick glance at Mikey under the blanket-did the same.

Mikey lay awake late that night, staring over the edge of the bed. He looked left and right, up and down, keeping watch for the Shadow Man. His brothers said it was a spooky story, a lie made to scare him. But Mikey knew better. He knew the Shadow Man was real.

And he was coming for him.

Michelangelo whimpered and wriggled below the blanket, trying to hide. Maybe if he hid, the Shadow Man wouldn't see him if he snuck into their bedroom. Then, he realized-his brothers should hide, too.

He grabbed each of his brothers and shook them until they woke up, moaning and rubbing their eyes.

"Aww, Mikey," Leo groaned. "Why'd you wake us up?"

"Because we gotta hide," Mikey answered. "Quick, get under the blanket! If the Shadow Man comes in, he won't find us if we hide!"

"Mikey, get real!" Raph snapped. "The Shadow Man is fake. A story. He's not real!"

But there was a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

"He's real!" Mikey wailed. "And I don't want him to get us!"

He buried himself under the blanket with a whimper. To his surprise, Donnie did the same, and then Leo followed. Their expressions were heavy with fear. Finally, Raph joined them. His face wasn't scared, but his green eyes were.

The four little turtles lay awake under the blanket for a long while. Their eyes never closed; instead, they stayed open, wide with fear. Outside the blanket, absolutely nothing happened. But that wasn't what the tiny turtles thought. They thought the Shadow Man was coming for them, and they were intent in hiding from him.

"I can't breathe," Donnie said finally, breaking the long silence. "This blanket is suffocating me."

He popped his green head out from under the blanket, gasping for air. Leo and Raph did the same, breathing in the fresh air. Mikey reluctantly followed their lead.

"Well, that didn't work," Leo observed. "But where else do we hide?"

Suddenly, Donnie gasped.

"I know!" he said.

He slid out of bed and snuck quietly out of the room. His brothers knew exactly where he was heading, and they followed him as quietly as they possibly could.

Splinter awoke late that night to a strange sound. He sat up in bed and stared across the room in front of him.

The curtains to his room were being opened.

Four tiny figures huddled in the "doorway", their eyes big and scared.

"My sons?" Splinter asked. "What are you doing up so late?"

"We couldn't sleep, Daddy," Leonardo said quietly.

"Why not?"

"'Cause if we went to sleep, the Shadow Man would get us!" Mikey whimpered. He had a firm grip on his teddy bear, hugging it close, and tears were in his eyes.

"Shadow Man?" Splinter echoed.

"The Shadow Man," Donnie explained. "In Raph's story."

Splinter looked over at Raphael. The second-oldest turtle returned the look with an indignant glare.

"It is just a story," Splinter assured his sons. "There is no Shadow Man."

"Still," Leo said. "Can we...can we sleep with you tonight? Just for tonight? Please?"

"Leonardo-"

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSEEEE?" all four tiny turtles begged.

Splinter noticed for the first time how genuinely frightened his sons looked. They were shivering with fear and cold, eyes full of tears and terror. Mikey was holding his teddy bear tighter than he'd ever held it. It pained Splinter to see his little sons so afraid, and he knew such young beings needed sleep.

"Very well," he sighed. "But just for tonight. After that, you must sleep in your room. The only way to get rid of your fears is to face it."

"Thank you, Daddy!" Leo cried happily.

The four little turtles ran eagerly up to Splinter's bed and climbed inside. Splinter felt their warm green bodies on his as they laid their heads down on his chest and snuggled up close to him. They closed their eyes, smiles on their faces.

"Good night, my sons," Splinter murmured, closing his brown-red eyes.

"Good night, Daddy," came the sleepy replies.

And for the very first time that night, everyone slept soundly.