Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)

Chapter 19: Lessons in Outbursts

Art by johnyume

Sarina isn't sure of how she's going to find her way out of the sewers, but that doesn't stop her from running as fast as she can in the opposite direction of the lair. Her eyes are starting to sting again and she tries to force it away. She hadn't known what tears were before, but after a bit of research, she remembered that she has an internal protocol in place that stops her from releasing tears all the time. It could, in fact, cause her to short out. It was reckless of her to be so vulnerable the other day, crying so freely like that.

She skids to a stop as she notices a ladder leading up and out of the dark tunnels. She rubs her eyes, stiffens her resolve, and starts to climb. As she goes, she mutters under her breath.

"It's better for me to leave," she reminds herself. "April was friends with them first. I have no right to stop her from visiting."

She reaches the manhole cover, pausing as she peeks through the four little holes spilling pale moonlight onto her face. She braces one hand against it, and with a heaving shove, the heavy lid tips and collapses onto the pavement with a ringing, metallic thud.

She gets out and drags the lid back into place. Once finished, she brushes dirt from the knees of her white jumpsuit and continues on towards the street. She breathes deeply as a cool, night wind passes her. There's a nip in the air that comes with the changing seasons and the few trees that dot the sidewalks have almost entirely lost their leaves, and those that still cling to the branches are orange and red and yellow.

Sarina finds herself staring at one of those trees. She's seen pictures of autumn, but she's never truly experienced it. She brushes her hand along the bark and feels a shudder roll through her at the rough texture. She keeps going, letting her fingers slip from the tree only once her arm isn't long enough to reach it anymore.

The streets are empty and she has the occasional, fleeting thought that maybe she shouldn't walk so freely out in the open, but the truth is that she doesn't care. She's never walked down a sidewalk, never felt her cheeks turn pink from the nips of winter's tiny teeth, and she's never seen such a bright moon. It distracts her from the dull ache in her chest.

"Sarina! SARINA!"

She stops and blinks rapidly, but does not yet turn around. She honestly believes that she just imagined the calls, but when the voices ring out again, she vetoes that idea. She pivots to find Raphael and Michelangelo rushing towards her from the nearest alleyway. She goes back to meet them in the hidden space.

"Thank shell we found you," Michelangelo says. He moves to hug her, then stops mid-movement with a small frown. "What was that all about?"

Sarina feigns ignorance. "What was what about?" she repeats.

"Don't play dumb with us," Raphael says. "You shoved Mikey, you talked about how all you are is a Kraang." He crosses his arms over his chipped plastron and arches an eye-ridge. "Random outbursts like that are kinda my thing."

Sarina bows her head. "I have outworn my welcome," she admits. She glances out of the alley, just able to see the prongs of the TCRI building in the distance. "I have decided to return to TCRI so that things can go back to normal."

"No way, dudette," Michelangelo says, holding up one hand. "Our normal includes you now."

Raphael shrugs. "At least, it could."

"I have disrupted your natural order by preventing April from visiting you," she insists. "It is—"

She stops abruptly as a sharp buzzing sounds in the back of her skull. Her head jolts upwards, eyes widening as her heart starts to pound yet again. Raphael and Michelangelo perk up, Raphael's hand flying for his weapon.