"Calming His Storm" ~Book 1: Gathering Clouds~ (TMNT 2012 Fanfiction; RaphxOC )

Chapter 04: Steered

Jamie went first.

Her bedroom door squeaked on its hinges as she opened it, piercing the silence as the knocks on her window had.

More darkness, the gaping darkness of an empty apartment, greeted her in a familiar way. She was used to having the quietness all to herself. Because of this, it made her actively aware of their presence behind her, no matter how quiet they had suddenly become. Something about their forms following her lead, out of her line of sight... It sent prickles down her spine. She wasn't sure if it was negative prickles exactly... Just unfamiliarity. Everything about this past hour had been about unfamiliarity.

The floorboards of her living room creaked from the weight of the rest of them entering the room. She flicked on the light switch that quickly illuminated the fluorescent bulb above the kitchen, making her squint to adjust to the new visibility.

The living area was large with walls that stretched up so tall that when all the lights were off, you couldn't quite make out where the roof cut them. Jamie remembered that when she had come to stay with her brother for the first time to see if she wanted to live with him, she had thought they were obnoxiously tall for a space meant for one person, like living in a cave or something. The living area these walls contained, like the mega-sized version of a dorm's common room, held most of the rest of the house. The pale-yellow kitchen was along the left wall with a barrier island separating it from the sitting area. Behind the refrigerator's back wall was a stairwell that ascended into a secretive, walled loft, this being where her brother slept on the rare occasion he was home. Immediately to Jamie's left, a shadowy hall slinked past the stairwell leading to two doors on opposite sides: a bathroom and a closet.

Even with the dim light from the kitchen, it was dark from the lack of windows, and shadows clung to every piece of furniture. Jamie let her knowledge of the living room guide her and she blindly padded across the floor, maneuvering around the back of the couch, its plush frame the barrier of the sitting area. She made it to the doorway, but a loud screeching of the coffee table behind her made her guess the others hadn't been as successful.

"Ugh! Watch it, Don, you pushed me in front of the table." Leo growled from behind.

Raph muttered something that Jamie couldn't make out, but it was just as agitated in tone as Leo's statement. Jamie opened the door and peeked out into the barren hallway.

Nothing. Empty.

Jamie motioned for them to follow and sprinted ahead down the hall. At the end, she approached the intersection slowly and peered around the corner, making sure no one had decided to take a trip down to the floor's vending machines.

The excitement of sneaking around made her wide awake, even though there was no real danger. Her brain had decided that this was something to be excited about and pumped her full of adrenaline as the result.

Jamie didn't argue.

The solemn hallway was empty, providing no threat to her charges.

They joined her at the end of the hall, Raph stubbornly in the process of trying to walk on his own without the help of his brothers.

"For heck's sake, Raph, let us carry you. You're going to make yourself worse if you don't." Hissed Leo from the darkness.

"Shut up, I'm fine."

Jamie rolled her eyes at his obstinance and dashed down the main hallway towards the back of the building. Here, there was a private elevator that the residents used if they wanted to get into the parking lot behind the building. Jamie knew this would be the smartest way out, as they wouldn't have to worry about getting past the night receptionist who was usually on guard.