FicWad

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"Did we lose 'em, Mikey?" Raphael yells at me from the front seat.

I look out the van's rear window. "I think so."

"Damn dirty sons'a..." he stops himself. "Damn Purple Dragons think they own the road. Donny's gonna be pissed about the van."

"He won't blame you," I tell him, sitting down in one of the rear seats.

"Wanna bet?" Raphael looks back over his shoulder at me and grins. "You okay, kid?"

I put my hand to the lump on my head, wincing. "I'm not bleeding."

He drives us onto a bridge and I hear tires squealing. I look back at the old rusty Chevy that has been chasing us for too many streets, already.

"Raph!"

"I see 'em," he yells. His eyes flash in the rearview mirror.

I hear a sound like a stone hitting the van and I looked at the car behind us. They have guns -- two of them pointed out the passenger-side windows. They fire again and a bullet shatters the back window of the van. I duck just in time. The bullet ricochets around the inside a few times before lodging itself in the seat next to mine.

"Mikey!"

"I'm alright! They missed!"

I let out a breath and an instant later it feels as if someone has punched me hard in the shoulder. I looked down at the blood flowing out of my skin. I press my hand to the bullet hole and lean forward, getting my head out of their line of sight.

"Mikey! Mike! Talk to me, kid!"

"I'm... just go, Raph!"

He looks at my face in the mirror, then his eyes narrow in anger.

"Son of a bitch!" he yells, spinning the van around.

I hold on as hard as I can, but I still fall out of my seat. Raph slams his foot down on the gas and the van speeds forward. I can't see what he was doing, but I know. He is going to try and ram them. I grab on to the base of the seat... holding tight, waiting...

I feel and hear the crash. My hands are wet with blood and my grip slips. My shell slams against the passenger seat.

Raph grunts and looks down at me. He can see that I am okay, so he lets out a sigh and grabs me by the arm, lifting me to my knees. I am about to get into the front seat beside him, but bullets began bouncing off the van again and we both duck. Peeking past the dashboard I see that at least one of the Dragons is still alive -- and still firing.

Raph pushes me down to the floor and hits the gas again, shoving the totaled car out of our way, then spins back around the way we had just been heading. The gunfire stops, but only for a moment. I look again and see that we are nearing the end of the bridge.

"Hang on, Mikey," Raph yells, spinning the wheel as we get to the corner at the bridge's end. "Hang on, kid!"

Bullets riddle the left side of the van and Raphael takes his hands off the wheel, shielding himself as his window shatters. I glance at him in the mirror again, looking into his eyes. We break through a barrier at the side of the road and begin to slide down a steep hill. The van rolls... the world turns upside-down and I feel myself bouncing off everything around me. Through the window, I can see the river coming up at us.

I feel water splash up onto my face... darkness surrounds me.


...
...


"Mike... Mikey, wake up."

I am startled by the sound of his voice. Where am I? Something is holding me down and there is water everywhere, up to the center of my chest.

"Raph?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah... what happened?"

He is quiet for a moment. "I guess I took that corner too sharp," he says. "How's your shoulder?"

I reach up, feeling the fresh wound. "Bleeding, but not too bad. Are you alright?"

He is silent for another moment. "I can't get out," he says.

My eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness now. The van is upright, at least. I twist myself around and look to where he sits. I can only see the back of the seat and his shoulder, but I am glad to see that he has his seatbelt on. Thank God he didn't go through the windshield when we hit the ground.

The ground...? No, we're in the water. We're in the river, just to the side of the bridge.

"Are you hurt?" I ask.

"No. You?"

"Just my arm, but I'm stuck, too. I guess we're in the same boat."

"We could use a boat right now."

I let myself laugh a little. "Think the guys'll come looking for us?"

Silence.

"Can you get to a ShellCell?" he asks.

I feel around under the water, looking on the floor of the van for something resembling a phone. I can't find anything to call with, but I do find that what is holding me down is one of the seats. It must have come off its base in the tumble, then wedged up against me when we landed.

"No good," I tell Raph.

"Then look over to the right," he says. "See the panel there with the three levers?"

I look. "Yeah."

"Can you reach it?"

"What am I reaching for?"

"Donny just put in a homing beacon. It's the purple button just above the levers."

I can't help but let out a little laugh as I stretch my arm as far as it can reach. "Purple for rescue, huh? Leave it to Donny..." A sharp pain travels from the hole in my shoulder to my fingertips. I pull my arm back, cradling it.

"You can do it, Mikey."

I take a breath and reach out again, trying my best to ignore the pain. I feel the levers, then slide my fingers up to the button and press it hard. I hear a beep and let my arm flop down by my side. I am suddenly lightheaded.

"Done," I say, resting my head back on the twisted metal.

"You did good, kid."

I take a deep breath, but something doesn't feel right. I open my eyes and look at the water around me. It is up to my shoulders now.

"Raph... are we sinking?"

"I think the van's sliding on the mud," he says. "It isn't getting too deep for you, is it?"

"No, not yet."

I blink hard. I wonder if I am getting tired because of the bump on my head or because of the hole in my shoulder. I press my hand harder against where the bullet hit me.

"I was just thinking about Splinter's old training dummy," Raph says.

"Hmm..." I wake with a start. I hadn't even noticed dozing off. "What? Why were you thinking about that?"

"Remember when Leo got carried away with his sword lessons and cut it in half?"

I grin. "Yeah, I remember how mad you were that you didn't have anything to practice on."

"I had Leo to practice on," he sounds like he is smiling. "Remember how much fun Donny had making a new one with all kinds of gadgets inside?"

"And he wouldn't let us use it... because he was afraid we would break it..." My eyes are getting heavy again.

"Don't go to sleep, Mikey."

"What?" I open my eyes. My chin is in the water, so I lift my head.

"You got quiet for a second there," he says. "I don't want you going under."

I rub my eyes. "Maybe we should keep talking, huh?"

"Okay... remember when Donny made all those fireworks for the Fourth of July when we were nine?"

I perk up a bit. "Yeah," I say. "Me and you took and set 'em off in the living room."

"I don't know who got in more trouble for that. Donny for making them or us for stealing them. It was Leo that told Splinter, you know..."

I start to think about how many times Leo stood aside and watched us doing things that we all knew we weren't supposed to do. Some part of me has always believed that he really wanted to join in, to have a little bit of fun. Raph and I were always trying to get him to let loose a little bit. It was easy enough to get Donny to goof off sometimes, but not Leo. Not that we have ever stopped trying.

"Wake up, Mikey."

I pull my face out of the water. My God, when did it get this deep? "How far down are we gonna go?" I ask.

"Just try to keep your head up. Try to stay awake until the guys get here."

I shake my head, chasing out the fuzz, but only for a moment. It is so hard to keep my eyes open. "I don't know if I can, Raph."

"Try, kid."

I let out a laugh. "I'm not a kid anymore. Why are you always calling me that?"

"You're still my kid brother, whether you like it or not."

I close my eyes. I guess he is right. Once the youngest, always the youngest. "You love rubbing that in, don't you?"

Silence again.

"Remember hide-and-seek, Mikey?"

"You were good at the seeking part."

"That's because you guys were so predictable. Don always hid in the kitchen or the bathroom... Leo was always in the training room, up in the pipes near the ceiling... you were the best, though. I remember you'd hide under the water in the well room, holding your breath for minutes on end."

"You figured me out after a while," I tell him, thinking back on how I would surface to find him standing there with a big grin on his face.

My eyes are drooping, my head nods.

"Nobody can hold their breath like you, Mikey."

"Mmm..?"

"Hold your breath, Mikey..."

...
...


I open my eyes. I'm home. I see Leo and Don standing over me. I glance over to the bed next to mine. Raph is lying there, asleep. Master Splinter is holding his hand. I reach up and feel the bandage on my shoulder.

"You're lucky, Mikey," Leo says. He looks like he is trying to smile. "We don't know how long you were under for before we got there."

"Raph told me to hold my breath," I say, grinning.

They look over at Raphael, then back at me.

Donny clears his throat. "How'd you know about the homing beacon?"

"Raph told me."

They look at each other, then Don puts a hand on my arm. "Mikey, I just put it in this afternoon. I didn't get a chance to tell you guys about it."

"Ask Raph, he'll tell you."

"Mikey, we can't ask..." Leo lowers his eyes. "Mikey, Raph is... he didn't make it."

What..? What are they saying? No...

The looks on their faces... oh, God... oh, my God... "Did... did he go under... under the water...?"

"No, Mike... it was instant," Don says, a tear gliding down his cheek. "I... I don't think he felt any pain..."

I can't lay here. I jump up, falling to my knees on the floor. I don't care. I crawl to Raph and pull myself up next to his bed. He looks... he is just sleeping. He has to be just sleeping...

I look at Master Splinter. His eyes are full of pain. He is not looking at me, his gaze is on my brother. I walk around Raph's bed, slowly looking him over. My eyes trace the line of his neck, the curve of his cheek. I look to his temple and I cannot turn away.

A bullet hole. The images flash in my mind. The shattering window, his hands coming off the wheel... I see it now, I remember. I remember the blood, the last look in his eyes...

I collapse, holding my head in my hands. I can feel the others around me, their touches trying to calm me, to sooth me. No... no, they weren't there, they couldn't know... I know what I heard. I heard Raph... he was alive with me in the van the whole time... he told me about the beacon, he kept me awake... he kept me alive...

I slip into darkness... I am not alone. I hear him, I hear my brother... just like then, just like before... in my darkness, I can still hear the sound of his voice...

"You did good, kid..."

...
..
.



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Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.
(H. W. Longfellow)