[ P | I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | E ]

CHAPTER THREE
C R O S S R O A D S
RAPHAEL’S TALE
 

 

AUGUST 14TH, 2045  NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA; SOUTH OF HOUMA

His prey was near. He could smell it.

Raphael trudged through the muck of the swamp, making his way through the dense underbrush as stealthily as possible. His muddied skin tone, shell colors, and the tattered cloak that was draped over his upper body giving Raph the perfect camouflage, he went undetected all the way to his destination.

In one effortless motion, Raphael raised his makeshift sai-staff and impaled the nesting heron bird in the side. The animal let out one rasping cry before it fell silent. The other three birds flew screeching out of the nest, quickly fluttering off into the air.

Raph grunted as he watched them escape, then turned his attention back to the one he’d killed. "Gotcha."

He withdrew his sai-staff from the heron, snatching up the bird by its long neck. Turning it around to study it from all sides, he spent a few moments carefully examining his catch.

It was a nice, fat adult in perfect condition save for the three blood-welled holes where he’d stuck it. Easily a day’s worth of food, he decided.

Raphael froze up as he heard a sound he knew all too well. A slithering; a distinctive gurgle; the sound of a creature slipping into murky water.

Shit… alligator!

He let his sai-staff quietly drop to the swamp bed—it wouldn’t do him much good against a ’gator. Standing as motionless as possible, he didn’t even turn his head to look behind him. Having only his good eye’s peripheral vision to gaze about with, he found one more reason to curse his wretched youth.

You think you’re so tough, Mike. You cheated. You had to have cheated. You’ve never beaten me before! Damn it, I know you cheated!

"Raphael, don’t!"

Shut up! I’ll show you! I’ll teach you! Not so tough now, are you?

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

But I was… I wasn’t going to hit him with the wrench. Why did I…

"Have you lost your mind? You could have killed Mike if you’d hit him with this!"

"Leo… did you see his eyes?"

No… Mike… he’s my best friend, for chrissakes. I’m sorry… sorry…

Raphael pursed his lips as another memory surfaced. The slithering could be heard again. It was getting close. Too close for comfort. Yet for all his worth, he couldn’t keep his concentration.

His youth. It the thing he’d tried so hard to escape decades ago by coming to New Orleans. He had practically forty years of solitude to show for his efforts. Yet it was all coming back to him, haunting him like a curse.

Saki is mine!

Mine… not Leo’s. Not anyone’s! I’ll kill that bastard myself. I can do it. I know I can. I’ll show everyone else. Prove it to myself…

Damn… the Elite Foot… they surprised me… I thought I could…

"You are a fool!"

And almost a dead one… Leo… No… I… I was wrong.

He could feel the rage boiling within him now. A rage he hadn’t felt in years. He wanted to yell, he wanted to scream, he wanted to break something—anything to let it out. But the alligator was almost upon him. Stay still… stay calm…

I see a bug! I see a bug!

Damn it, why am I acting like this? I’m not thinking straight… I’m not…

"No, Raph. You can’t go with them…"

But why, April? I’m just not myself… the leech… the mutagen… damn it! Damn it all…

"Not this time, baby."

Try as he might to block them out, the memories would not relent. His efforts to concentrate, to forget… did they mean nothing now? The guys—his brothers—were long gone. Their days together were a hundred times over.

Don’t think about it, he wanted to tell himself, you’re just making it worse. Forget them, the voice inside him drilled, leave them in the past. Every fiber of his body screamed out to listen to the voice. He wanted to listen to it, he wanted to forget, but another part of him—a part he had lost touch with ages ago—would not cede.

You shot my brother, you cyborg piece of shit! I don’t give a damn if I chopped off your head—I’m not through with your body. Adios, amoeba!

What? It… can’t be…

"It blasted Raph by remote control!"

No! My face… my eye… it hurts. Jesus, it hurts bad!

Before he knew it, Raphael found himself trembling with anger, both fists clenched as he struggled to contain it. Why did he have to remember? Why did the memories have to come back to him? Why now?

It doesn’t matter, he told himself. Push it away. Bury it. Leave it in the past. He just had to keep staying still… staying calm… like Splinter taught him.

No, not that…not again…

We’ve been discovered.

Those DARPA bastards… they’ve finally caught up with us… they invaded our home. Just fought my way through twenty of their fucking thugs on the streets. Feel like shit. But now… damn it, I’ve come too late.

Leo, Don, Mike… they’ve already taken out the thugs that got inside. But the one remaining… he’s holding Splinter. He’s got a shotgun at his head.

Gotta do something.

"Let him go, or you die."

He’s not listening to Leo. Only one way to deal with these bastards.

Only one way…

Doesn’t see me sneaking behind him, not even the guys. I’ll teach him a lesson. Kill his sorry ass for just touching Master Splinter. Splinter… the only one that really understands me… that’s there for me no matter what. My master… my… my father.

I’ll make that son of a bitch bleed, I’ll tear open up his throat, I’ll rip him to fucking pieces, I’ll…

Shut up. Don’t think about it. Just do it. Get my sai ready—all I gotta do is get close enough, then…

Now! Yeah, how do you like that you son of a bitch? How do you—

Gunshot.

I-it can’t be! I thought I could… No. Oh, god no… don’t let this be happening.

"R-Raphael… Splinter…"

God no…

He could hold it no longer.

Raphael threw his arms in the air and let out the gut-wrenching scream that had been lingering within with an animal’s rage and intensity, announcing his presence to all in earshot.

The alligator heard his cry and moved in for the kill.

Raph roared as he whirled around and charged the advancing ’gator. As the creature became apparent through the fog, it was clearly big, easily one of the biggest he’d seen in months.

"Splinter’s dead because of your arrogance… your anger. You’re a danger to yourself and everyone else."

As the gap between Raph and the ’gator narrowed to roughly three meters, he stared it in the eyes. It stopped its advance as it met his piercing gaze, if only for a moment.

"For god’s sakes, Raphael, don’t you see that?"

He snarled at the animal, then savagely charged and dived at it.

"What do you mean you’re leaving? Just where the hell do you think you’re going, Raph?"

He grappled the ’gator the instant he landed on its scaly body, throwing his arms over both sides of its torso and neck. It fought him with everything it had, tossing and heaving its mighty body in an effort to throw Raph off. He kept his grip, bearing out the struggle as he did some fighting of his own. Feeling his right leg hit ground, Raph used his leverage and weight to spring against the ’gator. It took every ounce of strength in his legs, but the motion succeeded in sending both of them toppling over each other.

Through it all Raph didn’t let go. He wouldn’t give in. Not now, not ever.

"Just let him leave, Leo."

As they came to a stop, Raph found himself on top of the ’gator’s belly. It still fought with feral strength, but it was clear that it was tiring. Edging his way up the creature’s stomach, he took purchase of the gator’s monstrous jaws. Hugging the pincer jaws shut, he kicked at the creature’s forearms as they raked him across the face. When he felt his own blood streaming into his good eye, Raph only held on that much harder.

He had to.

"Yeah, he’ll come back."

His legs found the ground once more. Fighting against all that was left of the animal’s waning energy, he tightened his vice grip around the ’gator’s jaws, now using his upright position to his advantage. He braced one arm against the gator’s chest, then with the other he began to twist the creature’s jaw in a corkscrew movement.

Just a little more, he told himself. His arms, legs, and face were completely covered with the cuts he was getting from the gator as he continued to twist its head. Just a little more.

He felt vertebrate grinding on vertebrate, bone grating on bone. Still the creature fought, planting a foreclaw through Raphael’s eyepatch to gouge into the blind eye beneath.

The breaking point.

He heard a muffled wet snap in the back of the gator’s head, then felt the creature’s body shudder in a death twitch before it went still. Raph held his grip a moment longer, then let the head fall from his grasp.

Between painful gasps of air, Raph rasped at the alligator corpse, "That... all... you got...?"

"He always does."

Suddenly all the adrenaline, the rage, and the anger ebbed, losing its hold on him. A wave of emotions washed over Raphael, overpowering his bitterness and overwhelming him with guilt and sorrow.

He dropped to one knee.

"My brothers..." he softly spoke. The tears that welled and streaked from his eye mixed with the blood and mud that covered his face as they trickled down his cheek. He fell against the alligator’s side, burying his head against its belly. "Forgive me."

"Doesn’t he?"

FORWARD TO NEXT CHAPTER
BACK TO PREVIOUS CHAPTER
RETURN TO MAIN MENU