User blog:Leofan13/A Clash of Two Worlds: Chapter Five

Chapter Five: Recon The next morning, I woke up before anyone else. I took a moment to reflect on last night’s events. I was grateful to Leo for his capacity of caring for others, but I was also a little embarrassed. I couldn’t believe that I had broken down like that. We can’t all be strong all the time, I thought to myself. As I surveyed the room, I caught sight of Leonardo. He had slept on the floor, but he must have been up at some point because he was sleeping on a mat. He looked so peaceful.  Kind of like my boys when they’re sleeping, I thought, letting out a sad sigh. Still, he must be freezing. I removed the blanket from the bed and placed it on top of him. However, he began to stir the moment it touched him. Leo stretched, yawned, and opened his eyes. He saw me sitting on the bed. “Oh, hey. Good morning, Lauradane,” he said sleepily. “Have you been up long?”  I shook my head. “Not real long,” I replied. “I’ve just had a moment to reflect on recent events.” As if suddenly remembering something, Leo quickly stood up and then sat next to me on the bed. “Like your nightmare?” Leo asked. “So, how are you feeling?” he asked hesitantly, looking concerned. “Well, I’ve been better, but I suppose I will have to deal with it for now,” I said in reply. Leo got that determined look again. He said, “I told you that we would get your family back, and that’s exactly what we’re gonna do.” After we left the room, Leo was all business. We woke the others and Mikey made breakfast, which I actually ate this time. After breakfast, Leo addressed his brothers. “We need to go topside,” he declared. “We need to know what Shredder’s up to.” “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait, you want us to go topside? In the daytime?!” Donatello asked, practically shouting. “Yeah, Leo,” Raphael added. “What if someone sees us?” Leo sighed, clearly annoyed. He did not appreciate when his brothers questioned his command. “Look,” he started. “We made a promise to help Lauradane get her family back.”  He nodded at me and then continued, “And I intend on keeping that promise. Shredder has something planned involving her family and we need to know what it is. So, let’s go!” With that, we sprang into action. The Turtles each grabbed their weapons, gearing up. I helped Donatello pack his “bag of tricks” as Mikey referred to it. When we were finished, we headed out of the lair. We strode through the sewer tunnels in search of a manhole. The search did not take long. Within a few minutes, we were facing a long ladder. We began climbing. Leo went first, and then me. We were followed by Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. When we reached the top, Leo paused causing the rest of us to pause as well. Michelangelo was getting impatient. “C’mon, Leo--” he started. “Shh!” Leo countered. He was listening to the sounds above. When he was convinced that there weren’t any more sounds near them, he lifted the manhole cover and peeked out. He cautiously looked around and then pushed aside the manhole cover. He climbed out and then extended his hand to me. I grabbed his hand and he helped me climb out. Then, we snuck over to the nearest building concealing ourselves in its shadow. Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael each climbed out in turn and followed suit. Spotting a nearby fire escape, Leo signaled for us to scale it. We climbed up to the rooftops and began to make our way to Foot headquarters. We raced across the rooftops leaping from building to building. It felt good to be out in the open air. I almost felt carefree, like I didn’t have anything to worry about. Then as we approached Foot headquarters, reality came crashing back at me like a ton of bricks. I fought back the urge to cry telling myself that I needed to stay focused. We found an unguarded area on the roof of Foot headquarters. Then, we snuck over to the nearest window. We peeked inside and we were able to see him, the metal-masked man. It was Shredder! He was talking to a group of Foot soldiers. It was hard to hear, but I was able to make out one thing:  “The girl is the key. She will undoubtedly come looking for them and when she does, I’ll be waiting,” the Shredder said, snarling. I couldn’t believe my ears! “He wants me?” I squeaked. “But why?”  Startled, I took a few steps backward and nearly fell off the roof. Leo and Raph both quickly grabbed one of my arms on either side and pulled me back to safety. “Thanks,” I said gratefully. “We need to get out of here,” Leo said pensively. “Let’s head back to the lair and figure out our plan. Then we will return. Tonight.”