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

Chapter Four:  A Real Nightmare

''“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Please, he’s just a boy! Don’t hurt him!” ''

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” I screamed as I jolted awake and sat up with a start. I desperately tried to catch my breath. I sat there in the darkness for a moment and then heard the sound of several running footsteps. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the room and I had to shield my eyes. My eyes took a minute to adjust and then I was able to make out the shapes of the figures in the room. What started out as blurry, green shapes became clearer as my eyes were able to focus. All of the Turtles had come running at the sound of my screaming.

Then came the questions. “What happened?”  Raphael asked first. “What is it?” Michelangelo followed. “Are you hurt?” Donatello asked. “Are you okay?” Leonardo asked, his voice barely audible. They were fraught with worry.

It took me some time to respond. I was completely overwhelmed. Looking at their panic-stricken faces only upset me more. I tried to brush it off. I stammered, “I-I’m fine. I-It was just a bad dream.”  I’ve said the same thing to my sons whenever they have had a nightmare. I understand now why they never want to go back to bed.

Thinking about my sons made me feel sad…and scared. ''What if I never see my family again? ''I thought to myself. What if we’re too late…?

My thoughts were interrupted by the second round of questions. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Leonardo asked, a little louder this time. “…And you’re not hurt? Maybe I should check you to be certain,” Donatello added.

“I’m fine,” I repeated, sounding robotic this time. It seemed to be enough for Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello (although he still looked worried) as one by one they said good night to me and started to leave. However, Leonardo seemed suspicious. When I looked at him, he had this strange look on his face like he wanted to believe me but wasn’t sure he should.

“Leo,” I said, “It’ll be alright. We should try and get some rest.”

Leonardo sighed softly. “Alright,” he said, “but I’m right out here if you need anything.”

“Okay, Leo,” I replied. “Good night.”

“Good night,” he answered. With that, he left the room and I went back to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I was still a bit upset about the nightmare, but again I tried brushing it off. “I need to be strong for them,” I said to myself, thinking of my family. I got out of bed, fixed the covers, and exited the room. As I did, I noticed Leonardo was standing next to the entryway, but he was dozing. Has he been there all night? I wondered.



It had been several days since I first met the Turtles and Master Splinter. However, I felt like I’ve known them for a long time. When you live in close quarters, it’s amazing what you learn about each other. They were starting to feel like a second family. Family… I thought. I was suddenly feeling restless. My family was out there somewhere and we had yet to make a move.

“Good morning, Lauradane,” I heard Leo say. I didn’t feel like it was exactly a “good” morning so I mumbled back, “Morning, Leo.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Are you hungry?” he asked me. Leo nodded in the direction of the kitchen. “Mikey’s making breakfast.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m not really hungry,” I told him. Leonardo studied me for a minute. He could tell that something was off about me today. “How about some sparring, then?” he suggested. “It’s a good way to release some pent up energy,” he added, his eyes insistent.

<p class="MsoNormal">I shrugged. “Sure, why not?” I replied. It seemed good enough for him so we headed off to the dojo room for some sparring.

<p class="MsoNormal">We both faced each other, bowed, and got into position. We started off slowly with some basic moves:  punch, block, kick, block, sweep, block, repeat. As we continued, the moves became more advanced and we were matching each other blow for blow. We carried on like this for hours. Before we knew it, it was getting dark as less and less sunlight filtered through the grating. We had spent the entire day sparring. I guess I had more “pent up energy,” as Leo put it, than I thought, but now I was actually hungry. As if reading my thoughts, Leo asked,” Are you hungry?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes,” I said. “Very.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Let’s go eat, then,” he offered. “We have some pizza.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Great,” I answered him, “I love pizza!”

<p class="MsoNormal">He smiled at me and then we left the dojo room to go join the others.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Time passed quickly after we had eaten our pizza and watched a movie (Mikey’s suggestion). Before we knew it, it was time for bed. We all said good night to each other, but Leo insisted on keeping watch in my room. I started to protest, but after seeing the determined look on his face I realized that there was no talking him out of it. So I crawled into bed, told Leo good night, and tried to sleep, again. Leonardo did his best to keep watch, but after a while, he was getting sleepy. He closed his eyes for a moment and started dozing off…

<p class="MsoNormal">“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” I screamed. I sat up quickly and hugged my knees, shaking violently. I was trying again to catch my breath. “What’s wrong?” Leo asked worriedly, rushing to my side. “It’s the nightmare again. I’ve been having this terrible nightmare for a few nights now,” I said, hugging my knees tighter. “Again? But, you had said that it was just a bad dream,” Leo questioned. “I know,” I said. “I didn’t want to upset you guys so I tried downplaying it. I suppose I should tell you?”  Leo nodded.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Okay, here it is,” I began. “I am in a strange open room with high ceilings and there are symbols adorning the walls, much like the symbol on that piece of fabric. I notice that I am walking down a long aisle. When I reach the end of the aisle I can see my family. From what I can tell they are unharmed, but they are restrained. I begin to run to them saying, ‘Hold on! I’ll have you free in just a moment.’”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Then a man with sharp claws on his hands and a metal mask on his face appears and quickly snatches them from me. He looks at me with cold eyes and tells me that I have fallen for his trap. He claims that I have information about you, your brothers, and Splinter. He demands to know your whereabouts and then grabs one of my sons—my youngest.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“’NOOOOOOOOO! Please, he’s just a boy! Don’t hurt him!’ I beg him.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“‘Tell me where they are!’ he roars and raises one of his sharp claws, preparing to strike my son.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“‘NOOOOOOOOO!’ I scream… and that’s when I wake up.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The very thought of this nightmare and harm coming to either one of my sons, or my husband for that matter, is more than I can bear. Tears spring to my eyes, threatening to overflow.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Leo, this is horrible! My family means the world to me. I love them so much!” I said as tears began to escape from my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Almost instinctively, Leo put his arm around me and pulled me close to him the way a mother would with her child. “If anything were to happen to them…” I said, my voice shaking and trailing off. With that, I could no longer be strong for my family and I completely broke down. I began sobbing uncontrollably, burying my face in his chest. With newfound determination, Leo said, “We will get your family back. Alive. All we need is a plan.”