CHAPTER 2 - The Weight of Silence
Time sludged past in a viscous heap as Raph sat there with his shivering twin, trying to guide Don through the panic overwhelming his body. As a way to ground his brother, Raphael wrapped one of his arms slowly over Don’s shell, and gently pulled his brother close.
Ever since returning home, things have been.. different. One emergency to the next was becoming far too normal in his family’s life. Not even the warm comfort of being home could protect Raph and Don from their nightmares.
I’m so done with this.
The jolted shivers of Don penetrated Raph’s body in crackling sparks. The fiery brother’s attempts to calm himself were slowly devoured by the growing shadow of vengeance and bitterness. He couldn’t do anything, just sit and wait, as his twin fought for control of his own dang body. All because..
..of what happened.
All because..
..of what he couldn’t stop.
Despite his attempts to fight back, the shadows of Raph’s past overtook him instantly.
. . .
Raphael didn’t know how long it had been since Specter had left his and Don’s cell. The stinkin’ lab, or whatever it was, kept any rays of sunlight hidden behind its thick walls. There was no clock. No windows. Just the same yellow-tinted light that never turned off. Sometimes he would catch the faint echoes of footsteps through the door, but besides that, there were no other sounds heard.
Complete. Silence.
He never realized how significant noise was. How.. normal it made each day; A skitter of a roach on the flaked tile, a light drip of the sewer pipe that Don hadn’t quite reached for repairs yet, the flick of Splinter’s tail as he paced, waiting for the kettle to sound so he could have his scheduled morning tea.. And even in the more simple things. While he and his bros read their books in the living room, the faint static of the TV would whisper in the background. Sensei’s Grandfather Clock would give a slight ticking hum when it reached noon.
Sound.. meant… life.
Well, there was no doubt that he was still alive. Can’t feel pain if you’re dead, and last he checked, he was full of the stuff. His right arm’s muscles ached in a dull burn from whatever juice that mad scientist injected into him. Besides making him extremely uncomfortable, that liquid acid stuff really didn’t do all that much damage. That realization both intrigued and terrified him.
Does the stuff take longer to activate? Or was it just a dud?? Can a shot be a dud???
Raph slumped back onto the table he was currently strapped down to. He didn’t have to think too far back to remember what happened; How it made his body feel. When the needle pierced his skin, a swift chill flooded his veins, just like every other injection. But then before he had the chance to blink, the freezing cold crackled into searing hot. Like when you put your hand in ice for way too long. Every nerve in his arm twisted into knots as the poison slowly clawed its way up his bicep and into his neck. Blurs of screams pass through his memory as he shakes his head and pushes onto the next thing he can remember.
His memory takes him to the moment Specter began questioning him. With each interrogating word, Raph could feel his will.. lessen. The fire of defiance he had worn like a badge began getting smothered by the cold streams of the neon green liquid burning through his veins. As the interrogation continued, a voice began speaking to him deep in his mind. It shadowed the cold tone of Specter, melding together in a horrible chorus of condescension. It whispered empty promises to him. It begged him to “use his head” and just give in.
But Raph had never been good at taking orders. He fought strenuously at his binds, using the pain and movement to distract him from the voice. It took everything in him to finally burst through the ghostly whispers, making them dissipate into a murky echo. The voice chanted the same phrase over and over until it finally vanished from Raph’s mind:
“Just give in. Use your head.”
Excellent idea.
Raph’s mouth curled into a proud grin as he recalled using the voice’s words against it. The final cherry on top of the sundae of spite: A solid headbutt leaving Specter clinging to his profusely bleeding face. A true work of art if he had to say so himself. Even with the pain still radiating through his body, he gave a silent chuckle as the mad scientist beelined it for the door, leaving small crimson puddles in his wake.
The small victory was cut short when he saw the jerk use Don’s mask as a hanky. Talk about disrespect.
“Don, okitemasu ka?” (Don?..You awake?)
There was a slight sound of shuffling as his now non-purple clad brother turned to face Raph. Or at least- as best he could while being tied down to the floor by his wrists. Raph winced at the sight of the growing purple-ish red bruise spreading across Don’s left cheek.
“Hai, akiraka ni.” Don spoke in his usual “I’m too tired for this” tone.(Yes, obviously.)
“Keikaku wa arimasu ka?” (Do we have a plan?)
Don paused, shifting his expression to one Raph knew quite well: his “I’m thinking” face. Don’s brows creased together as his eyes lowered to look at his closed fists. A small moment of more unnerving silence passed as Raph waited impatiently for his brother to give a hint as to what was going on in his overly-sized brain.
Without saying a word, Don used his hazel eyes to steer Raph’s matching set onto what was in the freckled brother’s hand. A tiny shard of glass.
How did he-??
Apparently Raph’s confusion was clear in his body language, cause Don, still being blind as a bat, nodded while he quickly fingerspelled the letters G-L-A-S-S-E-S.
Ok- we got a teeny glass knife.. Pretty sure it’s too small to do any real damage, and it’ll break if Don tries to use it to unlock his cuffs.. So.. how is that helpful at all????
Again, true to their twin nature, Don read Raph’s feelings like a book, and continued to sign the word “WAIT.”
That.. is not an answer.
Don rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic sigh.
“Sain suru no ga itai!” The freckled brother hissed in annoyance. (It hurts to sign!)
Oh. Oops.
“G-gomen..” Raph whispered as he hunched his shoulders in apology.(Sorry..)
Don simply gave a slack thumbs up before dropping his weighted cuffs back to the ground to give his aching wrists a break. The clangs of his cuffs hitting the floor echoed through their empty cell.
Silence drowned the brothers in a thick sheet of anxiety in seconds. The room felt as if the walls began to stretch, only growing the cell’s chill of emptiness. The cold sensation crawled its way up Raph’s arms and legs like a spider skittering up his shell, making him shudder in discomfort.
Raph’s annoyance levels were at an all-time high at this point. Not only was he captured, doomed to be some mad scientist’s plaything, stuck in awkward silence, and tied down so he couldn’t move- but with every word he spoke, he had to take the time to translate it from English to Japanese. And then he had to properly say it in that dialect so that Don would understand him through his lousy accent and stuttering. On top of that, his arm still ached and shuddered from time to time, making it very hard to concentrate.
Usually at about this time, Raph would excuse himself from the room and throw hands with an unfortunately placed pipe sticking out of the ground. He had to do something to get his building energy out. If he chose through his fists in a secluded room, then no one would get hurt. Well- maybe him, but bruised and bloodied knuckles are nothing to cry about. The only other option to get it out would be through his mouth- and that choice has landed him far too many times in his room with a sore butt for it to be his first pick. Sensei always taught him that words can sting like venom, so he always chose his fists. He learned pretty quick that it’s best for him to hide when he released his brimming energy. It never ended well when someone got in his way.
But now here he is, on the brink of a volcanic eruption of built up negative energy and stress, and with no way to let it out. His tight fists shook in their strapped leather binds, making the metal belts clink and clang. Raph let out a frustrated growl as all his tugging and pulling proved to be useless. Not a dent or a tear in sight. His foot tapped restlessly on the floor in erratic bursts.
Finally- the silence ended.
Raph and Don shot their heads up in unison as they heard the sounds of footsteps and keys outside the door of their cell. Don lifted his head and straightened his posture immediately, trying to mask the obvious exhaustion weighing his body down by the second. Raph raised his chin and took a deep inhale as the door’s handle began to turn.
The door opened revealing a woman with a pointed chin and nose. Her hair was long and straight as if it were made of plastic. Her abyss blue irises were framed with thick-rimmed glasses. She pointed at Don with a glossy, red tipped finger.
“That one.” She curtly ordered.
Raph watched in horror as two guards rushed towards his brother. The first tried to grab at Don’s chains, but was quickly thwarted by his brother’s teeth clamping down onto their arm. The second guard immediately stepped in, pointing and firing his pistol at Don’s neck. With a *thwick* the dart penetrated into his skin, making him yelp.
No. Please- God- NO.
Don continued to struggle against the two men, but the tranq was already starting to take effect, making Don’s movements go from quick and calculated to sluggish and desperate. As the men began to lift Don up from his chains, he tried one last ditch effort at an attack. His fist, now released from being tied down to the ground, came rocketing straight into one of the guard’s faces. But as Raph watched, he noticed something. Right before Don’s fist made contact with the man, he released his grip and shot out his fingers.
Something shiny flew from his twin’s hand and landed right in between Raph’s feet. As subtly as he could, Raph slid the glass underneath his heel. The struggle between the guards and Don continued, giving Raph hope that nothing was noticed. But finally, after using all his strength to fight off the guards, Don fell limp onto the ground succumbing to the effects of the tranquilizer.
Please don’t take him!! DON’T LET THEM TAKE HIM!!
And all Raph could do….
..was watch through tear-filled eyes as his brother, his twin, was dragged away into the blinding light of the hallway.
That's it for this chapter. :) I'M SO HAPPY TO BE BACK TO WRITING SIWWWWW!!!!!! I've missed it so~
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To God be the glory!
~ Melissa
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