My last encounter with Raphael is still swirling through my mind when I get home. I feel like I did something wrong by just standing there while he fought those weird creatures. I could've thrown a brick, I could've run for help. Something. Anything. Yet I stood there beside the man with the shotgun, totally helpless.

To make matters worse, Raphael seems to have picked up on my refusal to fight. When he knocked out all the creatures, he only had pure hatred in his eyes. He also left in the most unceremonious manner and ignored me when I called his name. He was just gone.

I drag my feet into the living room, feeling drained of all my energy. I just can't get my mind off how ruthless Raphael treated those creatures. Sure, they were trying to kill us. But that doesn't mean he had to be so violent. We could have just turned and walked away. Or barricaded ourselves back into the grocery store. The point is that he didn't have to hurt them.

As I glance at the floor to check for Lilac, I receive a shock. She's gone!

"Lilac?" I call as I run out of the living room. I race into the kitchen and see her peering out of a window. She turns to me and gives me a wag of her tail in greeting, her pale blue eyes lit up with joy.

"Lilac!" I exclaim, wrapping my arms loosely around her neck in a hug. "You're alright!"

Lilac responds by licking me on the face. I laugh and release her, wondering how she got better so fast. The rain had touched her, yet she's perfectly fine. Maybe the rain really doesn't change animals, only people.

Lilac slept for most of the day, so I know exactly what she wants. "You want to go for a walk?" I ask her in a high-pitched voice which makes her tilt her head. Then she barks once in agreement and runs for the front door.

For a minute, I'm not sure if I should go back outside when it's so dangerous. Then again, those weird creatures aren't anywhere near the park. They're on the other side of the city. With that in mind, I decide a small walk is worth the risk if it makes Lilac happy.

Smiling, I dart after her. I don't bother grabbing a leash. Instead, I fling the door open and we run out into the afternoon city air.

Lilac and I race down the sidewalk. Her tongue hangs as she lopesaround beside me, her ears and tail being blown back by the wind. I can't resist giggling as I keep pace with her, amused at her reaction of being out in the fresh air again.

Within a matter of minutes, the park comes into view. I slow my pace and let Lilac run ahead as my stomach twists up. Looking at the wide open space reminds me of Raphael and how much he despises me. It's all my fault that he feels like that; I should be trying harder to cheer him up.

I believe I owe him an apology.

As I approach the park, I narrow my eyes to scan for Raphael. I carefully look over every inch of the dead shrubbery, making sure I don't miss a single spot. The tree line renders no figures, however. It's calm and quiet without a trace of giant turtles. All I see is Lilac trotting around with her tail in the air.

Disappointed, I sigh and head over to the bench. I am so drowned in thought that I don't notice someone else is already sitting beside me. A voice speaks, startling me.

"Hey, Lucy." It's Casey.

I nearly jump sideways to get away from him, but I somehow manage to keep my ground. Tensely, I look up at him, painfully reminded how short I am even when I'm sitting down. And it doesn't help that Casey is practically a skyscraper.

"Hi," is all I can muster up the courage to say.

I don't like sitting here with him. It's not that I think Casey is a bad guy, it's just that he gives me a weird vibe. I'm not totally sure that I trust his strange behavior and I'm not sure if I ever will. He's just very, very odd.

Then a thought strikes me: maybe he knows where Raphael is. They did use to be best friends, after all. If Casey tells me where Raphael disappeared to, then I can go apologize and fix this whole mess.

"Wicked autumn weather, right?" Casey mutters sarcastically, oblivious to my thoughts. Apparently he's ready to see green growth as much as I am. I silently hope that spring will come around the corner soon and send the evil cold away.

"Yeah," I respond, and then quickly change the subject. "Do you know where Raphael is?" I inquire cautiously, a bit skeptical about bringing the turtle up.

Casey wrinkles his thick eyebrows in confusion. "Don't have a clue. Why?" His brown eyes flash with irritation, which immediately worries me. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him.

"I-I sorta did some hurtful things to him," I explain hesitantly, uncomfortable being under such a bright gaze. "I just wanted to find him so I could apologize."

Casey suddenly scoffs as if my idea is preposterous. "Good luck with that," he remarks. "Trust me when I say that you're better off doing nothing."

I know it hurts him to talk about it, so I place a comforting hand on him. It's awkward, but I push the feeling away for his sake. "Don't blame yourself. He's still grieving," I murmur.

"Whatever," Casey mutters, obviously not convinced. Suddenly, his face lights up with panic. Staring at something over my shoulder he says, "Is that your dog?"

I follow his gaze and scream. Lilac is no longer a cute little lovable dog; instead, she has grown twice in size and turned pink. She stands on her hind legs and snaps at the air with abnormally long fangs. She has vicious black claws growing out of her front paws, and her blue eyes have turned to black pits.

Casey and I jump up and back away as she steps towards us, growling menacingly. Her triangular ears flop around ungracefully she wobbles towards me on her back legs. She has turned into some kind of...

"Mutant!" Casey exclaims from beside me, before leaping out in front of me with his baseball bat out. "Casey Jones will deal with this, sweetheart. Goongala!" he shouts as he raises his weapon, ready to knock Lilac on the side of the head.

I manage to recover from my shock long enough to hinder his blow. "No, stop!" I yelp. "Don't hurt her!" I'm not about to watch my best friend get pounded into the ground, even if she did get mutated.

Casey shoots me a look that suggests I'm insane. "She's gonna kill us!" he protests as he rears his bat back again.

"Stop it!" I gasp breathlessly as tears start to wet my eyes. I tug the bat out of his hands and bolt away from Lilac. I have to get Casey away from her. Footsteps pursuing me tell me that I succeeded in distracting him.

"Hey, get back here!" Casey yells. "That baseball bat is limited edition!"

I keep running, gasping desperately for air as I charge around the corner. Unfortunately, I abruptly skid to a halt as I see what awaits me. Several mindless mutants have collected at the end of the street. When they hear me approach, they let out screeches and start after me. They lash the air with their sharp claws and ear-piercing groans.

Casey, who easily catches up to me, mumbles something under his breath at the sight of the mutants. Louder he shouts, "Let's get out of here!"

As one we turn to leave, but Lilac traps us in from the other side. Drool drips from her jaws as she creeps closer, evil growls escaping her throat.

My heart starts to beat out of my chest. I look back and forth, wondering which set of mutants I'd rather get mauled by. My chest tightens as I prepare myself to be destroyed.

Suddenly, Casey grabs my wrist and tugs me passed Lilac. I scream again as we barely manage to slip by Lilac's angry bites and get free from the trap. Then I struggle to keep up with Casey's long strides as he drags me down the street.

As we round another corner, Casey races over to a door and starts to pick the lock. I pace around him impatiently, listening to the groaning from the mindless mutants behind us. They're going to catch back up to us in a matter of seconds.

"Please hurry up!" I beg as the dark teenager fiddles with the doorknob.

He finally gets it unlocked and kicks the door in. "In here!" he says as he darts inside.

I follow on his heels and slam the door shut behind me, panting heavily. I sink to the floor, my legs feeling like jelly. I brush the cold tears off my cheeks as I try to recover from all the running. What just happened?

When I finally catch my breath, I develope enough sense to glance around at my surrounds. It's dark, but narrowing my eyes helps me see what's in the room with us. There's a tall shelf with rags, brooms, and dustpans. Blankets and towels are also placed neatly on the wooden structure. Two trash cans are shoved into a corner, adding to the strange décor. From the lack of dust bunnies, I get a haunting feeling that the place isn't abandoned.

"What the heck were those things?" Casey chokes out as he tries to find his own breath. He keeps shaking his head as if he's dreaming, but this is something he can't wake up from.

Looking at the other side of the cramped room, I see another door. It's yawning wide open, casting only the smallest hint of light inside our room. As I watch, a shadow of a human figure appears in the doorway. I can't see who it is, but the way they hold themselves tells me that they aren't friendly. They suddenly speak in a voice that makes my heart jump out of my chest.

"Who's in here?!"