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1. Race; Raphael

Song: Get Out Alive - Three Days Grace

I wake up to a soft thud outside the abandoned pizza shop. The darkness surrounds me as I sit up on the sofa. I hear the gentle snoring of my brothers around me as they dream away. Michelangelo is spread across the top of the couch. Donatello is snuggled up at the other arm of the sofa from me, and Leonardo sleeps on the floor below us.

   None of them wake up, so I begin to wonder if I only imagined the sound. Still, I'm already wide awake, so it won't hurt to check.

   I roll off of the sofa, careful to step over Leonardo, and tiptoe to the door. It's the first time since we found this hideout that I wish we hadn't boarded up the windows; I can't see who is outside without opening the door.

   Instead, I press my head to the door and listen for another noise. Silence meets my eardrum for a long time. Just as I am about to give up, I hear it. A faint, eerie whisper.

   A chill creeps up my spine. I silently kick myself for being so jumpy; I'm acting like a hatchling. I scowl and snatch my sais from their sheathes. Whatever's causing me to panic is about to get pounded into another dimension. I quietly hope that the enemy isn't from another dimension.

   Before I make a move, something peculiar happens. A small flame lights up at the bottom of the door. I look at it curiously, wondering what could have provoked it.

   Suddenly, the whole door bursts into flames. I scream and stumble backwards in shock, landing on something squishy. I jump back up to my feet, realizing I had sat on Casey, who is snoozing on the floor.

   "What's going on?" he mumbles, rubbing his eyes. As soon as Casey removes his hands from his face and spots the blazing fire, however, he doesn't need an answer. He scrambles to his feet, alarmed.

   "Whoa!" Casey starts violently shaking April to get her up. "Wake up, Red! There's a fire!"

   I don't have to wake the others. Michelangelo wakes up to the smell of smoke and rolls off of the couch. His loud thud brings Donatello and Leonardo back to earth. Elizabetta, who had been snoozing on an armchair, also sits bolt upright in horror.   All three of them are up in an instant with their weapons out, glaring at the fire. 

   "What's happening?" Elizabetta demands, her green eyes glowing with preparedness.

   "Did you try cooking again, Leo?" Donatello asks with an accusing glance at our leader.

   "No," Leonardo replies, hiding his annoyance. "Mikey, did you mess with Donnie's chemicals?" he questions the younger turtle as he appears at the blue-clad turtle's side.

   "No way, bro!" Michelangelo answers with a shake of his head. He has his nun chucks at the ready. "Raph must have done something while he was working-out!"

   I glare at the orange-clad turtle. "I didn't do anything, shell-brain! I was just standing here and the door caught fire," I retort hotly.

   Leonardo gives me a puzzled look, but before he can say anything, Casey interrupts.

   "I know you guys wanna find out what's going on and all, but can it wait until the fire is out?" The teenager is ushering April to the back of the restaurant as he speaks.

   April shoos the hockey player away. She dives behind one of the counters and comes up a second later with a fire extinguisher. She tosses it to Donatello. "Catch, Donnie!"

   Donatello does just what she says. He turns toward the flames and removes a pin from the extinguisher. He aims the hose piece at the fire and squeezes the handle. Nothing happens.

   "It's not working!" He has to yell over the loud crackling sounds. I have to do a double-take to notice that the fire has already consumed one-third of the room.

   "I got this, dudes!" Michelangelo calls.  He is struggling to carry a bucket of water from the sink.

   "Mikey, no!" Donatello yells. "It might be-"

   As Michelangelo dumps the liquid onto the licking flames, the fire grows. The orange-clad turtle immediately lets out a squeak and hides behind the kitchen counter, dodging the heat.

   "-A grease fire," Donatello finishes, face-palming. "Well, that answers that. What do we do now?" His voice is even louder than before as the red-orange demon pushes us closer to the back wall.

   "We find Master Splinter and get out of here," Leonardo answers promptly. He stays remotely calm, as if we aren't about to burn to death.

   Smoke begins filling the restaurant. Elizabetta starts coughing, but she finds enough air to ask, "Where is he?"

   "He was medi-" Leonardo explains, but he's overpowered by a much deeper voice from behind us.

   "We must go." It's Master Splinter, standing in a doorway. I can smell cold, night air flowing inside from where he is.  He found a door!

   Leonardo and Master Splinter disappear into the night, insisting Elizabetta go in front of them. Casey leads April out the door with Michelangelo scrambling after them, looking more frightened than a cat. I start to go after him, but then I see Donatello's muscles tense; he's about to jump into the fire!

   "Donnie!" I yell.  I throw my arms around him to hold him back. "What in the name of shellacne are you doing?!"

   "The retro-mutagen!" Donatello calls as he wriggles in my arms. "I need it!"

   I roll my eyes and pull him towards the exit. The smoke is starting to get into my eyes and burn. I squint against it. "You can make more!" I snarl.

   "That'll take months!" Donatello argues hotly.  I hate how obsessed he is with science. "I need this batch!"

   "Fine," I ruggedly agree. I shove him towards the door. "But I'm getting it."

   "But-" Donatello tries to argue, but I turn and race back in before he can.

   The fire has already consumed most of the small pizza shop. The flames lick at the ceiling, only a few centimeters away from it. Smoke rapidly engulfs the rest of the room. It makes my lungs ache and beg for air.

   I hold my breath and run into the kitchen. I quickly find Donatello's little cabinet. It's his 'lab', since we don't have the lair anymore. It's only by sheer luck that none of his mutagen experiments destroyed the whole kitchen.

   I blindly reached in, snag his retro-mutagen container, and run towards the back door. Unfortunately, I'm not fast enough.  The fire has spread to the only doorway out of the kitchen. The flames lash at me hungrily. I back away, coughing on the thick, gray smoke. Through my watery eyes, I can just make out a window. Perfect.

   I charge at it with full force. I hit it with my elbow, but it does nothing. I try again and again, but it refuses to break.

   I gasp for proper air. My chest burns and my throat feels scratchy. I have to climb onto the countertop to avoid the flames gnawing at my toes. I'm trapped.

   My body grows weaker and my eyes droop. All of the punches I throw at the window pane are half-hearted. I'm going to die. Still, I can't help feeling grateful it's me and not Donatello.

   A searing pain claws its way up my left leg. I gasp in pain, but I'm cut off by a coughing fit. Through the smoke, I catch a glimpse of a burn on my skin. The sight of it makes it hurt more.

   Suddenly, the glass in the window shatters. Strong hands yank me out and my lungs fill with fresh, night air. I'm thrown to the ground, and I have to stifle a whimper of pain as my burn touches rough pavement.

   I blink away the soot in my eyes and realize Leonardo is towering over me. My head feels unclear and clogged. My ears barely register when my leader shouts at me.

   "What were you thinking?! You almost got yourself killed!" he snaps.

   "Almost?" My voice is hoarse and it hurts to speak. "I feel like I'm already dead."

   "As you should!" April retorts as she looks down at me as well. "You worried us half to death while looking for you!"

   "You're lucky Donnie knew where you were," Elizabetta puts in with a disapproving shake of her head.

   I sit up, ignoring my screeching muscles, and glare at the purple-clad turtle. "Here's your stupid retro-mutagen. Next time, I'm letting you jump into the fire." Every syllable begs me to stop talking, but there is no way I'm going down without a fight.

   Donatello, despite the threat, gives me a small smile. "Thanks, Raph."

   I simply grunt in reply, taken aback by his sincerity.  At least someone appreciates me.

   "You are hurt." Master Splinter examines the burn on my leg. "This needs to be taken care of immediately."

   "Out in the open?" Leonardo asks skeptically. "Sensei, we need to get into hiding before we get spotted."

   Master Splinter nods to his son. "Very well."

   "We can go back to my apartment," April suggests.

   "Is that safe?" Elizabetta murmurs uncertainly.  "If anyone catches a glimpse of us arriving or leaving, we might be in trouble."

   "If we only stay for one night, I'm sure we'll be alright," Donatello says to put hers, and all the rest of our minds, at ease.

   Master Splinter motions for Michelangelo and Leonardo. "Help your brother up."

   "I'm fine," I protest. I try to stand, but the burn on my leg makes every movement excruciating. I accidentally let out a wince, and then silently scold myself for showing weakness.

   Leonardo and Michelangelo help me to my feet and ignore my indignation. "Don't worry. I got you, bro," Michelangelo says as he forces me to lean on him. I shoot him a look of annoyance, but I'm secretly grateful for the kind gesture.

   As we start down the sidewalk, all Casey has to say is, "Well, that was a wake up call."

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