Donnie was feeling miserable. Not only is he locked away in a giant cage without his brothers, but he finds out that his brothers may be strapped to a table somewhere, facing the blades of a saw. Or maybe they were already gone, and Donnie hadn't even been given a chance to try and rescue them…
What a crummy way to go, he thought. Strapped to a table with your only hope locked away somewhere else, being fed three times a day and having his needs catered to.
Donnie pushed away another wave of guilt. It wasn't as if he could do anything about it.
Yes, I could. I could have broken out of here. It would be tough, but not impossible… heck, they might even let me WALK out.
Donnie had to force down yet another wave of guilt. He already knew that he could have broken out of there, but how long would it take before he managed it? How many failed attempts would be made before succeeding?
As he stared into the water, lost in thought, he saw another reflection walk up beside him. Pale yellow eyes shone out at him from the water. He felt someone sit next to him, then felt more people approach him carefully from behind. One of them stepped on a twig, which made a sharp snap ring out. Three angered shushes sounded out after that, then silence reigned once more.
And then, Donnie felt a small head on his arm. The other presences approached as well, their reflections showing up in the water, sitting beside him. Pressure from more heads was laid upon his arms.
After a few minutes, the sound of soft sobbing broke out.
After a couple of days, Donnie started feeling better. He got back to teaching the kids within two weeks, with Rev and some other kids coming over to visit on occasion. He still missed his brothers and wished they were safe and with him, but he was content to wait as patiently as possible and see if the humans could find them. If not, then… well, he'd have no choice but to leave, wouldn't he?
"50!" exclaimed one of the kids, making Donnie jump. He was lost in thought, something that hadn't happened since he was brought there. He smiled at Rev, who was the one to shout. He applauded her.
"Nice job, guys!" he said. "Go ahead and play."
The kids cheered and ran off. Only Buddy stayed behind, looking a little nervous and staring at his fingers. Donnie crouched down in front of him.
"What's wrong, Buddy?" he asked. Buddy shrugged and glanced to the left in the direction the kids had run off.
"Are you ok Mr. Don?" he asked, raising his eyes to Donnie. Donnie smiled at him sadly.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he said softly. Buddy nodded and hugged Donnie, wrapping his arms around the much bigger turtle's neck.
"Good," he said. "Cause I want you to be happy."
Donnie hugged him back, feeling grateful to the little turtle.
"I promise, I'm alright," he assured him. He let go of Buddy, who backed away slightly and turned to look at his friends, who were playing Tag. Donnie chuckled.
"Go ahead and play," he said. Buddy smiled and ran off, catching up with his friends.
Donnie smiled to himself and made his way back to the pond.
Buddy panted slightly as he approached his friends. They paused in their game to welcome him.
"What took you so long?" Rex asked. Buddy shrugged.
"Sorry," he said. "I wanted to make sure Mr. Don is ok."
"Why do you call him 'Mr. Don'?" Kyla asked. Lotus smiled at her.
"It's because he's our teacher and it's fun to say!" she said. Kyla nodded. It made sense to her. Buddy looked in the direction of the pond, seeing Mr. Don making a bunch of different poses. He wondered what exactly he was doing.
"Should we invite Mr. Don to play with us?" Rev asked. Spooky mewed and nudged her head against Buddy's arm.
Buddy smiled down at her. She was crouched over, a result of not quite being able to stand yet. Buddy remembered when he and his friends were like that – not able to stand, not able to say a lot. His mind flashed back to the woman that had been assigned as their teacher. Her terrifying smile, the dark look in her eyes…
He took a deep breath. Mr. Don got rid of her. She wouldn't bother them anymore.
He glanced back at Mr. Don, who was still doing those poses. He didn't notice Rev glance in his direction as well. Buddy turned his attention to his friends again, this time, with a smile.
"Yeah, let's invite him to play!" he said.
Donnie took a deep breath. His eyes were closed, his breathing even. He performed another kata.
He peeked one eye open when he heard someone running towards him. Then, another. He opened both eyes and turned his head to see all of the kids running up to him. He stood straight, breaking his form.
"What's the matter?" he asked. Buddy jumped up and grabbed his left hand, and Lotus started tugging on his right one. They were laughing.
"Play with us, play with us!" they chanted. Donnie pulled back a little bit, making their job a little harder. He shifted his feet so that they were planted firmly. He wasn't going anywhere.
"Hold on… what?" he asked. He saw Rev run around behind him and start pushing him. He still didn't budge. Then, Rex, Bumper, Branch, Kyla, Spooky, and August grabbed Buddy and Lotus and tried to help them pull Donnie along. He wouldn't move.
"We want you to play with us!" Buddy groaned, pulling hard. Donnie's eyes widened, making the kids laugh.
"W-what? I can't," he said, lifting his arms. He dragged the kids up with him, making them burst into laughter. Donnie didn't realize that kids are so light.
"Higher!" they shouted. Donnie's face went a little red. He lifted his arms higher, and the kids cheered. Donnie sighed. Guess I won't be finishing my katas…
"Alright, alright," he said. He lowered his arms so the kids could climb off. They did so, giggling. Rev walked around from behind him to join the others. "What are we playing?"
"Hide-and-go-seek!" Kyla shouted, forcing an arm in the air. The other kids cheered, totally accepting the game. Donnie let out another sigh.
"Fine. Who's it?" he asked. The kids huddled together and started whispering quietly. Donnie rolled his eyes, knowing that they were actually just making a bunch of sounds to make it seem like they were whispering. Finally, they looked up at him.
"I'm it!" Buddy shouted. He covered his eyes and started counting.
"One, two, three, four- "
The kids all ran off, giggling and laughing. Donnie climbed a tree. He wasn't the best at Hide-and-Seek, but being a ninja trained in stealth, he would be the last one found. He yawned and stretched out.
This wouldn't take long.
Amy nodded, though she couldn't see the person on the other end of the phone.
" Are you sure?" asked the person. Amy nodded again before answering.
"Yes, I'm completely sure," she said, conviction lacing every second of her words. There was silence on the other end.
" It'll be delivered in one week," he said. Amy's heart skipped a beat.
"Thank you," she said. Before the guy could change his mind or up his price, she hung up. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
One week. That would work. She only hoped that this was who she was looking for. It would be horrible if she got it .