Chapter Text
It hurts
That was the first thought he was aware of. Pain was everywhere. It dominated over any other sense
What happened?
He'd never felt pain like this. That much was for certain. His entire being ached. Each breath brought sharp needles impaling him. He could only take tiny bits of air lest his lungs move his ribs
It doesn't smell like home.
He smelled metal. And...dirty fabric. It smelled soulless and cold. The air smelled cold
It was cold.
Every breath was like snow, an air conditioner piped directly into his lungs. Every breast sapped his warmth from his blood
Home wasn't this cold.
It felt like he was outside in a metal shed. The cold seemed to radiate from every direction. Around him and under him. Was he lying on top of metal
At least the cold was numbing the pain a little.
Ache…
The pain seems to suck out the strength from every corner of his body. He doubted he could even wiggle his fingers.
Breathing hurt.
His ribs ached. Expanding with every breath he took. He could feel with every inhale of freezing cold air his lungs grew and moved his ribs that small amount which pulled more pain out from him. A dull pain that made its presence aware with every breath he took.
Warmth…
There was a warmth that soaked into his side. A warmth on the left side of his body, but not the other. A warmth that was most welcome amongst the cold that surrounded him. A warmth that surrounded his arm and hand, and was pressed against his side and laid on his shoulder.
Weight…
There was weight pressed against him. Weight that layed on his arm and shoulder, right where the warmth was coming from.
Breathing…
The weight was breathing. The air moved through the fur on his neck. Cold air when the weight breathed in, warm air when the weight breathed out. The cold air moved through his fur sending chills through him, then warmth caressed through his fur soothing his skin.
Arms…
Warm arms wrapped around his left arm. His arm was being hugged by someone. Someone warm, the only warmth that he could feel.
Wait… who was giving him warmth? Someone warm blooded. Someone whose body radiated warmth into him, not entirely unwelcome considering the cold around him. But he should be the one giving warmth to them, not the other way around. He was cold and they warmed him. They flashed through his mind. His sons. They were half turtle. They were always colder than him. Not fully warm-blooded like the weight that held onto his arm, radiating warmth into him keeping his blood above freezing. This was someone with longer arms, and bigger lungs that breathed more air through his fur then they should have. This wasn't one of his sons. Who was next to him?
He decided he should turn his head to see, but first he should make sure the mystery person was asleep. He laid there silent and still, not moving a muscle. Except breathing, he kept doing that in case the other should notice that he had stopped and was holding his breath. As he laid there unmoving, he thought that he should take stock of his situation.
He was freezing and his entire body was in pain. No, he wasn't just in pain. He was in agony. His face was numb, his ribs stung with pain with even the smallest of breaths, and his abdomen felt like he'd fallen three stories only to land belly first on a giant boulder. He didn't know where he was, but it didn't smell like home. A mystery person was clinging to him and he couldn't remember how he got here. He didn't know how far he was from home or how long he had been asleep. He was completely in the dark, figuratively and literally as there was no light that penetrated his eyelids. Was he blind? No, probably not. But no way to know until he opened his eyes.
He tried cracking open an eyelid to glance around him. Tried. The muscle moved but the eye stayed shut. He tried again to crack his eye open, but his eye never parted open. He tried slightly squinting his eye and felt that his eyes were practically swollen shut.
His face hurt so much. And the rest of him just as much so. What happened last night? He remembered his sons were on patrol, and April remained behind studying her books. A bright white cast on her leg.
He was walking her through the sewer. Walking her home. Back to her apartment to spend Christmas Eve with her father. And then...
He remembered nothing after that. Where was April? Was she all right? Were they captured? Was April the one hugging his arm right now?
He listened. Listening to the sound of the other person breathing. The breaths were deep and long. He thought back to meditation sessions with April. The sound of her breathing. Her figure much smaller than his and her breathing not as deep. He could feel the mystery persons foot pressed against his foot. Their head was on his shoulder. They were about as tall as he was, well ignoring his long neck and tall ears he's had ever since becoming a rat. The person holding his arm was not April. Was it another prisoner? Was it his captor? He had no answers. He wouldn't find any till he could at least see what was around him. The smells and sound gave him nothing. It was quiet. It smells were unfamiliar. And he couldn't see. What other senses did he have? Taste. Touch. Those meant nothing now. Anything that didn't hurt was numb.
Blood...
He tasted blood. It was faint but it was there. This was not good. Whatever happened before now was not good. He needed answers.
The only place he could get answers from right now was the person next to him. What if they were an enemy? What if letting them stay asleep with his best option at escape? What if waking them up with the worst thing he could do? He needed to know what kind of person was next to him before trying to speak to them.
Senses. He had more than five. He remembered learning that in training. He was taught he could see the aura off others in meditation. Perhaps, maybe, he could enter meditation right where he lay. Try to determine what kind of person was next to him. True he wasn't exactly in his normal body position for meditation, but maybe he could manage.
The pain kept pulling at his mind. Pain he did not know how he received. His injuries could be killing him right now. What if trying to enter meditation was the last thing he ever did? What if he had to get up and move now to make it out of there alive? To get April out alive? Was she still alive? These questions and others kept asking themselves in his head, keeping him from silencing his mind.
*inhale*
The person next to him drew in a deep breath. A loud breath.
"mmmmmmmhhhh..."
The mystery person sighed. The sigh of someone who just awoke.
Splinter stayed completely still. Not giving any indication that he was awake. The mystery person must be allowed to think that Splinter was still asleep.
The mystery person shifted. Scooting bits of his body up and down to get more comfortable. Not an easy task on the hard surface they laid on. In their movements their arms adjusted their grip around Splinter's arm. An arm nudged the side of his ribs. White hot flaring pain immediately shot through his ribs from the spot where the arm contacted him.
*whimper*
Spinner froze. That sound came from him. He had let out a whimper. He was barely touched, the smallest bump of the mystery persons arm on his ribs and it was agonizing enough to make him break his silence. Now all he could do was be silent again and hope the mystery individual next to him didn't notice.
Their breathing stopped.
Whoever was holding his arm was holding their breath. The mystery person lifted their head and took in a tiny breath, the sound of the inhale right next to Splinter's face. As they held their breath Splinter laid as still as he could & let himself breath normally, trying to seem asleep.
"you awake?" a man's voice asked.
Splinter swore in his head.