AQUADUCT: TWO

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I drop down from the five-story building, landing steadily on my feet.
Sometimes I just pretend that I'm dead when I hit the ground, so that someone will come over and check on me.Then I usually bite them. Or just scare them. Or let them take me to the morgue.

I never thought a person could lie that still. But then again, I'm not a person, am I? That's a question I ask myself rather frequently. And I can never come up with an answer. What is a person? What defines a person? That he or she fits into society? That can't be it.

I admit I've been following him around. Spying on him. It's for fun. It's not like I have anything better to do, is it?
That's a question I can answer.

I'm restless.
Sleepless nights. Sleepless days. I never sleep anymore. And I hate the fact that it doesn't even make me look tired.
My body is never going to change again.

He's turning the corner now. It almost makes me giggle. He doesn't think that anyone sees him.
No matter how stealthily or fast he moves, he can never outdo me. I got my skills in a matter of seconds, while he--
Well...I don't know how they learned to fight. Maybe they were originally humans? Got transformed like I did?
It must've been a hell of a transformation, in that case.

They look much less human than I do.

I take a few quick steps, and he's within eyesight again. I move like a living shadow. At times I imagine that I am the shadow. Feels like it, anyhow.

Maybe I wanna catch him again tonight. Haven't touched him since that night a few weeks ago.
It was kind of nice to hold him, to have contact, even if it wasn't human contact, and a frightened, reluctant contact to booth.

I grab his arm from behind, and lift him up. He slips out of my arms. He seems to be ready?
I see something blinking, and feel a sharp, but shortly lasting  pain in my stomach. Has he stabbed me?

I blink and feel the spot. Why did I bother to check? I never get hurt. Maybe I'm thinking they have some sort of supernatural strenght too? But they don't. I've seen them.

He leaves quickly, right after he stabbed me, but in a few seconds I'm standing behind him again. I touch his shoulder.
He spins around and stabs me again. I sigh impatiently. He looks confused and shocked.

"Holy motherfuckah," he curses under his breath, "who are you, lady?"

Wh-- shit, that's not him-- It's one of the others! How could I have been so stupid? Well, they do look kind of alike, but I've got excellent night vision, and should've known...

"Bye," I reply hastily and run away. He chases after me a couple of blocks, but soon gives up.

Suddenly, I stop. Why did I run away? Why? It's not like I'm afraid or anything, so why?
Just because it's the wrong turtle? I don't really care. I could use some company tonight. I hurry back-- not expecting to find him there, which is right-- and follow his scent. It's not hard, for their scent is so different from all the human ones.

Who was that woman?
I was so freaked when she grabbed me that I stabbed her. Weird... she didn't even say "ouch"!
And then she followed after me again? I know I couldn't have missed her twice with my sai, and I know she wasn't wearing a metal jacket or anything. I felt it cut through her flesh.
She wasn't hurt that time either.
When I spoke, she just bailed on me, acting like she'd got the wrong the wrong person. She probably has, cause I'm sure I dunno who she is.

God, maybe she didn't realize that she'd been injured yet? Maybe she's lying somewhere bleeding and-- hey, she practically pounced on me, grabbed my arm and tried to kidnap me or something-- what was I supposed to do? It's her fault, and none of my business. Aww, shit...I gotta go back.

I shake my head at my stupid decision, turn, and find myself looking straight into the face of the same woman I just ran my sai through.

"Hey," she says softly.

No way she could've gotten back that fast.

I take a step back and make sure she can't see my face. "Look, lady-- I just stabbed you with my sais, and they're not in need of new batteries or anything, if you see what I mean, so how come you ain't dyin' right now?"

"Well, well, well..." she replies.

"Well, well, well?"

"That's the way you talk to someone you just think you killed?"

"I'm smelling something fishy 'bout you, that's why," I tell her.

She smiles, and even if I don't want to show that I'm scared, I have to gasp at the sight of her two long, sharp teeth.
Geez, those are fangs, dammit! Killer fangs! Indeed I said fishy...!

"Well?" she says expectantly.

I slowly back away. I'm not gonna be fish bait for no damn vampire. Not this turtle!

"You're a vampire," I state, voice low. Smooth, Raph. Like she doesn't know that!

In a flash, she's snatched my hat off my head, and I cover my head with my hands in a futile attempt to avoid exposing myself.

"You're going to cover that green head of yours with those green hands?" she shakes her hands in a patronizing way.
"Not much help, is it?"

"Well, at least I don't look like some bat on the loose," I say, referring to her teeth.

She smiles again, and suddenly her teeth seem to extract into her mouth. A perfectly normal smile is there in it's place.
Smooth, white, human teeth.

"Neat, huh?" she beams.

"Terrific," I mutter and back further away. Only now she's behind me. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Relax," she breaths into my ear, "I'm not gonna bite you."

"Like hell you're not,"

"Really," she says solemly.

"Get away, I don't have time for this shit, I was on my way home!"

"Oh! Can I come?" she asks with downright enthusiasm, stepping in front of me again, an eager and almost childish expression on her face.

"Shyeah, right!" I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"Please?"

Why is she asking? I bet she could just fly on over if she wanted to, or just bite me and make me take her there...I shudder at the thought.

"Why are you shaking?"

"No reason." Damn, how did she notice that?

"Please?" she continues her nagging, "Because I can't get in unless you invite me in."

"Yeah? That's tough, lady." Good. If this nutty vampire babe is telling the truth, then there's at least one place where I'm safe.

I start walking away, praying to whatever's up there, or down there, that she won't follow me.
What's up with her anyway? One moment she's harassing me and trying to scare me with flashing me her fangs, and the other one she's begging me to take her home with me? She's definitely a nutcase.

"Hey! Don't call me lady like that, cause I'm not older than you,"

I spin around, but quickly realize that she's actually walking beside me. She's so fast it's scary.

She hooks her arm into mine, and pulls something out of her pocket. I stiffen at the movement. What is she doing? Why is she holding my arm?

"Gum?" she offers.

I can't believe this chick.

"Boring, boring, boring, boring, boring, boring--"

"Mike, can you please shut up?" Don calls from the kitchen.

"But I'm so bored!"

"Like we haven't noticed that already..." Don mumbles.

"I heard that," I state gleefully, hoping that at I can at least annoy Don into a pointless argument. And that really goes to show how bored I am.

"Of course," Don sighs and then nothing more comes out of him.

"Doo-on?"

Nothing.

I decide to go and badger Leo in stead. "Hey, Leeeeooo--" and that's all I say before I spot Raph coming around the corner with a a girl clinging to his leg like a five-year-old.
He groans as he's walking with effort with the weight of her, his leg dragging behind him.

"Uh, Raph...is there something we should know abo-- holy shitbreakes!!"

I yell as I discover exactly who it is that's clinging to his leg, then I stumble backwards like a bucket of rattle snakes have just been dumped into my lap-- and trip over the footstool.
"It's you, you're the, uh, the..." I stammer, crawling on the floor.

"Vampire," Raph and the vampire say in unison.

She scrambles up from the floor and the smile she directs at me is so big it almost reaches around her head.
Figuratively speaking.

"Hi! It's so great to see you!" She exclaims.

Raph scampers quickly past her, and she tries to grab him, but he makes it.
Don's finally awakened from his usual trance of reading, and appears in the doorway. "What's going on?"

I notice the vampire hasn't come into the livingroom. "Good evening," she greets Don, "may I come in?"

I look at Raph and he frantically shakes his head to say no.
Don raises his eyeridges at her black jeans, which are covered in dirt, apparently from being dragged across the sewers by Raph. "Um, yeah, sure..." He says slowly.
She smiles and steps inside.

"Don! Why didya hafta-- she's a vampire for cripes sake!"

"What?" Don says confusedly, "Wait a second, this is some kinda joke, right?" He adds.

Now Leo has joined us in the livingroom, and he's sizing up the newcomer with obvious suspicion, surprise and not a small deal of interest.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" He asks in the end.

"I dunno her name," Raph says, probably truthfully.

"Isabel," She beams, reaching out a hand to me. As social as I usually am, I don't wanna take it. "Don't you remember me at all? Don't you?" She then asks.

I nod silently. I do remember her-- geez, when a vampire suddenly come and carries you away, it's hardly something you forget!
"Yeah, I remember you...what are you doing here?"

"Girlfriends of yours?" Leo says.

"No, I don't even know her!"

"She seems to know you," he replies. Gotta hand that one to him.

"I followed you," the vampiress says bluntly.

"Aha," Don says ironically.

"I like you,"

I blink. "So you've decided to add me to your collection of undead bat-thingies because you like me so much?"

She laughs. "Actually, no. Life is..."

"What?"

"Nothing," she mutters, walks into the shadows where she seems to merge with them.

"She's gone?"

"I think so,"

"Spookular," I mumble.

"You better stay alert," Raph comments, "that chick is scary,"

Life is...what?
Too precious? But what is life? Am I not alive? I can move, I can talk, I...I can sure as hell be depressive.

People. I can see them through the window, in the light...they are surrounded by warmth-- they make warmth...I bet if I breathed on that window, there wouldn't be any steam...
I pull out a packet of gum from my inner pocket and put a piece in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. If I concentrate, I can pretend that the taste of the gum is blood and not strawberry. But I get nausceous-- I get nausceous from anything other than blood. And that fact makes me nausceous. And sometimes not. At times I just like to rip and tear and make things bleed, make things scream, whatever those things may be. Grown men, women, children, animals...whatever.

I think I'm being torn apart. Feels like it. But by what or whom, I do not know...I would get a shrink, but I would probably just end up eating him, if I could even find a shrink that works that late...

At last my vampire nature forces me to spit the gum out. It lands on somebody's head, someone far down there, I hear them cursing and yelling angrily, and an ever so slight grin forms on my tired, yet never-changing mouth.

I huddle closer together on the window sill, not because of the cold, but out of habit. I never freeze anymore.
Not from ordinary cold, only from the chill of my missing soul. About souls...it must still be there, for else I wouldn't be thinking this-- I wouldn't have feelings?
There are so many questions, but then again, I do have all the time I want...

I breathe on the window.

AQUADUCT: THREE

"Aquaduct" copyright of Lola S. Cubish '99

Lola S. Cubish's TMNT Sewer Lair
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