From The Shadows || TMNT 2012 FanFiction (BOOK 1)

Chapter 13. Noah's Message

     When Carrie awoke in the morning she was no longer laying on the desk. She wasn't in her room either. Instead, she was laying on the cold concrete floor with a pillow and a blanket.

     She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Donatello sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen and tapping his fingers against the desk. Carrie got up and leaned over his shoulder, wondering what he was watching so intently.

     "What are you doing?" Carrie asks.

     "I'm trying to find a way to crack Noah's code."

     "You finished the puzzle?"

     "Yes."

     "So what's your computer doing?"

     "I sent pictures of the message into this computer program I created. It's going through every language and secret code known to man and comparing them to Noah's message."

     Carrie looked over the message. It looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. She figured she was just tired, which she was. Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't be able to fall back asleep and she knew it.

     "I've seen this before," Carrie mentions. She taps her chin. "I know I have."

     Donnie frowns. He had never seen this kind of writing before. How had Carrie seen it but not him? He knew everything.

     The more she stared at the writing the more familiar it became. Carrie had certainly seen it before and she felt that she had used it a long time ago. She traced her memories back to her early childhood when she was merely six years old.

     "Oh my," Carrie whispers. She leans against the desk. "It's my secret code."

     Donnie looks up at her. "Your secret code?"

     Carrie nods. "When I was six, maybe even before that, I came up with a code using these scribbles. I showed my dad what everything meant and would pass him secret messages any chance I got. We'd send notes back and forth for a while. I grew out of it at one point and hadn't used it or even thought about it since."

     Donnie shut his computer, stood up from his chair, and offered it to Carrie. "Can you translate it?"

     Carrie accepted the chair and took a seat in front of the message. "It'll just take a while. I don't remember everything."

     "That's fine. Fill in all the letters you know and we can figure the rest out to put the sentences together."

     "That's the thing though. Not all these symbols represent letters. I remember some mean certain colors and numbers that I identified with a phrase or emotion."

     "You must've been a complicated child."

     Carrie shrugs. "I just went through a phase. I was really into that spy life."

     Donatello rummaged through his drawers trying to find an empty notebook. Most of them were filled with different equations, formulas, and ideas for inventions. He struggled to find an empty one but found one eventually. Donnie gave the book to Carrie along with a pen.

     "You can use this to start translating. You need anything to eat or drink?"

     "I am pretty hungry."

     "You start working. I'll get you breakfast."

     Carrie smiled and began translating the message. Some she could remember easily, others she would have to leave for the end. But she was happy that she could wake up and start working. Carrie appreciated Donatello's support and help. He didn't try to slow her down and make her take her sweet time eating. She was glad he encouraged her to start working immediately.