Another Beginning

Chapter 1: Escape

{Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT or the characters}
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The cold water hit him hard, and he could feel his body tense up uncontrollably, his muscles cramping. It took everything he had just to keep from breathing in, and he couldn't help it when he lost his grip on 'A's arm.

He forced himself to recover from the shock of the frigid water and, pushing against his stiff muscles, flailed blindly, trying to grab onto 'A' again.

As far as he new 'A' would try to go back for 'C', and that wasn't an option now. He couldn't let 'A' do something so illogical, not when the rest of them were so close. It would jeopardize everything they had worked so long and hard for.

He opened his eyes, and was terrified to see pitch black. The water was so murky, he couldn't see in any particular direction, and the darkness underneath him seemed to extend to the center of the earth. His eyes stung from the contaminated liquid that pressed him in on all sides.

A hand suddenly grabbed onto his shoulder and he swirled around in alarm, but was relieved to see it was only 'A'. His green form was blurry, but he easily saw the elder pointing upward urgently.

He nodded at 'A' in recognition and began to paddle clumsily upward, looking back once to make sure his fellow turtle was following.

'A' glanced back at the place they had come from, hesitant to follow his comrade to the surface and, ultimately, freedom.

But, much to 'B's relief, 'A' reluctantly followed after him.

'B' didn't know how far they had to go until they reached the surface, though it felt like they had already been swimming for an eternity, before his lungs began to burn.

The only thing that made them stop was a strange screeching sound that carried through the water. Long and loud.

His eyes widened as he instinctively spun around in the thick liquid to look for the source.

Glancing down he saw 'A' looking back at him shaking his head urgently and gesturing to keep swimming up.

'B' hesitated as the screeching dulled to a sort of siren like creaking sound. 'A' swam over to him and began to pull him up in a panic.

'B' caught on to the message his comrade was sending and began to swim harder upwards, quickly passing the elder.

'A' allowed it, his eyes wide as he scanned the murky water surrounding them, before following closely behind.

The moaning screech had slowly faded away, leaving only the sound of swishing water as the two figures paddled as quickly as they could.
Finally 'B' could see wavering yellow lights flickering above, and his heart leapt into his throat.

The surface. They were almost there!
'B' couldn't help the feeling of excitement bubbling up in his chest.

Then the sirens returned. And it sounded much closer than before. There was a sort of chortling vibration that followed the strange call and 'B' had a strange electric feeling run through his body. Static seemed to buzz in his jaw and ears, and he was hit with a sudden urgency to just get out of the water.

His heart pounded in his chest as adrenaline began to flow through his veins, and his lungs burned unbearably from lack of air.

He felt the static in his skull spike suddenly, turning into a high pitched shriek. That was when he heard a muffled scream in the water behind him. He spun around in the cold water, and looked down. Instantly he regretted it, his gut clenching in pure terror at what he saw.