--August 2nd, 1998; 1:47am
     At the farm house, Wendy tossed and whimpered in her sleep, lost in a nightmare.
     Beside her, Leonardo’s brow furrowed, as if in confusion or pain.
     In the next room, Michaelangelo cried out softly at the horrible visions in his mind.
     Donatello lay with his hands laced behind his head, staring at the ceiling.  He couldn’t quite pick up on the source of the distress, but something tickled on the edge of his mind.  He sighed in frustration.
     Splinter sat quietly in his dimly lit room, meditating.  He could sense tension from some of his students, which in a way pleased him.  They were learning to feel each other’s thoughts and emotions.  He had hoped that the uneasiness he had been feeling would simply pass, but when he discovered his students were sensing it too he could no longer ignore it.
     . . . all knew that something was going to happen.

***

--August 2nd, 1998; 5:35am
     “Wendy!  Wendy!!”  Leo shook her roughly.  Her eyes flew open, full of fear, then focused on Leo.  “You were screaming,”  He told her, his voice full of concern.
     “Mona, Raph . . . something’s wrong!”  the words were screaming through her brain like bullets.
     “What do you mean?”  Leo asked, even though he had a very good idea what she meant, because he sensed it too.
     “We gotta get to them!!”  Wendy threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed.
     Leo glanced at the clock.  It read 5:37am.  A thought hit him.  “Casey and April are in the city.”
     “Call them!” Wendy cried as Leo stood up and reached for his bandana.  “Both of them!  Send Casey to the Lair and tell April to get here as fast as she can!!”
     “Where are you going?”  Leo called as she left the bedroom.
     “To find Splinter!”
 
     In the next room, Mike jerked awake, crying out in fear.  It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t in the forest but in his own bed.  Then, he disentangled himself from the sheets and fled the room, hoping to leave the nightmares behind him as well.
 

--August 2nd, 1998; 5:23am
     Mona and Raphael sat snuggled together on the couch.  Most of the candles had burned themselves out in the night, but a few still glowed.
     “Such a good idea to come down here for the weekend,” Raph sighed.
     “It was easier for me to give you your anniversary present this way,” she grinned.
     “And what a great gift it was,” he kissed her neck, “Thank you.”
     Chuckling, Mona turned to face him, “The pleasure was all mine,” She whispered, then kissed him deeply.
     A loud crash interrupted them.  They jerked their heads to look at the door, which was now lying on the Lair floor.
     “What the hell?”  Raph peered around.  The breeze created by the flying door put out all but two of the candles.
     “Shh,”  Mona Lisa whispered, “Listen!”  The sounds of thick, heavy breathing filled the Lair.  A strange array of odors reached them.  Slowly, a dark form with glowing eyes stepped through the doorway, followed by another, then another and another.
     Raphael and Mona were on there feet in a flash.  The creatures before them made strange snuffing noises.  A growl escaped one of the larger ones.  A short one hissed in reply.  The tallest figure croaked eagerly, “Yes, her.”
     At those words Raph leapt over the couch in an attempt to tackle the intruder.  But the tall creature jumped straight up, reaching unreal height, and fastened himself to the ceiling.  “What the f--” Raph was cut off by the hissing creature slamming into him.  He shoved it away and kicked, surprised to find this intruder felt furry.  Before he could give it any more thought another attacker was on him.  Raph cursed himself for forgetting about the others.
     Mona sensed one of the creatures approaching.  It reached out swiftly and latched onto her arm.  It’s grasp gave her the horrible feeling of having a bug crawling on her skin.  She cried out in disgust and shoved the thing away.  It chirped and clicked strangely then came at her again.  A roundhouse kick sent it sprawling.  Mona heard it land heavily.  After a moment it began to squall urgently.  In the dim light she could make out what looked like a huge bug lying on it’s back, trying to right itself without success.  “What’s going on here?!”  There was a rush of air down her back, making her spin.  Before she could even react a pair of vice-like hands grabbed her upper arms.  A huge reptilian face hovered very near to hers, and she screamed in fear and pain.
     Raph snarled at the sound of Mona’s cry.  His hand wrapped tightly around the small squeaking creature’s neck.  It thrashed and clawed at his arm, trying to free itself.  A pair of huge paws hooked into Raph’s other arm, digging it’s long claws into his flesh.  Raph grunted in pain and swung the smaller beast into the large one.  They yipped and squeaked, tangling in each others legs and tripping over one another.  Raph glared down at them, then turned to look at the struggle between Mona and the ceiling dweller.  He didn’t even hear the large hairy creature get to it’s feet.  A sudden pain hit the back of his head.  There was a bright flash then Raphael knew nothing more.
     The huge reptile released one of Mona’s arms to backhand her across her face.  It struck the other side of her face with the palm side of its hand on the backswing.  The world spun and she saw bright flashes before her eyes.  It latched onto her arm again and shook her until Mona thought her head might snap off.  A crash made the creature stop.  Mona Lisa raised her head slowly and managed to focus on another of the monsters.  It was panting, staring down at the floor with the broken neck of the wine bottle in it’s hand.
     “No. . . Raph!”  Mona cried out weakly.  Her call received her another slap, and blood poured from a split in her lower lip.  A pair of rock-hard hairy arms wrapped around her pinning her arms to her sides.  She moaned as the arms began to squeeze her, pushing the air from her lungs.
     The reptile lowered his face to Mona’s again, caressed her cheek and whispered harshly, “Her. . .”
     Mona Lisa began to panic as she gasped for breath.  Scarcely aware of what she was doing, she opened all of her mental channels and sent out a message of distress: “Please help!” it said.  The message resonated in her brain as she was slowly swallowed by darkness.
 

--August 2nd, 1998; 5:41am
     As Wendy was kneeling before a meditating Splinter, and as Mike stood supporting himself on the sink, peering into his reflection’s eyes, and as Leo was reaching for the phone to call April, and as Don slept uneasily, a cry swept over the farm house.  It was not a physical sound but a mental one, and it was a voice all who felt it recognized immediately.  Wendy clutched her head in pain as the words tore through her mind.  Mike convulsed and vomited into the sink.  Leo dropped the phone and gasped as if he had be surprised by something.  Don’s eyes snapped open, suddenly very awake.  Splinter continued to meditate, his physical body in a trance-state, but his mind was in turmoil.  He had been alerted to the trouble while meditating before his morning exercises, and allowed himself to slip deeper and send himself out to find the disturbance.  Mona Lisa’s cry confirmed that there was great danger.  But as he tried to contact them, he found that both of his students were only faintly there, and unable to respond.  So he returned to the physical world and opened his eyes to find Wendy crumpled before him.  He placed his hand on her head, causing her to lift it and look into his eyes.
     “Oh, Splinter. . .” She groaned weakly.
     “I know, my student,” the rat nodded.  “I heard it, too.  We will help them.”
     “What is it?  What’s wrong?  What’s going on?”  Wendy whimpered.  “It hurts so bad. . .”
     “I do not know exactly,” Splinter admitted, “But we will find out.”
 

--August 2nd, 1998; 7:44am
     Mona opened her eyes slowly as her senses returned.  Her head was throbbing, and every breath caused pain in her aching ribs.  She groaned and evaluated herself, deciding nothing was broken.  She was half-standing, half-hanging against a cold, concrete wall.  Her hands, tied together at the wrists, were extended above her head and attached to the wall.  Her hands were numb from hanging, but she could feel blood trickling down her arms from where the shackles were biting into her wrists.  The room was completely dark; she couldn’t see anything, thus had no idea what her cell looked like, or even how large it was.  Mona Lisa became aware of a garment on her body.  Though she could not see it, she thought it was made of satin and quite short with thin straps.  What was going on?  Where were those creatures?  What were those creatures?  Why did they do this?  Her thoughts were interrupted by a blinding light.  It stabbed into her throbbing head, and so she squeezed her eyes shut to block it out.  After a few moments the light was gone with the sound of a door clicking shut.  Mona Lisa could feel her heart pound faster in her aching chest and her breath quickened with fear.  She could sense a presence closing in on her.  She drew in a sharp breath as a hand caressed her cheek.
     “At last,” Came a husky voice, one Mona found somehow familiar, but could not place.  The hand slid around, a thumb gently brushing her lips.  To add to the confusion, she counted five fingers.  A human?  A second hand joined the first, touching and caressing her face lovingly.  The hands slipped down her throat and armpits; She grimaced as they slid down further to her breasts, then cried out weakly as the human pressed against her, sending shooting pains through her ribs.  She could now feel a large, hard bulge pressing into her crotch. . . uh oh.
    The man’s hot breath fell against her face, “How I’ve missed you,” he spoke again.
     The voice finally struck home.  “Oh God!”  Mona gasped, part in surprise and part in pain as he shifted against her, “Dr. Zachary!?”
     His stubbly cheek pressed against hers as he whispered, “Yes.  So you do remember."
***
     Mona closed her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth as he slowly began to move against her.  She tried not to feel his hands on her body, and prayed it would all be over soon.
 

--August 2nd, 1998; 6:34am
     Casey jogged toward the Lair, letting his feet guide him through the familiar route and trying not to let his mind jump to conclusions.  Leo had phoned him;  The turtle had tried to sound calm, but Casey could sense a kind of panic in his voice.  Leo had asked if Casey would go to the lair and make sure everything was ok there.  He wouldn’t tell him what was wrong, but Casey knew if Leo sounded worried, then something must be going on--
     Casey’s thoughts and feet were stopped short when he reached the Lair door.  It was no longer there, and Casey could make out some strange marks and blood on the ground.  He slowly approached the open doorway, cautious of anyone or anything still inside.  But all thoughts of cautiousness evaporated when he peered into the lair.
    Raph was lying sprawled on the floor, broken glass all around him and a wicked, bleeding knot on the back of his head.
    Casey ran to him, kneeling at Raph’s side.  “Raph, man?  Hey, wake up!”  He shook his friend, glad to see he was even still breathing.  Slowly, Raph finally began to stir.  He moaned and tried to sit up, but was unable to do so.  Casey took a towel and dipped it into icy water that remained in the wine bucket, then gently touched it to the back of Raph’s head.  The turtle grunted and twitched, but didn’t move or struggle.  After a few minutes, He was able to sit up, with Casey’s help, and hold the towel to his head himself.  “What happened?”  Casey finally asked.
     Raph’s brow clouded for a moment as he tried to remember, then his eyes grew huge, then filled with rage as he tried to lunge for the door.  Casey moved to stop him, but didn’t need to because Raph wasn’t even able to get to his feet.  The turtle dropped heavily back to the floor with a groan, his eyes shut tightly.  He swayed, and Casey was afraid he might pass out again.  But after a moment Raph’s eyes slitted open again and slid over to look at Casey.  “They got her. . . Those bastards took her!”
     “Who?  Who took her?”  Casey gripped Raph’s shoulders.
     “Those. . . Monsters, those creatures!  Somehow, they found the Lair, ambushed us.  One of them got me with the wine bottle on the back of the head before I could save her.” Raph gingerly felt the knot on his head.
     “Monsters?” There was doubt in Casey’s voice.
     “Dammit!”  Raph slammed his fist against the floor, “There were only four of them!  But they fought like wild animals; they WERE wild animals!  Now they got her, they’ve taken her Christ knows were and are doing God knows what to her!!  I’ve gotta go get her!!”
     “Whoa slow down!”  Casey tightened his grip on Raph’s shoulders.  “Take a load off.  The other’s will be here soon, then we’ll figure out what to do.”
     Raph started to argue, but his throbbing head made him decide Casey was right.  He pushed down his anger;  He’d have a chance to release it soon enough.  Then, those. . . things would pay.
 

--August 2nd, 1998; 7:21am
     Mike sat slumped in the back of April’s van.  His face was drawn, anxious and pale, so unlike any expression he had ever worn before.  He stared down at his toes, scarcely moving.  Wendy sat beside him.  Her feet hanging two inches from the floor, her head back against the seat, her eyes closed.  Next to her was Leo, glancing back and forth between the two of them with great concern.  He was lightly touching the lined wastebasket on the floor they had brought due to Mike’s earlier problem.  Don rode shotgun, trying to explain to April what little he knew of the happenings of the morning.  April had the same uneasy feeling that Don had, but like him she had been unable to place it.  Wendy released a shuttering sigh, drawing Leo’s attention from Don and April’s conversation.
     Mike was felt as if his soul was being torn at.  He couldn’t stand not knowing what was happening to Mona.  So, relying on his past experience, he relaxed and closed his eyes.  He let himself reach out mentally.  At first, Mike got nothing.  He was about to give up when a sudden, sharp pain shot through his ribs.  He gasped but did not leave his trance.  His heart was pounding in his chest as he felt invisible hands caress his face.  He suddenly realized he must somehow be feeling what Mona was feeling.  He began to panic, then screamed as there was a terrible, ripping pain, a horrifying feeling of having his body invaded. . . violated. . .
     “Mike. . .” Leo’s voice came to him from far away as Mike felt his body being jerked by the unseen offender;  He was feeling, as Mona felt, each thrust of the intruder’s hips.  He cried out helplessly. . . “Mike!”  Leo’s voice sounded closer.
     “Help, help me!” Mike tried to whimper, but couldn’t.  Suddenly his eyes snapped open, and he saw Leo and Wendy’s face come into view.  He tried to speak, but his insides seemed to heave and all he could manage was a retching sound.  Luckily Leo had the wastebasket handy.  It was jerked under his face and he was violently sick.
     Wendy gently wiped Mike’s mouth as he sat back.  He looked utterly wiped out as tears streamed down from his pain-clouded eyes.  “What happened?” She asked.  “What did you do?”
     After a few moments, Mike managed to croak, “I connected with Mona.”  New tears shined in his eyes as he choked down a sob.  “Christ. . . Oh God. . .”
     “What happened?”  Wendy asked again, Leo touched his brother’s hand.
     “He. . .She was. . .” Mike’s voice shook.  “Someone. . . was. . . r-raping her!”
     “What!?”  Leo cried.  “Who?”
     “I don’t know. . .” Mike shook his head.  “I felt. . . what she was feeling.  I felt the bastard. . . force himself on her. . . God!  God help her. . . and us. . .”
     Wendy and Leo looked at each other, the uneasiness rising to fear.
     God help them. . .

(*** = indicate an edit from the original text.  For a “director’s cut” version of this chapter, e-mail me.)