Janet was very quiet as she drove down the road. Alana didn't even think that she knew where she wanted to go. But finally, Janet pulled over in an empty parking lot in town and turned off the car. Alana looked at her sister who turned to face her and looked at her for a moment.
" What is it?" Alana asked, already getting agitated.
" Alana, I have been doing a lot of thinking and I think that sending you back to Spain will be good for the both of us. Actually, all of us." She said. Alana stared at Janet with daggered eyes.
" What?! What makes you think that?!" She yelled. Janet glared at her and gritted her teeth.
" Don't yell at me!" She growled. Alana turned to face her.
" You don't know what's in my best interest!" Alana hissed.
" Well I know that I can't handle you and I don't want the responsibility of a child!" Janet nearly yelled. Alana held back the urge to punch her sister as she stared into her brown eyes.
" I am not a child! What the hell have you done for me all this time? You go around with your little boyfriend all the time and you don't even ask how I am doing. What responsibility do have?!" Alana yelled and felt the tears fill her eyes. She didn't want to leave to Spain. She wanted to find the killers of her parents. She wasn't going to let Janet tell her where to go. Her birthday was only a few months ahead and she would be seventeen and able to make her own decisions.
" I can't handle you. I want a normal life." Janet said.
" Normal? Right? You're dating a giant turtle?!! How the hell are you supposed to have a normal life?!" Alana screamed. That was it. Janet slapped her hard across the face.
" I am sick and tired of you yelling at me! I wish I had sent you when all of this first happened! I want you to get the hell out of my life!! Is that truth enough for you?!" Janet yelled. She looked at Alana's face and for the first time, saw the true pain that she had caused. Alana felt the tears fill her eyes and spill over her cheeks.
" You don't want me? Fine....." Alana's trembling tone, turned angry.
" I don't need you in my fucking life either!" Alana growled and jumped out of the car and took off running.
" Alana! Alana get back here!!" Janet yelled after her, but Alana turned the corner and was gone. Janet drove around in her car, looking for her, but there was no sign of her.
" Shit...." Janet whispered and felt her own tears fill her eyes. How could she say that last thing to Alana? She hadn't meant to. She was just so angry with her sister and she honestly didn't know why. Janet turned and drove back to the reservoir and made her way back to the turtles lair. Leonardo came up and knew that something had gone wrong.
" She ran, Leo......I couldn't find her...." Janet said shakily. Leo nodded and ran to his brothers and Splinter to tell them what was going on. They nodded and grabbed their weapons and climbed the ladder to the manhole above their home. Splinter went with Janet and Leonardo. They would stay with April and Casey for the night, that way they could see if she went there for refuge.
Alana ran over to the police station and saw Officer Taylor walk out. The older woman turned to look at her.
" Alana, what's wrong?" She asked concerned.
" Nothing.....my sister just keeps fighting with me." She said.
" Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I know that this whole thing is really bothering the two of you." She said. Alana nodded and wanted to tell her about the watch she had found and the fact that the truck had chased her, but the news was already weeks old. It probably wouldn't do any good so she kept her mouth shut about it. She looked into the Officer's eyes and knew what she wanted to do then.
" Officer......can I ask a favor from you?"
" Sure, what is it?" She asked. She was already off duty so she didn't have to worry about where her time went.
" I want to put most of my stuff in storage for right now. Can you help me do that?" Alana asked, hoping that she would help her. Officer Taylor seemed to consider it for a moment and then nodded.
" Yeah I can do that. There's a nice storage place about thirty minutes from here. I don't think they close until nine." She said. It was only seven. She had two hours to get her things ready.
" Can I go get my things and meet you somewhere?" Alana asked. Officer Taylor nodded.
" Yeah, why don't you meet me back here in an hour?" She asked.
" I'll call them and tell them that we are coming down there." She added.
" Ok. It should be enough time, cause most of my stuff is still in boxes." She said.
" Ok. Do you want a ride?"
" Uhh.....no actually I parked the motorcycle a few blocks away. I just got off to walk around."
" Are you sure?" The Officer asked.
" Yeah." Alana lied. She hated to lie to such a nice woman, but she couldn't let her know where she was really staying.
" Ok then. I'll meet you back here." She said and headed to her police car. Alana nodded and took off running down the street and turned the corner. She quickly slid down one of the manholes and pulled the heavy cover over the opening. It was a good thing Raphael worked with her so much, cause she was a lot stronger than before. She ran down the tunnels and headed back to the lair. So many months down there, she thought she had the whole town memorized by sewer travel.
Alana crept up the lair opening, but everyone was gone. She quickly ran to her room and began to grab boxes and such. It was a good thing that Janet decided to bring the van down this time. Alana needed it right about now. She began to load her things into the van and then grabbed all her clothes and stuffed them into a box and shoved the box into the van too. She ran back to the room and looked around. A lot of the things that she would be taking with her on her trip, she threw into another box. She dragged the large oak chest to the van and managed to lift it into the van. There was a lot of junk that she put in there. A lot of it was drawings that she had secretly done and writings of her own that she never wanted anyone to see. There were pictures of her family and a few other things in that box that she didn't want to see for a long time. Alana was about to get into the van when she remembered something. She ran to the Javelin and opened the passenger door and reached under the seat and grabbed the leather case that sheathed her brand new sais. She pulled the Javelin keys from her pocket and set them on the car seat. She wouldn't take that car, because it would be easier to find her. Her motorcycle was broken down along with her fathers so she would have to find another vehicle to drive. She ran back to the van and looked back at the lair. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't now. All that mattered was that she would get away.
Alana jumped into the van and started it up with the spare key that she had on her key ring. She backed out and drove as fast as she could through the tunnels to the reservoir. It was already going to be 8:00 p.m. and she had to hurry to meet Officer Taylor. Alana stopped at the police station just in time to see Taylor get there. Alana remembered that her name was Beth, but she wasn't sure if she should call her that. She was an older woman and police officer, so she didn't know if it would be rude or not.
" Follow me, Alana." She said kindly and got into her car. It wasn't the police car she had seen before, it was a Ford Explorer. She followed the Officer close behind all the way to storage facility. They stopped and the Officer talked to the man and then asked for Alana's account information. She gave it to him and made sure that the man understood that anything to do with Alana Vega would remain confidential. When everything was finished, Alana drove her van to the room assigned to her and began to unload her things. Beth helped her and when it was all finished, she looked at Alana.
" Alana, I know what you are doing." She said. Alana looked at her, horrified.
" It's alright, Alana. I know that you and your sister are having problems and I know that you are scared. I am doing something I shouldn't do, by letting you go. You're almost seventeen and when you are, you'll be able to declare your independence. I hope that you have some place to go, Alana." Beth said.
" The other side of the United States sounds good to me." Alana said quietly.
" Do you have relatives that live there?"
" No, but my parents have some old friends that moved there. I'll ask for their help. I have my mom's phonebook. I just can't stay with Janet and she wants to send me back to Spain and I don't want to go." She said shakily. Beth nodded and hugged her.
" I want you to know that the whole department cares about you and we're not going to stop looking for the people that did this to your family. I want you to take care of yourself. Send a post card every once in a while, just to let us know that you're ok. I'm not going to tell Janet where you are going." Beth let her go and felt her own tears as she looked at the poor young girl in front of her. Her heart really went out to her. Alana nodded and looked at her.
" Make sure that you take care of yourself." Beth said again and then handed Alana the key to the storage.
" They have the other one, just in case you lose this one. Anyone that comes here looking for anything you may have put in storage will be told that you were never here. You are the only one that can get back into your storage now." She said. Alana nodded and looked at her.
" I was wondering........where would be the best place to get a car?" She asked. Beth smiled.
" There is an older woman that is selling her sons car since he went off to the Navy." She said and took out a piece of paper and a pen to write down the address.
" You can ask her. Just say that I sent you. It's a thousand for it I think. It's a decent looking Buick Skylark. I believe it's in traveling condition." Beth said. Alana nodded.
" Thanks a lot for your help......thanks for not telling anyone...." She said. Beth nodded.
" As long as it keeps you safe." She said and gave Alana one last hug.
" I hope to see you again some time." She said.
" Yeah." Was all Alana could say to that. She didn't know if she ever wanted to come back. They went their separate ways and Alana reached into her box of things that she would be taking with her and pulled out a small box with a lock on it. Alana unlocked it to reveal wads of money. She had kept a lot of her cash throughout her childhood, but there were a few times that she withdrew cash from her bank account when she thought about running away. She didn't think that she would really have to do it, though. She knew that she had at least four thousand in there and it would be enough to get her started. Alana drove in silence to the house that the woman lived at.
After some talking the woman gave Alana the keys and Alana gave her the money to buy the car.
" I just have to drop the van off real quick and then I'll come back for the car." Alana said.
" That is fine dear, go ahead." She said and Alana went to the van and unloaded her few boxes that she was taking. She knew that she also had to go back for Azul anyway. She needed the company and she couldn't leave that poor dog with Janet. Alana locked the car up and got back into the van and made her way back to the sewer. She parked the van and gathered Azul's dishes and such and put them all into a sack that she would carry on her back. She had left her sais in the new car and now she wished that she had brought them with her just in case of an emergency.
" Azul...." She called softly. The blue merle dog came running around the corner and Alana leashed her.
" We're leaving girl......for good this time....." She said and jogged with Azul by her side. Alana didn't want to look back this time. She didn't want to remember her life in New York, but she knew that it would be hard to forget. Alana thought about the turtles and Raphael, especially. She didn't know how she felt about him, but the kiss they shared together was still fresh in her mind. Did he truly like her? It didn't matter now. She wasn't wanted, so she would leave like she was told to. She made her way to the reservoir and jogged for what seemed like forever, back to the woman's house. The woman saw her and nodded that she knew she would be taking the car and then closed the curtains. Alana unlocked the car and Azul jumped in. Alana got in and got a feel for the seat and wheel. It wasn't her dads classy Javelin that was for sure, but it would have to get her out of there. She turned on the car and then looked at Azul.
" It's ok girl......this way is better......at least the killers will leave them alone. They want me cause I was there. If I leave, I won't be responsible for any more deaths." She whispered and felt the tears fill her eyes. She knew that was why Janet was so angry at her. Janet blamed her for her parents death and even though Alana had blamed Janet, she was now beginning to see that it wasn't Janet's fault. She started to believe that it was her own. Alana sobbed quietly for a few moments before leaving the woman's house and making her way down the road. She passed by buildings and familiar streets as she made her way to the highway. She slowed down when she came close to April's apartment. She knew they were there.
" It would be better for April too....." She whispered to herself. April was pregnant and her and Casey were involved in the matter too. They were protecting her and Janet and Alana didn't want anything to happen to them. Especially, to the unborn child. Alana turned and stepped on the gas. She wanted to get as far away from New York as she could.
For hours, Alana drove. She was out of New York now and still making distance. She knew which highway to take to get to Virginia and then after that she would buy a map and call one of her moms friends. She'd live her life by herself and go to a public school when she was seventeen. She would only be one year behind, but if she showed she could get excellent grades, maybe they would skip her to the next grade. She would be considered a sophomore when she got there, but as long as she graduated and went on to do the things that she always wanted to, it didn't matter. She still was going to strive to be an artist and make her way to the top. She wanted her parents to be proud of her. She felt that she owed them that much. She reached over and pet Azuls warm coat. Azul just gazed out the window at the scenery they passed.
" You know we're running, don't you?" She asked quietly. Azul looked at her with her big caring eyes.
" We'll just have to look after each other, girl." Alana said and continued to drive down the lonely highway. She would leave and not come back. She wanted to find the killers to her parents, but something scared her. Her sister, the turtles, everything. She knew that Raphael would hate her after this. There was no turning back now. Alana had to start a new life.....alone.
(Reality)
Tina looked at her friend Alana sitting on the steps to her old porch, crying. Harley and Copper were there with her. They had tagged them along for the company and maybe even to stand guard. Here Alana was, already twenty six years old and still feeling the pain of her childhood.
" God Alana.......I never knew the detail. I knew your parents were dead, but you never talked about the murders. I didn't know that your pain was that in depth." Tina said feeling so sorry for Alana. Tina still had her parents and she didn't know what she would do without them. It was so hard to believe that Alana's life had been so confusing.
" Alana, those turtles you spoke of......were they the ones with Janet near the restaurant tonight?" Tina asked. Alana calmed down and wiped her eyes.
" Yeah, that was them. The one that pointed out the necklace was Raphael." Alana said. Tina nodded and looked down.
" Wow......I can't believe how mean he was today. I know you said he was mean before, but it seemed like you guys had something special at one time." Tina said.
" That was a long time ago. He doesn't understand why I ran away. I don't think he really knows about the fight me and Janet had that night. I didn't bother to tell him or leave a note. I just left. I just wanted to get away and I didn't think about him. I should have but I didn't." Alana said. Tina hugged her friend and smiled.
" While we're here in New York, I want to help you. I want to help you find the people who did this and don't worry about Janet. I'm here for you always." Tina stated. Alana smiled and hugged her friend. At least she could confide in Tina. Alana knew that she had to straighten herself out or else she would never find the killers to her parents. They stood up and brushed their selves off.
" Come on, let's go." Tina said and called all the dogs to the car. They got in and Alana watched the house she once lived in fade away in the night as they drove down the road.