Brotherhood-Chapter 9

Brotherhood

Chapter 9-Trapped

"S-sorry, Raph..."
I finish tying Leo's katana onto my shell, knotting his mask around my arm.
"Don't worry 'bout it, Mikey. Jus' chill fer a bit."
I look down at my little brother, feeling misplaced anger well up inside me even as he weakly nods his head. I force the flames of my rage aside, pulling Mikey to his feet, hooking his arm around my neck, trying to carry most of his weight for him. I walk toward the edge of Liberty Island, practically dragging him alongside me. I feel the two demons within me, warring with the other to pull me within their reach. I'm walking a narrow line, a line that walks on the very edge of the two demons' domains; the rage's inferno and the darkness' abyss. I keep walking toward the water, gently nudging Mikey.
"Raph..."
"I'm here, bro. Jus' hold yer breath."
I dive down, the freezing cold water shocking the drowsiness out of my body. I'm kicking at the water, kicking at it furiously, pounding away at it to vent out the anger that's desperate to engulf me. I feel the inferno's heat lashing out at me, trying to force me into its embrace. The abyss is whispering to me, tempting me with its deceitfully enticing warmth. The water is infuriated, trying to force me back away from my home, the narrow line between my two inner demons slowly getting thinner. The river is roaring, trying to break me, force me to surrender to the flow of its body. The inferno is cackling, trying to lure me into its flaming jaws, pulling at my limbs. The abyss is silently teasing me, its arms outstretched, tempting me to fall into its dark void. I'm trapped, I'm desperately clawing up, trying to get above everything. I break the waters surface, gasping for air, gulping it into my lungs. I pull Mikey's head above the surface, hovering in the river as he coughs up water.
"You okay, bro?"
He nods, gradually catching his breath. I look up, I find myself surprised by how much closer we are to the shore of the city. I gently nudge my little brother's head.
"Hey. We're goin' under again. We're almost there."
I wait for him to take another gulp of air before ducking beneath the surface of the water again, kicking with less intensity than before. The rivers roar slowly diminishes to a growl before finally fading to a faint hum just as I reach the harbor. I move swiftly to keep out of sight as I pull myself up into a sewage tunnel, hoisting Mikey up after me. The extent of the physical exertion of the night suddenly hits me, and I fall against the walls of the tunnel, struggling to keep my legs under me. I let Mikey slump down beside me, steadying myself with my hands pressed against the wall. I listen to my little brothers steady breathing slowly grow heavier as he starts to doze off, feeling relieved, having escaped both of the demons that had been fighting over me the entire night. The relief is still bitter, because I know that I'm still not safe from either of them, that I'll have to face them again. But I allow myself a little satisfaction at having made it through the night, lifting my sleeping baby brother up onto the back of my shell.
'Wait fer us, Leo. We're on our way home.'
I push myself back onto my tired feet, slowly walking back deep into the sewer tunnels.