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Chapter 6

Leonardo slowly made his way to April's apartment. He had a lot to think about. Clearly his brothers weren't as keen to help the girl out as he thought they'd be. Nor could he believe that her appearance in their home had freaked them out so much either. Hadn't they dealt with things a lot worse than some ghost of a little girl? He wondered if they'd show more enthusiasm if she were alive. Leo hoped April would be more sympathetic. There was no way was he giving up on this. Susan may not be alive but being stuck in one of the foulest parts of the sewers and having to re-live her death over and over. Well, it was pretty grim.

Leo debated whether to attach climbing spikes to his hands and scale April's apartment building, or whether he should use the main entrance. He had a trench coat and hat he'd grabbed on his way out rolled under his arm. Leo stopped walking. It would probably be a good idea if he put them on. He shook his head hard, trying to rid it of the muggy feeling. He obviously hadn't had enough sleep. An hour at the most. He was glad Raph wasn't there to laugh at his ridiculous mistake. He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't even put on his disguise. There was hardly anyone around, and it was only just six thirty, but still. He cursed himself under his breath for being so stupid. What was wrong? It wasn't like him.

Leo opted for the main entrance. Climbing the side of the building wouldn't be wise in the morning sunlight. Why did he even consider it? He should know that.

He rang the intercom.

There was a long pause, and then a sleepy voice answered.

"H'lo…?"

"April. It's me, Leo."

Another pause.

"O' co'rse wh' else wou'd it be…? Half six onna Sunday mornin'…"

The door buzzed, Leo pushed it and bounded up the stairs to April's apartment. April opened the door, bleary eyed, with her dressing gown hanging off as though she'd just flung it on in a sleepy rush.

"Leo, hi… "April yawned. "A little early, aren't you?"

"Yes, sorry April, I just…"

"Leo, listen. I have a man in here. A naked man, in my bed…"

Leo, about to launch into the complicated explanation about the ghost of the girl, the attitude of his family, and the help he desperately needed from April, paused. He felt his jaw slacken. There could have been a blush, too. He wasn't sure. He just felt hotly confused all of a sudden.

"What…?" Was all he could muster.

April laughed loudly. "Get in." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her apartment. "The look on your face…" She was still giggling. "You're so easy to wind up."

"But…" Leo stared at her bewildered. "Don't you want some privacy?"

"I was joking. Making a point. Never mind." She grinned at him, and then frowned a little. "Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm not… at least… I think I am, then I go and do something stupid."

April shrugged and walked into the kitchen. "Everyone makes mistakes. Coffee?"

"There's a ghost in the sewer."

"A ghost, huh? That calls for the good stuff." April took the more expensive brand from the freezer.

Leo stared at her. "Are you even listening?"

"I will," April spooned mini mountains of coffee into the coffee maker. "When I've had my first coffee. It's Sunday morning, Leo. I like a lie in."

"Right…" Leo sat down on a kitchen stool. "Sorry."

"No problem." She poured in the water then turned to him. "So, you have a ghost in the sewer?"

Leo nodded.

April shrugged her shoulders. "And…?"

"Doesn't it surprise you that ghosts exist? Or even bother you a little? He won't admit it, but even Raph's disturbed by it. You should have heard him yell this morning."

April shook her head. "Leo, I know four giant talking turtles, a giant talking rat, and a guy who goes out to play hockey with the body parts of local hoods. A ghost really wouldn't surprise me." She gave him an apologetic look. "In fact, it's even quite tame in comparison."

"Good point." Leo listened to the gurgling sounds of the coffee machine for a moment. "I need your help, April. My brothers aren't interested in helping me."

April began to pour some cereal into a bowl.

"It's unusual that your brothers won't help, don't you think?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "I don't know. I don't know why they're so reluctant. She's harmless. I don't know what they have against her. She's cute, pretty, friendly. She hasn't done anything bad to them. She was just a kid when she died. They didn't see what happened to her, how scared she was wandering round in the sewers for hours with a stab wound. All alone."

April gave a sympathetic smile and patted Leo's shoulder.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need to find information about her. But all I've got is the name 'Susan' on an identity bracelet. I'd recognise her if I saw a photo."

"Do you know how she died?"

"Yeah, she had blood on her shirt and was holding her stomach. I think she was stabbed and thrown into the sewers."

"We could try searching for old newspaper reports about missing… how old was she?"

"About fourteen, I think."

"Missing teenagers. Do you know when she died?"

Leo shrugged.

"Well we need to work that one out or we've got a lot of trawling to do. Breakfast?"

***

Mikey plonked a bowl of cereal down beside Don. "We should help Leo," he said through a mouthful of Cheerios.

"To do what?"

"I don't know. Whatever he's doing. He wants to find out about her, right?" Mike looked over at the ghost. She stood watching Raph as he attacked a punch bag while trying to ignore her.

"Why?" Don sighed. "She's dead. What's there to know?"

"To put her at rest, I guess."

Don closed his eyes.

Raph glanced over as he caught his breath. "I just want it out of here." Raph looked at her and grimaced, she cocked her head to the side.

"Leo took the bracelet away with him." Mike said. "And she hasn't gone, so we must have to do something else."

"Why us?" Raph glowered and began punching again.

The ghost smiled and drifted towards the Mike and Don. The temperature in the lair had already dropped since she'd shown up, but as she approached them it got even colder.
Don looked at Mike with a shudder.

"Will helping Leo make it go away?"

"Maybe," Mike grinned.

Don turned to his laptop. "Okay, one internet search for 'missing girl' coming right up."

An hour later, Don was rubbing his forehead with frustration. Mikey had been showing the ghost around the lair, he returned and peered over Don's shoulder. Susan joined them.

"There are a lot of missing girls in New York City, none of the girls in these photos look anything like Susan." Don sighed.

"You're looking too recently. You need to go further back."

"The NY Times archives only go back to 1996." Don grumbled. "But look, I've found stuff about a fire somewhere in Indiana in 1871."

Mike pulled a face. "C'mon Donnie, if you can find newspaper articles from 1871, then the 1970's should be no problem."

"It's harder. People have some kind of historical interest in, like, the 1800's or whatever. The seventies are too recent, they're not…" Don paused. "The seventies…? How do you know she's from the seventies?"

Mikey shrugged. "I dunno, her hair I guess, and those flared jeans. They're seventies, right?"

"I think you're right. I was thinking more recently, but if she's from the seventies, then that means the kid would be anything up to 30 years old…"

"Do you think Leo will know?" Mike wondered.

"Yeah, Leo totally follows all the fashion trends." Don smirked.

"I'll call April." Mikey grinned.

"Well, when you do," Raph griped. "Pass it on that the ghost hasn't gone even though he's taken the bracelet with him." Raph glowered at the ghost standing in the corner her head on one side as she looked about the room. "If it wakes me up again tonight, I'm holdin' Leo responsible." Raph punched his fist into his palm.

Mike rolled his eyes, picked up the phone and dialled April's number.

"April! Hey!"

"Hi Mike."

"Has Leo told you about our pet ghost?"

Don and Raph pulled irritated faces at Mike then looked at each other. Raph shook his head and muttered under his breath.

"Yes," April said. "He's going to try to trace her."

"Uh huh," Mike replied. "Tell Leo I think she's from the seventies because she's wearing flares and kind of looks like a pre- teen Charlie's Angel."

Raph and Don glanced over at the ghost again.

"Seventies, that narrows it down. Thanks Mike. We're going to the library tomorrow to check out the newspaper archives. We'll find something. Leo said you guys aren't interested."

"I am!" Mike insisted, before glancing at his brothers. "Only Raph seems to hate her and Don's still trying to convince himself she doesn't actually exist."

"I am not." Don scowled. "It's right there. I have no choice but to acknowledge it exists."

Raph nodded pleasantly. "You're right Mikey, I do hate it. Especially when the damn thing wakes me up at six in the morning…"

Mike stuck a finger in his ear to muffle the sounds of Raph's grumbling.

"Raph also wanted me to pass onto Leo that the ghost's still here even though the bracelet is at your place. So whatever attachment we thought she had to it, I guess it isn't as strong as we thought…"

"Maybe she's lonely." April suggested. "If the only thing she's had to do for the last twenty or thirty years is re-live her own death she's probably glad for a little company. Look Mike, I'd better go, Leo's started practicing katas in the kitchen and I just know he's going to break something."

"Well?" Don asked as Mike hung up the phone.

"They're going to the library tomorrow to search newspaper archives."

"Good. I guess I can stop banging my head against a brick wall then," Don closed his laptop and went over to the group of desktop computers in his den in the corner of the room.

"How's Leo?" Raph asked in a 'couldn't care less' tone.

"Practicing katas. He'll probably be back soon, he can't go to the library till it opens tomorrow and if he breaks April's stuff she'll…"

A loud angry yell broke through their conversation startling the pair of them. Mikey spun around. Raph leapt over the sofa. Both gawked wide-eyed at Don.

It was Don who had yelled. He stood a couple of feet away from his computers which emitted blue sparks, flashes of light and loud crackles. The sparks stopped, then two computer towers, an external hard drive and a monitor all spontaneously burst into flames.

Don stretched out a shaking hand and pointed at the ghost who had just walked through his electronic babies. His mouth opened and shut but he was obviously too emotional to force the words out.

Raph swore. "That's it! It's leaving."

"It was an accident!" Mikey objected. "Look at her face, she didn't mean it."

"Well I'm not risking the TV." Raph began.

"The TV!? What about my computers?" Don shouted. "I want that thing out of here! Now!"

Raph stepped forward and glared into the ghost's face. "You. You've overstayed your welcome. Out. Now."

"Yeah!" Don began extinguishing the fire. "Get out!"

The ghost stared at them, her dull grey eyes widening and widening… Raph and Don felt their skin crawl… then her mouth opened and let out a shrill, piercing scream. The brothers felt like their skulls were going to split open.

The turtles put their hands over their ears, Splinter dashed into the room his paws over his ears, he looked as startled as they'd ever seen him look.

"What has happened?"

Mike tried to shout above the shriek that was building louder and louder in their heads. "They told her to leave, sensei, but I don't think she wants to go!"

Description
Chapter 6

Leonardo slowly made his way to April's apartment. He had a lot to think about. Clearly his brothers weren't as keen to help the girl out as he thought they'd be. Nor could he believe that her appearance in their home had freaked them out so much either. Hadn't they dealt with things a lot worse than some ghost of a little girl? He wondered if they'd show more enthusiasm if she were alive. Leo hoped April would be more sympathetic. There was no way was he giving up on this. Susan may not be alive but being stuck in one of the foulest parts of the sewers and having to re-live her death over and over. Well, it was pretty grim.

Leo debated whether to attach climbing spikes to his hands and scale April's apartment building, or whether he should use the main entrance. He had a trench coat and hat he'd grabbed on his way out rolled under his arm. Leo stopped walking. It would probably be a good idea if he put them on. He shook his head hard, trying to rid it of the muggy feeling. He obviously hadn't had enough sleep. An hour at the most. He was glad Raph wasn't there to laugh at his ridiculous mistake. He'd been so lost in thought he hadn't even put on his disguise. There was hardly anyone around, and it was only just six thirty, but still. He cursed himself under his breath for being so stupid. What was wrong? It wasn't like him.

Leo opted for the main entrance. Climbing the side of the building wouldn't be wise in the morning sunlight. Why did he even consider it? He should know that.

He rang the intercom.

There was a long pause, and then a sleepy voice answered.

"H'lo…?"

"April. It's me, Leo."

Another pause.

"O' co'rse wh' else wou'd it be…? Half six onna Sunday mornin'…"

The door buzzed, Leo pushed it and bounded up the stairs to April's apartment. April opened the door, bleary eyed, with her dressing gown hanging off as though she'd just flung it on in a sleepy rush.

"Leo, hi… "April yawned. "A little early, aren't you?"

"Yes, sorry April, I just…"

"Leo, listen. I have a man in here. A naked man, in my bed…"

Leo, about to launch into the complicated explanation about the ghost of the girl, the attitude of his family, and the help he desperately needed from April, paused. He felt his jaw slacken. There could have been a blush, too. He wasn't sure. He just felt hotly confused all of a sudden.

"What…?" Was all he could muster.

April laughed loudly. "Get in." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into her apartment. "The look on your face…" She was still giggling. "You're so easy to wind up."

"But…" Leo stared at her bewildered. "Don't you want some privacy?"

"I was joking. Making a point. Never mind." She grinned at him, and then frowned a little. "Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself."

"I'm not… at least… I think I am, then I go and do something stupid."

April shrugged and walked into the kitchen. "Everyone makes mistakes. Coffee?"

"There's a ghost in the sewer."

"A ghost, huh? That calls for the good stuff." April took the more expensive brand from the freezer.

Leo stared at her. "Are you even listening?"

"I will," April spooned mini mountains of coffee into the coffee maker. "When I've had my first coffee. It's Sunday morning, Leo. I like a lie in."

"Right…" Leo sat down on a kitchen stool. "Sorry."

"No problem." She poured in the water then turned to him. "So, you have a ghost in the sewer?"

Leo nodded.

April shrugged her shoulders. "And…?"

"Doesn't it surprise you that ghosts exist? Or even bother you a little? He won't admit it, but even Raph's disturbed by it. You should have heard him yell this morning."

April shook her head. "Leo, I know four giant talking turtles, a giant talking rat, and a guy who goes out to play hockey with the body parts of local hoods. A ghost really wouldn't surprise me." She gave him an apologetic look. "In fact, it's even quite tame in comparison."

"Good point." Leo listened to the gurgling sounds of the coffee machine for a moment. "I need your help, April. My brothers aren't interested in helping me."

April began to pour some cereal into a bowl.

"It's unusual that your brothers won't help, don't you think?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "I don't know. I don't know why they're so reluctant. She's harmless. I don't know what they have against her. She's cute, pretty, friendly. She hasn't done anything bad to them. She was just a kid when she died. They didn't see what happened to her, how scared she was wandering round in the sewers for hours with a stab wound. All alone."

April gave a sympathetic smile and patted Leo's shoulder.

"What do you need me to do?"

"I need to find information about her. But all I've got is the name 'Susan' on an identity bracelet. I'd recognise her if I saw a photo."

"Do you know how she died?"

"Yeah, she had blood on her shirt and was holding her stomach. I think she was stabbed and thrown into the sewers."

"We could try searching for old newspaper reports about missing… how old was she?"

"About fourteen, I think."

"Missing teenagers. Do you know when she died?"

Leo shrugged.

"Well we need to work that one out or we've got a lot of trawling to do. Breakfast?"

***

Mikey plonked a bowl of cereal down beside Don. "We should help Leo," he said through a mouthful of Cheerios.

"To do what?"

"I don't know. Whatever he's doing. He wants to find out about her, right?" Mike looked over at the ghost. She stood watching Raph as he attacked a punch bag while trying to ignore her.

"Why?" Don sighed. "She's dead. What's there to know?"

"To put her at rest, I guess."

Don closed his eyes.

Raph glanced over as he caught his breath. "I just want it out of here." Raph looked at her and grimaced, she cocked her head to the side.

"Leo took the bracelet away with him." Mike said. "And she hasn't gone, so we must have to do something else."

"Why us?" Raph glowered and began punching again.

The ghost smiled and drifted towards the Mike and Don. The temperature in the lair had already dropped since she'd shown up, but as she approached them it got even colder.
Don looked at Mike with a shudder.

"Will helping Leo make it go away?"

"Maybe," Mike grinned.

Don turned to his laptop. "Okay, one internet search for 'missing girl' coming right up."

An hour later, Don was rubbing his forehead with frustration. Mikey had been showing the ghost around the lair, he returned and peered over Don's shoulder. Susan joined them.

"There are a lot of missing girls in New York City, none of the girls in these photos look anything like Susan." Don sighed.

"You're looking too recently. You need to go further back."

"The NY Times archives only go back to 1996." Don grumbled. "But look, I've found stuff about a fire somewhere in Indiana in 1871."

Mike pulled a face. "C'mon Donnie, if you can find newspaper articles from 1871, then the 1970's should be no problem."

"It's harder. People have some kind of historical interest in, like, the 1800's or whatever. The seventies are too recent, they're not…" Don paused. "The seventies…? How do you know she's from the seventies?"

Mikey shrugged. "I dunno, her hair I guess, and those flared jeans. They're seventies, right?"

"I think you're right. I was thinking more recently, but if she's from the seventies, then that means the kid would be anything up to 30 years old…"

"Do you think Leo will know?" Mike wondered.

"Yeah, Leo totally follows all the fashion trends." Don smirked.

"I'll call April." Mikey grinned.

"Well, when you do," Raph griped. "Pass it on that the ghost hasn't gone even though he's taken the bracelet with him." Raph glowered at the ghost standing in the corner her head on one side as she looked about the room. "If it wakes me up again tonight, I'm holdin' Leo responsible." Raph punched his fist into his palm.

Mike rolled his eyes, picked up the phone and dialled April's number.

"April! Hey!"

"Hi Mike."

"Has Leo told you about our pet ghost?"

Don and Raph pulled irritated faces at Mike then looked at each other. Raph shook his head and muttered under his breath.

"Yes," April said. "He's going to try to trace her."

"Uh huh," Mike replied. "Tell Leo I think she's from the seventies because she's wearing flares and kind of looks like a pre- teen Charlie's Angel."

Raph and Don glanced over at the ghost again.

"Seventies, that narrows it down. Thanks Mike. We're going to the library tomorrow to check out the newspaper archives. We'll find something. Leo said you guys aren't interested."

"I am!" Mike insisted, before glancing at his brothers. "Only Raph seems to hate her and Don's still trying to convince himself she doesn't actually exist."

"I am not." Don scowled. "It's right there. I have no choice but to acknowledge it exists."

Raph nodded pleasantly. "You're right Mikey, I do hate it. Especially when the damn thing wakes me up at six in the morning…"

Mike stuck a finger in his ear to muffle the sounds of Raph's grumbling.

"Raph also wanted me to pass onto Leo that the ghost's still here even though the bracelet is at your place. So whatever attachment we thought she had to it, I guess it isn't as strong as we thought…"

"Maybe she's lonely." April suggested. "If the only thing she's had to do for the last twenty or thirty years is re-live her own death she's probably glad for a little company. Look Mike, I'd better go, Leo's started practicing katas in the kitchen and I just know he's going to break something."

"Well?" Don asked as Mike hung up the phone.

"They're going to the library tomorrow to search newspaper archives."

"Good. I guess I can stop banging my head against a brick wall then," Don closed his laptop and went over to the group of desktop computers in his den in the corner of the room.

"How's Leo?" Raph asked in a 'couldn't care less' tone.

"Practicing katas. He'll probably be back soon, he can't go to the library till it opens tomorrow and if he breaks April's stuff she'll…"

A loud angry yell broke through their conversation startling the pair of them. Mikey spun around. Raph leapt over the sofa. Both gawked wide-eyed at Don.

It was Don who had yelled. He stood a couple of feet away from his computers which emitted blue sparks, flashes of light and loud crackles. The sparks stopped, then two computer towers, an external hard drive and a monitor all spontaneously burst into flames.

Don stretched out a shaking hand and pointed at the ghost who had just walked through his electronic babies. His mouth opened and shut but he was obviously too emotional to force the words out.

Raph swore. "That's it! It's leaving."

"It was an accident!" Mikey objected. "Look at her face, she didn't mean it."

"Well I'm not risking the TV." Raph began.

"The TV!? What about my computers?" Don shouted. "I want that thing out of here! Now!"

Raph stepped forward and glared into the ghost's face. "You. You've overstayed your welcome. Out. Now."

"Yeah!" Don began extinguishing the fire. "Get out!"

The ghost stared at them, her dull grey eyes widening and widening… Raph and Don felt their skin crawl… then her mouth opened and let out a shrill, piercing scream. The brothers felt like their skulls were going to split open.

The turtles put their hands over their ears, Splinter dashed into the room his paws over his ears, he looked as startled as they'd ever seen him look.

"What has happened?"

Mike tried to shout above the shriek that was building louder and louder in their heads. "They told her to leave, sensei, but I don't think she wants to go!"