Fallen... (Rpg in progress)

"Hush, poor thing..."
Saki said quietly and astonishingly gentle, reaching for the horses head with the bar, that was immediately snatched rom his hand - he heard messy chewing and grinned.
Theory proven he thought, turned and looked at his small crew, standing unafraid now next to the big horse.
"You know what this means?"
he asked randomly, grinning complacantly.
At least Charity should be aware of what he had proven here.

Charity had stayed back, silently cursing Bill for stopping and endangering all of them.
What if this - whatever it was - attacked them?
Infected them..?

She bit her lower lip, hands clenching into fists in agitation, but there seemed to be nothing she could do.
Calling out for Bill, or whatever his name was, wasn't an option, the infected would hear them and approach to investigate.
Pulling him bodily back was certainly tempting, but would have been a bad idea. She was certain that he was much stronger than her, even with his injuries... and she had witnessed his ruthlessness already.
Not to mention the fact that he obviously was some sort of crime syndicate leader... and for now her only chance - her mothers only chance.
"Damn you..."
she muttered impotently, but opened her eyes wider when the flash of a bikes headlights revealed... just a horse.
Now this sight was so random that she nearly laughed.
What on earth did a *horse* do here..?

But before shecould think abot this any more, she heard Bills quiet muttering and her schooled mind began to work immediately.
If the horse had been attacked and injured and this was very much a given by the corpse at its hooves, it should have become infected quickly.
Nevertheless, from what she had seen, the animal was tied up and did not seem to be agressive.
An infected horse would have surely ripped the reins off the lantern post, no matter what, it was strong enough to do so and the infected seemed not to feel pain...

"It isn't infected..."
she replied quietly, somehow amazed.
But how was this possible... Bill had been right, all warm-blooded animals usually succumbed to rabies...

--------------------

Saki grinned and carefully scratched the animals neck, while it searched him desperately for another bite.
"Bingo!"
he stated dryly.
"It has been bitten or scratched, but is not infected. I don't know if police horses get routinely vaccined against rabies, but I don't think so. And this means, the shit has hit the fan and cracked it, too. GODDAMN IT!"

The angry shout made the poor horse flinch and pull back on the reins, until Saki regained his temper.
"Hush, horse, not your fault."
he murmured and cautiously reached for the saddle.
It took him a little while to loosen the saddle girth and remove the heavy saddle, but somehow he managed.
After that, he concerned with the reins and untied the animal.
"Okay... anybody has any idea how far it is to Central Park?"
he asked.
Silence answered.
"At least it may have a chance to feed there..."

"Half a mile, I think... that direction." one of Old Man Chius men replied.
"But why..?"

"Quiet."
Saki ordered.
"The horse has given us valuable informations, although it is just a dumb beast. We'll make the small detour and let it run, it can fend the infected off on its own and there is grass and water."
He straightened up and looked from one person to the other.
"There's honour amongst thieves. Remember that!"

Unaccustomed to equine politeness, Saki gave a small snort and stepped aside.
"Hey... I'm not *food*!" he protested quietly.
"Wait a few minutes and you can eat grass or something in Central Park."

But the question was now, how to get the large, strong, scared and to top it all *loud* due to its horseshoes animal undetected and quickly towards Central Park?
Saki was momentarily clueless, but he thought quickly. The animal should follow the pull of the reins, they were probably like a leash for a dog... and immediately, he tried it, stepping forwards and tugging lightly at the reins.
And indeed, the horse followed tentatively towards the bike.
"Well, Sister Chamomile, ever wanted a horsie as a girl?"
Saki asked teasingly and handed her the reins without much ado.
"Here's your chance!"

-------------

Oh. My. God.
There she stood now, a brown, obviously terrified horse in hand and Bill looked at her expectantly from his bike.
Hell, if the animal should run away, it would pull her off the bike and God knows where... but once again it seemed as if she had no choice. The needle in Bills ass, that she had already imagined in loving detail went bigger and bigger...
"You owe me one for this..."she gritted and cautiously climbed on the bike behind him, casting a wary look towards the big beast.
Oh please, be a good horse, she implored it wordlessly and flinched when the engine hummed to life.
And slowly, very slowly the bike started to roll...

Ohh my... now the horses big face was in her face!
But obviously the animal was merely curious and when the bike moved on, it started to trot reluctantly but still obedient along, much to Charitys relief.
Obviously she wouldn't be pulled of the bike and trampled to death just now....

-------------

The bikes kept together, forming a small circle around the horse and the two persons with it, since they were the most vulnerable now.
The clapping of the hooves was obnoxiously loud and would certainly attract attention until they would reach softer ground, most likely grass, but they managed it. After a little more than half a mile they reached Central Park. There were a couple of fountains and enough grass for an army of horses, the animal had proven that it was able to hold its own against the infected, even tied up and most certainly it would easily outrun every threat , if left to its own devices.
Arduously, Charity and Saki managed somehow to peel the bridle off the horses head - the bit had cut hard into its gums during its terrified attempts to break free and its mouth just hurt - and finally the animal was free.

"Now go, run away... eat grass or whatever you horses do."
Saki said gruffly when the gelding seemed reluctant to leave.

Saki could't help but grinned with the catching way in which the animal uttered its joy.
"Now come on, bugger off you big oaf..." he murmured, pushing the horses head gently into the direction where it could graze and drink.

Against her will and rational though somehow charmed by the horses unfaltering attachment, Charity hesitatingly reached out and patted its broad, curved neck.
"Run along, big guy!" she whispered, smiling a bit.
If this horse, a harmless animal, tied up and all had somehow escaped the madness... there was still hope, right?
For her, for her mother... for the whole damn city!

Sakis thought were centered around the innocent horse as well, although they weren't as joyful as Charitys. He had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly what was going on here... and a certain, sunglass-wearing associate or rather, contractee would get an earful or two, once he was back at his clan.
And had had a cappucchino!

When the animal went out of sight, the group relaxed a bit.
The only thing left to do now, was to get Charities mum... somehow...

Soon Mikko walked back out to the others. She hopped up on the counter top and let her legs dangle from it. She was still feeling ill and was sure that it showed in her face. But at least she wasn't freaking out and running topside to get a fix, least not yet. She would have to see about some of that herbal tea and maybe medication later though.

"Soooo you all REALLY think Saki is going to actually let you all know what's going on? Because despite his attractiveness, he didn't seem like the most honest man in the world."

Mikko hopped off the counter and walked over by Splinter and sat next to him. "I don't see why he would care. I mean, he could just leave the city, start his gang somewhere else. Maybe even relocated his team of ninjas. It's not like the city is that great of a place, and it's not like it's the only big city in the country. Hell he could run off to Los Angeles!"

She paused for a moment. What if it wasn't just the city that was infected?

"I hate just sitting around and not knowing what's going on! I mean...I have friends up there! I need to make sure that they are ok."

She then looked at the rat with her own greed and curiosity. What did he have that Saki would want so badly he would come back down here?

"So...What kind of knowledge do you have, exactly?"

Mikko nodded and leaned back on the couch. She sort of hoped that they heard from Saki soon so that they could know what was going on. On the other hand, she couldn't be sure of it, but he was giving off some freaky vibes before he left, so she really didn't want to deal with that.

So here she was, not knowing that her gang was now infected and that everyone she called Friend, would gladly have her for a snack. She was developing quite the crush on Mikey, but, his side of that seemed to die down, so she figured that he just like having someone new around, and now that the newness wore off, she was no longer interesting.

Sure maybe now wasn't the best time to worry about boys. But, on the flip side, her days could be limited, maybe it was the perfect time to thinking about boys. Have as much fun as you can before you die.

She looked over at Mike in the kitchen, then looked over at Splinter.

"You mentioned a tea or something that might help me feel a little better? I could go for some right about now..."

"sure.." Mikko let the rat take her hand. It was a little strange, Mikko had owned pet rats before, never did she think that a rat would be taking care of her!

She was exhausted, cold, sweaty, and a little shaky. She was also slightly scared about all of this. Last time she quite cold turkey, she lost her unborn child and ended up in the hospital. She wasn't pregnant now...but the last thing she wanted was to needed a hospital and have no way of getting to one.

Mikko waited patently as the rat checked all her vital signs. Then leaned back on the couch when he left to get her some tea. She really hoped that the tea would help. She closed her eyes and tried to get comfortable.

Donatello listened quietly to his father and Mikko, observing woman in a discrete manner, her body language and her obvious withdrawal symptoms. He words about moving to higher ground sounded reasonable but as Master Splinter replied they could be spotted by helicopters. Sure, they were ninja and could find temporary places to hide among the rooftops, but the woman wasn't a ninja and she could very well take a wrong step and fall off while hiding up there with them. He didn't trust her much, let alone know much about the other sides of her sure, but that didn't mean he wished any harm to come to her.

He nodded to his father when the wise Sensei asked him to check the traps and hurried away to make sure the traps near the entrance were all armed and ready.

When he walked back a moment later it was just in time to see Splinter check Mikko's pulse.
He didn't want to interrupt his Sensei so he stopped a few paces away and continued to be
a silent watcher.