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Donnie breathed.
It hurt. a constant pressure [cement, he reminded himself] was against his plastron, much too heavy. His shell, exposed without its hard covering, was pressed down into the harsh floor. Quite honestly Donnie should be more thankful that the rubble fell in just the right way to spare his face, making a choked sound as another explosion rumbled the building, rubble shifting and pressing further against him, putting pressure where there was definitely something hurt now that he noticed it.
How did Donnie even get into this situation? There was an alert from his desktop, and then...and then ...Donnie coughed, the dusty air irritating his throat, resolving to stare blankly up at the ceiling, tracing the cracks where the cement threatened to break, down to the large pile of dirt and rubble that prevented him from moving a centimeter.
the turtle looked over to the doorway of his lab, door wide open and lights off, the electricity system Donnie had installed years ago seeming to have gotten damaged from the explosion. Surely his brothers would have noticed by now? Surely his brothers would have started looking for him now? it felt like Donnie had been stuck here forever, though it couldn't have been five minutes at most.
Another explosion rumbled through the floor, and Donnie felt his eyes slip closed, straining to hear voices, only to snap open when a hot, searing pain went through his side. He gasped, biting down on his lip to try and muffle his yell, slowly relaxing and hissing through his teeth as the pain dulled slightly, settling. Oh, he should really have that looked at, but there was rubble around his head, laying across his shoulders and only letting him free about halfway down his thigh. Actually, there was even more rubble than he remembered, and the pressure across his chest had only gotten worse, barely allowing him to take a full breath, though that wasn't even possible with every wince he gave when that pain came back only halfway through.
okay, think Don think, you're the smart one here. Donnie braced himself before taking another slow breath, letting it go with a pained whimper when his injury decided to remind him again. it was somewhere on his right side, near his stomach. how bad was that? did he need to worry about organs?
he was lightheaded. he needed water, the air was terrible in his lab. Donnie was used to the stale taste of air being locked behind steel, the slight smell of living in a sewer Donnie had tried his hardest to eliminate when Raph complained about it. how long ago was that? Raph had to be at least 9, and Donnie was still trying to figure out how showers worked.
Thank goodness he had figured that out, just a month before Mikey dragged home a new human friend, or else he wasn't sure April would have even stuck around long enough to become family. Donnie couldn't imagine life without any of his brothers or his sister, squinting at the ceiling and looking around. What was he even supposed to be thinking about again? right, getting out.
Donnie tilted his head as far as the floor would allow it, looking around his room carefully. the room was almost pitch black, though the already dark lighting that normally took place in his lab helped with being able to orient himself. his head was about 3 meters away from his desk, the monitors either completely off or cracked in some way, one laying on the floor. Donnie followed the line of sight and found nothing, turning his head to the other side and- there! his phone!
he tried to bring his shoulders up to reach for his phone, wincing when rough, sharp cement protested and held his arms in place. testing, he barely had enough room to flex his fingers, much less maneuver his hand out of the pile. Donnie pressed his palm flat against the ground and back up again, grimacing at the texture. the ground was sticky, and he couldn't even get it off his hands now that he had completely doused them in whatever it was.
Donnie huffed, years building up in the corners of his eyes. it was nearly pitch black, any Donnie could only assume the rest of the lair was the same. even more damning evidence was that he couldn't hear anything. his own breathing, labored and raspy, was the loudest thing around. the attack on the base had stopped, and he could only assume his brothers got out safe. Donnie couldn't stand the thought of the atrium ceiling collapsing, his brothers crushed or trapped in their rooms, dying alone and hurting-
That wasn't going to happen. Donnie took a short, careful yet shaky breath in, staring at his phone. the screen was lit up, the only light source in the room.
The next time he came to, he felt like throwing up. He was cold and tired, and the injury against his side had only felt worse with time, the turtle breathing through his mouth in a vain attempt to limit the pain. every thought was slow-dripped through his mind like honey, dried tears giving him the urge to scratch his face. He couldn't though. he couldn't do anything. he was helpless.
Donnie lifted his head to try and see more of his surroundings, failing and letting his head fall back down with a light thump. he paused, recognizing a moment too late that there had been a small sound behind the thump as if there was liquid under his head-
Donnie pressed his palms against the floor and sighed silently, realizing what was happening. surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to accept. he was bleeding out. Donnie would be downright ashamed if he didn't at least realize the cause of his own death, no matter how he refused to believe that he did in fact, have limitations.
the world was hazy, blinking in and out of focus. Donnie couldn't tell if that was because of the tears, useless waterworks starting up yet again for no reason, or his head killing him. Furthermore, he was cold. he couldn't do a thing about it, but he would curse the world out for making him suffer like this.
it'll be fine. they'll be here soon. any minute now. I'll be home. Donnie turned his head toward the entrance of his lab, eyes flickering lazily and searching for any sign of movement for as long as he could. eventually, though, Donnie couldn't help it and fell asleep.