Flashback...

...But Adalida gave me a gentle push away. "Raphael..."

Tried and bombed again. I sighed. "I'm sorry. I... got a little carried away."

She smiled. "It's okay," she tapped my beak, "but you keep forgetting."

"Yeah," I agreed, disappointed, and now in the need of cold water.

"Want some music?" Adalida suggested.

I shrugged. "Sure."

She got up and went over to turn on her radio.

"...Police are cautioning citizens of an above average numbers of alligators near and in the swamps. Take caution if you must go near them. Should you see a gator..."

"Oh, my..." Adalida gasped.

I smiled and cracked my knuckles.

She gave me a worried look. "Raphael, don't."

"They wanna be rid of those gators? I'm just the turtle to do it," I said, then got up, and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be back before supper."

"Please be careful," Adalida said.

"I'll be right back," I said, then left for the swamp.

It was quiet when I got there--no gators in sight. I walked around and started thinking I'd get back even sooner. I skimmed the edge of the water, looking out in the opposite direct of the water, taking in the beauty of the land.

Before I even knew what happened, I was in the water and nearly smacked my head on a huge rock. Foruntately, I got a hand up in time, but my wrist wasn't as lucky as my head. Landing, my hand bent in an awkward direction and I could almost hear it break. 'Shit! Addy's gonna have my shell for this!'

I surfaced and practically came face-to-face with thel argest gator I'd seen to date. With a bad wrist, I knew I had to get the hell outta there, assuming I enjoyed living. But for some reason, I couldn't get myself moving. The gator closed in, snapping at me. I dodged it, so it started clawing at me.

I ducked under the surface, thinking I'd out-smart it, but it followed suit and hit me hard in my side with its tail. Then I saw another claw come at me... and everything went dark.

"Raphael?"

The voice sounded so distant in the darkness. I'm surprised I heard it over the jackhammer in my head. God, my head hurt somethin' fierce.

"Raphael, please wake up."

Now, I could hear the voice right next to me. I knew consciousness--and pain--wasn't far behind.

"Addy?" It came out no louder than a whisper.

"Oh, Raphael! Thank goodness!" she said, sounding extremely relieved.

"Hurts," I managed, then tried opening my eyes. I groaned as the headache grew. Finally, I got one eye open... but I tried opening both...

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news," Adalida began.

"Wrist broken?" I whispered.

"Sprained, but there's something worse, I'm afraid," she said, then paused, " the gator... clawed your face and..."

The whole room did a 360 and I felt nauseaus. "Blind in that eye..." I groaned.

"I shouldn't have let you leave," she said.

"Not yer fault..." I whispered, then sucked in a deep breath and tried to sit up.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Adalida asked.

"Need to... see it..." I choked out, trying to stand.

She tried to keep me from standing. "No, you need to rest, Raphael."

"Screw it," I mumbled, but she still held onto me. But I tried my damnedest to look at what was left. God, I didn't even know where I was, the room kept spinning.

"I won't let you," Adalida said. I gave her what I thought was a light shove.

The sound I heard sounded too much like the distinct *crack* of a head meeting a hard wood floor. The room spun again. "No..." Dizzy, nauseaus, and now guilty about hurting her, I knelt near her, feeling around for a pulse. I blinked my good eye, trying to get some focus, but the room just kept spinning and everything remained blurry.

I let out a choked sob. What had I done. How could I have been so stupid? She... loved me... and I... hurt her...