Rating: T

Warnings: Overall story - Brief mentions of torture. Bit of language.

Disclaimer: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon.

Summary: For months now, Mikey's been through hell with no one to count on but himself. He's finally been rescued but there are still two major problems; he's still desperately missing his family and he has no way home. No OC's. 2k3/2k12 crossover.

Comments, thoughts and concrit are always welcome.

* If you ever see my stories posted anywhere other than under the name Zelgadis55 at Deviant Art, FFNet, AO3 or Live Journal, then they have been stolen. Please report them.

A/N: Yeah... been a really long time, I'm sorry. Worse is that I've had this typed up for god knows how long yet done nothing about it other than look at it a couple of times. My biggest problem is that I started working on another story last year as well, one I never wrote down plotting for but have just been working on regardless. It's turned out to be long. Really long and I'm not even close to being done yet, even at well over 176,000 words. As I've mentioned before, I have trouble concentrating on more than one story at once and I've been afraid that if I turn back to something else, I'll never get back to this other one, especially with the 'AOtGO' multiverse so dear to my heart and I need to get it done. But I also need to work on this one so I'll try to start balancing better and at least getting something out more frequently.

That said, I probably won't continue publishing on DA anymore. I don't like the new site so it'll probably just be FFNet and AO3 from now on.

AOtGO – Aftermath

Ch 11

Date: 22th Sept

April's concerned blue eyes followed Mikey as he ran. "Is he alright?" she asked worriedly.

"No, not really," Leo sighed in dismay as he too watched the other turtle disappear.

"And he won't talk about what's bothering him either," Donnie added, closing his eyes. "We found out the hard way that pushing him doesn't help."

April gave Donnie a look that would have been scathing had it come from anyone else. "Of course it wouldn't," she said curtly, "especially since to him we're all just strangers with familiar names." She fidgeted where she stood, torn between joining them and going to join Splinter for training as was expected of her this time of day. Finally, "Give him some time to himself to calm down after whatever just happened and then if you like, once Sensei's finished with me, I'll go find him if he hasn't come out on his own."

"That would be great, April," Leo smiled gratefully.

She nodded and headed for the dojo before remembering and turning back, "Oh, Raph! Casey said he'd be late today but he'll still bring dinner down when he comes."

-:-

"Thank you, Sensei," April bowed out respectfully and went to leave the dojo only to jump in fright as she noticed Mikey seated in the doorway watching. "How long have you been there, Mike?" she scolded lightly, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

Mikey grinned up at her but it was a poor effort. "About ten, fifteen minutes now?" he shrugged nonchalantly. "You know, you're pretty good."

"Thanks," April smiled warmly at the compliment. "I've got a long way to go though."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed, bouncing lightly to his feet. "So how long have you been training in ninjutsu?"

"Since a couple of months after I met the guys, so... about nine months now," April replied thoughtfully as she counted back. "My weapon chose me about three months later." She proudly showed off her beautiful, yet deadly tessen with the Hamato family crest on full display.

"That's really pretty!"

"Yeah," April smiled happily as she snapped her weapon closed. "It was a family heirloom but Master Splinter gave it to me anyway."

"Our April's like a sister too," Mikey said affectionately, "so I don't blame him. So, do you train often?"

"For the most part, yes. Unless I have exams or something and need to take some time off, I train for a couple of hours a day, five days a week. I'll be joining you guys on Saturday," April said, nudging Mikey playfully in his side and pleased that he didn't flinch away from her the way he did the other night. She led the way to the kitchen for a drink, surprised to see no one else around.

"Don's in his lab and Leo's scrubbing the bathroom," Mikey explained, interpreting her questioning look.

"And Raph?"

Mikey shrugged, "No idea."

"I see, well, he could have gone to meet Casey," April replied as she filled a glass with water from the fridge. "Do you want any?"

"Yeah," Mikey admitted, coming closer to take the glass April offered. "Thanks, dudette."

"No problem," April replied, taking another glass and filling it before moving to the table to sit down. Mikey carefully sat opposite her. "So hey, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said easily. Mikey immediately became wary but she pretended not to notice.

"I promised my aunt I'd help her with shopping tonight," she continued with a slight grimace; she hated shopping, such a waste of time and energy and her aunt always made it unnecessarily long. "And since I know you don't have anything of your own here, I figured I could pick up a few things for you while we're out. As long as it's not too expensive, of course," she added lightly. "I am only a student, after all."

"Oh," Mikey blinked in surprise, taken aback by her generous offer.

"So if there's anything you need or want, let me know and I'll try to get it for you. I'll have to head home in about twenty minutes, though."

Mikey leant back on his stool, rubbing an eye as he considered. There was so much he wanted but the only things he really needed were impossible to get. He smiled sadly, looking down at the table. "Thanks for the offer, Ape, but... I'll be okay."

April reached across the table and gently took his free hand, looking at it in surprise. "It's so weird how different you are to the guys. I never thought there'd be so much difference between you when Donnie told me you were here."

"I-I'm sorry," Mikey immediately started, unsure how to react.

"No! I didn't mean it like that!" April quickly assured him. "It's just interesting how different things and people can be between different dimensions, that's all. I figured you'd at least look pretty much the same, being different versions of each other." She turned his hand over, marvelling at it and for a short time, he indulged her before anxiously pulling it back and tucking both down into his lap, no longer able to handle the scrutiny.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Mike."

Mikey shook his head wildly, "It's fine. I'm the one who should be sorry."

April smiled amiably. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Mike. Anyway, I mean it. Maybe you don't need anything but if there's anything you want, let me know. I really don't mind or I wouldn't have offered."

Mikey hesitated again, his mind racing. Then he shut his mouth, not wanting to be any trouble or come across as being needy and hated himself for it.

"So you do want something," April exclaimed, eagerly leaning forward. "Tell me!"

"Um... may-maybe... a sketchbook and some pencils?" Mikey finally asked, eyes slightly wider than usual as he stared at her for her reaction.

"Easy! Anything else?"

"Couple... couple of exercise books?" Mikey continued reluctantly. "You know, the kind for writing in?"

"I'll make sure to get them tonight," April promised with a nod. "Is there anything else?"

"Uh... you're gonna think it's really strange but... uh... a pair of stockings?" Mikey asked, his gaze suddenly averting to avoid hers. "Light ones though, not dark or heavy, small holes, not large."

"Okay," April replied, confused. "Can I ask what you want them for?"

Mikey shook his head wildly again. "It's nothing weird, I promise. I'll show you later, okay?" he mumbled, embarrassment darkening his features.

"Alright. Well, I need to quickly check in with Donnie before I go but if you think of anything else you want or need, let me know next time, okay?"

"Yeah," Mikey smiled gratefully. "Thanks heaps, Ape."

-:-

Not too long after April left for home, Mikey slowly wandered to the pit. He really wanted company but after what happened the last couple of times he saw his other-dimensional brothers, he couldn't bring himself to seek them out. Instead, he found himself pawing through the stacks of VHS and DVDs, looking for something to pique his interest. He was about fifteen minutes into 'The Thing with 1000 Eyes' – he'd chosen it based on the poster in his borrowed bedroom – when Donatello emerged.

"After everything that's happened, how can you stand to watch something like that?"

"Easy, dude," Mikey replied quietly, eyes glued to the screen. "It's not real."

Donnie stood there, outside the pit considering. Finally, he stepped down, sitting nearby and proffered his laptop to Mikey.

"Huh?" Mikey asked bluntly, turning to and blinking at him in surprise.

"You wanted to do up a grocery order," Donnie reminded him. "It's a couple of days early yet but I pulled up the site and loaded in a budget. As long as you keep within it, you can order whatever supplies you think we need."

"Really?" Mikey sat up straighter in the beanbag, suddenly interested.

"Yes," Donnie nodded solemnly. "It's a bit late in the day so we won't be able to get it delivered until tomorrow but... well, just don't order any food that's too weird, okay?"

"Define weird?" Mikey countered, an edge of playfulness entering his tone.

Donnie chuckled nervously. "Well, to be honest, we don't eat much outside of pizza, like we already mentioned so..."

"Got it!" Mikey suddenly grinned mischievously, "I gotta expand your pallets!" he teased, enjoying the look of horror on the other turtle's face.

"Maybe I should reconsider this," Donnie muttered, worried and Mikey waved a dismissive hand.

"Nuh, just trust me, you won't regret it! I'm a great chef! Just ask anybody!"

"Right..."

"What? It's true! You liked my omelette, right?" Mikey asked in a mock hurt tone.

"Well, yes... I-I did," Donnie floundered, "but..."

"But nothing! I got this! Man, dude! How the shell did you guys survive living in the shadows growing up if all you ever ate was pizza?"

Donnie's face grew exponentially greener at the confronting question.

"Did you guys only scrounge behind pizza joints or something?" Mikey asked perplexed. "Because I gotta tell you, there's a whole world of different restaurants and supermarkets out there, you know."

"You mean bin diving?" Donnie asked in growing horror. "You've got to be kidding, right? Do you realise how unsanitary that is?"

"Where else would mutant outcasts from society find food and supplies?" Mikey countered flatly, staring at him in disbelief. "It's not like we can hold down jobs or just walk into stores and buy stuff like anyone else. Besides, like you, we grew up in the sewers. Not gonna get much more unsanitary than that, dude."

Still looking as though he was about to puke, Donnie stuttered, "Well, we gr-grew our own food but... I... I suppose that wasn't much better except for knowing it was safe and clean to eat at least."

Mikey gave Donnie an odd look. "What the shell could you grow down here other than weird glowing moulds?"

Donnie's colour darkened again and he quickly diverted the subject. "Your family really ate from dumpsters?"

"We didn't know anything else until a few years ago," Mikey admitted with a shrug. "But hey, when you're hungry, you eat what's available, right? No matter how disgusting it is..." he mumbled, accidentally switching from that topic to yet another. He was just glad Donnie didn't seem to realise.

"Tell me about it," Donnie sighed knowingly.

"We're back!" Raph yelled and Mikey turned to just make out he and Casey leaping over the turnstiles into the lair.

"Speaking of, dinner's here," Donnie smiled in relief. "You can sort out the order tonight if you like, while the rest of us are at the junkyard."

"Wait, you're going tonight, dude?" Mikey asked, his heart beginning to beat too fast. He wanted to go too but didn't feel quite ready. Tomorrow would have been better, but... "I thought Sensei said you couldn't go tonight."

"I went and explained to him just what I needed and he agreed to allow us to go tonight instead," Donnie explained.

"Oh... well, uh... actually, Donnie, I-I want to come too," Mikey said, making up his mind. He'd be fine because he wouldn't be alone and he could do with some fresh air after being down here for a few days now.

"To the junkyard?" Donnie asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Mikey nodded, far more enthusiastically than he actually felt.

"That's really not a good idea," Donnie immediately replied, not unkindly.

"What's not a good idea?" Leo asked as everyone joined them in the pit. Raph pursed his lips in slight annoyance the moment he saw Mikey already in the beanbag.

"Mike wants to join us at the junkyard tonight," Donnie explained quietly.

"I'm sorry but no," Leo said firmly, turning to Mikey as he spoke.

"Why not? I won't give you dudes away and I've been helping to scavenge almost all my life so I'll be useful!" Mikey promised, conveniently neglecting to mention all the times he skived off, only to be berated for it by his brothers or father.

The other three turtles exchanged uncomfortable looks before Leo met Mikey's gaze apologetically. "It's not your skills or lack of that I'm worried about, Mike," he explained carefully. "It's more about what you've just been through and the fact you're only just beginning your recovery."

Mikey felt a flash of hurt and not a little anger coarse through him but he held himself together, figuring if he lashed out it would only further Leo's argument. "Fine. If you let me come, I promise to stay back if there's any fighting this time," he quickly bargained.

"This isn't about what happened when the Dragons attacked you and Donnie the other night," Leo immediately assured, shaking his head, "it's about the fact that you can't even make it through basic training yet."

Mikey shot a guilty look to Splinter, "I'm sorry for sleeping through training today, Sensei, I didn't mean to! I promise!"

Splinter nodded understandingly. "It is quite alright, Michelangelo. I told you that you may take a few days to recover and adjust to life here before joining in, remember? Besides, I was under the impression you haven't been sleeping well so I believe you needed the sleep in more."

"I did," Mikey replied quietly, feeling downcast at the admission. Last he'd seen the clock it had been well after five. He'd decided come six he was just going to get up regardless but he'd obviously finally fallen asleep. He turned back to Leo, eyes pleading desperately. "How about I wait at the sewer entrance until you guys confirm it's safe?"

"Not happening," Raph cut in bluntly before Leo could respond. "We've got too many enemies to have to babysit your shell."

Mikey was flabbergasted. "Babysit?" he echoed in disbelief. "You don't have to babysit me! I'm older than you, remember? And I can look after myself!"

"Yeah, because you did such a great job of that already!" Raph blurted without thinking.

"Raphael!" Leo snapped. Then he turned back to Mikey who sat there staring at Raph, looking rather too much like a kicked puppy. "It's not just the Purple Dragons, it's also the Foot," he explained kindly. "They have powerful and deadly mutants on their side, along with Footbot soldiers, supplied by the Kraang."

Mikey blanched, something no one missed.

"Then there's also the Kraang themselves. They're everywhere in this city and they disguise themselves to fit in so normal humans don't even realise. Can you honestly tell us you're ready to face them again so soon?" Leo asked. "When you even can't say their name or stand to go near their tech?"

"I can so say their name," Mikey mumbled, trying to force back his utter dread at the thought of it. "I just don't want to and I let Donnie do the scan."

"Not without a lot of resistance," Donnie pointed out.

Leo sighed, "And then there's dozens of other enemies up there and you don't even have a weapon right now, let alone know anything about this world yet. So I'm sorry Mike, but as team leader, my decision stands. You can give us a list of what to look for and while I can't promise to fill it, we'll at least keep an eye out."

Argument over, as far as they were concerned, Raph and Casey reached into the bags they'd brought down and began handing around foam takeaway containers. Frustration and hurt filling him, Mikey stared down in dread at the one he held. "What is this?" he eventually asked warily, feeling overwhelmed and sickened by the warm stench taunting his nostrils.

"Pizza gyoza," Donnie answered eagerly. "Try it, it's really good."

Mikey carefully opened the lid, swallowing nervously as he stared down at the small parcels of food. He loved gyoza normally but rarely had an opportunity to eat it. Under normal circumstances, he'd have been more than happy to try it but right now, he feared it, knowing how disgusting everything tasted. For the better part of a year he'd been forced to eat the same rank glop, day in and day out and while his body adjusted enough to eat it without throwing it back up, he never could get used to the taste. Still, though disgustingly lumpy, what he'd been eating as a prisoner could just be swallowed down like a thick soup, nice and quick. This would have to be chewed first and therein lay much of his problem. Suddenly, he became aware of a couple of sets of eyes upon him and so he quickly popped one of the disgusting smelling morsels in his mouth, chewing and swallowing as quickly as possible. Satisfied, the eyes left him as the family continued to talk amongst themselves and he tried his best to continue eating. He managed to get through about a quarter of the container before the shudder reflex became too much to control and he felt like he was going to puke. Thrusting the remainder at Donnie who was still seated beside him, Mikey struggled quickly to his feet and raced for the bathroom, heaving and shuddering all the way, barely making it to the bowl in time.

Several minutes later, Donnie pushed the door open, stepping inside to crouch down beside him."Are you okay, Mike?" he asked in concern.

"Y-yeah," Mikey swallowed, fighting not to heave more. "Just... something in those didn't agree with me," he half lied. Then his eyes widened suspiciously, "hey, do you normally walk in on others in the bathroom, dude?" he deflected, hoping to distract Donnie from the root of the problem.

Donnie bristled indignantly. "The door wasn't actually closed and I was worried about how you ran off so suddenly," he snapped, coming closer and touching his hand to Mikey's forehead, ignoring the way he flinched at the unexpected touch. "You don't feel warm. The food is fine, no one else is sick from it. Is there anything you're allergic to that you haven't told us about?"

"Not that I know of," Mikey replied, struggling back to his feet when all he wanted to do was throw up again from the taste still lingering in his mouth.

"Hmm... well, maybe it's an allergy you developed over the last few months," Donnie mused, "or perhaps it's something you always barely tolerated and having not eaten it for so long has decreased your tolerance for it. Allergies can change over time, you know."

Mikey stared at Donnie in disbelief. Why couldn't he just leave this alone? Donnie had enough of his own problems without worrying about him too.

"I'll ask Murakami-san for a list of the ingredients and we'll test you on them one at a time."

"N-no, it's okay! I don't want to cause you any more trouble," Mikey babbled desperately.

"It won't be any trouble," Donnie frowned, "and it's better to know, right?" When Mikey didn't respond, Donnie added, "If something is causing you a problem, we can either just avoid the ingredient or work to improve your tolerance for it again."

"Seriously, dude, don't worry about it. I'm fine now!" Mikey insisted, knowing it was a fight he was unlikely to win. "Look, I'm just going to get a drink and lay down for a bit, okay? I'm tired."

It was Donnie's turn to stare numbly at Mikey in disbelief.

"If you can, leave your laptop in the pit and I'll take a look a bit later when I'm feeling better. Good luck scavenging!"

And with that, Mikey rushed off to his borrowed room, leaving a flabbergasted Donnie behind.

-:-

"What are you looking for, Donnie? Things to rebuild Metalhead with?" Leo asked as the brothers gazed over the apparently empty junkyard.

Donnie shook his head, "No. Not tonight."

"Perhaps you should?" Leo suggested. "He was a huge help to us last time, even if he didn't find our Mikey. Maybe if we got him into a Kraang stronghold, he could hack in and find the information we need."

Donnie stood there silently a moment as Leo and Raph gazed at him expectantly. Then he sighed. "Don't you think I want to?" he asked painfully.

"Then what's the problem?" Raph grunted. "Prioritise fixing that metal menace so we can find our brother already!"

"It's not that simple!" Donnie snapped irritably. "Even if I had all the necessary parts on hand, it's not a job that would take only a couple of days and boom! Done!" His sudden temper spent, he sighed again and explained more calmly. "Besides the fact that Metalhead would take weeks to rebuild to the point he was at the end, there's the matter of finding the parts... and most of those needed would have to he acquired from the Kraang. Earth technology simply isn't yet capable of the quality or sophistication needed." Donnie shook his head sadly, "And that's assuming his memory and programming wasn't damaged beyond repair. I need to take time to examine Metalhead more closely before even attempting to rebuild."

"Take all the time you need," Leo offered softly.

"Thanks, I'm so happy to have your permission that I'll do just that," Donnie replied drily.

"Well, if it's not about Metalhead, what are we doing here?" Leo asked, ignoring Donnie's facetiousness.

"Various bits and pieces," Donnie explained, distracted by the nearby mounds of scrap. He began walking to one particularly promising pile. "Including some quality metal to repair Mikey's weapons with and make a new set especially for Mike."

"Speaking of Mike, what was wrong with him tonight?" Leo asked, concerned as he remembered the other-dimensional turtle heaving as he raced off in the direction of the bathroom.

"I'm not certain. He said something about the gyoza not agreeing with him but I'm not sure that's what the problem actually was," Donnie replied with a frown. "He seemed just a little too defensive when I tried asking him about it."

"Hey, is it just me or does he look like he's about to be sick every time he eats?" Leo asked as he and Raph followed Donnie.

"It's not just you, I've noticed that too," Raph grunted, watching the area around them carefully for any sign of humans, canines or any other threat that might turn up unexpectedly.

"And then there's whatever he began to say just before April arrived," Leo mused quietly. "He's hiding something."

Donnie nodded as he began rifling through the mound of scrap, pulling aside the odd item for closer inspection as he went.

"So what do we do, then?" Raph asked, throwing his arms into the air in annoyance. "We can't just confront him again, we've all seen how well that goes!"

"True. He puts up higher walls than you do, Raph," Donnie observed distantly as he studied a particularly promising chunk of high-grade metal.

Raph scowled in annoyance.

"Only I don't think they're as sturdy as Raph's," Leo continued thoughtfully. "Maybe all we can do is wait patiently for them to tumble. If he's anything like Mikey, it probably won't take too long."

"I dunno about that, Leo," Raph shook his head in disagreement. "Mikey's actually pretty good at keeping his darker feelings to himself."

"Only when whatever hurts him concerns us," Leo corrected. "Whenever he's upset because of something someone else has done, it's almost impossible for him to keep it to himself for long."

"That's true," Donnie murmured softly, stilling as he thought back. They'd truly done and said some awful things to their missing brother in the past and the fact that Mikey internalised those things and never spoke about them again didn't help matters in the slightest. Donnie bit his lip, wishing like hell he could take back some of those things and swore to apologise profusely should they ever get him back. Unfortunately, he never noticed the pain in Mikey's eyes or in his voice in the moment but rather some time after the fact, whenever his traitorous photographic memory replayed said incidents for him to agonise over. Given that Mikey himself acted as though nothing ever happened, he was never sure how to bring it up without hurting him all over again.

"If he doesn't feel like we're constantly pushing, when his walls break, and they will, it may be easier to find out just what is going on."

-:-

Sometime after Casey and April went home and the other turtles went out, Mikey emerged again from his borrowed room, stomach aching with hunger.

He crept silently through the lair and noticing the laptop on the bench in the pit, grabbed it on his way to the kitchen. Waking it from sleep, he saw the web page for the online shopping already loaded and smiled tightly before turning away to peer through the cupboards and fridge once more, taking stock of their contents.

It wasn't long before Mikey sat and began going through the catalogue, wincing at the minuscule budget given him. Back home, earning money for groceries was fairly easy for them. They often cleaned up and fixed items found at the junkyard, passing them on to April to sell for them or occasionally selling on E-bay instead. At the times that wasn't quite enough, Mikey supplemented the budget with money he earnt from selling art commissions under an online pseudonym – money that usually went to extras like comics and video games when he could. He'd never told his family that he did that but he strongly suspected that Donnie knew and if not supported him, at least made sure the online transactions couldn't be traced.

He stared toward the cupboard thoughtfully, wondering how this family earnt their money. After all, April was only a teenager here and couldn't possibly own her own store the way Ape did. As he pondered this dilemma, his stomach chose that moment to loudly proclaim its hunger and he whimpered. Other than the late, lamented gyoza, he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and that was only half a sandwich which was still in the fridge, wrapped and waiting for him like a spectre in the night. He felt sick again at the thought of finishing it but he couldn't just go hungry like this. He needed something quick and easy to swallow so he didn't have time to taste it. Soup would be perfect but they had none and nor did they have the ingredients required for making any. Well, that was something he could purchase quite cheaply for meals at least but that didn't help him right now and neither could he subject everyone else to variations of the same meal day after day, especially after telling Donnie he'd expand their pallets. Mikey bit his lip. Well, he could always make one thing for them and another for himself but he needed an excuse for when they invariably asked why. If it had been two days ago, he could have easily gone with not being able to stomach solids after so long without but they'd seen him eating small amounts of solid foods in that time.

Mikey leant back, balancing the stool on its back legs as he considered. His stomach loudly grumbled its displeasure again, startling him from his reverie and the stool slid out from under him, crashing him painfully to the floor. He lay there, blinking up at the ceiling when an accented voice full of concern called out.

"Michelangelo? Are you alright?"

Mikey coloured, embarrassed by his trademark klutziness. What the shell was with that anyway? He had amazing balance, always had, bouncing around and doing things his brothers could only dream of, yet he was so much more accident-prone than the rest of them put together! "Yeah, I'm fine, Grandpa Sensei!" he chuckled self consciously. "Just... uh..."

"Leaned back on the legs of the stool and it slid out from underneath you?" Splinter asked drily, peering down at him.

"Yeah! How'd you know?" Mikey asked, faking surprise as he stared up with wide eyes.

"I wonder, indeed," Splinter replied wryly. "Do you need a hand extricating yourself?"

"Nuh, I got it," Mikey replied nonchalantly. He quickly untangled his feet from where he'd wrapped them around the stool legs and bounded up, wincing slightly at the fast movement; obviously he'd hit his head harder than he thought going down.

Splinter reached down to pick up the stool, examining it with a critical eye. "May I suggest next time keeping all four legs solidly on the ground?"

Mikey quickly coloured again. "Sorry. Uh... where are you taking it?" he asked as Splinter began to walk towards the kitchen door, stool in hand.

"To Donatello's lab to have one leg replaced. It has cracked slightly in the fall and I would rather not risk it being left untended."

Mikey winced and wilted. "Sorry, Sensei," he mumbled again.

"It is fine, Michelangelo. Just do not repeat the same action in future."

Mikey nodded numbly as Splinter left before moving the laptop in front of another stool and sitting down. He gazed at the screen once more as his stomach continued to gnaw at him from the inside. Moaning miserably, he laid his head down on the table, unable to concentrate.

He was so hungry but there was nothing here he could eat and keep down.

-:-