Socius
(Accomplice)
Part One:
Mās
(Male)
Chapter One
"Guess you're thinking I told you so. After everything we survived, to get done in by other humans, how stink is that?"
"Pretty stink, and yeah, that's what I'm thinking".
"So, here we are hiding out in some old mine of some description, what you think we should do now, we can't stay here, and we don't' have any food or water".
"For one so young, you're certainly very negative, huh?"
"Glass is half full… and besides, you were locked up safe and sound while those beasts were doing the worst of it all, you didn't see what they did!"
"Oh, you think I didn't? What makes you think those things didn't march up to our concrete walls and smash them in to crush us all?"
"You expect me to believe those things gave a shit about busting you guys out just to kill you guys?"
"I don't expect you to believe anything".
"Really?"
"Yip".
"How the fuck can you be so nonchalant about all this? About me ragging on you?"
"Haha, seriously? You think your silly little ramblings constitute "ragging" on me, boy, you really don't have much in the way of life experience, do you?"
"Enough to know that I'm going to be psychologically scarred for the rest of my life because of what those bloody things did".
"Well, if that's what you want to dwell on".
"You're not letting me get under your skin, huh?"
"Nope".
"Can anything bother you?"
"It's not a point of something bothering me, its about allowing something to bother you. So I don't worry myself with anything".
"Seriously? You can't honestly expect me to believe you given the current circumstance".
"Well, what would you like me to say, kid? That this whole affair has devastated my inner self esteem, has made me consider all the things in life I've lost, friends, family, colleagues? That its made me regret my life choices? Regardless of what I feel on the inside, I don't see a point in getting worked up over any of it. By their standards it was probably a mouse fart in the wind worth of time that I was someone, that I did anything worthy of public notice, now? Well, look at us kid; you and me wandering through the destruction those metal bastards have rough upon our society? You really can't see the forest for the trees, can you boy?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're a smart kid, figure it out!"
"If I could figure it out I would have fucking said so! I wouldn't have wasted time asking you! Just fucking tell me!"
"I don't even think you know what you're arguing about!"
"You said you don't let things bother you, then you turn around and say you regret your life choices, and now that with what those things have done you worry about shit but don't say so?"
"I didn't fucking say that, what the hell is wrong with you, do you have selective hearing?"
"You did fucking say those things!! You're just too senile to admit it! That's if you can even fucking remembered those ramblings!"
"What the hell?"
"Do you think I want to be spending what could be my last days with a whinging, pussy of a brat?"
"Are you insane!! Do you have any fucking concept of what's really happening here? You go on about how I don't seem to realise what's the point, that I'm bothering you when you say you're not being bothered!"
The explosion ripped the ground to shreds behind them.
"What the hell?"
"Don't need two guesses, kid!"
The two men dived themselves into the sludge that sat at the bottom of the roadside ditch.
"Oh god".
Nick whispered as he clambered upwards and peered over towards the source of the fireball.
"Can you see anything?"
The criminal asked as he slouched against the muddy wall.
"Do flames count?"
"Yeah, they count!"
Gettys yelled back as a second explosion ripped the ashen sky from the ground up. He spun around so he was on his knees and he looked up over the edge to add an extra pair of eyes to the search for… well… whatever.
"THERE!"
He screeched over the sounds of the roaring fires, the acidic smoke burning the insides of his throat as he inadvertently got a mouthful. It tasted so foul, the heavy soot was mingled with the soot that covered his tongue, it seemed to draw out the very natural moisture of that valuable muscle. He gagged, coughed then spat a huge black ball of spittle onto the ditch's muddy ground.
The smoke blurred his vision somewhat, but he still had the ability to view the movement from within the fireball and the smoke that it birthed. Nick was in a similar condition of sensation. The heat from the inferno was brushing against his face, the sheer power of it pulsating that his hair swirled back and fourth with its pattern. No matter how each experienced the situation, both gave thought to it being their last moments.
The form stepped out from the burning sphere. It was one of those damn creatures. It said something in a language neither of the men knew, but both had heard – it was the language of the machines. But it didn't seem to notice them. Maybe it thought they were both dead?
"I don't get it… shouldn't it be coming towards us?"
Nick whispered.
"Sssh!"
Gettys grabbed Nick quickly and covered the young man's mouth; he hoped it wouldn't be a habit, this action. The creature stopped and turned in their direction.
"Someone there?"
He asked in English. He walked towards the ditch and the two men cowered lower in the ditch. The creature lifted his rifle, he seemed nervous, almost as if he was second guessing himself and his destructive actions.
"Come out Autobot! I know you're near!"
His voice… it was… was it shaking?
"Primus…"
The creature whispered.
"Megatron always told me there'd be days like this…"
The machine sighed softly. He pivoted on his foot and held his hand up, it folded into a cylinder and then white foam was sprayed over the flames.
He laughed for a moment and then started poking about in the dirt, literally.
"Come on, gotta be one around here somewhere…"
The human tried to stop it, he tried to hold it in, he knew doing it would kill him, kill them both, but he couldn't, and it came out fast and loud and both were unable to do anything about stopping it.
"AH-CHOO!"
Nick whimpered under the sweaty hand of the criminal who'd just slaughtered them both.
The large black and purple mechanical beast stood up from whatever he was doing. He had the top of a cockpit sitting on his chest and two wings protruding from his back. His eyes were a bright red that burned fear right into the hearts of the two small men.
"oh god".
Getty's whispered, aware of the severity of his mistake.
They were then spotted.
"WOOOH! Humans! TWO Humans!"
The machine almost jumped backwards, absolutely stunned to see these two organic creatures staring up at him from the ditch they found themselves huddled in.
"RUN!"
Gettys managed to scream as he clambered up out of the ditch, grabbing the younger by the scruff and hurling up out, finding strength he hadn't possessed since he was the same age.
"Wait!"
The machine called to them as they ran off in different directions.
Nick realised he was the target. The creature was bearing down on him with a frightful amount of speed. But what struck Nick as peculiar was the thing was blasting at him… maybe it wanted to grab him, torture him, tear his flesh from his bones. Dear God. They were going to die!
Suddenly the creature was in front of him, on the ground so his face was level with the running young man, who was taken by such surprise that he tripped over and face planted.
"Hey, hey, relax little man, I ain't gonna mush you one".
The human looked up at the robot, his face contorted in fear.
"Please…"
He sobbed.
"Wow, you guys were really messed up by those damn Autobots".
"GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU MONSTER!!"
Gettys didn't know what the hell he was doing, or why he was running at the robotic beast many, many metres higher then he. He didn't know why he was picking up chunks of still warm, charred rock and throwing them at it, he didn't know why he was getting closer and closer, and he certainly didn't know why he was now kicking the purple and black mech in the hand.
"Hey! That ain't nice, seesh!"
The machine sat up on his arse and rubbed the grubbing smudges the human's attack had left on his hand.
"Man! What the hell is in that sludge! It stinks like shit!"
The metallic being held his hand up to his nose and sniffed making an almost amusing face.
The criminal stopped his "assault" and the other pushed himself up and together they looked at the strange machine that hadn't killed them yet and certainly wasn't cussing them out.
"Who...?"
Nick stammered.
"You're not like the others".
Gettys cottoned onto it pretty quickly.
"The others? You mean the Autobots?"
"The whatobots?"
Gettys asked, but he couldn't be sure if he had heard that term before.
"Hahah… What-Oh-Bots? That's absolutely priceless! Man! I gotta tell TC that! He'll split his diodes in half laughing! HAHAHA".
"Ah… so you are?"
"Name's Skywarp, I'm a Decepticon. Pleased to make your fleshy, albeit smelly acquaintance".
He offered a finger to the criminal who took it as a sign for a hand shake and so did so.
"I've been on a lot of worlds, but none have a greeting where you grab each other's hand and shake… its so human! I love it!"
Skywarp grinned.
"Decepticons?"
Nick managed without too much of a stutter.
"Yeah, we're the good guys".
"Oh thank god".
Nick breathed outwards.
"Good guys?"
The criminal asked.
"Sure are! See, there's the Autobots, the nasty bastards who have trashed your planet, and then there's the club I belong to, the Decepticons, we're not big fans of the whatohbots, so we're here to stop them… or at least try to".
"And you're not going to hurt us?"
Getty's inquired.
"No, no, of course not! You're not into that kind of stuff… are you? What's the human word… ah…."
The Decepticon consulted his data banks for a moment, his optics flickering.
"Sadomasochist".
He laughed again.
"Anyways, you guys wanna come meet my boss? Megatron? He's a funny guy! Seriously!"
"Why the hell not, better then hanging around here".
Gettys stated as he threw his hands up. If this creature was going to kill them, then it didn't really matter where, right? And if it was true, if Skywarp was part of the good guys, then there was no way in hell they should ignore the offer.
The Decepticon picked up Nick, lifting him out of the warmed muck until he was in a standing back on the ground.
"Stand back little smelly friends".
The Decepticon smiled as he took a few steps back and then started to fold down until sitting before the two men was an F-15 Eagle. The cock pit lifted upwards revealing two seats.
"Hope in, chums! And don't forget to wipe your tootsies!"
He chuckled again. He certainly was a happy-go-lucky mechanical man.
The two humans looked at each other, shrugged, and climbed in.