Chapter 3: Caught in the Crossfire

"So what exactly did Optimus mean when he said I can call on you guys at anytime?" Samantha enquired not seconds after Ironhide had driven from the warehouse compounds. Ironhide knew he was in a world of questions for the ride home, but he owed this human his life. He considered this a fair offering of thanks, considering the chattyness of the human species.

"It means you are in our favour." Ironhide replied curtly not knowing any other way of expressing the term.

"Ah ha." Samantha responded critically, she didn't know exactly what all this really meant for her. She wasn't a soldier, or a police officer anymore for that matter, so what use does the favour of robotic warrior aliens have for her? So she decided to crack a joke at it, "So if I ever need a pizza delivered ultra quick you guys are the ones to call right." Winking her right eye.

Ironhide was not amused, "You think it humorous to trivialize our highest honor?" His remark made Samantha feel sheepishly ashamed. "Oh come on Ironhide, I was just joking." The large topkick just grunted.

Ok… Samantha hummed inside her head, let's change the subject or this will be the longest ride home of my life, "So where you headed after you leave here and catch up with your team?"

"That's classified." Ironhide responded coldly. Samantha was beginning to think maybe the ride home was a bad idea. "Ok" she stammered not knowing where else to take this conversation. Ironhide sensed the human in his cab was beginning to feel uneasy as she shuffled against her seat and decided to cut her some slack as humans would say.

"Samantha do you enjoy your primary function?" He asked. Samantha crumpled the side of her lip in confusion, "My what?"

"When I read your profile it detailed your primary function is that of enforcement duties. I was enquiring whether you find your primary function satisfying"

"I used to." Samantha uttered with a bitter taste in her mouth catching onto the topic of conversation. After everything that happened she had actually forgot that she was now without a job, she could've done without the reminder. "I lost my job this morning. That is why I was so far out west near the overpass where I ran into you… so to speak."

"Oh." Ironhide muttered. He didn't understand why Samantha's attitude suddenly turned so somber, since it isn't overly hard for humans to change their functions, but her reaction made it obvious this was a sore spot for her. "I am sorry to hear of your desistance."

Samantha let a small smile crawl over her face, it was sweet that Ironhide, who would have very little interest in her job issues was being so sympathetic, "Thanks Ironhide, that means a lot."

The two continued to chatter meaninglessly until they reached Samantha's address. Samantha indulged Ironhide of the reasons why she loved being a cop, and Ironhide indulged Samantha of his home world and the reasons why the Autobots and Decepticons were now fighting out their war on earth. All the while Ironhide required details confidential, just giving the human enough information as an overview.

Samantha's house was a small three bedroom two storey house. Not in the best neighborhood in town, but that's what made it affordable for her to live alone. She didn't have a garden, just overgrown grass contained by an iron fence. She didn't have time to be a green thumb, nor did she have the patience.

"Thank you for the lift Ironhide, I really appreciate it." Samantha said opening the car door of the black topkick and jumping from the vehicles high rise cab.

"You are welcome Samantha Tyson." Ironhide replied with genuine civility. He actually enjoyed this human's presence; she had characteristics he could tolerate while in her company. Once Samantha had reached her front door Ironhide pulled away from the curb taking his leave, Samantha turned and gave him one final glance as he disappeared around the corner, she was still mystified by what he was.

Scuffling her feet at the front door it suddenly hit Samantha that not only had she left her crushed car at the overpass, but her belongings, purse and keys. Luckily, she hid a spare behind a loose brick at the side of her terrace, but now she was banging her head because rather than just crash on her bed she had to call the bank and cancel her credit cards, and book a locksmith to change the locks. What a hassle.

It was hours before she could finally rest. The day had merged into dusk and she flopped in her bed after the quickest shower of her life to remove the battle smears all over her from the morning.

As nighttime fell Samantha was dead to the world. Her head was replaying the memories of the day over and over. A black silhouette blocked her vehicle from imminent death by a missile. Ironhide crumpling over in pain, the vicious robot with red eyes kicking him in the side as Samantha screamed in agony for it to stop. The sounds of the impact of the robots' limbs connecting and their bodies crashing into the street were deafening. Samantha had to do something and she shook herself realising she was in her old truck. She shifted the gears into drive and sped straight towards the enemy, an earsplitting crash as she connected with him. The noise was so loud that her whole body shook with pain.

Samantha's body jerked as she grabbed onto her bed. Her eyes shot open in fright and her heart was pounding hard in her chest. Calming her erratic breathing she looked around and realised she had been sleeping, it was night time and she was in her room. Composing herself she sighed, "Just a dream."

Seconds after Samantha uttered those reassuring words her body froze in horror as a whole section of her roof was stripped before her eyes. She stared up petrified, her heart resuming its terrified pace, watching as what looked like a giant hand ripped apart at her ceiling. She closed her eyes tightly through the horrible cracking noise reopening them in anticipation that the roof would be whole. Instead pieces of timber were now colliding with her bed. Samantha held tight to her bed her body failing to react. Suddenly, the tearing ceased and the night was quiet and still. Momentary false hope as a large metal arm now descended from her roof straight for her bed. Kicking her body into action Samantha flew to the floor in a dive rolling away as her bed was seized and crushed inside the metal limb. She willed her legs to move and she sprang to her feat bolting down the hall.

Samantha's run was followed by the mounting noise of her house being destroyed around her. Dodging flying bits of timber Samantha yelped as she darted side to side down the hall before sliding down the staircase and taking cover in her living room. She had to decide which exit to take, the backyard or the front door. The noise of destruction ceased and Samantha swore she could hear footsteps on her roof mostly near the back of the house. Deciding she bolted for the front door.

Running as fast as her feet could carry her Samantha rushed through the front door flinging it back and forth against its hinges as she flew into the street. Reaching the road she turned her head back to her house and gasped at what she saw.

Her house was in tatters, the structure barely still recognisable. And perched atop the wreckage, a huge robot cloaked in the darkness of the night, the only light from its body now two red glowing eyes that had fixated on her. The words "holy shit" involuntarily escaping her lips.

The robot made a move for the human gawking at it from the road. Samantha turned pushing her body to run for its life. She cold hear the tremors of the ground as the robot chased her, the footsteps growing louder as she ran. Her heart raced and she knew that that thing was right on her tail. She couldn't outrun it. She wouldn't even get across the street to her neighbors house before it had her. Samantha's eyes then fixated on a hole in the road, a drain. She let her body fall to the ground as she slid across the cement feet first.

In a move a baseball professional would commemorate Samantha slid perfectly and her body entered the drain hole. Gashes and cuts covered her arms and legs, the hot stinging of the wounds burning like fire. No time to recover as the robot was now bashing against the cement overhanging the drain so determined to escape Samantha bent down and began to crawl down the dark narrow piping of the drain. She knew exactly what she was crawling through, but she didn't let her mind think about the soft mush against her body as she crawled. Moments passed and she just kept moving, the sound of cement cracking growing dimmer until all she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her ear and her deep frantic breaths. Everything was pitch black and Samantha began to panic how long this piping was, and how it felt like it was getting smaller as she went along.

Finally a sign of light appeared at the end of the piping and Samantha sighed in relief, still trying not to breathe through her nose or take notice of the grime covering her body. Peering up from the drain she could see the pipe had led her to an adjacent street from her house. But she was too fearful to exit right now, not so close to her miraculous escape. So she decided to sit in the drain for a moment and wait.

Had Samantha not been so petrified that all she could hear was her inner voice telling her to keep crawling down the pipe she might have been suspicious of the banging of the cement road above her. The change from the sound of metal hitting cement to metal hitting metal, followed by deep ominous voices.

"Ironhide." The Decepticon uttered in a venomous tone recovering from the Autobot's surprise attack which sent it crashing across the road. "It's a pleasure to see you again. Too bad its going to be short lived."

"It will be for you Dreadwind." Ironhide retorted initiating a charge towards the Decepticon. The sound of metal clanging together rang down the street as the two grappled and fought. Ironhide's frame was heftier than Dreadwind's allowing the bot to gain the upper hand in the wrestle.

Ironhide dealt several damaging punches into Dreadwind's side forcing the robot to wail out in pain. Quickly moving away from Ironhide's lethal limbs Dreadwind brought his legs to his chest and kicked as hard as he could sending Ironhide scattering across the ground. Returning to his feet Dreadwind powered his weapons and turned them to Ironhide only to be shocked to see Ironhide already has his guns powering and aimed at Dreadwind. Reacting Dreadwind transformed as Ironhide shot, the jet engines of the Decepticon barely moving it high enough to avoid the Autobot's powerful canons. Dreadwind took to the sky and retreated as Ironhide growled furiously from the ground.

Finally having the courage to emerge Samantha crawled slowly from the drain quickly skulking to the shadows of a nearby house. Collecting herself she could now smell the foul odor all over her and she searched frantically for water to wash away the filth. The garden hose at the corner of the house was a godsend as she drenched herself until she could no longer feel or smell the emanates of the drain on her body.

Freezing and wet all over she considered her next move. She had no clothes, no id, no money. If she made her way to any stores open at this late hour they would contact the authorities. She may still be frightened out of her mind, but her police logic always served her well. The robot must have the same access as the Autobots to earth's information systems. Otherwise, how would it have found her? She couldn't do anything that would get her name on the information network. Unfortunately this left her with one option, to go home and get clothes and cash. She always had an emergency stash.

Samantha kept to the shadows, eyes darting everywhere for any sign of that killer robot. She moved very slowly and quietly keeping to the front and sides of the houses. She made sure she was on the right side of the street as she approached her address, and once the half dismantled house was in view she instantly noticed all her neighbors had their lights on and a few were gawking out their windows. It wasn't surprising the noise awoke them. The cops, or even the military, would be arriving soon, and since there was so much commotion, that robot would have to had fled the area. So Samantha started running for her house.

Reaching her front steps she instantly regretted her actions as high beams now surrounded the front of the house and an engine roared behind her. She fumbled for the front door frantically trying to open it to get inside, fully aware that her half house would not shelter her from the clutches of the robot but she wouldn't just bend over and die.

She felt like screaming and her heart clenched in fear convinced it was all over but then a comforting voice called out to her, "Samantha Tyson." She recognised that voice and she turned around wide eyed to its origin. Turning down its high beams Samantha looked upon the black topkick that was slowly approaching the front of her house. Ironhide had been searching the streets for Samantha, not finding her inside her house or finding her body in the nearby vicinity after Dreadwind had retreated.

"Ironhide." Samantha breathed in relief feeling like she wanted to cry tears of joy and happiness.

"Get in." Ironhide ordered swinging open his passenger door.

"One sec." Samantha called back not giving Ironhide a chance to respond as she ran into her house. Leaping across holes in her staircase she clamored to her bedroom finding amongst the rubble a suitable bag to jam in clothes, her gun, some personal items and a photo frame that survived the destruction of her house. She scooped up the bag and bolted downstairs not wasting a second jumping straight into Ironhide's cab. The topkick's gears kicked into drive the wheels screeching away from the wreckage as approaching sirens sounded behind them.