Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! Sorry this chapter is so late (seven months… I AM SO SORRY)… Life just threw me for a loop: moved into a new house, when to Hawaii, picked up extra shifts a work, started school, and now its finals week (can you tell that I am trying to procrastinate studying for finals?). Once again, I would love to thank all the readers, reviewers, favoriters, and alerters (the last two, yeah, I made those words up). You guys are freaking amazing and literally make my day.

I'M ON TWITTER! (just search "PolyBookworm") I will update twitter on how the story goes and other cool things! So follow me! And let me know that you are not some spam account 'looking for a good time'! :)

PS: WARNING – Cardio cuteness overload ahead. You have been warned!

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Chapter 4: Head Above Water

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His breaths came out in labored huffs. His knees and palms ached against the cool metal, which did nothing to help sooth the pain. His entire body was sore, but he continued to crawl forward through the ventilation system. Cardio, who moved to sit on Sam's back, whirled and clicked in annoyance as his creator blocked the little bot from the pain and discomfort he was feeling. He wanted to share his creator's pain with him, so that he didn't have to suffer alone, but Sam's wouldn't let him.

Sam felt the effects of the last two weeks. His body tired extremely quickly; he had only been crawling for a few minutes, but his body already burned from the strain of physical activity.

Cardio tapped his right ear, which signaled Sam to turn to the right, who was concentrating on keeping upright and forgot to keep track of where he was going. Sam sent gratitude through the bond. In response, Cardio laid his little head on Sam's spine and nuzzle close to the boy, griping the back of Sam's shirt tightly. Cardio beeped, happy to once again be close to his creator, his annoyance forgotten.

After another minute or two, Sam came up to a dead end, which ended with a large grate. Looking through the panels of the grate and seeing no one in the garbage room, Sam slowly maneuvered his aching bodying to where he could kick the grate open. After a few failed attempts, Sam's patience began to wear thin.

"Stupid son-of-a-" Kick. "Why don't you just-" Kick. "Holy mother of-" Kick.

Cardio set a little hand on Sam's knee, causing the boy to stop and look at his little bot. Cardio climbed over Sam's lower half and quickly unscrewed the screws, causing them to fall into the garbage room with little clinks. Sam latched his fingers through the panels of the grate and pushed it open and ungracefully slid out of the vents. He slowly placed the grate back where it belonged and Cardio quickly put the screws back. Cardio scampered back to Sam and climbed up the length of the boy's to latch back onto his chest, Sam unconsciously placing his left arm under the bot for support.

Sam took in their surroundings; they were in an empty garbage room, where they noticed three chutes – two labeled "Trash" and the third "Recycle".

Sam glanced down at the little bot on his chest. "So… I guess we jump into the chute…"

Cardio did a little shrugging motion with his shoulders, causing Sam to snort. Sam stumbled over to the second trash chute and looked down the long, dark tunnel. Sam ungracefully, and quite clumsily, lifted himself up into the chute to where his feet were dangling inside and he sat on the small edge. After a few moments of hesitation, Cardio lightly pulled on the front of his shirt towards the chute.

"I know, I know," Sam muttered, still staring down the shaft. Just please don't be some sick joke and there be an incinerator at the bottom. "Hey, Cardio, why don't you get under my shirt. I think it might be safer."

Cardio let a squeak of happiness as Sam pulled open the bottom of his shirt to allow Cardio to climb in. Sam shivered as Cardio's warm metal made contact with his bare chest.

Cardio poked his little metallic head out of the collar of Sam's shirt. "Get a good grip before I jump, okay buddy."

Before Sam realized what happened, Cardio's pointed fingers dug into the skin on his chest. Wincing, Sam let out a strangled gasp, his body went stiff as he felt Cardio's fingers latch onto something deep in his chest. He felt Cardio's mental presence increase, as it seemed like the little bot was uploading into Sam's system. The foreign feeling caused Sam to pull up a mental barrier, which made Cardio to pull back a bit.

"No, no! It's okay," Sam whispered, pulling down the barrier. "Just hold on tightly and we'll be out of here soon." And get all this stuff figured out… Cardio put his head back into Sam's shirt and curled into a protective ball, Sam wrapping one arm around the little bot.

"Alright… One… two… three-" Sam pulled his other arm around himself and Cardio as he propelled himself down the chute. Sam closed his eyes, the speed making him dizzy and disoriented. His back and shoulders were jostled and bumped as they made their way down the trash chute. After a few seconds of being tossed around like an unsafe rollercoaster, Sam landed heavily on his back in a giant pile of garbage. After collecting his thoughts for a few seconds, and making sure that Cardio was undamaged, Sam sat up to take in his surroundings (Cardio decided to do so too and poke his head up through Sam's collar again). But before he could fully see where he was (they seemed to be in some outside trash site), he heard voices and quickly tucked himself in the trash and lay down as still as he possibly could.

"Is that all the trash, Bob?" called a voice to the right of Sam.

"Seems so," responded another voice.

"Alright," the first voice hollered, "Let's get a move on then. We've gotta make a pit stop at Jackie's Roadhouse before sunset, I don't want to miss their early bird dinner special."

The second voice hooted with joy at the idea.

Sam jumped at the rumble of the truck's engine being started and hugged Cardio closer to his chest. The truck began to move and Sam's heart began to pound in excitement. They were finally on their way to freedom.

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After waiting about a half an hour after making it through the security at the entrance of the horrid government facility, Sam felt it safe to peer over the back of the garbage truck. The sun was sinking towards the horizon and the temperature began to drop (but the trash in the truck was slightly warm with the garbage decomposition – not to mention the smell!). Sam looked around, taking in the tall trees and forest around the small curvy road. Where were they?

Cardio gripped the edges of his collar and peered over it, making small click and whirls every so often.

Click. Click. Whirl.

"Those are trees," Sam answered the little bots question as he pointed to the tall pine trees.

Click. Whirl. Clink.

"That's the sun."

Cardio clicked in curiosity, wanting to know what everything was, but he knew that his creator was exhausted and need to take a rest.

"Once we get back to the Autobots, I'll make sure to take you on a camping trip and teach you all about nature. How does that sound, little buddy?" Sam said, with a small yawn.

The small bot whirled in happiness and snuggled into his creator's chest. Sam, once again, put his arm around Cardio and leaned back into the trash, waiting for the drivers to make a pit stop at Jackie's Roadhouse to finally make a run for it.

After about an hour or so, just before sunset, the garbage truck slowed to a stop. After the engine was killed, Sam could make out the sound of voices and the hustle and bustle of a rest stop. After the two truck drivers left the garbage truck parked a ways from the rest stop (the smell would probably gross people out), Sam peered over the side that was parallel with the side of the road. Sam noticed that the forest was now very thin, compared to earlier, which could be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Good, because the thinner the forest the closer to civilization, bad, because that means less spots to hide. But Sam took the chance anyways; he looked both ways to make sure no one was coming, checked to make sure that Cardio was holding on (which he was taking a quick stasis nap while being 'uploaded' into Sam's system), and jumped from the top of the truck. Sam maneuvered so that he would land on his back so not to harm Cardio, but it did a number on him. The jolt woke up the little bot, who quickly made a fuss over how dumb that was. Sam didn't care, they needed to get away and that needed to happen now.

Sam struggled to his feet: being injured, malnourished, exhausted, and on edge sure did take a toll on the boy. Cardio offered to get off and walk on his own, but Sam declined, saying that it made him feel better with the heart-bot so close.

Sam stumbled into the forest, mindful of his injured leg, and made his way to the back of the rest stop. Sam spotted the shower/bathroom building and made his way over to it. It may not be 'homey' but it was a temporary place to spend the night without getting caught. Sam needed to sleep, only if it was a quick power nap.

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"What do you mean 'escaped'?" Dr. Swanton, Amanda (her personal assistant), and a tech coward under Dr. Goldden's deathly glare. "How the hell did you let Subject 00472 escape along with that damn abomination?" she hollered, slamming her palms on the desk in front of her. She turned her back to the three and rubbed her temples roughly. Dr. Goldden took a deep breath and lashed out, kicking a trashcan across the room, narrowly missing the poor tech. Dr. Goldden paused on her rampage.

"Where is Dr. Jameson?" she asked sweetly, turning to face the three others in the room.

"Uh… h-he's been missing since last night, ma'am. The guards saw him leave after his shift, but no one can get a hold of him," Dr. Swanton muttered, not making eye contact with his boss.

Dr. Goldden growled. "You better hope that dumbass has nothing to do with the Subject's escape, or I'll kill him myself…"

"Yes, ma'am…" all three mumbled, still cowering from her.

Dr. Goldden screamed, causing all of them to jump. "I want Subject 00472 found immediately, if it the last thing you fucking morons ever do!"

Before they could think, all three were scrambling over one another to get out of the room with the she-devil and begin the search for the missing experiment.

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Published: December 4, 2012 - unbetaed