Hello dear readers,
I had hoped to get this chapter up sooner. I'm currently very busy with school work so the next chapters will be uploaded slower as I need to find time to write. I've a huge dissertation for my bachelor's degree due before the Christmas Holiday. I'm doing research on the English pronunciation if anyone is interested. Well anyway I hope you enjoy this short chapter.
Enjoy~
June Darby was enjoying her morning lie in. It was weekend so she didn't have to work and nor did she have to get up to cook breakfast. She yawned and cuddled in against her partner, Bill Fowler, and he put his arm around her. Finally, she had a chance to relax and not worry about a thing or at least she thought. Moments later her mobile phone rang and she groaned as she rolled over to the other side of the bed to grab it of the bedside table.
"Hello."
Bill moved over to June and caressed her arm.
"Yes, this is June Darby." then there was a moment's pause. "What?" she said suddenly sitting up looking worried. "I understand... Thank you."
"What is it, June?" Bill asked once she'd put the phone down.
"It's Jack, there was an avalanche during his school trip. Him and another boy were snowboarding when it happened. They've sent out a search party." she replied tearfully. Bill put his arms around her and hugged her. She was a strong woman and this was the first time he'd seen her so vulnerable looking.
"He's all I have. I don't know what I'd do if..."
"Shhh, Sugar. They'll find him." he held her close and kissed her forehead. "Come on we'll get dressed and get Ratchet to bridge us out there. That way we can be there for him as soon as they get him to the nearest hospital."
Agent Fowler rang Ratchet and had filled him in on the situation while June was getting dressed and within minutes they were both at the Autobot base. As soon as the groundbridge had dematerialised Ratchet began punching in the next set of coordinates.
"June, what's wrong." Arcee came over she could tell by the look on her face that she was worried.
"It's Jack, there was an avalanche. He's trapped." she explained quickly.
"Scrap," Arcee replied. "I'm going with you."
"No, Arcee, there isn't anything you can do to help. An Autobot on the mountainside would draw too much attention." Agent Fowler said. "We'll keep you up to date."
Arcee was annoyed but she knew they were right. Suddenly the electric green glow of the groundbridge materialised.
"Alright," Arcee nodded and with that June and Bill disappeared through the groundbridge.
Jack didn't know how long he'd been trapped but he could feel it getting harder and harder to breathe. The snow around his body had melted somewhat and he was able to move his arms up. He started to dig not knowing how deep he was buried yet hoping he would be able to reach the surface before his air ran out.
As he struggled to make his way up he could hear a faint voice in the distance. Light was starting to pass through the snow, he knew he was nearly out. One last handful of snow and he could feel the cool fresh air rush in. He rested and caught his breath before pulling himself out of what would have been his icy grave. Jack couldn't feel his fingers or toes, especially his fingers felt very painful.
Again he suddenly heard a faint voice and looked around the mountainside to see if there were any rescue workers. Nothing but snow. He called out and the voice called back to him. Then he realised who the voice might belong to: Vince. Now Jack felt conflicted, as much as he hated Vince he couldn't just leave him to die. Jack called and listened hard. He walked around trying to pinpoint where Vince was trapped under the snow. It was difficult to tell exactly where he was because the snow muffled his shouting. When he was sure he was on top of Vince he started to dig even though his whole hands hurt. He dug deeper and deeper but then listened again. He wasn't in the right place so he took a few steps to his left and began to dig again. This time as he dug he could hear Vince's shouting getting louder until he pulled back another handful of snow and saw his rival. He helped pull him out and the pair sat breathing heavily in the snow. Since they had been buried the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was snowing hard.
Moments later a helicopter soared overhead and Jack got up and waved his arms. Vince couldn't move, his leg had been injured during the fall. Sure enough the helicopter pilot had spotted them and he carefully manoeuvred the helicopter above them. One of the rescuers ascended on a rope to assess the situation. He told them they were lucky to be alive and he signalled to his co-worker that they needed a stretcher. The stretcher was lowered and Jack helped put Vince on there so he could be hoisted to safety. With Vince safely aboard the helicopter it was Jack's turn next, however, the weather was getting worse. The helicopter pilot was having to constantly make adjustments to keep the aircraft steady. A second rope was lowered for Jack when suddenly felt the ground give way for the second time today.
Arcee's communicator rang, it was June. She quickly answered it.
"Have they found him?"
"No," replied June and by the sound of her voice Arcee could tell something was seriously wrong.
"What is it June?"
"There's been a second avalanche. The weather won't allow for them to send out a search party." she paused for a moment and gathered herself. "By the time the weather clears I'll will be too late..."
Arcee paused for a moment, her neural circuits were trying to take everything in. Then she said: "I won't let that happen to Jack. He's my partner, I'm going to find him. I swear to you June on the AllSpark that I will find him."
"Arcee..."
"I'm going to talk to Optimus, he owes Jack for saving him." and with that Arcee hung up and rushed into the command centre hub. She explained the situation to Optimus and Ratchet. Despite his reservations Optimus allowed Arcee and Bumblebee to head through the groundbridge. Ratchet had issued them a hand held bio-signal scanner so that they hopefully would be able to find Jack despite the task ahead being like looking for a needle in haystack.
The groundbridge materialised near to where the avalanche had happened, Arcee and Bumblebee were vigilant as there was a risk of another avalanche. The weather was starting to worsen hindering their vision. Under her feet Arcee could feel how soft the snow was and tread cautiously. The scanner bleeped but wasn't registering any signs of life as they trudged through the harsh environment.
"Ratchet, I'm going to try track Jack's cell phone signal. It might help us narrow down our search a bit more." Arcee radioed the base as she scanned the area for any frequencies emitted by mobile devices.
"Affirmative." Ratchet replied even though he doubted it would help.
Bumblebee also started to track Jack's mobile phone signal. Time was of the importance and the snow was falling really hard now.
Under the snow Jack came too. He had a splitting headache, his ribs hurt and he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. Again the snow pinned his body down and he could feel himself getting more and more tired as the cold crept slowly over him. His hands and feet were numb and he was barely hanging on, the only thought that kept him going was that he would be rescued again and be reunited with Arcee. Thoughts of her filled his mind as he began to drift into a state of unconsciousness again. He imagined seeing her face appear through the snow and her hand reaching down and pulling him out. Her smile filled him with warmth as he was lifted up towards the heavens and closed his eyes not wanting this feeling to end.
Bumblebee and Arcee had taken shelter in a cave. Outside a snowstorm was raging and they had no way to contact base until it passed but at least their mission had been successful. Arcee cradled the limp body of Jack in her arms. It had been about ten minutes since they had rescued him and he still wasn't stirring. The bio-scanner indicated he was alive but very weak. Bumblebee bleeped disapprovingly as Arcee explained her idea.
"Look Bee, it's the only other idea I have. If we don't warm him up, I'm afraid it'll be too late by the time we're able to signal to base and get a groundbridge out of here."
The yellow bot nodded and Arcee turned away from him and placed Jack on one of her hands. She carefully undid part of her armour to be able to open up her Spark chamber and carefully placed Jack near the warmth it was emitting. The blue light of her Spark washed over Jack and after a few minutes she noticed his skin change from bluish-white to more of a mottled pink.
"I think it's working, Bee." She smiled as she continued to hold Jack close. He looked so weak. Hesitantly Bumblebee shuffled over and gave her the bio-scanner. Sure enough Jack's heartbeat was getting stronger. Arcee caressed his cheek with her finger to try to rouse him but so far he didn't seem to be waking up.
Jack opened his eyes and was surrounded by a blue light and silvery mist. He reached out his hand and it swirled around him. Am I dead? He wondered as he continued to make his way through the mist towards the source of the blue light. In the distance he could hear a voice, it sounded pleasant and familiar. As he drew closer to the light the voice became clearer, it was calling his name. He felt himself warm and noticed two blue orbs. His vision went blurry and then a pair of eyes came into focus, but not human eyes, cobalt blue eyes belong to ...
"Arcee," he smiled as his hands reached out towards her and he placed his hand on her cheek. She embraced him with relief, he was going to be okay. Bumblebee whirred with joy.
"Ratchet, we need a groundbridge now."
Note: I actually had to look up if it was possible for mobile phone signals to pass through snow for this chapter. Apparently phone signals can be traced up to 7 feet deep in snow. Drones are being developed to find avalanche victims by tracking the frequencies given off by mobile phones. How cool is that!
