Chapter XI: Under Attack (Part III)
Reacting on pure instinct, Owen propelled himself forward into the crowd. His body supplying the adrenaline to aid in making a path of escape, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the calamity about to occur. He ignored the cries of confusions and pain, the hands that fought against him and wished to pull him down on the ground with them. Just as a girl screamed "Oh my God!" Owen's tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth as he watched the missile launch itself toward him and the fleeing civilians. The explosion rocked the ground beneath him and sent him flying through the air like a discarded doll. Owen felt like an airplane stuck in a tailspin, he tumbled across the ground. His sense of direction and reality were lost until he came to a abrupt stop against a overturned vehicle. Through the haze of his blurred vision and tears, Owen watched the silhouettes of smoke and fire swirl around and above him. He was vaguely aware of the approaching footfalls that rattled the ground.
Slowly he stretched his arm out from beside him. Pressing his palm against the ground he felt the tremor vibrate through his entire arm and knew he wasn't imagining things -- the monster was still after him. Get up! Get up, get up, get up, get up! The very words became a mantra in his head, but his body reacted sluggishly and rose as though there was nothing to be concerned about. Owen cried out as searing pain spread across his left shoulder, tears leaked from his eyes. Pressing a hand down on the ground he raised body so he was sitting on his knees.
A enraged, almost excited growl sounded behind him. Owen's head snapped to the right. The machine was on the move, gaining speed. "Oh… N-- fuck," Owen snarled, grabbing his stomach as he pushed himself off the ground. Despite the pain in his body (that was literally making him tremble), Owen found the strength to run, the distinct sound Dropkick's laughter pushing him onward.
Sam and Mikaela never failed to be awed by the speed of fleeing civilians whenever danger was afoot. They watched as Hot Rod barreled his way through the crowd, literally causing the mob to part like the red sea with the roar of his engine and the squeal of his tires against the asphalt. Mikaela let out a involuntary scream when one man rolled across the hood of the Mustang before sliding onto the ground in a heap. "Primus, its getting harder to maneuver around them…," Rodimus grumbled. And it was true; The crowd paid less and less attention to the vehicle the further into the sea of bodies they got. Rodimus prayed Primus would forgive him if he ever ran over one of them. His passengers cringed as the civilians were bumped out of the way when they crashed into the front of the vehicle. Rodimus tried to ignore them for the most part, concentrating only on trying not to kill them with his bumper.
He swerved in and out of the crowd, watching with mild fascination as they leaped over parked cars or each other to avoid him. Sam held onto the arms of the driver's seat chair, having already been snapped at for grabbing the steering wheel once. Dust from the demolished building was steadily becoming stronger and thicker, he could smell the acrid copper taste in the dust that somehow made its' way into the car. Rodimus continued onward into the smoke, his depth perception now completely fogged over.
The road suddenly became uneven, Hot Rod's tire's bounced against the inner frame of the car, they were going over the rubble of the building. Sam listened to the Autobot's engine rev in a manner that reminded him of Bumblebee in a sour mood, he could only assume the same thing with Hot Rod when he came to an abrupt halt. "Oh… slag, I'm stuck on something," The Autobot revved his engine again to no avail, he simply would not budge. "Alright, get out. I'm gonna transform," He murmured, loosing his reserve.
Both teenagers shot a look at the radio, they were sorely tempted to argue -- especially when they were both aware of the dangers of inhaling smoke from building debris -- but the dangers of being crushed like sardines inside a transforming robot, was even worse. "O-okay," Sam muttered pulling his shirt up over his mouth. Mikaela mimicked his maneuver and the two crawled out of the car on her side. They moved quickly across the rubble, their legs bumped into various jagged pieces sticking awkwardly out of the piles of concrete, hoping there was enough space between them and the Autobot as the familiar whirring of the machine transforming from it Alt. mode echoed behind them.
They continued to jog across the debris, sliding down the steep hills until they broke through the smoke, coughing and gagging. Sam's eyes blinked rapidly as his hand whipped the moisture from them, he was so focused on clearing his burning vision that he hadn't realized that the soft material beneath his feet until Mikaela screamed.
Sam's eyes shifted downward at the what she was staring at. Someone's hand underneath his foot, he leapt away in shock. Smeared across the streets like a child painting were the bodies of the unfortunate souls caught in the rampage of the Decepticon after Owen. Some of them you couldn't even tell who's limbs belonged to. Without warning, Mikaela vomited all that she had eaten across the bloody sidewalk. Sam swallowed his own sympathy vomit, and with Mikaela in hand rushed in the opposite direction of the carnage.
Hot Rod emerged from the cloud of smoke, refocusing his optics on the world before him. For the briefest of moments he felt his spark ache for the lost souls around them, then he moved onward his tracking system searching for Dropkick's signature. The city was in total chaos, seven blocks ahead he could hear sirens wailing, the confused chatter and screams of the humans as they surveyed either the smoke rising above the buildings or the carnage so far from them. Bolting from his spot, Rodimus headed down the semi-crowded street, stepping over vehicles whenever he could unless they were directly in his path. His vision zoomed, he spotted Sam and Mikaela just a block ahead of him. They were fine, thank primus. He surveyed the area further, his spark crackling with panic. Where in the seven systems of Cybertron was Owen?
(TBC)
Author's note: This is the final part of "Under Attack". Sorry for the delay and length of the chapter. Writer's block's a bitch. I hope you enjoyed this chapter (more to come soon!). R&R! -- Sakura123