Short update! But I'll be making the next one longer, don't worry!
"You never told me your name," Francesca said, focusing her attention out the windshield.
"Atticus," he replied, not even bothering to ask for her name.
"You might wanna go a bit faster," She warned after a couple seconds of silence, looking back and forth between the windshield and the side-mirror of the truck.
"Why?" He asked, checking his own rear-view mirror. "Who is after you?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you," was all she said.
"Look, lady," the guy began.
"Francesca," she interrupted.
"Alright, Francesca, look," he continued. "I'm behind the wheel of this truck. I'm taking you back to this base that you apparently came from because somebody is chasing you down. You better give me some answers here, so I at least know what I'm dealing with-"
"It's an alien species!" She growled at last, glaring at him. "Alright? They've been hunting me down all damn day, I got separated from my friends, Colonel Lennox and Ratchet are probably worried sick, I have cuts and bruises all over me and I'm starving and dehydrated. Does that answer all of your questions?"
"An alien species?" He asked, trying to hide a laugh. "Come on, Francesca. I'm not that stupid. There's no alien invasion on Earth. Everybody would know about it." He shook his head and focused on the dirt road before him. "It's probably just a few creeps in costumes-"
"Unless the costumes are mechanical and transform into jets and cars, then yeah," she snorted with sarcasm. "I guess they're just costumes."
He glanced at her for a few seconds and then faced the road again, not saying another word. When his eyes looked back at his rear-view mirror, they widened. In the distance, bursting out of the woods at incredible speed, was a massive F-22 Raptor.. and it was coming for them. "What the f-"
Francesca spun around in her seat and looked back. Her eyes widened and she turned to face him. "Drive faster!"
"Sorry my truck can't go Mach two!" Atticus growled, making a sharp turn off of the road and into the woods again. "I'm gonna try and get some trees between us."
"He'll plow through them," Francesca panicked, looking back. "It's useless!"
"Well, what do you want me to do?" He yelled over the roaring V8 engine of the Chevy Colorado.
"Drive!" She screamed.
Pressing down on the gas pedal even more, the truck roared to life and flew through the trees, narrowly missing a few. "Shit," he exclaimed as the trees began to disappear and another dirt road was visible. "We're running out of space to work with here!"
"Dammit," she breathed, turning around to look out the back window. "Wait. He's gone-"
A strong earthquake ignited in front of them, followed by the yell of Atticus. Francesca spun her torso around to look out the windshield, and gasped in horror at what she saw. Starscream, in his full bipedal mode, was standing before them, his red optics glaring down at the truck.
"Oh, looky here!" The Decepticon screeched. "The pathetic girl has found a new friend!"
"Drive," Francesca breathed almost in-audibly at Atticus.
Quickly shifting the truck in reverse, Atticus stomped on the gas pedal and the Colorado growled backwards. Turning sharply at ninety-degrees, he shifted it back in drive and floored it.
"You can't run!" Starscream yelled once before firing his missiles. One lucky shot flipped the truck over, and Francesca and Atticus yelled as it spun twice in the air before crashing back down on its hood.
Francesca could hardly move and she could feel the warmth of blood running down her face. She managed to turn her head and saw that Atticus wasn't moving, but the faint rising and lowering of his chest told her he was still alive.
She heard the footsteps of the Decepticon as Starscream got closer. She heard him chuckle and the faint sound of his cannons activating. She closed her eyes, expecting the worst. It was over. She tried her best to run, had dragged an innocent man in a war that he had nothing to do with, and now she was going to die. All for nothing.
Ratchet, where are you?
And as if her question had been answered, she heard the explosion of a cannon and from her window, she saw Starscream fly a few feet away before crashing to the ground. her strength slowly began to regenerate and she reached for the door handle. Pulling it, she sighed with relief when it opened and she climbed out.
She fell to the ground, weakened by the crash, her head pounding.
"Cesca!"
She could never forget that voice and she looked up slowly to see a towering mech. As the Cybertronian bent down to her level, she saw the familiar yellow and green paint-job that confirmed it was Ratchet.
She coughed, ignoring the red splatters that painted the ground after she did so. "Atticus is still in the truck. I.. I need.. to get him out."
"Barricade," Ratchet hollered and to Francesca's surprise, Barricade's alternate mode sped out of the wooded thickness. "get that human out of the truck and keep him at a safe dist-"
Francesca screamed as Ratchet suddenly flew backwards and hit the ground hard. He groaned, his hand on his chest where the fresh energon was now leaking out of. Starscream stood up slowly, his cannon still smoking from the blast. "Pathetic scums!" He growled.
"Ratchet!" The female medic yelled, rushing over to his side.
Starscream cackled evilly, stepping closer. He aimed his cannon once more, ready to fire. "Say goodbye to your pathetic friend, femme."
But it was too late for him. Before Starscream could fire his cannon and end Ratchet's life, another cannon close by went off, sending the Seeker flying once again. Barricade stood tall in his bipedal mode, despite his obvious pain. He fired not once, but twice. The second shot hit home and Starscream fell to the ground in a massive, metal heap. His optics dimmed until they were glowing no more.
Not much later and Barricade fell to the ground, weakened all over again. Atticus was resting not too far away against a tree, still unconscious.
"Ratchet," Francesca cried, rushing over to the side of his face. He was on his back, staring up at the sky as his hand rested against his wound. She wrapped her arms around as much of his face as she could gather and rested her forehead against his cheek.
"Cesca," he managed to say. "I contacted the base with our location." He winced, stuttering. "They.. they are.. on.. their way."
"You're gonna be fine, right?" She asked, looking in his optic.
His optic shifted so he was looking at her. "I want you to take care of Barricade when you get back to base."
"When we get back to base," she began. "I will take care of all of you."
He chuckled, closing his optics. "I taught you well, didn't I?"
She frowned. "I just want you to stop talking like you're not coming back with us."
"I might not make it," he told her, his optics glowing blue again as he looked at her. "He got my chamber. Well, close to it." He groaned, wincing.
"You'll live," she told him. "Suck it up, medic."
He laughed, ignoring the pain it caused him. "I really did rub off on you, huh?" He shook his head with a small snort, but then his face got serious. "You know, I knew you would turn out to be an excellent student, but," he sighed. "You've also been an even better friend."
She smiled, not realizing that she had been crying for the last couple of minutes. She wiped the tears away and took a deep breath from her nose. "Ratch',"
"Don't cry," he told her softly, running a fingertip along her cheek.
"Ratchet, you don't understand," she told him, rubbing a hand against his cheek. "I can't lose you."
The sound of multiple engines in the background prevented Ratchet from saying anything else. He shut down his optics so he could rest. Knowing he would be back at base soon, alive or not, he did not care, as long as he knew she was safe.
Why can't I find a man like HALF of these Autobots? -_- Thanks for the reviews peeps!
