No Sacrifice, No Victory
By Matthew W. Quinn
September 10th, 2009 AD, 11 PM
Somewhere
Mikaela screamed in a metallic hell as a robotic creature resembling Scalpel slowly peeled the skin from the back of one leg. Her foot had already been completely flayed and blood covered the ground beneath it.
"Zis is fun," Scalpel said. "Making ze fleshlings scream."
Cal and Simmons watched helplessly, held by the steel fingers of other Decepticons. Cal had actually bloodied himself in an attempt to get away."
"Shall I take out an eye?" Scalpel asked.
"Yes," Megatron rumbled. "That would please me very much."
"Excellent."
A long pincher-tipped arm snaked towards Mikaela's face…
September 10th, 2009 AD, 1:10 AM
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey.
"Mikaela!" Sam screamed as he woke up. Mikaela wasn't there. Sam was in an empty room that had been hastily outfitted with some furniture. He'd been sleeping in the clothes he'd been wearing when the Decepticons attacked, sleeping in one of the Spartan beds borrowed from the barracks.
Sam lay back down, his breathing returning to normal.
Optimus won't let that happen. Optimus has a plan. He'll save them.
Sam continued staring at the ceiling. He wished his parents were here. They'd comfort him, tell him everything would be all right. It had always worked in the past.
He shook his head. This was one situation his parents could not make better. This was a situation Optimus himself might not be able to make better. The Autobots had sensors a thousand times better than anything even the United States had. They could probably find the Decepticons easily enough, but it would only take a second for those big guns the enemy carried to reduce the three human hostages to smears on a wall somewhere.
He sighed. That was the risk all of them took to fight the Decepticons. He exhaled, closed his eyes, and tried to get back to sleep.
September 10th, 2009 AD, 11 PM
Somewhere
This time, Starscream was slowly crushing Mikaela under his enormous foot, starting with her legs. Bone splintered and cracked and pushed through her skin as Starscream pressed down.
He leaned forward slightly and now it was her hips splintering. Soon it would be her rib cage. She screamed and screamed…
September 10th, 2009 AD, 1:30 AM
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
Sam awoke with another scream.
He rose from his bed. He'd told himself earlier he'd die for Mikaela. Now was his chance to put his money where his mouth was.
Then he forced himself back down into the bed. Whatever the Decepticons wanted, it would cost more lives — human and Autobot both — than his own.
No sacrifice, no victory.
This was the motto the Witwickies had lived by for over a century. This was the motto that took them through the Revolution, through the War of 1812, all the way through cousin Mike serving in Afghanistan before the Cybertronians came. It was a motto Sam had learned all too well during the battles with the Decepticons.
He shook his head.
The sacrifices the Witwickies made were always of themselves. They never asked anyone to do what they would not. "Sacrifice" in his case meant sitting back and waiting for the Decepticons to dismember the woman he loved, her father, and, however obnoxious he might be, a man who'd dedicated his life to protecting the human race.
He climbed out of bed again. One life for three, and he didn't intend to give the Decepticons what they wanted either.
He made his way over to the desk his room had, the desk containing the notepad with the Cybertronian glyphs on it. Optimus had left that with him in case he saw more symbols.
Sam turned the page and began writing out his will.
September 10th, 2009 AD, 1:55 AM
McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
Now the weighty matter of what to do with his few possessions had been taken care of, Sam set the pad aside and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" the soldier guarding his door asked.
"The bathroom," Sam lied. He gestured with his head down the hall.
The soldier nodded.
"Hurry up. There's no telling what the 'Cons might be up to."
Sam nodded.
He walked down the hall and turned the corner to where the bathroom was. He hurried his pace slightly, heading for the barracks doors.
He found two soldiers waiting for him when he went outside.
"Lovely night, isn't it?" Sam said, forcing himself to make conversation.
The soldiers nodded.
"Where are you going?" one of them asked.
"Just going for a walk," he said. "Be right back."
The soldier who spoke turned to the other.
"Keep an eye on him."
The soldier began following Sam at a discreet distance. Sam swore inwardly. If he had an escort, his plan wasn't going to work!
For a moment, he pondered if Bumblebee would help him out. All he'd need to do is say he was going for a drive…
He shook his head. Anyone who helped him out in this would be in a lot of trouble and he didn't want to bring that on Bee.
Perhaps if he took the soldier to a bar and got him drunk, then ditched him?
He shook his head again. They'd surely charge him with dereliction of duty for that. His only chance was to get close to the perimeter of the base and run.
He was always very good at that.
September 10th, 2009 AD, 2:02 AM
The Edge of McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey
"Pretty long walk, isn't it, kid?" the soldier asked.
Sam nodded. His eyes drifted over to the booth that regulated entry in and out of the base. The long bar that prevented automobiles from entering wouldn't be that hard to get around. And outside that lay New Hanover. It wouldn't be that difficult to lose the soldier there.
"Look," the soldier said. "I know the 'Cons have got your girlfriend and…"
His expression darkened.
"Goddamn it, kid!"
Shit!
Sam bolted for the gate. The soldier, whose effort to be discreet had put him several feet behind Sam, was at an initial disadvantage. Sam ducked and rolled under the bar blocking the road into the base, came to his feet, and started running again. The soldier jinked around the bar and pursued, closing the gap between them.
"What you're doing is giving in to terrorists!" the man shouted, grabbing Sam by the jacket as he caught up just outside the perimeter fence.
Sam, knowing full well the man was right, didn't answer. Instead, he shrugged out of his jacket. The man had slowed down to bring Sam to a halt and found himself holding an empty coat. Sam had some distance on him now. His chest and legs were burning, but he could keep running for a bit longer.
The soldier gave up the chase, instead pulling out a walkie-talkie. Sam knew the soldiers would be out in force soon and he didn't have much time.
He ran around the corner of an all-night diner, spotted an alley across the street, and then bolted for that. Luckily, it opened out onto another street instead of ending with a fence.
Sam rushed through the alley and turned around the corner. For a moment, he leaned against the wall, catching his breath. Then he looked right and then left.
A cab sat idling on the street corner 100 yards away. Hopefully the man didn't see him running and didn't have any awkward questions.
He subconsciously felt for his wallet. The next step was to take the cab to the edge of town. If something were to go wrong, he didn't want the Decepticons attacking the town.
September 10th, 2009 AD, 2:15 AM
Outside New Hanover, NJ
Sam handed the Indian cab-driver all the cash he had on him. Despite himself, the driver whistled.
Sam smiled.
"Don't spend it all in one place," he said, forcing himself to smile.
"Don't worry, kid," the driver said.
Sam closed the door and turned away from the cab. The driver disappeared into the night, leaving Sam alone.
His hands trembled slightly as he reached for the phone. He knew once he made the call, the Decepticons would have his location within minutes if not seconds.
His hand brushed against the cold metal of the folding knife Lennox had given him soon after Megatron's death in Mission City two years before. Once Mikaela, Mr. Banes, and Simmons were free, he'd make sure the Decepticons couldn't get what they wanted out of his brain.
Ever.
Slowly, he pulled the phone out of his pocket.
September 10th, 2009 AD, 2:16 AM
Somewhere in Hoboken, NJ
The Linkin Park song that signaled Sam was calling tore Mikaela out of her uneasy sleep.
Sam!
She tore the phone out of her pocket. She'd flip it open and flip it closed, so the Decepticons wouldn't know he was trying to contact her.
The phone was in her hand and she was moving to flip it open when a cruel voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Answer it," Starscream ordered.
Mikaela glared at the alien robot.
"Go to hell!" she snarled.
Starscream laughed.
"Skywarp!" he called.
The alien robot stepped towards Simmons and her father. The two men bolted, but Skywarp was faster. He snatched up Cal Banes and held him thirty feet off the ground, head-down.
"Want to see how big a stain he leaves, fleshling?" the Decepticon growled.
"Don't listen to them!" Simmons called out. For some reason, the man didn't seem to need sleep. "Whatever it is they want, it'll mean more than just Sam will die."
Cal didn't say anything. He just looked straight at Mikaela and shook his head.
The phone continued ringing. Mikaela knew there wasn't much time before it switched to voice-mail.
"Time's a-wasting," Starscream said.
Skywarp loosened his grip, letting Cal drop a few inches. Despite himself, he shouted with terror.
No!
She answered the phone.
"Sam?" she asked, trying to keep the trembling out of her voice.
"'Kaela, it's me," Sam said. "I'm outside New Hanover. The others don't know what I'm doing."
"Sam, no!" she half-screamed. "Don't give in to them."
Skywarp laughed.
"It sounds like he already has. We've got him."
"No!" Mikaela screamed. She cut off the phone, hoping the Decepticons wouldn't be able to track the signal.
Skywarp laughed again, then set her father on the ground with cruel gentleness. He and Starscream moved to leave.
"What about the humans?" Jetfire said. "Don't we have a deal?"
Skywarp laughed.
"Why make deals with bugs?" he asked.
"Bring them if you'd like," Starscream said. "They might be useful shields, if it turns out the boy is bait in a trap."