Chapter 49
The white dragon's maw was spread wide, splayed wings casting heavy shadows across the earth. Critter stared with wide eyes, almost paralyzed by the sudden wave of deja vu that swept through his body. He could do nothing but stand there. His legs were weak with fear and strain, trembling. She was only a few feet away when Ash moved, snapping him out of his memories. He whirled around in time to see the girl take a step towards the dragon that was leaning forward to eat them, mouth open and a look of horror on her face.
"Ash!" Critter shouted, tightening his hold on her shirt and nearly throwing her out of the way. She hit the ground with an 'oomph'. Critter ducked and rolled, the skin of his arm brushing the dragon's lower jaw, the mouth snapping shut over thin air. He popped back up to his feet so fast his head spun, taking an unsteady step back when the dragon slammed it's clawed hand into the earth beside him, serpentine neck twisting elegantly to fix those same heartless red optics on him.
A low hiss left the decepticon's flared nostrils. He ducked beneath the dragon's chest, finding Ash still on the ground staring. He reached down and hauled her back up, "Move your ass, girl!" He pulled her ahead of him and shoved her harshly. She stumbled but came back to the present, stepping into a run that he had to work to keep up with. They were forced to take a sharp left when one of the first dragons slammed into the ground and scooped up a family of three into it's steam shovel-like jaws. Critter winced when he heard their bones crunch and their voices die mid-scream.
Everyone was running now, scrambling to find shelter. Others were smart and bolted for the cars across the street. Women screamed, children cried. Stands were crushed and a couple of mustangs painted like indian ponies galloped past with their eyes rolling. The dragon that had just landed leaped back into the air. A much smaller one swept down in it's place, spreading her jaws wide and unleashing a jet of red flames that lit a t-shirt stand on fire.
Ash was a ways ahead of him now, seemingly driven by her own fear. Either that, or she forgot that he was a cripple. Critter huffed, heart clenching when he heard a little girl scream at the top of her lungs. He focused on her, standing paralyzed while one of the larger dragons started towards her slowly. He pushed himself to run faster, clenching his teeth when pain shot up his legs. He opened his arms and dropped them down to close around her. She immediately turned into his chest, arms and legs wrapping around him so tight he could hardly breath. "I've got you," He whispered, taking off after Ash's shape.
He managed to carry her to the road before his weak legs gave out on him. He hissed in pain when his knees hit the gravel, tearing his jeans. He kept an arm tight around the child, taking a moment to make sure she wasn't hurt before trying to get to his feet again. He snarled when his knee snapped and he fell back to the ground. "Dammit!" He cast a look around, the sound of chaos growing closer as the decepticons spread out to the boundaries of the square.
A few people ran past. He reached his arm out for them and shouted, "HEY!"
One of them paused, eyes wild and spooked like a frightened animal. His fingers twitched, gaze fixing on him. Critter clenched his teeth, "Help us!"
He almost did, taking a careful step back towards them. Critter held his breath, continuing to hold his arm out towards him. He said, "I can't walk-my legs. Please! Take her!"
The child hugged him even tighter, shaking her head like she didn't want to leave him. The guy didn't move. He narrowed his eyes, "Save her! Get her out of here!"
He took another step. Critter lowered his arm and used it along with his good leg to haul himself a foot closer. He tried again, forcefully, "You have to get her to safety!"
One of the dragons roared, sounding frighteningly close. The man jumped then turned and bolted, leaving Critter and the child alone. Critter shouted, "You asshole!" His Voice was strained with pain and exhaustion, dropping to a desperate whisper, "Where the hell are you, Demona?"
He brought both hands to the little girl and tried to pull her away from his chest, "you need to run. You have to stand up and run-"
"No!" The girl shook her head again.
"I can't save you!" Critter clenched his fist in the side of her dress, "I can't..." He squeezed his eyes shut, "you have to let me go and run!"
"No," She repeated. Critter gave up, dragging them both another foot or so before the gravel rolled around her and someone dropped to their knees beside them. Small hands slipped under his arms. Critter snapped his head up and almost sighed with relief. He took in a shuddering breath as Ash tried to lift him up.
Ash made a face, "Fuck, uncle C! For such a scrawny guy you weigh a ton!"
"Forget me and get the kid out of here!" Critter snapped.
She glared at him, "Hell no! I'm not leaving you here to turn into decepticon chow!"
He winced when she tried to pull him up again, shifting one of his damaged legs. He wrapped his fist in her collar and jerked her down, "Listen, Ashlynn! I can't even stand, I'll just slow you down!" She froze, eyes widening. He continued, finally peeling the child's arms off of him, eyes narrowed and locked on Ash's, "Now, you take this girl and you save her! I want you to carry her, run as fast as you can, don't look back, don't stop. For anything."
The ground shook. Another person rushed past, sobbing.
"No." Ash snarled, "I'm not leaving you."
Critter swallowed, looking back in time to see one of the beasts stand up on their rear legs and spread their massive wings across the sky. For a moment, it blocked out the sun. He looked back at Ash, taking the girl, who was fighting to get back to him, and shoving her in the teenager's arms. He whispered, "You have to."
"I'll carry you both," She argued weakly, "I can save you!"
"No you can't." He bit his lip before reassuring, "Demonas on her way. She'll stop this. I'll be okay, I promise. When this is all over, we'll go back to base and give 'em hell for letting all this shit happen." He smiled tiredly.
"Don't die," Ash said, pulling the child against her chest, "I swear to God, Primus, whoever, that if you do, I will drag your ass back from the afterlife and beat the hell out of you."
"Go, Ash. Be brave."
She hesitated before getting to her feet and running. Critter, now that his arms were free, twisted his body and pulled up his pants legs as much as he could. His jeans were wet with blood now, the skin had split over his bony legs and he could see where his knee had popped. He cursed his luck for being born this way, turning to his stomach and pulling himself along with his arms. A few more people ran by, completely ignoring him. There wasn't so much screaming as their was proud roars and the sound of the dragons tearing through the stands.
He couldn't believe that it had all happened so fast. The earth began to shudder and shake in rhythm. His heart pounded in his chest as a low rumble sounded directly behind him. He crawled faster, forcing his legs to work to help him get across the street, but he just wasn't as quick as he used to be.
Massive clawed hands landed on either side of him, trapping him, and a nose slipped down to tuck against his side and flip him over to his back. He found himself staring up into fierce red optics. It was the second largest of the four, skeletal armor painted black and silver with touches of red. The jaws were slightly open, bloodied lip plates twitching. Thick streams of human blood rolled down the jaw to drop to his chest and soak through his shirt.
Critter narrowed his eyes and glared up at the dragon, showing no fear even though he had a feeling that this was it. He waited without a word, not even trying to get away.
The dragon eased closer then chuckled.
Critter went rigid, digging his fingers into the gravel beneath him so hard it bruised his fingers. He asked, tone dark, "What's so funny?"
"You're a brave little human," The dragon said in an undeniably female voice. She tilted her head slightly, "Most of your kind are either screaming or begging for your life. You act as though you have no fear, like you've been facing hungry decepticons all your life."
"You're not the first."
She tilted her head the other way, "Is that so?"
He said nothing this time. She asked, "What a pathetic race you humans are. Here you lay wounded, yet none try to save you. Does it make you sad to know that you've been abandoned by your own race?"
Critter held his breath, trying to think of something to say to stall her. She added softly, grinning slowly, "That you'll die alone?"
"He's not alone!" A voice shouted.
Critter went rigid again, eyes widening. He twisted to see, cursing violently when he saw Ash standing in the middle of the street a ways down. She stood tall, shoulders back and a defiant look in her eyes that screamed Shark. There was still blood splattered across her face, and there was a new hole in her shirt she'd probably gotten from all their ducking and diving. He glared at her, feeling a tiny bit relieved when he noticed that she didn't have the little girl...which raised all new questions and fears.
What happened to the kid? Did Ash find a safe place for her, maybe even her parents? Or did something happen?
"Ah," The femme hummed in amusement, "more prey."
"Prey my ass!" Ash snarled, "You're going to pay for what you did to Sunny!"
Again, Critter tensed. He repeated quietly, "Sundance?"
The femme raised her head gracefully, her grin gone, "Sundance? Was that her name?"
"Damn right it is," The teenager pulled out what looked like a BB gun and raised it in one hand, aiming it at the dragon who chuckled darkly.
"And just what are you going to do to me, little human?"
"Ash! Run!" Critter shouted. The dragon snorted, turning away from him. He screamed in pain when she stepped on his legs, shattering them from the knee down.
"Leave my uncle the fuck alone," Ash warned, "and give our Sundance back to us."
"Make me," The dragon challenged, stalking towards her with her head low to bite. Critter writhed, clenching his legs and screwing his eyes shut. Ash aimed, and pulled the trigger.
The BB struck home, getting the dragon right in the center of her left optic. With an enraged roar, she reared back and raised a hand to claw at her face. Ash quickly pumped the gun back up, stepping back. The dragon landed back on all fours. Ash shot again, but the BB bounced off her cheek and pelted the ground uselessly.
"Catch me if you can, bitch," Ash challenged, backing up then turning to run.
By then a second dragon had come to her aid, drawn out of the festival by her roaring. It was the small one, quick and agile with her optics narrowed. She started after Ash, but stopped when the other snarled, "NO! She's mine!"
The larger of the two took off, charging after Ash like a lioness taking after her prey. Critter forced himself to function through his pain, turning slowly to try to pull himself away. He was forced to stop when another set of claws blocked his path, the smaller of the four dragons leaning down to bare sharp little lethal fangs in his face.
Fuck.
Bahahahahaha. Ash is going to end up getting herself in trouble.
This one was fun to write, let me know what you think.
Ash and her family/friends, the trine, and the story belongs to me. Transformers does not.
