Convergence
Chapter 6
Dean stood there, frozen with indicision, wondering if he had anything in his arsenal that would be effective against- well, whatever the hell he just shot at. His heart hammered and his thoughts raced, and every instinct he had was screaming at him to do something.
As it was, he didn't get a chance to make up his mind.
From one blink to the next the guy had him by the lapels and then he was soaring through the air. He hit the roof of the impala shoulder first, rolling ass-over-teakettle across its surface and landing breathless on the asphalt on the other side. Dean groaned, rolling over and clutching at his aching ribs. Hopefully nothing cracked, but experience told him that he would be sporting bone-deep bruising by tomorrow.
Tires squealed as the mustang sped past, nothing but a streak of black on black since all of the car's lights were off. Still gasping for air, Dean stumbled to his feet and scrambled into the cab to give chase.
Dean knew he was a good driver, a damn good driver, and he put a lot of pride into the upkeep of his Baby. But even with her in tip-top shape, there was no keeping up with the much newer mustang. The thing hugged corners like the tires had cleats, the winding mountain road doing nothing to slow the bastard down, and it wasn't long before the mustang had completely outstripped Dean.
Which is why he was so shocked when he rounded the bend only to swerve wide to avoid a head-on collision. Dean swore as the impala fishtailed. He got her back under control and had her spun around and heading after their prey once more.
The mustang had slowed somewhat, not a lot, but enough to let Dean tail it properly. Good thing, that, since it made a sharp left and dissappeared into the treeline. He would have rolled right on by the tiny side road, and never known that it was there. The one lane road was paved but overgrown and poorly kept, riddled with rocks and pot holes.
Thankfully it was only about a hundred yards down when he found the monster car again.
"Where the fuck are you going?" Dean mumbled, watching the car roll off road and into the brush. Dean winced, knowing what kind of damage that could do to the undercarraige.
There was a beat of comlplete stillness, and then the mustang seemed to fall apart and unfold, and fucking walked into the woods.
Dean stared, jaw agape, then scrubbed his eyes.
The car walked away. The damn car stood up and walked away!
Oh shit. Okay. Walking cars are now a thing. Why the fuck were walking cars a thing?
This officially made Top Ten on his weird-shit-o-meter.
After several long moments of absorbing what he just saw, he pulled over and put Baby in park, and popped the trunk. Once he had the false bottom propped open, he stared at the arsenal spread out before him, for once completely at a loss.
What the hell did you grab to stop a walking car?
oOoOo
The dark little tunnel spit them out some fifty, sixty yards from an old one story hunting cabin. A single light could be seen in one of the windows, but niether of them could see anything. Not that they hung around for long. The pair had beat a hasty retreat into the forest and prayed they were going towards the highway, or at least somewhere that they could be more easily found.
Jodi was still banking on Barricade locating them through her tracking device, but Sam didn't know that.
She hoped they would be found soon, neither of them had jackets and the night air was frigid, her breath bursting out in a cloud of mist with every sharp exhale. They ran, through brush and over fallen logs, and tried not to break pace. Sam was clearly still being effected by whatever they had been drugged with. He would sometimes sway, feet suddenly unsteady, but all he did was grit his teeth and march on, stubbornly ignoring how quickly he was getting winded. Jodi stayed firmly at his side, still acting as their eyes and urging Sam on when he slowed. It was a small mercy that she seemed uneffected herself, and she hoped that Sam would shake it off soon.
Jodi wished that she was as indifferent to pain as her body seemed to be to the drugs.
Her arm still stung under it's makeshift bandage, and her muscles burned from the cold and the continuous use. Every bruise she gained from her scrap before they were taken were making themselves known, and her skull was throbbing with her migrain and the continuous use of her implant, but she didn't dare disengage her night vision. With it she was ably to navigate the rough terrain and help Sam avoid anything that would make him trip or stumble. If Sam went down there was no way in hell she would be able to drag him out of here.
Just a little further, she told herself. Just until 'Cade finds us. You've had worse, just keep moving.
And of course it was then, in the wake of that thought, when her luck ran out. With a burst of static and a flare of green, her vision was flooded in white, blinding her.
Jodi slid to a halt, one hand gripping Sam's shirt to reassure herself that he was still there. Her voice was breathless, but clear when gave another verbal overide. "Disengage night vision."
Instead of confirming the comand before returning to normal, there was one last crack of static before the vision in her right eye shut off completely, leaving her good eye to adjust to the darkness alone.
"Oh shit."
"What happened?"
"My implant just copped out on me!" she hissed, rubbing her face as if it could magically fix everything. "I need a minute to adjust."
"We don't have a minute. We should keep-"
Jodi suddenly found herself shoved behind Sam's much larger frame, crowding her close as if he was shielding her. The protective gesture jarred her, stirring up memories of her parent's doing the same thing when she was much smaller.
There was a deep chuckle then, rough and unfamiliar, and a chill settled into her limbs that had nothing to do with the cold. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and it felt like frost had settled directly in her lungs. "It's rude to leave a party without telling your host. Did your parents never teach you two manners?"
Jodi peered around Sam with her good eye. Her vision was still shot, still adjusting to the night, but she could see the outline on a man, clearly older than the two they had dealt with earlier.
She thought she could see the trees trough him, but that was probably due to her shitty sight.
God she hoped it was because her shitty sight.
The man moved, stepping towards them and Sam moved with him, keeping the distance. "Yeah, well, your party sucked."
"My sons will be so disappointed to hear that."
The man flung a hand out, and with a gesture Jodi and Sam were flung in two different directions. Jodi gasped as she hit the forest floor, something sharp biting just below her shoulder blade.
Sam shouted from somewhere to her left. "Jodi, run!"
Not needing no other encouragement, she rolled over and launched herself to her feet and right into a sprint.
She barely made it twenty yards when something launched out of the shadows and tackled her back to the ground. Long spindly limbs grappled with her, trying to wrench her arms behind her back. Jodi twisted, trying desperately to get leverage and to beat back her fear with her lingering anger. "Get the hell off of me!"
There was a low grumble in the distance, less like thunder and more like the deep vibrating growl of an engine. It was echoed by a second growl, much closer and more familiar.
Sharp nails scraped along her back as the weight was forcibly dragged off of her. There was a wet snap followed by an inhuman screech, and then hands, warm and buzzing with static, lifting and tugging her to her feet.
Relief flooded through her as she clung to the arm that wrapped around her as soon as she was vertical. Her whole body settled, the tension easing despite the circumstance. "Oh, thank god," she breathed, and couldnt help the sarcastic comment that followed. "Get lost on the way here?"
"Complain later. Maybe after the rest of me gets here."
Assured she was relatively unharmed, he returned his focus to Jodi's attacker, his whole posture screaming pissed-off-predator. She gave him room but stayed close, waiting.
The same thing that had captured Jodi and stole her blood was facing off against him, slightly crouched and teeth bared, as if preparing to lunge. One arm hung limp and wrong at it's side, with something dark dripping from the end of it's fingers. Given the extra angle the limb seemed to have, Jodi knew bone must have broken skin.
Good. If it could bleed then it could die.
Barricade's fists kept clenching then loosening, as if he itched to move, but was holding himself back. Jodi didn't understand why, Cade could be more impulsive than her when his temper flared. Since the fucker had been clearly attacking her, Jodi had expected him to be raining fire and brimstone on this bastard, especially since it wasn't-
Oh, son of a bitch. No, that can't be it.
"'Cade, please tell me that thing isn't human."
"If it wasn't do you really believe it would still be living?" he snarled, clearly frustrated and waring with himself.
Shit.
The thing stared at Barricade, nostrils flaring, then hissed. "Ozone. What sort of creature are you, Red Eyes? Are you what taints the girl's blood?"
"Blood." A crimson stare flicked over to Jodi and zeroed in on her arm, making her do the same, taking note of the makeshift bandage peeking out from under her sleeve. It must have come loose after being thrown, or the scuffle right after. Regardless of either, the material was still wet with fresh blood.
A sinking feeling slid through Jodi, settling hard and heavy in the pit of her stomach.
She saw the instant Barricade decided to ignore the conditions of his parole, concequences or no.
Apparently the thing could too, because it stepped back and screamed, loud and shrill. "James!"
A booming crack of thunder that erupted to their left, stopping Barricade in his tracks. Jodi jumped, hands itching to check herself for bullet wounds even as she stepped closer to her guardian. Barricade cast a furious glare at it's source.
A familiar man stepped from the trees, rifle in hand, eyes still staring down the sights. "Next round goes through your skull if you take one more step towards him!"
"I'm done with you humans and your guns." Barricade picked at the arm of his jacket, examining a hole that wasn't actually there. "You know, that's the second time I've been shot today. Still less than impressed."
Keeping himself firmly between Jodi and the rifle, Barricade shot forward. Another crack of thunder and the barrel of the gun was in his hands. The stock smashed into a jaw, body dropping as the rifle was snapped in two and cast aside, no more than a broken toy.
The feeling of frost in her throat and lungs was Jodi's only warning before the old man materialized behind Barricade's Holoform. "Don't touch my sons!" he roared, a hand touching and then pushing through.
A harsh ripple of static and the Holoform was gone. Somewhere further into the woods was a screech of metal and splintering wood, and a small tremor shook the ground under their feet.
The terror was back and dialed up to eleven.
That was Barricade. Oh my god, that was 'Cade! Shit, shit, shit!
Barricade was down and it didn't actually touch him. Not the real him, anyway, and that was frightening in a whole new horrifying way. Jodi knew very well what it took to bring down a Cybertronian of Barricade's size.
Jodi wanted nothing more than to tear through the woods and run to his side, to make sure he was okay, but she didn't dare turn her back on the three figures before her. On the enemy. The one who got a rifle stock to the face was climbing to his feet, wobbly and bloody, but clearly still alive.
"Get down!"
Over a year's worth of drills had Jodi dropping to the forest floor. Two shots fired, and the man dispersed in light and mist, the other two recoiling back. Eyes wide and heart hammering, Jodi was frozen in place.
A tall man in a rumpled suit took up guard position in front of her, silver pistol gleaming in the dark. After making sure the other two weren't an active threat, he called back over his shoulder. "Move your ass, Sam!"
Jodi recognized him from the diner, though the memory seemed like it was forever ago. This had to be Dean. Sam's brother.
"I know. Jodi, come on." Sam was suddenly at her side, worse for wear, but there, and alive, and-
'Cade. I need to find 'Cade, he needs to be okay. He-
"Jodi, we need to go!"
Yet again she was hauled to her feet, but the hands were wrong. They were warm, but they were shaky and didn't have the comforting undercurrent of static.
Jodi barely took in Dean threatening their captors as he covered their stumbling retreat. Sam was still a bit off kilter, but focused as he tugged her along, keeping her moving just as she had for him not too long ago. Not even two minutes into their walk, Jodi's optic implant flared back to life as if it hadn't been down at all, night vision active and a tiny icon blinking in the peripheral telling her that vocal command system was still in effect. She rubbed her eye irritably as she had to adjust her vision yet again.
The threat seemed gone for the moment, and the three of them trudged on. Dean remained armed and was the most vocal of the three of them.
"Dude, you guys are lucky I grabbed iron rounds. You wouldn't believe the shit I've seen tonight! Next time I get to look for a case, alright?" Dean griped, rolling his shoulder as if warding off soreness.
Sam snorted. "Cry me a river. You were the one insisting there was no case."
"Yeah, and it totally came back to bite me in the ass. Frickin' red-eyes ghosts that aren't ghosts, you disappear into the wind, creepy string-bean monster back there. And don't even get me started on the damn walking car I followed here."
"Now you're just messing with me."
'Cade!
Jodi turned her head and stared into the woods, towards where she heard Barricade went down, worry tugging her. She scanned the trees until her eyes landed on the still outline of something that clearly didn't belong. It was large and hard edged, and Jodi knew in her gut it was him.
Without a word, she wrenched herself away from Sam and bolted.
She heard Sam and Dean respecttively shout and curse behind her and give chase.
oOoO
Author's Note: It was my personal birthday goal yesterday to finish this chapter. For once I finished by a deadline! Woohoo!
Hope you guys enjoyed the action-packed chapter, and as always comments questions are always welcome! You can PM me here, or you can pester me on my Tumblr : sharysisnhmoonshadow. Have a happy holiday season everyone! -Shadow