Chapter 7: Escape
"What are we going to do?"
Sam's questioned faded into the padded room. Freddie sat in the corner across from the door and to the right. Sam stood looking through the glass into Perceptor's room. Perceptor was lying on the floor. He hadn't moved since going unconscious. The seekers three came in to see if he was still alive. He was, they agreed. They, being Thundercracker and Skywarp, worried that Perceptor was too powerful for the chamber. Starscream disagreed and the argument was taken out of the room.
"I don't know," Freddie answered quietly.
"We've got help him," hissed Sam, slamming on the broken glass.
"By doing what?" countered Freddie.
Sam didn't answer because she didn't have an answer. She didn't even have a comment or an insult for Freddie. This moment scared her, and she was trying to not show it. It was hard not to.
"Why'd he do that? Why'd he let his power out?" she whispered.
"You don't get it Sam," Freddie hissed.
"What do you mean?" snapped Sam, glaring back at him.
"This is all our fault. We're here because we failed to listen to Perceptor's warning…" Freddie explained.
"It's his fault that we're in this mess!" countered Sam.
"It's our fault because we insisted on helping him. We found him! We helped him!" Freddie counted, standing up.
"And this…" Sam snapped, motioning to the glass wall.
"He unleashed his powers because he was trying to protect us!" Freddie shouted, "You don't get it! This is all our fault!"
Sam realized she'd lost. For once her entire life knowing Freddie, she'd lost to him. He had her. He'd found Perceptor. Perceptor had tried to leave but they'd stopped him. He tried to explain to them the dangers, trying to scare them to leave him but they stayed. He tried to warn them to leave quickly; they'd been only concerned of the whereabouts of Carly. They had brought this upon themselves and Perceptor.
"I'm…" Sam whispered, quietly, "I'm sorry, Freddie."
Freddie perked, hearing words he would only hear on very rare occasions. He smiled lightly. He nodded, accepting the apology. They shook hands after an awkward attempt at a hug. They both looked over at the cracked glass, seeing Perceptor breath slowly.
"You think he'll be okay?" Sam whispered.
"He'll…" Freddie mumbled, hesitating, "He'll be fine."
Suddenly a light went off. A red light showered the room in light, blinking on and off with the siren alarm. Sam and Freddie dropped to the floor out of instinct. They looked around hoping to find an answer. There was a squeal of the door being pried open. They turned to watch the door open quickly. They immediately saw Carly with a large smile.
"Carls!" Sam and Freddie cheered.
The group hugged a moment but was pulled apart by a large man. He wore a tight, sleeveless red shirt, with a small light blue box in the center and small tan yellow boxes underneath, showing his muscular arms. He had brown gloved coming from his wrist. He had long tan pants with a belt sown into the holder. A familiar looking symbol on the buckle. His red hair and 5 0'clock after shadow seemed normal for his type.
"Come on kids, we need to move!" he ordered.
"Oh momma," stuttered Sam, looking him over.
"Oh, this is Ironhide," introduced Carly.
"Wait, you found one of Perceptor's teammates?" Freddie asked.
"Not only him but Prowl. He should be grabbing Perceptor," Carly nodded.
"Wow, you work fast," Sam whispered, still staring at Ironhide.
"That's what I left to do but Prowl caught you guys getting kidnapped," gasped Carly.
"We need to move!" yelled Ironhide, leaving the room.
For once, the group listened and asked questions only in their minds. They found Ironhide helping another. Sam and Freddie recognized him as the man who'd tried to catch the van. Prowl, wasn't. He was trying to hold Perceptor. Ironhide took Perceptor from Prowl. Prowl turned to the three with a faint smile.
He looked almost like sailor. He wore a white captain sailor hat with red horns painted on the front. He wore a long jacket that was white till mid waist then turned black. It was unzipped halfway, showing his white and black shirt underneath. The sleeves were black from the elbow down with yellow stripes and a red symbol on the right side. His belt, with the same red symbol, sagged downward. His pants were black, soon fading to white. An icy blue surrounded the pants near the end. His black shoes were tapping, waiting for the group to move.
"We need to go now. We've got all we need," Prowl nodded, looking to Ironhide.
"Right, BB will be waiting," Ironhide smiled.
The group quickly took off, the three children staggering to keep up. Freddie kept his eyes on Perceptor's limp body. This much movement wasn't good for his already hurting body. Of course there was no other way. They stopped at a dead end. Ironhide growled.
"Prowl!" he ordered.
"Fine," Prowl answered, whipping out his gun, "I'll try."
He fire three times, eventually making a whole large enough to make an escape. Prowl watched as Ironhide set Perceptor down then exit through the hole. Prowl handed him Perceptor after he was out. Prowl looked back at the three humans. He motioned to the hole.
"You three first!" he ordered.
The three shuffled for the hole. As Freddie, the last to exit, was scooting out, there was gun fire from down the hall. Freddie looked back. Thundercracker and Skywarp were chasing after. Prowl countered their fire with his own. Freddie hastily exited the hole, stumbling into Sam and Carly. Ironhide looked back at Prowl.
"Come on!" Ironhide ordered.
"I'm trying!" answered Prowl, slowly slipping into the hole backward.
He lost his stepping, falling downward. Carly and Freddie caught him. Prowl jumped from their arms and looked at them a moment. He pointed to the car off to the side. Carly groaned quietly. Freddie and Sam worried of that as they knew that the Decepticons weren't good drivers. They assumed the Autobots were no better. Carly, Freddie, and Sam sat in the very back. Perceptor was set in the middle. Prowl and Ironhide were in the front, Ironhide driving.
"You might want to hold on," offered Carly, buckling quickly.
"Right!" gasped Sam and Freddie, snapping their buckles also.
The car took off quickly, sending the children back slightly. Freddie looked back. Thundercracker and Skywarp were getting out of the makeshift hole and firing their blasters. Freddie pushed Carly and Sam down as a stray gunshot went through the back window. It went into the windshield, shattering it. Prowl groaned.
"Watch where you're driving!" he ordered to Ironhide.
"I don't know how to drive. Just because I transform into a van doesn't mean I know how to drive one," huffed Ironhide.
"You should," whispered Prowl, grapping his seat and the handle above.
"Seriously!" Freddie begged, sitting up.
Finally they were out of the line of fire. Luckily, they stopped by the park, without hitting anyone. Freddie, Sam and Carly stumbled out of the car. Sam went over to the trashcan, ready to throw up. Carly stumbled, almost falling over but was caught by Prowl. He looked equally as dizzy. He gave her a weak smile.
"Thanks," Freddie managed to say.
"Okay, what's wrong with him," Ironhide hissed, pointing to the van.
"Hey! You could at least say you're welcome," snapped Sam, standing in front of the muscular Autobot.
"Excuse me?" Ironhide whispered, glaring at her.
"This is going to be a long day," whispered Prowl.
"Agreed," Freddie sighed.