Chapter IX: Under Attack (Part I)
Sam was barely been awake when the first explosion hit the building. In fact he dismissed it as nothing but a passing street cleaner. One moment he was twiddling his fingers, waiting for the end of their history lesson, the next he was falling out his chair when an explosion shook the entire classroom. Fear consumed the classroom, Mrs. Kramer opened the door and filed the panicked teenagers out of the room before exiting herself. Outside the room was a virtual chaos in motion; The swarm of bodies flooded Sam's vision, he couldn't see the floor or walls. Sam barely could keep his footing, the crowd of panicked teenagers shoved him mercilessly down the hall, ignorant of his presence.
The shrill alarm rang out overhead, adding further confusion to the situation. Sam moved sideways against the crowd, fighting to reach the wall furthest away from the stampede of bodies. His fingers brushed the side of the wall flexing inward hoping to grab the edge, only to be pulled away from it and further down with the crowd. He hoped Mikaela wasn't stuck in this type of situation. The mob continued down the hall, like a wave the mass of bodies fleeing through the halls thinned whenever they found the stairs to the lower levels, and thickened whenever they came across more people fleeing from another direction.
Sam felt like a sardine, his head swerved about looking for an escape route. Just above the doorway the crowd was about to pass were the cold red letters of the exit sign. Forcing his way through the crowd, regrettably elbowing a few people on the way, Sam pushed against the doors and stumbled out into the world, the intensity of the sun blinding him momentarily. The doors swung open a second time, Sam dashed blindly across the yard to avoid being trampled on.
"Sam!" The scream brought Sam to a halt, he looked around for he origin of the voice when he spotted Mikaela. Her hair fanned out behind her, Sam lost her for a brief moment in the crowd that spread out across the yard towards the gates. She reappeared again and grabbed hold of his arms for dear life. Mikaela leaned against him, her hot breath brushing against his sweaty skin, Sam attempted to regain control over his legs -- they felt like jelly now that Mikaela was safe in his arms. "Sa- Sam… I, there are --" Mikaela's strangled speech came to an abrupt halt when fire bellowed out from around the corner from where they stood. Sam and Mikaela leaped away from the fire as it came at them, rolling across the ground they crawled behind the open door.
"What the hell was that?!" Sam cried, though the general idea of explosion's cause had already entered his mind. As if to answer, a massive body crashed against the side of the school wall, engulfed in black smoke and sparking body parts. "Oh, my God," Mikaela whispered. "Another robot." Sam nodded breathlessly in agreement. The Transformer stumbled to his feet with a pained growl, its body crackled with electricity while its colors flickered from blue to red. The familiar pop of cannon fire brought Rodimus out of the haze of unconsciousness, raising his arm he activated his shield and prepared for the worst when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. In that minuscule window of time his blue optics met the fearful gazes of Sam and Mikaela.
Lowering his arm he ducked out of the path of the missile and made a dive for the two humans. Instinctively, Sam and Mikaela ducked into the building, the Transformer rolled and landed in a crouch, both hands armed with cannons. His gaze locked onto Mikaela and Sam. "Find, Owen!" Hot Rod's speech wavered between Cybertronian and Human English, the only word that the teens recognized was "Owen". Hot Rod did not stay to confirm that they understood him, he turned just as Dropkick's claws grabbed him. The Decepticon tank tossed the Autobot across the yard over the gate, he landed with a crash. Primus, that hurt… Rodimus thought, scrambling to his feet.
As the battle between Decepticon and Autobot raged on, Mikaela and Sam rushed across the school yard, fighting against stiffness in their joints whenever an explosive went off behind them. Mikaela's hand clutched tightly in his, Sam raced across the parking lot, his legs throbbing. "Where are we supposed find Owen?" Mikaela cried over the gunfire, her voice wavering. Sam couldn't answer her at the present moment, his eyes darted around the vacant parking lot -- his vision blurred at the immense speed his eyes moved around in his head. The transformers were gaining ground on them, they would have to find a place to hide if they got any closer.
Sam moved past the opening of the gate, preparing to flee the school when he spotted a body sprawled out on the ground, moving. He skid to a halt, grunting when Mikaela bumped into him. Sam pulled Mikaela along with him as he approached the fallen Owen Armstrong, the boy's eyes were open, but the sluggish movement of his body suggested he was barely conscious.
"Owen, Owen get up!" He whispered hastily, giving the boy a kick. Owen sprang up, scrambling up onto his feet. The reaction appeared to be a delayed one, the next instant he moaned, falling against the gate. Sam and Mikaela were at his respective sides, keeping him upright. Upon closer inspection, a red and purple bruise peeked out behind his bangs. "You alright, man?" Sam inquired, wincing.
"My head hurts," Owen slurred, eyes rolling round. Sam could feel Owen's weight increasing against his body, he was loosing consciousness fast.
"Sam, we should really get out of here ---" Mikaela's sentence died on her tongue with a sharp gasp and intake of hot air as it danced around their bodies. Thundercracker landed just inches away from them, Sam felt his blood run cold at the sight of the black figure, cackling. The two began to back away from the Decepticon, dragging Owen along with him. They shook the boy roughly, urging him out of unconsciousness.
"I have you now, fleshling," Thundercracker snarled.
"Oh, shit," Sam breathed, wide-eyed.
(TBC)
Authors Note: Aside from personal prferance, and not wanting to write one name all the time, "Rodimus" is the Autobot in question's actual name. "Hot Rod" is a nickname given to him by his fellow peers (namely the ones who don't like his Reckless Behavior. I.E., his commander Kup). Sorry for the incredibly short chapter, I'll update as soon as possible. Just remember to REVIEW.