'Gotta keep running, can't stop now.' He could hear her easily keeping pace with his much smaller legs. He couldn't keep this up, his legs and lungs were burning, screaming and pleading for a moment to slow down and rest.
But he couldn't, stopping now would mean being captured. Being captured would almost certainly mean death at her hands.
'Where's Arcee?' He'd been running from here for what felt like forever in this forest.
"I'm growing bored of this Jack, I expected at least a bit of challenge but I haven't lost track of you once during this game." Jack suddenly felt his feet pinned down to the ground by a white substance. Jack held his breath as all he could do was watch as she took her time to walk towards him.
He never stood a chance, not without Arcee or one of the other bots here to protect him. Jack was just as Arachnid had described him, an insect. Unable to do anything to change his fate which was sealed as soon as he entered this forest.
A clawed finger dug into his skin, tearing the flesh. "I'd tell you to say hello to Arcee for me, but you aren't going to be seeing her again anytime soon."
She drew back her arm, aimed directly above his heart. "Goodbye, Jack."
THUD!
Jack awoke with a startle, nearly falling out of his chair. He tried to calm down his fast-beating heart as he heard the snickers of the classroom around him. He took notice of the new textbook on his desk, and his teacher now standing in front of him.
"I understand that my class may not be the most entertaining Jack but please refrain from letting this happen again." They picked up the textbook and began walking back toward the front of the room.
His heart calmed down and his breath now caught, Jack was able to put together a cohesive sentence. "I understand sir, it won't happen again."
The past week had a lot going on. No new spottings or encounters with a large robotic spider to ruin his days. At least, not in real life.
On the other hand, Megatron was up and kicking again after taking control of Bumblebee's body. There was also the whole fiasco where Miko got herself, Raf, and himself trapped in an alternate dimension with a Decepticon zombie. Jack tried to not dwell on these recent adventures too much.
He did however dwell on his sleep cycle, he'd been feeling extra tired, drained, and unable to go through a whole day without feeling as if he needed to take a nap. He never felt this way unless he was sick when his immune system hoarded all of his energy to fight whatever disease had invaded his body. Jack knew he wasn't sick however, no runny nose, no coughing, sore throat, or any other symptom, just tiredness.
The cut on his cheek had healed by now, but it left a faint scar from where Arachnid had dug her finger in the deepest.
"Hey, dude!" Miko not so subtly whispered, "You okay? You've totally been acting like that zombie con for the past few days."
"I'm fine Miko. Just probably caught something is all" Jack mumbled as he tried to keep his attention toward the front, where the teacher was going over the different types of paint used throughout history. Oh, joy.
"Well whatever it is, don't give it to me. I don't want to miss that Slash Monkey concert next weekend," said Miko as she scooted her desk further away from him. "By the way, do you have to work at that lame job of yours today?"
Jack groaned as he suddenly remembered that he did indeed have to go to work today. "I'm scheduled for today but I don't think it's such a good idea with how I'm feeling. I've already called off my last two shifts though."
"Pfft, just call off and hang with me and Raf at the base today, it'll help you feel better!"
"I guess. We can meet up with Raf out in front of the school and go to the base once class ends" said Jack, as he looked at the clock, watching as time slowly ticked by.
The school bell rang and Raf began making his way through the endless crowd. Careful to make sure he didn't trip and cause his glasses to fall off.
Raf was usually the first of the trio to make it outside of school and today was no different. Noticing the bots weren't out front yet he opted to wait on the front steps, watching as the older students started walking their way home or toward their non-transforming vehicles. Bumblebee and the others will be here soon to take them back to base.
'It's weird to just casually be able to visit aliens after school, let alone be friends with them.'
Raf pulled out his laptop, opening a file on a map of Energon deposits the Autobots had located and raided. They were scattered all across the globe but the Autobots didn't have the technology to usually locate them until the Decepticons had already unearthed most of it. The technology available at the base was barely functional, and that was before the scraplet attack.
It was only thanks to rough patch jobs done by both Ratchet and Raf that the computers were even functional, but it was by all accounts in Raf's personal opinion being held together by duck tape and hope and dreams.
'We really should talk to Agent Fowler about getting some upgrades. Forcing the bots to use a twenty-year-old version of Windows was just asking for things to not work. Maybe even access to some satellites, Ratchet would have an easier time searching for Energon-'
A voice Raf dreaded pulled him out of continuing his thoughts.
"Hey, Rafe right? I've seen you hanging around with Darby and that weird exchange girl in the halls and during lunch." said Vince as he strode toward the younger boy.
Raf tried his best to not sound too scared of the bully, "It's Raf, but yeah. I do hang out with Jack and Miko."
Vince scoffed in retort, "Figures the losers and weirdos would group together." It was then that Vince took notice of Raf's computer and the contents of his screen.
"Hey what's that you got there, some kind of nerd video game or something?" he asked as he forcefully took the laptop away from Raf, despite his protests.
"Give it back! It's very fragile and I have a lot of important stuff on there too!" cried Raf as he desperately attempted to take it back. A pointless attempt considering Vince's height and strength advantage over the twelve-year-old.
"Calm down! I'm just taking a look twerp." retorted Vince as he easily held Raf back with a single hand. He finally looked closer at the screen, noticing a map of the world with several marked locations and what looked to be weird hieroglyphic symbols. 'What the… What is this?'
"Give him back the computer Vince. Or do I need to go grab a nearby teacher?" a voice called out grabbing the bully's attention away from what he just saw on the screen.
"No need to get it twisted Darby, the little guy and I were just having a little fun." replied Vince.
Jack walked forward closing the distance between the three of them. "I for some reason have a hard time believing that story."
"And what are you going to do about that then?"
Jack gently grabbed Raf, pulling him to stand behind him as he stood between the two. "I'm not going to let you pick on Raf just because you can't handle losing a race to me."
"There's no way you beat me without cheating, you just won't admit it! If you want to handle things, why don't we handle things right here right now?" countered Vince as he too took a step closer.
"Kick his butt, Jack!" Miko called out from the small crowd that was gathering around the scene unfolding between them.
Vince and Jack continued their stare down until a new voice boomed with authority.
"You two! Move away from each other, the rest of you, get out of here! Go home!" said a tall but plump man wearing a suit and tie. He reminded Jack of Agent Fowler in a way. "Would either of you mind explaining what exactly is going on here?"
Jack spoke up before Vince could get a chance. "Vince took Raf's computer from him and won't give it back. That's all."
"Give him back the computer and I want both of you to get out of my sight before I call your parents!"
"Sorry about it Principal Adler, it won't happen again." said Jack as Vince handed Raf his computer back.
Miko joined the two boys as they began making their way toward the end of the parking lot, waiting for their respective guardians to arrive.
"Thanks for doing that Jack. I could never stand up to Vince like that." Raf thanked his friend as they continued walking.
Before Jack could say anything, Miko interjected. "You should've hit him where it really hurts! Make him learn his place!"
"I didn't want to fight him, Miko, just wanted to stop him from picking on Raf and give him back his computer." Jack sighed.
"And what are you going to do when he doesn't back down or there isn't a teacher to save you?" Miko responded.
Before Jack could answer back, the honks of a horn and two loud engines brought their attention to a brightly colored car and motorcycle.
"Hey, Raf! Sorry, we're late. Bulkhead is recovering in Ratchet's med bay. He's fine though, we just forgot about the time." Bee said in electronic beeps and whirls.
Jack and Miko could only guess that it was some sort of greeting, but only Raf could truly understand what he was saying. Before he could translate for the other two, Miko spoke up.
"What gives for being late, and where's Bulkhead?"
"Bee says that Bulkhead is recovering back in Ratchet's med-bay but that he's fine, not seriously injured, and the bots just lost track of time." Raf explained. "So I guess that means you'll get to ride with me and Bee today."
As Miko joined Raf, Jack walked up to Arcee and climbed on, putting on his helmet as she greeted him.
"How was school today? Need me to drop you off for your shift today?"
"No need, I'm not feeling the best today so I'm calling off. I'm going to rest up at the base."
"Again? Isn't this the third time you've done this? Won't you get in trouble with your boss or your mother?" Arcee asked as she made her way out of the parking lot following Bee back to base.
"And you're still not feeling well? Are you sure you don't want Ratchet to look at you? I don't think it's normal to be feeling that way for this long?"
Jack groaned as they slowed down at a stoplight, putting his foot down to keep himself balanced. "Again with this Arcee? I don't need to bother Ratchet with this, I'll be fine."
Arcee didn't say anything in response as she opted to instead ignore the human speed limits in irritation once the light turned green. She couldn't understand why Jack was being adamant about this, he clearly was not at peak human health and yet he wasn't accepting any aid or even a quick scan with the old grouch.
Was she really in a position to be upset with her charge over this, Arcee thought to herself? How many times had she declined or tried to worm her way out of a check-up with Ratchet? How many times had she said she was fine and didn't require aid?
'Too many to count.' she thought as she took note of the large mesa coming into view over the horizon.
But that was why Arcee wasn't going to accept Jack's answer. She knew what Jack was doing and what kind of path it led to. He had stayed strong for her when they faced Arachnid, but it was time for her to help him. It may not be a big deal as Jack repeatedly said but Arcee wasn't going to accept that until Ratchet himself said so.
Jack awoke from his nap in the total darkness of the base, the only light coming from the old TV. Sitting up on the couch and stretching his back he noticed Agent Fowler was still there and had dozed off as well. He didn't know how long it'd been since all of the bots except Bulkhead left on a rescue mission to rescue his rival, Breakdown from the terrorist organization, MECH.
The cheesy Kaiju movie was still playing. The black and white screen casting light into the darkness, illuminating Raf and Miko, the latter taking notice of their friend waking up from his nap.
"Looks like you finally woke up. You only missed the best parts of the movie dude!"
"How are you feeling Jack? You were out for hours." Raf said.
Jack groaned as he tried in vain to crack his aching back. Perhaps sleeping on the couch wasn't the best decision, and he felt the same level of tiredness that he did before he fell asleep, so he lied. "A bit better Raf, thanks for asking."
Jack took notice of the disappearance of a certain large green bot. A bot that was supposed to be resting from his injuries, per the doctor's and Optimus' orders due to his ties with the Decepticon they were attempting to rescue. "Miko, where's Bulkhead?"
"He left to join the others in rescuing the con. That was like twenty minutes ago or something." Miko replied without taking her eyes off the giant lizard that rampaging throughout the model city.
"Well, I hope they get back soon. It's getting pretty late and it's almost past curfew" Raf added.
Jack silently agreed with Raf. He did not want to break curfew again, he wouldn't hear the end of it from his mom if he did. Sometimes he wished he could just tell her the truth and stop with the lies. It would make things so much easier and take the guilt off his shoulders.
He felt terrible keeping this from her. She would always worry about him even before he got tangled in an alien civil war. She worked too many hours to support both of them and didn't get enough sleep to deserve this happening to her. The least Jack felt he should be able to do to help relieve her stress and take some weight off her shoulders was by being responsible and getting that job at KO Burgers. But here he was skipping work and most likely about to be breaking curfew again.
Jack was thrown out of his thoughts by the voice of Optimus coming through the base's main computer. "Rafael, please open a ground bridge at our entry coordinates."
'Guess I won't be breaking curfew again after all.'
The ground bridge came to life, swirling green and blue lights illuminating the darkness. The sudden sound of the bridge and the bright lights of the base coming back on awakened Agent Fowler as the bots came through.
Raf quickly ran up to greet Bumblebee and Miko did the same as Bulkhead began recounting the story of how he busted down MECH's front door and rescued his long-time enemy. Jack himself walked over to the railing to ask Arcee how the mission went down.
Ratchet however immediately called everyone to the med bay to begin inspecting them all for injuries. When Bulkhead and Bumblebee's evaluations were complete, they quickly left the base to take their charges home. Soon after, Arcee was finished with hers as well and Jack grabbed his helmet and backpack, making his way down the stairs.
"If we leave now, we'll make it just before curfew." said Jack as he reached the bottom of the steps.
"No can do partner, Ratchet still has one more patient to look over." stated Arcee as she crossed her arms and looked down at him.
"Who? Optimus? Why do we have to wait for Ratchet to finish checking over him?" Jack asks, hoping his guardian didn't mean what he was thinking.
"Nope. It's you, and don't try and get out of it. I'm pulling rank, guardian's orders." Arcee declares as she picks him up and walks over to Ratchet's workstation. "Ratchet could you look over Jack? Despite what he may say, he isn't feeling well."
Ratchet scoffs as he released Optimus from the berth after looking over his scan and finding no issues. "I am not a human doctor Arcee. Shouldn't he be going to his mother if he's having issues?"
"I told you, he's lying about the status of his health, insisting he's fine. He's not going to go to her." she retorts, placing Jack on the large table.
Jack grows concerned when Ratchet's eyes gleam at that statement.
"Oh? Someone who's not a medical professional is denying aid when it's needed? We're not going to have any of that here. I'll need to start with a blood sample and perform other tests since I haven't yet configured the scanner for organic life."
Jack grew even more concerned when Ratchet pulled out a very large needle and began contemplating whether it'd be worth it to break his legs in a getaway attempt from the table at this height. Arcee however seemed to recognize what he must be thinking because before Jack could even begin to bolt for the edge Arcee held him down.
"You know, I could've told you I just needed more sleep. Didn't need Ratchet sticking a needle in me and shining a light in my eyes to tell me that." Jack grumbled as he rubbed the spot on his arm where Ratchet had stuck the needle, and walked Arcee up the driveway.
"He also left a bruise, he's not very experienced with caring for human patients is he?"
"No, he isn't. Better to be safe than sorry, and besides he hasn't even done any tests on your blood yet. And thanks for walking me home Jack, you're a true gentleman." replied Arcee smugly.
"Well I wouldn't want you revved up before bed, even after what you just did to me," said Jack as he began lifting the garage door. "I wouldn't want to wake my mom if she's already asleep, she wouldn't understand-"
Jack froze mid-sentence upon seeing his mother glare daggers at him, arms crossed from the center of the garage.
"Understand what Jack? You breaking curfew again after I gave you that warning last time? Or why your boss called about you calling off from work again?" she asked as she began walking toward him and stepping outside the garage.
"Or the e-mail I received from your art history teacher about you falling asleep in class? What's your excuse this time about why you're late for curfew again?"
Jack rolled Arcee into the garage as he used his old reliable lie. "Study group at Raf's house again went on longer than expected and I didn't feel well enough to go to work today."
Turns out that lie isn't so reliable. "That's funny, you know, Mrs. Esquivel stopped by today, one of Raf's brothers was sick. And she told me that Raf hasn't had anyone over for a study group all month. So do you want to try again?"
'I told him that wouldn't work for long.' Arcee thought as she quietly observed the verbal beat-down her charge was receiving.
Jack was frozen, unable to muster a response, and June's face softened as her expression shifted from anger to concern.
"Please tell me the rumors aren't true Jack. Tell me you aren't racing that motorcycle."
"What? No! Wait, where could you have heard that?" Jack asked, face agape, and bewildered that word about that race got to his mom.
June shrugged, "It's a small town, people talk. I work in the emergency room Jack, I know what can happen. So, plea-"
She stopped mid-sentence, noticing Jack had been repeatedly rubbing his arm.
"Jack, what's wrong with your arm? Is something bothering you? Roll up your sleeve." she asked, her earlier feelings temporarily pushed aside with worry over her son's well-being.
Jack reluctantly obeyed, aware of what his mom would think he was doing once she saw the bruising that was left when his blood was drawn. He hated the way the color seemed to drain from her face and that look of disappointment she formed on her face. He didn't do anything wrong, he wasn't out late on purpose or breaking any more laws after the racing incident. But she doesn't know that, how could she after all? He's been lying to her about where he's been for weeks now.
"Jack, please tell me you haven't fallen in with a bad crowd. Your two new friends didn't wrap you into anything did they?" June asked with dread.
"No, no, no, no! My friends are the good crowd, seriously good." Jack quickly stammered back.
"I let you have that bike because you convinced me you were mature and responsible enough to handle it." She turned away and walked back into the garage. She spoke in a tone that Jack knew meant she was serious. "You're grounded from everything but school and work for the next month. I don't want to see that bike out of the garage."
She opened the door leading into their home and gave a slight smile. "I love you, Jack, remember that. Now go wash up and get some sleep."
Jack waited for the door to close before turning to Arcee. "Scrap. This is bad, I've really let her down right now even though I didn't do anything. I can't mess this up again."
Arcee turned her front tire toward Jack as she rolled herself into the garage. "Sorry about this Jack. I'll do my best to be here in the garage before your mom gets back."
"What!? Arcee, you don't understand, she can't see you outside this garage, or else she'll flip! I've just broken her trust tonight enough already, I can't mess up again." Jack yelled.
"I can't sit here on my fat tires for an entire month Jack, there's still a war going on. It's not an option. Your mother works late nights, I'll ground bridge back here before your mom gets back. And I'm sorry about this again, we wouldn't have been late if I didn't force you to check with Ratchet."
"I understand Arcee," sighed Jack as he began pulling down the garage door, "And I don't blame you for a moment. I just really hate letting her down like this." He walked toward and opened the door, placing one foot inside the house.
"Goodnight Arcee." he said, before flipping the switch and closing the door.
"Goodnight partner." she replied as the room was plunged into darkness, the only source of illumination coming from the soft moonlight through the window.
The second chapter is here! I already had this one mostly written when the first chapter was uploaded. I'll get the next one out asap, and don't forget to leave your reviews.