Mojo's barking greeted us as Bee pulled up to the Witwicky house. Disregarding Ron's love of his lawn, he rolled right up onto the grass beneath the kitchen window of Sam's house, revving his engine in a loud, attention-getting way. Peering out the window to my right, I looked up to see Sam looking down at us.
"Okay, he should be calling Miles now." I informed Bee, giggling at the look I had seen on Sam's face before he'd turned away.
"Did you know—I can hack into—their-phone line?"
"No way."
The radio whirred and buzzed with static until, sure enough, I could here Sam and Miles talking.
" 'Lo?"
"Miles! Miles, it's me! Listen! Listen! My car, it-it stole itself okay! I thought maybe it was a dream. It's not. It's real. It's alive."
"What're you talking about man?"
"Satan's Camaro! In my yard! It's stalking me!" Sam's voice cracked in fear.
"While I have you?" Miles replied snappishly. "Thanks for the ride home yesterday. You know how many drivers will stop to pick up a lone teenage male hitchhiker after dark? Can you count zero?"
"Dude I'm sorry but listen. It went for a walk and now it's back. There's this ghost of a little girl in there!" That caught my attention. "Maybe she took the car for a joyride in it and crashed and she haunts it now, I don't know man but she's trying to kill me! I think-she wants my soul."
At this I burst out laughing. Bumblebee shook too.
"Whatever dude. D'you have my crickets? I don't like the way A-Rod is starting to look at my fingers." Then I heard what sounded like… a fart? "Mason no! Bad dog! What'd you eat? You've been digging up dead things in the creek again. I own a freakin' dog ghoul. Oh my gawd I can't see. Got an environmental disaster here Sam-notify the EPA!" Which made me laugh again.
"Miles, I can hear Ghost Girl laughing out there! I'm coming over. Don't go anywhere." A dial tone replaced the voices.
Trying to force my laughter down, I gripped the seat as my shoulders shook. "Okay, here he comes." I managed to say.
"Ghost Girl—and—Satan's Camaro." Bumblebee said, splicing together bits of Sam's own speech. "I like the sound of that."
Before I could respond, Sam came running out of his house with his mom's pink, frilly bike and racing for the street.
Bumblebee started out on the street like a normal car, but when he drove up and started following Sam on the sidewalk. Not suspicious at all. Nope.
"Bee what are you doing?" I asked as I started laughing again. I couldn't help it; this scene had always amused me. "Cars don't drive on the sidewalk!"
"Augh!" Sam made a noise as he peddled as hard and as fast as he could away from us. Looking over his shoulder at us, he screamed "Stop!" his voice cracking in fear.
In not long at all we had reached midtown. Sam rode through the streets and Bumblebee followed, thankfully on back on the expected driving surface for a car. When Sam moved back to the sidewalk, Bee hung back, pulling into the street behind. This gave me a great vantage point for the slapstick I knew was to come. Sure enough, there was the look-back, flips, scream and smack. I couldn't help but laugh.
Of course his amazing feat had been witnessed by Mikaela, who was at Burger King with her friends. "Sam?"
Said boy looked up and grunted, "Hi."
A wide grin spread across Mikaela's face. "That was awesome!"
I liked this girl.
"Ugh, it felt awesome." Sam replied as he struggled to his knees.
"Are you okay?" Mikaela asked, her admiration replaced by concern.
Sam rushed his words together as he got up again. "I'm not okay alright? I'm losin' my mind a little bit. Getting chased by my car right now. I gotta go."
Looking after Sam with a confused, somewhat intrigued expression, Mikaela said to her friends, "… You know what I'm gonna catch up with you guys later." as she stood. After Sam wrestled with his mom's bike for a bit more, he got back on and resumed our chase.
While Bumblebee followed Sam through the street, I thought I heard the warble of a siren. Oh no, I thought; I knew how the movie went. I turned around to look out the back window. Sure enough, trailing us at a good distance was that terrible Mustang police car.
"Barricade's here." I managed to squeak, my throat having tightened with fear. This information made Bumblebee take the wrong isle on purpose after he'd followed Sam into the parking lot. Circling around, he exited the lot just after Barricade pulled in. I instinctively ducked in my seat as we passed, trying to gulp down my fear. At the same time though, I my hands had managed to get the car door open.
"What do you think you're doing?" Bumblebee asked as he promptly slammed the door shut.
"I'm getting out so that I'm not in you when you slam into Barricade!" I answered, fighting the handle that stayed so stubbornly stiff.
"… Fair enough." The Autobot stopped and let me open the door. "Stay safe—out of trouble."
I nodded as Bumblebee sped off around the parking complex. Now, I had every intention of being careful, but I also wanted to see what was going on, so I made a very stupid decision.
I went in after Barricade.
At least I was somewhat smart about it, hiding behind parked cars as I got closer. I had come just in time to watch the Decepticon transform from behind. The sight amazed and terrified me at the same time. I ducked into the other lane and tried to keep up with Barricade as he chased Sam, who was screaming profanities as he fled. I cringed when the teenager was kicked, screaming as he flew through air to land on a car windshield with the sound of shattering glass. Thankfully he seemed okay, though still scared out of his mind. "Bad dream, bad dream," he mumbled, sitting up and trying his best to push himself away from the threatening hulk that was Barricade. "Pleasepleaseplease lemme just wake up!" He screamed, as any normal person would, when the Con slammed his huge fists down on the sides of the car, crushing it like a trash compactor.
"Are you username Ladiesman217?!"
"I dunno what'cher talking about-"
"ARE YOU USERNAME LADIESMAN217?!"Barricade yelled, forcing his huge mass only inches away from poor Sam's face.
The boy hesitated. "… Yeah."
"Where is the e-bay item number 21153?!WHERE ARE THE GLASSES?!" the Decepticon spun his wheeled arm deep into the car's hood for emphasis.
This scared the crap out of Sam. Quickly, he got to his feet, turned and ran up the car, only just managing to leap off the back end before Barricade flipped the entire vehicle over.
That's where I was.
When Sam stumbled I didn't think, I just rushed over to pull him back up again. "This way!" I said, trying to him towards the exit.
The boy stood there like an idiot, his eyes bugging out as he realized who I was. "Ghost Girl?!" he cried is disbelief.
I turned and saw Barricade's proximity, scaring my heart into my throat. "Yes now run!" I screamed. Sam didn't need any motivation after that. He was faster than me, but thankfully fear and adrenaline got me going pretty quickly and I wasn't far behind.
That is, until I tripped.
It was a stupid trip too; over my own two feet. A complete horror movie trip.
I tried to get back up quickly, but then I heard and felt something huge slamming into the ground directly behind me, cracking the concrete with its force.
Oh God.
Slowly, I rotated my crouched form and looked up. The Goliath facing me was a giant robot about Bumblebee's height, but the similarities ended there. The gray being with long, cruel claws, a mouth full of sharp, yellow teeth, and evil, glaring red eyes that glowered over me was nothing like the Autobot who'd been with me since I'd seen this thing last. No, this was nothing like him; this was a monster.
Then it spoke.
"You."
I froze, my face turning white as all the blood drained away. In that single, growled utterance, I understood exactly what the Decepticon meant. It had seen me that day. It had seen my necklace.
And it had remembered me.
I was running, running faster than I'd ever run before, yet I was all too aware of how dangerously close my pursuer was. The weight of each metal footstep thundering behind me at such close proximity shook the ground and made it hard to place my feet as I ran. Two cars flew past me on either side, each only inches away from me, that's how close it was. I could feel its great hulk over me.
Then it wasn't just over me.
It was around me. It was above and below and beside me. It was crushing me with its sharp claws, lifting me into the air, squeezing the breath out of me, threatening to crush more than just my lungs. Slowly, horribly, I was lifted up to its terrible face. Those red eyes glowed with a sharp, cutting light that flashed over me with a malicious intent I had never experienced before.
Panic rushed over me like an all-consuming tsunami, flooding my thoughts, my actions, my senses, until I was aware of only one thing:
I was screaming.
Then everything went upside down. I was wrenched around at neck-snapping speed before released onto the hard ground in less than a second. The 1976 Camaro had smashed into the Decepticon, knocking it off its feet and me out of its hands. By some stretch of a miracle, I was held onto until my captor's arm hit the ground, sending me rolling onto the concrete but for the most part unharmed.
Yellow, lifesaving yellow rolled up beside me and opened its door.
Regaining my motor skills almost immediately, I wasted no time leaping into the back seat. Looking back out the door, I saw Sam and Mikaela on the ground. "Come on!" I yelled at them, motioning with my hands frantically.
The former was trying to convince the latter, who was protesting to get in the car. "Trust me! Trust me!" Sam shouted as he led Mikaela, diving into the driver's seat on the other side. "Get in!" Thankfully she followed his example.
Bee's door slammed shut right behind her before the he shifted into gear and sped off as Sam yelled, "Gogogogo!" Behind, Barricade charged after us, transforming as he ran before pursuing us in vehicle mode, his police lights flashing furiously.
"Hang on!" I suggested to the newcomers, taking care to brace my own arms against the backs of both their seats.
Mikaela and Sam's heads snapped around to look at me. "Who are you?!" Mikaela asked.
"I'm the ghost that haunts this car!" I screamed, flinging my arms wide in exasperation. "Does that really matter right now?! I'm a friend, now hang on!"
We emerged from a cloud of dust, Barricade following not far behind. While I realized that speeding down a road and swerving around other cars simultaneously was a difficult feat, I still wished that Bee would go a bit faster. It was a bit nerve-racking that the Decepticon was attempting to pass us.
"GO GO GO GO!" Sam yelled.
"Oh my gawd we're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna die! Oh my gawd!" Mikaela shrieked.
"No we're not gonna die! Trust me he's a kick $$ driver!" Sam tried to reassure her, though he was fighting panic of his own.
Tumbling around the back seat a bit as it swerved, I tried to find something to grab on to. My hands eventually landed on the back of the driver's seat, which I clung to for dear life. "Calm down you guys!" I yelled, trying desperately to keep calm myself. Funny how I'd always found this scene amusing before. It wasn't nearly as humorous when you were actually in it.
If they heard me at all, the teenagers gave no indication that they had because we all saw a rapidly approaching dead end. Sam screamed, "Oh no bad idea WE'RE GONNA DIE!" while Mikaela just screamed.
Thankfully the dead end was made of glass and we drove right through into a large, mostly empty warehouse, Barricade still close behind. Of course I say mostly empty because Bumblebee managed to find the sole stack of dusty boxes in the room and drive through them as well. Then without warning he turned sharply in the dust, sending us into tire-screeching loops, during which I struggled to keep a grip on the seat while the g-force sucked me outwards. And we continued spinning until Bumblebee regained his grip and headed out the same way we'd come in, bursting back out of the shattered window and onto the road.
Thinking maybe I could help by keeping an eye on our pursuer, I reluctantly relinquished my hold on the driver's seat. Turning around, I knelt on the back seat backwards, bracing myself as best I could on the 'dash' or whatever you'd call it in front of the rear window. The position wasn't very safe, but at least I felt like I was being useful.
As the Decepticon struggled to catch up, from its sides rose what looked like…
Oh no.
"INCOMMING!" I yelled just before the rockets came flying at us. I ducked, holding onto the seats as tightly as I could while Bumblebee swerved and dodged. For every rocket that missed its mark, which was thankfully all of them, there was an explosion on either side of the car.
I decided to abandon my unsafe position and went right back to gripping the front seat.
"This isn't happening this is not happening!" Mikaela was screaming as she and Sam were basically thrown together.
Sam tried to control the car, but Bee's wheel slid through his fingers no matter how tightly the teen gripped it. So instead he decided to pound on it and shout, "Whatever, whoever, wherever you came from, just goooo!"
At that point the three of us realized that we were headed towards yet another rapidly approaching dead end, only this time it was solid brick. I bear-hugged the seat, bracing myself for impact, but instead I ended up using the seat for something to hang on to when Bumblebee did another incredibly fast 180 spin, which left us facing directly at our pursuer.
"Bad idea, bad idea! Sucha bad idea right now!" Sam yelled as and the car lurched forward.
Barricade didn't falter as he continued charging and showering rockets at the same time. One almost hit on the left side, but with ridiculous agility Bumblebee dodged it just in time. Funny, I thought. I don't remember ROCKETS BEING PART OF THE CHASE!
"Was that a missile?" Sam exclaimed as the two turned around to follow the rocket.
"Yeah, I think so!" Mikaela answered, watching it detonate an entire building behind us before turning back around. "Uh-huh, yes, definitely a missile."
Still playing chicken, both transformers swerved away from each other at the last minute, the sounds of tire screeching almost indistinguishable against the occupant's screams.
It took a while, but eventually we actually lost Barricade, or to the point where he wasn't behind us at least. Going at a much slower pace now, Bumblebee quietly circled around the warehouse before stopping suddenly. When I looked ahead, I could see why. A few blocks ahead, Barricade passed from left to right, his police-lights flashing silently. He hadn't seen us, but I knew the double-take was coming. Discreetly, Bumblebee backed up against the wall of the warehouse, turned off his headlights and engine, and locked the doors.
Immediately Sam and Mikaela were at the locks, trying to undo them to no avail. "We're locked in." Sam stated. He tried the ignition, hitting the dash in frustration when it didn't budge. "Car won't start. At least we ditched the monster right?"
"Sam." I hissed quietly as I stared forward with Mikaela, knowing what was coming. I clutched the seat tighter and exhaled a shaky breath. For a moment, everything was silent.
Once again, Barricade passed by. This time, we weren't so lucky. We heard his brakes squeaked as he came to a stop, just beyond our range of vision.
Sam glanced down at the ignition, which was now turning without him, starting itself. "Okay," he said, not daring to move. "Time to start."
At that moment, Bumblebee's tires spun with a terrible screeching sound as he put the petal to the metal, accelerating as quickly as he could to get out of there.
Barricade backed up into our line of sight and stopped just before hitting Bee, who sped out of the alley and across an empty lot. The Decepticon wasted no time in following. Even though I knew it was coming, I was still surprised when Bumblebee spun with his right door open, sending Sam, Mikaela and I unceremoniously out onto the pavement.
While this was extremely disorienting, I still managed to whirl around in time to watch Bumblebee transform from behind, slamming his fists into the ground threateningly on his way up. Though I'd seen it before, I was no less in awe than Sam and Mikaela, for whom it was the first time. Once reassembled, Bee took a fighting stance between us and Barricade, a few parts still clicking into place as he did so. As he shifted his feet backwards, the teenagers and I struggled to our feet and backed up.
The police car was now charging at full speed towards us with no signs of stopping, and though Bee stood firm, I had enough sense to remember this scene. "Get down!" I cried, jumping and pressing my hands down on the teenagers' shoulders.
They didn't need any encouraging, and we all ducked back into the dirt as Barricade transformed again. Without losing momentum, he lunged at Bumblebee with a deep battle cry, knocking the Autobot head over heels into the concrete with a smack and a shower of sparks. I flinched; it hurt just looking at it.
Barricade spun off to the side with his own fireworks show, growling who knows what in Cybertronian. When he regained his footing, he faced us and unveiled a spiky weapon that spun dangerously and flicked it around almost like nun-chucks.
The teenagers did their best to scoot away, as did I, but I was also trying to focus on what would happen next.
Sure enough, flinging out of Barricade's chassis like the hyperactive little machine he was, out came Frenzy with his own battle cry before he charged us. That and the fact that Barricade was charging Bee again, who was trying to shield us, which meant that there were three alien robots headed this way, sent the three of us moving pretty quickly.
"Turn!" I yelled, getting the teenagers to change their course just before Barricade sent Bumblebee into some nearby machinery, sending out yet another wave of sparks. I cringed again, but Bee didn't miss a beat. Flipping back to his feet, he launched at Barricade, grabbed him and threw him into a small security building, sending the biggest explosion of sparks I'd seen yet into the night sky.
"YEAH!" I screamed in a voice unnaturally deep for a tween girl, temporarily forgetting to flee and sending pumping my fists in excitement. "SMACKDOWN!" I'll admit that even as a kid I had an unusual, man-like love of fight scenes, especially when I knew the bad guy was going to get owned by a good guy. I would have loved to have watched the giant Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots match, especially since the movie never shows just how Bumblebee beats Barricade, but my priorities were put back into place at the sound of Sam screaming, "HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"
When I found Sam, he was already out of his pants. I caught up with them just in time to see Sam kick Frenzy off before turning and running. I ran after the spazz-bot who was hopping strangely, but he was so fast Screaming-Sam could hardly keep ahead of him. After Sam fell over waist-high chicken wire fence and down the hill, with Frenzy tumbling after, I tried to vault the same boarder. But my out-of-shape-ness screwed me over and sent me rolling down the hill in a similar fashion. The teenager slammed into a chain-link fence and hadn't so much as stood up before Frenzy was on top him. Literally.
"Get OFF!" Sam yelled as he through the screaming metal-skeleton off his back, away from him and into the dirt. In one smooth motion, Frenzy leapt back to his feet, his feet tapping the ground speedily as he prepared to charge.
But before he could, I suddenly leapt into the fray. I don't know why, being that it was such a stupid idea. I knew that Mikaela would come back with a power saw and that Sam would be fine. I also knew that Frenzy was fully capable of killing armed adults, so I have no idea what I was thinking, but for whatever reason I soon found myself attacking the tiny Decepticon. Running after him at full speed, I launched and Frenzy and tackled him to the ground. Down he went with a bout of surprised Cybertronian sputtering before immediately fighting to get away.
"LEAVE SAM ALONE!" I screamed as I clung to the little demon with all my might. However, not only was Frenzy stronger than me, but his metal frame was very sharp and it cut into my skin. Clenching my teeth against the pain, I tried to pin down his flailing appendages, but I was quickly losing the battle. With one more arm-wrenching yank, the Decepticon broke free of my grip. So much for helping.
Thankfully, just before the little bugger could attack whoever he wanted to, Mikaela came streaking down the hill and began slicing away at him with her… Whoa wait, she had a chainsaw! Frenzy screamed in pain as Mikaela hacked him down to pieces like a psyco-chainsaw-murderer-of-evil-robots, while Sam shouted "Getitgetitgetitgetitgetitgetit!"
When she had cut him up sufficiently, she flipped her hair back out of her face and stood panting with Sam, watching the only part of Frenzy that was still alive; his head, which groaned as it attempted to hop away. I braced myself up in the dirt, panting just as hard as they.
"See? Not so tough without a head are you?" Sam said and rushed forward.
"No wait don't!" I yelled, reaching out to stop him. But my warning came too late, for there went Frenzy's head, sailing back up, over the hill and out of sight. I sighed, flopping back down to the ground, attempting to regain my breath. Oh well. I could still get to him later. "And they say you're bad at sports?" I managed to joke.
The teenagers' attention turned back to me at the sound of my voice. "Are you okay?" Mikaela asked as she came over and helped me to my feet.
Standing with a grunt, I replied "I think so," as I glanced at myself. Cuts, scrapes and bruises would appear soon, but thankfully nothing serious. After brushing off the dirt I'd been wallowing in, I looked up at Sam. He looked at me with a confused, surprised expression, gaping slightly. "Um… Thanks for doing that." He found his words. "I woulda been screwed if you hadn't."
I shook my head. "You would have been fine." Ignoring the teenagers' confusion at this statement, I looked up and recognized where to go next. Without so much as a 'Come on!' I began to run along the chain-link fence, wanting to get to the Autobot before Sam and Mikaela did.
As soon as I saw Bee I ran right up to him. "Didja give him what-for?" I asked, still panting when I reached his side.
"I thought I told you-to stay out of trouble." Bumblebee said as he put his weapon away, looking down at me pointedly as he stooped, getting down to my level. "Which is exactly—what you—didn't do! You could've been killed-or worse! Don't you ever do that again!"
I looked down at my feet, my face hot from exercise and embarrassment. Had he been…worried about me? No, no one ever worried about me. "Okay." I said meekly. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to… *sigh* I'm sorry."
Bee nodded in affirmation as he straightened up to his full height.
"But," I said, regaining his attention. "Did you… Did you get him good?" I looked up hopefully.
The Autobot paused before shrugging, "I-beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on." His radio boasted.
A grin stretched across my face. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" I said happily.
At that, Bumblebee produced pleased-sounding whir and smiled down at me. "Come on," he said, motioning towards the hill, knowing that Sam and Mikaela were on the other side. "Let's go meet the new recruits.
Though I'm using both the movie and the book, I'm not going to cite things specifically from the book. If you want to know if something comes from me or the book, just ask & I'll answer truthfully. Review/comment plz!