Chapter 3
"Maybe I am just crazy." I sighed.
Optimus shook his head slowly, not taking his optics off of the bathroom.
"No. It all showed up on the tape. This room was definitely flooded."
I rested my forehead on his shoulder, drawing my gaze to something on the ground.
"That wasn't there a minute ago, was it?" I asked Optimus quietly.
"What?"
"All that blood on the floor. Oh, Primus, please tell me you can see it too."
Optimus looked down, holding me a little tighter in an attempt to comfort me.
"Yeah, I see it too." He said after a moment.
There was a long blood trail on the floor, seeming to appear from nowhere at the open door to the bathroom, leading down the corridor into the darkness, the way we had come.
"Come on." He said, leading me back down the dark corridor.
"Please tell me we're going back to the ship," I pleaded, clutching at him tightly, "Not-"
"We're following the trail." Optimus said firmly, giving my hand a comforting squeeze.
"Drat. I was afraid you'd say that."
Optimus had his mouth against my forehead, and I felt it twitch in a smile.
"You could've stayed at home."
The blood trail led us to a door under the stairs, probably leading down into the basement, just a meter or so away from the front door, which was closed, even though I was sure Optimus and I had left it open behind us.
"Great, we know where it leads." I said nervously, tugging Optimus' hand. I was desperate to get out of there. "Now we can go home."
Optimus gave me a bemused look as he got his cannons ready, and I stayed behind him as he pulled me close and kicked the door open.
I had been right before. The door under the stairs led into the basement. The blood trail continued down the stairs, leading up to something on the floor. I squinted, trying to make sense of what it was.
"Shouri?" I called, suddenly making out the femme's shape, even if I couldn't see her face. "Oh, Primus."
Optimus had lowered his cannons, looking down into the basement with no expression on his face. I took an uncertain step forwards. Big mistake.
Instantly, something grabbed hold of my right leg, yanking it out from underneath me. I fell on my back with a crash and felt whatever it was dragging me – far too fast for my liking – towards the basement door. For a corpse, if that was what it was, it was very strong. Or I just wasn't very heavy.
Optimus dropped to his knees behind me, wrapping his arms around me and trying to drag me away from whatever it was. He was putting up a good fight. I wasn't moving anywhere, but I felt like I was being ripped in half. That hurt.
I didn't want to go down without a fight of my own, and I looked around for something to grab onto to try and pull myself out. My optics landed on the radiator on the wall just above my head.
I grabbed the pipe full of hot water that was connected to it and tried to pull myself up with that, ignoring the pain as it burnt my hand.
Suddenly the pipe burst, spilling scalding hot water into the corridor and over Optimus and me. Okay, maybe not my best idea.
Optimus' grip loosened slightly in shock and pain, and I was suddenly jerked a couple of feet towards the door. Okay, definitely not my best idea.
Suddenly I felt agonizing pain through my leg that had nothing to do with the boiling hot water swarming around us. It felt like a dozen tiny knives digging into my armour, which didn't feel so bad – more like gnat bites – but then my leg started burning. It wasn't the water. This pain was much worse. It was starting underneath my armour and spreading from the place where the thing had bit me.
I screamed in pain.
Suddenly sensing that he was losing this fight, Optimus shifted his position behind me, getting a tighter grip around my waist with his right arm, his left pointing a cannon into the yawning abyss that was the basement door. But he couldn't shoot yet. Not without being able to see what it was that he was shooting at.
He anchored his feet against the wall on either side of the doorway and dragged me back. The pain increased tenfold as I started moving back away from the door.
Finally he'd dragged me back enough to bring the thing out of the darkness of the basement, where he could see it. He shot it.
It fell away with a squeal, and Optimus kicked the door shut.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, pulling me away from the door. We were ignoring the water for the moment, though I don't think I could concentrate on anything at that moment.
"No." I told him, my voice tight with pain. "My leg."
Thankfully it was too dark for either of us to be able to see it. Judging by the amount of pain, it felt like it was being burnt away, and it must've looked terrible. I was relieved that I couldn't see it.
"Hold on, Clara, I'm gonna get you out of here."
Before he could do anything, the banging on the basement door as the thing tried to get out stopped, and it was suddenly flying round the corner at us.
Optimus shot it out of the sky as he got to his feet, more carrying me than supporting me.
While the thing was on the ground he opened the teleport and dragged me through it, and I found myself back on the ship, on the ground next to Optimus. He shut the teleport down as the thing tried to follow us through, and its head fell to the ground with a sick thud.