Chapter 6. Fleas?

A/N: I just want you all to know that everything that happens in this story is there for a reason, no. I don't like killing off different characters, but there's a reason for it and its part of the plot.

The first thing William Lennox realized when his plane landed safely on the shores of Diego Garcia was, One. Annabelle and Sarah were not waiting for him like he had expected, and two, Bumblebee was being dragged inside the building screaming about being 'man handled.'

He didn't know what was going on with the camaro, but he had a bad feeling, and so, He waited there, standing in his spot where he had jumped from the plane, for a few minuets, listening to the sounds of the plane behind him dying down and soldiers talking worriedly amongst themselves.

Upon hearing Epps voice in the background, Will spun around, tilting his head every which direction to get a glimpse of Epps who was still somewhere inside the carrier.

"Where's Sarah?" William blurted out, squinting his eyes to see into the plane, Epps face apeared inches from his own, causing the major to jump a bit, he was holding onto a handle, hanging off the side of the carrier plane, one foot on the ramp the other dangling.

"Ask Fig." Epps said, turning to look back at someone, he smiled, nodded at whoever it was. then turned back to William.

"He was in charge of the families." There was a hint of worry in Epps brown eyes, he put both his feet on the ramp and let go of the handle, then proceeded in jumping from the plane to stand at his friends side.

William nodded, finding no spot to say anything else, he turned on his heel, trusting, or already knowing, Epps to follow.

He started off at a jog towards the new, crowded base, only to find himself running as he reached the doors, maneuvering himself through different soldiers to avoid any collisions.

Bright white lights greeted him, he searched through the crowed, so many men in uniforms, it was difficult to find Fig in the sea of army colors, he lowered his search, looking for any civilians, but of course, that helped little, many families of the soldiers were here.

Epps was behind him, no doubt searching for the same man, when, in Williams peripheral vision the missing mans face appeared, as well as a bright pink, but dirty dress.

He was glad to see Fig, and even happier at the sight of little Annabel holding tight onto him, arms clutched around his neck, face buried into the crook of it.

"Anna!" William shouted, running up to Fig, Annabelle swung around, her face streaked with tears, hair a mess. William swept the crying girl from the mans arms holding her to his chest. He gave Fig a look as he held his daughters head to his neck, petting her hair.

"Shh. Shh baby girl." Lennox hushed, holding her tighter, the girl only cried harder in his arms. The bad feeling in the pit of his stomach grew, Will looked up from his daughter to the still man before him, a look of fear in his eyes. His face slightly scrunched up.

"Fig, where's Sarah?" Fig wouldn't meet his eyes, William could hear his heart pounding, his blood chilling as every nerve in his body suddenly became hyper aware of everything happening in his body, He became restless as terror flooded him, he swayed on his feet before taking a step foreword, his voice low, as if expecting a fight. "Fig.."

"I'm sorry Major, we found her in the kitchen... She was gone..."

Everything went so silent you could hear a pin drop, all movement stopped, as if no one dared to breathe. Unbeknownst to William that he had the attention of almost every person in the room.

Williams head started to spin, he forced himself to remain still, but it helped little. Will still swayed, hands gripping tighter around his child.

Gone Sarah... No, she couldn't be, was she? But this was Sarah...

Time seemed to stop completely for the soldier, either that or no one made a move, he could hear himself breathing, each shaky inhale, equally shaky exhale. he could see Figs worried expression as he reached out to his friend, offering comfort.

Seeing his friend reaching out, William knew it wasn't a joke, he hoped it was, begged it was, but even still, Like a hammer to glass, William professional, well maintained blockade that he had been building over the years shattered.

He was joking, he had to be! This was nothing to joke about!

His face flushed red with anger, William turned, handing Annabel off to Epps who looked just as suprised as Lennox.

As soon as Annabel was safe within Epps shocked grasp, William lunged foreword and grabbed Fig by the collar of his uniform.

"Don't play with me, soldier!" He glowered, jerking Fig back twice, he got all up close and personal to the soldier, who's eyes had gone wide. Hands flying up in surrender, then to rest on Wills shoulders in some kind of awkward man hug, if only.

Fig would have been lying if he said he didn't expect this.

"Whoa- LENNOX!" Epps yelled from behind him, he then handed the crying girl off to a random solider, rushing up to pull Fig from Williams grasp, it took a few jerks, and a slap on the back of the skull, but finally Will let go, but look on his face that he was ready to lunge the moment Epps let go of him.

The Spanish man looked dazed, he stepped back once and quickly relaxed, but his hands stayed up in a surrendering position.

"I'm sorry Will." Fig said, looking down. Epps shot a look at the spanish man that quickly cleared up his fogged mind, he frowned, looking to the broken major.

"No!" Will shouted of into the distance, jerking free of Epps hold, screaming his anger up into the celling, his tight fists came up to grab his mess of hair, trying to pull it from his skull, he moved back, his steps frantic, he looked so lost, tears flooded in his eyes as the man turned around completely, putting his back to both Epps and Fig.

"No!" He screamed again, a couple random soldiers which happened to have been in the wrong direction at the wrong time flinched at his tone of voice, but one look into the majors eyes summed it up: he was in denial.

Epps went to comfort his friend, taking a step foreword only to jerk to a stop when Fig put a hand on the black mans shoulder, with a squeeze, Epps looked to his teammate who was shaking his head.

"Sarah..." William whimpered, in less then one day his whole world had come crashing down, first. Keller had died, then, all hope of finding a solution had died, now... Now. Sarah had died.

He never thought once in his life that he would lose his wife, he had thought he would be the first to go. And.. and all those Zombie movies and games, they weren't real, none of this was real.

He slapped his forehead, sinking to his knees, centre view to everyone.

No.. this was real life, not an episode of the walking dead, which he just realized, probably wouldn't air anymore episodes, damn, he really like that show.

The major screamed his heart out, face buried in his hands, already wet with tears.

A white noise rung in his ears, so loudly that he couldn't hear himself screaming, yelling for Sarah, cursing the gods for them taking her, cursing everyone.

The white noise tersely left as Annabel gave off a cry for her father, he stopped mid curse, snapping his head over to his little girl, who, ironically had been transferred back to Fig.

He looked down at his shaking hands, trying to calm his raging mind, his broken heart, scrubbing at his face, Lennox stood, putting both his hands at his sides to gather his bearings, and walked to his teammate.

"I'm sorry Fig, Its just-" William started.

"It's fine, Lennox." Fig said with a washed up smile that didn't reach his eyes, carefully, the man placed the girl into Williams arms, Annabel quickly threw her arms around her fathers neck, burrying her face into the crook of it.

"Did you...?" Fig nodded at Williams unfinished question, it was simple. Yes, they had shot her to end her misery, from coming back and suffering. William nodded back at his friend, biting his lip.

William relished in the last piece of his wife he would ever have, slowly, he turned around. Ignoring the looks of the soldiers. He cleared his throat, looking up at the group that had accumulated.

"Back to work!" He snapped, although his voice lacked order, the others' didn't seem to pick up on it, fore they quickly scattered, returning to their families and duties.

He knew he wasn't the only one who had lost someone today, he would miss her... He would miss Sarah, she was everything to him. But he had other things to do, he had to push foreword. Sarah would always live on in memory.

He wondered how Ironhide had taken it.

What was worse then waking up with a throbbing headache? Waking up with someone slamming on your door. Whats worse then waking up with a throbbing headache AND someone pounding at your door? Waking up to something- relatively small, licking at your face.

"What..." Without a second thought Sam swatted the licking thing away, rolling onto his stomach and thrusting the pillow over his head. Two thumps were heard this time as two different creatures jumped onto the bed, both nipping at his pants, one of them clambered onto his back while the other stayed put.

"Sammy baby!"

"...Mom?" He mumbled, pushing the licking creature off his back and sat up, just in time to sit up and be forced to lay back down as Judy Witwicky thrusted herself onto her tired son, clutching at him.

"Oh Sammy! I'm so glad your okay! I thought you were gone when Will said he couldn't find you! Oh Sammy!"

"Mom- mom please-" Sam pushed at his mother as she basically suffocated him in his pillow, but hell, he was glad to hear her voice- it means what he was thinking about was true. They had gotten out alright.

"Mom." He breathed, managing to turn around and clutch the hestarical woman to him, then, he was slapped on the back of his head.

"You could have called! Or something! Me and your father were worried sick!" Sam breathed a laugh, he would have called, but it seamed Bumblebee was the better choice... Wait... Bumblebee.

"Mom? Is 'Bee alright?" He asked, finally managing to push the woman from his body, wiping the tears from her eyes, the adult sniffled before she grew tense, Ron, who Sam had just noticed was standing by his door frame, spoke up.

"What's wrong with Bumblebee?" He asked slowly, they hadn't been told, well, he really hadn't been told what happened to his guardian.

He needed to see if Bumblebee was okay.

Throwing his legs over the bed, he jumped up from it, searching around the room for a fresh pair of cloths, Judy slowly got up from the bed, watching her frantic son search for something to wear, she joined Ron at the doorframe. Despite what was happening, Sam's mother still managed to lighten the mood. The dogs yipped and barked at Sam as he got ready.

"Say hi to Mojo Sammy! He missed you!" The woman chatisized, waving a disapproving finger at him, with a huff Sam threw a pair of clothes over his shoulder, stuffing a pair of socks into his mouth as he bent down to the shaking chichiwawa and the huffing pug, and patting each ones head.

"Hi Mojo. Hi Franky."

With that, Sam, although in front of his parents, stripped down to his boxers hastily and threw on an army uniform that he had been supplied with. He grabbed his mother by her wrist and they flooded out the door.

"Fleas?"

"Fleas."

"...fleas.."

"Yes, miniature fleas."

"...Fleas?"

It was amazing how someone the likes of Optimus Prime himself could only manage to say one word, so stupidly, as if it were the only word he had ever known. He wanted to hit his leader upside the head with a wrench so bad, maybe then it would stop Optimus from sounding like a broken record.

"Fleas?"

A growl. "Yes Optimus, small Blood-sucking fleas that work together in swarms to consume the human body."

Optimus visually shivered his normal professional stance gone as he turned to give the mech an odd look.

"Bumblebee is infected with Fleas." Not a question, but a statement.

"Yes. Like a common animal." Ratchet replied simply.

"This is beyond disturbing." The Matrix barrer pointed out, looking nervously around the medbay.

Since the scout had been brought in, they had put him into an emergency surgery room in stasis, energon being constantly pumped into his frame to keep him online until Preceptor and Wheeljack found something. Being, although there were no outside wounds on the young mech, he still lost energon, at an alarming rate. With the amount of fuel they had, they didn't have much time to keep the camaro on 'life support' and still feed the growing number of Autobots. They had to find something within the week. Or...

Optimus couldn't quite fathom this, fleas, fleas? The human insect that infected animals? And they worked together, how, in the name of Primus?

Ratchet had explained everything to the Autobot leader, and it left the matrix barrier numb, an outbreak of a human virus going around, killing people and which, was extremely contagious and infected others through something as simple as a small flesh wound.

Optimus had never watched any of the humans 'zombie' movies, but now, would it be a good idea? To sit down and watch? Just to get a preview if what in the universe was happening?

It didn't seem like a bad idea.

"We currently have nothing to go by... Optimus-"

The Autobot leader could hear the distant worry in the medics voice, he didn't know what was happening, and to tell the truth, no one knew if Bumblebee was going to be okay or not. But there was hope, there was always something that could happen to help the scout.

Shaking his helm to clear the fog, Optimus stood up, putting a hand on the medics shoulder reassuringly.

"You will find something, Ratchet, I believe in you, but for now we have to inform the others, that they are not quite invincible, I fear if another one of our men is... Infected that we will not be able to save them."

Understanding, Ratchet nodded briskly, backing up, ready to retreat to the lab where Wheeljack and Perceptor were long at work, they had been up all night, Ratchet wouldn't doubt it if they hadn't had their ration of energon yet.

He still had to check over the twins, Sunstreaker and Sudeswipe, who, had just arrived not a minuet before the outbreak.

He growled out loud as he turned for the medbay, the twins, bane of his existence. The very reason why he carries a wrench in his subspace. Although the pranksters were well known to get on the medics nerves, Ratchet had to admit, maybe having them around would lighten up the glum mood around here.

Frantic steps, three sets, one lagging behind the other two, they entered his Audios right before a voice shouted up at him, causing him to stop and turn around.

"Sam! There you are, I haven't had the time to check you-"

"Where's 'Bee? Is he okay? He's not infected, is he?" The teenager shouted back, cutting off his sentence, Ratchet growled again, a low rumbling in his engine, he bent down to the teens hight, giving Judy and Ron a nod.

"We have a lot to talk about, and I need to check you over, Judy, Ron, it is good to see you again, and well. and I believe Captain Lennox is searching for you."

Judy smiled, taking her husbands hand, Ron, rolled his eyes and went to pull away, only to be slapped on the shoulder. "Thanks, you'll take care of Sammy right?" Judy asked, her eyes trailing over her sons form, looking for anything that might be out of place, Ron sighed.

"He'll be fine Judy, lets go."

"Wait!" Judy let go of her husbands hands and threw her arms around her son who, had not expected the sudden ambush and was pushed back a few steps.

Sam looked from side to side nervously, patting his mother on her back. "Okay, okay mom, I'll be fine."

"You better be fine." Was her threatening reply, she clunked tighter to Sam, giving him kisses on both his cheeks. "Mom-Mom!"

"Judy..." Ron warned, pulling her from his son, who shot his father a great full look.

"Lets go." And Ron tugged Judy away.

Sam stood there for a moment, looking up at Ratchet, who had offered his hand for him to climb on, he took it with no hesitation, he had sat In 'Bees hands so many times it was just natural. On the way Ratchet explained the depth of their situation, what they found, Bumblebees condition, their worry for the scout.

Sam remained silent, he didn't know what to say. His mind was a jig saw puzzle, and he couldn't solve the problem quick enough or come up with an excuse.

Within less then fifteen minuets Ratchet was done with his scans, nothing showing up only that he was stressed, Sam had asked to see Bumblebee only to have it shot down, and ordered to take it easy, to go eat and rest. Sam was disappointed, but left nonetheless.

It's disgusting, just look at it, dead, nothing but some kind of boiled black skin and bones, black eyes, sharp yellow teeth... It's hard to believe that this used to be... Me.

While being trapped within my own mind, I've been studying up, this creature, this... Things mind is attached to my own, I can hear it think, do I sound crazy? I probably do, but I can hear it, as I'd they were my own thoughts. It talks, the words are brief, in a language I do not understand, but their there, floating, planning.

Oh yes, it's planning, planning something, I don't know what exactly its trying to do, but its something big.

It's like a system, this is no mindless zombie, but a creature in complete control, and the others... They seem to come to it.

They do, they flock to my former self like a bee to its queen, they talk in that.. Ghastly growling, incoherent language, and then leave. And when they return well, sometimes they bring things back.

Today, today they brought not something back, but someone. Someone who was alive, living, screaming, alive an unharmed.

They carried her in, and remarkably, they tied her up, like an animal.

These things aren't zombies, there

Something else, something that, since I have eternity trapped here, I can research.

What are they planning on doing to the child? What do they want? How... What exactly are they?

I hope to accomplish the task of finding an answer to all these questions.

Perhaps one day, but for now...

-Dr. Radar Johnson.