Hi! I am so sorry *cries* please forgive me for the late update! My brother and sisters birthdays were exhausting:( And school was big and were having guest for Thanksgiving. Oh and happy late Halloween!
Bumblebee walked into the saloon with the kids, summing this up to be the worst day of his existence. He just wanted to find Bulkhead, Arcee, and Miko and get this over with. It was pretty cold now. No, scratch that, it was freezing!
"It's freezing," Jack complained. Even though they were in the saloon, it was still cold. "I knew I should have brought a coat."
Bumblebee had to nod in agreement. It was pretty cold and windy: the chilly wind is what made it creepy.
"Bee… do you have any idea where Ratchet is?" Raf asked while his teeth were chattering. Bumblebee said.
"Well...no. And I don't know where Miko I either," Bumblebee answered.
Jack decided to chime in on the conversation. "Well Ratchet did say he would check out what that sound was," he answered.
"Right, but he never came back," Raf stated while crossing his arms, trying to stay warm.
"Maybe he's still looking," Jack suggested.
"Guys, come on. We need to find Arcee and Bulkhead first," Bumblebee said while onlineing his weapons.
"Right," Raf and Jack said at the same time while following Bumblebee.
Bee looked down at the rope that Arcee and Bulkhead had went/fallen into. It was dark and creepy, and Bee could've sworn that he had heard voices down there, but then the voices had faded away. Bee considered risking the ghosts and scraplets and going down the mine entrance himself, but that would mean leaving the boys unprotected. "Where was Miko? What a mess!"
…..
"Almost there Bulkhead," Arcee encouraged while holding the beams up. "Scrap! These are heavy," she grumbled. Arcee was trying to prevent a cave-in on her and Bulkhead. Bulkhead was stuck: debris had fallen on him, and the wooden beams had to be positioned to support the mine shaft again. This was taking longer than she was comfortable with: the tunnel had to be supported by more than just Bulkhead's body!
Bulkhead tried moving out but more rocks tumbled on him, and the ground started to shake. "Ugh. Arcee, why don't you go get out of here. Alright? I don't want you to get stuck down here with me," Bulkhead ordered.
"Sorry Bulk, but I'm not leaving you any time soon. Come to think of it, I'm not leaving you at all," Arcee answered to Bulkhead while holding the beams up. The beams were heavy and difficult to support. But none of this was new to her. The war had changed her. She was not leaving Bulkhead behind. That very thought caused her to stand up straighter, lifting the beams even higher. With her other hand, she reached for another timber to support the ceiling.
"Not too bad," Arcee thought to herself. "I'm making progress!"
…..
"Uhg! This is getting ridiculous," Miko groaned while running into the tunnels. Her flashlight had grown dim, increasing the darkness. There were weird shadows on the walls, probably because of her dumb flashlight. She didn't like talking to herself out loud, but it made her feel less alone.
"Well, no one is here… but Bulkhead and Arcee should be here," Miko stated. "Scrap," she yelled, realizing she probably went went the wrong way in the tunnel. She was so busy fussing to herself that she didn't notice the rock that she walked right into.
"Oof, OUCH!" Miko cried when she fell, losing her balance. Miko flinched, biting back a cry. It hurt, but that was nothing new. Just a few scrapes on her elbow and knee.
"Man, that hurts," Miko moaned, rubbing her knee. "I really wish I brought some bandages and pain reliever," she grumbled to herself, staring down at her scrape.
…
Bumblebee could've sworn that he heard a yell or cry or the word 'scrap' - short for scraplet? But he ignored the fear, keeping an eye on the two remaining kids.
"Bee… what was that sound?" Raf squeaked.
Then Bumblebee realized that he was not the only one who heard the voice... or whatever it was.
"Yeah, what was that?" Jack asked looking around. "Did someone say 'scraplet?" It was really spooky, and he just wanted to get out of this place. But Jack knew that he could not leave Bulkhead, Arcee, and Miko.
Bumblebee looked around to see if Ratchet had returned from exploring the other parts of the saloon. Sadly, he had not come back, much to Bumblebee's disappointment.
…..
Ratchet was wondering how he was going to get Bumblebee to sit still while he examined the scout's head when they got back.
"I don't see or hear anything," Ratchet huffed. "Everyone has gone crazy! I may have to examine all their heads when I get back."
"All I wanted to do today was to relax," he continued. "But no! I had to come do this stupid job. Bulkhead is probably scraplet chow. Arcee fell down a hole, and now Miko is missing! I couldn't even understand what Bumblebee was saying."
Ratchet felt like yelling at himself, but he couldn't because if there were scraplets down here with him, he did not want to alert them.
"This should be over soon. I hope Bumblebee finds the others. I can't wait to get this trip over with," Ratchet said to himself.
…
Bumblebee wished Ratchet would have stayed, and Arcee wouldn't have gone in the hole, and Bulkhead hadn't gotten himself kidnapped! He wished he wasn't alone! This whole trip was just going wrong.
"Have you found them yet? It's getting colder," Raf asked, letting out a sneeze. The sooner they found the others, the sooner they could get back to the warm base.
They were all tired, cold, and hungry. It felt like they had been here for days, but really they were only there for a few hours.
Bumblebee felt like yelling and banging his head against a wall in frustration. How was he going to explain any of this to Optimus? Hi Prime! Yeah, so we lost Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Miko. Along with Arcee, your dear sister-in-law. Don't panic.
"Bee, can you still contact Ratchet?" Raf asked with wide eyes and a red nosed.
Bumblebee wanted to smack himself, which he did. "Raf, you're a genius! Why didn't I think of that before?"
After Raf translated to Jack what the yellow scout had said, Jack's entire face lit up. "If you could contact Ratchet to see if he found Miko, then we could rescue Arcee and Bulkhead and then we could get out of here!" Jack said with hope in his eyes. They listened intently to Bee's part of the conversation.
"Ratchet is that you? Oh thank goodness! Have you found Miko? Cause if so, can you come back with her…either way, you can come back."
Bumblebee winced at the language the medic was using. "Oh, you haven't. Wait. You don't know where she is?" they heard the scout ask incredulously. Bee paused," Why do think she's in the tunnel with them?" Bumblebee's eyes flickered towards the two boys. "Oh yeah, the kids are with me. Well, don't get eaten by the ghost. Take care, Ratchet." Bumblebee commed out, a look of disappointment on his face plates.
"Miko's not with him, are they?" Jack asked Bumblebee.
The scout shook his head in disappointment.
"Well, we have to find them. We just have to," Raf said.
…..
"Bulkhead calm down! Relax, ju-," Arcee was cut off by a frantic Bulkhead.
"Wait, did you hear that?" Bulkhead asked. Arcee craned her neck to look behind her at the footsteps she could hear upstairs. The ground started to shake and rumble. Dust started to fall. They then heard what sounded like echoing and a whole lot of footsteps that freaked both of them out.
Arcee realized no one was coming down to rescue them. They were on their own.
"We're getting out of here,"Arcee ordered, fear tinged in her voice.
"Uhhh, Arcee. There may be one teeny weeny problem," Bulkhead warned.
Arcee tripped and fell with a large thud. "What would that be?" Arcee asked with a groan.
"Me," Bulkhead answered.
"What? I'm sorry. I'm confused," Arcee questioned.
"I can't really get out, and you can go if you want, but but I'll be stuck here.
"Bulkhead, don't talk like that. I will not leave you; we'll get out of here. Relax."
…..
They all heard a noise that sounded like a large thud. It was loud enough for them to all hear. Bee scrambled around to protect himself and the kids; his guns were out and ready to fire.
"That won't stop the ghosts, Bee," Jack hissed.
"You have a better idea?" Bee snapped, aware the teen could not understand him.
"Salt!" Raf exclaimed. "Its supposed to ward off evil spirits and ghosts! Quick! Find some salt."
Bumblebee and the two boys scrambled for the shelves, and began opening containers, looking for anything that resembled salt. If it warded off ghosts, than it could work for him and the kids.
"Found it!" Jack exclaimed happily, gesturing to a large barrel.
Bumblebee grabbed the barrel, confirming that it was indeed salt. He then sprinkled Raf and Jack before forming a large circle of salt around them. He then proceeded to sprinkle himself with the special protection.
"Bumblebee what are you doing?!" Ratchet protested as he entered the room, his optics wide.
"Ratchet! Thank the allspark you're okay! Oh, and this is too keep the ghost away" Bumblebee answered.
"You're going to rust!" Ratchet yelled.
"Well, as long as it keeps the ghost away from me, then I'm fine," Bumblebee said defensively.
Ratchet stood there with his jaw open in shock, not knowing what to do.
…
Miko was still running though the tunnels, until she stumbled and fell again. She looked up, feeling her frustration grow. Then she spotted a familiar figure holding the beams up.
"Arcee!" Miko yelled, scrambling to her feet.
Arcee turned around as Miko caught up to her. "Miko? What are you doing down here?"
"I came to rescue you...Bulkhead!" Miko shouted the last part with glee.
"There is only one way out and one way in, and Bulkhead is stuck," Arcee said with her head down in disappointment.
…
Ratchet kicked Bumblebee, Raf and Jack out of the saloon, saying he had work to do in there. But luckily Bumblebee brought salt with him (more like the whole container of it).
"Bee, I'm freezing. Can we go back inside?" Raf pleaded.
"Ratchet kicked us out, and it is safer for you out here," Bee replied.
"It's not safer for me if I freeze to death," Raf fussed. "Bee, I need to get inside!"
"Why don't we just quietly sneak in," Jack offered. "Maybe Ratchet won't notice. It is a bit warmer in the saloon. We could hide behind the bar."
Bee took one look at the shivering boys and headed inside. "Be quiet."
Once they got behind the bar, Bumblebee sprinkled a salt circle around them. He beeped when he noticed that some metal plates did not have salt.
"Wait Bee. I don't want you to rust, so I brought some of this white powder. If we mix the salt with it, Jack and I should be able to cover you enough, without having to worry about you rusting, " Raf said.
"Great idea. Rust is itchy," Bumblebee said "and annoying."
"I got it, " Jack said as he opened up the bag. It seemed chalky, which would explain why it had lasted so many years. It obviously wasn't flour because rodents would have eaten that a long time ago. Jack wasn't sure what the powder was, but if it prevented rust, he was willing to douse the autobot with it.
A white cloud puffed around Bumblebee and the boys as they began applying the powder. All three were soon covered in the substance. "What is this stuff?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. At first I thought it was flour, but it definitely is not flour," Raf answered. .
…..
Ratchet looked at the hole in the ground: the source of all this drama. He shone a bright light into the darkness, hoping not to alert any scraplets. He wasn't afraid of ghosts: he didn't believe in them. He was, however, afraid of scraplets. His friends had gone missing, and he had to find them. He called out into the tunnel, "Hello. Hello."
…
Bulkhead had managed to wedge himself out of the tight spot. "Ugh. I was starting to get claustrophobic. Let's get out of here."
"I don't think you'll fit through, Bulkhead," said Arcee. "It would be too tight a squeeze for you. The tunnel could cave in again."
"Well,let's try a wider tunnel," suggested Miko. "As long as it leads upwards, we should eventually find a way out. I mean, there had to be more than one entrance."
"Why would you think that?" Arcee asked.
"Because it's a secret tunnel. Everyone knows that secret tunnels have more than one entrance," Miko replied.
"I didn't know that," said Bulkhead. "Is this some weird human thing?"
"Yeah. In fact..." Miko stopped talking.
They all heard it. There was a strange voice echoing in the tunnels.
"It said 'Oh. Oh'." Miko squeaked.
"Don't worry, Miko. Nothing will hurt you," Bulkhead said as he brought his weapons online.
"Don't shoot anything, Bulk," Arcee barked. "You'll bring down the tunnel! We'll head back into this tunnel to get away from whatever is making that moaning sound. Miko, you get between us. I'll go first to make sure the tunnel is wide enough. Let's hurry up so it doesn't find us. Hurry."
…..
Miko was getting tired and thirsty. Arcee was kicking up dust as she ran ahead Miko was covered in the dust: it was even in her mouth. Maybe going to visit a ghost town wasn't such a good idea.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead snapped.
"What!" she demanded.
"Stop stomping up all that dirt! It's in my chest plates. It's all over my servos," Bulkhead said. "Give me a break! This dust is slowing me down."
Arcee turned to look at him and Miko. They were covered in dust. She looked at herself: she was covered too. "Ha! We look like ghosts!" Arcee joked. "I'm not disturbing the dirt on purpose. It's just everywhere. I'll go slower. Maybe it won't be so bad."
"Well, at least we're headed up," Miko offered.
"That's right," Arcee smiled. "I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I think we found the way out."
"Thank Primus," Bulkhead said. "I was beginning to think we'd be stuck down here!"
…..
Ratchet frowned at the tunnel. His scanners hadn't picked up anything. That was so strange. Bumblebee had said that the two Autobots were down there. "Hello. Hellooooo," he yelled again.
Humph. Ratchet decided that he would try to find Miko instead. Maybe Bumblebee had found her after all. "Bumblebee, have you found Miko yet?" he asked into the commlink.
"Uh, no, " Bee replied. "She is missing at the saloon, and you kicked us out."
"Well, get back in here now," Ratchet demanded. "We need to find the girl!"
…...
"Alright," Arcee said, a smile on her face. "Let's get out of here."
They climbed up the tight tunnel that was still going uphill. The tunnel abruptly ended. The only way out appeared to be a very small wooden door. "Cee, neither of us are going to fit through that!" Bulkhead exclaimed.
"Oh yes, we are," Arcee stated. "Protect Miko, carry her, and run behind me before the tunnel collapses," she barked as she brought her weapons online. She had enough of tunnels and was worried that Jack might have tried to follow them into the tunnel to 'rescue' them. This excursion was turning into a nightmare, and she wanted it over!
"Wait!" Bulkhead yelled as he grabbed Miko and started running. This was not a good idea! What if they didn't get out before the tunnel collapsed? Miko could get killed, and they could get hurt. Had Arcee lost her mind?
Arcee blasted the door and began running through the smoke and debris as the ground shook.
….
Bumblebee moved from behind the bar, Raf and Jack close behind. The chalk and salt had gotten onto his optics, so he slammed into the doorway.
The ground shook.
Ratchet whirled around. "Bumblebee, what did you do? By the allspark…, " he stuttered. "What happened to you?!"
…
Miko shrieked! A piece of skeletal bone was stuck in her hair. "Get it off! Get it off!" she screamed as she jumped around. "Ugh! Ah, scrap!" she screamed as she stepped on a bone and crunched it.
"Hold still, Miko!" Bulkhead said. The dust in his optics made it hard for him to clearly see, but he could make out the girl dancing around, arms flailing as she continued to step on bones and break them. He had to admit, the crunching noise the bones made was pretty creepy.
"Stop it," Arcee yelled as she grabbed Miko with one arm and used the other arm to take the largest bone out of Miko's hair. "See," she said, as she held up the bony finger to Miko.
"Scrap! Scrap! Scrap!" Miko exclaimed.
"Okay, we're done here," Arcee said to Bulkhead. "Give Miko a ride so she doesn't freak out about breaking the skeletons." Arcee wisely decided not to tell Miko that there were smaller bones stuck in her hair. She'd tell her when they were out of the crypt. Maybe she'd tell her when they were back at base.
Bulkhead picked up Miko and headed toward the rusted gate that was the door to freedom. Miko was a mess. She was covered in dust and had bones sticking out of her hair. Since Arcee didn't comment on it, he wasn't going to either.
Once they were out of the crypt, Miko was calmer. As she looked at the small cemetery, she cheerily said, "At least the bones are underground," She stepped around a broken tombstone, grateful that Arcee was lighting the way. "You guys look like you belong here."
"What?" Arcee asked.
"You're covered in dust. You look like a ghost. A tall, scary ghost," Miko replied. She looked at Bulkhead and smiled. "We should be on the outskirts of town. Hey, there it is." In the twilight, she peered at the decrepit ghost town.
…..
Bumblebee, Raf and Jack were just standing there, covered with chalk and salt. Jack could have sworn that the building shook, but he didn't pay much attention to it, until a startled scream filled the air. That's what got everyone's attention.
Ratchet and Bumblebee both onlined their weapons.
"Boys, stay here," Ratchet ordered. " Bumblebee, come with me. That sound came from outside."
"Did it come from the cemetery?" Raf asked.
"What cemetery?" Jack wanted to know.
"A cemetery?" Bee asked.
"What's the big deal about a cemetery?" Ratchet commented. "It is just a place to hold dead bodies."
"But this is a ghost town," Bumblebee protested.
"That's it Scout. I'm checking your head as soon as we get back at base. There is no such thing as ghosts," Ratchet replied.
"Yes there are," Jack screamed.
"They're coming from the cemetery,"Raf shrieked.
Well I think the next chapter or the chapter after it is going to be the last! There is going to be a special guest coming in the next chapter try to guess who it is in a review or not. Bye review if you want to bye!
