Transformers Chapter 16

~WARNING: Violence, brief description of gore, scary stuff. Certainly not for the squeemish. This is me *personally* telling you what to expect.~

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I was hit.

My arm was a horrible, bloody MESS; red liquid was everywhere and still oozing out the opening, though it looked like I was only hit in the upper arm. My puffy jumpsuit took most of the shots and was shredded to where my bare arm showed, the fabric almost in a perfect circle around the wound and the stuffing from the suit pouring out as if to frame it. I suddenly felt sick.

'No,' my mind went. 'No, no, no, no! Oh, this is bad. This is very, very, VERY bad.'

Ratchet was a good medic and all, but I would need some HUMAN doctors for this kind of thing; it just seemed too delicate of work for an Autobot to attempt at. Curse me! Curse me for getting into trouble! Fist the mugger and now *this*! I had to take care of my arm or I could end up passing out or something. G**, I'm stupid!

But I couldn't beat myself up now. Right now I had to get away from the disastrous duo, Frenzy and Ravage, and hopefully find an Autobot…or my mom.

I clutched my arm, shaking slightly from nausea while biting my lip to keep from screaming at the surge of pain coursing through my body, and slowly got back to my feet. I grimanced at the feel of my own blood between my fingers, but tried to think of things *other* than my arm having a gaping hole in it.  I tried to stay hidden below the different cars and vehicles; I was almost there… just a little bit more. Either I was trying to convince myself of the 'positive' side of things or I was *really* freaked out and needed help before my mind was totally gone.

Oh man, what was I thinking?? I knew very well that I could get hurt here, but I still came anyway. I didn't have a plan if the Decepticons had found me. I hadn't thought about ANYTHING really – just hoped that Mom was okay. Oh, please be okay Mom… please.

I neared the edge of the dealership, which meant I would no longer have the cover of the cars around me. I shuffled out into the dirt-covered asphalt, barely picking up my sneakers from the ground as I walked. There was a whole ten or fifteen feet to the concrete warehouse wall; against it stood a dumpster and a cardboard box with what looked like a huge browning sheet draped over it. The sheet was disgusting, but I needed to stop the bleeding in my arm and frankly I didn't have a choice. Didn't mean I liked it though.

I hurried over to the dumpster, casting a glance up to the sky as a spot-check for Lazorbeak, and reached the old and tattered sheet. I sat against the giant garbage bin and slowly removed my hand from covering the bullet wound. I gasped quietly when my palm stuck a bit from the blood and painfully peeled it off. I took the fabric and, holding one corner in my hand and putting the other in my mouth, I attempted to rip it to a more manageable size. It tasted a lot like dust and something else that was sweet, but also with a dirt tinge to it. I decided I really didn't want to think about it.

I finished separating the strip I was going to use from the main part and started to wrap it around my bad arm. I still had one part stuffed in my mouth; it was a good thing though because there were plenty of short spasms of pain that would have caused me to cry out drawing the Decepticons Frenzy and Ravage even closer. G** forbid what they would do when they found me.

'*If*, El' I corrected mentally. 'Not when they find me, *if* they find me.'

Breathing heavily through my nose I finished wrapping the arm and tying the make-shift bandage off, sending one last jolt of pain for me to handle. I dropped the sheet from my teeth with a gasp and fell against the dumpster, panting short breaths; nothing like incredible pain to wear a kid out.

There was suddenly a loud blast sound coming from the other side of the wall near me causing me to scream. I brought my legs up against my chest, turning me into a ball, and whimpered as the wall dented out, sprinkling dust and debris over me.

"Ellie?" asked Sideswipe's bewildered voice, muffled from the obstacle of the wall.

My mood instantly brightened up and I briefly stopped crying. My friend was nearby. I was about to respond when –

"There she is, Ravage!" Frenzy suddenly yelled. I quickly turned my head and saw him standing over a car in the center of the dealership, pointing in my direction with the arm that held his gun. "Get her!"

My blood froze – they found me.

The giant mechanical panther leapt on top of a tan Pathfinder and snarled at me. My guts felt like they disappeared when he began to car-hop in my direction and I screamed again, pressing my back against the dumpster in trying to somehow melt into it.

"Ellie!" Sideswipe bellowed. "Hold on, I'm coming!!"

I twitched when the bulged wall began to sound someone was beating it with a large hammer, the cement cracking and flaking and spitting out powdered debris. Sideswipe was attempting to break straight through it.

Ravage leapt over a dark blue rusted little 1976 Toyota and landed in the dirt-covered asphalt, roaring. He began to gallop toward me, growling loudly and his claws clanging as they attempted to dig into the ground. Sparks came up whenever they made contact with the asphalt.

'@#$%, I'm gonna die," I thought miserably. 'I don't wanna die. Please…'

I put my head down and held it with my right hand, squeezing my eyes shut. "D-Daddy…" I mumbled, "help me. I don't wanna die!"

I heard something that sounded like an explosion and there was a loud slam and crash of metal, heavy panting and angry snarling. I began to tremble when I didn't feel anything tear at me, and I was afraid to see why.

"Aaarg!!" Sideswipe's voice roared. "Stay the slag away from her you –" I then heard him begin to rattle out a long list of Cybertronian words that I didn't think I would want to know the translation of.

I got barely enough courage to timidly move my arm down to see what was happening. I jumped and screamed when Ravage was suddenly swung by me, latched onto Sideswipe's right arm by his jaws. The Autobot was swinging around in a circle to try and get him to let go. I hurriedly began sliding sideways to get on the other side of the dumpster, away danger while still being close to my friend.

Sideswipe finally slammed his arm into the wall causing Ravage to release him and be flung back, landing on his side and temporarily struggling to get back onto his claws.

"Die, fleshy!"

Frenzy was sprinting toward me, his razor-sharp fingers out-stretched to grab me. He was going to *kill* me.

My eyes were as wide as saucers. "Ah-Aaaah!!" I screamed. I started to crawl backward as fast as I could with my left arm lying across my stomach; whenever my hand happened to hit something it would be flung at the Decepticon, who was cackling with wild glee. "Sideswipe!" I cried at the top of my lungs.

"Stay away from her, slaggit!"

Sideswipe dove forward toward Frenzy and me, causing the both of us to shriek. The red Autobot swept up Frenzy in his fist and immediately threw him over his shoulder clear to the other side of the old car dealership. There was a crash and a loud yell of pain from the Decepticon; Sideswipe was glancing after him and let out an angry grunt. He then turned to me, looking at me with his aqua blue eyes.

"You okay?"

"Sideswipe – behind you!"

Ravage leapt and my friend turned around just in time to catch the cat before it could get to his throat. He stumbled around with the struggling Ravage, trying to keep him from clawing at the red Autobot and accessing the apparently vital wires on his neck.

I just watched with my mouth soundlessly wide open. If Ravage bit anything important it could probably kill Sideswipe! Dangit, why did I let those Decepti-creeps find me?? Why was I so useless?

Sideswipe shifted his grasp and wrapped his fingers around the Decepticon's neck. He pried Ravage away from his throat and held him out at arms length, glaring at him with his blue optics glowing with rage.

"I'm gonna tell you once," Sideswipe growled menacingly, dental plating bared, "don't you DARE touch her you slagging mutt!"

I stared as my friend flung his arm to the side and threw the snarling Decepticon who crashed into the Pathfinder. Ravage landed with a loud "Thud!" and the windows of the vehicle instantly shattered in a burst with Ravage cradled within the dent at the top.

Without waiting for anything else to happen Sideswipe quickly folded into his alt-mode with a mechanical whir and sped up to my side. The passenger-side door then rose open. "Get in!" he urged.

I nodded stiffly and started to get up. I was shaking by now so I reached over to the dumpster with my right hand and used it as support while I stood, doing so slowly afraid to make a wrong move to hurt my arm further.

I was about to surrender all my weight to my legs when my hand suddenly slipped, slamming me sideways into the dumpster right on my bad arm. I instantly yelped in pain and slid down again, crying and biting my lip as I held my arm which was pulsing in pain.

"What's wrong??" Sideswipe demanded, but with concern.

"It's my arm," I squeaked, closing my eyes to avoid showing my friend my tears. "Ravage landed a slug in me or something and it hurts like HECK!"

"D***it, I shoulda KILLED him!!"

I didn't respond and tried to stand again. I couldn't let my arm slow me down!  I suddenly gasped when I felt something touch my shoulder. I was quickly pulled to my feet and out of fear I tried to squirm away.

"Stop it!" Sideswipe ordered. "I'm getting you inside myself!"

I looked and saw that it was his holoform that had grabbed me; boy was I relieved. He reached around my legs and held onto my back as he stood up, taking me with him. The holoform was emotionless and it flickered a lot; but then again he DID have more to deal with than trying to make the hologram look real.

Swiftly, but carefully, I was set in the black leather seat and the seatbelt slithered and strapped itself securely around me as the holoform disappeared. The door shushed closed while Sideswipe let his engine roar, showing he was eager to get out of there.

We took off from the warehouse, leaving behind two Decepticon Cassettes that I hoped I wouldn't be seeing for a very long time. It felt like we were free.

As we left the dealership though my head began to slightly throb. I couldn't focus right. I was only barely able to notice that we were heading in the general direction of the scrap yard. It was too dark to see too much, so I didn't bother to look. I was too much feeling like crap anyway.

Oh man, my whole arm was screaming in pain. I was shivering. Was it really that cold? If so, why was I sweating so badly? And where on Earth did all the oxygen go? It felt like I was breathing through a straw!

"Ellie, you've changed colors," Sideswipe stated with concern. "Is that normal??"

"W-wha?" I asked. I was going to ask what color I was, but I was afraid I might puke. My stomach wasn't feeling so hot either, I had just found out.

"You're almost white!" Sideswipe continued, almost yelling now.

What? No, that's not right.

"I'm taking you straight to Ratchet!" my friend announced. "He-he'll know what to do… I hope…"

I groaned and held my arm. I felt so tired… I wanted to sleep. I leaned over and slumped against the door with my head on the window. I almost didn't notice the seatbelt tightening slightly, almost as if it was a reassuring squeeze.

"Hang on, Ellie," Sideswipe told me. "We'll get you help, just hang on!"

"Sideswipe…" I mumbled.

"Ellie! Aw, fraggit!!" The engine roared louder, pounding in my head, and I could almost swear we were going faster.

"Mom…" Mom, I want to go to bed. I'm tired.

"She's not here," Sideswipe said immediately. "We're almost out of this. I'll take care of you."

I thought I heard what sounded like a volcano erupting directly above us, but I wasn't sure. I suddenly felt the Lamborghini around me lurch to a stop and I didn't even have enough of a reaction to reach out for support. The ground beneath us shook and Sideswipe grunted, almost with pain. Out the front I saw what looked like a pair of legs from a giant person, or a robot.