Transformers - The Outcast

Chapter 4 - Stuck

Warren wasn't coming, Eliza realized. He was too far away. Of all the ways to go out... it had to be her being stuck like a pathetic, wild rabbit? It was almost amusing. Panic was settling in. With a prolonged groan, Eliza tried to budge, her face red with effort. Warren had told her not to go searching for decepticons if they were, in fact, present. Instead, a decepticon had found her, observing her coolly. If a decepticon was wandering around in the cave collecting energon... Warren had to be further away than Eliza thought, grabbing whatever remained.

"Don't you dare," Eliza seethed. "My friend will smite your spark."

Her being stuck kept her palm trapped against the cut the decepticon had given her, and blood pooled beneath it. It was not a reassuring feeling. The decepticon bent, lifting his hand, and Eliza stared at the gleaming purple, knowing it was the last thing she would see. She opened her mouth to say goodbye to Warren, but a different light illuminated one side of her face, and she winced and turned her head. Many feet away, a glowing, pulsing circle expanded and hovered in midair. The decepticon lowered his hand and charged at the portal, blocking whatever came through from Eliza's vision. Streaks of light swarmed around Eliza, and her cries were useless over the deafening roar. Suddenly, a new decepticon emerged from the darkness of an opening in the wall of the cavern, then another.

The rocks and stalagmites around Eliza trembled and broke, blocking her vision completely. Small pieces of rock from the ceiling smacked her head. She coughed as dust filled her nostrils.

What was going on?

"They're tougher than the normal ones," said a female voice.

When the firing stopped, Eliza was on the verge of passing out. Injured, half-delirious, and having breathed in so much dust... it was a wonder nothing had crushed her head. Realizing her voice could be heard, now, Eliza spoke hoarsely.

"Help me, please."

"What was that?"

A male voice, this time.

"Incoming!"

Eliza assumed more decepticons had arrived, but the cavern had reached its limit of stability. After several hits, the ground beneath Eliza's feet trembled, and she looked up to see bigger chunks of stalactites hit the ground, thunderous vibrations actually loosening the stalagmites trapping her. Eliza grinned weakly and struggled again, her relief almost distracting her from the pain that seared through her shoulder.

The owner of the female voice made a wise call. "Let's move!"

Eliza recovered her breath, about to cry out again, but the sound she had heard when the portal-like circle had first opened echoed in her ears. They were gone. She was alone. Worse, the stalagmites were about to bury her. She trudged forward, hoping she would pass out before she was crushed.

"Eliza!"

Eliza crumpled to the ground, wondering if she was imagining Warren's voice now. She looked behind her just in time, and metal fingers wrapped around her middle. Was saving her going to be a daily thing, now? Her heart dropped as she was lifted, but Warren didn't swing her as he charged forward. In his other hand, he held a container of energon.

"I don't know whether to call this a successful mission or not," Eliza breathed, his strong grip making it nearly impossible to speak.

Warren smashed through stalagmites, but they were headed the wrong way. Besides, they wouldn't make it to the surface in time. Eliza pointed to a crevasse big enough to contain Warren and herself, with a little room besides. She shouted directions, and Warren veered appropriately.

Her heart leapt to her throat, now, when Warren stumbled. She hit the ground and rolled to a stop, looking up to make sure Warren had at least reached their destination. He had, though he had landed on his belly. Eliza didn't want to get up, but Warren's eyes darted as he tried to make sense of something. He gritted his teeth and grunted, pressing his face into the ground.