The Hunt (TFP Book 2)

Chapter 7

Wheeljack made great time as they flew North. As he neared the location, he realized it was just south of the Arctic Circle in a treacherous mountain terrain. The wrecker sighed heavily as he saw a storm approaching and was forced to land at a small airport. The people from the nearby town were friendly and helped put the aircraft into a hangar to protect it from the elements. They showed the two men a map and they pinpointed a location.

"Can we fly here?" Wheeljack asked as he pointed to a certain spot.

"No... That's a dangerous place, most people don't come back." A man said.

"Hmmm..... Have you seen anyone go up there recently?" Smokescreen asked as he furrowed his brow. The people thought for a moment.

"No we haven't." The man admitted.

"Is there more than one route to this location?" Wheeljack asked as he scanned the peoples faces.

"Yes... But the other path is to dangerous and narrow for a vehicle." Another man said. "The only safe way up there is to drive. It's too dangerous to walk the other path." He repeated. The two new comers exchanged glances.

"Thanks for your help. We'll wait out the storm and head up there." The wrecker said and they walked away.

"Something isn't right about their story. Do you think their hiding something?" Smokescreen mumbled. The other man nodded slowly and they went into a building that was provided for their stay.

"Try to contact the Doc, I have a bad feeling about this mission." Wheeljack muttered.

"Do you think MECH is really here?" The speedster asked as he glared out the window. They were silent for a moment.

"I'm not sure." Wheeljack muttered as he pulled out a sword and examined it. "But we'll know soon enough." He growled as he looked up at the clouds.

The two men had tried to reach the base with no success. The storm interfered with their devices and lasted a little over an hour. After they were sure the storm had settled enough, the two men had insisted on going to the location on their map. Wheeljack said they needed to check and than get out of there as soon as possible. The villagers didn't want to go up the mountain, but after some persuasion one man volunteered.

They climbed into his vehicle with some supplies and headed up the mountain. It took them three hours to get up the mountain before they stopped.

"You have to continue on foot." The man said. The other two glared at him.

"No. You're taking us all the way up." Wheeljack growled. The man hesitated and got out of the car. The wrecker moved to get out, but stopped when his partner grabbed his arm.

"Wheeljack.... I don't want to get stranded up here." Smokescreen whispered as he glared at the guide.

"Don't worry..." He said smirking.

They got out and each grabbed a backpack. The guide took them up a steep hill and through some trees. After a few minutes they came to a small clearing with a few buildings. The guide pointed and refused to go down. He had fear in his eyes as he continued to argue with them. The other two exchanged glances and looked at the buildings again. They looked abandoned.

"Alright fine you don't have to come, but stay here." Wheeljack growled menacingly. The man nodded eyes wide and the new comers walked down to the buildings.

"Be ready for anything." The wrecker whispered.

Smokescreen pulled out a gun and cocked it as they moved closer. They hid behind rocks and trees as they approached so they wouldn't be detected. They got to the fence and stopped. Smokescreen reached out to climb it and Wheeljack stopped him. The wrecker nodded at a sign indicating the fence was electric.

"How do we get in?" Smokescreen hissed quietly. The wrecker looked around and his gaze went back up the hill.

"That's not our problem right now." Wheeljack muttered.

The speedster looked up at him and saw that he was staring back up the slope they had come. He followed his gaze and saw that the guide was gone.

"Oh no..." He mumbled.

The wrecker took off running as he headed up the hill. Smokescreen followed close behind. They ran up the hill and heard the crackling of fire. The two men ran faster, when they got back to the car they froze.

Their car was a blazing inferno. Wheeljack scanned the area and found another set of tire tracks. He ran past the car and examined the new marks in the snow. Smokescreen stared at the burning car eyes wide. He looked at the tires and saw that someone had slashed them. Whatever was left in the car was useless now. Unsure what else to do, he started to throw snow onto the car. He stopped when his hands got to cold.

"Wheeljack! We're stuck on this frozen mountain!" He yelled over the roar of the fire.

The wrecker stood up as he glared at the fresh tracks. He clenched his fists and looked around. How could they have been so stupid? MECH had trapped them on the mountain, for reasons unknown.

"SCRAP!!" Wheeljack yelled angrily. Smokescreen was right, they we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and with no way to contact the others.