Soldiers

Chapter 9: Battleground!

I glance in the side mirror before sitting up straight in the seat.

"Is that..." I start.

"Decepticon." Ironhide informs through the com-link.

I see the others blocking the Decepticons before Optimus soon slows down and transforms, halting the large Decepticon from catching up to us.

Once in the city, we slow to a stop and get out of the vehicles in search of radios. After a couple minutes, we find a radio.

"Come on, let's go! Mount up!" Will orders, others calling out the Captain's orders. "Here, I got shortwave radios." He says, handing radios to Epps as we both get into the military vehicle.

I figured it's best if I stay with the team in case Ironhide hast to transform.

"Wait. What am I supposed to do with these?" Epps asks.

"Use them!" I say.

"It's all we got!" Will says.

"This is like RadioShack dinosaur radios or something, man." Epps whines, causing me to let out a small laugh at the comment. "I'm only gonna get twenty or thirty miles out of these things. Are there any aircraft orbiting the city?"

I look to the sky before seeing an F-22.

"F-22 twelve o'clock." I call out.

"All right, I want planes for air cover and get Black Hawks on station to extract that Cube. You got it?" Will orders as we stop in an intersection. "Air Force has arrived! Pop smoke!" He continues as we begin getting out of the vehicles.

"Raptor, Raptor, do you copy? We have you visual. Green smoke is the mark. Provide air cover and vector Black Hawks for extraction." Epps calls through the radio.

I watch the jet as it flies around the buildings before Ironhide transforms.

"It's Starscream!" He calls out.

"Please tell me you copy." Epps tries.

Ironhide, Ratchet, and Bumblebee transform and begin getting cover. I turn towards the team, trusting in Ironhide that the F-22 is not a friendly.

"Get back!" I call.

"Back up! Take cover!" Ironhide calls to us. "Bumblebee."

"No, no, no! Move!" Will yells, others repeating his orders.

"Back up! Back up!" Ironhide yells as we run to the buildings for cover.

"Retreat! Fall back!" I hear Will call out as we race towards the buildings.

"Incoming!" Ironhide yells.

An explosion causes all of us to go flying. I groan as soon as I hit the ground, pain hitting me like a wave. I turn to my stomach, trying to get my blurry sight back to normal.

"Kat! Kat!" I hear Will call out before he comes into sight.

"Will." I cough.

"Come on!" He says, helping me up and getting me to cover.

"Everyone ok?" Someone yells.

"Clear the area!" I hear someone call out.

Will and I runs over to Epps.

"What the hell was that?" Will asks.

"What are you talking about?" Epps asks.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about? They shot at us!" Will says.

"F-22 pilots would never fly below buildings. That's alien. That ain't friendly!" Epps says.

"He's right." I agree. "Ironhide said it was Starscream, a Decepticon." I add.