Infection

The Jungle

This is why I don't make promises.

     "Scrap." They said simultaneously and in the same blunt tone of voice. They looked to each other in surprise as the inevitable shots rang out from men in the bushes who realized they had been discovered.
     Arcee abandoned her fight and ran over to Bulkhead, they squared up, back to back and examined their situation. It was hard to tell exactly how many their were but it was clear that all of them were now in rugged terrain jeeps instead of at mounted guns out of the vehicles.
They sprang into action Arcee ripping and clawing at the cars while Bulkhead smashed them. Out of the corner of her optic Arcee could see Starscream doing the same, trying to make an exit.
She kept him in her peripherals as she continued to battle for an escape, just in case he tried something. She paused in her battle as he did just that, switching from offense to defense, she watched him try and take off.
Flapping his wings to get higher in an attempt to clear the tree line. Ha, good luck with that. She thought looking up at the trees stretching hundreds of feet above them.
Then a peculiarly large vehicle caught her optic, and it had something on it, something that wasn't a typical gun. She watched the men take aim and fire.
A huge metal net erupted from the cannon and engulfed Starscream mid air. Any altitude he had gained was quickly lost as he was pulled back down to the ground screeching the whole way.
The impact made Arcee flinch and jolted her into motion just in time to avoid a net aimed in her direction. Bulkhead however wasn't as lucky as he didn't back up fast enough and the net aimed for him caught his front half. He stomped his front paws on the ground holding the net down while he tossed his head back to throw it off.
Once free he charged at the cannon, it fired a third net at him but a tree was blocking the drivers path, making it easy for Bulkhead to throw the net off and smash the canon before it fired again. The other drivers tried to get closer but the trees blocked their way and they remained stuck just outside the clearing.
Arcee barley dodged two more nets before she could disable the weapon, by the time she did Bulkhead had pushed a tree down to provide some cover. Arcee ran behind it and ducked down just in time to see massive metal nets suspended in the trees with men cutting ropes to lower them.
MECH was planing to trap them in a cage using the jungle around them.
"Bulk we gotta go, NOW!" She shouted to him, the wrecker silently nodded before asking,
"What about him?" as he gestured to Starscream. "We can't let MECH get him, they'll use what they learn from him against us if they do."
"Urgh, I know your right but I still don't like it, let's grab him and go." Arcee hated the idea of bringing Starscream with them but in reality she didn't have a choice. If MECH got ahold of any Cybertronian life form they could gain advancements that would surely be used for destruction and chaos on both sides of the war.
     Arcee jumped out from behind the tree and pushed the advancing men back just enough for Bulkhead to grab Starscream, despite his struggling, and run for the widest path out of the net.
     But MECH wasn't done with them yet, as they passed under the lowering nets the men finishing cutting them and they fell from the trees. Bulkhead pulled Starscream out just in time but Arcee, who had covered him long enough to get out, got caught halfway through.
     She thought she could make it but she misjudged her timing when she had to jump over a fallen log and bolted for Bulkhead. She almost made it to him when a crushing weight landed on her back and slammed her into the ground.
     Her helm hitting a rock was the last thing she remembered.