Amanda's POV
Izzy fell asleep faster than I expected too. Since I wasn't tired, I stared up at the ceiling and let my mind drift off. I didn't know how long I was awake for when I felt my eyes lids drop and I fell sleep after that.
I didn't even know how long I was asleep for when I was awoken by a racket coming from outside. Groggily, I sat up in bed and check the time. 10:47. To me, I haven't been asleep for very wrong. I grumbled nothings to myself and laid back in bed when I heard a loud crash outside my window. I couldn't take it. I swear, if the neighborhood kids where out there playing in the forest next to my house, I will chase them with a stick.
Hey, no one messes with me sleep.
I threw my covers back and stormed over to my window. I peered through the glass, expecting to see the kids taunting me and throwing rocks. But instead, I saw nothing. It was a clear night, and the moon and stars were shining brightly. Confused, I scanned the bottom of the trees but saw nothing. Huh. Maybe it was just my imagination. I was about to go back to bed when something flashed at the corner of my eye.
My first thought: my symbols. But my symbols were black, not red. I walked back over to the window and squinted harder, trying to look for the source that was keeping me awake. And then, I saw him.
I froze, my blood turning to ice and my heart pounding. He found us. I heard Ratchet talk about him in base and contact him quickly we meet...Knockout. The red decepticon was staring straight at my window.
At me.
I gasped and slowly backed away from the window. Knockout must've gotten strong ratings of power from me and Izzy being together. Thank goodness Izzy knows about the 'cons and 'bots now. I hurried over to her side and dropped next to her, frantically shaking her shoulder.
"Izzy! Izzy, wake up!" I whisper-shouted. I could see Knockout coming closer to the window. "Izzy!" I shoved her and she gave a snort before she groggily sat up. "Amanda?" She yawned and stretched her arms. "Is it morning already?" I wish. "Come with me," I said and pulled her up. "What the-what's wrong?" Izzy was wide awake now and her emerald green eyes widened when I pointed toward the window, where the 'con medic was lingering. "Knockout?" Izzy whispered. I nodded my head and dragged her out of my room, silently closing my bedroom door after us.
Izzy regained her balance and she stared at, her eyes wide and her mouth dangling open. "Knockout? Why is he here?" She hissed to me. I put my finger on my lips and gestured down the hallway, wheee there was another window. "Follow me," I whispered. While dragging Izzy away, I had managed to snatch our phones. I handed her her phone and tip-toed down the stairs, my phone in my hand. "What are we going to do?" Izzy asked when we reach the bottom of the stairs. I chewed my lip.
"If we don't get of the house, Knockout is going to shoot at us. Or should I say at the house," I said. I pointed toward the kitchen, where the backdoor was. "We're going to have to make a run for it. Luckily, when we reached the forest I can pick up a signal and called Ratchet. He should be awake," I said and glanced at me watch. Izzy glanced up the stairs. "But my medical kit and tool belt are still in your room!" She protested. "I have to go get them!" She started up the stairs but I grabbed her arm.
"It will be too risky, Izzy. We'll get caught," I said. "We'll pick up your stuff later. Right now, we have a problem in our hands." Izzy nodded and slipped beside me. Together, we tip-toed into the kitchen. "Duck!" I suddenly hissed and pushed Izzy down. There was a window near the back door and I can see Knockout's peds, poking around our house, no doubt.
"Knock, knock," the 'con medic's deep voice almost made me jump out of my skin. Izzy was holding back a scream by clasping her hand over her mouth. "I know you're in there. Why not come out and greet your guest?" Knockout racked his claws down the side of our house. I held my chin up. There was no way I was going to let him get to us!
"Izzy," I mouthed to her. She stared frightfully at me. I pointed to the front door and mouthed again, "I need to you make a distraction." Izzy nodded and removed her hand from her mouth. She glanced at the back door and sprawled out on her belly, them started army-crawling to the front door. I watched her while I listen to Knockout.
"There's nothing to be afraid. I just want to take a talk," he growled as he looked around. Yeah, right! There was something to be afraid of. Afraid that his little 'talk' will involve chain saws and evil coaxing! Which is not good, if you noticed.
Izzy half-stood up and flashed me a nervous look. I gave her a thumbs-up and mouthed, "Now, open it up and slam it!" I saw Izzy tremble with fear, but she did as I said. Like I knew, Grace didn't look the front door after her when she came inside. I have to admit, I was lucky she didn't. Just for this once.
Izzy grabbed the door knob and opened the door. Then she slammed it so hard I was surprised Grace didn't wake up. I saw Knockout become alarm and shuffle quickly to the front of the door. As fast as she could, Izzy raced back to me. "Ready?" I whispered. She nodded.
We raced to the backdoor and I kicked it open. "Run!" I shoved Izzy in front of my and dashed out after her. We desperately raced for the forest when a red ped slammed down in front of us. We skidded to a stop and I heard Izzy gasp as we stared straight into the eyes of Knockout himself. "Going somewhere?" He grinned and reached out with his servo to grab us. I did the only thing that popped into my mind.
Run. For. Your. Life.
I grabbed Izzy's arm and we took off before the 'con could snatch us. He growled with frustration and turned on us. "Don't stop until we reached someplace safe!" I yelled. Izzy was too scared to do anything except run. Which I could take as a yes.
We plunged into the forest and squirmed our way past the outgrown bushes. Behind us, I could hear Knockout pounding toward us. I pushes with all my might and freed myself. Then I tugged Izzy free and we continued to run.
We ran until my lungs were nearly bursting for air. Gasping, I grabbed Izzy's arm and dived underneath a bush. Everything was quiet except for our heaving breathing. "I'm going...to try to...call...Ratchet," I panted. "Keep...a lookout." Izzy nodded and fixed her eyes on the trampled path we had made. Which was not smart, since Knockout could use it to track us. It was only a matter of time before we were in his grasp.
I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Ratchet's number. Then I prayed that he would answer. The phone rang once. Twice. "Hello?" I was never so happy to hear the medic's grumpy voice. "Ratchet, we need help! Knockout is trying to get us!" I said quickly. That's when Izzy tapped me on the shoulder and pointed down the trampled path. I gulped as I spotted Knockout. "Amanda? Are you there?" I hung up for the fear of being noticed.
Me and Izzy held our breath while Knockout approached. "Hmm," he kneeled down to where the path ended and fresh grass was growing. I scanned the clearing for Ratchet. No sign of him.
That's when I felt Izzy stiffen beside me. At first glance, I thought she was scared. But her teeth and fists were clenched and she had that angry look in her eyes. I realized why. She was looking at Knockout and probably thinking of the horrible things he had done. Quickly, I reached over and grasped her arm. She turned her head to me. "Fight it," I mouthed. She just gave me a shaky nod.
By this point, Knockout was getting frustrated. He parted the bushes on the opposite side of us and peered underneath the trees. It wouldn't be long until he found us. Oh, Ratchet, were in Narnia are you? I thought desperately as I gazed around the clearing. That's when I heard a branch snap behind us. I turned my head slowly to see a familiar ped. My eyes traveled up the ped to a familiar faceplate. Ratchet! I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly scooted out from underneath the bush. Surprised, he stared down at me and opened his mouth to speak. I put my index finger on my lips and pointed with my other hand to Knockout, who indeed has heard the branch snap. I mouthed Surprise Attack. Ratchet got the hint and nodded. His servos turn into blades.
He crept around the clearing until he was behind Knockout. I tapped Izzy's arm and gestured for her to follow me. She was looking at Ratchet with fear in her face. Slowly, she backed out from the cover of the bush. Me and her ran into the forest a few feet before we collapsed to the ground.
"Was he a 'bot or a 'con?" Izzy panted. "'Bot," I replied and hosted myself to my feet. "Come on, Izzy, we have to help Ratchet if he needs us," I said and helped her climb to her feet. Izzy was still shaking but she took a deep breath and said, "Lets make Knockout pay for what he has done." I wanted to say exactly what he had done, but something told me it was good. Me and Izzy stayed low to the ground until we could hear the two medics fighting ahead.
Finally, we neared them. I ducked behind a tree and Izzy ducked behind the other. I nodded toward her and helplessly watched the fight.
Ratchet still had his servos turn into blades and he was trying to stab Knockout. But Knockout was faster, and he tripped Ratchet. The Autobot medic tried to scramble back to his peds, but Knockout slammed his weight down on top of him. He held Ratchet down with one servo while the other one turned into this chain saw.
I saw Izzy finally loss her temper and snatch a large rock near her feet. "Hey Knockout! Eat this!" With all her might she threw the rock at Knockout's helm. It bounced harmlessly off. Greaaaat. The good news was Izzy distracted him. Bad news, we were dead meat.
Slowly, Izzy and me backed out of our hiding places. My heart was beating so loud I was sure it was going to shake the forest. I was Izzy lift her chin up like she wasn't afraid, but you could see it in her eyes. Knockout chuckled and shoved Ratchet hard against a tree. The medic groaned with pain and turned over, energon leaking down the corner of his mouth.
Izzy saw Ratchet and clenched her fists, but Knockout was much bigger than the two of us and he coming at us fast. I glanced at Izzy and tried to cook up a plan. After all I've been through with facing my fear of heights and rescuing my sister (I was almost killed) I just couldn't run. My whole body froze and the only thing that seemed to be working was my heart. Izzy was the same way, I could tell. Knockout grinned and held out his servo to grab us when something slammed against him.
It was Ratchet! The Autobot medic shoved Knockout so hard the 'con medic stumbled and tripped over his own peds. Ratchet held his fists up and backed closer to us, making me and Izzy back into the forest. He growled over his shoulder plate, "Run into the forest, as fast as you can! And do not stop until you reach safety!" "No!" Izzy said firmly, which surprised me. No one really ever told Ratchet 'no' unless they wanted to get hit in the head with a wrench. But Izzy didn't know Ratchet very well at the time.
"We are not going to leave you here," Izzy said, holding her chin up high. I was sure she was toast she Ratchet snapped his attention back to a knockout, who was already scrambling to his peds. "Oh, you will pay for that scratch, Ratchet," Knockout sneered and lunged toward Ratchet. At last minute, Ratchet knocked him aside and grabbed us. Quickly, before Knockout could recover, Ratchet turned and ran through the forest.
Knockout growled and tried to run after us but ended up tripping over his peds again. We managed to escape and Ratchet set us down beside a rushing rive. The water foamed quickly and dampened me and Izzy's clothes. We shivered as Ratchet called the base. "Hello? Anyone there?" Ratchet snapped and sighed when there was no reply. "I'm going to have to drive you to base," he said and glanced over his shoulder plate. "Where are we?"
Ratchet confused about where we were kinda surprised me but I was too nervous and cold to care. I recognized the river, because when me and Grace were little we used to come down to the river and hunt for minnows (we freed them because we felt guilty about letting them die). But that was a long time ago. Still, I remembered the path to the road and pointed ahead of us.
"Road's that way," I said. Ratchet narrowed his optics and started following were I pointed. Me and Izzy scrambled after him, trying to stay dry. It was hard since the night breeze was chilly. I shivered as I jumped over a fallen tree. Izzy walked beside me and scanned the trees for any ambushes. "I wish I had my stuff," she muttered. "My medical kit has a GPS in it. And don't ask me why I have a tracking device in a medical kit," she added, glancing at me. I shrugged.
"I think I know the way," I assured her. She just wrapped her arms around her for warmth. I quicken my pace to match Ratchet's. "We're going back to base?" I asked. Ratchet nodded absently. I gazed around at the trees. "I'm going to have to text my mom that we went out for a walk or something," I muttered. Ratchet shook his helm. "Not right now. Knockout can track your position when you call or even text," he said. Like I would forget that.
I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to argue. So there we were, stumbling around in the forest until we finally found the road. Ratchet transformed into his ambulance and opened the doors in the back. Me and Izzy climbed in and shut the doors, then made ourselves comfortable. Ratchet pulled away from the sidewalk and drove toward base.
We were silent, Ratchet busy driving and me and Izzy busy trying to dry ourselves. I saw Izzy glance at the Autobot symbol on the steering wheel and murmured, "Will the others be awake at this time of the night?" I shook my head and glanced at the time on my phone. It was almost after 12:00, midnight. I sighed and looked out the window. Izzy fell quiet and looked out the window with me.
A few minutes later, we arrived at base, still wet but almost dry. Ratchet transformed behind us and walked over to his computer. I lead Izzy up to the human's area and we flopped, exhausted, on the couch. "Ugh, I wish I was in my sleeping bag right now," Izzy groaned. I nodded my head in agreement with her. "But it'll be too risky to go back to my house when-" I froze and gasped. "What?" Izzy glanced at me and Ratchet turned his helm in my direction. "Grace!" I sputtered. "She's still at the house!"
"She'll be fine," Ratchet said but I shook my head. "Knockout can capture her and lure us into one of his traps again!" I protested but Ratchet said, "Calm down. You're forgetting I have a tracking system downloading to my computer. I have Grace's coordinates and she's still at your house." I sighed with relief and laid back against the cushions. Izzy grumbled good-naturally, "Is it always this awkward at base?" Despite my worry, I chuckled.
"Not really," I said. "Still, let's get our mind off of things and watch some TV. If anything good it on," Izzy said and grabbed the TV remote. While she channeled surfed, I curled up against the cushions and fell fast asleep. The last thing I saw was Izzy set the remote down and curl up to sleep, too.
Unknown POV
I assumed Lord Megatron would be mad at me. And I was right. When I arrive on the Decepticon warship, he was angry when he realized I did not have the female humans with me. Well, angry was an understatement. He was furious.
"Knockout! Why did you not return with the girls?" Lord Megatron growled when I approached. "My master, at last minute, the medic Ratchet came to the females rescue," I said and bowed awkwardly. Megatron rapped his claws on the researchers' keyboard. He thought while I wait patiently.
Finally, he said, "Next time, Knockout, you better return with the girls and the head of Ratchet." My shoulderplates slumped with relief and I nodded my head. This was followed by silence and I knew I was dismissed.
But as I headed back to my quarters, I wondered: How will I get the girls this time?