The Autobots fought back against Savoy and his men as Ratchet tried to assess and treat Optimus' wounds. Cemetery Wind had reinforcements on the way and Lockdown's hounds were closing in. Things were not looking good; they were basically pressed and needed to make a decision fast.
"How's Optimus looking?" Ironhide inquired.
"I'm putting a patch on his wound as we speak" Ratchet sharply replied.
"Would he be able to move after? We need to get out of here"
"Yes, he should" answered the medic.
"Ratchet… thank you" Optimus said with a strained voice.
"Anything for you Optimus"
"Sideswipe, Jetstream, get ready. Once Ratchet gives the word, we're blowing this place"
"Copy that" Sideswipe answered. His eyes didn't stray from the battlefield.
Through the sound of gunfire, Jet's audio sensors picked up a strange sound that was rapidly approaching. They sounded like an animal running on all fours, with loud grunts that grew closer and closer. His head turned sharply to the alley on his right and two Steeljaws came racing towards him.
"We got dogs!" he yelled.
His yell broke Sideswipe's focus allowing Cemetery wind to capitalize. A high explosive round hit Sideswipe in the shoulder flinging him across the street.
"Sideswipe!" Ironhide exclaimed.
Ironhide rolled out into the street laying cover fire and taking on the brunt of their attacks while Sideswipe recovered. On the other side, Jetstream had his hands full with the Steeljaws. Jetstream retracted his machine guns and cannons as the first Steeljaw leaped into the air. He used his forearm to whack it away and into a building wall. The second jumped onto him and caught his gauntlet in its mouth. Its claws lashed around, slicing through his metal body as he struggled to keep it away from his head.
He ejected his wrist bade and stabbed into the underbelly of the Steeljaw causing it to whine and wail. He stabbed it two more times before throwing it off his arm. The second one from earlier jumped onto his back, its claws sinking in, and then biting him close to his neck. The Steeljaw's teeth bit down close to his right shoulder, it was essentially over where his shoulder missiles launched from. Jetstream groaned and cursed that dam thing as it shook its head violently to pull out a large chunk of metal.
Jet managed to get his left hand on the mouth of the Steeljaw and squeezed hard, his fingers got in-between his teeth and the Autobot managed to pry his mouth open. Jet threw him forward and didn't get the chance to breathe as the other jumped at him. Jet turned around quickly, swinging his arm and his blade to slice the neck of the Steeljaw, killing it. The second one growled loudly, alerting the bot of its intention as his head snapped to the right. It jumped up, trying to bite into his arm again but things didn't go as planned. Jetstream caught it by the neck and slammed it into a wall. He used the blade from his free hand and stabbed into the head of the beast, ending its life.
Sideswipe had gotten up and was taking a breather behind the same building as Jet. The two bots had taken a good amount of punishment out of this battle.
"Damn, those things" the flier cursed.
"We need to end things fast" Sideswipe said, holding tightly to his left shoulder.
"Don't worry, we will"
On the human side of things, all six of them sprinted into the shop with Brian running in last after firing some shots at the mutts. Sam shut the door as quickly as possible and was almost out when the two dogs broke through the door with ease.
"Keep running, don't look back!" he exclaimed.
The women and kids were in front while the men covered the rear.
"We have to use the alleys. We can't out run them in a straight line" said Brian.
The women ran ahead, holding their kids in their arms as they ran as fast as their tired bodies would let them. Sam and Brian were behind, constantly looking over their shoulders as the alien dogs smashed through the front wall and gave chase to them.
"Right! Right! Right!" Brian screamed.
Carly headed down the alley on the right and Brian's wife followed. Sam and Brian went down the same alley, not willing to risk splitting up and leaving the women to fend for themselves. The first Steeljaw skid passed the turn, its claws digging into the ground to try and regain traction. The second one jumped onto the wall to make the sharp turn and keep the pressure on the humans.
The group took a left turn, increasing the distance between them but the hounds closed it down quickly. They took another right and they came to a dead-end; a wall blocking them from accessing the street on the other side.
"No, no, no, no, no" Carly repeated as she slowed down close to the wall.
Brian and Sam's eyes dropped as a feeling of death sunk in.
"There has to be another way" Sam said.
"Look for another way!" said Brian.
Carly and the other wife began looking around for any door they could use to escape then the growls hit their ears. Drool dripping from their mouths as the Steeljaws walked slowly to the group of four. Brian and Sam stood their ground, aiming their weapons with their wives and kids behind them.
"I'm not going to let them hurt my family" Sam said, his words full of resolve.
"Agreed"
The women and kids stayed in the back, next to the wall as the two men stared down the beasts with their weapons pointed. The dogs charged and the two opened fire, closing the space between them as they were just within striking distance. The dogs jumped into the air to bare down on the two and rip into them and from over the wall, two shots were fired. The body of the mutts exploded on impact, covering the men in green slime and goo but they didn't care, they were still alive.
All heads turned swiftly to the wall as the black and yellow Camaro stood over them, smoke rising from his plasma cannon. Bee let out a relived whirr knowing that they were safe.
"Just in… the nick of time…"
"You save my life yet again" Sam said, wiping some slime off his face.
Bee pulled the wall down so they could walk out into the street. He transformed and opened his doors, the wife and kids rushing in as Bee drove off. Their families were safe, and now it was time for extraction.
Ironhide, Sideswipe and Jet fired from cover as Cemetery Wind received some reinforcements. More were still on the way and the Autobots needed to move now.
"Ratchet?! We need to go now!" screamed Ironhide.
"He's all fixed up" Ratchet replied.
"Sorry to keep you waiting" Optimus said, rising to his feet from a sitting position.
"Oh yeah" Ironhide said with a smirk. "Jetstream! It's time!"
"Alright fellas, I'm popping smoke and we're hitting the road" Jet replied.
Jet's chest plates moved forward and then over to the sides revealing a row of six missiles. Three on the top row and three more on the second row.
"I'm ready to rock"
"This is Brian and Sam, we are ready for extraction" he radioed in.
"Hang tight, I'm coming to get you two" Jet replied.
"Jetstream" Optimus said, calling his attention.
"Right. Let's get out of here"
Under cover fire from Ratchet, Optimus, Ironhide and Sideswipe, Jetstream rolled into the middle of the street and fired all six missiles at Cemetery Wind units. Explosions spread across their lines as all their heavy units and vehicles were blown into the sky.
"Go! Go! Go!" Sideswipe cried.
Under the cover of the explosions, the bots hit the road in an effort to escape. They spread out, each on their own to be reunited later. Jetstream's tried screeched violently as they struggled to get grip on the road, befitting for a dodge viper. He raced to Brian and Sam, every second they spent out could be their last.
Lockdown was already on the scene and had picked out his target, Optimus. The Prime was navigating through the narrow alleyways, when Lockdown closed in. The black Aventador transformed, morphing his head into the head cannon as Prime moved between buildings.
"Got you"
Lockdown fired twice, hitting Optimus in the back and the side of his torso. Prime groaned as he rolled on the ground. The damage he endured had increased; he needed to get away, a disguise he could use to escape. His current form was easily recognizable.
"Ugh"
"After him. He is weak now" Lockdown ordered.
"Move in on Optimus! Don't let him escape!" Savoy commanded.
Even with the pain and leaking energon that seemed to intensify with each step, Optimus dragged himself to a scrapyard where he found an old rusty truck. He scanned it and began to transform just as the soldiers arrived. They opened fire, bullets piercing through his sides as he drove away.
"Shit, shit, shit" Savoy cursed as Prime took a left turn into a secluded block of buildings.
This move cut Savoy and his men off as they had to go the long way round to try and intercept him. The whole place was a dead zone with communications down and no birds in the sky to give them a visual. Prime was gone.
Jet roared down the street, getting Brian and Sam's location of his communicator. His wheels screeched across the street and came to a halt where the two men stood. His doors swung open with urgency as the men ran in, full of adrenaline, blood pumping and hearts racing, muscles still tensed from what they had just passed through.
Driving away from the city, Jetstream had contacted Bumblebee and Dino to decide on a meeting place so that both families can be one again.
"I just spoke with Bee and Dino. We're going to meet in an old airfield. Get you guys with your families and figure out the next phase" Jet said through his radio.
"Thanks Jet" said Brian.
"Don't mention it. It's the least we could do"
With every bot fleeing to different parts of the country, Optimus had his sights set on Texas, but he was losing his consciousness slowly. His body needed time to heal and rest from the mortal wound he had sustained. Ratchet managed to patch him up so they could get out but it was a stop-gap fix.
'I need to find a place… to rest' Optimus thought.
Warning signs had already begun to flash as his senses deteriorated. Things were looking grim for him but he had to deliver one last message to his friends no matter what happened to him next.
"Calling all Autobots! We are under targeted attack. Cease all contact with humans"
After delivering that message, his comms were fried. The damage from taking the rusty truck had brought more harm to him than the wounds from battle themselves.
For now, the future remained unclear. There was no direction lined up for them and Prime had seemingly gone dark. The bits had one goal in mind, survive. Some hid on their own while others stayed in groups of two or three, whatever felt safe to them. They needed one another now more than ever.
As for Jetstream, his priority was getting these humans to a safe place; his own wellbeing came second. It was too much trouble keeping them in the country, the obvious choice was getting them out. Preferably to a different continent where they could lay low and live normally. That was yet to be discussed, once they were all reunited, the next course of action would be decided upon.