Not Quite Gone

Found Sam, but get the med bay ready!

Lennox yelped as Ironhide flew over a hill, slamming back down onto the asphalt. The autobot was racing down the near pitch-black road, definitely breaking the speed limit. The few dim street lamps that were scattered around the small town only slightly illuminated the worn road, but it was just enough light to allow Lennox to see a crumpled form inside a phone booth.

"THERE!" He shouted, leaning out the window.

Ironhide spun, tires screeching. He sped towards the phonebooth, nearly crashing into it. Lennox jumped out, sprinting the last few meters. He jumped back when blue sparks jumped and snapped at him, flickering and flashing in the darkness. Ironhide transformed beside him, crouching down. His blue optics were wide.

Sam looked terrible. Red blood mixed with an electric blue liquid. Black metal covered both his arms and was spreading to his face. Blue sparks and bolts of electricity jumped around his slumped, trembling form. Dried blood was caked around a gash on his head, a strange maroon colour.

"Oh Sam... what happened to you?" Lennox whispered.

Ironhide went to gently scoop Sam up, ignoring the way the blue sparks angrily snapped and fizzed as his hand neared the unconscious teen. Even in the summer, the area in and around the Boreal Forest got cold, especially at night.

The sparks, surprisingly, ceased once Sam was in Ironhide's hand. The mech shivered, feeling a chill race through him. Pain blossomed in his spark, cold and fresh. Sam shivered as well, face contorting into one of discomfort and fear. Ironhide frowned and transformed back into his vehicle mode, opening the door for Lennox, who promptly hopped in.

Ironhide sent a message to the others, speeding back to base. He had to turn down his com's volume when Bumblebee's frantic beeping assaulted his audio receptors. The smaller mech had been tearing up the country looking for Sam, which Ironhide could understand. Sam was Bumblebee's. His boy, his friend and his charge. If Lennox had suddenly disappeared when he was injured, he would have done the same thing.

He sped up when he felt Sam shiver again, this time because of the cold. The human snuggled into his seat, so close that Ironhide could feel his alarmingly weak heartbeat. Humans, despite being very resilient, were nowhere near as durable as Cybertronians. It didn't take a genius to see that Sam wouldn't make it unless he got help. Fast.

: Ratchet get the med bay ready. Clear any organics out of the room. And for Primus's sake don't let Optimus or Bumblebee see Sam! I'm not sure how they would take seeing him like this.: