Deja Vu 3

     Not on Earth

     Déjà vu 3

     A Transformers Prime Fanfiction

     Jack Darby quickly shoved the smaller boy behind him and crouched ready to run. His mind raced and his blue eyes darted around what he could see of the Autobot sized laboratory. A marked exit there, several good hiding spots there and there. Several devices that might be useful as weapons scattered about. The Cybertronian was still standing where they had first seen him, stunned at the control panel, but Jack could see he was coming out of it. Jack grabbed Raf's shoulder and pulled him along as he dove out of the metal cylinder and underneath a nearby table. Raf scrambled to get his footing on the slick metal floor.
     The older boy stopped for a moment and shoved his hair out of his eyes. Raf glanced up at him and whispered frantically,
     "Where are we?"
Jack kept looking around the room as he answered.
     "I have no idea. But I didn't see any faction badge on that bot. I'd rather not take chances with an unaligned. Let's just get out of here and figure out where we are."
     "But he did have blue optics," Raf pointed out, "Maybe we should ask him for help." Jack shook his head.
     "I don't think so Raf. There's only one other group on this planet with groundbridge tech."
     "Con's," whispered the smaller boy.
     "Besides," continued Jack as he calculated the best way to the exit, "Makeshift had blue optics. Now wait for my signal then run. When we get to the door I'll lift you up and you trigger the release. If that doesn't work we run for the other side of that case. Got it?" Raf crouched obediently beside Jack but cast a wistful and searching look back at where he had seen the strange bot. There was something familiar about him, if he could only stay a little while longer he might figure out what. But Jack hissed "GO!", and they were running across the slippery floor, dodging between crates and cases to stay out of the Cybertronian's line of sight. They reached the door marked with the Cybertronian sigil for exit and Jack crouched down with his palms flat against the wall under the control panel. Raf scrambled up and stood on his shoulders. Jack stood up and stretched. Raf reached for the panel but it was still a foot or two above his head.
     "We need more height Jack!" he called down franticly. The bot had spotted them and was weaving its way through the crowded lab to get to them. Jack grunted and grabbed the boy's feet.
     "Balance yourself!" he said, and shoved up with all his strength. The extra reach of Jack's arms was just enough to lift Raf up to the panel. He smacked the open control and prayed it wasn't coded. The door swung open and a rush of strange smelling air blew in from the dark outside. Jack dropped Raf down to the floor as carefully as he could. Before they bolted out into the night, Jack grabbed two line welders from a low shelf. He handed one of the devices, about the same shape as a ballpoint pen but about fifty times as large, to Raf and activated his. They ran. Just as they got out of sight of the door an alarm sounded from the building. They came to a corner and Jack slashed at it with the laser beam.
     Neither boy could say how far they ran, or how long when Raf collapsed on the metal roadway. Jack skidded to a halt and ran back to his friend. The smaller boy was gasping and incoherent, tears of exhaustion running down his face. Jack scooped him up and carried him into a large alleyway. They crouched together behind several massive containers until they caught their breath.
     "Hungry," Raf whispered to himself.
     "What?" Jack asked.
     "Nothing," Raf replied embarrassed by the show of weakness. Jack tried to stand but stumbled.
     "Wow," he said at last, "I'm hungry." The older boy reached into one of the massive pockets in his cargo pants and pulled out a bag of soy jerky. He took a small handful and handed the rest of the package to Raf. The brown haired boy dug in eagerly. The Darby's "alternative" food was never high on his list of good things to eat, but he was suddenly starving.
     "Remember to chew it well," Jack said. "It's kinda' tough." Raf tried to nod in response but was suddenly seized by a fit of coughing. Jack handed over a bottle of water pulled from another pocket. Raf idly wondered if Jack had been a clown in a past life.   
     With their immediate needs taken care of the boys tried to assess their situation. They each had their safari hats, loose white shirts, cargo pants, socks, a line welder from the lab, their cell-phones, and tennis shoes. Jack had another package of soy jerky, but no more water, his multi-tool, a couple of agates from the stream bed, a few pens and pencils, a couple of rubber bands, an unused red balloon, and his project notebook. Raf had a scientific calculator, several pencils and pens, several agates from the stream, a pair of mini binoculars, his project notebook, and a soda can tab. Raf finished listing off what they had and sat back. It didn't look like much. He said as much. Jack glanced up at him and got a determined look on his face.
     "Maybe Raf, but you missed the most important things," the older boy said. Raf glanced around the small pile in confusion. That was all there was.
     "What did I miss?" he asked.
     "We have ourselves. Our own strength, skills, and determination. No one on Earth knows more about Cybertronians than we do. I have my survival training. You have your ability to understand anything electronic or cybernetic. We have each other." Jack stopped here and stared straight into Raf's eyes.
     "We WILL make it home."
     Raf felt a strong sense of relief and determination flow through him. He nodded and grasped Jack's hand. They shook over their small pile of belongings.
     "We WILL make it home." Raf agreed.
     They bent to put the stuff back into their pockets. Behind Jack, further down the alley, Raf saw a dim glow. He pointed it out to Jack the two of them carefully crept closer. The alley ended in a translucent wall with a jagged hole in one corner that was letting a cold breeze in. Both boys stopped and stared in wonder at the view laid out below under the glow of twin moons.
     "I don't think we're on Earth Jack," Raf whispered in awe.