Disclaimer: Wide Spread Panic doesn't own the Transformers or any of the people (with the exception of Panic), businesses, places mentioned herein. This is but a work of fiction spawned from my twisted little mind. Knight and Storm belong to Chaos Knight and StormDracona respectively.

Author's Note and Brief Synopsis: This is a new piece and doesn't have anything to do with the other movie-verse fanfic I'm working on. Indeed, this is a wholly different reality from that of Slag Happens. While both are based on the movie-verse this piece takes place roughly three years after the second movie in the year 2012, the year that, as predicted by the Mayans, would be the end of the world. This is rated T+ for a reason; namely language, violence, and some fairly dark themes. In short, it's the story of how civilization as we know it ends, as Megatron returns with overwhelming forces with revenging his fallen master as his goal. Though many more Autobots have come to swell the ranks of the Autobot forces, they are far outnumbered and their forces are scattered. Megatron not only plans on eliminating the Autobots, but is determined to strip the Earth bare, exterminating the organic insects that have cost him so dearly and terra-forming Earth into a new Cybertron from which to expand his Decepticon empire. Dark and humorous, with fluff later on, the story is told as a journal that follows the accounts of three young women struggling just to survive in a world they can no longer even recognize. Each chapter, the narrator switches as the characters "take turns" telling their story. First up is Panic. Enjoy.

WHAT IT IS TO BURN

In the Beginning, There was the End

Panic.

So many thousands of years ago, an ancient civilization predicted the end of the world. The Mayans, using their superior knowledge of astronomy and mathematics, complied not only a very complex and highly accurate calendar, but also managed to predict, with chilling accuracy events that would take place far, far into the future. For years, people had pondered over how people so primitive, hell, people who didn't even have knowledge of the wheel, could be so accurate.

See, they invented a calendar that went far beyond the end of their civilization. They created a calendar that predicted the exact time the world would end. Everyone thinks the Mayans predicted the end of the world. They didn't. They predicted the end of civilization as we know it.

And they were right.

December, 21, 2012, civilization as we knew it ended. You remember all those conspiracy theorists? The ones you used to laugh at? The ones who were always accusing the government of keeping secrets? They were right too. The United States government was keeping a very big secret. Living among us, hiding in plain sight, were things not of this world. Hell, not even of this solar system or galaxy.

Most people went on with their lives for years, oblivious and content to stay that way, until the shit hit the fan. I was there when it happened. I was caught on what turned out to be the front lines. If you have time to waste reading this, then maybe things worked out. Maybe there's peace and you can afford the luxury of curling up with a good book. I wasn't the only survivor after all. Hell, maybe you're reading this years and years from the day. Maybe no one even remembers the wars or the end of the world.

This journal, well it wasn't my idea. Knight's the one that suggested we take turns writing what we remember so that if things go to hell (more so than they already have, mind you) people would know. It's only natural, the desire to leave something tangible behind. If nothing else, this little, battered journal serves as a record that these things did happen and that we did exist. Storm was the one who decided we should use "code-names" as protection if it were to fall into the wrong hands. I don't see how that'll do us any good. If it does fall into the wrong hands, we're probably dead anyway.

I can't explain it, but putting it down in ink makes me feel better. So, no, my name isn't really Panic, but get used to it. After all, I don't know you. I don't know if you're one of them. We agreed to take turns to write our stories in the lulls, as rare and precious as they are. The other two, they decided I should go first. I was there when it all went down. Just remember, I'm warning you now. It's not pretty, but the truth rarely is.

I remember I was still a student then, content in the knowledge that after my internship was done, I'd have my Masters degree. I'd gotten interned to work and learn from the brilliant minds of a local military installation specializing in aerospace engineering. The place was commonly referred to as Aero by the locals. It was a sprawling complex, out in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by trees. It was a beautiful place, before it all burnt down. I guess, looking back, I should have realized something was wrong with Aero. Even for a military installation, security was extraordinarily high. I was excited, though so I forgave any oddness. I understood that there were places I wasn't allowed to go, and I never thought to question that.

I met Tanner there, the man who'd become my mentor and my friend. He was endlessly patient, a trait uncommon to me, so I respected him for it. He was always calm and seemed to know exactly what was going on at all times, and his composure, I naively thought, was unshakable. He'd been the one to greet me and tour me around the base. I remember that day very well. I was excited, so damn excited and I didn't have a clue yet.

"What's over there?" I asked, nodding at a group of larger buildings. We were on the south end of the installation, were the primary research was done. One of the buildings was tall and long, oddly rounded shaped.

He looked at where I was pointing. His blue eyes were squinting and as cold as his steel grey short cropped hair. "That's the wind tunnel. You'll see more of it later. Most of the research here is actually things we've been contracted to do that has some connection with the Air Force."

I nodded as we walked past several run-down looking squat buildings and another very tall building. I craned my head to look up at it as we passed. There were several such buildings on base, places that seemed to have been abandoned for some reason or another. I mentally made a note to ask about them later. I noticed, in passing, how thick the walls of one such building were. The concrete walls had to be at least six or seven inches thick. I wondered what they were testing that would require such precautions.

The first couple of weeks passed without incident. I followed Tanner and his team, observing their work and taking notes. Everything was by the book and normal, looking back I guess it was the lull before the storm. We were working in one of the smaller reinforced buildings that day and it was hot. The older buildings weren't heated and they were bitterly cold. It was late December and everything was covered in frost and even more beautiful than ever. I can't remember why, but I left the building we were working in, perhaps to get some fresh air.

I hugged my arms around myself as I walked around aimlessly. This part of the base was largely deserted, so I don't know what drew me to the tall building nearly at the tree line. I heard voices as I got closer and the door was open. Innocently curious, I peeked in. Several men in haz-mat suits were working on some kind of engine, poking and prodding the wiring.

Why would they need haz-mat suits?

I jerked as a hand closed on my shoulder, yanking me away. I spun around, coming face-to-face with Tanner.

"The hell do you think you're doing? This area is restricted," he snapped and for the first time, I saw him angry.

I backed away, putting some distance between us, startled by the fury in his voice. "I didn't realize," I said warily.

He grabbed my arm and began pulling me away, his expression severe. "It's posted," he said, not looking at me, he pointed out the sign.

I flushed, peeking at him sheepishly through my bangs. "Sorry."

"You pull that shit again, and you're going to be looking elsewhere to finish your internship," he growled and he shoved me ahead of him.

I blanched as we walked back to our building. "Sorry," I muttered again, ducking my head.

I looked over my shoulder at him from the corners of my eyes and he was glaring. After that, I avoided the tall building. I was still curious, but not enough to risk blowing everything I'd worked so hard for.

Things went uneventfully for a while. I studied and learned everything I could.

I can't say why, but twenty-first felt funny. I woke up feeling uneasy and unnerved for no reason. It seemed that there was a tension hanging in the air, on everyone and everything. A feeling reminiscent of the way the air feels just before a lightning storm. Everything felt sharp and crisp.

On the base, it seemed that everyone else felt it too. People were on edge and snapped at each other. Something was coming and we could all feel it on an instinctive primitive level. I can remember exactly what I was doing when it happened, but I was in one of the large buildings that was housing a jet engine at the time; the building Tanner's office was in.

I was holding a clipboard, making notes and following an older man, named Michaels. He was pointing out how different components of the engine reacted under stress. Several other men were working clustered around a bank of computers along the wall. It was all so quiet.

And then we heard something thud against the roof, loud enough to make us all jump. We all looked up at the ceiling, startled and confused.

"A tree—" One of the men at the computer started to say, I think his name was Phillips.

He was cut off by the sound of the metal roof being ripped free. It happened in an instant. One second there's a roof, next—nothing. I was aware of the sound my clipboard made as it hit the concrete floor and the loud scream that tore from my own throat. Something was looming, looking, in the hole it'd ripped in the roof. Something with the blazing demonic red eyes of something born from the very depths of hell.

Someone slammed into me and I hit the concrete hard with a strangled thing. The monstrous thing was using its horrible curved claws to make the hole bigger. The other people were screaming and yelling now in a panic. An arm tugged me behind a table. Tanner, Tanner, was pulling my stunned form to safety. I opened my mouth to start screaming again and he clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Shut up! Shut up, dammit," he hissed in my ear.

With a loud thud, the thing dropped into the building with us. Tanner seized me by my collar and half-dragged, half-shoved me in a desperate frenzy for his little office. I heard the screaming behind us as the panicked engineers tried to flee. I also heard a gun firing; it didn't last very long. From the corner of my eye, I saw the man with the gun—that thing just sort of sneered at him and stepped on him like he was a bug. I'll never be able to erase that image, the look of realization on the man's face seconds before he died.

I didn't want to die that way.

Tanner was taking something from his desk and pushing it into my numb, shaking hands. He pulled a small box from another drawer and shoved that at me as well. I didn't even look at either item. I was still seeing that man's expression and the blood and nothing else. With a sort of morbid fascination, my mind was replaying it for me over and over.

"We're all going to die," I said suddenly, my voice flat and level as if I was stating the weather.

He looked at me funny, but chose to ignore my comment. "Don't take the main roads on base, skirt the ditches and keep low. Go for the woods, there's more cover and they might be too big to maneuver in there," he said. "Wait until its clear and then run."

That sank through my haze, I lifted my wide eyes to stare at him. He had to be in his late forties I realized then. He looked so much older, every line on his face seemed to be intensified. "Are-aren't you coming too?" I asked, my voice trembling and shrill.

"I have a responsibility here, you don't," he said and I slowly shook my head.

"I can't do this alone," I said and I suddenly seized his collar desperately, nearly dropping the box. "Don't you dare just leave me alone!"

He shook me off smiling sadly. "Keep to the woods," he simply said. He reached past me into the case against the wall and pulled out a weapon. He nodded at me and he was running back into the main building, back into that nightmare. The last I saw of him was his back, his hands adjusting his grip on the rifle.

I wanted to run after him. I didn't want to be alone. I could see through the window of his office, an orange glow and knew something was on fire not too far away. I could hear and feel explosions. This was war. He was right, I wasn't a soldier. I was a civilian and I had no business in this mess.

I finally looked down at my hands to see what he'd given me and stared. A little handgun and a small box of bullets. I stared at the pathetic little weapon and then to my horror, I burst out laughing.

What the hell good would a handgun do against those things?!

"God!" I gasped out amid the hysterical laughter, tears streaming down my face. I laughed with the gallows' humor of the damned and without realizing what I was doing I found myself on my knees, my hands clutching the gun and bullets pressed to my face.

"Shit," I snarled, hiccupping and snickering. I heard more screaming then and gunfire. I guess some more soldiers had arrived from another part of the base. The sounds were sobering. I didn't want to die there and I'd be damned if I was going to go out on my knees laughing like a lunatic. "Screw this." I stood unsteadily and glared at the gun. Hell, I'd never fired a gun—I didn't even know how to load it.

I heard a low thud and bit back a scream.

I started running then; away from the screaming and the fires and the death. I ran from the building, using the darkness to my advantage and keeping low to the ground. I thought I was doing fairly well for someone who'd never had to run for their life before. I raced down a narrow gap between two smaller buildings, keeping my back to the glow of the fires. I raced around one of the buildings towards where I thought the woods were and slammed into a leg that abruptly stepped into my path. A freaking big leg too, I might add.

I landed on my butt, dropping my gun and the box of bullets and my head slowly tipped back to stare at the wide, hell-fire eyes staring down at me. The thing was huge. And I think it was just as surprised as I was.

I made a strange snarling sound, like metal grinding together and reached for me, but I was already lurching to my feet and snatching my gun and a handful of bullets; the damn box had opened when it'd hit the ground.

I darted between the thing's legs, running full tilt for the tree line. I mentioned before that Aero was surrounded by trees; well, they're rather close together and they're big trees. No one had ever bothered to thin out the dead trees or the brush here to avoid the risk of fire. I was small enough that I could scramble into the woods amid the trees.

My pursuer wasn't.

I wasn't sure how many of the things there were. I only knew this wasn't the same one as before because where that one had been largely silver, this one was mostly a purple-tinged black.

I tore through the woods, adrenaline pushing me to run faster than I knew I could. Branches whipped against my exposed skin and snagged at my clothes and roots tried to trip me. I all but crashed through a bramble, cussing loudly in terror. Behind me, I could hear the thing snarling and the unmistakable sound of trees snapping as it tried to pursue. I was too deep in the woods then and safe.

At least, that's what I thought. How the hell was I supposed to know the tree line abruptly ended or that there was a ditch on the other side? I never stood a chance, running like I was. I've never been too athletic and I tripped, probably over my own treacherous feet, and pitched head-first into the ditch. I thrashed upright and realized I was out in the open.

I was exposed.

"SHIT!"

Looking around, I saw a large concrete drainage pipe jutting out of the side of the hill. I ran for it as fast as I could. The pipe had to be at least five feet across, and the mouth of the pipe was covered in metal wiring. I wrenched at it, tugging desperately.

I heard a crash behind me and redoubled my efforts in a panic, no pun intended.

"Heeeeeeere little organic… come to Skywarp," the voice that rang out in the darkness was male, deep and laced with a metallic overtone that chilled me.

With one last yank, I managed to pull a corner of the wiring loose. It was a tight fit, but somehow, I managed to wriggle through. I lost a sneaker and the wiring cut my arms, shoulder and back up pretty bad, but I made it. No sooner was I inside the pipe, than a familiar purple-black set of legs stomped past. I scrambled further back into the pipe, biting down on my fist, still clutching a handful of bullets. I wanted to scream, but somehow I kept quiet. I don't think I even breathed until the thing, the Skywarp, moved on.

I wriggled back deeper into the pipe, curling into a ball and sobbing silently. The bottom of the floor was covered in a layer of something wet and highly unpleasant smelling that I didn't want to think too closely about.

I didn't sleep at all that first night. It wouldn't be the last time I was too scared to sleep. I listened to the explosions and gunfire, but it didn't last long. I didn't know who'd won, but I had the feeling it wasn't us. I was too terrified to venture from my hiding spot to see what was going on.

It was the longest, damn night of my life.

Panic looked up, a pen clutched in her teeth and her brown eyes narrowed. She reached for the little make-shift knife of hers, but relaxed as she recognized the approaching figures. Knight and Storm were back, carrying whatever they'd found on their patrol. She brushed her tangled, brown hair from her face and slowly closed the dirty little journal she'd been writing in.

"Any sign of them?" She asked the other two women. All three of them were thinner, more ragged looking than when everything had went to hell. They were slightly tougher and more resilient than they had been too.

"The Autobots or the Decepticons?" Storm asked, frowning. "Didn't see either faction. I think we've been abandoned again."

"They wouldn't abandon us," Panic muttered as she stood.

Knight shrugged her thin shoulders. "We can't stay here. We need to move again. We've been here a lot longer than we should have," she said, looking at the other two questioningly.

"We were supposed to wait," Panic protested stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest.

"The longer we wait, the higher the risk of getting caught by the enemy." Storm nodded, deciding for the little group. "We move again. It isn't safe staying in one place too long."

"We were supposed to wait," Panic repeated in a mutter to herself as they set about gathering their meager possessions. She picked up the little journal and scowled.