Author's Notes: I wanted to explore what was going on in Sam's mind when he was running, with the cube, and seemingly the fate of the world, in his hands, hence this fic. I apologize for discrepancies with the movie – my memory's at fault. Also, I changed some of the scenes to suit the events in the fic. Italics in this fic means character thought. Hope you like this. Many thanks to all who will read, and read and review.

Disclasimer: Transformers, Transformers (2007 Movie), and anything related belongs to Hasbro, Dreamworks SKG, Paramount Pictures, and Michael Bay.

Run

This can't be happening.

It was the only thought that went through his mind, as the smoke cleared, and his eyes took in for the first time the utter devastation caused by that blast from the flying Decepticon whose name was lost to him, as everything else was lost to him, except for a single thought.

This can't be happening.

The sounds of sirens going off in the distance, people screaming in terror and agony, and God, blood and soot and dust everywhere, everywhere! – everything seemed so unreal, and yet he witnessed everything with a definite clarity that he knew that it was happening. It was happening.

The world was ending, and it was happening now.

His reverie was broken as he heard a moan, or at least he thought that was what it sounded like. A moan of pain, mechanical, a rumble of engine, and –

And he found himself staring at bright blue lights, slowly dimming, but still there. Still there.

Oh, no. Oh, God, no. NO.

"Bee?"

He crawled towards the form who made the sound - his car, his guardian, his friend – the fear of losing him working its way through his entire being that he could almost taste it. And even as he crawled towards the other, his eyes, on their own, surveyed the damage that was done - a chaos of tangled wires, dismembered metal, and free-flowing dark liquid. He felt the fear gripping him tightly even more.

"BEE!"

The Autobot stirred. Sam did the only thing he could do – he shouted for help.

"RATCHET!"

But no one came yet, and Sam watched in horror as Bumblebee made his way to him, slowly, painfully. The clang of metal being forcefully dragged across the hard concrete road ringed in his ear, drowning every other sound.

The yellow Autobot reached out to him, revealing a cube the mech held protectively in his metallic palms. Sam took it with hands that he managed to keep steady somehow, and as if for comfort, hugged it close to his chest. A second passed – it seemed like a lifetime to Sam – and Bee's optics flickered as he looked at his charge.

Go.

There was a moment of understanding. Sam knew what his guardian wanted him to do, but he just couldn't do it. Wouldn't do it. So he held on to the cube, and resolutely refused.

"I'm not leaving you here. I'm not going anywhere."

Bumblebee shook his head, and looked at Sam as if pleading.

But before Sam could actually do something, a voice he recognized pierced through the chaos.

"Where's the cube?"

Sam answered automatically, but his eyes never left his fallen friend.

"It's here, I have it." Those words barely left his lips when he was pulled up to his feet. He looked up to see Will Lennox' form looming over him. The military captain immediately began briefing him about a plan, of taking the cube to safety somewhere, but Sam scarcely heard a thing. His full attention was transfixed, instead, at the morbidity of the situation he was in. And Bee. And...

Panicking even more, he looked around.

Mikaela. Oh God –

He saw her in his peripheral vision – as shocked as he was, covered in grime and soot, but alive – and he allowed himself a small sigh of relief. She's ok, she's ok!

"Sam, are you listening?" boomed Captain Lennox' voice, pulling him back to reality. Sam nodded, and began reciting the bits of information he had retained from the briefing that the captain had given him.

"Run, go to a building with white statues on the roof. Right? Right. And, and flare, signal a flare. The military will be waiting."

Captain Lennox smiled, briefly, and then patted him on the shoulder. "Ok. Alright. Now, go!"

But Sam stayed rooted on the spot. Mikaela's alive, and he's thankful for that. He's alive, and he's thankful for that. Bee...he's barely alive. No. He can't go. Not when Bee needed him.

Sam squared his shoulders and looked Lennox in the eye.

"I can't. I'm not leaving Bumblebee."

But the man in front of him didn't take no for an answer, however it was phrased. Now was not the time for hesitation, and there was more at stake here than the life of a long-time crush, or a sentient being that took the form of a Camaro. Sometimes, you have to make sacrifices to do what should be done. He said all of this using the only sentence he knew summed up everything that the boy had to do, and needed to become.

"YOU'RE A SOLDIER NOW!"

Those words echoed in Sam's mind. Soldier.

Sam gazed at the cube in his hands, and the weight of his responsibility dawned on him. He looked at Bumblebee, and then at Lennox, and understood.

To serve and protect.
No sacrifice, no victory.

I'm a soldier now.

I'm a soldier.

Gathering all the strength he had left, Sam run like he had never run before.

The devil was chasing him.

He won't give in. He won't look back. He won't stop. Even if his legs burned, and he was short on air, he kept on moving. Down a street, past cars and screaming by-standers. For a while, nothing existed but him, and the cube, and that urgent need to run.

Then there was that terrible sound, like a metallic vulture's cry. The explosion followed. He ducked for cover, instinct and the need to survive going into overdrive. A sedan that went soaring into the air from the impact missed him by an inch. He got up.

The devil was chasing him.
Sam was back on his feet.
He ran.

The devil was catching up.

He didn't look behind. Didn't stop. He just kept on running. All that mattered was for him to run.

He never noticed the SUV until it was too late. He crashed into it head on, and he landed on the pavement, hard. The pain was immediate, but he ignored it. The pain was nothing compared to what will happen if he failed. And he couldn't fail. He mustn't fail.

Getupgetupgetupgetup!

And he did, and he didn't even spared a moment to catch his breath.

The devil was catching up.
Sam wouldn't let him.
And so he ran.

The devil was behind him.

He could hear – feel – the thundering steps, the unearthly roar. But he was almost there. Almost there.

He entered the crumbling edifice. Chanced a glance behind him. Gone. The devil was –

The wall he had just passed collapsed. The awful sound of the devil's voice, full of anger, of evil amusement, filled the air. Taunting him. He kept on moving, unmindful of the fear that began crawling its way back into his being again. This time, he never looked back. He made a sharp turn. A staircase came into view. He looked above. It was a long way up.

The devil was behind him.
Sam was almost there.
With the cube on his hands and his legs going numb, he ran.

The devil was here.

He clambered unto the base of one of the white statues, the cube on one hand, the other gripping the marble angel tightly so he wouldn't lose his balance. He looked down. No way out. He stared in front of him. A pair of disturbing red lights for eyes gazed back. He was trapped.

The devil was here.
Sam knew there was nowhere to run.
And so, he made his choice.

"Give me the cube, boy."

"Never."

"Oh, so unwise."

The devil sneered, bared its metallic fangs, and striked.

Sam closed his eyes even as he felt the ledge he was standing on collapse into a million debris. He was falling, falling fast, but he held on to the cube. Held on to it tight, like a tiny sliver of hope.

He wouldn't run away now. Not now, when the world needed him the most.

- Fin -