Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers in any way. The plot and some of the Mechs in this story are mine, but the rest belongs to Hasbro Inc. This story takes place in no specific time line, but pulls together more than just one of the series characters, plots and histories.

Prelude of Disaster

By Ashana

Chapter 1: Half-baked Schemes

Or Trouble With a Capital 'J'

9:24 AM, May 7, 2008

Apartment 3

2424 Devin Road

Sumwhare, Maryland

"Emily, I'm telling you, this isn't like one of those stupid cartoons!" Zach looked up from his book to glare at his best friend, his sister-in-spirit. She was sitting in front of the small travel TV kept in the kitchen, her nose nearly pressing against the glass.

"But Zach, they're real!" She sat back and looked at him. "I mean, c'mon! Twenty years of cartoons, comics, toys and a million dollar movie, all to prepare Earth for the first aliens ever to arrive!" She smiled at him eagerly, eyes flashing behind her glasses.

He rolled his eyes and shut his book with a heavy thump. "I'm telling you, Emily, there's no way you're going to meet Optimum Prune, or whatever his name is."

"Optimus Prime," she corrected, turning her attention back to the television. Her idol, the leader of the Autobots, was speaking with the president right now! Envy burst inside her as she watched the hanger the two were speaking in. The press was waiting for a conference with both leaders. Later that evening, world leaders would fly in and a pact of peace would be made between the Autobots and the Earth.

"You're about to fall off your stool," Zach casually pointed out with a sigh. "What's so important about this Prime guy anyway? He's a big robot, so what?"

"You have no idea, do you?" Emily shot him a glare. "He's the leader of the Autobots! The savior of Cybertron! The greatest Mech to ever live!"

Her surrogate brother rolled his eyes. "Please. The cartoons probably got everything wrong, if only to appeal to the human race." He settled back in his seat with a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of him.

"But I'm a columnist of the most widely-known Transformers fan site! I have to get an interview!" She gushed.

"It looks like he's going to be getting plenty of interviews." Zach picked up the comics. "Give it a rest, will you? I'm sure that you will eventually be able to talk to him. Like, you know, in twenty years."

3:27 AM, November 7, 2008

Apartment 3

2424 Devin Road

Sumwhare, Maryland

It was 3:27 in the morning, and Zach did not want to pick up the phone. Despite his resistance, it continued to give sharp, measured rings right by his head. Grumbling into his pillow, he reached out to his nightstand and looked for the phone cradle with is fingers. Finally seizing the annoying piece of plastic, he pulled it up to his ear and hit the green 'talk' button.

"Hullo?"

"Zach? Oh gosh, Zach, it's Emily!"

"Emily?" He sat up a bit more, blinking. "Why are you calling? Is something wrong?" He rubbed at his eyes and shoved off his blankets. It was the middle of November, and snow swirled lazily outside of his apartment's windows, adding to the chill in the air.

"No, no, everything's perfect!" She sounded breathless and more excited than when the Autobots had landed only a few months before.

"Then why the heck are you calling me at three o'clock in the morning?" Zach fell back down on his bed with a heavy sigh.

"Zach, I found a way in!" She almost squeaked.

"A way into what?" He rubbed at his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.

"A way into the Autobot base!" This time she squealed.

He blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was saying. It hit him, and he snapped to attention. "What?"

"I found a way in! There's a gap in the security, just big enough for a human or two to slip in! Can you imagine the fame I would get for inside pictures of the Autobots base?" Her voice was rising octave by octave.

"You are crazy! And not in the good way! Do you know what they'd do to you if they found you?" Zach protested. "There's no way you are going into that…that war zone!" He relaxed a bit. "Besides, this is Maryland, and everybody knows their base is in Oregon."

"I already bought the plane tickets. Now are you coming or not?" Emily asked impatiently.

"I'm not coming, because you're not going!" Yeah, that headache was definitely beginning to hit.

"But—"

"No, no buts. You are not going, and that's final." He snapped.

There was silence on the other end. "Fine, I don't need you. I'll go by myself. I'm going to get this interview if it kills me." There was a click, and she was gone.

Zach sat there for a few moments, holding the phone to his ear. Eventually a computer automated voice came on and, in a monotone voice, stated the time to be 3:40, the temperature at 20 degrees, and the day November 7, 2008.

With a shout of frustration, he slammed the phone into its cradle and got to his feet, pacing around the cramped apartment room in a fury. His surrogate sister was so…so…infuriating sometimes! But she was always true to her word. With a groan, he sat on the edge of his bed. Fine, he would go, if only to make sure she never even saw the outer defenses of Autobase, Oregon.

3:27 PM, November 7, 2008

Sumwhare Local Airport

Sumwhare, Maryland

Emily nearly tackled Zach as he came through the spinning doors of the local airport. The only thing that kept them both standing was the large man behind them, who caught Zach's shoulders and held them both upright. He grinned cheekily at them.

"Going on a date?" He asked, laughing as they both blushed brightly.

Emily, ever the impudent one, gave him a disgusted look. "Ew, no! He's, like, my brother!" The man only laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Whatever you say," and picking up his suitcase, he left them.

Zach brushed himself off, glaring at her. "Can you be any more embarrassing?" He asked huffily.

"You don't want me to answer that," she said with a 'tisk, tisk' click of her tongue. Rolling his eyes, he seized her upper arm and dragged her towards the doors.

"C'mon, we're going home." He declared.

"What? No! I've got to go, Zach! People from the website helped me pay for the tickets! If they find out I failed because my older brother is scared of the Autobots, they'll never let me write for them again!" She protested loudly. Luckily, the airport lobby was empty except for them and a sleeping security guard.

Zach dropped her arm and crossed his over his chest. "Scared? I'm not scared of a couple rusty robots!" He protested. Emily beamed up at him.

"Great!" Grabbing her bag and his, she took off towards Gate 12. A small plane, designed for fast trips cross country and fit for only five or six passengers, was waiting for them.

"Emily!" Zach gave chase. She handed over the tickets, pointed to him, ran through the metal detector and took off out of the gate and to the awaiting plane. The woman who had taken the tickets watched as he sprinted past and shrugged it off. Stranger things had happened.

Emily had boarded, given the pilot an energetic 'hi!' and taken a seat. There were six seats, three on each side, each one next to a window with a little walkway down the center. She had sat in the middle on the left side and was looking innocently out the window. Zach collapsed in the seat opposite of her, glaring. The only other passenger was the large man from before, and he already had his nose buried in a book.

"I hate you," he panted, looking around for his bag. Smiling, his surrogate sister pointed to the seat in front of him, where his small suitcase was resting.

"If you were going to stop me, why did you bring your suitcase?" She asked.

"Just incase this happened." With a sigh, he grabbed the bag and shoved it into the carrier above his head.

"Good afternoon folks. This is Frank, your pilot, speaking. We thank you for choosing Small Eagle Air as your transportation. Our small, hybrid planes will take you across the country to your destination before you can blink! Have a nice flight."

Zach tilted his head back with a heavy sigh. Well, so much for plan A.

11:35 PM, November 7, 2008

Small Eagle Air 1231

Somewhere Over the United States

Emily was curled up against her travel pillow and the window, fast asleep. The large man had nearly finished his book, and Zach was bored. He cast a casual glance at the man and his book, 'They Are Here'. On the front was a picture of Optimus Prime, optics seeming to stare at the young man. With a shudder, he turned back around in his seat. A few minutes of staring out the window later, and the book snapped shut. He turned back around and found the man examining him, so Zach examined him back.

He wasn't overweight, just large, as though he worked out some and inherited the rest. He had broad shoulders and well muscled arms beneath his grey t-shirt. His hair was brown and shaggy over dark skin, hanging down in a pony tail a few inches under his shoulder blades. His eyes were a bright green and bore into Zach like laser drills.

"And you are?" He asked, a smile forming on his dark lips.

"Zach. Zach Corrington," He answered after shaking himself out of his thoughts. He was nothing compared to this man. He was scrawny, with long arms and even longer legs, which made him around 6" exactly. His hair was black and ruffled, only a few inches long. Dressed in a Dragon Ball Z shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked nowhere near as impressive as this man. Blinking his dark brown eyes, he looked the man up and down. "Who are you?" He nearly smacked himself for sounding so rude. "I mean, what's your name?"

The man laughed. "Joe. Joe Carter," he held out his large hand and shook Zach's vigorously. "I'm a reporter for the New York Times. And you?"

"I'm in college, studying to be a computer graphics designer." He smiled and carefully withdrew his slightly-crushed hand. "So what's in Oregon?"

"Nothing," Joe Carter sat back, "Nothing at all."

Emily snorted from where she was sleeping. "Huh, yeah, nothing at all." She quoted, glaring at Joe from underneath her untidy red hair. Their green eyes met for a moment, and he smirked.

"So you're after them too?" He asked.

"Sorta. I just want an interview. You?" She sat up and stretched, pulling her waist-length hair back into an untidy ponytail.

"Same. Who's the interview for?" He leaned forward eagerly.

"They Are I'm one of the best journalists the Transformers section has." Zach snorted and received a pillow in the face. Spitting out a loose feather, he tucked it behind his head and sat back.

"Okay, there. Now we don't have to sneak in. We'll just have the interview with Joe, a three way deal." He said, suddenly feeling much better about the ordeal.

Joe gave a nervous cough. "That's a problem," he commented. Zach opened one of his eyes, a dangerous gleam in them.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I was actually planning on sneaking inside myself." He coughed again. Emily sat up eagerly.

"Really? Yes! Now we have another member of our camera strike team!" She cheered, patting Zach's leg. "Isn't this great?"

"Emily," he began to sit back up, but she was already chatting away with Joe about Optimus, Red Alert, and all the other famous bots the world had been introduced to. With a groan, he laid back and placed a hand over his eyes. It was going to be one heck of a week.

7:22 PM, November 8, 2008

Science City Regional Airport

Science City, Oregon

"So where are you staying?" Emily asked Joe Carter curiously as they went through the security check out at the larger Science City Airport.

"A friends house a few miles east of Autobase." He took his suitcase as the officer offered it to him. Emily and Zach followed the suit. "Where are you staying?"

Zach looked expectantly at Emily, and nearly tripped over his feet when she shrugged, "Never really thought that far ahead."

Joe chuckled. "You're welcome to stay with Carole, I'm sure. She lives in a beach front house her parents left her; it's huge!"

"Really?" Emily practically squealed. "Oh, thank you Joe! This is so cool!"

Zach put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her a few feet away. "Excuse us," he said to Joe. "Aren't you at all worried about this guy?" He asked. Emily shook her head.

"He's a fellow Transformer Fan. He's not bad at all! Besides, we'll take a cab to their house, and if anything goes wrong, we run." She shrugged.

"But what if we can't get away?" He threatened.

"Then we fight." Smiling, she hugged Zach tightly. "Don't worry, bro. I have a good feeling about this guy!" With that, she turned, picked up her bag and followed Joe towards the parking lot, where a cab was already waiting for them.

8:04 PM, November 8, 2008

295 Beach Boulevard

Terran City, Oregon

Carole was a sweetheart, Zach had to admit. The second they had shown up, soaking wet from running up the long driveway in the rain, she had ushered them in, sat them down around a warm fire in the parlor and served them hot chocolate and a plate of chocolate chip cookies she had made that morning. After they had been able to change clothes, she had given them all warm blankets and made sure they were comfortable before settling down herself.

Joe winked at the other two. "See? Told ya she's an angel," he grinned.

Zach and Emily both nodded, too worried about drinking their hot chocolate before it got cold to answer. Carole laughed and smiled at the two.

"So how old are you dears?" She asked politely. Emily drained her cup and set it on its coaster.

"Well, I'm seventeen, and Zach here is twenty." He nodded and put a handful of mini marshmallows into his half-empty cup.

"How sweet! Are you two dating?" Carole asked, smiling sweetly. Emily snickered and Zach chocked into his cup. Wiping his mouth on a napkin, he shook his head.

"No, no, we're just very good friends." He answered.

"Almost brother and sister," Emily chirped, before moving to the edge of her seat. "Carole, have you seen a Transformer yet?" She asked eagerly.

Carole laughed and smacked Joe's leg lightly. "You've brought me a couple of Autobot crazy kids!" She accused. "Yes, I've seen some of the Autobots. A few of the younger ones, Bumblebee, Hot Shot, Hot Rod and a few others, came down one day to the unused stretch of beach a mile south of here. I was talking a walk and saw them from a cliff edge a bit away." She chuckled. "They were acting like little kids, playing around and splashing each other. One of them saw me and they all kinda froze up. It was the funniest thing!"

"Did you go say hi?" Emily asked eagerly.

Carole shook her head. "No. The Autobots really are bigger than you think. They're huge! I was too scared, so I just gave them a little wave and continued my walk back home."

"Aw," Emily sat back in her seat, Joe mimicking her expression. "I want to meet them!" She declared. Zach rolled his eyes.

"We know." Carole and Joe chuckled at her insulted look, before she sighed and sunk back into the couch she was sharing with Carole. The older woman patted her head.

"You must be tired. Come on, there are several guest rooms upstairs. I'm sure you could all use a good nap." The three nodded and she ushered them up the foyer stairs. "The first three doors on the right. I went ahead and put your stuff in your rooms. Sleep tight!" She called after them as the trudged towards their rooms.

With a sigh, Zach found his-the middle room-and flopped down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. He heard Carole moving around downstairs, cleaning up where they had eaten and talked, and felt a bit guilty. Sitting back up, he quickly exited the nice guest room and headed down the carpeted stairs. Carole looked up as the rapped on the parlor wall.

"What is it, Zach?" She asked kindly.

"I was wondering if I could help," he nodded to the mugs on the table and the empty tray of cookies.

"Ah, aren't you the sweetest!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Yes, I could use some help. Could you put those cups on the tray and wipe up the crumbs?" She pointed to the rag already sitting on the table. He nodded eagerly and quickly stacked the mugs and cleaned the table. Carole pulled her gold curls away from her face and began to fold up the blankets and towels that had been set beside the chairs. She paused when Zach gave a heavy sigh, and saw him simply staring at the dying fire. "What is it, dear?"

"Carole, are the Autobots," he paused and swallowed, "They aren't dangerous, are they?"

She smiled, "Of course not!" She kneeled beside him. "Zach, the Autobots are very kind, just very busy. I'm sure they'll take time to talk to you and your sister, though. All you have to do is ask."

"What if, hypothetically, Emily tried to sneak into their base? Do you think they would hurt her?" He asked.

"Well, as long as this is hypothetical, I don't think they would. She might get in trouble, but they would never hurt a sweet little girl like her." Carole smiled and patted Zach's shoulder. "Go to bed, Zach. It's been a while since I've had company, and you need to rest if you're going to have my grandmother's famous chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow."

He nodded. "Thanks, Carole. G'night!" He returned to his bedroom, feeling slightly better about his sister's insane ambitions.

10:26 AM, November 9, 2008

Outside Porch

295 Beach Boulvard

Terran City, Oregon

"Bye Carole!" Emily gave the young woman one more tight hug, her camera hitting against her hip. Smiling as her hair was ruffled, she bounded towards the car the three were borrowing, "Shotgun!"

Zach rolled his eyes. "Thank you very much for letting us stay here, Carole." He smiled. Carole patted his shoulder.

"Take care of those two nuts, Zach." She made him promise. "Make sure they don't get stepped on from annoying the Autobots too much."

"Don't worry, I will." Behind them, Joe smacked the horn impatiently. "Thanks again. See you later tonight, hopefully with an interview!" He ran off towards the black sedan and climbed into the back. "Ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, but why are you suddenly all for this plan?" Emily turned in her seat and looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, I've come up with a plan of my own." He smirked.

"Will it work?" Joe asked as he backed onto the road.

"Yeah, it's very simple: we ask for an interview instead of sneaking around." Zach sat back, smirking. The two in the front frowned.

"You're kidding, right?" Emily asked. "I mean, c'mon, where's the fun in that?"

"I don't think that becoming a human pancake is fun." Zach pointed out.

"Have you ever heard an Autobot walk?" Joe asked, pulling onto the highway, heading east. "I mean, c'mon! They're huge! We'll be able to hear them coming and find a good hiding place before they even see us."

"But…but…" Zach glared at them. "What if we get in trouble? Big trouble? Like Carole said, the Autobots are huge! And what if those decepti—Decepticreep things show up while we're there?"

"Decepticons," the two corrected concurrently. Emily turned and frowned at him.

"Haven't you been paying attention to any of the news? The Decepticons are all either dead, reformatted or in jail. Jeeze, pick up a newspaper once in a while!" She snapped, but lowered her voice when she saw the uncertainty on his face. "Look, Zach, we'll be fine, I promise." She crossed her heart. "The security gap leads into one of the storage sheds. We aren't coming out in dangerous territory or anything." She patted his knee. "Trust me. I've been going over these plans for a month, and Joe has for two. With my knowledge of Autobots, his schematics and your caution, we'll get in and out with no problem!"

12:48 PM, November 9, 2008

Base of Covington Crater

Oregon

The three had parked the sedan a mile from the actual crater. Only a few days before the Autobots had made their appearance, a piece of space junk had crashed and formed a huge hole in the earth, the ground rising up around it like a mountain. The mountain side, however, had been affected by the energon that was coursing through the junk, and half steel trees and grasses had flourished into a metallic green forest in only a matter of days. The energon had worn off slightly since then, and the plants growing speed had reduced to that of a normal earth species.

Zach shook his head as Emily and Joe took turns explaining this all. The space junk had been part of the Autobot ship that had been broken off when they had lost power going through the meteor belt near Mars and Jupiter. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he looked at the two of them. Both were dressed in camoflauge jeans and jackets, Emily's pink, Joe's green. Frowning, he looked down at himself. How they had ever talked him into wearing blue camoflauge was beyond him.

"You realize you stick out like a sore thumb, right?" He asked Emily. She gave him her usual perky little smile and giggled.

"Yep! Just incase we don't get to safety, at least they can see me!"

"That makes me feel so much better." Zach rolled his eyes. Joe threw his arm around the boys shoulder.

"Cool it, man. This is going perfect so far. We found the blank spot, and there's no patrol up at the top of the crater. We can be in and out in no time, with pictures to prove it!" He held up his own camera, grinning.

"I still think this is a bad idea," but he was ignored as the other two began to scrambled up the crater edge, snapping excited pictures of the technorganic plants. Throwing his arms above his head in an 'I give up!' motion, he followed them.

1:30 PM, November 9: 2008

Edge of Covington Crater

Autobase, Oregon

"Did you have to take pictures of everything that moved?" Zach panted as they rested at the lip of the crater, passing around a canteen of cool water.

"Yes," Emily and Joe answered as their less enthusiastic friend took a deep swig.

"How old are you anyway, Joe?" He asked as he wiped his mouth on his arm.

"Twenty-five," He shrugged. "Why?"

"Just wondering. How old is Carole, then?"

"Twenty-four." Joe blinked at the startled look on Zach's face. "What?"

"She just seems a lot older than that." Zach admitted, taking another drink.

"I dare you to say that to her face," Emily challenged him, and he once more chocked on his drink. Spluttering, he shook his head, before closing the canteen and chucking it at his sister.

"Shut up."

Joe reached out and caught the canteen. "I think we've rested long enough. Let's go down." He pointed to Autobase.

It was like a mini silver city. Towers and long, stumpy buildings rose up from the metal base, reaching towards the sky, bypassing the edge of the crater in some parts. Surrounding the city was a silver fence, crackling with electricity. A military road led through part of the crater and through two security gates before disappearing underneath the city. Small, squat buildings, the storage sheds, were the closest to the three humans.

"Do you have the map?" Emily whispered to Joe, the gravity of their mission suddenly falling over them.

"Yeah; we need to get to that storage shed, the closest one. The Autobots rarely ever use it." He pointed out the shed to her, and they began to discuss the best way down. The slope wasn't steep, but it wasn't gentle either. Zach tuned them out for a moment, and instead watched the Autobots working down in Autobase.

Carole was right; they were larger than the cartoons and comics gave them justice. Several of them, Mechs and Femmes alike, were carrying around metal beams and large plates to a small construction sight. Others were playing what looked like basketball on a half-court with a glowing ball of energy that darted around when one of them lost their hold on it. Still others were patrolling, guns and rifles at the ready, but there were only a few of those. The rest were laying back, talking, laughing and sipping small cubes of glowing liquid. Among them were a few human scientists and one that wore a large white bag with a red cross on it. They chatted casually with the others, sipping on their own soda and coffee.

It reminded him a lot of his college campus. Scratching his head, he tried to decipher what a group of femmes were laughing about, and nearly had it, before Emily and Joe yanked him to the ground.

"C'mon, we're going down! You did hear the plan, right?" Emily gave him an impatient look.

"Uh, no," he admitted sheepishly. The two sighed and shook their heads at each other.

"Look, halfway down the mountain theirs a drain pipe in the back of a cave. The Autobots set it up incase of heavy flooding when they were discussing having the base higher up. But they put the base in the valley and forgot about the pipe. It leads under the base and into the storage shed we need. So stick to the trees and stuff until we get down there."

Zach nodded and looked around the crater edge. Just like the outside, it was full of technorganic trees. Carefully, he followed the other two as the scrambled down the crater, using the trees and bushes as cover from wandering optics. After a half-hour of false alarms and several quiet tumbles, they reached the cave. It had no ledge leading up to it, so they had to risk swinging in from the top. Emily, being the most noticeable (not to mention the youngest), swung in first. Joe went second, and they both pulled Zach in behind them. The cave was shallow, with a large hole in the back where the flood pipe was situated. The three peered down into the sharp vertical drop and shuddered.

"Where does it go?" Zach asked as Emily dug around in the bag she had brought. She pulled out a flashlight and shined it down the steep drop.

"Straight down to ground level, and then curves under the base, and from there straight into the ocean." Joe answered.

"And we're getting down there how?" Zach asked, taking the flashlight and bouncing it off the steel plated interior of the pipe. There were the tiny ledges where two pipes met, but that wouldn't be enough to help them down.

Joe backed up and pulled off his own pack. Earlier that morning they had divided up the food and tools. Zach got the food, the others got the tools. Pulling out a green nylon rope, Joe grinned. "We climb."

"That's not going to be enough to get us to the bottom," Zach pointed out.

"We only have to go half way down." Emily took the flashlight back and lay down on her stomach, shining the light down the pipe as far as she could. "Halfway up are maintenance steps. They might be a bit big for us, but they should do." She smiled up at him. "C'mon Zach, smile! We're having an adventure here!" She pulled back and nodded to Joe. "It's all yours, Joey."

"Its Joe," he muttered, his face coloring slightly. Ignoring Zach's snickers, he tied one part of the long rope to a sturdy bolt by the pipe opening. Checking that it was fast several times, he nodded to the others. "You go down first, Emily. You're the lightest."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I am not letting Emily go down that thing without someone testing it first!" Zach jumped forward, waving his arms.

Joe held it out to him. "Congrats," he thrust the rope into his hand. "You go first. Emily will go second. I'm the heaviest, so I'll go last."

Blinking, the younger boy looked at the rope in his hand. Joe and Emily stepped back, grinning. "You said you wanted it tested," Emily prodded.

"But…but…Agh!" With a heavy sigh, Zach moved to the edge of the pipe. "If I die, you two owe me a nice gravestone." He accused, before shoving the rest of the rope into the metal pit. It dangled and swung out of sight. Emily handed him a large flashlight with a handle, which he tied to his belt, allowing it to point downwards.

"Don't worry, Zach, you'll be fine." Emily comforted him. "Now go before we all turn into old people!" He nodded and sat down on the edge of the tunnel, looking down. It plunged maybe half a mile, where it curved and fell parallel to the ground. The tunnel itself was big enough for Zach to swing around in a comfortable circle and not even touch the walls. Yeah, Transformers were big.

Carefully, Zach slid onto the rope and was suddenly dangling in mid air. The rope swung a bit, and then steadied. He turned so he was facing the wall and placed his feet against the edge. Carefully, hand under hand, he began his decent, using the pipes large ridges and bolts to steady his nervous feet. Soon a second flashlight landed on him.

"How are you doing?" Emily yelled down. He looked up, and saw that he had gone about twenty feet in the past ten minutes.

"Good, good! I'm doing fine!" Zach shouted back up, clutching the nylon tightly. This idea was stupid, reckless and would get them into more trouble then he liked to fathom. But if this was what it would take to make Emily happy (and teach her a lesson about the dangers of trespassing), he would do it.

"Beam your flashlight up here when you get to the maintenance steps! We'll slide down the backpacks!" Joe shouted. Zach gave him a thumbs up and continued his journey downwards.

2:20 PM, November 9, 2008

One-fourth of a Mile Down the Pipe

Autobase, Oregon

Many close calls and slip ups later, the steps came into sight. Well, they were more like ladder rungs, jutting out of the piping, several feet apart. The rungs were thick and flat, and gave Zach just enough room to sit down and rest. The nylon rope ended just a few feet below the first rung, almost reaching the second. After catching his breath, he flashed his light up the pipe.

"I'm down!" He shouted before flicking off his light. Emily beamed the other one down at him, and the rope was swiftly hauled up. Ten minutes later it was carefully being lowered back down, the three backpacks tied to the end. Zach got to his feet as they reached him and carefully untied each one before hooking it onto one of the nearby bolts. "'Kay, they're off!" He yelled. There was a shout back, and a pink figure began to scramble down the nylon rope. Zach blinked and sat back as Emily fairly flew down, jumping off of the bolts and rims like she was repelling. Her brother shook his head; she was much more athletic—and motivated—than he was.

In no time at all, she was sitting beside him, panting and wiping sweat off her forehead with her arm (the jacket had been tied around her waist). "It's all yours, Joe!" She shouted upwards.

"Okay, coming down!" A dark green, muscular blob appeared on the rope and began its way down, descending much quicker than the other two. Emily bounced around the rung like it was a balance beam, even doing a cartwheel or two. She snatched up her pink, camoflauge and threw it over her shoulder.

"This is so exciting! Don't you think so, Zach?" She asked, smiling brightly when he shined his flashlight on her.

Despite his anxiety, Emily's energy was contagious, and he found himself agreeing with her. "Yeah, it is, actually." He grinned, looking below them. "So how are we going to get down there?"

"Joe has a second rope in his bag. That'll take us the rest of the way down. Can I have a rice crispy treat?" She asked.

Grabbing his blue bag, Zach dug around and handed her one as Joe landed beside the two of them, dusting off his hands. "That looks good. C'n I have one?"

The three sat snacking in silence for a moment, making sure they put their trash back into the bag. Joe finally pulled another cord of nylon rope, pink this time, and with a bit of difficulty tied it around the rung they were sitting on.

"About another quarter of a mile and we're good." He nodded. "I'll go first this time. Send down the packs when I shine up my light." Fastening his own flashlight around his waist like Zach had done, he swung over the edge of the rung and swiftly climbed down. Emily and Zach watched him in fascinated silence as he repelled against the other rungs and reached the ground in only a matter of minutes. Shaking their heads at each other, they pulled up the rope and fastened the three bags to it.

"Ready Joe?" Emily shouted down.

"Yeah, send 'em down!" He replied. Carefully, the two lowered the bags to Joe, who pulled them off and dropped them to the ground. "You come down next, Zach, then Emily!" The older man ordered.

"Sure thing," Zach replied, and with much more confidence than before he swung over the edge and scurried down the rope, using the rungs to rest whenever he reached one. Sweat was pouring down his forehead by the time he reached the ground, and as Joe shouted up to Emily, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist.

"Coming!" Emily shouted from the top, sliding over onto the rope. She was about one third of the way down when something unimaginable happened.

The rope snapped.

She hung in the air a second, as though they were in a Looney Toons show, and then gravity took over and managed to pull a scream from her throat as she fell. Joe shoved his flashlight into Zach's hand and bound forward to catch the falling girl, but not before she hit one of the rungs with an earth shattering crack that echoed around the tunnel. She landed in Joe's arms, eyes wide, face pale. Her arm was clutched to her chest, covered in blood, a thin sliver of bone slicing through the skin.

Fin Chapter 1