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Oh did she run.Her legs pumped faster than they ever had before and her chest was filled with a fire that burned her to her core. She held fast to the items in her hand, gripping them even tighter when she fumbled a bit. She made the daring decision to glance behind her but snapped her head back around at the sight of the man chasing her, hot on her heels. He yelled at her something unintelligible and she could nearly feel his hot breath puffing down her neck. She was about to trip over a large crack in the old cement but managed to jump over it in a rather clumsy way, the bag on her back thumping against her.She was deeply regretting the poor choice she had made to steal from the highway side gas station. She had known it was a bad decision at the time she was committing the crime, but it didn’t cross her mind that she would be hunted down like this for a few cheap snacks.The girl could feel him catching up to her, his long arms outstretched and ready to grab her hair and yank it back. But with a spilt second choice she jumped over the freeway railing and into the ditch below. She stumbled before falling completely and then was back on her feet in seconds. Running across the large expansion that separated the two different roads, one traveling south, and the other north. Heading towards the southern going road, she paused at the edge of it and watched as fast cars flew by. There weren’t many of them, in fact they were pretty well spread out. Still it was dangerous none the less.She glanced over her shoulder and at the man who was hopping over the railing now and decided to take her chances with the cars. She barely recognized the sight of a semi making its way speedily down the highway as she began to run across the road. By the time she realized the mistake she had made it was too late. Her face quickly paling as the semi’s horn blared, its tires spinning to a hard stop, but it had been moving too fast. It skid across the road, hurdling towards the girl.But as the truck began to turn so it came screeching down the road sideways with the large amount of friction being forced on it, she had a moment of quick thinking and dropped to the ground. The truck glided over her, gently skimming her backpack and stopping just behind her frozen frame. Sneaking a peek up, she caught a glimpse of the man chasing her standing at the edge of the road, his eyes look shocked and worried at the same time, as if he was fearing her safety. When he saw her stand up and dust herself off though, his gaze once again turned hard as he stomped towards her. Grabbing her arm roughly and yanking her closer to him, she grunted in protest and tried to yank her arm free. He held out his other hand expectantly, his lips almost curling into a snarl.“Caught you.” He growled, a smirk laid hidden his voice. “Now give me back what you stole.” He gripped her arm tighter.“Is everything alright?” A new voice asked as a small Honda drove past them, its passengers gawking at the scene that was unfolding on the side of the freeway before speeding off. Both the girl and the gas station owner turned their heads over to the new man. He was tall. Taller than the man currently holding her arm in a death grip. His frame was broad and well built. His brown hair was well kept. The beard that wrapped around his face and cut into jagged edges to match his chiseled face perfectly.He man’s red and blue jacket held quite a few pockets and matched the semi behind him. His blue jeans seemed a little worn though, like he had fallen a couple times. For a trucker he wasn’t all that bad looking, and he didn’t seem all that old either. Maybe in his mid to late thirties. He walked calmly over to them, his bright blue eyes grazing over the girl and her predicament.“Everything’s fine.” The man holding her frowned. Although the trucker could obviously tell things weren’t ‘fine’. He turned his attention back to the girl as the man released his hold on her arm just to prove his point.“Are you alright?” He now asked. The girl’s eyes darted over to the other large man, still glaring at her before turning her gaze to the trucker, nodding briskly. “You weren’t hurt were you?” He questioned.“No but she’s about to be if she doesn’t give me back what she stole.” The other man threatened, his eyes flashing a warning. The trucker gave the two a look before once again returning his gaze over to the teenager.“I believe it would be best if you return this man’s belongings.” He advised calmly. Swallowing a little, the teen nodded and began to take everything out of her jacket, even taking it off to reveal the short sleeved shirt underneath, and shaking the jacket to prove nothing was left. The gas station owner picked up all the stolen items, which really was only about five things, before once again glowering at the girl.“Do you have a phone, because I’m calling the cops on this little thief.” He asked the trucker. His anger had died down but he wasn’t going to let her go yet.“I do not.” He replied. The gas station owner sighed.“You’re lucky kid,” He turned to her, “you’re off the hook this time. But if I catch you in my store again you’re asking for it.” He took a threatening step closer to her just to prove a point. The girl nodded vigorously.“Understood.” Her brows knitted together.“Good.” He nodded and was just about to turn away before he added a quick, “And next time, make sure to look across the road.” He gave her a dark look. He walked off then, mumbling under his breath something on the lines of, “Damn near gave me a heart attack.”She watched as the stalky man hopped over the short metal railing and into the ditch, heading back to the gas station not too far away. Turning back to the trucker, the girl gave him an up and down look. “Are you positive you sustained no injuries?” He asked, eye brows raised. She also raised a brow, though the face she made was at his formal speech.“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” She rubbed the back of her neck, looking away from him and to the tree line.“For what?” He asked, frowning now.“About running in front of your truck like that.” She glanced down at the ground in embarrassment at her stupidity before looking to him again. “Mothers give some good advice. Too bad I didn’t listen.”“You stole from that man?” He asked, changing the subject.“Yeah.” Her voice was shamed, but truthful.“Why?” He now asked. She frowned at his questions, as he was asking more than she would have liked from a stranger.“Doesn’t matter.” She pulled on her jacket again and slipped the straps of her back pack over her shoulders.“I believe a matter such as that does.” the trucker replied.“I needed some lunch.” The girl paused as she answered, her tone a bit annoyed but she hid it well. In actuality she just wanted to leave as soon as possible. “Oh?” The trucker shifted his stance.“Hey uh, don’t you have somewhere to be? You know, being a truck driver and all-“ She gestured to the truck, only to now realize it had no load. “… .Never mind.”“Actually I do.” He nodded. “But if you would like, I could grant you a short ride to your destination if you would wish, as a small apology for,” He paused, choosing his words before just letting it out with a bit of embarrassment in his tone. “-running you over.”Destination. … The word echoed through her head. Did she even have one? She knew she had to leave, but now that she thought about it, where was she going?“No thanks,” She shook her head. “Like I said before, mothers give sound advice, like don’t get in a car with strangers. This time I think I should listen better.”“Understandable” He nodded.“Just out of curiosity, where are you headed exactly?” She shifted her weight from foot to foot.“South west.” Finally came the curt answer. She didn’t like the way he paused to think about, it as he should have just known. His answer was vague as well, but she decided to take it. She was about to say her goodbye to the stranger but his eyes had darkened and he was now looking past her. Turning around to follow his gaze, she squinted at the object that was streaking across the sky. She only got a glimpse of it however before it disappeared behind the tree line.“We need to leave.” The trucker’s voice changed to a lower octave, telling the girl that something was obviously wrong. Tuning to look at his face, she found his expression was grave and serious as his eyes stayed trained on the sky.“We?” She repeated, making the man turn his gaze towards her now.“You are no longer safe. You must go.” His tone was dangerous. Before she could reply the drone came back. She stared it intensely, watching as it menacingly hovered around the air over them.The man glared at it, knowing what was about to come. She only just starred at him.“Come, hide in the trees, and only come out when I say so.” His eyes shifted to the forest that surrounded the freeway, ignoring her question. She waited as another fast moving car passed them, ignoring the semi on the side of the road and oblivious to the drone. She gave him one last strange look before darting over to the edge of the road, hopping over the guard rail and into the ditch before climbing out and ducking behind a tree. She didn’t question what he asked of her, the drone had already proved to her that something was bad was brewing. Poking out her head and eyes wide as she watched the man who was staring back at her with the same bright eyes before turning his gaze towards the object in the air.Something flashed underneath it and suddenly out of thin air a huge swirl of both greens and blues appears. The girl stared at it, wide eyed, trying to comprehend the mass of energy and light. It was beautiful and yet it seemed almost haunting. There was a shadowy figure, large and seething. Its imposing form was walking slowly through the portal until it become more visible. She gasped at what she saw, holding in a tight breath. It was large, very large, and it was a glistening blood red, its paint even slightly sparkled in the light of the sun. Metallic skin shined as well as it seemed to almost strut through the portal, a confident and cocky look over taking its face plates. Red eyes flashed to the truck, then to the man on the ground.“Well, well, what do we have here?” The robot sneered with a smirk, crossing its arms. “A lone leader without any backup?” The girl gawked up at the large robot from her crouched position behind the tree, a little unsure if any of this was even real. And she only questioned her sanity levels further when the man on the road vanished completely, leaving no trace of him left. It was an odd sight. Almost odder than the red robot, to just watch something that was once there, vanish. But soon she found out why as the semi began to shift and turn, building up on itself to make an entirely new shape. It stood, taller than the red robot. Its chin held high and its frame tense as it glared at the smaller robot with bright, glowing blue eyes, packed full of anger and annoyance. “Where’s your little friend? We saw you with it on Laserbeaks recording.” The flashy one glanced around lazily.“You know I will defeat you Knock Out. Stand down.” The new robot warned, his blue eyes flashing dangerously and a growl came to be in its words, the weight of his voice leaving no room for argument.“Oh no, I don’t doubt that, not at all.” Knock Out replied, hands raised in the air in fake submission. “But uh, who’s to say I can’t have a little fun and try?” He smirked, reaching behind his back and in a flash he had pulled out a long staff. Electricity course through it dangerously, zapping violently at the tip. “And-“ He lunged forwards, aiming the pod at the larger robot who swerved to side just in time. “Maybe I can defeat you with the help of a little company.”As if on que, another form stalked its way through the portal of swirling energy. He was massive, around the same size as the robot that as formerly the semi. His blue paint seemed a little rougher than the red ones as it didn’t glisten so much in the sun light. The large gun in his hands was poised to fire, ready to take aim on the former semi truck. His eyes held the same red glow to them as Knock Outs. He held his gaze with that of the semi’s as he thundered slowly towards the two, stopping a good distance away.“Optimus Prime,“ He spoke slowly, not quite a mock, but more like a resentful acknowledgement. “You’re looking better since the last time we met.” He carried on “Did you buff your paint, it seems a little too nice for my taste.” Now that was a mock as it was obvious that dirt and scratches covered the red and blue robots form. “Maybe I can help you out.” He growled, hoisting up the large gun and firing at Optimus.The Prime ducked, rolling away from the shots, only to end up at the end of Knock Outs prod. The red robot zapped the larger one, a devilish smirk painted clearly on his face. But reaching up, Optimus gripped the staff and yanked it out of Knock Outs servos, throwing it into the trees. The medic was about to chase after it, but a hard fist collided with the side of his face plates, knocking the red robot off balance. He staggered, reeling back with a cry.The Prime was given no break as the blue robot rushed at him with a battle cry, firing rapidly at him. Optimus ran out of the way and over towards the blue robot. The two collided. Heavy fists hit harder bodies as they lashed at each other. As they battled, the girl watched Knock Out shake his head, dizzy from the heavy blow he had taken. He shot a glare at the Primes back and ran over to the trees to fetch his prod. The girl held her breath as the large robot passed her, and she slid down against the tree to sit on the ground in hopes to hide herself better. She watched as his optics flashed across the forest floor, landing on the item he was looking for. He grabbed it out of the ferns and bushes before turning around, only to find the human instantly. Her frame gave a shudder as their eyes met and a sick smirk crawled onto his face as he stalked towards the girl.Standing up she tried to back away but he was already upon her. Turning around she was about to run, but was stopped by a deathly grip. She grunted painfully as she tried to pry his sharp digits open from around her.“Oh, and what do we have here?” He mused, recognizing her from their surveillance camera.“I wonder who this belongs to?” He wondered loudly and teasingly as he walked back out onto the road, successfully catching the attention of both his company and the Prime’s. Optimus’s optics widened just a tad at the sight of the girl in Knock Outs grasp, struggling against him with all her might.“Let go of me!” She shouted frustration, pounding her fist against him, angry and scared of all that was happening. But the robot ignored her as he continued to stare cockily at the Prime.“Hmm, I’ve always wondered just how far a human can stretch… .” With his other servo, he took her legs and began to pull just a little. Not a lot, only successfully making her rather uncomfortable. This was still enough to have Optimus running at him, fist high in the air and ready to sucker-punch the red robot. Knock Out dodged the blow, letting go of the girl as he tossed her in the air. She screamed as she fell, hitting the ground hard. She wasn’t hurt badly expect for a bruise on her side that would darken later and a few scrapes. For now the only thing she had going against her was that the wind had been knocked from her. She gasped for air as she sat up on the cold road, coughing.“Sorry to end the fun so soon, but we got to go.” Knockout’s voice paraded cheerfully as the blue robot ran into the portal. The medic smirked to the two before running though it himself, the swirling blue and green energy vapors disappearing behind him. Optimus stared after the two for a moment, knowing that they had probably only came through to see what condition he was in and find out if he was weak enough to be brought down, a mock attack.The girl stood, turning around to face the robot. She found he was back down in to his previous form of a semi.“What was that all about?” She glared as the trucker from once before as he appeared in front of her. “What are you?” She still was gasped for air, her eye brows furrowing together in confusion. He could only stared at her with deep regret before he sighed.“My apologies. I had not believed that you would become a part of this.” He shook his head.“Apart of what?” She asked, staring at the man that she knew wasn’t even human, or actually there for that matter.“Of war.” He frowned. “I will explain further, but now for your safety, I need you to come with me.” He told her.“Wait, wait, wait, I have to what?” The girl held up her hands and gave him an exasperated look. “I didn’t want to before, and that little show you put on didn’t help Mr.” She frowned at him, clearly unhappy about it.“It is for safety reasons. If you stay here alone, you are at risk of being attacked by the Decepticons.” She frowned at the term as a car passed and a brief thought crossed her mind that they were lucky nobody else saw the little scuffle that had taken place. She starred at the man, eyeing him before looking over to the truck and sighing.“Alright. Where are we going?” She asked, rubbing her temples, still comprehending it all.“My destination is Nevada.” He nodded to her.“Come again?” She blinked at him. “Nevada! That’s like, a million miles away.” She made a wild hand gesture to prove her point. And considering they were not too far away from New York, her resentment to the long road trip was understandable.“In a normal circumstance we would be able to ground bridge there instantly. But we have been experiencing technical difficulties with the bridge and at the moment as it is under repairs.” He closed his eyes for a moment as the agitating memory came back to him of when Bulkhead tripped and fell into the ground bridge portal right before he himself was going to go through, successfully shutting off the bridge, and leaving him to get back to Jasper on his own doings. On most occurrences if one was to fall in a ground bridge nothing would happen. But the heavy green Autobot had tripped just as he walked into the base, lading sideways in the delicate circuits that made the bridge to avoid stepping on Miko, who had been excitedly running around underfoot. While Optimus had been left on the other side, he was not the only one stranded.“Come, we must be going soon as possible. I am to randevu with a friend up ahead.” The man nodded to the girl now.“Wait, who’s your friend? There’s more of you?” The girl reeled a little.“Yes.” Was the curt reply. “Now,” He began and the man once again fizzling out of existence as the trucks driver’s side door opened up. “climb in.” The girl stared at the open door and blinked. She didn’t really want to go inside, but she sighed, knowing she really didn’t have much choice.“Alright.” She took a breath and walked towards the red and blue semi, climbing up the small steps and awkwardly sitting down in the large leather seat. She gazed about the interior and set her backpack in the passenger seat as the door closed and the seat belt snaked around her. She had never been in a semi before. It was strange.“What is your name?” The truck asked through the radio as its engine blared to life.“Rose. Delta Rose.” She let her eyes fall on to the steering wheel. “And yours is… .Prime?” She questioned as she had recalled one of the other robots referring to him as said name.“Optimus Prime.” The truck corrected as it pulled off the side of the high way and into a lane.“Oh. Well that’s a bit of a mouth full isn’t it?” Rose joked a little, trying to make her situation at least a little comfortable.“I suppose it is at times.” He replied with humor. She paused now, unsure of where the conversation would lead so she decided to change the subject.“So uh . … who made you exactly?” She tilted her head a little, looking at the funny little logo on the steering wheel of a metallic face. “Because I have to admit, even you seem a little advanced for Japan.”“I come from the planet Cybertron.” The semi answered easily.“Whoa wait, so you’re an alien?” Rose blinked in awe.“Yes. We are known as Cybertronian’s, split into two factions in means of war.” He proclaimed.“Factions. … So were those guys back there are the other side? What are the factions?” She asked, curiosity growing.“There are us Autobots who seek for a peaceful way to end this war, and there are the Decepticons, who seek for destruction.” He rumbled gravely.“So then why are you fighting here? I mean on Earth, why not your own planet?” She frowned. “Sorry if I’m asking a lot of questions.”“That is quite alright.” Optimus assured her. “We are here because our own planet had been left to a waste land, no longer livable. Our war had brought us here over time for various reasons.” Rose nodded now, but also a kind of pitied look came to her eyes along with understanding.“So who is it that we’re meeting exactly?” She gave a small cough, trying to not get to weirded out by everything that had just happened.“Smokescreen, one of my younger warriors.” The truck rumbled in reply. “We had split in search of Decepticons in the area. Although, it would seem they are all dispersed now.” He explained. “And we are to meet in the next town over.” Rose thought about what kind of car he would be. Her mind was picturing another semi.They drove in silence for a few minutes. Rose bit her lip though as she glanced at the dash board, and then the steering wheel as it turned to the next lane over. If she were to ask another question, she feared that it would become pesky to him. But the silence seemed thick in the air, something that didn’t feel right to her. Deciding that the quietness was becoming quite bothersome, she once again opened her mouth.“So if you’re in a war, what part do play?” She asked. “What I mean is, are you a spy? A soldier?” Rose further explained.“I am the leader of the Autobots.” the Prime confirmed.“Of the entire faction?” She asked with a blink.“Indeed.” She had a feeling that if he was in his other form, he might have given a curt nod by the sound of his voice.“Wow. Wait so, who’s the leader of the … .” She couldn’t quite remember the other sides name.“Megatron leads the Decepticons” He clarified for her. Rose nodded, her mind beginning to form a picture of it all. Rose paused now as her stomach gave a loud rumble. She hadn’t eaten since the day before and was really quite hungry. Upon hearing the girl’s distressed stomach, Optimus clicked open his glove compartment on the passenger side seat. The girl gazed over to the little compartment and blinked.“Inside I have a card. After we meet Smokescreen you can go buy something to eat.” Rose reached in to find a couple items actually. But ignored them all as she took hold of the credit card. She had never seen this kind before. Marked on it was some kind of military group and she frowned a little.“What kind of card is this?” Her eye brows knitted together, it was obvious it was a credit card, but from what company?“Our liaison, Special Agent William Fowler gave it to me for emergencies in case I should ever need to acquire something for myself, or for our human company.” He told her. Optimus remembered when the agent had given him the card. All the Autobots had one in a special thanks to Miko and a little incident she caused on one mission.“Human company?” Rose raised a brow.“Yes, we have taken it upon ourselves to care for three other children who have also gotten mixed in the cross fire.” He rumbled.“Really?” She blinked. “Three?”“They all live in the same area and were caught under the same circumstance.” Optimus explained their circumstances shortly.Now the drive was driven in a comfortable silence. Rose feeling that her nerves were put more to rest as she knew now that he was in fact assuring her safety. Although as they reached the town the quiet was once again interrupted but not by Rose, but the Prime.“I am sorry I did not bring this up earlier, it had seemed to slip from my processor, but would you like me to comm. link Agent Fowler and have him tell your family about the circumstances. Not necessarily ours, but a cover up?” He asked as they drove up to the first red light and stopped at the edge of the town.“No, no, I’m alright. There uh- on vacation anyways.” She gave him a reassuring smile.“What of school?” He questioned now. Her smile broke.“I can’t go to school for another-week.” Rose thought of a reasonable time with a small pause in-between her words. “I got … . Suspended.” She didn’t like her reply but it was the only reasonable answer she could come up with on the moment’s notice.“Really? For what might I ask?” The light turned green again and the trucks wheels began to turn. The girl paused, mind racing for excuses.“Fighting.” She said coolly. She most defiantly wasn’t a fighter, in fact she had never been in a fight, but the lie came out easily. The Prime hummed at this.“Very well.” He said, dismissing the idea of the agent calling anyone. Rose let out a quiet, relaxed breath. She had a feeling that sooner or later he would bring up this question. But for now, she was safe from the unwanted attention. She let her eyes gaze out at the town now, watching as the smaller buildings and shops passed by. Only what she didn’t know was that while she gazed out, someone was watching her.Optimus let his optics flicker from the road then back to the girl quite often. She was… strange. Her reaction to his previous questions he could tell had put her on edge. And he couldn’t help but think back to when she ran onto the road, in front of his speeding form as she tried to escape the man she had stolen from. He wondered what had driven her to become a thief and what had caused her to boldly run across a busy road such as that.He thought back to when she had taken off her jacket to show the man there was nothing left in it. She had been thin. She wasn’t that incredibly weightless, no she still had some pounds, but it was surprising to say the less. It was not what most children her age should have looked like. A layer of dirt seemed to cover the cover the girl, her hair was a little slick, like she had tried to rinse it out without any help from shampoo or conditioner. His mind had already begun to peace things together. And soon, he would find the answers to this odd human.Optimus glanced at her. Besides her rugged street appearance, she was average. Her golden blonde hair waved past her chest. Her height was tall compared to most human females, at what he could judge to be around five ten. Her eyes were dark brown and dull as she slowly gazed at nothing. There wasn’t anything special about her. She had no scars, no identifying marks at all. She just looked tired.Taking his gaze away from her, he had to focus on the task at hand. Silently without her hearing, he comm. linked Smokescreen, informing the young warrior that he would be at their destination in under a minute. With a conformation from the other bot that was already there, he signed off and let his gaze once again wonder over to the human inside of him as she gazed out of the window, nerves calmed down again as she seemed relatively at ease. Her hair fell messily around her face, and with a sweeping motion of her hand she draped it back behind her ear.He then looked her to the bag in the passenger seat. It was large as back packs go, holding enough items in it to keep her happy. He frowned at it, wondering what could be in the bag. It was filthy, just as she was. Tears and rips threatened to destroy it while all kinds of grit was lodged in-between its hard fabric.As they pulled into the parking lot of a safe way, his attention was switched to the sleek racing car in the back, sitting as far away from the other cars as possible. Carefully going through the car lanes, Optimus pulled up next to the white car with blue colored stripes. For most people it would have been an odd sight to see a semi-truck without a load at a grocery store, let alone that said semi was in the parking lot and not out back, but not many people were out and nobody really seemed to think anything of it.Smokescreen seemed ready to go, his engine rumbling in anticipation. Although he faltered as the Primes door swung open and out hopped Rose. The moment her feet touched the ground, Optimus’s holo form appeared at her side. He had a good eight inches on her. It made sense that since his robot form was so large, that his human form would be too. Smokescreen hesitated for a moment before suddenly another human appeared in front of Rose.He was young. Maybe just a couple years older than herself. He looked to be around twenty two or three. His hair was messy and dark. His shirt was black and tight, showing off his muscles underneath. Over it he wore a white jacket with blue markings. Nothing was written on it except for the little robot face on his jackets sleeve where his shoulder was. It was just like the one on Optimus’s steering wheel. She glanced at said mech’s hologram and looked him over again, finding he had the mark too. His insignia could be found on both of his shoulders and the belt buckle he wore.“Who’s the squirt?” The new hologram spoke with a raised eye brow. Rose frowned, but said nothing about the name he had called her.“Unfortunately she had been seen conversing with me and was caught in battle. She shall be traveling with us back to base.” The Prime replied, his voice sounding a little grave.“Conversing?” He glanced between the two.“Yes we had both seemed to be caught in the same accident and-“ Optimus stared but now Rose cut in.“He ran me over.” She said, nice and simple. Smokescreen blinked before a smile formed and soon accompanied by a laugh.“I’m gonna need to hear about that one later on.” He grinned. Rose offered a smile at him before Optimus’s spoke again.“Yes but for now if you still would like, you may get yourself something to eat.” He turned to Rose.“Oh yeah. Okay.” She nodded. Returning the gesture, the prime turned on foot and began to walk towards the store. Shuffling her feet, Rose was quick to follow a little surprised when Smokescreen also accompanied them.“Wait so uh … how are you doing that?” Rose frowned as they walked through the parking lot, her hands gesturing towards the human version of Optimus. Glancing to the girl he frowned.“I am afraid I do not fully understand your question.” He blinked.“I mean-uh-well-“ She tried to think of a way to put into words.“You mean our holo forms?” Smokescreen input with a raised brow.“Your what?” Rose made a face. Smokescreen gestured to himself.“Holo form. It’s like a hologram.” He explained.“If it’s a hologram, then how come I could feel Optimus?” She poked the Prime’s arm for good measure. He sent her a funny look, but she ignored it as she awaited Smokescreens answer.“Well you’re gonna have to ask doc bot about that one. He’s the one that designed them.” The young man shrugged.“Doc bot?” She blinked as they walked into the store.“Our chief medical advisor.” Optimus cut in.“Oh.” Rose gave a blink as they walked through the store. She paused though and watched as Smokescreen gazed about, a curious look on his face. “Is he coming?” Rose asked, tuning to Optimus who too was giving the young warrior a look.“Smokescreen-“ He began, but the second the name was called the young man turned to him instantly.“Sorry Optimus, I’ve just never been in a place like this … .” He rubbed the back of his neck.“A grocery store?” Rose did her best not to snort. To her it was almost unbelievable that someone could be filled with such wonder by a grocery store. But then again they were giant alien robots who for one, couldn’t even fit in a store or most human buildings. The mech gave her a shrug before letting his eyes wander again.“So this is where humans access food?” He questioned.“Most of the time.” Was Optimus’s reply.“Over here.” Rose gestured to the hot food section. Making her way over to it, she gazed out at the meals behind the glass, already able to smell their delightful scents. She knew that maybe what was in the glass probably wasn’t the best variety or brand of food, but it was good none the less. Picking out various things such as a chicken tender, a salad, mozzarella cheese sticks and a soda, she paid up front with the credit card Optimus gave her and smiled as she grabbed the bags of food and the soda.“Alright, I’m ready to-“ She began, turning around only to find that two were no longer there. Frowning she looked to the right and found them both standing in front of the vegetable section. Well Smokescreen was more or less the one that was actually staring at it while Optimus kept a close eye on the young man. Rose raised a brow as the sprinkling system turned on and rained down on the food products, the automatic thundering sound boomed from the speakers and Smokescreens eyes filled with delight.“Hey, isn’t this cool?” He laughed, looking to Optimus and Rose both.“Seriously?” Rose stepped up next to Optimus. “The sprinklers?” Smokescreen turned around again with a smile.“You humans just have everything don’t you?” He chuckled lightly. Rose laughed a little too, finding his delight in the simple sprinklers funny.“Alright, let’s get moving.” Optimus cut in, turning around as he began to walk out of the store.“So, you’re Smokescreen?” Rose asked as they followed the Prime. She had already begun to munch away on a piece of chicken as they made their way out of the store.“The one and only.” He grinned back to her. “And you’d be … .”“Delta Rose.” The blonde answered. “But just call me Rose.”“Well, looks like you’re stuck with us now.” He nudged her jokingly even though it probably wasn’t a good thing. Being caught in another planets war was defiantly not a good thing. But she smiled anyways. Realizing they were lagging behind, they both jogged back up to the Prime although as they reached the truck and racing car in the back, Smokescreen’s holo form disappeared, leaving Optimus and Rose.“After you have finished your meal, we will once again head out.” He gave her a curt nod.“Wait, what?” Smokescreens voice sounded from the speedy car as it gave a small rumble of its engine. “I mean, it’s getting pretty dark, can’t we rest for a bit?” He asked.“Time is of the essence and we must use as much of it as we can.” Optimus replied.“Says the bot who never recharges … .” The younger Autobot grumbled. Optimus shot him a stern glare and the white car seemed to reel back a little. “Sorry sir, I didn’t mean any disrespect.” He apologized. The semi behind Rose vented a little as the Primes holo form gave a sigh.“Alright, after we cover some more distance we will pull over and get some much needed rest.” He agreed.Rose took no time in inhaling her meal, feeling her stomach settle happily when she was done. She was glad that Optimus let her eat before they left as she didn’t really want to gobble up her food inside of the living truck. And she was sure that even though he hadn’t said anything, he too did not really want to have messy crumbs inside of his interior. Although when she tried to suck down her soda, she couldn’t manage to get the bubbly stuff in all at once and the Prime told that it was fine if she were to come inside with it as well.This time however, Rose decided to sit in the passenger seat and kicked her backpack to the floor before settling in, allowing the seat belt to wrap around her as the door closed. Taking a sip of her soda before putting it down in the cup holder, she watched as his holo form disappeared and the trucks engine blared to life before they all took off out of the parking lot and out of the small town and onto a highway.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The high way was relatively inactive in the late hour of the night. Few cars surrounded them and the closest one was perhaps a good thirty to forty meters ahead. Rose fought to keep her eyes open as she listened to hum of the semi. It was strange how quiet it was inside of the large truck because whenever she would drive by one they always seemed so loud. She was quite happy it was not so loud on the inside. It was more like a soft purr.Sleepily, Rose leaned her head on the window and glanced outside to find that she was not the only one who was fighting to stay awake. In fact it would seem someone was already asleep. With tired eyes she watched as the flashy thirty eight’s car began to drift off the road, slowly reeling to the side as it began to lag in speed. Although with a loud blasting honk from the semi’s horn, the car jerked back on the road, swerving a little as it jolted back into the lane. Smokescreen wasn’t the only one surprised by the blast. If it were not for the door, or the seatbelt, Rose was sure she would have fallen straight out of the truck as her frame jumped and her eyes snapped open fully.“I’m up!” Smokescreen shouted from outside and through the comm. link.“Ugh, so am I . . . .” Rose grumbled, sinking back into the seat as she grabbed the soda from the cup holder and took a sip, only to make a face when she found all the ice cubes had melted to give it a flat watery taste. She regretting her decision in buying it in the first place. She didn’t even like soda.“I apologize for the rude awakening.” Optimus said.“I think it’s about time we make that pull over or I’m gonna end up coasting off the side of a bridge.” Smokescreen gave a huff of humor.“Alright, we shall pull off at the next exit.” The Prime agreed. Rose sighed, letting her head thump back against the seat. She felt as if her eyes would never close again as her heart was still pumping from the crude and sudden noise that woke her.“Hey but, do you think we could go for a stretch first?” Smokescreen comm. linked. “I’m feeling pretty stiff, and I’m sure that all these trees will hide us just fine. Not to mention that most of the humans are tucked away in bed so there won’t be so many prying eyes.”“I suppose it would not hurt to regain ourselves.” Optimus agreed. Rose glanced out at the race car. She already knew what Optimus looked like in his bipedal mode, but now she had to wonder what Smokescreen’s features would be.The exit came faster than anticipated and soon they were pulling off into yet another district. The area wasn’t a town per say, it was more of a slum. There were a few duplexes here and there, but mostly it was just old restaurants for visiting highway travelers. There were inexpensive health care offices, a randomly placed grocery store or two, house furnishing stores and more. It was a shopping place really, and not a very good one. All the buildings were old and quite a few were empty. The housing was horrible and rather unorganized and the whole place seemed kind of hopeless.“Do we have to spend the night here?” Rose sunk into the seat until only the top of her head could be seen out of the window.“I regret to inform you that the next exit is twenty miles away.” Optimus replied as his holo form fizzled into existence in the driver’s seat.“Why turn that on now?” Rose asked with a blink, still hunched in the cushiony seat.“There are more people likely to see us in this area than on the highway and I believe most would find it quite odd to see a driverless vehicle.” He offered her a slight smile through the hologram.“Yeah I guess that would be pretty weird. I’m still a freaked out about it.” She returned the expression. “But hey, won’t your tinted windows help?” She sat back up now.“Yes but there are still precautions.” He nodded.They drove in silence again as they all headed towards the woods so the Cybertronian’s could get in a good stretch before taking their rests. Rose watched as slowly the town began to fade away into nothing but trees. After a couple miles in they scanned the area to make sure no other humans were within range before stopping at the side of the road. Optimus opened his door, allowing the girl to hop out with her back pack in hand. Feet hitting the ground, she distanced herself form the two vehicles before sucking in a breath as she realized she forgot something.“Wait, I forgot my-“ She turned around to find that the Prime and warrior were already both transforming up into their larger selves. “Soda . . . .” She bit her lip, letting her hand fall to her side. Optimus stopped for a moment, parts of his chest shifted and he retched in, grabbing a small paper cup. A small crushed paper cup. “Oops?” Rose gave a nervous smile.“No harm done.” He reassured her. Rose gazed up at the robot. This was really her first good look at him as he stood still and tall. But she was quickly pulled away from the Prime as she watched the smaller robot beside him do yoga stretches.“Whoo! Feels good to roll the old shoulders.” He laughed, doing said motion as he gave a sideways glance over to Optimus who too seemed a little stiff as he moved his arms in a small stretch as well.“Yes, I agree it is nice to take a break from driving.” The Prime replied. Smokescreens optics flashed down to Rose and she starred right back at him. It was mesmerizing really, to look in the glowing blue orbs of the Cybertronian’s. Her gaze shifted to Optimus’s lights and took note that they were a little different from Smokescreens. It was pretty the way they lit up the dark night air around them.Smokescreen knelt down and poked the girl in the stomach much to her surprise. “How ‘bout we take a walk before we hit they hay, huh?” He smiled, asking both the human and his leader.“I’m up for it, still feeling awake after Optimus blew my ears out.” She gave a small laugh. She felt at ease for some reason. Scared by the huge robots, but also at ease by them. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Now they both looked to Optimus for approval.“I believe it would be good for us all” He agreed. They had been driving for hours, a walk would do them all good. She watched as Optimus now knelt down some, holding out is servo, palm side up and let it hover just a few feet about the ground in front of her as Smokescreen stood up again fully and began to step into the trees. Rose starred at the hand for a moment, uncomprehending it until it clicked. He wanted her to get on. Biting her lip, she hesitated a moment. It was one thing to be caught by him, but to he held? She thought back to when Knockout had clutched her, the way his digits clutched around her tightly, choking her, suffocating her. She shook that away, Optimus wouldn’t squeeze her that hard, would he? Well she was about to find out as she found herself moving towards his hand, sitting in his palm and waiting for his metal fingers to embrace her.But they didn’t. She was simply lifted into the air. Butterfly’s filled her stomach at the sudden movement upwards and she gripped his thumb that had moved over her lap. Realizing she had closed her eyes shut, she forced them open and watched as he brought his hand up to his shoulder, letting her slide of his palm and on to him. She gripped the pipes and metal that surrounded her as he began to move forwards after Smokescreen. Much to her surprise though, he moved smoothly, not at all like the robotic movements she had been expecting.As she looked down to the ground below, remembering the last time she sat at the edge of something so tall.
The lights of the city filled her gaze, glittering in and endless glow. A cold wind blew on her face as she sat on the top of the high building, her knees brought up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs. There would be no stars that night as clouds blocked the dark sky. She could hear the angry voicing of her beloved family in the back round, muffled by the closed glass screen door. But she ignored them as she held her gaze on the city that seemed to breathe. A soft click was heard as the glass door slid open and for a moment the shouts inside the home could be heard clearly before the door closed again.
Soft feet padded up next to her as the muffled yelling continued until they stopped at her side. She didn’t look up though, she already knew who it was as the person sat down next to her. They sat in silence for a moment, just looking at the ground below them, at the city, at everything. They didn’t need to say anything to each other as they gazed out. No words were necessary. So instead, Rose leaned her small child form on the other person that made up her older brother. His arm wrapped around her in a protective embrace that told the young girl that everything would be alright, that he would always be there. A silent promise he would make to her. Only, one day, he would break that promise.
Rose was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as Optimus turned his head towards her, his voice breaking her memories as she looked up from the ground and at him.“Might I ask, where are your parents exactly? You said they were on a business trip.” He asked.“Huh?” Rose frowned before remembering the fib she had told him. “Oh! Yeah, they’re in Colorado.” She told him.“The mile high City?” Smokescreen asked.“No, that’s Denver. That’s in Colorado. Colorado itself is a State, not a city” Rose explained.“Whatever, same thing right?” The younger bot gave a dismissive wave of his hand. Rose gave him a look before also dismissing the topic with a sigh. The Autobots walked through the trees for a bit, Smokescreen making the most out of his stretch as Optimus just mainly kept an eye on the young Solider. Most would consider the dark woods a scary place, a place you would not want to venture it, but it was home to Rose. She may have been born in the city but she was a small town girl at heart.“Whoo, well I’m just about ready to get some shut eye.” Smokescreen announced. Rose yawned, once again feeling the effects of sleep take over her.“Yeah, I think I’m ready too.” She agreed. Optimus nodded, lifting his hand up to his shoulder and allowing the girl to slide into his palm. They would be able to walk faster if he did not have to worry about balancing the girl on his shoulder. His fingers curled a little to make a wall like barrier between her and falling. Her legs dangled off the side of his hand as she hugged his thumb as they began to walk.“So, how long do you think it will take until we reach the Base?” She asked.“Week and a half, tops.” Smokescreen answered before the Prime could.“That is unless Ratchet fixes the ground bridge first.” Optimus intervened.“Wait, what if the Decepticons follow us there?” A thought came to the young warrior.“Ratchet is still tracking our signals back at base. If there are Decepticons following us, he will inform us.” Optimus reassured the mech.“But wait, how come he didn’t warm you about the drone?” Rose asked, looking up at the large bot from her perch in his hand.“It would be most likely because he was not tracking me for very long and in that short time, Ratchet may have been doing other tasks.” He replied. Rose made a small ‘oh’ sound before she looked out at the forest again. As they began to make it back towards the road, a soft laugh from Smokescreen was heard, making Rose and Optimus turn their heads towards him.“I can just imagine Ratchets face when we get back.” He laughed. “He’s gonna have the biggest scowl when he sees pipsqueak here.” He tried not to smile as he did an impression, “Frag it, Prime! Another human? Isn’t three enough already!” He waved his fist in the air as he lowered his vocals to make himself sound a bit older before laughing again.“While Ratchet may not show it, he cares a great deal for our companions.” Optimus replied.“Huh, well you’re right about how he sure doesn’t show it.” Smokescreen grinned as they stepped onto the road. Setting Rose down, Optimus transformed down into his semi form, opening the door and allowing the girl to climb in. Setting her back pack on the floor, she was about to situate herself in the seat, but Optimus stopped her.“If you would prefer, I have a bed in the back.” He offered. Glancing over her shoulder, the girl blinked at the small room in the back of the semi.“Alright, thanks.” She gave a light hearted smile and climbed to the back, moving onto the bed as Optimus’s holo form fizzled into existence in the driver’s seat. Rose glanced at the blankets and pillows on the bed, poking them. They felt real, but she knew better.“Are these blankets holograms too?” She asked, glancing over the trucker.“Yes.” He glanced at her as the blankets and pillows disappeared for a moment, before fading back into existence. Rose smiled, finding it fascinating.She lay on top of them, head rested against the pillow as she looked up at the semi’s ceiling. As the truck blared to life, she glanced out at the hologram driver. Thirty five. That was her age conclusion to him. That’s what he looked to be. Although, maybe the stress lines were getting to him, maybe he could be a little younger… No, no, she was sure he was thirty five. Although, while the hologram looked to be that way, she had to wonder what his real age was…“Hey, sorry if this seems like a rude question, but how old are you?” She asked, propping herself up on one elbow. The man glanced over his shoulder at her for a moment, thought in his gaze.“A Cybertronian’s life cycle is much longer than that of a humans and I am afraid I do not remember my exact age.” He replied.“What, you don’t have it in some memory file?” She raised a humored brow.“I suppose it’s in one” There was a moment’s pause before he spoke again. “In human terms, you could categorize me in the mid-thirties.”“Ha! Knew it!” Rose laughed, which made the Prime give her a funny look. “I mean uh-that’s what I had guessed….” Her eyes wandered to the floor before darting back up to him, then at the wall.“And may ask of your age?” He asked as they drove into the district.“What’s the date?” Rose asked.“April fifteenth.” He answered. Rose blinked.“Already? Huh, well, in a matter of days I’ll be a full-fledged adult.” She laid her head back down on the pillow, arms behind her head.“You are turning the age of eighteen?” He assumed.“Yes.” She said with a lack of enthusiasm. They parked behind an old building compound. Although, the semi didn’t turn off completely as he left his heaters on for the girl in the back. She lazily watched as his holoform dissipated, leaving her alone. Well, not alone, but it felt like it to her though she knew better. She knew she wasn’t alone. Optimus was still there, and she was inside of him. She tried not to think of how weird or creepy that was. And she tried not to think of how he could be watching her while she slept.Kicking off her shoes, she slipped under the thick, real feeling hologram covers and rest her head on the hologram pillow. How weird it was, that she was surrounded by life like holograms. But then again, everything about the day had been weird.“Good night, Optimus.” She breathed as she melted into the bed.“And to you as well.” The semi rumbled. Rose let her eyes fall and her mind wander as she drifted off to sleep, allowing the night to carry her away.Eyes snapped open as she gave a slight gasp. It was just a dream. A strange, scary, haunting dream. But a dream none the less. As her nerves calmed down she slowly looked around the cab to find that it was lit with the light that emanated outside. A low hum filled the air and she felt the semi rattle. They were on the highway again. Sitting up, Rose stretched before deciding it wasn’t worth it to just move over to the passenger seat so she flopped back down onto the bed, her head hitting the soft pillow.From the driver seat, Optimus’s holo form turned his head towards her for a brief moment before retuning his gaze to the road.“Good morning.” He greeted coolly.“What time is it?” Rose asked, rubbing her eyes.“Nine forty three.” The Prime replied.“Mornin’ pip squeak!” Smokescreens cheery voice filled the cab as he comm linked them.“How does he know I’m up?” Rose frowned.“My apologies, it seems as though I have left my comm link open.” Optimus admitted.“Hey, in a couple of exits I read that there’s a few restaurants. How about we take a break there and let the human eat?” The young mech suggested, his voice coming out of the semi’s radio system.“Wait, how long have you guys been traveling?” Rose asked with a furrowed brow.“We left at five.” Optimus answered.“Five! But- we had gotten there at one in the morning! That would give you four hours of sleep, or-er-whatever it is robot cars do.” She sat up again, propping herself against her elbow as she gave an incredulous look to the Prime.“Time is short.” Was the only reply.“Alright, let’s take up Smokie’s idea and grab a bite, if only to let you guys relax. I don’t want to see speedster here drifting off again.” The race car made a small noise as if he was about to say something before stopping himself and grumbled away into the comm link. This sent a sure smile to Rose’s face. As she pulled herself out of the bed and put her shoes back on, she glanced up at the hologram before looking at the rest of the truck that really made up the alien. And as she crawled up to the passenger seat, she had to hide a smile as the seat molded to her form perfectly, making the worlds comfiest chair. She couldn’t hide the smile as she sunk into the seat. Yes, she found herself quite liking these Cybertronian’s.Looking out the window and at Smokescreen, she caught a glimpse of his holo form pretending to drive him. The holograms eyes caught hers for just a moment and he flashed a grin at her as he revved his engine a couple times at her in good humor. Rose laughed a little at this before turning her gaze away from the race car and letting her eyes graze over the cab again, still finding it odd to be inside of a semi. She was so used to seeing them from an outside view, but had never really thought about what they looked like on the inside which while it was similar to that of any car, it was also much different at the same time.“So, who are the others?” Rose asked after a couple minutes of silence. The hologram turned its head towards her and blinked. “Autobots, I mean. How many of there are you?” She rephrased.“Currently, there are seven of us located on earth.” He replied. “There is myself and Smokescreen, while back at our base we have stationed four others.”“That makes six.” Rose frowned.“We have another, Wheeljack, but at the moment he is underway in exploring your planet.” The Prime explained.“And what about the humans? You said there were a few.” Rose pressed.“Yes, Jack, Miko and Rafael are under our protection as each has been assigned a separate guardian.” The blue haired man nodded as he pulled on his blinkers to move into the lane in which the next exit pulled off into.“Guardian?” The girl repeated.“Each human is enforced one Autobot to protect them. You will get one too when we arrive at Base.” He reassured her. Rose nodded her head in understanding just as Smokescreen commed them again.“How about this place?” He asked as they came up to a breakfast house. Rose scanned the small diner with her eyes before giving an approving nod.“Alright.” She agreed. As they parked, Rose hopped out of the semi and walked into the restaurant, the two holograms of Optimus and Smokescreen following her. As they were situated at a table, Smokescreen let his eyes wander around the place just as he had done in the grocery store. Although, before they sat down, Rose excused herself to the bathroom. After doing what she needed to do, the girl washed her hands and was about to go back out to the others when she saw herself in the mirror.She wasn’t really entirely sure if it was her.The girl in the reflection was a mess. Dirt covered the poor thing, a small scrape with dried blood was seen on her cheek. The girls hands, even after having washed all the dirt and blood left over from falling on the cement to avoid being hit by the semi, were still dirty. Or, was that just a bruise? The girl’s eyes were ghostly, hollow almost. Haunted. But, that wasn’t what she felt like on the inside, was it? No, no, she was sure it wasn’t that.With a sigh, Rose ran a hand through her hair only to retract in disgust at the oily feeling that coated it. Shaking her head, she moved back to the sink again, dumping more soap in her hand after turning on the water and scrubbing away at her face, watching off the dirt, grime and blood. She would not wash her hair in the old public bathroom, but for now she could at least wipe away the filth from her face.Ripping out some paper towel from the dispenser, she whipped away the wet water and soap from her face and blinked at the image in the mirror. It looked a little more like herself. But it was still so far away….Rose gave a deep breath, tossing the paper towel in the trash before pushing the bathroom door open and walking back into the diner. Making her way back to the booth, she slid next to Optimus and glanced over to Smokescreen as he read through a menu.“You’re not actually planning on ordering anything, right?” She raised a brow at the hologram.“No. I was just curious as to what kind of things you humans eat.” He replied, gazing at the menu for a moments more before setting it down. Picking up her own menu, Rose grazed over the different selections they had.“So what do you guys eat anyways? I mean, uh- if you eat anything at all . . .” Rose forced her eyes off the menu as she looked up at Optimus who was watching her intently.“Energon is our life source.” He answered.“Ener-what?” She blinked.“It’s blue.” Added Smokescreen.“I really feel like I know what it is now.” Rose gave the young man a flat look as he held his hands up in defeat. She turned her wandering eyes back over to Optimus before glancing out the large window by their table and at the semi sitting out in the back of the parking lot. She blinked at it before letting her eyes wander back to the hologram. It was strange to know that the truck was alive and not just another piece of machinery. To know that aliens were hiding among them in plain sight. Literally.“Hi, are you all ready to order?” A voice distracted Rose from her thoughts and turning her head around she smiled up at the young woman that stood by their table, pen and paper out, ready to take their order.“Yeah, can I have the ham and cheese omelet please?” She set down her menu.“Sure thing sugar, anything to drink with that?” The waitress asked, scribbling down her order.“A water please.” Rose requested.“Alright, and the omelet comes with a side of bacon or sausage . . .”“Bacon.” The teenager decided. The woman smiled before turning to Optimus and Smokescreen, waiting for their orders.“We won’t be having anything today.” Optimus spoke first with a slight nod.“Alright, well your order will be done in a jiff.” The waitress turned to Rose once more as she took their menus and then walked off to the next table. Rose tapped her fingers on the table as she glanced back up to Optimus and Smokescreen only to frown. If she didn’t know better, she would have said they were having a conversation. Their eyes were locked onto each other’s as expressions changed now and then. But no words were shared. Their mouths were not moving. Although, little to her knowledge, they were in fact talking.“Optimus, are you absolutely certain it’s safe to drive back to base?” Smokescreen questioned over their private comm. “I mean, you said it yourself, the Decepticons are following us. They know we are cut off from the others. They’re probably watching right now!” He insisted.“While I do not doubt our enemy knows of our current whereabouts, I believe that we will be able to lose them in time. As long as Ratchet is hiding our signatures, we shall be safe. Our only problem is the chances of being followed, which at the moment, we are.” The Prime stated. Smokescreen frowned, glancing out at their true forms before returning his gaze back to his leader.“We can’t risk it. Not while they’re still hot on our tails. And who knows if we’ll be able to ditch Soundwave’s little minion?” He argued. “And the girl, she will only drag us down in our attempts if anything. I mean, do we really need to add another human to our ranks? Three is already a handful, are you certain the Decepticons will really target her?” Smokescreen glanced over to the blonde as she sat still, trying her best not to fidget as she eagerly awaited the omelet.“If we were to leave her, the Decepticons are sure to use her against us as they were lead to believe she had ties to me.” The Prime nodded solemnly.“She’s a liability.” Smokescreen pressed further. “And that’s the last thing we need right now.” Optimus gave the younger mech a stern look now. Smokescreen winced now, regretting his words. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I have any problem with her, she seems alright for a human, it’s just that . . . I don’t know, well, I do,” He shook his head with a sigh. “If the cons show their ugly mugs again we could be very well out matched. Who knows how many old Meg’s will send after us? And with Rose in the cross fire . . .” Optimus gave him an understanding look.“I will do my best to ensure no harm is to come to our road side companion. We both will.” The Prime vowed.“Hey, I don’t mean to interrupt your staring contest, but I just have one more question” The soon to be adult spoke up, setting her elbows on the table as she glanced between the two of them. “How long can you guys go without eating? Fueling up? I’m confused, is this energon stuff something you chew or drink, or whatever . . . Your last description of it wasn’t all too clear”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Optimus and Smokescreen shared a look. That was something that had seemed to slip both of their processors.“My tanks are feeling a little empty . . .” Smokescreen admitted. Optimus put on a thoughtful, yet serious face now.“To answer your question, on average a Cybertronian go eleven earth days without nourishment.” He informed the girl.“More than me.” She shrugged.Smokescreen frowned. “Do you think we will be back at base by then?” He asked. Optimus nodded. Rose opened her mouth to say more, but stopped herself short as a hot plate was being set in front of her.“There you go, hun.” The waitress smiled. The two exchanged a few words before the worker left the girl to eat.Rose finished her meal quickly, and left no scraps behind. And after paying with the card Optimus gave her, the trio left in no time at all. For some time the journey was quiet as Optimus kept to himself, dwelling on Smokescreens words. Rose on the other hand was feeling too full to talk, and regretting that she eaten the whole plate.“It’s the sixteenth today right?” Rose asked suddenly.“Yes.” Optimus turned on his holo form and nodded.“May I ask the date of when are you are to be eighteen?” Optimus asked now.“It’s on the nineteenth.” The girl replied as she rummaged around in her back pack, pulling out a small wrapped box with a red ribbon tied to the top. She starred at it, twirling it around. It was no larger than the palm of her hand. The hologram starred at it intently. “This is just one of the many things I’m looking forward to on that day.” A somewhat distant smile crossed her face as her eyes kept a firm grip on the box.-O-The man paced in the small motel room. He felt trapped, he felt like he could hardly breathe. He stopped, trying to compose himself. He rocked back and forth for a minute. His gut was twisting more and more with each passing moment. He knew he could be caught, he knew they closing in on him. It had been nearly a month already, this was already taking so long. He rocked harder, biting his nails. He needed to find her, but he was like a dog chasing a car, he didn’t know what he would do once he did. He had saved her hadn’t he? He thought he did at least. In his mind he was the hero. Then why did she run away? A voice sneered at him. He shook his head.“She was scared.” He said aloud to no one. “She didn’t know any better.”
She hurt you.
“I’ll hurt her!” He yelled back with anger.He grabbed the television remote, turning it on as to drown out the voice. He sat down on the edge of the bed and rocked some more. He was conflicted. He felt like he was double crossing himself. He didn’t know which side of himself to follow.On the news was a girl in a black hoodie, stuffing items in her jacket before bolting out the gas station doors as the worker there began to catch on to what she was doing. And for a brief moment, part of the girls face was visible beneath the hood. It was fuzzy and blurred, but it was there. And he knew just who it was.-O-Rose spun the small box with her fingers before gripping it in her palm. Optimus watched as she did this, no longer paying attention to the road but purely on the small box and the girl. A frown had begun to creep on his face as his eyes darted up to meet that of the girls.“What is it?” He questioned.“A gift.” Rose’s smile was a little sad as she glanced back to the little box. But suddenly she placed it back into the bag. “My grandmother gave it to me nine months ago. She said to me, ‘Rose, don’t open this until you’re eighteen.’ Of course, she has dementia and thought my birthday was the next day.” She laughed a little. “But I kept my promise anyways. I still haven’t opened it.” Rose had actually forgotten that she had it in the bag at all for the longest time. It was only after she hit the road that she had found it again underneath her clothes. She rolled it around her hands a little longer, tempted to open it right then though as her eyes pulled away from it she let out a scream.“Optimus!” She yelled with a gasp, her body instinctively locking. Looking up, the holoform quickly disappeared as the semi revved back onto the road with a long blare of its horn. The Prime had been so focused on the teenager and her little box that he had begun to drift off the road. As he mellowed back into the lane, the Prime vented and sank to his axels. Rose on the other hand was having a tougher time trying to relax as she clung to the seat, her heart leaping out of her chest with every beat.Although it would seem her nerves would never be put to piece as the semi suddenly began to shift lanes all the way to the left, Smokescreen following right behind him as they pulled off to the next exit.“Hey, where are we going?” Rose asked as she put away the small box and glanced out the window to catch a glimpse of the flashy thirty eights car. Although it wasn’t Optimus who replied.“Laserbeak just decided to show his ugly mug” Smokescreen commed. Rose thought for a moment, trying to remember who that was until she recalled the strange metal bird that had been following them around.“Wait, does that mean that Decepticons are going to make another début?” Rose asked worriedly.“I fear it so.” Optimus replied with an edge to his voice.The two Autobots quickly passed by the town they had pulled off to and headed to the dense forest in hopes to evade the flyers ever watchful eye. But it would be to no avail as the large metal contraption once again whizzed overhead, just visible among the thick trees. Rose leaned forwards, trying to get a better view of the sky from behind Optimus’s windshield but was unable to see the little Decepticon drone.As the semi and race car began to gain more and more speed, traveling down the empty road and after a few minutes Optimus came to a rather fast stop. Rose, who was not wearing a seat belt, instantly flew forwards with a yelp. Hitting the dash board before sliding numbly back into her seat with a scowl.“Thanks for the warning.” The teen grumbled.“My apologies.”“So, why are we stopping anyways?” Her question was replied with an open door. Rose grabbed her bag and hopped out of the semi, looking up at the sky in search for the flying metal bird. She only saw a clear sky beyond the branches of trees. Turning her gaze back to Optimus, she watched as he transformed by her side.The girl stared up at the Prime from the bottom of his foot, taking in his massive form not for first time. Peering over his large chest, Optimus looked down at the girl as he shifted his feet, making the girl take a responsive step back. In the corner of her eye she noticed Smokescreen transforming too, but missed the grand sight as she turned to look at his direction just a tad too late. Walking around the girl with care, Optimus made his way over to Smokescreen.“I fear your assumptions were correct.” The Prime began gravely. “We are no longer safe to travel directly to base. For now though, our best chances to evade Laserbeak is to travel into the forest in hopes that the scenery can hide us.” Rose frowned at his words, glanced over to the woods that surrounded them. This was not like the previous forest they had strolled through, no, this place was much denser. The trees were outlined close together and the ground covered it bushes, thorns, and ferns. The ground was not flat but bumpy and held many small, but steep cliffs and edges.Rose walked over from behind Optimus and between his legs, making her stand by his right foot and knocking on it with the side of her fist a couple times to get his attention. Peering over his chest once again, but careful not to move his feet, the Prime looked down at the girl.“Wait, so were going to go in there?” She gestured to forest.“Yes.” He nodded.“It’s so dense, are you sure you guys will be able to walk through it?” She adjusted the strap of her backpack. Optimus and Smokescreen both glanced at the flourishing plant life.“It’ll take a bit of stealth . . .” The younger mech rubbed the back of his neck, a very human habit he had picked up from Jack.“It is our only option.” Optimus admitted.“All you’ll be doing is making a new hikers trail.” She said, but then after a moment sighed. “I guess it’s worth a shot.” She added with a curt nod of agreement. The Prime stepped off the road and into the forest, Smokescreen gave a glace down to Rose before following his leader. Rose was quick to hop off the road and head after them, not wanting to be left behind. She trotted up to the two robots. Although not moments after they began to walk did Smokescreen already knock down a tree. He made a small noise as he tried to catch the falling tree, but missed it clumsily and the tree hit the ground with a thump. Rose gave him a look as the mech recovered from the small dilemma.He began to follow Optimus once more but this time he moved his frame sideways so he could wear through the trees as the Prime was doing. Rose ran up to catch up with them once more, slowing down to a brisk walk when she reached them. She nearly tripped a couple times over roots and ferns and a thorn bush snagged at her back pack but she ripped it away forcefully.They walked for a while, Rose continuing to do her funny little skip hop to keep up with the Autobots quicker pace. Smokescreen ended up felling a few more trees as did Optimus, one of which landed closer to Rose than she would have liked, although no harm was done and she brushed it off.“I don’t think our plan is working . . .” Smokescreen finally broke the silence that had filled the three of them.“This was a plan?” Rose stopped walking to give him a raised brow. Smokescreen glanced down at the girl with a flat look before turning his head up to the sky again.“Decepticreep is still hot on our trails, just saw him fly by a moment ago.” The young warrior reported.“And he isn’t alone.” Optimus’s face mask suddenly slid into place. Looking around the Prime, Rose watched with wide eyes as a ground bridge opened up.“Are we going to get a visit from them every day?” She said aloud, although immediately shut up as she watched the robots pour out of the swirling vortex. At least fifteen purple robots ran out, already shooting at them. And then came the two that had helped to get Rose caught up in this mess just the previous day. The larger blue robot hefted his large gun up, aiming it at the Prime while the red ones glowing eyes locked on the girl. Optimus instantly looked over to Rose who was already backing up into the forest, eyes wide with fear.“Run! We will find you after!” Optimus shouted at her as the battle began, Smokescreen diving into the purple robots. Nodding vigorously, Rose turned on her heel and began to kick her feet high in the hair. She jumped over the undergrowth of the forest and tried her best to avoid the branches that seemed to come at her from every angle. Suddenly red covered her vision and looking up she saw the red Decepticon from yesterday was towering over her.“My, my, my, fancy meeting you here.” He smirked. Rose sucked in a tight breath, eyes darting around wildly before she veered to the left, bolting deeper into the forest. The noise of the battle began to fade from her ears, but the thunderous footsteps of the machine perusing her still rung clear. Daring to glance over her shoulder, she only found herself running faster away from the sight of the red con knocking trees aside to reach her faster. Her back pack thumped against her and she wished ever so much to just let it drop to the floor and to be free of its burden, but she would not give up her bag. It had everything she needed in it. All of her worldly possessions…The sounds of war were no longer audible to her ears, now it was just the rush of the wind and the predator that followed. Her heart pounded against her chest, harder than she ever thought it had before. But not because she was tired, no, it was rushed with fear. And that’s what kept her going. Leaping into the air as she jumped over a branch, Rose prepared to land on the ground once more but was not so lucky. Instead of feeling ground, a falling sensation tingled her senses and for a moment she was weightless. Then, the ground hit her. She tumbled down the steep hill. Crashing through ferns and thorns, hitting rocks and roots. Only when she slammed into a tree did she stop rolling.The wind escaped her lungs, leaving her breathless as she tried to regain her composure. But she didn’t spare the time for that because the moment everything stopped spinning, she was up on her feet again, rushing away once more and just in time too as the large robot came crashing down after her. It would seem he was also unprepared for the steep decline. Although, when he hit the tree he didn’t stop, instead the flimsy bark snapped in two. Rose didn’t dwell on this and continued to run away from the sight, gaining as much distance between her and the Knock Out as possible.Her eyes flickered around, looking for a place to hide because if she was going to, now was her chance when she still had enough ground between her and her pursuer. The most promising thing she spotted was a rocky cliff about a hundred yards away. At the top, more forest was laid out, and while she knew she wouldn’t be able to climb the cliff, there might be a chance there was a crevice she could hide in.With a new found determination, Rose made a bee line for the cliff. Her eyes already wandering up and downs its edges until she spotted a gap not too far away from where she was. It was a fairly large opening, a little less than fifteen feet tall. A brief thought came to her mind that the ‘Con would be able to get to her if she hid it the opening, but she pushed that thought aside. Scurrying into the cave like hole, she took note that it really was cave. Not a large one, but it was large enough for the Decepticon to get in if he were to crouch a little. But she took her chances anyways.Just as she ducked into the rocky, bolder filled cave did she hear Knock Out walking outside. She knew he was searching for her now considering he was not making a ruckus out of chasing her relentlessly.“Come out come out where ever you are . . .” He called out with a purr. It was a game. That’s what it was to the sick mech. A game. As he came into view he slowly stopped in front of the cave. Rose held her breath, waiting for his next move. And then he made it. In a flash, he was crouching down, starring down at her with glowing red optics. “Found you.” A twisted grin found its way onto his features as he tilted his head ever so slightly, reaching his sharp pointed hand towards her menacingly. Rose shook her head, backing up a little. She caught a glimpse of the mech resting his other servo on the side of the cave as he reached further in to snatch her. As he let his weight on to the rocks, one of them shifted and suddenly everything started to fall apart.Rose didn’t even time to duck, the boulders were showering down and the last thing she heard was the pained yelp of the Cybertronian.
-O-
Optimus let his shoulders relax as his sword retracted and his mask slid away from his face. They had managed to fend off the attack, leaving eight Vehicons dead while the rest retreated along with Dreadwing. The small battles may have seemed pointless, but they were meant to wear the Autobots out slowly.Smokescreen gazed at the gruesome remains of what was left of the aftermath. A frown melted deep on his face plates as his optics grazed over everything.“Where’s Rose?” He asked. Now Optimus frowned.“I instructed her to run before she could get involved.” Optimus informed the soldier.Smokescreen jerked his head over to the path of toppled over trees. “Well I’d say she’s well involved.”
-O-
A soft groan escaped her lips as consciousness slowly started to fade back into her. Everything hurt. Her head was pounding, her limps were sore from running and she felt like an entire mountain had just fallen on her.Her eyes snapped open at that last thought as she recalled the previous events. A mountain did fall on her. Sitting up Rose rubbed her head and blinked only to find that she couldn’t see anything. She blinked again, rubbing her eyes with panic.“Fuck-“ She hissed under her breath. “fuck, Fuck FUCK” more panic fluttered through her. “I-I can’t see!” She gasped.“Will you shut up! You can see just fine, were in a cave!” A voice suddenly snapped at her. Freezing, a shiver ran down her spine and turning her head, she caught sight of a pair of two bright glowing red eyes. But that was the only thing she could see. Instantly she reeled back, away from the eyes until her back hit the wall behind her.“What’s happening?” She gasped. “Why is it so dark?” The Decepticon growled now.“I liked you better when you dead.” He sneered.“I wasn’t dead! If anyone’s going to be dead it’s you when Optimus and Smokescreen-“ She began to yell but was cut off.“If they what? They’ll have to find us first now won’t they? Tough luck with that.” She could hear the echoing rocks falling as he shifted a little. Frowning, Rose took off her back pack, suddenly grateful she kept it on. It was hard to find the zipper without any light, but was able to open up the bag and began to rummage around through its contense until her hand brushed against what she was searching for. Taking it out of the bag she flipped on the switch and prepared for light only to be welcomed with more darkness.Gritting her teeth, she banged the object against her hand and suddenly light filled the rocky cave. Rose smiled. She was so glad she had packed a flashlight.Flashing it around the cave she realized why it was just so dark. The opening was gone, now replaced with a pile of boulders and rocks. And then there was Knock Out. The red Decepticon lay on the ground, rocks trapping his right hand and pinning him down from his mid back and beyond. An annoyed frown had taken up his face plates as he growled at the girl.“Oh . . .” Was the only thing Rose could come to say. She suddenly felt embarrassed at her momentary freak out from before.“The moment I get out of this you’re going to be the first one on my dissection table!” He roared at the girl, his eyes filled with rage.“Oh yeah, blame everyone but yourself.” She hissed back. He growled at her again, eyes flashing a darker red. The Decepticon let out an outraged roar and flung his free hand at her. With a screech, Rose took hold of her bag and jumped out of the way just as his sharp claws raked the spot where she was. She was still in his reach considering she couldn’t get any further away, but he didn’t attempt to grab her again.As Rose starred at the Decepticon, she wished with all of her heart that Optimus and Smokescreen would show up soon. She knew that there was no way for them to find her in the cave and she sighed, looking past the robot and at the rocks. She noticed that the ones at the top were smaller and she paused to think about it. Maybe she could loosen some of them and squeeze through? But no, she couldn’t do that. Not with big red sitting right there. But then a new idea came to her.“Look, were both stuck here, right? So why don’t we help each other out?” She bargained. Knock Out narrowed his eyes at the girl and scoffed.“I hardly see reason to how a human could be of help in this situation or any.” He bit at her. Rose frowned, but ignored his words.“What if I loosened some of the smaller rocks up top?” She raised a brow, pointing her flash light to said area. The con flanked up to where she gesturing and a serious look suddenly overcame his face before he returned his gaze back to her.“And what will moving a few pebbles accomplish?” He hated himself for feeling intrigued.“They could help to shift some of the larger ones and free both of us.”“How do I know you’re not trying to end my spark by piling more rocks on me?” He narrowed his eyes at her.“Trust me, you already have every rock on you.” She flashed the light once more the giant pile earth. “Plus, I’m probably the only one who has a chance of being crushed here.” One way, or another, she thought with a shudder. Knock Out starred at the human, thinking it over. Rose waited patiently for his reply, although inside she just wanted to get as far away from the Decepticon as possible.“Fine.” He finally said, but Rose wasn’t convinced.“And once we’re freed, you aren’t going to kill me, right?” She quipped. A frown came over his features as he scowled.“Scouts honor.” His voice was low. Rose felt her lips twitch at the saying. She starred at the con a moments more, her hand tightening its grip on the flash light. She began to second guess herself, wondering if she really should do it. Finding her feet were already scuffling towards the Decepticon and the pile of rocks which lay on top of him, she knew she didn’t have much choice.The slight bravery which she had built up before when talking to the Cybertronian was completely gone now, replaced by anxiousness and fear of being within even closer proximity of those claws. She glanced over to the large rocks that lined the floor. The smaller ones she knew she would be able to scale were farther up, but these larger ones she had a gut feeling she wouldn’t be able to. Although there was one thing she knew she would be able to climb . . .Building up the courage she had left, Rose walked over to the red robot. She could see that he was watching her out of the corner of his eye and his free hand tapped its long claws against the hard earthy floor impatiently. Standing just below where his shoulder started and where the boulders had pinned him, Rose took a deep breath before securing the straps of her back pack, putting her flash light in her mouth, and then grabbing on the Con with both hands.She could feel him shiver in disgust at her touch, but ignored his squeamishness towards her and pulled herself up using his armor to her climbing advantage. Rose was a rather remarkable climber, she had always been able to get the highest in any tree compared to her friends, though she preferred to stick to the ground. For however good she was at getting up, she never could manage to get herself down.She didn’t think of that at the moment as she hauled herself on to the Decepticons back. Avoiding the wheels that protruded from him, she instantly scrambled for the rocks, wanting to get away from the robot.“Two days with the Autobots and look where I already am,” She began to grumble through the flashlight as she latched onto a rock. “stuck in a cave, that’s where . . .”“What do you mean, two days?” Knock Outs voice made her jump a little. Turning her head down she looked over her shoulder at the Decepticon who was doing his best to keep an eye on her from his position on the floor. Popping the flash light out of her mouth and taking it in her hand now with a firm grip she paused her rock scaling.“I mean exactly what I said.” She frowned impatiently at the robot, hating him for distracting her from her task. Knock Out paused for a moment, recalling her previous words.“You were not acquainted with the Autobots before hand?” He questioned. His tone sounded a little interested, but not much. It was more thoughtful. That thoughtfulness sent a shiver down her spine.“Not until you showed up, thank you very much.” Rose stuck the flashlight back in her mouth so she could have free use of her hands once more as she began to grab on to more rocks.It did not take long at all to reach the top of the pile. Well, it wasn’t exactly the top, but it was as far as she could go without hitting her head on the rocky ceiling. Keeping the flash light awkwardly in her mouth, she picked up a smaller rock and threw it away. It tumbled down the pile, landing by the Decepticons side. She did this for a while, continuing to rid herself of the small rocks. Most landed on the cave floor fifteen feet below her, but a few rocks managed to thump against Knock Out. He made a few nipping comments about it along with a couple of threats, but Rose ignored the Decepticon as best as she could.Only was it when she reached some larger rocks did she pause her work. Taking the flash light out of her mouth, she glanced down at Knock Out.“Alright, I’m going to start to try and move the larger rocks so just . . . cover your head” She warned him.“Oh gee, great advice!” The Decepticon growled. Rose picked up a small rock, ready to throw it at the red Con, but then decided against it and set the rock down realizing that her actions would do more harm than good for herself in the future. Shoving the flash light back in her mouth, she bit down on the rubber that surrounded it and began to shift one of the larger rocks, taking it up in her arms with a grunt. Looking down at the pile of large rocks and boulders, she eyed one that looked a bit loose and threw the rock in her hands with all of her might.“Incoming!” She muffled a yell through the flashlight as the rock tumbled down the pile, hitting the larger boulder and causing it to topple down, sending four more large rocks with it. Knock Out did his best to keep to himself as the rocks landed near him, grumbling as one chipped at the paint on his arm.“If you know whats best for you, you may wish to aim a little better next time.” He threatened.“You can’t threaten me, you’re the one who got me into this mess in the first place.” She threw the rock, watching once again as it too thumped against a loose boulder, sending the large chunk of earth toppling to the ground. “You owe me for helping you.”“Owe you? Ha! While we have an agreement there is no debt between us.” Knock Out sneered, turning his head around as far as it would to glance up at the human.“Oh, there is.” Rose hurled another rock down, although this one didn’t manage to loosen any larger rocks and instead landed right on top of Knock Out, scratching against the finish on his shoulder. A horrid noise came from the Decepticon medic as he screeched at her.“Watch the paint!” He snapped.“Stop fussing over your finish.” Rose said with all seriousness. “We have other things to worry about right now.”“Yes and when this is over with you’ll have completely new worries.” Knock Out grumbled darkly.“Zip-bip-pip-remember the deal!” Rose spat the flash light out of her mouth and waved it at him before sticking back between her teeth so she could pick up some more rocks. She managed to throw four more rocks in silence, happy to find that her idea was seeming to work and more large boulders tumbled to the ground as the smaller ones hit them, propelling the boulders forwards.A small memory had come to Rose as she tossed the heavy rocks. She remembered when she smaller, eight years old if she remembered correctly, she had been in an argument with her brother who would have been fourteen at the time. They had been fighting over how a smaller object couldn’t move a larger one. That was Rose’s opinion. But her brother, who had been Mr. Know-it-all at the time, said that it could happen. And even pulled off a demonstration for her.Dragging her outside and to the lake they lived not so far away from, he collected some of the best stones he could find, stacking them into a sloppy pile. Turning to his younger sister with a smile, the boy had picked up a rock slightly smaller than the stones he had found and chucked it at the pile of rocks with all of the force he could muster. The pile came tumbling down at the impact, leaving a rather big smirk on the boy’s proud face, but a frown on his sisters.“How did it do that?” Rose asked with a tilt of her head, as she had still been confused about the concept of a small thing moving a large thing.“I’m not really sure how to explain it, we’re learning about forces and stuff in science class.” The boy had shrugged.Rose picked up another rock, her heart aching at the memory. Wishing things could have always been like it was. Wishing that they still lived by the house by the lake, or the city apartment. Wishing her brother had never changed.With a bit of a sigh, she threw the rock, watching as it crashed into a fairly large boulder that seemed to really be weighing the Decepticon down. The rock tumbled to the ground, landing near Knock Out who suddenly perked up a little. Most of the larger rocks were now on the ground, freeing the Decepticon from the extra weight they carried. Rose turned her gaze to the ‘Con and began to frown as she watched him begin to shift, rocks dropped from the pile to the floor as he moved. As the boulder she was standing on began to quake, panic pierced her heart and she jumped down the pile, rolling down the rocks without too much grace. Boulders tumbled after her, and the moment Rose was at the bottom of the pile she ran away from the large rocks.Suddenly everything seemed to stop. The rocks stopped bashing into one another, and the stone paused from falling as everything came into place. Coughing, Rose dared to open her eyes and was instantly met by a cloud of dust. She could see that outside the sun was still out, and a shadow was cast into the cave. In the darkness and through the dust she could make out Knock Outs figure standing by the cave entrance. His bright red eyes suddenly flashed down towards to Rose.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Stepping through the dust, Knock Out loomed over the girl, claws reaching down and grasping her before she could run away.Rose yelped, thrashing about as his digits snaked around her body, holding her all too tightly. Rose now knew the Decepticon had no intentions to go through with the deal. As he held her up to eye level she could see his glowing red optics shine in the darkness, a sick joy over taking them as his laughter filled the air around her. Walking outside and into the sun light Rose blinked away the brightness, her eyes focusing on the red Decepticon who was grinning at her.“Oh how I could just so easily tear that flesh of yours.” He said with pleasure, raising his other hand and letting the back of his claws drag softly against her cheek. “How I would love to know what you really look like on the inside,” his pointed digits pressed harder onto her skin making Rose flinch back. “But, a deal is a deal” He sighed almost disheartened, his claws jerking away from her suddenly.Rose released the breath she was holding as his clawed fingers retracted. That breath turned into a gasp as he suddenly set her down atop a tree branch, a few feet over his own head. Rose gripped to the branch, holding onto it for dear life as she dangled high above the ground, at least twenty five feet in the air.“I hate to leave you hanging around, but I’m afraid this is where we depart.”“Take me down!” Rose pleaded, though the robot ignored her as he walked away. She sat there fuming with anger and fear over her current state for a minute, her arms growing tired. Looking down she frowned at the tree. There was no way she would be able to climb down, no way she could swing herself to its trunk.“Optimus!” She called out, hating herself for feeling so helpless.-O-Smokescreen didn’t know how many times they had searched up and down the path of fallen trees, looking for anything that might give them a clue as to where Rose was or what happened to her. Optimus had finally decided to investigate off the trail as they could find no clues on the make shift passage. Smokescreen had stuck to the original path though, thinking that maybe if Rose was still in the woods, she would come back to her previous way, but Smokescreens hopes of that were diminishing by every passing second.With the ground bridge down, this had been Smokescreens chance to prove himself to the Prime. This had been his chance to show his leader what he was made of, just how valuable he truly was. So far he wasn’t doing too well. He couldn’t even help to protect a human, let alone find it. The robot vented, he was being selfish. He shouldn’t be thinking of himself but rather keep his worries to Rose. She was the one in trouble. Not him. She was the one that needed help. Not him.But how could he help her when he couldn’t even help himself?Smokescreen paused from walking and gazed out at the endless mass of forest. It was a beautiful planet really. So lush, so alive. The inhabitance were so strangely similar to his own kind. Small as they were, they were strong. He had learned that on his short time on the planet. Each human held a story, just as each Cybertronian did. Each was unique and different from one another. Something he couldn’t say for every Cybertronian. He thought of the Decepticons and their Drone army. All alike. All the same.“Optimus!” Smokescreen suddenly perked up at the distant yell. “Smokescreen!” Turning around he scanned his optics over the area. “Optimus!” She yelled a bit louder, more desperate. Smokescreen began to walk in the direction of her voice. Although, his walk had turned into a trot which turned into a run then to a sprint as she called out his name.“Delta Rose?” Smokescreen now heard Optimus’ call out from not so far away, also in pursuit of the distant call. Glancing to the right, Smokescreen caught a glimpse of Optimus as he raced through the dense forest, battle sword ready and mask slid into place.“Optimus? Optimus!” Rose shouted back, but then her yells turned into screams as loud crack was heard. Smokescreen watched as the Prime rushed forwards, the younger mech right behind him. Coming out to where the trail of fallen trees ended into clearing and a cliff side, Smokescreen’s eyes immediately went over to where Rose was hanging from a thick tree branch, and ten feet about her swayed another tree branch, the broken branch just barely attached to the rest of the branch and trunk of the tree. Smokescreen could only guess that she had previously been on the broken branch, only to fall when it gave way and was now clinging to the branch below. It amazing she had caught the second one at all.Rose gripped on to the new branch, clutching it tightly as she managed to haul herself up far enough to have her chest lean against it slightly, her biceps hung over the top of the branch and her legs dangled aimlessly. When she had heard Optimus call for her, she had stupidly scooted out to the slimmer end of the branch, in hopes that he would be able to see her better from there, but it had not been able to hold her weight and snapped under her weight, sending her plummeting down until she just barely caught herself on the branch below her. Now she was left in a panting mess.She had never been good at pulls up. Never had managed to do even one in gym class, but it would seem that the opponent of death from falling could help ones strength.Optimus was at her aid in no time though, already plucking her from the tree branch. Rose let out a relived breath as she sat in the Primes palm, allowing herself to close her eyes for a moment as the pain in her arms began to develop from catching herself in a free fall. Opening her eyes though, she looked up at the Prime and offered him a smile.“What took you so long?” She let out a wheezy laugh.“How’d you get up in that tree?” Smokescreen asked, ignoring her question as he stepped up to the Primes side. “The branches are like, ten feet apart.” He gave her a funny look. “And what happened, you look like a mess.”“Speak for yourself.” Rose sent him a glare. “Let’s just get out of here.” The girl said with a tiredness. Optimus nodded. Smokescreen felt bad that they hadn’t been there for her, he felt bad that he hadn’t don’t anything more to help. The rookie vowed silently that he would be more vigilant from now on.It had not taken long to find the road as the Prime had a good sense of direction. They drove for some time, Rose lay in the back bed for most of the time, her body aching from her morning’s adventure. She could only imagine what tomorrow would bring. One thing she was certain of was that these robots would be the end of her.Rose sighed as she sat up from her spot on the Primes bed. Looking over to the cab, she glanced at his holo form before climbing up to the passenger seat. As she settled down, the belt strapped itself around her. Her eyes flickered to him once more before shifting to the clock. Four thirty. She let out a breath, knowing the day was still not over.“So, where are we headed?” She asked.“At the moment, we are searching for a suitable place to stay until Ratchet repairs the ground bridge. It is no longer safe to travel directly to base, there is too much risk of the Decepticons following us there.” Optimus let his eyes wander over to his passenger who was gazing out the window, eyes narrowed at a road sign.“Mallowway . . .” She mumbled. Optimus frowned, but glancing at the sign she was looking at, he realized it was a town that pulled off at the next stop. Rose suddenly brightened up. “I know where we are!” A large smile appeared on her face. “We aren’t too far away from where I used to live!” She cheered, eyes hopefully shining brightly towards Optimus’ holo form. He glanced over her for a moment, inspecting her messy form and pleading face as she smiled at him.“Would you like to stop there?” He offered. Instantly she gave out a cry and the only thing keeping her from jumping out of the seat to hug him was the seat belt.“Really? Oh thank you!” She grinned at the thought of seeing her old friends. “All you have to do is pull off to Mallowway and it’s just about a half hour after that.” She beamed. Optimus nodded before turning on his comm link and informing Smokescreen of the sudden change in direction.-O-He drove aimlessly, nowhere and everywhere to go. His gut twisted at the thought of her. He had already stopped by the gas station just hours ago to ask the man if he knew anything of the girl, but the worker who had seen her was currently not on his shift. And the man who was working at the time knew nothing helpful. Only that he had heard his co-worker saying something on the lines that she had nearly been hit with a truck. And that was it. Right before he left, the worker mentioned that he thought she had heard that she went with the trucker.He had stopped then to bite his nails. The story was strange, and he wasn’t sure if she had been harmed by the semi, but it sounded like she was fine.He wondered where she would hitch hike to. The brief idea of her going back to her old town came to him, but he dismissed it. Surely she wouldn’t go there. She was smarter than that.
She’s scared.
“But she’s not stupid.” He hit the side of the steering wheel in anger at the silent voice.
She’s young.
He paused now, thinking the voice might be onto something. She was young and scared. She had nowhere else to go, there was only one place she felt she knew.“Fine. Let’s go home then.”-O-Rose smiled as they drove into the town she had so dearly missed. Yes, some of her memories here she was not so fond of, but the good ones outweighed the bad a hundred to one. Everything was exactly the same as she had left it. The streets were the same. Her favorite shops were still in business. She even recognized a face or two. The town was small, not tiny exactly, but it was a fair size. The people varied in the town. It was a farming place. There weren’t very many naturally open spaces, but the soil was very fertile there so the settlers had cut down parts of the forest to create the farm lands.“This is where you originate from?” Optimus asked, his holo form glancing over to her.“I was born in New York, but we moved here when I was little.” Rose glanced out the side mirror of the semi-truck and at the sports car following them.“So how long have you guys been on earth?” Rose asked, her eyes drifting off of Smokescreen and back to Optimus.“I have personally been here for more than a few years. It was our scout, Bumblebee, who took the first steps onto your planet in pursuit of the Decepticons.” He informed her.“And Smokescreen?” She wondered.“As the newest member to team Prime, his stay here has only been of one week.” Optimus’s eyes darted over to her before returning to the road as they pulled off into the suburbs.“Really? Only a week?” Rose blinked. It made more sense to her now as to why Smokescreen had been so fascinated with a trip to the grocery store. He was still learning about her planet. The two were silent for a moments more before another questioned popped into Rose’s mind.“Who is that red Decepticon? I mean, I know his name, but what’s up with him?” She asked.“Knock Out is the Decepticons medic.”“If I may ask, what happened in forest?” The Prime questioned.“Knock Out chased me. I found a cave and tried to hide, but he found me. It collapsed while he was trying to get in. I think a rock must of hit my head because I passed out, but when I woke up he was stuck underneath the cave in. We made a deal, I’d help free us and he wouldn’t hurt me. He stuck to his word in the end.”Optimus let his eyes flicker towards the girl as he listened to her story. He knew that Knock Out was one who didn’t think much of humans, and he wasn’t a mech who gave to much thought into a breaking a promise as he had no worries over his honor, so it was surprising none the less to hear this.“Hey, mind if we pull into the forest? Doesn’t look as dense as the last one.” Smokescreen asked via the comm link.“You need a stretch already? It hasn’t even been an hour since we got out of the last forest.” Rose frowned.“I just don’t like being crunched up like this all the time.” The young mech would have shrugged if he had not been in said crunched up form.“Whatever, you guys go jog some laps or something, I’m going to take a look around the town.”“Rose, I do not believe that is the wisest choice as the Decepticons are still in pursuit.” Optimus cut in. She glanced at him, opening her mouth to reply, but then shutting it.“Alright.” She gave a sigh, sinking her seat a little. The Prime looked her over before venting.“But, if you would like, I could accompany you while Smokescreen takes his walk.” He caved in. Rose perked up a little, a gleeful grin spreading on her face.“Okay, you two have fun!” Smokescreen quickly sped his way out of the town, wasting no time. Rose blinked after the sports car before glancing over to the holo form of Optimus as he pulled up to a red light.“Can we find a place to park?” She asked. She wanted to grab a quick bite to eat at the local coffee shop and not to mention she really had to go to the bathroom. It took a bit of searching, but pulling off the main road the semi found a large empty place to park. Hopping out of the truck, Rose watched out of the corner of her eye as the door shut on its own and Optimus came up to her side.“Where is it you wish to go?” He rumbled, glancing down at the girl.“I just want to make a quick stop at a café.” She replied. The Prime nodded before following the blonde human to where it was she wanted to go. The coffee shop was not far away and had only taken a couple minutes’ walk to get to. Rose had ordered her coffee and a sandwich that was being warmed currently. The girl had headed off into the bathroom after she had made her order, leaving Optimus on his own accord to stand alone.Sitting at a table, he thrummed his fingers against the wood, bright blue eyes glancing over the interior of the area with mild interest.“What’s up Buttercup?” Rose’s voice pulled him out of his blank thoughts as she sat down across from him. The Prime gave her an empty stare and Rose sighed. “Never mind.” She shook her head.“Rose!” An employee shouted, holding up a coffee cup and a sandwich on a paper plate.“Oh, there’s my order.” She smiled, getting up to go get her drink and food. Settling back down in the chair with her hot sandwich and cup of coffee, the girl tried to take a sip of the stuff only to reel back with a squeak. “Too hot.” She made a face.“Thanks for the help.” Rose stated blankly in response to him just staring at her. Optimus was still learning what sarcasm was as were the other Autobots, but thanks to the children he was getting a better understanding of it and was immediately able to tell that this was a good example of it.“My pleasure.” He said humorously. Rose’s frown deepened.“I’m sure it was” She took a large bite out of her sandwich. The front door to the café like coffee shop rung a small ‘tink’ and more people walked in. Optimus glanced over to the new humans before looking back to Rose who was munching away on her sandwich, not caring for the new comers behind her. Rose was about to take another bite, but stopped halfway to send the Prime a look.“You lose something over here?” She raised a brow. Optimus frowned at her words before realizing he was staring. Blinking, he shook his head a little.“I apologize, I hadn’t meant to-“ He paused, his eyes moving over to the small group of humans who had walked in previously. One of them was staring at the back of Rose’s head while the others muttered to each other about what they should order. “-stare” He finished, his eyes meeting that of the human male who had been gazing at Rose.The boy was a decent height, around five foot eleven. He had a somewhat lanky appearance to him, his slimmer frame not quite fitting into his large black t-shirt. His ruffled brown hair looked like he had barely brushed a comb through it. Dark green eyes were narrowed, somewhere between curiosity and being wary. His eyes darted to Optimus, but the second they made contact with his own bright blue stare, the boy diverted his eyes, uncomfortable with the stranger’s hard look. Optimus frowned a little, wondering why the human would be staring at Rose like that.Rose frowned too as the Prime continued to stare off behind her. Turning her head to glance over her shoulder to see what had his attention only to find a pair of eyes boring into her. She was startled to say the least as her eyes came in contact with the boys. But that uneasiness quickly changed into a rather large smile as she jumped up from her seat.“Kevin!” She shouted, already flying herself towards the boys figure. They caught each other in an awkward embrace, both smiling like lunatics.“I had a feeling that was you!” The boy, Kevin, laughed as they pulled apart from their hug.“Rose?” Came a female’s voice. Turning her head, said girl’s smile grew even larger at the sight of a brunette.“Libby!” Rose threw her arms around the girl who did the exact same.“Oh my god, what are you doing here? You just dropped off the face of the planet!” Another girl joined in, sharing a hug with the blonde. Letting go, Rose hugged the last person out of four, a shorter girl with bitch black hair, before turning to them all.“Oh, it’s so great to see you all!” She cheered. “How’s the fort been holding up without me?” She couldn’t help the smile that was spreading wider and wider across her face.“Well no one’s been able to replace your spot at the lunch table, that’s for sure” The brunette girl grinned.“Except for August, because well, he stole your seat.” Kevin shrugged, only to squeal in pain as the brunette punched him hard.“He only stole your seat, not your spot.” She smiled to Rose who was shaking her head.“Speaking of which, how is the big lug?” She asked, referring to August.The group continued their exited chatter, Optimus watching from the side lines with interest. The boy, Kevin, kept glancing over to the Prime, unsure of the man who had been sitting with Rose. After a couple minutes passed by and all greeting were out of the way, Rose took notice of Kevin sending glances towards the man and nearly smacked her forehead, realizing she had all but forgotten about Optimus.“Oh uh, hey-“ She turned to the Prime. “These guys are some old friends of mine.” She gestured to the group of four. “This is Alex,” she waved her hand to the girl with pitch black hair, “Libby,” She pointed to the brunette. “Peyton,” She moved her hand to the girl with dark dirty blonde hair, a single red streak marking the bangs that swept over her forehead, “and Kevin” She finished, her hand landing on the boy. All of them except Kevin waved to Optimus with a smile.“And this is,“ Rose paused only for a second as she gestured to the Prime, realizing she couldn’t say his real name as it was too abnormal for a human.“Orion.” The Prime said the moment he noticed her pause.“Nice to meet you, Orion.” Libby lunged forward and took Optimus’ hand in a violent shake, always exited to meet someone new. Optimus seemed more or less startled by the human’s eagerness but accepted the handshake none the less. Libby was Rose’s best friend. They had met in second grade when Rose moved into town. Rose was the kind of person who kept to herself, always had been, but Libby had somehow managed to suck her into a friendship in the first month of school.Once Libby let go of Optimus’ hand, she took a step back, still smiling.“Hey, we’re gonna go order and how about after that we pull up some chairs?” Alex suggested, blowing her thick black hair out of her face.“Sure.” Rose smiled with a nod. The three girls left to go decide what they wanted while Kevin stuck behind, awkwardly standing before Rose and Optimus. “Are you getting anything?” Rose asked.“No.” The boy shook his head.“Alright, well here, pull up a chair.” Rose smiled as she sat back in her own chair, scooching to the Primes side in order to make room for Kevin and the girls for when they came back. Grabbing a chair, the boy pulled it up next to Rose and sat down a little hesitantly. Rose had met Kevin in the ninth grade as they found they had shared every class together at the time. He was like most teenagers, loud, rowdy, irresponsible, but he had a sweet nerdy aura to him. He tried to hide it, all of his little quirks. He always seemed to secretly have his nose in a book, drinking in every bit of knowledge he could know, and pretend like he knew nothing when he knew everything. Every answer was in his mind.“So uh, where’s August?” Rose asked. “I never see you two apart.”“He should be here soon. But well, you know August.” He sighed, shaking his head. Rose smirked. She did know August.Every school has jocks. Popular. Nerds. Geeks. Jerks. August though, was that one guy you didn’t want to mess with. He was the tough kind of kid, captain of every sport, boastful, ignorant. Rose didn’t particularly like him, but for some reason he and Kevin were best friends. The two were opposites in every way, but perhaps that’s why their friendship worked.“Man, ol’ lover boy’s sure gonna be happy to see you.” He grinned. Rose rolled her eyes.“Still?” She gave the boy a look.“Always.” Kevin grinned. Rose groaned. While August had wanted to be more than just friends, she had never returned the same feelings towards him. While she had gotten to see his sweet side from time to time, it wasn’t enough for her. “Speak of the devil,” Kevin glanced over to the front door as its little bell rang and in stepped a tall, well-muscled boy. Dark hair cut short and darker eyes wandering around the place, a lop sided grin spilled onto his face as he caught sight of the girls who were still bickering on what to get. Although when his eyes fell onto Rose sitting by Kevin, his smirk changed into a dropped jaw.“Rose?” He all but squealed with excitement, but then immediately flushed and glanced at the floor, giving a small cough as he put on a straight face, looking up again he swaggered to the table and gave her a small glace, pretending as if he had just noticed her.“Oh, hey.” He said cooly.“Your desperation to be cool died the moment you walked in.” Kevin said flatly.“Shut up.” A smile crossed over August’s face as he looked back over to Rose. The girl sighed.Rose managed to spare a glance over to Optimus who was silently watching the teenager’s interactions. He had grown accustomed to Jack, Miko and Raf’s interaction with each other, but he had never really had the time to study any other humans. It was interesting to say the least to watch Rose greet her friends.Taking a seat on the other side of Kevin, August finally seemed to notice Optimus and frowned.“August, this is Orion.” Kevin introduced, noticing August’s gawking looks towards the man. His expression changed a bit, but the frown was still apparent.“You could call him my road trip buddy.” Rose added, giving a look to said ‘road trip buddy.’ August kept his eyes narrowed at Optimus, but finally tore his gaze away from the Prime and over to Rose.“So, why are you so dirty?” He questioned now. Rose blinked with a frown, glancing down at her cloths to find that she was in fact, covered in dirt and had multiple tears in her cloths.“Oh uh, we out on a trail and I fell.” She shrugged. August’s gaze didn’t waver the slightest and Rose knew he didn’t buy her story.“You know, we’ve all been really worried about you.” Kevin suddenly said with all seriousness, leaning in a little more. “I mean, after you moved we just didn’t hear from you at all.”“I haven’t been gone that long.” She tried to shrug him off.“Rose it’s been three months.” He said flatly. “There’s been a lot of talk around town too, some strange rumors are going around.”Rose gave a cough, not daring to look at Optimus in that moment. Kevin looked at Optimus, frowning. “What are you two doing anyhow?” He said without hiding his suspicion.“I am a family friend.” Optimus replied. “I’m taking her to see her parents in Colorado.”Kevin seemed to freeze and August tensed up.“Really?” Kevin said carefully as if he was treading thin ice.“Yes.” Rose gave him a stern look. “I’ll tell you all about it later. We’ll probably stay here for a day or two, right Orion?” She looked at Optimus who nodded his head, but suddenly frowned and stood up, an annoyed yet troubled look took over his face as he looked down at Rose.“I apologize, but we must go.” He glanced over to the two boys who were frowning unhappily.“What, why?” Rose grew worried.“There is something we must attend to.” He chose his words carefully, his eyes once again shifting to the girls friends. Rose’s eye brows locked together for a moment before she suddenly slumped a little, realizing it must have something to do with Smokescreen.“Okay . . .” She bit her lip. “Um, why don’t you go see to it? I can stay here with-“ She began but was cut off.“I am afraid that it would be unwise if I leave you unaccompanied.” He insisted.“Unaccompanied? We’re here, she’s good with us.” Kevin jumped into the conversation.“She’s free to do what she wants.” August said with a warning in his tone.“I really should just go with Orion.” Rose slowly stood up.“Wa-what? Seriously? This is the first time we’ve seen you in months already leaving?” Kevin gave her an unbelieving look.“I’m sorry guys,” She gave a sad look to the two boys before glancing over to the girls who were still pointing at the menu on the wall, bickering over what to buy, “Tell them I said hi, bye.” Rose offered the two a smile again as she looked back over to them. Kevin sighed and August rubbed his face.“Fine, fine, we’d better see you tomorrow, but it’s a school week so it won’t be until about after two o’clock.” Kevin sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to convince his friend to stay any longer at the moment.“I’ll see what I can do. No promises.” Rose held her hands in the air. “Swing by the park at around two thirty. I’ll be there if I’m not already gone.” Taking her coffee and sand which off the table, she turned around and grabbed Optimus by the arm and pulled him out of the coffee shop in a hustle.Walking back out on the towns streets, Rose began to quickly eat the rest of her sandwich before glancing over to the Prime as she let go of his arm. “So, what’s the big emergency?” She asked, her voice muffled from the last large bite of sandwich she had stuffed in her mouth.“Smokescreen is in need of assistance.” Optimus almost sighed. Rose swallowed the bite with a large gulp of coffee before frowning at him.“How do you know?” She asked, puzzled.“He comm linked me.” He sent a glance her way.“What? But I didn’t hear you calling-or comming, or whatever it is! You weren’t even talking, you were just sitting there.” She threw her hands up a little, the coffee inside her cup swishing a little.“It was a private comm link.” Optimus answered.“Huh?”“It was a link that only Smokescreen and I could hear.” He further explained. Rose paused for a moment, glancing at the ground before her eyes widened and she looked back to the Prime with bright eyes.“Like, telepathically?” She made a face.“I suppose you could refer to it as such.”“Well hey that’s actually a pretty neat thing you can do on top of everything else.” She chuckled, daring to nudge his arm a little as she said so. They walked back to the Primes real form in a comfortable silence. With her sandwich eaten, Rose quickly began to drink down her coffee before stepping into the truck, but Optimus only gave her a look.“You do not have to do that.” He almost sighed. Pausing from her gulping, Rose looked up and leaned against the semi as she looked at the Primes holo form.“I just thought that if I was going to get back in, well, you,” She frowned a little as she thought about just how strange that sounded. Shaking her head though, she continued on. “it would be best if I finished my coffee first. I mean, I already munched down my sandwich. I imagined that I wouldn’t like it if someone was eating inside of me. Remember yesterday? She referred back to the soda cup she had left inside of him when he transformed.“I am certain that will not happen again.”“Are you sure don’t want me to just finish it right now? It will only take a minute or two.” She shrugged at the cup.“It is quite alright.” Optimus nodded towards her. Rose tapped her fingers against the metal guard of the semi, she could feel the truck shift from behind her and under her fingers, his holo form also shifting to lean on his right foot a little uncomfortable. Holding his fist up to his mouth he let out a small cough.“I can feel that.” As he shifted to the left foot the truck shifted too. Rose frowned at him for a moment before realization hit her and she stopped thrumming her fingers against him. She paused for another moment before leaning off of him to stand on her own weight.“Oh uh, sorry.” She tried to hide her embarrassment. An awkward silence over took the two for a moment, leaving Optimus to glance around at the scenery of the town and Rose to bite at her lip.“Why don’t we go?” Optimus suddenly suggested.“Yeah, that would be good.” Rose instantly nodded, turning around to walk to the side of the truck as the door opened for her. Climbing into the large vehicle, she hauled herself into the seat with a small grunt, doing her best to keep her coffee from spilling in her hand. As the holo form climbed into the front seat it fizzled out of existence and the windows tinted.“Too lazy to pretend to drive?” Rose raised a brow humorously.“No.” Came the blunt answer. Rose frowned at the truck, wondering why he didn’t want to use the hologram. Was he embarrassed that she had been tapping against him? She thought about where his grill was placed on his body, but couldn’t quite remember. Although, was almost certain it was somewhere near his chest. “Alright, well-why I don’t I sit in the driver’s seat then?” Rose offered as she reached her arm over to unbuckle the seat belt that Optimus had strapped around her. Although as her hand touched the buckled, the belt only tightened around her.“That is alright. My windows are dark enough.” He denied her offer. Rose let out a small breath.“Okay, have it your way.” She held up her hands, coffee still in her right. At that, the belt loosened a little, but not by much. Starting up his engine, the semi began to pull out of the empty parking lot and back out on the town’s road. Rose wiggled a little uncomfortably, making a small coughing noise in the back of her throat.“Mind loosening up a bit?” She tugged on the seat belt a little.“Oh, my apologies.” Optimus instantly loosened the seat belt.“Thanks . . .” Rose sunk a little further into the seat, kicking her back pack away from her feet. As they drove through town, they passed by the coffee shop again and Rose caught a glimpse of her friends walking out of it, coffee and pastries in hand. None of them seemed to notice her in the semi. No one but Kevin who frowned at the semi, his eyes just managing to catch hers through the dark windows. But then he was out of view and Rose sunk even further into the seat.“I think you need to make your windows a little darker.” She flushed. Optimus didn’t reply, but he responded by darkening his windows even further to the point where Rose herself could barely see out of them. She knew there was a law about how dark your windows can be, but she doubted they were going to get caught. The cops were rather careless in this town anyway.There were a few more minutes of silence as they drove out of the town and onto the road that lead into the forest before Rose frowned. “So,” She paused, biting the inside of her cheek. “what exactly did Smokescreen get himself into?”Optimus finally let out the sigh he had been holding since the young warrior had first commed him.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Wait, wait, wait,” Rose held her hands in the air. “Smokescreens big emergency is that he fell?” She made a face.“He is currently stuck, yes.” The Prime replied as he pulled over to the side of the road and opened his door for Rose to jump out. With her coffee in hand, she was about to grab her bag but the Prime stopped her. “That is not necessary, I have a sub space to keep your bag in that is more than safe.” He replied. Rose paused, a little unsure, but nodded anyways and hopped out, letting the large semi transform.“Well, I just don’t see what the big whoop is about.” She took a sip of her coffee as she leaned on her right side, free hand on her hip as she swished her cup. “He’s a big bot, he can pick himself up and dust himself off.” Optimus glanced down at the human before letting his optics wander over the large mass of forest.“I am certain that if Smokescreen could, he would.” He rumbled. “But for now it would seem he needs our assistance.”“Our assistance?” Rose raised a brow. “I don’t know if I’ll be much help with lending Smokie’ a hand.”“No, I suppose you wouldn’t.” He agreed. Crouching down, the Prime held out a hand and Rose responded by stepping onto it, sitting down with one leg hanging over the edge of his palm and the other bent under the first. Placing his thumb protectively over her lap, the Prime stood up to his full height again before stepping off the road and into the forest.“How do you know where he is?” Rose suddenly asked with a frown.“I just know.” Optimus glanced at the few knocked down trees.As they walked through the trees Optimus found himself having to push aside one or two now and then, unable to maneuver around them. With each tree he uprooted a grim expression began to take his face as he watched the natural wildlife of the large planet flee from their branches, scurrying down the trunks or flying out of the way. Rose watched this all with something almost akin to amusement. “You’ve been cringing at every tree you uproot.” She finally spoke.“I do not wish to harm the wildlife.” He paused a little to gently shove over another tree. Rose smiled at this, finding that for such a large mech he really was quite the pansy at times.“That’s actually really sweet.” She said aloud before she could stop herself. Freezing a little she bit her lip and glanced away before looking back up to his glowing optics. “Er-I uh meant, I mean . . .” She stalled, face reddening up a little. “It’s uh, it’s sweet that you don’t want to hurt any uh, animals . . . I just um, wasn’t really expecting that from you . . .” She felt her ears go a little red. “Not that I expected you to go on a rampage and squish all the little squirrels and deer’s or anything!” She held up her hands but only flushed deeper when his expression stayed as neutral and unreadable as ever.Feeling embarrassment takeover her, Rose was forced to look away. Sometimes her mouth was just too big . . .“Optimus! Is that you?” Smokescreens voice cut through the air and all seriousness returned. Turning her head back up, Rose’s eyes scanned the area and suddenly she felt her heart drop as she really took in the surroundings.“I know where we are.” She nearly groaned. Optimus cast a look down to her before shouting back to Smokescreen.“Where are you?” The Prime called out.“I’m in a, well, a crack?” Smokescreens voice bounced around the forest, only confirming Rose’s suspicions. Groaning, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.“He’s over that way.” Rose jerked a thumb to her right. “Not too far from here.”“How are you certain?” Optimus raised a brow, but followed her directions anyways.“I grew up here. This is just one of the many areas my friends and I got lost in.” She sighed. “There’s a large crevice up ahead. I’d like to call it, er- fifty? Sixty feet deep?” She wrinkled her nose a bit. “Anyways, I bet you anything that’s where Smokescreen fell.” Optimus gave a thoughtful hum now as he tore his gaze away from the girl.“Do you know what created this crevice?” He questioned.“Umm, no, not really. It’s been there for a long time though. Might have been an earth quake a while back, but I’m not too sure.” She shrugged.“Hey! Are you still there?” Smokescreen suddenly shouted again, his voice much closer that before. Only a mere moment later did Optimus suddenly stop, his fingers instinctively falling over Rose to keep her from falling from the sudden stop. “Oh, yep. You’re still here” Smokescreen laughed. Looking down, Rose squeezed her face in-between Optimus’ fingers and peered down only to find they were standing right at the edge of a large cliff. Smokescreen stood far at the bottom, looking up at them.“Ah, yeah.” She nodded. “I’d call that sixty feet.” Optimus glanced at her, but then returned his gaze over to Smokescreen. Getting down on his knees, he reached his free hand down towards the trainee to pull him up. Smokescreen reached back, but his digits were nowhere near to reaching Optimus’s. He jumped, but even then they still couldn’t reach each other. “You know, it might even be sixty five.” She hummed softly. The Prime gave her a glance. Setting Rose down Optimus got down on his stomach to get his arm even further down. But still he couldn’t reach Smokescreen.“A couple miles over you two should be able to reach him. The crevice isn’t so deep over there.” Rose offered, leaning against Optimus’s side, but fell over when he moved to stand up. The Prime glanced down to Smokescreen who looked a bit frustrated.“Which way?” Optimus asked.“To the right.” She replied as she stood back up as if nothing had happened. “If we were to go to the left we would only run into a lake and a waterfall” She a paused then, frowning to herself. “. . .or is it the other way around?” She placed a hand on her hip as she thought about it before shrugging. “Eh, I guess we’ll find out either way.” She finished her sentence with a small squeak as Optimus suddenly picked her up again. Unfolding his fingers from around her, she sat in his palm with a frown.“You know, I would appreciate it a little more if you asked to do that next time.”“My apologies, I will be sure to remember your request.” He replied as he began to walk.It didn’t take long for them to get far enough for the ground to rise in the crevice and for Optimus to be able to reach Smokescreens out stretched hands.“Whew!” The younger bot stretched as after being lifted back to normal ground level. “Glad to be out of that hole!” He laughed.“How did you even get down there? What, did you just walk into it?” Rose huffed from the Primes hand.“I mean, not intentionally.” He grumbled. She laughed at him.“But uh, hey, I just need to know,” Smokescreen began, a frown on his face plates. “While I was down there I walked up and down it a couple times and by the lake you were talking about I found things.” His metallic eye brows pinched.“Yeah, we have a tradition here that if you born here and you leave, you gotta leave something of yours so your friends can remember you.” She shrugged. “I don’t know who started it, but it’s been going on since my grandfather was a kid.” She shrugged. “I think it started out as a joke, but became a tradition.”“So I take that humans come here often?” Optimus asked.“Well, sometimes. Usually only to leave something by the lake, or to explore.”“Hmm, then I suppose it would be best for us to stay clear of this area while in our true forms.” The large bot rumbled. Rose gazed out between the tree top branches, just able to catch the sun beginning to set. The sky around it had an orange fire tint to it.“I think it would also be good to find a place to stay tonight.” She replied, looking up at Optimus from her place in his servo.“You know this area best, where do you suggest we stay?” The large mech hummed in response. Rose paused, she wanted to stay with her friends but she knew that Optimus probably wouldn’t allow that what with the risk of the Decepticons attacking and with Rose’s own problemsshe felt it was safer to stay with the semi and sports car rather than a couple of teenager.“Maybe just out of town would be a good place. The roads aren’t so loud or busy.”“Very well.”It wasn’t long before they were on the road again and the bots had transformed. Rose let herself relax in Optimus’ passenger seat. His holo form was off and she tried not to watch the moving steering wheel as it still somewhat freaked her out that no one was driving and more than once she wanted to lung at the wheel as she felt like it would suddenly jerk to the left or right at any given moment without someone there to wield it.As they parked at the edge of town, between the buildings and the forest itself, Rose gazed out at the houses and businesses. She never did leave anything by that waterfall because she wasn’t born in the town. She had grown up in it though, and that’s what made it home. Her family had history in the town, and for that she felt an even stronger connection to it. She herself was born in New York, but that place didn’t feel like home. She just moved back to it three months ago, but it still felt alien to her. Being back in Maverick was nice, even if it was only going to be for a short day or so.The town simultaneously burdened her. She began to think it was a mistake to even stop her old home in the first place. The only good in this town were the friends she left behind. She was headed here originally, or at least, she was sort of on her way to the town. It was the only refuge she knew, everyone she knew was there. She realized she just have just gone to the police, that idea terrified her as well. What she had witnessed was terrible, yes, but the police were bound to have found out what happened by now anyways, and even then they couldn’t guarantee her safety. No, she just needed to get out of the city. Hopefully he wouldn’t pursue her, but she had a horrible feeling that he was.But how was he to know where she? He wouldn’t have a clue as to that she was at her old home. He was probably thinking that she was somewhere far away by now, gaining as much distance between herself and him. Still, she felt like he would somehow find her once more, and finish off what he started.She shook her head slightly. No, no, she was perfectly safe. He was probably hundreds of miles away. And plus, she had Optimus and Smokescreen to protect her now. She wasn’t alone anymore.Feeling security in that thought, she snuggled into the seat. What was really bugging that moment her was the feeling of plaque on her teeth from not brushing them for two days. It felt gross and she made a pact to herself that in the morning, the first thing she would do was brush them until there were only gums left.“If you would like, you can go back into my inside of sleeping in my seat. I believe it would be much more comfortable.” Optimus offered.“Thanks.” She said without a smile before grabbing her back pack off the floor and climbing back into his bed. She blinked to find that he had turned on the sheets and pillows already.Kicking off her shoes she slid under the sheets. She grimaced at the feeling of her dirty cloths but decided to ignore the horrid feeling. She lay back on the pillows and starred up at the ceiling of his cab, trying to disregard the fact that he was probably watching her.As she began to wander back into her thoughts, she began to doubt her choice of coming back to her home town again.“Hey Optimus.” She frowned.“Yes?”“I just- well- you said you were going to make sure I don’t get hurt, right?” She asked.“Correct.” The Prime rumbled back.“Not only just against other aliens?” She turned her head to the front of the truck.“I am unclear to what it is you are referring.” The truck questioned.“Anything really.” She answered quickly.“Yes, your safety is my responsibility.” He assured her. “But know that we Autobots cannot bring harm to humans.”Rose blinked, facing the ceiling again. She didn’t reply, instead she just simply closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
….
Rose woke up with a start, jumping only a little as her eyes snapped open. Quickly though, she caught her breath and relaxed again. It was just a dream. All be it a horrible, frightening dream. But a dream none the less. She let the warmth of living truck soothe her back to reality. Relaxing, she took a moment to think about how this would now be her third day with Optimus and Smokescreen. Hopefully, today would be a little calmer than the previous two days.She sat in silence for a few moments, expecting the Prime to mention something about her troublesome awakening, but he didn’t. After a minute passed she had a feeling the truck was deep in slumber. Or recharge as he had called it. She wondered if she could move without waking him up. She doubted it though. She could only imagine that if something was walking around inside of her she would surely wake up, although she could not speak for the Autobot.Taking the risk, she sat up and slowly slid her shoes on before grabbing her bag and pulling out her toothbrush. As carefully as she could, she snuck into the front cab and opened the door. Surprisingly, the Autobot didn’t stir. Slinking out of the truck, she quickly brushed her teeth, spitting on the road before climbing back inside and going back to the bed. Still, he didn’t make a sound.“Optimus,” She whispered. “are you awake?” He didn’t answer. Happy that she hadn’t disturbed him, Rose lay back down, feeling better now that her teeth were cleaned.Leaning back, she had just closed her eyes when suddenly a rather loud voice snapped through the comm link system and Rose jumped up and nearly fell out of the bed when Optimus roared to life with a rev of his engain, which made Smokescreen who was parked next to him practically leap out of his paint as he honked his horn in response. As everyone calmed down, the comm stayed silent before the speaker began to talk again.“Sorry if I had disturbed you, I was unaware that you were recharging.” Rose frowned at the voice as she did not recognize it.“That is quite alright” Optimus rumbled back, his voice still filled with sleep.“I just wanted to check in on you and Smokescreen.”“We are fine aside from the few minor injuries, but none are critical.” The Prime replied.“Good, good.”“When will you have the ground bridge ready by?” Optimus now asked.“A few days. Three at the most.” The bot on the other end of the comm replied. Rose blinked. In three days she would turn eighteen.“Very well.” Optimus acknowledged before turning off the link.“Who was that?” Rose asked.“That was Ratchet.” The Prime answered.“He’s the medic right?”“Correct.”Rose leaned back against the wall of the truck that surrounded the bed. She began to wonder where in Optimus’s body she was but decided that she probably didn’t want to know.“How do you do it? Transforming?” Rose suddenly asked. “Transforming is to us as breathing is to you.” He rumbled back. “It is just natural to say in a lack of better words.”“Really? It looks so complicated.”“It is an ability every Cybertronian possess.”Rose hummed in reply before growing quiet as she began to think again, and it came to her that Optimus had yet to tell Ratchet about her.“Hey uh, does Ratchet or the others know about me yet? I just, well, I don’t recall you telling them.” She frowned, sitting up a bit.“I believe that it would be best to tell when we returned as it would only add more stress to the situation if I told them now. Some things are best dealt with in person.” He replied.“Oh, uh, okay then. I guess I’ll get introduced soon enough anyways.” She shrugged. “Anyways, do you wanna head into town?”“Smokescreen, you can patrol the area while we go into the town.” Optimus said to the car next to him.“On it.” The smaller car revved his engine before taking off.Rose didn’t even realize how fast the day passed by after that. After a quick breakfast, it was already three in the afternoon and she was sitting outside of an old park, leaning against the Primes tire as she watched some small children play in the distance, climbing and scrambling over each other at a playground. Smokescreen was still out patrolling, giving in a word now and again that there was no sign of Decepticon activity.The clouds had cleared, leaving a beautiful blue sky. Rose immediately took this chance to bask in its glow.“So, this is the place you grew up?” Optimus’s holo form flickered on beside her.“Yes. Although, I wasn’t born here.” She replied, glancing over to him with a slight smile.“Oh?” He blinked back.“Yeah, I’m from New York originally. But I was a little kid then.” She shrugged.“I see.” Optimus nodded, turning his own attention to the children at play on the other side of the park.“On Cybertron, where are you from?” She then asked in turn. He blinked at her before frowning some.“I do not remember much of my origins, but my mentor raised me in the Hall of Icon just outside of Crystal City.” He replied. Rose hummed.“Sounds pretty.” She said before mentally slapping herself. He had pretty much just said he didn’t have any clue to his child hood and all she could do was call the place he lived pretty? “Very much so.” He said, not thinking of her comment the same way she had. “It had been one of Cybertron’s greatest Cities before the war. One of high culture and respect.” Rose looked back to the park and could hear the laughter of the children, their joyous play. She wondered what Cybertron could have been like. She wondered what was left of it, or if anyone was still there.“What was it like?” She found herself asking. Optimus paused, the eye brows on his holographic form furrowing as he thought about it.“It was peaceful. Our people were prosperous. It was all very beautiful, much like how your planet is today.” He spoke, choosing his words carefully. “But like Earth, we were slowly dying from our own faults, though it was the war that truly ended it all.” He sighed. Rose glanced at the concreate below her feet, giving a brief notice to a line of marching ants before sighing herself.“Will you ever be able to fix it?”“Perhaps there is still hope,” Optimus cast his gaze over to her for a moment before looking away. “but that all depends.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The cars drove busily down the highway. Each on their own journey, heading to their separate destinations. Each minding their own business, each keeping to their own time. A single, dark blue ram truck was one of these cars. Keeping a steady speed down the road, keeping the flow with the other cars. The large trucks blinkers flickered on, warning the other cars behind it was intending to turn into the right lane. As it squeezed into between two other cars, the driver behind the wheel knew that he would be arriving at his destination soon enough. By late night, maybe just before midnight, he would arriving.The music in his truck was blaring loud, and reached to turn it up even louder as the song switched to a new tune. His words slurred with the lyrics, beautifully combining with the music. His voice, sweet and soft.“Danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a white coat, danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a broad boat,” His eyes shifted nervously from left to right as he surveyed the road. “and the water! Water! Running clear beneath a white throat…” He hummed softly to the rest of the song. Music always had helped him to keep the voice away, even better if he himself was talking or singing along. His fingers twitched on the wheel when he spotted a police car on the side of the road, but the officer was busy with giving someone else a ticket and didn’t even second glance any of the cars on the road, let along him. He still felt sick as he passed the officer though. He would be where he needed to go in just a few hours though, so he kept on humming and twitching his fingers.-O-Rose’s face lit up as she heard an all too familiar voice. Standing up and turning on her heel, she smiled at Kevin as he walked towards her. Glancing at Optimus’s holo form she watched as he nodded for her to go on before rushing over to her old friend and embracing him in a hug. He returned it happily, laughing as he did so.“I almost wasn’t expecting you to come.” He said as they pulled apart.“Almost wasn’t. But I think we decided to stay a bit longer.”“Well, why not make it for a few more days? I mean, your birthday is coming up, right?” He asked.“You actually remembered my birthday?”“How could I forget?” He smiled warmly at her. Blushing, she smiled back before glancing at the ground. While they there had never been any romantics between them, there possibly could have been if the variables had been set right. If it wasn’t for August, who had always made sure Kevin wouldn’t so much as glance at he like that, or if it wasn’t for Rose herself, who had always pushed away all potential dates and had been too scared to ever commit to a true relationship. If it wasn’t for their eighth grade dance, the one where Kevin tried in his best efforts to build up his courage and finally ask her to dance, but then August butted in and ruined it. But most of all, if it wasn’t for Libby who had never been at that same dance. If she hadn’t been there to cheer Kevin up after his attempts to ask Rose to dance had failed. If she hadn’t been there to say should would dance with him instead, then maybe, just maybe Rose and Kevin could have been something more.But they weren’t.And ever since that eighth grade year, Kevin and Libby have been inseparable. It was only in tenth grade he finally ask her out on an official date. Rose’s two best friends. She didn’t even feel any kind of negative emotions towards Libby for taking away her own potential chances at a happy relationship. Instead, she had felt happy knowing that she helped cause a beautiful couple. For the time being, she didn’t mind if she was by herself“So uh, I had thought I saw you driving away in a big rig yesterday.” He glanced at the truck behind her. “That just proves it I guess. I just uh, well maybe an explanation would help me out a bit here.” His eyes then landed on Optimus’s holo form. ‘Orion’ walked over to the two young adults.“Oh uh, it a long story.” Rose sighed, trying to avoid answering it as she didn’t really want to lie to her friend.“I’ve got all day.” Kevin glared at her almost now. “And I’d really like to hear about how you parents are in Colorado, that sounds interesting.” Rose made a small sound, cracking a smile but inside she slumped. What would she tell him?“I had offered her a ride as we happened to be heading the same way.” He said curtly. “I know her father and was telling him about where I had to go and he asked me if I could take Delta Rose with me.f” Rose nearly felt like slapping her forehead as well as Optimus’s but instead all she did was cringe a little at the glare Kevin sent her before she smiled warily.“Alright, I mean no offence to you Orion, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I honestly have no idea what the fuck is going on here,” He turned back to his friend and gave her a disappointing look. “you know better than to accept a ride from a stranger, and that’s what you two are.” He called their bullshit. Optimus seemed confused and looked to Rose. He had only been going along with what she had told him after and had thought his lie was sound proof. He didn’t understand why the boy was so upset. “What are you doing Rose? Are you hitchhiking? Why does he keep lying?” He was doing his best not to yell at her, she could tell.“I wasn’t hitchhiking.” She grew upset. “Yeah okay, I don’t actually know him, he’s not an old family friend. Orion and I ran in to each other and found that we were just both going in the same direction.”“And what direction is that exactly?” Kevin folded his arms over his chest.“Her parents are having a business meeting down in Colorado.” Optimus spoke up now. Kevin’s arms fell. The eighteen year old stared at the older male, squinting his eyes at him and opening his mouth before shutting it and opening it again. He looked over to Rose now but she didn’t look back. Instead she was looking at the ground, shuffling her feet.“Rose,” He finally said softly. It a moment, but slowly she brought her head up and shifted her large brown eyes to look at her old friend. “What’s really going on.” He asked, his voice only just over a whisper. “Did you really tell him this?” The girl glanced over to the holo form next to her who was staring intently at her, confusion laced in his gaze as well as a serious harness that made her feel bad for being caught in a lie. Licking her lips nervously, she looked back to Kevin. His green eyes mixed with many emotions, but none of which she could decipher at the moment. Sighing though she finally nodded.Optimus looked between the two of them, blinking before deciding to speak up. “Am I missing something?” He asked, eye brows furrowing together.“Yes. In fact, you are.” Kevin’s eyes never left Rose as she looked back to the ground. “But I don’t think I should be the one to tell you.” She looked up now with a gulp before turning her head to look at the Prime who was staring at her, his own gaze never wavering.“I um, my parents aren’t really in Colorado.” She swallowed as a shudder passed through her. She felt her cheeks grow hot with the possibility of tears but she kept a straight face on as she looked at the hologram. He only starred at her, something in gaze changing.“We will talk about this later.” He said sternly.“Hey wait, she doesn’t have to talk about anything if she doesn’t want to.” Kevin suddenly butted in, pushing himself between Rose and Optimus, not liking the way Orion had sounded like he was ordering her around. “Who are you even?”“Kevin, stop it’s alright,” Rose tried to move around her friend, but he wouldn’t let her.“No, it’s not. I didn’t know before that you didn’t even him. Rose, what’s going on? Where are you going?” He was becoming angry again. She starred at him, her expression scrunching up into her own frown.“I don’t know. But it shouldn’t matter to you.” She growled, pushing him aside and stepping over to Optimus’s holo. “You never even called me when I left. No one did.” She growled.“I, I’m sorry.” He said with a change in the tone of his voice. “We all are, but you just moved away so quickly and none of us even knew why until a week after you were already gone.” He slumped his stance. “I’ll admit we didn’t call you, but none of us knew what to say, and you took down your facebook, we figured you didn’t want anyone around for a little while.”“Then I guess that’s my fault. . .” She looked at the ground.“Don’t beat yourself up, no one knew how to handle it. Look, I’m sorry I’m getting worked up. I’m sure you have your own reasons for doing whatever it is you’re doing. I’m not going to press anymore on you.” He sighed. “But, maybe whatever it is can wait just a few more days?” He glanced up at her. “We were all talking about maybe throwing you a birthday party this weekend, just for good time’s sake.” He said. Rose blinked, a party? It did sound nice to be with her friends again, especially on her birthday, but she knew there were more pressing matters.“I believe that sounds like a good idea.” Optimus put in, looking down at the girl and giving his approval that it would be okay for them to stay in the two for just a few more days. At least until the Decepticons appeared again. Or little to his knowledge, someone else.“Alright, I can stay. But only until by Birthday.” She offered her friend a smile now. He smiled back before tugging her into a hug.“I’m sorry, I’m just worried.” He said.“You’re always worried.” She huffed humorously as they pulled apart.“Alright, well I better go. Gotta tell the others that you’re sticking around.” He grinned.“Okay, see you later then.” She waved to him. Walking away, he waved back before climbing into his car and turning on the engine. She watched as he drove away and out of the park parking lot before sighing and turning to Optimus who was now staring at her. His eyes glaring into her own and she cringed a little.“Get in.” He said, his voice commanding and holding no patience as the hologram fizzled away. Rose swallowed, before doing as he said and walking over to the waiting truck door. As it opened for her, she climbed into the passenger seat and looked down at the floor. She expected him to start driving away as the door closed, but he didn’t. He instead stayed right where he was. The silence around them lasted for many seconds, but it felt more like hours and Rose wished he would speak soon, but at the same time, she wished he wouldn’t.“You lied to me.” He finally spoke. “I know.” She whispered.“You have put yourself in the middle of a war because of your careless actions, because of a lie.” He continued. She only slumped even more, her ears heating up in guilt.“I hadn’t meant to.” She said quietly.“So now, I am trusting you to tell me the truth and am offering you a second chance.” She hated how disappointed he sounded at her. How angry he was at her for lying to him.“I don’t know where I’m going.” She finally managed to choke out. “I just, I don’t know. I don’t know. . .” She frowned, eye brows furrowing. “I thought I would come here anyways, where else would I go? He might not even be after me I suppose, but I saw what he did, there is no way he would just let that lie on its own.” She paused. “I bet he’s already found me again. I bet he’s on his way, if not already here.”“Who?” The Prime asked, his voice less stern that had been before, but still powerful.“No one. Just,” She sighed. “I’m in a lot of trouble, that’s all. But I think it’ll be over in a couple of days.” She was positive it would be.“Rose, if you are in any danger, I need you to tell me. Now.” His message was clear and she sighed again, shifting in her seat.“Alright.” She nodded after a moment’s hesitation, and after putting on a straight face she sucked in a breath. “My mom died three months ago, here, in Maverick. It was a heart attack that no one expected. We were already panning on moving, so just a few days later we went back to New York. I walked in on something I shouldn’t have there, I had to leave.” She said vaguely.The truck remained silent for many more moments before finally venting. “I condone my deepest apologies for your loss,” He said with understanding. “but you still have not explained who it is that is on their way to find you.” Rose’s face twisted a little now. She had been hoping that maybe he wouldn’t bring it up, but of course he would.“He’s not a problem I don’t think. How could he possibly know where I am anyways?” She tried to shrug it off.Optimus stayed silent for a moment, as if he wasn’t pleased with her answer, but after a little bit he finally spoke again. “Thank you for telling me.” His engine turned on and the semi roared to life. “That is everything, correct?” He then asked.“Pretty much.” Rose confirmed. But as he pulled out of the parking space and drove slowly out of the park, something was still nagging at the girl. Maybe she should have told him what she saw. Maybe she should have told him who was following her. But maybe it was best she left it untold. Maybe things would run smoothly on its own.Yes, things would. She knew they would. Besides, why should she be scared? She had Optimus and Smokescreen to protect her. And even when the Prime had told her he was not allowed to harm humans, he wouldn’t necessarily have to harm anyone in order to keep her safe.Letting herself relax in the seat, she glanced out the window and watched as the town rolled slowly by. The sun was still high in the sky, but she knew that in a matter of only four or so hours it would be setting. And with the setting sun, would end her fourth day with the Autobots. For a brief moment, she wondered where Smokescreen was and wanted to ask, but decided not to. He was probably still patrolling.Suddenly though, she was thrown forwards, hitting the dash board with a thump and a short scream. There was a honk from the car behind them and groaning, Rose sat up and looked out the front window. A small, silver Honda had cut them off and was now angled oddly in front of them. Rose groaned again.“I apologize,” Optimus began as Rose sat back in her seat, rubbing her head. “I had all but forgotten about a seat belt.” Said belt wrapped around her as he said this, clicking into place and tightening around her.“No, no. It’s fine. I forgot too.” She waved him off.Optimus made no sounds to reply, but instead continued to drive down the commercial road. Neither said anything more, but Optimus kept glancing over at the small human he carried within him. He felt as if he should say something more about what she had said and her confession to him. but that topic was now over and it was too late for him to offer her any more condolences.While he was still quite crossed at her for lying to him, he believed he had a better understanding of why she did now, and could not really blame her for not wanting to tell him her personal matters. It was still all quite off putting to the Prime and he had yet to really put a finger on it all yet, he knew there was more to know. She had been quite vague near the end of explanation. But, he would not push it. Not for now at least. She was keeping something from him, and while he felt like it would be good for him to know what was troubling her, it really was none of his business. Not at the moment anyways. It was not his place to intrude any further on her personal life than he already did. And so for the time being, he would let that small gap remain until she was ready to tell him.Considering they had only just met days ago, that small gap might stay there for quite some time.What he could put together though, was that whatever she had witnessed had shook her. Someone was coming, and for this, he worried. Not for his own safety, but for hers.But maybe he would be able to learn about her if he played the cards right.“I suppose since you have told me about yourself, you deserve to know a little about me.” He broke the long silence that had overwhelmed the cab of the truck. Rose’s attention perked and she looked at the steering wheel expectantly. “What is the human saying? And eye for and eye?” He mused over the expression but this only made her cringe a little. “Anyways, ask me what you wish.” He then said. Rose only blinked. She had already asked him many questions, but they had been more about the Autobots and Decepticons and Cybertron. Not him specifically.“Uh,” She took a moment to think of what she wanted to think, but her mind was remaining a black nothingness. “What did you do?” She finally asked. “Before the war started, who was Optimus Prime?” She rephrased.“I was a clerk at the hall of icon by the name of, Orion Pax.” He replied with the simple statement. She understood now why he called his hologram Orion. Rose waited for him to continue for a few moments, but then frowned a little when she realized that was it.“Friends, family, girlfriend?” She prodded a little.“Yes, I had them as well.” He said. Rose did her best not groan a little. Well there went her chance about finding out more about him. As if sensing her disappointment in his dim lighted answer, Optimus turned on his holo form and sighed. The blond girl glanced over to him before looking away again.“My mentor went by the name of Alpha Trion.” He said after many moment of silence. “He found me as a sparkling and raised me as his own.” A drop of sorrow was detected in his voice and Rose once again made herself look up at him. Her dark eyes searched his face and she could see the troubled look he carried. “I have not seen him since we evacuated off world.” He sighed after his long pause. She bit the inside of her lip and she found herself squeezing the seat a little.In turn, the hologram turned to look at her and she gave him a small, reassuring smile.“I’m sure he’s out there.” She said. He glanced at her for a moment, his expression somewhat hard before he warmed up slightly as he pulled off of the main road and began to head towards the forest drive again.“What are we going to the forest again for? It’s still pretty early.”“Smokescreen privately commed me to meet him there.”The drive was short enough. And nearly as soon as Optimus pulled over only just a few miles out of town Smokescreen came too and paused before transforming. Rose reached for the seat belt buckle so she could get out. As soon as she was on the ground he transformed.“Alright, well there are no signs of the Decepticons.” Smokescreen said, interrupting the two. “I think we lost them.”“I would not count on it. They are most likely waiting for a more preferable time to attack.” Optimus contradicted.“What kind of time would that be?” Smokescreen frowned.“Most likely one where our guard is dropped.” The Prime predicted.“Yeah well, I’m always ready to kick some ‘Con aft.” He jumped side to side, punching the air a few times with enthusiasm. “But anyways, while we are here, why don’t we walk around a bit? I did some snooping around and found that the area on this side of the road isn’t really often used.” He said, jerking a thumb behind him, the opposite way of the gorge.“Yeah and there’s a reason.” Rose frowned at him. Turning their attention to the human, both Cybertronian’s waited for her to continue. “There’s this house out there, most of the area of the woods over there was owned by a farmer, but once they died the land became state property.”“So?” Smokescreen snorted, undeterred.“There have been a lot of accidents in those woods. A lot of people go missing. It’s not off limits, there are a few old trails and kids sometimes like to dare each other to go into the house, but it’s just, it’s not a good a place.” She stared at the forest, a shiver running down her spine. “And it’s weird, it’s only in the property that belonged to the couple. The house itself has been abandoned for years, but when I was little there were rumors that someone had moved in. Right around then was when everything bad started to happen. Of course, police checked it out, and nothing in that place had been used for years. But, who knows?” She shrugged.Smokescreen seemed a little more uncertain about going into the forest now, but then shook his head to clear the unwanted thoughts. “Well, I’m sure we’ll be fine. After all, it’s only myths and legends right?” Rose only stared at him.“For now, I believe it would be best to stay in vehicular form.” Optimus said as he placed Rose on the ground. Transforming, he allowed her climb in as Smokescreen also changed into his own car mode. Together, the three rode into town, driving in silence as Rose slowly watched the darkness fill the sky. They were soon parked on the far edge of town. She had already climbed onto the bed in the back and was staring up at the semi’s ceiling. Thinking. Thinking about what she had told Optimus. Thinking about what she hadn’t told him.-O-The man glanced at the towns sign. He shuddered at it, not liking the thought that came to him. He hated this place now, he thought that she would hate it too. He twitched his fingers. He glanced in the rear view mirror but only saw himself. The tape over his eye was not pleasant and not good medical work on his part. He thought about taking it off to look at the gruesome wreckage underneath it, but stopped himself. He didn’t he would have the stomach to look at it. He wondered if his eye would become infected if it already hadn’t. He felt angry and sad about it, but what was the old saying?
And eye for an eye.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Rose perhaps found the strangest aspect of her current life was how normal it had been just a little while ago. Things had been great. She had been perfectly happy. She knew where she was going in life, she loved her family, her friends, and her life. She didn’t care what others thought of her, all she cared about was that she knew who she was. What anyone else thought or said about it didn’t matter. Her friends were great, a tight knit group that stuck together through thick and thin. Her mother was loving, and did her best to make her children happy. And her step father, who to her, was her was nothing short of a real dad. Yes, like every family they had fights, child and child, child and parent, parent and parent, but there was nothing really to complain about in life. Nothing except for Jason.Her brother had been loving towards her, and did his best to keep her safe even when there was no harm.She sighed and rolled over in Optimus’s cab, it was early. Three in the morning. She had woken up at two thirty but hadn’t been able to go back to sleep. Her thoughts plagued her with the thought of her brother. The thought of her family, no longer with her. Some gone forever, others leaving her without a word. It had left a tight pain in her chest, and as the years grew on, and more people left, that pain only expanded. It had been there for a long time, ever since her father left them, but only did it really start to hurt when other family members followed suit. She had hid it well and her brother had helped her with the pain.But while he didn’t leave, he might as well have. He had changed as they grew older. She could tell, it had been building in him for years. And she knew it was caused by the same pain she was feeling, but while she had pushed that pain to the side and not let it take over her life so she could continue to be happy, he had done just the opposite. He had let it eat at him, fester inside of his soul and rotting his core. He had become more violent, acting on impulses rather than using common sense. She noticed he talked to himself sometimes but thought nothing of it.She shuddered harshly and rolled again, pulling the covers higher up on her until they completely covered her shoulders. She normally didn’t sleep with a shirt on, as she found in the middle of the night it would usually be crumpled up awkwardly on her body, but considering she was inside of a living being she kept her decency and her shirt. But, thinking he wouldn’t mind, she had kicked off her pants before going into his bed. After all, jeans really aren’t the best material to sleep in.Jason hadn’t always been a problem. Most of her life, he had been a solution. But now he was her greatest fear.She didn’t know if she should be thankful to Optimus for running her over, and helping her get of her own problems, or curse him for dragging her into his war.She wanted to throw Jason behind bars, sealing him away from her life forever. She couldn’t say she wanted him dead, but she wanted him gone. She would take care of that once she knew she was safe. For now she would just have to wait.Shifting again, she eased part of the covers off her and let her arm out as she beginning to get a little too hot. She felt tired, but she didn’t feel like she could sleep and so she turned again.“Having trouble recharging?” Optimus’s deep lion like voice made her jolt before she settled again with a sigh.“Yeah.” She said.“Anything you wish to speak about?” He asked.“Maybe later, after we get to your base I’d like to talk to file a report to someone in charge.” She said.“Very well, you will have to speak with Agent William Fowler.” He replied, turning on his engine. Rose frowned as he started to drive and sat up to look over at the steering wheel.“Where are we going?” She asked.“Nowhere really.” The semi’s voice held a shrug.“Then why are we driving?” The girl blinked.Optimus’s engrain rumbled deeply and soothingly as he drove, pausing before he spoke and said, “One of the other humans on base, Rafael, has told myself and the others stories of his home life. One such I remember him speaking about his mother driving his younger siblings around when they could not go to sleep. I figured it might work under these circumstances as well.” Rose hummed now in thought, noting that it had always seemed to put her asleep too as a child. Humming at the thought of it she laid back down.“Alright well, thank you Optimus.” She said. The truck said nothing in turn, but he didn’t need to as Rose snuggled back into the covers and slowly fell back to sleep. He watched as her eyes began to droop and he waited only until her breathing evened to drive back to the spot Smokescreen was deep in recharge at.She found it strange though, as she fell asleep, that the simple hum of a truck could lull her to sleep and that the feeling of the road passing by underneath could sooth her so. What she found even stranger though, was that now, with the presence of Optimus with her, staying awake for her, she not only felt calmed now but she even felt a little, dare she say, happier. It warmed her to know he would spend his much needed recharge time on her needs. Even if it was a small gesture, it warmed her heart. But then there was a troubling thought.He had really only shown her kindness so far. Yes, he was stern, but he had been kind. He had saved her a few times now, he had paid her smaller tokens of kindness as well such as the ride he was giving her now to help her sleep. And yet, what had she done for him? What had she done for Smokescreen either? She had done nothing for the both of them. She had only burdened her weight on them.She vowed silently that she would do something for them. She didn’t know what, but she would figure it out.After a few hours, waking up was something slow. Her dream had been haunted by the thoughts of Decepticons and battles. She had really only see two so far, but they were enough for one lifetime in her opinion. She was a person who much more preferred a not so dangerous life. Yes, she liked having some adventures, but really she was a laid back kind of person. Having all of this mayhem thrown at her, plus that of the chaos she was already in, was just a bit more than she could handle.But now she was awake, sort of. She felt tired still, and instead of getting up, she only groaned softly and rolled over, flipping the pillow to a colder side before snuggling back in.Optimus had pulled over to his original spot again, sound asleep himself as morning came over them.She felt like it had been forever since she had really slept and Optimus had let her actually do that the past couple of nights. It felt refreshing. She thought about what the next day would bring. Tomorrow, she would get to open her gift. Tomorrow they would be arriving at the Autobot base. Tomorrow Jason wouldn’t be a threat.But it was not tomorrow, instead, it was today, and today she was still in as much of harm’s way as she had ever been before. Maybe even more, considering he would probably be searching for her double time now. After all, he had just as much time as she did. Not only had seen what he had done, but she thought he was after her for a completely different reason as well, and that reason was on a timer that matched up with her turning eighteen.As of this moment, she couldn’t find herself to really care. At the time being, she felt nice and safe, cozied up inside the alien semi. But with that thought, she really began to panic inside. She had met aliens. She was currently sitting inside of an alien. The term had never seemed as foreign to her as it did right then. Not only had it once and for all proved to her that there was, one hundred percent, without a doubt, other life besides that of earth, it also made her feel like she was a part of something greater. How many other humans know about the existence of aliens? A few kids in high school and a couple of different governments at the most? And now, she was a part of that. She was in on the secret.It also made her wonder though, if these huge robots were able to hide so well and yet so visible among people, then were there others out there too? Where there other life forms from other worlds, hiding beneath her nose? Or was it just these Cybertronian’s? Her mind was left racing and she found herself forcing on a headache.Sitting up she took a deep breath to clear her mind before deciding just to get up. It wasn’t like she was going to go back to sleep now anyways. Still not all too sure if Optimus was a light sleeper of not, she carefully got out of the bed and stretched with a yawn. She had to admit, her favorite part about the semi was that she could actually stand up in it. Reaching for her jeans she was about to put them on before frowning. They were quite dirty. Dried mud was smeared down by the ends and one of the knees was now ripped. A splash of hardy visible dried blood was spotted just next to the tear and she wrinkled her nose at it. Sighing, she folded them back up and grabbed her other pair of jeans. They were much cleaner, as before she had met the Autobots she had spent some of her last money at a washer and dryer so at least one of her two outfits was clearn.Pulling the jeans on, she found they were one of her favorite pairs, the kind that stretched and fit her legs snugly. Taking off her shirt, she pulled out the only other one which long sleeves and holes she was able to poke her thumb out of. The black material was comfortable and also much cleaner than her previous shirt. Feeling much better in her fresher cloths, she pulled out a few hair ties and bobby pins, pulling her long hair back up into a quick bun. Her hair felt greasy to touch and she cringed at it. She would have to wash her hair again, perhaps this time though maybe in a real shower at a friend’s house.Putting on her boots, she set her bag aside before making her way to the front of the truck as carefully as she could. Opening his door, she stepped out and softly shut it before letting her shoulders relax.“Hey pipsqueak.” Rose jumped, turning around to glare at the sporty car who seemed to sink on his wheels at her glare. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologized quietly. Sighing, Rose shook her head before walking over to him. “Optimus is still asleep?” He asked with a hushed tone.“Yeah, I think so.” She whispered back, both of them afraid to wake him up. “Funny though, he doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of person to be a heavy sleeper.” She hummed.“I don’t really think he is, I mean, I don’t know him all too well, but out of all of us he was always one of the first bots up in the morning. Every morning.” Smokescreen replied.“I think he’s just probably stressed and now he finally has some time to get rest he needs, what him being the leader of you guys and what not” She suggested.“Yeah, that would make sense.” If he had been in his robot form he would had nodded. “But hey, why don’t we go take a quick drive and let him sleep a little longer?”“Sounds good” The young woman agreed. Opening his door, he waited as she got in his driver side. As she was buckled in and the door shut she glanced out to Optimus, somewhat worried about leaving him alone while he was asleep and unaware, before pushing the thought of her mind. He could take care of himself, besides, if he ran into trouble he could always comm Smokescreen for backup.As the young warrior began to drive, Rose took a moment to think about how weird it was to be in the sports car. After the few days she had been with them, she found she had gotten more used to the tallness of the semi and now that she was in a lower car, it was almost as if she was just hovering only inches above the ground. She ignored the weird feeling and instead took the wheel in her hands as they approached town to make it look as if she were the one driving.“Alright, where to?” She asked.“Well I was thinking it would be a good idea to get you some breakfast.” He offered.“No thanks, I’m actually not all that hungry right now.” She shrugged a reply.They drove for around two hours before Optimus commed them, asking where they both had disappeared to. Really they hadn’t gone much of anywhere. They drove around, Rose eventually got something to eat, and Smokescreen, using his holo form, got to pet a dog with much enthusiasm on his part. With Rose’s friends at school at the moment, it left the two with nothing much to do but it was nice still. The young Autobot eased the stress off of her and she was feeling more relaxed as the two began to joke around town. She got to get to know a little more of his personality and she found she rather found him to be fun.As the two drove back to where Optimus was waiting at the place he called a randevu at near the park they had been at yesterday, she could see his holo form standing in front of him, arms crossed and a rather un-amused look on his face as they drove up. As Rose got out, Smokescreen turned on his own hologram and Rose could see the kind of guilty look on his face, like a child about to be scolded. Rose was certain she had the same look on her face.He glared at the two for a moment, but said nothing. Although, both of them knew he was displeased about their little disappearance. After a moment though he turned around and his door opened as the holo stepped in the driver’s side, the passenger door opening as well.“I am going to patrol the northern side of town, Smokescreen you cover the south, then make your way to east and I west. We will meet at a later location that I will decide.” He said sternly. Rose and Smokescreen looked at each other, both feeling guilty for going off on their own without telling him before Smokescreen’s human form fizzled away and Rose sighed, walking over to the passenger door of the truck that was awaiting her.Climbing into the semi, she sat down tensely as the buckle wrapped around her a bit too tightly and the door closed with slam. He didn’t look at her, or say anything as he started his engine and drove out of the parking lot although it didn’t take long for Rose to break.“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you where we going. It’s just, we know you need to get some rest and well, we didn’t want to wake you up. We thought you could use as much rest as possible. I’m sorry, we should have at least told you.” She apologized. The Prime sighed.“And I should thank you for taking my wellbeing into consideration, but at the time being, we have to take precautions, especially with the Decepticons most likely watching our every move.” He said.“Alright well, I won’t do it again. I promise.” She smiled over to him. He glanced at her, his expression seemingly to change before he nodded. Casting a look over to the clock on Optimus’s dash, Rose saw it was a little past one o’clock.“Now, don’t mind me asking,” Optimus began, seemingly more over his past anger at both Smokescreen and Rose. “Who it is you are worried about?” He didn’t feel that he was willing to wait for an answer as he had originally planned on doing.“My brother.” The Prime starred at her with an unreadable expression, but she paid no attention to it.“Why?” He asked now.“Let me ask you something first.” Optimus frowned and looked as if he wanted to say something, but she was already talking. “How did you become the leader of the Autobots?” She asked. He seemed a bit surprised at her question before turning his gaze back to the road.“I was searching for a way to help revive Cybertron in its final days.” He said, turning on his blinker to show the drivers behind him he was about to turn. “The war was consuming our planet all too quickly and so I ventured to the very core in my final attempt to save it.” He turned the corner. “But instead of finding a power source, I was face to face with Primus himself and in his own desperate state, he bestowed the Matrix upon me.” He paused, remembering the distant memory with a warm, and yet so very cold of a feeling. Sensing he was done, Rose glanced down at her feet with a slow frown. “The matrix did not care who it was given to, I only was given it by chance. Anyone who went there would have been bestowed with its power, it was desperate as was Primus.”“It’s to have chosen right anyways.” She said after a moment of silence.“Why are you worried about your brother?” He went back to his previous question.“Investments, loans, debts. Money.” She said. It was what she honestly believed it was, it was the only ration explanation she could come up with. “I had been at a new friend’s house, I was going to spend the night, but I was feeling sick so I decided to go back home. My stepdad Thomas and I had just moved to New York, Jason is a little older than me and moved out five years ago. I was surprised to find him at my house when I got home, I thought he was visiting.” Rose paused, her face void of expression. “He was holding a lamp in his hand, I, I don’t think he went over there with the intention of killing him, I’m not sure what happened, but Thomas was on the ground. He’d beaten him to death.” She could only think that Jason had gone to ask Thomas for money, Jason was always asking Thomas for money. Maybe Thomas had refused him, maybe Jason had panicked and killed him for life insurance. She didn’t know what other reason Jason would have other than that, he’d always been impulsive, he’d always been tight his dollar.“I think he’s going to try and kill me.” She added softly. She was a witness, and he could collect more insurance on her as well. Though, she thought back to that night.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” He said, setting down the metal lamp and slowly walking over to her. “we’re okay now, we’re both going to be fine.” He had given her a relieved smile. Rose backed up and bumped softly into the table behind her. She glanced down at it and saw a pen sitting at the edge. She glanced back to Jason who was right in front of her, pulling her into a hug. She began to panic as he made soothing hushing sounds.
“Rose its over, its all okay.” He said against her. She reached behind her, feeling around on the table. When her fingers brushed against the pen she grabbed hold of it. Pushing against Jason, she lifted the pen in the air and shoved it in his eye. He had shouted in pain, letting her go. She ran away from him then, grabbing her backpack that she had left by the front door and bolting down the street.
“Rose!” Jason shouted after her. “Rose!”
Optimus said nothing. He thought of the mech he had once called his brother and how he had betrayed him and felt himself wondering what could have corrupted her brother to do the same. While she had answered that question already, it was still a vague and she had said it without any certainty. But he felt now that the dark shadow was gone and he knew what it was that had been troubling her. He now knew what to look out for if trouble came her way.It was troublesome to him though, the thought of having to protect yet another human. And with her it could have been so easily avoided. But he had panicked when he had seen Laserbeak that day they first met. Thinking back on it, he now realized he could have easily just driven away, leaving her behind. So what if the Decepticon spy had seen them conversing? Would that have really been all that important to the Decepticons? Probably not. They most likely would have thought nothing of it. Oh how easy it could have been to just let her go, but no, he had felt the fear that yet another human had been put in danger when really, it was his own imaginings.And now, not only was she stuck with her own problems, but he had dragged her into his. He had now involved her in an ages old conflict and there was no turning back. And who would be the one to ensure her safety back at base? Most of the Autobots already had partners. Ratchet was far too busy, now more than ever what with the recent spike in Decepticon activity. The doctor was constantly having to keep a sharp optic on the monitors, looking for any sign of their enemy. Wheeljack was still exploring earth on his own time whereas Smokescreen was still too inexperienced with combat to really provide ensuring safety to her. Optimus himself was busy with the task of leading the team, managing the entire affair. -O-The school bells rang loud and immediately the halls were filled, cluttered with the students of the school. Kevin was of no exception as he rushed out of class, hurrying to get out of the building and head over to the old Chinese restaurant where he knew his friends and more would be waiting, all of them excited over Rose’s return home, all of them collaborating their ideas for a party while enjoying some delicious Chinese food. It had been Libby’s idea originally to have a surprise birthday party for Rose, but it was August’s idea to eat at the restaurant to collaborate some ideas.They had done the same the previous day, only at a Mexican restaurant instead. Lots of them had already chipped some money in for the decorations, and the house as to where they were having it was already decided. Kevin’s house. It was only fair, considering there were only two people in the entire group of six people who had a pool. And the other person’s parents wouldn’t let her have a party at her own house, so it was left up to him. He only knew about three of the other people in the group closely, the other three he had only spoken to on a few occasions, but when it came to Rose they were all more than willing to get together. After all while Kevin and Libby had been her closest two friends, the other four had always been a step behind. Of course she had had a few couple more friends who she was less attached to at school, but these were the people who she most enjoyed the company of.And they would not be the only ones at the party. Kevin knew Rose had never really been the biggest of partiers and the most social of butterflies as it had taken her a long time to acquire the friends she desired, but he felt she would appreciate the effort her friends would out into the party, and with all the guests there as well, that being of most of their grade in student body, he knew she would have at least a little fun. Word had spread fast around the school that a party would be held soon. Everyone who had either had a class with the birthday girl, or who had even only maybe bumped into her in the hallways were coming.But those who knew her name but not her, were mostly not going. A vicious rumor had spread around the school after she left. Mystery and murder clinging to it. Of course though, most people just rolled their eyes and let the rumors slip by without a thought, after all, they had been just so outlandish. One of the craziest ones was the idea that Rose had ghosted everyone because she was on the run after murdering her family. Who could have ever even thought of Rose killing someone? Some people even laughed, finding the crazy rumor to be just too much. But there were still a few who were wary of it.Kevin paid no mind to them, and neither did any of Rose’s other friends. Who cared if a few people way outside the friend circle didn’t show? Much of the entire senior class was already going to go and that was plenty enough in Kevin’s opinion. Of course he was a bit worried about what would happen to his house, but he knew most of the people going were fairly responsible and he tried to not to worry about it too much, so long as they keep the noise down so the neighbors wouldn’t complain. Alcohol was going to be a problem, as he knew a few kids might try to sneak it, but with his father being a cop and most of the students knowing that, he knew there shouldn’t be too much trouble with it.When he thought about it now, they really didn’t have much more to plan. He supposed going out to eat was their way of now somewhat congratulating themselves on a job well done for getting it up and running in such a short notice.Really all that was left to do was get a few more small party items set up and then try and get Rose to go to his house on Friday. All of which he thought should be easy enough.-O-Optimus didn’t feel that it was a good idea to leave Rose at the park by herself but she had insisted on it, saying that she wanted to talk to her friend on her own without Optimus in the conversation. He wasn’t even positive Kevin would show up that day, but even if he did, he did not want to leave the girl on her own. She continued to pressure him into just leaving her for a measly half hour. Finally, he had agreed, but with the last statement that he would only be a block away. Finding this acceptable, she came to agree with this too before heading off the park and to a suitable parking space.Of course, as soon as he parked, he turned on his holo form to keep a distant eye on her. And after spotting her, sitting on a bench in the distance, he felt some ease again.Rose sighed, kicking at the cement under foot as she shifted on the bench. She didn’t know if Kevin would come. She hoped he would. Libby too. She had missed them both so much, her two best friends. Although she did feel a little nervous now that Optimus or Smokescreen weren’t nearby. She felt like she had before, when she was on her own. She wasn’t afraid, no she knew Optimus was just around the corner, not to mention she could take care of herself just fine. But really, she could feel the ever looming presence of danger and she hated it. She hated knowing that her brother was out there, looking for her. She hated knowing the Decepticons were out there, looking for them. And she hated that she felt like she needed protection.She didn’t like being the damsel in distress. She hated needed saving, she hated feeling small. And being around large, very large robots for the past few days hadn’t helped those feelings. She wasn’t the kind of person to be looked down on. She wasn’t the kind of person who let others step over her. She had always been strong, but ever since her brother changed, so had she. She had become more timid, scared. She was still strong, but just a little more fearful. She didn’t know how to defend herself, she had never taken a class. She was smart, and perhaps that’s why she still hadn’t seen Jason. Sure, some of her moves weren’t very calculated. Like that of stealing from a gas station, but mostly, she had been reasonable with her choices.She didn’t need the Autobots protection. From the Decepticons, yes, but from her problems, she felt that she could handle them herself if she played the cards right. And she was nearly there, by tomorrow she was sure everything would be okay.“Rose!” She was suddenly tackled from behind and the blond let out a gasp of air before coughing up more and then trying to suck in a breath, all while trying to see who it was who had jumped on her.“Libby!” She twisted in her friends grip and returned the hug. Both girls laughed before letting go and Libby then hopped over the bench to sit by her friend as Kevin made a slow walk over.“How are you doing?” The small brunette girl asked, blinking large blue eyes at her friend.“It’s going good enough.” She smiled back.“Where’s Orion?” Kevin suddenly chipped in with a frown.“Oh, I uh, think he just went to go get some gas.” She shrugged. Her lie was obvious, but Kevin either didn’t notice it, or didn’t pay enough attention to it.“Ah yeah, I’d imagine a semi would take up quite the gallons.” He said but his mind was only half on topic. The after school meal at the restaurant had gone well and only lasted around forty minuets. Everything was now set, everyone knew the plan. All that needed to happen was to make sure Rose stayed another day.“So uh, hey, are you gonna stay here for your Birthday?” He asked.“Oh um, I don’t know.” She shrugged.“Come on, why not?” Libby tugged on her arm. “If you stay, we could do all do something together. I already have your present picked out.” She pleaded. Rose sighed.“Alright, I’ll stay.” She was planning on staying anyway, she wanted to know her friends wanted her to. Although, her smile slowly disappeared at the look on Libby’s face. “What?” She asked. Her friend blinked, taking her eyes away from whatever she was staring at for a brief moment to look at Rose, before looking back to the sky.“Nothing, it’s just that plane is awfully low, isn’t it?” She said. Turning around, Rose looked up to see a sleek air craft quickly zipping through the air.“Doesn’t really look like a plane.” Kevin commented with a shrug in his voice as if he didn’t care all too much, but Rose did. She who it was. Laser Beak.“I’m sorry, I have to go, I’ll meet you guys tomorrow at well . . . Somewhere.” She said quickly before turning around and running off, leaving her friends in a confused state to her abrupt leave. Just as she was out of sight, Optimus’s hologram was already blocking her way, grabbing hold of her arm and pulling her off into a large cut bush that lined the parks walls. Shoving her inside, he told her crouch down and she complied.“Stay here out of trouble. Ratchet has just commed me that there are Decepticon signatures in the area coming towards us.” He said.“I know, I just saw Laserbeak.” She said as she moved against the bush in a new position so the branch poking her back wouldn’t hurt so much.“That must be how they have found us again. I imagine they have been searching the area intently for us.”“And now they’ve found us.” Rose swallowed.“Precisely. I want you to stay here, do not come after us. I will come back once I know we will be able to make a safe get away and then we are leaving this area.” He said. Rose frowned but had no time to protest as the hologram disappeared and suddenly her only company was the bush around her. She thought about them leaving, she didn’t really want to, she wanted to stay an extra day with her friends. But she also knew it would be best to leave. With her brother after her, it was dangerous to stay in one spot to long, and with the Decepticons after them the same rule applied.She would of course willingly go on with the Autobots, but she still somewhat resented the idea of leaving her friends again without so much as a goodbye. But would she rather do that, or risk the possibly of death? The answer was obvious to her at least, but also with this, she noted the Autobots were in just as much danger as she was. She felt like such a liability to them, but perhaps she could help.Slowly, she stepped out of the push and onto the sidewalk. She had felt a bit silly, hiding in a bush, but seeing that no one was really around to watch her clumsily step-fall out, she felt a bit better. She couldn't see Laserbeak flying around either which eased her tension, but still she felt wary. She thought for a moment, if Optimus and Smokescreen knew the Decepticons had found them, then where would they all be?It was clear to her that Decepticons didn't care much to hide themselves, considering they had chosen to pick a fight on the middle of a highway the first time they met. The Autobots seemed less enthusiastic about being seen and wouldn't want to wish harm on any human. With this she decided that Optimus had probably drove back into the forest area where they could have a battle away from civilization, luring the Decepticons out of town which could also explain why he left here there too, so she would stay safe.But she didn't want to stay safe anymore. She wanted to help. And as stupid as it sounded, even to her, she was going to. Beginning a brisk walk, she cut through the park and back over to the parking lot. Spying a bike rack, she slipped over to it and checked for unlocked bikes. There were six on the rack and of them she found two that were not secured. Looking over her shoulder, she quickly chose the light blue mountain bike and hopped onto it before pedaling away. She didn't hear any shouts of complaints or yells for her to stop which told her no one must have noticed or cared.She felt bad for stealing the bike, but vowed to herself that she would return it later. For now though, she pedaled off onto the road and headed towards the woods area where she knew they would be.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She could hear it now, she could hear the shouts of command and the gun fire. It was distant, but she could hear it. They were further than the gorge, that she knew. Maybe by a mile or two. She had never been very good at trail riding but it would seem that if she wanted to reach them she would have to. Turning off the road she peddled towards their general direction, letting the sound of battle lead her. And it was not a sound she liked. As she drew ever near, she could the terrible scream of Smokescreen, his vocalizer filled with pain as his echo carried through the forest. It took several minutes and finally she had to set the bike down as she knew the rest of the way she would have to run. And run she did.She broke through in an opening in the forest. Rose had never been this far past the gorge and the meadow was completely knew to her. But she paid no mind to it as all she could focus on was the battle that was sieging before her. She knew Optimus and Smokescreen must have been fighting for over fifteen minutes now, and they were not doing well. Ten drones remained and she could see five more on the ground, their energon pooling around them. Three Insecticon’s were also still standing whereas only two lay dead. The large blue mech that she had seen once before on the first day she met the Autobots was there as well, savagely tearing at Smokescreen who was holding up well, but had to keep one servo over the nasty gash on his side, his own energon leaking between his digits. Still in the tree line she shifted to hiding behind one trunk to another before she spotted Optimus who was hand in hand with his own enemy, a silver mech even larger than himself. The two were throwing hard punches before Optimus finally drew out his sword and slashed at his competitor who followed suit with his own sword of choice. All the while both of the Autobots were having to avoid the fire of both the Drones and Insecticon’s.Seeing the battle she realized that the past two fights were only mocks, but this time they meant to destroy them. Although something caught her eye as Smokescreen took a shot at an Insecticon charging at him. Its mandible flew off with the blast and energon sputtered out of its new wound and on the ground. A miss fired second shot from Smokescreen hit the small pool of energon and it caught on fire fast and blazed. It was not a large enough flame to catch onto anything else, and was too far away to travel to anymore flammable items including the dead drones pooling energon. Rose stared at this for what felt like a long time but in reality was only a few seconds before it really clicked into her brain.Energon was flammable.Looking back to the fire still burning in the small area across the meadow from where she was standing she shifted from leg to another, her thoughts spinning with stupid ideas.Turning back into the woods, she hurriedly searched for a branch. Finding one, she picked it up only to find it was sopping wet and proceeded to throw it back down. Instead of searching for a dry stick, she grabbed a few ferns with a feeling of urgency and pulled the three large leaves from the plant before turning back to the clearing. She hesitated as she looked at the fight again. She knew she was stupid for doing this, she really did, and for a brief moment she wondered if the other humans that Optimus had spoken about had done anything as stupid as she was about to. Probably, considering that had gotten their selves into the same mess she had with giant aliens.Taking a deep breath, she could feel the stress roll through her before she ran out into the clearing. Instantly she was having to doge large feet and gun fire from both sides but no had seemed to notice her yet and so she kept running towards the fire and made it there only a few seconds. Panicked beyond her wits, she had to pause once she reached it to calm down and tell herself she hadn’t been hurt and that she was still in one piece, she hadn’t been stepped on or shot at. No one had so much as even glanced at her. Yet.Looking back up at the fight, she took notice that Optimus and the large silver mech were brawling their way into the middle of the clearing where a large pool of energon had collected from two different Drones and a third from an Insecticon. Looking over to Smokescreen, she saw he still had his hands full with the large blue ‘Con, but had also successfully downed two more Drones.Tightening her grip on the three ferns, she turned to the fire and held them over it until they themselves were flaming as well. Pulling them out, she knew now she only had a certain amount of time before they would burn themselves out. Once again she found herself running into the midst of the clearing. Some of them noticed her now and took the time to give a shot or two in her direction, but didn’t bother much more than that before finding themselves battling against Optimus or Smokescreen once more. Once she reached the largest pool of energon in the middle of the clearing, she stopped to hide behind an offlined Eradicon. Looking out from behind him, she watched with ever growing worry and anticipation as the large silver mech that Optimus was battling took a step into the energon, and then another one and another one. He was standing in the liquid now and Optimus was just outside of it.Taking her ferns in hand, she ran out from behind the dead drone and threw the burning plants into the energon. They landed only feet away from the large mech and it flamed up instantly, burning rapidly and quickly making its way all around. The silver mech looked down with wide eyes before spotting her and she took a step back at his intense glare. Suddenly though she was swiped from her spot on the ground as Optimus was quick to react to her presence. He lunged out of the way of the flames as they reached the three different bodies and then, to a reaction that Rose hadn’t been expecting, exploded.Turning his back to the flames, Optimus pressed Rose against his chest to protect her from the inferno that burned around them. He let out a yell as the fire licked his back, but it was nothing compared to the terrible sound that came from the silver mech who was caught in the midst of it all. She could hear others give out shouts as well, both in surprise and pain but it was over fast and soon enough she found herself being put back onto the ground. As the flames died down she spotted two more drones lifelessly laying on the ground and the large silver mech was struggling to stand back up, parts of his armor turned red from the heat and was sticking to his form. Turning her gaze away from the terrible scene she looked up only to flinch at the horrible glare Optimus was giving her and she was certain there was a teeth baring frown behind his mask.“I had told you stay in the town, did you not hear me?” He did his best not to yell. “Go back before you get hurt.” His tone was filled with disapproval and Rose was hurt, at least inside she was. She had just probably saved both of them, and all he showed her was anger. She didn’t argue though and instead turned back and ran into the woods to find the bike and head back to town.Optimus stared after her for a few moments before turning around to see what remained of their enemy only to find himself at the fists end of Megatron. He didn’t even have time to react as his rival savagely beat him with anger and spite, but the Decepticon ruler was in even worse shape than him after the explosion and was not faring well. Many parts of his armor had been blown off and some had quickly melted and was now continuously burning against his protoform. Energon had begun to leak out of several wounds and his attack was very uncoordinated and it took no time at all for Optimus to once again over power him.With an unexpected turn, a ground bridge opened and what was stranger was that Megatron seemed just as surprised. Touching his servo to his ear piece the war lord growled.“Soundwave, I did not call for a ground bridge!” He spat into his head set, clearly upset with the way the fight was turning out as he never yelled nor lost his temper with his silent officer.“That’s because it’s not your ground bridge.” A large, heavier looking green ‘Bot came charging through the bridge, fist raised and in the shape of a large wrecking ball as he slammed in into the Decepticon leader who stumbled back at the unexpected hit. Two more Autobots came running through the bridge, a bright yellow sporty looking younger bot and a sleek blue femme. As the three new comers began to push back the remaining Decepticons, the femme yelled over to them.“Hey! You two get back to base, Ratchets orders.” She shouted over the gun fire. Optimus was hesitant to leave, as one of his jobs as being a leader meant to stay behind until everyone was safe before himself, but he knew he was no shape to fight any longer and followed Smokescreen through the bridge.-O-The Decepticon war ship was quiet. It usually was. But now more than ever as Drones stayed clear of the halls to avoid the seething presence of their master. But for now, they’re all powerful leader was held like a prisoner on his own ship inside the med bay as Knock Out was busy patching him up, not daring to utter a word as the menacing form of his commander was hot with striking anger.“Knock Out.” The large mech suddenly barked and the red medic jumped with a ghastly sound of fright before swiveling on his heel to look over to his leader.“Yes my lord?” He asked.“Send a message to the troops for me.” He said.“What kind of message my lord?” Knock Out asked with hesitance. “Tell him to send half a dozen Vehicons into the small human settlement we had taken a battle near. I have a feeling that is where our little friend was sent running to.” He growled darkly. Knock Out blinked for a moment before it clicked.“Rose?”“I do not care for its name, I just want it dragged onto my ship so I may dispose of it properly as it had tried to dispose of me!” He yelled with savagery now and the medic flinched back.“I will send word immediately.” He said and turned to leave, but his leader’s voice stopped him before he could.“And Knock Out,” He said with his tone cooled back down. “I would like you to lead this mission. Do not fail me.”-O-It wasn’t long before the others came through too and the ground bridge was shut down.Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead who had been the three Autobots to go through the bridge were all hovering around Smokescreen and Optimus as Ratchet did his best to patch them back up.“I don’t understand though,” Smokescreen began from where he was sitting. “I thought the ground bridge wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow.”“It wasn’t going to be.” The old medic muttered. “But I made some quick adjustments and it would seem in the nick of time too.” He glanced over to the rookie warrior.“And we are thankful that you did.” Optimus said.“Turn around, I need to work on those burns.” Ratchet told his commander. Getting up, he did just so before sitting back down with a grunt of pain.“What triggered that explosion anyways? All I know is it got my shoulder pretty good.” Smokescreen frowned, his brows furrowing.“There was an explosion?” An exited voice suddenly shouted. Looking up, Smokescreen blinked up at Miko as she leaned over the railing, Jack and Raf hanging back somewhat content with only just listening to the conversation. “Dude, you have to tell me all it later.” She grinned down at the race car.“It was Rose’s doing actually.” Optimus spoke.“Rose? I thought you told me you left her back at town.” Smokescreen suddenly snapped back into all seriousness.“It would seem she had followed me anyways.” Optimus frowned, turning his head to look over his shoulder at the white and blue mech.“Who’s Rose?” Jack stepped forwards now to stand next to Miko on the railing as he stared at Smokescreen for an answer.“Hey don’t look at me, this time I’m not the one who screwed things up.” Smokescreen raised his servos up in innocence. Everyone’s gaze turned to Optimus now and the Prime paused for a moment before his shoulders slumped but it was such a small movement that only Ratchet was the one to catch on and he paused from his work to stare at his old friend.“I made a mistake and she was caught in the cross fire.” Was all he said as an explanation.“And how long ago was this?” Ratchet placed a servo on his hip.“That does not matter, what does is that she is still out there with enemies close behind.” He stated darkly.“As soon as I patch you and Smokescreen up you will be free to search, but for now the best we can do is send you three out there to look for her.” Ratchet said, glancing over to Bumblebee, Arcee and Bulkhead. Heading over the computer screen he began to type away to send them to their last coordinates before he noticed a single Decepticon signal on the move near battle field they had just fought in. “And it would seem I already have a fix on where she might be. . . .”“I’m coming too.” Miko ran down the steps to stand by her guardian. “Now, what’s she look like?”-O-Rose had killed and the strange part was she didn’t feel any guilt. No grief. Nothing. She had just taken two lives and she felt absolutely nothing. She did have the intent of hurting them when she lit that fire, but killing them was something quite unexpected yet still accomplished. Was that what it was now, and an accomplishment? It was a terrible thing to be, a murderer, but then again she didn’t feel like one.They had been trying to kill Optimus and Smokescreen, they were on the opposing team. Eliminating the opponents was helping. But at the same time there was a tiny tug in heart, telling that what she had done was wrong. But she pushed down with a brutal force, why should she feel any bad emotions about something she head meant to do? It was her intention and it was for the greater good wasn’t it?With her troubling thoughts, she began to pedal harder down the road, lifting her butt off the seat to stand on the pedals as she kicked. She felt a bit angry at the fact that Optimus had so bluntly shooed her off. She had seen that while he was fighting that larger mech he had clearly been struggling and had various wounds, all of which had looked quite painful. Of course, the explosion probably didn’t help that, but at least it took care of the silver ‘Con and got rid of a few drones.She was pulled away from her troubling thoughts though as the sudden revving of an engine caught her attention from behind her. Even though it was not that often, Rose knew that cars traveled on the forest road sometimes. Turning her head around to glance behind her, she frowned at the sight of a bright red muscle car that was stopped in the road far behind her. It revved its engine again and she slowed her bike for a moment and stared at it. Only did she really realize it meant trouble when it slammed on its gas and began to speed towards her. Panicking, Rose nearly fell off the bike as she tried to regain her footing and pedal as fast as she could. Just as it would seem it was about to run her over, she swerved, nearly falling over again only to catch herself in a desperate swinging motion of her bike. Panting from the terror that was building inside of her, she watched with wide eyes as the car stopped suddenly and she zoomed past it. As the rode began to slope downwards she let herself gain a fast drifting speed down it.Turning her head to look back somewhat, she felt her heart jump to find the car was right behind her. She caught a glimpse of the custom paint of the side of the doors and she had a sudden recollection of seeing it on a certain mech before. Just as she turned her head back around to face forwards she saw it. The Decepticon mark on his bumper. Her suspicions were confirmed that it was Knock Out that was hot on her heels.She felt as if time froze as she heard the sound of metal scrapping on metal and the many parts of the cars frame moving. She had just enough time to turn her head and watch from the corner of her eye as he transformed into the robot she knew him to be. His took one large running step, accelerated by the speed he had been going before. He stretched his claws out, reaching for her as he took one last pushing lunge from the hills ground and at her. A cold panic took over her and just before he was going to grab her, she jumped from her bike.She flew in the air for a few seconds and all the red robot grabbed was the bicycle with no one on it. She closed her eyes tight and ducked her head as she hit the hard cement with crack. She let out a yowl of pain as her head connected with the ground and her vision was clouded with colors all too bright. She rolled away, bumping against the road before she came to a stop and she paused to take in the pain. She had to swallow it down and get up to once again avoid Knock Outs grasp. He let out a snarl as she darted into the tree line. She stumbled and tripped, her head throbbing and she had to force her eyes to stay open as she fell into the dirt. She grasped at the ground for a second like a life preserver before she stumbled back up and continued her desperate run. She didn’t even know where she was going, she couldn’t even remember what she was doing for a moment until she looked back and saw Knock Out, crashing through the trees after her. But there wasn’t just one of him, no, there were more like… Well she couldn’t really count at the moment, but his entire figure was blurred and she thought she saw six of him swaying around.But then with sudden whirl of a vortex, a ground bridge opened up and three more robots came rushing out. One yellow, one green and the last was blue. The yellow and green one began to assault an attack on Knock Out as the blue ones bright shining optics flickered to the ground, searching for something. Her gaze landed on Rose but the girl was already running again. She wasn’t in the state to realize a friend verses a foe. In her frantic, dazed and bleeding mind, they were only just more enemies. After all, the Autobot ground wasn’t supposed to be working still, so it didn’t even cross her dizzy head that they were on her side. The blue robot chased after her but then halted suddenly as Knock Out’s drone backups began to arrive on the scene, blocking her from the girl.It didn’t take Rose long to get into town but just as she was about to get on the main street she collapsed on the ground. Her head thrummed with pain and her vision blurred once more. She could hear the voices of others walking on the sidewalk give out shouts to one another and before she closed her eyes, she saw a face duck down in front of hers, concern and fright in their gaze as they shouted at her, but their voice was nothing more than muffles in the wind and she closed her eyes as blackness took over.To Rose, it only seemed as if seconds passed by as she closed her eyes. Like a slow blink. In reality it was hours before she woke up again. She opened her eyes with a heavy feeling. One, two, three blinks before some of the fuzzier objects began to clear up. She turned her head to look at her surroundings but everything became blurry and for a moment and the two people in the room became ten. Letting out a soft groan as a dull headache washed over her, she brought a hand up to her head only to find it something was wrapped around it.“She’s awake.” A voice from one of the two people in the room said. It sounded like a woman but Rose felt too groggy and mind-heavy to check. But as a hand lightly touched her forearm, she looked up with a squint at the face leering close to her own. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” The woman asked. Rose tried to form words, but all that came out was another groan.“Does your head hurt?” The woman asked softly. Rose nodded slightly, closing her eyes tightly.“How many fingers am I holding up?” The woman said as she held up a hand. Rose could see four fingers were up, but she saw about two or three different hands every time she turned her head and she only starred at the blurry limb with uncertainty before she closed her eyes again as she felt her stomach flip inside of her. “Feeling nauseous?” The woman asked with a gentle tone. Rose nodded with a groan. “Wanna throw up?” She asked. Rose nodded again. It wasn’t seconds later before a kind of tray like bucket was held in front of her and she took it in her hands and felt her whole body convulse as she threw up into the blue bucket tray. She did this for several minutes before she finally leaned back into the soft bed she was on. It confused her a little that she was on a bed. When she took a moment to think about it, it confused her that there was a woman taking care of her. Opening her eyes again as said woman took away her bucket, she looked around the room with a puzzling frown.“Where am I?” She finally managed to get out, her voice slurred in speech.“The hospital. You appear to be suffering from a concussion.” Rose closed her eyes again and let out a deep breath. She felt quite tired but she didn’t want to sleep anymore. “The Doctor will be back in just a minuet thought.” The Doctor must have been the second person in the room before. Rose didn’t have to wait long at all for the Doctor to be back. She looked to be a middle aged woman, probably in her forties. She had long bouncy hair as red as red hair could be and a warm smile on her face as she came in.“So, you’re finally up.” She said with a grin as she took up a stool to sit next to Rose. Looking down at her board though she frowned a little. “And it would appear that my guess was right…” Rose realized she must have been talking about her having a concussion. “But, just to make sure, let’s do a little test.” She straightened up her back to sit upright. “Now, do you remember your name?” She asked.“Delta Rose Harding.” The blond replied. The Doctor made a little scribble on her board.“Good. Do you know where you are?” She questioned now.“Maverick’s Hospital.” She answered. Maverick was the town’s name in honor of the founder’s brother who had died in the voyage to the new lands. “But, can you tell me how I got here?” She asked with a puzzled face. The last thing she remembered jumping from the bicycle to escape Knock Out.“Oh well, a younger couple were walking when they saw you fall. They immediately called us and had an ambulance pick you up. They’re actually still here. They refused to leave until they knew you were safe and with your permission, they would like to come once we give you the all clear.” She brushed her red curly hair from out of her face and pushed it behind her ear as she glanced up at her patient.“Yeah, that’s alright with me. It would be nice to thank them.” Rose smiled back.“Good, good. Well, you seem better than most. You do have a concussion, but it’s not a complex one, so you should start to feel better within seven or ten days. Just take it easy and if you get a bad headache, take an acetaminophen or another aspirin-free medication.” She recommended. Rose nodded her head, but she knew she probably wouldn’t. “Most importantly though, make sure you get a lot of rest. Stay away from sports if you play any for the next week and avoid loud places.” She told her. “Okay, will do.” Rose nodded.“How did you managed to get this injury?” The Doctor gave her a look as she set her board down.“I ran over a branch while biking and fell.” The lie came easily.“Well,” The Doctor smiled. “you might want to stay away from that as well.” She said. “Now, I’m going to turn these papers in and you’ll be free to go very soon. I just need someone to escort you out of the hospital. Perhaps a close family member or friend?” She asked. Rose paused now, thinking of people she still knew the numbers of by heart of but she couldn’t think of any. She wondered if Optimus and Smokescreen were looking for her. Perhaps if she could get ahold of one of her friends they could take her to the park and she could wait there. It would most likely be the place where the two Autobots would look first. As she pondered this, she remembered that Libby’s dad worked as a nurse in the hospital.“I don’t know anyone’s number but my friend’s dad works as a nurse here.” She offered.“Alright, what’s his name?” The Doctor asked.“Matt Hall.” She replied.“Okay, I’ll search him up in the computer and have him take you home.” She smiled once again. “Now in the meantime, why don’t I let the people who found you up here?” She said.“That’d be great.” Rose said with a smile, but then frowned a little. “Wait, who’s taking care of my hospital bill?” She asked.“It wasn’t a lot of money, only about fifty dollars so they took care of it.” The red head replied as she stood up. “I’ll send them in and soon after you’ll be out of here.” She smiled to the girl. Rose nodded a smile back as the woman left.The couple came in not long after and she talked them for about twenty minutes. She thanked them for helping her and paying for the bill, but they only waved it off as if it were no big deal, but to Rose it was. It felt good to know there were still nice people in the world, and the newlyweds who were not much older than herself brought her hopes up just that much more. They talked about themselves, shared a few laughs and when they found out her birthday was only a day away, they wished her a very happy birthday and as she found that had just gotten married not a month ago, she also gave them a big congrats. But then the Doctor gave her the all clear and Libby’s dad came into the room.The men wished her one last happy birthday and left. Rose herself stood up and gave Matt a hello hug that he complied with. Right after, Rose and Matt left as well.The car ride was silent at first, and she took a moment to notice that the sun had sunk a little, telling her that some hours had passed by since she passed out.“I had heard that you were back in town.” Matt broke the silence with a slight smile as he took his vision off the road for a second to glance at his daughter’s best friend.“Yeah.” Rose gave him a slight smile in return.“How’s life in New York?” He asked, looking back at the road.“It’s great.” She glanced out the window. Feeling a headache come on, she brought a hand up to her head. The bandages were gone now, but that left her to feel the large gash on the right side of her upper forehead, just below her hair line.“You know,” Matt paused to take his own breath as his thoughts broke into consideration. “if you ever need any help, we’re always here. Don’t forget that.” He said. And he was right, they always had been there for her. Maybe not when her mother died, because she had moved away almost instantly and had Thomas to take care of her anyhow, but during another troubling time for her, she had always gone to Libby’s house and it would seem as if her problems would just vanish. They had been her second family. She had felt just at home with them as she had in her own. The rest of the drive was silent as he took her to his family’s house. Once they parked, Matt helped her out of the car and then went into the house, Rose following suit.“What are you doing home so early, dear?” Rose could hear Libby’s mom, Lana, call out from the living room as she walked towards the front door, only to stop once she saw Rose. All three stopped, and Lana just stared at the girl before tears came into her eyes and she rushed forwards to give her a big huge. Rose stumbled a little, before returning the hug. Letting go of her, Lana smiled at the girl.“How are doing, Sweet pea?” She asked as she gazed up and down the girl with a frown. Rose smiled, not noticing the frown, if there was anything Libby’s mom was known for it was her enthusiasm for the girl’s high schools sports and the silly names she called everyone.“I’m doing great.” Rose smiled warmly back. It really felt like home. And that was something she truly needed right now.“Libby!” Matt called out, his voice echoing throughout the two story house.“What?” Libby yelled back and Rose grinned at the voice that every teenager made when they were called by their parents. “We have a guest over! Come down!” It was silent at first, but then Rose could hear her friend tromp down the steps and then she came into view. She looked like was going to say something snappy to her parents when her eyes landed on her friend.“Rose!” She yipped with joy in her voice. “Where did you go? You left so suddenly!” She exclaimed before she took a moment to soak in her friend’s appearance and frowned as her mother had done. “What happened?” She asked.“I fell off my bike.” She replied. Libby frowned deeper at this.“You brought a bike all the way over here with you?” She gave her a friend a look.“Um… maybe it wasn’t mine. I borrowed it, but uh, I don’t think they would want it back now.” She pressed her lips in a tight like as she remembered that Knock Out had grabbed it, and crushed it in his clawed hand. Then she found her eye brows began to knit together, she couldn’t remember what had happened after that. The last she remembered was him grabbing the bike, and then her, hitting the ground. How did she even get into town without being caught by the red menace?“Yeah but, your cloths . . .” Libby starred at her friend.“I was going to ask the same thing.” Lana was frowning as well. Rose looked down at herself and found her eyes widening. She had ash all over her. Burn marks streaked across the sides of her cloths and one part of her shirt had a small hole burned through it. Optimus had blocked her rom the explosion, but some of the fire still must have reached her. She wondered how badly it affected Optimus.She looked up at all three people who were expecting an answer but she couldn’t think of one to give them. She could only stare at them as they did her. She wondered briefly why the Doctor didn’t ask about her cloths, but it was probably because she didn’t have burn wounds. Only her cloths did. Rose felt the blood in her cheeks flush as she began to squirm under their gazes. She couldn’t tell them what had happened, they wouldn’t believe her anyways. But she couldn’t think of a lie.“Where’s Orion?” Libby asked suddenly.“Who?” Her mother asked, turning towards her daughter.“Rose’s friend she came to town with.” She gave a quick explanation. Rose frowned.“I don’t know.” She said.“Where did you last see him?” Libby asked. Rose paused now, her face tightening up at all the questions she was getting.“We were by the park with,” She quickly came up with a name for Smokescreen. “Dick.” Great name.“Who’s Dick?” Libby made a face.“Orion’s friend. He came with us in his own car.” She replied. Libby made another face but accepted it none the less.“I thought you said you had been biking.” Matt raised an eye brow at her unconvincing story.“I had been, but the last time I saw either Orion or Dick was by the park.” She told him. It was true enough. She had seen them at the park, or at least Optimus. But wasn’t going to mention anything about the forest.“And you lost them how?” Matt continued to ask.“They had to go do something and told me not to follow. Probably a birthday thing.” She quickly added the end part to make it more believable. “Only, while I was biking I fell and well, that’s the end of it. I don’t know where they are.” She shrugged.“Can you call them?” Lana asked.“I don’t have a phone and I don’t know their numbers by heart.” She didn’t even know if they even had numbers. Matt breathed, bringing a hand up to his face to rub the spot inbetween his eyes.“Alright well, for now you can stay here and get cleaned up. Then we can all go looking for your friends.” He sighed. Rose smiled.“Thanks.” She said. Libby dragged Rose upstairs afterwards and made her strip out of her cloths and then proceeded to shove her friend into the shower. Rose didn’t mind, it had been a long time since had had a real shower. She had taken a few the previous weeks by going to various swimming pools. Of course she didn’t actually swim, she had no suit anyways. She only paid to get into the pool so she could use the showers and free soap in the locker rooms. She had also occasionally washed her hair in bathroom sinks, but she really hated to that. To now take a real shower with nice hot steaming water and good lathery soap felt amazing and she did her best to enjoy every second of it before she made herself get out.Drying herself off, she walked back to Libby’s room to find her friend had already set out cloths for her.“I’m throwing out your old cloths.” Libby said as Rose began to get dressed.“What? But I-“ Rose began, but didn’t get to finish.“Nuh-uh-uh. You get no say in this. That stuff is trash now.” She said with a crossing of her arms. “And would you hurry up and get dressed, we still need to go find your friends.”-O-There were four simple, soft knocks. Inside the house voices hushed as one person got up to answer the door with whomever waiting patiently on the other side. This was Kevin’s home, and the young man had glanced over to his father who had made a hand motion for him to get the door, after all, he was too busy with watching the game to be bothered by the person on their porch, so it was Kevin’s job now.Opening the door, the boy peeked out and frowned for a moment, at first not recognizing the man before him before a bright smile appeared onto his face and he opened the door wider with a shout of delight.“Jason!” He grinned, taking hold of the older males hand and dragging him over to his own body in a kind of manly hug. Jason grinned back nervously, ruffling Kevin’s hair as he pulled him into his own hug. The two let go quickly though and laughed. “What are you doing here?” Kevin asked, the same dumb smile still on his face but then he stopped and stared at him with concern. “What happened to your eye?”“Oh it’s nothing, nothing.” Jason smiled but it was an awkward smile. “I just had went to the eye doctors, had a small procedure done. It’ll be fine in no time.” Kevin stared at him and for a moment he thought the boy saw through his lie but then Kevin just shrugged.“Well I hope it’s okay.” He said. “So uh, I heard that Rose was in town.” Jason rubbed his fingers against his palms and felt the cold sweat he was building up.“Yeah, she actually is here.” Kevin nodded. Of course though, Jason had never heard this. He had made a simple guess work of it, and it would seem he was inexplicably right.“Uh hey, why don’t you come inside?” The boy offered.“No, no, it’s fine. I just wanted to drop in and make sure she was here.” He gave an odd smile.“Suit yourself.” Kevin didn’t notice it.“You wouldn’t happen to know where she is now, would you?”“Not really. Libby and I were talking with her at the park, but then she said she had to go. Probably out with Orion again.” He rolled his eyes a little. “She doesn’t even know the guy and yet she’s been following him like white on rice.” His snorted, letting out a hot breath of air. Jason starred at him and couldn’t help the frown on his face.“Orion?” He repeated.“Some guy she met on her way down here.” Kevin huffed. Jason had to keep his eyes from narrowing, it was obvious that Kevin didn’t like this ‘Orion.’“Anyways, does Rose know you’re here?”“No, but I want to keep it a secret, you know, a little birthday surprise.”“Oh, I know the perfect way!” Kevin exclaimed with cheer. “We’re throwing a surprise party for her tomorrow night and you’d be the perfect person to top it all off!”“Sounds like a plan I want to hear. But, how about later, I need to go. I’ll be back later to talk about this party. Say hi to your parents for me, and remember” Jason paused to smile. “don’t let Rose know I’m here.”“You’re secretes safe with me.” Kevin said as he went back into his house. As the door shut, Jason swallowed. He was so close to finding her but he still didn’t know where she was just quite yet. Kevin had just confirmed his suspicions that she was back in town, but what was he to do now.Going back to his truck, he closed the door and sank into his seat.“I need to show her that everything’s okay.” He breathed, thrumming his fingers against the wheel. He glanced at the setting sun and knew he should sleep.
You need to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone about what happened.
“She just doesn’t understand, but I can make her see.”
She will tell everyone. Make sure she doesn’t.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Arcee growled with frustration as she stalked back into base, the others following behind her through the ground bridge. They had been so close. She had been only a few steps away from the human. The girl didn’t even stop for the Autobots, she just stumbled off. Arcee hadn’t been blind to the blood coming from a cut on her head. She felt frustrated at herself for not being to reach the human in time. They had managed to chase Knock Out back into calling for his own bridge, but they hadn’t obtained their main objective. Now they were back at base and would maybe be able to come up with a new plan.As they walked through the bridge they all found that Optimus, Smokescreen, Ratchet and kids were patiently looking at them. There was Miko who looked enthused at the aspect of meeting someone new and then there was Ratchet who was the opposite with a glare that told everyone he hated what was happening. Miko had been immediately sent back through the ground bridge after the Decepticons had arrived on the scene. She hadn’t seen Rose at all and was quite disappointed, but that wasn’t going to dull the moment now for her.“What happened?” Raf was the first one to ask. The small boy fixed his glasses as he stepped up to the railing.“We found her, but we didn’t manage to actually reach her.” Bulkhead let out a sigh as he moved over to sit down. His leg was still bothering him over the accident he had a while back but it was slowly getting better and he was just thankful to be able to get back out on the battle field, but after this failure of recovering the girl, his spirits were feeling a little down.“She ran away from us.” Bumblebee twittered with a frown in his gaze as he glanced over to look at his leader. Optimus’s face was neutral, but he shifted a little but winced a little at the movements. The burns on his back were still painful. Ratchet had taken off his armor for repairs and had added a numbing agent to his protoform where his wounds were.“Rose would have no reason to recognize any of you and probably still has the strong belief that the ground bridge is not operational. Therefore she might have perceived you three as threats instead of allies.” Optimus rumbled with thought.“Yeah well, she wasn’t looking all too great as far as I saw. She was bleeding from her head,” Arcee put in with a twitch in her frown. “and we know the Decepticons are biting at her heels if they sent one of their officers after her. They must want something from her.”“Bargaining leverage with us?” Bulkhead shrugged.“No, no . . .” Smokescreen hummed as his gaze grew hard with thought. “I don’t think so.” He pinched his brows together. “She was one who caused the explosion and won us the battle.” He said, looking up at everyone, his eyes drifting across the room from the humans to his fellow cybertronian’s. “They might just want to get even.” No one said a word at first and Smokescreen turned his gaze over to Optimus who was watching the rookie with a calculating stare. “And remember, she did have that little quarrel with Knock Out and who’d they send after her?” He said.“Knock Out.” Bumblebee whirled, an understanding of what the other mech was saying began to grow in his optics.“Exactly.” Smokescreen nodded.“Are you saying they aren’t even going to try and use her as bait? That all they want is to kill her?” Arcee frowned with all seriousness.“I’m not saying anything, I’m just looking at the possibilities. I mean, after all the trouble three humans have caused them already, why would they want a fourth one to worry about?” He replied. The room grew quiet as everyone thought about it, absorbing the possibility of it all.“If this is the case, we must divide ourselves to find a quicker means in looking for her. The Decepticons are not the only threat at hand.” Optimus vented.“What do you mean by that?” Smokescreen asked, leaning towards the Prime a little with an inquisitive gaze.“She believes she is being pursued by someone with harmful intent.” He explained a little more.“Why didn’t she tell me?” Smokescreen almost seemed angry.“I have only just found out myself, she was trying to keep it from both of us.” Optimus gave him a look that told the young warrior to calm down.“Do you think she was lying about Colorado?”“She was.”“Do we even have a lead as to where she might be?” Arcee cut in.“I do believe there are a few places where you might find her.” Optimus nodded.Hours went by as the three Autobots able in body searched, but couldn’t find a trace of the girl. Bulkhead was stationed to patrol around the park that had become a meeting spot well known and well used for Rose and her friends. It was the area that she would most likely be at since it was where Optimus had also told her to wait for them. Even though it was the most likely of areas, neither Bulkhead nor Miko could find her. Arcee and Jack weren’t doing any better as they drove circles around the town searching up and down the town streets while Bumblebee and Raf took to the out skirts of town, searching the tree line where she had last been spotted. Only they didn’t know that during that time she was only just getting out of the hospital and arriving to her friend’s house.-O-
Hours later.
It was getting dark and Rose slumped against the couch as she sat down. They had meant to go out and look for Optimus and Smokescreen, or as Libby and her family knew them as, Orion and Dick, but as the hours got later and later and Rose was still not feeling any better and Matt and Lana had decided that it would be best if she stayed inside to rest. Rose wanted to protest against it. She had to find Optimus and Smokescreen. She had to know if they were alright. She didn’t even know if they alive and that scared her. What if they hadn’t won the battle after all? What if more Decepticons had shown up and defeated them?With her head pounding and muscles sore, she couldn’t find the energy to argue against Libby’s parents and instead found herself sinking into the couch. Before she even knew it was already the next day. She hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep until she found herself blinking out the sunlight with a groan.“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Libby shouted, jumping on top of her friend. Rose grunted in pain and winced at as the loud sound rang throughout her head. Libby made a guilty face. “Sorry.” She gave a little shrug of embarrassment as she had forgotten about her friend’s current state of health. Rose grumbled out a few grumpy curses as she pushed Libby off of her and sat up, rubbing her face with tiredness. “Think about it,” Libby smiled at her friend, “you’re eighteen. You’re an adult now!” She beamed. Rose starred at her friend before a smile grew on her face. She was eighteen wasn’t she? Was now legally in control of her life. She hoped that this would be it, that she wouldn’t have to worry about Jason anymore. Her share of the will could no longer be touched by him, and neither could the life insurance. She was still concerned about the idea that he would still want to remove her for the sake of her witnessing his last murder, but maybe not.She was still so far from being out of the woods. She still didn’t know where Optimus or Smokescreen were and the Decepticons were closing in on her. She was feeling cornered. She could flee, she could leave anytime she wanted, but it would mean never knowing where Optimus or Smokescreen were. It would mean never truly being safe until the war was over, and who knew who would win? If she ran, and she was caught without the Autobots, what would happen to her?She couldn’t really leave. She felt like a mouse pushed into the corner by a cat, able to see the entrance into the wall only feet away but unable to reach it without being caught. She slumped against the couch, rubbing the spot between her eyes.“Hey, are you okay?” Libby’s voice brought her back to reality. Rose glanced up to look at her friend.“Yeah, yeah. Just a little stressed out.” She breathed. “Orion and Dick?” Libby asked.“Yeah.” Rose let her shoulders sag. She was feeling incredibly stressed about finding them, but she was afraid to go outside again, afraid that she might find them gone, and in their place the Decepticons. She was afraid that Knock Out would be parked outside the house, waiting for her. Waiting to grab her. Waiting to kill her. She was terrified of Jason whose intents were unknown to her but worrisome none the less.“Well hey, we can look for them today. But we also have to some birthday stuff, okay?” Libby smiled comfortingly at her friend, not knowing how dire the situation really was.“Birthday stuff? Like what?” Rose asked. “And hey it’s a school day.” She frowned at her friend.“Yeah well, my mom said I could call in sick because you’re here.” She shrugged with a grin.“Well how sweet.” Rose said fatly.“Anyways,” Libby jumped from the couch, “come on, we’ve got important birthday things to do!” she bound upwards, dragging Rose along with her and heading for the door. Rose already had cloths on as she had slept in them and while her hair was a mess she didn’t really care. “My parents are already at work, but they know we’re gonna be home late.” Libby said with joy in her voice.The rest of the day was great. After the two girls went to the store to get some movie snacks, they came back into the house and began a marathon. The short time they had been out Rose had kept a constant eye on the roads, searching for Optimus and Smokescreen, but also looking for any signs of Decepticons. At one point she thought she had seen a drone a few blocks down but then came to the realization that it wasn’t and felt a wave of relief. Spending most of their day inside Libby’s house was nice and took the stress off her, even though she knew she be out looking for the two Autobots.It wasn’t until later that Rose had to wonder why Libby had said they would be home late when they were already there, that was until at around the hour of nine that Libby said that it was time to leave. Rose hopped inside of Libby’s car without a thought and let her friend drive her to Kevin’s house which was only a few blocks away.The moment she walked through the house and into the backyard she was bombarded with the many shouts and screams of her old class, wishing her a happy birthday as the music was turned up to blast around the yard. None of the loud noise or excitement was probably good for her concussion, but she didn’t care. It felt good to be surrounded by friends and even people she didn’t know. It felt good to pretend to have to worries. It felt good to smile.“Hey, sorry I don’t have a present for you. But look at it this way, I threw you a god damn party!” Kevin laughed as he came up to greet his friend. Rose smiled back warmly, people around her dancing to the music that filled the air and she could feel her own hips moving slightly to the rhythm of the music.“That’s good enough for me.” She said with happiness in her voice. “I just can’t believe you did this for me.” She hugged her friend who laughed and hugged her back.“Yeah well, you’re one of my best friends. How could I not?” He punched her in the shoulder lightly. “Now, go on and mingle a little. Meet me here again in a half hour, okay? I have something you might want to see.” He gave her an all knowing grin. Rose rolled her eyes but agreed none the less and went off to say hello to some of her other friends.While the music was loud and young adults were dancing in Kevin’s back yard, far away loomed the large vessel that was the Decepticon war ship. Knock Out paced with anticipation. After the Autobots had chased him off he had sent a few drones to scout over the area but nothing had been reported back yet. He fretted over the fact that if she wasn’t found in time, it would be his finish on line. Oh why him? He hadn’t even been the one to let her get away! Well, he had the first time, but Megatron had known nothing of that.He paced for a little while longer, waiting to hear word from the drones but still nothing. Growling, he finally decided to take action back into his own claws and stalked over to the ground bridge port, opening up a vortex and beaming himself through. Those worthless Vehicons couldn’t do anything right and if he wanted his paint to remained polished, he decided that he couldn’t rely on those mindless husks to do so.-O-Rose had made a circle around the party, talking to nearly all of her friends for at least a short while before going back to spot Kevin was to meet her at.She couldn’t stop smiling. She hated the loud music, she hated the music itself, it was all terrible remixed pop songs but at the moment she didn’t care. She wasn’t a person who liked crowds but right then she couldn’t have loved it more. She had never been popular, she didn’t know most of the people there, but that didn’t matter. Most of them weren’t there for her, just for the chance to party. But she didn’t care. What she did care about was that people she knew. It felt good to know that people still cared about her. It felt good to know that there were people still thinking about her.It had felt like such a long time since she really had that feeling but now that it was back she was engulfed by it and she couldn’t have felt any better.“Alright, are you ready?” Kevin came up behind her. Rose nodded. “Follow me.” He smiled. He led her to the front yard and Rose glanced at the house, looking at the people inside and out back, and listening to the music which was not just a little more muffled. Libby came out of the front doors and ran up to them, also smiling.“Okay let’s go!” She bounced, hopping in Kevin’s truck. They all got in, Libby sitting in the middle and Rose in the passenger seat as Kevin drove.“You’re really leaving your house unattended during a party?” Rose gave Kevin a glance.“My Dad is upstairs actually.” He said sheepishly. “He’ll kick everyone out if things get too crazy.”“So, where are we going?” Rose glanced out the window.“Jason’s here!” Libby burst. Kevin slammed on the brakes and threw his head back.“Oh my god Libby!” He groaned. “It was supposed to be a surprise!” He glared at her.“Oops.” The girl grinned guiltily. “Sorry.”“Ugh you are the worst.” Kevin pinched his brow before looking to Rose. He frowned at the horrified look she had. “What’s wrong?”“Jason’s here?” She felt cold.“Yeah. He wanted to surprise you for your birthday, he dropped by yesterday.” He frowned at the ghostly appearance his friend had.“Hey Rose, are you okay?” Libby caught on to her strange new attitude as well. Rose shook her head.“I need to leave. I need to leave now.”“What? Why? Rose what’s wrong?” Kevin reiterated.“Jason killed Thomas.” She began to panic. “He killed Thomas and now he’s going to kill me.” She had an absolutely crazy look in her eye now and she tried to open the door as if she was just going to run out of the truck but it was locked.“Woah, woah, woah. Rose, this is crazy. What are you even talking about?” Kevin raised his voice a little over her own.“I saw Jason kill Thomas.” She looked at them both now. “I just,” She didn’t even know what to do, she still didn’t feel that she could leave because she hadn’t found Optimus or Smokescreen yet, but she certainly couldn’t stay now. She looked out the window and saw a flash of red under a road light. It was there and gone but she was certain she knew what she had seen. She stared out the window at the spot under the light.“Rose, why would he do that? Are you sure you know what you saw?” Libby asked but Rose wasn’t listening. She continued to watch the street corner. After what seemed like several long moments she saw the red car again. It was slowly backing up back into the light again. It reversed and turned, facing them now. She felt like it was staring at her through the glass.“Kevin, Kevin I need you to drive away.” She said, not taking her eyes off the car.“What?”The red car revved its engine and accelerated towards them. Kevin saw this and with a gasp he slammed his foot on the pedal and away from the car that was trying to ram them.“What the hell?” Kevin shouted.“You need to let me out of the car!” Rose yelled back. Knock Out would leave them alone, it was her he wanted.“This is crazy! Who is that?” Libby glanced out the back windshield and at the car.“Is it Jason?” Kevin asked.“No.” Rose thought about unlocking the door and just rolling out of the car, but she didn’t feel that would be a good idea on her part, but still she needed to find a way to get Knock Out away from her friends. “We need to get out of here!”“How do we lose this creep?” Kevin turned a sharp corner, nearly flipping the car.“I don’t know!” Rose breathed heavily, trying to think of something, to think of anything. It hit her suddenly. “That old house in the woods. There are lots of roads in that area, we can lose him out there.”“No way!” Kevin was gaining speed every second but still Knock Out was getting closer to them.“What, why not?” Rose yelled at him.“Jason’s out there!”Rose felt Murphy’s Law had just hit her as hard as it could. She looked back at Knock Out and sighed.“There’s nowhere else to go, that’s the only place we have any hope of losing him.” It was one evil over the other.“What? You just told us that Jason is a murderer and now you want to go straight to him?” Libby gave her friend an incredulous look.“Trust me when I tell you this guy is worse.” She swallowed.“I can’t shake him. We’re going to the cabin.” Kevin gave Rose and Libby a look before he turned the car and began to drive to the woods.“This is just a mess.” Kevin growled under his breath. “We’re literally driving right into his trap, you know that right?”“Well now we know what’s waiting.” Rose gave him a glance.They drove onto the forest road and Kevin drove as fast as his truck would go.“Turn off your head lights.” Rose said. Kevin was quick to do as she said, but still the brakes were on. While they didn’t get much distance between themselves and the red car, the roads curves began to provide cover for them. The turn for the cabin came up all too fast and Kevin slammed on his brakes and turned to the right before gassing it again. There was the main car road, that would bring them to a parking lot for a hikers and mountain bikers, but they turned to a small one on the left that was grown over and old. Knock Out would hopefully follow the main road while they slipped down the smaller one. As they drove more slowly now, the car got stuck in a tire size hole and stopped.“Great.” Kevin hit the sides of the wheel.“Turn off the car.” Rose looked behind them, watching for Knock Out. Kevin did as told and they waited in silence. They could see his head lights through the trees in the distance, and held their breaths but he didn’t go down their small road way.“We can’t stay here, he’ll come down this road once he figures out we’re not up there.” Rose frowned.“And what exactly do you suggest we do?” Kevin spat with a hushed voice.“We could go back through the forest and head back to town?” Libby suggested.“No, that’s a bad idea.” Rose shook her head. “It’s too dark, we’d get lost.” She couldn’t tell them about how Knock Out would be able to find them in minutes if they did that. She remembered the cave and was certain the mech had the ability to turn on night vision if he so chose.“So what, we go to the cabin? Straight to Jason?” Libby said with an edge to her tone.“Better him than this guy.” Rose nodded. She was terrified of what Jason might do, but even more of Knock Out. “Come on.”They walked down the old dirt road, stepping over and around the plants that over took it.“You really thought that it wasn’t weird at all that Jason wanted you to bring me here and not just I don’t know, go to the party like a normal person?” Rose whispered harshly at Kevin.“Hey, I didn’t know what he had planned! He’d always been a bit of an odd guy, I thought this was like, a special place for you two or something, you guys were always out in the woods.” He hissed back softly.“No. No this place wasn’t. This place is nothing but creepy for everyone!” Rose shook her head.As the old cabin came into view Rose felt a shiver go up her spine. She could just barely make out Jason’s truck parked not so far away. She recalled it was a four wheel drive and would have been able to make all those small obstacles on the overgrown road unlike Kevin’s old beater. The clearing the forest was large, there was some new growth at the edges though and in a few years there would be no clearing at all. The old house was rotting, but it was hard to see in the dark of the night.“Ugh, I wish we had a flash light.” Kevin grumbled.“I’m glad we don’t.” Libby whispered back. Rose agreed with Libby, a flash light would only draw attention to themselves.“Should we go inside?” Kevin asked.“No.” Rose whispered back. “I don’t want any surprises.”Rose got down a bit lower to hide herself in the tall grass and low plants.“Do you really think that guy will come up here?” Libby fretted.“I don’t know.” Rose had a feeling he would, but hoped she was wrong.“Hey, where are you going?” Kevin called after her in hushed tones. She didn’t rely though as she made her way to a shed by the house. She glanced at the house with unease before opening the shed. It was small, only enough space to fit inside one person, but on the walls and on the floor were tools. She felt around in the dark, her fingers brushing against and sticking to cob webs as she slid her hands around the shed. Finally she felt something that seemed like what she was looking for. She pulled out the heavy object before closing the shed and slinking back to her friends again.“What were you doing?” Kevin whispered. She lifted up the ax in her hand for him to see and he stared at its dark shape nervously.“You don’t really think we’re going to need that, do you?” Libby swallowed.“I hope not.”Suddenly the trucks lights turned on and the door slammed. From out of the truck a figure stepped into the light and Rose felt herself freeze. Jason didn’t move again at first, he stood still in front of the head light, his silhouette as black as the dark forest behind him. The other headlight shined on the three teenagers, all of whom were tense. Jason began to walk towards them again but Rose held up the ax and he stopped.“Rose.” He said from across the field. She didn’t budge. “Rose can you put that down so we can talk?”“No.” She said firmly. Jason twitched a little.“You don’t know what you saw, Rose.” He said.“I know exactly what I saw.”“But you don’t understand, everything is okay now.” He tried to convince her.“What do you mean?” She tightened her grip on the ax, feeling a cold sweat.“He can’t hurt you now.” Jason said with care in his voice, as if he had done a good deed.“What?” Rose squinted.“Thomas can’t do anything more to our family.” He reassured her.“He was family!”“No, he was intruder!”“Rose, his headlight, they’re going to lead that other guy straight to us.” Kevin shifted anxiously but Rose didn’t hear him.“Jason what are you talking about?”“He killed mom! He was going to hurt you!” Jason shouted with a fit of rage and passion as he took another step closer.“Mom had a heart attack.”“No, no he killed her, I know he did.” He spat. “He’s been plotting this for years. I thought he was just trying to hurt me, but he knew the best way to me was through mom and you.” He began to talk as if he wasn’t even speaking to her, as if he was telling this to himself. “So he poisoned her, and then he was going to do the same to you. But I stopped him, it’s okay now because I stopped him before he could.”It was then Rose realized that none of this was about money, this wasn’t even about her witnessing the murder. Jason had always been odd, but she never pictured him to be insane. She saw it now though. As he got closer she saw it in the twitch of his fingers, and in the nonsense of his thoughts. She saw it in his delusions and in the way he talked to himself.“Where did you get the idea that Thomas was trying to hurt you?” She asked.“They told me.”“Who?”“They did!” He said as if it was obvious. “They talk to me, they let me know what’s really happening.”“Who is they?”“It doesn’t matter.” He was much closer now, only ten feet away from them now. “They told me to be angry with you but I’m not. You were scared, you were scared and I understand that. I was scared too.” She could see the patch covering his eye. “I don’t blame you Rose. I just want you to know that everything is okay.”“Jason, you need help.” She swallowed. Jason stopped and frowned, a dark look in his eye.“That’s what he said.” He said coldly. “That’s what Thomas said when I confronted him about mom. I knew he did, I was going to turn him for murder, but then he said I was insane? Me? He’s the one who killed her, not me! He’s the one who was insane!” He became angry. “And now you’re accusing me of that too? You think I’m crazy!”“No, no I didn’t say that.” Rose backed up as did Kevin and Libby.“You know what, they were right about you. You are just like him. You were always against me, weren’t you?” He accused her.“Jason I wasn’t ever against you,” She began but he wasn’t listening.“They were right! I need to get my eye. An eye for an eye.” He began to move towards her. Rose raised the ax higher as he rushed at her, and before she could even stop to think about she swung the blade to the side. It was a sloppy hit, but it hit him none the less. The dull blade sliced into his bicep. It wasn’t at all close to the bone, but the cut itself was deep and he shouted horribly with pain. Rose pulled back on the ax and Jason stumbled sideways, reeling in agony. Realizing what she’d done, Rose felt like she was going to the throw up. She looked away from the gushing wound as Jason cried.The sound of breaking wood disturbed the already disturbing scene. Rose knew what it meant and felt her heart drop.“Run.” She turned to Kevin and Libby who were looking horrified at Jason. They turned their gazes on her. “He’s coming, go!” She ushered them away. Before anyone could move though, Knock Out stepped out of the tree line with a sneer on his face. He had seen the lights shining in between the trees in the distance, and the yelling had only helped him to find them even faster.“What is that?” Libby said with terror. Everyone gazed at the new arrival, but he only looked back at one. Rose shivered under his glare and dropped the bloody ax. She turned around and pushed Libby and Kevin.“Go, go!” She ushered them. She didn’t know where they would go, but if she could lead Knock Out away from her friends it would better than nothing and so as they went back to the road she went the opposite direction, only she didn’t go far.Knock Out himself was not armed with any guns, but he had taken a blaster from the ships arsenal to help him in case he had come across an Autobots while searching for the human. He opened his sub space and took out the blaster. He aimed it at the girl, but knowing Megatron wanted her brought onto his ship, he instead aimed lower so that she could not get away. He fired.Rose fell before she felt the pain. She hit the dirt hard as she crashed down. Coughing from the air being taken from her breath, she tried to get back up but an agonizing pain in her right leg stopped her from moving and she fell again. She rolled over, looking at her leg. The blue plasma that had been shot at her had burned away at her skin and muscle. It cauterized as it melted away her leg. The residue from the blast clung to her lower leg and she howled with the pain that continued with it as it ate at her bone. Knock Out grimaced and for a brief moment he felt guilt. He felt that it was his fault she was in the mess in the first place, that if he hadn’t grabbed her that first day they met then she wouldn’t have been a part of any of this. She had saved him before, he could spare her life now and call them even, but he couldn’t go back to Megatron empty, handed. His optics shifted to the human she had been fighting. He would simply the mistake on the idea that all Humans looked the same. He grabbed Jason instead of Rose, holding him tightly in his grasp. He gazed at the girl again who was writhing on the ground in pain.He called in for a ground bridge and as it opened he turned back to her.“Now we’re even.” Knock Out said flatly before walking through the vortex. When it disappeared Kevin and Libby ran back to Rose.“Rose, Rose are you okay?” Kevin asked before looking at her leg. His words were far away from her though as the world became heavy. The pain had turned to shock and her eyes began to roll in the back of head.