Chapter I
The Dawn of a New Era
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."—Albert Einstein
It was all over the news in Lizzie's Bar and Grill. As truckers pulled over after driving for hours on M-102 and patrons were having their meals and drinks, the television hanging over the bar displayed several snapshots of the damage that the city of Detroit had endured just a few days ago. The image on the screen then reduced in size to make room for the news anchor covering the story.
"…another battle, resulting in massive property damages throughout Detroit's commercial districts. Though Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader, and the rest of his fellow Autobots have been helping to repair the damages, citizens have begun to question whether or not the Autobots, Detroit's alien heroes for the past year, are a blessing or a curse. Already there have been some individuals who have been pressing city officials and law enforcement to have the Autobots leave the Robot City of America.
"In other news, Professor Isaac Sumdac, C.E.O. of Sumdac Systems, is still missing after the last Autobot-Decepticon battle. So far, though authorities are still looking for him, there have been no new clues or traces of him. His daughter, Sari Sumdac, long-term supporter and friend of the Autobots, has assumed temporarily the role of C.E.O. until her father has been located. This, however, has caused confliction among several members of Sumdac System's Board of Directors, particularly Chairman of the Board, Porter C Powell. 'Though I do hope Mr. Sumdac is alright, wherever he is,' said Powell. 'Ms. Sumdac's lack of business and financial experience, as well as misuse of numerous company resources, does not bode well for Sumdac Systems.' Though, it is important to note that the value of Sumdac System's stock, while not at its usual high-dollar value, has not fallen below projections."
"For the love of God, Miriam, shut that box up!" cried a regular who was feasting on a prime rib. Miriam just glared at the man seated at one of the corner booths before letting out an audible sigh and clicked the power button on the remote under the bar.
On any normal day, Miriam Granite was used to the sometimes less-than-pleasant outburst from one of her customers. After serving at Lizzie's for almost two years to help pay for her college funds, Miriam could honestly say that she knew how to deal with the more vocal patrons. Especially on Fridays and on the weekends when the more adventurous individuals try to out drink each other and play Beer-Pong.
But for the past few days Miriam has been more annoyed than ever, and the attitudes that some of her customers have not been helpful. As she took a deep breath, she noticed that one of the guys sitting at the bar hand his mug raised, signaling for a refill. Deciding that a distraction was what she needed, the young college girl sauntered towards the man.
"Would you like some more?" she asked, automatically smiling to the customer.
The man merely nodded his head and Miriam quickly went to collect the coffee mug that she had placed on the heater. As she came back and started pouring the man some coffee, the young girl took a moment to look at the man.
He was obviously a stranger for she'd never seen him before. Though he sat on the stool, so she couldn't figure his height, the man looked to be almost in his late-thirties or early-forties. He had brown hair that had been flattened from the simple cap that he'd left on the coat rack by the door. The man also had bright blue eyes that seemed to shine for some reason.
But what really stood out to Miriam was the man's smile. It wasn't the usual "thank you" smile that she usually received from customers, nor was it a predator smile from one of the local college boys who tried to ask her out. It was a smile similar to the one her dad always gave her, before he had passed away three years ago from a heart attack. The kind of smile that she would see brightens up her home whenever she returned from school or work.
After she poured the coffee into the man's mug, Miriam decided to talk to the man. "You're new here."
The man took a gulp of his coffee, before putting the mug down. The smile, Miriam noticed, didn't seem to leave his face. "Is that a fact?" he said.
"I know nearly everyone who comes in here," Miriam said. "Truckers, locals—they all love to come here and I've meet plenty of them. But you—I've never seen you here before."
The man snorted, but still smiled. "I'm just passing through. Saw this place on my phone and figured that it was a good enough place to eat."
"Oh! So where are you heading Mister…?"
"Ashton. Josiah Ashton." supplied the customer. "My friends call me 'Josh'. As for where I'm heading, I'm off to see my friend's daughter in Detroit."
She couldn't help it, Miriam gasped at the mention of the city. "You're going over to that warzone? After what those aliens did to it, you're heading to that place?!" The man must've been crazy.
But Josh merely smiled. "I have some business to take care of over there, and I have to make certain my friend's daughter is alright. She's a strong kid, but she needs someone to look after her, especially after everything that's happened." he said.
Miriam looked at the man in bewilderment. "Look mister, I admire that you want to make certain that your friend's daughter is alright, but aren't you afraid that those giant alien robots are going to kill you?"
Josh snorted. "Oh, please…" he said. "I'm not afraid of those guys. Besides only some of the alien robots are bad, the others—the Autobots—are the ones trying to protect us from them."
A hand suddenly slammed against the countertop of the bar, startling both Josh and Miriam. Both turned to see a tall, thin man, who wore typical farmers' overalls, had been the cause of the disturbance. The man appeared to be in his sixties, with wavy gray hair and a large beard. Even with the large mustache blocking their view, both Josh and Miriam could tell that the man was snarling.
"How dare you! How dare you believe the lies that those-those invaders have been feeding to us!" he said, seething.
Josh lifted his eyebrows at the man. "And you are…?"
"Foster. Elias Foster." The man said, and then huffed. "Those inorganic monsters have plagued our beloved planet for too long!"
"Now hold on," said Josh. "While I can't speak for them, I'm sure a lot of them are not 'monsters' as you put them. I mean, just look at what they've done—"
"Exactly!" interrupted Foster, nearly shouting and gathering the attention of the entire diner. "Look at what those aliens have done! They've destroyed Detroit. Endangered innocent lives! They've been a magnet for trouble, ever since they appeared on our planet!"
By this time everyone, from the customers to the diner's manager, had been watching the argument, waiting to see what would happen. Some of the younger patrons had already pulled their phones out and were recording the entire exchange.
Afraid of making the situation any worse, Josh sighed for a moment before turning his attention towards Miriam. "I apologize, but I think I better go."
The young waitress could only nod and took the money that Josh had pulled out of his pocket. When she came back with the change, she was surprised when the man told her to keep the change.
"Consider it a contribution towards your college fund." Josh had said to her.
As he made his way to the doorway, he heard Foster shout, "You sir may be fooled by those demons, but just you wait! Soon, they will bring about the end of the world as we know it, and will either enslave us or destroy us! We must prepare for what is about to come. Hoard supplies, construct bunkers, create things that could run independently from electronics—like steam powered devices—and prepare for the robot apocalypse. And when the veil they hide behind, masking their true motives, rises you'll see that I was right!"
This caused Josh to pause for a second. Then, without looking back at Foster, said:
"Maybe…but, nothing is ever truly what it may seem. After all, like those Transformers, there's more than meets the eye. And I have a feeling that were all about to enter a new dawn—the start of a new age. It all depends on how you deal with that new dawn."
As he proceeded to leave the diner, Josh can still hear Foster behind him, and repeatedly shouting about "those metal demons", "apocalypse", and "steam". As he made his way to his sports car, Josh looked out towards the highway that would eventually lead him to his destination.
"Yes sir…tomorrow will be the dawn of a new age. I just pray that those Autobots are ready for when I arrive. Because when I do…that's when the real war begins." he said, getting into his car and began driving down M-102…
…with a shiny red symbol on the front bumper.
Hey guys long time no write! First, I'm sorry I've been gone so long, things have been popping up and I've been getting carried away. But I'm back, and I got something real juicy that I'm sure you'll like...or maybe hate. I'll leave that for you to decided.
Just so you know, I may not be able to submit on a regular basis. I've got other things to do and I may not respond for a while. But I hope to try and at least catch up on my valuable readers with some quality material.
Until then, I hope you all take care and continue writing.