Chapter 1

First and foremost I would like to apologize to my watchers—both of you.

I know you were hoping for an update of 'Holy Darkness: The Cursed One' And I realize I used the same town name but this story doesn't actually have anything to do with my previous story. But I'm afraid the plot bunny that bit me that day died. I tried poking him a few times but I didn't get a reaction out of him. I might dig him up one day and try again but for now he's totally dead. I'm sorry :(

--

Summery: I've recently moved into a new town hoping to start life on my own, but I couldn't have chosen a stranger town to move into. My life goes from boring country girl to being caught up in chaos and mayhem of epic proportions. The fragments of the allspark have been scattered and somehow it's up to me to find them. I still don't understand how I was given allspark sensing abilities. From my life being turned upside down to the mundane tortures of my job I have no idea how I am going to survive. This is going to be interesting.

This is my first fanfic so please be nice. Constructive criticism is welcomed—

flames are not.

Transformers belong to Hasbro!

--

"Err… damn it's hot."

It's ninety-three degrees and muggy as hell. The hot, sticky wind does absolutely nothing for me as I coast down the hill on my bike. At least I'm not far now, just a few more blocks until I get to my apartment. Turning the corner and onto the asphalt, I carefully cross the street. One must be careful in this town; fricken' people will run you over if they get the chance.

Well, other than the drivers I suppose this is a nice town. It's not very big, but large enough to have some decent stores and restaurants. It has a Walmart and a local drug store—Dean's corner drug, I think. And a handful of specialty shops in the old end of town. It was a cool place really. The old brick buildings still held the look and feel of the early 1900's when they were built. Crowded store fronts and the old city hall boasted the glory of Blackwood's hay-days, back when the railroads meant economic power even for a town a small as Blackwood. But I think the most fascinating thing about this town is the 'time capsule effect' it seems to have. Old meet new in a dramatic way. Union Street certainly earned its name. It ran from the mansions of old, to the industrial might of new. In seven short miles it leaps nearly a hundred years. Mansions of the railroad tycoons give way to the cityscape of yester-year; which in turns gives way for the tall elms the grow along the street in the heart of Blackwood. Homes with the distinct styling of the 40's and 50's lie in the shade of the great oaks that grow here en masse. Just a few blocks down, the home mingle in a strange disarray of the 60's 70's and 80's. To me looks like someone had tossed them in the air just to see where they would land. Then abruptly the trees end, and 'Passage' bridge begins; well, actually it's Union Bridge but no one refers it by that name. The aging concrete-brick bridge is short, its span only large enough to accommodate the few trains that still run the tracks underneath. But the effect is enormous. Crossing 'Passage' suddenly thrusts you into the modern era. Modern intersections, lined with modern stores like Radio Shack, Dominos, and a slew of other large chain stores crowd out the few tress left standing after the building boom of the 90's. The black asphalt and the white concrete have hard impersonal edge to them, a far cry from the comfort the shade the ancient hardwoods provide.

It's the sort of town where everyone knows everyone else. Except for me that is. I haven't been here too long, I just moved into Blackwood. A strange little town it is, busy as hell during the week, and absolutely dead during the weekends. Other than the necessities the entire town is shut down on Sundays; which really surprises me, especially the new end of town. I suppose being smack dab in the middle of 'lake country' is to blame for that. Everybody and their cousin are at the lake during the weekends—where I should be right now.

"Ugh…I feel like I'm going to pass out."

My clothes are sticking, my hair is frizzing, and I feel absolutely gross. I look like crap, I'm sure; not that I was much of a 'looker' before. Nope. There's nothing special about me. I have plain brown hair that reaches halfway my back, and curls and twists into a rat's nest if I don't condition my hair every night. My Norwegian heritage put's me solidly in the average category. Not tall, not short, not much of anything really. Nothing is fantastic about my build ether. Lean, but not muscular, I don't really even have 'assets' to be proud of. On the bright side, at least I'm not 'flat'. Like I said, there's nothing special about me. Although, my mom tells me that my hazel eyes change color when I get mad. Whether that's true or not is another story.

"Oh my god…" My voice is hoarse and dry from the heat "I-I can't take it anymore!"

I can't take the heat any longer; I have to find some where to stop. Okay, I'm in the new part of town… not very many places that are cool and shady here. Let's see… Oh! The dealership! That place still has a few trees growing in the back lot. With renewed vigor I pedal towards the car dealership that is just around the next corner.

Checking carefully and making sure the light is red before I cross the street I head into the parking lot of 'Crazy Casey's'. It's a stupid name I know, but I guess if you're the only dealer within 50 miles you don't have much competition to worry about. I weaved between the rows of shiny new cars; the array of makes, models, and colors designed to catch the eye of passing motorists. I rode up and down the rows a bit, looking at all the cars I wish I could afford. After what seemed like an eternity in the blazing sun I reached my destination. I hopped off my bike and nearly flopped on my face in the process. Drained and cranky I plop down into the grass.

Crunch

"Lovely…"

Muttering, I pulled my water bottle out of my bag. It was warm, but it was better than nothing. Leaning back into what was left of the grass, I sat quietly and watched traffic zoom by in the busy street. I sighed.

What I wouldn't give for a new car. Mine isn't a 'beater' but it isn't far from it. The body is sound; it's just everything in it that has the problems. Thinking about it makes my head hurt. The myriad of problems seems to go on and on. Random cuts in power when I brake (I'd given up on keeping the clock set long ago) Speakers that cut randomly in and out over the bumps. I have a driver's seat that doesn't move, and a gas tank door that doesn't stay shut. The good news is that the AC works; the bad news; I can't use it. It sucks so much power from my engine, my poor '96 Saturn struggles to get down the road. The heating system works well though. Too well. The damn thing never turns off. I can feel heat trickle out of the vents all the time, if I keep the fans off though, I don't notice it as much. Well at least the Tie rods (steering) and the radiator got fixed. I was really starting to get sick of filling my radiator with water every time I went somewhere. Yeah, a new car would be nice.

Bored out of my mind, but still feeling to hot to move around much I sat up to study the dealership more closely.

"Damn they have some nice cars here. Ooh, I like that blue one! I have no idea what it is, but the blue reminds me of the tropics… Trucks—I don't think I want one of those; the burnt orange color is cool though… Hmm. Ooh compacts! Sporty ones. Just my type, I can zip around town, and save on gas too. Wait, what's that?"

I get up and walk toward the row of small cars sitting by the dealership building. As I get closer I can see banners and signs hang all over the building and the cars surrounding it.

"Looks like some sort of sale…" Walking up to the orange-gold sports car by the door I read the banner hung across the hood.

'Crazy Casey's Crazy Car Contest!' "Oh, that's original" I thought dryly

'Just answer these questions correctly and enter to win a BRAND NEW VENTURI FETISH!!' Looking more closely at the car itself I am fascinated by what I see. The sleek curves and the smooth styling make me want to drool. I'm not a car fanatic, but the car ahead of me is undeniably gorgeous. "What I wouldn't give to have this car. Hmm…I wonder what kind of mileage this thing gets." Walking to the side of the car I look at the sticker in the window.

"It looks like it gets…217 miles…to the… charge? It's electric?! My mouth hangs open and my eyes bulge out. I'm glad no one is in the parking lot right now. Really this thing, the thing that can go 0-62 in less than five seconds and tops out at 105 is an electric? Wow." I stand dumbfounded for a minute or two before the heat gets the better of me.

"I am so signing up for this!" I practically scramble up to the table with the drawing box. Breezing though the questions with ease, I stuck my slip into the box. With a satisfied smirk I started walking back to my bike. I hadn't got far when I suddenly felt eyes boring into my back. Ugh… Creepy. Turning around I don't see anyone, but the feeling persists.

"Maybe now's the time to get out of here…"

I picked up the pace as a chill ran down my spine, followed shortly by a strong itch between my shoulder blades. "Uuhhh! Okay, okay… this is really creepy!" In my haste I nearly tripped barely catching myself. I could feel it intensify. My whole body was caught up in a sudden wave of frigid fear. The sharp cold feeling was totally at odds with the oppressive heat around me, and it only magnified its effect on me. Sprinting the rest of the way to my bike, I threw my bag over my shoulder, and was out of the parking lot before I even realized what I was doing. I threw everything I had left into getting me as far away from that parking as fast as possible. Pedaling furiously I didn't stop until I was safely back home. I roughly thrust my bike in my garage and rushed up the stairs into my half of the duplex, not even checking my mail box first. It wasn't until I was inside and had the door locked that the physical exertion and heat finally catch up to me. I collapsed onto the carpet by the door nearly blacking out. Breathing heavily, it was a few minutes before I could muster the strength to get off the floor. Still brething heavy and leaning against the walls for support, I stumbled into the bathroom, and switched on the water for a shower.

The cold shower did wonders for me, but I still felt like crap. I tried to nibble on a peanut butter sandwich although I didn't have much of an appetite. Giving up I dragged myself to my bedroom and flopped down on my bed. The soft pillows felt so good against my exhausted body. I hurt. My legs are burning, my chest feels tight, and my head is absolutely throbbing. "The aspirin I took before my shower should kick in soon" Despite how I felt it didn't take long for my body to turn leaden as sleep crept up to claim me. I only hung in a half conscience state for a moment before the bliss of the black void claimed me.

--

Constructive criticism welcomed! Flames are not!

For those of you wondering about the Venturi Fetish, here a link (take out the spaces)

www. Motortrend .com/ autoshows/ coverage/ 11205laventurifetishphotos /index.html

Some of you may be wondering what's up with my '96 Saturn. Just so you know, I didn't make that up. My 'real world' car actually does/did that.

Thanks so much for reading! Please R&R!