As I wrote this, I had an interesting grammar conversation with my brother.
Twelve-year-old Kylee Broker scowled, upset and nursing a bruised abdomen. Tears were streaking down her face, not from pain, but from dejection and helplessness.
She'd gotten in a fight after school, and while satisfied at the fact she had obviously won, was four miles away from home and five from her parent's house without a ride, for Sarah was shopping. Kylee sighed and started the two hour walk home.
Fifteen minutes in, she gave up, her stomach and a newly-gained twisted ankle hurting too badly to continue her trek. Sarah would pass Ky on her way home, and the child would be rescued from her roadside prison.
Kylee didn't have to wait that long.
A black and white Datsun pull over to the shoulder directly in front of the girl, the passenger window rolling down and a calm, tenor voice asking, "Do you require assistance?"
"No, I'm sitting at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere for the hell of it," Kylee answered, pain making her short-tempered.
A young man with brilliant azure eyes and light brown hair rounded the front of the car, muttering something about "Seeker with Sky-hunger" as he came. When he was close enough, Kylee kicked at his shin, wincing as the collision jarred he injured ankle.
"Get away from me!" she spat. "Go!"
He backed up. "I am just trying the help."
"Sure you are."
The man sighed. "My name is Payton, Payton Oberro. You are?"
"Kylee Broker."
"Well, Kylee, will you let me assist you now?"
"Drop the 'assist' and I might consider it."
Payton smirked. "Of course."
There was a pause. "I need a ride."
"To where?"
"A few miles from here, the Lennox residence."
The next day, the Datsun was parked in front of the school. Kylee looked at it, had a mental debate, and strode over. "What are you doing here?"
"Picking you up," Payton said simply.
"Why?"
"I'm... not sure."
"Perfect," Kylee groaned. "I'm being stalked by weirdo in a police car. Wonderful. Can my life get worse?"
"I could leave..."
"God forbid I turn down a chance to avoid those pricks on the bus.
A sort-of friendship grew between the two. Payton taught Kylee to drive, she grudgingly told him that her parents could probably be charged with neglect. Eventually Payton asked if Kylee could spare a few hours the next day. She got it cleared (Will, a captain in the Air Force, had threatened Payton in case he ever hurt the girl), and the following afternoon found them even farther into the middle of nowhere, a few dozen miles in the desert.
"Climb out?" Payton asked, leaving as a choice.
"Sure," the preteen said, popping open her door.
She was shocked when the man literally vanished,shimmering out of existence.
She was further surprised was the Datsun started coming apart, parts shifting until a huge, bipedal robot with pretty blue eyes and regal, arching doorwings attached to his shoulders.
"Oh, my God.." Ky whispered. "Payton?"
"Prowl, actually," was the rumbled reply, the tenor voice easily recognizable.
"My God... You're some type of alien, aren't you? God..."
"Yes. I originate from a planet known as Cybertron..."
Prowl explained everything, who he was, why he was here. The girl was fascinated. When Prowl was finished, he said, "I need you to agree to allow me to be your guardian. I won't do anything without your consent."
"Do I need to sign a contract?" Kylee asked.