This is the rewrite of Transformers: I'm Crazy, Right? It is easily one of the most-loved of all my fanfics, and does hold a special place in my heart partly because of that but mostly because I had so much fun with it. But I started it while I was still in high school, and oh, boy, can I tell the difference. Reading it gives me headaches, and I can't believe how much better I write now. I'm not trying to brag by saying that, but I honestly believe I can do a whole lot better now than I did then. Hopefully this rewrite will reflect that. I was not originally intending to rewrite it, but my current writing style seems to demand it. Also, certain details will be introduced much sooner rather than as an improvised plot point to help the story along. Everything from this point on is intentional, and I hope that you will be able to tell.
Character illustrations for The Ghost Chronicles can be found on my deviantART account, FuzzySlipper. I hope to have actual cover art designed for this soon, but I'm not sure how soon. The sequel, Transformers: Keres may be posted soon, no promises, and that will depend on how the rewriting of this and my fickle muse cooperate.
Not writing any disclaimers or reference keys. I trust you all to know well enough how to interpret text changes and proper character ownership and point of view changes. The only thing I will say is that this story is set around a year after the 2007 movie. The only other movie that will ever come into play in my series here is The Revenge of the Fallen, which will be included in the first few chapters of the third installment of what I plan to be a trilogy. Eventually. I have college to work on, a job for the summer to get, and a marriage to plan now for Spring of 2016. :-)
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Transformers:
Herald, Host
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Book One of the
Ghost Chronicles
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By Falcon's Hyperdrive
Original written Fall 2008 through Spring 2014
Rewrite begun Summer 2014
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Prologue
1999
"Mommy, Daddy, look! It's so big!"
The little girl started to lean over the edge to see just how big the drop was, but her older brother grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back, eyes wide and torn between startled fear and the exasperation of an elder sibling. "Kitty, don't do that," he scolded, tone just a pitch higher than normal. "You could fall!"
"Keagan…" she whined, jutting out her lower lip in the biggest pout she could manage. "I wasn't gonna lean too far."
"It doesn't matter, it's the Hoover Dam! Jeez, you're gonna give me a heart attack before you even turn nine, Sis."
"That's 'cause you're old, Kee," Kitty teased, abandoning her pout and grinning.
"I'm fourteen, and that's not old." Keagan shook his head and sighed. "Come on, Mom and Dad are getting tickets for the tour. They'll kill me if you wander off under my watch, okay? So don't."
"Okay, okay. Hey, Kee?"
"Yeah, Kitty?"
The girl slid her hand into her big brother's and held tight. "Susie's brother said he wished he didn't have a sister sometimes. Do you sometimes wish you didn't?"
Keagan blinked, stopped walking, and turned toward her. After staring at her for a few short seconds, he leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Never in infinity, Kitty. Wouldn't trade you for the world."
Kitty's grin was broad, even despite the shock of static from the light she brushed in passing. Her happiness was not to be deterred, for she had the best big brother there ever was.
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Chapter One: Jack
2008
The wind was low, a cool breeze that only just rustled the leaves in passing. Dry twigs and the fallen garments of the trees from the year before crunched underfoot, sometimes with dull snaps, others with a brittle crack.
The air was warm beneath the thickening spring canopy, the light a soft green glow as it filtered through young foliage and revealed the crisscrossing paths of deer and rabbits in the patchwork shadows. A flutter of wings, a pattering in the bushes, and Kate ducked as a bluejay swooped in overhead then jumped in surprise as a small rabbit darted past her feet from the opposite direction. She had been following the road from the shelter of the woods ever since she found it, too afraid of the wrong people discovering her should she openly walk on the sunbaked asphalt. A sidewalk for giants, she also mused, probably shouldn't have lilliputians getting burnt upon the path, despite the lack of travelers. Down here in the woods, wrinkling her nose at the steep bank that dropped off the shoulder of the road, she was much better protected from sun and men.
The wind picked up briefly, catching the ponytail her brown hair had been tied into, and she sputtered for a moment as strands got caught in her mouth. It was already dry, she didn't need those follicles in it on top of dehydration. Her tongue and the roof of her mouth already felt like she was eating cotton.
You should find a stream, Vor—her Voice of Reason—told her. Vor had laughed a little at being given such a literal name, and in detecting the capital letters in her title, but she hadn't disputed either and neither could argue that while many people had some sort of voice of reason, Vor was certainly a Voice rather than a voice. And Kate wasn't sure, but she thought that Vor liked being given a name. It was a distinct pleased feeling that did not originate from herself, she knew; she had long since stopped questioning such emotions not strictly her own, and automatically assigned them to the Voice in her head.
I'm trying, Kate thought back to the Voice. Do you hear anything?
Honey, I share your ears, and thus your hearing. If you can't, I can't.
That was another thing. Vor wasn't just her Voice of Reason, she was a Voice not quite her own. It was difficult to explain without sounding crazy—and Kate was already convinced she was insane on some level, but didn't much care; Vor was good company—but Vor was not her. She knew that, somehow. The sense and sound of words had just appeared in her mind one day, a comforting light in the midst of darkness, and while Kate could not remember what was said or what had happened, she knew that Vor was something else entirely. But while Vor was not Kate, she was a part of Kate, and the teen knew she would be lost or dead without the Presence. And while Vor could pay attention to things she could not or did not, it was true that in sharing her body she was just as limited.
Kate and Vor fell back into silence, though the former really would have rather had a distraction. And, demonstrating just how well Vor knew her, it wasn't long before the Voice was speaking again. So where are we going? she asked, even though Kate was certain that the Voice knew everything she did. But the question made her steps falter, regardless, and she took a moment to think about that. She couldn't remember much Before, she had realized somewhere in the long night of walking, and she shifted the straps of her battered old backpack as she considered her dilemma.
"I don't know," she murmured, finally admitting defeat with a quiet rasp. "Just…onward, I guess."
Well, you can't stay here, Vor agreed, and I would definitely argue against going back.
No need, Kate told her invisible companion, resuming her walk. She moved her feet carefully, every step placed with an eye out for anything which might trip her up, twist her ankles, or get her bitten by a snake. She hadn't had such care early on in her escape, but as speed gave way to the need for endurance she knew that plodding on ahead was all she could do. She had her distance, she was well hidden, now all that was left was for someone friendly to come driving along the road, or for her to stumble across a town and catch a ride from there before her kidnappers could locate her and take her back.
You're spacing out, Vor said into her musings. Listen.
To what? The birds were as noisy as ever, and the road was silent. But there—there! A trickle of water teased at the edge of her hearing, and as she neared the source her pace quickened. Was it a spring, a stream, a leaking pipe?
It was a stream, she identified, though more of a creek, and it wound through the trees in a way that it approached the road, but did not quite reach it, and veered off back into the deep woods as if frightened by the grassy hill. Its water was clear and cold, and Kate nearly burst into tears in her relief. She wouldn't have even cared if the water had been fogged up from dirt, she still would have drunk it.
Slowly, Vor reminded her sternly as she fell to her knees in the sandy mud and cupped shaking hands beneath the surface of the gently coursing creek. It wasn't too deep, though deep enough to submerge her hands entirely, and she supposed it was best that she be careful not to pitch forward into it, either, lest she drown. It would be exactly like her to escape and drown not two days later, wouldn't it?
Admittedly, yes, Vor agreed, humor in her tone. I can see that happening to you quite easily. So don't pass out.
Yes, mother, Kate snarked back, smiling, and brought her cupped hands to her lips. Slowly, Vor had told her, and she made sure to follow that instruction as she drank her fill, losing half the water down the front of her ragged and bloodied yellow shirt in the process. It melded with the soil, joining the mud beneath her knees, and more joined it as she brought another handful to her mouth. It was all she could do to not just lean over and drink directly from the creek, and her arms shook partly from that effort to restrain herself as she fought to take her time.
After a while, she finally felt satisfied. There was no way for her take water with her, as all her bag contained was a laptop and a random collection of items that she had grabbed before leaving home to visit…someone, she couldn't remember who, but for at least this moment she wasn't about to die. Maybe it was enough to get her to the next town? What was the rule—three minutes without air, three weeks without food, three days without water? But just a day was dangerous, she had discovered, so she hoped she found a solution soon.
Something glimmered in the water as she raised her head, catching her eye as she finally was able to divert her attention from drinking. What's that? She blinked, but the shine remained, and it was not the ripples in the surface of the creek that was reflecting the light. It was beneath, just an arm's reach away.
I don't know, Vor answered her distracted question. But something seems familiar about it, somehow.
Kate paused even as she started to reach. Familiar? How is that possible? After all, Vor was the Voice in her head. It should feel familiar to herself, as well, but it didn't.
Vor's tone was troubled. I don't know.
There was nothing else she could do but see what it was, Kate decided, if she wanted to find out. Fingers nudged into the mud and pebbles beneath the water, digging out the submerged object that was sticking out as if dropped point-down into the creek.
"Shit!" she yelped, jerking her hand away and shaking it. It was as if she had just been shocked with a live wire—but that was impossible, or else the entire creek would have been electrified. Had she just touched a sharp edge and confused the sensations?
She felt nothing this time as she gripped the jagged object once more, and it gave way easily under her tug. It was about the size of her hand, its edges torn and melted. Kate then quickly discovered that it was metal, had good heft for its size, and odd symbols were carved deep into its surface. No, not symbols—glyphs. The word was stuck in her mind, but felt right as it echoed. She had seen something like this before, fandom sites for…Transformers?
Kate blinked, and the thought was gone. But why did it shock me like that?
In her head, Vor seemed to sharpen her focus. That looks like a shard from that cube in the movie. The All Spark?
"But…" Kate traced the glyphs, and swallowed hard. "…how is that possible?"
…Movie prop? But Vor's tone was unsettled, and she didn't believe it either.
The girl opened her mouth to communicate her next thought, but it, too, was lost as she turned her head to the road, ears trained to listen for approaching tormentors instead picking up a car approaching from the distance. From the sound of the engine, it was a sports car, something high end—and quiet.
Spitting out a curse, Kate shoved the shard back over her head into her bag and scrambled for the hill. Quiet engines were hard to judge on distance sometimes, and there was no way she was going to miss the only ride for miles.
. . . . . .
It was a silver Pontiac Solstice, hardtop, and from what Kate had heard the only one of its kind. Was this the movie prop, then, or a custom job? Either way, expensive, and she was afraid to touch it despite the startling blue eyes blinking up at her from behind visor-like sunglasses. "Where'd you come from?" the man behind the wheel asked, voice full of confusion. He looked at her, the woods, and back to Kate. "How'd you get way out here?"
Kate tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. "It's a long story."
The man rubbed a dark hand through thick black hair and let out a breath. "Not your day, huh? Here." He leaned over and opened the passenger door. "I'll give you a ride, and you can tell me your long story."
She eyed the spotless interior dubiously. "You sure? Your car is not going to be easy to clean."
"Kid, I don't care. Get in, you look…yeah, not going there. Hey, er, should I drop you at a hospital or something?"
"Only if it's far away," she answered before she could think about her words, and winced. "Yeah, uh, you can just drop me off at a bus station, or something."
The man leaned back, but the door remained open so she stepped around to where she could climb inside, but hesitated before she could follow through. Those sharp blue eyes were watching her with almost frightening intensity, but as if realizing this he turned away. "What kind of trouble are you in?" he asked, bewilderment in his voice.
Kate shrugged off her backpack and climbed in, deciding to take the leap of faith that this guy wasn't helping her captors. He didn't have any tells which might indicate he knew who she was, and as far as she could determine he genuinely did not know what was going on. She was filthy, and drying mud fell from her jeans to the floor of the car, but the driver said nothing so neither did she. "Kidnapping kind," she answered honestly. "But I have no idea how far ahead of them I am, so I can't go anywhere close."
He stared at her for several long moments, and then finally gave her a short, sharp nod. "Far away, then. Where do you want to go?"
"Where were you going anyway?"
"Nevada. You want to come with?"
Relief washed over her, but Kate knew better than to immediately accept such an offer. It sounded too good to be true. What do you think, Vor?
I think we should take it. It's a risk, but I doubt you're going to get an offer like this from anyone else. Ask him where we are.
"Uh, where are we anyway?"
The man screwed up his expression as he thought about. "Michigan, I think. Somewhere in the lower peninsula, I wasn't paying much attention."
Well that settles it, Vor decided. Nevada is far far away, and you would do well to go with him.
Really? All the way across the country?
A pause. Yes, she answered then. As if we have anywhere else to go?
Point. Kate reached over and closed the door, then buckled up and settled the bag on top of her lap and wrapped her arms around it protectively. "Nevada sounds great."
The man's smile seemed tentative, but his hand was steady when he held it out to shake. "Name's Jack."
"Kate." She took his hand and shook it once, grip firm. "New York accent?"
Jack took his hand back and put the car in gear. "Born and raised. Moved after college, and it's kind of been hard to settle down in any one place after that. You?"
She should have expected this question, really. Looking away, she watched the trees fly by and let herself be comforted by the steady purr of the engine. "I don't know. I can't remember much of anything before a year ago. Even now things are blurry from just the last few months."
There was silence for a moment, and then Jack cleared his throat. "I have a friend who's a doctor, where we're going. He could take a look at you, if you don't want a hospital."
"Sure." Kate smiled at him and felt the relief again. Unofficial channels meant it would be harder for her to be located. "That would be great. Thank you, Jack."
He smiled back at her, then looked back at the road. "So, anything important I should know about for the next couple of days? Eclectic music tastes, snoring?"
Kate laughed, appreciating the humor after such a long time without it. "I'd hardly know if I snore, dude. But…I do talk to myself, fair warning."
"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"
Might as well, right? She crossed her fingers, wondering if she'd be tossed in the loony bin for saying this. "I have a Voice in my head that I named Vor, and I talk to her aloud sometimes."
He gave her a funny look for that, but didn't have much of a reaction otherwise, yet. "A voice?"
"Yeah. Like a separate person who's there in my head. She…keeps me company, and funnily enough, keeps me sane. She's always there for me, even when they…"
Jack didn't question her when she trailed off, and seemed nice enough to leave it alone. "Well, I like Classic Rock and Country, so if you remember any music preferences don't hesitate to let me know."
Kate let out a tired laugh and let her eyes close. The adrenaline was crashing, a sense of safety causing her to relax from her high alert state. Jack's attitude was very refreshing, she decided, and she figured she was going to like this guy very much, indeed.
Uploaded 9/4/14