Edlynn groaned as her brother Scottie whapped her with his arm. Their beds were just close enough to rouse one another without actually getting out of bed.
On top of that, the simply would not stop barking and scratching at the glass.
"Sis...sis...EDLYNN!" Scottie snapped and pushed his sister out of bed.
The woman screeched as she slipped from her bed, taking most of her covers during the fall. Slowly, the woman sat up and yawned, glaring daggers at her brother.
"What the fuck?! You asshole, what was that for?" She hissed, struggling to stay awake.
"The fucking dog-."
"Humphrey, smartass. He's got a name."
"What. Ever." Scottie grumbled, "He's barking-."
"I've noticed."
"Damnit, Eddie! Stop doing that!"
Edlynn shot her brother a wry grin, "Stop what, my dear brother?"
Scottie glowered, "Oh you know what. You're such a shit, y'know that?"
"Yes, you've mentioned this."
"Just let the damn thing-."
"Humphrey!"
Scottie swiped at his sister. "Let Humphrey out, dammit!" Scottie snapped and threw the blankets back over his head, thoroughly pissed.
Edlynn showed her brother's back a rude gesture but slipped on a pair of ancient Sketchers that had belonged to her grandma forever ago and padded out of the room she shared with her brother.
Their desired professions and...unfortunate circumstances had left them little choice in the matter of living situations. So Edlynn and Scottie had found themselves stuck living in the same house despite being unable to stand one another seventy percent of the time. And then there was Humphrey.
Humphrey the swedish vallhund that belonged to their parents before the incident. He was a squat little thing, adorable and well trained...most of the time. After the family's beloved golden retriever, Amy, passed away, the empty house drove everyone crazy. Thus, Humphrey was adopted from the pound, with a weird lopsided ear to boot.
Edlynn grumbled at the energetic thing as it jumped up against the pane of the back door. Shuffling closer to the enraged dog, the woman gripped the handle.
"Damn it, Humphrey. It's too early for your antics." Edlynn yawned and unlocked the sliding door.
The dog was out the door like a bullet, barking up a storm as he went underneath one of the fence posts and went shooting off like a rocket towards the looming woods at the base of the "mountains".
Then she saw it. Edlynn gawked at the rising smoke coming from the farther in and upwards. Either someone decided to camp like an asshole on private property or...something. Gritting her teeth, Edlynn quickly kicked off her sketchers and pulled on her hiking boots. Once she had successfully located her phone under her mass of blankets, she grabbed her concealed carry and dashed after Humphrey.
Though it wasn't like the dog would have waited for her. The thing didn't wait for anyone. The trail of smoke was easy enough to follow. However, she hadn't expected to stumble upon a path of destruction once she had to start up the incline.
"Shit...look at this mess." Edlynn muttered, finally hearing echoes of Humphrey's loud mouth up ahead.
Being the paranoid thing she was, Edlynn didn't dare call after the dog. Instead she slowly inched nearer to the lit up section of forest as smoke continued to billow out into the open sky. Swallowing the nervous lump in her throat, woman took hold of the tree beside her and peered into the small crater of sorts.
*Click*
A cylinder, massive and humming, filled her vision without warning. Her throat seemed to swell shut in shock as the thing grew hot and bright. Unable to move and finding it hard to breathe, Edlynn futily gripped the tree behind her as tears pricked her vision.
And then it moved, followed by a series of harsh clicks and growls.
What the hell is going on here?
Before her, wedged within the crater, was a thick rountund...transformer. Oh god. Those killer robots from the commercials. Edlynn, in a flurry of panic, scrambled away from the crater and attempted to flee back to her home only to be enveloped by an absolutely massive metal hand and lifted from the ground.
Fear made it hard to breathe as a tall silver alien with wheels for feet held her in his fist, angrily clicking at the rounder one below him. The latter replied with a series of soft chirrs only to be met with a harsh growl from the mech holding her. The silver mech then glared at her, causing goosebumps to pepper her flesh.
"You're lucky fleshbag," he snarled and dropped her back onto the ground, "scamper off and take that pit spawned thing with you." he jerked his head towards Humphrey.
Edlynn swallowed the lump in her throat and managed to call Humphrey to her. "I...I uh, thanks."
"Don't thank me." The mech snapped, "If I had my way, I'd have shot you."
The woman frowned at him, "Sheesh, then why not do it then?" Edlynn muttered.
"Don't tempt me earthling. The whole lot of your kind ought to just die out. Bunch of traitors, all of you."
"Hey! I ain't a traitor! The fuck did I ever do to you?!" The woman snapped.
The fuck was he accusing her of? She had never met a transformer before, only heard about them from the television.
The mech scoffed. "Your kind is hunting us! After all we've done to save you! You try to kill us all for your own selfish gain!"
Briefly the rounder mech clawed at the one yelling at Edlynn, but he ignored it. Edlynn grit her teeth. "Hey! I don't want any death! I never asked for that!" She shouted, "The government kind of just does what it wants! It's not like us civilians have any say in what happens to you!"
"No one should have any say!" The mech scowled, "Slaggit, fleshbag. Leave already, and if you dare call that number…"
"Can I help?"
The mech froze for a second, then turned to given Edlynn a harsh glare. "If you think I'm letting a human anywhere-."
"Oh give me a break," Edlynn snapped, "Look, I don't know if you're aware, but people come crawling around her to camp all the time despite it being private property. And I doubt you're going to be able to carry your friend far without being spotted by a trespasser."
The mech let out a gust of air, likely his version of a huff. "And why would you help me?"
"Well...I dunno. Maybe it's guilt. Maybe I'm just crazy." Edlynn muttered. "I just...not all humans are bad okay. I mean, yeah, there's a staggering amount of assholes on this planet. But...not everyone's like that."
The mech was silent. "So there are a few humans who aren't bad," he looked away in favor of helping the other mech to his feet, "it won't matter though. Those few humans aren't enough to change things."
Edlynn snorted, "Well, not overnight maybe. But small things add up, yeah?"
With that, and an intense feeling of nervousness, the woman began walking. "So...where exactly are you going to take him?" she asked.
"Just keep walking." the silver mech scowled.
Edlynn hesitated for a moment, but relented and continued on her way, keeping a pace with his wheeled feet and injured partner in mind. Every so often the two would chirp and make noises at one another before falling silent. The woman lost track of time, but it had to have been hours by now.
"Alright, stop here." The silver one wheezed, his frame sagging with obvious relief as the round mech finally found a place to rest.
Edlynn shifted from foot to foot for a moment or two, gathering her courage to speak up. "What...what happened to him?"
The silver mech didn't answer right away, but instead took seat amongst the roots and rested. "Cosmos. His name is Cosmos."
"...okay."
"He watched over Earth from the outer orbit till' your government sent someone after him."
"Wouldn't he be faster though...I wouldn't think earth satellites or deep space weaponry would do much to him." Edlynn murmured.
The mech gave a harsh bitter laugh. "And he might have managed to get away, but his thrusters can't be used at that power without setting your atmosphere ablaze." the mech grimaced, "slaggit, he's like prime. Would rather sacrifice himself than put humanity at risk."
A tight feeling squeezed Edlynn's chest. "I'm sorry."
"Apologies won't do the mech much good, earthling."
It was like a slap to the face. "Then what can I do? How am I supposed to help you?"
"You can start by leaving." he muttered, "Leave, and don't call that number."
"What about you two?" Edlynn pressed, "They shot Cosmos out of the fucking atmosphere! I'm pretty sure humans can track that kind of stuff!"
He had no answer for that. "Just go home, kid. It's not-."
"It is my problem!"
"Not, it-."
"Yes it is!" Edlynn snapped, "It's my problem, because I'm making it my problem."
The mech shuttered his optics and frowned, "You've got a real issue with interrupting people, human."
The woman couldn't fight the small flicker of a smile on her lips. "Funny, you ain't the only one that thinks so."
"Then maybe you should work on that." he muttered.
"Hmph, don't get your hopes up."
"...wouldn't dare to." The mech replied, "Now go home already. You can't do much more than you already have."
"Alright, sheesh. I'm going." Edlynn muttered and shoved her hands in her pocket, noticing the sky had gotten quite a bit brighter by now, "Be careful, y'hear."
"Hmph."
Figuring that was all the reply she'd get, Edlynn began descending the slope towards home. It couldn't have been any later than four in the morning but her bones felt like feathers. How was she supposed to get any sleep now? At least she knew how to get home. Just head down, and hope you don't encounter any of those damned rattlesnakes or ungodly large hairy spiders on the way down.
All the more reason for her to not leave her house more than she had to.
When she finally made it back to the fence, Humphrey was waiting patiently by the door. Figures. Not like Scottie was going to keep his selfish ass awake to make sure she, if not the dog, came back in once piece. With a grumble, she opened the sliding glass door and slipped in after the dog. Lazily kicking off her boots and shedding her pajama jacket, Edlynn relocked the door and padded back upstairs to the room she shared with her brother.
Scottie, being the light sleeper he was, was peering owlishly at Edlynn through the semi-darkness before the she had even crossed the room. "The fuck, sis? Didja take a shit with the dog or somethin'? Damn."
Edlynn scowled and yanked out her brother's charger from the wall just for the sake of being an ass. "No, fucktard, the dog got under the fence. Had to chase em' down."
"Yeah, right." Scottie muttered, cursing under his breath at her as he struggled to find the outlet in the dim lighting.
"You wanna get up and take Humphrey out next time, brat?"
"..."
"Didn't think so."
"Would it kill you to be nice, for a change?"
"No more than it'd kill you to stop being such a pest."
"Bitch."
"Brat."
"Loser."
"Poser."
"..."
"Goodnight."
"Whatever, you too."
Yet despite the familiar sounds of her brother's soft snores and Humphrey's happy whimpers from his dreams, Edlynn was restless. Smoke had stopped coming from the crater and from the bedroom window everything looked as it always did. But the thought of the heated barrel of a massive gun, the inability to breathe, being held in someone's palm and facing their want for her blood, and their terrible injuries inflicted by humans like her…
The thoughts did a good job at chasing away any chance of rest that night.