A/N: Edited!
It was raining. It was cold. And it smelt of damp Earth. Either steam or a fog swirled about her muddied and damp feet, and her breath mixed with frost already present in the air. Her mind had sorted through these facts automatically because she was honestly too stunned to understand what was going on herself. She had been riding her bike over the bridge to downtown, at least, as far as she could remember but glancing around; she could see nothing similar to her previous surroundings.
She stood at the entrance to a massive cave, like a monstrous mouth, it seemed to be reaching out to ensnare the whole of the Earth. Scraggily stalactites and stalagmites decorated the floor and ceiling like long fangs. Around the cave was a dark and sinister forest, oaks bent and reaching for her with leafless hands. But somewhere in the distance she could hear car horns and airplanes.
She brushed red bangs out of her icy blue eyes and took a shaky breath. From her right came an audible 'click' and a whining noise, the growing sound instantly reminded her of defibrillators. The image of urgent doctors moving over a dying patient however, was brushed aside when she locked eyes with red optics.
Her heart was pounding.
Her head was splitting.
Her lungs were aching.
And her knees were shaking.
But it all compared to nothing when a sudden pain blossomed in her chest and she lurched forward. She screamed as skin split open and metal burst forth. She felt things twisting and reshaping, she heard clinking and whirling, and she smelt the strange scent of ozone and burning flesh. And she grew. She grew until she stood almost eye to eye to the monstrous behemoth in front of her.
Sudden confidence swirled through her shocked form. She found herself standing with her metallic feet spread and one hand resting on a well-defined and strangely purple hip. She felt powerful.
The mech's optics across from her widened and reflected the image of a sleek and tall femme. Shoulders held back and doors, looking almost like wings, held up in nothing but pure defiance, she posed quite an image. Her helmet was flattering and swooped down between her eyes to form a kind of visor and two antennas, looking almost like horns, gave her an elfish appearance.
"What are you?" Computerized - not human. The voice was deep and held an almost pleasing quality to it.
She sneered and her icy blue optics narrowed just as a curved blade slid from her wrist. "Not to sound cliché, but, I hope you're ready, cause if you didn't catch the memo, I'm about to kick your ass!"
She charged.
…..
Pain, she could feel lots and lots of pain. In fact, she was certain that she felt pain in places she didn't even knew she had. She registered throbbing aches and sharp stings, and everything in between. She felt warm wet asphalt under her, rubbing at her already raw skin and soaking her clothes.
Opening her eyes showed her the blurry blue sky and framed by the white puffy clouds was the face of a rough looking man. He was attractive in a roughish kind of way, with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes. She obviously did not recognize him, but she certainly wish she did.
"Are you alright?" he asked with a slight British accent. His brows scrunched together only slightly in concern, hinting at a professional attitude.
Ember stared blankly up at him, still replaying his voice within her mind. She would have squealed if this had been some corny movie, she had a bit of a weakness for british accents. But since it was reality she settled on responding. "Yeah," she grunted and pulled herself into a sitting position. She examined her now torn skinny jeans and her scraped knees miserably, 'those were my favorite,' she thought. "What happened?"
"You were hit by a car. Nothing is wrong with you as far as I can tell, but I would like to get a closer look. I've already called an ambulance over." He replied. He stepped back, allowing her to catch sight of a yellow rescue hummer that sat patiently by the curb.
Ember adopted a horrified expression. The man did not move, only continued to stare at her.
"You called an ambulance? I don't have money to pay for that!" Eyes burning with anger, the red head pushed herself unsteadily onto her feet and clenched her fists. "I cannot believe this!" Almost as an afterthought she added, "You better be a doctor!"
He smirked at her spunk and casually, almost too casually, turned back to look at the yellow rescue hummer. Next to it was blue and red flame covered semi-truck. The two colorful vehicles did not go unnoticed by either Ember or the rest of society as it passed by. Instead, they glaringly drew all the attention within eyesight and slowed traffic.
Fuming, and about ready to punch the British man in the face regardless of his good intentions, Ember growled and dusted herself off. She muttered a few choice words under her breath and ignored him when he raised a brow; instead she moved over towards her bike that lay awkwardly on the ground and examined the tires. They were bent, both of them, and it would cost money to get new ones. She halfheartedly attempted to spin the front wheel and watched with a frown as the tire struggled to turn.
"Where's the ass wipe that hit me?" She looked back over her shoulder at the man who seemed irritated. Traffic was moving slowly by, most people curious as to what was going on and wondering if anyone had died.' Sick bastards.' She glowered at a woman who was leaning her head out of her window to get a closer look. 'Where are the cops?' she wondered foully.
"Gone, now sit down before you hurt yourself," he advised. Although Ember thought he meant it as an order. She glared at him before crossing her arms and leaning against the railing that stood between the sidewalk and the water below. "You won't have to pay," he added quietly. He moved in front of her and stared into her eyes before holding up a finger and waving it around for her to follow. "You're lucky you didn't bust your head open. Most people who are hit by vehicles don't come out as well as you did."
"Most people don't get hit by vehicles," she stated dryly with a chuckle. The man flicked her between the eyes with a grunt while lifting her arm up to feel for fractures. His touch was warm and static-y, like he had just dragged his feet over carpet.
Ember was caught between feeling amused and severely angered. The casual way the man handed out discipline was irksome. She absently rubbed at her forehead where he had flicked her.
"How is she Ratchet?"
The new voice came from an exceptionally tall man with black, almost blue, hair. He was broad shouldered and well-toned and had an amazingly charming smile. A red leather coat covered a black shirt. Despite his casual wear, he was a very imposing figure and radiated stiffness that leaned towards militant.
"Asides from her attitude she's fine," he replied grouchily while stepping back to allow the new comer a better look at the disheveled woman.
"At least I have a sense of humor," she countered. Ratchet, as the other man had called him, sighed in frustration. Ember smirked in satisfaction, finding the game all too amusing. There were many people in the world that she absolutely despised, but she found herself almost magnetically drawn to them. Or she was suffering from side effects of colliding with a runaway vehicle.
"I'd have to agree with her," the other man put in smugly. Ratchet sent him a glare that only caused him to laugh. "My name is Tim." He held out his hand encouragingly.
"Tim?" she uttered doubtfully, it was such a meek sounding name for such an imposing man. She shook his offered hand in confusion. "Ratchet?" she glanced at the older man next to her. "You're not some weird sci-fi nerd, are you?"
"No," Ratchet growled out, crossing his arms against his chest.
Ember turned away with a slight shrug and kicked at her bike dejectedly. Tim watched her sadly, distressed to see someone in such a mood.
"I'm sorry about your bike, do you need a lift?" Tim crouched down in front of the lame bike and spun the tire, watching as it struggled to perform its task.
Weariness flooded her mind, all kinds of thoughts filtered through her brain about these men. She didn't know them and they had magically appeared as soon as she regained conscience. They could be anybody. Yet she counted herself a good judge of character and these two had no negative vibes about them at all, other than concern. She glanced down the street and sighed, the dollar store (her long lost destination) was too far to walk to in her condition; bruised, battered, and bleeding from the knees. Laziness overruled her weariness.
Ember stared at them and with a shit eating grin she delved deep into thought of how this was now to her advantage, before crossing her arms. "Weeeellll, I do need a ride home, but I was on my way to the store to buy some party stuff, so if you're free then…" She trailed off, completely disregarding the one rule every parent taught their children; 'Don't go with strangers'. 'Sorry mom,' she thought determinedly.
"Absolutely no-."
"Of course," Tim cut off the grouchy doctor. "We can put your bike in my truck," he gestured over his shoulder at the Semi before lifting the bike onto its bent tires. One of the orange reflectors fell off and shattered on the ground. Ember stared at it blankly.
"But Op-," Ratchet began. He had stepped forward, as if to physically restrain the younger man.
"It'll be fine Ratchet, we owe her, it's the least we could do," Tim paused and stared back at the man. Strangely enough, Ratchet did not protest after that. He merely stepped back with a tight lipped expression and glowered at Ember.
Ember raised a brow in suspicion.
"What about the ambulance?" she questioned idly while Tim fiddled hopelessly with the bike.
"Don't worry about it." Ratchet glowered at the younger man before strutting over to the vehicle like an irritable mother hen.
"You guys are weird…," Ember stated absently while she watched the doctor climb in the hummer. She turned to look at Tim who was looking at her questioningly, "Are you guys gay?" Tim blinked owlishly before sudden understanding blossomed and his face took on a confused and somewhat amused expression.
"No," he responded simply.
Getting the bike up into the truck when there was a distinctive lack of a trailer was surprisingly easy. With Tim pushing the bike in from behind and Ember pulling from inside the truck, it took barely two minutes with a bit of creative maneuvering on Ember's part. It now rested just behind the passenger seat pathetically.
"My names Ember by the way," she announced as the trucks engine rumbled to life. It reminded her of an old trucking game she used to play in an arcade back home with her dad. She could never win that game; the automatic shift always threw her off, and even when her dad did it for her she was still too little to drive properly. It was still fun though, she loved crashing into things.
"That's a unique name; I don't think I have met a person with that name before." He stared at her as he spoke and Ember couldn't help but speculate how he could drive without even peeking at the road.
"What can I say, dad was a pyro," she shrugged nonchalantly (Although she was secretly proud of her odd name). She gazed down at her shaking hands and sighed, just now feeling the after effects of the accident. When she got home she was taking some pain killers and curling up in bed.
With a broken bike she would have to start driving her car again, which meant she was probably going to have to get another job. "I hate our economy," she stated darkly. "And I hate the douche that ruined my bike." Lately it seemed like the whole world was against itself and she was no exception. Sometimes she wished she had been born into another century, preferably a more successful one. The constant worry of money, food, and education could quickly wear away even the toughest of souls
Tim gave her a sympathetic look and his grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I am not from around here but it appears that many people are suffering." Ember blinked. From another country? If he wasn't used to dealing with the horrible economy then he definitely was not from any part of America.
"You're telling me. I share rent with two other people and work full time and I still can't keep the fridge full," she explained in exasperation. She poked at her scraped knees and winced. The last time she had scraped them she had probably been 12, funnily enough, she had been riding her bike then too. She had bawled her eyes out that day.
"I see." He sighed and the sound was echoed by the truck as it rumbled almost unhappily.
"I'm not the only one who's suffering, I'll live," she brushed off his concern. "The dollar stores up here." In truth she was deeply touched by the sincere concern that the stranger was showing however the sympathy brushed against her prideful personality in the wrong way. The realization that Tim was a genuine compassionate person dawned on her just then.
The truck pulled to a stop out front of the busy store, the air breaks hissed, and Ember pushed her door open. She slid out of the vehicle and landed in a puddle, sending water through the air. She smirked at the immature act before turning back to face Tim.
"I will be here," he stated shortly.
Ember nodded and casually strolled around the front of the truck and entered the store. The doors slid shut behind her with a resounding clap. She briefly wondered if they were operating at a safe speed before slithering down an isle in search of some bandages for her knees.
When she had successfully secured a box of Band-Aids she traveled to the other side of the store for party supplies. Carelessly kicking her feet, she browsed the snacks. She could afford to buy a couple bags of chips and candy for the party tomorrow, knowing Cody, he would forget anyways.
With arms filled with supplies, she quickly made her way to the cash register and paid for them. She collected her bags, ignoring the strange looks she got, and thankfully stepped out into the sunlight. She hadn't thought about her appearance when she had first entered the store, but upon exiting it she took the time to examine her clothing and sighed despairingly. Resigned to the loss of a good pair of pants and a shirt, she marched over to the garish truck that was now parked at the back of the lot. After what seemed like an hour of walking she reached for the door and pulled it open to find Tim sitting right where she had left him.
"Were you able to find all that you were looking for?" he asked.
"Yeah," she placed the bags on the floor and glanced down at her boots. They were scuffed and covered in enough mud to put a pig to shame. She reached down to brush some off when she spotted a puddle of toxic looking blue liquid collecting next to the front tire. "What's this stuff?" She crouched down and reached forward to touch it.
"Do not touch it, it burns," he warned her and peered down at her from the front seat.
"I'll take your word for it," she stated dryly. It certainly looked dangerous enough. She pulled her hand away and climbed into the cab of the truck cautiously, wary of her scraped knees. While the Tim pulled out of the lot Ember applied the bandages to her wounds which were, although bloody, about as fatal as an ant bite.
Riding with a stranger wasn't all that bad, Ember realized - if you ignored the long awkward pauses and the like. Tim was a nice enough guy despite his weird friend, he was easy to get along with, and attractive to boot. Yet despite all the pros that just seemed to radiate from kind man, Ember got the feeling that she was missing something. And when he finally dropped her off, she could have sworn he kind of…well…flickered. Not to mention the fact that she had seen a yellow rescue hummer more than once on their trip.
"Thanks for the lift, I'll see you around?" she grinned up at him.
"Maybe." Tim grew tight lipped as he looked at her strangely.
In other words, no.
"Oh well, it was nice meeting you," Ember lifted her bags from the floor and waved goodbye before closing the door and turning to face her apartments. Tim smiled before the Semi rumbled to life and pulled away slowly, almost reluctantly. She glanced back once before scurrying off to her home to get out of the cold.