A/N: Holy moly! Nine reviews on one chapter? You guys are amazing, if you keep it up, we'll reach fifty reviews in no time! Thanks to the reviewers: Autobot-Bre-Lightblast, The Silvernote, Starlit Storyteller, Blackrose3107, basecannon, Frellian, blaze424, Vodid, and CrimsonGallade! All of your reviews made me smile, I love seeing your thoughts and opinions on this story! Feedback is always helpful ;)
I actually am really loving the idea of this story, so I wrote a new chapter as soon as I posted my previous one! The amount of support I got also urged me to write it faster, since I didn't want to keep any of you hanging. Although, I'll be gone next Friday at this summer-class thingy for five weeks, so I'll try to at least update this story every week or so. Hopefully before Friday I'll have one or two more chapters posted!
I hope you all enjoy!
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Chapter 3: Recollection
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"Who's ready for some waffles?" Mom called from the kitchen, her voice trailing into the living room. My head lifted from its spot on the couch, eyes flickering over to my father. He lifted his eyebrows in a teasing way, and I smirked, jumping up from my sitting position.
"I'm gonna get them first!" I yelled, laughing as I ran out of the living room and into the bright kitchen. My eyes fell onto my mother as I skidded to a stop, almost running into my younger brother.
"Hey, watch it," he said, glaring at me.
"Aidan, can you not?" I asked, folding my arms lightly across my chest. My mother coughed, and I turned to look at her, giving her a sympathetic smile.
"Braelyn, for heaven's sake, you're eighteen-years old. Please act your age. You just finished your first year of college!"
I opened my mouth to respond, but gave an angry huff. Aidan stuck his tongue out at me, grabbing a plate from the nearby table. "I got here first, so I get waffles first. May I have one, please?" He held up his plate, and Mom smiled, plopping a large waffle onto the porcelain surface. He walked away, chuckling as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table for four.
"Can I have one, now?" I pleaded, snatching a plate from the kitchen counter and holding it in front of my mother. She lifted an eyebrow, pushing a piece of her short, dark brown hair behind her ear.
"Of course," she said, and I gave her a wide grin.
"Thanks, Mom." I walked to go grab syrup from the fridge, but froze. Dad hadn't walked into the kitchen, and I was almost positive he heard Mom calling for breakfast.
"Hey, Dad?" I said loudly, putting my plate down on the counter nearby as I headed towards the living room. I found him sitting on the leather couch, his body leaned forward, eyes glued onto the television screen. "Dad?" I repeated, walking towards him, and sat beside him. He placed a shaking finger to his lips, and lifted his arm upwards, a single finger pointing to the television. My eyes followed to where he was pointing, falling onto a female reporter on the news.
"...been a series of attacks recently in Washington D.C., the most recent one being at 5:40 am. Details have not been released, but we are certain there were…" The reporter paused, her eyes glancing past the camera, and nodded her head shortly thereafter. "There were Decepticons attacking the city. Many buildings have been destroyed, and there is a large death toll, somewhere possibly in the tens of thousands."
I gasped loudly, my hand moving to cover my open mouth. Thousands of people dead? From an attack? My mother had walked into the room, her hand gently touching my shoulder.
"...advise everyone to stay indoors for now. Please report any suspicious activity, especially if it involves any automobiles. Police forces and SWAT teams are trying to track down the Decepticons responsible for the attacks, and we have special teams attempting to contact any nearby Autobots. Please, stay safe, and don't let your families out of your sight."
The screen switched into a commercial, and I shook my head. This had to be a nightmare. I glanced at my father, who stood up, his eyes moving to me, my mother, and then fell on me again.
"Oh my God," Mom said, "we aren't that far from D.C., what do we do? Decepticons on the loose? I thought they were all dead, exterminated!"
"Well, they aren't," Dad replied, his hands tightly clenched into fists. The skin turned a pale-white color. "Let's just listen to the reporter. Stay inside, close the curtains, keep the lights off. We don't want to attract any of the Transformers, if they are passing by. I think–"
"Dad," I interrupted. "Over ten-thousand people were killed. The city is destroyed." I paused, my eyes falling onto Aidan as he walked into the room, standing next to my mother. "There had to have been more than one-hundred Decepticons attacking the city to kill that many people. Shouldn't we try to help find the Autobots? They're the only ones strong enough to bring the attackers down!"
"They're dead," Aidan said quickly. "At least, that's what my friend told me. Either the government still thinks they're alive, or they are trying to make people hopeful."
Mom opened her mouth to say something, but was silenced, as the distant sound of an explosion filled all of our ears.
It had begun.
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The sound of tires rolling on the road pulled me from my sleep, causing me to shift uncomfortably in my seat. I refused to open my eyes, wanting to fall back into the world of dreams, of nightmares, of silence and darkness.
Anything but this reality.
"Are you awake?" Sideswipe's voice bounced off the walls of his interior, and I furrowed my eyebrows, groaning.
"Yes." I reluctantly opened my eyes, focusing on the dark leather of the chair I was laying on. I turned my head slightly, staring out of the window above. A light, orange color filled the sky, the darkness of night fading away as the sun began to rise above the horizon. It was early morning.
"Do you want to sit up?" The simple question made me laugh out loud, and I could tell Sideswipe was confused by his response, "Why are you laughing?"
"I'm not exactly sure," I replied, pulling my arms above my head as I stretched. "I guess the fact that I'm inside of an Autobot right now, with the ability to move my chair up and down, and all you ask is if I want to sit up."
As if teasing me, the top of my chair shot upwards, and I screeched, flailing my arms. I expected to slam into the dashboard, but my seatbelt tightened at the last second, causing me to suddenly stop.
I gasped for breath, my heart slamming in my chest. Pain flared in my side, and I gritted my teeth to keep from hissing out loud in pain. My lips curled into a frown as the car began to rumble, Sideswipe's laughter filling my ears.
"Very funny," I muttered. He immediately stopped, sensing that I wasn't amused.
"Did I hurt you?" He asked. I could hear the caution in his voice.
I didn't want to lie to him, because I'm sure he would be able to tell I was in pain due to my reaction. "Yeah," I replied. I could feel him tense, if that's even possible, "but I'm totally fine now, my injury stopped hurting." Now that was a lie.
"Alright," he said, sounding suspicious, but decided not to press the matter. "I didn't mean to harm you." Another awkward pause. "Did you, uh, sleep well?"
"Not really," I answered. My mind thought back to the dream I had, and although it certainly wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't a happy one either. All I could think of was one thing:
I missed my family.
"I'm sorry," Sideswipe said, his voice suddenly lower, lacking emotion.
"It's okay," I said. "I haven't been able to sleep well since the day the world decided to end. Ever since I…" I felt the tears pooling behind my eyelids, but I hurriedly blinked them away, sighing. I couldn't let Sideswipe see my weaknesses, not when I've only just met him. "Lost my family."
The car was silent, and I wondered what Sideswipe was thinking. Did he feel sorry for me? Was he mad my world had been taken away from me, my family?
"I have a brother," he said, trying to change the subject. The four words struck me, deep in my heart, as I realized the one thing Sideswipe and I had in common.
"Well, where is your brother?" I asked. There certainly wasn't any other Autobot around, as far as I could tell from my surroundings.
"I don't know," he replied. I could hear the sadness laced into his voice, and I hesitantly touched his dashboard, as if this action could bring him comfort. "His name is Sunstreaker– I like to call him Sunny, but he hates the nickname with a burning passion. We were together, until an attack from Cemetery Wind split us apart. I know he is still alive, I can feel him there, through our bond, but I can't communicate with him."
"I wish you could," I whispered. I knew Sideswipe had heard it, as he gave a deep sigh, cool air flowing through his vents. He continued.
"I was looking for him after Cemetery Wind was destroyed, but when I heard about the attack at Washington D.C., I chose to hide. It shocked me, as well as my fellow Autobots, that there were still so many Decepticons remaining on Earth."
"Me too," I said, staring out of the window, watching as the scenery flashed by. "You know, I have a brother too... Well, maybe had." The image of Aidan appeared into my mind, light freckles settled upon his cheeks, dirty-blond hair framing his face. Sideswipe remained silent, waiting for me to keep going. "I don't know if he's still alive. We were separated when Decepticons attacked the place me and him were staying in. That's why I was alone when you found me."
"What is his name?" Sideswipe was still hopeful he was alive. The small gesture warmed my heart, and a smile crept across my lips.
"Aidan," I said. "He's two years younger than me– I'm eighteen."
"I'll try my best to help you find him, then," Sideswipe said. "Sounds like he's really important to you."
My eyes widened, the offer to assist me in finding my brother sinking in. He wanted to help me. "Yeah, I love him a lot. More than anything. I just hope he's still alive…" I trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Sideswipe."
The radio suddenly turned on, a song playing at low volume.
"H-How are you listening to the radio?" I blurted out, forgetting about anything we were previously talking about. "Aren't all of the radio stations down since, you know, the world ended?"
"I have my ways," Sideswipe replied, and I knew that if he could smirk, he would.
I opened my mouth to say something, but my stomach grumbled. I reached into my bag in the driver's seat, and pulled out the can of beans.
"Sideswipe?" I asked, a sudden thought popping into my mind. I pulled an old can opener out of the bag next, and quickly opened the can. I took a small sip of the almost-empty water bottle that sat in the cup holder, holding the beans in my lap. "I meant to ask you this earlier– how did you get me inside the house when I was unconscious?"
"I used my holoform." Without giving any warning, the body of a boy, a little older than me, materialized out of thin air, sitting next to my bag. I screamed, the can of beans flying into the air, before splattering on the shirt of the boy. Horrified, I pushed myself against the door, as far away from him as possible, my heart slamming in my chest.
"Hang on just a minute," he said, disappearing in a flurry of blue sparks. I remained still, dumbfounded, before the boy magically appeared again, with no sign of beans anywhere on his body.
What the hell just happened?
He stared at me, running a hand through his silvery-blonde hair, laughing. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
"What a-are you?" I asked, not daring to move my body.
"That's not very polite to ask someone 'What are you?'," he replied, a smirk crossing his face. "Well, my name is Sideswipe, and I'm almost positive you've met me already."
I stared at his eyes, their bright, electric-blue color sending a wave of comfort and familiarity through me. He wasn't lying– his body shape and face resembled the silver robot as if they were somehow blood relatives. "Is this your holoform?" I asked.
He nodded, reaching out a hand to me. My eyes fell to it, and I looked at his fingers, hovering in the air. He seemed so real. "Go on, touch my hand." I pulled my arm away from my body, and extended it towards his, my fingers skimming over his skin. "Pretty realistic, huh?"
"Yeah," I said. "I haven't seen a human in a long time." I realized I still had my hand on his and I quickly yanked it away, warmth creeping across my cheeks. My stomach grumbled once more, and I blushed even deeper, sitting forwards in my seat, my body relaxing from its tensed position.
"You need food, don't you?"
I simply nodded, closing my eyes. "I kinda screwed up by throwing my beans at you. Where are we, anyways?"
"We're still in North Carolina," Sideswipe replied. I opened my eyes, watching as the car began to head towards the nearest exit of the highway. "I'll bring you to someplace where you can find food."
"Stay away from the main parts of towns," I said, biting my lip. "There's probably a lot of people there, who are willing to kill anyone. Plus, I'm sure the stores are mostly looted."
"So, I should try to bring you to a neighborhood?" Sideswipe asked, his holoform looking at me.
"Sounds good to me," I said, sitting up in the seat, my mind wondering what this new day would bring.
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Sideswipe cruised to a stop, having pulled into an empty driveway in a deserted neighborhood we found. The music turned off, and the doors clicked, the passenger door swinging open by itself. I froze, startled, as I was still not very used to the strange action of doors opening on their own. Slowly, I climbed out of the Corvette, careful not to aggravate my injury, my legs tingling like I hadn't stood for weeks.
"Mmm," I mumbled, sighing as my knees gave a satisfying pop. I stretched my arms and rolled my neck, giving a small smile. "It's such a great feeling to finally be free from sitting for a long period of time!"
Sideswipe transformed, being careful not to squish me in the process. He stretched his arms and legs like I did, sighing happily as well. "I can agree with you on that. It's not that enjoyable to be stuck in my alt form." His head pointed downwards to look at me, his blue eyes dimming and brightening.
"You okay?" I asked, a frown settling across my face.
"I need to recharge," he replied, turning his body to scan the surrounding houses.
"Alright," I said, grabbing the straps on my backpack. "I'll look for supplies, and you can recharge, whatever that means. Okay?" He really looks like he needs to rest, I thought, noticing the way he carried his form, as if he was about to tip over from exhaustion.
Sideswipe faced me once again, concern washing over his face. I could see doubt in the way that he looked at me. "Are you sure that's okay? What if something happens to you?"
I shook my head. "I'll be fine, that's why I have this." I pulled out my handgun from the waistband of my jeans, smirking. "If I need some help, I'll holler."
This seemed to lessen his concern, as he gave a small nod. "Be careful," he said, before transforming once again, the silver Corvette remaining silent as it settled.
I held my gun steadily in my hand, quietly heading to the front door of the nearest house. The door was unlocked, and I slowly creaked it open, holding my gun in front of me, eyes scanning for any sudden movement.
As I slipped inside, I failed to notice the pair of eyes watching me from the house next door.
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Who doesn't love some good ole' conversation between Braelyn and Sideswipe? Slowly, their relationship will be building up to more than just acquaintances. Sorry about the little cliffie, I promise things will start to make sense in the next chapter, and we'll finally have some more action! Stay tuned for the next update, and please leave a review with your thoughts or predictions!
– SapphireSpark
