Grocery shopping was a necessary evil that rolled around every couple of weeks when the meagre supply of food in Evie's house ran out. Honestly, she could have probably gotten by without the grocery run but old habits die hard, so every second or third Wednesday of the month she got the bus to the local Walmart and collected her necessities, occasionally throwing in a nice t-shirt or pair of jeans if she saw any.
It was the second Wednesday in April, and Evie was strolling aimlessly around the store, vaguely eyeing various toothpastes and organic cabbages. I should have made a list, she thought absently, picking up and examining a box of pears. It was hard to know what she'd actually use, considering most of the stuff she bought often went wasted.
In the end, her shopping basket was dismally empty - nothing but milk, cereal, a couple of vegetables and some toiletries. She paid and left the store, squinting her eyes as she emerged into the bright sunlight. As far as she knew, the next bus home wasn't for another ten minutes, so she made her way over to the bus stop and settled down to sit on the ground. As she waited, she watched cars drive past her; it was mostly the same old battered pick-up trucks and dirty Volvos, but at one stage two cute little Chevrolets drove past, one red and one green, revving their engines and play-racing like total goofballs.
By the time the bus came, no cars had passed by in almost five minutes and Evie had been ready to die of boredom. She ended up being the only passenger on the whole bus, so she sat up the front and gazed out the window until they came to her stop.
The neighbourhood seemed quiet, and the park was empty when Evie walked past it. The only noise she could hear was the distant noise of engines snarling; the sound was remarkably aggressive for such a peaceful day. As Evie walked, it seemed the engine sounds were getting closer, although she couldn't discern where exactly they were coming from.
It was as she was crossing the street that a police cruiser tore down the road towards her. The squeal of tires and the roar of the engines had Evie turning and stepping out of the way just in time to narrowly avoid getting clipped by one of the side-view mirrors. She yelped in surprise and staggered back, carried by her momentum, before toppling over and falling on her back. Her elbow cracked against the pavement and she hissed in pain.
She had barely pushed herself back up into a sitting position before another vehicle shot up the street in apparent pursuit of the police cruiser. It took Evie a moment to recognise the other vehicle, but when she did her brow furrowed in total bewilderment. That was Will Lennox's truck. What the hell was Mr Lennox doing chasing a police cruiser?
The two vehicles raced down the street and out of sight, and Evie stared after them even when they were gone from sight. After a long moment, she climbed to her feet and dusted herself off, wincing at the sharp pain in the elbow she had smacked when she had fallen. It was bleeding a little, but it was nothing serious. She retrieved her measly little shopping bag from where it had fallen when she had been knocked over. I could have been seriously hurt, she thought with a small frown as she began walking again. Mr Lennox and a cop were two people that should have definitely known better than to drive so recklessly in a populated area.
She had just begun to ponder why on earth Mr Lennox would have been chasing a police cruiser when two more cars came tearing up the street. As they came closer, she recognised them as the red and green little Chevrolets she had seen at the bus stop. "What the-?"
The green one skidded to a sharp stop right beside her, and the door popped open. Evie stared at it in no small amount of trepidation, and didn't move. The engine revved impatiently, and a male voice that seemed to come from the actual vehicle said, "C'mon shorty, we don't got time fo' this! Get in!"
The windows were tinted black, so Evie had to step out onto the street and duck her head around the door to glance inside the car, trying to get a look at the driver. Almost as soon as she had stepped off the pavement, the other car came around from behind and opened its door. The door collided with her back and knocked her into the first car.
She toppled in through the open door and landed heavily in the passenger seat, knocking her head off the gear shift as she did so. "Ow! Hey, what the hell-!" Apparently she had gotten herself caught in the seatbelt when she had fallen into the car, because she found herself already strapped in when she struggled into an upright position.
"Got her! Okay, let's go!"
Evie turned, her mouth open and ready to shout at her captor - but there was no one in the driver's seat. Frozen, all she could do was stare at the empty seat as the car took off down the street, following its red counterpart. No one was driving the car, though the wheel turned when the car did and the gas pedal was pressed down.
The car was driving itself, and she was stuck in the passenger seat.
Evie screamed, so loudly her throat grew raw. She tried to jerk away, but the seatbelt held her fast. To her surprise, the voice from the car let out an answering shriek.
The car was screaming. What the hell was going on?!
"Why are ya screamin'?!" The voice yelled.
"Why are you screaming?! What is going on?" Evie cried, tugging at the seatbelt. Panicked tears pricked her eyes as she fought against the restraints. There were two possibilities as to what was happening; she was being kidnapped by two talking cars that could drive themselves, or she was hallucinating. She was really, really hoping for the latter.
"Chill out, lady! Ol' Hide is gonna whup Barricade's aft, and we was s'posed to make sure his charges are all safe and sound!" The voice seemed to be coming from the radio and the speakers all around the car. "The other li'l squishies are back at the house."
Evie clutched at her hair and barely withheld more screams. "Hide." She caught onto the name, her brain replaying it over and over again. "Hide. Like.. Annabelle's imaginary friend?"
There was a silence that somehow managed to sound confused. "Uh.. If he heard ya say that, he wouldn't be very happy."
"The truck. Oh my god. Holy shit. Is it like you? Will's truck? Does it speak, and drive itself?"
"Uhh.." The voice sounded uneasy. "Whattaya mean? Ya have met him before, right?"
"No!" Evie shrieked, clutching the leather seat. "No, I have never met a freaking talking car!"
"Slag." The car's voice changed suddenly, as though he were talking to someone else, "Mudflap, I think we've blown our cover."
In the back of her mind, Evie registered that she was hyperventilating. Her vision was blurry, and her breaths were coming so fast it made her chest hurt. "Let me out. Please, please, please. You've gotta let me out."
The voice didn't reply; they had left the neighbourhood and the town behind, and were headed towards the Nevada desert. The buildings disappeared behind them, and the road soon turned to sand. The car began to speak up again, complaining about sand getting into its undercarriage. Evie ignored it, too focused on what was happening around her. Why were they going to the desert? Her mind jumped to an extreme conclusion - the cars were going to kill her. A wave of panicked nausea washed over her, and she shrank back into the seat, "Oh my god. I'm gonna be sick."
"Oh, hell naw!" The brakes screeched as the car skidded to a stop, and Evie was thrown forwards. The seatbelt cut into her hard, before it retracted and the door flew open. The seat tilted violently, and she was flung from the car.
Evie yelped as her face collided with the hot sand and her hands scraped along the ground. The knees of her jeans ripped as she scrambled along on her hands and knees, trying to get away from the freaking possessed cars. The sound of whirring gears and clashing metal had Evie turning around, and she froze at what she saw.
The green car had become a green metal man, who was brushing himself off and yelling. "She was gon' purge all o' her nasty organic juices in me!"
Evie stared. Her chest was heaving, and her throat was raw and dry from the sand that she had accidentally swallowed when she had fallen. As sore as her throat was, she still managed a scream as she pushed herself to her feet and ran.
She didn't get very far; her battered old Converse weren't exactly made for sprinting across hot desert sand, and her jeans were restricting her long strides. She had barely gone a couple of metres before the green robot overtook her and snatched her up. He was probably about eight feet tall, and he was well able to throw her over his metal shoulder and haul her back to the other car.
The other car had become a robot too, this one red, and he smacked the other one over the head when he came close enough. "Why'd ya let her run? We're meant to be keeping her safe, dumbaft!"
A soft groan escaped Evie's throat as she was jostled on the robot's shoulder. From her position, she could see the plates on its back shift and move, revealing light grey metal underneath the green plating and thin luminescent blue wires snaking like veins. "Please.." She whispered.
The world seemed to turn upside down for a moment, until she found herself deposited roughly on the sand. Her shoulder hit the ground hard and she groaned again, closing her eyes tight to protect them from the dust blowing in the wind. Behind her, the green robot said, "Hey, there's Hide."
Evie rolled over on the sand and came up into a sitting position. Her clothes were ripped, her hair was knotted and blowing in her face, and her shoulder and knees were bleeding sluggishly. Her breaths were coming fast and harsh, and her throat felt like she had been swallowing glass. Through the curtain of hair blowing in her face, she saw the shape of Will's truck approaching. "Oh god," she whispered, pushing her hair back with both hands. "Another one."
The red one (Mudflap, Evie recalled the green car saying) stepped forward, waving his arms enthusiastically. "Hey! Hey, there ya are! Yeah, so I guess we're a bit late-"
Will's truck seemed to lunge forward - the hood moved, and the vehicle's parts and plates began to shift. The sound of mechanical whirring and metal crashing accompanied the transformation, and Evie watched with her mouth agape as the truck seemed to grow and grow, until it was a colossal black robot standing at about twenty feet tall. He towered over Evie and the other two robots, and his metal face seemed to be arranged in a scowl. "Where were you two?" He yelled, his voice thunderous. His arm shot out and he grabbed both of the smaller robots, before clashing both their heads together. He dropped them both, and they fell yelping and shouting to the ground. "You show up after Barricade escapes? What fragging good is that?!"
Gasping, Evie scrambled back as the giant robot took a step forward. He was still shouting at the smaller two - he had a funny accent that seemed a mix between English, American and something else - and he didn't seem to notice her at all. Until, of course, the green robot pointed her way and said, "We was busy savin' the squishy!"
'Hide' swivelled his head towards her then, optics blue and bright. He stared at her for a long moment, before slowly turning and staring at the other two robots, "What," he rumbled dangerously, "is she doing here?"
"You told us to make sure yo' charges were secure!" The green one cowered, "The other three was in the house, but she was just wandering around in the street!"
Evie was still staring at the ginormous thing Will's truck had become, struggling to comprehend how such a huge being had fit in such a comparatively small vehicle. "Holy shit." was all she could manage to say.
The huge being crouched down, apparently deciding to ignore his smaller friends for the time being. "Evelyn, isn't it?"
"Y-yeah." Evie whispered, drawing back. His head was so close to her now that she could see every plate and wire that made up his face. "Um.. Evie."
"Evie," he repeated, nodding. "I am Ironhide. I suppose we've met before."
A hysterical laugh burst out of her chest, "Yeah, I guess so."
A low growl built low in Ironhide's massive black chassis as he turned back to the other two. "Why is she leaking fluid?"
"Is she?" Mudflap asked innocently, peering closely at her. "Oh. I dunno. Hey, Skids? Why is the li'l squishy leakin'?"
The green one, Skids, appeared beside the other one and made a motion like he was scratching the back of his neck. "Uh.. I may have thrown her onto tha ground a li'l hard?"
"Idiots." Ironhide rumbled, turning back to the little human. "So.. I am guessing that William did not tell you about us."
Evie laughed a little as she climbed back to her feet. It still had a hysterical edge to it. "Um, no. No, he seems to have forgotten to mention that his truck turns into a giant robot!"
Skids made a little protesting sound. "Hey, we ain't robots! We can think for ourselves!"
"Some of us can." Ironhide muttered. The little metal ridges above his optics pulled together in a scowl, just like eyebrows. "We are mecha. Robots aren't sentient."
"Right. Of course they aren't." Evie tried to laugh again, but it came out as a whimper.
"Why don't you two make yourselves useful and make sure Barricade isn't skulking around somewhere?" Ironhide growled at his fellow rob- mecha. The smaller two scrambled around, before transforming in a clash of metal and speeding off into the desert. Ironhide turned his gaze back on the trembling mess Evie had turned into. "You won't be harmed," he sounded vaguely uncomfortable. "We are Autobots. We don't hurt your kind." When he got no reply, he continued, "You aren't supposed to know about us; your American government wishes us to remain a secret. I will tell Will that you are aware of us now, but I believe it will be mostly up to our Human Liaison officer as to what we're supposed to do with you."
"Oh god." Evie covered her face with trembling hands. "This is too much. I have no idea what's going on."
"Ah." Ironhide nodded and looked out at the desert, where the red and green Chevrolets could still be seen in the distance. "I imagine this is a lot to take in."
"What are you?" The question came out as barely a whisper and was muffled by her hands, but Ironhide was still able to pick it up.
"I already told you, we are Autobots."
"Did the government make you?"
A funny snorting sound came out of Ironhide's vocaliser then, and he shook his head. "Your race is a long way away from making anything half as advanced. I was not made. Our kind is not from Earth. Everything else is classified."
"Not from Earth. You're aliens?" Evie nodded, feeling faint. "Right. Of course. Um.. I'm not feeling so good."
"Hm. Your kind are so puny." This was said in an undertone, as though it wasn't really directed at her, but it didn't matter much anyway. The world had gone a little blurry around the edges of her vision and though she was distantly aware of the massive mech speaking, none of it seemed to be reaching her.
Evie took a step back as her vision went black. The last thing she saw was the ground rising up to meet her face.
OoOoOoO
Waking up was painful. Evie's eyes felt like they had shrunken in her head, and her brain felt like it had swollen in her skull. It took several attempts to actually open her eyes, and once they were open it took her a moment to realise where she was.
She was lying on her bed. In her bedroom. At home.
"What the-" her voice was dry and reedy, and her sentence died out as she coughed. Water, she thought as she rolled out of bed. She landed on her knees and hissed in pain; the flesh there was scraped and cut. That was when the memories came flooding back; the talking cars that had kidnapped her, Will's truck standing up and becoming a colossal metal giant. Her hands flew to her mouth as she whimpered. That could not have happened.
She walked to the window and peered out, and almost screamed when she saw the black Topkick parked outside. "Oh god," she whispered, and then winced when her throat burned. She needed water - everything else could be dealt with later.
Creeping down the stairs in her own house was more than a little undignified but Evie was taking no chances that the truck might hear her, as crazy as it sounded. When she reached the kitchen she began to relax slightly, and poured herself a glass of water and drained it. She was halfway through her second glass when someone cleared their throat behind her.
Evie jumped violently and dropped the glass; it shattered at her feet, which were thankfully protected by her shoes. She whirled around, only to see- "Mr Lennox?"
"Evelyn." Will was sitting at the corner of her kitchen table. He looked exhausted as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, "How are you feeling?"
Boy, but that was a loaded question. "I don't know." Evie answered honestly. "Um.. How did you get into my house?"
"You left the key under the mat." said Will. He stood up, and pushed the chair back into place. "Now, I need you to go upstairs and pack your things."
Evie blinked at him. "What?"
"It's not safe, they know Ironhide has been here. They'll come back."
"Who will?"
"We don't have time, Evelyn. Please go and pack your things."
She wanted to demand answers, to stand and cross her arms and pointblank refuse to move until she got information. But she just nodded submissively and turned, stepping over the broken glass and heading back up the stairs. There'd be time for answers later.
Once she was in her room, she grabbed a duffle bag and threw some underwear, some jeans and a couple of t-shirts in. She added a toothbrush and some shorts too, but she didn't really have much to bring anywhere. Her phone and charger went in the bag, and then she was finished.
She stood there for a moment and just stared at the wall, trying to work out what exactly had just happened to her. She had woken up in that very room that morning, and everything had been fine. How was it that she was standing in the same room later on the same day, and everything was so incredibly different?
Her name was called from downstairs, so she hefted her bag over her shoulder and traipsed down to the hallway. Mr Lennox was waiting by the door, drumming his fingers against his leg - he seemed to do that when he was under pressure. "Ready?"
"No."
"We have to go." His eyes softened, and he sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Evelyn. This shouldn't have happened."
Evie didn't say anything, and after a moment Will opened the door and headed out into the sunlight. She followed him, but paused when she saw him getting into the truck. The truck that was actually a twenty foot tall alien robot. Was he seriously going to drive it? She didn't move for a long time, until Will motioned to her impatiently. Even then she moved hesitantly, and it was with great reluctance and caution that she heaved herself into the passenger seat.
Will glanced at her from the driver's seat and raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"
"Mhm." Evie nodded stiffly, and remained completely still on the seat.
"He doesn't bite." A light laugh escaped Will as he watched the younger girl clutch her duffle bag to her chest.
"I know that." She said unconvincingly, eyeing the dashboard. "Um.. Can I put my bag down?"
The dashboard seemed to chuckle, just like the green little Chevrolet's had. "Yes." Ironhide's deep voice came from the radio.
She had just asked the truck permission to put her bag on the floor. This was crazy. Everything was crazy. Slowly, Evie lowered her bag to sit between her feet.
Will started the truck, and began driving down the street. It must be weird, to drive something you know is alive. They hadn't gone far before Ironhide spoke over the radio again. "The twins are at the rendez-vous location with Sarah and Annabelle. Airlift is ETA four minutes away."
As Will nodded his acknowledgement, Evie frowned. "Twins?"
"Hide tells me you've met them." Will said grimly, flexing his hands on the steering column. Outside, the buildings were beginning to become sparse and the road was turning to sand. They were headed to the desert again. "Mudflap and Skids. Apparently they dragged you into this whole thing."
"The little red and green cars?" said Evie, looking confused. "But.. They're robo- um, I mean mecha. How can they be twins?"
"It's complicated." Mr Lennox answered with a casual shrug. Evie got the impression that it was 'classified'. "They say that they were protecting you - is that true?"
"Protecting me from what?"
Another shrug from Will. "Barricade, I suppose."
"The police cruiser?" Evie guessed cautiously. The engine revved in what she guessed was confirmation. "Uh.. I don't think so. I mean, I-"
Ironhide's voice cut across her, "Airlift has arrived." They had arrived at the desert and Evie hadn't even realised. Ahead of them, the green and red Chevrolets were sitting innocently in their car forms. Sarah and Annabelle were standing beside them, although their attention was focused on the approaching truck. To their side was, oddly enough, an airplane.
Will pulled up next to his family and jumped out, making a beeline for them. Evie got out of the passenger side and picked up her bag, coming around the front of the truck just as Will scooped Annabelle up into a big hug. She stood to the side, watching the cute little family scene. There was still a big ball of anxiety and fear sitting in her stomach; why was there a plane? Where were they going? Everything was moving so fast, she couldn't keep up.
Something hit the back of her legs and caused Evie to stagger forward. When she turned, she saw it was Skids that had nudged her with his bumper. "Hey lady! If you gonna pass out again, give a li'l warning and we'll catch you!"
Face burning with embarrassment, Evie nodded. "Right. Thanks."
"No problem!" Skids said cheerfully. Evie absently wondered where his voice was coming from - under the hood, maybe? "People be fainting all the time when they see us - they be shocked at our handsome faces."
"They be shocked at my handsome face. They faint at you 'cause yo' ugly." Mudflap had appeared beside his twin, and nudged him with his side door.
"Hey, we twins, dumbass!"
"Who you callin' dumbass?"
They transformed and lunged at each other in almost perfect synchronisation, and Evie yelped and had to dive out of the way to avoid getting crushed. Why was this happening to her?
From behind her came the sound of metallic whirring that she was beginning to associate with the Autobots' transformation, and then Ironhide was stepping forwards and bellowing. He grabbed Mudflap by the wing-like door appendages on his back and flung him away. He grabbed Skids by the back of the neck and did the same with him, but in the opposite direction. It was almost comical, watching them soar through the air, screeching and flailing. Ironhide seemed to find it funny, anyway.
Evie sat down heavily on the sand and stared up at the sheer size of Ironhide. He could crush her without a thought if he felt so inclined. She forced her mind away from that, and turned back to the Lennox's. Will had moved off to the plane, and was now talking to a man that was presumably the pilot. They were nodding and pointing at the Autobots. Evie had to assume that the man already knew about the giant aliens, as he barely batted an eyelid at them.
Speaking of barely batting an eyelid at them, Annabelle had actually raced over to Ironhide upon seeing him and jumped on his foot. It had nearly give Evie a heart attack, considering how easy it would be for the massive alien to misstep and accidentally crush her. But he surprised her by bending down and smiling softly at the little girl, and asking her how her day was. Annabelle, being Annabelle, immediately began a blow-by-blow account of her morning.
As Evie watched the little girl and the huge alien interact, Sarah came to stand next to her. "It's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?"
"Yeah." said Evie, still dazed.
"Oh honey, you're bleeding." Sarah said suddenly, looking at Evie's shoulder and knees. "What happened?"
"Skids threw me onto the ground. Twice."
Mrs Lennox clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Those two, I swear."
Everything felt so surreal - how on earth could Sarah be so calm when there was a twenty foot tall alien talking to her five-year-old about princesses?
Sarah seemed to catch onto her thoughts, and she smiled sympathetically. "When I first saw Ironhide, I fainted and smacked my head off a flower pot. I got a pretty bad concussion, actually, which was pretty humiliating. But he's a sweetheart, really. He called Ratchet, their medic, to come and take a look at me to make sure I was alright. He was so guilty." She laughed at the memory.
"There are more of them?" Evie breathed, eyes wide. "Are they like the twins, or like Ironhide?"
That elicited a sharp laugh from Sarah, "The twins are pretty unique. Honestly, they're all just like people, Evie. They all look different and act different. They all have different personalities."
"I think I'm gonna pass out again."
Smiling, Mrs Lennox put a hand on Evie's shoulder. "You'll be fine, dear. Come on, it looks like it's time to go."
The pilot of the plane had climbed back into the cockpit, and Will was yelling and gesturing at Ironhide and the twins. Sarah called for Annabelle, and scooped her daughter up into her arms before taking Evie by the hand and dragging her to the aircraft. It was a cargo plane, so there were only a couple of seats and a big, wide open space. The girls settled into the seats and clipped themselves and Annabelle in safely, before turning to watch Will direct the Autobots (in vehicle mode once more) onto the plane and begin to strap them down.
Once the vehicles were secured, Will shouted to the pilot before sitting opposite his wife and strapping himself in. The high powered engines fired up, and the humans all held tight as the plane took off.
The silence in the plane wasn't broken until they were high in the sky; then Evie leaned forwards, her hands twisted nervously. "Where are we going?"
Will turned to look at her, as though he had forgotten she was there. "Classified."
Her mouth twisted, and she frowned. "Don't I have a right to know where you're taking me?"
"She does, dear." Sarah spoke without removing her gaze from Annabelle, who had fallen asleep in her seat.
Will scowled, and began tapping his fingers on his knee. "Secret naval base on an island in the Indian Ocean."
"Why?" Evie asked. She quailed at the look she got from Will.
"Because the neighbourhood isn't safe anymore." He turned to Sarah and took her hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have come, I've put everyone in dang-"
"Don't you dare." Sarah said sharply, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Don't you dare, William Lennox. I have waited two whole years to see you in person again. I don't care if you brought a whole damn army with you, we're all together, and that's all that matters."
"You're going to be relocated again." His voice was quiet, and his hand was slightly unsteady as he ran it through his hair. "I'm sorry."
Sarah squeezed his hand so hard that her knuckles turned white. "Don't spend the last few hours before we leave apologising. Just be happy we're all here and safe."
They stopped talking then, content to simply be near to each other as silence stretched over the plane. No one said another word for the rest of the journey.
AN: hi guys! So, I would love it if you could leave a review? I'm still not very confident about my writing, so any tips or advice or constructive criticism would be hugely appreciated!
I wanted to say a huge thank you to those who took the time to review: FirstStrike1177, Dragon of Ying and Yang, Mysine, XxVentressxX, Gotta Dance 88, raven-saber, rosiegirl28, and XxMichelleMikaelsonxX