Chapter XIV

Hours passed as Ian walked through the tunnels. The only light he had was going out and every sound that was made had him turn to look, just to catch a glimpse of a starving rat or water dripping from above. He would put his mouth under that water to quench his thirst, but it was not enough. By now it would take a lake to fill him back up.

He saw himself coming to the end of the tunnel and onto another station. Immediately he shouted in joy, flinching at the echo he created. A clatter was heard on the platform and he knew someone was there.

A voice shouted to him to go away, and he refused. From the sound of the voice, it was a girl about her teenage years, much like himself. He walked closer to get at least a glimpse of her. She was definitely a teenager; blonde hair stretching to her back, blue eyes looking at him, and wearing a dirty sky-blue nightgown. She glared at him and asked to go away once more. Again, he said no.

He looked to someone below her, wrapped tightly in a blanket. Half of her face was covered, as if trying to block something out. Ian asked what was wrong with her. The older girl figured she had no choice but tell him.

"She's ill," she said. "She's been sick since last month."

Ian walked up to the little girl and bent down beside her. He started to stroke her hair to tell her he was a friend. He asked for their names.

"I'm Rosamund Faraday," said the oldest. "That's my little sister, Harriett. She's only nine, I'm eighteen."

"You too?" he chuckled. "What month you born?"

"April."

"I'm older. Mine's in December."

She smiled. "Nine months difference," he said. "So what? Doesn't make you any smarter."

"Perhaps you're right." He changed the subject. "What have you been feeding her?"

"Anything I find."

"Which is…?"

"Scraps. Pieces of bread, drops of water, rat meat--"

"Rat meat's not good."

"You have anything better? Say so now, sir."

He looked down. "Ian," he said. "Ian Thompson."

The man could not help but think how terrible it was to see a little sister die slowly. There was not anything they could do to help her survive. All medication was lost in the confusion of the invasion and it was suicide to go above ground and find the right type and amount of food for the girls.

They were starving.

They were isolated.

They were all dying.

"Do have any food to spare me?" he asked calmly.

Rosamund had to think about it for a second. Right away anyone would have said no, but she went to church too often to turn him down. She even recalled a story where a man of God walked to a woman's house. Her son was gravely ill and she had hardly any bread; she fed it all to her son to keep him alive. The man said something to her about giving him the bread and in return she will receive more.

So believing the story, she gave Ian a portion of her food and some of her water. He accepted it and ate it. It gave him enough strength that he decided to go out to find more food. Rosamund begged him not to, but he figured since she did that little for him, he will do something better.

Her theory worked after all.

Hours later, when Ian came back, he had brought back enough food and water to fill a family of five. Rosamund gave half of the food to her sister and saved the rest for her and Ian to eat.

"The rats might smell the food," Ian said after a long period of silence. "They might decide to eat Harriett."

"Then I'll stay up and watch her," Rosamund said. She would not dare let a couple of rodents eat her sister alive.

"You won't be alone then," Ian smiled. He stroked her hair. "I'll watch her like she was my own sister."

Rosamund smiled back at him. "I've never met anyone as nice as you. Every guy I've met has been a knob head."

"Then you weren't looking in the right places."

She swore she was blushing. This guy was definitely someone she could get along with. It was true; all guys she met were jerks. They would treat women with the most disrespect and the guys that were nice were taken.

"Are you single?" she asked, not knowing the words were out loud.

"Not anymore," he said, shying away. "I had a girlfriend…but I saw her die."

Rosamund's heart sank. "You saw her…?"

Ian nodded. "They forced me to watch her die. They found us at the cliffs. We were trying to make our moments together a little more worthwhile before they could search for us."

"Worthwhile? Did you two…?"

He gave a slight glare to her. "No, we didn't make love. I can wait until marriage." He looked away and continued. "Once they did, they picked her up by the dress and held me down to the ground. The one holding me growled. He said 'Vermin see, vermin do. Let's have the girl go for a swim and s if the boy follows!' So they… (ahem) they threw her…into the water."

He waited for Rosamund to say something. Seeing as though she was not going to and only waiting to hear more, he pressed on.

"I wanted to go after her…To save her. But I knew I wouldn't survive the fall; I wouldn't be able to save her. I know it sounds awfully cruel when I say this, but it wasn't worth the jump. We've already lost too many. I can't have myself lost." He looked at Harriett. "And it's even more critical that we save the younger generation. They should've have to die while the old live."

Rosamund scooted closer and gave him a hug for comfort. He put an arm around her to give a hug back.

"Do you think we'll make it through?" she asked.

"Are you a Christian?"

"Yeah…?"

"Have you heard the term 'suffer well'?"

"A few times."

"Here's what I heard from when I was given the message. We all want pain to end. They way we end it today is by doing drugs or joining some club or finding a way to fit in; anything to get away from pain. Your parents fight and you beat something to take the sadness out on.

Here's an example of that pain. You see pregnant women, don't you? You always tell them how great it's going to be when the child comes and that it will grow and you'll be so proud of it. But what do you not tell her? The mood swings, the nausea, morning sickness, 'eating for two'… Because you know that for her it will be worth it all. She suffered through it, all of that pain, and something great came out of it. We have to go through a season of pain to get to our happiness.

I think that if we suffer through this genocide just a little bit longer, something great will happen. This death will end."

Rosamund started to cry. She had never thought that someone would keep faith in such a time as this. She thought it impossible. When Ian mixed religious faith, he made it possible.

He kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep, Rosa," he said. "I will watch over you both."

She nodded and closed her eyes, leaning her head against his steady breathing chest. She dreamed of a day when the war was over and the Earth at peace. She hadn't had that dream in weeks. She probably would've never had that dream if Ian had not come. She had two theories. One; an angel sent him to her. Two, Ian was an angel himself.

I will watch over you both.

He was an angel.

xXx

Author's Note: Some hope for Earth.

I didn't bother to change the scene over to Cybertron because it would ruin the "hopeful/faithful" mood. You'll see the bots later. CHAP SPOIL! You will see Sentinel Prime! Imagine his sass towards us Maximals! X3