Anyone would say it was the middle of nowhere, even the locals who lived only a few miles away. As far as the eye could see craggy grass latched into cracked dry dirt and sprouted in patches. Distantly, a few hills rolled their fingers under the earth. If one were to go farther North they would be in rocky country. South, back the way he'd come, was flat flat flat FLAT nothingness. Just roads, fields, and maybe the occasional house and small town here and there. Slumping behind a small rocky cliff face, Wildrider growled into the mildly chilly air.

Violent blood-red optics glared balefully at the desaturated sky as he waited for Soundwave and Dirge. It was bad enough that he was wounded like this, worse because there was nothing interesting to destroy for a hundred miles, and it was absolutely horrendous that he'd had to run from the scum Autobots. He was Wildrider, slaggit! He charged right into the middle of things! Not run away like a coward. That was Screamers job. Not that he'd ever tell the tri-colored jet that, as Starscream was still a commanding officer and therefore had the ability to make his life a living pit if he felt like it.

And Soudwave could as well. The black and red con watched as Dirge circled above once and landed. The tape-deck sprang out and walked over to examine the bleeding Ferrari with a critical optic band.

The damage was extensive. Several larger energon lines had been riven open and were now held together by Wildrider's servo covering them. His right arm was mangled and useless. Gaping holes adorned his chest and armor. Broken and cracked windows glared from his plating while a crumpled hood and shattered headlights dripped tiny shards of glass and metal onto the stained ground with each miniscule movement. Wildrider had his one good arm wrapped around his front to help staunch the flow from his midsection but was ready to move at a seconds notice. Decepticons hated showing weakness. It was detrimental to their health. He looked at the other two and asked a sour question.

"Why'd you order me to scram outta there? I could have gotten a few more shots in him." A raspy growl crackled out of his mouth as sharp denta were bared at the space next to Soundwave.

"Target: escaped. Wildrider: taken critical damage. New plan required. Do not question me." The echo-like robotic voice caused the Stunticon to shrink back just a little. Compared to how much he normally spoke, Soundwave seemed downright chatty. That was probably a bad thing.

"Okay...And the plan is hunt down the new bot?"

Dirge, until this point, had been watching the area and ignoring the grounders asinine behavior. No one but a fool behaved like that towards Soundwave. But now the jet turned inquiring optics at Wildrider. The injured con revved his engines in displeasure when two sets of optics fell on him. Soundwave spoke first.

"Report: detailed description of target signals."

Wildrider studiously ignored the flier's watchful gaze and shifted a little against the hard gray rocks, " I dunno about those two signals. All I saw was a human driving a truck where you said the signals were. Don't recognize the altmode, so I suppose it's a new bot." Another rumble.

"Stupid coward didn't even fight. The human female was driving the whole time. Either the trackers screwy and that was a random human or the Auto-scum have one more petro-rabbit for a soldier."

Onyx armor suddenly slammed into the limestone with a metal shearing crash as Soundwave held one servo to the car's throat and another to his pointed helm. The Stunticon flinched as he realized he'd implied that the boss had made a mistake in their tracking. Small fingers rearranged themselves into smaller and thinner digits that shifted and then latched into Wildrider's processor. The connection broke through flimsy firewalls and grabbed at the recent memories. A hiss of pain broke out of the injured con's mouth.

Then the sports car was dropped back onto the dirty ground with a loud clank that startled the empty air. He was ignored as Soundwave filtered through the new information and studied the data, memorizing everything that had been seen. Wildrider glared at Dirge who hadn't moved nor said a word the entire time. Creepy flier. It was unnerving how he was always quiet and watching. It didn't help that the Ferrari was hurt and some of the welds had opened again where they had started to close up.

"Wildrider: Return to base for repairs. Dirge: continue following signals." The commander's tone was as empty as the space around them.

Say whatever you like about the Communications Officer, but Soundwave took his job very seriously. Unlike his master, he didn't continually offline his underlings. But he did always have an ulterior motive. There was little point in dragging the car with them when he would slow them down and possibly die. As annoying and thick-helmed as he was, Wildrider was needed as another warrior on the battlefield. No, if they were useful then make the soldiers live to be useful tomorrow.

"But the Autobots...!" Wildrider's protest was cut off as he struggled to stand against his rock wall support.

"Wildrider: Repairs as ordered." The con shrunk under the officer's tone. No one wanted Soundwave's leaching digits in their head any more that they had too. With a barely repressed growl, he nodded, scarlet optics glaring at the ground.

The ever ominous Dirge remained silent as he and the cassette player took to the dimming and cold sky once more, leaving Wildrider to get his injured self back to the Nemesis without aid. They couldn't very well help him. That was not what Decepticons did.

Audiomachine- Solace

Here's a fact of life: It can always get worse. I had not planned on actually having to walk for a very long distance, but it hadn't worked out like that. Half an hour after convincing myself that I wasn't being followed, I'd found myself on a dirt road way way out away from everything else. It had occurred to me that those two cars that had boxed in the Ferrari could have been Autobots. But their windows were tinted and I couldn't have been sure. What if they weren't? What if they were and they lost? I didn't want to end up at the beginning again, watching someone die.

That thought made my chest ache and throat close until I shoved it down. Mischief and Sullen nudged, asking if there was a threat. I soothed them and kept my eyes out for any signs of life. To the far left was a good sized forested area. Pulling off the road, the tired truck stuttered lightly over the gravel and dead branches until I reached what looked to be a rotting barn. Half of it was collapsed with dark wood beams poking out like a fragmented ribcage. The engine quieted as my head poked out the broken window. Silence.

With a sigh of relief I stumbled out the passenger door and collapsed on the ground with trembling legs. You are insane, you are insane, never do that again, you are crazy woman... Playing chicken was going on my list of things to never do again.

After a moment of just resting on the solid dirt and breathing in the scent of decaying leaves and dry stone, I shakily stood and pulled out my only knife. Peering warily into the barn revealed an empty enclosure and lots of spiders. Yes, something was going right!

I quickly backed up the truck into the hiding spot. Pulling my two bags out, I then hauled over nearby branches and leaned them against and on top of my dad's Chevrolet. Damn, poor thing looked awful with a busted window and the back end caved in so many places. Add in the completely out of shape left door and dents along that same side and maybe you would have an image of what it looked like. At least people would be less likely to steal it, on the off chance that anyone noticed it out here.

"Aurrrrrgggghhh." I moaned as I leaned back against a tire and hugged the orb's container to my chest. They had calmed down completely by now and so had I, relief flooding through my veins. Just a few minutes to relax, where no one was trying to kill us...

"I did not sign up to play road games with Decepticons when the yellow one handed you to me."

My muffled grousing was barely audible in the chilly dry air as I curled in on myself a little. Not that I blamed these guys in the least, or the red and yellow ones for that matter. The yellow one hadn't a choice and I had just ended up there. Whether that was good or bad luck was still up for debate. In his place, I probably would have done the same. Aurgh. I needed to get to the Autobots. If those cars had been Autobots... It was too late now. I just had to keep going.

"Well guys," I spoke aloud once more, " driving time is over and now we're walking. Lets hope there's no bears out here. With my luck I'll end up meeting one."

The lights caught the tiniest bit of humor I could manage at the moment and sent back a 'hug' feeling. My face seemed to crack just a little as the worry washed away and I smiled a genuine smile, something I hadn't done in what felt like quite a while. The pack with my dwindling food and clean clothes was slung onto my back, while the container went into the large bag that I carried in my arms. It was better if they weren't seen. No point in furthering the possibility of the attempted theft like before.

And I learned something else that day. Walking with ribs that were healing hurt like a bitch. That first hour of putting one foot in front of the other was like balancing on a tightrope. I had to constantly remind myself that stopping was dangerous and I could rest later. The little lights tried to support me. As we wondered past the grass fields and harvesting tractors, they tried to take away some of the aches. Sullen in particular kept egging me on. I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed that he wouldn't let me stop or happy that the less social light was helping. Either way, the determination that rolled off him in waves kept pushing me to go further.

We finally reached a small village that was on my map and I could figure out where to go from there. It wasn't bad, actually. Quite a few miles until Boise, and then I could probably find a ride from there. Feeling I'd earned a small break, I ate and napped in a park at the center of the town for a brief time before starting off again.

The terrain was odd, I'd have to say. Although it was pretty in it's own way, I was a bit more used to my woods. There was a large open space where the land seemed to melt into the sky in the distance. Scrub grasses and sparse trees dotted the ground here and there. The canvas above had long since gone from bright blue to a dull gray hue and tinges of yellow started to appear on the horizon to the West. As we headed that way, we passed farming machinery raking in their harvest and leaving plumes of pollen and dust in their wake. Not for the first time I was very thankful that I didn't have many nature-induced allergies. We trotted on and on the winding roads, pavement crumbling at it's edges under my sore feet. My heavy jacket kept my body warm although I couldn't feel my nose in the chill. Gazing at the path before me, I sighed. So far to go.

The grays, browns and greens seemed to lose their color as the yellow bloomed to orange. Dark blue cloud-boats scuttled across their ocean as the birdsong slowed to fade out. Far far away, lights flickered on in response to evening. The last of the hopeful crickets started their quiet chirping as I cast around for a spot to sleep. It was far too cold for cicadas.

Finally, as the last daylight started to leak away, I found a small outcropping. Caught between two fields and by an almost dry stream bed was a large pile of boulders. It was as if some giant below had shoved them upward and left them there, which was perfectly fine by me. It provided some cover for the night.

I settled into a small hollow between two large stones and pulled on another layer of clothes, dimly ignoring my protesting aches. I hadn't been able to fit the truck's blanket in the bag and would have to do without. Curling up, my limbs wrapped around the warm container and I put my knife and slingshot within easy reaching distance.

"You know, if it was any colder I would have to start a fire." Ignoring my want for heated food, my head pulled down to lull against the glowing warmth.

My thoughts drifted off with the quiet trickle of water over smooth rocks and distant nocturnal sounds. Maybe tomorrow wouldn't be as crazy as these last two days. Maybe we would make it.

Sullen and Mischief spun and bounced in place, unable to hold still. Earlier had been bad again. The Other had been scared, terrified really. But then there was possessiveness and the Other had seemed to latch onto them and refused to let go. Everything was calm now but the repetitious bouts of bad things were tiresome. The Other seemed to feel this as well and the lights rumbled as the Other's pain. Mischief felt that they should do something about it, as it wasn't in their nature to just sit idly by and do nothing. Sullen wasn't happy because there was little they could do.

They tried to ease the Other's pain, but they couldn't fix it. Before long the orbs were frazzled and twitching with irritation. Frustration and helplessness as their inability to be proactive stung.

Eventually, the Other had started to drift and then slumbered. Mischief tugged. No reaction. One presence twittered at the other light and they both pulled, and tugged and tugged and tugged. The Other seemed to focus more and grumbled sleepily at them.

Sullen huffed a 'Finally' while the bouncier light crowed.

This way, come on, this way

There was hardly anything they would do. Not in this state. But if everything was going to make the Other hurt, then they were dang well going to cheer the Other up. Floating along in nothingness, the three left the dark warmth and came to a new place. The sudden change startled the Other badly but both orbs clung on, refusing to relinquish their hold.

Here, come here

Chase the Light- Two Steps from Hell

I was in the odd place again. If someone had asked me where I was, I would have had to stop and think. But it didn't occur to me to wonder. It didn't occur to me that I could have been sleeping. There and Then existed and that was all.

They pulled me along as I grumbled wearily at them. Pesky lights. How they were so full of energy was beyond me. And then it was different. Like a slap to the face, the unexpected feeling of wind and atmosphere, a more distinct form and actual space, made me panic for a moment in surprise. But they wouldn't let go and I calmed before taking in my surroundings.

We were in a tumbling sky, the roar of wind in our faces but strangely no rain. Ground did not exist. A deep breath through non-existent lungs brought the scent of water and electricity. Mischief and Sullen let go and dashed forward, shoving each other as they bound after crackling light. It was debatable about whether we had form or not in the swirling clouds. There was only the barest distinction between the energy filled presence of the orbs and the stormy world around us.

Lighting flashed, light violet and white, as Mischief grabbed onto me and pulled. He urged me to follow and soon we were crashing through the air, chasing the lightning as if nothing else mattered. And nothing did. Laughing, shouting, playing in the sky. The world was alive. It was so much like the glowing orbs but with the energy amped up a thousand times. Exhilaration bloomed deep and spread as we leapt and danced after the burning fire. It crackled red and orange, yellow, white, deep mist purples and pale pale greens. The faintest blues shot out of the clouds above while we caught them by the tails.

It burned and tingled, exactly as you'd expect electricity to feel but without the overwhelming pain. The sensation filled me up and demanded movement. Like adrenaline and life shot straight into your veins. We threw our catches at one another in some sort of altered game of dodge ball. Ducking and weaving, I laughed in joy. This was fun!

A percussive orchestra of thunder wove a symphony around us, the echoes crashing to my core. I tossed my burning light as them and squealed as another flew past my face. Mischief laughed as a shot from Sullen hit and tickled him.

Fun, fun, fun

I chuckled and then tumbled feet over head backwards as I was shoved. Straightening and then rising, I found a giggling Mischief who was trying to play innocent. He was tackled and then Sullen lunged into the dog pile. We wrestled before the prankster slipped out and shot away, trying to escape. Sullen and I gave chase, laughing as we lunged over and under churning clouds and flashes of electricity. Our game shifted as I nudged my accomplice and then ran as he tried to catch me, our previous prey joining in as chaser. They caught me and we flipped back and forth, seeking each other and wrestling in the sky.

And then we were spinning.

Round and round, we wove and twisted as the wind and lightning kept us from staying still. It was warm but with a chill burning edge that seemed to have the same effect as the electricity. Above, below, all around us the world roiled in convoluted waves as huge open spaces shifted and expanded. The three of us pulled back far away from each other before coming together in our dance. What would have been awkward and forced in real life was graceful and smooth here.

Faster

Sullen pushed us to speed up as our movements gained complexity. We chased and spun in lilting steps around each other and across waves of formless precipitation. The electricity in the sky world zipped around us as we wove and twirled through the wind. Mischief spun around to my left as I glides past the other orb and then we held close in our circle before splitting apart. Booming thunder shook the air while the flashes picked up speed. An almighty crash jolted our world as we came together a third time.

Time held no meaning but eventually the dancing and chasing slowed as we grew tired. The stormy sky faded and thunder grew distant. Sleepily, we retreated to the warm dark and fell into a tangled pile. A brief bout of shoving was settled when I kicked both of them. After settling down and dropping off in exhaustion, Mischief prodded me. A question unasked but tangible. I gave a sleepy but happy rumble.

Happy. Fun. Good.

Both lights chittered and curled up as we drifted into slumber.

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This lightning dream right here is one of the first ideas that inspired me to write this and is now one of my favorite chapters. I hope you guys like it.