After hours of driving, Bumblebee had finally pulled over to an abandoned junkyard.
Sam, Mikaela and Leo slowly climbed out all three of them obviously exhausted from the day's events. None more so than Sam.
Both tiredness and sadness were plainly written on his features. And as soon as he could, he slumped down into a discarded seat of a car with a heavy sigh.
All Sam could think about was how he had refused to help Optimus. And yet, the Prime had still come back to save his life. Regret weighed heavily on the young man's conscience. He rubbed his face roughly with a hand. Optimus's last moments replayed over and over in Sam's mind, only adding to the bitter guilt. Suddenly, something stood out to Sam. The name Optimus had said at the very end.
Laurelin.
Sam then remembered the young woman.
She had been with Optimus at the cemetery in Philadelphia. She had seemed to be an advocate of Optimus's. But, given her name was the last thing the Prime said : She obviously meant more than just that.
« Hum… Bee ? » Sam asked, clearing his throat.
Perking up, the Autobot scout gave the young man an inquisitive look.
« Who is Laurelin ? » Sam continued. « Optimus… Optimus said her name. So… » Sam sighed, shaking his head. « I guess what I'm asking is who is she ? And.. What does Laurelin meant to Optimus ? »
For a moment : Bumblebee froze, obviously stricken by the question. And also, because he had'nt think – until now – about the repercussions of Optimus's death for the young woman. His shoulders slumped and he ventilated a long sigh. His radio crackled on, sifted through a few channels before the Autobot found a suitable advertisement to use.
« …you and your significant other looking for a bit of adventure for just the two of you ? To build a future of your own ? »
Despite the cheery tone of the advertisement, the words shook Sam straight to his core. The thought Optimus could have a romantic relationship with someone – someone that he obviously treasured dearly – had never occurred to Sam. And it made the fact that such a relationship had been destroyed all the worse. Guilt sparked anew in Sam, and he slumped down in his seat, hanging his head. All he could think about now was how much Laurelin must have meant to Optimus, and him to her how Optimus – out of all beings – had more than deserved a relationship where he could simply be himself and think only about himself and not the entire world's , another thought crossed Sam's mind. One that made him feel sick to his stomach. Sighing heavily, he rested his head in his hands combing his fingers through his hair in a meek attempt to calm himself.
Noticing Sam's distress, Bumblebee gave an inquisitive chirp and tilted his helm.
The questioning noise elicited another sigh from Sam, but he still brought his gaze up to the Autobot scout. « I'm going to have to tell her. » He stated miserably. « I'm going to have to tell this girl Optimus died… »
Sitting in her bedroom, Laurelin stared down at the floor with worry written plainly across her features. It had been hours since she had heard anything about the Autobots. The last that had been heard from them was that Optimus had Sam and was being pursued by Decepticons. Though their primary target may have been Sam, Laurelin knew the Decepticons would be all too eager to try and take down the Autobot leader as well. Though she knew that Optimus was more than capable of handling himself in a fight, being outnumbered could take down even the most adept of warriors. Sighing heavily and combing a lock of hair back behind her ear, Laurelin looked around her room slowly. Being stuck here and not knowing anything was quickly wearing her down. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do right now. Even though Lennox had done well to ensure she was taken care of, he was currently having to deal with a government official that was going out of their way to make things difficult for NEST and the last thing Laurelin wanted to do was make things even more difficult for Lennox.
Just as she was beginning to think that maybe she could distract herself by zoning out to watch television, the private phone to her room rang. The noise was such a foreign one that it actually startled Laurelin. For a moment, she blinked at the phone in bewilderment. Then, when it rang again : Laurelin snapped out of her daze. Darting over, she snatched up the phone unsure of why she felt a sense of dread beginning to well up in her core. « Hello ? »
« Laurelin… This is Lennox. » Came a familiar but rushed voice. Even so, there was something about the Lieutenant Colonel's voice that sounded off.
And it only increased the dread in Laurelin.
« Sam is on the other line. We don't have much time, but there's something important he wanted to tell you. »
« I... Okay. » Laurelin said. She was confused as to why the phone call had to be hurried along, but she didn't interrupt. Obviously whatever was going on was important and needed to be said. « Sam ? »
« Yeah, yeah. It's… uh.. It's me. » Oddly enough, Sam's voice also sounded a little off. It wasn't the reception, as the audio quality was crystal clear. No, it was something about Sam's actual voice. « Listen : I... I need to tell you something. And I'm really sorry I have to be the one that does. »
Now the dread was practically hammering through Laurelin. Her mouth felt dry and she swallowed hard. « O… Okay… » She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. « What is it ? »
There was a long moment of silence, before Sam finally spoke.
« Optimus is dead. Megatron killed him. » Sam coughed feebly before continuing, trying to find the right words quickly. As bad as the news was, he also wanted to tell Laurelin about his plan to revive the Autobot leader. « Optimus… H– »
A stark feeling of cold washed over Laurelin, pulling a choked noise from her throat as the phone tumbled from her hand. Though it clattered loudly on the floor, she barely heard the noise. It felt as though the entire world around her had fallen away in that one, awful moment.
Hearing Laurelin sob on the other side of the line, Sam winced slightly. He had known the news he was delivering wouldn't be well received, but it didn't make hearing Laurelin's reaction any easier. If anything, her sounds of sorrow just drove him the gravity of the situation. They had suffered a great loss that there may not be any recovering from. Sighing bitterly, Sam glanced over at Simmons who gave him a questioning look. Sam shook his head and started to say something, but was cut off by the sound of the phone thudding to the floor. Though it took him a few moments to figure out what the sound was, Sam quickly realized he needed to tell Laurelin what he had planned. At the very least, she deserved to know and it might help give her a bit of hope for the future.
` « Laurelin… Listen to me. » Sam said as loudly as he dared. « There may be a way to bring Optimus back. I have an idea and it's a long shot, but… » Hearing no response, Sam frowned and raised his voice a little more. « Laurelin ? Laurelin, you there ? »
There was no answer save for the faint sounds of Laurelin sobbing softly. Indeed, on the other side of the phone call, Laurelin was completely lost in her world of unexpected misery.
Optimus... was… dead ?
No ! That couldn't be !
He had been fine… and alive… when he had left the motel earlier this morning. He had said he would return. He had said he would come back to Laurelin.
But now… Now, he wouldn't.
Slumping back onto the bed with a short huff, Laurelin clutched at the sides of her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart was hammering almost painfully in her chest and the awful, crushing sense of isolating cold continued to weigh down on her. The agonizing feeling of loss made her heart ache, but shock staunched any tears from welling up in her eyes. It also seemed to compound the pain of loss more than Laurelin could bear. Finally : A rough, sharp sob escaped Laurelin as it felt as though her heart was slowly shattering.
For how long she cried, Laurelin didn't know. Nor did she care. It felt as though nothing else mattered in that awful moment. And as the seconds ticked on, Laurelin found herself wanting to leave this place, more and more and as far as she could. A quick knock at the door brought Laurelin back to reality and she hurriedly wiped away her tears. Fighting to compose herself the best she could, Laurelin walked over to the door and swung it open.
She was greeted by Ricci, who blinked quickly at her in surprise with the door abruptly opening. Her surprise was immediately replaced by concern when she saw how upset Laurelin was. Ricci tilted her head inquisitively while reaching out to her friend : « Laurelin ? You okay ? What happened ? Who was on the phone ? »
Finding herself forced to relay what had happened to Optimus, Laurelin felt her throat tighten as another sob tried to escape it. Barely stifling it, she shook her head and began hurriedly going around the room and gathering her things.
Ricci was obviously confused, trailing behind Laurelin the whole time and watching as she packed her things in a rush.
« Laurelin ! What happened? What's going on ? » Ricci repeated. « Why are you packing your things ? »
« W– I'm leaving… I'm going back home. » Laurelin stated bitterly, feeling her heartbeat beginning to notch up again. She then paused holding tightly to a handful of clothes, bracing herself for what she was about to say. Laurelin barely managed to choke out the words : « Optimus is dead. »
Initially taken aback by the statement, Ricci soon realized what the implications of Optimus's death meant for Laurelin. She sighed softly and crossed her arms, now understanding why her friend was in the state they were in : « Oh, Laurelin… I'm so sorry… » Though, Ricci didn't loose any time taking her decision : « You won't go back alone. »
All Laurelin could do was nod as she shoved her clothes back into her suitcases. She couldn't stay here where the military was and where the rest of the Autobots were. Everything here would just serve as a terrible reminder of what she had had for such a short time and what she had définitively lost. The place where she had experienced such wonderful happiness with Optimus and lost it far too soon. Finally, Laurelin also knew that she didn't belong in the world she was currently in. Optimus had been her only real reason for staying here at the base, and now that reason was forever gone.
