Anna slept surprisingly well that night and was riding with Optimus now. She gazed out the window, watching everything change. It wasn't long before they were riding through a city. Anna looked at everything in wonder. It had been so long since she had visited such a large place. They rode through the city until they arrived at a large series of buildings. It was a NEST base. She had heard a lot about this organization in the news. Megatron never talked about NEST much.
Some people were waiting outside for them. A lot of them looked like soldiers. The Autobots parked at the entrance and Anna looked out, a bit timid. Optimus's door opened for Anna, making her feel exposed as she grabbed her backpack.
A woman walked up, smiling sweetly at her.
"Hi there, sweetie. My name is Miss Jessica. You must be Anna Sky. Optimus informed us of you and your awful ordeal," Jessica said as she offered her hand. Anna was hesitant before taking her hand and getting out of Optimus. The Autobots began to transform and stood around them.
"You're safe here, Anna Sky," Optimus said, a faint smile on his face.
The next few hours passed by like a blur. Anna was tended to by many doctors and nurses who asked her many questions and treated her injuries. She didn't get to see the the scars on her back, but from the way the doctors reacted, it was very bad. They looked at the spot where the tracker was inserted, but nothing was done about it just yet. She was also questioned by a lot of important looking people who were a bit intimidating and asked too many invasive questions. She soon found herself in front of the first real hot meal she had seen in forever while Miss Jessica sat with her. A huge hamburger with extra fries and a chocolate shake. It made her mouth water.
"Eat up. You deserve a good meal after all the background checks and doctor visits," she chimed.
"Thank you," Anna said before digging in. Jessica smiled at her tenderly before turning her attention to her phone.
"I'll be right back, Miss Anna," she said before getting up to leave. Anna nodded as she continued to eat ravenously.
Once she was alone, she felt a chill run down her spine. She froze, looking around the room to make sure she was safe. He was close, but that was impossible. This place was heavily fortified from what she could see. She quickly got up, wiping off her mouth as she went to the door. It was locked to her surprise. Anna breathed heavily as she backed away, trying to find a way out. There were no windows to break or anything to unlock the door. Something didn't feel right.
"Let me out!" She cried out. The cold was setting in some more. Anna backed into a corner, watching the closed door with wide eyes.
"He's here! Help!" She screamed, feeling him get closer and closer. She screamed harder, throwing up the food she just ate.
The door opened and she looked up to see Jessica looking at her in shock.
"What happened, Anna? Are you okay?" She asked as she rushed over to her side.
"He's here. Megatron is coming," Anna murmured, looking around in a panic.
Jessica frowned and pulled out a phone-like device, looking at it briefly before putting it away.
"Honey, you're okay. Nothing has been detected and if he were here, alarms would be going off," Jessica explained.
"I…I felt him. I did. He's gonna come and kill everyone," Anna said, rubbing the back of her neck.
Jessica looked concerned, unsure of what to do.
"The…The Autobots will protect us, honey. And the soldiers. We're safe," she said as she hugged her. Anna was silent, surprised by her wonderful warmth. It had felt like an eternity since someone hugged her. She breathed heavily as she hugged her back.
"I can't go back," she whispered.
"You won't, Anna. We won't let that happen," Jessica replied.
The rest of the day passed by fairly quickly and Anna found herself in her own room, sitting on her own soft bed. She was told she would be placed with a family under Autobot protection real soon. Anna sat on the bed, looking around at the bleak room. There was a bed, a desk with a computer, a cabinet, and a connecting bathroom. Anna pulled out her map of the base and scanned it. There were multiple areas crossed out in red. Restricted areas. Most of the map looked like it was in red. Anna frowned. Exploring wouldn't really be an option. The only places that were available were the mess hall, the Autobot hangar, and the living quarters. She could check out the Autobot hangar, but she was told everything was pretty much off limits at night.
Anna sighed and looked around, bored. She noticed an air vent in the wall by her bed and got an idea as she looked at her map. The Autobot hangar wasn't far and she was small enough to fit in the vent. She went to the vent and removed the opening, gazing in.
"Explore, little one," a familiar voice whispered in her head.
Anna was hesitant, unsure if she wanted to go forward with exploring or staying in her room. Anna made her decision and crawled into the vent. Anna was quiet as she crawled through the dark vent system. She could hear voices somewhere talking about important things that she didn't really care about. She was extra silent as she crawled up a platform and kept going. She looked through some openings and found nothing besides empty rooms. She was thinking of going back when she came across an opening and saw a bunch of familiar vehicles parked in a large hangar below her. She saw some others that didn't look familiar. A new problem now faced her. Getting out safely without making too much noise. There was a platform below her that she could hop onto if she was careful enough. She removed the opening of the vent slowly and put it to the side. Anna gulped as she tried to lower herself, clinging to the vent for dear life. The platform seemed too far away. She was stuck.
Anna was about to make an attempt at crawling back into the vent before she heard the familiar sound of transformation.
"What are you doing up there, Anna?" Optimus Prime asked. Anna looked down and saw him and Bumblebee watching her curiously.
"Ah, I'm…I was exploring. I'm kinda stuck now," Anna replied, dangling her feet.
"I got you, Anna," Optimus said as he stood to his full height. He wasn't far below her as he held out his hand to her. Anna gazed down and let go, falling into his open palm.
"Thanks," Anna murmured as she was placed on the platform.
"You do know that being here is not permitted, Anna," Optimus said. Bumblebee nodded, buzzing softly.
"I do, I just…needed to explore," Anna replied, not wanting to tell them what that voice instructed her to do. Bumblebee cocked his head, buzzing softly before turning his radio on.
"Annie are you okay? Will you tell us…that you're okay?" He asked over the radio. Anna smiled a bit, giggling. She stopped, sighing softly.
"I'm fine. Everything has just been happening so quickly," Anna replied, touching a blackened scar on her cheek.
"I forgot to thank you guys for finding me. I'm grateful," Anna added.
"What can I say except you're welcome," Bumblebee sang, looking proud of himself.
A few other of the Autobots transformed, some of them were unfamiliar.
"Is this the child you guys found at that abandoned town? She's cute," A feminine one chimed. There were two others like her who gazed at her curiously.
"Thank goodness the security here is awful. You'd be kicked out in no time," another chuckled.
"Those scars look horrid. How did you survive so long?" Another asked.
"Megatron took a liking to me," Anna said. Ironhide grunted as he transformed.
"You're trouble, girl. You having that tracker makes me uneasy. You could be serving him still," he muttered.
"I don't serve him anymore. He doesn't own me," Anna replied, frowning as she glared at him.
"I still do," that voice whispered, making her shiver a bit.
"I'm not his," Anna said, sounding more like she was telling herself that.
"And you will never serve him again. I'm sure of that," Optimus said.
The rest of the night was spent getting to know the other Autobots and talking about all sorts of things. She enjoyed listening to them talk and they seemed intrigued when she told them about what she had been through. Anna didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but when she woke up, she found herself in Bumblebee's backseat. The radio came on as Bumblebee started his engine.
"Gotta get back….Folk's coming," he said over the radio as he opened the door for her. Anna yawned and got out, hoping she wouldn't get in too much trouble if she was caught.
"See you later," Anna whispered, smiling at the parked Autobots before carefully heading out. She checked her phone. It was almost 6 am. Some people were probably already up, but she saw no one when she went back to her quarters. Anna immediately went to her bed, realizing how exhausted she was as she went right back to sleep.