Author's Note: My, time flies. I can't believe it's been 8 years since I last updated Lyra. I seriously hope some of my readers are still around… *keeps fingers crossed*
I'm more than glad of being able to continue writing now that the Botosphere ladies continue telling Annabelle's story in Introduction: Annabelle Lennox. If you haven't read it yet, you should totally do so. Apart from it being awesome and well-written, it's also the ground work for my own story since I'm treating the Botosphere's universe as canon. You should be able to understand my story without having read the Botosphere's works, but still, go read their stories too because you're missing out if you haven't!
I cannot promise how often updates will be forthcoming. It depends on how quickly the Botosphere update Introduction: Annabelle Lennox, how cooperative my muse is and how real life is treating me. But like I said in the last chapter's end note, I not only plan on finishing this story, I also have ideas for sequels (yes, plural :)).
And since it's been 8 years…
Previously on Lyra:
Chloe Roberts, 13 years old, and a few of her schoolmates have been abducted by Decepticons. Their goal? Creating androids to get the upper hand against the Autobots. After the kids' rescue, Chloe's family moves to Diego Garcia so that Ratchet can keep an eye on Chloe; the transformation the Decepticons began has inexplicably stopped. Mrs. Roberts works with the army in communications, Mr. Roberts is a navy physician. Chloe and Annabelle Lennox become friends, and Chloe meets the Autobots in their holoform disguises. Her family grows when Mrs. Roberts gives birth to a baby girl, Freda.
An explosion during physics restarts the transformation progress. Chloe suffers from headaches and painful twinges while her skin slowly turns into metal.
Two of the other abducted teenagers move to Diego Garcia too, first Cole Black and eventually Louisa Gerber. One of the teachers at school is a Decepticon pretender. He and Cole work together to get Chloe and Louisa to join the Decepticons who, one night, appear on the island to fetch them. Battle ensues with the Autobots, the girls finding themselves right in the middle of it. Soon after, Chloe learns the truth about the Cybertronians, what happened and what is still happening to her.
If you want to refresh your memories on Chloe's transformation, you might want to reread the last two chapters (Disclosure (2) and (3)) as they contain the most details of what happened and is happening. But to not tantalize you any further, here's – finally! – the next instalment. Enjoy!
– chapter twenty-three –
Fortune
When we got back home, I found the box with the Autobot toys open on my desk. I didn't remember having left them there. I hesitantly took out Ratchet's Hummer and examined it from every angle while his words rang through my mind: I might have been able to stop the transformation.
Might. He wasn't even sure if he would have succeeded. It didn't matter anymore – because for even a 'might' it was too late now.
I mentally replayed the meeting, relived the moment they had broken the truth behind the physical changes to me. Images of my abduction flashed by my inner eye and horror once again washed over me. The solitude and silence of my room were no longer comforting but oppressive.
Suddenly, I could no longer hold it. I sank onto the floor with shaking knees, gasping for air while the tears streamed freely down my face. My thoughts were a chaotic whirlwind, making it impossible to think clearly. Mortal fear held me in its unyielding clutches and I shivered at its coldness. Whatever hope I had had that the changes I was undergoing weren't permanent was lost.
I tightly held onto the Hummer toy. It seemed like the only anchor to life I had left.
...
"Alright, do we have everything?" Mom asked, turning around herself several times, her hands moving in the characteristic gesture telling us that she was counting bags.
I glanced toward the still half-open diaper bag for Freda on the living room table, with my little sister sitting in her baby transporter right next to it. She was sleeping, oblivious to the stress Mom created.
Dad entered through the front door, leaving it open. Outside sat the black pick-up that had fetched us from the airport eleven months ago. Ironhide. Now he would drive us back.
"Can we go? The plane won't wait forever," Dad said, pulling my attention toward him.
Mom's too – only she wasn't happy with that. "I'm in the middle of counting bags," she scolded him.
"You've already counted them last night, thrice," Dad returned calmly. "Why don't you go and finish packing the diaper bag for Freda instead? I'll start putting these into the truck in the meanwhile."
Mom sighed dramatically and sank onto a bag. "That's it. I'm staying here. I can't do that."
I rolled my eyes and slipped out of the house, leaving Dad to take care of Mom. She'd never before created so much stress about a simple vacation trip. Granted, we've never been away from home for longer than two weeks, but even now with six weeks and a little baby on top of that, it wouldn't be any different. We'd be staying at grandma's place first, and later travel to visit Dad's family. No matter where we were going to be, everyone already said they'd let us wash our clothes so we wouldn't have to bring too much.
Just sitting or standing around on the porch wasn't really entertaining, so I went over to inspect the pick-up again. It stood in the sun and I somehow got the impression it enjoyed sunbathing. A picture of Mr. Hyde lying on the beach with sunglasses on wormed its way into my head and I snorted. It was just hard to believe that the always grumpy-looking Mr. Hyde enjoyed a bath in the sun, and downright impossible to envision Ironhide doing the same.
When said Mr. Hyde suddenly appeared next to me I jumped, my heart beating wildly in my chest.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't want to scare you."
It took a moment to calm down again. "It's… okay…" He scrutinized me carefully for a moment, then huffed dismissively.
After a moment, he glanced at the house. "How much longer do you think they will take?"
I followed his gaze and shrugged. "No idea. When I left, Mom was exclaiming she'd rather stay here. Dad's probably trying to make her reconsider her decision. It can only be days."
Mr. Hyde either didn't get the exaggeration or didn't want to wait any longer; he huffed and marched into the house. Within moments, he came out again, carrying bags. There was no protest to be heard so either Dad had told Mom that was the consequence of her not getting done or Mr. Hyde himself had taken care of that matter.
Less than ten minutes later, after Mr. Hyde had loaded the bags into the pick-up's bed, we were on route. Mom didn't speak a word, sulking in the backseat with Freda next to her. My little sister was still sleeping peacefully. Sometimes I envied her.
Unlike last time where we'd flown with a normal passenger plane, we would this time travel with a military one, accompanying the Lennox's as far as Washington D.C. When I had first heard that Annabelle and I would travel together, I had been excited, but after a moment, I turned pensive. My friend knew about the Autobots. Did she know about me? I had wanted to ask Dad but somehow never got around to it in the chaos that was us packing for the vacation.
When we arrived at the base, there was a hustle and bustle to load a large plane sitting in front of the Autobots' hangar, a C-17 if I wasn't mistaken. Dad confirmed my assumption when I asked him. However, with soldiers, every move was efficient and executed smoothly without appearing to be rushed.
Mr. Hyde stopped the truck near the opened rear hatch and we got out. While I helped Mom with the baby carrier and diaper bag, Dad and Mr. Hyde grabbed our luggage from the truck's bed and brought it aboard. After having given Freda's carrier back to Mom, I followed them – and stopped dead in my tracks when seeing the name painted on the plane's side. Luke. They named a C-17? I shook my head incredulously and walked aboard.
We were the first to arrive and I curiously looked around. The bay was huge! At the far end, two soldiers fastened several crates and I wondered what was in them. Before I got a chance to ask, Mom called, "Chloe, would you hand me that extra blanket I packed?" I quickly rummaged through the diaper bag, then hurried over to her. A female soldier helped her attach an extra security belt to keep my sister safe but the belt was too loose. Mom took the blanket and wrapped it around Freda. "This should help," she told the woman, Tomaczech. I recognized her from the day I had been introduced to the Autobots. She nodded and rearranged the belt until it sat snuggly. Dad in the meanwhile had me sit down and fasten my seatbelt as well.
When Tomaczech left the plane, the Lennox's boarded – riding three motorcycles right into the cargo hold. To my surprise, R.C. was with them; I hadn't known she would be accompanying us.
She was talking to Annabelle, but I only caught a snippet. "… jet pack to give it some more speed," she was just saying when getting off her bike.
Annabelle was throwing her a skeptical look. "You mean these boosters I've seen him using at Boomtown last week? If you asked me, they didn't look like they could create enough oomph for a plane as big as this one."
R.C. started laughing. "You have no idea, youngling!"
When I saw that Dad was watching them as well, I quietly asked, "What are they talking about?"
It apparently wasn't quietly enough for both turned toward us. Annabelle's eyes widened in surprise.
R.C., still chuckling, grinned. "You see, Jack, Sunny and Sides tinkered with the plane and —" she began, but Annabelle elbowed her in an attempt to shush her. R.C., however, was unperturbed by my friend's antics. She grabbed Annabelle's hand and pulled her over to us, then made her sit next to me. "Don't worry. Chloe knows about the Autobots," she said before my friend could protest.
Annabelle's head whipped around to stare at me. "You… know?" she asked, her tone incredulous with underlying excitement.
I nodded, my eyes moving between my friend and R.C. But before Annabelle could launch into questions, Colonel Lennox called out, "Alright, everyone buckle up and we'll be off." The last two soldiers were just stepping off the rear hatch, then it closed.
All of a sudden, the three motorcycles that had been parked in the middle of the cargo hold sprang to life and started moving of their own, retreating to the back of the bay where the crates where fastened. "What the heck?" I called out, taken by surprise.
"Arcee!" Mrs. Lennox scolded from the other side of the hold.
R.C. ducked her head, a little embarrassed. "Sorry," she said in my direction. "I didn't want to scare you."
I ogled her until it clicked. My eyes widened. "You… you're an alien robot too?"
Hurt flashed through her eyes. "Yes, I'm an Autobot," she answered curtly.
Now it was my turn to apologize. "Sorry," I mumbled. Apparently, calling them robots hurt them; I remembered that Jack had reacted similarly when I used the word in front of him.
She waved a hand dismissively and explained, "Robots are inanimate. Humans build robots. The drones we used to have on Cybertron could be called robots. But we Cybertronians are mechs and femmes – or Transformers, if you want to use the human term. We may be refugees on your planet, but we ask you to give us the same respect you bestow your fellow people. After all, you wouldn't call another human being 'it,' would you?" Her scolding was surprisingly gentle considering my faux-pas. I nonetheless blushed fiercely and looked down at the hands in my lap to not having to meet anyone's eyes for the moment. Thankfully, with the plane's engines powering up, talking was impossible for the time being.
The start went off without trouble, but I found it sort of weird to sit sideways. I glanced at R.C.'s motorcycles, wondering how they remained stationary, only to find their wheels were strapped to the floor. I blinked, baffled about when and how they got secured as I couldn't remember anyone having gone over to do that.
Annabelle noticed my look and sort of shouted at me over the engines' noise, "What is it?" I shouted back my question.
It was R.C. herself who solved that mystery. "Partial transformation. I strapped myself in."
Partial? I wondered, half amazed, half scared. What else could they do? But it also reminded me of another question I had. "What about the other two bikes? Who are they?"
Both Annabelle and R.C. chuckled. "It's all only me," R.C. then explained. "It's an upgrade. I'll show you once we're leveled out."
As soon as we had reached our cruising altitude, Colonel Lennox opened his belt again, Annabelle and everyone else soon following his example. True to her promise, R.C. unfastened the belts holding the bikes, then flickered out of existence. All three motorcycles then transformed into little ro— eh, femmes before combining to a larger, single form. "This is more or less how I looked before my upgrade," she then said. "With my upgrade, I now have two base modes instead of only one. If one or two components go down in battle, I can still use one component and continue fighting." She then broke apart again, and the little ro— femmes folded back into the motorcycles.
I watched it all, stunned. "Cool, eh?" Annabelle asked. "And all three can be distances apart and still function properly."
I shook my head incredulously, still trying to wrap my head around it all. First those big ro— mechs in the hangar, and now R.C.'s motorcycles. Speaking of which… "So what's your actual name?" I asked in the direction of the bikes.
"Arcee," and she spelled it for me. I had to grin at her ingenuity of using a homonymous name for her holoform.
Annabelle then grabbed my attention and changed the topic. "So, since when have you known about the Autobots? And why didn't you tell me?"
I smiled sheepishly and ducked my head. "Well…" I began, "for one, I only found out by accident one day. Wheeljack… sort of introduced me. And it's only been since Wednesday that I'm in the know." Although it felt a lot longer than that; had it really only been a couple of days? "Besides, how was I supposed to know that you know of them?" Dad had told me that she knew, but there hadn't been a chance to meet with her to talk about it.
She laughed. "Point taken," she admitted good-naturedly. Still grinning, she leaned back against the backrest. "Isn't that cool that we now share a big secret? One quite a few people would die for?" she asked, glancing at the motorcycles.
I could only agree and nodded. "Yeah," I agreed, "it certainly is something other friends don't share."
Her grin brightened even more with realization. "You know what's even better? That I know have someone my age to talk to about them!"
Oh! I never thought she would want to talk about them with anyone, having her parents to confide in and everything. But with the both of us in on such a big secret gave our friendship another kick. I gave her a grin in return.
And so we lunged into tales of our experiences with the Autobots – or rather, Annabelle spoke most of the time as she grew up with them (even if she hadn't learned the truth until last year) and had much more to tell. Her stories were entertaining enough and I listened with interest, all the while wondering whether or not to tell her about me. In the end, though, I decided against it. Annabelle was in such a good mood, I didn't want to destroy it with bad news.
When the Autobots had been fully discussed – for now – we looked around for another form of entertainment. Now it proved cool to have an Autobot with us. Arcee activated a hologram and we could watch a movie in 3D. Though, at one point midway through the movie, Freda woke up and started crying. I didn't know if the sound of the turbines had become too loud for her; it certainly sometimes hurt my ears and made listening to the hologram-movie difficult at times. But Mom seemed to know what was wrong for she rebalanced Freda and put a blanket over her, preparing for a nursing session.
R.C. flickered back to live and slowly walked over to Mom. "May I join you?" she asked, her eyes hefted on my baby sister.
Mom was surprised but quickly nodded. R.C. watched transfixed, delight shining in her eyes. When Freda was done with nursing, R.C. reached out to reverently stroke the baby's fluff of hair. Mom then offered, "Would you like to hold her?" R.C.'s expression brightened and she eagerly took my sister when Mom handed her over, then carefully started bouncing her on her knee. Freda chortled, apparently enjoying it. Annabelle quickly rummaged through her pockets until she found her cell. She snapped a picture.
The peaceful moment changed when Freda gave a loud burp and then spit a gush of milk all over R.C. Mom was horrified, but R.C. only laughed. "Don't worry, that's nothing that cannot be fixed," she appeased good-naturedly. "Annabelle spit over me too when she was a baby." I stole a glance at my friend who blushed fiercely. While Mom frantically searched the diaper bag for napkins, Mrs. Lennox came over and took Freda from R.C. She and Mom then cleaned Freda up – who gurgled happily at the attention. R.C. in the meantime simply vanished and a moment later reappeared, looking pristine again as if nothing had ever happened. Next to me, Annabelle grumbled something about cheating holoforms.
After the excitement had settled down, we continued watching the holo-movie. I must have fallen asleep at some point because the next I remembered was being woken up by Dad shaking my shoulder gently. The turbines' sound was gone and we didn't move anymore. "What happened?" I mumbled sleepily, rubbing my eyes.
"We landed five minutes ago. Come on, honey. They're waiting for us."
We had landed at the Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility in Washington D.C., the same base which hospital I had been in last summer. Having returned to the place where I'd witnessed Marcus shoot himself and where I'd first met Colonel Lennox, Lieutenant Epps and especially Mr. Hatchett was kind of weird. We didn't enter the hospital, but I saw it in the distance when exiting the C-17. It made me feel like the circle had been completed. I was back where everything had started; only now I knew what happened.
Annabelle seemed to sense my uneasiness. She skipped over and linked arms with me. "You don't look like you're happy to be back," she quietly stated.
I shook my head, disappointed at myself; now that I was in the States again, I didn't feel the enthusiasm I had always anticipated. "Guess I got used to Diego Garcia and life on a tropical island in the last months," I said, more to myself than to her.
She smiled. "Probably." When I looked at her, she said, "Well, time to say goodbye then. Mom, Dad and I are continuing to California, to Mom's ranch."
"Have a save flight and nice vacation."
She smiled again. "Enjoy your time with the family," she said. She hugged me and I returned it. "See you end of August again."
"Yep. See you."
And then she went back aboard to her parents, waving at me once.
Dad organized a cab which took us to Grandma's place. While Mom went on ahead inside to take care of Freda who was crying again, he and I took care of the luggage.
Grandma was very happy to see us again. She went all out and cooked us a feast dinner. Mom had to scold her of course, but Grandma's only reply was, "You don't have to eat if you don't want to, Linda. Chloe, however, is too skinny. She should put on more weight." She pushed the bowl with the smashed potatoes in my direction. I blushed, not quite agreeing with Grandma in that point, and discreetly left the meat aside, taking more vegetables instead.
That night I slept peacefully in the room I had always inhabited when visiting my grandparents. The bed felt like heaven, and there was no humid heat that made falling asleep hard. The room was air-conditioned perfectly and waking up the next morning happened to a beautiful sunrise. I watched it through the open window, enjoying the fresh morning breeze. Afterwards I lay down again, dozing for another two or so hours, before really getting up.
After a nice family breakfast with Grandma, Dad and I walked toward the bus station. We were heading to a car rental to get us a vehicle for the time of our stay. It wasn't quite cheap, but Dad was able to negotiate a good deal with the man. "You should have gone to the stock market," I joked when we drove back to Grandma's place.
He laughed. "Funny you would think that. I used to entertain the idea when I was your age." He laughed when seeing my surprised expression.
"What made you reconsider and become a doctor instead?"
He shrugged. "I've seen a documentary about rare illnesses and decided I wanted to help finding cures, to give the people suffering a chance to live."
I smiled. "That's a noble thought."
"Thanks."
We drove in silence for a moment, then I asked, "But why didn't you go into the sciences then? Why become a Navy doctor?"
"Well, for once they offered good career options. Besides, I thought that when I served my country at the frontline by saving soldiers' lives, I might be contributing to gaining peace." I raised my eyebrows skeptically. He laughed. "That was me when I was barely older than you are now, Chloe. Over the years, I learned a lot I didn't know back then." He set the blinker and took a turn. "But I never regretted my decisions. I wouldn't have met your mother, and you and Freda would never have been born."
I gave him a smile. "Then I'm glad you were naïve back then." He agreed with a laugh.
...
The first week we drove to the coast to spend a couple of days at the beach. It wasn't the beach that lured us to the water as we had that year round on Diego Garcia. The ocean was too cold for swimming anyway. But Grandma grew up in a fishermen's village and missed the communal spirit after moving into the city where anonymity was a daily occurrence. When Grandpa was still alive, the two of them used to often drive to the coast because they both loved the feeling of freedom the ocean conveys. After Grandpa died, the opportunities for such a trip had been rare if not downright non-existent. So now that there was the chance to go with us, who could deny Grandma the wish to return to her childhood's home?
One evening, Mom was putting Freda to bed while Dad was doing the dishes. I sat down on the porch of our rented bungalow with Grandma, watching the sunset. "You know," Grandma began, "when you moved away, I thought I'd never again see you."
I reached over and took her hand. "Don't be ridiculous, Grandma," I told her sternly. "You're still a young grasshopper. Of course we're going to see each other often."
She sighed and stroked the back of my hand. "I'm not referring to my age, Chloe." She looked at me, her eyes sad. "It feels like you're slipping away. I'm afraid I'm going to lose you, long before I follow your grandfather to his tomb."
There was a light breeze of wind, but to me it felt like an icy cold storm. Did Grandma know? How? Who told her?
The door to the hut opened and Dad came out, handing Grandma and me glasses with drinks. He then took a chair for himself and squeezed Grandma's shoulder. "Chloe's not slipping away, Carol," he told her adamantly. "We'll visit you again next year. Or maybe you could visit us at Christmas."
Grandma looked at him with an incredulous expression after putting her drink away onto the table. "Jamie, I'm seventy-two, going on seventy-three. I'm not going to fly around half the world anymore."
He laughed. "Seventy-two is nothing, Carol. You're fit like an athlete."
She let go of my hand and swatted him playfully. "Oh you. I was all set on being sentimental and now you made me laugh." She sniffed theatrically and we chuckled.
"Glad my distraction worked then," Dad said with a wink, earning himself another playful swat by Grandma. "But really, Carol, don't be ridiculous. Chloe is here, and she will be back next summer. No need to meet trouble halfway."
Grandma sighed. "I know, Jamie, I know. It's just… ever since I learned that my daughter risked her life to give birth to a second child after what happened last year with Chloe's school, I can't shake off the feeling that I'm losing my girl." She looked at me and I took Grandma's hand, squeezing it.
Dad hugged Grandma. "There's nothing to worry about, Carol. Trust me."
She nodded, then mumbled to herself, "I should count myself fortunate that I can see her again one last time."
Over her head, I shared a worried glance with Dad.
...
We returned to Grandma's place a few days later. We hadn't told Mom about the conversation on the porch nor did we bring the topic up again with Grandma. She seemed convinced she would never see me again, so she made the most of our time together. I didn't complain; I had missed her in the last months as much as she had missed me.
However, one very sunny and especially hot day, she said she didn't feel like going downtown with me like we had planned. She complained about a terrible headache. Mom said she'd stay behind to watch over Grandma, so Dad went with me instead. He would have played chauffeur for Grandma and me anyway, so it wasn't really a problem for him to now spend the day with just me.
It was incredibly fun being out and alone with Dad. Even though he always made time available to spend with me, despite him working most of the time and then taking care of Mom and Freda, those were rare moments. Today, however, we enjoyed several hours of father-daughter bonding. In the morning, we went sightseeing and he bought me as much ice cream as I wanted and could eat. We had then lunch in a quite expensive restaurant by the river, eating delicacies from all around the world. In the afternoon, we hit several book stores and made it a game cheering each other for who found what book faster. We thus filled up our small home library with titles we hadn't yet read while laughing as much and as often as never before. In a baby shop we also found some very nice toys and cute clothes for Freda. Mom would love these, Dad was sure. When the day then slowly turned toward evening, we prepared to set out for grocery shopping before going back home to Grandma's place, but first Dad had some business with the bank.
"Chloe?" someone asked. I was just waiting outside for Dad when a hand briefly touched my shoulder. It vanished again when I turned around. A boy about my age stood there, a smile on his face and in his eyes that told me how happy he was to see me. "What a surprise to see you here!" he exclaimed.
As it's been months since I last saw him, it took me a moment until I recognized him. "Felix!" I said excitedly. I got up and hugged my best friend of early childhood. "Long time no see."
He laughed and returned the hug. I let go again, looking a bit embarrassed. But he didn't seem to mind. "Indeed a long time. About a year. How have you been?"
I shrugged. "Quite all right. You?"
He nodded. "I'm great, thanks." He gestured toward a café nearby. "I was just going to get me a drink to get out of the sun. Care to join me?"
"Sure, thanks," I agreed after glancing at the bank. Since Dad was still deep in conversation with the clerk there, it appeared I had some time. "Lead the way."
We ended up with ice cream instead of a drink and sat down on the outside, enjoying the late afternoon sun. The people in the café and street were chatting lively, the sound of their conversations mixing to a gentle background hum that washed over me. I sometimes missed the anonymity of Washington D.C. when in Diego Garcia.
"So where do you live now?" Felix asked, breaking the silence. "Your family moved last summer, didn't they?"
I nodded. "Yeah. Mom and Dad got transferred to a military base in the Indian Ocean. Diego Garcia it's called. It's a nice place and all with lots of palm trees and incredibly beautiful beaches and warm water, really tropical feeling. But I often miss the States."
Felix looked pensive. "Diego Garcia…" he mumbled, then he pointed his spoon at me. "Isn't that a base under British Territory, the island formed like a horseshoe?"
"Yep, that's my new home."
"Wow." He really looked surprised. "And both your parents got a position there?"
"Uh-huh. I was as astonished as you, but…" I shrugged, trailing off.
"But at least they have work and can be together again." He smiled. "I remember that you were sometimes quite sad when your dad had to leave again after a short visit."
I was surprised that Felix still remembered that. I hadn't shown any sadness anymore since my grandpa died, mainly because I had been sad all the time since he went to Heaven. I had felt lonely and left alone. But it had been years since then. That Felix still remembered emotions I had shown more than seven years ago really caught me by surprise.
"I'm sorry," he said and I looked up.
"For what?" I asked, confused.
Now it was him who was confused. "For upsetting you. I… didn't want to hurt you…" He trailed off, looking embarrassed.
I blushed; it was really sweet of him to worry so much about me. "It's okay, really. No harm done." I gave him a warm smile when he looked up and our eyes met.
"Thanks."
Silence fell, but it wasn't as comfortable as earlier, so I asked, "And what are you doing these days?"
He sighed. "Well… I'm trying to convince my parents that I want to join the army after graduation, but they're heavily against that."
I about choked on my ice cream. "What?" I asked, blurting out once I had gotten the coughing under control again. "Why? Your father is in the army too, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he is." He looked around to make sure no one could listen in, then he leaned forward conspiratorially to whisper, "I want to find out what happened last June when the school exploded, and I believe the military knows something. I just don't believe it was nothing like they always claim. The… thing I saw was definitely something." He sat back up. "And I want to know what exactly."
Thank God I hadn't eaten or I would have choked for sure. Fact was, I didn't dare breathing for a moment, instead just stared at Felix. The slightly round-faced, unathletic boy I had known since kindergarten was gone and replaced by a determined adolescent – whose world had been turned upside down just like mine when the school collapsed around us.
Putting my hands into my lap to hide their shaking, I asked, "And then, once you know? What do you want to do?"
He stared at me for a second, then sighed heavily, slumping. "I'm… not sure yet. I mean… I want to know what happened, but… I have no idea what I'm going to do once I find out." He hesitated for a moment, then quietly added, "I guess it depends on what exactly I'll learn."
I felt my expression soften. Here he was, having survived what others had not and wanting to know. Felix had always been studious and geek-like, but I would have expected him to be glad to forget about it all.
"Don't you?" he asked, interrupting my train of thought.
"What?"
"Don't you want to know what hit the school?" he asked. "I mean, the newspapers had been full of stories about abduction, casualties and destruction. Conspirators have gone nuts about it. Haven't you seen all those news and shows on TV? There was no chance to not see them."
I bit my lip. "Well, I've been unconscious for a while…" I began slowly.
He shook his head, reaching across the table like to take my hand, and then pulled it back when he noticed I was still hiding them in my lap. "Even though, the rescue teams must have arrived pretty quickly. I just can't imagine you'd be unconscious for more than a few hours."
I shrugged but at the same time frowned. "That sounds like you haven't been unconscious."
He gave a weak laugh. "Thank God I was! On the other hand, had I been awake, I would have noticed what happened." His expression darkened. "There have been a few moments were I've been awake, though. I've heard them screaming. It was scary as hell. I never saw anything definite, only shadows. I would have loved to help the others. They were obviously hurt or tortured. It made me mad. And then, in the hospital, the only other person I could talk to – apart from my parents, the doctor and nurses – was Mr. Hatchett. And he never told me anything. He always only asked questions."
My jaw dropped. Felix had been kidnapped too? He had seen the Decepticons that did that to us? And then realization hit: Was he transformed like I was? But why was he still in D.C. then?
"Chloe? You okay?" Felix asked and I shook my head to clear it.
"I'm… all right…" I said, a little breathless. I'd never thought that Felix – kind and gentle Felix of all people! – had been involved. Now I could understand his determination to find the culprit and learn the truth though.
He scrutinized me carefully until I realized I still sat staring at him with my mouth wide open. I quickly shut it, blushing in embarrassment. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he stated, squinting at me with a worried expression.
I averted my eyes, avoiding his searching gaze. "I've… just been surprised is all," I mumbled.
He snorted. "I wouldn't call your reaction surprise. More shocked." He chuckled mirthlessly. "Guess what it felt like to have been one of the abducted kids. Surprisingly, no one wanted interviews – or when they did, they never got through. Someone must have held them off, and quite effectively."
I looked back at him; he was looking down at the table, his ice long forgotten. It was melting in the summer sun, just like mine. "I know what it feels like," I said softly. When he looked up at me, I added, "I've… probably been one of the people you heard screaming."
Now it was his mouth to drop open. "You… you've been there too?" he asked mortified. I reached out and took his hand while making him look at me. When I nodded, he quietly asked, "Do you remember anything?"
"Bits and pieces," I allowed. "Mostly pain and darkness. I was cold and felt alone, totally despaired…" Felix nodded. "You? Apart from the screams I mean."
He shook his head, then nodded and finally shrugged. "Same like you. Only… there was a… humanly shaped shadow, but it was much larger, towering over me. It happened only once. The shadow had eyes; they were red."
I squeezed his hand I still held – or he mine, I wouldn't know. "Same here. It was scary." He nodded and I felt sympathy with him. I knew what happened, he didn't. I wondered why and if Dad knew. I would ask him later.
And speaking of devil, there he was. He left the bank and looked around, searching for me when I wasn't where he was expecting me. Eventually, he looked over to the café and saw me. He waved. Felix must have noticed my distraction for he turned around in his seat and focused on Dad. Once turned back to me, he quietly said, "Guess our time is up then." He sounded sad.
I once again squeezed his hand. "Thanks for the invitation. I would love to have another chat with you before I fly back."
His despaired expression turned hopeful again. "That would be great. When do you leave?"
"In about a month. We're leaving for Dad's family tomorrow and stay with them for about two weeks before coming back here. I could call you then."
He and I stood, him jotting down his cell's number for me after asking a waiter for a piece of paper and pen. "Looking forward to your call." I gave him a smile, then said my goodbye.
Dad was already waiting in the car when I arrived at the lot. "Wasn't that Felix Seaberg?" he asked while I slipped into the passenger seat.
I nodded. "Yeah. We met in front of the bank." We drove off the parking lot and down the road for a few minutes in silence, then I said, "Felix had been kidnapped too."
Dad didn't seem surprised. "I know."
I however was. "Where from?"
"Colonel Lennox. He told your mother and me when it was definite that there was no turning back for you."
That had me remember my situation, but I gulped down the tears. "But why doesn't he know? Or will he learn the truth too?"
Dad shook his head, setting the blinker and checking the right side's mirror. "No. Different to everyone else involved, Felix was the only one who didn't suffer from a nanite implanted into his heart that could explode and result in a full-body necrosis. The metal in his body was very minor too, and Ratchet could extract everything before too much of his body was turned in a ten-hour long surgery. It was the Autobots' and JCS' decision to never tell him or his parents what really happened as he returned to fully functional organic after that surgery." He glanced at me. "He's one hundred percent human."
"So he was lucky things didn't turn out worse," I mumbled, feeling glad for Felix. My first best friend wouldn't need to worry about death and pain. He could live a happy life, a long life. He could grow old, marry, have kids… He could enjoy what many others had lost the day when our world crumbled around ourselves in piles of dust and death.
The more I was despaired that it hadn't been me who got lucky. I faced an unsecure future, would never get a chance to found my own family – and somehow Grandma sensed that. Whatever Ratchet planned to do to save me, I somehow knew it wouldn't be an easy road. The damage in my body was already done and the destruction underway. Like Dad had said: There was no turning back to normal for me. The Decepticons had destroyed my life once and for all.
Though, knowing about Felix having gotten lucky showed me that sometimes, there was some light in the darkness.