Escaping the room was not difficult. Not once did the massive robot turn around when I had crept to the other end of my wire-filled enclosure, not even when I had fearfully crossed through the open space to the door. I was now in a large metal corridor that turned out of sight on both ends, large square lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling, which itself rested even higher than the ridiculously large door. From where I stood I could see four other doors similar to the one next to me, all spaced down the hallway. But nothing was scaled down, nothing looked remotely person-sized.

Throwing caution to the wind, I ran. My steps seemed impossibly small and I found myself nearly out of breath before I had even reached the end of the corridor. I tried to keep my breathing steady and took another glance at my surroundings. Metal. The thought popped into my head, everything here was still metal. No stone, wood, or anything, just endless plain grey metal. There were strange noises too. Booming, clicks, bangs, and humming. The faint cacophony sent a twist of nervousness in my gut, and I rounded the corner with caution, to my dismay another identical hallway sprawled ahead. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. I should have found someone by now, I should have at least found something properly sized. How big was this place? Taking a shaky breath I ran faster. Before I had reached the end I could tell that this one was different: it opened on both sides. With any luck, I would start seeing some evidence of other people.

In a panic I spun around, suddenly recognizing a faint but familiar beat. large footsteps, I realized, from the new hallway, and they were quickly growing louder. There was nowhere for me to hide, and I prayed fiercely that the being responsible had no reason to turn.

From the left hall a metal behemoth passed briefly into view, its height barely contained by the ceiling, its footsteps vibrating deep within my chest. This one looked different, bulkier, with large pillars on its shoulders. Instead of silver it had red, white, and blue. Just as quickly as it had arrived, it was gone. Only until its footsteps were echoes did I let myself breathe. How could anything be that big? How many robots were there?

This would have been a great time to wake up. This nightmare, it was for them. Everything was designed for them. I didn't belong here.

I approached the intersection cautiously, dreading the idea of walking where that thing had just been. The hallway remained quiet. Peeking to the left, it stretched on identical to all the ones before, ending at another intersection. To my right was the same. This had to be some twisted joke. Stuck in a maze with giant robots and nowhere to hide.

I wasn't getting out of this was I? I held back tears. What if I didn't find someone in time? What if I got killed by one of those monstrosities? Would dad ever stop looking for me? Would he ever know what happened? Would my brother forgive his big sister for disappearing? I could see David in my mind. He was only nine, would he even understand?

I stepped forward, choosing the right hall at random. I had to stay ahead. I had to believe I would find my way out of this mess. Despair turned to anger, and I glared at my surroundings, not bothering to run. I wanted to punch whatever idiot designed the place. No human-sized exits, no way to call for help. Why would anyone even want a place like this? Just to stuff oversized robots into? Why waste the space? It was stupid. This whole place was stupid. The robots were stupid. Why did this have to happen? Why me? Feeling exposed I kept near the wall. The anticipation was by far the worst feeling I had felt today, even more than the fear.

Ahead of me, I noticed a new obstacle: an open door. With any luck it was empty. But maybe this was good, maybe it actually led to something my size. I quickened my pace.

With dread, I realized I heard footsteps growing yet again, this time from somewhere behind. I was torn. Maybe being caught would be good. Maybe It would speed this up.

But the noise grew louder and my heart jumped into my throat. Feck, I really didn't want to die. My eyes immediately slid to the open door and I dashed for it, managing to skid inside just as I heard the robot enter the hall. Freezing against the inside of the frame, I listened with rapt attention as it approached. Had I been too slow? Did it see me? I could glimpse into a part of the hallway from my spot, and I saw a flash of large metal legs as they swiftly passed.

My sigh of relief was cut short, however, when I heard a sudden whirring noise to my left. With pained slowness, I turned my head, and I swore I felt my heart skip a beat. A large robot kneeled by my wall. Its glowing eyes staring me down.

Suddenly feeling very unsteady I took a small step back, Its eyes followed me.

I tried to bolt, but the robot was much quicker. In one swift motion, it stood, slamming its hand against a pad on the wall, and the door slid past me, forcing me to jump backward in surprise.

I was trapped. Feck, feck, feck-

I stumbled back around. This was the part where it shoots me or reaches out to squash me or fires lasers at me. But to my surprise, it had yet to move. Instead, it stood rigid, its hand still pressed against the door pad, eyes noticeably wider. It seemed shorter than the other two, though not by much. Its body was thinner, sleeker, with navy blue armor-like metal, and on its back were two odd structures, flat and angled, almost like wings,

I stepped backward, but it didn't seem so worried about me getting away this time. I frantically searched the room for an escape. It was quite a bit smaller than the other one. There was no large machine in sight either, instead, there was a large network of pipes that took up most of the back wall. It seemed too far to reach in time. The walls were bare, though quite a few panels were missing, revealing shadowy holes. But they were all too high for me. The floor however was a mess, large rectangular panels rested beside massive clumps of wires. Two large boxes, that seemed full of tools of some kind, also rested in the room, one near the robot itself and the other closer to the back wall. I didn't like my options but maybe I could break line of sight.

The robot took a sudden step towards me and I took the cue to run. Whipping off my backpack, I heaved it away from me as far as I could, praying it would be enough of a distraction.

I booked it for the biggest of the messes and practically leaped when I got close enough. My knees burned as I slid to a stop behind a large tangle of rust-red wires. I could still see it looking at me through the gaps. It had remained frozen after the initial step. My stomach twisted horribly under its unrelenting attention, slowly though, blue glowing eyes slid from me and onto my discarded backpack.

It took another step forward, crouching near my meager belongings. My backpack was gingerly plucked off the floor, the bag easily fit in a single palm. I swallowed hard. What was it doing? I thought I spotted a sweep of blue light over the bag. When its attention returned to me I could tell something had changed

There was a scraping of metal on metal as the large box of tools in front of it was briskly pushed to the side. The sudden input sent a flinch through my whole being. The metal titan was suddenly approaching fast.

"O-oh god." I scrambled back. In a moment of pure desperation, I flung my arm in the direction of the door, "Look!" I screamed.

To my amazement, it worked. As soon as its head turned, my body sprang to action, and in a daze, I found myself both on my feet and in a full sprint.

"Woah!" came a sudden voice.

My mind snapped back into focus. Hope filled my chest. A person? Where? Clumsily I pivoted back, but a blur of motion informed me that the robot had also sprung into action.

I hastily tried to correct my path. "Help!" I pleaded, "Please help me!"

"Fella, wait!" The new voice said. There was a deafeningly sharp clatter as if multiple metallic objects had just been dropped to the floor, and the surprise nearly made me lose my footing. I was now heading towards the pipes but I could already tell my brief scramble had stolen precious moments.

A shadow fell over me. The observation had barely registered before darkness came crashing down. I stumbled, hands colliding with a sudden unyielding wall but I managed to twist in time for my shoulder to take the brunt of the impact. I slid down, landing heavily onto my side. The darkness spun around me. I could hear my fast breaths against the walls. Silence. Long seconds ticked by of just silence. After a few blinks, I realized the darkness was not complete. Cracks of light bled from where the sudden wall met the floor and I could barely make out the corners of a small room. A box. It had trapped me, like a bug under a cup. I closed my eyes, fighting tears again. I could almost imagine I was back in the dark room; it was alarming how comforting the idea seemed now.

A rather panicked voice floated from above, "Slag, slag, slag. I can't scan through." They sounded male, and youngish: like someone in their twenties, or even like some of my dad's younger coworkers. Odd considering the setting, but a relief nonetheless. A light thud on the ceiling of my new container made me start. "Hey, uh, fella? You ok?"

"Help!" I pushed myself up, hoping my voice would carry through the walls, "Help me!"

"You're hurt?" He sounded panicked.

My box shifted and I shrieked, pushing myself away from the wall. "The robot! It's got me, don't let it do anything, please!" Everything fell still and I could only hope it was the result of whoever had come to my rescue. There was a long moment of silence and I frantically wiped my tears away. "Hello?" I called meekly.

"Still here," his voice sounded far quieter, unsure even. Maybe he had moved away, maybe he was getting the robot to leave. "Look, uh, don't worry about the robot. Why don't you tell me about yourself fella, what are you doing here?"

"I-I'm Kathrine. I need help, I'm not supposed to be here, I know you already know that, but I just need to call my dad, he can explain everything. This is all just an accident."

"An accident?"

"I swear!" My voice pitched, "It's just a big accident, that's all. I-I don't even really know how I got here. Please, I'll do whatever you say. Anything. I just want to get back, please."

"Primus! You were nabbed?"

I opened my mouth to respond, then closed it. A moment passed, "What?"

"Someone took you, kept you here?"

Slowly, I pushed myself to my knees. I found myself still trembling, but hearing his own worry was a strange comfort. The enclosed space also took the edge off my panic, it felt safe. It was difficult to fully grasp that such a solid object could be plucked off the ground at any moment.

"No, nothing like that. It's hard to explain."

"It's ok fella, you're not in trouble. Here, I'll let you out."

My heart started to pound again, "Is it still out there?"

"Is what out here?"

"The robot. Is it still there?"

There was another pause, it seemed like he was hesitating. But why was there a reason to? Was this a trick? Would he get the robot to kill me once I trusted him? But then again, why hadn't he just done so already?

"Listen, fella, about the robot. I'm sorry I spooked you so bad," there was another small thump on my ceiling, "This probably didn't help much either. I really wasn't thinking."

"I don't understand."

"The robot's me. Well, I'm cybertronian, not a robot. Well, I guess technically I am. But it's… y'know, it's not all that important."

"What?" I felt lost.

"Here, let's just…" Slowly the walls tilted and a crack of light grew on one side. I found myself too confused to protest. A metal hand slowly grew visible some feet away, pressed flat against the ground. I didn't want to see the looming figure that I knew rested above it. With my wall now almost flush against the floor, I pulled myself a few inches up onto its smooth surface in an effort to keep retreating, but only once my back hit the new wall did I realize I had only trapped myself more.

"Where did you..? Oh," He said, and a metal face suddenly appeared, making me shriek again. The robot flinched but didn't pull away, and a mix of confusing emotions filled my chest when such a strong look of relief crossed his features. "You look all in one piece, that's good. Sorry again for dropping this on you," he nodded to my box.

I stared. The voice was indeed coming from the robot, mouth moving and everything. It was insane though. Was it a recording? Remote-controlled?

He shifted and suddenly a hand appeared with my backpack pinched between two fingers. It was placed gently a foot or so into my space. "Here you are. Your little device in there–phone I think–I snagged your language off of it when you dropped it."

It had facial expressions now, I realized. It was hard to recall in detail, but I was certain it didn't have them before.

The being moved back, as if giving me space to grab the bag. However, though I eyed it eagerly, I didn't budge. It felt like the definition of a trap. If he noticed he didn't comment, his head leaned back into view, "You feeling any better fella?"

"Is it remote controlled?" I blurted, "Or are you inside it? Like a suit."

His brow furrowed. As terrifying as his closeness was, I was also a bit amazed by the detail I could see. Little pieces moved and adjusted every time he spoke or made expressions. It was fluid and smooth and seemed terribly complicated. His expressions all looked so genuine too. He wasn't just shifting through a set of faces, it was changing and adjusting subtly. In a different situation I probably would have found the observation incredibly cool.

"Like a suit?" He asked, then there was a small laugh, "Oh, are you talking about me? No fella, I'm a cybertronian remember?"

"Like artificial intelligence?"

"No, no not really," he looked bemused, "You do know what a cybertronian is right?

"Where are the people?"

My sudden shift didn't seem to faze him, "Well there's me, and the crew, but they're all doing their own things. We've got a few hundred aboard."

"They're all robots too?"

"Cybertronians, yeah. Think you're the only organic here, sentient at least."

He still wasn't making much sense, but in fairness, I was also finding it pretty hard to focus. I felt like some exotic bug under observation. "You're not going to kill me?" The question slipped out before I could think.

He winced, breaking eye contact, "Look, I'm sorry. Getting you with the toolbox was reckless, and I guess I did nearly get you with the door too, but I swear I didn't mean anything by it. Haven't really been around organics much, wasn't thinking."

I was at a loss for words and it was starting to feel a bit frustrating, nothing was being answered. Everything he said was so odd, like we were having two completely different conversations. "Ok," I said lamely, "but aren't I not supposed to be here? Like I'm trespassing?"

"Not really, it's just the maintenance tunnels," I noticed that even he was beginning to look puzzled, "Besides, you said yourself it was an accident."

I shook my head to clear it. He sounded friendly enough. At the very least, I found myself nearly confident that I wouldn't be dying in the next few moments. "I just need to get home, can you help me?"

Suddenly he looked very uncomfortable. He released what sounded like a sigh, "I'll do what I can. Do you remember what port you were picked up at?"

"Port?" I asked tentatively. The change in atmosphere was making me nervous.

"It's all ok, no worries," he said as if he was trying to soothe a child, "Do you know how long you've been here?"

"An hour, maybe."

"Only a cycle?" He frowned, "You're sure?"

"Yes," I snapped, but my frustration was short-lived, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know how, but my dad might. Just give me a phone, let me call him. I'm sure it can all be figured out."

"I don't know if that's possible."

"Please," I said desperately, "I swear he can sort it out. Whatever process there is, whatever I need to sign or pay I'll do it. I just want to get back."

"I get that fella, believe me, but we ain't around any planets right now, haven't docked in ages. We'll have to track down where you came from."

"Planets?"

He started to say something but stopped.

"You said planets." I pushed.

We stared at each other. "Fella," he said slowly, "do you know where you are? This place, what it is?"

"No," I said, my uneasiness grew into dread.

"Oh," Realization drew across his features. He stared at me in disbelief, voice quiet, "You still think you're on your planet."

"What?" I shot to attention, I almost felt a bit miffed, daring him to finish his ridiculous statement, "What did you just say?"

"Ah, frag," he exhaled. The look he gave me nearly made my heart stop. It was full of so much sympathy and reluctance; the face of someone burdened with bad news. "Look, I'm sorry. Kathrine, you said? You're not on your planet anymore, or wherever you got taken from. This is the Ark, an autobot ship."

"The Ark-? What are you talking about?" My voice was shaking.

"It's a deep-space vessel."

"This is a joke?"

He gave me a knowing look, "What planet do you come from? Maybe we ported there recently."

"You're joking, you have to be joking."

"Fella, I'm sure we'll get this all figured out. What's your planet, what's your species called?"

For a moment I could only stare. This couldn't be happening. "Earth. I'm from Earth, a human from Earth."

"Ah slag," his voice was regretful, "There still may be a chance we'll have it in our database."

"No, no, no." I said, "I want to go home."

"I know. Fella, I know," he rubbed his face, looking particularly stressed as well, "Do you know who did this to you, who took you?"

"Took me? No one," I insisted, "No one took me. I've hardly even seen any other people. I'm not lying. An hour ago I was with my dad. I checked the date, on my phone, I checked the time, it was an hour ago, today."

He didn't respond. He didn't believe me. Suddenly my box felt oppressive, like the walls were pushing my air out, his looming face felt like it was searing me. I was trapped. What would they do to me? "Let me out!" I slammed my hands against the encroaching walls, trying to hold them away, "Let me out, letmeoutletmeoutletmeout!"

Almost immediately the box tilted sharply forward. The situation was impossible, unbelievable. What if I died here? I slid down the sudden slope and landed with my back against the floor. What if I never saw my family again? I didn't bother getting up. What if the robots killed me? What if they locked me away forever? I just wanted to go home. I just wanted my dad. A sob escaped me, I was crying.

"Woah there! Fella?" his startled voice came from above.

A giant hand appeared in my vision, and the sight just about snapped me from my internal spiral.

Terror filled me as metal fingers pulled me up, and I found myself in a loose fist. In a blind panic, I tried to fight against the grip, but I couldn't budge my arms from my sides. What was he going to do to me? I realized I was hyperventilating and a wave of dizziness struck me. He was going to kill me. Darkness crept at the edges of my vision.

"Talk to me, Kathrine, what's happe-"