Arachnid stood beneath the cover of some trees, her arms crossed and her expression sour. Her webbing made a good cover to keep out most of the rain, but it was falling harder and the wind was blowing it under her cover. She had a lot to think about and the rain was just making it worse.
She could have easily taken that little brat if her sister didn't interfere. She smirked as she recalled how trusting Alcina was. Little humans like her were very different compared to young cybertronians. She had to find another opportunity to gain her trust, but she had to figure out where she was hiding.
"I will find you and the others, little one," she whispered, looking up at the dark sky. It didn't look like the rain was going to stop anytime soon. She would have to drill down and wait some.
She got in position, her smile growing as she thought of the terror the little one would show on her face when she brought her to the Nemesis. Megatron would surely make her his pet since she was so small and adorable...or he would just crush her with ease when he was done using her as bait. Either option was fine with her as she went underground.
Alcina looked out at the rain as Bella drove up the hill to their home. It was too quiet in the car and she felt it was best not to say anything.
Bella looked beyond furious when they stepped out of the police station. She remembered hearing the nice police officer say that the boys who were bothering her were mostly harmless and only played pranks on people in town. When Bella told him about Miss Arania, the officer only looked confused and said that no one else had seen such a woman in town. Alcina spoke up and said that the guys bothering her had seen her as well and the officer simply smiled at her and said that he would talk to them soon. After thanking the officer, Bella took ahold of her hand and led her out, muttering awful words under her breath.
It wasn't long before they were rolling into the driveway of their cabin. Alcina perked up at the sight. Hopefully Terra and Starscream had returned from their walk in time to avoid the rain.
"Run fast, Al. I don't want you to get too wet out there," Bella said with a soft sigh while parking. Alcina nodded and as soon as the car finally stopped, she opened the door and rushed inside. The rain was cold, but it was much warmer inside.
She had a quick look around and saw no sign of Terra and Starscream. Frowning, she went to the kitchen and saw that the dishes had been cleaned and put away. That was a sign they had returned and Terra ate. Where were they though?
She heard heavy footsteps upstairs. Another sign! Alcina went to the stairs just in time to see Starscream at the top. He appeared groggy, but upon seeing her, he perked up and came downstairs.
"Good morning, Starscream! You and Terra are back!" She exclaimed, holding up her arms to him.
"Good morning to you, little one. Did you and Bella have a nice visit to town?" He asked as he bent down to scoop her up in his arms. Alcina grew quiet, unsure if she wanted to tell him about what had happened with those guys and Miss Arania.
"We were having a good time, but those thugs decided to harass Alcina while I was in the store," Bella spoke up while placing her bags on the kitchen counter. The calm expression on Starscream's face quickly changed to rage and then to concern as he turned his attention to Alcina.
"Did they hurt you, Alcina?" He asked, his voice lower than usual.
"No...A lady came and scared them off...but she tried to take me away. She was nice but scary," Alcina replied, feeling a sense of dread creep up on her. Starscream's frame rumbled with a soft growl as he clenched his denta together. He looked over at Bella who simply nodded.
"I was in the store for five minutes. There was a little ride outside and I gave her money to ride it while I was inside. I thought nothing would happen since it was still a bit early," Bella explained, crossing her arms and looking away.
Alcina could feel the tension building up in the room. She had to make things better somehow.
"Bella told me to stay on the ride and I did. Miss Arania...She was trying to take me somewhere and then Bella showed up and Miss Arania just disappeared after that. I'm safe now," she said. Starscream sighed, holding her a little bit tighter. She could see the anger in his optics and it frightened her a bit.
"You need to be more careful. All of you need to be careful. Next time, I shall accompany you if you want to go to that town," he said while running a servo through Alcina's hair. He then walked over to the living room where he carefully sat down on the couch. He looked out the window at the pouring rain outside, still appearing angry. Steam was starting to curl from the corners of his mouth with a soft hiss.
"It's okay, Starscream. I'm safe. Let's watch some tv," Alcina suggested while crawling out of his lap to grab the television remote. Starscream was silent as she turned on the tv and a movie began to play. It was The Lion King! One of her favorites! Hopefully it would put Starscream in a better mood.
"I like this one!" She chimed, looking over at him with a smile as the opening song began to play. He looked at the screen once and appeared uninterested before turning his attention back to the window. Bella looked into the living room and nodded in approval before going upstairs.
"Frag this rain. Once it's over, I'm going to go out for a flight," he grumbled mostly to himself.
"Don't be so mad, Starscream. It's over now and now I'm safe here with you and my sisters. Let's just watch the movie," she suggested, her smile beaming. Starscream looked at her and let out a sigh before smiling back. That's what she liked to see. She then crawled into his lap to better watch the movie.
"So, tell me about this film, Alcina," Starscream said, cocking his head when Scar appeared on screen. She looked up at him and saw how he smiled when Scar began talking.
"Well, the baby lion who was born is named Simba and he's the son of King Mufasa and his brother, Scar, doesn't like this because he wants to be king and he's gonna try to get rid of Simba and Mufasa so he can be king of the land," Alcina explained, smiling when she felt his claws running through her hair again.
"Interesting. Very interesting. Scar reminds me of someone," Starscream replied, becoming more engaged with the movie. Alcina smiled even more, glad that he was enjoying the movie. A few minutes passed before she realized something.
"Where's Terra?" She asked.
"Oh, she's resting. She and I spent most of the night...exploring the mountains surrounding us and it wore her out. It was nice spending some quality time with her," Starscream replied with a soft chuckle. Alcina noticed his chest glowing a bit more intensely when he was talking. How weird.
"That sounds nice. I'd like to do some exploring too. This place is so big and I wanna see it all," she said while snuggling closer to his warm frame. She thought of all the cool things she would find while exploring.
"You will, little one. Maybe one of your sisters will take you on a walk soon," Starscream crowed. That sounded exciting, but they would have to wait for the rain to end.
The movie soon got to her least favorite part. Scar's song. It was frightening to her and what happens after was even more awful. Alcina grabbed a nearby pillow and held it to her chest as she watched.
"I really like Scar now," Starscream said. Alcina looked up at him to see a mischievous smirk on his face. Was that good or bad? She remembered Miss Arcee warning her about Starscream being bad before and telling her to be careful around him. How bad was he before? Was he as bad as Scar in the movie or was he something worse? She'd ask him, but was that a good thing to do right now? No, she'd ask him about that stuff another day.
After Scar's song came the part she liked the least. She pulled the pillow closer to her body, her eyes wide as Scar brought Simba to the canyon.
"I don't like this part," she whispered. Starscream didn't say anything as he watched on. The part she dreaded finally came and she covered her eyes as the wildebeests came stampeding into the canyon.
"Let me know when it's over, Star," she said while burying her face in her pillow. She still heard everything and it made her feel bad. She loved this movie, but always dreaded this one part.
"Long live the king", Scar's voice said and then those screams. She could feel Starscream tense up briefly before he relaxed with another chuckle.
"How awful," he crowed. Alcina opened her eyes to look up at him. His focus was on the movie, but when he noticed her looking up at him, he smirked and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"The scary part is over, little one," he said. Alcina looked over and saw Simba crying over the dead body of Mufasa. She held back the urge to whimper and tried to remain strong until Scar appeared again and started putting the blame on Simba.
"How devious and cunning. Reminds me of someone I knew eons ago," Starscream commented. Who could he be talking about? Alcina was about to ask before her attention was back on the movie. The hyenas were after Simba again. She looked away from the screen and saw that it wasn't raining anymore. Starscream saw this as well and gently pushed her off his lap.
"I'm going to go for a flight, Alcina. I'll be back in a few hours. You can tell me more about this movie when I get back," he said while getting up and heading for the door. Alcina paused the movie and followed him out, wanting to see him grow bigger and transform. It was still sprinkling a bit, but it looked like the sun was starting to show itself through the clouds.
"Have a safe flight, Starscream!" She chimed. Starscream simply nodded his head before growing to his full size. He let out a groan and briefly stretched his limbs. He then ran forward and jumped high into the air, his engines rumbling. He went higher and higher before he transformed into a jet and flew off into the clouds. Alcina watched him disappear and went back inside, sighing happily as she went back to her movie.
The clouds were nice and cool, still letting some rain fall as Starscream flew through them. It felt nice and eased his thoughts as he flew over that little town. Being able to fly freely had calmed him down some and gave him time to plot.
He had to find those little thugs. They had crossed a line when they first threatened Terra and then made things worse by scaring poor little Alcina. This had to stop some way or another. He had no idea what to do about this strange woman, but if Alcina happened to run into this strange woman again and came back saying she did something harmful, then he would have to hunt her down as well.
He didn't care if he somehow got caught and punished for his actions. Optimus and the other Autobots had told him time and time again that humans were not to be harmed. Most humans couldn't be harmed, but Starscream thought differently about those who deserve to be wiped out. Those males threatened his mate. If he wasn't around, then they certainly would have harmed her.
He would have to dispose of them in a way that wouldn't cause suspicion. It was a small town. People would certainly notice. Perhaps he could burn them to a crisp when he was done with them. That sounded like a plan...or he could leave them to the hungry beasts of the forest outside the mountain range. He would figure it out later.
He was soon flying over a neighborhood that was near the town. Those males were probably down there somewhere, but where? He flew to an open spot a mile away from the neighborhood and landed. He transformed and was immediately pacing back and forth, thinking hard.
"How am I going to lure them out?" He muttered to himself. Starscream continued to pace until he stopped dead in his tracks, his smile growing as he let out a wicked laugh.
"I know just the thing," he purred as he went to hide amongst the nearby trees. He sat down, letting out a sigh as he focused on his holoform. With his optics half-closed, he saw his feminine holoform appear before him. She looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear as she curtsied before him. He had been making a few changes to her appearance mostly for Terra, but he was sure she would be just as alluring to those disgusting males.
"You will bring them to me, you pretty little thing," he said, closing his optics and taking full control.
Bill groaned as he followed Will and Tim through the forest. Why did they have to go out now? It was colder now after it rained and everything was wet and cold.
"What are we looking for again?" Bill asked. Tim smiled back at him while adjusting the rifle on his back.
"Those elk will be out again and they won't smell or see us through this mist," Tim said while gesturing to the mist rolling in around them. He was right, but it was always creepy seeing elk in the mist. It made them look otherworldly. Bill wasn't as interested in hunting as Tim and Will were, but he enjoyed listening to them talk about it.
His thoughts went to what had happened earlier. Tim and Will had gone into town and came back looking spooked. When he asked what happened, Tim had said that some weird woman harassed them when they were trying to talk to that little girl who was a part of that little group who had moved into town.
"It's crazy that she just disappeared like that. We were watching them and in the blink of an eye, she was gone. That lady moves fast," Tim spoke up, pulling Bill out of his thoughts. They were talking about that woman again.
"Strange things have been happening around here, you guys. We should get to the bottom of this and see what's really happening," Will replied, brushing away the sweat from his brow.
Bill agreed. A lot of strange things had been happening. He remembered seeing a bunch of black cars in town. They at first were at the police station and then the mayor's office before they went into the mountains where that lone cabin was located. It had been abandoned for the longest time, but it looked like someone had moved in despite the "Keep Out" signs surrounding that area.
There was also that jet flying overhead from time to time. Why did it fly so low? Weren't jets supposed to stay high up? Was someone missing or something? If someone was missing, there'd be more police activity, but the only increase in police activity happened when that hiker was found dead in a lake.
Other hunters in town had been talking about the possibility of Bigfoot being around. Huge unexplained footprints had been found in the area. Bill was unsure if it was a real or some kind of prank the kids in town were pulling.
Before Bill could say anything else, the sound of an elk bugling in the distance stopped him and his friends in their tracks. Will and Tim got down behind a bush, setting up their equipment. Bill got down as well, watching them work before looking over the bush. He could see the herd up ahead. He gazed at them in awe as they slowly moved around, eating and calling out amongst themselves. They were so peaceful in the mist. One male elk walked in the direction of their hiding spot, gazing at the trees blankly before crying out, breathing steam.
"God, they're amazing," Bill whispered while hiding himself away some more. It was going to be a shame to see one get shot down, but this was the way around here. Some families in town needed the meat and his friends would keep some part of the elk as a prize.
"That big boy right there is ours. He just needs to get a little bit closer," Tim whispered while aiming his rifle at the male who was near their hiding spot. Bill watched the elk as it stepped a bit closer to them. He held his breath and covered his ears, bracing himself for what was to come next.
He looked away from the elk and saw something that made his heart skip a beat. A woman clad in a long silver dress was standing at the edge of the clearing, watching them curiously. She smiled and laughed as Tim pulled the trigger. The herd cried out in alarm and rushed away, creating a cloud of dust and mist in their wake. The big elk, who was unharmed, joined the herd and they all disappeared into the mist.
"What the hell was that?" Will exclaimed, looking around in shock. Bill still stared at the strange woman and she stared back at him.
"Guys, look," Bill whispered as he pointed to the woman. His friends looked to where he was pointing and they both grunted in surprise. Tim was the first to get over the shock as he dropped his rifle to the ground.
"Uh, hey there. What are you doing out here? It's not safe to be sneaking around with hunters and elk around," he said while cautiously approaching the woman. Will was close behind, his eyes wide with wonder.
Bill had an uneasy feeling about this. Another mysterious woman showing up out of the blue. It was suspicious and of course, Tim and Will were drawn to another pretty lady. Bill had learned his lesson yesterday when they harassed that one girl and her pissed off boyfriend or sugar daddy came along. Something felt very strange about this.
"Just going for a walk. Will you three join me?" The woman purred in an oddly gravelly voice. It sounded familiar, but Bill couldn't quite put his finger on where he last heard such a voice.
"Uh, sure. What's your name?" Will spoke up. The woman cocked her head, appearing confused before she smiled again.
"It's Star- I mean, my name is...Stella," the woman said, blushing after correcting herself.
"That's a nice name. So, what are you doing out here? Are you new in town?" Tim asked as he walked up to Stella. Bill walked over as well and paused when he realized that Stella was taller than all three of them. She had to be at least a foot taller.
"I am and I'm just going for a nice walk in these beautiful woods. Will you three care to join me? I found a nice spot not far from here that I believe you three will enjoy," Stella chimed while gesturing to the woods behind her. There was a strange look in her red eyes. Were those lenses she was wearing? They had to be.
Something didn't feel right? Bill stayed rooted to the spot as his friends went to stand by her side. Stella's smile grew as she turned her full attention on him.
"What's wrong, big boy? I don't bite unless you're into that," she crowed. Tim smiled at Bill with a knowing look in his eyes. Why were his friends so eager to hook up with these strangers?
"We'll have a grand time, Bill. Relax," Tim crowed while eyeing Stella's prominent chest. There was a brief look of disgust on Stella's face, but the disgust quickly melted away as she stepped forward and offered a hand to Bill. Her fingers were perfectly manicured in a way that made her nails resemble claws. They looked a lot like the nails of that guy from yesterday. Were they related somehow? Bill looked at her face and saw features similar to that man. He wanted to question her further, but from the looks of Will and Tim, they were eager to go. He would ask later.
"Okay. Lead the way, ma'am," he sighed while taking her hand. Her skin was cold to the touch, sending tingles down his spine.
"What a nice bunch of gentlemen. Surely you'll treat this lady right," Stella said while leading the three of them into the woods.
"Oh we sure will. We always treat the ladies right," Tim crowed. This made Stella laugh in a strangely sinister manner.
Bill was silent as he took in Stella's appearance. She was incredibly pale which made her silver hair stand out all the more, especially that strand of red that ran in the middle. She reminded him of the ghost women he had read about in the many stories he had read. Beautiful, but something was off. Was it her seemingly too long limbs or the way her eyes seemed to glow red whenever she looked back to smile at him? Her smile was off too. Why were her teeth so unnaturally white and so...sharp looking? He had never seen anyone smile like the way Stella smiled. His gaze went to her black stiletto-heeled shoes. He had seen stilettos before, but nothing like the ones Stella wore. Was this the new style? Everything about Stella appeared to be sharp and angular, but she was still beautiful.
Bill remembered the stories about strange women who would lead men to their deaths, revealing themselves to be horrible monsters the whole time. Was this one of those stories coming true? No, there were no local stories about that kind of thing. This was just a pretty stranger who was going to show him and his friends a good time.
"So, where are you taking us, Stella?" He asked.
"Somewhere wonderful," Stella replied with another strange laugh. Bill frowned, but he continued to follow her. It was starting to sprinkle again. He shivered from the cold, but it didn't look like his friends were too bothered by the rain.
After some time of walking, they came across another clearing. Bill looked around and noticed giant footprints in the mud.
"We're here," Stella chimed, letting go of Bill's hand to rush over to the clearing. She went to some trees on the other side, her back turned to them as she looked upward. Will and Tim went to join her, looking upward as well while putting their hands on her. Bill was about to approach when a low growl filled the air. He didn't take another step forward when Stella laughed wickedly, pushing Will and Tim to the ground.
"Hey! What's going on?" Tim demanded. Stella turned, a demented look in her now red eyes. The whites had been replaced by black sclera, making her look all the more evil.
"Something amazing, boys. Behold," Stella purred before suddenly vanishing out of thin air.
The ground shook around them as the trees before them rustled. Something was moving within the cover of the trees. Bill wasn't sure what it was, but it was big and it certainly was something that wished them harm. He could see glowing eyes glaring at him and his friends. They got closer until he could see the figure step out from the trees.
He wasn't exactly sure what this creature was, but it was huge and terrifying. His first thought was Mothman from the red eyes and the wings protruding from its back, but this thing looked nothing like a moth. This thing looked mechanical. This thing was a robot of some kind.
Will and Tim were frozen in terror just like he was, making the creature chuckle darkly as it stepped forward. It sounded like Stella when it chuckled.
"You three are easy to fool," the creature crowed as it reached forward with horrifying claws. It grabbed Tim with ease while missing Will who jumped out of the way. Bill rushed over to Will, trying his best to help him up while Tim screamed in the creature's grip.
"Let me go! We mean you no harm!" Tim cried out. He beat his fists against the creature's claws and howled in pain, making the creature laugh again.
"Lies," the creature hissed before a part of its stomach that looked like a compartment of some kind opened up and it shoved Tim in there. It closed, but Bill could see Tim inside, beating his fists against the glass with a look of absolute terror on his face.
"Now, we can do this the easy way or the painful way, you two. Come with me and I'll make your deaths fairly quick or I will take my time with you," the creature said while stepping over to Bill and Will to crouch over them with its claws outstretched. Bill looked to Will, unsure how to respond. They could run, but that would make things worse.
"Fuck you!" Will screeched, pushing Bill toward the creature and making a run for the bushes where the rifle was hidden. Time seemed to slow down as Bill looked from the creature who appeared disgusted and then to Will who was making a mad dash for the bushes. That bastard really was trying to abandon him. The creature growled as it stood to its full height and took a few steps toward Will. Will tripped and fell over on his back. The creature stood over Will, laughing that horrible laugh as it raised one stiletto-heeled foot over him.
"What a disgusting insect," the creature hissed as it brought its foot down. Bill looked away while Tim's screams could be heard from within the creature. Will cried out once before he was quickly silenced by a horrid crunch. This wasn't happening. This had to be a nightmare.
"You humans are so easy to kill. It's wonderful," the creature crowed while turning its attention back to Bill. Should he run now? Surely there had to be some way out of this. Could he beg? Was this a merciful creature?
The ground began to shake as the creature approached. Will's blood stained its foot.
"You seem to be the most reasonable of the three. Perhaps I'll reward you with a fairly quick and...painless death if you comply," the creature said while offering its hand to him. Bill looked over at the bloody remains of his friend behind the creature and shuddered. What other choice did he have now? He looked up at Tim still trying his damndest to break free against the glass. What did they just get themselves into?
"God, just make it quick," he muttered, feeling tears well up in his eyes as the creature smiled cruelly and picked him up. The creature then walked over to Will's mangled body and let out a disgusted grunt.
"So messy. The beasts around here will surely take care of that," it muttered while using its foot to shove Will's body into the bushes. It stepped back, smiling as it looked up at the darkening clouds.
"We're going to go for a quick flight first," it said. Bill was about to question what the creature meant by that before it lunged forward a few steps and jumped high, holding him close to its chest. A roar of a jet engine filled the air as the creature flew into the sky. Bill let out a scream, but was silenced as the creature placed a claw over his mouth. He closed his eyes as the wind roared around him and the rain stung his skin.
"A nightmare. Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. You're gonna wake up any second now in your bed. None of this is real. You're safe. You're okay. You're okay, Bill," he thought to himself. He wanted to believe this was a nightmare, but it didn't. This felt too real. Way too real. What was going on around here? Something big. Bigger than himself and everyone around him.
Bill had lost track of time before the creature finally landed. He took in his surroundings and saw the mountain range miles behind the creature. All that surrounded them was wilderness.
The creature let out a sigh as he reached down and pulled Tim out of that compartment in its stomach.
"You're gonna regret doing this! My dad's the chief of police in town! He'll figure out what's going on and then...then the government will get involved and then….you...you must be an alien. The government is gonna get you and do awful experiments on you!" Tim shrieked, still struggling in his grip. Bill could only look at him in disbelief. Him saying his dad was the chief of police was a fucking lie.
"Oh am I? I have no regrets in disposing of disgusting insects such as yourself and I'm certainly going to enjoy slowly tearing the skin from your flesh," the creature crowed. It looked over at Bill and smirked as it opened its compartment and shoved him in.
"Your friend here has been far more compliant. I'll give him a quicker death, but you will suffer immensely," the creature said as the compartment closed. Bill didn't dare look out as Tim's screams filled the air. He closed his eyes as he tried to drown out those awful sounds. What did they do to deserve this?
The scream got more intense as another sound filled the air. It sounded like scissors cutting something wet. Bill kept his eyes shut and covered his eyes with his trembling hands. He wept silently, shaking his head. Why did he have to come out hunting today? He should have just stayed home, but his friends wanted him to come along.
Fuck, those sounds were getting all the more louder and more gut wrenching. Tim's screams were becoming weaker now. He was crying and begging for mercy.
"You shouldn't have threatened my mate and her family," the creature hissed. Another pained cry filled the air. What did it mean by that? Bill thought long and hard as he tried not to think about what was going on outside. He thought of what happened yesterday and earlier this morning. Was this creature somehow tied to that weird family in town? After experiencing everything that was going on right now, anything was possible.
Tim's screams finally died down after many agonizingly long minutes. All Bill could hear was pained wheezing and that creature's awful laugh.
"Already giving up? What a shame. I was starting to enjoy this," the creature chuckled. There was a sound of something wet being torn off which was followed by a wet gurgle and then silence.
Bill dared to open his eyes when he heard Tim's body drop somewhere. The compartment opened up and bloody claws reached in and pulled him out. Bill saw Tim's half-skinned body laying face up on the ground. He felt like he was going to vomit at the sight. He let out a whimper before turning his attention back to the creature who held him at eye level.
"What am I going to do with you?" The creature questioned.
"Let me go?" Bill asked. The creature burst into a fit of laughter, tightening its grip on him and making him cry out. Not good.
"Oh, that is not an option. You made my mate feel unsafe and anyone who dares bring harm upon her will perish," the creature said, its eyes turning into red slits as it brought him closer.
"We...We were just messing around! I swear to god we weren't going to hurt her! We just wanted to get to know her better and she...she took it the wrong way!" Bill exclaimed. He let out another cry as the creature growled and squeezed him again.
"Keep talking and I'll reconsider giving you a quick death," it grumbled. Bill obeyed, holding his tongue as he watched the creature. He just wanted to get this over with. There was no use talking his way out of this like he always used to do whenever he got in trouble.
Bill felt his heart skip a beat when the creature pressed the tip of a claw against his neck. He looked up at the creature with wide eyes, making it chuckle darkly. Storm clouds were rolling up ahead, rumbling with thunder and bringing down cool rain.
"I...I'm sorry," he muttered, feeling tears well up in his eyes again. The creature's smile widened as it pushed its claw into his throat. He let out a gasp as everything became dark and peaceful.
"Hm, what's this?" Arachnid purred as she pushed some bushes away to reveal the mangled body of some human. She smirked as she took in the surroundings. She could see Starscream's footprints all over the place. What was he up to?
"You're close. I know it. I'd track you down now, but first, Miss Arania needs to report a tragic discovery," she said.
She got a better look at the human and realized it was one of the humans from earlier who was harassing little Alcina. Her smile grew. She saw her sister go to the police station after their brief encounter. They would be the immediate suspects of this human's murder and his friend's disappearance and they would certainly be brought in for questioning. She would easily catch them this way. This was going to be perfect. Absolutely perfect!