'...that bone feeling, that survival instinct that every living being was born with, seemed to have gone haywire.'
'Do you think she'll be okay ? I mean not with the field work, but with the 'bots. Will she manage?'
Ford studied their surroundings before responding.
'You're doubting her too much. Doubting her ability to be professional too.'
'Maybe. But we've never been in the field with them before. Anything could happen.'
His friend pursed his lips.
'That's true. But we can't do anything about it now, we'll take care of it if anything happens. And I really mean if.'
They kept moving through the alley until they came to the end, which was blocked by a metal grate locked with a rusty padlock. Ford raised his rifle and struck it. It broke easily with a single hit , allowing them to continue along past the grate and come across a block of buildings all in a state of deterioration. There was barely any paint left, what little was left was indistinguishable from its original colour and was now varying shades of grey and dirt. Several windows were broken, some even hanging by the hinges by some miracle, while some were either barred in wood or left as empty holes. The main door was nowhere to be seen.
'Should we check it out ? I don't think any civilians lived there, but just in case. There could be some scared kids or homeless hiding in there.'
His partner nodded and they headed towards it, senses alert for any sign of trouble. From the moment that they arrived at the town, there was this feeling like some sixth sense that told them that this town was unsafe and that there was something terribly wrong with it. There were those that reasoned that it was due to the evacuation carried out earlier that made the deserted dwellings feel so ominous. Even if they hadn't known about the threat that was waiting for them, that bone feeling, that survival instinct that every living being was born with, seemed to have gone haywire.
As they entered, the only sounds they could make out were the soft whistling and creaks made by the currents in the building. It smelled stale and slightly mouldy, clearly no one had been here in quite a while. Still, they moved in room by room, floor by floor, making sure that nothing would catch them by surprise.
They were on the stairs to the fourth floor when they noticed an odd smell being carried in by the drafts. Crocker stopped, blocking the other man from moving further up as well. He couldn't help but scrunched his nose at the smell.
'Smells weird. Like plastic and meat gone bad. And something else...'
'It's not from this floor, it would have smelled stronger. Must be coming from upstairs.'
'Should we look into it? What if it's leaking gas ?'
'No it's definitely not gas. Had a gas leak back home and it smelled nothing like this,' Ford said in a matter of fact tone. 'We should at least see what it's coming from, make sure it's nothing. Come on, we won't know unless we actually find the source.'
Ford didn't voice his thoughts, but he had a bad feeling that it wasn't something that they wanted to know about.
Almond eyes coolly observed their surroundings taking in anything that came into view; the gas station, the elementary school, the block of flats behind it and so on. They also kept flicking to the rest of the squad standing by, some fidgeting with something or pacing, others just sitting somewhere taking in the view, content to wait patiently until the action arrived.
On the outside, Schmidt looked calm and patient, prepared and ready to act when called for. On the inside, it was pretty much the same, which worried her a bit. How could she be so calm ? She was fully prepared to deal with any nervousness that might have come up to shake her. But instead she couldn't feel any calmer. It was if some thick foam bubble had been wrapped around her mind quelling any unease she ever had. And she hadn't decided if it was a good thing or a bad thing yet.
Something dark and moving caught her eye. It was one of the Autobots, the one that was partnered with their group. He was tall for one of their kind, not as tall as Optimus Prime, but thinner and leaner. She would have thought that a good wind would blow him away if she hadn't seen him physically flip the stocky black one over his shoulders the other day during one of their training sessions. He was crazy fast when he wanted to , slipping and twisting with a grace that a mass of that size shouldn't have been able achieve. His armour was smooth and light, nothing fancy just good enough to do its job, painted a neutral colour- a dark grey with a hint of blue. The only touch of colour he had was the red chevron on top of his forehead.
He had transformed from his vehicle mode and was now looking over the town. His face showed no emotions, however his eyes - optics they called them - were brimming with whatever was going on in that head of his. He was to take care of the tactical part of their operation, it was his forte they had said. She believed that, but that still wouldn't make her trust him as the rest of the squad seemed to have done.
Caught in her musings, she noticed belatedly that those glowing optics were looking at her now, having felt her studying him. It wasn't some intense stare off with crackling electricity and sparks, it was just casual observation, the way a fish looked up a pond when a passerby looked in. Only it was too analytical for her tastes, all that information going on in there and she couldn't understand any of it. She looked away first, having felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny, but she could still feel his gaze as she looked away. She wondered what he was thinking and thought about asking him. She stopped entertaining the thought when she concluded that it would be strange to ask someone for their personal thoughts when you've never been friendly with them.
A snippet of an old conversation popped through her thoughts. Give them a chance - a real one.
Ford's words floated in her thoughts every now and then, just as persistent as their speaker, and as much as she tried she couldn't forget about them. Things had to change. She wanted to be able to at least interact with them civilly and not have to sneak around in fear of bumping into them. And as much as she hated to admit it, they hadn't given her a reason to really avoid them so far. They were what they said.
Those who didn't know her might have gotten the wrong impression as well, thinking her to be too aloof and guarded to thought of still being an outsider when the majority of the humans on base were on friendly terms with each other and the Autobots nagged at her. She didn't want to be scared anymore. But she didn't want to get hurt either and wasn't ready to risk that yet.
Baby steps - Ford would say.
'Does it count that I'm thinking about it at least?' she thought to herself. ' I'd like to think so.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Autobot again. He had straightened up more if that was possible and his left arm transformed into a rifle of sorts. A soft whistle-like sound could be heard if one paid enough attention, it sounded like stretched version of Morse code. His optics seemed to be looking at something they could not see.
'What is it? What happened?', one of the soldiers asked.
Prowl did not respond.
'Are they okay?' another soldier prodded, but still there was no response. This only agitated them more, having already been waiting and worrying for their friends out there. The lack of movement from the giant did not help put them at ease either, a human standing so still was normally in shock. A shocked Autobot was not a good sign. A couple of them tried to reach their friends on their radios, but they only received static.
Schmidt kept her focus on Prowl, trying to look for any particular ticks that would let her know what he was seeing or hearing. The Autobot however, was as still as a statue. She was fingering her radio, thinking about calling Ford and Crocker, when his fingers flicked suddenly and his eyes focused some, yet still holding a vacant look to them.
'They found them.'