Omg, thank you so much for the reviews! I love you guys for it XD! I've changed a few things in the last chapter, because I realize it wouldn't make sense for Sunny to arrive so quickly. It'll be a few days before he gets there anyway. Lol, I'm excited to write this chap! Anyway, on to the story...


Chapter Seven: Writing Letters

I found myself speechless; holding in a breath, not daring to release it. Is this a dream? A hallucination? He didn't say anything, he only stood there, staring at me. We stared at each other, until the overwhelming feeling of asking came.

"Are you really here?" I asked.

Sideswipe nodded his head slowly, as if unsure himself. We continued to stare at each other again, until another nearby explosion shook the ground, followed by loud shouts. Sideswipe was the first to snap out of the trance, as he suddenly lunged towards me, and before I knew it, I was in his hand. But I didn't scream, or kick, or cry, or struggle away. I just stared blankly, not sure if the whole "discovering alien robots" trauma was finally catching up to me or not.

"Charlie? Charlie, can you hear me?" He asked urgently, shaking me out of my daze.

I looked back at him, staring into his pale blue eyes. They were so easy to get lost in. I then remembered the question he asked me and managed to nod.

"Tell me, how did you get here? Where did the Decepticons find you?" He asked, his eyes glancing left and right from time to time, probably to check to see if someone else was coming. After all, he did burst through the wall to stumble upon me. I'm sure one of the bad alien robots would've heard by now.

He shook me again, "Charlie, focus! I need you to tell me where and how the Cons found you!"

I could already feel tears welling up in the back of my eyes, blurring the corners of my vision. "They...they found me at the mall. I-I was with my friend, Jana. They threatened to kill her if I didn't come with them...I...I had to."

Another nearby explosion shook the ground, and I flinched, leaning closer to his long fingers, my eyes wide with fear.

"He came down this hall!" A deep voice shouted. Bad robots were coming.

"Charlie," Sideswipe said, raising me higher so that I was at the height of his gleaming blue eyes, "I'm going to put you in my subspace, okay? It's the only way you'll survive this. Now listen, there's not much oxygen in there...I can only gather so much, but my ventilation systems weren't meant to run on purely oxygen, so try not to hyperventilate or anything, okay? Do you understand?" His voice was firm, serious. Not anything like the charming and jesting tone he usually had. It wasn't something I was familiar with, which made me a little uncomfortable.

But it was either do it, or die here, and I sure as hell didn't want to die...at least not here. So I nodded weakly, and he nodded back before his chest began to move and open up for me. I stood rigidly still as he moved me near his subspace, tilting me forward a little so that I slid off his hand and landed inside. I landed on my palms and knees, but other than that, I was okay. And just as quickly as it opened, it closed and I was alone in the darkness again. But this time, I felt safe. The steady thrumming of Sideswipe's spark was almost comforting, and it was pretty warm in here. I could barely hear the sounds and voices from outside, and I was just fine with it. Sideswipe's subspace was an escape from the monstrous lair of the Decepticons.

I couldn't feel him moving, but I could tell from the increase thrumming of his spark and the quiet noise of his wheeled feet strolling down the hall. Yelling Decepticons behind him, and from the extra sounds, it sounded like they were shooting at him. Instantly terrified, I scooted closer to the warmth, laying down on the ground, curled up into a ball. I knew my dad prepared me for a lot of things, but it was nothing like this.


I wasn't sure how long I had sat there in the dark, but when the sounds of metal shifting and moving came again to open up into the light, I closed my eyes immediately. Okay...too bright! I groaned, while rubbing my eyes before slowly opening them, barely squinting at the sun, which was high in the air. Baby steps, Charlie, baby steps. I rubbed my eyes again, and opened them a little wider, trying to adjust them to the newfound brightness and resisting the urge to close them again. Once my eyes were adjusted, I opened them all the way and blinked twice.

"Charlie, you okay?" A familiar voice drifted from above me. It was Sideswipe.

I blinked again, before nodding. "Y-Yeah, I think so."

I then finally looked out to my new surroundings. We were at the edge of the woods, past the trees, I could see a narrow road that ran right to the city. We were on the outskirts, just barely bordering Kennewick. The sun was high up in the light blue sky, signaling that it was some time noon. Despite all the trauma I just went through, I decided that today was a beautiful day, and that I wasn't going to take light for granted ever again. I then noticed that Side's hand was out, hovering around his open subspace, probably for me to step into to, so I did. When he felt me step into his hand, his subspace closed and he crouched to place me on the ground. Sideswipe is pretty evened for constantly being on two wheels for feet. His hand was only a few inches off of the ground, so I jumped off, landing softly on the dirt.

I looked over to the towering, silver robot next to me as an odd silence passed through the air, none of us really knowing what to say to each other. But I've been in silence long enough, and standing there awkwardly was starting to annoy me...and made my legs hurt.

I stared up at his pale blue eyes, "Thanks for the rescue."

He nodded, but didn't say 'you're welcome', or even a 'no big deal.' He just stared at me, a troubled look on his metal facial features.

"What is it Sides? Spit it out." I said, obviously fed up with the silence.

He sighed, shifting a little, "I've been thinking and...there's just no slaggin' way those Cons just decided your kidnap at random. It's...it's because they saw you, that one time...and they know you're associated with me." He averted his gaze to the ground, not even willing to meet mine, "I...I'm sorry. Cuz of me, you could've died..."

I didn't want to hear it anymore, I shook my head. "No. I'm fine."

"But you could've-"

"Yeah, sure, I could've died...but you saved me. So really, there's nothing to beat yourself up about." I said, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

Sideswipe nodded, but the look on his face obviously meant he didn't completely dropped the conversation. I was now desperate to change the subject.

"So...how'd you know I'd be there?" I asked, shifting my weight from one leg to the other.

Sideswipe shook his head, "I didn't. My twin, Sunstreaker informed me about them nearby, so I thought I'd take a look."

I nodded, "Do you think they'll come back for me?"

Sideswipe sighed again, "There's a good chance."

Oh. That most certainly isn't good. "Sides, I need to call my parents."

He shook his head, "You can't."

"And why not?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Because, it's just like the what happened to your friend. The more people the Decepticons finds out you're connected with, the more dangerous it is. They could be threatened as well." He replied.

Crap! He was right. I glared down at the ground, biting back the anger and frustration. It wasn't fair! Why should my family and friends be taken when I'm the one with the connection to Sides? It made absolutely no sense! But it did get me pissed off. "So...then what do we do now?"

"Get as far away from here as possible." He replied.

I looked back up at him, both my eyebrows raised, "What? J-Just leave them, without any explanation! My family thinks I'm either dead or dying! I mean, I get the whole "keep them safe, and out of danger" part, but they deserve to know at least why I'm leaving!"

"That's a really bad idea."

"What about just a phone call?"

"Decepticons can trace and hack cellular signals, bad idea also."

I huffed in annoyance, "Then how the hell am I going to tell them without them getting targeted?"

Sideswipe was silent for a few seconds, his pale blue eyes dimming before returning to it's natural brightness, "Internet says you could use the human mail system."

"You mean a post office?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, whatever that slag is called."

"What is 'slag'?" I wondered out loud.

"Cybertronian swear word." He answered with a smirk. I snorted a laugh, shaking my head.

"Anyways...If I'm going to mail a letter, then we should probably go to the city where the post office is."

Sideswipe rolled his bright blue eyes before transforming back down into a freaking 2009 Corvette Stingray?! What the hell?! My eyes widened and my mouth felt like it had dropped to the ground as Sideswipe revved his engine; a deep, smooth rumbling coming from it. I couldn't help the idiotic grin that came to my face. Hey, I was a mechanic, and a mechanic's got to appreciate a good piece of art, no matter how troublesome and provocative it was. Sideswipe revved his engine again, as I walked over to the driver's seat and the door automatically swung open.

"Like what you see?" The radio said, and I could literally hear the smirk.

I rolled my eyes playfully as I climbed in, careful not to get the interior dirty, which was ten times more better than his last interior. Not like his other interior wasn't uncomfortable or anything, but this one was all leather and the inside had that "fresh new car" smell. I inhaled it deeply, enjoying the scent as the door swung shut at with another deep rev that sent a shiver down my spine, the shiny new Corvette Stingray shot out of the edge of the forest and on to the road, barreling down the street and into the city.


A good twenty minutes later did we pulled up to the post office, and as soon as I stepped out of the car, gasps and not-so hushed whispers filled the air. People stared at me with mixed facial features like; confusion, shock, and envy. I raised an eyebrow, wondering why the sudden attention was on me until I heard Sideswipe rev again, and the small crowd was startled.

"Sorry, forgot to turn off my engine," I said, laughing nervously as I opened the door and smacked the dashboard.

"Quit being a show off." I gritted in a hushed tone, glaring daggers at the dashboard.

Sideswipe only chuckled, "Why? I like the attention."

"Well, I don't. Lay off." I said firmly, before getting out of the car and shutting the door. Sideswipe obediently stayed silent. I gave the small crowd another nervous smile before walking off into the post office.

For the longest amount of time, I couldn't figure out what I'd really wanted to write to them. It was too hard to fit every single thing I want to tell them into just a letter, but I tried the best that I could.


~ To my mother, father, brother, and best friend ~

I'm really sorry for all the worry and sadness I stirred, I really am. And I just want you guys to know that I'm alive, and I made it out alright, but I can't come back. I know you're probably demanding an explanation as to why I couldn't tell you...but I can't. Not that I don't want to tell you, because if I had an option, I would...but I just can't. Don't go trying to track these people who kidnapped me either, they are dangerous. Too dangerous. And they threatened to kill Jana at the mall if I didn't come with them...I...I just can't even imagine what they'd do to you.

So, I've decided the best thing to do is leave. I am going to go off to a base, where I will be safe and protected against the wicked people who tried to kill me. Please, please, please don't be upset, or angry, or sad or anything. I know my departure will be tough, and you'll miss me ...but just know that I still love you. I love you all more than anything in the world. And yeah, I know, I told you this all over the phone...but words can't express how much you mean to me. So mom and dad, thank you for raising me, and supporting me through so many things. I won't ever forget you, and...I'm already missing you guys like crazy...geez.

Anyway, to conclude, I might not be coming back anytime soon. At least not until it's safe, so Arrivederci.

~ Love, Charlotte Garrison ~


Sighing sadly, I sent the letter and walked out of the post office and got back into the Corvette Stingray.

"Did you send the letter?" The radio crackled.

I stared down at my clasped hands in my lap, "Yeah..."

Sideswipe sighed, "It hurts now, I know...but trust me, it was the right decision to leave them. You'll feel better in the end."

"I hope so." I mumbled, as the engine started up again, and we pulled out of the parking lot.


Okay, and that's where we'll leave off for today! Hope you enjoyed, and please leave a review :) .