Fact: Chester Bennington died on this day, a year ago.

Word count: 3,361

Chapter 15

"Somewhere I Belong"

Sleep did not come to her that night.

Not only was she upset over the fact that she'd lose her memories, but the fact she felt threatened by the spirits hanging around her, just waiting to torment her in her dreams was enough to keep her up all night.

At some point early in the morning, she forced herself to stay awake. She would not give in.

Four came by soon enough, and she had it by that time and got up.

The sun hadn't started rising yet, but Ree could see the black sky was turning to the faintest of blues.

The girl sat up in her bed, the blanket pooling in her lap. She swung her legs over the side of her bed. She hadn't bothered to put on any night clothes earlier, so she was without them besides from her briefs.

She didn't really care. The present spirits have seen her naked numerous times. Besides, they were in her head, they know her thoughts. Any and every privacy vanished when they arrived.

They had shifted a bit during the night. They looked exhausted. Blackout looked to her, "This is why you get your rest."

I didn't want to sleep. Ree glanced at herself in the mirror, seeing her nude body. She felt okay about it today, enjoying the exposed skin. She slipped on some baggy clothes and made her way to the bathroom. She did her business quickly and quietly and returned to her room to turn off her alarm and make her bed. She didn't fix it often, but she had nothing better to do at the moment.

The sun was rising quickly, the sky was still dark but light enough to cast a soft glow in her dark room, which was facing the street, and lights from outside shone on the walls and ceiling.

Ree left her room and the spirits behind. They would surely follow, but they didn't seem to anymore.

Ree helped herself to some cereal, sitting at the island table, staring out the window into the yard. Halfway through her breakfast, she stood, cupping the bowl in her hands. One left the bowl in favor of opening the door.

The porch was cold under her bare feet. The grass in the yard was covered in dew, a couple birds were chirping, singing their morning songs. It was a tad bit lighter, the sky leaving behind the darkness. The sun still hadn't approached the horizon just yet.

The girl went to one of the chairs in the backyard, it had a cushion, so it wasn't covered in the water that collected overnight. She delicately sat in the chair, sitting right on the edge.

She continued to eat the cereal, observing the neatly kept grass. There were darker spots in the grass where she lightly stepped, her feet picking up the dew. Uncle Ron probably won't be happy, or maybe he won't notice.

Soon enough, she was drinking the last drops of milk, and she set the bowl behind her, the spoon inside.

The wait for morning was long, she had lied in bed for many hours during the night, tossing and turning. She just couldn't sleep.

Her mind went to one of the main causes; Prowl. He was such an odd man, had a bit of mystery to him. He was so kind to her, genuinely wanted to help her and even set her up with a new therapist, his brother, Smokescreen.

They had weird names, but she didn't want to question it aloud. Maybe they were just nicknames, or codenames?

She wanted to be able to remember him. To have an actual friendship with him, to have a chance. She didn't even know if she was going to see him this day. The girl had school this entire week, and he had no reason to be around her.

Well, maybe besides checking up on her, or if she called him. She remember the note that she slipped into her pocket yesterday, though they were in the clothes she wore then. The number written down on the piece of paper was in her room, safe and sound and where she can easily get it.

Prowl had understood her. He knew she had memory loss, knew that she wouldn't remember him but he tried to gain her trust anyway, fully knowing that she recorded everything in her journals. The girl has stopped using her glasses with the hidden camera, she didn't entirely like the way she looked with them. And everyone always came up to her like, "I didn't know you had glasses! When did you get them? How long have you had them?" And she would not be able to tell them due to her memory.

Sighing, she folded her hands in her lap, sitting up straight. The golden light of the morning was just licking the top of the horizon, pushing the blue higher in the sky. There were few visible stars, and the satellites floating up there shone brightly. The moon was just off to the side, not yet having set. It was one of those days where it'd hang in the sky even though the sun was rising or there too. There'd be days where it'd be there during daylight, but no where to be found at night, or vice versa. The moon and its orbit was such a fickle to her.

Her short hair barely moved in the small breeze that swept by, the strands having been too short.

It was by no means boring outside. It lacked action, but the peaceful scene was enough to keep her entertained for a couple hours as she sat out there. Examining everything Mother Nature had to offer her. The grass, the trees, how they blew in the wind, the sky brightening, birds flying around and chirping.

Maybe she could convince Uncle Ron to get a bird feeder? Although, that might make weeds and unwanted plants sprout from the ground. She knew how much he liked to have consistent grass. It'd make it a lot more interesting out here.

The nights out in Tranquility were usually a tad bit below room temperature, or even chilly. Ree found it to be such an odd thing how it could be so hot during the day, then so cold at night. That's just how it was in Nevada.

She took a deep breath, she had no way of telling the time but she was sure it was getting close to having to get ready for school. The girl stood and stretched, delicately picking up her bowl and making her way back inside the house.

...

~ o Castle of Shards o ~

...

Ree made her way out of school when the final bell rang, taking her time to get out. She was in no rush, especially since she didn't want to get pushed around in the mass of other students trying to leave.

When she did finally make her way down the stairs, she noticed there was no Uncle Ron or his car, no Sam either. Instead, parked on the curb closest to her, a police cruiser sat. A man was leaned up against the passenger door, arms crossed and scanning the students around him.

His eyes landed on her, and he gestured her over with his hand. She complied, stepping down the last steps and walking across the large sidewalk area. She slipped through a couple crowds before finally approaching the cop. She could feel the stares on her.

"You're going to be coming with me today, I want you to meet my brother," he politely opened the passenger door for her, "Name's-"

"-Prowl, I know," she slipped into the seat. After setting down her backpack in front of her feet, she noticed the door hadn't closed yet. When she looked up at him, she saw he was observing her with a questioning look.

Frowning, he stated rather than questioned, "You didn't sleep."

The girl chose to say nothing on the matter, simply shaking her head. Sighing, Prowl closed the door and rounded his car to get in the driver's seat. He started up the engine with a powerful rev, exciting a few people outside.

"Why am I going to see your brother today? I thought it'd be Saturdays," Ree asked, keeping her eyes forward, watching the school and the stares being left behind as they pulled out of the lot.

"Well, we thought it'd be best if you saw him both Saturdays and any day you wanted." He said, one arm casually on the wheel as he looked both ways, before driving forward through an intersection, "And we thought it'd be appropriate if you went today as well, as a starter. Seems like you'll need it too, since you stayed up all night. Do you still remember yesterday?"

"Yeah," she grimaced, "I do."

He watched her for a second before returning his sharp blue eyes to the road. "Smokescreen is going to be entirely professional with you during your sessions, but today is more of a get-to-know. Maybe build a bit of trust with him today? I know your previous psychiatrist didn't work too well," he went on, knowing she was listening and acknowledging in her own way, but she chose to not comment. "Being from a special military division, we have a... different take, so to speak, on medicine. Whatever is going on in that head of yours, and anything physical, we can help."

She nodded silently, grateful for the offer and the chance for a better psychiatrist.

It was a long drive, perhaps more than an hour, before they arrived at a large plot of land that was taken up by fields of Humvees, planes and other vehicles. They surrounded a big tarmac area and a humongous building. Ree couldn't put enough emphasis on the sheer size of this place. The building was like a mash of a warehouse and an office building? It was roughly three or four stories high, but as they passed the gate where Prowl gave identification and towards the opening bay door, she realized it was like a warehouse inside.

There were walkways and catwalks everywhere. They lined the walls and the center of the hangar. Computers and other tech was scattered all over the place, people walking here and there. The fluorescent lights' light somehow could reach the floor from all the way up on the ceiling. Just how bright were they?

Windows lined the walkways around the walls, and large doors, lead into more rooms and hallways. This place was so big! And for what?

A large robotic emblem was decorated on the wall that had no windows or doors. It was the only blank wall in the hangar. Was that their military division's logo or something? What did it represent?

Her mind drew a blank as she stared at it. The floor was lined with yellow and black striped tape, to caution the way. It surrounded the areas around the computers and empty spaces for something that took up the area in front of a rather tall catwalk. The tape signaled a place for Prowl to drive through, she realized as they made their way down that way. How long have they been here? Were there more crazy places like this?

"This is our temporary base," Prowl stated, as if sensing her thoughts, "We'll probably be moving to a more... secluded area in the future. But for now, we reside here."

"This place is... incredible. And huge," she gaped, leaning forward to look at the ceiling. It was scary, the ceiling was so high!

Prowl let out an airy chuckle, "Indeed it is."

He maneuvered his car to the right into a separate hangar. It was darker in here, the walls lined with darker paint. A few single lights hung from the ceiling above a lineup of more vehicles. All kinds of vehicles! There were trucks, cars, supercars, motorcycles, and a few empty spots. "What are these all used for?"

She didn't know she had said it aloud until he answered, "They're for undercover missions."

"Are you on a mission?" Ree asked with curiosity. He neatly parked his car to the right of the large flamed semi. It was massive and completely dwarfed the police cruiser.

Prowl stepped out and opened the door for her, and she stepped out. The girl went to get her backpack but he stopped her, "You can leave that here, I'm going to take you home later." He went back to their topic at hand, "I'm not on a mission though we do use these vehicles a lot for daily uses as well. I can only drive this one here," he patted the top of the cruiser, "Because I own it. The other vehicles are owned by others."

"Will I meet them?"

"Yes, momentarily," he nodded, leading her out of the large but slightly smaller than the first hangar with a hand on her back. He smiled, "This place, though large, can easily make you lost if you don't know your way around."

They reentered the main hangar, and made their way towards another large door opening adjacent to the one for the vehicles. Instead of leading to another hangar, it became a corridor. The first overly large door on their right he took her in. It was a mess hall of a sort, bench tables and round tables littered the place, most were folded up and stored against the far wall for later. Quite a number of soldiers were in here, including a certain bunch sitting around a round table that the officer walked them towards.

A dark skinned man's attention landed on the two, throwing up a hand in greeting with a smile, "Hey, Prowl! Is this Ree?"

The men around the table turned, including two that had striking resemblances to Prowl looked to them, one grinned and spoke, "About time you showed up. We were just beginning to get bored of BS waiting for you."

"Well, it is quite a long drive." He nudged Ree, and pointed to the man, "That's my older brother, Smokescreen." He had lighter hair, and his outfit revolved more around casual red and blue attire, predominantly white. She couldn't see him as dressing patriotic, but having a sort of theme going to his outfit. Prowl gestured to the other man that looked like him, "And that's my younger brother, Bluestreak."

She nodded quietly, a little uncomfortable with the attention on her.

"Why don't you join us for a game of BS?" Smokescreen offered with a gentle smile, "You know how to play right?"

"I think so." The girl glanced to Prowl for approval. He nodded and nudged her forward, grabbing extra chairs for the both of them. He kindly remained with her as a familiar face to be around among strangers. The men scooted to make room, and she slid her chair in, leaving a little room for Prowl to be included, even though he declined to play.

They dealt a new game of BS, and played.

The first round of the card game ended with her winning fourth out of the nine of them. Smokescreen praised her, "Not bad, not bad. You're a lot better at lying than I expected."

"I can be when I want to be," she stated quietly, accepting her new hand of cards. Prowl was watching her play, examining her cards and making no sign of whether she was lying or not. The men were hoping he'd give some sort of sign but he was of no help as they repetitively glanced up at him every one of her turns.

Ree found that she was quite fond of Prowl's brothers, and the other men who she learned the names of very quickly. One was actually the head of this operation, or at least he stated, the co-leader. His name was William, but preferred Will. The others referred to him interchangeably as Will or Lennox. Another was Robert Epps, but everyone called him Epps. He was the first one to notice them walk in.

Will, the girl learned, was a terrible liar. He gave off a certain sign that she quickly learned to be used when he lied; rubbing his nose. He did it to be casual but she knew. Smokescreen was the absolute best when it came to lying, no one could ever tell when he lied. And he was damn good at this game too.

The men found that Ree liked to pick out her cards that she'd play next turn ahead of time. She had them face down on the table right after she'd play. They could barely tell when she was lying.

There was one instance during the game where she completely forgot what card she had to play. She forgot which way they went on the sequential order; backwards or forwards? Prowl offered her the answer, which was so obvious. A blush crept up on her, and she immediately went to blame her memory loss for the out of the blue forgetfulness.

After some more rounds of the game, and a few of Rummy, shared laughs and stories, Ree felt quite... involved. These men had no qualms with her, no judgement. They were so kind to her, yet very competitive.

Smokescreen was less intimidating as time went on, he was a playful guy and most definitely knew how to play card games. He spoke very calmly, almost too calmly but not in an uptight way. He was very loose with his style.

Bluestreak on the other hand, was boisterous and full of life. He had an innocent aura around him, as though he were very young. No doubt, his older brothers happily spoiled him with happiness. She smiled at her cards, thinking of the brothers as she waited for her turn in their last game of BS. One could just see the affection in their eyes as they looked at and spoke to each other. Their interactions were fascinating to Ree, it was like their family bond went deeper.

The youngest of them spoke insanely fast, but was still understandable. Just a lot to take in sometimes. And he didn't speak fast in a bad way to where he was just dying to speak again. He had no problem listening and waiting his turn. Though sometimes, the other men had to cut him off before he went on for too long.

"Seeing Prowl here, I assume we are playing without any gambling involved?" A voice cut through their midway game of BS. They all looked up to see a very tall man with neatly kept facial hair, his head hair a little more messy, but in a good way. He held a huge amount of authority and had an aura that demanded attention and respect, but it was... soft? He immediately struck her as a caring leader.

"Prime!" Bluestreak greeted with a smile, "I didn't expect you to come here."

He curtly bowed his head in return, a small smile on his face, "Well, I came to see how Prowl was doing, since it had been about five hours since he returned to base, yet hadn't reported to me?"

Had it really been five hours? The called out officer's eyes widened comically as he straightened in his seat, "Right! Sorry, sir. I... got distracted." He gestured to the table. Ree found him to be so out of character being startled by this man. Catching her eye, Prowl introduced her, "Ree, this is the leader of this entire operation, Optimus Prime."

Another crazy codename? It had a nice ring to it though. She offered a shy smile, "Hi."