Sorry it took so long for me to update. You can blame school and the lack of inspiration for this.
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.
Chapter Three
Thirty-two's eyes were wide as she stared at the bun with the brown meat stuffed in the middle. Hesitant at first, she slowly pulled it towards her mouth and took a bite. "What is this?" She asked taking a second bite. And then another, and another...
"It's called a hamburger. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but humans don't seem to care about their well-being that much, do they?" Alex had ordered a potato salad.
They were currently at a restaurant called Sally's Diner. When the four teens had arrived in the small town of Tranquility, Thirty-Two had collapsed. The cause was from constantly avoiding the people chasing after them and the use of her abilities to throw them off track. Luckily, she only needed to eat or sleep to recover.
"These burgers are better than the ones at McDonald's." Esa commented, her mouth stuffed with so much burger that they could see the ground up bun and patty.
As the rest of the GENESIS ate (Ren hadn't said a word; he needed to eat more than all three of them) Alex was on guard for anyone who seemed suspicious. She was ready to alert the others and they would bolt the minute they were in danger of being captured. The girl's eyes flickered around the room as she calculated all the escape routes in the Diner. They had been on the move lately so it was highly unlikely their location had been tracked yet... but one could never be too careful. The people responsible for their upbringing and training in the Fortress were gone, but they hadn't been the only ones who knew about them.
She overheard the scientists mention 'the higher ups' and learned from the Woman that they were the ones who funded the lab and their-the GENESIS-training.
"By the way... Thirty-nine." Thirty-Two began. She flinched at the glance the blonde spared in her direction before continuing. "Um... what's Alex?"
Ren and Esa paused in the middle of their meal. They stared at their leader, waiting for her to answer.
After several minutes of silence, Alex sighed and concentrated her gaze towards the door of the diner where a couple with three kids were coming in. "It's a name. It's my name."
"Um..."
Alex could easily guess what she wanted to say next. "A name is what humans use to address someone. They aren't called numbers like we were." Judging by the look Thirty-Two gave her, she had no idea what in hell she was talking about.
"What I mean," She elaborated, "is that they are not called numbers. They aren't called Four, Seventeen, Thirty-nine or Thirty-two. They are called something else. And that something else is a label known as a name."
There was silence and three blank stares.
"Basically people are called by names and not numbers like we were!" Esa cut in.
Alex and Ren stared very hard at the dark-haired brunette until Ren said, "Esa, that was actually a smart explanation." He looked over at Alex who rolled her eyes.
"So how did you all get yours?" Thirty-two wanted to know.
"Just get out of here! These men are looking for you, am I right?" The old man displayed an emotion that she, despite the months spent with him, never saw on his face. She recognized it all too well as anger; an emotion she knew very well. "I've lived a long and good life and you hardly lived at all! Now leave while I distract them!"
Despite her mind screaming at her to stay and not listen, something in his age old eyes told her to shut the fuck up and listen. So she did. She made Esa and Ren run from the church and into the dark forest where pursuit would be near impossible. While they were making their get a way, they could hear shouts and angry voices. The last thing that Alex heard were gun shots.
"Thirty-ni..." Thirty-two cut herself off. "I mean Alex?"
"Yeah?" The girl said in a distracted, off hand manner.
"They were given to us." Ren intervened. "By a human man who calls himself Reverend Thomas." Seeing Alex's gaze, he added hastily, "At least mine and Esa's were. Alex named herself."
"Do you suppose I could have a name too?" Thirty-two asked timidly.
She felt three pairs of eyes on her.
"I think you should. We can hardly go around calling you a number if we want to keep our identities in check."
"How about Angelica?" Esa suggested.
Thirty-two shook her head.
"Bonni?"
Again, she shook her head.
Esa went through a list of names with Thirty-two shaking her head at every suggestion the girl threw out. It was amusing to see the irritation grow on their faces; Esa because Thirty-two wouldn't pick any of the ones she suggested and Thirty-two because she didn't like the names that Esa threw out.
"Chloe?" Ren and Alex froze. That had been the name of one of the Reverend's grandchildren.
Thirty-two seemed to be considering it thoughtfully. Finally, she nodded.
"Chloe it is then!" Esa shouted loud enough to draw the attention of several people sitting near their table. Alex glared at her and the brunette looked down to avoid her leader's gaze.
After finishing off their meal, they quickly left the restaurant to try and find a place to settle down for the night. They wouldn't stay too long in the town but they needed to recover for a bit before they hit the road again.
Alex was so focused on taking note of where to rest for the night that she didn't realize the danger Chloe was in.
"Get out of the way!"
"What the hell are you doing, you stupid girl?"
"Watch out!"
"I can't look!"
Alex swiftly turned to see a gold car racing towards the newly named girl. Chloe seemed to be entranced and made no indication that she was going to get out of the way. It screeched as the driver hit the breaks, but he wasn't going to be able to stop in time.
"Thirty-two, move it!" Alex moved quickly as she quickly jerked the red-head backwards.
Either the car was really fast or Alex miscalculated because all of a sudden, she felt the impact of something heavy hitting her side and then being thrown backwards.
The blonde haired girl hit the pavement and didn't move.
And I'm done! I seriously didn't think that was how I was going to end the story but the good news is that they'll finally meet the Autobots. Can anyone guess who hit her?
