This is my firs Transformers fic, sorry in advance if everything seems… screwy.

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I pressed my forehead against the cool metal frame of the public bus and sightlessly watched the city pass by through the open window. How did I end up here? I'm twenty years old for the love of everything good and holy! I shouldn't be troubling my family like this! I sighed. Getting mad at myself wasn't going to make the bus turn around and bring me back now would it? I glanced down at the crinkled scrap of paper I'd nearly crushed to death. Scribbled onto it was an address. This would lead me to my temporary lodgings.

And I didn't like the idea one bit. Again I sighed as the bus pulled into its station.

…………………….

The station wasn't too crowded, but I still felt lost amongst the people bustling about. My old trusty backpack rested on one shoulder while two large suitcases sat loyally at my feet. I checked the clock on the wall, 3:43. My aunt should've been here an hour ago. I was about to hunt for a payphone when I heard someone call out to me.

"Tani!"

I glanced over my shoulder. My aunt, Sarah, came running at me holding my cousin in her arms. She smothered me into her body, the only thing I could see other then the fabric of her shirt was the mostly toothless grin of little Anna as she looked at me. Oh to be so young and unaware again.

………………..

Topkick. A freakin' GMC Topkick. That doesn't exactly scream 'safe, family vehicle' in my mind. I stared at the imposing black truck. It was like a giant metal devil here to suck out my very soul, I barely made it passed the headlights on this beast and she wants me to climb INTO it?!

"Sarah, are you sure it's safe to put ourselves into the mercy of this beast?"

My aunt laughed as she closed the back door, having just strapped Anna into her car seat.

"I promise, Tani. You're uncle's truck handles like a dream and is the safest thing on these roads." She patted the truck's side as she spoke, as if to praise the damn thing.

I grunted, but climbed into it anyway.

…………..

The ride out of the city was relatively quiet, which I was thankful for yet also cursing. Quiet meant silence and silence meant memories could return. And they did. The events that lead me here, that dragged me away from the collage I was, or had been attending, I should say. I'd been in class when we got the first warning; there were students armed with guns in the building. You know how you hear all those stories on the news but never think it'll happen to you? Well that's kinda how those first ten minutes were. Classmates saying things like 'are they for real?' or 'that's impossible'. Well it was very possible. It was also very possible that one of the shooters had come into my biology class and started shooting off round after round.

The professor had been shot in the shoulder and a couple others received minor wounds, including myself. I winced slightly as the shot wound in my upper left arm made itself known one more time. One girl had been killed though. She was a sweet girl who'd come from China for a few years study. I could still see the bullet going through her neck. I shut my eyes tight, trying to will away the image. My heart pounded inside my ribcage as the adrenaline pumped through my veins. I didn't want to think about what she'd gone through in those few moments. The whole thing had lasted two hours. Many had been wounded in some way and the death count was in the double digits, but I couldn't remember the exact number.

The school had been shut down for some time and most of the student body sent home. My parents had died a few years back, leaving me with what little savings they'd had, so the authorities had contacted my aunt and uncle. So now here I was, riding in a monster truck with a two year old happily kicking the back of my seat. Will was still on some kind of official government duty so I'd be living with Sarah and Anna for an unknown amount of time.

Will and Sarah's home was beautiful. Set in a quiet neighborhood, but not someplace that felt too spacious. Sarah brought Anna into the house while I grabbed my bags out of the demon-truck. I slammed the door shut and for a moment I thought I heard it grunt. I shook my head.

"Trucks do NOT grunt, Tani. This is just some form of post-stress. It's making me hear inanimate objects make sounds."

I nodded to myself reassuringly, then lifted my bags and marched into the house determined to make the best of this situation.

Little did I know that the grunting truck was more than just a large metal demon.

…………

Two weeks later….

That's it! I was going crazy! I HAD to be! Not only was I cooped up indoors most of the time, mainly due to a lack of job, but whenever I was near that Topkick I swear it made noises. I'm starting to get the feeling that it's even watching me. Uncle Will returned from base a few days back and he kept insisting that I was just imagining that Ironhide, yes, Ironhide, he'd NAMED the thing, was making sounds.

It was early evening now. Sarah and Will had gone out to dinner while I babysat Anna. I didn't mind, I love kids. Plus it gave them some much deserved alone time. I stood in front of the gigantic truck wearing my pajamas, fuzzy slippers an' all, looking it head-on. I felt like he was sizing me up as well. I'd taken to calling the truck 'he' since Ironhide doesn't exactly come across as something you'd name your daughter.

"So, Ironhide." Great, I'd sunk to a new low, talking to trucks. "Why do you make noises at me? Do you want to put me in the coocoo house?"

No response. Not that I was really expecting one.

"I swear the neighbors probably think I'm some kind of whack job by now!" I threw my arms up as I spoke, walking around the GMC as I did.

The military vehicle seemed to rock, as if laughing at me.

I rubbed my eyes. I didn't see that, I didn't see that. I kicked the truck's tire before storming back into the house. Anna had gone to bed without a fuss so I turned on the telly while I made some good ol' fashioned ramen noodles. The news was on and I couldn't help but get sucked into the story.

"And in other news; there's been an attack in London. Locals claim to have seen 'giant robotic-like aliens' but authorities say these claims are baseless, however the damage is extensive."

The camera showed the leveled city. It certainly looked like something had attacked it. Maybe a terrorist attack? An engine revving reached my ears. Hesitantly I walked over to the window. The devil-truck sat silently in the driveway.

"I'm watching you, Ironhide."

I grabbed my bowl of noodles from the microwave and plopped down on the overstuffed sofa.

…………………..

Crappy start, yes. But I LOVE Ironhide and there aren't enough stories based on him