From what I seen, the base is huge. They got ev'rythin' here. Gamin' room, pool, gym. An' ev'rybody's real nice."
Fleeta didn't say anythin'. She's been silent and lost in thought about earlier. She's in charge of Harmony now. She knows 'bout our expiration date and she can't even tell the one it applies to most. I could ignore the blocking feeling, the heavy storm-cloud feeling she gets when she's angry, but not now, not this close.
Please Flee'? Stop holdin' the storm in. You can talk to me at least. I plead. I hate the feeling of blockin' each other. It's unnatural and lonely and quiet and after months of this, I'm not sure I can handle it. After all of them died, it only became more important that I had her; She's my rock, and the one who keeps me standin' when everything is terrible. It's always terrible.
Flee, please answer me. I hate bein' alone. At the very least, are ya okay? The pressure lightens though I cain't feel anythin' from Fleeta; At least now I know she's listenin'.
"Why don't you show us the gaming room then? I'm sure Harmony would love to play something other than those parent simulation games." She said with a smile that seemed a little too tight. It was true though. The only things we'd been allowed to play with or read were materials that would help us to take care of the monsters.
I pause and look her over. Flee looks like she was run over in hell. Her lips are pressed together, and her fingers are tangled in her hair. She only does that when she's restrainin' herself. I can tell she'd 'bout to break.
Her fingers are quiverin'. I know if I push any farther she'll explode. She's like Megatron in that aspect. She hates how the anger takes her over, how it controls her. I don't want to see her like that.
" 'Kay then. Let's go." I reply, fake cheer drippin' offa every syllable . Harmony looks up at the two of us, anxiety written all over her face. She can sense Flee's emotions, even through the block. She don't need to be worried about this, but she is.
The walk is short and filled with fake banter, bur it keeps them both calm until we walk into the game room. It's large enough for the Autobots to come in. There are five Xbox systems hooked up to projector screens on different walls. A cluster of couches punctuate the center of the room. The effect is awesome, makin' it seem like the game is a movie.
Ooh, let's play Left for dead! I used to love that game before. Harmony says. Her joy is bright and spreads quickly to me.
"Alright, alright. But ya know I'mma win." I pass her a controller before ploppin' on the couch. To my surprise, she's actually pretty good. After a couple minutes of sittin' still on the on the couch, Fleeta joins in. She's better now.
"Tha's not fair! I had tha gun first." I whine. Fleeta smirks and wags her finger.
"Competitive much?" And in that singular moment, her emotions spill from the block. It's barely there, behind the joy, but's it's there. Pain and anger.
She's hurtin' about the elusive Him, like always, but this time it's worse. One of them had brought back a memory and even worse, started up the fire again.
I don't say anythin' about it. It ain't like I can change it, but somehow I still feel guilty. Is it my fault? Did I flaunt my family, or get too excited?
Please, just don't say a word. Flee says, half-pleading, half-threatening. I can handle it.
For the moment, I consent and turn my mind to a distraction.
It takes a lot of self control to ignore the cinnamon buns cooking in the cafe, so I can't think of both things at once. They smell just like Momma's cooking. I shake my head. No, I don't need it. The feeling of throwin' up is not worth the food.
"I want some too. I miss chocolate." Har pouts.
I smile but don't reply, instead focusin' on closing the breach. I know she hates bein' blocked but I don't want her to know. Har is unstable enough, bein' the youngest here. She's the only one that saw her sister killed before her eyes. She's the one who holds us together. If she found out about this 'argument' between Fleeta and I, I don't know what'll happen to us.
Someone enters behind us, but we barely notice with Fleeta concentratin' so hard on the game and with me deflectin' Har's mental attempts to reopen the bond.
What happened? Harmony growls, her voice resonatin' mentally. Flee and I wince simultaneously. Did she really notice that much?
"Nothing happened Har. Remember? You were there this morning and heard nothing." She sounds like a lie, and it's obvious that Har can tell. Her lips are quiverin' and she has that look. The look she has before a breakdown.
"Yes ya are. Flee. Ya don't wanna admit it, but somethin's up. " The words come out softly as if scared to appear.
"No th-" She begins, but doesn't get very far. I stand up and take a step towards her. I will not hide it again.
"It's simple. Ya had some bad memories and a bad day. At least talk about it before it happens." I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have asked about it. The tension could be cut with a knife and I hate it. She's going to explode.
"No I'm not!" The words resonate both in the air and in our minds. The burn starts, takin' over from the point where she opens her mind.
"I'm sorry, I din't mean… I'm sorry." I mumble, afraid to look at them. Afraid that she's going to get worse and it's all my fault. I drop the controller and run out. I stop a couple hallways away, on the dividing length, where I can no longer feel it as bad. She's feeling better. I shouldn't have pushed it.
There is no one around and my head is silent. I cain't tell if it's me blocking them or them blocking me. All of the sudden, I can feel a stranger nearby. A cybertronian stranger. I feel like runnin' or hidnin', but I don't wanna run away. I feel like scrap, but I will not show it.
The stranger stops in front of me.
"Hey there shorty. What ya doin' 'ere alone? Ya trine is in the rec room." My tears are dry and my voice calmer, so I feel safe enough to look up. The mech's visor reminds me of sunglasses and with his accent, he reminds me of a gangsta. I smile a bit unintentionally.
"I know. I jus had to be away for a min." I sniff.
He leans back on the wall and peers down at me. "Well shorty, ya do know they are only two doors away? If ya wanna go fartha, I may be of assistance." For a moment it's all too much for me. Fleeta and Har must be mad at me. I'm mad at me. I did this. And I don't want to think about it. I nod.
"M'name's not 'Shorty'. It's Skye, Cyclops." He transformed, and the door opened.
"Well, M'name's not 'Cyclops', it's Jazz. Ya comin?" I was never good with words. I just sort of nod before sittin' down. I didn't bother to buckle in as the door closed and he sped away.
"Shorty."
"I could say the same ta ya, Cyclops." I smirked as he retorted back. The base flew by at an incomprehensible speed. Fleeta would be worried. Harmony would want to come. Right now, they didn't matter. It was almost like before, when no one mattered but me.
"All of you are important to us, until you are useless. Self-injury, mutilation or the harming of other subjects will not be tolerated." The tall, purple male robot glared down at us. Most of the girls were huddlin' together in the corner of the large room. I was alone, closet to the metal bein'. "This will be simple. It is a matter of survival of the fittest. Those who survive, will be released."
"Whatcha plannin' on doin ta us?" I crossed my arms sassily, but did not meet his gaze. Still I knew that the thing's one eye had turned to me.
"You will learn your fate and your place soon enough." His voice was cold and his eye-thang held no feelin'. I was scared, and when I was scared I tended to lash out. He left as suddenly as he came.
"H-hi. I'm Melanie." A blond haired girl walked up to me, smilin' as if ev'ry-thin' would be alright.
I glared at her peppiness. "Tha's nice. Naw tell me, why should I care?" The other girls had formed smaller huddles and shifted ta other corners of the room. She could'a gone anywhere else. Why'd she have ta bother me?
"Look, I get that you're scared too. You may have fooled the others talking back like that, but I know different. We're all in this together, we could at least be friends." The girl semed ta have gathered some confidence now. Still, I wannaed ta be alone. I missed my hame, ma family. My family that they killed. And then I realized: They killed ev'ryone's families. The younger kids didn't seem to know but we did. We all had that in common.
"I don't want any friends. I jus wanna be alone and brood 'bout it. So please, jus leave me alone." But she din't she sat down next ta me an' watched me cry. We talked a bit an' I eventually grew ta like her. An' then Cyclops came back. Girls left. Melanie was gone an' she din't come back. That was the first time someone disappeared, but it wasn't the last time I didn't care.
I pushed the memory away and started talkin' to Jazz again. I din't need to remember those days. I was better after they passed.