Tessa

Tessa returned home after the race. Adrenaline was still in her system, and it didn't seem like the jittery energy would ever leave. This happened every time Shane drove in a rally car race. Tessa had been dropped off by Shane, and left shortly after. Though he wanted to say hello to Tessa's dad, she felt it was best if he didn't. From what she had seen this morning, her dad was probably still in that strange, sort of hynotized attitude. Yes, hynotized was a good word to describe him by. It looked as though he had seen a ghost, an alien, or some other weird unnatural creature that didn't belong on Earth.

As Tessa neared the screen door, she could hear her dad scuffling around inside. All the rush from the adrenaline high, or energy that she was so hyped up on, disappeared in that moment. Her concern for her dad was too much, and all of a sudden she felt tired, the weight of the world on her shoulders. The sadness of her mother's death washed over her. If her mom were here, maybe Tessa's dad would be okay. Tessa had a lot going on her self. Returning from the dangerous journey with the Autobots, college just around the corner, her relationship with Shane becoming even more serious, and the weight of one day leaving home. Was the time Tessa put aside for her dad enough? Did he need more time with his only daughter? Questions, again, pounded on the inside of Tessa's head.

She needed to find out. Now.

"Dad?" Tessa pushed open the screen door to reveal a dark corridor. She put her jacket and bag on a hook near the front door, and started creeping through the house. The workers had obviously been there that day, because the living room was no longer boarded off from the Yeager family. She pushed the plastic curtain away and into the living room.

Cade Yeager sat on the couch, eyebrows furrowed and a deep crease in between his eyes. He was in deep thought, which made Tessa want to turn around and leave like nothing ever happened.

No, Tessa thought to herself. I need answers.

"Tessa!" Cade jumped off the couch and enveloped Tessa in a strong hug. She was taken by surprise, but returned the affectionate hug.

"Dad?" She pulled away and looked at her dad's relaxed face. He did look different from this morning. Tessa frowned, wondering if that morning had all been a dream. "Dad, are. . . are you okay?"

"Yes," he answered quickly. "Tessa, there's something I need to tell you. It's about Bum-"

Before her dad could finish what he was saying, the house shook under her feet. Tessa yelped and clutched the door frame as the house shook even more, everything moving back and forth in a rapid motion. Cade looked around with a puzzled expression on her face. Or at least that was what Tessa thought her dad looked like. All she could feel was fear, and the inevitable possibility that they were experiencing an earth-quake. . . or something much, much worse.

"Daddy, what's going on!" Tessa shouted at her dad, grabbing hold of the door frame even harder.

"I-I don't know!" Cade yelled back, making his way over to her. He grabbed her arms and started leading her out of the unfinished part of the house. Ladders and buckets of nails and dangerous tools were everywhere, and he didn't want Tessa to get hurt.

Tessa and her dad made it into the dark hallway, the lights flickering on and off. Tessa felt with her hands at the wall, closer and closer to the darkening front of the house. It was around six, and it was starting to get dark in Texas.

As Tessa and her dad reached the end of the hallway and towards the door, the house started to shake less and less, until it was only a shudder, a buzz, and then silence.

"What in the world. . ." Tessa looked around at her surroundings. Some things had fallen off shelves and a table in the kitchen had fell over. Tessa turned to her dad. "Dad, do you think-"

"No," her dad shook her head. "That wasn't an earthquake."

"Then. . . what was it?" Tessa swallowed against the lump in her throat.

Cade, again, shook his head. "I could ask you the same, Tess."

Tessa walked away from her dad, and reached for the doorknob. She turned her hand, and the front door flew wide open. . .

Revealing three Autobots standing in their yard.

"Holy sh-"

"Tess!" Her dad scolded before she could exclaim entirely. She blushed in embarassment, but turned back to the Autobots. They stood in front of her, tall and, well, robotic.

"Ah, crap," Tessa muttered, glancing at her dad and then to the Autobots.

"We want to question Cade Yeager," The green Autobot stepped forward, Hound was the name.

Tessa turned fully to face her father, glowering at him. "What have you done now?"

Her dad, in return, just stared out at the robots. The other two with Hound were Drift and Crosshairs. Tessa remembered everything in a short amount of time. It was like her life flashing before her eyes before death.

"Uh, I'm here." Cade walked out of the farmhouse, Tessa in tow. "What do you need?"

"Where's Bumblebee?" Drift questioned, not hesitating a second. His long, metal swords tucked behind him

"Yeah, where is he?" Crosshairs pushed further, causing Tessa's dad to step back, away from the Autobots.

"Dad?" Tessa gulped. Her dad turned his head slightly to look at her. "What the heck did you do?"

Cade shook his head and turned back to the three Autobots. He took a deep breath and said, "I-I don't know where Bumblebee is."

"Liar!" Drift stepped forward, causing both Hound and Crosshairs to stop him before he came any closer. "Tell us where Bumblebee is."

"I don't know," Tessa's dad said.

"Oh, God," Tessa whispered to herself, then she looked up at her father, suddenly remembering something.

"Tessa, there's something I need to tell you. It's about Bum-"

Tessa pieced it together. Her dad had somehow crossed paths with Bumblebee. Though he hadn't completed his sentence, Tessa knew he was going to say Bumblebee.

It's about Bumblebee.

That's what he had meant to say to her. Now she knew. She knew about everything, without him even telling her.

"Dad," Tessa looked up at her father, suddenly understanding it all. There must have been something in her voice, because both her father and the three Autobots turn to look at her. It made sense, finally. Why her dad was acting weird, secretive, almost. He was hiding something. From her. From the Autobots standing front of them.

He was hiding a secret.

"You do know, don't you?" Tessa questioned, hurt that her dad hadn't told her before. When had Bumblebee contacted him?

It all makes sense. Tessa thought to herself.

"You know where Bumblebee is."