Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't uploaded in a little while, I was in a car accident last Sunday and I'm still feeling it! But enough about my excuses, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
The sun was setting as we drove to the outskirts of the city. The reason it got so late so fast was because I decided to do a little window shopping at the mall, much to Sunny's displeasure. I don't know what his problem was today, but every time I got out of his alt mode, his holoform would appear next to me, and staying pretty close; and when we walked around in the mall, he would look around, looking very paranoid. It started to get annoying. So, just to see how pissed off he could get, I took off and hid in a store, Sunny flipped! Apparently his holoform doesn't mask his robot-like brute strength; I thought he would've torn the whole store apart if he hadn't found me. Safe to say I've learned my lesson!
About thirty minutes after the city began to slowly disappear in Sunny's rearview mirror, he turned onto an unmarked, uncharted dirt road that had a forest on both sides. Sunny slowed down a little for some reason; it was strange, he always speeds down this road and would purposefully get himself dirty so I would have to wash him. I just ignored it, he was probably still mad at me.
Another fifteen minutes of silence followed as we reached the end of the road, taking a sharp left turn, we went downhill on a narrow driveway that ended at my house.
It wasn't much to look at; two stories of old white wood with a basic front porch with a porch swing. It was still home though. I've lived here since I was born and saw no reason to move out. After all, there were so many memories here.
My mood suddenly dampened as I began to recollect those lost memories that I have stored in the recesses of my mind; the memories of my mother. I fought back tears, because I didn't want Sunstreaker to see me in such a pathetic state. He must have sensed my sudden change in demeanor, because his holoform suddenly appeared next to me. I knew he was there, but I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, that I jumped when he cleared his throat.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice showed some sympathy, but his face and his piercing blue eyes showed genuine concern. I quickly nodded, trying to compose myself.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about it." However, my uneven voice said otherwise, but I walked towards my door before he could have a chance to point that out. I knew he knew I was lying, but he seemed to let it go and followed me into the house.
I opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Sunny came in behind and shut the door. I walked through an archway that led to my living room; to my left was the staircase that led up to the bedrooms. The house was dark, save for the kitchen light that was on thanks to Sunny. I fumbled around on the living room wall until I found the light switch. With one flick, the whole living room brightened. I turned to face Sunny, who had made himself comfortable on the couch. There was a moment of awkward silence.
"So-?" I tried to start up a conversation, but I was too tired to think of anything to say. Thankfully Sunny must've noticed and stood up.
"I better be going, I have patrol duty tonight." He didn't seem too happy about it, of course he never was, but tonight he seemed uncertain to leave me alone. I didn't know why, so I decided to press on.
"Are you okay, Sunstreaker?" I asked. He turned his eyes away, only for split second.
"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" I had a feeling he was lying, but I let it go. I trusted Sunstreaker, so I knew he would tell me when the time was right. He sighed and I looked back to him.
"Look, Sam, I won't be very long. When my shift is over, I'm coming right back so don't worry." Something wasn't right; Sunny never acted this way in front of me.
"Okay, enough with the façade and just tell me what the hell is going on!" I demanded, confusion and worry etched into my face. First Ratchet was being difficult, and now her guardian was acting weird. What the heck is going on?
Sunstreaker hesitated, momentarily stumped, but quickly recovered. He looked like he wanted to tell me, but something was holding him back, and now he felt guilty for it.
"It's nothing, Sam. But if you really must know, talk with Ratchet about it in the morning when we go back to the base. He has something he has to tell you." Before I could say anything, he disappeared. I heard his engine fire up and tires spinning in the dirt as he sped away.
I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. It has been a strange day!
After eating a sandwich for dinner, I trudged up the stairs that lead to a hallway. My bedroom on one end, my mother's on the other end, the bathroom in the middle. I grabbed a towel from the closet and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I undressed and turned on the shower.
Feeling my muscles relax under the steaming hot water I let out a contented sigh.
About an hour later I got out, dried my hair and put on my PJ's. It was just a pair of underwear and a t-shirt; I'm not too thrilled about wearing pants because they always get tangled in bed. Making my way down the hall to my bedroom, I paused; the feeling of being watched slowly sinks in. I look behind me, of course I saw nothing. Still the feeling lingered, but I just shrugged it off and went into my room, firmly closing behind me.
-Outside-
Sideways hid in the shadows, his field dampener on, and staying completely still and silent as he saw Sunstreaker drive past him. He seemed to be in a hurry, so Sideways would have to be quick to finish his task: get the girl. He still wasn't sure who this human was, nor did he even care, but for some reason this bothered him to no end; he had to find out what part this girl played in the Autobots' faction and why he would give a slag about finding her.
As soon as he was sure the Autobot was gone and out of his range, Sideways turned down his dampener only slightly to reserve his energy. He started his engine and gave it a threatening rev as he turned his LD lights on high. His tires spun as they tried to maintain a grip on the dirt road. When he managed to grip the road, he lurched out of the shadows, his back end swerved, but he maintained control as he headed for the house.
Primus be damned if he failed this mission. He knew he wouldn't, after all….
He's never failed before…
-Back at the House-
After brushing my hair and my teeth, I plopped down on my bed with an exhausted sigh. I still couldn't get over the weird conversation I had with Sunny, and the 'something-bad-is-going-to-happen-soon' feeling in the pit of my stomach.
'Tomorrow,' I thought, staring blankly at the ceiling, 'Tomorrow I'll talk to Ratchet and find out what the heck is going on.' I reached over to my nightstand to my lamp, which provided the only source of light in the house. I clicked it off and relaxed in a comfortable position before closing my eyes.
Not even five minutes later my eyes shot open and I sat up after hearing a soft rumble from a sports car engine outside. I waited and listened. Suddenly the noise stopped, and the night resumed with its dead silence. I rolled my eyes in an annoyed fashion.
"Probably just Sunstreaker pulling in." I mumbled to myself. I remained in my seated position, waiting for Sunny to walk in or something, but nothing. I shrugged and layed back down. "I guess he's sleeping outside tonight." I closed my eyes, but then opened them again, staring with confusion into the dark shadows of my room.
'But, still, that was the fastest patrol he's ever been on. There's no way he could've finished scouring the city and reporting to Optimus in that short time span.' I decided to just ignore it and ask him in the morning. Who knows? Maybe Optimus had someone else to go on his patrol so he could come back earlier to watch me.
Soon, exhaustion took over me and I fell into darkness.
-Outside of the House-
Sideways stopped just down the driveway and used his scanners to see that the human female was still up, walking in one of the upstairs rooms. His LD lights were turned off, so as not to give away his position. When he saw the bedroom light turn off, the whole house was black, and Sideways rolled towards the house, his engine giving a light rumble.
He stopped suddenly when his sensors indicated that the girl sat up, fully awake. He turned off his engine, ready to transform and take the girl by force if his cover was blown. Slowly, but surely, the girl layed back down and a few minutes later, her vitals and breathing slowed down; she was asleep.
'Finally.' He thought. This was going to be easier than he thought.
-In the City-
Sunstreaker was speeding down the empty highway, his scanners on full blast as he entered the city limits. He wanted to hurry and get his patrol over with; the sooner he was done, the sooner he would get back to Sam.
Of course his exterior demeanor never showed it, but deep down, he really cared for the girl. Not in the way he cares for his twin, but it was something else, something that he couldn't explain. He figured that it was just a glitch and he would talk to Ratchet about it in the morning.
His comm. link beeped.
'Sunstreaker, come in.' The Autobot leader's voice rang through. He slowed down a little, but still going over the speed limit.
'Sunstreaker here. What is it, sir?' he asked.
'Teletraan-1 has just picked up on a Decepticon signal, and since you're the closest to it, I want you to check it out.'
'Sure thing, Prime, just sent me the coordinates.' In truth, he really didn't want to check out the signal, but he'd be slagged if his leader knew that. Sam would just have to wait until he was done; though he would cut patrol short, he didn't want to be away from his charge any longer than he had to.
'Sending coordinates now.' The channel shut off, ending the conversation, the coordinates were downloading. He slammed on his brakes when he received the coordinates.
It was at Sam's house! And though Teletraan-1 didn't identify the Con, Sunstreaker had a spark-wrenching guess as to who it was.
"Sideways." He growled. He quickly did a U-turn and drove at top-notch speeds back to the house, which was approximately thirty minutes away, even at the speed he was going.
"Hang on, Sam."
-At the House-
I tossed and turned in bed, trying to escape the horrors of the nightmare. I shot up with a terrified gasp, cold sweat dripping down my face, and my heart beating so hard and fast I thought it was going to pound out of my chest. After taking deep breaths, I managed to calm down a little. It was that same nightmare: the accident that killed my mother, and out of nowhere, crimson optics stared down at me with a murderous glare.
Hearing something shuffle in the far corner of my room near the window, I looked over, only to stifle a startled yelp. There, in the shadows, was a faded figure of a man. His face wasn't too clear, but I could see the glare he sent me, his well-built body standing, almost menacingly.
After managing to step back into reality, I quickly reached over and in one swift motion I opened the drawer, grabbed my gun, turned on the light, and turned to face the intruder. But as soon as I spun around to aim my gun, he was gone. I looked around, but nothing seemed to be out of place. The window wasn't open, and neither was my door; everything was quiet.
So then where was the man?
I slowly got up, still a little shaken, but managed to hide it behind my tough exterior; I made my way to the window. I pulled back the curtain and peered down. I gasped when I saw the same silver Ferrari that I saw earlier today just sitting in my driveway.
I stumbled back from the window and made my way over to my dresser where my cell-phone was.
"I've got to call Sunstreaker!" I said, my voice shaking a little. A dark chuckle behind me made me pause as I was scrolling through my contacts list. I quickly spun around to see the intruder.
He stood by the window; I could see his face now. He had dark, almost black hair, that was flat and hung in front of his face, and was kind off shiny, like he just got wet, but his hair was dry. He had a twisted smirk on his face that would scare even the devil. But what struck me the most were his eyes. They were practically glowing a dark red color; Red?
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that my dear." He said as he casually walked up to me. I stepped back, but my dresser was in the way.
"Y-You're a Decepticon!" I said in realization. True, I've fought against Cons practically all my life, but I've never seen this one before, much less knew that they even had holoforms.
His smirk turned into a wide grin. "Brilliant deduction, my dear. Tell me, do you know who I am?" His face was inching closer to mine, and I could smell his breath. I tried my hardest not to gag at the stench of gas and other toxins that coursed through his body.
Unable to answer, I turned my head away, trying to steer away from his wrenching breath. Unfortunately he didn't take too kindly to this. With his thumb and index finger, he gripped my chin and forced me to face him, his face was mere inches from mine. I closed my eyes in order to keep from looking into his eyes.
"Answer me, femme!" he practically shouted in my face.
"N-No!" I whimpered. I felt his grip loosen on my chin, and I opened my eyes to see he was smiling.
"Well, isn't that interesting. It seems we are both at a loss here." He released my chin and stood straight.
"What do you mean?" I asked before I could stop myself.
"You seem awfully familiar to me, yet your presence still eludes my memory banks." He bent back down to meet my face, "What is your name, child?" His voice may have sounded gentle, but I could feel the malice laced in his words.
I didn't answer him; instead I tried to run around him. Big mistake.
He reached and gripped my neck and harshly shoved me against the wall, my phone slipped from my hand. I choked as I tried to pry his strong hands off my neck, but he pressed his body into me, keeping me pinned. He brought his face closer, and I froze.
"You didn't answer my question, girl." He whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. He brought his face to meet mine again, waiting for my answer. "Well?"
"S-Sam! M-My name's Sam!" I choked out. He raised one brow. Now he was fully attentive and his good mood seemed to quickly disappear.
"Sam? Sam WHAT?" he pressed harder against me, strangling me more. I let out a short whimper.
"C-Cross." I barely got the words out of my throat, but he seemed to understand. His eyes slightly widened, but then a look of murderous amusement replaced his features and his threw me to the other side of the room. I hit the wall and fell to the floor, coughing as I tried to get up.
He walked over, picked me up by my hair, I yelled in pain, and threw me again, this time I hit my nightstand and broke my lamp with my body. Pain shot up my arms and legs as I landed harshly on the broken glass. I didn't have time to examine my injuries as I got up and made a mad dash to the door. Since the room was dark, I couldn't see him, which put me at a disadvantage. If he was a Con, then he could use his heat sensors to find me. I reached and grabbed my phone, which was luckily only a few inches from me, and managed to get the door open. I could feel the glass in my legs, and it slowed me down a little as I reached the stairs. By the time I stopped at the top, a force from behind me pushed and I went tumbling down the stairs, ending at the bottom with a sickening thud.
My vision swirled, but I fought to stay conscious. I heard the heavy footsteps slowly making their way down the stairs as I crawled into the living room. I went behind the couch and leaned against the back, panting and trying to calm my nerves. I was in so much pain, but the adrenaline made me numb. I gripped the cell-phone in my hands as I shakily scrolled down to Sunny's name. I pushed the 'Call' button and the phone started to ring.
A hand from above the couch reached down, grabbed my phone, and crushed it with one hand. I looked up, only to see another hand reach down, grab my hair, and pulled me out from behind the couch. He tossed me to the floor.
After dropping the remnants of my cell-phone, he made his way over to me. I was, of course, in too much pain to move. I felt him grab my shoulders and turn me over, so I was sprawled on my back. I stared up at him as his massive body menacingly stood over me. Through the darkness I saw him grin, and I knew he could see my tear-stained pained face.
He got down on his knees, his legs and hands on either side of my body, and he leaned closer. I went to move my hands to stop him, but he was quicker, and he firmly held my hands in place above my head.
"Go ahead and scream all you want, Samantha Jane Cross, your guardians won't be able to hear you." He chuckled darkly. My eyes grew wide.
"H-How'd you know my full name, and that I have guardians?" I asked. I knew he knew that I was in cahoots with the Bots, but how did he know that I have more than one guardian, and how the heck did he know my full name. I thought the government made sure that all my computer files were so secure, that the Cons wouldn't be able to track me.
As if sensing my distress, he leaned closer, his lips almost touching my ear.
"Because I killed your mother." Before I could even process the words he said, he quickly raised his head and slammed his lips onto mine. I closed my eyes, tears starting to fall, as I tried to fight him, but he was stronger than me. I felt his tongue trace my lips, trying to gain entrance, but I wouldn't let him. Unfortunately I didn't realize how weakened I was, because he managed to forcibly open my mouth and his tongue snaked through.
I squirmed underneath his body weight, but I was pinned.
'Sunny! Help me!' were my last thoughts before I entered darkness.
-With Sunstreaker-
He made it to the empty dirt road and didn't slow down. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Something was happening to Sam. He could feel her fear, her pain.
His spark felt like it was going to break from his chest plates when he felt her being tortured.
"Hang on, Sam, I'm almost there." As he got closer he started to pick up on Sideways' signature, the fool left his dampener down. Whatever he was doing to Sam, it was keeping him distracted enough to lower his dampener quite a bit. He knew it wasn't a good thing.
Sideways was never one for distractions during his missions. So if he's letting his guard down when he could easily sense an Autobot fast approaching, just what was he doing that requires his full attention? Sunstreaker shuddered at the thought of what he could be doing to Sam.
The something struck him: what if he figured out who Sam is?
He didn't want to waste anytime as he picked up speed. Just a few more miles.
-2 minutes later-
Sunstreaker pulled up to the darkened house, Sideways' signature was already long gone. He scanned inside of the house and found a faint life signature coming from the living room.
"SAM!" Sunstreaker activated his holoform and rushed inside. The door was unlocked and he turned on the lights. He froze, his spark felt as if it was being crushed while he was still alive and awake.
There, one the floor in front of him, was a beaten up and bloodied Sam, her legs and arms cut, her hair a wild mess of tangles, and her shirt ripped. She was curled up, unconscious.
"Sam!" he rushed to her side and gently shook her, "Sam! Wake up, it's me, Sunny!" She made no movement or sound whatsoever. Anger and desperation rattled his processor and shook his frame. He would kill Sideways for this.
Even if it was the last he'd do, he vowed to give Sideways a slow and painful death.