Sorry for the long awaited chapter. I've had this terrible writer's block that refuses to let me do anything. I guess this is to blame, too! :) www . etsy shop / NoellasJewelryBox. Eliminate all the spaces! I opened my own shop and been very busy.

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Grocery Store Raids

Regular POVs

Joyce and Bumblebee heard sirens from behind them. Joyce hunkered down in her seat, trying not to be seen. She only knew if Prowl found out she was there, she would be in deep trouble. Her heart kept pounding against her chest. Bumblebee swerved onto the paved road and Joyce rolled forward, hitting the driver's seat and passenger seat. "Oomph!"

"Joyce?"

"I'm fine." Joyce answered propping herself onto the backseat, being sure to keep out of sight.

Bumblebee rounded a curve and the wails of the sirens cut off, followed by a crash. "Is he done chasing us?"

"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker managed to stop him." Bumblebee said. "I think you're safe to sit up now."

Joyce sat up in his backseat and looked out the back window. There were three cars. One of them Prowl, had smoke pouring out of the hood. "He 'glitched'?" Joyce asked.

"Yes. That's why I'm not going to stick around to see Ratchet."

Joyce climbed into the front seat and looked for a seat-belt. She couldn't find one at all. "Where's your seat-belts?"

"I don't have them." Bumblebee said.

"What if you get into a wreck?"

"I won't." Bumblebee said. "I'm the safest being there is out there on four wheels."

Joyce would have like to think that Bumblebee was the safest being there was on four wheels and her stomach growled. Joyce massaged her stomach. "Um, Bee? How long til we get to the grocery store?"

"Not long. Why?"

"I don't know if I can tell you this. But when humans are hungry in the grocery store, they'll buy things they don't need. Would you be able to go into the grocery store and pick up one of those portable bowls of cereal and a pint of milk?"

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Bee hadn't ever used his holo-form for shopping. It was a human function that he rarely partook. He knew Sam did a lot of shopping and loaded his trunk with items ranging from something called steak and chicken. Sometimes there were other things like chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. Sam never told him what he did with those things, but he noticed it like every single week or so, he'd go shopping and buy groceries or some meaningless junk.

"Well, I never used my holo-form for shopping. Is that all you want?"

"Yes." Joyce said. "Please don't forget the spoon."

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Less than an hour later, Bee pulled into a parking lot filled with cars. Not many spaces were open and people were waiting outside in lines. Bee was shocked to see so many humans standing in line for food. "What's this?"

Joyce looked at the lines of people. "Rations."

"What?"

"They ration out food. All you have to do is go up and get a brown bag of food."

"How many rations does your family get?"

"Four bags usually."

"Usually?"

"Yes. See, food's becoming scarce. The store has to ration out food by family size. So each family member gets a gallon of water. Two loaves of bread, two gallons of milk, rice, beans, canned vegetables and fruit. Meat and chickens are rationed out too."

"So you don't get enough to eat?" Bee asked, wondering if he should try to persuade Optimus Prime to relinquish control over certain trucks and supplies brought in from afar.

"No. I'm used to eating a banana for breakfast every morning."

Bee finally found a spot. It seemed a long distance from the store and the windows had tinted all the way so no one could see in. "Don't get surprised now, Joyce." Bee warned as a shape began to form in the driver's seat. It looked fluid at first before coming into focus. Now sitting in the driver's seat, sat a blonde haired man with blue eyes that were shining like electricity. "Hmm. Nice holoform. Might want to work on your eyes." Joyce said. "Many humans try to change their eye color to distinguish Autocon from human. Each Autocon has blue eyes."

"Not true." Bee said. "Most have reddish blue eyes. I've got electric blue eyes. I'll be fine."

"They might-think-I don't know anymore!" Joyce said, frustrated.

"Just relax, here! I'll change my eye color." Bee said, noticing how frustrated Joyce was getting and how hungry she must really be.

Joyce looked up and peered into his hazel eyes. "Is that better?"

"I suppose so."

"Well, wait here."

Joyce scoffed, "I'm wanted by all those Autocons anyway."

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Bee didn't reply and opened the door. He stepped out of the car. Before he could leave, Joyce stopped him. "ID. They need an ID."

"Simple. I've got one. Don't worry about a thing." Bee closed the door and left the car. He got on line, noticing how far it spanned. It would take forever to get to the front of the line.

"I've got to tell Ironhide and Lennox about this waiting in line." Bee thought.

After waiting for what seemed like hours, he finally made it to the front. There were so few items. "ID."

Bee showed his ID and the man frowned. "New in town?"

"No. My wife usually comes here, but she's sick." Bee lied.

"How many?"

"Four."

"Four!" The man yelled out.

A cart pushed out by a young teen came out from inside the store. "Where's your car?"

"This way." Bee said, leading the teen to his alt-form. Popping open the trunk, they loaded up the trunk. "Thank you."

"Welcome, man! Nice wheels."

"Thank you."

"Catch you around, maybe."

Bee nodded, "Maybe."

Then the teen walked back toward the store. Bee got into the car and shimmered out of sight. Then the car turned on and they left the parking lot. "So where to next?" Bee asked.

"Somewhere private where I can see what you got for breakfast."

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Bee found the perfect place for them to be alone. "This is where Sam and I used to hang out." It was a nice peaceful place overlooking the town. "It's nice." Joyce said. "I've been here before with my Dad. He used to take me here before the takeover. It was just so long since I've been here."

"He doesn't take you here anymore?"

"No. He and I used to stargaze really. I loved stargazing and guessing the names for each constellation." Joyce said as Bee opened the trunk. "Are you sure they can't find us or see us?"

"I'm pretty sure they can't. Megaplex is that way." Bee said indicating to the west. Trees blocked the west and east. Lucky for them.

Joyce couldn't believe her eyes at what she saw. "You managed to get a family's rations."

"In case you and I can't get out."

"Bee! I'm so glad and thankful." Joyce said. "The only thing I might have trouble with cooking is the rice and beans. How do you-Oh!" Joyce broke off when she looked into another bag. "At least they've got dinner plans for people!" Joyce pulled out a family pack of ground beef, Spicy party wings, a french bread pizza for lunch, frozen broccoli, creamed spinach, and a few other things. "Well, I guess we should go back to your apartment. This won't keep for a long extended trip." Joyce went through the two other bags and found a container of peanut butter and jelly, several cans of fruit and vegetables. She also found a box of graham crackers and Oreo's. Another bag contained milk, several boxes of raisin bran and fruit loops, but no eggs. "Guess they're out of eggs-what's this? This isn't eggs! Oh! Yuck! Egg substitute!"

"Can do things with egg substitute."

"Yeah, but this stuff tastes like powdered eggs!" Joyce took out the fruit loops and opened them. Then she started munching on them.

"Let's head back." Joyce suggested. "I'd really hate for those groceries to go bad."

"So how many times can you go back?"

"Two weeks. Every two weeks. There's more than one grocery store."

"Oh? Do you get the same stuff?"

"Not really."

"Then lets go so we don't have to sneak our way out again."

"Well, okay." Joyce said, munching on her fruit loops. She knew she'd need something else like a drink. "Um, Bee. Is there by any chance that you can get me something to drink with this? It's rather dry."

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AN: Thank you for reading and don't forget to review. There are food banks located throughout the US. I've been to some and what they give is very very limited in supply. They don't simply give enough for you live off of and Bee is starting to see the effects of the Autocon's takeover and what's going on. Grocery stores are limited, but they do see the fact people need to eat and live. The Autocons aren't aware of the long lines for food...so we'll see what happens next. :)

Until next time...