Made friends in college today, was busy running around so haven't gotten a chance to work on chap 10... so i can post pretty fast up to 9. I'm starting 10 tonight :) Oh, and I don't own transformers. Xoxox
(bb 2010: I'm still friends with those friends. How cool is that?)
When we got home I leapt out of the Mustang and stomped to the house without saying a word to Barricade. He didn't try to stop me. I took my shoes off and threw them at the far wall in frustration. Stomping into one of the bland bedrooms, I locked the door behind me. I began to work off my mountain of frustration as quickly as I could by shadow boxing, jumping jacks, crunches, push-ups, and every other little torture I could think of.
When I finally collapsed on the thick carpet all I could think of was what a huge mistake I had just made; I should have gotten in the car.
I curled up on my side and fought back tears. I didn't want to live like this, trapped in a house in the middle of nowhere, being babysat by a couple of secretive robots. I needed a friend, and I needed to get out. The thought of staying in the same situation for any length of time was terrifying. Checking my phone, it was only a little after three in the afternoon at this point, but my exhaustion and despair weighed me down into a fitful sleep.
I didn't dream of Hot Rod this time. It began in the backseat of a car, listening to a man and a woman talking in the front. No, not just any two people. My parents. My mom and dad were discussing what had happened in Mission City the day before, garbage about robots and godzillas and whatever else, so I felt was better off staying out of it. My mom looked back at me and smiled.
"I know that you're worried about college, honey, but this is going to be the best experience of your life. You'll love it there."
I nodded half-heartedly. My dad was just beginning to go on about his glory days when we got in the wreck. A cop car had t-boned us, but the driver was inside looking completely unconcerned. Like nothing had happened.
My dad climbed out, furious, complaining that he had just gotten it waxed and now he was going to have to deal with insurance… When the cop didn't get out of his own car, dad started yelling at him about being above the law and to have a pen ready because he was in hurry.
Instead of getting out, the Mustang backed up a few feet, and to our shock, slammed our car again. This is where my dad threw in some obscenities. It was also when my dream of a fairly normal afternoon became a nightmare. The cop car transformed in front of the three of us. "Not one of those freaks!" my father roared at the sky.
Barricade was staring down at my family is absolute disgust. "Don't tell me about freaks, human! You don't know a thing about freaks causing you trouble. My comrades are all dead. All of them killed by flesh fanatics. My leader is gone and a fool wants to take his place and you talk about bad days! You think you're having a bad day? I'll teach you the meaning of a bad day!"
He took one huge step that seemed to stretch through time. I was in shock as his foot crunched through the top of the car where my mother was. She screamed piercingly, but it cut off quickly.
I was crying now, trying to find my mother in the smashed front, but all I could see was a bloody hand. I looked back at the monster outside the car, listened to my father screaming, and crawled out the other side. I tried to hide behind the totaled car. I watched helplessly as Barricade snatched up my father, still screaming.
"What's wrong human?" he asked, and shook him viciously. Like a dog with a toy. "Are you in need of repairs?" His rumble was sarcastic and cruel.
My father dangled between his silvery fingers. Dad couldn't even groan. He was unconscious. Or he was dead. To my complete horror, Barricade threw my father over his shoulder and had started to turn on me as I huddled behind the twisted metal coffin that had once been our car. He stopped when sirens started wailing from down a cross street. He growled and looked behind him, roaring, "Frenzy!"
A blur of silver appeared at the mouth of an alley, making a lot of noise. Barricade followed it into the alley, and I didn't see what happened after that. I was sprinting to the limp body of my father.
He was dead. Barricade had killed my entire family.
I woke up suddenly with tears in my eyes, but that hadn't been what interrupted my hellish nap. My phone was still resting in my hand from when I had checked the time. And it had vibrated. I flipped it open and to my surprise it showed a text message. I hit the green button to read it.
It's Hot Rod. Don't let them see you reading this. Be completely silent. Your phone has a unique signal and I'm tracking you. Help is coming. Don't respond.
I stared down in disbelief. Hot Rod was coming for me. He was going to save me.
I put my phone back in my pocket and pulled on my shoes and jacket before I stepped out of the bedroom as calmly as I could. Frenzy was on the couch with his twin laptop, watching TV. I put on my shoes and went out the back door. I took in a deep breath that did nothing to calm my fried nerves and pounding heartbeat and started practicing my rolls. Trying to act like I had before. I didn't know how long Hot Rod would be, but I wasn't going back in that house. I just hoped Barricade stayed where he was.
I rolled time after time and the minutes ticked by. I was starting to despair when my phone buzzed again. I pulled it out frantically and read the message.
ETA less than two minutes. Bumblebee serving as cover fire. Be out front. As soon as I signal, get in. Don't hesitate. There will be shooting. Don't panic. We're going to get you out of this mess.
I was gasping for breath now. Barricade would transform again. Like he had when he killed my parents. I shakily walked around the house, and he was sitting there as usual. I stumbled a little closer, walking into the lawn. "I know what you did."
"And what is that?"
"You killed them. Both of them. You enjoyed it. Blowing off a little steam, huh?" My volume was rising while I edged around him. Now I was backing away from him towards the road. "They didn't mean anything to you, but they were my whole world, you asshole! You killed my family!"
My timing was perfect. As if in punctuation, there was a boom and the concrete under Barricade's tires turned to dust. I looked where it came from and rushing into the clearing were presumably two Autobots, both roughly the same size. One was yellow and black, and the other was mostly red with yellow accents. Hot Rod.
They split up, and I heard Barricade transforming behind me. I ran for Hot Rod as fast as my legs would carry me, but somehow it wasn't fast enough. I saw a flash of black and silver as Barricade grabbed for me, felt him clamp down and fire raced up my arm.
"I should have killed you with them and saved myself the trouble!" He started to jerk me off the ground, but one of my rescuers shot him and he dropped me.
Adrenaline was the only thing letting me see through the unbelievable pain in my arm. I stumbled towards the red shape in front of me. When I was almost touching it, it turned into my car, my favorite car. The door was already open and I dove in, immediately regretting the force of it and howling over my broken arm.
The door shut and I felt the squeal of tires and the building of momentum. I blearily looked out the back window and saw that a yellow car with racing stripes was close behind us. Barricade was absent.
"Ditch the phone, they could use it to find you the same way we did." I obediently fished the phone out of my pocket with my good hand and pitched it out of the open window.
I was delirious with pain and the adrenaline was wearing off. "He's too lazy to chase us… he hated me. He killed my parents, Hot Rod. Just killed them after the Mission City battle because he was mad about how things were going for him. He crushed her like she was nothing. He just tossed my dad over his shoulder like a toy he didn't want." Tears were streaming down my face, from both pain and grief.
"Shh, hush now. Just save your energy. Bumblebee and I are taking you to a hospital."
I wailed in fear. "No. Don't leave me. He'll come back. Or Skywarp. Please don't leave me."
"We won't leave you. You'll never be alone again. I'll stay."
"Promise?"
"I promise you."
Edited March 12, 2010