Chapter 3

Alexis crouched in the container, having shut the lid. She was shaking so much her teeth were chattering.

Well, that couldn't have gone any worse.

She was stupid to have tried that, stupid. She'd nearly wound up dead, and she'd lost the group. Now she was stuck in the most rubbish, obvious hiding place, with a giant enraged robot prowling nearby… she tried to calm her breathing so that she could hear what was going on. She heard the sound of falling trees… he must think she'd run into the woods.

Easy, Alexis, easy…

Starscream swatted trees aside, more out of sheer rage than an effort to find the girl. Shrubs and undergrowth were trampled under his feet. With his heat sensors disabled, he was having to look the old fashioned way.

This human was unlike any he had ever met, not that he had ever met many humans for longer than it took to crush them or shoot them. He had in fact just recently started using human slaves for some tasks across the European bases, and they stayed as far away from him as possible, hunching over and working as fast as they could, when he entered the room, cringing and silent. None of them would ever dare to approach him, in a million years. As he ran a self scan to see what else the girl had managed to do to him whilst offline, he was struck by the deftness of her handiwork. It had been the same with the repairs she had undertaken on him all those months ago, when he had been marooned in her dwelling, stuck in stasis lock.

If this organic had the audacity to attempt sabotage on him, Starscream, what else would she be able to do? He suddenly recalled her words that night when he had cornered her in front of that cathedral…

"…I was thinking that you'd developed a grudging respect for me and considered me a worthy opponent…"

He chuckled darkly. Yes, he and Alexis would meet again, very soon if he had anything to do with it. And he would find a use for her somehow, and watch firsthand her brazen spirit slowly diminishing…"

Alexis frowned when she heard the sounds of transformation, and then the familiar engines roaring into the sky. "Not a very thorough search, Starscream…" she cautiously emerged from the container. "I'm actually quite offended!" That's weird… can he really not be bothered to look without his heat sensors? Oh well, don't complain…

When time passed and it was clear Starscream really had gone, she set off in a random direction, but automatically towards cover. She trekked through the woods, glancing up at the sun. She estimated it to be no more then eight o clock in the morning. As she walked, she racked her brains as to where the group had last been. They had skirted round Uttoxeter, but that had been two days ago... or was it three?"

After an hour or so, she reached a high wire fence in the middle of the woods. Rummaging in her bag, she brought out her wire cutters and in no time was through. Something was glinting high up ahead- reflecting the sunlight through the trees…

She emerged from the woodland and gasped. Then she started to laugh.

It was a rollercoaster. As she jogged nearer, she saw benches and bins, brightly coloured buildings, a pirate ship.

"Alton Towers theme park," she breathed. "You have got to be KIDDING me!"

Walking through the empty park was surreal, and bittersweet. There was something delicious about a deserted theme park, it was all very Scooby Doo, she giggled to herself as she kicked up ancient leaves. But, it should be full of people. Her mood dropped and in her head she cursed the transformers. We were happy before you arrived and we never even knew it. We used to fill our days with silly things like work and school and going on rollercoasters and talking and going to the pub. And you snatched it all away.

Alexis had been here several times, everyone had. Over there was Nemesis, one of the most famous rollercoasters, she and dad had ridden it. They bought the photo of the two of them on the ride, it was on the fridge at home. And over there was the stand where Ed had bought chips, which he promptly threw up after riding on the Spinball Whizzer. She smiled.

"Hey… hey you, over there! Hey!"

Alexis was pulled from her reverie and whirled round, startled. Over by one of the fast food stands, a girl was rocking a vending machine back and forth, trying to topple it. She had blonde hair stuffed under a baker-boy cap.

"Give us a hand, yeah?"

************

Later, armed with chocolate bars and crisps, Alexis followed the girl, whose name was Charlie, through the park.

"I'm from Stoke, originally," she said between bites of a snicker. "Which is in ruins now, so don't bother if that's where you were headed. How about you? Where are you from? Any news?"

Alexis told her about the winter in her village, reports of London devastated, the sighting of the helicopter transformer. After a moment's hesitation, she spoke about Starscream.

"This morning I was separated from my group, we were hiding in a warehouse and two of them came and fought. We had to sneak past one of them as he lay out cold. But he woke up as I was leaving and we scattered."

Well, it was true, if a little edited.

"Shit." Charlie looked impressed. "What did he transform into?"

"A plane," said Alexis. "A jet."

Charlie choked on her mouthful.

"You've seen him?"

"Yeah, I've seen him alright," said Charlie sourly. "He's flown over a few times, in jet mode and robot mode. People say that he's the leader, not the leader of the whole lot, but in charge of the UK, maybe Europe."

"There are other people here?"

"Loads," said Charlie. "Some are living up in the actual Alton Towers- I don't like it there though, too exposed, then you've got people camping out in the Cloud Cuckoo Land bit, the hotel… there are people all over the place."

"So where are you?"

Charlie beamed. "Come and see."

That night, Alexis found herself snuggled in a sleeping bag, with about 20 other people around her, candles flickered and gossip echoed softly in the tunnel. For that's where they were- in the Oblivion rollercoaster tunnel. The entry end of the tunnel had been blocked with debris. It was surprisingly warm and cosy. In the past hour she had learnt several interesting things. There was talk of people who had gone to surrender themselves to the decepticons as slaves, for a chance of shelter and regular food. People said that if you had skills considered useful to the 'furthering of the empire', you were taken on. If not, you were slaughtered.

Another word was muttered several times in conversations that evening. Autobots… Apparently they were enemies of the decepticons, and had sworn to fight back and reclaim the planet for the human race. A load of rubbish, Alexis thought bitterly. If there are such things as Autobots, where are they now? Probably a rumour spread from person to person, or, even more likely, a seed of false hope planted by someone like Starscream. Just the thing to dely an uprising… the hope of someone stronger than them coming to sort things out…

She huddled up next to her new friend, passing a bottle of red wine between them.

".. so, then I was working at the garden centre," said Charlie, taking a swig of the wine. "I used to think it was a pretty lame job." She sighed. "What about you?"

"I'd just finished studying." Alexis took the bottle. "I'd split up with my boyfriend, then I was on my way to a new job, working on aircraft engines and bits like that. Then the decepticons came and bollocked it all up. Thanks guys!" She wryly raised the bottle in a mock toast.

Charlie was silent for a moment. Then she turned to Alexis with a serious expression.

"Word to the wise, a new friend to another. Don't shout too loudly about what you used to do."

Alexis frowned quizzically. "Why not?"

Charlie leaned closer towards her and dropped her voice. "They say…" she murmured quietly, "…that not all people who end up decepticon slaves volunteered. Know what I'm saying?"

"What, like… kidnap?"

Charlie nodded. "And members of our own dear race are part of it. Abducting people when they find out that they used to be a builder, a mechanic, even a doctor… then selling them on to the robot fuckers for a reward."

She motioned for the bottle and Alexis handed it back. "So from now on, I'd say you were a hairdresser or something."

"A hairdresser, riiiight.. have you seen this work of art?" Alexis tugged on her roughly chopped locks, and the two of them giggled.

As the wine simulated a feeling a warmth, Alexis drifted off. She hoped the others were alright, sweet Qasim, Raheela, John… and far off in India, Sari and her mum…

"Goodnight, Dad," she whispered. The last thing she did was check her iphone was off, now that she had the incredible unexpected luxury of a full battery, she didn't want to waste it.

As she fell asleep, she made a decision. No more trying to be clever and risking her life. No more Starscream. Two encounters have been enough for a lifetime. With this decision made, she slept peacefully, for the first time in weeks.

Over France, the jet sped. He flew low, and the humans on the ground shivered and covered their ears, squeezing their eyes shut, praying for him to pass on by.

A voice came through on the com link.

"The bounty has been issued, Starscream. What are your orders when she is found?"