She let out a sharp gasp. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She couldn't think straight, the blow to her head on the side of the wall making her disoriented and confused. She forgot how she was there, and yet she somehow realized that she was there to save the boy in her arms. Why or from what, she didn't remember, but that she needed to or she would feel the consequences.

Still holding the boy in her arms, she started to breathe heavily, and tears threatened to come. The pain coming from her back was excruciating, and she felt warmth sliding down her back. She didn't release the boy, however. She needed to make sure that what the noises were behind them would not injury him first. She waited for a moment and when another loud noise would not come, she looked at him.

"Are you alright?" she whispered to him. He didn't reply, but he nodded his head fiercely as he looked up at her. She breathed a weak sigh of relief.

"Good," she whispered, and she slowly released him. Any move she made made the pain in her back accent. The boy got up and looked at her.

"Th-thank you," he said nervously to her. She smiled weakly at him. Suddenly there was a loud crash from behind them and the two of them jumped, and looked wildly at each other.

"You need to get out of here!" she yelled at him, trying to put emphasis in her voice, but the pain she was feeling was making her words fail her. The boy, however, didn't run away, but ran to her. He grabbed her arm and started pulling.

"Come on!" he yelled at her. "We have to go! They're gonna get us!" Something in her head clicked when he said that, but nothing that made her remember why she was in the situation she was in. The boy yanking on her arm was painful, the motion carrying to her back and making whatever her back scream in pain. She used some of the boy's force to lift herself up, and she also placed her hand on the wall. She happened to look at the brick and she a large smear of blood. She touched the side of her head weakly and she realized that it was from her. So that's why I can't remember, she thought idly to herself. She only hoped it would come to her soon.

"Come on, come on!" the boy persisted, a panicked look on his face. She was able to get to her feet, but she swayed roughly. The boy ran to her side and tied to help her stay up. Luckily, she was small enough that he was able to help her. Putting some of her weight on the boy, the two quickly, yet rigidly walked to the other side of the alley, away from the blasting noises of the other side. Nothing was going on, on the other side of the alley, so the two walked across the street. The two jumped as there was a sound of another blast from behind them, and they quickly picked up their pace.

"Where do you live, umm..." she started, but then she paused. She realized she didn't know the boy's name. Had I before? she wondered to herself. He looked up at her.

"Henry," he said timidly. "I live a few blocks up the street."

I guess not.

He paused for a moment and started to sob. "I was only riding my bike!" he said sadly, tears running down his face. He was speaking as if he was the reason all this was happening. She looked down at him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"It's okay, Henry. I'm gonna take you home, okay?" she told him with a weak smile on her face. She didn't want to talk very much and it hurt like hell whenever she did. Tears were threatening to come out once more, and she continued to feel a warmth leak down and soak into her shirt. He nodded timidly at her. He turned his head a little to look behind them and his eyes widened when he turned around and saw her back. He saw a large piece of metal sticking out of her skin. It was a least the size of a CD case and was silver and sharp. What he didn't know was that it was debris from the blast, and that it would have surely hit him if she hadn't intervened.

"There's something in your back!" he yelled, in surprise. She looked at him a little oddly, and then she reached around and tried to touch her back with her hand. This turned out to be a bad idea, because when she made contact with the shrapnel, she let out a tight gasp. A few solid tears rolled down her cheeks. She bit her lip so hard it started to bleed.

"I don't know, Henry," she said softly, knowing that if she raised her voice any higher, she would have let out a sob. She was still so confused, and the world seemed to be swirling around her. He looked up at her with a worried look on his face, but he didn't say anything else. They hobbled for about another block further before Henry pulled her to the porch of an apartment building and rang one of the four doorbell buttons, the one marked Cox. After a moment, a large woman opened the door and let out a realizing and relieved gasp.

"Henry!" she yelled to the boy, and she swept him up in a hug. "Where have you been? You left and then there was all these noises coming from outside-"

"Ma'am," she cut the woman off. "Please listen to me. I'm not sure what's going on right now, but you need to get out of the city." She spoke calmly, yet persistently and the woman gave her a startled look. But as the woman was looking at her this way, a chill suddenly went up her spine. She felt as though she was being watched, but someone other than the two in front of her. She cautiously turned her head slightly, but saw no one. She shook off the feeling and concentrated on the woman once more.

"What?" the woman questioned her. "What do you mean leave the city?"

"I-" she was cut off.

"Mama, you have to listen to her!" Henry said from the woman's arms. She looked down at him, confused, panic starting to show on her features. "She saved me from the monsters!"

Monsters? she suddenly thought. Then realization hit her like a freight train. Monsters. Like the monster in the desert. The monster Bee saved her from... She froze. Oh my god... BEE!

Her disorientation left her immediately, and her memory returned to her. She was in Mission City with the Autobots. With Sam, with Mikaela, with Lennox, and Epps, and all the soldiers. And Bee. Her Bee. Who she had left to save Henry. She was scared. She was injured. She was... Alise.

She felt as though she was going to be sick.

"Monsters?" Henry's mother asked worriedly. She eyed Alise suspiciously. "What monsters?"

"I can't explain it," Alise said quickly. "But you have to leave. Right now. The city is in danger, and so are you and your son."

His mother paled. "But-but..." she looked around the outside, as if looking for proof as such danger."I can't leave. And what do you mean you can't explain?"

Alise looked the woman in the eyes. "Please, ma'am," she said desperately. If she did nothing else today, if she was going to die today, she needed to know she at least helped someone. She put so much emotion into her voice, and she absent mindedly, noticed that the edges of the front her shirt were soaked with blood. She knew she needed to do something about the bleeding, but she was just thankful the woman didn't seem to notice it yet. "Please, just... trust me."

The woman stared at Alise for a moment, bug eyed, and then looked back at her son. She swallowed loudly.

"Okay," she whispered. "Okay." She quickly put the boy down and rushed back into the house. Not a minute later, she returned, her purse in her hand. Alise gave a mental sigh of relief. She was going to leave and find safety. There she was using that gift her father always used to talk about. Not only was she gifted at speaking another's tongue, but she could always get people to see her way. She was never a manipulative or deceitful person, but when she wanted or needed to, she very rarely wasn't able to convince others to do what she asked. She never used this talent against others, but it was surely a secret weapon of hers. He father was amazed that she could do this, seeing that if it was anyone else but her requesting whatever it was, they would have been told no.

The woman picked up Henry once more and she them ran to one of the cars out in front of the apartment buildings. Alise walked gingerly to the side of the car, and the window was rolled down.

"Don't go straight ahead," Alise said to Henry's mother. "You'll going to run into trouble. Turn around and find another way out the back. Just get away from here as quickly as you can."

The woman looked at her once more. "Thank you." Alise nodded and the two drove off, Henry waving from the passenger seat window to her as they left. She waved gingerly back at him, before they were out of sight.

Alise didn't know what to do now. She considered trying to alert the rest of the small apartment renters to the impeding danger, and she tried, but after ringing the doorbells repeatedly, she got no response from any of them. She sighed hotly and shook her head grimly. She knew she had done what she could here.

Alise knew she needed to head back. She didn't know what had become of her friends after the blast, and she wanted, needed, to make certain they were okay. She started to walk painfully to where she believed her and Henry had come from, but she quickly realized she had no idea where she was. Being in her disoriented state previously, she couldn't exactly take notes as to where they were going.

She tried to search for something, anything that would lead her in the direction of where the warzone was, but she still couldn't find her way. She knew the general direction of where they came from, but not the exact street. She turned back in the direction of the apartment, knowing she'd need to find an alternate route than from where she came. The pain in her back was crippling, and she found that she was starting to feel sluggish. She prayed it wasn't because of blood loss. But that chilling feeling was coming back. The one of eyes being on her...

Suddenly, she heard laughter. Turning around, she saw a group of teenagers walking down the block in the direction of the warzone. There were six of them, and they all had bright, happy looks on there faces, knowing nothing of the battle that was taking place only a few blocks in front of them. Alise heard them speak. It was in a rapid and mirthful Spanish.

"HEY!" she yelled over to them. Maybe if she was lucky, she could help them, too. They looked over at her, their happy expressions fading and confused ones taking their places. Alise quickly ran over to them.

"Sí?" one of the girls of the group asked her confusingly. As always, Alise's mind transferred to Spanish like a light switch.

"Listen to me," she started. "Wherever you're planning on going, don't. Turn around, go home, and get somewhere safe. You all need to get off the streets now."

The group looked at one another. Alise noticed that one of the other girls of the group paled, and a boy of the group's weight shifted on his feet nervously.

"And why?" one of the other boys asked, giving her an untrusting and skeptical look.

Alise didn't need to respond. Suddenly behind her, there was a thunderous crashing, and she turned to see one of the buildings behind them crumble to pieces, as one of the monsters crashed into it. It was in its bipedal mode, and it looked like it had the form of a plane. One of the girls of the group started to scream.

"That's why!" Alise yelled at them. "RUN!"

The seven took off running in the opposite direction. Alise's back screamed in protest, but after a few seconds the adrenaline from the chase numbed the pain and all she could feel was the ache in her feet from running so hard. The monster let out a terrific yell and the ground shook beneath them as it started to run after them. The group in front of her was screaming and déjà vu flashed before her. Her mind was seemingly crossing from the present to that night not so many days ago.

She was running though the street. She was running through the sand. She was running with the teens. She was running with her friends. She was running from the monster. She was running from the monster.

She snapped back into reality.

She was following the group as the monster chased them, her not knowing where she was going in the large city. They turned a corner and they somehow made it out onto a main street in the city, but the place was already in ruins. Smoke was climbing out of buildings and pieces of debris littered the street that was in shambles. People were screaming, and running for their lives. Alise noticed there were large rectangular footprints along the road.

Thinking rapidly, she looked around the street for somewhere to go and hide. Her eyes flew around the scene before her and they landed on an entrance to a subway underground. Her heart leapt.

"OVER HERE!" she called to the frantic group in front of her, and they turned to see her running towards the entrance and they followed in hot pursuit. The monster suddenly turned the corner they just did, and it started to run towards them once more. Alise ran down the steps of the entrance and the teens quickly followed, and the seven threw themselves against the wall furthest away from the entrance. Alise looked around the subway, and she saw that there was at least twenty other people down there, too. They all looked terrified. Little children were crying and mothers trying to silence them, crying themselves. Men shaking against the walls. She heard some people gasp in shock upon seeing her, and she assumed it was because they saw whatever had been lodged into her back. She felt a pang of annoyance because she couldn't. A giant mechanical arm suddenly appeared through the entrance.

"I CAN SMELL YOU, FLESHLINGS," the monster boomed above them from outside. The arm started to feel around the room and every time it would get close to someone, there would be scream or an exclamation of fear. The monster laughed darkly at their expense. Alise knew she needed to distract the monster, perhaps injury it in some way so they would have a chance to run to the safe side of the subway without the monster being able to grab a hold of them. She quickly examined the arm as it entered the subway once more. She noticed that there was an opening in his hand, like some sort of wound. She knew if she was to injure the monster, it would be there. Quickly shushed the screaming crowd and she mouthed, "I'll be right back." A few shook their head quickly in understanding.

Alise ran down the pathway of the subway, looking for something to hurt the monster. She almost ran past it in her rush, but she happened across a janitor's closet. Trying to open it, she found it was locked, but that didn't stop her. She started to band her shoulder against the door, and eventually, with a running start, she crashed through the door, bits of wood digging into her arm. She didn't feel them very much however, because at this point, the wound in her back was overriding everything else. Dropping to her knees, Alise let out a painful cry. She knew she needed to get whatever was in her back out soon.

She slowly got back on her feet, and then started to search through the closet. There were multiple brooms, and mops, a couple different cleaning products, and... a portable generator.

"Yes!" she yelled and she grabbed the generator and one of the cleaning products, a gallon of bleach.

She ran back to where the group was, many of them relieved to see her. The arm wasn't currently in the room, but she knew the monster was still out there, and close. She set the generator close to the entrance, and opened the gallon of bleach. She didn't know what the combination would do, but she hoped something loud and painful.

"Back up!" she whispered loudly to the group. They all went around the corners of the subway, but stayed to watch her. Unwrapping the cord on the generator and turning it on, she peaked around the corner of the entrance to see the monster standing right there, its hand on the steps only a few feet from her. The bleach and the cord in her hands, she gasped and turned back around the corner, believing it had seen her, but when nothing happened, she looked around again. The monster wasn't looking at her. Instead, it was gazing at the smoky sky, a smirk on its face. She knew this would be he only chance.

She quickly and quietly ran up the few steps, and in one motion she dumped the bleach and put the cord into the open wound. She quickly let go of both, so she wouldn't be shocked. There was a small blast in front of her that threw her back into the subway on her stomach. She quickly got up and heard an electric popping sound coming from the monster's hand. It quickly looked down at her and then its hand and it let out a sickening yell of pain.

"FRAG IT!" it yelled loudly, and it grabbed its hand in pain, holding it against its chest. It let out another wild yell, and held the hand out in front of itself. The hand was smoking, and it was moving uncontrollably.

"RUN!" Alise yelled, and the large group started to run to the other side of the subway, deeper in so they wouldn't be caught. The monster looked down at her, and Alise froze in fear.

"YOU WILL DIE, FLESHLING," it boomed angrily, and its good arm was turned into a canon and it aimed it at her. Too scared to move, Alise stood there and closed her eyes, waiting for the blast to come.

A blast did come; however, it wasn't at her. She opened her eyes to see that the monster had been hit with other weapons from the sky. She couldn't see who or what her savior was, but she couldn't think too much about it at the moment. She ran.

Going deeper into the subway system, Alise paused for a moment and swayed. She felt sick to her stomach and started to sway. The pain was finally taking its unmerciful toll on her. She knew she needed to get whatever was in her back out now. Luckily, there was a restroom a few feet in front of her, and she sluggishly ran in. She turned to the mirror and gasped. She finally saw the large piece of metal that had nested in her flesh.

It was very sharp, and by just running her fingers along it, they were cut and started to bleed. It was sticking out of her skin like a fin on a skin, and she was amazed that she had held up with it for so long. She cringed, but she knew what she had to do. She reached both her hands over her head, and grabbed the metal. And with one last intake of breath, she pulled, and the air was polluted with an ear piercing scream.

Hi everyone! So what do you think? Please review and tell me!

As always, I own nothing.

~Mel