Ch 2: Arrival
I took a deep, shaky breath and continued to stare up at the robot. "Well, thank you for saving me.." I managed to squeak out. The transformer nodded and spoke, "it is my duty to do so." I backed up a few feet, pushing Pilot back with my body. "So, what now? Are you going back to where you came? Am I being hunted now? Why am I so important?" I inquired, furrowing my brows.
"You will be put under protection until my commander releases me from my duties. As for now, I am your guardian. You were being hunted by the Decepticon Starscream, under the command of the Decepticon Megatron. My commander feared that you would be hunted due to your family's importance in our race's future, which is why I am directed to protect you. All other questions will be answered at the appropriate time."
"What is that supposed to mean? You can't just force me into some battle I didn't choose! I never wanted to be hunted! I'm a college student! I live in New Hampshire! Nothing bad ever happens here!" I wailed, my arms raising in the air as I took a few steps forward, as if I could intimidate the massive machine in front of me.
"It is out of my control, Holly Connor. I will be arriving at your residence this evening at 8."
And with that, Toothless transformed and drove off through the forest. I don't think that I'll ever get used to calling it by that name. I closed my eyes for a moment, inhaled deeply to calm myself down, and hopped onto Pilot. We rode back through the woods in silence, the only sound accompanying us was the cries of the distraught birds overhead.
We arrived back at the stables, and I slowly untacked Pilot. The poor horse had been through so much stress today, all of the work I had put into training had probably gone to waste. Pilot quietly sniffed around his stall, found his hay, and began to feast. I looked around at the other two horses I was supposed to work out today and shook my head. They were getting the night off.
I had to call my mom to come and pick me up, telling her that I let my sister borrow my car until later. The ride home was uneventful, other than me dodging questions about why I had scrapes and dirt smeared all over my face, "I had a bad fall," I managed to say, it was partly the truth.
It was 7:30 and the clock once again ticked tortuously slow. I decided to hop into the shower to try and pass the time, finishing by 7:45. I braided my hair, twirling the tail around in my fingers as I waited for my car to arrive. I sat on the edge of my bed, lost in thought, curious as to how I financed a loan through the bank on an alien robot. Did I still have to pay my car payment? I shook my head clear of its jumbled thoughts right before I heard a distinct whistle from outside. I poked my head through the window and saw the black coupe sitting in the driveway, waiting for me to climb in.
I made my way outside, and climbed into the passenger seat of the car. The door shut before I was able to reach for it myself. I buckled myself in, hoping the car was at least a decent driver. We drove through my little town I lived in, past the farms and the open fields, past the schools and over the border into the next city. I watched the world whize by me as we drove to our unknown destination. I lifted my gaze to the rearview mirror, the little dragon air freshener swaying back and forth.
"Would you like to hear any music?" The radio buzzed.
I jumped, looked around the car to see if someone was with me, and then back to the radio.
"What?"
Silence.
The radio started to play one of my playlists from Spotify. Weird, but nifty.
We must have reached our destination because the music came to a complete stop and the passenger door swung open. I fumbled out of the car, stuffing my phone into my pocket as I backed up a few steps. Toothless transformed in front of me, swishing his ears back and forth and whipping his tail to and fro. He rolled his soldiers back and began walking towards the structure in front of us.
"Come, human."
I followed, quietly trotting behind the robot. We reached the building, which appeared to be as big and spacious as an airplane hanger. A large door groaned as it pulled itself up, similar to a giant garage door opening. As we entered the building, it seemed rather empty apart from several different cars parked in its center. As we approached, I hid behind Toothless's leg, slightly leaning to see just a glimpse of what else was ahead. He came to a stop and motioned for me to come forward with his hand. There were several vehicles in front of me: a blue and red truck, a black and orange Lamborghini, and a shiny, yellow Camaro. I lifted my head up to see Toothless, who kept his gaze on the 3 vehicles in front of us.
The truck began to transform, mechanical parts twisting and turning as it formed into a familiar face from the news:
Optimus Prime.
Just as the truck transformed, the Lamborghini began to do so as well, but faster than the previous transformer. He purred as he completed his transformation, stretched and looked down at me with crystal blue eyes. My eyes wandered up and down their bodies, amazed at the creatures that stood before me. I glanced over at the Camaro, who still stayed normal. Maybe it was just an average car, I thought.
I thought wrong.
The yellow camaro sprung to two legs that sprouted from itself, unfolded its limbs as each mechanical part meticulously filed into the correct place. Two arms grew out of its side and a metal head appeared from the top of the body of the machine. It whirred as it stared down at me, its ears swishing back and forth, and what appeared to be little wings formed at the back of the robot.
"Hello, Holly Connor. I am Optimus Prime, and these are my Autobots. I have called you here because you are the key to our race's survival on this planet and the life of Earth itself. I regret having to take you from your normal life, but time is of the essence."
I blinked, unsure of what to say and waited to see if the robot would speak again. "You are being tracked down by the Decepticons, who are after the knowledge of which you and your family know." Optimus Prime continued, looking down at me as he did so. He lifted a hand as he started up again, "You have already met your guardian, Toothless. These are the remaining Autobots I have with me at this location."
"This is Hot Rod," Optimus said as he pointed to what once was the Lamborghini, "and this is Bumblebee." The yellow transformer fixated its gaze on me, as if I was something special. I suppose to this entire alien race, I was, and I had no idea why.
"Bonjour, mademoiselle," Hot Rod announced, waving a hand at me. I silently waved back, at a loss for words. Bumblebee still kept his eyes locked on me; Toothless shifted closer to my side, his tail swishing behind us.
"Greetings...girl...you sure are in...for a long...ride!" The sounds from a radio crackling and spitting out the words, different bits and pieces were different voices. I lifted a brow right before Optimus spoke, "Bumblebee's vocal processors were damaged in battle, and now can only be used for extended periods of time." I nodded and croaked out a hello to both of the new transformers.
"The reason I have brought you here tonight was to introduce ourselves to you. Also, to give you this," Optimus Prime spoke and knelt down to the ground, handing me a silver necklace. I gently took the necklace from his hand and inspected it. It was like an oval with pointed ends and inside of it was a shimmering diamond-like gem. It moved whenever it felt vibrations, it seemed.
"This will protect you from being tracked down by the Decepticons, unless they were to catch sight of you on their own." Optimus announced, seeming to wait for me as I clasped the necklace around my neck. "You must have many questions, Holly Connor, but for the next day. Toothless, take the girl home." He ordered and Toothless nodded. He was right. My head was nearly exploding from the amount of questions I had that I demanded to know answers to.
"When will I see you again?" I retorted, staring up at Optimus Prime.
"Soon." Was all he said before Toothless transformed back into the familiar black coupe. I turned around to see the car drive up next to me, the passenger door opening automatically. I looked over at Hot Rod and Bumblebee; Bumblebee still continued to look at me, almost as if he refused to break his stare. I shivered and climbed into the car as we sped off out of the building and back onto city streets.
We made it back into my driveway, it was nearly 10:30 by the time we arrived. Toothless transformed quietly, much to my dismay and shock, bent down and laid his opened hand on the ground. I decided whether or not to climb aboard, but since my life was already put in jeopardy once today, who cared if I climbed on top of an alien robot who I hardly knew. I used one of his fingers to hoist myself onto his hand, which started to rise to my bedroom window on the second floor. I opened my window, fumbling inside my room and off of the robot's hand.
"Goodnight." I said, almost at a whisper to the robot.
He seemed to inspect me from afar, his black figure almost blending in with the navy blue night sky, stars gleaming from behind him.
"Goodnight, Holly Connor," Toothless responded, backing away from my window and leaving me to crawl into bed, allowing the worries of the day to slip my mind as I drifted off into sleep.
Author Note:
Hello everyone! Any type of review would be extremely helpful! I am going to try my hardest to post a new chapter weekly. If you wanted any reference for what Pilot the horse looks like, google "seal brown thoroughbred"
