Happiness was a word that had long abandoned Alexis. Something that while not elusive had turned into an eventuality that her logical mind could not afford to cling to. But happiness along with many other bright and cheerful things shattered along with her world. The remains of it bound together with all her other light filled thoughts as it turned into the very basis of her hope.

One didn't need happiness if they had hope. And happiness in its very nature, was it not fleeting? Was it not something that occurred unaware until during a time of darkness and despair suddenly was recalled as a time of great contentment? Or perhaps it was just something that wasn't really thought about, something that one dismissed readily, for life, such as it now was, was too busy to be bothered about contemplating one's state of being.

She had found comfort in her family, in her God and in her life. Alexis had been happy when she finally graduated High School. Taking a year off from school, she traveled some, using the money that had taken her three years of working for a local craft shop. She splurged a little as she experienced life at a different angle. Alexis remembered how somber she felt when she returned. A part of her did not want to stop the travels, not even when she ran out of money that actually lasted two weeks past her own expectations.

Her brother Josh was starting his second year of college, studying hard while focusing on his goal of hand. When he had been young, he wanted to be a firefighter and later a doctor. But he discovered that he had a natural affinity for people, for helping and giving and just being there for another. That mixed with his passion for Christ led him to want to be a preacher. That changing once more as he decided on being a missionary. His love for languages and different cultures cemented his decision. Their parents relieved that one child was now set; they focused on their daughter.

But Alexis drifted away as she longed to be on her own. Money gone and her job not something she wanted to go back to, she was forced to remain living at home. The space suddenly felt confining as her future seemed to circle around her.

Was she content then? She was. Despite her parents desire for her to do something with her life, she managed to find those moments of stillness. Such a peace of just lying there and looking up at the ceiling as problems drifted and faded, leaving her open to possibilities that despite their loftiness made her feel like she could achieve them.

Not that she ever got a chance.

Where would she have been if Josh hadn't been home during a week long break from College? And to think she had been so frustrated because her peace was broken. Because that feeling of living on her own was taken away when he returned, for her parents were visiting her grandmother, and she had the house all to herself.

But Josh had always been a busy person and even home on break; his activities were endless, leaving Alexis with plenty of time to be on her own. High school done with, she kept in touch with some of her friends. However, a year could be quite a gap, and when she returned from her trip, things were destined to never being the same.

The last television broadcast she was ever to see would be one that stayed with Alexis. Flashes of the blood bath pouring forth while even in its digital broadcasted state it left an impression that would never fade. It still managed to pop up here in there in an innocent blink of the eye.

There was no warning that Alexis could recall. But the panic of the surrounding events was certainly there and the circumstances following the invasion remembered. All the world leaders were cattled into a large unknown field before a booming voice dictated humanity's terms.

Surrender or die.

And then the sounds began, the horrible grinding and popping as unfamiliar weapons fired. There was no forgiving smoke to hide the carnage, just a clear view of bodies falling. The nation's leaders were killed without remorse or regard until finally, eyes wide open and unable to look away; the TV's signal flashed out and died, leaving the shocking sound of dead air.

It was Josh that immediately tried to use the phone, but it refused to work. It was she who tried the Internet only to get the dreaded web page is not available, signaling its inability to connect.

After that it was like living in a world of shadows and paranoia. Being left with no means of news had a person's brain working on overtime. And after most of the neighborhood had cleared out, the siblings questioned if they should do the same.

"I have prayed long and hard about this, Lex. We obviously can't remain here. It only took them a couple of days to round up our leaders, how long do you think it will take for them to take care of us?"

Alexis had prayed as well, but it almost didn't seem real. And she wanted to put down what had happened on television as just another show that had content on it that she couldn't believe was even allowed to be shown.

Less than twenty-four hours was all it took before they decided to leave. The stillness of the neighborhood had turned unsettling and fear building. Left with no power, their car was stranded in the garage. They took what they could and started off on foot, their destination unknown. But it was better than waiting for those robotic things to come to them.

The next day was when they came upon the abandoned cars. Some people were still lingering near them as they explained that somehow the vehicles had been rendered useless. It was two days after that, with aching feet and growing blisters, that they came upon the leftovers of a one-sided attack. Even as her brother forced Alexis to look away, she managed to catch glimpses of it, death so close and stinging in the air.

Her brother tried to leave her behind as he checked for survivors, but she couldn't stay where he left her. Despite his previous precautions, instead of being close to death, Alexis was surrounded by it. She was shocked by the brutality and finality of it all, tears falling helplessly down her cheeks as she continually wiped her eyes.

When they found that none were left alive, they were forced to move on. Ominous sounds behind the two gave them no time except for a quick prayer for the dead.

She cried almost all night, her brother holding on to her tight as he too relinquished some tears. Alexis wanted to throw up, to go back and at least bury those people, do something other than leave them as the charred, bloodied and broken departed that they were.

Waking up the next morning and finding herself in unfamiliar surroundings once again, it was to be a recurring event as days turned into weeks, turned into months, turned into a long stretch of a year. They didn't come across another scene like they had at the beginning, but the nature of man and the uncertainty of the unknown led them to encounters among their own species that were both terrifying and disturbing.

They learned quickly enough that not only did they need to avoid the great behemoths of what they finally learned were Decepticons, but most of their own species as well. Fortunately, an instinct seemed to awaken as it became almost second nature that on glance alone they could determine if the person they were coming across was someone safe, or a danger that needed to be avoiding.

And still, Alexis blamed herself for her capture and the separation from her brother. For there had been that warning in the pit of her belly when they met the kid, but she ignored it. But how was she to know that a young person such as that boy, or anyone of any age, would ever, no matter what the reason, willing work for the invading force of Earth.

But she knew her brother, and knew he wouldn't blame her. As hard as times were there were worse things to one's downfall than an act of kindness. Yet those reassuring words she told herself did not soothe the ache of separation from her brother.

Meeting Timothy, however, changed things once more. She depended on him, trusted him, and after the many months, accustomed herself to his company, even longed for it.

And now here she was, clinging to the man before her, the two racing forwards on a stolen bike as with great anticipation, they passed over the invisible line of a border as they made their way into Wisconsin.

Soon enough, she would be reunited with her brother. And then happiness, Alexis was sure, was something she would refamiliarize herself with.

They had been searching for over a week. And despite herself, the hope Alexis held onto over all the months was starting to strangle her with every place they looked and did not find her brother. The company of Timothy only served to somehow punish her as she struggled to remain calm.

"Are you sure he would return to your home state? He could have gone looking for your parents."

Alexis stared at Timothy, eyes drifting down to the ground as she clawed hard at the dirt under her feet. It would be dark soon, hence the reason of them stopping for the day. Tomorrow they would finally be able to reach her home, a place she was sure, no matter what she wanted to believe, probably wasn't even standing anymore. The burnt and destroyed homes and buildings they had passed along the way led her to that conclusion.

Of course, they saw destruction during their travels. But seeing it in familiar surroundings only seemed to make it that much more pronounced, rubble and decay of abandonment and destruction depressing as it was stifling.

"We always made a promise, if we were ever separated, we would be at one of four places. And we would make sure to leave a note or something, anything that would lead us to the other."

"Perhaps, you have been away too long. We have already searched three places and nothing."

Timothy's statement of the obvious had her stiffening with a firm resolve, an impatience and disappointment coloring her words.

"I know that. I was there remember?"

He blinked hard at her words, staring at her openly as he examined her with intent. Alexis bristled, somehow knowing she wasn't going to like what he was about to say. But after opening his mouth, Tim shut it down with determination, and that was when she knew she was going to be spared.

"I'm sorry."

Several long minutes later was when she heard those words of his. There was a strangeness to his utterance that had Alexis drawing away from her thoughts as she stared at her traveling companion. The two words, for whatever reason, had been difficult for him to say. As if speaking them was beyond what he was used to, even as Timothy's soft tone had an urgency and truth behind it that bellied his uncertainty.

Her mouth quivered while her eyes filled with liquid. Getting to her feet, Alexis moved away from the front of her tent before sitting down with Timothy, who sat near the front of the motorcycle. She leaned against his shoulder. He stiffened and then relaxed. His fingers slowly, awkwardly brushed against her own before he pulled back and looked away.

"It's okay to cry, if you want. I understand," he let her know in a small whisper.

Alexis wiped off her eyes, angling her head to get a better look at Tim. He felt safe. Like she felt when she was with her brother, except different somehow. She was miserable when she had been alone, all that changing when she met him. From the start, there was a connection between them. She felt it. A familiarity there as if he knew her somehow. At first, it made her feel exposed, and she resented it. But as time passed, she drew comfort from it, strength coming from their friendship.

"Don't you want to find your family?" Alexis inquired. She was so selfish, only thinking of herself. During all the time of their traveling together, and it wasn't until then that she thought to pursue the subject further.

"No."

The precise nature of his tone was enough of a warning, but she foolishly ignored it.

"You never talk about them, were they... I mean..."

He interrupted, "No."

"Then what about..." Alexis tried to probe further.

"Stop," he demanded. "Please accept that I do not want to talk about it, and leave it alone."

She sat up and moved away. A flash of regret passed over his face. His hand arched forward as he pulled her back down near him. Alexis heaved in a tight breath, color building in her cheeks when he didn't let go. His thumb idly drifted over the back of her palm.

"My brothers are..." he began before stopping abruptly. Alexis looked up at him with encouragement. He continued, "We have always had different views on things. And ever since the attack on Earth, well, let's just say that gap has widened. Even right now they are probably out their fighting and killing."

"So they are soldiers like you?"

"Yes, since as long as I can remember."

When Alexis suddenly laughed, Tim's touch upon her stopped.

"I'm sorry. It's just... the way you said that. You are only twenty-three, Timothy. You make it sound like it's been a couple of centuries."

"Time can lose meaning when one is thrust in the middle of war," he rasped.

"Where are they now?"

Alexis really didn't think he was going to reply, but after several long moments, he turned to her, a dull frown on his mouth.

"Not here with me."

There was a curious lilt to his tone, but she had spent enough time with him to know that the topic of conversation had reached his limit. Of course, she was curious. She didn't even know he had brothers. He never spoke much about anything personal, and when he did it was all rather evasive and clouded.

It was strange that she didn't really notice until now. But thinking about her brother made Alexis think about his family and past. He was a soldier after all, traveling with her and staying with her, wasn't that hindering him from whatever he had been trying to achieve before?

Frowning, not wanting to say it, but knowing she needed to, Alexis spoke, "You don't have to stay with me. I mean... once I find my brother. I know you must have things to get back to."

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the look of hurt in his eyes. A defeated sort of expression followed that he hid quickly with a frown.

"Do you tire of my company?" he asked tightly, watching her closely.

"No, and I can't tell you how much... how much you have meant to me. I don't know what I would have done without you." And Alexis didn't know what she was going to do when they did eventually separate. A thought she decided, for now, she could continue to avoid.

"You would have survived. You would have found your brother. You don't need me." There was resentment and bitterness in his words. Something else as well that had Tim pushing her away as he stood, heavy steps taken away.

She sat there, back pressing hard into the rear tire of the motorcycle. The faint smell of rubber and metal drifted up toward her nostrils. Alexis stared at Timothy's shoes as she wondered what had caused such agitation.

"Timothy?" She bit her lip in uncertainty.

"Do you wish for me to leave you when you reunite with your brother?" he suddenly asked.

He could have worded that completely different. Could have struck brutally at her hard placed hope and even taken some of it away. Instead, he only added to it.

Alexis got up and moved toward him, stopping when his spine sharpened up at her approach. Placing a hand on his arm, Tim flinched but didn't turn around.

"I want you to do what you need to. I will understand." In time, she would understand. Alexis was starting to realize she had connected more with Timothy then she had anyone in a long time. Whether because of the circumstances her world was in, or just because, it made no matter.

Timothy ripped around. A flash of something hard appeared in his eyes as he reached out and then gripped to her elbows. "And what about what you need? What you want? Don't you want me?" One of his hands fell off her arm and came to rest underneath her chin.

"Yes, I do," she whispered. "But I don't want you to feel forced to stay."

The intensity in his gray eyes faded away, his calm coming back into place as if a mask.

"For now, I shall remain by your side. Life would be... different without you."

His hand dropped away from her chin, and Alexis was shocked when he folded her into a tight hug. Somewhere along the line things had started to change with Timothy. Alexis felt that in the way he held her, felt it in the bold tapping of his heart against her body. But that revelation was not a conscious one, nor something she dwelled on. Alexis' thoughts were on her brother and when she would see him again as she allowed herself to be held.