Part Two Gathering Wind
I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or is following this, because that shows me people actually like the crap I write and that means a lot to me. So thank you.
On another note; we're past the beginning of the story so many chapters from here on out are going to be in Shay's point of view, just to let you know.
Music: Dark on Me - Starset
One week before Shay arrives at the Ark
It was raining, blast it.
It was not supposed to be raining. Or at least, not for another hour. But nooooooo, not only was water pouring from the sky but thunder rumbled through the surrounding hills and woods. In the distance I could see lightning above the treetops. Absolutely freakin' perfect.
With a sigh, I made sure the zipper on my large waterproof bag was completely closed and pulled wet strands out of my eyes. No point in trying to avoid it. I was already soaked and freezing cold. But the food was still dry and that's what mattered. Securing the bag once more to the basket on the back of the bike tilted the weight to the end, but I could still ride.
"I was going to take a shower when I got home anyways." I muttered out loud, trying to keep my balance going down the hill. Riding a bike on wet ground means you go faster, but it also means very little balance. Thankfully the ground leveled out a bit more. As long as I stayed on the pavement I would be okay. Another clap of thunder made me wobble as I stopped and tried to see my surroundings better.
A farmhouse on a hill up ahead to the left. Trees grouped in clusters down the hillside, like the forest was reaching fingers into the tamed and cut plots. On the right the land remained mostly flat with occasional copses of oaks and then sinking down. The fields were barren and empty now that it was October. Shorn and cut cornstalks were all that remained in the mud. The pearl gray skies above let loose a thicker torrent and everything was simply drizzled in a dark film. And I was only halfway home. Aurgh.
Trying to ride would only end with me falling in the mud or scraping myself on the slick blacktop. Climbing off I walked my bike and kept an eye out for deeper puddles and an ear for vehicles. But between the wind pushing branches together, rain hitting everything, and the rumblings above, I doubted I'd be able to hear a car unless it was really close anyways.
At least the rain made everything smell nice. There was that strong clear, almost sharp, scent of falling water I usually appreciated, but once the ground was soaked it gave off a musty loam smell that was always pleasant. Stepping around a branch that had blown across the road, my boots clonked heavily and sloshed muck and water away from my feet. Then the ground shook.
I froze where I was and looked around rapidly. Why was the ground shaking? Wenevergot earthquakes here. I must have imagined it...
A sharp rage filled howling smashed through the skies, fighting for dominance over the thunder. I openly gaped, jumping and dropping my bike and the pack with it in surprise before whirling around and looking every which way, trying desperately to see what was causing this. Another low tremor made the dirt and deepening puddles quiver. A crash came from far to the right, where the land dipped into a half-bowl shape.
What the hell...Do I go look? What if it's dangerous...Someone could be hurt...Glancing around I found I was still the only one out in the middle of the thunderstorm. Of course, everyone else was actually smart enough not to be caught in this. With a narrowed look I flicked my eyes between my dropped bike and then back towards the fields and trees. Shouting rent the air, joining the cries and thunder.
Shit. Someone sounded pretty hurt. Damn it all.
No more stalling. I dashed across the field, sharp cornstalks cracking under my boots and mud trying to slow me down. Another roar and words I couldn't understand were bellowed, drowning out the thunder as a horrendous screech of metal on metal had me covering my ears. Holy...! What was making that sound!? A gargantuan boom echoed like the tumult above as everything shook, much worse this time. So much so that even as my arms went out to keep balance the world seemed to lose it's center and I fell to my side in the muck.
Rapidly I got up, breathing hard, but there was a relative silence. Rain still tapped, thunder rumbled ominously above, and the branches nearby clacked together. But my ears couldn't catch the sound of words or shouting. Beneath me the field was now still.
Uh-oh. I ran forward again. Bad idea. You're going to get yourself killed. Shut up. Someone could be hurt. You can't justignorethis! You have to see what happened! Reaching the end of the field I looked down to slope. A favorite of the children in winter, it was now a trap to cause broken legs. Mud, rock and rain slid down in rivers. At the bottom, (roughly two football fields length), was metal. Lots of metal.
At first my mind stalled, trying to understand what I was seeing. There appeared to be giant metal forms covered in mud and different colored fluids. Cracked glass panes showed between twisted and ragged metal shapes. Sparks hissed from cut wires and guttered out in the rain. After a few seconds of openly staring I realized that they were bodies. A head set against shoulders, a hand, there a leg unattached to anything. Giant metal bodies. Holy freakin' shit.
They slumped unmoving, strewn across the field. Most appeared to be purple and an odd green color with a hint of yellow. Nearest to me was a red and black one who lay against the slope. On the shoulder a red symbol in the shape of a face was visible. A symbol I had seen more than once on the television. Autobot.
Oh. They were Cybertronian. That...that explained it. But if that one was an Autobot then some of the others here must be Decepticons. Shit. And all of them appeared pretty roughed up. Double shit.
Crrrrreeeeaaaakkkkk. I jerked and twisted a little to see one of the bodies move. There next to the red one was another. I hadn't seen it at first because it was partially behind the other in my line of vision and all of them were pretty hard to distinguish as they were right then. It moved again, shifting a little and a pain filled groan sounded.
Before I'd realized it my legs were slipping and sliding down the slope. Damn, I hope it's not dead yet. Shit shit shit. Stumbling and nearly falling headfirst I finally made it to the bottom and carefully skirted the other bodies to get to the moving one. New scents filled the air as I moved, acrid and bitter. Some of them I couldn't figure out how to describe and a few others had the strong stench of burning. On closer inspection the other bot appeared to be a golden color and looked very similar to the carnation colored one, albeit he had both his legs and his helmet-like head looked to have a different design. One arm wrapped itself around what I guessed to be the chest while the other stretched itself to his comrade, going around the back and clinging to the opposite shoulder with an iron grip, keeping the unmoving one next to him. His friend's eyes were dark, his own a flickering dull blue.
"Hey," my voice wasn't loud enough above the pouring rain, "Hey! Do you want some help?!" I called louder, shivering in my soaked state. It ignored me and stared blankly.
"Hey! You look like shit! Do you want some help or not?!" I hollered louder with my hands cupped around my mouth, trying again. The black and yellow head turned to look at me and I leaned away, fighting the urge to take a step back. Easy girl, you saw the Autobot symbol. He can't hurt you right now anyways. He's torn up and you're fast.
"Beat it," a snarl in a rough and low voice that was definitely male and then a groan as he glared at me with eyes that kept dimming. His expression however, remained dazed and unfocused. I squinted up at him and wrapped my arms around my shivering midsection. What do I do now? I don't have the foggiest idea on how to help.
Suddenly he lurched, the upper half of the Autobot pulling forward so he was bent over, leaning towards me. I froze and fought the urge to bolt as the damaged bot tilted his head and tried to focus on me. My heart beat rocketed skyward as fear and adrenaline shot through my veins.
"You...you have to take these...to others...Autobots...Don't let...Cons catch...you.." Static overlay and shorted out his words as metallic lips valiantly tried to form what he was saying. I nodded yes automatically, if I could help...Wait.
"Take what?" I called out as he leaned back against the mud and rock slope. What the hell was I supposed to take to the Autobots?! I moved forward around the puddle of pink and black fluids, hopping over shards of cracked metal and shattered glass littering the ground. How could I help if I didn't know what to take care of?
The golden one ignored me and moved his giant hand from his comrade's shoulders and reached down, suddenly holding a cylindrical glass container. Where had that come from? He pulled it closer to his chest and the top opened in flower-like procession, overlapped layered sheets unfolding outward. The plating on him shifted, creaking and making odd unidentifiable sounds as they slid back. A blue glow emanated from the cavity within.
"Keep...safe..." He growled again and put the container right up against his chest. I stared in horror with wide eyes as shots of blue electricity crackled out and with it two glowing orbs that settled in the cylinder. A tea-kettle keening erupted from him as one of his legs suddenly kicked out and he thrashed, spraying mud and water to the side and on me as I ducked to avoid being pummeled by a metal limb. His body fell limp.
What...what just...I dashed forward as the black hand that held the container thumped on the ground. No, no. Don't be dead.
Climbing on the rain slicked metal was tricky but I managed to pull myself up and stood on his legs, keeping balance as my boots slid. Please don't be dead. You can't be dead, you were just alive. Please, please, please. Terror and panic whirled at my core.
"Hey!" I screamed loudly, the echoes bouncing against the rock, my hands curled into fists as I roared up at him, "Wake up! …...Please..." I whispered quietly when he didn't respond as the storm drowned out my words. No creaking metal, no light in the glass eyes. Nothing at all.
NO, NO, NO, NO! "You're not allowed to die, damnit!" I bellowed at him as my breathing hitched and without thought my foot kicked out at where his abdomen would be, bringing forth a light clang. He...he, he...no. He couldn't justdie.I stood numb in the rain as tears mixed with the water flowing down my face. I had just seen someone die. I had just seen anAutobotdie. My mind couldn't seem to wrap itself around this as the shivers on my spine increased and I stared with blank fascination at the thing in front of my, now devoid of presence. What...what do I do? As quickly as the grief had sprung up I pushed it away and felt only an emptiness inside. There was nothing to be done now. No one I could save. They were dead. The red one before I'd gotten here and now the yellow one. What the hell do I do now? The question drifted into my head but my numbing mind wasn't able to catch a plausible answer.
Or maybe...maybe there was one. A light to my left caught my eye and I studied the glass he'd held to his chest. Empty before, it now carried two glowing white orbs surrounded by a pulsing blue light that contrasted against the dark and dreary bitter environment surrounding it. They spun in tandem, around in circles, occasionally flashing brighter or dimmer. He said to keep these safe.
That thought snapped me out of the haze I'd been in. I had to keep this thing safe. Whatever it was. Carefully I maneuvered across the Autobot's lap, trying to ignore the fact that I was climbing on a corpse, and got to the other side. Now between both the red and yellow one panic slid into me once more, this time accompanied by grief. They were both dead, faces blank and eyes dark. My god, they were dead. Stuffing that aside I took a deep breath and calmed myself. Carefully I pulled the container from the lax grip of it's owner.
Symmetrical in design with metal on both ends, the top was now firmly closed with the thin panels overlapping one another. The closed openings had the exact same look, dark gray reflecting a bronze sheen in the rain. The thunder rumbled quietly above. Slowly I turned the glass so it sat upright, the spheres inside bouncing slowly. Crouching in the mud it came up to my chin. If I had been standing it would reach my thighs, almost to my waist. In the Autobot's hand it had appeared small. Really, I was short but it's wasn't tiny, just thinner than wide. The container was close to three hands across. Hesitantly I wrapped my arms around it, trying a hand at lifting. And almost fell over from my effort.
Whatever this was really made out of, and whatever was inside, was pretty light. I felt like I was carrying a rolled up rug, although not quite as awkward to carry. As I stood in the muck and contemplated what to do with this there came a crash. Flinching I turned to see one of the other transformers moving. A hand fisted and pushed against the soggy ground, heaving up the body attached to it. Another arm on the other side moved slowly and the green and purple giant was pulling itself up. Rain pinged on it's backside but didn't drown out the sound of gears grinding and whirling against each other. A deep breath as I gasped, sighting a purple symbol as it became visible on the chest. This one was just as well known as the Autobot symbol. Only this one was trouble. Even under the spray of multicolored liquids and mud, it was unmistakeable, Decepticon.
Shit. Double shit. If it saw me I was dead, but if I stayed here I would get killed anyways. And the Decepticon might get this container. Standing frozen for a few seconds I made my decision and bolted for the slope. Sliding around one of them set my nerves on edge but it wasn't moving and it kept me out of sight from the other. There was nothing to do about my thudding footsteps. I had to be quick. Let's hope they couldn't be heard over the noise of the weather.
Slipping and sliding I tried dashing back up the way I'd come. But the incline kept pushing me down and with both arms around the cylinder I kept sliding back. Damnit! Do you want to die! Below the giant creaked and rumbled, a quick look behind showed it getting up. No!
I scrambled higher, boots sinking into muck before finding ground on a patch of larger rocks. They clattered and slid a little as I dashed up and pulled myself up onto the flat cornfield. Panting and now thoroughly covered in mud, I struggled to stand. My legs trembled from the exertion. I had to run. If the decepticon saw me and wanted this, it would chase me. Internally groaning, my feet stumbled over the roots and broken stalks. The field had seemed much shorter the first time I had crossed it. Panting and running forward, much slower now, I tried to see where I'd dropped my bike. Side of the road, side of the road. Damn the rain for making everything much harder...There! There is was, at the curve on the edge of the pavement.
"Yes!" I breathed a sigh of relief and then stopped as I realized my dilemma; how to get out of here quickly when I needed my hands to steer my bike. Damn, damn, damn, damn... With a outward silent snarl I yanked up my bike and unhooked the ropes holding my backpack. Don't stop, you don't have time. Just get out of here to safety. Hissing nasty words I yanked open my bag and dumped out the food before stuffing the container inside. Not bothering to be distracted by the spinning lights I struggled to get the zipper closed. Hurry, hurry, hurry! Why did this thing have to be so tall?! Thank god I'd brought my large backpack to get groceries earlier.
Finally managing to secure it, I slung my bag back into the basket and tied it down with quick finger before pulled my bike up. Climbing on and kicking off, I quickly picked up speed despite the light weight I carried. With my heart hammering in my chest, the tires sliding over slippery pavement only caused me to go faster. Whipping around the bend I was off, not even worried about falling now. That would be a minor issue if I was caught.
I didn't normally swear but considering the situation it was justified. I normally consider myself to be a relatively calm person but if anyone else had been in my position then I'm sure they would have been cussing nonstop as well. Regardless, there was no Decepticon chasing me. And that was the only good thing I could think of.
On the other hand, my person was a mass of soggy rain water crossed with a mud monster. My boots were toughened leather, meant to keep my feet dry, but there was still at least an inch or so of liquid sloshing around my toes in there. My hair was plastered to my skull and kept getting in my eyes. My entire being was shaking from adrenaline and exhaustion. I had a... thingamabob, from some dead Autobot in my bag, I had seen someonedie,and there was a possibility of a Decepticon or two that may or may not come after me. Don't forget I was charged with getting said thingamabob to some Autobots who were who knows where. And, I had lost the groceries. I was screwed no matter which approach I took on the situation.
Another low growl slipped out of my lips as I pulled into my yard and stowed my beat-up bike next to the truck in the barn and untied the bag. With a sigh I schooled my features to hide the frustration and worry before turning toward the house. A squat building with white-going-gray wood paneling and a columned porch sat up against the road. Scale-like shingles that were most definitely rusting tinged under the rain and matched the dark gray and green curtains I had picked out a few years ago. Kept people from looking in, satisfied Dad and they were not a horrid color. Between the old barn and the house itself was Dad's (mine really) garden that was gaining massive amounts of cucumber by the day. I was never going to plant so many again.
Tromping across the yard with my bag I kept a wary eye on the road in the direction I'd come. Lady Luck had seen fit to grant me a pass from sliding and falling in my hurry but that Con could still be following. There really was no telling if it had seen me. Now that I thought about it... The road curved. Marnie's fields were actually in the other direction. If that thing wasn't following the road but just came in this direction in a straight line, it would cut right through the woods.
A narrow glance toward one of my favorite havens and I contemplated the probability of that happening. No, I would hear it coming ahead of time if the Decepticon did choose to do so. And it would have trouble getting through all the trees. Taking a shortcut straight here wouldn't be a wise decision.
Without pause I pulled my groaning self up onto the porch and finally out of the rain. Now what the hell to do. I couldn't very well walk into the house like this. I also couldn't strip outside. Our neighbors weren't very close but I preferred not to risk it. Not to mention the fit Dad would have. Yes Dad, I am twenty-two, I think I can run around naked in the rain if I was to. Shut up brain and think of something actually useful, not stupid. Ugh, I was tired.
Finally I just pulled off my boots and jacket, setting the latter across the back of a wooden chair and then unlocked the door and headed straight for the laundry room. Stripping and shoving it all in the empty washer, I grabbed my pack and snuck upstairs to get fresh clothes. That quick dash was thankfully lacking in curious fathers and I wasn't seen. Closing the door with a sigh of relief I set the dripping bag on one of my bath towels and grabbed another before sneaking into the bathroom. Was I putting off dealing with something important? Yes, but no one was checking over my shoulder about it. And getting the mud out of my hair was crucial to avoid awkward questions. It wasn't an emergency and as far as I knew, a ticking clock was not hanging above my head. Just let me take a breather.
Warm water was heaven after the brutally cold rain and as expected the loss of dirt and other things from my person improved my mood. Until I dried off and noticed the bruises around my ankles. Those must have been caused by my boots when I was running. With that thought came back all the suppressed images and before I knew it I was curled up on the floor with tears running down my face. The grief from earlier reared up and dragged me down until my teeth were clenched shut to keep me from screaming out loud, the pain inside a physical essence pressed to my lips where it wanted out. I would have liked very much to punch the wall, knock the bottles from the shelf, scream to let it all out and cry that it wasn't fair for someone to die when I had tried to help. I wanted to save him. But if I started sobbing, if I did any of that, Dad would hear and then I would have to come up with an explanation. I couldn't lose control. A shallow breath and then a deeper one filled my lungs and the pain and despair left me, burned out as quickly as they'd come. My pumping lungs and heart started to slow from their quickened states.
Another moment to collect myself and I wiped away the tears that had scalded down my face. I wanted to stay on the floor and rest, I was so tired and worn out, but there were things to be done, whether I wanted to deal with them or not. Picking my exhausted self up from the tile, I got dressed and finger combed my hair as the dryer heated it up until it was no longer damp. Now done and realizing I couldn't put it off any longer, I went to my room.