Ideas have been popping in my head and I keep thinking. The glory has really expanded my mind in the past few years.

Trials, Tribulations and Transformations

V

Milton's All-American Diner, Jasper, Nevada - 12:40 pm

I've had some very off days, but yesterday, man that takes it. The school freak freaks out more than usual. And her ride nearly runs me down and then the driver mysteriously disappears just seconds after hitting me with their door. And what kind of name is Bulkhead?

Vince Raider was sitting in a booth seat by himself, waiting on his order, his mind still reeling from yesterday's events. He couldn't quite get them out of his head. When things didn't make sense to him, he could not help but ponder them.

I'd have to say that my last race is probably a close second to the craziest things that happened in my life.
I mean getting jumped by some mystery gang, knocked unconscious, and put in their trunk. And yet there wasn't a scratch on me. And they just decided to cut me loose and Darby just so happened to be close enough to pick me up, just before I came to?

Vince eyes widened slightly at the thought. On two occasions, Vince endured certain events, unexplainable events that puzzled him greatly and they both had one thing in common: Jackson Darby was involved.

What does Darby know? What has he not been telling me?

"Are you Vince Raider?"

Upon hearing his name, Vince looked up at who spoke.

"Who's asking?" Vince said.

The man who spoke was tall, slightly overweight, African-American and in a suit.

"I'd like to talk to you about an incident that has been brought to my attention, an incident that occurred yesterday at the school you attend."

Who is this guy?

"Who are you and how did you know where to find me?" Vince asked.

The man who spoke took a seat in Vince's booth, right across from him with a look of utmost seriousness.

"My name is William Fowler. I knew to find you here because certain people from the school know that you come here every Saturday. And I'm here on behalf of your principal and the school's security."

Seriously, who is this guy?

"What do you want to know?" Vince asked, not bothering to hide his suspicion.

"What happened yesterday at your school?" Fowler asked.

"For starters, a car almost ran me down."

"Was it a green van?" Fowler asked.

Vince looked surprised and he was.

"Who told you?"

"The school," Fowler said simply. "What can you tell me about the driver?"

"I didn't see any driver. He pulled a disappearing act on me, left the engine running too. Talk about dumb."

Fowler clasped his hands together and looked Vince dead in the eye.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, that Nakadai girl called the guy by his name. Bulkhead I think."

Fowler sighed deeply and closed his eyes, as though he was deeply disappointed about something.

"You know him? The driver?" Vince asked.

"I know of him alright. I've had my eye on him for some time," Fowler said.

"What happens now?"

Fowler didn't answer.

"Uh hello?" Vince said but Fowler didn't seem to paying attention to him. He was looking intently at something, something behind him and his eyes were following something.

What's this guy's deal? There's only a large mirror wall behind me. Is he following a bug or something?

Then Vince heard the sound of the bell when someone entered the diner through the front door. Vince averted his eyes and saw two men enter.

One was a tall white man, broad-shouldered and broad chested, with a black buzz cut in a black polo shirt, leather jacket and jeans. He also had a deep scar across his left eye. The other was slightly shorter than his associate, a Hispanic, bald, with some facial hair, slim but fairly muscled, in a dark blue track suit. He had a tattoo of a black skull on his right hand.

They do not look friendly.

Vince realized that Fowler was looking in the mirror wall's reflection and was eying the men through the diner's window as they were about to enter.

Vince felt something slide under his fingers. Without moving, he averted his eyes down and saw a white card with something written in pen.

Do as I say. Our lives depend on it.

Vince averted his eyes back at Fowler. He maintained his composure but Fowler could see growing alarm in Vince's eyes.

What the hell is going on in my life?

Then they were upon them. Both men were standing right next to their table, looking down at them. Both had stern looks on their faces, neither one spoke, which was not a good sign.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Fowler asked steadily, but those present could see he was agitated.

"Come quietly Agent Fowler," said the tall scarred man.

"And you too boy," said the Hispanic man. "We have some questions for you."

"Or what?" Vince said defiantly, brandishing a switchblade knife on the table.

Neither of the men spoke but they looked amused.

"A knife won't do it kid, look in their jackets," Fowler said.

Vince focused on the contents of the men's jacket, who opened them slightly so he could see the handguns in holsters.

How did I keep getting myself into these messes?

"Excuse me sirs, I have an order for this table."

The men turned their heads and stepped aside to let a young lady in a waitress outfit through. She had a red hair, worn in a large pony tail.

When Vince recognized her, his blood ran cold.

SIERRA?!

"Oh hey Vince, fancy seeing you here," Sierra smiling as she saw who her customer was. "You ordered the strawberry milkshake?"

Vince trying his hardest to hide his shock from her. He simply nodded dumbly.

Sierra raised an eyebrow at Vince's odd behavior but shrugged it off.

"Ok, well here you go," Sierra said placing a glass of strawberry milkshake on the table. As she did so, she leaned in to whisper to Vince. "It's my new job, my first day too," she whispered, smiling all the while. She turned towards Fowler.

"Have you been waited on sir?"

"I'm alright, I'm not hungry," Fowler said politely as steadily as he could.

Just walk away Sierra, get away from them.

The two men glanced at Sierra, eying her for a moment and then they eyed Vince and then Agent Fowler.

"I'll see you around Vince," Sierra said, smiling at him. She turned to leave, but she was blocked by the tall scarred man.

Sierra was slightly startled as she bumped into the man.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir, can I help you with anything?" Sierra asked.

"Yes, I think there is," the scarred man said, leaning towards her.

"Listen carefully and do not draw attention to yourself," the man whispered. "My friend and I are armed."

Sierra froze in place, utterly shocked, but she did not show it on her face.

The man continued. "The boy with the red hair and the black guy with him are going for a little ride with us and you're going to help us make sure they do as they're told. Or I will kill you and your boyfriend," the man whispered unrepentantly.

Sierra was trying so desperately to keep from trembling. What was going on? Why is this happening?

"Let her go," Vince said in a low and dangerous voice.

The Hispanic man turned towards Vince and he leaned his head to whisper in his ear too.

"Get up and let's go or we'll kill you and your friend, starting with her," he said.

Vince clenched his jaw so hard that he thought it might snap.

I have think of something and fast. If we go with them, we're as good as dead. I know how this works, if you saw their faces, they won't let you go alive.

Then Vince felt something hit his foot under the table. He averted his eyes to look at Fowler, who quickly motioned his eyes towards the door.

Vince nodded towards the men but kept his eyes on Fowler to keep the men from seeing through their guise and to give a positive response to Fowler's gesture.

As they got up from their seats, Fowler eyed a glass pot of hot coffee on the counter closest to Vince.

"Coffee?" Fowler said

And that's all it took.

"GET DOWN SIERRA!"

Without even thinking, Sierra did as Vince told and she dropped to the floor covering her head.

In the fraction of a second, Vince grabbed the pot of coffee and emptied its contents straight into the scarred man's face and with the same momentous hook he used to toss the coffee, smashed the glass pot into the Hispanic man's face.

The scarred man screamed in agony. He dropped to the floor, covering his face, which was steaming and beginning to blister.

The Hispanic man was dazed for a moment and then he tried to reach for his weapon. Before he could however, he was hit over the head with a skillet, by Agent Fowler. The man fell to the floor unconscious.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"

Fowler looked to see the owner of the restaurant, brandishing a mop as a makeshift weapon. He quite angry to see a fight happening in his restaurant.

Agent Fowler quickly pulled out his agent's badge and showed it to the man.

"These men are armed and dangerous, call the police immediately," Fowler commanded.

The owner was stunned for a moment but immediately responded. "Yes sir."

Fowler suddenly cried out in pain and almost fell to the floor but caught himself.

The scarred man had stabbed Fowler in the foot with a knife.

Vince acted at once, quickly took a glass mug from a nearby table, and smashed it over the scarred man' s head. The man let go of the knife but he remained conscious.

"RUN!" Fowler screamed.

Vince grabbed Sierra by the hand and they ran like the devil with Fowler in tow, who was limping but he kept their pace.

The scarred man lifted his head, bleeding from the glass mug and his face blistering from the hot coffee. His eyes were filled with murderous hatred.

"I'm gonna murder that kid."

Once the three were outside, they made their way towards Vince's car.

Fowler got to it first before Vince gave any indication it was his.

"We need to take your car!" Fowler said.

"How did you know that-never mind! We?!Why we?!"

"Remember what I said?!" Fowler said.

Do as I say. Our lives depend on it.

"Fine!" Vince cried.

The trio wasted no time getting into Vince's car. Fowler got in the passenger seat while Sierra scrambled into the back.

Vince started the engine and punched it.

"Vince, what's going on?" Sierra asked, shaking like a leaf and in tears. "Who were those men?"

"Why don't we ask Double O 7 here," Vince motioning to Agent Fowler without taking his eyes off the road.

Agent Fowler got out his cellphone and attempted to make a call, but before he even dialed a number, the screen on his phone glitched out completely.

"What the?! Oh damn! They're jamming my signal! I can't call for back up!"

Perfect.

"Who's they?!" Vince cried.

"Vince, this is not the time-"

"The Hell it's not!" Vince roared. "Those guys were after you! We're in this mess because of you! Who were those guys?! And why were they after you?! TELL US!"

Fowler sighed and then grunted from the pain in his foot.

"It's all very complicated but I never seen those men before but I knew they were trouble the moment I saw them and I have a pretty good idea who sent them," Fowler said grimly.

"Are there more of them?" Vince said dreading the answer.

"I don't know for sure but it's a definite possibility that they have backup, which is why I told you we had to run for it and use your car. It would not be safe to separate, besides I don't think I'd make to my car in time with a hole in my foot."

"In time before what?" Sierra asked wringing her hands.

"Before they got to me," Fowler answered.

"They?" Vince asked. "Alright, so do you know who sent those guys or not?!"

"I'm almost certain of it-WATCH IT!"

In a split second, Vince barely managed to swerve his car out of the path of what looked like a Chevrolet Corvette with a bright green and black color scheme. It had nearly rammed right into them.

Are those tinted windows?

"There's my answer, no doubt about it!" Fowler said.

"Well?! Who is it?!" Vince shouted.

"They're called MECH. They are a rogue military organization who are working in opposition to the US government."

Vince felt like the world was crashing down on him.

This can't be real! Why is this happening?!

"And they're after me because they want something that I have access to," Fowler said.

"Which is?" Vince asked as he saw the MECH corvette catching up on them in his rear view mirror, thus speeding up himself.

"I cannot tell you now but if you do as I say, I promise on the Founding Father's that you'll have questions answered!" Fowler said with fervor.

Vince grimaced.

I don't trust this guy, not as far as I can throw him.

But then he looked in the rear view mirror and saw Sierra with her head down, covering her ears, trembling and more scared than he had ever seen her.

But what choice do I have.

"What do we do?!" Vince asked, making another sharp turn.

"For now, run and hide."

"Hide where?!"

"Just keep driving and I'll tell you, first we got to lose these bums!" Fowler shouted.

At least, there's only one of them.

Vince looked in his mirrors again, only to see another of these MECH vehicles coming up along side the other one.

Vince with gritted teeth gripped the steering wheel, adrenaline pumping, as he made the necessary turns in order to lose MECH.

I have get out of this town. If we keep this up, someone's going to get killed.

Then flashes of blue and red shown up in Vince's rear view mirror. A police cruiser was tailing behind the MECH vehicles.

A loud audio screech was heard that indicated that the police was about to address the situation via intercom.

"THIS IS THE JASPER POLICE, PULL YOUR VEHICLES OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO DO SO-"

But that was all the cop had time to say before a MECH soldier in one of the vehicles fired upon them.

The police cruiser swerved out of control, right before being rammed by the second vehicle, sending it into one of the buildings and exploding upon impact.

Seeing this terrible atrocity in his rear view mirror, Vince felt like his heart got caught in his throat.

Agent Fowler watched in horror, seeing those poor officers and townspeople getting brutally killed by the cowardly actions of MECH.

Sierra took it the worst. She just sat in the back seat, sobbing as it seemed like her life was unraveling before her. And worse, she had to witness these terrible murders take place.

"It was only my first day," Sierra said, sounding quite miserable.

Fowler looked at the girl, filled with shame and guilt that this young lady got caught up in all this.

"What's your name miss?" Fowler asked.

"Sierra, Sierra Krosney," she said.

"Well Sierra, I'm Special Agent William Fowler of the United States government and I promise I will do everything in my power to see to you safe from harm," Fowler said solemnly.

"Ok," Sierra said, albeit still quite shaken. "What agency do you work for?"

"That's classified I'm afraid but I will fill-"

"How do we know you're not with MECH?" Sierra asked, suddenly quite angry.

Vince agreed. "Yeah?"

"Seriously? I got stabbed in the foot by those guys. They nearly rammed us a while ago. I'm the Special Agent with access to government secrets. You're just a couple of ordinary kids. Why would I lie just to get to a couple civilian youths?"

Sierra was not entirely convinced.

"Sure, you got stabbed in the foot, that is convincing. But maybe you know something about us or our families that we don't. Some terrible secret or something valuable that this MECH is willing to kill and kidnap to get their hands on.
If we're going to trust you, we need some surety that you are who you say you are."

Agent Fowler grimaced and then sighed once more.

"Alright, someone I know that you know can vouch for me," Fowler said.

"Someone we know?" Sierra said. "Who could we possibly know that has any sort of connection with you?"

Vince had a pretty good idea.

"Jack Darby?" he said.

Fowler recoiled as if struck and Sierra was simply confused.

"Jack? Why would he-?"

"I'm right, aren't I?" Vince said smirking a triumphant smirk.

How he reacted just now when I said his name is a dead giveaway.

"Agent Fowler?" Sierra said.

Fowler was at a loss for words.

"How do you-?"

"I didn't, not for certain, until just now."

Fowler inwardly cursed.

Sierra was quite shocked.

"What does Jack have to do with this?" she asked.

"For now, all I can tell you is that he's in on the same secret. It will be explained when we get there."

Fowler looked Vince dead in the eye.

"Vince, can you lose these cars?"

"I can, but it'll hard. These guys are pro drivers," Vince said with determination.

"Well, do what you have to but do it with care!" Fowler cried.

In a matter of minutes, Vince was out of the town of Jasper and reached the city limits and now, not two but three MECH vehicles were in hot pursuit of them.

Vince went off road, tried to lose them on the rocky hills of Jasper. Hazard signs on the road made it clear that this part of Jasper was not meant for cars and thus to drive there, in a high-speed chase, was a death trap.

Vince had hoped the MECH vehicles would give up their chase at this point and not dare enter such treacherous terrain.

They didn't. They charged in as though the terrain was no different to them.

These guys are crazier than Nakadai!

They came about a smooth gravel road along side a cliff. Vince grimaced upon seeing it.

Wow, that's a long way down.

A MECH vehicle drove up next to them and it's sunroof opened. A MECH soldier stood up out of it, aiming what appeared to be some kind of rifle, as though it came from the future.

What kind of gun is that?

"Pull over!" the soldier ordered.

Vince showed no sign that he heard the MECH soldier. Intending to make the boy pay for his defiance, the soldier aimed his weapon at the passenger in the backseat.

NO! SIERRA!

Vince immediately turned towards the MECH vehicle and rammed into it, effectively running it off the cliff. It fell over a hundred feet before it rocks down below, causing it to explode on impact.

Oh God Almighty, what did I do?

Fowler was shocked by Vince's action. Sierra too, grateful though she was that Vince just saved her life yet again, it was still disturbing to see human beings die, evil or no.

Vince was deeply shaken by what he had done, but he knew there was no other way.

It was them or her.

"Vince? Are you ok?" Sierra asked.

"No, I'm not," Vince replied bitterly.

As they made a turn around a canyon and off the steep, narrow path, they made their way back to the main road.

I can't keep this up. My engine is overheating and I have less of a quarter of gas. I have to lose these guys or we're dead meat.

Suddenly, the sound of a great horn blasted from the lane next to them. Startled, Vince looked back and saw that it was a red and blue Peterbilt 379.

"What the?!" Vince said.

"YES!" Fowler cried, pumping a fist triumphantly.

"Is that supposed to be your backup?" Vince asked.

"Of sorts," Fowler said, grinning.

Looking back in his mirror, Vince saw that the MECH soldiers have already stopped and turned their vehicles around.

I can't believe it. Whoever this trucker, he must really mean business if those merc's just up and left without a fight.

"That guy must really be something," Vince said, gesturing to the truck.

"You've no idea," Fowler said.

The truck went off road, flashing it's taillights at Vince.

I think he wants us to follow him.

"He wants you to follow him," Fowler said.

"I knew that," Vince said annoyed.

They drove for some time before they reached a certain plateau in the middle of the desert. They both parked and Vince finally turned his engine off.

He laid against his car seat and breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank you God, thank you, thank you, thank you.

"Hey Sierra," Vince said, turning to look at her. "You ok?"

"I...I think so," Sierra croaked, exhausted from the ordeal she went through.

"Well done son," Fowler said. "You acted admirably today."

"Don't call me son," Vince said. "And I'd hardly call driving like a maniac admirable."

"All the same, you saved my life and this young lady's today," Fowler said smiling.

That's something I guess.

Suddenly, Vince felt two slender arms wrap around his middle quite tightly from behind his seat.

"Thank you," Sierra whispered.

Vince felt his ears burning. "Uh, it was...nothing," Vince said.

Sierra giggled slightly before letting go.

Vince got out of his car and approached the Peterbilt with Sierra and Agent Fowler following him. Fowler was leaning on Sierra who was supporting him, due to the stab wound in his foot.

"Hey dude!" Vince called out. "You really saved our hides back there."

Vince tapped on the door in an attempt to get the driver's attention. There was no reply.

"Hello?" Vince called out.

No reply.

Did he fall asleep or something or is he deaf?

Vince went up the truck's steps to get a look inside it's cab, only to find it completely empty. No one in the front seats and no one in the sleeper berth in back.

Is this some kind of joke?!

Vince looked about to see if anyone took off running.

There's no way this guy just ran off. There's no where to run to and I would've seen them get out and try to take off. And why would they leave this truck here?!

Vince opened the door and found it was open. Just as he was about to get in-

"Hey Vince?"

Vince turned to see Agent Fowler standing behind him with Sierra supporting him right next to him.

Fowler motioned to Sierra to help him sit, which she did.

"You might want to ask before going in there," Fowler said, nursing his injured foot.

"Ask who?" Vince asked.

"The truck of course."

Vince almost laughed. "Is this really the time for jokes?"

Fowler looked at Vince with both amusement and pity.

"You want tell him or should I Prime?"

Prime?

"I think we should both tell him."

Vince was so startled by the sudden baritone voice that spoke that he nearly fell off the truck's step ladder.

Sierra was equally alarmed that she took a few steps back.

"You're hurt Agent Fowler," the voice sounding concerned.

"It's not bad Prime, just a scratch," Fowler said grimly but with amusement, as he wrapped some gauze around his wound.

"Who...who said that?" Sierra said startled.

"I'm sure that this quite a shock to you both and I understand that you suffered a great deal today, especially you Mr. Raider," said the disembodied baritone.

"Where are you?!" Vince shouted, not liking this mystery voice one bit.

And why does this voice sound so familiar...wait...

We must get this boy to safety immediately. Explanations can come later. From all of you.

Whoa, what was that?

"I don't wish to alarm you Vince but I'm not what you think I am."

The voice was coming from inside the truck's cab.

"Are you speaking through the truck's radio from another location?" Vince asked.

"No Vince," Agent Fowler said. "He is the truck."

Huh?

"Alright enough of that?! I'm so tired of this ring around the rosy! 'He is the truck?' What is that supposed to mean?!"

"I can show you if you wish," the baritone voice said.

"By all means," Vince said, satisfied that he'd get some straight answers.

"But first, there is one thing I wish to say."

"Ok, what?" Vince said.

"What I am about to show may come as a complete shock to both you and your female friend."

"After what we've been through today, I think we can handle anything," Vince said.

"Very well. Are you ready?"

"Go for it already!" Vince said impatiently.

"Young lady?"

Sierra nodded lightly. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright then."

For a moment, there was silence as both Vince and Sierra looked upon the truck.

And then it happened.

It began with clicks and whirrs. And then the truck seemed to split apart and change shape. It's parts shifted and winded about itself and it seemed to transform into a bi-pedal robotic being.

For the entirety of the transformation, Vince was in utter awe, both alarmed and shocked. What exactly was he looking at?

No! No flipping way!

Sierra was equally shocked by this. She wasn't sure how much of this she could take. There was only so much scares she could endure in one day.

As soon as the transformation was complete, the robotic being bent his knee and bent down at both Vince and Sierra to better look at them.

"Greetings, my name is Optimus Prime. Now, I must ask that both come with me for your own protection. Everything will be explained when we get there," he said in a gentle commanding voice.

Sierra didn't answer. She didn't appear to hear him.

"Sierra?" Vince said. "You ok?"

There was still no reply.

Then Sierra's legs gave out and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Sierra!" Vince cried, barely catching her before she hit the ground.

Optimus sighed. He glanced at Agent Fowler who grinned sheepishly at him.

Then Optimus reached up to his audio receptor and pressed to activate his communicator.

"Ratchet, we require a ground bridge immediately. And please inform Nurse Darby that her expertise is needed."

That took me nearly all day to finish. Hope ya'll enjoy it.