Darkness rising

Sunsets

The barren deserts and rocky hills filled the landscape. On one such hill, Jack was sitting on the ground watching the scenery in front of him. He was some good few miles away from the MECH base he was kept at.

His eyes scanned the horizon, taking in the beauty of the scenery in front of him. He thought about running away. The MECH base was too far away for his "owners" to stop him in time and he could deal with the tracker they put in his body later. But then immediately dismissed the thought.

There was this feeling of loyalty he felt towards this organisation for some reason. He didn't know why he felt so loyal to this organisation and its leader. Jack couldn't remember if he despised someone as much as he did MECH and Silas. But despite how much hatred was stored in his heart, despite the desire to strike down and end this organisation, this unexplainable feeling of loyalty has kept him from acting out.

Other than that, escape was still a near impossible scenario for him. He had tried to escape before, and almost succeeded but then whatever Silas had put in his body had electrocuted him, which had caused him to go unconscious and the MECH managed to capture him again. He was punished for this behaviour after they secured him.

So escape wasn't really an option for him.

But then again, where would he go if he does manage to escape? The Autobots? The people who used him, took advantage of him, and then left him to die when they didn't have any use of him? Hell no!

Joining the Decepticons wasn't exactly the best option either. He knew that Megatron won't even think twice before taking him down if he was of no use to him anymore.

Jack took a deep breath to clear out his mind. Just then he heard the noise of an incoming helicopter. Jack didn't look at the aircraft. He knew it was approaching him.

He heard the familiar mechanical sound of a cybertronian transforming and then there were thuds of something gigantic walking towards him.

Jack glanced on his left and saw Airachnid taking a seat next to him.

"Are you here to fetch me?" Jack asked, looking back at the sunset.

"Not really." Airachnid replied,"Just wanted to…. give you some company."

Jack gave her a quick glance. Like him, the spider bot was also staring at the setting sun. The yellow and red hue of the sun reflected on her metallic body, making her shine. Jack would be lying if he said he didn't find this sight….. pleasant. He turned back towards the sunset, but his mind was still lingering on Airachnid.

If he was being honest, he didn't really know how he felt about this femme. His opinion about her has changed quite a lot over the recent events.

Once he thought of her nothing but a vicious murderer. But now? Now he felt like she was a mystery. An odd one out. Just like him.

"So,..... something on your mind?" Airachnid suddenly asked.

"Yes. But it's nothing important." Jack replied.

"Hmphh." Airachnid hummed but didn't press further.

They just sat in silence, staring at the sunset. Though he would not admit it, Jack was secretly enjoying Airachnid's company. Even the silence with her brought some sort of comfort to him.

"I know how you feel Jack." Airachnid suddenly said.

Jack looked at her, but she didn't meet his stare. She just stared at the setting sun as she continued,"The pain of betrayal you feel when you get abandoned by the people you trusted, the feeling of helplessness when you are in the mercy of your enemy, the feeling of hopelessness when you are used as a pawn….." Airachnid sighed "I know it all Jack. You and I are not so different you know."

Jack looked away at that, but still listening to Airachnid as she spoke,"Left behind by our teammates, tortured and used by our once enemies, forced into becoming a monster."

"I must admit once thought very lowly of you Airachnid-"

"I wouldn't blame you for thinking negatively about me. We didn't really have a good start." Airachnid suddenly said, cutting him off.

"Let me finish Airachnid. As I was saying, my view on you wasn't the best. But now I can finally see. You're not a monster. You were forced to become one. The real monsters are those who forced this fate on you." Jack said.

Airachnid glanced at Jack when he said those words. They both sat in silence for some time. Until Jack decided to break the silence.

"You know, ever since all this started, I can't really recognise myself anymore. I don't know who I am any more. Nor do I know what I am supposed to be. I feel lost. Lost and alone." Jack admitted.

Jack didn't know why he said this to Airachnid, but he really wanted to get it off his chest.

To his surprise, suddenly he felt something on his hand. He looked at it and found Airachnid's servo on his hand. Jack looked up at the spider bot and found her staring at him. The gentle and affectionate look in her eyes made Jack feel nice, much to his surprise.

"You are not alone Jack." Airachnid said,"Not anymore. I will always be beside you. No matter what."

Jack just nodded and looked away. While he didn't say anything, inside he was really glad to hear those words. Never in his life he had imagined that he would hear those words from someone such as Airachnid, but now he was glad to have her by his side.

A smile crept on his face as he felt Airachnid gently squeezing his hand. She was being mindful to not hurt him.

Airachnid took notice of this and smiled to herself before looking back at the setting sun, which had almost gone below the horizon. The last rays of sun washed over the Cybertronian femme and the techno-organic as they enjoyed each other's company in silence.

AUTHOR'S NOTE :- Hey guys, Commander Alfa here. Hope you liked this chapter.

I am really sorry for the delays in updating my stories.

I recently got into a college and my new schedule has left me with very little time to spend on writing. I'm trying to get my stories done, but it's harder now.

Please bear with me guys.

Anyway, that's all. Have a good day or night or whatever time of day it is at your place. Bye guys. See ya in the next chapter. Alfa out. Peace.