Transformers Origins: Age of Extinction !!ON HOLD!!

⚜️Shifting the Blame⚜️

There was complete silence in the truck as Optimus drove. Ayisha sat in the driver's seat, Cade in the passenger's, and Tessa and the other guy in back.

"Lucas...we just left him," the teenager finally said with a broken voice. Ayisha cleared her throat and sniffed, looking outside as she hugged her sides. She hadn't cried yet, but she felt like she was going to. Her entire body felt heavy and lifeless. She hadn't even noticed the searing pain in her stomach.

"He's gone," Cade replied, responding in the most comforting way possible, though Ayisha wasn't sure it did much help.

She beat the steering wheel weakly with her fist. "I should've helped him. He could have made it..."

Cade rested his hand on her shoulder and she felt Optimus tighten the seatbelt around her waist in an attempt to comfort her. "It's not your fault, Aisha," Her brother said, "There's nothing you could've done."

Ayisha growled. "Like hell it's not, Cade! I-I don't know how, but I could've done something to help him!" She kicked the floorboard with pent-up frustration. She sighed and rested her forehead on the wheel, careful not to put too much pressure so she didn't affect Optimus' steering.

Cade rested a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't set off that bomb.." he said in a gentle voice. "If you had gone back to save Lucas, it wouldn't just be our friend we'd be mourning right now..." He left it at that and steady silence filled the cabin, accompanied by the occasional sniffle or two from Tess.

They eventually came to a stop at an abandoned gas station, where Optimus let them out and transformed. He slammed his fist on the ground, startling Tessa and the stranger, who'd been standing closest to him.

"My deepest sympathies for the loss of your friend," he said sadly, glancing at the four of them.

Ayisha nodded. "It's our fault. At least you tried to help..." She hugged her sides and rubbed her nose with a sniff.

Optimus stared at her gratefully. Despite her understanding, he couldn't help scold himself for not terminating Lockdown..  "Stay here until I'm sure we weren't followed. We are all targets now," he continued before transforming and driving away.

"So, we're hiding out now? That's the plan? We're gonna take orders from a truck?" the stranger said, a hint of an Irish accent rolling off his tongue.

"You got any better ideas?" Cade asked, suddenly irritated.

Ayisha frowned and turned to the stranger. "I'm sorry, I must've missed something- who are you again?"

"I'm her boyfriend,"

"He's my boyfriend," Tessa and the guy said in unison.

He offered his hand to her. "Name's Shane. Nice to meet you."

Ayisha shook his hand and nodded. "Huh. Well, nice to meet you too, Shane. I'm Tessa's aunt, Ayisha." As soon as she let go of Shane's hand, Cade smacked her upside the head. "Ow! What the heck was that for!"

"Don't encourage them...!" Ayisha rolled her eyes as Cade glared at her crossly.

"Somebody's pissed," she muttered flatly. Cade sighed and turned to Shane, who had his arm around Tessa's waist.

"And you, move away from her, kid, get your hands off her," he growled before pushing them apart. Ayisha chuckled and immediately winced, grabbing her side as she fell on her knee.

Cade's eyes widened. "Ayisha!" He knelt next to her. "Wh- what's wrong? What happened??"

She coughed and lifted her shirt a little, resulting in a gasp from Cade. Her rib cage and stomach looked sickeningly purple and blue. "Oh gosh- those ribs look fractured. C'mon, let's get you inside." He picked her up and carried her inside.

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After Cade did his best to treat Ayisha's injuries (meaning he found a sort of cold beer in the gas stations fridge and had her use it like an ice pack), an intense silence hung in the air as the four settled into their spots around the room. Shane stood behind the counter while Cade sat backwards in a chair across from him and Tessa sat at the door, playing with some Christmas lights. Ayisha sat against the door frame, biting down a wince and she held the slightly cold bottle to her rib cage.

"Bright side; you guys met," Tessa said, trying to break the silence as she clicked the lights on and off.

Ayisha winced through a laugh then looked at her. "Oh, you're not joking."

Cade ignored both of the girls. "Where's he from?" he asked, nodding to Shane.

"Here we go," Ayisha mumbled.

"Texas," Tessa answered. Ayisha closed her eyes, tuning out the conversation between the three until she heard Cade come over to her and Tessa.

"You know, Tessa, I trusted you," he said, clearly pissed off.

Tessa sighed. "To do what? To never have fun, take a risk? To be a normal teenager like you?"

Ayisha rested a hand on her knee. "Tess..."

"I am your father, okay? And I have been busting my ass to take care of you!"

"Is that what you were doing when you bought that truck?" Tessa replied. "All you had to do was call it in, and now, Lucas is dead."

"Hey!" Cade and Tessa looked at Ayisha with wide eyes. She rarely raised her voice at Tessa. "Don't you dare go blaming your dad on Lucas dying! You have no idea what he goes through just to make sure you're happy healthy and safe!"

"Does it look like I'm happy healthy and save?!" She jumped off the counter to stand in front of Ayisha.

"Yeah well, you'd be a lot worse off if it weren't for that truck that saved our asses. And if you wanna blame anyone for Lucas' death, you blame me or you blame Cemetry Wind, but you will not blame your dad!"

Tessa shook her head, "The truck saved us? Ayisha, it wouldn't have HAD to save us if Dad had just reported it!! Cemetry Wind never would've come to the house in the first place!! Our family is falling apart, no thanks to Dad; that stupid truck certainly wasn't doing us any favors!"

"Tessa, do you realize that those men were willing to do anything to get Optimus? They were ready to kill you! That man put the barrel of a gun to your head and was going to pull the trigger, right in front of your father!" Ayisha growled as she made a gun motion with her hand and point her fingers at Tessa's head.  "Optimus could've let them kill you, let them kill all of us! He would've been safe, but he risked his life to save us! Do you think someone who does that deserves to be killed?! You, again, of all people should be grateful."

Tessa scoffed. "Yeah? Well, I'm not. Sorry to disappoint you..."

Ayisha stared at her for a minute in disbelief. She laughed under her breath and shook her head. "I'm gonna go wait outside for Optimus," she mumbled before storming out. She angrily sat on the curb, staring into the horizon.

Alrighty folks!! Working on this has literally spread to my instagram and my Pinterest I have transformers everywhere now 😆