𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 - A Transformers Story

The Town of Saint Evan's

The school bus never stopped by the house on Monday. Lola had to walk down the empty street to school that day. Her belly was empty, her body was tired, and her mind was full. The school was empty. The desks were dusty.

The school didn't have lockers. Those were reserved for the older students. Lola had always wanted a locker. Such a trivial matter.

The lecture never began on time, yet she copied the notes on a sheet of paper. The lights didn't turn on. The bell didn't ring, yet Lola went to lunch.

The cafeteria was free of children. No one but her went to school that day. Lola glanced inside her bagged lunch before pushing it away. It had two holes in the bottom of the bag. Her lunch had spilled out.

She walked to the playground and had sat on the swing. The dirt was overturned near the field. Lola swung back and forth before her legs gave out.

The bus never came to pick her up. Lola walked home from school once again. The lights of Josie's were off. The restaurant had cobwebs in the window.

The road had been cracked down the middle. Lola would have hopped the hole. Her head hurt too much.

The front door was unlocked and the dining room light was on. Lola sat down at her seat and stared at the food. The smell was getting worse by the day.

The two chairs were left open. Lola started the prayer. Lola never started the prayer. Her hands burned as she had held her fork. The light flickered. Then the light went out. Lola was left in the dark.

~*~

"I didn't expect to see this place in a long time," Starscream's optics scanned the ruined courtyard. "Seems the Autobots haven't stopped by either." Soundwave didn't particularly see the town as anything special to look at. It was another one of humanity's villages they had ruined under Megatron's rule.

But Soundwave knew why Starscream brought it up. This town had many things, but it brought forward some of the worst.

"They know we are here," Soundwave could still peek around in Lola's mind even from a distance. Perhaps, because he was so used to doing it already.

"Scrap. Of course they do," Starscream grumbled and turned to Shockwave, "Find the entrance to the mine. And fast," He added. Soundwave could see Shockwave vanish and unknowingly relaxed his posture.

"Lola knows how to get here." Soundwave knew that. He had spent years learning to understand here and he knew that she would come back here.

"Of course she does. And let me guess, Navia egged her on?" Soundwave nodded in confirmation at the statement. While he didn't have a full picture of the entire conversation he did have a basic understanding of what was happening. "I swear she will be the death of me."

"There are no signs of Autobots in the area,"

"Assumed so. It's not like Megatron would like to revisit his past now. Unless it involves me, of course." Starscream glanced at a building that appeared to be close to crumbling. "Autobot, pft. He's running from his responsibilities. I thought that was my thing,"

Soundwave knew the propaganda shedded Starscream in a light that made him appear to be incompetent. Or that the entire Decepticon cause itself was a weak bunch of soldiers. He had come to the conclusion it was to assure the humans that the Decepticons pose no threat to humanity. And they never did. Megatron did.

"I swear to Primus, if she comes all the way out here I will fly her back to the base myself." Starscream grumbled and walked through the square of the town. Soundwave never questioned Starscream, and Starscream never questioned Soundwave. Not usually.

"Are you scared of them growing up?" Starscream looked nervous which wasn't an expression Soundwave was a stranger to seeing on Starscream. "Once they leave and go out in the world I can't- we can't protect them."

Soundwave had never thought of that. He just assumed that as long as Lola lived she would stick around. He didn't worry about a future without her because it was natural to assume that.

"Why would they leave?" Soundwave ducked under the entrance to the energon mine and followed the dimly lit path towards the back. It was once a Decepticon mining operation he oversaw the transport for under Megatron's rule. There was never something he regretted more.

"They'll go on and find their own way on this planet. They'll forget about us and abandon us the minute they can. You see Navia. She can't wait to leave the base and never return." Starscream tugged on a piece of energon and broke the rainbow crystal loose.

"I just worry she'll end up like we did." Starscream admitted and broke off the end piece of the crystal. He handed it to Soundwave before looking down past the rock collections they stood by. "And Shockwave doesn't care."

"Shockwave doesn't care," Soundwave affirmed, almost regretfully. In some part of his spark he did feel sympathy for Maria. But he always had too much to do to ever speak to Shockwave, and Soundwave doubted his words would change anything.

"Poor human. She tries so hard," Starscream picked off another piece of energon. "Reminds me of myself. It'll only end up with her getting hurt. You try so hard to please them only to be set to the side."

Soundwave continued to assist in collecting the energon by hand so Shockwave could transform it into cubes back at the base. Soundwave could have done it as well but it took so much energy to do so. It was safer to do it back at the base.

"They're approaching." Soundwave could hear the echoes in his head of their voices. The noise was oftentimes too much to bear and he would shut it off and build a block in his mind to all the voices. Besides Lola. He didn't have it in his spark to block the connection to her mind.

"Frag. You finish this while I drag the two of them back to the base. And Maria to her home," Starscream stood up from crouching and had begun to walk towards the exit. Soundwave paid no mind before shooting straight up. There were more than just the three humans in the town.

"The Autobots are here." Starscream's face plate turned from mild annoyance to fear in a matter of astroseconds.

"Megatron?" Soundwave nodded in confirmation. He knew the mind of their former leader more than any bot. Loud, directed hatred to Starscream, and a general wants to exterminate the seeker on the spot.

Starscream's wings drooped low and he looked deep in thought. "We have to get them out of here. I'll distract Megatron. Give the energon to Shockwave."

"You will travel faster than me,"

"Do you think that matters!?" Starscream exclaimed and his wings shot up. "If I am on this premise, Megatron will hunt me down. The only way to ensure that those humans aren't caught up in this is for you to get them out of here."

"I will bring them back to the base," Soundwave could tell there were at least three Autobots. "She will not be harmed."

"Good. I intend on seeing that for myself." Starscream transformed before taking off out of the cave, leaving Soundwave to the task of bringing the three humans home.

~*~