Centuries || Transformers (Re-write)

12.

It had been dark for the past couple of hours, and Optimus still hadn't returned. 

I began to pace back and forth in front of the gas station, occasionally looking up at the faint orange glow on the horizon. The silence was eerie, it made me feel really uneasy and on edge, no doubt it had the same effect on Cade, who stood leaning against the open door. "They were willing to kill her..." Cade mumbled softly referring to Tessa, which caused me to stop in my stride. I turned to face him with a sad smile "And they still are" Shane responded from inside, making his presence known to the both of us. 

I sighed to myself whilst shrugging my shoulders sadly "They're willing to kill all of us, they won't stop until we're either dead or we hand ourselves over" I stated, turning to face the two men with a blank expression "Well we're not turning ourselves in..." Cade interrupted, standing up straighter before casting a small glance my way "...And we sure as hell ain't dying". I shook my head sadly and turned my gaze downwards "What makes you think that?" I asked him, folding my arms over my chest in an attempt to shield myself from the cold air. With a small chuckle, he pointed over my shoulder "I have a feeling that he won't let anything happen to us" he finished, before stepping inside and closing the door. 

With a small roll of my eyes, I turned my head to look over my shoulder and let out a small breath of relief as Optimus's alt-mode came to a stop. A small smile made it's way onto my lips, before I spun on my heel and dawdled over to the autobot. With a rev of his engine in greeting Optimus opened the driver-side door, allowing me to climb inside. Once I was sitting inside, I leaned back in the seat and hummed in satisfaction, as warm air from the air-con began to heat up the small space. "How'd it go?" I asked him whilst looking down at the dashboard, "We should be safe for now, I saw no sign of us being followed" Optimus responded, before retreating back into a comfortable silence. 

I nodded my head in understanding and allowed myself to relax, moving the seat backwards so I could lie down. As I stared up at the roof of the truck, I couldn't help but think back on what happened at the barn. With all the chaos going on, I couldn't think straight. I acted irrationally, placing Savoy's gun to my head was a stupid idea. Cade was right, what if he did shoot me? I'd just be a needless casualty. "Is everything alright?" the Prime asked, obviously noticing my distress. I sighed for what felt like the millionth time and nodded my head "I'm just thinking about how stupid I am. I could have gotten myself killed today and I didn't even think of the reality of the situation until now, it's just a scary thing to think about, you know?" I told him, chuckling breathlessly. "What you did today was indeed foolish, but in a way it was brave. Your obvious history with Cemetery Wind gave me the courage I needed to realise that both you and Cade were not the enemy, and it was them who needed to be stopped" he scolded, before falling silent once more.

I scrunched up my face in confusion, before sitting up and leaning against my elbow for support "Courage? How did I give you courage?". The Prime sighed "I too would stand up for my friends in a time of need, I would protect my friends with my life if the situation called for it..." . That was all it took for me to realise that Optimus and I weren't really that different. In some form we both saw the world and humanity in the exact same way, and I felt a spark of happiness knowing that I wasn't the only person (or being) that thought like that. We both saw the world as it was in this current situation, and we both knew that there was room for humanity to improve, to realise that what they were doing was wrong.

In that moment, I remembered something my father once told me;

'Strong people stand up for themselves, but stronger people stand up for others'.

I smiled to myself, before lying back down on the seat and staring up at the cab roof once more. "Do you think humanity can change Optimus? Do you think that your kind, and my kind will be able to get along one day?" I asked the mech suddenly, not really expecting him to respond. A few minutes passed and there was still no response from him, and I found myself slowly drifting off to sleep. My eyelids began to get heavier and heavier, and pretty soon it was impossible to try and keep my eyes open. 

I fell into a deep sleep, but not before I heard Optimus faintly respond "I do not know Y/n, I do not know".