When We Seared The Sky

Chapter 6

Chapter Six
Heaven's Darkened Face

Ironhide’s brakes screeched painfully as he came to a halt in a field not far from the teenagers' school, where Alexis had often watched the local boys play soccer as a child. In the heat of Californian summer, the place was perfectly innocent; emerald-green grass laid out beneath the sunshine, ready to be torn up by the kids running across it... but now, on this dark Halloween night, it seemed distinctly ominous.

Something was about to happen, and Alexis admitted to herself that she was scared.

Shitless.

“Get out - quickly,” Ironhide barked through the car's speakers and she hastened to obey him, tumbling out of the Topkick obediently after Sam so that he could transform without crushing them.

Her shin was beginning to really hurt again; the dull ache was becoming a fierce, stinging throb, and she gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out. Ratchet and the others were occupied with preparing themselves to face this mysterious Starscream... she didn't want to bother them with her pitiful ailments.

Mikaela came flying into Sam’s arms as Ratchet and Bumblebee began to change shape. “Sam, I’m… scared,” Alexis heard her admit to him in a whisper, her arms winding around his neck. "What do you think he'll do?"

Her scarlet wig had long since fallen off and her dark hair was now tangled and sweaty; her makeup was smudged and her clothes were twisted from running, but she still, somehow, managed to looked like she was fresh out of a modelling magazine. He held her tightly in response, his chin on her shoulder. “So am I,” he admitted quietly. “We’ll be okay... we’ve got the Autobots… right? They’ll keep us safe.”

There was something hot and unfamiliar gnawing at Alexis's chest, and she didn't like it. It was the harsh, unforgiving bite of jealousy... and she damn well knew it. Jealousy of the fact that they both had someone, and that they seemed so happy together despite how oddly matched they were.

But she was the invisible girl.

That would never be her.

Mikaela stepped out of Sam's embrace after a moment, glancing at the Autobots. “Starscream held off Ironhide and Ratchet single-handedly at Mission City,” she reminded him, and he lowered his eyes. “I’m more worried for them than I am for us, Sam.”

He held off Ironhide and Ratchet? Alexis repeated in her head, horrified. Upon following the gazes of her two companions, she saw that Ratchet had whipped out the biggest, most badass-looking saw out of one arm, and Ironhide was already firing up his numerous cannons and rocket launchers. Freaking hell, this Starscream guy must have something nuclear in his arsenal if he beat both of them at the same time! she fretted.

Her heart pounding in automatic response to the thought, she swallowed hard and knelt down to hold her shin with one hand. The uncomfortable throb was getting thicker as her pulse rate soared, and she rubbed her hand over the bandaging out of habit in a vain attempt to soothe the pain.

Mikaela suddenly appeared, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” she asked concernedly.

She was aware that there were tears in her eyes now, but she nodded nonetheless. “Yeah,” she said, brushing the brunette off gently and gingerly releasing her grip on her shin. “I’m fine... thanks, Mikaela.”

The other girl looked sympathetic, and Alexis supposed that she had every reason to feel sorry for her. After all, two weeks ago she had been an ordinary person that went for a walk in the hills to get away from the emptiness at home – now she had been thrown, quite suddenly, into their world - a world filled with alien robots that transformed into cars, and was inhabited by people with names like Bumblebee and Starscream.