Transformers: The Cross

Chapter 1 - Space

Grrrrr.

Grrrrrrrrrr.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

"Shut up," I growled back.

....

Gr.

A heated puff of air harshly left my lips, and I leaned my head against the cool glass of my window, eyes closed tight. My stomach was trying to eat itself.

I squirmed in my spot, wishing Dad would come back. He was taking what seemed like forever and a day to bring back our Zaxby's food, and I was tempted to go raid the fridge, just to call him and tell him to come back home. But I told myself not to, that it would be extremely selfish if I did.

After an eternity of being holed up in his office, Dad was willing to leave the house for something the both of us could enjoy together. I was proud of him. And myself. It'd been a long, depressing two years, and I was determined to believe that he would be okay and come back home safely.

I would not raid the fridge.

But I couldn't help but be irritated that the one day he decided to leave, the weather chose to be violent, and I had to be anxious and alone.

My eyes fluttered open, and I watched the rain slam against my window, like it was trying to get away from its own storm. A silent scream in each flash of lightning, an SOS signal against the ominous black sky, and thunder growled menacingly. There was a very clear message: Stay inside or die.

Although, it wouldn't be likely that I'd leave the house today. Like my Dad, I usually preferred isolation in my clutter of things. Everywhere, but always in the same place. It gave me a sense of stability knowing that my phone would always be on my dresser, most of the time collecting dust. Or that I could just reach over into a pile of clothes nearby and tug out a comfy pair of leggings.

I'd be just like this, hibernating in my room, having already done my Friday night ritual: go to school, go to work, do my homework, then attempt to sleep. That was my typical transition into Saturday.

The sky popped again, like firecrackers.

I ripped my forehead from the glass and got up.

The sudden movement caused my stiff joints to pop, but I kept moving. I waded my way through my shadowed room - I preferred to keep the lights off. The darkness was no match for my memory; the mess in here was like a maze I'd done a thousand times.

The carpet scrubbed against my socks as I tiptoed to the other end of my room. I placed a hand out in front of me and felt for the covers on my bed. Its soft bristles caressed my fingers, inviting me for another cozy wrap-up session, promising warmth and sleep. I collapsed into them, desperate for either of those things.

I became entangled within the sheets, raising them all the way above my nose. When I was successfully burrowed into my comforters, I waited. And waited. And listened to the rain smack against the earth. But nothing came. Nothing ever came.

BOOM

My body jerked violently at the sound. Vibrations rolled throughout the walls and I could hear my entire two-story house quivering. I shuddered, and folded in on myself.

Almost like reassurance, my eyes wandered back to a place on the wall, where a movie poster was just barely hanging on. On the front of it were three metal faces and three human faces. At the bottom of the poster, the humans, one man and a teenage girl and boy, stood defensively, and behind them was a city, blurred on an orange horizon.