Ensconce Transformers Prime AU (Book 2) (Wattys 2017)

Chapter Thirty Two

The sky darkened as the storm followed the rescue team. Heatwave stood on the sidewalk as he stared blankly at the ground. He let the ran fall as he became more numb. All he could see was the blood and rain mixing on the concrete. Boulder walked over and set a hand on his shoulder.

"We're going into the woods to look for the children. They aren't in the house and Orion called his parents. He said they're in the woods and hiding." He muttered.

"We need to get to the house then..." the firefighter said as he stared blankly at the ground.

"Heatwave... we've been at the house for an hour..." Boulder said seriously. The other man furrowed his brow and looked at the said house.

He stared blankly as he felt the rain fall down his face. He didn't respond as he just stared at the house. He watched as Chase walked over to them. The two men looked at the firefighter then led him inside out of the rain. Arcee and Cliffjumper were talking to Bumblebee about what to do. Heatwave furrowed his brow and felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I know it's hard when you lose one of your teammates, but you can't let yourself get lost." Chief Burns said as he looked at the others. Heatwave hadn't noticed that the other two were already outside. He furrowed his brow and looked at his chief. Was he really that out of it?

"I... I'm not trying to..." he mumbled and tried to focus. Chief Burns gripped both his shoulders and stood in front of him.

"I need you right now Heatwave. I need you to help me find this criminal and find these children." He said seriously. The firefighter could see the pain in the man's eyes. He could see that he was trying to be strong when it was hard. He furrowed his brow and stood taller.

"You can count on me sir." He said as he forced himself out of it. Chief Burns smiled sadly and nodded slowly.

"Then let's get these children home." He muttered and the other man nodded once. They went outside and started searching for the children.

~

Hardshell growled angrily as he continued to look for the brats. He had to finish them off now and to make things worse, it was raining. He glared darkly and continued walking around. He wondered if he should head back to the house. Maybe they were already back there. He stopped suddenly and listened as he heard someone calling for the children. It was hard to hear but it was there between the rain. He disappeared into the shadows and continued his search out of sight. He looked towards a cliff side and smiled wickedly as he saw a cave.

Orion was so tired and wanted to go home. He wanted to go to sleep but he was the only one awake. The sound of someone trying to climb the cliff filled his ears. He listened for a moment and he smiled brightly. It had to be his parents. He got up and went to the corner of the turn in the cave and peered around. His eyes widened in surprise and fear. It wasn't his parents. He moved away and hugged himself as he shook with fear. What could they do?

He heard footsteps approaching and he slowly backed away to the other two. Peregrine slowly woke up and looked at him. She saw the fear in his eyes and she whimpered fearfully. Orion sat by her and hugged her tightly as he carefully put a hand over her mouth. He shook his head slowly telling her to remain quiet. Jack woke up and furrowed his brow as he looked at them. He was about to say something when he heard the person coming. He forced himself up and moved to the children. He would protect them until his dying breath.

He moved so he was in front of them and winced as he tried to be a bigger target. He sat up as straight as he could and puffed out his chest. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly. A few minutes went by, but it felt like an eternity, the person turned the corner and stopped as he saw them. Their eyes widened in surprise and fear as the man stared at them.