Orchid is lost. She is separated from her loved ones and nobody seems to want to help her. The humans all want her kind dead and the new bounty hunter is only making things worse.
Orchid needs to find her friends, but most importantly, can she make...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I fought off Lockdown until I was certain Optimus was a safe distance away. Although Lockdown was quick and skilled, he was hardly a match for a Tibaksi, who are the fastest fighters alive. I tapped into my cat instincts and, which gave me killer instincts. I ducked and weaved, giving Lockdown a painful scratch here and there. "Sir, we've lost sight of the target!" I heard one of the men yell into his radio. That was good enough for me. I snapped my wings out abruptly, startling Lockdown and the men, before beating them once and soaring high, out of their view. Below me, my sensitive audios picked up Lockdown's roar of anger, and I smiled. ****************************** Later, I was tracking Optimus' signal. It was dangerously weak and glitchy, but I managed to track Optimus to an old theater in Texas. It was night, so nobody noticed a white, purple, blue, and green Ferrari pull up in front of the theater, transform, shrink down, turn into a human with a robotic leg, and enter. "Optimus?" I whispered, looking around. The theater was littered with junk. A chandelier was on the floor, paintings were scattered everwhere, it was just a pig-sty. 'Somebody had a wild party,' I thought, walking farther into the theater. I was careful not to step on anything. I was pretty sure no one would like a woman sneaking around in a junkyard theater. I looked around to see if anything resembled Optimus. My sensors showed he was here, but I couldn't see him. "Optimus?" I whispered again, this time a little louder. There was no response. I was getting really worried now. Optimus' signal was really weak, and he wasn't responding to my call. I sat down in a rusty, old truck and cried. Eventually, I cried myself to sleep, right there, on the truck's floor, in human mode. ****************************** A few men's voices woke me up later the next morning. "You remember this place, Cade?" a man asked as I peeked my head out to see what was going on,"How many girls do you think you brought here in high school?" Another man, whom I assumed was Cade, was looking at things with a flashlight. I saw him smile as if remembering a fond memory and replied,"I only remeber one." He picked up a football,"Hey, heads!" He threw it, but either the other man didn't see it coming, or he was just plain stupid, either way, the football hit him in the head, knocking him backwards. "Why'd you make the Varsity team?" Cade teased. The man picked up the football,"Alright, go long." He threw it, but it hit a seat and went bouncing into...who knows where! It definitely broke something before landing a few feet in front of Cade, who looked at the other man like,'Are you serious?' "Leave it," the man said, his face turning red. I ducked back inside the truck. I prayed neither of them would come to check out the truck. My prayers were not answered. Cade climbed onto the step for the driver's door. I knew because the whole truck shifted. Cade opened the door, but he was distracted by all the mortar shells that fell out. Then, he noticed me. "Who are you?" he exclaimed. I shrank back against the other side of the truck. Another man, one who I had not seen, appeared behind Cade and pulled out a pistol. "Don't move!" the man shouted. I instantly froze. Mostly because I was afraid, and who wouldn't be, if they were trapped in a truck with a man pointing a gun at them. "I-I'm so so sorry," I began, but the man cut me off. "Step out of the vehicle, ma'am." Cade stepped to the side, allowing me to climb out of the truck. "Tell me, why are you in my truck?" the man demanded. "I-I was tired, and had nowhere else to go," I said, then resorted to something I hoped would work,"Please, I've come a very long way. I'm a survivor from the Battle of Chicago. I lost my family...everything." "You're a survivor from the Chicago War?" Cade asked. I nodded,"Yes." "Then you've come a very long way, little lady," the man with the pistol said pityingly, putting his gun away,"I'll forgive you this time, but don't do it again." "Thank you, sir, I will be sure of it," I said. "So, if you don't have a home," Cade said thoughtfully,"Maybe you could stay with us for a while. Get a job, buy your own home, then start a new life." I smiled, but sadly,"Really?" Cade nodded,"You'd be more than welcome." Then he turned to the man,"Hey, how much for the truck?" ****************************** About half an hour later, we had left town and arrived at Cade's house, a tow truck following us with the old truck. When we got there, a blond-haired girl stomped out if the house, looking very irate. "A truck!?" she exclaimed,"Dad, please don't tell me you spent our money on this." "Oh no, he didn't," the man (who's name was Lucas) replied,"He used my money, a hundred-fifty bucks." "With an advance on your regular paycheck," Cade said. "What regular paycheck?" Lucas asked. "Which you will get back," Cade replied. "When?" Lucas asked. "Never, we're broke," the girl said. "I knew it," Lucas said, turning to Cade. "Sweetie," Cade scolded,"can you not drive a wedge between employer and employee?" "Hold on I thought we were...partners," Lucas said, looking a little hurt. "Do you know how much this engine runs for?" Cade asked, gesturing to the truck,"I can tear it down and strip it for parts." I chose that moment to get out of the car. The girl looked at me with surprise,"Um, Dad?" "Oh, uh, Tessa, this is Leslie, Leslie, this is my daughter, Tessa," Cade said. I nodded my head in acknowledgment,"Nice to meet you." "Dad, did you get a new girlfriend?" Tessa asked, looking a little excited. Cade shook his head,"No, sweetie, Leslie's just staying with us for a while until she can afford her own home. She's a survivor from the Battle of Chicago," Cade explained, but I could see his face turning red. "Poor thing," Tessa said, then looked at my clothes,"Come with me, I'll find you something cleaner to wear. I'm sure I have some clothes that'll fit you." "Hey, Tessa!" Cade called after us,"If your clothes don't fit then let her try some of Mom's clothes." "Okay!" Tessa shouted back and led me into the house. She took me upstairs to her bedroom and had me sit on her bed. As she was rooting through her drawers, she asked me what happened to my leg. "Um, I lost it before the Chicago War," I explained,"I once had a friend who owned a Transformer, he built me a new leg, and it works great." "You had a friend with a Transformer?" Tessa asked. I nodded,"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Tessa was quiet for a moment, then said,"You know those things are dangerous right?" I nodded again,"Yes, but only the Decepticons. My leg was built by an Autobot. They fight for us, but they tend to get a little aggressive when they're scared." I heard Tessa snort, but it was quiet. Tessa finally turned around and gave me a pile of clothes,"Here, try these on."
