Shards (Transformers Prime, Shattered Glass)

Chapter 14

Sierra felt her heart in her throat, her blood in her head as she watched the ground rising up. She wondered if they'd even bother to bury her. Or if there'd be so little of her left that it wouldn't be anything even to bury.

Suddenly the ground wasn't there anymore. She slammed to a stop, in too much pain to be really dead, her head whipped forwards and her nose cracked against a control panel and spurted blood everywhere.

"I have her!" a voice from somewhere, it seemed all around her, shouted and she heard engines roaring as she felt herself tilting to the side. Airplane. She was in an airplane. How?

She stared out of the cockpit as the green robot-man-monster hit the ground. A wave of flame rolled up from his broken frame and he disappeared in the smoke and sparks.

Panting, dizzy, her nose probably broke and still bleeding, Sierra fell against the window, half-conscious.

"Is she alright? Are you- are you alright?" That voice was calling out to her. It sounded male, but smooth and kind, though worried.

"I don't think she's alright. I think she's bleeding."

Who where they talking to? Where were they?

Why had they saved her?

"You...just hang on okay? Can you hold on for a few minutes? I promise I'm going to get you somewhere safe, okay? Okay? Please talk to me."

"Okay," she hacked out. She could taste copper in her mouth and realized she'd probably bitten her tongue when she hit the panel "I...I...okay..."

She faded in and out of consciousness, in the few seconds of clarity still wondering where the speaker was.

A few minutes? Hours? Seconds? later she felt the aircraft descending, the rough jolt as it's landing gear hit the rough ragged ground and came to a quick but easy stop.

The cockpit opened, apparently of its own accord.

"Can you get out by yourself or-"

Sierra didn't wait for him to finish or even to wonder why he wasn't getting out, she practically climbed over the edge and fell the couple of feet to the ground, landing on her stomach and elbows, the dirt clinging to the blood on her face.

A heavy set of hands pulled her to her feet and steadied her.

"You alright kid?"

For a split second she thought it was the pilot, but she realized it couldn't be, his voice was far rougher than the other one, though still edged with kindness.

She blinked past the hazy of hornet-sting tears at the man and swallowed hard, trying to find words. His face was scarred and stern, his hair white, but the look in his eyes reminded her of her father's, both caring and angry.

"She needs something for her nose," the man called, pretty much dragging her over to a rock and letting her collapse onto it.

"Who...who are you?" She coughed "What's going...on?"

"Questions later kid, let's get you cleaned up first," he held out a clean cloth to her and she carefully wiped away the blood. It had stopped gushing, but her face and shirt were dripping and her nose still ached, but not so badly as before, so hopefully it was not actually broken.

"Feeling okay?" The man asked after she'd cleaned up as much as she could.

Not really sure of how else to answer, she nodded her head.

"If you've got questions then ask them now but ask them quick, we can't stay here a lot longer."

She pulled in a very long breath, then let all the air and all her questions out in a short force gasp.