A New Dawn - Transformers Prime (4)

Chapter One

[Amanda]

   "Hey Raf!" I called, waving at the 14-year-old as he walked out of school. He looked up from his book and grinned before running towards me.

   "Hey, Amanda," Raf Esquivel chirped, pushing his glasses back up. "What's new?"

   I leaned back against my black McLaren P1, crossing my arms. "Not much. Ready to head to the base?"

   He nodded. "Are Jack, Finn and Miko coming?"

   "Jack's got to work a shift, Finn is watching his little cousin, and Miko has detention," I said, turning to get into the driver's seat before adding, "Again."

   Raf snickered and got into the passenger seat, chucking his bag behind the seat. "How'd you get out of class so quickly?"

   "I ran," I joked, pulling out of the parking spot and turning down a road. "I'm kidding. My ancient history teacher let us out early because it's way too hot to be doing work."

   "Tell me about it," Raf said. "I can't wait until summer break starts."

   I winked at him. "Two more days, R-Man, plus a couple exams. Almost there."

   As I drove, Raf and I chatted about little things until we reached the Autobot Base. After the first base was destroyed almost two years ago, Team Prime had to move to a military base and we inhabited a building there, until recently. Two months ago, Agent Fowler had informed us that our new base was ready and we had moved in almost immediately. The new base was almost identical to the first one; it was located within a mountain (not the same one that got blown up) and looks identical to the old base, plus a few security upgrades. So far, everyone was loving the new base, but for me it only brought back old memories...

   It was crazy how much time had passed since everything happened, starting back when I was in grade 10 and only 16 years old. It was crazy how I was a mere two days and two exams away from graduating high school. I had several offers from several universities across the country, but I deferred all the requests I could and denied the ones I couldn't. I had applied to various programs, mostly business management related ones and a couple psychology, but I couldn't see myself going to university, or even leaving Jasper for that matter. I might be turning 18 at the end of next month, but I didn't feel ready for the world outside of Jasper. Not yet.

   As Raf and I approached the base, which was (like the old one) in the middle of nowhere, I clicked a button on my dashboard that no normal cars had. In order to access the base, I installed a new remote 'garage key' in all of our vehicles, courtesy of BeckIT.

   The door of the base slide upwards, revealing a long road that led to the inside of it. I pulled into the base and drove all the way into the main area before driving to my parking spot next to the entrance tunnel.

   "Everybody out!" I called as I grabbed my keys, school bag, and climbed out of the car. Raf followed and the two of us headed towards the stairs that lead up to the platform where all the computers and mainframes were located. A lone Autobot stood at a computer, working so hard he didn't hear us until we were up on the platform.

   "Hey, Ratchet," I called and the medic Autobot finally acknowledged us.

   "Amanda," He nodded. "Rafael."

   "Hey there, Ratchet," Raf said, throwing his bag onto the couch that was placed in our little living room. "Anything new on the sensors?"

    "In Texas, there were reports of some explosions in the desert," Ratchet explained. "It could be nothing, but I'm looking into it now."