Bombus

Chapter 5

  I jolted awake to a loud bang and scrambled out of bed, falling flat on my face since my legs were tangled in my blanket. Mentally cursing, I raced down the hall and stopped short at seeing the kitchen and living room. Glancing around with wide eyes, I spotted Bee looking rather ashamed in the middle of the chaotic mess.

  'Bee! Why are you in here?!' My hands moved quickly, and the big guy signed to reply that he was curious and bored. 'Okay, look. Just....stay in the kitchen, and I'll get this cleaned up. You're lucky no one's home.' And I pointed to the kitchen. Bee hung his head and slunk to the kitchen that was more of a wide open space than the living room. He nearly hit his head on the ceiling as he went.

  Groaning, I saw the busted TV and couch- If I took the blame, it was definitely coming out of my pocket to replace those things. Finding the broom, I went to sweep up the broken glass on the floor. Bee tapped on the floor, and I glanced up to look at him. He started signing, apologizing about everything while offering to help clean up.

  'Thanks, but....I think you might accidentally break more stuff while trying to help. You're not exactly....small.' I told him. 'Look, just stay in here and keep me company, how's that?' I asked, and he nodded. Smiling, I rubbed the top of Bumblebee's head and he seemed to like it from the chirping.

  That did make me a bit puzzled, though. Bee's head was metal, so how did he even feel it? Was there some sort of pressure sensitivity under the plating or was he closer to a biological thing than we thought?

~

  "Alex?!" My head jerked up when I saw Charlie burst in through the front door. Glancing down at the planks of wood in my arms, Charlie went wide-eyed. "Where's Bumblebee?!" The big bot sheepishly came out from behind a counter and waved his hands. "Bumblebee? What have you done? What were you thinking?!" Charlie raised her voice, and Memo quickly shut the front door. "What- I told you to hide in the garage!" Bumblebee turned into a car after knocking his head on a ceiling fan. "Great! Helpful shame spiral, Bee."

  Dropping the pieces of shelf, I then explained to Charlie that Bee had just gotten bored and that he didn't mean any harm in exploring- he was just curious.

  "I'm not mad, okay. This is all my fault." Charlie sighed. "I never should have left you." She touched the bug's hood and Bumblebee began to transform back until the car door on his back sent the ceiling fan flying into the living room.

  "Okay, maybe don't transform all the way." Memo suggested. "We-We still gotta get you through the door. Come on, buddy." Bumblebee made a noise before following Memo back to the garage while looking like half a robot and half a car. There were a few more bumps and bangs as the big bot made his way back to the garage.

  "....I am so screwed." Charlie stated while looking around at the mess that was still present.

~

  Dragging the busted couch toward the front door to take it out, Charlie suddenly dropped her side to try and stop Mom from coming in. I grunted with the sudden weight change, but Charlie wasn't fast enough to keep Mom out.

  "Oh, my God!" She gasped

  "Mom-"

  "What happened?!" She asked, and the lollipop in Otis's mouth fell out to the floor.

  "Mom, I'm really sorry. This is all my fault." Charlie stated, and I shook my head.

  "What did you do to my TV?!"

  "Look, Mom, I can explain. We will talk about this later, okay? Right now, I have to go."

  "Are you kidding me? No, you're not going anywhere."

  "It's about my car, it's really important."

  "It's about your car that you spend all day and night shut in the garage doing God knows what?"

  "Mom, I can't. I really can't right now."

  "Oh, no. You really can. Charlie, you really can." Mom sat her down while raising her voice. "I have had it! Your attitude! You're always sulking around- You brought home that piece of crap without even asking me! Everyone in this family is trying to be happy and all you wanna do is make things harder!"

  "You know what, Mom, just because you've moved on and you're happy with your new life doesn't mean I have!" Charlie yelled while standing up. "You found a replacement for my dad, and I haven't, okay, and I never will. So I'm sorry if that makes things harder. But in ten months from now, you won't even have to deal with me."

  "Charlie!" Mom called out as Charlie stormed out and slammed the door behind her. Dropping the couch, I went to grab my keys to chase after Charlie as she was already getting in her car and driving off. "Alex, you can't keep going after her." Mom grabbed my arm, and I jerked out of her grasp to sign.

  'I know things are hard, Mom, but please try to actually hear Charlie out more.' Mom furrowed her brows, and I tried to not incite another argument. 'She's still trying to find her footing, and you and Ron don't help her either. I mean, come on. A flowery helmet for her birthday? A book to tell her to smile more? Charlie needs love and guidance, not judgment and people telling her how to be.' I explained, and Mom's expression softened. I will admit, I did have an advantage when it came to Charlie because I actually took time to understand her and because I too was in a similar situation. 'I love you, Mom, but you aren't a very good listener when it comes to Charlie.' Waving my hands, I then left to get on my motorcycle to try and find my sister.

  I had a good idea where she was headed at least. She tended to go the same route to clear her head often.

  Sighing with relief when I finally spotted the yellow bug, I sped up to close the distance, but trucks suddenly came onto the road from the trees while circling the bug and forcing them to stop. I could see Charlie and Memo getting out of the vehicle before Memo was grabbed from behind, and I drove past the trucks before skidding to a halt.

  "Hey! Stop it!" Charlie screamed as she was grabbed, and Bumblebee transformed to protect her.

  "Weapons, now! Take it down!" A man shouted as guns trained on Bee, and I threw my helmet at the nearest guy.

  "Run!" Memo shouted, and I got the gun from the man I hit. I didn't even really know how to use the firearm, but holding it and aiming seemed to do the trick of fooling them that I did.

  "Alex!" Charlie had fear in her eyes, and I glanced at Bee before gesturing with my head to tell him to get her out of here.

  "No! Do not run! Don't-" The one seemingly in charge tried to stop them, but Bumblebee picked Charlie up and jumped down the hill.

  Aiming the gun at the men holding Memo, I clenched my jaw to keep from shaking while the boy looked like a frightened chihuahua.

  "Put the gun down!" I ignored the man while still threatening the ones holding Memo. They didn't move away but seemed to hesitate. "Don't be stupid, we have you outnumbered, outgunned, and completely surrounded." I may not be wanting to do something stupid, but I definitely wasn't going to let these guys get their hands on Bumblebee or my little sister. They would tear Bee apart, and Charlie trying to protect Bee could get hurt in the process.

  Something hit my back and my body locked up as electricity shot through me, sending me to the ground as I dropped the gun. Writhing on the ground, I couldn't even bring myself to sit up as the electricity just kept coming until everything went black.

~

  "Alex, get up." I shot up in bed from Charlie shaking me awake. "Come on." She pulled me off the bed, and I was so confused. Why was I back in my room? And why was Alex climbing out of my window? "Look, I'll explain on the way, okay? But we need to get Bumblebee back."