Transformers Prime Memory is the key

Chapter 14:: Down the Rabbit Hole

            After the pods dropped to the planet below I was too stunned to do anything but stare down at the planet below. I couldn’t wrap my heads around it. It was just too bizarre. I had never seen machinery like this before and I have seen a lot and I mean a lot of weird things in my day. It was just so much farther advanced than anything I had ever come across before! How was this possible?! The only thing that looked even slightly normal was a little poster on a wall not far away with a little kitten  hanging onto a tree branch with the words hang in there written beside it and that was it! Everything else was so teched out I couldn’t begin to describe it  with any other adjective other than Chrome.

I tried to get a look around. To at least try and figure out what this place was, but the second I moved I found myself in the middle of a forest watching as my younger self hefted a small duffel bag over her shoulder and slid on the same book bag I carry today except the patches that I had on it  now weren’t there. Matter of fact it looked brand new.

I just watched as she look around and survey her surrounding then relaxed. Her ram rod straight stance seemed to melt away with the breeze as she removed her helm and look around. I well…. she looked so young…..How could someone so small so young be that detached?  It was unnerving……

Reguardless I followed her and watched as she clipped her helm to the side of her uniform and started walking she didn’t seem to have a destination in mind she just seemed to be content with just aimless wandering. Every now and again she would stop and marvel at the nature around her. Sometimes, brushing a gloved hand across the side of a tree as she passed it; simply looking about herself a smile plastered to her face as she went.

On and On she went. Never stopping for more than a few moments to survey the area until finally she found a small opening in the wood. She looked left then right then reached into a small pouch on her uniform and pulled out a small device  with a small little red blip on the screen. “Well ….. I’m here…..the question is where is everyone else?” she asked herself replacing the device in her pocket and walking  out into the opening only to see the bushes to her left move suddenly and the silence  vanquished by a sudden bang as a projectile hurtled towards her.  I watched awe struck as the young girl… drew her weapon; a silver and black pistol, sidesteped and fired twice almost simultaneously.  I heard the projectile hit and her opponent fall. She then holstered her weapon and walk over to her assailant.

Only to see it was a small boy from one of the other groups… He looked only about five or six. I couldn’t make out the symbol on his chest because it was covered in black paint, but he was smiling. “Nice shot 116” he said.

“Not bad your self 250” she replied offering her hand. “Next time don’t give away your position so easily.”

“I’ll do my best 116  thanks for the advice” he replied smiling taking her hand and standing up “ but next you shouldn’t be so trusting of your enemies!” he exclaimed pushing her back into the clearing.  Eliciting a small gasp she tumbled  backwards into the clearing and was quickly  surrounded by five others each with a orange fox head on their uniforms.

"Do you surrender?" asked one of them.

"You know the answer to that question 73" she replied "I'm an Alpha we don't surrender."

"We hoped you'd say that" replied another with the number 65 on his back. I saw a smile form on my younger selfs face as she spoke.

"Do your worst" she replied " but you better hope it kills me"

"We'll do our best" they replied

"Good" she replied "it'll jus make it that much more satisfying to beat you when I escape"

“We look forward to it One Sixteen” they replied as they began to” Escorted” her away.

I simply followed. I didn’t know what else to do. What else could I do? I was just trying to piece together what was going on. I suppose it's best to start with the basics. To start with younger me has problems like legitimate problems. Then there’s these other kids who are between 4 and 7 and are functioning like military units! I’ve never seen anything like it! The only time I recall even a small mention of something like this were in the stories Zeb used to tell me about during the last days of the Golden age of Zorin. But  that’s not even an option. It’s  impossible! Their only stories…..or at least I thought they were….

Following behind the group slowly I saw a large hole in the ground up ahead. It looked deep. Really really deep. I saw my younger self clench her fist as the others held their paintball guns to her head and told her remove her back pack and all the supplies in it. Doing as they asked I watched the younger version of myself remove the contents of her bag aside from a few personal mementos. Including a pair of beat up cracked sun glasses and a rusty set of tools a book that said the lost art of silence and a worn leather bond photo album…… that had a big capital letter A on it and a trace of where other letters once were, but had worn away.  I wanted nothing more than to open the book and look at what it held in side but when I reached for it my hand passed right through it. As always I was  close yet so far and things only got worse from there.

The other children made my younger self remove all her weapons and lay them in a neat pile five feet away from her person and then checked to make sure they were all gone. Then they removed the outer layer of her armor revealing a black t shirt underneath. ” We’ll be back to get du after the competition is over until then just try to stay alive”

“I’ll be sure to try” replied me uh 116. You know I really don’t know what to call her. I mean it’s not everyday you get to have a dream about a younger version of your self or well yeah I think that pretty much says it all. I guess I’ll just call her by her number as to not totally accept what’s happening here.

When I think about it I find it similar to the out of body experience that I Zed loved to talk about or one of those silly fairy tales like that one about the Shadows. Young children taken from their homes to be put into camps then trained to become soldiers. He called them the future heroes or vilians of tomorrow. He said that the children who were apart of these groups were either driven mad with power or became the most powerful warriors in the universe. That’s the story anyway not that I believe it. I mean how could a bunch of kids do that? It doesn’t make any sense. Of course sometimes the truest thing in the world can seem more far fetched than a lie. Sorta like how some people view God. Nothing but a story but as real as the ground beneath your feet but as visible as the air we breath. Around us and all encompassing at all times.  A light in the dark to shine the way, A choice between right a wrong.

And they pushed her in…….

( Orions Pov)

            Driving in these conditions was more difficult than I had previously anticipated. The precipitation made it exceedingly difficult to see the road. If not for the white line on the side of the road and my own systems I would have had to pull over till the conditions were more suitable a long time ago. And were the situation not so dire I would have pulled over to begin with, but I will not leave the youngling out here in conditions like this! But I have no idea where she is. Not even the slightest inkling and the rain was only getting  worse….

I don’t know what to do….my young friend needs me and I find myself in capable of aiding her. I swear when I find her I’m not letting her out of my sight. I feel Ironhide when he accidentally misplaced his sparkling an hour before Chromia returned. Speaking of Ironhide I haven’t seen him on the nemisis I hope he’s doing well….. So much has changed……I pray he’s ok……Nevermind that now…..I need to focus on the task at hand.

Checking my scanners again I looked for any signs of human life in the streets or in the alleys. Getting a ping a drove a little closer and saw it was one of those canine creatures…I think…..this planet has too many four legged things.

Backing back out I began driving again and narrowed my search for larger heat signatures and began driving again. Hopeing I would find her soon.

( It sucks! Nine pages in a word document and this is all I’ve got to show pathetic! Anyway I cut this one short into 3 separate Chapters  because well I find the longer  I make these the longer it takes for both editing and my own criticism to allow these to be published so…. yep hope you liked it and I hope to have the next Chapter done soon God bless and have a beautiful Sunday. )