𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 ━ transformers

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

Groggily, I open my eyes. Squint.

Outside, the sun beams over the horizon. I glance at it for a moment, two, before the situation hits me again. My arms and legs are tightly bound, the metal digging into them uncomfortably. My mouth is gagged, my protests muffled behind the cloth over my lips.

There is no one else in the car with me, yet I know we're still moving. Straining my neck, I peek outside the window, cars zipping by us. Terrain flying by in such a blur it makes me dizzy.

My heart begins to race, more so than it already has been. Breathing is hard when it's just through my nose. More protests fall through my mouth in a futile attempt. I am sweating from the amount I am struggling.

"I see you have risen, human."

It's the dark voice of Cade, only it doesn't fall from a person's mouth. The sentence echoes through the car, deep and reverberating. It chills me to my core. My eyes are wet, but still I fight against the shackles holding me back.

"The drug that I used would have killed any normal human," he says as though he is pleased. A praise has never sounded so sinister before. "I am pleased that Starscream's speculations were correct."

The words are lost on my ears. I don't know what he's talking about or who the hell this Starscream is, but I understand that it can't mean anything good. Nor is this situation that I'm in.

Cade continues his conversation, gleeful that I cannot respond to him. I press my head into the seat and try to quell my tears. Stuttered breaths fall out of me, and I gag in my throat.

Dread encases me. I wonder if anyone has noticed that I'm gone. Surely, Mrs. DeMarco saw that I didn't return home the night prior. The sun rising on the horizon tells me that it's early the next morning--Saturday. I'm supposed to be leaving today, returning home to my family. To Ron.

Instead I'm in the back of a police cruiser that's going well over the speed limit, and listening to a voice that doesn't belong to a body.

Or maybe, a terrified part of me speaks, it does. I just can't see it right now because I am currently in it.

I remember what I saw; there was red so bright that it still blinds me. Cade's smirk was vicious and his arms were strong. My arm is still throbbing and my hand is on fire, and a glance at it makes me reel. It's blue and purple, fingers swollen and limp. Broken, no doubt.

I thrash in the seat, rubbing myself up against the back. There is no phone in my pocket. Nothing. No wallet or anything. He must have thrown everything out before he started driving. Smart. I close my eyes, breathing out slowly.

No matter how hard I strain against the bounds, there is no relenting. They are solid and steady as they hold me hostage. Cade is still speaking when I tune in again.

". . . surprised that the fraggin' 'bots didn't figure it out for themselves," he sneers. "Starscream picked you up on his radars before he reached the planet's atmosphere."

What the hell is he talking about? How was someone able to pick me up on their radars when they were in space? What does that have to do with Cade? What does it have to do with the chains around me, with the abduction?

I can't ask any of these questions, nor can I reach for the handle and try to make an escape. Perhaps if my body wasn't exhausted, I could put up more of an effort, but it seems as though the drug is still running through my system.

Cade continues talking, and my eyes fall shut again, almost against my will.

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