Brown eyes fluttered open with a groan escaping the owner’s lips. Cody Burns sat up and winced as pain radiated through his ribs. He wrapped his arms around them and gazed around, biting his lip. ‘Where am I?’ he thought. With a pained gasp, he shakily stood and stumbled until he was leaning against a large deceased tree. He pressed his com-link.
“D-Dad? Dad, can you hear me? Dani? Kade? Graham?! Anyone?!” he exclaimed, only to be met with static. “No…”
Cody sniffled, his brown eyes taking in the vast forest of trees. He turned around and shakily gasped at the never ending ocean that glistened with the sunlight.
“How did I even get here? Last I remember, I was with the bots and ..and we were at a rescue on the docks…” he whispered.
With a giant sigh, he grew determined. “This is no time to be afraid. I’m going to get myself out of this mess.”
He then set off into the forest, desperate to find someone to help him.
“Cody?! Cody Burns, answer me! Answer me please!” cried the voice of Griffin Rock’s own police chief Charlie Burns. “Please son…”
“We’ll find him dad..” Kade, the oldest, whispered.
“Kade’s right, dad. We’ll find him.” Graham said as he placed a hand on their father’s shoulder.
Charlie looked down and silently nodded, deeply troubled by his youngest’s disappearance. A young woman with pixie short dark brown hair embraced him and closed her eyes.
“Oh dad…” she whispered.
Charlie wrapped his arms around his daughter and screwed his eyes shut. His sons gazed at them with sad eyes.
“Dani, take dad upstairs. He needs some rest.” Kade said softly.
The woman, Dani, nodded silently and gently led their father off. Graham and Kade looked at each other before going down to the bunkar.
“Hey guys…” Kade muttered.
“Is the chief alright?” Boulder, a giant green construction bot asked.
Graham shook his head.
“Afraid not, bud.” he responded.
“Do you really expect him to be? We lost Cody…” Heatwave growled.
The red fire truck bot punched the ground, desperately trying to hide his sorrow, not knowing that he was doing the exact opposite. Chase, a white and blue police bot, sighed heavily.
“We failed.” he said.
“Guys.. stop beating yourself up. It’s not your fault.” Kade sighed. “We all should have watched him better, but with the rescue….”
“Maybe Dani and I could go back out and look for Cody?!” Blades, the orange helicopter bot enthusiastically offered.
Graham sighed. “You can’t. A snow storm is rolling in and it wouldn’t be safe for anyone to go out there.”
Heatwave growled angrily. “And yet Cody is out there by himself….”
“Once everything calms down, we’ll go look for him. Don’t give up Heatwave.”
The two brothers then left, leaving the bots to themselves as they wallowed in sorrow.
Cody panted heavily as he made his way through the now snow covered forest. His normally peach face was pale with pain and exhaustion.
“I.. I have to keep...k-keep going…” he breathed, his blonde hair swaying with the snowy wind.
With a moan, he sunk to the snowy ground and succumbed to unconsciousness, unaware of the yellow snow boots that unknowingly approached him. Bright amber eyes widened in surprise as the owner gasped, catching sight of him. A girl with short dark brown hair, the locks falling to the middle of her neck, rushed and looked him over. Her pale olive-toned hand gently moved Cody’s blonde hair from his face.
“What happened to you..?” She breathed.
She frowned deeply upon noticing his arms still securely wrapped around his midsection.
“I need to get you out of here…” she muttered, slowly elevating him.
Cody hissed in pain in his unconsciousness. The girl, Haru Yi, gently lifted him onto her back. She let out a grunt.
“Goodness.. Why are you so heavy?” she muttered.
Biting her lip, Haru then walked through the growing snow.
Crunch
Crunch
Crunch
Haru widened her eyes as the sound of twigs snapping a few feet away.
Crunch
Crunch
“I gotta get out of here..” she whispered as her eyes narrowed.
She gasped quietly as she witnessed a silhouette move across the trees. She looked around, mildly wincing as Cody let out a pained groan.
“Just hang on…” Haru breathed as she trotted down a path. “Where is the village?”
“Haraboji!” Haru shouted tiredly. “Haraboji, can you hear me?!”
Haru scowled as she received no answer from her grandfather. She continued to stumble on, the weight of Cody on her back slowly taking a toll.
“Haru-ya!” a voice suddenly exclaimed.
The said her shot her head up in surprise, her eyes shining with relief as she saw an older man hurry towards her.
“Haraboji..!” she smiled.
Haru’s grandfather gasped as he caught sight of Cody draped over his granddaughter’s back.
“Let’s get him inside, Haru.” he stated quickly.
Haru nodded and hurriedly got Cody inside their home with her grandfather’s help.
An hour later, Cody’s eyes fluttered open as he woke. ‘Wha..? Where am I?, he thought to himself as his eyes adjusted to the warm glow of the home. He slowly sat up, blinking in surprise upon noticing the lack of pain in his ribs.
“She took care of you once we got you inside.”
Cody gasped at the voice, shooting his head up and meeting the kind eyes of Haru’s grandfather.
“Wh-Who are you?” Cody asked warily.
The man chuckled.
“You may call me Jun.” he replied.
Cody smiled. “Nice to meet you, Jun. I’m Cody.”
“It’s very nice to meet you Cody.”
“Jun… Who were talking about when you said ‘she’ took care of me?”
“Ahh.. Haru.” Jun smiled, motioning over to the sleeping girl.
Cody looked over and watched as Jun moved her hair from her face, slowly stroking her cheek with the back of his finger.
“She’s my granddaughter. She went to get more firewood and came across you in the snow. Wore herself out patching you up as well.” Jun whispered.
“I-I’m very grateful that you guys are letting me stay here.” Cody said.
Jun turned to him and gave him a gentle smile.
“You can stay here as long as you like, but tell me Cody, how did you get here? I’ve never seen you around.”
Cody bit his lip.
“Where exactly is ‘here?’”
Jun blinked in surprise.
“Why, you’re on Eokrap.”
Cody’s eyes widened in shock.
“W-What?! There’s no way!” he exclaimed, unknowingly waking Haru.
Jun frowned in concern as the boy began to hyperventilate. He went over and rubbed Cody’s back. He blinked in surprise as Haru handed Cody a cup of warm banana flavored milk.
“Drink. It’ll help you relax so you can explain to us what happened.” She said softly.
“Thanks..” Cody whispered as he took the drink, slowly sipping down the soothing beverage.
“Better?” Jun asked.
As he gulped down the last of the milk, Cody nodded with a small smile.
“Yes.” he replied.
“Now, what exactly happened?”
Jun pulled Haru close as they looked curiously at the blonde haired boy. Cody looked down, pulling his jacket closer around him.
“I’m from Griffin Rock.” he started. “And I come from a family of rescuers. My dad is the police chief, my oldest brother Kade handles the fires, my other brother Graham is sort of the technician in the family, and my sister Dani is the first responder. I often help out with the rescues even if I’m not an actual rescuer. My dad lets me help out on certain jobs that aren’t too dangerous, but most of the time I help with the command center. W-We were at a rescue near the docks. There was a fire due to a weather machine malfunctioning.”
Jun and Haru looked to each other quizzically.
“Weather machine?” they asked.
Cody looked sheepish.
“Right… Griffin Rock is an island of high tech. There’s all sorts of cool things there.” he said. “Anyway… A tornado suddenly appeared and caught up some of the boats. I remember hearing the bots and my dad yell my name before one of the boats struck me and threw me into the water. I.. I don’t remember anything after that besides waking up near a forest.”
Haru frowned. “Griffin Rock is pretty far from here. Wait… did you just say bots?”
Cody tensed. ‘Oh no.’
“U-Uh…-”
“Well?” Haru asked impatiently.
“Now, Haru, let the boy be.” Jun said kindly. “Why don’t you fix dinner, hn?”
Haru pouted. “Haraboji…”
Jun raised an eyebrow, almost as if he was asking why she’d go against him. Haru let out a small yelp and bolted to the kitchen, causing Cody to laugh in amusement. Jun soon joined him once Haru was out of sight. He then gave Cody a serious look, catching the boy by surprise.
“You said bots.” Jun spoke. “Are you perhaps meaning aliens?”
Cody widened his eyes.
“W-What? Aliens? Mr. Jun.. you aren’t serious..? Of course not.” he lied.
Jun crossed his arms.
“Cody, I’ve met them before. There is no point in hiding it.”
He chuckled at the boy as Cody’s mouth dropped in shock.
“I met them when Haru was just a little one. I was caught in a battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons and an Autobot called Optimus rescued me before I was killed by a Decepticon.
“You know Optimus?” Cody asked.
Jun nodded with a smile.
“Granted it has been years since I have seen him or any other bot, but I’m not quite sure I could ever forget that moment or them.”
Cody nodded in agreement. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you? You mention that Haru was your granddaughter and from looking at her, she seems to be around my age. You don’t look that old.”
Jun laughed heartedly.
“I am fifty-five. Her father, my son, is in Japan for work. Maybe one day you’ll meet him.”
Cody nodded with a smile before Haru soon came out with three bowls of broth, vegetables, and thin slices of cooked meat.
“Dinner’s done.” Haru said quietly.
She handed them their bowls and sat down next to her grandfather, slowly leaning against him. Jun smiled softly and said a small prayer before the three began to eat.
“Since it is late, let us get some sleep and see if we can not figure everything out in the morning.”
Cody smiled faintly and nodded.
“Thank you very much. Both of you..” he whispered.
Haru smiled slightly in return as she drifted off. Jun looked down as she felt her slump. He chuckled softly as he put his bowl down, slowly removing Haru’s dish from her hands. Cody watched with a slight sorrowful smile as he watched Jun take care of Haru with such care. He quickly swiped a tear away, his thoughts drifting to his father. ‘Dad… I miss you..’ he thought to himself, his father’s face flashing in his mind.
Jun slowly lifted Haru into his arms and cradled her gently. He nodded to Cody before walking into a room and placing her down, tucking in the child with a soft blanket. He left, only to witness Cody drifting off into a deep sleep. Jun grabbed an extra blanket from the hall closet and draped it across Cody’s sleeping form.
Back at Griffin Rock, Charlie stared at the night sky, his eyes burning with tears.
“Cody.. Are you safe?” he whispered to himself. “I know.. That I have to keep trusting in God, but I can’t help but think about you…”
He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh. He rubbed his eyes, walking to his window and staring at the bright shining moon.