Counting Symbols (A Transformers Story)

Chapter 11

Amanda's POV

I found a large rock outside and near base. I climbed on top of it and rested my head on my knees. I was tired of waiting for my symbols to come back. I'm just going to have to accept that fact that they weren't returning soon. I swallowed back tears. I felt stupid, crying over some symbols I couldn't even read. But I've grown close to them. After all, they were my special gift that no human ever encounter before. I stood out from all the other kids. I liked that, the thought of being different.

I sniffed and let the tears overcome me. I felt like I was crying every second of my life. It was one of the only ways to let your emotions overcome you, to be a part of you for a few minutes. I cried silently as I watched the sky slowly change colors. A stiff, cold breeze swept over my, sweeping my hair away from my face, and some of my tears as well. I lifted my chin to the breeze, letting it sweep over me and soothe me. I didn't know why. But whenever a breeze overwhelmed me, I felt safe and relaxed. I wiped the rest of my tears away so I could see the scarlet-colored sky.

Something shifted behind me. I turned around and jumped when I realized someone was sitting behind me. I looked up into his faceplate. Optimus. He was sitting close to me, watching the sky as well. He jumped a little when I jumped. I blushed. We both startled ourselves.

Awkward silence fell over me. I racked through my mind, trying to come up with something to say. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Nice sunrise, isn't it?" I wanted to facepalm myself. I was sitting here and I could've been asking Optimus about something else, like Did the 'cons find another energon mine or How come Ratchet is still grumpy? But noooo. I came up with Nice sunrise, isn't it? I felt stupid yet once again.

Optimus nodded. We gazed into the sky, a light silence falling over us. I bit my lip before breaking the silence. "Why do you fight for human kind?" I asked softly. Optimus didn't take his optics off the sunrise, but he said, "Because humans deserve to live as much as we do. That's what I believe." I nodded. I could go with that. "Where you...where you and Megatron friends before the war between the 'cons and the 'bots?" I asked. I didn't know why I said that. It just slipped out from my mouth before I could stop it. Optimus hesitated.

"It's confusing," he finally responded. I nodded. I understood. We both were  silent before Optimus quietly said, "This war will end soon, I'm sure." I smiled a small smile. I admired Optimus' confidence and his determination. He never gave up, it seemed.

While we sat, I was aware of something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head in it's direction, but nothing was there. Puzzled, I shifted my attention back to the sunrise. Still, there was a blob of black in the corner of eye. Irritated, I rubbed my eyes. As my hands dropped away from my eyes, symbols exploded everywhere. They swarmed around my vision, faster than they ever had before. And there many more, too. My heart leaped. "Optimus!" I quickly scrambled to my feet. "My gift is back!"

Optimus looked at me, surprised. I happily did a victory dance. I have my gift back! It didn't leave me after all! Optimus half smiled, but I knew he was happy for me. He got to his peds and gestured with his servo. "Ratchet would want to hear this," he said and transformed. I hopped inside and felt like I just drank three energy drinks. I was bouncing all over!

Optimus drove back to base quickly. When we got there I opened the door and jumped out before he even stopped. "Ratchet!" I called up to the medic. He glanced down at me in surprised. "By the Allspark's sake, what's going on?" He asked. I bounced on my tiptoes, grinning like mad. "My gift! The symbols! They came back!" I shouted happily. Ratchet broke into a grin, which was rare. "Great! I picked up some information about the your symbols," he added. Then he hesitated.

I paused. "What do they mean?" I asked. By this time, mainly because of all the  commotion, the rest of the Autobots had gathered around. Bumblebee was trying to give advice about the video game to Grace, but gave up because she didn't understand what he was saying. Bulkhead was stretching and Arcee was staring off to space. They looked over at me and Ratchet.