I'm Friends With the Monsters (AOE)

Chapter 7: Unwanted Memories

So we are out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by (YES!) Autobots!

Quick roll call:

Optimus Prime (My 'guardian')

Bumblebee (I think he likes me!!!)

Crosshairs (awesome dude! Love the tailcoat!)

Drift (He's a Cyberninja, apparently. Awwww yeah!)

Hound (Big guy, big shots, big mouth. And do Autobots actually smoke....?!)

But, basically.... they all acted pretty, uh... immature.

So far I've counted Hound attacking Drift, Drift attacking Bee, and Crosshairs threatening us. Okay... cue my bipolar-ness aaaaand-

"SOMEBODY BETTER STOP THREATENING TO AND/OR KILLING EACH OTHER OR ELSE I'M TAKING OUT A SPARK!" I shouted.

Everyone stared at me.

Oooooh.... now what've I done?

"... The little femme's got spunk!" Hound chuckled.

"I still think-"

"I survived the attack on Chicago, so your response is instantly cancelled out. Not to be rude, but I am not weak." I butted in before Crosshairs could finish.

Everyone stared at me.

"You're - seriously - a - survivor?" Bee asked.

"Y-yeah."

Around now it was night time, and we were gathered around a cozy fire. Uncle Cade got this look on his face, and Tessa too.

"Hold on," Shane said. "You survived the Attack on Chicago? You know that only-"

"Little under a THOUSAND people got out of there alive? Yeah. I know." I bit my lip.

"I -was- -there- -during -the- -attack- -fought in it- -had a- -good friend- -haven't seen him- -since- -recall-."

"Must've been a good one." I murmured, the memories of what happened ringing in my head. "Were any of you there?" I looked up at the trio of Autobots who weren't on humanity's good side.

"No. We arrived afterwards, and only heard brief sums of the battle." Drift informed me. "Even then, things in my circumstance were... different."

"I getchya. It wasn't a glamorous fight anyways. I didn't see it... but I lived. Somehow." I sniffled. "The world cracked and crumbled around me... so many people dying... and I survived!" I swallowed a sob.

".... If it... does not pain you-"

"We'd like 't hear it." Hound finished for Drift.

".... are you certain you wish to do this Gabby?" Optimus asked.

For them, yes.

".... Yeah." I nodded, and closed my eyes, and let everything come crashing back.

"It was an ordinary evening. Mom and I were just in our apartment and chilling. She was an accountant, so she didn't get many nights or even days off. When she did -and that night was an actual full-night-and-day off- we spent them together. So, there we were. Take out, monster movie, coffee... just us girls and a whole night in front of us. I remember looking at her, and thinking how amazing she was. How much she did for me. I mean, no dad in my life. She raised me all by herself, and I was okay. I squeezed her hand and thought everything was perfect. Then there was this... this explosion... the apartment shaking... and I thought I saw lightning outside. I figured, 'cool, a thunderstorm'. I went to check and-..."

I swallowed hard, trying to fight against chickening out.

"I saw them."

It rushed back to me.

Hundreds- no, thousands of ships hovering over the skyscrapers... firing glowing beams that shattered the concrete. I looked at mom, who saw my expression.

"Gabby, honey what's wro-"

The power went out, and all that there was to illuminate the living room were the flashes of bright light.

Mom looked outside, and dropped her coffee cup. "Get your things. Only what you can carry, you understand?"

I understood perfectly.

"I grabbed a few things, stuffed them into my backpack and ran outside with mom... we hadn't made it down the block when it toppled. Just... crashed... like a building of blocks. We were knocked back by the force, but managed to get up and run. We made it out and... what we saw..." I swallowed extra hard as I looked into the fire.

They were everywhere. Shooting at people, screaming bodies turning to ash and bone right on the spot, pressing forwards, exterminating all in sight... it was something I had never seen. And wish I could never, ever have seen. I threw up right there, to horrified to process all I was taking in. My mom grabbed my hand and looked at me urgently when I looked up.

"Mom, we're sitting ducks!"

"I know." Was all she said, but I knew she was as afraid as I was. And together, we ran.

"I don't know how we got so far. Others were killed, but we managed to make it through the city. But, then... Our luck ran out."

My mother's hand slackened, and her fingers slipped from my grip! I stopped and whirled around.

"Mom?! MOM!!!"

She was sprawled on the ground, and her ankle-....

"Hold on!"

I tried to approach her, but I saw them. They were getting closer-

"GABBY RUN! GET OUT OF THE CITY!"

"Mom! Mom I can't-"

"You CAN Gabriela! You can make it! You are a Yeager, my daughter! Believe in yourself!"

"I remember staring into her eyes, and I saw she was crying. That was the first time I'd ever seen mom cry. Ever. That's when I knew... She was r-ready. Ready to die for me."

I looked up and saw the robots get closer. It was do or die. Run or stay behind. Run for my life or stay behind and get killed.

With a hard swallow, I backed up. "I love you mommy. Thank you." Without another word, I turned and ran.

I didn't look back as I heard my mother's scream and a shot fired behind me...

.... "They found me hiding two days later. I was in bad shape, but, I was alive. Mom... She... They found her remains much later..." I sniffled.

Tessa looked stunned, Uncle Cade looked strained, and Shane looked horrified. The Autobots, including Bumblebee were all looking pretty down.

"Happy now?" I snapped, standing up and walking a ways away.

"Ga-"

"Let 'er go." Shane told him. "She needs ta breathe."

It was quiet for awhile, then Bumblebee and Drift fought, and Optimus had to separate them. Sheesh. I got out of my upset mood and walked back to them. Optimus was speaking to my cousin, Shane and Uncle, so I stood back.

"After all that we have done, humans are hunting us. But I fear we are all targets now."

I just kinda... zoned out. Targets... that rang a bell. Humanity had been targeted too many times by Megatron, so-says my book. It took me back to a passage written on NEST, how many soldiers had fallen... and now we'd turned our backs on the Autobots. Humanity had turned it's back on the very beings who risked everything for us.

"Not all of us..." I mumbled softly. I was still here. I stared at the fire, tuning things out again. But I knew that not all hope was lost. Because like Optimus, I wasn't going to give up without a fight. We were going to figure out just what was going on...

And avenge Lucas.