The Final Hope - Transformers Prime (3)

Chapter Twelve

This is sort of a buffer chapter, but important so I had to write it. So far, my posting streak is 2... let's see how long I can keep this up ;) Enjoy!

No Episode

[Amanda]

   Two days after my last visit to BeckIT Vegas and a day after construction started in Jasper, I stood at the entrance gate to Beckett Manor. I hadn't returned since the first time when I came with Optimus, and this time the grief I felt before was a dull throb.

   The only reason I was here was because I needed supplies. I needed some clothes, some gadgets, and I really

   I slipped past the broken gates and headed up the long driveway, walking around the pieces of debris on the drive. My eyes glanced over everything, calculating the work that needed to be done on it, until they landed on the mansion itself. I wondered what Mom would have done if she saw her castle in shambles.

   She'd keep a level head. She'd look at what's still okay, what needs to be worked on, and get started. She wouldn't let this stop her.

   As I spent more and more time at the Nevada military base, I found that I had thought about my mom more and more as well. It was almost as though I felt more connected to her there. I could see it in the eyes of the military personnel I had encountered, their glances of recognition and confusion as I walked by. While I had tried my best to ignore them, it was hard pretending not to be a ghost of my mom.

   I decided to walk straight to the garage, and I shoved the door open. It was already hanging on its hinges, so all I needed to do was push it aside to reveal the cars lined up inside. Once I saw what lay on the other side, I breathed a sigh of relief.

   The cars weren't in too bad shape. The row closest to the mansion side of the garage had a pile of rubble on them, as the roof had caved in that area, which had dented the roofs and cracked the windows of the almost twenty cars on that side. Dust coated every single car, and the rest of the damage varied from a cracked windshield to a dent or two. Still, it was a lot better than I had expected.

   I moved towards my black mustang, which was right up front. There was a massive series of scratches down the driver's side door, the culprit being the piece of roof that lay right next to it. I ran my fingers along the scratches, feeling the imperfections on my once perfect finish and wiping away the dirt. Along with a small crack in the back windshield, that was all the damage that the mustang sustained, which made me even more relieved. I knew I'd have to do some work, maybe even replace some cars, but to have to give up on my mustang would make it hurt much more.

   My phone began to ring from my pocket, and I answered it, still half lost in my thoughts.

   "Hello?"

   "Amanda?" Optimus' voice flooded through the line. "It has come to my attention that your meeting with the Jasper Planning Committee has ended. Would you like me to pick you up?"

   I brushed the dust off the horse logo on my mustang. "Sure, but I'm actually at home. I needed to..." Get supplies? Inspect the damage? Reassure myself that Mom is still here. "Get some things."

   "I will be there momentarily," The Prime said in a knowing tone before he hung up. Tucking my phone away, I backed out of the garage and returned to the main driveway, this time my sights set on my mansion. With the roof half collapsed, it'd be a risk to walk in. But what was life without a few risks?