Untold Secrets

7 | Next step

Ratchet eventually found a spot to park in the more run-down part of town, where there weren't as many people milling about. You climbed out of the driver's seat and sighed in relief when you finally got to stretch your legs. It felt strange to walk around after sitting for so long, but you enjoyed it nonetheless. After you finished stretching, you walked around to the back of Ratchet's alt-mode and opened the doors. The inside was just like any other ambulance interior, which didn't surprise you.

You rummaged around in the drawers and containers for a few minutes, but came up empty. Defeated, you hopped out and closed the doors with a sigh.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Ratchet asked when you came back over to get in.

You shook your head and sighed. "No, sadly enough. The only thing I can think of doing right now is taking off my main combat suit. It's hot as hell out here anyways..." You mumbled, taking a quick look around before starting to unzip the suit. It took you around five minutes to fully get the suit off, but in the end you were left with a white tank-top, black pants, and black combat boots. You tossed the suit in the back of Ratchet's alt-mode and grabbed your pistol, which you had conveniently forgotten about until you almost broke the holster trying to take off the suit, to keep with you up front. With all that done and over with, you finally climbed back into the front seat and wiped the sweat from your brow.

Ratchet figured you wanted to leave and started his engine, immediately turning on the air conditioning since he could sense you were hot. "You will need to refuel soon. Would you like to find a place here or do you wish for me to keep driving?" He asked, beginning to pull back onto the worn road. 

You didn't answer at first because you were too busy digging around in your pockets for a granola bar you know you left in there. Once you found it, you answered him. "I'm good for right now. This granola bar should last me until the next town, probably. I've got some money to get the essentials when we stop next time."

Ratchet's hummed as though in agreement. "Alright, but when nighttime approaches, we shall have to find a place to lay low and rest." He reminded, sifting through the radio for a moment before he found a station he liked. He had grown quite fond of classical music and you had learned to tolerate it for the most part.

You nodded, unable to speak because your mouth was full at the moment. The air conditioning felt great on your burning hot skin, though it left a strange sticky feeling when the beads of sweat eventually disappeared. When was the last time you had even taken a shower, yesterday? You felt disgusting, but just went with it.

———

The sun set fairly quickly, plunging the baked landscape into darkness. It was a new moon that night, so hardly any light was provided besides Ratchet's headlights. He found a spot a ways off the road where the mouth of a dried up river dipped down into a valley. It was deep enough that if he were to transform, he wouldn't be seen unless someone was in the air directly above him.

You gathered some wood from whatever you could scavenge from the dried bushes and remnants of trees and started a little fire to provide some natural light so Ratchet didn't have to keep his headlights on. Thankfully, the nights were cooler in this desert-like climate, which meant you weren't sweating like crazy anymore. For a moment, you just sat by the fire and listened to the crickets chirping. After a while, though, you got a bit anxious and decided to break the silence. "So... do you think we'll be able to find the others?" You asked, tilting your head back so you could look up at Ratchet as he sat leaning against a cluster of boulders. 

Ratchet was caught off guard by your question, seemingly lost in his own thoughts beforehand. He shifted his frame a bit in order to get more comfortable and pondered for a moment. "I do hope so. However, I fear that this Cemetery Wind you speak of might get to them first." He murmured, his optics bright against his dark frame. "If we stay on track and out of trouble, then there is a good chance that we will find them. My comn link is nearly functional, which means I will be able to try and contact Optimus."

"But Cemetery Wind may be counting on that. I'm fairly sure they can use your communications to track you down." You stated with a defeated sigh, propping your head up with your arms and staring into the fire. "It almost seems hopeless...." You mumbled. Suddenly, you felt something brush against your side and you looked over to see Ratchet gently nudging you with his fingers.

"Do not lose hope, Y/N. When the Autobots and I were fighting the war for Cybertron, we never lost hope. That's what kept most of us alive while others around us perished. We must believe in ourselves and keep trying. It's what Optimus would want." He said softly, smiling down at you.

You couldn't help but smile when you saw him smile, touched by his inspirational words. You leaned against his hand and pressed your cheek against the cool metal. "You're right. We can't lose hope, not when we're so close to getting the team back together."

And on that note, you both settled in for the night to get some rest. However, neither of you could expect the events that were going to unfold the very next day.