Before you freak out, yes, this is really happening. After a full year of not having updated this story, I'm finally bringing you a new chapter.

Wow, guys. I don't have any words for how sorry I feel for keeping you waiting for a whole year. Last fall, I started a new chapter of my life: going to college. From classes to clubs, I made sure to keep myself busy, but kept time outside of school to be with friends. In addition, I had a major writer's block, and lack of inspiration for what felt like forever. But, I recently started to feel myself again, and wanted to take a shot at writing again. Boy, did I miss it.

This story is something I hold dearly to myself. I see myself in Braelyn, and really want to share her story with all of you. I have SO many exciting things planned for this story, and I can only ask that you continue to be incredible and inspiring readers as I update you guys. I will try my best to update this more consistently, since you all deserve it.

So, enough of all of this blabber. I have my longest chapter yet, and I am so happy to share it with you! However, I would suggest you reread all of the previous chapters since, well, it's been a while, haha.

Well, without further ado, here is the tenth chapter of this story. Enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Finding You

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"But you just got here!" Kenzie whined, gripping onto my shorts with her small hands. She pouted, refusing to take her eyes off of my guilty face.

"I'm sorry," I said, grabbing her hands and holding them in mine as I crouched to meet her eyes. "I have a brother that could still be alive. I need to at least try to find him."

"You're better than Jack! You can't go!" Kenzie shifted to look at her brother, who stood a few feet away, an amused look on his face. He held Travis in his arms, the younger boy watching me intently.

"She awards that title to any person that's not me," Jack protested.

I turned back to Kenzie, chuckling softly. "As much as I love to have the title 'Better Than Jack', I don't think that will stop me from leaving, Kenzie. I'm sorry."

I finished putting the food cans into my bag, a process the young girl had distracted me from, and slung it onto my back. A light seemed to fade from Jack's face, and he nodded towards the front door.

"Be careful out there. You've made it this far already, I have no doubt that you will be fine."

"I'll try my best," I replied, forcing a smile onto my face.

Jack set Travis down, pulling open a nearby closet and rummaging around until he paused, leaning further into the space. When he emerged, he held out my belt with the pistol. "I figured you'd need this back."

I grabbed the belt, removing the pistol from its holster. I turned the weapon in my hand, my eyes falling onto the three people in front of me.

They needed this more.

"It's yours," I said, handing the gun back. Jack's eyebrows raised, and he slowly reached out to grab it.

"You don't need to do this, you know."

"Yeah," I said, "I do. If you come across a Decepticon, aim for the eyes. Keep it on you at all times. This could save your life."

Jack nodded, opening his mouth but failing to say something as he placed the pistol onto a table nearby.

"Okay," I let out a breath. "I think I better get going." I shuffled towards the handle of the front door, turning it.

"Wait," Jack muttered, and I froze. He glanced at Kenzie, now at his side, his eyes falling back onto my face. "You said you ran from that Autobot. Sideswipe."

He paused, and I wasn't sure if I should say something. "Yeah?"

"Look, Braelyn, from what you told me, I think he really cares about you and th–"

"What if he killed your siblings?" I blurted, anger bubbling beneath my skin.

"That's not my point. I'm saying people make mistakes...he did what he thought was best for your safety, from the story you told me."

My eyes fell to the floor, and I clenched the fabric of my shorts. Was Jack right? Did I overreact?

"You're saying I took what he did the wrong way."

"Well...yeah, I guess so. I mean that lady sounded like she was going to kill you if he hadn't killed her."

"It's too late. I already made it clear I didn't want him near me." I twisted the handle, the door splitting from the frame to reveal the outdoors.

Jack fell silent, and I stepped out onto the front steps, staring at the street in front of me. I turned back, my lips curling into a smile as I looked at the three people in front of me.

"Thank you for everything," I said lightly. "You've given me hope that there's still good people out here."

Jack grinned, grabbing Kenzie's hand, the young girl lifting her other hand to wave. "Bye, Braelyn! Come back, okay?"

"I will," I replied, "and hopefully my brother will be with me."

Jack reached out to close the door, stopping it so I could just see his face. "You be careful now, Braelyn."

"Same with you." A second later, the door gently shut, and I shuffled down the stairs.

It was time I found Aidan. I had to.

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Night fell quickly as I walked down an empty road, passing by flipped cars and debris. I tugged on the straps of my backpack, watching as my feet crunched against chunks of the broken-apart pavement on the side of the road.

I lifted my head, the last bit of sun slipping under the horizon. It would soon be pitch black, a time I had to find shelter and a safe place to rest. I came to a stop, leaning against a car balanced perfectly on its side, its frame dented and scratched beyond repair.

A crinkling sound came from nearby, and I flinched, hand flying for the gun at my holster. My heart dropped, my fingers running over the empty pocket, and as I shifted, I heard the sound once more.

Peering down at my feet, I lifted my shoe, revealing a wrapper stuck to the bottom of my foot. The labeling on the side claimed the package contained mini muffins, and I tore it off the sole of my shoe, furrowing my eyebrows. Something wasn't right.

I dropped to my knees, noticing the sunroof glass had been shattered. In the dim light I could barely make out a few blankets and stack of food along the bottom of the car, cursing myself as the sound of leaves crunching in the nearby woods came from a dangerous distance.

"Holy shit."

The voice was feminine, laced with surprise more than fear or concern. A woman, probably in her early twenties, stepped out of the woods, carrying two canteens of water in her hands. I grabbed a knife out of my boot, clenching it in my fist. I could see no visible weapons on the woman's body, but that didn't account for what could be hidden under her clothes.

She went to move forward, but I hissed, "Don't you move a muscle."

The woman obeyed, letting out a low whistle. "I haven't seen a person in, well, a long time. I thought I was one of the only humans left on this shattered planet." Her voice was laced with a thick southern accent.

"Who are you?" I asked, ignoring her comment.

"Stranger, you don't need to be so... aggressive? My name's Anna, and from the look of it, you're the one standing near my home." She shifted, eyeing the lopsided car behind me. "I promise I'm by myself. I have no weapons on me, but if you look in the car you'll find a pocket knife on the left side."

I didn't move, keeping my gaze on her. Slowly, I lowered my knife, reminding myself to keep alert. It was easy for people to lie these days.

"Why are you hiding in a car?"

Anna shrugged. "Even though it's on the road, those nasty Decepticons have passed it multiple times but haven't seemed to notice me. It seems like they target homes instead, where they think people will be holed up, trying to wait out this nightmare." She raised her eyebrows, nodding towards me, her short black hair falling in front of her face. "Got a name?"

"Oh, right," I muttered. "I'm Braelyn."

"Well, Braelyn. Mind if I put these canteens down in my car?"

I forgot I had ordered her to stay put. It bugged me why Anna was so unafraid of me, acting as if me holding a knife wasn't threatening. Didn't she know immediately trusting someone these days could get her killed?

"Yeah, go ahead." I backed away from the sunroof, and Anna walked past me, leaning in quite a ways to place her bottles down.

"There's a river nearby," Anna's muffled voice cleared when she leaned out of the car. She carried a lantern in her hand, turning it on. "I found it not long after the world went to shit, so it's been nice having a water source to rely on."

I watched as the lantern's soft light created shadows among her face. "Do you have any family?" I blurted.

Something in Anna's face shifted, and she quickly shook her head. Her hazel eyes were wide, tears pooling in them. "I…" She gulped, furiously wiping at her face as tears fell onto her cheeks. "I actually had a son. Theo. Theo was his name. I had him when I was eighteen, and he was the greatest gift I ever had."

My chest clenched as I watched her fall apart. This innocent woman had already gone through so much in her life, and when I saw her earlier I could not find any fear.

"He died in a car accident. My sister and I were fleeing our parents' house, who weren't home at the time, and we collided with another car."

"And your sister?"

"Died instantly, right along with my Theo. You may wonder why I choose to stay in this destroyed car when my loved ones were killed in an accident. I hope, one day, by staying on the road I could find my parents...you know, if they happen to pass by."

"I lost my parents," I said softly. As I glanced at my surroundings, it surprised me how fast darkness had spread around us. "I got separated from my younger brother. I'm hoping to find him too."

"All we can do is–"

An engine roared.

"The light!" I hissed. "Turn it off!"

Anna sucked in a breath, switching the lantern off. Darkness enveloped me, and I became aware of the heavy thumping of my heart.

A hand grazed my skin and I yanked my arm back. I soon realized it was Anna, trying to reach out to me.

"Get in the car with me, Braelyn," she whispered. The engine was growing louder, its low growl sending a chill down my spine.

I could make out Anna's body slipping into the car, and followed, maneuvering my smaller frame through the sunroof. I crouched next to her, and reached out my hand to grab hers.

She was trembling, and I gave her hand a squeeze. "It's alright," I said, "just don't make a sound and stay still." I released her hand, wrapping my arms around my torso.

Please pass us. The car had to be less than half a mile away. A similar whine of an engine sounded from the opposite direction, and I closed my eyes.

This wasn't a coincidence.

"There's two?" Anna shifted closer to me, and I wanted to slap myself. My gun was no where near me, and if those cars were Decepticons, to put it nicely, we'd be screwed. If I had kept moving, went deep into the woods for the night, I could have avoided this.

The cars rolled to a stop, their engines lowly rumbling from less than a hundred feet away.

Click. Screech. Hiss.

Silence.

Metal squealed as I heard what I had been dreading, begging for it to stop, for this to be a nightmare. The cars transformed, and the ground shook as an unfamiliar language was spoken between the two of them.

Anna bit her hand to keep from screaming, and I stared up above me, closing my eyes.

Please. I don't want to die.

"We know you pesky insect is here," one of them finally spoke in English.

"Come out and play," the other one added, the car trembling as the Decepticons began to move.

I looked at Anna. She stared blankly ahead, emotion wiped off her face, mouth hanging slightly open. Was she remembering the deaths of those she loved?

Before my mind could keep up, my feet swept me out of the sunroof, around the car, and directly in front of the enemy.

I yelled, grabbing my knife from my boot and throwing it towards the smaller Decepticon. It bounced off of it's dark metal plating, and the two of them froze for a second, then laughed.

"Humans are so worthless," the taller one growled, its red optics gleaming with hunger. "But you just made it so much easier for us."

"Stop!" Anna's voice rang from behind me.

"There's two? Even better!" The shorter one lunged for Anna, and she ran to the side, dodging its grasp.

I felt helpless. I ran to Anna, grabbing her arm to lead into the woods. Maybe, just maybe if we could get into the woods, we could outrun them.

Anna's arm slipped from my hand, her shrill scream piercing the air as one of the Decepticons grabbed her tightly.

"Let go of her!" I yelled, watching as the one holding her paused, looking back to its comrade.

"Get rid of the smaller femme. She irritates me." It transformed, encasing Anna in its car form, before speeding off.

"No!" I watched as the headlights faded in the distance, leaving me alone. Where was it taking her?

The remaining Decepticon looked at me, blood-red optics narrowing in delight.

I took off in the opposite direction. I wouldn't go down without at least trying to escape, to survive.

A flaming bullet soared past me, sending a nearby car on fire, exploding within seconds. I faltered a few steps, shading my face from the harsh heat and debris. My lungs screamed in protest as a cold metallic hand clamped around my torso, lifting me into the air.

The Decepticon turned me to face it, chuckling as it shook its head. "This is going to be so fun."

I spat at it, momentarily distracting it as I squirmed, slipping out of its grasp. I collapsed onto the pavement, pulling myself up as I took off at a sprint, sweat beading on my forehead. I beelined for the forest, zig-zagging to dodge the Decepticon's fire as it tried to shoot me.

Feeling like I was in the clear, I glanced back, shrieking as a fireball soared right at me. I threw myself to the ground, and a tree exploded, pieces of bark shooting in every direction. Before I could get up, the Decepticon's hand grasped my legs, and I clawed at the ground, completely useless.

It flipped me onto my back, using its hand to grab my arms while the other grabbed my legs. Slowly it began to pull, and I desperately squirmed, biting back a scream.

Pain ripped through my limbs and my scream released, cutting through the silent surroundings.

A growl emitted from nearby, and a strong force sent the Decepticon soaring into the ground, dropping me in the process. I tumbled for a few moments before coming to a stop, hissing as I turned just in time to see a glint silver of speed by, tackling into the Decepticon.

"Side...swipe?" I choked out in disbelief, holding back a sob as the familiar Autobot shoved his sword into the neck of the Decepticon, blowing its head off within seconds. He turned to look at me, harsh blue optics softening as he made contact with my stare.

I pushed myself from the ground, knees shaking as if some unknown force grabbed hold of them and wouldn't let go. I swayed on my feet, steadying myself as I looked at Sideswipe, who kept his distance from me.

"Are you...okay?" He asked, a frown crossing his lip plates. His optics flickered to the ground, and I felt my heart clench.

"Yeah," I answered. My eyes trailed to the body of the Decepticon, a twisted piece of metal in the middle of the road. Jack's words echoed in my mind, and I looked back to Sideswipe. "I–"

"Primus, Braelyn," Sideswipe cut me off, wheeling a little bit closer to me. "I am so sorry. For everything."

I looked away, hugging my arms to my body. People died because of Sideswipe– a family that had just been trying to survive. I glanced back towards him, and saw something flicker in his optics.

He had only been trying to protect me.

I turned away, guilt and embarrassment overwhelming me. I had left him. Screamed. Called him a monster. This whole time he was the one who saved me, who found me when I could have died at the hands of the Decepticon.

"You're not a monster," I whispered. With his advanced hearing I know he had understood what I said, but I couldn't bear to look at him.

"You were right," Sideswipe said, his voice gentle. "I shouldn't have hurt those people so fast. I...I panicked, and thought the only way to keep you safe would be to kill them. But, we could've talked to them without anyone needing to get hurt."

I kept my back to him, staring at my feet.

"Braelyn, can you at least look at me?"

"I was stupid," I said, shaking my head. "I stormed off and left you. I almost died again today, and you had to save me again."

Gears whirred and shifted, and in a matter of seconds Sideswipe's holoform materialized a few feet away from me. His eyes gazed at me softly, and he took a step closer. I shifted a step backwards, but stopped as he began to speak.

"When you left, you told me you were already as good as dead. I saw the hope leave your eyes, and could only see pure hatred. I couldn't help but feel like I had ruined you. I frightened you, and should have known immediately what I did was wrong."

Slowly, I lifted my head to gaze at him. "I'm the one who should apologize, Sideswipe. You were only trying to protect me, and I didn't realize it then. If you hadn't been there, those people could have killed me."

Before I could react, Sideswipe had his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. The familiarity of it, the gentleness of his touch, all of it reminded me that I needed him. I wrapped my arms around his torso, leaning into his shoulder.

"I thought I was going to lose you," he muttered. For some reason, this made me chuckle, and he pulled away, arching an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's always me doing stupid things that almost gets me killed," I replied, shrugging.

"You're not as good as dead," he said, pushing a strand of hair away from my face. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, causing me to grin.

"I missed you," I said softly.

He pulled me close, and I sighed as I felt his warmth encase me once more. "I missed you too," he replied.

I wish we could've stayed frozen in that moment forever.

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WOWIE. I'm so glad this chapter is done! I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts. Would you forgive Sideswipe? Would you have even gotten angry with him in the first place?

I really missed this- writing, interacting with you guys, ALL of it. It's so good to be back.

– SapphireSpark