"I'll take a venti double caramel mocha, with extra whip," Torryn ordered a coffee without looking up at the cashier, her thumbs moving at the speed of light as she texted Sierra, telling her for the third time that she was not going to the party that night.

"Okay," The female cashier grabbed the large cup, writing the order down on the side. "Name?" Pressing the send button to her text, Torryn glanced up, placing her phone away in the side of her Nike Pros.

"Torryn, spelled, T-O-R-R-Y-N," The cashier nodded, writing her name passing the cup onto the employee who was supposed to be making the drinks.

"Great, we'll have that ready in a few minutes," The employee smiled, Torryn nodding as she walked toward a table in the corner.

Starbucks was not very busy at the moment, the only customers being Torryn and some guy who was sitting by himself at a table sipping his coffee while furiously typing on his computer. Torryn glanced around the bright coffee shop, the chair screeching as Torryn gently pulled it out.

Taking a seat, Torryn breathed heavily, her eyes falling onto the man sitting a few tables away typing. Tilting her head, Torryn could not stop herself from perking up, her hand holding her head, lips pursed. Raising a single brow, Torryn's imagination began getting the better of her as she came up with a story for the man.

Based on his face, she guessed he was in his early twenties, blond hair, green eyes, small but noticeable freckle on his the left side of the skin just above his lip. Probably had a job online and he was late on his most recent report, or online college? All the possibilities.

The teenage girl thoughtfully followed every movement made by the one other customer, her gaze unwavering and yet unnoticed by the man. Growing bored with imaging what his life was like, she tore her eyes away, mind reeling with thoughts surrounding Jack, Miko, and Raf.

She wondered what they were up to on this fine Saturday. Probably with whoever it was they went with after school.

Was it a secret group of friends? A club? An orgy party?

Torryn shuddered at her last thought, knowing there was no way it was that. She scolded herself for even thinking that. Raf was only twelve for God's sake!

But what were they doing?

Curiosity was a normal emotion, as long as she did not act on it and invade their privacy, she was fine.

"THORN!" Torryn's eyes flared with annoyance at the mistake in her name.

She had clearly pronounced and spelled it out for them. Why in the hell were they still getting it wrong? Torryn knew this had to be on purpose, there was no way anyone was that daft. But then again, this was Starbucks, and no matter how many times Torryn pronounced and spelled her name, they always seemed to get it wrong.

But Thorn, really?

Huffing, Torryn stood up from the table, pushing in the chair with a loud scratch. Spinning around, Torryn faced the counter where a girl around her age held out her large coffee with a bubbly smile. Torryn swore she recognized the girl from school but could not put a name to the face.

Waltzing forward, Torryn grabbed her drink from the girl's hand, flashing her the fakest smile she had ever worn. "Thanks..." Torryn's gaze slyly trailed down to the girl's name tag. "Kara," The poor girl's name clearly said 'Kaira' and yet Torryn purposely butchered the pronunciation.

Clearing her throat, Kaira corrected Torryn. "Uhh... it's Kaira."

"Yeah, and my name is Torryn," Torryn sipped her drink, flipping her ponytail as she walked out of the Starbucks with attitude.

Torryn's attitude-filled voice gained the attention of the young man sitting at the table, his eyes following Torryn as she sashayed to a gleaming black Mercedes Benz. Rolling his eyes, the male could not help but label Toryn as bratty and spoiled, the worker thinking the same thing.

Clicking the button on her keys, the Benz lights flashed to life, the car unlocking itself. As Torryn got inside the car, she took a sip of her drink, placing it into the cup holder before starting up the Mercedes. As the Benz roared to life, Torryn tapped the steering wheel, her mind reeling as she had second thoughts on whether or not she wanted to attend the party.

She had been doing so well the last few months, why ruin it now?

Besides, Torryn was not sure that she wanted to chance fucking some random guy in the closet. Sex was no stranger to Torryn, in fact, Torryn rather enjoyed a good hook up. Yes, some would call her a whore for it, but she truly wasn't, she simply enjoyed a good time. It started last year when Torryn was a mere fifteen-year-old Sophmore, it was the fourth party that she had ever attended and unsurprisingly her attractive nature had caught the eye of quarterback Justin Monroe.

Torryn had attended the party with two of her friends, both of which ended up ditching her for their boyfriends. Of course, glamouring Torryn was eye candy, and it tended to catch the eye of anyone feeling 'in the mood'. Back in Washington, Torryn was not necessarily popular at her high school, but alike to how it was in Jasper, she was good friends with those who were considered 'popular'. So while she was not at the top of the food chain, people did know who she was.

Including Justin Monroe. Justin wasted no time advancing on Torryn, Torryn already having had a couple of drinks, so it did not take much to convince her to follow him up to a random room in the house.

It was the next day when Torry woke up naked and sore with no recollection of the previous night next to an equally as naked Justin, that she realized exactly what went down. Despite the situation, Torryn could not be upset, the only part she was slightly aggravated with was the fact that she could not remember it. Every girl wanted to remember the day they lost their virginity.

After that, it seemed that every other party Torryn attended, she ended up screwing some guy. Torryn herself had only ever been in one real relationship, and that lasted a total of three days before Torryn realized that: A, she did not actually like the guy, and B, having someone that close to her was not a good call.

And so, the short relationship ended with Torryn breaking his heart via text and gaining the reputation of heartbreaker at her old school. Not that she much cared, it was simply a title.

Here in Jasper, Torryn slowed down in her luscious rendezvous at parties, only having screwed one guy in the short four months she had lived in Jasper. She could not remember his name, only the fact that he was on the football team and they fucked in his car outside. Vince was the one who caught them both passed out naked a few hours later and has not let her live it down since.

Torryn knew she had to be careful with her sex life as she did not want to end up pregnant and she absolutely did not want her father finding out. He would lose his mind if he found out his only daughter lost her innocence so young.

So all in all, while Torryn had a very active sex drive, she had no feelings for anyone. Sadly, no one was appealing enough for her to want more than just a quick hook up.

Taking long gulps of the caffeinated drink, Torryn pulled out of the Starbucks, the engine roaring as she sped down the long road leading her out of Jasper. The cracked roads seemed to sizzle with the desert heat, the cicada's buzzing wildly.

Setting her drink back in the cup holder, Torryn fidgeted with the radio, turning it to different stations. The girl cringed as multiple songs which she did not like played, continuously changing it every time she came upon one she disliked.

It was after a solid thirty seconds of changing stations that Torryn let out a frustrated grunt, the car whizzing past the Jasper city limits sign. Taking one meaningful glance at the road, Torryn took note that there were no cars anywhere near her, and the town was behind her now, only the raw desert in her line of sight.

Because of this, Torryn decided to take her eyes off the road, placing special care in keeping the steering wheel straight as she fiddled more with the radio, desperately trying to find a song she liked.

Glancing at the road to make sure she wasn't veering off every now and then, Torryn finally came to a song she liked, cheering in victory when the familiar voice of Marina and the Diamonds flowed through the car. The song 'Bubblegum Bitch' was extremely popular amongst the teenage generation.

"Oh, dear diary, I met a boy
He made my dull heart light up with joy
Oh, dear diary, we fell apart
Welcome to the life of Electra Heart!" Torryn sang loudly, her voice nowhere near that of Marina and the Diamonds.

Torryn knew she had a lousy singing voice, but that did not stop her from singing for the hell of it. Bopping her head along with the pop song, Torryn's ponytail furiously shook back and forth, her eyes alight with life.

Reaching out, the girl turned up the music, blaring it as she sped almost thirty miles over the speed limit.

"I'm Miss Sugar Pink, liquor, liquor lips
Hit me with your sweet love, steal me with a kiss
I'm Miss Sugar Pink, liquor, liquor lips
I'm gonna be your bubblegum bitch
I'm gonna be your bubblegum bitch!"

It was as she was singing this, that out of the corner of her eye Torryn saw a flash of green. Furrowing her brows, the teenager turned down the music until it was simply fuzzy background noise, glancing at the road before shifting her gaze to the desert on the side of her car. As she drove, her eyes following every movement in the desert to ensure she missed nothing, the flash of green once again came in her line of sight.

Except for this time, it was way more than a flash of green.

Torryn Wilde could recognize Miko's monster truck from anywhere, and she recognized it now as she watched the army green truck race across the sand dunes. Her mouth twisted into a smile as she realized Miko was probably in that truck, and she contemplated whether or not this was what Miko was always doing. It seemed fitting that in her spare time she would be racing in the sand dunes.

What really took Torryn for surprise was when the familiar yellow muscle car sped through the sand dunes as well, pulling up next to the monster truck, and close behind it Torryn was easily able to see Jack on his motorcycle, pulling up in line with the monster truck and yellow car. It became apparent in a matter of seconds that all of them were racing.

Tilting her head, Torryn watched her friend's race, silently betting on who would win. Torryn was betting on Raf's car as the motorcycle was faster, but it was not equipped to ride the dunes and the monster truck was equipped for the dunes, but it was lacking in speed.

For a split second, Torryn contemplated on whether to reveal herself by honking or not, but decided against it as she would bet that her friends would pull away if they saw her. She wished they would include her in these little races, as Torryn knew if she took the Range Rover which was equipped for rough terrane and speed, she would have a chance at winning. But unfortunately, her friends seemed adamant on keeping her away from their lives outside of school.

Just as the yellow car began pulling forward, Torryn was taken by surprise when another competitor joined in. The number thirty-eight was printed in bold lettering across the car doors, the shiny race car adorning the colors blue, red, and white. Torryn gaped in shock, feeling slightly insulted that her friends did not invite her and yet this other person whom she did not know was with them.

Who even was this person?

Was this perhaps why they had never reached out outside of school other than the occasional phone call? Did they not want her to meet whoever this was.

Despite her thoughts, Torryn watched as the shiny sleek race car easily sped past all of them, taking first by a couple of feet. Her opinion turned from Raf winning to this race car, as it was apparent the car was built for speed and rough terrane.

Glancing at the empty road every few seconds, Torryn found it hard to take her eyes off the race. In a matter of seconds, the apparent finish line came into view, and the white race car sped through finishing in first, Raf in second, Miko in third, and Jack in a very close fourth.

It was a quick decision on Torryn's part, and before she could even comprehend her own actions, she was pulling to the side of the road, the Benz coming to a quick stop. She wondered had she raced with them and was it on the normal road instead of the dunes, would the Mercedes be able to keep up. The race car would no doubt come in first again, Jack's motorcycle second, and she presumed either her or Raf would come in third.

Leaving the car running while it was in park, Torryn crept out of her vehicle, shutting the door silently. This was against everything she believed in, she was actually going to spy on her friends.

Torryn had tried to stay polite for a few months now but seeing them all racing with some mystery person finally cracked her. Her curiosity won, just one little sneak peek couldn't hurt, right?

Pursing her lips, Torryn looked down to her white cheer shoes, debating whether or not it was worth getting them dirty. Finally seeing what her friends were up too, hell yes it was worth getting dirty!

As quietly as she could, Torryn walked onto the dirt filled desert, the sun hitting her pale skin harshly. With nothing but a sports bra and Nike Pros on, Torryn knew a tan was within her future.

The sand of the Nevada desert sloped at an angle from where Torryn was standing, making it so Torryn was not in easy view. Crouching down, Torryn slipped forward, her caramel eyes wide with anticipation.

She couldn't believe she was actually doing this, but at the same time, her heart hammered with excitement. She was finally going to see what it was Jack, Miko, and Raf did without her. Trying not to get her shoes dirty, Torryn mustered up the courage to look over the dunes, seeing Miko and Raf hopping out of their vehicles with wide grins while Jack pulled his helmet off, getting off the motorcycle happily. Her eyes focused on the race car, waiting for someone to step out of it.

In fact, knowing Miko and Raf could not drive, she waited for someone else to step out of those vehicles as well. But no one did.

"Ha!"

Torryn thought her ears were deceiving her at first. She was clearly watching Jack, Miko, and Raf, none of their mouths had moved. Not to mention, this voice was not any of theirs.

This voice was male, and he sounded around Jack and Torryn's age, but Torryn knew Jack's voice, and that was definitely not it. It was quirkier than Jack's, full of transgression and fun. Not to mention it was slightly deeper.

Upon further inspection, Torryn could see that the race car seemed to vibrate in a way cars normally did not.

"I beat you again!" The same voice exclaimed in an arrogant but happy manner, and Torryn watched with confusion as the race car vibrated with every word, looking as if it were... talking?

"No fucking way," Torryn thought to herself, seeing now that it was the car talking.

That was impossible. What was this, the movie Cars? Vehicles did not talk!

"Agh, whatever Smokescreen," Miko playfully rolled her eyes, Torryn's thoughts confirmed, knowing now that despite how impossible it may seem, the car was actually talking.

No, she must be mistaken, there has to be someone inside.

"Your alt mode is a race car, this isn't a fair race," Raf exclaimed, a bright smile on his lips as he fixed his glasses.

The next thing that happened almost made Torryn faint on the spot. The race car transformed, literally!

The once sleek racing car turned into a huge robot. It was obviously a male, and his body was large, larger than anything she had ever seen alive. His face was friendly-looking, bright blue optics that pulsed with boundless energy and an almost youthful glow to him.

The main plating of his face was grey, the outer helm white accented by red and black alike to the rest of the paint job. The same paint job as the car that he most recently was.

Fifteen, no, twenty, no... the dude-robot was over twenty feet tall! Torryn could not be sure, but she was vaguely convinced that based on how some of his metal was shaped, it was meant to be alike to human muscle.

The huge robot kneeled on one knee, looking Raf in the eyes with a smile. He shrugged in a gleeful manner, Smokescreen's spirits uplifted with his most recent win.

Torryn was frozen, her eyes comically wide, mouth agape. She looked to Raf, waiting for him to do the sane thing (run away screaming), and yet he did none of that. Instead, the young boy only gave 'Smokescreen' a floppy grin in reply, Miko complaining to Jack about how it was an unfair race and how someone named 'Bulkhead' should have won.

First of all, who was Bulkhead? Second of all, what kind of name is Bulkhead?

To add onto Torryn's horror, Jack's motorcycle suddenly shifted as well, the thing turning into a smaller curvy female robot. Small winglets jutted from her shoulder plates, and her blue eyes held a scorning look in them as she glared down Smokescreen.

"Smokescreen, you are not supposed to transform in public, someone could see you." She placed her hands on her hips, the obviously younger robot shrugging in a careless manner.

"But you did it," He complained, standing from his kneeling position, his body much taller than the femme.

"Yeah," Torryn did not know what to do at this point, the young girl frozen in shock as Miko's monster truck transformed into a huge army green robot. "But we're allowed, you're not,"

As if adding icing to the cake, Raf's car transformed as well, turning into a bright yellow robot.

   It was official, the conspiracies were all true! The robots are taking over the world!

What is she supposed to do? Did she run away, call the authorities, call her dad? Torryn was not sure what to do. Of all the things she expected her friends to be doing, this certainly was not one of them!

The yellow robot did not speak as the others did, but instead, let out a series of different beeps and chirps.

"What?" Smokescreen cried with aggravation, apparently able to understand the warbling. "That's not fair!"

The femme simply made a clicking noise, tossing her head to the side. "Yeah, well... tough luck because existence isn't fair, get used to it," Her reply was snarky, Smokescreen grumbling to himself while pouting and looking at the ground hourly, kicking nothing in particular.

Torryn was actually staring a giant car-robot-guy pouting.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit..." Torryn whispered to herself, her mind reeling with shock and different thoughts.

The flight or fight response becoming more prominent as her brain decided to run away or confront the problem dead on. But confronting the problem was dangerous. These robots were ginormous, over twenty feet tall! The fight response would be pointless, all they had to do was step on her. And she doubted banshee screaming at them would hold them off for very long.

The only option that made sense was to run, run like hell for the matter. In a panick-struck daze, Torryn slowly stood from her crouched position, backing toward the still running Mercedes quieter than she ever thought herself capable of. The girl was halfway to the car, her eyes never leaving the huge machines surrounding her friends, all of whom talked with each other as if this were the most normal thing in existence.

It was only when Rafael took a glance toward the road to make sure no one was coming that his eyes fell on a familiar figure. Raf and Torryn's eyes met, Raf freezing on the spot, his mind reeling with panic. He could clearly see the terror written on his friend's face, and he could only assume what she was thinking.

No one else noticed the exchange happening, Torryn on the verge of balling from all the confusion and fright that was running through her veins. Seeing that Torryn was inches away from her car, and obviously preparing to dart inside and race away, Raf was able to muster a few coherent thoughts through his panic.

"Um... uh... guys..." The younger boy stuttered, his timid tone easily gaining the attention of everyone.

   Bumblebee let out a series of worried beeps, Jack placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What is it, Raf?" Miko questioned, her voice gentler than normal seeing Raf's expression.

The Autobots looked down in concern, their optics focused on the youngest human on team Prime. Raf did not say anything, his arm simply going up pointing to the sight of Torryn. In a mix of confusion, every one of their eyes followed to where Raf was pointing and suddenly Torryn was aware of all the eyes now on her.

Miko, Raf, Jack, their... friends, everyone's attention was on her. Quite frankly, Miko's mouth fell agape in shock, and Jack's eyes looked ready to fall from his skull. The Autobots optics widened, everyone, standing still, unsure of what to do.

Torryn stood with her hand placed on the driver's door handle, her frame frozen. It was only after a few seconds that everyone got over the shock, Torryn being the first to truly move. With a strong motivation to get away, the teenage girl threw open the door, finally allowing the panic to truly settle in.

"Holy fuck! The robots are taking over!" She yelled, jumping in the car, slamming the door shut and pushing the car into drive, Torryn was nearly flying from how fast the Mercedes accelerated, her foot pushing the pedal to the metal.

"Wait, Torryn!" Jack desperately called, waving his arms as he watched the Benz speed off.

"I'm calling her!" Miko said, flipping her phone dialing her friend's number.

Unsurprisingly, Torryn did not answer. The Autobots shook off the shock, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee recognizing Torryn as the girl who was friends with the trio at school. Miko, Jack, and Raf had told their guardians about her on more than one occasion, mainly talking about how they felt bad she wasn't included.

Growling in frustration, Arcee realized that another human was now involved and essentially endangered because of them. Clenching her servos, the femme whirled around, pointed an accusing digit at Smokescreen.

"Now look what you've done!" She hollered, waving her servos before placing her hands on her hip plates. "This is why we don't transform in public, Smokescreen, because now we've just been witnessed!"

Bumblebee and Bulkhead both tried diffusing the situation, Smokescreen simply looking to the ground in shame. He hadn't been with the team long, but in the short time he had been with them, it seemed he was messing up at every turn.

Switching his gaze to Miko, Bulkhead addressed her, trying to stay calm. "Miko, we need to bring her back to base as soon as possible and tell Optimus about what happened. Can you get in contact with her?" Miko was already dialing Torryn's number for the third time, delivering a thumbs up Bulkhead's way.

"Wait," Smokescreen looked toward the trio of humans, his optics focusing in on the phone in Miko's hand. "You know her?" His voice held confusion and buried deep beneath shame that he had messed up, again.

"She's a friend from school," Jack waved it off, turning to Miko with alarm. "You know she's not going to answer, she's probably way too terrified, we need to go to her house."

Miko glared at Jack, crossing her arms with a huff. "Yeah, except for one problem, we have no clue where she lives!" The Japanese exchange student exclaimed, Jack, biting his lip, trying to think up what to do.

Raf perked up, his eyes lighting up. "I might be able to track the signal!" He exclaimed, taking his cell phone out, going to Torryn's contact and beginning a track signal sequence.

It was after a few moments that the tracking signal failed, an image of a smiley face appearing on his screen. Raf gaped, shaking his head.

"I can't track it, her phone's somehow blocked," Raf did not realize that the reason he could not track her was that for years Torryn had taken the proper steps to ensure she'd never be able to be tracked.

"No need," Everyone looked to Smokescreen whose optics were filled with determination. "I'll go find her, I'll fix this," His voice was a promise to himself, the mech determined to fix his mistake.

"Smokescreen, no..." Arcee was cut off by Smokescreen transforming, having all ready rode off on the road, his accelerator pushing into the hundreds as he tried to catch up with the human female.

From a couple of hundred feet ahead, Torryn heard the sound of an engine and looked into her rearview mirror. To her horror, she was able to see the familiar race car gaining on her, fast. Biting her lip, Torryn knew, despite how quick the Mercedes was, it could not outrace a literal car built for speed.

Torryn was able to see the small path which led up to her home. If someone did not know exactly what they were looking for, the path could easily be missed, not to mention the twists and turns it led to were meant to mislead someone not knowing where they were going.

The decision was a heat of the moment thing, Torryn grabbing the wheel and spinning it so car skidded onto the small dirt path, Torryn pressing the gas even harder as she went down smaller roadways, attempting to mislead and confuse the transforming vehicle after her.

A black Mercedes Benz was not exactly hidden in the dry desert, nor was it meant for offroading on dirt roads. But Torryn would make due, she had to get away from this huge robotic car chasing her.

Spinning the car once again, Torryn snapped the wheel, creating dirt circles as she led the race car hot on her tracks to a sort of trap she had in mind. Just a few miles away, in the total opposite direction of her house was a ditch. If Torryn could trick the car into rolling down the ditch, it would give her more than enough time to drive away and get to her home.

From behind, Smokescreen could not help but admire the little human's driving skills. Though it was reckless and would probably cause accidents on the normal road, it was rather good for desert offroading.

Smokescreen remembered what the human looked like when she saw them. Wide eyes that resembled rich caramel and flaming auburn hair reminding Smokescreen so much of an orange Earth sunset, fair skin coated over with millions of freckles. In his eyes, despite his unwillingness to say it, Smokescreen had to admit that she was the most bewitching human he had ever laid eyes upon.

It was hard to imagine such a cute little organic driving this recklessly in the desert, but she was, and she was making it extremely hard for Smokescreen to keep up with. He had no idea when she would suddenly turn or whether she would perform a random u-turn. Not to mention he could barely see with the dust and dirt blown at him.

It was during his distraction that Torryn struck. Seeing the ditch, Torryn got as close to it as she could without rolling in, jerking the steering wheel last minute causing the car to go skidding to the side. Smokescreen, unfortunately, realized this mistake too late and without warning went flying into the ditch.

He yelled as his paint was scratched by multiple cacti, rocks shoving way into his mechanisms, and dirt coating over every inch of him. Transforming, Smokescreen hoped that would slow his fall, the younger mech reaching out for anything to slow him. But he was greeted with none of that, instead, falling face first into the middle of the ditch, his once clean white now a tainted brown.

Smokescreen grunted slowly pushing himself up, watching as the Mercedes sped away knowing he would not be able to get out of the ditch without the help of one of his fellow Autobots. Oh, he was definitely in for it now.

Smokescreen cringed thinking of Arcee's reaction, his eyes following the Mercedes until it was out of sight. He had a feeling this was the start of something wild. And that wildness revolved around that one and only human.

✸✸✸

Torryn dropped her keys on the counter, eyes darting around the house as if waiting for something to pop out and grab her.

"Alexa put the house on lockdown!" Torryn ordered, Alexa immediately complying, the doors and window locking themselves while the curtains went down.

In front of any sort of possible entrance, a metal barrier separated the outside world from inside the home Torryn resided in. With the lack of natural light, the house quickly turned on all the indoor lights.

Torryn paced around the kitchen, running her fingers through her hair debating on what to do next.

"Torryn, shall I call your father?" Torryn froze, considering telling her father for a second before shaking her head. He didn't need even more stress added on his plate.

"No, he doesn't need to know about this, dial 911." At the sound of 911, Alexa quickly called the emergency line, Torryn's decision made.

Perhaps, for once in her life, she would actually go to the authorities.

"911, what's your emergency?" A male voice drifted through the house, Torryn replying as fast as she could.

"Um, sir, I need to report the existence of giant robots that transform into cars!" Though Torryn's voice was serious, her nails tapping against the count impatiently, she received no reply for a few seconds.

"Excuse me?" The male voice finally asked, his tone firmer.

Her nails tapped at a faster rate, the nerves eating her away. "I was just a witness to cars that turn into giant robots." Torryn tried to stay calm.

"Ma'am, I am going to need you to be clearer than that."

"Look, I can't be any clearer than how crystal clear I am being. The car... it stood up and turned into a giant robot!" Torryn could not help but think of Smokescreen as she said this, the race car who appeared youthful in his robotic form, also the car she had tricked into the ditch.

There was a pause, and hearing it out loud, Torryn realized just how crazy she sounded. Maybe she had finally cracked, perhaps the voices and visions of death were finally getting to her. Was she going crazy? Did she imagine this whole thing?

"Ha! I don't know what you're on, kid, but get a life and don't call back!" The phone call ended abruptly, Torryn's eye twitching in anger.

This was why she hated authority.