Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
Dahlia was pretty much silent as she stared out the window nervously while Bumblebee drove along the long stretch of road to their base. She did not know how far the base was, but she didn't care. She had hoped that she might be able to escape from the bots and be on her way again. She didn't know if she could trust these bots. And sitting in a car, with a human child so close, was a struggle. She could smell his scent. While she was not craving human flesh right now, having Raf still sitting so close was hard for her to ignore. And Dahlia was already uncomfortable sitting in the car.
Seems like they might have their base in the desert.
Maybe. But we have been here for a few years already. I do not remember seeing any of these cars, so it seems strange to me that they would show up now.
We feel the same. We should leave when we can.
I plan on it. I do not know how much I can trust these bots. They seem nice, but they could have a box.
No cages...no cages...
Dahlia shivered nervously as the very thought of a cage frightened her. Being inside a car was bad enough too, because she was confined and looking outside the window. But she could open the door and jump out if she wanted to. But she certainly was not going to do that right now, because that would give away that she was not human. She did wonder why Jack did not make a mention of her eyes. Dahlia knew that the Beast came out briefly when she tackled him, but only for a brief moment.
"You can relax, Dahlia." Dahlia flinched and glanced at the dash as he spoke to her. "I am not sure if you can actually understand me. But I want you to know you are safe. Now that I can see some of those scars up close, it makes be afraid of whoever did that to you." Dahlia frowned and rolled her eyes in response. "Wait...can you understand me?" She sighed in irritation before she nodded silently. "Hooyah! Another human who can understand me!"
Dahlia groaned loudly and rolled her eyes, feeling irritated at this time. She didn't really care that he was happy she could understand him. She wasn't even sure how she could, and she also had zero idea of how Rafael could also understand the bot. Dahlia at least guessed it was due to her experimentations that has allowed her to understand him, so that made a bit of sense. Just now how Raf could understand him.
"But as I said before, you are in no danger." Bumblebee could see that Dahlia was extremely uncomfortable. He felt she should not be, but she has been agitated since leaving the drain, and he was worried. "I am sure it will take time before you realize that, and that is okay. I am kind of hoping you stick around. Sleeping in the drain is not much of a home."
"It's better than what I had before." Dahlia sighed, folded her arms and shook her head. "Look...I-I really do not want to talk. I just...I just want to be left alone for a little bit. I hope I will not regret agreeing, but I just need time. I don't know you, and I have lived alone for five years. So forgive me for not wanting much company."
Bumblebee goes silent as hearing that Dahlia has lived alone for so long troubled him. Rafael wanted to ask more about it, but after hearing how Dahlia had responded to Bumblebee before, he knew it was best to not ask her. Especially as Raf still felt very unsafe around this girl. He felt as though she could easily kill someone and not even blink an eye. And that was scary to him, especially given the feeling he had when they were outside the drain she has taken refuge for herself. And then when she had attacked Jack, that pretty much answered it. And Raf hoped he would not be alone with this girl, because he did not know what would happen.
They were all silent as Bee continued to drive before turning and began making his way towards a large rock formation. Dahlia didn't really think much of it, as she has seen it multiple times. Though there wasn't anything about it that was out of the ordinary. She looked towards the desert, thinking and wondering about it as she yearned to go running across the same right now. That would be a lot better than what was happening now.