Lives lost

Trepadition

Cody:

     The day started out normal enough for me, or as normal as my days ever get. It's been 4 years since the last Dr. Marracco incident at the academy, and I'm officially 16 since last week. Kade and Heatwave are visiting the firehouse for a couple days, and Chase and dad temporarily took over training at the Autobot Academy so that I can stay at home since I am training with Heatwave and Kade to learn the ropes of rescue work with a partner. My training starts today, so I guess this day was never going to be a normal one. But let me just tell you, this is probably the best day of my entire life! I'm finally going to join the family business and help Griffin Rock. I can make my family proud, and I can carry on my dad's, sister's, and two other brother's legacies. So that's what I'm gonna do, even if I have to listen to my brother talk about himself and all his "darring" (aka, stupid) stunts, and most likely end up in the middle of a heated argument between the two firefighters. Speaking of which, that is exactly what is happening now. Over who gets to talk first. Typical.

"I should give the first lesson! I mean, I am his older brother. He wants me to teach him first, anyway. Don't you, Cody?"

"...I honestly don't care. can you please just stop fighting already? It's too early for this. Plus, it's getting kind of..."

"See? He said yes, he does want me to teach him first!"

"Kade, that is not what he said. And he's right, we shouldn't be fighting right now. We..."

"No way, wavey! I'm his big brother! It's my responsibility to teach him!"

"Can you stop interrupting us?! Besides, since when are you responsible?"

"I can be responsible! Right Cody? I am totally responsible!"

     I roll my eyes, and reply in the calmest tone available to me at the moment, "Why don't you just work together? You've been arguing for the past 15 minutes. It can't be that hard to get along, can it?"

     "Yes! It can!", they scream at the same time. After that, the fight just dissolves into incomprehensible gibberish. I face palm, then get up out of my seat, deciding that I need to stop the fight before someone gets physically hurt. That's when the headache started, then a wave of dizziness. Next thing I know, I'm lying on my back on the floor staring at two blurry images of my brother and Heatwave kneeling over me, panicking. Then, just blackness.

Kade:

     One moment Heatwave and I were fighting, the next I see Cody collapse in the corner of my eye. I immediately rush to my younger brother's side, forgetting all about the fight I was just in the middle of with Heatwave. I barely noticed Heatwave calling my dad, I was too busy panicking. "Com'on Cody, stay with me!" I watch in horror as his eyes flutter, revealing pearl white beneath their lids, and his body shake terribly with every breath. Then he's still. I start to freak out again, until I check his pulse. It's steady. I start to calm down. Maybe he just fainted. Yeah, that's it. He's fine, he just fainted. Then why do I feel so much dread?

Heatwave:

     I was confused, at first. Why is Kade running from our fight looking so freaked out? He never runs, and... then I saw why. Cody is lying on the ground, so pale he looked almost white. I joined Kade by his side, confused as to what happened to Cody, concerned as well. I decided that I should probably comm. Chief Burns to tell him about the kid's unexpected... whatever the scrap happened.

"Chief?"

"What is it, Heatwave? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, sir, it's Cody..."

"What happened to Cody? Is he alright?"

"Sir..."

     The alarm suddenly went off, indicating an emergency in Griffin Rock. And cutting off my conversation with the chief.

     "Seriously?! Now?! Kade, stay with Cody. Get him somewhere more comfortable than a metal floor, and keep an eye on him."

     Kade just nods his head yes, picks up Cody, and runs to the elevator. In any other circumstance, Kade would have most likely ignored any orders given, especially from me. I guess that shows just how freaked out he is about Cody's condition. A twinge of pity runs through my circuits and I check the monitor for my destination.

     I transform and roll out, fully expecting something as small as a complaint, or Mr. Petty Paws stuck in his favorite tree again. Or, considering I'm going to doc green's lab, an experiment gone wrong. Unfortunately, the real problem was much worse than anything I could have guessed...

Ezra Greene:

Meanwhile:

     "Hey, dad!" I turn my head around to see my daughter still in her pajamas coming down the stairs.

"Hello, my dear Frankie! Did you sleep well last night?"

"I did. Dad, where's mom and Cece?"

"Oh, they will be home shortly. They are just getting the groceries."

 "Oh, okay. Dad, I had a great dream last night, though It was sort of weird."

"Hmmm... interesting. May I ask what the dream was about?"

"I can't remember it that well, though I remember that Cody was in it..."

     I raise one eye brow at her description, and smile a bit when I see her blushing. I shake my head while chuckling to myself, "Ah, young love." I eagerly turn back to my current project today: breakfast, as Frankie goes to the kitchen to grab hers, trying to hide her blush. When she comes back out, she sits down next to me with a toasted bagel and creamcheese. Or, she was about to. When she made it to the stool, she leaned heavily on it, and she started trembling. 

     "Frankie! Are you okay? Frankie?!" I frantically go to grab her when she started to fall over. I gently lower her unconscious, pale and shaking body to the ground, repeating her name over and over again trying to get her to respond, with no success. Suddenly she goes still, though she is still breathing. I rush Frankie to the living room, then back to the kitchen to call the fire house, only to find my phone with no charge.

*oops, I forgot to charge my phone last night! Of all the night's to do so...* 

     I silently curse my poor memory, then rush to the lab to do the only other thing I can do if I want to get in touch with the rescue team. I pull the fire alarm, and run back to daughter's side, hoping to the Lord that she will be okay.