~~~

        The heavy musk of smoke burned Fay's nose. The smell clouded her first few conscious moments.

        It was more than just the smell. The dirty gray air was suffocating as it descended over her bed, filling her lungs with a heated sting. She immediately gasped, choking as the tainted air smothered her lungs and skin.

        Fay tumbled off the bed, lying face down on the floor, her insides alight. It felt like she lived in a fire.

        No. It was like a fire was festering inside of her. It ate her insides as fuel and burned her, burning and burning until nothing was left.

        And she was going to be consumed if she didn't get away.

        Fay stumbled towards the door, placing her hand over the sturdy wood. Warm, but not hot. She flung it open, finding the air outside her room to be a bit clearer, lighter, than that of the air inside. With a groan, Fay began sprinting down the hall, with every intention to get anywhere that wasn't here.

        She could hear the screams as she ran past the rooms of people. People who might be burning alive. People who might be trapped in their rooms, smelling the inevitable doom that was coming for them.

        Unfortunately, that message hardly registered in Fay's mind. She just kept running, heaving as she went, the heavy, stinging air ripping her lungs from the inside. She couldn't believe how incredibly painful it really was. It was terrible.

        But this was not her fate. This was not her last stop. After all she'd been through she would not die in a fire. Not like this. 'Not today.' Her feet hit the floor harder as she attempted to move faster and faster, bypassing door after door. She didn't even know where she was running, only that she had to run. That she had to get out of here.

        A familiar shriek managed to shatter her thoughts of escape, of living to see another day. Fay actually pulled to a stop, pausing for a few moments, listening, even as the crackle of flames licking the walls sounded much too close for the comfort. Fay waited, frozen in place despite the heat, despite the inevitable flames that would be coming for her.

        The scream came again, hitting her ears with too much clarity for her own comfort.

        She stood outside Carrie's door.

        Carrie. The same girl she'd threatened with her life so that she wouldn't reveal Fay's secret.

        A chance for redemption or pure coincidence?

        Fay didn't know, but when the strangled, cracking scream struck her eardrums again, Fay didn't wait to strike her shoulder against Carrie's locked door, throwing all her weight into the motion. She was rejected by the sturdy lock and fell back against the floor, her shoulder an aching bundle of bone and muscle, mixed with wires and energon. She was still getting used to the thought of the latter.

        "Ow! Dammit Carrie! If I die trying to save you, I'll kill you!" Fay squinted, forcing herself up again, frowning when she didn't hear any response from the ginger girl. "Carrie? Carrie!" With a frown, Fay threw herself against the door again, wincing as another jolt of pain shot through her arm.

        Fortunately, this time the door gave. A hole had burned through the wall where Carrie's bed lay. Flames sat atop her mattress, a silent challenge for the brunette girl with hair that would be too easily singed and burned, it's length tempting to the almost living fire.

        Carrie lay at the other side of the room, ash smearing her cheeks in streaks that suggested the redhead had been panicking, holding her face in her hands as she'd been screaming.

        And now she lay unconscious, the only indication that she was still alive was a shallow movement in her chest, rapid and ineffective. The air was thick and painful as it slipped into Fay's lungs. She groaned as she rushed over to the ginger girl who had been screaming just seconds. Fay shook her gently with no response.

        "Come on . . . Come on! I won't actually kill you, Carrie! I promise! I was just frustrated! Wake up! Wake up, damn you!" A loud crack nearly made Fay jump out of her skin and she grabbed Carrie dragging her out of the room, out into the hall. She slammed the door shut again, closing it as well as she could with a broken lock. "Would you wake up? We gotta go you ginger idiot! We don't have time for you to sleep!"

        The girl on the floor was still unresponsive. Fay bit her lip nervously, glancing around the hall. She had nowhere to go. Not with Carrie. She couldn't possibly drag her out of the building.

        But maybe she could carry her. 'Pun not intended.'

        With a grunt, Fay kneeled down, sliding the sitting girl onto one of her shoulders, shifting her weight until the girl lay across the span of shoulders, limp and unconscious. "Thanks for the extra workout," she mumbled, getting a feel for the extra weight only a moment longer before she began to run as fast as she could in the extreme conditions.

        Between the added weight and the smoky air, she was in terrible running conditions. But she had to keep going. She wasn't about to sit down and wait for her death. She would live and it certainly wouldn't be the last thing she would do. 'You've still got a lot to live for. Keep going, damn it.'

        However, she was far from being out of the woods. Fay tried to round a corner, miscalculating the extra weight along with her speed.

        She hit the corner too hard and slipped from her feet, hitting her hip harshly, grinding her teeth as the pain echoed through her internal structures.

        Fay gasped, inhaling particles of ash and a burning heat. She felt like she was burning up. It was terrible but it felt horribly familiar, even though she couldn't place it. It felt, almost natural. But that didn't stop the discomfort and singing. She groaned loudly in an attempt to suppress a scream. She rested her forehead against the tile floor, a light dusting of ash having already coated it gently.

        She wasn't sure how long she'd lain like that, only that it couldn't have been too long. The fire hadn't caught them by the time she managed to pull herself off the floor. In a torturously long moment after, she'd gotten Carrie back onto her shoulders, and began staggering down the way she'd been headed before their spill.

        "S-Sorry . . . Carrie," Fay heaved, her vision beginning to blur from the heat. The smoke certainly wasn't helping matters any. With a groan, she attempted to pick up her pace slightly. Her head was killing her, the shadows were slipping through the smoke, blending with such ease it was terrifying.

        She hadn't gotten her medication. It was attempting to grip her. It was attempting to keep her in place. To prevent her from escaping a fiery death. To prevent her from having any conscious thought at all. Fay closed her eyes tightly for a moment, walking at a fairly steady pace despite the faint limp that was affecting her right hip.

        "Come on, come on," she murmured, starting to pick up a bit of pace. She had to get out of here and she certainly would. First order of business once she was out? Getting some medication that would keep the darkness at bay. Another that would get rid of the aches in her skull. She could do this. She had to or she would be done for. And she wasn't ready to give up just yet. She had things to do. She had people to see.

        'Optimus . . . Charlie . . . Mom . . .' They'd be waiting for her to get out of here. And she'd be leaving one way or another.

        And she'd be taking Carrie with her. She couldn't stand to leave behind the girl she'd terrified behind. She'd keep going. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to bring herself to open her burning eyes. They stung too much.

        She yelped, stopping short and falling back. She'd made direct contact with a wall. Her nose hurt, her backside ached, and she'd dropped Carrie again. 'Some protector. You can't even keep from walking into a wall.' Fay took in a sharp breath, a brief sob escaping her, but it was dry and felt like a knife was sliding against her throat. It was a terrible thing. The tears came to her eyes, but dried too quickly to be of any use in relieving the burning sensation that was plaguing her so relentlessly.

        So Fay sat on the floor. She didn't want to give up. She wanted to fight and run and live of all things. But she couldn't exactly get anywhere when she couldn't even see where she was going. She made a croaking noise in her distress. She couldn't sob. Her throat was too dry. The heat pressed against her skin, coating every pore. The smoke was horrendous and filled her lungs, the chemicals inside the deadly cloud replacing the oxygen that had once clung to her blood cells, replacing them.

        Fay couldn't think straight anymore. Forming any sort of solid thought was difficult. She felt helpless, weak, blindfolded. She was blind to the world. She couldn't possibly fight what she couldn't see. She couldn't escape if she couldn't see her enemy.

        The only thing she saw was darkness.

        And the inky black shadows that slithered through them.

        She yelped, even though her eyes weren't open. The shadows were everywhere, slipping through every physical and mental crevice, closing the gaps that separated her from them. The medicine. She'd been without it for far too long. She didn't know how long ago the flames had woken her from slumber, but the medicine call had definitely passed.

        A while ago at this rate. And if the flames didn't get her, she was certain the shadows would. Either way, it was shaping up to be a pretty deadly day.

        She was scared. Fay didn't admit it very often, but today, she was scared. Scared for her life. Scared for Carrie. Scared that she would never get to say goodbye to Optimus or Charlie or her mother.

        Another choked sob escaped Fay as she tilted her head up. "You'll welcome me, won't you, Daddy . . . ?" Her only answer, if it could be called that, came in the form of a burst of heat, the cracking of a support beam as it splintered under flame, and embers dancing in the air as it fell to the floor, creating a burst of light. The heat singed Fay's cheeks. Her skin began to feel raw and weathered.

        She winced just slightly, feeling incapable of any more movement. She groaned, hiding her face in her knees, hoping that bit of protection would provide her with just one more burst of fresh air. She'd kill for fresh air right. 'More like die for it,' she thought bitterly.

        "Farrah? Farrah is that you? Answer me!"

        She jerked, tensing as she turned around, looking at the wall that had blocked her from making it out of this dreaded, deadly place. The place that had had become a giant casket. And would be hers as well if something didn't change. Immediately.

        "Hello?" She'd meant it to be a shout, but the word came out scratchy and unrefined. That apparently didn't stop the man on the other side of the wall from hearing her answer.

        "We have a survivor! On the other side of this wall! Get someone to break through it immediately!"

        "Please don't leave me," she stumbled over the words, reaching for the all too solid wall that kept her from rescue. That structure was one of the worst things she'd ever encountered to date. It could very well be the death of her.

        She couldn't be sure whoever it was heard her. The voice sounded familiar, but her own felt foreign thanks to the damage the smoke had done. "Please . . ." Her voice had become rasp from smoke inhalation. It was becoming thicker and thicker, the shadows becoming more daring as they slid around her, threatening her.

        "Please!" She forced a scream, even though it hurt, pressing her hand to the wall, silently wishing that the gesture would somehow allow her to phase through the all-too-solid structure and allow her to escape this place.

        "Far? It's Malakai. I'm not going anywhere. Just hold on."

        "Please . . ." She whispered. "Don't let me die here . . ."

        "We'll get you out, Far. Just promise me one thing. Promise you'll let go of Optimus. Promise you'll be faithful to me so we can be happy. That's all I want."

        "Please . . ." She murmured again, starting to lose the tension in her muscles. "Please just get me out . . ."

        "Promise me, Far!"

        "Filly?"

        She groaned, shifting slightly. "Please . . ." It was the only word she could form without thinking. And her thoughts were a scrambled mess as it was. "Please . . ."

        A frown crossed his face as the Prime's holoform closed the bit of distance that separated him from her, striding down the hallway quickly. "Filly." He picked her up into his arms, looking her over for a brief moment before carrying her down the hall, heading straight for an open door.

        "Far! Far! Slag it, Far!" He called, her silence speaking volumes.

        "Rest, Filly . . . Rest . . ."

        She nodded weakly, her body going lax in his arms as he took her outside.

        ~~~

        She didn't know how long it took, but she knew the shadows, the darkness had decreased the next time she woke up. She also knew that she was breathing fresh air. She was outside.

        She opened her eyes warily. They still burned. Everything still felt alight with heat that she couldn't seem to shake off. She could see the outline of Optimus. The green blades of grass despite the flames. She couldn't spot the red tousles of hair that she'd come to associate with Carrie.

        Because Carrie was still inside. In the flames and burning.

        Fay jolted up, an ache falling over her body like a heavy blanket, but she pushed past it. She'd promised Carrie.

        "Filly! Stop!" She ignored him, stumbling towards the flames, the heat, the deadly place where it was all encased, and the door that would eventually take her back to Carrie. "Frag it, Filly!"

        Optimus followed her into the burning building, grabbing her wrists and pulling her to a stop only twenty feet in. "Filly, stop!" He told her firmly, holding her wrists, even as she struggled and pulled in an attempt to get away from him.

        "No! W-we have to get Carrie!" Her throat still burned, and re-entering the building was aggravating it as the smoke scraped against her throat.

        "Listen to me, Filly! It's not worth it! You'll die trying to save her! She's probably already gone. Filly . . ." He sighed, holding his head in his hand for a moment. "Filly . . . Please . . . Just listen to me right now. Carrie's not real. Let her go."

        Fay froze, staring at Optimus through the falling ash. "What are you talking about . . . ? Of course she's real . . . She breathes and walks and talks and takes her meds every day."

        "Filly. Please. Listen to me. And let her go. I need you to calm down, okay? What you need to do right now is stay calm. And focus. Okay? I know you've done it before. I know you can. It's not just some weird daydream. It's you. I need you to do it again before the Decepticons find you. Okay? Focus. Change it."

        "I . . . Are you crazy? I don't know what you're talking about . . ." Truth be told, her mind was fuzzy. Thinking was still a forced thing. But she really couldn't imagine what Optimus was insisting she do.

        "Filly . . . Come on . . . You have to know . . ."

        "I don't! And why are you saying Carrie's not real! She's real! Of course she's real! You can't fake a scream like that! You can't imagine that kind of pain! You can't!" She held her head in her hands, the pain bombarding her more and more inside the heat.

        "Filly, please-."

        "Stop! You may not-!"

        "Filly, we have to, don't do this! Don't block me out." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Please let me . . . Let me into your mind even if you don't let yourself in . . ."

        She paused, breathing heavily, a small sob shaking her chest.

        "Far!" His voice boomed as he strode down the hall. "You traitorous wench!"

        "Filly," Optimus murmured a warning. "You need to do it soon, Filly . . ."

        She tensed against him. "Th-the Autobots may remember . . . The Decepticons may not . . ."

        ~~~

        When Fay woke up in her bed, the images that tickled her mind were that of fire and ash, smoke and heat. Other than that, she couldn't remember a thing. All she recalled was that today the moon would shift in the 3/4 waxing phase. The moon phase her father had supposedly been born under. Of course, with the lies she knew about her life, she had reason to question that as well. Fay sighed turning over in her bed, lacking the motivation to get out of bed.

        The only reason she really had was to get her morning medicine. And for whatever reason, that didn't seem as appealing today. She sighed, pulling the covers over her head, and after a few minutes, the heat built up, and the smothering sensation felt eerily familiar.