Chapter 1
"What are you doing all alone out here?", Jason asked, a little taken aback since it was very rare that women ventured out on their own these days, especially at dusk. Of course there existed some loners who were good at surviving independently, but they usually avoided to leave the underground canalization whenever possible, and lived on rats and other vermin. A "luxury" that Jason couldn't afford, since he didn't just need to feed himself, but also needed to take care of his companion Gabrielle and their seven year old daughter Deborah. Since the latter was still in her growth stage, a more balanced nutrition was needed. On this day, Jason's food expedition unfortunately was unsuccessful and he was just on the way back to their hideout, when the unknown woman crossed his path.
"My hiding place was flooded by machines and I needed to flee. I've been running for five hours without interruption, my feet are bleeding, my muscles ache and I'm on the edge of my strength." Jason studied the woman skeptically. She really didn't look like one of the killer machines, that was clear to him. He knew that Skynet often tried to build machines that looked like humans, sometimes even women, but it would always choose body templates with a strong physique. Because every infiltrator needed to turn back into a fighter sooner or later. And under the human tissues, Skynet generally used very similar endoskeletons, so that a standardized mass production would be easier. This woman however couldn't look more fragile. She had around twenty years, asian facial features, a slim head on even slimmer shoulders and very thin arms and legs.
But Jason also knew that machines weren't the only risks out here. Desperate and hungry persons were sometimes quite as dangerous as the machines, and would stop at nothing for a loaf of bread. But after some reflection, he sighed: where would humanity end if you don't give shelter to one of your own. Because if he left the lady out there for the night, she'd be easy prey for the robots.
"Come with me; I can offer you shelter for the night", he answered in a friendly voice. The woman was visibly relieved: "Many thanks; the thought of spending the night on the street was really terrible."
After marching for about ten minutes, they've reached the door of the private basement bunker Jason had luckily discovered a few months ago and that had been the home of his family ever since. He hammered a specific rhythm against the heavy steal door, which was opened by Gabrielle a few moments later.
She flinched when she realized that her partner didn't enter alone. Sheepishly, the latter murmured an apology that he couldn't have left this woman to her certain death. Gabrielle gave him a dirty look, but was still rather friendly when addressing the newcomer: "Hello, I'm Gabrielle. Our daughter Deborah is already sleeping; you'll meet her tomorrow… Usually very early in the morning." She couldn't suppress a mischievous smile when thinking about her quite noisy early riser. "And you are?"
"My name is Yannah. I cannot thank you enough for the permission to spend the night in such a safe location. And I'm really happy to meet some friendly people too. I've been alone for quite some time now." Gabrielle nodded: "Well, a place to stay for the night and company are the only things we can offer right now. Unfortunately, we're extremely short on food ourselves at the moment."
Yannah smiled. "Of course, that won't be a problem. As a machine, I don't need food anyway."
Gabrielle swallowed audibly, and Jason's face turned as pale as clay. Nevertheless he forced himself to a humorless smile and answered sternly: "That's not funny! This is something you should not joke about."
"Oh, but I'm not joking", Yannah replied, all emotion having disappeared from her tone. And then her body started to metamorphose. Form, facial features, and even her clothes kept their initial form, but all color disappeared from her appearance, and everything started to shine in silver.