The night was calm in Los Angeles. The year had been a good one so far. But that was all about to change. Suddenly, the sky was restless. Blue lightning bolts touched the ground. Something was coming. Suddenly, the body of a young girl appeared curled up in a ball, fully dressed. She stirred and then stood. She was young, about eighteen or nineteen. She had long straight hair, golden brown eyes that were curious yet afraid, her skin smooth and shiny, and strong muscles. Back in the future, they called her Amara. She breathed in nervously as she looked around. She began walking, wondering if she could ever avoid him. He always had a thing for finding her. As she walked, she held the diamond butterfly necklace and it gave her hope. She wouldn't find him. If she did though, she would find Kyle. Amara was the fiercest fighting machine there was fighting with the humans. She would be fine. She walked with more confidence. As Amara walked, she bumped into someone and they got a grip on her arm. She was just about to rip her arm away when she looked into his eyes. He looked at her with stone cold eyes. He had no expression. Amara felt that pounding sensation in her chest. He had found her, The Terminator….

She walked by his side nervously. He was known for killing the most, relentlessly and without thought or pity. She wondered why he hadn't killed her right then and there, but she supposed there was a reason that she didn't need to know until he was ready to tell. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and wondered if he could hear. She looked up at him with worry in her eyes. Her questions got caught in her throat but one managed to escape her lips.

"Where are we going?" she asked him, afraid of the answer. He didn't look at her and didn't answer. She sighed quietly. She suddenly tripped. She grabbed his arm and regained her balance. Then, he looked at her curiously. She looked up at him. Then, she smiled and looped her arm around his and she walked on his arm for the rest of the night.

He highjacked a car by busting the window. Amara settled down in the front seat and rested her head against the cold window. She shivered.

"Isn't there a heater in this car?" she asked. There was no reply. She sighed. He started the car and began driving somewhere. Amara kept her eyes closed and tried to sleep. They pulled up to a gun shop in the early morning. Although nervously, she followed him inside. But the anxiety vanished when she saw the many different guns that she had only heard about. She looked around while the store clerk pulled guns down for him. Amara saw a gun, a short sniper gun, which she had been dying to see. There was also a fast shooting pistol and so many others. She suddenly heard the extremely loud crack of gunfire and turned around in time to see the store clerk fall to the ground.

"Grab all the weapons you need. Get a lot of bullets too," he instructed.

"You didn't have to do that," Amara replied.

"Of course he didn't. He's the terminator," she thought. She didn't realize that her hands were shaking, but she obeyed. She grabbed several boxes of ammo and the pistol and sniper. She settled down in the car again. She began playing with the sniper.

"I've always wanted to get my hands on one of these babies. Fast-shooting, efficient, only need to reload after five rounds or so, and there's a target light that can't be seen by the prey. You can't miss," she said.

"Only use them when you need to," he said. Amara nodded.

They pulled into a suburban area in the later afternoon.

"Wait here," he said as he got out. Amara watched him approach the home and knock on the door. She watched him fire several bullets, then turn around and get back into the car. She looked at him sideways.

"Sometimes you scare me," she said casually. He looked at her as if he didn't care at all. Amara looked at her wrist. The skin had been peeled off. But underneath, was not bone or muscle, it was cords and electrical wires. Amara was a cyborg, half human, half robot. But Amara was special. Amara could feel pain, although very little of it. She endured it though, happily, for John Connor had given her life again.

As Amara rested her head against the cold window, she began drifting off into a feverish dream. The thundering and vibrating sounds of war filled her ears and thoughts of death and the ravaged land filled her mind. Late at night, Amara woke up in a cold sweat, not knowing where she was. It was a busy street next to a club. Her heart pounded. Suddenly, gunshots could be heard inside.

"Shit," she mumbled. She slapped the door shut just as he crashed through the window. Amara looked down at him for a moment. As she looked up, through the shattered window, she could see Kyle helping Sarah up. He stirred.

"Kyle run!" Amara yelled. Kyle heard and obeyed. Amara watched them disappear out the back. Suddenly, she felt a sensation that was all too familiar. Her heart began pounding abnormally fast. Her body would be taken over by harsh vibrations that made her back ache. Then, her ears would drown out any outside noise going on around her and be silent except for the sound of approaching footsteps. She turned to the side and saw another terminator approaching her.

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no!" she cried. She watched as he got up off the ground. He touched her arm.

"Run," he instructed. Amara nodded and obeyed. She didn't know where she was running to, but she kept cutting corners. She found herself in a neighborhood that was basically deserted. She was breathing hard. Her lungs burned and her legs ached. In the neighborhood, there was no one. Not a single car was lined on the curd, not a single window lit. Amara stopped for a moment. She searched frantically for some place to hide, but there was nothing. The side doors of every building had giant padlocks on them. The windows were boarded up. The only thing that seemed functional was the lamppost, and even they sometimes began flickering.

She heard it coming up closer behind her. She turned. In her eyes was the fear that she had practiced so much to conceal. Had anyone else been there with her, they would have teased her without any end in sight. But there was no one. Amara was alone and somehow, she was a less courageous person than back home. It approached her slowly. It was in no rush. Amara could feel her hear shake in her chest.

"Oh please…" she thought. Why couldn't she reason with it? Kyle's words rung in her ears.

"it cant be reasoned with, it cant be bargained with. It absolutely will not stop until you are dead…" Amara felt like she was losing it with fear. She wanted to scream and bawl her eyes out. She was screaming at herself in her head to keep it together. She saw it raise it's gun. She heard the loud thunder, but felt nothing, only shock. She watched it reload its gun again. But, suddenly, its head exploded into a display of sparks. It fell to its knees and then lifelessly to the ground. He was behind it, holding his gun. Amara breathed a sigh of relief. She fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath. He stood over her. She looked up and could tell he was injured, but he seemed to give it no thought. Amara felt she had no energy left. She wanted to roll into a ball and sleep, but he grabbed her arm and began dragging her away.

Amara tried to keep up with him but he soon grew impatient and let her walk several paces behind him. She wanted to say something, to thank him, but she knew it wouldn't make a difference. He didn't really care. Then why was he keeping her alive? Every thought circled back to that question. They came up to a motel a few miles outside of town. He climbed in through an open window. Amara climbed in through the window after him. She sighed quietly at the ruggedness of the room but she looked around and supposed it was all right. When he turned the light on, Amara almost gasped at how badly his eye was messed up. She turned away and went to lie down. When she did, she felt a sharp pain in her side and almost screamed.

"Shit," she mumbled. She looked at her hand and saw faintly the red blood spilling out of her. She saw him look curiously at her. Surprisingly, she didn't cry at all. He tossed a roll of bandages at her. She began tenderly wrapping her side. When she was finished, she stiffly situated herself.

"Well this just ruined my night," she said. She watched him for a moment. He cut open his arm and tested the mechanics underneath. Amara cringed but didn't say anything. She wanted to scream, but as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was in a deep, feverish sleep. She had a nightmare that night. She was reliving events in the war in the future. She dreamed about events that added the burden of guilt on her shoulders. When she woke up, it was in a cold sweat. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, flipping through Sarah's agenda. She lay there peering at him for a moment, not sure whether he knew she was awake or not.

"You're quiet a restless child. You were moaning all night," he said. Amara blinked at him. She lay back down again, watching him quietly flipped through the agenda pages.

"I was dreaming about the war again," she told him. He glanced back at her for a moment then turned back. Amara closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She missed all the people in the future. She watched him from under the blankets. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Amara slowly sat up.

"Hey, buddy, you got a dead cat in there or something?" came the voice from the other side of the door. Amara waited.

"Fuck you, asshole," he replied. Amara nearly died laughing. He peered at her, annoyed. Finally, Amara settled down again and stared off into space.

"How's your eye?' she asked quietly. He looked back at her with a hint of surprise.

"It's fine," he replied. He suddenly got up and headed towards the window.

"Hey, where are you going?' Amara asked.

"I'll be back," he replied.

"Will you? Wait!" Amara grabbed his arm before he left.

"What if they find me?" He stopped for a moment. He saw the genuine worry in her eyes. He handed her a fully loaded pistol. She nodded in thanks and then she was alone. She put her jacket and boots back on and waited. She felt the silver butterfly necklace around her neck. Amara lay down and watched the ceiling for a while. The necklace had protected her in many instances. She looked over at the pistol that lay next to her. She sighed. It made her so tired. Running away made her wonder whether coming to the past would make things better or worse.

She suddenly heard someone outside the window and she sat up. She heard rustling and a gun-like sound. She suddenly ducked for cover behind the bed just in time. A rain of bullets blasted their way through the walls and into the room. Amara waited, aimed and fired three bullets. A small puddle of blood leaked through the wall and onto the floor. Amara looked away from the sight. She crawled out from her hiding place and screamed, clutching her left thigh. A bullet had pried its way into her thigh and hurt, even for a cyborg. He came back. He stood watching her for a moment, sitting there on the floor, crying in pain. Then, he silently knelt next her. He got a hold of her lag and began prying the bullet out. Amara struggled not to scream bloody murder at him. She held her breath until he was done. He began wrapping a bandage around it. "You're an excellent shot," he said not looking up at her. Amara stared into his face, teary-eyed.

"Thanks," she replied. He looked her straight in the eyes and she did not cower away from him. His left eye, although completely demented, did not scare her. She looked straight into his eyes and didn't see a mechanical monster that was out to cause mayhem. She didn't see something created in a factory, or a robot programmed to do damage. No, she saw the man who had saved her life. He caught sight of the butterfly necklace hanging around her neck and lightly touched it. Amara watched him curiously. He suddenly stood up.

"We'd better get moving," he said loading his rifle. Amara slowly stood up and walked to him. She put her hand on his shoulder. As he turned, she gave him a big bear hug. This stunned him for a moment. He waited until she was done. They both heard the mechanical sounds spring to life again. Both sprung into action of getting out of there. Amara grabbed her pistol and shoved it into her belt.

"Where are we headed?" she asked.

"Big Bear."

The road trip wasn't that long, not as long as Amara was expecting. But the only thing she could think about was contacting Kyle and Sarah again.

"Going to the mother's house. That can't be good," she thought. As she thought about it, she became sad. Whenever she glanced at him, she became sad. Why did he have to be like this? Programmed to kill. It made her upset and mad, but also made her heart drop. As she leaned her head up against the window she touched her butterfly necklace. She kept wondering where she got it. She looked up at the sky and watched the stars.