Challenge 01
2009-07-01
"Here's the scenario. An AU from where Season 2 went.
John and Sarah took down Kaleba, but Cameron went bad again. Cameron is the last cyborg around, and Sarah feels that she must follow in Uncle Bob's footsteps and be destroyed in order to prevent J-day.
So here's the scene. John faces Bad Cameron, and is about to push the button. But just then, Cameron reverts and becomes good again. She professer her love to John. What does John do? Write the scene. Limit of two posts per entry."
Killer
John swallows as he gazes up the old abandonded apartment building in front of him. The black of night envelopes it nicely, dark and foreboding as it is. The cold bites at his skin and he shivers as he wraps Derek's old coat tighter around him. It feels good.
Some ways off, a few bums are burning newspapers to keep warm. Headlines about a serial killer go up in flames. Their shaggy old dog seems restless. John knows why and he swallows nervously. In the corner of his eye, he glimpses the 'condemned' signs on the building, and the locket he wears around his neck burns cold against his breast. He fixes his eyes on the entrance. She's in there.
He enters. Thick layers of dust cover the floor. She's made no effort to cover her tracks and her trail is easy to follow; she wants to be found. He coughs and covers his mouth as he presses onward. Walks through the locked doors she's broken down. Stalks up the stairs she's climbed. Looks. Listens. And finally hears her.
"Go away, John."
His heart skips a beat and he freezes in his tracks. She seems quite far, yet she still recognizes the sound of his footsteps. How like her. "And here I thought you wanted to be found," he replies.
"Not by you. You're not safe here, John."
He pauses. Again, he feels the locket burn against his skin. "No, it seems no one is safe around you anymore... but I'll still take my chances." He resumes his search, now following the sound of her voice.
"So you know."
"Yes. Don't ask me how... somehow I just knew."
She is silent for a moment.
"I'm sorry, John. I told you before; 'it' will always be there."
"I did not forget."
He stops and looks into a pitch black corner in front of him. And he bites his lip, standing motionless as she takes a small step forward and the moonlight from a broken window reveals her familiar figure.
"John. It felt good, what I did... Do you understand?"
"Yes... 'Felt'. Just a machine, eh?"
Guilt stings at him as he utters those familiar words. Those familiar, horrible words. She smiles faintly for a moment, noticing his regret.
"I'm not judging you. I want you to know that." he says.
She tilts her head slightly. Looks at him. Waits.
He averts his gaze. "I mean... you are what you are, right? Just as I am what I am..."
She smiles again. "Yes... I am what I am. And I do what I do." She pauses. "But human life is precious. Right?"
He smiles back at her and feels his insides knot up. "Yes... it is." he whispers. And he shakes as he takes out the locket, opens it and reveals the kill switch inside. Mournfully he looks at it, where it rests in his hand.
"Cameron... for what it's worth... if ever I was to die, I wish it could have been at your hands."
She lights up when he says it. Her eyes glitter, so like a human's. And for the first time since they first met, she seems... happy.
"I wouldn't let it happen any other way." she smiles and waits.
He hesitates.
"I love you." he whispers.
"I love you too." she whispers back at him.
And he hesitates.
.
.
.
/End
Originally posted: 2009-07-05