AFTER THE JUMP by Mizar
(This story was tough. Because the logic of the time-line means that the girl John met in the future is not Cameron, she's the human killed by Cameron, the one who Cameron was modeled after. It's the only thing that makes sense. Despite that, I'm making her Cameron in this story)
John felt a massive rush of relief wash over him. Cameron walked up from behind Kyle, with a German Sheppard in tow. Thank God! She was alright, she was here, in...when? He looked at her as knelt down and stroked the dog's head. He tried to keep his expression neutral.
Somewhat amused by this young man saying his name as if it was important, Derek said:
"Kyle, this gentleman wearing your coat is John Connor."
John was looking at Cameron and back to Kyle, his father, his head swimming with the implications of the scene. But he sure didn't know what he was going to say at that point.
"I took the coat, I was naked." John said, slacked-jawed.
"It's OK, kid, clothes are kind of hard to come by around here, no stores are open today."
The group laughed, John kept staring.
"Where did you come from kid, 4th quadrant?"
John didn't want to divulge anything until he could figure out what was going on, what the date was, in fact he really didn't know what to do and he was scared. Scared for himself, but also of his mother, back in 2009.
"I don't know where I came from, exactly. Sometimes I forget what year it is." He thought he said it in a kind of dry, "Yeah we all know what it's like for people these days" kind of voice.
The Japanese guy said sarcastically, "Just in case, it's 2025, June 18th to be exact." He honestly didn't know how kids like this could survive without their heads screwed on.
"Where are your friends, your family?" Kyle Reese asked bluntly.
"I-I don't have any." John responded.
Derek said, "You're in good shape, seem like you're well-fed, that means you're smart. You've evaded the metal really well. Not bad for a scavenger."
John wasn't sure he liked that title, but whatever they wanted to think at the moment was better than him having to talk.
"We better get back, I don't want to be in this sector after dark." Kyle said.
"Yeah, kid come with us, we'll get you some clothes."
John nodded. They started walking, John fell in behind, next to Cameron and the dog.
"My name is Cameron." She spoke to John and offered her hand. John took it, felt the usual rush he got when he touched her. She looked at him, he looked at her, he felt like there was some minute tinge of recognition on her part. He realized he'd been staring into her eyes for too long and broke his gaze.
They trailed back a few yards, standard procedure, never get caught in a group by the terminators, less chance of all being killed.
Kyle noted John kept back, he figured he knew about the strategy or he just wanted to be near the girl. Obviously, he knew more than he was saying.
"My name's John Connor." John smiled. Cameron smiled back. He so longed to have back the Cameron who knew him. He'd only been in this time-line for a few minutes and he felt lonely already. These people were strangers.
"Have you been on your own for a long time?"
Reliable Cameron, always fishing for information, which she usually got, one way or another. John decided to keep it vague and then tangent.
"Pretty long, as long as I care to remember. Where does this...resistance group live?"
"A couple kms from here, we can travel nearly all the way by tunnels."
John looked at the place. Essentially, it was the remains of the city buildings, tunnels not formed by nature like caves, but created when the entire structure of the city was leveled by the nuclear blasts. He'd remembered reading about Hiroshima and Nagasaki and realized that they probably faced more danger from cave-ins and tunnel collapses than from any lingering radiation. He thought about his mother Sarah, back in 2009 and hoped she was OK. Here and there he saw street signs he recognized, and the odd skeleton. He'd seen death back in his time but this placed reminded him of an underground grave. He was grateful for the intermittent shafts of sunlight coming into the ruins.
When they arrived back at their HQ John found out it was several stories below ground. The remains of a deep-dug shopping concourse. The "community" such as it was was divided into several areas formerly stores and offices in the concourse. Who would have wanted to work down here before it was bombed, he thought.
Derek conferred with other commanders and then with Kyle about the day's events, only two men lost, which was pretty decent considering they took out several terminators. Thought the tide was not in their favour, not by a long-shot. Averaged out over the last 30 days, the terminators had the kill edge. They also got John some clothes. Nothing fancy, just shirt, pants, undergarments and a worn-looking grey jacket. He was now wearing running shoes he hadn't worn since he was a kid, but at least they fit.
They ate dinner which consisted primarily of canned food, but shockingly, there was milk available for coffee. Apparently, the gamma radiation released in the blasts had "ultra sterilized the packaged perishables and they hadn't gone bad, even though like the canned goods, they were years old. John remembered reading about a controversy involving this in his time. Scientists had wanted to use gamma radiation for food sterilization in countries were refrigeration and power supplies were bad, because it killed all pathogens in the products, thus ensuring (as long as they were air-tight packaged) that they wouldn't go bad. But various groups opposed the use so food kept spoiling and people kept going hungry. Derek explained that on foraging missions, vitamins got top priority because things like vitamin C and D were almost impossible to come by except in certain packaged foods which were not plentiful enough. But, occasionally, they got fruit picked and transported by very brave people scavenging the untended orchards in the valleys. John had also noticed they appeared to be clean for a group driven underground. He asked Kyle about it, still dazed to realize he was talking to his father.
He felt like hugging him, but then he couldn't. Kyle suggested Cameron show him. Cameron took John for a walk about 300 yards West of their underground centre. They then descended a tunnel about 200 ft and came out into a huge cavern with a lake in it.
"This was exposed by the blasts. It's a natural aquifer."
John was amazed. The ceiling was covered with stalactites and was about 80ft above the water. Near the tunnel exit there were shower stalls. A few were occupied, one person showered, another peddling or pumping a device to provide the water flow. Same thing with long rows of washing machines hooked up to either floor peddle or bicycle-like contraptions. They also had old wringer washers where John assumed clothes would be squeezed to get their water out, then hung to dry.
"We're lucky. A lot better than most groups" Cameron offered.
"I guess.." John was looking at the shower set-ups. Crude, but they were stalls. It occurred to him that building things wouldn't have been too hard, the raw materials were all around them, some much worse for ware.
"How many people live in the complex?" John asked.
Cameron studied him a bit, on the off chance he was a stooge (name given to humans who worked for the machines).
"Around 150." She lied. There were actually 400 or so in the complex, but he didn't need to know that. John had already gauged the number, he knew it was more but didn't say anything.
"The only thing you can't do is swim in the aquifer, we can't risk any kind of pollution. Areas that don't have what ours have have seen outbreaks of disease, even leprosy, from lack of sanitation and the poor hygiene that goes with it. They say a colony of over 4,000 was wiped out by the Plague in Southern Europe."
"Yes," offered John, "As if the machines weren't bad enough." She nodded.
He took the opportunity to wash up, Cameron peddled.
When they got back, Derek suggested they get some sleep, it was 10:00pm and they had to get up at dawn to go on a scavenge. That's what they did, most of their time was spent scavenging and fighting the machines.
Derek brought John to an area adjacent the complex, it was a warren of what used to be small stores. The stores floor spaces were divided up into a complex of sleeping quarters, none of which were particularly private. Derek showed John to the back of one of the stores, and let him into an office. Inside was an actual bed, nightstand, the old desk from the original office and a closet.
"This is an officer's quarters, specifically, a woman officer, but she was killed a week back. I'll bet it seems like heaven compared to how you've slept?" John nodded, noting the bed was just a mattress on the floor.
"I'll wake you before dawn, we all work here, the quality of the accommodations are determined by need and work effort. Women, children get first choices, men second. If someone distinguishes themselves in the fight or by some other means, they get better choices. You don't make officer unless you distinguish yourself and show you can lead."
"I understand."
"Goodnight, see you in the morning."
"Derek?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
Derek smiled, "You're welcome."
John's mind was a million questions and his anxiety was high. He didn't know what to do, where to begin.
"I'm going to stay with John tonight," announced Cameron.
Derek and Kyle had been studying a map of another area they had to go into in the morning. They both looked at Cameron and Kyle asked, "Why?"
"He's lonely, he is anxious, humans that suffer from those things too long become neurotic, even psychotic. He needs company.
"I don't think someone whose been living that way for who knows how long is going to crack-up now." Kyle looked at her.
"You don't know what his state of mind is, he could be a threat or could turn into one. I should monitor him"
Kyle looked at Derek. Derek said to go ahead.
John had settled down on the bed, on his back with his forearm over his eyes. He wasn't tired, how could he just sleep after what had happened. His mother was 16 years behind him. He was terrified for her. He sure as Hell didn't feel like a leader right now. Then he heard a knock at the office door.
He started, jumping up as Cameron opened the door and walked in.
"Am I disturbing you?" She asked.
"N-no, what is it?
"I'm going to spend the night with you." Cameron shut the door.
"You are?" John was confused.
"You've been alone, it's not good for you to keep being alone."
"Uh, OK, if you like, I don't have any..." He was wondering where she'd sleep, or he'd sleep, there was only the mattress.
"We can both be in the bed." Cameron began stripping off her clothes. She continued until she was down to her underwear and her white t-shirt, no bra. The room was lit with just a Coleman lamp and its light played off her smooth body.
John was thinking quickly, "Is this some kind of custom they've developed in the last few years?!" He thought.
She lay down on the right side of the bed, facing the left. She looked at him to see if he was coming in.
He removed his shirt and his pants, kept his underwear on. He got onto the mattress. She propped her head up on her hand, he had turned on his left side to face her. She looked at him. The temperature in the underground was cool, around 66 deg. F.
His mouth was dry, he wasn't sure what to say.
"Do you want to touch me?" Cameron said in a matter-of-fact manner.
"Touch you?" John was very confused and excited. Is this supposed to help me sleep? He though incredulously.
"I sense you need to be calmer then you'll be able to sleep. I want you to be calm."
John half-laughed, then said:
"You want me to be calm, uh, are you...?" (He wanted to say, "joking.")
"If I'm making you nervous, I can go and leave you alone?" Cameron offered.
"No! Uh, no, not at all." John stammered. He did not want that.
"Do you sleep on your right side?" She asked.
"Yes." Cameron would have known that in his time.
"Ok, turn over then."
He complied.
Then John got a shock, an entirely pleasant one. She molded her body to his, her front to his back. He could feel her breasts on his back, and she draped her arm over his, resting her hand on his shoulder. She was warm against him. His head swam. He longed to be with her, say on a secluded beach, in a safe world where he could concentrate solely on her.
"Is this alright for you?" Cameron asked.
Oh yes, beyond "alright." Thought John. This was something he'd wanted to feel in his time-line.
"Yes, it's great." He said.
"Good night, John" she said softly.
"Good night, Cameron."
John didn't think he could go to sleep. He was too excited. But he was also content, at least for now and so he slept.