Rituals

A/N:
Rated T, moderate violence.
Action/Drama.
TSCC universe, towards the end of season one.
Featuring John/Sarah/Derek/Cameron
Four chapters. Status complete.

A follow up to the "Fallout" story I did earlier, though it's not essential to have read that first, there are a few minor-spoilers in here.
I have experimented with the writing style , I'm still very new to this. I was trying to compress the 'boring' bits into the first chapter, so I could hurry along to the action. Let me know if it works (or not!)
Also, I know next to nothing about American football (or cheerleading), so I'm taking some artistic license. But if we can have time-travelling robots, I think I can be forgiven for getting some details wrong.

28May2009: Completed. Chapters 2-4 added. Minor fixups to chapter 1.

Chapter 1:

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It was a Saturday, and this was the first train journey that John had taken for a long time. "Too dangerous," his mother had always said. "You're placing yourself in other peoples hands."

Derek sat opposite, staring out of the window at the unspoilt landscape as it scudded past. He had on that thousand yard stare again, and yet his eyes were also moist. The way that Derek's eyes sometimes were, when he was given time to think of the future, and the past. John decided to leave him alone. His mother was asleep, she looked peaceful, the first time for over a week. Cameron was looking around the carriage, as always searching for danger.

John took out his notebook. Cameron had suggested he should keep a diary. A strange idea, but having started, he found it a relaxing way to order his thoughts. If anyone outside the family had found it, they would think it was the plans for a sci-fi novel, or the ramblings of a demented mind. He scanned through recent entries before starting on the non-events of the day so far.

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Sunday:
The start of a strange week. The handover of Alice had gone well. Cameron had said that the factory had been "decommissioned". In the news it had merely said that a factory had been destroyed by fire. John was not sure what had happened, but there were roadblocks set up. These were still in place, which was why the train journey was required. To have roadblocks in place a week later made John think that not all was as it appeared. Even though the news had said that there were no casualties.

His mother had been hurt in the incident, though not badly. Cameron however had taken severe flesh damage, especially to her back. Thankfully her face had missed the worst of it. She had assured him that she would soon heal, but she had had to cover up to go to school. Luckily she did not flinch when Morris has slapped her on the back.

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Monday:
His mother had remained in bed. Though she seemed fine physically, her mental state was fragile. Not something he had ever thought could be applied to her. At school, Cheri was off for the week. Understandable in the circumstances. He had signed up for the football trials, and Cameron for the cheerleading. John chuckled when he re-read this, no one could have predicted how that was going to turn out.

When they had got home, Cameron had handed over a USB flash drive. "I wanted to check the contents first." She had said, "It contains information on a very early and primitive type of terminator chip. It should be useful to teach you about us."

That night John had examined the files. The chips described were little more than a complex microprocessor, and large memory, as found in mobile phones or computers. But there were other files which explained how the data was stored, how the software worked. Priceless information. Cameron had not explained how she had obtained it, but it had to have come from the factory. The information on the mechanical interface had prompted John to question Cameron. He had always thought it odd that she had been able to defeat Cromartie and Vick.
"How do you beat triple 8s?" He had asked, "They are bigger than you, in much the same way that Derek is stronger than me, though we are both flesh and blood."
"Software." She had replied. "They are programmed to defeat humans. You programmed me to defeat terminators. I can anticipate their moves, they cannot anticipate mine."

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Tuesday:
His mother had been up and about that morning. She'd appeared bright and cheerful, but her mood had changed abruptly when she saw the news on the television. Cheri's father, Dr Westin, was answering reporters questions to explain that the factory explosion had been due to stored chemicals. For reasons that John was still baffled by, his mother seemed devastated by this. Was she concerned that the chemicals may harm her? Cameron would not explain, only saying that they had to be more careful than usual.

Derek had suggested that they practice football in the garden after school, with the trials being the day after. It had seemed a good idea. They practised tackling Cameron, which John had enjoyed for some reason. Though he'd preferred not to think about the reasons why. Derek had got a bit carried away with the demonstrations of what-not-to-do. "You must not kick them in the nuts." He had said, launching into a vicious kick between Cameron's legs. "Or hit them with objects you find on the pitch." At which point Derek had picked up a rake and hit Cameron across the head. It was at this point that they had become aware that their neighbour was watching, and decided to move the practice to theoretical lessons indoors.

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Wednesday:
The football trials had been a great success. Cameron and his mother had watched. It was soon apparent that he was not going to make the offensive line, most of the others vastly out muscled John. Though wide receiver was a possibility. But the coach had said he looked most promising as a quarterback. "You need to be able to judge your opponents weaknesses and strengths. Know your own team. Think on your feet. React to change. Quarterback is the position for a natural leader." He was invited back for practice, with high hopes of making the reserve team.

Afterwards his mother had told him that she had spoken to the coach. "John must not appear in any photos. Our family has history with his father. We can't allow him to trace us." The coach had assured her that it was OK, and so his mother was happy for him to take part.

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Thursday:
Cameron had assured John that she was nearly fully healed. "My flesh heals quicker than yours. I have lost body mass because of the repair process, but I will regain it as I eat over the next few days." John had been tempted to ask her to show him the healed flesh. He had not wanted her going to cheerleading try-outs if she was going to look like a car crash victim.

In the end he needn't have worried. According to Cameron, when the girls had seen her take off her jacket, they had been horrified at the emaciated appearance of her body. "We can't take you, no way. You're anorexic, you will make us look fat." John had tried to keep a straight face when Cameron had said. "They do not think I am strong enough. They want me to go and see the councillor. I have explained that I will regain weight quickly. They will try me again next week." John had been concerned about the councillor, but Cameron had assured him that she 'knew' the councillor, and that he would not cause a problem.

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Friday:
Morris had joined them for lunch. "Never seen you eat so much Cameron." He had said. "Pizza is divine." She had replied. John was still confused at Cameron's motives with Morris. It was as if she was experimenting with how to appear more human. By saying and acting in different ways, she was finding out what worked, and what made her appear different. Sometimes John felt jealous about this, even though he should not doubt her in this matter. Was he losing something that he felt should belong to him? This thought had troubled him at the time, and still did. "Do I think of Cameron as something, or someone, I own?" He asked himself. Still, the way the conversation had gone, he needn't have worried. "So Cam, you into music?" Morris had asked. "Not really." she had replied. Morris had then continued, "I like all sorts, myself. But I think I like metal most." John had stifled a laugh, but when Cameron had replied. "That explains a lot." he had wondered if there was something deeper going on in her thought processes. Could she develop a sense of humour? Or was she mimicking the type of phrase she had heard others use.

When they had got home. His mother had presented them with the news. "I've tracked down the source of the parts used at the factory." She had said. When John had looked surprised, she had added. "I can use the internet too." And then smiled. "We visit it tomorrow. We need to go by train, as we must not run the risk of getting stopped at a roadblock." Derek had objected. "We can't take much guns and stuff on the train." His mother had smiled at that and said. "I've a plan to cover that." Planning, always planning, that was his mom.

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Saturday:
The 'guns and stuff' had been squeezed into a suitcase, which Cameron had held in one hand, swinging it around gently as if it weighed nothing.
The factory was about two hours away on the train. And what a waste of time it was. The factory had closed down some weeks before, the equipment already sold off. An empty shell they had wandered around, but had found nothing. There was no security, but at one point he felt that he was being watched. Even catching sight of someone out of the corner of his eye. But when he swung around they were gone, and there had been no where for them to hide. He asked Cameron, who said that she could not detect anything, but she seemed to stay closer to him than normal.

And so here they were on the train, on the way back.

John was reading through his notes from the day, when:

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What the hell was that? He looked up to see Derek's startled expression. Sarah was waking up. Cameron was already on her feet, and reaching for the suitcase.