April 19. 2012. Skynet goes online.
April 21. 2012. Judgment Day.
Barren landscape stretched out across the horizon; remnants of the old world left in utter ruin and destruction. Cars, broken roads, partial buildings and skeletons were strewn about the area. Most were unmoved from their final resting places; fleshless bones still clinging to the steering wheel while the world around them was vaporized within seconds… An entire city wiped off the map in minutes. Nuclear warheads, weapons of mass destruction, atomic bombs…Their power was never doubted, but no one could fully understand the implications of what they had created until it was used against them. Even when used on other people, you still could not fathom the massive destructive power until it was on your backdoor step; until the machines used it against them, the humans.
Current Year: 2027 AD
Current Location: Los Angeles
It had been 15 years since that fateful day that would change the entire course of humanity. It had been 15 years since the war against the machines had begun. 15 years since there had been anything other than the sounds of endless warfare filling the air. Bones and debris crunching beneath the feet of the machines; continuous gunfire, the humming of jets overhead and the churning grinding of ground patrol scouting for the Resistance like they were insects that needed to be squished.
A figure stood silently in one of the ruined buildings, leaning against what would have been the rest of the windowsills if the entire wall still remained. Bright blue eyes looked down at an outstretched arm, palm face up. A soft breeze brushed past, the long coat and a bit of hair flowing gently with it. Slowly the fingers pulled towards the palm, balling into a small fist. Sometimes it was easy to forget what truly lied beneath… The skin felt so soft to the touch and so…Real.
Sharply the figure stood, catching a glimpse of movement other than that of the machines. Eyes focused on the rays of light beginning to pour over the ruins a couple miles away, seeing even more shadowed movements. Screams and gunfire soon followed. It was them; the humans. They had been found. Well, a small pocket of them anyway.
Finally. This was their chance.
"Time to go… They've resurfaced." A voice spoke, low and soft without a hint of emotion. No excitement…No concern… Just a simple matter-a-fact statement.
With a quick movement the figure turned around. Ice blue eyes met with bright red dots. Silently the machine stood in front of the figure, the dots angled downwards. It was a standard Terminator, a metal endoskeleton resembling human form. This one, however, was different. It made no movement to attack or harm and showed signs of significant damage. It was clear that the machine standing there was an ally for the human resistance, a Terminator that had been reprogrammed to assist them.
Most of the Terminators found by the resistance were originally programed as infiltrators and very closely resembled humans. They had hair, skin, sweat, human voices… This one lacked any human physical characteristics and voice capabilities. It was the basic of the basics, like the Terminators currently hunting the pocket of humans near them. It had been reprogrammed to protect the figure as its primary mission. The secondary mission was to protect other humans in contact with it, unless those humans meant to inflict harm on the target.
Upon closer inspection of the machine, it was easy to see the blast marks and that various pieces had been melted and molded together. The Terminator was like a ragdoll. It had been molded and pieced together with salvaged parts. It served as a body guard. Capturing and reprogramming a pre-built machine was sometimes difficult but much easier when a group was involved. Solo? It was a whole different ball game, and sometimes scrape parts was the best and only option.
After a brief moment of eye contact the machine took a step back, moving to the side so the human could move past. Without another word, they jumped down from their vantage point and moved quickly to their destination. They had no time to lose. With a quick scan of the area the two darted across the terrain, moving from building to building with ease and stealth. The machines hardly seemed to notice either of them as they made their way towards the group of humans currently being hunted down. Their attention was elsewhere. The Resistance was putting up a good fight, but they were being picked off quickly.
"Shit."
With a heavy sigh, the figure held up a gun and looked over at the metal bodyguard. It looked over in return, still silent. With a quick nod, both moved even closer; sliding down a small slope and putting their shoulders against a low wall. Slowly a machine rolled past, skulls crunching underneath the rotating caterpillar tracks it used to move. Lights moved back n forth, illuminating the area as it searched for the renegades. Purple streams of light shot out at them, ripping through their flesh painfully. A handful of humans had managed to close in as they army crawled through the debris, careful to stay undercover. A quick dash placed them directly across from the unlikely pair.
The small group caught sight of the unlikely companions. It clearly got them off guard, but with a few hand movements the lone human declared them both as allies and signaled towards the massive machine closing in on them. The Resistance group nodded in response, and readied the large pipe bombs they were carrying. Without giving away their cover, they tossed both bombs into it, and a few seconds later a large explosion blew it to bits. This was their chance. Without hesitation they took off, carefully making their way towards the next target. There was no time for celebration.
Their fight was never over.
Although it was a small victory, the explosion had drawn more unwanted attention to them. It was the equivalent of holding up a neon sign that said "Hey. Over here! Here I am! Come n get me!" The drone flying overhead had honed in on them, using their body heat to its advantage. It fired ruthlessly at them as they ran.
A Jeep popped up over the small hill, a machine gun fashioned to the back. It drew a lot of fire off of the ground troops as the machines diverted to it. With a pull of the trigger bullets unloaded into the air, landing in the turbine engines and ripping it to shreds. Fire erupted from the engine and the drone crashed into the ground with another explosion throwing dirt and metal debris through the air. More fire erupted from the wreck, illuminating the newest threat. A group of Terminators had crested the hill, following the humans trail. They were armed, holding weapons identical to the ones the Resistance used. Some even had two, one in each mechanical hand.
"Go! Go! Go!" A voice cried frantically, coming from the man operating the machine gun on the back of the Jeep, his hand banging the roof a few times. He continued to fire on the Terminators, but their computer assisted aim was better. Within a few seconds the machine guns operator was riddled with bullets, along with the driver who hadn't managed to duck in time. It crashed into the blackened cars in front of them. The remaining humans scattered and disappeared into the debris, trying to figure out their next move.
The ally Terminator and human fought back to the best to their abilities. They had managed to take down a few Terminators, but it wasn't going to be enough. They were fighting a losing battle. The two hurried past the crashed Jeep, which had begun to catch fire. Cries of agony sounded from the burning vehicle and the human slid to a stop. The machine followed suit, stopping immediately when it realized that the human was no longer within close enough range. It took a few steps back, continuing its attack on the other advancing Terminators.
The passenger was still alive, but injured. The fight quickly bent down and extended a right hand. The man looked over at the ally Terminator near them, fear and panic flashing in them. He looked back at the human fighter, the concern showing even more clearly in his expression. The fire had begun to swell over the car and the hand reached out again urgently.
"Come with me if you want to live."
His eyes connected with the fighter's, sudden determination he reached out and grabbed ahold of the outstretched arm. Cold fingers wrapped tightly around the man's wrist in response, and with an immense amount of strength the fighter pulled him out of the car and to his feet. The man stood there for a moment in awe of the strength such a small person had managed to muster to pull him out of the burning car. The moment was short lived however. The sound of bullets whizzing past his head brought him quickly back to reality. With a sharp nod the grip was released and the duo turned and headed towards the direction of the other humans, the Terminator falling in behind them.
Once to safety they stopped to catch their breath, dirt and sweat covering their weary faces, only a few left from the original raid group remained. Most of the group had already returned their base, but a few had stayed behind. They had witnessed the events that had just transpired; their eyes wide with confusion and awe. They refused to leave their leader behind.
"Who the HELL are you and what the FUCK is that?!" the passenger from the Jeep exclaimed; asking the question that was on all of their minds. Drops of sweat rolled down his smudged face and his chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath. All eyes looked over at the hooded figure, whose face they had not even managed to see yet.
"My name isn't important right now. But if you must call me something, call me X," a female voice responded. The scarf covering her face muffled her words slightly, but she made no motion to pull it down. She threw a glance over at the machine guarding them.
"This…This is a machine I built and reprogrammed to protect me. " She explained, her tone turning darker as she put extra emphasis on the word me. "And this machine…just saved your fucking asses." Her head turned to look them all over during her last sentence. The group looked downward as she spoke. They knew she was right.
Her gazed returned to the man she had just saved. From the way the others looked at him and how they acted towards him, she assumed he was the one in charge.
"Now who the hell are YOU?" she retorted harshly, copying the same tone he had used with her.
"I'm Kyle… Kyle Reese."