Scared
A little after midnight, the makeshift thermite chamber was rebuilt in the Connor's garage. The cold, gray cinderblocks were stacked up, a layer of thermite, on top of dust and ground-up charcoal, would make sure that Cameron's body was thoroughly disposed of. When she was brought to the robot funeral pyre, she would be covered in another thick layer of thermite and set ablaze. In under ten seconds, her skin would be burned completely off and all internal systems needed to function would be melted, vaporized, or otherwise destroyed beyond repair. In less than a minute, her endoskeleton would be melted almost beyond recognition. Cameron knew all this; it had been programmed into her for her survival in the future. Now, it simply gave her a step by step guide to her termination.
John had watched the destruction of terminators as well. Six years before, he had watched the terminator that had been like a father to him, who had saved him from a T-1000, willingly terminate himself in molten steel. That was, until this night, the saddest moment in John's life. His mom, even after all that terminator had done for them, still hated the machines. This was understandable, as the first one she ever encountered had tried to kill her, and John's father had nothing good to say about them. But John had had a different experience with them. He saw them as much more than machines. He saw the T-800, the big Austrian-sounding one, as a friend, and he regarded Cameron as the best friend he had. And now she was going to be terminated…no, she was going to die.
"Everything's all set," Sarah remarked quietly. John nodded, his vision blurry from tears. "She's a robot, just keep saying that," she continued to John. John really did not know how to reply to that.
"We're screwed if Cromartie finds us," he said, kicking at dust at the edge of the garage.
"Whether we terminate her or not," Derek finished, "She can't do anything right now anyway." While Sarah did not share the same sentiment, she understood why John's opinion of the machines was different, but Derek was absolutely clueless as to why the future leader of the Human Resistance did not feel anything but loathing for Cameron. "You can't trust her, man, she'll turn on you worse than a rabid pit bull."
"Shut up, Derek. Just shut your mouth, for God's sake," John growled coldly, balling up his fists, "We're going to do this. You got your way, now leave me alone about it."
Derek nodded, "Okay. Now let's go get her."
If Cameron were human, she would probably only weight about one hundred fifteen to one hundred twenty pounds. But since she was made of dense metals, wires, and lead (from her battery), she was probably about one hundred seventy or so. John could easily carry her by himself. It would have been easier with his mother or Derek's help, but he wanted to do this on his own. Cameron was silent for the most part, as was John.
"You're sad," she finally said before they reached the garage. It was a very obvious observation, but John was in no mood to give a smart alack remark. He simply nodded.
"I'm devastated, Cameron," he choked, "I really, really don't want this. I'm losing a lot more than a machine. I'm going to miss you like…ah damn it," he blinked away more tears.
"In the future, you will meet more terminators…if you want them for friends, you can reprogram any one that you capture…"
"You don't understand, Cameron!" he said, setting her down on a chair. Just then, Derek walked in to see what was taking so long.
"Let's get this moving, John" he said without any emotion.
"Get your fucking ass back in the garage!" John jabbed his finger toward the door, "We'll be in there when I'm good and God damned ready!" Rather than argue with the grief-stricken teenager, Derek went back to wait.
"What was I saying?" John asked.
"I had said that you will meet more terminators in…"
"Right," John cut her off, "You don't understand. Come on, we went over this an hour ago. It's the individual that matters. I could care less if I had a million terminators…even if they all looked as beautiful as you. It's you, Cameron, not what you are, who you are."
Cameron nodded, "Thank you for explaining. And thank you for valuing me."
For a few minutes, they both just stared at the ground. Then Sarah walked in impatiently.
"John, we're waiting. Let's get this over with now! It's going to be done some time, so let's just do it!" she said firmly, though her voice lacked any anger or exasperation. John looked up as his mother without a word. For a few seconds, nobody moved, but he finally gave a short nod and stood up, walking toward Cameron. It was then that he saw her eyes. They were fearful, something he had never seen in a terminator before. She swallowed and took a deep breath.
"Sarah, may I make a final request?" Cameron said quietly, biting her lip. John was amazed, he turned to his mother to see that she had reacted the same way.
"What?" Sarah tried to sound tough, but failed.
"Before you…light me, please remove my chip," Cameron breathed heavily again, "I know it won't be very painful or slow, but I just don't like the idea of knowing that I am burning…and I don't want to see it, either. So can you please disable me first?"
Sarah's jaw clinched together as John reached out for his cyborg friend.
"Cameron, are you…" he began.
"Yes," she replied, "I'm scared. I really am. Please," she said, and her eyes did as well, "do this for me."
John was about to break down and cry again, and Sarah looked like she had been just punched in the stomach. In fact, she grabbed her abdomen and leaned against the wall. She looked to the garage, where Derek was leaning on the pyre and dragging his toe impatiently. She then turned back to her son, who had his hand on Cameron's shoulder. She could not believe this was happening. She was actually in a dilemma about whether or not to terminate that…thing.
Get a grip, Sarah, she told herself. But should could not seem to get a grip, and she could not make a decision.
"John," she finally said, "Take Cameron back to her room. I…I need to do some thinking."
John nodded, though not with relief. They probably would go ahead as planned, but for now, they had a little reprieve.
"Okay," John said, "Let's go, Cam." He took a deep breath and lifted her off of the chair, shuffling toward Cameron's bedroom. When he reached the bed, he gently laid her down as though she really were human.
"Can you please stay with me?" Cameron requested.
"I'm not going anywhere," John said as he lay down on the bed, silently praying that his mother was thinking of alternatives.