I remember vividly to this day what happened after the bombs fell from the sky. My name is Nicole Graves and I'm 23 years old. I'm a survivor of the death camps the machines set up after the horrible day known as Judgment Day. I remember what I was doing that day. I was a preschool teacher and I was grading papers at my boyfriend's house when I heard the sound of missiles from the sky. I knew that sound. Ever since 9-11 I research missile, plane, and bomb sounds out of paranoia. I hurriedly made way to my boyfriend's bomb shelter I made him build downstairs. Then came the rumble. I covered my ears to protect myself from the horrible sounds. I don't know how long I was down there for, I lost track of time as I had no watch on at the time. There was no radio to call for help, I was stupid enough not to think of having one put in. I thought about my boyfriend and my family. Were they alright, did they get help? I lived off the food we put down here in the shelter. We put five months worth of food just in case, canned goods, drinks, and chips. I think I was down here about a month when I heard the sound of rubble being moved. I was felled with joy, someone was looking for me! I yelled for help as loud as I could. Help came, but not in human form. What emerged from the rubble filled my very soul with horror. What came to my temporary rescue wasn't human, no. It was a machine, a machine sent by Skynet to round up survivors and carry them off to work. Out of instinct, I tried to run, but the machine roughly grabbed me and hit me with the butt of its gun. When I came too, I found myself surrounded my people coughing, hacking, and dying. I was in one of the camps! Several machines came and opened doors to let people out for laser branding. They held them up with their guns as they guided them down the hallway of the camp. They took me next, and I kicked and screamed when they first grabbed me, yanking me by the hair into the hallway. I wised up quick, they'd have no problem shooting me so I cooperated. They guided me down into a room, much like a room where doctors perform surgery. Roughly, they held me down as they strapped my arms in place. I kicked and screamed as they turned on the laser. It was a red beam, like the ones you see in the Star Wars movies. They guided it toward my right arm, and I screamed in horrific pain as it burned into my flesh. When they were finished, they wasted no time in putting me to work. No time to rest, no time to heal. I looked at my serial number. HG7251. They nudged me with their gun, urging me to hurry up. Throughout the camp there was nothing but death. I felt like one of the Jews in a concentration camp, except they didn't have machines at their backs. The guards were human then, they needed rest and the Jews were also given food. The machines however, did not. They ran day and night, killing, putting us to work. No food and only fifteen minutes of sleep each day. I felt sick each day as I had to left heavy bodies so they could dispose of them orderly. I hated the stench of dead bodies as we lifted some into incineration bowls the machines had made. One day a person collapsed from lack of sleep. The machine didn't hesitate to shoot him dead, filling him with bullets from their guns. I averted my eyes and cried. Why are they doing this to us, what have we done to deserve this? They looked over at me and yelled, "Get back to work." I slowly nodded my head in obedience. What made me cry the most, was that everyday I loaded to bodies children along with the adults. One day a mother of three loaded two of her children into the incineration bowl. After that, she lost it. She did nothing but cry all day, and who could blame her? This wasn't permitted and the machines put her to death. A bullet through the brain. At least it was quick and she was no longer in this world I thought. I was approaching day ten fifteen of my capture. The machines scarcely gave us food. When they did, it was only enough for one bite. People fought over food when it was given, this too, ceased when they started shooting people for fighting over food. Food belonged to the person it was given too, no one else. I made friends with a man named Sean. He was brought here by the machines when he was caught wondering about. He was a black man in his early twenties. He also started a relationship here with a woman name Alice. Funny what tragic times can do and start for people. Alice was a white woman who was caught looting a store for food. He told me that they shared the same cell together for nearly a week. Sean's brother was killed here when tried to fight the machines. Sean and Alice formed a bond here within that time. During the fifteen minute sleep the machines allowed, they would kiss each other to wake the other up. It was joyful to see such love in this time of death. They would often be seen walking hand in hand, his black hand holding her white hand, out into the field to load bodies. No one said anything, race didn't here, not anywhere. The only thing that mattered was living to see another day, to survive.
Day twenty came with the deaths of twelve people. No food came today, the machines thought it best to just work. Alice is ill, her face covered with red sores from burns and cuts. Sean still kisses her to wake her and she still continues to work. They just refuse to die here like the rest of us. Screams. The machines are killing people again, this time for no apparent reason. We run for cover as the shoot people, killing them where they drop. Perhaps there were too many here. The most horrifying is the screams of the children. I take hold of one and shelter her in whatever strength my body has left. I wrapped my arms weakly around her as I quite her. The shootings stop, and everyone is put back to work.
Day twenty four came and Alice still moves, however more slowly. Sean gives all the food he is given to her, to keep whatever strength she has left up, however at the cost of his own health. One day he collapsed due to lack of food, and the machines wasted no time in kicking with their metal feet back to work. I watched as he tried so hard to get back to his feet, but he couldn't. Two men came to help him up. They carried him by shoulders and dragged him to the fields to work, with the machines at their heels. I felt a sudden pain in my back as I feel down. One of the machines hit me hard with his gun. I too, was weak. Fifteen minutes of sleep a day, only bite of food, it all added up soon. They yelled at me and I crawled back to work. The little girl I saved from the shootings that day gave me her food. I took it hungrily and gobbled it up before the machines could see. "Thank you," I told her as she took my hand in her tiny little ones and tried with all her might to help me up. Suddenly, there was an explosion to my left. The walls burst open and in rushed an army of men and women. They began shooting the machines, who were taken completely by surprise. A tall, single man ran forward and yelled, "My name is John Connor! Come with me if you want to live!" In an instant, the workers turned to mad, rabid warriors. They were filled with new energy as they turned on the machines, smashing them, shooting them, even as useless as this was, fighting them with bare fists. Anything was good as long as a machine was down for count. What excited me the most was the children, many of them taking whatever arms they could to fight alongside the adults. I took a machine gun the army handed me and began firing madly. Pay back for all the harm they caused me! I don't remember how many I killed, only that I saw many of them drop before me. I then took hold of the little girl and made way for the HK they reprogrammed into their control. We loaded up the surviving people, then flew out of there. After us and HK came and blew the camp sky high. John Connor introduced himself and told us of his resistance. I told him about the couple I met back at the camp. He assured me they had medical teams back at his base of operations. He told us of Skynet and its plans for us, Humans. An hour later we got back to the base, and medical teams wasted no time in providing treatment and food. I asked what happened to Sean and Alice. I was told by Connor they would live, which felled me with joy. The little girl I saved became close to me. We talked everyday after we were saved. I never did find my family, or my boyfriend, which saddened me the most.
Three weeks after we were saved I was made part of Connor's toddler team, which taught them how to fight, run, and hide. We also taught educational stuff as well, like we did before Judgment Day. The war will be long, but eventually, we'll see it through together.