Chapter 3: Promise?

ANALYZING….

TERMINATED

Without lowering his gun off of Cromartie's body John slowly starts limping over to the scene of the terminator clash. Looking down seeing Cromartie's skull caved in and the back of the terminator's skull completely crushed in from Cameron's hand he slowly starts to calms himself down. Making it a foott away from the two terminators on the ground John glances back and forth between Cameron and the fallen Cromartie.

" Is he…."

Turning around to look John directly in eyes Cameron gives him a quick nod before turning her attention back to the fallen terminator. Reaching her hand back through the large hole in the cracked open skull of once her greatest enemy she starts to move wires all around inside until she reaches the chip port in back. Feeling for the chip inside with her fingers she grabs onto the small object and starts pulling it out of the port. Removing her hand from the coltan skull she raises her hand up into the light revealing the terminator chip to herself and John. With a squeeze she crushes the chip in her hand before looking back to John as her lips curl up to form into a tiny smile.

" Terminated."

Returning the smile John slowly lowers down the hand gun in his hands from the destroyed terminator. Slowly John closes the distance between Cameron and himself before he stops directly in front of her.

Tilting her head to the side as she sees John approaching Cameron is about to start a scan over him looking over any injures he might have just suffered at the hands of Cromartie when she sees him fall down to his knees. As she hears the handgun drop from his hand to the ground below with a thud Cameron feels John moving his arms around her upper torso bringing her into a tight embrace. She starts to return the embrace making sure not to use too much of her terminator strength her concern for John deepens as messages start to flood into her HD. For a few seconds Cameron ignores the messages on her screen just enjoying the moment before she looks closely at what her systems are telling her. Once she reads the first few messages her eyes widen from what she sees.

WARNING HIGH STRESS LEVELS DETECTED

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DETECTED

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ACTION…

" John? Its okay John were safe now."

Rubbing his back detecting his blood pressure and stress levels going down she slowly starts to loosen her hands from around him. Feeling him resist she watches as he turns his head back to look at her in the eyes.

" Safe….it's not safe Cam….we will never be safe"

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Looking into his eyes a warm feeling floods through her body. Snapping back quickly into focus to listen to him she tilts her head to the side while looking at him with confused eyes.

" I don't understand? Cromartie has been terminated. He no longer poses a threat to anyone. We are safe John."

As the words leave her mouth his head slowly bows down and starts shaking at her. In a quiet voice only a terminator would be able hear he starts to speak to her.

" Its wasn't just him Cam...not anymore. With everything that has happened today things can never be the same again. My mom….Derek….they will try to destroy you the first chance they get after what has happened."

Taking a deep breath closing his eyes trying to regain control of his emotions building up from inside him. He starts to speak again when his voice starts to crack down.

" I can't do this without you Cam. I can't lose you."

Before he has a chance to speak again warm fingers gentle capture his jaw lifting his head toward her face.

Being careful to choose her next words carefully she looks at him directly in his welled up eyes before speaking.

" I'm never gonna leave you John."

" You hope."

" I know. I will never leave you. I understand."

" What do you understand."

" I understand that being John Connor is lonely. That your life will never be your own. That you have no choice but to follow the path laid out before you. You and i talk about it a lot."

" We do?"

" We do. We will. I will never leave you John."

" Promise?"

Leaning in she presses her lips to his. She holds the kiss for a few seconds before she breaks off it. Leaning her head against his she whispers back.

" I promise."

Standing up gently she takes his left hand and helps him to stand up leaning his body against her left side. She lifts his arm over her shoulders and proceeds to steer him towards the shattered door.

Getting to the opening he looks over his shoulder back to destroyed body of the terminator who had been his greatest enemy in his young life. The terminator who constantly invaded his dreams. The very same who tried to take everything away from him. He stops moving his feet as he continues to stare at his body.

Feeling some resistance coming from him turning her head to look at him, she comes to a complete stop. Following his eyes into the room she looks over to see him staring at Cromartie. Understanding what he is thinking she speaks up to him breaking him out of his thoughts.

" We will have to come back to dispose of him later John. We don't have anything to destroy the body with and you need medical attention."

Turning his head giving her a nod both turn back towards the opening of the doorway. The bright sky flashes from outside as they go through the door.

Scanning the area outside for any possible threats in the area she spots a nearby police cruiser. Calculating that this was the vehicle that Cromartie had used to get to the warehouse she steers him toward the passenger door. Gently helping him get into the passenger's seat she looks over to see the keys already in the ignition. Getting into the other side of the cruiser she turns the keys starting up the engine and starts to drive away from the warehouse. Bringing up files of the Los Angeles area looking for any place that they can use to hide she proceeds east away from the warehouse heading back into the city.

(Meanwhile miles away)

Opening her eyes slowly seeing her vision moving back and forth with pain ringing throughout her upper body Sarah Connor awakes to find herself lying down on top of a stretcher. Trying to shake the pain off she leans her head up at look around when a gentle voice comes feet away from her.

" Sarah? Sarah?"

Looking over to her right she sees Charlie Dixon sitting right beside her with concerned eyes looking down at her. Looking up a little ways she looks past him to see Derek in the driver's seat driving the ambulance down the road. Looking back to Charlie she starts to sit up when he puts a hand on her shoulder gently pushing her back down.

" Easy Sarah you are in pretty bad shape. You need to take it easy."

" Charlie how did i...JOHN!"

Her eyes go wide as she sits up quickly forcing Charlie's hand off her shoulder. She starts to raise her voice towards the pair in front of her.

" Did you get her? Where's John!"

Turning his head towards her from the driver's seat Derek looks at her with confused eyes.

" Get her? What are you talking about Sarah? Is John in trouble?"

Looking back to the road he pulls the vehicle to the side of the road before turning back to look at her who just shakes her head at him.

" It's Cameron Derek! There was a explosion back at the house that reverted her back….flipped a switch or something!"

Her hands start clutching into a fists remembering what had happened in the day. Remembering them being chased all around Los Angeles by her. The memory of her son trying to so desperately to bring her back. The look she saw in his eyes when he looked down to her lying on the ground. Her fears confirmed to her in a blink of an eye. With her anger boiling over to no point to return she looks back up to Charlie and Derek. Raising her voice towards the two she speaks again.

" That metal bitch has been chasing us for hours around the city. We had a chance to destroy her back at this church. We set up this trap and managed to deactivate her. But John was being so damn stubborn insisting we try to remove her chip so he can fix her later that we blew our chance. Our chance to rid ourselves of her!"

Closing her eyes she starts to relive the last thing she saw before she blacked out. Remembering seeing John run up the wall followed by Cameron moments after he makes his way down a alley. The pain she felt as she tried to drag herself in their direction until the darkness came for her. Breaking out of her thoughts she reopens her eyes and screams out.

"WE NEED TO FIND JOHN NOW!"

Trying to digest what he has just heard coming from her getting lost into his own thoughts Derek starts to remember this past with the terminator.

Damn it John! I told you she was not to be trusted.

Reliving a flashback from his past in his head he starts to remember the words perfectly coming out of the mouth of John's cyborg protector. The ones he has never forgotten to this day.

(2026 Los Angeles Connor's Camp)

Kyle where are you?

Heading towards Connor's command post with a extra sense of urgency to find his little brother Derek Reese goes over how to question the general of his brother whereabouts in his head without receiving any further punishment. Trying to figure out his what words to carefully use towards the general he starts to remember what the woman in his life had told him. The advice of not to question the general for his own good. Seeing the concern in her eyes as she spoke to him. Her face remains in his mind as he gets closer to the command post. Just as he is about to round the corner of the bunker he stops dead in his tracks when he hears a click of a magazine chamber being loaded. Moving slowly forward around the corner he sees her. Leaning against a corner of the wall he sees the same petite brunette that had tortured him weeks ago. The same one that got him to break and give up the location to Connor's former camp. The very same who had killed one of the ones he cared about the most. He remembers her face haunting her dreams. Quickly he reaches into his back pocket pulling out a handgun and pulls back the barrel of the gun.

Upon hearing the sound of the barrel being pulled back the girl looks up at him. She tilts her head at him when a loud bang echoes through the bunker coming from behind her. Taking her eyes off of him she starts running in the sound of the noise.

Running after her with her gaining more ground on him by the second he turns another corner of the bunker after her. A plasma round comes flying towards him as he rounds the corner. The round explodes smashing against the corner of the hallway inches away from his head sending him flying back towards the ground.

Getting up quickly he runs around the corner to see the girl fighting against one of the reprogram terminators in the camp. The girl throws the terminator into a wall when a few resistance fighters come from the other end of the hall. All the soldier line up and start to shoot plasma rounds at the fallen terminator. Round after round hits the terminator body as it shuts down after a direct shot hits it in the skull destroying its chip. Looking back up to the girl he notices a small cut on her face revealing endoskelton beneath.

" Metal!"

He starts to raise his hand up with the handgun when a soldier comes up from behind him pinning his hands to his sides.

" Relax she's not one of them."

Looking over his shoulder to the soldier and back to the girl standing feet away she speaks out words that will forever remain in his mind. The words he would always remember.

" Sometimes they just go bad."

(end of flashback)

Breaking out of his thoughts he snaps his head back towards her with rage filled eyes.

" We will find him Sarah believe me! I promised Kyle i wouldn't let anything happen to either of you! I WON'T BREAK THAT PROMISE!"

Turning back to the wheel she steps hard on the gas pulling the vehicle quickly back onto the road. He steers the ambulance back into the area where he had found her.

Getting up from her seat on the stretcher she makes her way into the front of the ambulance. She sits down into the passenger seat never taking her eyes off the road ahead.

ANALYZING DAMAGE….

LOWER EXTREMITIES DAMAGE

OPERATING AT 80 %...PROCEED TO REPAIRS

ANALYZING...

IDENTIFICATION:

JOHN CONNOR

ANALYZING…

UPPER EXTREMITIES DAMAGE

LOWER EXTREMITIES DAMAGE

ACTION….

Driving through the city never taking her eyes off the road ahead making sure to scan the area for any possible threats,Cameron starts to go over her detailed files of the area looking for any nearby safe houses or motels to hide in. Going through her files quickly one particular safe house comes to her mind. Calculating the risks of going there she takes a glance over towards John. Seeing the blood coming down his right side she decides to look deeper into the file hoping that the area would not be a risk.

PROCESSING….

LOS ANGELES AREA

ANALYZING….

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ACTION….

" John we need a safe place to hide out for a while."

" I know Cam but there is not many places that my mom or Derek wouldn't look to find us. They are out there right now probably tearing up the city looking for us."

" I believe i know of a place. Somewhere they will not expect us to hide. Even your mother wouldn't think to look there."

" What do you have in mind Cam?"

Looking over towards him to look into his eyes she tilts her head slightly before her lips form into a small smile. Taking her eyes off his she turns back to the road.

" John do you remember the safe house Derek and his men were using a few months ago? The one that we found the diamonds in?"

" Yeah that apartment complex downtown. It's a interesting idea Cam but wouldn't they think to look for us there?"

" Unlikely both your mother and uncle would likely avoid the area. They would deem it to big of a risk to consider hiding out there. According to my calculations the odds of them coming into that area are close to none. Odds are both right now are looking for you in the last seen area that your mother saw you in near the warehouse."

" Okay but wouldn't the police have closed off that apartment after finding the bodies of the three resistance fighters there?"

" Yes they would have but remember John that was months ago and the place likely has been abandoned. It is also likely that there will be supplies still hidden in the apartment that can help us. Hopefully some of the supplies can help provide you with medical attention for the injuries you have sustained."

" What about you Cam? I know you are hurt as much as i am after that car explosion and fight with Cromartie. I know you are tough but i don't ever want to see you get hurt Cam."

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" Thank you for your concern for my well being John. I have some damage to my biological covering but it should heal in a few days. I do have some extensive damage to my right leg but we don't have the tools necessary to fix the issue right now. Once i know that you are safe i will return back to the house to retrieve our things and get the necessary tools needed for my repairs."

"Alright lets do it Cam."

He appreciates my suggestion. I did the right thing.

With her smile getting wider as she starts driving into the direction of the former resistance safe house.

" Alright you said they were heading in this direction when you fainted right Sarah?"

" I didn't faint Derek and yes they were heading in this direction. Wait what is that up ahead?"

Turning back to the road he looks ahead seeing a small warehouse coming into view. Getting a closer view of the warehouse as it comes into play both spot a pair of tire tracks down in the dirt leading away into the city. Stepping on the gas harder the group arrives up next to the warehouse when Derek and Sarah both burst through their doors.

Reaching into his back pocket he throws her over a handgun while taking out his Beretta loading a clip into the gun.

" Charlie stay here! Derek lets go!"

Taking the lead she starts moving towards the back of the warehouse. Getting closer to the warehouse she sees pieces of a destroyed door lying in the door ways opening. Rushing up to from behind her seeing the scene ahead of him on the ground he steps in front of her taking the lead heading into the warehouse.

What the hell happened in here?

After making it a few steps inside he stops dead in his tracks when he notices from a distance away a body lying on the ground in the shadows. Coming up from behind she bumps into him and immediately grabs for her right arm.

" Derek what the hell are you doing!"

Following his eyes she looks up and sees the body in the shadows and starts running towards it.

"JOHN!"

he rushes up close right behind her. As they move in closer they both stop dead in their tracks when they see the face of the body.

" What the hell? Sarah is that Cromartie?"

Not moving frozen to the spot like a statue she keeps her eyes on fallen terminator.

He grabs her by her left arm forcing her behind him. Slowly moving forward getting a better view of terminator's head he looks down seeing the right side of the terminator's skull completely smashed in. Taking a step forward he hears a crunch under his foot and stops to look down under his left boot. Lifting his foot into the air he looks down to see fragments of a destroyed terminator chip underneath. Looking back towards her lifting his right hand up he starts to signal her over towards him.

" It's ok Sarah he is destroyed. Someone beat us to it."

Walking over towards the him not taking her eyes off the terminator she looks down and sees the damage he is referring to.

" Jesus what happened here?"

Shaking his head back at her shrugging his shoulders he leans down towards the coltan skull lying on the ground.

" Whoever it was it had some major firepower. The only way i have ever seen something like this was after a plasma shot hit one of these metal bastards."

Reaching his hand down he starts to feel around the side of the skull looking directly at the damage under his finger tips. Feeling no burn marks across the skull he looks back up towards her.

" There is no signs of any burns here. Who ever did this smashed this metal mother fucker's skull into junk".

Rising to his feet he tucks his Beretta away in his waistband before putting a hand on her uninjured shoulder.

" We don't have anything to dispose him with on us Sarah. Go tell Charlie to make room in the back and i will carry this metal bastard out. Once we find John we will burn this piece of scrap metal."

Giving him a small nod she turns on her heels and makes her way towards the opening. As she makes it to the opening she leans her hand on the door frame and looks down to the ground.

John...where ever you are...please be safe.