Chapter Four
Whirlwind.
I could actually see the missile as it raced towards us. My eyes widened. "Aw, shit!"
Sam grabbed my shoulder, heaved me off the ground, and pushed me back towards the trucks. "Run!"
Jonathan and Jack scrambled up after us as we raced back to find some kind of cover. The scream of the missile got louder as it closed in. Apparently, it was following heat signatures. I kept running until I fell into a trench, then I heard the explosion…
I just kept running until I heard the explosion. The machines had entered Serrano! I ran back to where I knew Allison was last. I found her, huddled in a corner, scared out of her mind. I ran over to her. "Alli! Come on!" I reached down and grabbed her by the arm and yanked her off the ground, pushing her toward the far exit of the mess hall. She ran in front of me, screaming as chunks of the ceiling fell on her at times. We entered a tunnel that lead to the outside, where we would make a break for the Templars warehouse, which had its own underground tunnels and rooms, separate from the rest of the base. Allison rounded a corner and screamed. Two T-800's were blocking the path. I came up behind her.
"Hey, it's okay, Alli. They're ours. It's alright." I pulled her into a quick hug. I looked down the tunnel. I could see the door that lead to the outside. I looked at one of the machines. "Will you cover us if any enemy machines get this far?"
A mechanical voice responded. "Yes."
"Good." Then the tunnel collapsed. I pulled Allison down to the ground, using my body to shield hers. Concrete, rebar, and other crap fell on top of us. I felt a piece of rebar stab me in the back. I cried out in pain. As soon as the debris stopped falling, I tried to move but I couldn't. Allison was crying, she could see the rebar sticking through my chest, just under my rib cage. It hurt like hell. One of the machines was scrap metal, but the other one had managed to pull itself out of the debris. It came over and lifted Allison out of the rubble. She tried to dig me out, but the machine stopped her. "If you move to much debris, he may get crushed. Go, I will get him out."
Allison looked at me. "I'm not leaving you here."
I shook my head. "Yes you.." I gasped in pain. "Yes you are. Look, the door is right there. Just run right for the Templars warehouse, you'll be safe there. Get underground. This terminator will get me out. I'll be alright."
Allison started to sob. I pulled my right arm out from under some rubble and placed it on her shoulder. "Look, Alli. I'll be alright. I've been hurt worse. Go, before enemy machines get here." As soon as I said that, plasma shots richocede off the concrete around us. I looked Allison dead in the eyes. "RUN! NOW!"
Allison leaned in and kissed me then headed towards the exit of the tunnel. The 800 that was with me was analyzing the rubble, trying to determine a safe way to get me out, while providing cover fire for the two of us. I kept my eyes fixed on Allison. She was almost to the exit. She stopped and turned around. Against the moonlight, I could see her raise her hand to her mouth as if to blow me one last kiss, then she exited the tunnel. She was about 15 feet away from the exit when she screamed. I couldn't see her anymore. I tried pulling myself out of the rubble, but only irritated my wound. Then I saw Allison being lifted out of the air in a large net. "ALLISON!"
I pulled my face out of the dirt and looked up to where soldiers were pouring in to re-enforce the Templars. Allison came running towards me. She knelt down right in front of me. "David."
"Allison."
She frowned. "No, David. Cameron."
"Cameron?"
"Yes. I brought heavy re-enforcements." Cameron reached out and grabbed my arm, wrapping her hand around my wrist. She looked me up and down carefully. "You are not injured." She paused. "You are incredibly fortunate. The odds of surviving a strike from a Maverick missile are…"
"Never tell me the odds." I told Cameron while I pulled myself to my feet. I looked around. Sam was standing over Jonathan's lifeless form. Apparently, he didn't make it. Jack was being cared for by some medics. Cameron's heavy infantry, plus John's tanks and Apaches were making short work of what was left of Skynets forces. The remaining T-X's, all 15 of them, were putting up a serious fight, but they were losing the battle. I looked up to the sky. Two of my F-14's flew over, firing missiles into the cluster of T-X's. Several were blown apart; one was launched by the explosion closer to me and Cameron. It picked itself off the ground, saw Cameron, and then saw me, and opened fire. I grabbed Cameron and pulled her down to the ground. Sam and three other Tech-Com soldiers opened fire on the T-X. A lucky plasma shot knocked out its power source, and it fell to the ground. I looked back at it to see Sam walking up to it, grabbing its head and going for the chip port. I looked back down at Cameron. The T-X had landed a lucky shot to her upper abdomen, just under her power cell. Cameron's eyes were lit up, but they were going from dim to bright, then back again. She looked down at her chest.
"My power cell has been hit. It is losing power…" Her eyes dimmed again, then brightened up a little. "I estimate I have four minutes of power left." Her eyes dimmed back out.
"Sam!" I called out. Sam looked over at me. "Get me a jeep or something. Cameron got hit!"
Sam nodded, then marched briskly towards an idling Hummer. I looked back down at Cameron. "Hang on tight, Cam. I'm going to get you back to Serrano."
Her head came up and tilted to the right. "Are you alright?"
I chuckled. Aside from a few scrapes and a serious headache, this would probably be the first time I walked away from a battle. "I'm fine, Cam. Save your power."
Sam pulled the Hummer over to where Cam and I were sitting. I put my arms under Cameron's legs and arms, and lifted her. She was lighter than I expected, but she was still freaking heavy. I stumbled twice, but finally plopped her into the back of the Hummer. I opened the passenger door to the Hummer and got in next to Sam. "Get us back to Serrano, Sam."
Sam nodded, then started driving towards Serrano. I reached up and pulled the radio mic from the ceiling. "Conner, this is Marcus. Come in."
A moment. "Yeah, David?"
"I've got Cameron. She's been hit. Her power cell is losing power. Set up a repair crew in the infirmary. We're on our way back."
"The crew is already there. Can she talk?"
I looked back at Cameron. She turned her head towards me. "Yes. I can talk."
I nodded. "Yeah John. Here she is." I stretched the mic cord out so it could reach her. She grabbed the mic. "John?"
"Cameron, are you alright?"
"My chassis is not damaged, all we need to do is replace my power cell."
Another moment. "Cameron, I told you not to go out there. I knew you would get hurt."
I looked back at Cameron. "You came out here against John's orders?"
"Yes. I was concerned for you."
"That was foolish."
"If I had not, you would be dead right now."
"You don't know that."
"When I arrived, there was a T-X approaching your position. It was less than 15 feet away from you. It would have made sure you were dead."
I shook my head. "I don't care, Cam. You could have been damaged worse than this. You are never going to do this again, understand me? I'll deactivate you for the next battle, Cam. I'm serious."
She opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by the sound of an aerial HK cutting around in front of the Hummer. "Shit!" I yelled, going for the roof gun. I opened the hatch. Cameron was talking to John.
"John, an HK is cutting us off. Send a fighter."
I got behind the gun and opened fire. This Hummer still had the old fifty caliber rifle. I didn't know what kind of damage it would do to the HK, but it was all I had. I opened fire. The bullets just seemed to bounce of the HK's armor. The HK launched a missile. Sam swerved right, but the missile hit just behind the Hummers left rear wheel, sending the Hummer flying. I got the distinct feeling of flying through the air just before I crashed into dirt, blacking out…
Unknown Time.
It's another triple eight! The plasma rifle screeches in my hand, the triple eight falls. I see Allison running back to the Serrano entrance. If I can hold of these trip eights, she'll have a chance. I turn back around to look at where the triple eights were. They're gone. Curious, but not dumb enough to just stand around and wait to get shot, I start running for the entrance. Allison is beating on the door, yelling to be let in. Why hasn't the Resistance let her in? Suddenly, the door gets pelted with plasma fire. Allison screams and ducks. I turn back around and fire back at the now visible triple eights. Oh my God! There's too many of them. I hear the door start to creep open. "Allison, go! Get into Serrano!" Allison nods and clambers inside the door. I start backing up towards the door, firing as I go. I get to the door and turn to go in, pulling the door shut behind me. The door closes. Serrano is dark, there's no lights, no nothing. I reach for my flashlight, flick it on and turn around…
OH MY GOD, NO! I find myself staring at Allison, a metallic arm sticking out where her heart would be, the metallic face of a T-600 staring at me. I look in the T-600's left hand. It's holding Allison's heart. I fall back against the door. That's not just Allison's heart, that's my heart too. I fall to the floor. Let that thing kill me, I have no reason to fight. I start crying uncontrollably. A loud screech gets my attention. The T-600, along with Allison's body, falls to the ground. Cameron comes walking up from behind it. My heart wrenches in my chest. I'm sure it's about to stop working. Cameron pulls me up off the floor.
"We have to go, David. John needs you."
I try to look at Cameron, but I can't. Her face, her body, her voice…. I jerk away from her, and then I'm startled by a loud banging on the door. The triple eights outside are trying to break in. Cameron grabs my arm again. "We have to leave, now!"
I pull out from her grasp and kneel by Allison. My Allison… Cameron places her hand on my shoulder. "There is nothing you can do for her, David. She is dead."
I start to pull Allison off of the T-600. After three heart breaking pulls, her body comes free. I pick her up and carry her over to the wall that faces the door. Light is now shining through. The trip eights will be in here any moment. I sit down on the floor, cradling Allison against my body with my left arm, holding my plasma rifle with my right. I finally manage to look up at Cameron, tears flowing freely from my eyes. "Tell Connor about Allison. Tell Connor I said it was an honor. Tell Connor… I'm keeping my promise."
Cameron tilted her head to the right. "What promise?"
I half smiled. "I promised Connor that, even if I was the last person on the outer perimeter, I would not let it fall."
Cameron finally understood. "You are committing suicide."
I shook my head. "No. If I were committing suicide, I'd be the one shooting myself."
More light floods the room. Arms of the triple eights can be seen. I'm surprised they haven't started shooting. I look at Cameron. "Go. Now. Be there for John. Protect him. Never…" My voice chokes as I look down at Allison. "Never leave him alone." Another bang, and the door is half down. I look at Cameron again. "Go, now!"
Cameron starts to run down a hallway, then turns back around. "I'm sorry, David."
I nod. "Me too." But I wasn't saying it to Cameron. I was saying it to Allison. Sorry I didn't go in first, sorry I couldn't save you. Sorry we never got the chance for so many things.
One door comes down, and triple eights start pouring in. I hold Allison's body close to me, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you, Alli…" My voice cracks. "I love you so much." I kiss her on the lips one last time. I look at her face. She seems so peaceful, so at rest. "I'll see you soon." I raised my right arm and start shooting at the triple eights. I bag two before a shot rips into my right shoulder. I drop the rifle. A triple eight walks up to me, looks down at me. It reaches down and grabs me by the throat.
"John Connor. Where is John Connor?" it asks.
I stare into its red eyes. "Screw you."
The triple eight drops me on my feet. I know what's coming next. The triple eights signature kill. I look down at Allison. I want her to be the last thing that I see. Then I feel it, the punch, and then my heart being crushed. The pain is almost unbearable. I fall to the ground, my face right next to Allison's. The world begins to go black around her beautiful, peaceful face…
"GAH!" I shot up from the bed, ripping needles out of my left arm and the oxygen tubes from my nose. "Aw, shit! What the hell?…" The world starts to spin. I reach for my head, then fell myself start to fall over. I tried to reach for something to stop my fall, but my arms refused to obey. Suddenly, a strong arm grabs my left shoulder and pushes me back into the bed.
"Cameron was right." It was John. "You do have terrible nightmares."
I was breathing hard. I couldn't see worth a crap, and the lights kept fading in and out. "John, what happened?"
John sighed. "One of the HK's found saw the Hummer and followed you. Then it shot the Hummer. You're lucky to be alive."
I remembered the incident. "Where's Cameron?"
John sighed again. "I've got a couple of mechanics patching her back up. She got pretty banged up…" He paused. I knew why. He was tearing up.
"John. I'm sorry. I should have been more careful…"
A nurse came in and started replacing the needles I had ripped out. Once she had everything reset, John continued. "No, David. It's not your fault. She wouldn't listen to me. She had to get to you, to make sure that you were alright."
"How long have I been out?"
"Seven days. Three were surgery, four were recovery. You weren't supposed to wake up for another couple of days. With your injuries and the cocktail of drugs flowing through you; you shouldn't even be having nightmares."
"How bad am I hurt?"
A knock on the door. I saw two shapes in the doorway. One was small, like a girl. The other was large, like a bodybuilder. "John?" It was Cameron. "Is he alright?"
"Well, he's awake." John said.
Cameron walked up to me. I thought she was pretty far away, but then her hand touched my cheek. I jumped. She pulled her hand away timidly. "No, Cam. You're fine… I just thought you were still on the other side of the room."
"You can't see?" She asked worriedly.
"I see blurs of light and dark." I pointed to the bigger blur in the door way. "Sam?"
"Yes."
"Glad to see you made it, buddy." I laughed, then winced. "Cameron. Are you alright?"
"I am functioning at one hundred percent."
"That's good." I tried to stroke her face, but my right arm wouldn't respond. "What the hell is wrong with my right arm?"
"David…" Cameron started. "It was crushed by the Hummer. The doctors had to remove it."
Her voice was flooded with emotion. If she was human, she would have probably broken down. I reached for her with my left arm. John helped guide it. It reached her face. I could feel stitches all the way down the right side of her face. In a couple of places there was bare coltan. "I'm sorry…" I said, before everything went black again.
So that's chapter four. I brought back the original dream sequence from the old chapter two of this story, because I like it. And I don't wanna hear about how a dream makes David to heroic. Since when do people have realistic dreams?
Sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've been really busy with work, and haven't had much time to write. But since I got permission to bring my laptop to work, I can write AND work at the same time! Awesome, I know.
So read and review. Let me know what you think. I am trying to decide whether to make the next chapter from Cameron's POV, or maybe just keep it in David's POV. Suggestions and predictions would be welcome!
