The next morning John walked into the kitchen to find Derek sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. John couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Derek. Lately, he'd been pretty absent from John's life. John wasn't sure why this was, but he didn't want to ask Derek. Neither him nor his uncle were usually very talkative.
Derek looked up from the paper.
"I heard about your friend," he said. Normal people would follow this sentence with I'm sorry, but Derek wasn't normal. John had to take what he could get.
"Thanks," he muttered. He then proceeded to nonchalantly glance around the room, and into the part of the living room he could see from his position.
"Where's everyone else?" he asked.
Derek took a sip of his coffee.
"Sarah went out, and the machine is in the shed," he replied. He never referred to Cameron by her name. Derek hated cyborgs more than anyone John knew. John understood because of what he had gone through, but Cameron was different. Derek could at least pretend to get along with her.
John slipped quietly out of the house. As soon as he did, the cold air hit his bare arms and he shivered. His grey t-shirt offered very little protection from the cold. He folded his arms across his chest and walked toward the shed. As he walked in he noticed Cameron standing in front of a wooden table. She held a gun in her hand, and eight more sat on the table.
"What are you doing?" John asked.
Cameron loaded the gun that was in her hand and then sat it on the table with the rest before answering.
"Preparing," she said.
"For…?" John asked. Cameron picked up the next gun that was closest to her.
"Things," she replied. After loading the second gun, she walked over to a toolbox that sat in the back right corner. She rummaged through it for a few seconds before obviously finding what she was looking for. She then turned and walked over to John.
"I want you to fix me," she told him. She held out her hand and John saw that she held a knife and a pair of pliers. John shook his head and pushed her hand away.
"There's nothing wrong with you," he told her.
Cameron looked down at her hand as if she was inspecting it.
"I need you to restore my memories," she told him.
This surprised John. Never before had she wanted to go against something that Future John said or did. John didn't think she was actually capable—he thought she was programmed to obey him completely.
"What makes you think I can do that?" he asked her. It wasn't like he was experienced in that sort of thing.
Cameron looked up and stared at him intently. After a few seconds, her eyes softened.
"Please," she said. The way she spoke it sounded more like a statement than a question.
John sighed. He hated that he couldn't say no to her, but it was so hard when she was staring like that. She looked so vulnerable and human. Besides, it wasn't as if he was completely against the idea. He had been the one who asked her about it the night before.
He took the tools from her.
"Fine," he said.
Cameron's face returned to her usual blank expression.
"Thank you," she said.
John walked out of the shed, and Cameron followed closely behind. They walked through the kitchen and upstairs to John's bedroom. As they passed through the kitchen, Derek watched them, but said nothing. John, however, knew Derek would question him about it later. He knew he would have to work on an excuse. Currently, the only thing he could come up with was that she was malfunctioning. John figured it was as good as an excuse as any. How else could he explain if Derek or his mother walked in and found Cameron dormant?
As they entered John's bedroom, Cameron laid down on his bed. Slowly, John walked over and sat beside her. He clutched the tools tightly in his hand.
"It's ok," Cameron told him.
John nodded and began cutting into her head. No matter how many times he did this, he didn't think he would ever get used to it. He didn't like the idea of cutting into someone else, even if that someone was a machine. It seemed animalistic and wrong.
Once he got the cut the right size, he folded the layer of skin over. As he did, he resisted the urge to cringe.
"This could take a while," he told her. "You know you'll be unable to function for at least a few hours."
Cameron blinked.
"You'll be protected," she said. "I prepared."
I didn't, John thought. He didn't know how he would feel without her presence.
He grabbed the pair of pliers and began trying to remove her chip. There was a pop, and then her head slowly fell to the side. He pulled out her chip and laid it in his hand. Then, he closed her eyes with his fingers so it appeared that she was sleeping instead of dead. Already, he felt empty without her. It felt similar to the feeling when you know you've forgotten something, but you don't know what. John didn't like it at all. He closed his hand lightly around her chip and then walked over to his computer. Then, he connected the chip to a cord, and sat down. He placed his hand on the mouse and then looked over once more at Cameron.
This was going to be a long day.
review please. it makes me happy :)