Chapter 7: Goodbye Old Friend

February 24th, 2000

7:45 AM

Los Angeles High School

Los Angeles, California

The Terminatrix stepped out of the car she had stolen and slammed the door shut behind her. The machine walked briskly toward the elderly woman struggling to put all of her papers in her bag. She was shaking her head slowly and cursing under her breath before she looked up to see the beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed young woman standing in front of her.

"May I help you?"

The Terminatrix smiled warmly as she thrust her hand out toward the teacher.

"Are you Mrs. Amanda Meyers? You teach second period English for the juniors, correct?"

"Yes."

"I am Jessica Henderson from the District, School, & Innovation branch of the California Department of Education. I came to ask you about one of your students."

Mrs. Meyers nodded slowly as she gestured toward the school.

"Would you mind walking with me to my classroom?"

The Terminatrix folded her arms in front of her as she turned away from the woman and toward the entrance to the high school.

"Not at all."

As they walked into the school, the Terminatrix looked over every individual and pulled up the blueprint to the school so she knew exactly where she needed to go. She followed right behind Mrs. Meyers noticing students looking at her nervously and strangely. The machine took no report of their reactions and tuned in on the teacher's small voice as they approached her classroom.

"Which student are you concerned about?"

The Terminatrix stepped through the open door and turned to face the woman as she closed the door behind her.

"Tim Berkley."

Mrs. Meyers' eyebrows furrowed as she placed her bag on the desk.

"Tim may not have the best grades but he is a great student. He… he has a tendency to become distracted very easily but he always hears more than you think he would. He is a very smart kid. Why are you concerned about him?"

The machine paused before it answered, looking over the woman's desk.

"Are you aware of his parents' recent divorce?"

"Yes, of course."

"His grades dropped very quickly."

Mrs. Meyers folded her arms across her chest.

"Of course they did. His entire life just changed."

"If his grades continue to fall the way they are now, he will most likely not finish this semester of schooling."

Mrs. Meyers placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward slightly.

"I am aware and I am working with him. English isn't his best subject. It bores him but I am doing all I can to help him. You can be sure of that. I hope you do not mind me asking but… why would one student's grades alert the Department of Education? There are several other children with far worse grades."

The Terminatrix drew in a slow breath despite the fact that it did not need it and walked toward the elderly woman with a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you feeling alright, Mrs. Meyers? You look a little pale."

"I… I am fine."

The machine placed its hand on the woman's as it looked straight into her eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright."

"Yes, I…"

The Terminatrix walked over to Mrs. Meyers' side and gripped her right arm, still keeping the concerned expression. The machine quickly placed its hand over the woman's heart and gave off an electric shock, causing the woman to gasp. The Terminatrix's grip tightened on the woman's arm as she pulled away and slowly lowered the older woman to the floor as she passed out. The machine grabbed the teacher's bag and found her phone and dialed 911, imitating the voice of a frightened teenage girl.

"Yes, I… I'm at the Los Angeles High School and… and my teacher, Mrs. Meyers, just passed out. I… I think she must have had a heart attack or… or… I don't know. She… she's on the ground and… and I can't find a pulse. She was just fine a… a minute ago but now… now she… she…"

The machine finished the call with the ambulance and counted down the time until they would arrive, knowing it would have to act quickly and effectively. The Terminatrix rose to her feet quickly and closed the door behind her, searching for its target. The machine loaded Tim Berkley's driver's license photograph onto its screen and walked quickly, scanning over the faces. She stopped one student; a small, wide-eyed girl and spoke gently.

"Do you know Tim Berkley?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, he's at the South entrance. He just got here."

The Terminatrix smiled warmly at the girl, keeping up the act.

"Thank you."

The machine's smile fell the moment it turned away from the girl and walked briskly down the hallway toward the south entrance of the school. She opened the doors and stepped outside, looking over the students laughing and talking, searching for its objective. A flash of red hair appeared and the Terminatrix pursued it and got close enough to analyze the facial structure.

Recognition confirmed.

The Terminatrix pushed through a few students and stopped a few feet away from Tim and his friends, who were all looking at her with confusion. The machine ignored the teenagers and trained her eyes on Tim's light blue ones.

"Tim Berkley, come with me please."

The machine recognized a flash of panic and fear cross in Tim's face but he gripped his backpack and followed her away from his friends. She led him away from the crowds toward a less public area and heard sirens in the distance, drawing closer.

"Am I in trouble for something?"

The Terminatrix's hand slowly morphed into a short but sharp liquid metal knife that she hid under her coat sleeve as they walked away. The machine replied quickly and coldly.

"Yes."

"For what?"

The Terminatrix turned quickly and shoved the knife straight into Tim's heart. He gasped with pain as his blue eyes widened, staring at her with fear.

"For existing."

The machine stared straight into his eyes and his widened even more as he saw a flash of blue light cross her eyes.

"You are a threat, Tim Berkley; one that must be removed before you can fight against me."

The machine shoved the knife in further; making sure it would kill him and pulled him in close, making it look like she was giving him a comforting hug as his legs began to crumple beneath him. As the sirens grew closer, the students began to run to look where the ambulance was coming from, drawing them away from Tim and the Terminatrix. Tim's legs buckled beneath him and his knees crashed onto the ground as his head fell back weakly. The Terminatrix drew its hand out of the boy and let him fall down the rest of the way, watching the blood gush over his chest. The Terminatrix wiped the blood from her hand off on his shirt before she rose to her feet.

"You should have believed John Connor when you had the chance."