Chapter 13: It Will Not Stop
August 13th, 1995
8:37 A.M.
—
John grimaced in his sleep and opened his eyes slowly to feel a tear roll down his cheek. He sniffled softly and wiped his wet eyes, feeling his mother's arm holding him tight. He drew in a deep breath and stared at the curtains sadly. He wished he could see his father at least once for real so he would have to stop imagining what he was like but he knew that wasn't going to happen. He tried to move out of his mother's grip but struggled and let out a frustrated sigh. After wriggling for a couple more seconds he accidentally elbowed his mother in the face and tensed up as he watched her move slowly. He did not want her to wake up angry.
He stared at her for a few seconds after she moved off of him to make sure that she was still asleep and exhaled quickly. He quickly slid off of the bed and jogged to the bathroom. When he came out, the Terminator was sitting on the ground with a large wooden box. John walked forward with a confused expression as he gestured to the box.
"What is that?"
"Weapons."
John smiled as he sat down on the floor beside the Terminator.
"Cool. Can I look at them?"
The Terminator replied by opening the box and John gasped.
"You sure packed a lot in here. Back when I lived in Mexico, we had bunkers of these things. Of course, only mom was allowed in them but it was still cool. She would come out with all these awesome and very dangerous guns. She taught me how to shoot a few of them. It was fun!"
The Terminator took the guns out one at a time and made sure the safety was on before he would give them John.
"She used to go out almost every night with those weapons and I'd have to stay awake so that she wouldn't worry. It was hard. But then when she got busted, I got put into regular school."
John's smile faded quickly as he placed one of the guns back in the box, speaking mockingly.
"All the other kids were into Nintendo. But I've always liked guns."
A moment of silence passed between the boy and the machine before John spoke again.
"I'm going to take a shower before my mom wakes up. Don't leave without me."
John grabbed his blue backpack and closed the bathroom door behind him. The Terminator loaded the rest of the guns into the trunk and closed it. The loud noise startled Sarah and she sat up instantly, looking over the machine with anger in her blue eyes. She quickly looked away from the Terminator and rubbed her eyes slowly, letting out a long sigh.
"Why the hell would the Human Resistance send you? I hate you."
The Terminator turned toward Sarah and replied quickly.
"The Human Resistance needed something John Connor would recognize. They knew that he would have been taught to recognize the appearance of the machine that tried to kill his mother."
"And murdered his father. Did the Human Resistance think about how that might hurt him? He's never even met his father and now he has to travel with the machine that looks exactly like the one who killed his dad."
"The Human Resistance had to act quickly."
Sarah shook her head quickly as she folded her arms across her chest, staring the machine down.
"Why would they create another machine that looks like you? Your appearance is a dead giveaway that you are not on their side."
"You are angry."
Sarah threw her arms in the air, raising her voice.
"Yeah, I am! I'm angry because I'm staring at my greatest nightmare! I know that you are not the same machine but I don't care. You are a machine. And the machines took everything away from me and from John."
She rose to her feet, staring straight into the machine's dead eyes as her voice quivered with sadness.
"I used to dream that Kyle and I would have been able to kill you and about the life we would have had if you hadn't punched a hole in his chest! Instead I had to learn to do everything by myself and I hurt my kid in the process. You took away something that I can never get back. You can create all the machines you want but they're worth nothing compared to a human life. You're nothing but nuts and bolts sewn together for chaos and death."
"I am not Skynet."
"But they made you… and it could take you back at any second. So just… just stay away from my kid."
Sarah looked away from the machine, not saying anything for a few minutes. She heard the water turn off and a little while later John came out, glancing between the machine and his mother. He slipped his backpack on his shoulders and smiled softly.
"I'm ready."
Sarah smiled back at him and walked over to the bathroom, kissing her son's forehead quickly before she took the shopping bag with clothes and shoes from the Terminator. She changed quickly and pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail, feeling relieved to be out of the white hospital clothes. She balled up the nasty clothes and tossed them in the garbage can, feeling a flood of relief come over her. Two minutes later they checked out of their room and the Connors followed the Terminator to an old beige car.
The Terminator set the large box of weapons down in the backseat and John moved to sit there but Sarah gently pushed him out of the way. John smiled at his mother once he caught her train of thought and quickly sat down in the front seat. Once the Terminator stepped into the car, Sarah spoke.
"Where did you get the car?"
"You do not want to know."
Sarah nodded slowly, not knowing what to say.
"Okay."
John set his backpack down on the ground in front of him and sat back against the seat.
"Before we get to wherever we are going, can we go to a payphone? Todd and Janelle are jerks but I've got to warn them about the T-1000. Oh, and breakfast would be nice too."
Sarah chuckled from the backseat.
"You've become quite demanding."
"I'm just suggesting what I would like."
Sarah nodded once and glanced at the Terminator in the rearview mirror.
"We'll stop at a diner for breakfast and so John can call Todd and Janelle."
"Affirmative."
—
John patted his pockets once they reached the payphone and looked expectantly at the Terminator.
"Got a quarter?"
The Terminator punched the coin collector and handed a quarter to John. John shrugged his shoulders and slid it in, dialing the number quickly.
"Hello?"
John felt relieved for a moment having heard Janelle's voice.
"Hey, Janelle, it's me."
"John? John, is that you? Where have you been? The cops are here, they've been looking for you. You've had us worried sick!"
John's eyebrows furrowed with confusion and pulled the phone away from his ear, whispering to the Terminator.
"Something's wrong… she's not angry enough."
"John, I'm really getting worried. Where are you?"
John could hear Todd shouting as Max barked in the background.
"What is that dog barking at!? Shut up already!"
John turned to the Terminator and whispered.
"I can hear the dog barking… maybe it's already there?"
"Hey Janelle, tell John I'm getting rid of that stupid mutt!"
John drew in a deep breath.
"You can tell Todd that I miss him too."
"I will. Just please, tell me where you are."
"Janelle!"
John eagerly listened to hear what Todd was going to complain about next but the line was silent for too long. A chill ran down John's back as he thought of all the possibilities, wondering if the T-1000 was there now.
"John, where are you?"
John recoiled from the phone and looked at the Terminator with wide eyes. The Terminator stepped forward, wrenching the phone out of John's hand and pressed the receiver to its mouth. John's eyes widened even further when the Terminator did a spot on impersonation of his voice.
"I'm here, Janelle. I'm fine."
"John, please, just tell me where you are."
The Terminator pulled away and spoke to John.
"What is the dog's name?"
"Max."
The Terminator picked up the phone again and spoke.
"Hey Janelle, what's wrong with Wolfie? I can hear him barking. Is he all right?"
"Wolfie's fine, honey. Wolfie's just fine. Where are you?"
The Terminator hung up the phone and turned back to the stunned boy.
"Your foster parents are dead. Let's go."
"What!? No, they had to have…"
"They are dead, John."
John shook his head and stood there, frozen, watching the Terminator walk away before he slowly followed the machine.
"Where do we go now?"
"We need to find a way to draw its attention."
"It's all the way in Los Angeles though. This is our chance to run away for good! If we take it then we won't have to fight it!"
"It will not stop until you are dead, John Connor. Now we will drive back to Los Angeles and finish the T-1000."