"We're currently receiving reports of escalated crime rates in the downtown area, stretching from vandalism, theft, assault, and others... As of right now, the LAPD is urging people to exercise extreme caution and remain in their homes until more information can be gathered. Back to you, Connie."
"Thanks, Tom. The drastic spike in the temperature across the United States and Europe may finally have an explanation. Lead physicists at Stanford University have theorized the increase in electromagnetic activity in the Earth's atmosphere to be attributed to a series of unstable gravity fluctuations that have begun only recently and will be expected to return to normal within the next two weeks. While this theory has been generally accepted among the academic community, there are competing views from other research institutes, particularly Oxford University, that this may be a sign that conditions will fluctuate within the next forty-eight hours."
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Connie. We just received breaking news from the White House. Twelve minutes ago, the White House Press Secretary has just announced that martial law will soon be enacted in Los Angeles County. No word as to whether or not this has anything to do with the increased interest in the Sarah Connor case. We'll be standing by for more information as the story develops. Back to you."
TWO DAYS UNTIL UNIVERSAL COLLAPSE
Even though the sun was rising somewhere in the West, it would be impossible to tell with the murkiness of the morning sky.
Even the man couldn't tell from where he was standing on top of a red beam on what would be a famously huge casino that was currently under construction. And he could see everything. His expensively tailored suit and coat flapped in the breeze.
Beside him, his companion remained motionless, observing the landscape along with him. She was a foot less in height than he, but retained more physical might and prowess. Her dress was more casual, resembling her more of a modest secretary to an onlooker. And, like him, she wasn't human.
The tip-tap motion of raindrops began to fall down all around them as they watched in unison at the streets below.
His purpose, he maintained was about to be fulfilled. This was his role in the grand scheme of things.
"It amazes me." He spoke finally, in a language that was far from anything English, or even human thought. "I know exactly what will happen when we destroy this world, but I have no intention of stopping it. Even if we go with it."
His companion nodded.
"I am... weary." He turned toward her. "You've protected me all these millennia. It would be my greatest honor for you to see it through with me."
Amidst the falling raindrops, the terminator extended her arm and directed his attention to the street.
"Here she comes." The man said as he watched intently below.
A loose piece of newspaper whipped past them, carried by the heavy winds that would surely turn into a storm shortly.
But they had already vanished without a sound before it could even reach them.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
Sarah Connor had many moments of self-realization in her life. The first had been the birth of her son, making the experience in 1984 come full circle. The second had been when she first read the short story "A Sound of Thunder" during John's time in middle school, and now the arrival of a naked girl who looked remarkably like Cameron.
But even in this circumstance, "A Sound of Thunder" had been a much more surreal experience when she read it. John, in a interesting choice of irony, had to write a book report on it and Sarah - trying to do her best to play the role of watchful mother - took time to read it herself. Granted, it wasn't the first story she'd experienced dealing with time travel, but it's effects on her were profound.
In the story, a man was sent back in time to serve as a safari to big game hunters who sought out the ultimate prey, something long lost to both time and human encounter: dinosaurs. The intentions behind this were pure capitalist, but it was still a controlled affair. Hunters were only allowed to kill carefully selected dinosaurs that were already doomed to either sickness or Darwinism. The fear for altering history was so great that the paths used in the prehistoric era were highlighted for use. But in an innocent error that results in him stepping off the path, the man steps on a butterfly. And upon returning to his present time in the future, the flow of history had been completely altered - allowing for a new society, a new culture, and even a new language that was spoken by all. The story ended with his companion, realizing that the world he knew was gone forever, grabs his rifle and releases "a sound of thunder," presumably killing the man, himself, or both with his weapon. The story ends before it was clarified.
John, still in his phase of disbelief to his mother's warnings, dismissed the stories underlying message and ramifications. But not for Sarah. It stuck with her since that day.
And in that moment, when a bullet cracked into the windshield of her stolen vehicle, that it came boiling to the surface once more.
Sarah swung the jeep to one side, sending it careening parallel with the sidewalk. She flung the door open and took cover behind it as Allison Young shot off two rounds that caused dents near Sarah's neck.
It had been a long pursuit from the mental hospital, starting with Allison breaking into a foreclosed department store and now into downtown LA. Sarah had followed, cautiously at first, but it was when Allison, in her newly acquired hoodie, pants, and athletic boots, made her as she exited that things got dicey.
After all, a woman in white hospital clothing tends to stick out - even behind the wheel of a vehicle. And that moment brought her to now.
Sarah waited for the lull in Allison's steam of gunfire before she got on her feet and returned fire while switching cover to a nearby magazine stand.
It was only seven in the morning, but the busy streets immediately dissolved into panic. Sarah prayed that the police would be slow in their response time. Another volley of bullets hit the wood and merchandise, sending a flurry of paper and wood chips into the air. The keeper of the stand was already gone at that point. But the stand wasn't empty.
"She's firing wide." A familiar voice spoke.
Sarah turned her head to see the figure of Charley Dixon leaning against the stand next to her, eyes fixed on the magazine in his hands that he appeared to be reading.
"She's not trying to hit you. Just scare you." Charley said in near monotone.
"I'm not trying to hit her either." Sarah retorted, checking the content of her clip. "I need her alive."
"She knows who you are. Use that to your advantage." Charley took a moment to peek around the corner before returning to his reading material. "She's reloading. Go."
Taking advice from a dead man... I guess I could do worse.
Sarah let out a sigh as she got back on her feet.
I guess I could do worse.
The humvee continued to accelerate as John tightened his grip on the exterior. He could feel warm liquid accumulating in his shirt, stemming from the deep wound in his shoulder.
In that moment, the humvee swerved to one side - desperate to rid itself of John. The young Connor grunted as his head slammed briefly into the carriage. Cameron, coming up slowly from behind in her tank, was not amused. She retaliated with a warning shot in front of the humvee's path, making the eroded highway slightly tremble in doing so.
No, no. I guess not. This is pretty fucking bad.
Azrael, if he had any sense of logic, would receive the message that Cameron could take him out if he tried another attempt on John. But that would come at the cost of Danny's life as well. John was at an impasse. There was no logical solution to this dilemma. No clear cut path to victory without collateral damage.
John knew he couldn't think his way out of this one. But that may have been the point. Even before he knew it, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the knife that Allison gave him and jammed it into the humvee's canvas.
"The hell is he doing?" Derek yelled as Cameron remained transfixed on the humvee.
"He's trying to gain access to the humvee's interior." Cameron replied dryly.
"There's a triple eight in there. What is he trying to accomplish?"
"I don't know." Cameron said. "But a diversion may be in order."
"Assisted suicide. Just the thing I signed up for. Christ." Derek took a moment to wipe the sweat building up in his eyebrow.
"Thirteen degrees. Northbound." Cameron said as Derek reluctantly set up the coordinates, sending the whining cannon into position. "Fire."
The cannon roared to life as a large shell exploded into the remainder of nearby skyscraper, raining large chunks of debris in the humvee's direction. Azrael began methodically evading the crucial chunks that would hinder his path. But that could stop the smaller bits from denting onto the roof and siding.
The humvee never slowed or veered, but the ongoing drama was enough for John to continue cutting and slip in the opening he's created.
He was in.
Allison knew that she was compromised as Sarah began her desperate charge toward her. She was quick to react and began running down the street. But she wasn't quick enough. If there had been anything on the planet that the Connor bloodline had down at the genetic level, it was running. Sarah tackled the younger time traveler to the ground and fiercely grabbed her ankle.
"Enough!" Sarah yelled as she struggled to keep Allison to the ground.
With a determined grunt, Allison swung her body to the side and kicked Sarah in the face. The shock from the blow loosened Sarah's grip and allowed Allison enough of a window to get up and keep moving. Sarah shook off the pain and was soon right behind her.
Allison knew that Sarah would catch her again within the next few moments, but that's when she saw another opportunity.
Oblivious the situation near her, an older woman on that same sidewalk was busy chatting on her cell phone as the pursuit found her.
Allison quickly took the woman as a human shield and squeezed off her last remaining rounds into the brick wall closest to Sarah. It was enough to disorient the elder Connor, even as Allison's pistol let out its final desperate click, Sarah took cover by instinct. Even as she recognized her folley, Allison saw Sarah begin another charge and threw her screaming hostage at her. The woman tried to cling to Sarah as she fell to the ground, but Sarah quickly drove past her and let her unceremoniously slam to the ground.
Allison had already entered the warehouse as Sarah followed, loaded weapon at the ready.
Dizzy... I feel really dizzy.
John felt his now drenched shirt and applied pressure to his wound. He'd lost a lot more blood than he though. He silently cursed Weaver and prayed it wouldn't be a problem.
But, despite his setback, he was now directly behind Danny, who was sprawled out in the backseat - completely unconscious. Azrael was completely focused on Cameron and hadn't noticed his entry. Or maybe he had but chose to let it play. John hoped it was the former.
Now was the question of what came next. A question John didn't exactly have an answer to.
Reaching over to Danny in the darkness of the vehicle, John carefully checked his pulse to see that he was still alive and pondered what to do next.
That when he heard the screaming erupt overhead.
"Hunter Killers inbound." Derek yelled as he struggled to readjust his line of sight inside the tank's cabin. "They're coming right at us."
True to his word, a pair of Hunter Killers seared through the clouds above, passing the tank entirely. But Cameron knew that they were coming back around to unleash their payload. Their little chase in the ruins of Downtown Los Angeles hadn't gone unnoticed after all.
Cameron scanned the skies above and calculated the path and trajectories of the incoming fire. She began swerving the tank accordingly, taking the most evasive action possible as the HKs began their descent.
Derek heard the large whine of the HKs' miniguns come to life. Even with the exterior plating and Cameron's driving, the bullets rained down heavy on the tank, producing a variety of new dents in the siding. The HKs completed their fly over and Cameron noticed that they were circling around once more for another attack.
"Elevate eighty-seven degrees. One hundred and thirteen eastbound." Cameron said calmly and Derek responded in kind to the controls. "Fire."
The main cannon came to life again, like a vengeful spirit who had just been awoken from a long slumber. Cameron watched with slight satisfaction as the shell found one of the HKs and ripped through its main cabin effortlessly. The turbines caught fire immediately and triggered a massive explosion seconds later.
"How did you learn to shoot like that?" Derek shot Cameron an inquisitive look. Cameron knew her charade as Allison Young was coming to an end. But she didn't care.
Despite everything, Cameron's victory was short-lived. From the smoke in the sky, two more HKs joined the remaining one. There were three now.
"Kill one and two more show up. They're like goddamn cockroaches." Derek said grimly.
Without warning, a pair of high caliber rockets streamed at the tank, coming from both the new HKs.
"Hang on." Cameron said. Jerking the steering gauge to one side, the tank swerved in a ninety degree angle. Derek was already forced out of his seat and tumbling around the tank's interior.
The rockets narrowly missed the tank, instead hitting the concrete to the front and side. It didn't destroy them, but it almost brought the tank to a complete halt.
Cameron watched in horror as the humvee carrying John and Danny sped off on the highway. Even without her newfound friends in the sky, she would be hard pressed to regain her previous momentum in the chase.
"They're not playing around anymore." Derek exclaimed as he pointed to the circling HKs above them. "Those Hunter Killers are going to tear us apart if we stay out in the open like this."
Without warning, Cameron jerked the controls in another slanted direction and punched down on the accelerator.
"What are you doing?" Derek barely croaked out as the tank crashed through the highway's barricades. He let out another yelp as Cameron unceremoniously launched the tank onto the streets below, landing with heavy impact.
"Shortcut." Cameron said as she watched the HKs struggle to maneuver to her position. The tight spacing of the inner city would discourage aerial attacks, eventually forcing her pursuers away. But she had a new problem.
Cameron was in one of the most dangerous urban environments this side of J-Day. She didn't really care. She pushed the tank forward.
Sarah scanned the warehouse, weapon at the ready. Rounding one corner after another, and shifting cover between large crates of supplies, she was eagerly awaiting Allison's next move.
"I'm not here to hurt you." Sarah yelled out. "You know who I am. I just want to talk."
"She just came from the future not too long ago and she's already being chased around by some crazy woman wearing all-white clothes." Charley Dixon exclaimed while leaning against one of the warehouse walls, playfully eating an apple. "I don't think she's in the right frame of mind."
Sarah shot Charley a glare before proceeding further into the warehouse. She stopped briefly to observe various noises coming from the second floor and carefully made her way to the staircase nearby. Charley, in his one comical nature, followed right behind her - almost gleefully taking in the scene.
"I take that back. She's not as confused as we think she is." Charley said. "She's setting up a trap for you around that next corner, right about... now."
True to his word, Allison, lead pipe in hand, rounded the corner with lightning ferocity and took a powerful swing toward Sarah's midsection.
Sarah detected the blow immediately, and quickly ducked out of the pipe's radius. Allison's strike hit only air, but she readied the pipe for a second blow toward Sarah's head.
Sarah's free hand grabbed the pipe and easily overpowered the young time traveler's grip on the makeshift weapon, ripping it from her hands and delivering a sweeping kick to Allison's legs. As she came tumbling to the floor, Sarah used the pipe and pressed it on Allison's neck and immediately put her body on top of hers.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Sarah yelled as Allison continued to squirm and struggle against her superior grip. "Girl, so help me..."
Allison stopped her struggle and met eyes with Sarah for the first time. "You don't understand. This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Make me understand." Sarah growled.
"There's no time." Allison pleaded. "It's already started."
"What the hell are you?" Sarah asked, becoming increasingly aware that this girl, despite sharing the same look, was the farthest thing away from Cameron that she had expected.
"I'm not the enemy."
Sarah's ears perked away from the conversation. The sirens she had been ignoring the distance were finally growing louder and louder.
"The police are here." Sarah said as she peeled her body off Allison's and tossed the pipe away. She rechecked the content of her pistol's magazine.
"What does that mean?" Allison remained laying on the ground, still eyeing Sarah warily.
"It means that you can come with me if you want to see this through." Sarah said, imposing her figure against the light - casting a shadow over Allison. "Or you can stay here and probably die."
What in the hell is she doing?
John watched in horror as he saw the tank come under fire from several Hunter Killers and subsequently barrel off the side of the freeway. John gulped. He would have to act on his own from now on.
Azrael was still transfixed on the road, occasionally reaching into his mobile device to, what John was assuming, coordinate the search for the renegade tank with whatever Skynet assets he still had at his disposal.
That must've been the reason behind the Hunter Killers suddenly appearing in this region.
John made another mental note that this T-888 was the farthest thing from ordinary that he'd ever dealt with. He couldn't be underestimated any longer.
But John still had his eyes on the device itself. It looked somewhat similar to a Blackberry phone he and his mother used in the past, and, from the looks of it, it was accessible to a human user - utliziing commands and directions written in English. It occurred to John that it must've been made specifically for his brother.
And if that was the case... he could use it.
A large rumbling occurred somewhere in the distance. John looked out of the window to the east and saw a building crumble. Emerging from the smoke, a large behemoth came roaring from it.
From below the highway, Cameron was still chasing them.
"Six shells left." Derek said over the increasing background noise. "We lost the HKs, but we got terminators straight ahead."
Small arms fire began to riddle the side of the tank moments later. Derek didn't want to think about how terrible the tank must've looked on the outside by now.
Several T-600s crawled out of the urban darkness and populated the long deserted and broken streets. Wordlessly, Cameron ignored their attacks and continued on her path back to John, crushing several underneath the weathered treads. A greeting from one terminator to another.
Putting her acceleration back to a competitive number, Cameron finally returned back to the undercarriage of the highway, and with a quarter mile distance, Cameron calculated, ahead of her prey.
Without need for aiming, Cameron fired the next shell at one of the columns still holding the highway above the destroyed and forgotten streets. And before the smoke could fully set in, she sent the tank crashing through it moments later - completely destroying it.
Azrael felt the disturbance, but with his speed set at maximum, he had little time to react as part of the highway collapsed in front of him.
Taking advantage of the chaos, John leapt into the back seat next to Danny and snagged the device that Azrael had used to engineer his destruction. He quickly retreated before Azrael could take full notice, or at least John hoped.
Hammering the brakes down, the T-888 swerved his vehicle flawlessly around the instant depression Cameron had created.
But Cameron hadn't been intending for that to be her only ploy. Her cannon roared once more, attacking another pillar ahead and ramming it with maximum ferocity.
Four shells remaining. Cameron reminded herself.
John held onto the vehicle's canvas as Azrael began his next swerve around the newest hole in the highway. He immediately began tinkering with Azrael's device as the vehicle regained its composure. Navigating its simplified interface, John was almost thankful that it was more user-friendly than he thought. But, then again, it may have been Alexander's intention for John to use the device at some point. The thought only lasted a split second, but it reminded John that he needed to find his brother once this was over.
The interface was a standard programming algorithm, probably reading like Greek to most people who could access it. But for John, it was like riding a bike. Programming code was an art he'd grown accustomed to. As his mother used to say: "Be a jack of all trades and a master of none. Know a little about a lot, but not a lot about a little."
The screen was divided into a variety of programs that subdivided into other categories. Not unlike the folders he'd arranged on his own computer. Quickly diving in and out of each interface, he found one that stood out: Coordinating Units. Scrolling his finger across the screen, a picture of a Hunter Killer cropped up - followed by a prompt for coordinates for... what appeared to be an missile attack coming from the Hunter Killers from before. John looked around the cabin of the humvee nervously before he returned his attention to the screen. He wasn't sure of how he could get an indication of where they were.
John heard a low rumble as Cameron knocked down another pillar, prompting Azrael to evade in kind. John observed the buildings and landscapes nearby. He took a moment to wipe the sweat away from his forehead, but that's when he noticed the red liquid that had begun trickling down his arm. His dizziness returned briefly, but he continued to shake it off. He looked back at the module only to see that there were... two of them. And they were blurry. John carefully shifted his body to the floor.
He was... tired now.
"Give it to me." John flared his eyes to see had Danny regained consciousness... just barely.
"How would you-" John said weakly.
"Give it to me." He repeated, motioning to the device with his hand.
A wordless exchange occurred between the two young men. John knew that he trusted Danny. And, and John weakly applied pressure to his own wound, he knew that the young Dyson was more likely to achieve their common goal of survival at that moment. With his non-blood soaked hand, John gave the module to Danny and slowly sank back down to where he was sitting.
Another loud burst. Another rumble. Cameron was still hard at work trying to deter Azrael. But it was just background noise now.
Danny made several quick motions with his hand on the device. He took a brief look out the window, estimated their current location, and began punching in several characters into the device's screen. Taking a deep breath, he made one exagerrated push on one of the keys before handing the device back to John.
"Grab hold of something. We only have a few seconds." Danny said as he sat up and painfully strapped himself in with his seat belt. John summoned whatever focused he had left stretched out his legs to push on the walls and fiercely grabbed one of the crevices of the door with both his hands.
There was a loud explosion. And John felt the humvee shift its internal gravity as it was launched onto its side. And then again. And then again.
"John... John..."
It was a soft voice. A feminine voice. John felt warmness all over his body. But it sooned turned sour. And hot.
"John!"
John opened his eyes and saw the flames around him. His insides ached and he knew that his nose was definitely broken from the impact. His body was awkwardly lunged over from where the humvee had landed, straight. He frantically began to steady himself as the flames began to dominate his vision. He looked around to see the door had been opened on Danny's side, but his remained ajar. He reached up and tried to open the handle, but it remained in its slightly cracked open state. He kicked at it desperately as the smoke began to fill the cabin.
John gave up that option and considered his next move. But his vision was getting more blurry by the second. And the smoke wasn't helping either. John buried his face in his hands, giving himself the impression that it might help steady out. Or at least give him comfort before the humvee explodes.
The door behind him opened inexplicably, almost directly responding to his woes. And a pair of hands fiercely grabbed him from behind and began pulling him away from the nightmare.
Coughing and weezing, John felt himself being dragged for about twenty feet before being set down behind the confines of the heavily-damaged tank that had zealously pursued him. They were no longer on the highway... the HK's attack must have sent them careening off the side just like the tank had earlier. And, with the newfound throbs in his head and body, it certainly felt the case.
"Listen to me." The siloeutte of Derek Reese entered his cloudy vision. "Listen! We're going to get you out of here. Danny's safe but the tank's gone. You did real good, kid. Real stupid, but it worked."
Derek looked around as he put pressure on John's shoulder. "We're still in hostile territory. We called in to our friends back at Century, but it will still take some time."
John took offense to the fact that he may be rendered unconscious once more. "Help me up."
Another pair of hands reached down and grabbed one of his arms as Derek grabbed the other. Danny was having as much trouble as John was keeping his composure as he and Derek lifted John quickly to his feet.
"You good?" Derek asked as John stumbled in one spot.
No.
"Yeah." He replied, trying his best to mask his current state.
"Good." Derek said, handing him a rifle. "We're going to have to fortify this spot until backup gets here."
"Let's get to it." Danny said, getting a second wind as he locked and loaded his own weapon. John hoped the same would go for him.
Loud bursts erupted into the air as Cameron got on the tank's main gun and began bathing their surroundings in orange light. John took notice of the several T-600s firing back at her, and closing in around them in every direction.
The humvee finally gave out and exploded, forcing John to shudder where he stood.
Where was Azrael?
Weapon at the ready, John began firing behind the heavily-rusted and diminished remains of an old minivan. In the past, he was faster. It was automatic. But here... it was a chore. His breathing was labored, his bandaged shoulder still ran thick with blood that escaped the hastily-made bandage. He was running on fumes now... and he wasn't going to make it.
Maybe... maybe... If I can save Danny... Maybe that's what I could do. When I die, he can take over. Do what's necessary. There doesn't need to be a General John Connor. Maybe this can be the fate I can make... and maybe it can be a better one.
Using his troubled vision, John sent out a small volley of rounds into a T-600's skull. It fell to the ground and struggled for a few moments before ceasing function entirely. A small miracle, if he had time to think about it.
Another set of hands and feet. Another trigger and another target. This is what I can be.
John got to his feet and began laying more suppressing fire as he shifted to another firing position. Rounds seared past him as he mindlessly knelt down against a collapsed chimney. To his brief north and west, Derek and Danny were doing similar actions. But they too were feeling their own troubles as the T-600s swarmed like insects. They were running out of time.
A loud click caught John's attention.
"I'm out." Cameron yelled as she jumped from the top of the tank and hit the ground running. Withdrawing her titanium rod, she threw it with maximum force against a nearby terminator's skull before taking out two pistols on her belt and made a daring leap through the air, unloading round after round and causing two more enemy terminators to fall as she landed gracefully to the ground.
But then a loud scream entered the night air, complementing the large amount of enemy fire. Derek fell down grunting as his shoulder briefly exploded in red.
The action deliriously caused John to stand up in a desperate ploy to assist his uncle. He got out of cover and began tagging a T-600 that was approaching Derek, allowing his uncle to crawl to a new position and resume firing.
Something caught John's eye. As Cameron's graceful methods of fire continued to hold back several of the T-600 attackers, a pair of red eyes was fast approaching her from behind.
Azrael.
"Cameron!" John yelled, shifting his fire to the rogue T-888. Azrael was stunned for a moment, realizing that his sneak attack had been foiled. Cameron took the opportunity to retrieve her metal rod and jam it deep into his neck, and quickly decapitated him shortly after.
Something is wrong with this picture.
John continued to stare at Azrael's face as his remains littered the ground. He blinked and realized that the enemy he'd just shot at wasn't there at all. John was staring at the blank face of a T-600 in his stead.
But then a searing pain erupted in his stomach. For a moment, John saw nothing but dots. He looked down and touched the new hole in his stomach. The gunfire escaped his hearing as John heard what he thought was angels singing in the distance.
What happened in the next few moments, John wasn't sure. But it was when Cameron grabbed him and forced him to the ground that he regained some measure of focus. Large amounts of pain also helped to bring him back to reality. Cameron wasn't being the least bit gentle as she applied pressure to John's wounds.
"This is it, Cam." John grunted, tasting the familiar metallic flavor of his own blood.
"No." Cameron said, ignoring the blaring conclusion on her HUD that John was right.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't let them take him." John swallowed some of the blood accumulating rapidly in his mouth.
"Please be quiet."
"And I'm sorry for a lot of things." John said, trying to meet Cameron's gaze. Beside him, Danny had carried the wounded Derek over to their position a few feet away.
"But you're always there." John coughed.
HERE LIES
GENERAL JOHN CONNOR
1985-2029
"NO FATE BUT WHAT WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES"
The image entered Cameron's HUD instantly, causing her face to twitch. She felt distress course throughout her main processes.
"Sometimes history needs to repeat itself." John continued. "Maybe this John Connor die as a man, nothing more."
"You can't die, John." Cameron said, a struggling tear held firm in the corner of her eye. "I won't let it."
The last punctual image that John saw was electricity filling the air. Various bits of light appeared, fighting for dominance.
"What the hell's happening?" Derek yelled, clutching his shoulder with one hand and aiming his weapon at the approaching T-600s with the other.
Danny looked around, equal parts befuddlement as well as curiousity. "It looks like we're going for a ride."
The displacement bubble formed all around them rapidly as the T-600s began their last march toward their position.
John felt something soft and moist touch his lips as the air around them turned into a white light.
"Mom's always going to be that way. But she did have a point. You can't just sneak up on people like that - especially in the morning." John said as he pushed the grocery store basket at a snail's pace. This was the before time. Right when they were getting settled after the jump iniatially.
John was confused. He was dreaming, yet fully self aware of the memory he was entrenched in. At that moment, everything that had just occurred in 2029 didn't matter. It was a fog. A non-issue. John looked around the store again before returning to the moment at hand.
"I wasn't trying to sneak up on her. I was just coming off my nightly patrol." Cameron replied.
"Well, you're naturally quiet. Maybe you should start, I don't know, exaggerate your movements a little." John said, taking a moment to take a dozen cans of vegetables from a nearby shelf and load them in the cart.
"So, you want me to change." Cameron said blatantly.
John stopped the basket again. "No. I'm just saying there are better ways to blend in. To get along with people. Sometimes you just have to make compromises, even when you think they don't matter in the short term."
"What is the short term?" Cameron tilted her head.
"The here and now." John explained, grabbing a loaf of bread. "The long term is where all the actions you made in the present, you know, pay off."
John clutched his knuckles and rotated his shoulder. It was painful for a moment but then vanished instantly. They continued walking down the aisle, passing an elderly woman and her grandson.
"Sort of like a financial investment." Cameron concluded.
"Yeah, yeah! That's a good example." John said, he felt pain in his abdomen for a moment, but that too vanished. "People's emotions are like something you can put a lot into early on and get good things out later."
"Thank you for explaining." Cameron said. They rounded a corner and entered the fruit section with John continuing to do his rounds up the nearby aisle. It took him a moment to realize that Cameron was no longer with him. He turned his head briefly to see that she had become transfixed by something on a display.
John abandoned his cart for a moment to see what it was that subject to the fascination of a time-travelling terminator. Standing next to her, John was almost tempted to laught but wisely refrained from doing so.
"Cameron, did you want us to get you something while we're here?"
Cameron continued straring at the dozen of strawberries that resided in the plastic container. "No."
"Are you sure?" John said, slightly smirking.
"Our financial resources are scarce at the moment. We needn't buy things that we don't need."
"Well, economics 101." John said, picking up a box of strawberries. "The standard business model in a capitalist society is the proper allocation of resources to suit-"
"Wants and needs." Cameron finished as John put the strawberries in the basket. "But we don't need strawberries. We should only purchase items that are more critical to our operation."
"I don't think of this so much of a purchase." John said, prompting another tilt of Cameron's head. "I think it's more of an investment."
Cameron's face remained neutral, much to John's disappointment. He was actually proud of himself for not taking a more immature approach to the situation.
Without a word, Cameron reached down to try and put the strawberries back where they belonged. But, John stopped her hand from advancing. For a moment, she looked at him in confusion before retreating it to her side.
"Wants and needs." Cameron repeated, tilting her head.
The pain in his stomach and shoulder imploded, causing John to frantically clutch both. The warmness of the memory was over, he was in new territory now. John was on his knees in front of the tiny terminator that had turned his world upside down.
"I... don't know what you want." John said, his voice souring in pain.
"You don't need to." Cameron countered defiantly, coming closer to John.
John looked Cameron deep in her eyes.
"I'm... a dead man." John said, remembering in full the events that brought him here. "I'm spent. Gone. I'm in over my head and people are dying for it."
Cameron's voice began moving for a few moments, but all John could feel was echoes. But then a familiar automated voice filled his eardrums.
The number you have dialed could not be reached. Ensure the number you have is correct. Please hang up and try again.
The number you have dialed could not be reached. Ensure the number you have is correct. Please hang up and try again.
The number you have dialed could not be reached. Ensure the number you have is correct. Please hang up and try again.
Please hang up and try again...
Please hang up and try again...
Please hang up and try again...
Try again...
Try again...
Try again...
Allison Young felt the chill of the afternoon air and zipped up her hoodie and propped the hood over the top of her haid. She put her arms under her armpits for warmth as Sarah joined her on the rooftop, zipping up the new leather jacket she's acquired from a local thrift store, along with a fresh black t-shirt and jeans.
It had been a perplexing journey from the warehouse to this abandoned apartment building rooftop, but the common enemy of the Los Angeles Police Department formed a brief trust that brought them to this moment. And Sarah was eager to learn more from her new friend.
Both stared at the darkening sky for a few moments before the silence became too deafening.
"Storm's coming." Allison said.
"I already knew that." Sarah countered.
"Not this time. This time is different." Allison turned toward Sarah. "We don't have a lot of time."
"Look." Sarah pointed to the sky as several clouds began to swirl. "This isn't tornado season."
Sarah began walking fast to the edge of the building to get a better look at the sky as a reluctant Allison slowly followed from behind.
The clouds began to part in several places, allowing what appeared to be sunlight to pore through. But unlike sunlight, the light had a more orangeous glow, and it didn't pear down onto the ground below. It remained there - like an angry orange eye opening for the first time.
"What is that?" Allison asked.
Sarah stared in horror and amazement at the same time. A loose triangle formed in the sky from where the clouds had parted, right over Los Angeles. She immediately knew what it was.
"Three dots." Sarah said as lightning began to radiate among the clouds above them, ending with a large crack. "We need to go. Now."
This one was a long one coming. It went through MANY rewrites, to the point where it drove me insane for about a month. Transitioning from heavy, hard-to-write, action scenes wasn't an easy one. The majority of this chapter was a necessary evil in that I had to finish what I started from before. Hopefully it reads well with you guys and gives you a better picture to where the story is headed. The main villain makes his first appearance here. It's going to be an original creation, so don't think that it's another older version of John stalking behind the scenes.
The next chapter is more character-intensive. Promise. Maybe. Fuck, I have ADD. I'll probably manage a sword fight in there somewhere. It's going to be a Sarah/Cameron dominate chapter. So get ready.
The story continues to survive mainly because of the helpful PMs and reviews that give me the opportunity to fix up some of the flaws in subsequent chapters. And it usually helps to spice up necessary scenes and, overall, making the story stronger for it. Keep it up! And spelling errors. If you see one, let me know.