Terminator: No Fate But What We Make
Chapter 25
Los Angeles, California, August 10, 2027: (Location Unknown)
Upon opening his eyes, he was greeted with fire drawing closer to him and the sounds of the helicopter comms channel receiving distress calls from the nearby bunker. Lying there, he wondered if it was worth checking into. Maybe he was dead and this was hell? If so, it was the same God damn thing as the world he just left.
"This is Kansas Bunker! Please, anyone, we are trapped down here! Endos are at our gates and we can't last much longer here!"
This was it. John sat up and crawled his way towards the cockpit. Immediately, he noticed the two dead pilots who appeared to have died from the initial impact of the crash. He must have been lucky because even Cameron was sucked out just as they went down.
He stopped when he remembered what occurred. His new bodyguard was gone and he was forced to survive alone, out here, in the desolate wasteland with no place to go.
"Is anyone there? Please answer! Kansas Bunker is under attack!"
John picked up radio from the dashboard and took a deep breath before speaking. "This is John Connor. What is your status, soldier?"
"General? Oh, thank God! There are too many of them! We need assistance!"
What was he supposed to say? Tell his soldiers that he wasn't able to save them this time? Tell them that they were dead and he couldn't do anything about it? They looked up to him, and with everything going on right now, he wasn't sure what to do at this moment.
"General Connor, please send backup! We are trapped down here! Woman and children are with us! We don't stand a chance- Oh no... they got through! They got through! John, please help us-"
That was it. The line from Kansas Bunker went silent and all he did was just listen to all those souls die all because of him. All because he didn't respond. All because he didn't give a reassuring lie to tell them that everything was going to be okay.
He knew it for years, but being reminded of what hell he was in, stung. This world was full of death and destruction. He was meant to lead all of humanity behind him and make decisions that would ultimately cost innocent lives.
Suddenly, a loud whirring sound came from above, and a light cast above him. John backed up and looked up at the blinding light as it fully illuminated his presence. He knew what it was. An Aerial Hunter Killer. However, it didn't shoot him. Instead, it flew away, back to the flaming ruins of Kansas Bunker.
It was a scout searching for any surviving humans. He needed to get out of here and link up with any surviving factions that he could.
Searching through the crashed out helicopter, all he could find were a few flares and a P226 with one clip. Too bad there wasn't much to use to protect himself. Right now a plasma rifle would prove more useful to taking down terminators than a stupid pea shooter. But he had to take what he could get.
Now loaded up with the remaining supplies, John ventured away from the crash and through the ruins of what was once a vast, Los Angeles street, but was now filled with destroyed cars with bleached skeletons inside, and toppled over buildings. Concrete littered the streets, along with some early generation humanoid terminators.
It reminded him of the early days of the war. When Skynet was still young and learning how to properly kill humans. Then it was easier. Now it was almost unfair with how fast the evil AI was advancing. Newer terminators were harder to kill. Common firearms were practically useless. Plasma weaponry was more practical when taking down such machines. But Skynet was the only supplier, so it was difficult to acquire such weapons for an entire army that it was against.
After walking about a mile away from Kansas Bunker, John found himself in an old park. The grass was gone and dirt was everywhere, but the playground equipment was still around, if not partially intact. In the distance, he could see two Ariel HKs drawing closer to him. He needed to hide and quick.
John found an old concrete slab in the middle of the street, and hid under it, and began to patiently wait as the Hunter Killers would be flying over him in a matter of seconds.
However, when he sat down, he noticed something present with him. He jolted back in fear as he saw what it was. An old T-600 with its arm pinned underneath the concrete. He aimed his gun at the base of its skull and timidly waited for any movement that could possibly come from the machine.
Luckily it didn't move. With how much dust was covering it, he guessed it was here for quite a while. Maybe a year or two at most. However, he still didn't feel comfortable with how it stared at him. Hopefully, those Hunter Killers will pass over him soon, so he could leave.
He got his answer when the loud engines of the Ariel HKs flew above him before fading away in the distance. He relaxed somewhat and looked back at the old, beaten up machine. Finally, he could get away from this thing.
John crawled out of the rubble and stood back up where he was greeted with the cold, nuclear winter, of the post-Judgement Day world.
He would have to find shelter soon. Making a camp would have to do until he could find some way to contact General Perry for extraction. John turned left and began walking down the street until his foot got caught on something.
Damn rocks!
However, when he looked down at his boot, expecting his bootlaces to be caught in the rubble, he found a metal hand tightly latched onto his heel. He followed the length of the arm down to the rubble pile, where he saw the T-600 firmly grabbing his foot, and looking at him with its cold metal stare.
John fell back in fright and looked on as the terminator tried crawling for him, only to be stopped by its arm being caught under the concrete slab. He aimed his gun at the machine and thought about shooting it. It was practically harmless right now. With it being stuck, he could just get away and not have to risk compromising his location to the Hunter-Killers that just flew overhead.
After contemplating whether or not he should shoot the machine, he settled for getting up and walking away from the thing. But even that proved a dumb move on his part as he witnessed the T-600 beginning to kick the concrete slab away, and successfully getting its arm free. The machine quickly crawled over to John who started shooting at its face but wasn't fazed by the small dents that followed the bullet impacts.
The machine continued to crawl its way towards John with intent on terminating him at any cost. John backed away as fast as he could until he came to another pile of debris and waited until the machine was in position. Once it was just a few inches away, John pushed over the standing debris and pinned the entire T-600 underneath.
John sighed in relief. The primitive AI of a T-600 was a given at this point. They weren't as smart or at calculative as the current models.
A loud whirring drew nearer arsed nearer. He recognized that sound. But before he even had time to react, he found himself in the Hunter Killer's searchlight.
Well, that's a stupid move.
He completely forgot about the HK. He was so caught up with trying to take out the 600, it completely went over his head that the Ariel Hunter Killers had great sound perception.
John closed his eyes, prepared for the shot that would take his life in this cruel world.
The HK aimed it's plasma turrets at John and fired at the man with full force. However, a smaller figure ran into the searchlight and tackled him out of it. In turn, the plasma fire did nothing.
John looked around in disbelief. He was somewhat thankful that he was still alive, but how? He should have been a smoldering pile of burning flesh. The searchlight hovered over him again, this time, allowing him a view of his savior who also was caught in the Hunter Killer's fire.
"Run!" Cameron barked.
He didn't need to be told twice. Cameron helped him onto his feet, and the two bolted away from the incoming plasma fire once more. They both made a break for the old shell of a skyscraper and hid behind a pillar.
"How many made it?" John asked the machine.
"I found a small group about half a mile from here. We need to get to them before sunrise or we're going to have to take our chances out here until sunset," Cameron explained.
"Is there a way out of here?" John then asked. Cameron nodded and took the lead with John following close behind. They both made it through piles of debris and bones before they made it through the back. Luckily, the HK was just circling around at the time so that allowed them to make another break for the building just across the street.
They continued rinsing and repeating until they were about eight blocks away from their original location. John had to stop and take a break as he felt exhaustion from the constant sneaking around. To him, it's been years since he's done anything like this. Mostly he commanded the last pocket of fighting humans on the planet and he was no scavenger like most.
"Come on, they're just over here," Cameron motioned for John to follow. He did, and the two prepared themselves to cross the street again, and into yet into another old rotted building.
John stopped when he felt a slight rumbling from the ground underneath his feet. He knelt down and felt the cracked asphalt, and tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. Cameron did the same and looked towards the east side where an Ogre Tank was just turning the corner.
Both didn't say anything, and Cameron dragged John behind an old car where she covered his mouth her hand. The two silently waited, hoping that the massive HK wouldn't drive over them.
Luckily, when they saw the treads on their right, they knew it decided to ignore most debris right now. As they watched the gigantic terminator pass them, Cameron grabbed John and began to lead him into the other building.
But when he took another step, his foot slipped on a human skull, and he sprained his ankle. The sheer pain made him scream in pain, and the still leaving Ogre stopped dead in its tracks and turned where it identified John and Cameron immediately.
Cameron attempted to drag John away but she calculated that it would be too slow to avoid the fire from such a machine.
It charged it's turrets, and aimed at the two. As the weapons systems were about to fire, a large object impacted its side causing a damage report to fill its heads-up display. The Ogre looked to its left, finding a Resistance attack helicopter firing missiles at the armor plating that protected its ability to see.
The sheer heat was enough to melt away the armor and eventually gave away. The Ogre's systems failed and the entire machine shut down.
As the helicopter prepared for landing, Cameron helped John onto his feet and was instead treated to a tight hug from the General before he let go and the cold expression on his face returned. "Thank you, Cameron."
"It's my mission to protect you," Cameron simply answered.
"General Connor! General Perry has requested to speak with you!" A young Resistance fighter acknowledged.
John nodded in agreement and Cameron helped him onto the chopper. "Alright, take me to him."
Los Angeles, California, December 14, 2007: (Connor Safehouse)
Everything was illogical. That was repeated in her mind, over and over again. John's intentions did not make sense, nor were they justified. He just wanted to control her and she didn't like that. Being only taken for a grain of salt and used only as a thing and not a person.
However, she would not tell anyone of these feelings. They would just laugh at her and think something was wrong.
Illogical decisions based on emotion they were. She knew how much everyone in this house hated her. What they say behind her back and sometimes even in front of her face. She never showed what she really felt, but it was akin to what humans described as sadness.
She still wondered what happened. After experiencing these glitches, she searched hard for the source code, trying to find why she felt this way. Machines weren't meant to feel, they weren't meant to have any emotion whatsoever. She was designed for a single purpose and that was to kill humans. Be the perfect weapon.
But then why did she feel sorrow for the harsh things said to her? Why did she feel something akin to comfort when John had touched her hand earlier that weekend?
It was simple really. She was broken. A warning constantly flashed on her screen, almost commanding her to kill John. Every time she glanced at him, even so much as thought about him, that mission would reappear. She was no longer John's protector and she told him that. But she would never kill him, nor would she let him be harmed. Without a purpose, she felt lost and despite John's idiotic attitude and attempts to control her, she needed something to keep her mind busy.
That was why she still patrolled the neighborhood. That was why she followed Emily after school every day just to find out where she lives. Even though she couldn't enter the property with all guards present, and an 86.42 percent of being caught, she avoided investigating any further. Still, she did not trust Emily. She was mysterious in some ways. She manipulates John in some way and she can seem to study such behavior without further spying.
"What are you doing in here?" Alex asked from behind.
Cameron looked away from the window and at the Hybrid with her same stoic expression. "Searching the perimeter for threats."
"Oh, yeah?" Alex mused sarcastically. "Well, why don't you do that downstairs? I want to get a little nap and I can't do that when a killer cyborg is standing above me like a guard dog."
Cameron tilted her head in confusion, although she knew what she meant. It hurt to have Alex demand that she leave her room and go downstairs. But like every time before, she accepted without word and left the room with Alex shutting the door and locking it.
Again, she was insulted by Alex, which was no surprise. Now she was locked out of her own room again. There was no going back in there for at least a few hours. With the dance being tomorrow, she wasn't sure what to do, or what to wear. A simple dress would suffice, but what of her footwear? In magazines, the models wore stilettos to match their dress and the only pairs of shoes that she considered hers were her favorite combat boots and a pair of white sneakers that Alex couldn't wear because they were two sizes too small for her.
She would need to find the proper attire for tomorrow and she would need to move quickly. With school just recently letting out and all of the midterms were completed, it was already getting late thanks to the sun setting an hour earlier than usual.
With that in mind, Cameron stalked her way downstairs and into the living room. For the most part, it was quiet. She could hear Sarah in the kitchen and Derek Reese was nowhere to be seen. Luckily she could avoid further scolding from the traumatized soldier.
Cameron walked into the kitchen where she found Sarah closely looking at the new, recently bought toaster. She had a notepad, and a handgun next to her as she appeared to be studying the piece of household appliance. By the looks of it, the thing had been dismantled and was separated into pieces.
"What are you doing?"
Sarah looked up at the cyborg, her face turning slightly irritated. She looked back down and continued looking at the toaster. "Trying to find out why Keran wanted this particular kind of toaster."
Cameron looked at the box near Sarah and looked back at the woman with one possible answer displaying themselves on her heads-up display. "There is a Tortilla toaster installed, which is quite rare in common toasters."
"I know that," Sarah sneered. "Why would someone like Keran want something like this?"
"Humans like Tortillas?" Cameron purposed.
Sarah set down her pen and rubbed her eyes in irritation. She looked up at Cameron with a look of exasperation. "What are you doing here? You always are either in your room or patrolling the block."
"I was just making conversation," Cameron responded blankly.
"Bullshit," Sarah said with venom. "Why are you really here, Tin Miss?"
Cameron looked away from Sarah and at the table where she found a sudden interest in one of the left beer cans by Derek Reese. "I wanted your help."
Sarah's expression turned from that of annoyance to that of complete surprise. "You want my help?"
"Yes." Cameron nodded.
"Why?" Sarah then inquired unsurely.
"Because you are a female, and thus have had female problems. I need your help in trying to understand how to handle them."
Sarah's eyes widened in response, mouth agape, as the young cyborg curiously stared at her. "Cameron, I'm sure you don't have those kinds of problems down there. At least I hope you don't have woman troubles. But how do you expect me to-"
"I need help finding a dress and shoes for tomorrow's dance." Cameron abruptly spoke.
In response, Sarah closed her mouth and continued to stare at the cyborg in disbelief. "Oh. You want me to...help you find a dress?"
"Yes. You know about female wants and needs more than me, and I would appreciate the assistance."
Sarah was beyond confused. The Tin Miss surely didn't mess around, aside from the occasional 'I fooled you' line she sometimes used as an attempt at humor, although she never understood it. Cameron was never one to fool around, she was a machine. But a machine was asking her to tag along on a shopping trip with it? One that involved dresses instead of tactical vests, high heels instead of guns. This was ludicrous. Never in a million years has she ever expected anything this strange coming from a terminator.
But alas, she was left with an ultimatum. She can easily say no and go back to figuring out what this damn toaster did before Alex came downstairs to see, or she could help Cameron find a dress for that stupid Winter dance. Sarah looked at the slightly taken apart toaster and winced at its inglorious looking nature.
I'll just tell Tin Head that Derek did it.
"Fine. I'll help you." Sarah agreed and grabbed her gun from the table. "Let me just grab my coat."
Later That Day:
"I am so happy your mother let us hang out today!" Emily squealed in delight. John couldn't help but chuckle at Emily's display of excitement. Although she didn't like it initially, mom reluctantly accepted Emily after a few days and she was able to come over more often than not. Still wary of her at times, like Sarah Connor always was, she didn't mind Emily being around so much, however they could no longer leave their weapons arsenal lying around when she did.
But with Midterms finally being completed, and Winter Break finally starting, he was free of school for two whole weeks. Two whole weeks of relaxing and not having to worry about a single damn thing for that span of time.
"So are you ready for the dance, tomorrow?" Emily asked him with curiosity.
But not just yet. There was still the Winter dance tomorrow. The one that he was putting off for way too long, while Emily mentioned it nonstop. Under given circumstances, he wouldn't have even cared too much about it. Going with Emily was more or less just a little activity. But as far as he knew, Cameron was going, and she actually had a date. A killing cyborg from the future was going to a Winter dance, possibly all dolled up, and with an unknowing, hormonal teenage boy.
That thought made him shudder in disgust. The mere thought of Drake Huntington and Cameron was something he had to force back down to the deepest parts of his mind.
Emily shook John's shoulder, causing him to break away from those thoughts and focus his attention back on the petite, beautiful girl. "John? Are you okay?"
John forced a smile and chuckled. "Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I be?"
"You just seem...distracted is all," she pointed out. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Emily, I assure you, there is nothing wrong. I just… I space out sometimes."
Emily took that as a sign of reassurance and relaxed for the time being. She stared out of the window with curiosity as she watched John's mother and sister pull up into the driveway, and enter the house. "Your mother is home. Maybe I should go ahead and leave."
"Wait why?" John inquired. Yes, he understood Emily possibly being uncomfortable with his mother's presence. She had that effect on people occasionally. More often than not had she pushed friends away from him.
Before Emily could even utter the words to speak, the door opened and came walking in was Sarah and Cameron, both carrying shopping bags around their arms. Sarah was surprised but didn't give a look of disgust at the little girl and smiled.
"Emily. What a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"
"I didn't want to go home right away, so I thought it would be okay to hang out with John for a few hours," she explained timidly. "I hope you don't mind, Ms. Baum."
"I don't mind at all, Emily. Just let me know next time though," Sarah sternly told the young blonde.
Emily smiled. "I will. Thank you."
"Well… let me put these bags up. So I'll leave you two to it." Sarah mentioned and walked away with all bags in hand.
However, Cameron still stood in behind the couch, staring at John and Emily with blankness and a hint of confusion.
"Cameron. Maybe you want to go put those bags up?" John hinted. He knew what she was possibly thinking. She mentioned that Emily was a possible security risk. In her own, twisted machine way, she hated Emily. Although she had done nothing wrong for her to even come up with such a conclusion. Right now Emily was the only person who he found comfort in talking to, and he wasn't about to let some damn terminator take that away from him.
Cameron reluctantly accepted and made her way to the staircase and began climbing up to her room. However, she stopped when she heard Emily speak again, and peeked in on the two.
"Well, I better get home. It's getting late. So I'll see you tomorrow at seven?"
"Yeah. Definitely."
"Good."
Cameron's jaw almost dropped when she saw Emily lean in close to John and peck him on the lips before she left through the front door. John was honestly astonished and Cameron's eyes glared at the door. She saw John give off a bright smile, indicating that he did, in fact, enjoy it.
Cameron's eyes diverted away from John and she continued to climb the stairs and looked while staring at the floorboards as she ascended.
Connor Safehouse, December 15, 2007: (The Following Day)
Taking the time to apply extra hair gel into his spiky hair, John examined himself in the mirror one more time, making sure his appearance was on par. Under such circumstances, he wouldn't be doling himself up as much as he was right now. But tonight was different. He straightened his bow tie and made sure that his cuffs were buttoned. Adding a bit of cologne for good measure was best.
This was it. He was going to a dance with a very beautiful girl. Better yet, he was feeling like he was normal for once in his life. There was no Judgement Day, no war with the machines. He was John Baum for tonight. A normal, simple teenager. Not John Connor, the future General of the Human Resistance.
"Are you ready?" Alex asked from the doorway of the Bathroom.
John looked over at the woman who was wearing a very appropriate, yet beautiful, green dress. If it weren't for her, he wasn't sure if his mother would let him go at all.
"Yeah. Let me just grab my coat," He told her, and went into his room to grab his pressed suit jacket that laid neatly on his bed. After throwing it on, he turned towards Alex who had followed him into his room and bleakly smiled. "So where is Cameron at?" He then asked. She was a different story considering she could handle her own in a fight with an industrial grade killing robot. The fact that she was one, to begin with, was an entirely another story.
"That Dick guy picked her up a few minutes ago," She explained to John. "Guess it's just me, you, and your little girlfriend."
"She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend." John groaned tiredly.
"Whatever you say, John." Alex couldn't help but giggle at John's embarrassment.
John jokingly shoved her back and the two made their way downstairs, to the living room. There, Sarah was comfortably on the couch, jotting down notes into a book. She looked up at the two who entered the room and smiled. She put away her book and went up to her son.
"You two look ready."
"Because I'm so looking forward to babysitting teenagers while wearing a dress tighter than those stocking you wore to that club?" Alex sarcastically quipped.
"Keep talking Tin Head, and I'll make you both walk." Sarah chuckled. She looked over at her son and engulfed him in a big hug. "And you have fun. But do what Alex says and stay out of trouble. Got it?" She acknowledged sternly.
"I got it, mom." John sighed in response. "Like anything is gonna happen tonight anyway."
"We better get going," Alex spoke up and grabbed John by the wrist. "Let's go. Don't worry, Sarah, i'll have him home safe and sound." With that, Sarah waved goodbye at the two as they got in the SUV and pulled away from the driveway.
•••
There was no better place to feel the most uncomfortable he's ever felt in his entire life. Well, the second most uncomfortable place next to having to live with mostly women and his hard ass uncle. The house was pretty huge. Probably expensive by the looks of it. The front yard had bright green grass and he was sure he even saw a balcony when they pulled up.
He reached for the doorbell and pressed the button. Inside, he could hear the bell ring and awaited as footsteps made their way to the door. John took a deep breath, and the door opened revealing a man who was of middle age and had slightly greying spiked hair.
What he expected was far different than what he received. This man smiled and held out his hand. "Hello, I'm Emily's stepfather, Daniel Hill You must be John."
"Uhh, yeah... I mean yes, I am." John stuttered in a nervous fashion as shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hill."
"Well come in," Emily's father invited. John reluctantly did so and stepped into the house. The living room was quite nice if he had to admit. The furniture was modern, and it gave a nice warm, cinnamon scent to it. "Well, I'll go ahead and go get her. Take seat. You know how women can be."
John chucked and heeded his suggestion and took a seat on the couch. He hoped it wouldn't be too long. With Alex waiting in the car he knew how impatient she could be. Especially when she wasn't in the greatest mood right now.
John anxiously waited, looking around at the paintings and even the neat looking fireplace that stretched across the wall. She surely did live in style. Emily was probably one of those girls who grew up spoiled and had everything she ever wanted. It was quite opposite to his life. Spending most of your time running from a destiny and killer robots that wanted to kill him because of his destiny. He remembered living most of his childhood in poverty. What his mother did just so he could eat and have a place to sleep at night.
When John looked up at the stairwell, he saw Emily descending. He stood up and gulped. She was beautiful. Her red dress complemented her eyes. It was strapless which revealed her shoulders, and it was a decent enough length, where it wasn't too revealing.
"Wow. You look amazing." John stuttered.
Emily's face turned red in response and she shyly looked away. "Thank you, John."
"Well, I guess this is where I take the pictures, huh?" A woman enthusiastically exclaimed. Guessing by the way she walked into the room with Emily's father wrapped around her, John guessed it had to be her mother.
After being introduced again to Emily's mother, pictures were taken. However, a churning feeling in his stomach began to arise. The only other instance he had felt something like this was when he was almost killed by the T-950 back in New Mexico. Was it because he was meeting a girl's parents? He never had done anything like this before. Perhaps it was just a new feeling of nervousness? That seemed a most likely scenario.
Now that Emily's parents were done, John decided to take this opportune moment and spoke up. "Yeah, well we better get going. Don't want to leave my sister waiting in the car!"
"Wait hold up one second, Johnny boy!" Emily's father halted. "Before you leave I need to speak with my daughter privately."
Her mother responded by glaring at her husband. "Daniel…"
"I know, I'm just being the overprotective one," He chuckled in response.
John watched as his date obediently followed her father into the next room, leaving him standing with one other individual.
"So, John. Where are you from?"
That beaming smile, she cast on him, was enough to make him mentally shiver. Something seemed off. Not just about Emily's mother, but her father too. He knew what a so-called "normal" family was like. They were nowhere near as perfect as these people. Even Emily's personality seemed off sometimes too. There was no questioning by her father what his intentions were with his daughter. There was no prep talk about if he were to hurt her tonight, he would make good fertilizer for their garden. If they even had one of course.
But no, this wasn't right.
"Alright, well you two better get going!"
John was thrown off by Emily's father's voice. How long had he been looking through his own thoughts? It had to be nothing, right? It was just his training coming into full effect. Don't trust anyone or anything. Now he felt like he was slowly becoming his mother.
"Don't worry, Mr. Hill. I'll have your daughter home at midnight. Don't worry." John assured her parents. Again, their smiles made him uncomfortable, but he managed to hide it with a smile and bid them farewell.
While walking across the street to the SUV, Emily giggled and wrapped her arms around John. "I'm sorry if my parents made you nervous. They have that effect on people."
"No, no, no, it's okay. I thought they were… great!"
"John." Emily sternly glared at him. "You can tell me the truth. They made you uncomfortable, huh?"
"Emily, they were fine," John reassured. "Trust me."
Emily smiled back and the two hopped in the SUV, with both taking the back seat. Luckily the California heat was immediately blasted away by the air conditioner Alex had turned on, and the local radio station that was playing today's relevant music.
"Jesus Christ, John, I was almost thinking you were being murdered by nice white people!" Alex sarcastically quipped in irritation.
In response, Emily looked through John's eyes with a hint of concern. "She's only joking," He rest assured to his beautiful date. To further prove his point, he glared at Alex through the rearview mirror, to whom had caught his glance. "Right sis?"
"Err- I mean, yeah! Just some jokes to lighten the Christmas mood!"
Again, the awkward silence filled the car and John rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How about we leave now?"
"Right!" Alex snapped. She threw the vehicle into gear and drove away from Emily's house, and set a destination for the high school dance.
•••
The music, the lights, and the crowds of people; all in one place. This was a night to remember and that is what he set out to do. Make it memorable. He wasn't gonna let anyone get in the way of that. A beautiful girl asked him to the dance and he accepted. Now he was here with her and he was honestly quite happy with himself. The fact that this was the first time he's had an actual date. Who knows, maybe after tonight, with just enough hope, he and Emily could be something?
That would surely be interesting that's for sure.
But why did he still feel empty? After everything that has occurred in these past two months, he was certain that this was probably the best day he's had in a long time. Probably since Cherie's party.
But what now? Now that he was here what was he supposed to do? Dance with Emily? Grab her some punch, or raid the snack table? As long as there were none of his mother's pancakes, he might just indulge if worse came to worst.
"Alright, you two have fun, and don't get too close you know?" Alex yelled through all the loud music that was played. "I have to make sure there isn't any groping of any kind or I get fired!"
"Okay, Alex!" John agreed.
Alex smiled in satisfaction and only frowned when she looked at the dance floor and saw two students get a little too hands-on with each other. "Hey! I see you two!"
With Alex marching off to deal with a few troublemaking teenagers, Emily smiled and dragged John onto the dance floor with her. The music was very intense. Everything from the beat to the electronic tones that busted together with the pulsating lights, almost creating a rave type feel to the whole thing.
Well despite the people thrashing and acting like animals that is.
After many dances with Emily, and probably the only time anyone would catch him red handing in attempting to dance to fast pace music, he was pooped. John walked to the punch bowl with Emily following and the two grabbed a cup as well as a small snack to fill the appetite they both created from all the movement.
John looked down at his cell phone, almost hoping to have his mother call in for an emergency or something. It was only ten minutes since he arrived so that meant at least a few more hours of dancing until he passed out from exhaustion.
"Are you having fun, John?" Emily asked with a giggle.
"Yeah. Definitely!" John nodded in agreement.
"That's good," Emily smirked with satisfaction and took a sip of her drink. John led Emily to a more secluded area of the gym and the two took a seat at a small table to rest their feet.
However, Emily was still exuberant in nature. She was alert, looking towards the dance floor as if she expected something to come from it.
"Emily, are you okay?" John asked with worry. "How about you take a seat for a while." Emily hesitantly did so, but she still had her eyes locked on to the dance floor, watching it with intent.
John somewhat relaxed for and moment and pondered what tonight was like. He was exhausted already, sure, but he was having fun. Dancing was not his favorite activity, he just enjoyed being with someone who made him feel normal.
"John, Hey!"
Well, his moment of relaxation was over that's for sure. But who was walking towards him, he was quite dumbfounded to see. "Morris?"
"Hey man! How are you doing?" Morris exclaimed in delighted. He stopped upon noticing Emily sitting close to John and froze. "Who is this?"
"I'm doing good, and this is Emily," John answered.
"Nice to meet you, Emily, I'm Morris," He introduced himself.
"I'm well aware of that," Emily responded simply and sat back in her chair.
The two exchanged handshakes and high-fives before too taking a seat with him and Emily. "What about you?" John then decided on asking. "After Cherie's party, I thought you they put you in juvie?"
"I was, but I'm out now. Guess there isn't too much they can do to you for being too drunk," Morris said in a chuckle. "What about you?" He then asked John directly. "What have you been up to?"
"The same thing, pretty much."
"Is your cousin here by any chance?" Morris asked curiously. "We never got to speak much after the party."
What was he supposed to say to that? She was dead. There was no way she was coming back unless he somehow managed to program that chip to act like a quirky, sadistic eighteen-year-old girl. "She… moved back to Canada."
"Canada?" Morris inquired with confusion. "Why?"
"She felt homesick, so going back there was what she wanted." Morris sadly accepted the answer and changed the subject. He felt bad about lying to Morris, but what else could he say? She was dead, killed months ago by one of Sarkissian's crazy henchmen. This way was better than telling him the truth. There was less pain thinking that someone you cared about only moved away and wasn't lying six feet under currently.
The music was just in the moment of changing when suddenly, the gym doors opened, and two people walked in, both looking amazing. John stopped in place and stared at who one of them was.
Cameron?
The way her hair cascaded over her shoulders, and the makeup that exaggerated her already perfect facial features. The dress was perfect. The black hue complemented her beautiful, yet curvy figure. She was perfect in every way. Flawless as a painting.
Seeing how lost John seemed to be like he was in some sort of trance, she lightly poked him, trying to get his attention. When that failed, her eyes followed his and he saw who exactly he was staring at.
John, Morris, and Emily all looked on in awe. But who accompanied her made them all gag. Drake Huntington who had his arms wrapped around her, treating her like a toy he'd rather keep all to himself.
Emily leaned towards John and began to whisper. "Your sister looks-"
"Hot!" Morris immediately interrupted. Both Emily and John stared at Morris with intent.
"Morris, what the hell?" John spat at his friend with disgust.
"Sorry man," Morris said timidly. "It's just that your sister looks amazing! Don't you think?"
"Will you please leave!?"
Morris was shocked at Emily's sudden outburst. John even more so. Never was she the one who told someone to get lost. At least for as long as he knew her, she wasn't the type to lash out as she did to him. As Morris got up and left in defeat, John looked at Emily with concern and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Of course!" Emily exclaimed. She took one last glance at Cameron and Drake, who had taken to the dance floor, and back at John. She could still see his glance faltering and diverting towards the dance floor where she predicted.
An idea suddenly popped into her mind as a slow dance began to play overhead. Emily stood up and dragged John onto his feet and led him to the floor where she immediately wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself very intimately against his body.
The sudden closeness caught him off guard. He won't lie, it felt nice but at the same time, it didn't feel right. He had no other choice but to hold her close as they slowly found a rhythm to the music and their bodies. They swayed back and forth, with a smile creeping up on Emily's face.
But John's eyes still darted behind him where he saw Cameron repeating the same actions with Drake.
Feeling him tense up, Emily looked up at John and the two stopped. Although he didn't see it, she noticed him still staring at Cameron and Drake. "You know what, let's go get a drink."
John agreed. He and Emily made their way to the snack table where she filled a nearby glass cup with fruit punch and handed him the glass. He lightly took sips while still staring at the two in the moment of the slow dance.
"John are you worried about Cameron?" Emily asked with concern.
Taken aback at her sudden statement, John scrambled for an answer. "I… I don't trust him."
"I understand," Emily nodded in agreement. "He's one of the guys who harassed me on my first day, so I understand your reasoning."
The two silently continued watching Drake and Cameron dance. All the way into the second song, the two kept the same motions. Drake occasionally tried to talk but like always, Cameron didn't say much. As the dance continued John glared daggers at Drake which he was oblivious of. Suddenly he saw Drake's hand, which was resting on Cameron's waist, slowly creeping up towards her bare back and rested on her flawless skin.
At that moment John couldn't hold himself back any longer. Something inside him snapped and the cup in his hand shattered under his tight grip. John was surprised himself and looked down at his hand and what he did. Emily was surprised too at the sudden sound of glass breaking. Then she saw the cut on John's hand and it beginning to bleed intensively. She was about to go and take a look to show him her concern, but someone had already beaten her to him.
Cameron was already there with John's hand in hers and examining the cut carefully.
John, on the other hand, couldn't help himself but stare at the gorgeous brunette who was standing very close to him. So close that he could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She also smelt wonderful because of the perfume she used, not that she didn't without the perfumes. John looked at her carefully, the worry and concern in her eyes, they seemed…..genuine. Not something a machine should be capable of….
"John, what happened? The cut looks deep." Cameron said with obvious worry in her voice which didn't go unnoticed by Emily. "We need to clean the wound."
"I…. I am alright. It's just a cut. Nothing major. You don't have to worry." John said softly still looking into her brown eyes.
Cameron slowly let his hand go. John felt…. Disappointed? She stepped back and looked towards Emily and then back at John. "I will always worry about you." She softly said.
John was about to say something but at that moment Drake cut in. "Hey, Cameron. Come on! Let's dance." He grabbed her by her hand and dragged her away. But not without giving John one last glance full of worry.
Emily came near John and rested her hand on his shoulder. "John. Are you alright?" She asked.
No response.
"John?" She asked again.
No response again.
"John let's go and get your other sister. She can probably treat your hand." She mentioned with obvious irritation in her voice, noticing where her date was staring or more specifically at whom he was staring at.
But he still gave no response. It didn't look like he even heard her. She noticed how his jaw was clenched tightly obviously in anger and something else which she couldn't figure out.
"John!" This time she lightly pushed him to get his attention and it worked.
"Oh! I…. I am sorry." John apologized. "I kind of zoned out."
"Yeah, you're telling me!" Emily responded with hostility.
Again, he was shocked by her sudden bitterness. "Emily? Are you alright?" He asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
Emily brushed off his hand and stood up. "I'm fine," was what she said before marching away, and towards the restrooms.
John chased her through the dance crowd and successfully stopped her before she reached the restrooms. "Emily, what is wrong with you?"
Emily seemed to take offense at this accusation and looked at John with a hint of anger. "What is wrong with me?! What is wrong with you?! You're practically ogling your sister! You didn't even react to me like that!"
Well, it couldn't have sounded much weirder coming from someone else's mouth. But she had a point.
With John at a loss for words, she took that as his answer and disappeared into the women's restrooms. That left John standing there like a complete idiot. She saw him staring at Cameron. His "fake sister" whom he probably shouldn't be looking at in that way anyway. The girl who was secretly a machine in disguise.
This was going to be a bitch to explain to her. As far as Emily knew, she was his sister. Him staring at Cameron in the manner she indicated towards definitely set off red flags everywhere. Now, who knew what she was thinking.
John Baum was a creep who stared at his sister with longing for lust or some other bullshit. Now he felt pretty damn pathetic. He needed to talk to Emily. Leaving her be wasn't the best idea right now. Especially with the mistakes that were just made.
John sent a last glare towards Drake who was trying to flirt with Cameron and went out. He just couldn't stay there. Seeing her dancing with him made him realize one thing. He was jealous. But why? Why was he jealous about Cameron dancing with someone else?
Oh! You know why Connor. You like her, He told himself.
Him. Like her? Wait! What?!
Why not? He told himself again. Does it even matter that she is not human? Did he ever see her as just a machine? The answer was 'No'. He never did. He always looked at her as a person.
A few events came to his mind while battling with his thoughts. When his whole family was about to burn Cameron, only he was there beside her, although he knew that it was very likely that she could have killed him at any moment. He was prepared to sacrifice himself to save her and even went against his own mother, Alex, and his uncle. He didn't understand why he did it then, but now maybe he understood….. Perhaps.
Then he remembered the event of Cameron suffering the glitch. What Alex had said to him a few days after they rescued Cameron:
"I know you're in love with Cameron, John."
He denied it back then. He was not even honest with himself then. But he is now. Now he knew that what Alex said was true. He does love Cameron. Not as his sister or a friend but something more, something more personal, intimate.
•••
A few minutes slowly went by, and the dance continued on as usual. Drake led her into another slow dance which she accepted. As the dance went on Drake's hand on her body slowly started to move near intimate areas over her body. She could tell what he wanted but he will never get it. And besides, she is not interested in him. She wanted to break his hands but she couldn't because of John's sake. A petite girl breaking a large boys hand will attract attention as Sarah said.
She only agreed to attend this event with Drake after she agreed to help him with his grade in Geometry. He was meant to be a learning opportunity so that she may blend in more efficiently. John always berated her on how she had terrible social skills. At least this way she could further spread her knowledge of how teenagers worked.
But she was getting extremely uncomfortable with how his hand was roaming over her body. No one was allowed to touch her that way…. Except for John. Speaking of John, she could not see him anywhere near the dance floor. Even his date, Emily, seemed to be absent. Did she take him somewhere else? Is he alright? She had to be sure that he was safe.
Suddenly she stopped dancing and extracted herself away from Drake's arms.
"Cameron?" Drake inquired with confusion. "What's wrong?"
"I need to find my brother. I don't see him," Cameron said looking around.
Drake chuckled in response and pulled her closer. "Come on, Cameron. John is a big boy, he can take care of himself. Besides, he is probably having some fun with that Emily girl."
Cameron felt something akin to anger after hearing Drake's words. Maybe what he said was true. But still, she needs to find John and make sure that he was alright.
Cameron forcibly pried off Drake's hold on her, with his hands slightly giving away and the pain shooting upwards. "You don't know anything," She spat and sent a glare towards him before marching away.
She searched everywhere. Every nook and cranny of the high school gym and John was nowhere to be found. This worried her greatly. He would never just disappear. Would he? Maybe he did go with Emily somewhere. Hormonal teenage boys were known to be more eager when a beautiful, fertile female teenager was to tempt them.
She desperately hoped that was not the case with John.
Cameron even went as far as to search the women's restroom, thinking that John may have ended up in there for some unknown reason.
When she opened the door, she found only one individual to be present.
Emily.
What had Cameron curious was the fact that she was desperately touching her own eye. She took a closer look but not before Emily noticed Cameron and stepped away. "What are you doing?" She asked with irritation.
"I'm looking for John," Cameron answered, still staring at her with curiosity.
Making sure to keep her gaze away from Cameron, Emily answered. "Yeah well, what makes you think he's in here? Your horny brother is probably somewhere else trying to spy on you when he has the chance."
Cameron didn't say anything. She instead turned on her literal heels and exited the restroom.
She must have spent the entire night looking for him. That's what it felt like at least. She searched every square inch of the gym and found zero trace of John. She was worried. Maybe he ran off? Maybe a terminator found him and killed him in an alleyway somewhere near here?
That mere thought made her shiver. Thinking of John as nothing more than a lifeless corpse stirred up an overwhelming feeling in her CPU. Never would she want to see him like that.
No. John was not dead. He was alive and she won't stop until she finds him and make sure that he is safe. She could've called Alex for help, but she really doesn't trust anyone when it comes to John's safety, not even Alex. No one can protect him the way she can. She doesn't just want him to be safe, she also wants him to be happy, to have some enjoyment in his life. Well, as happy one can get being John Connor.
After a while, her search led outside. At first, it was still dark, so she switched between multiple ranges of vision that allowed her to see her surroundings more clearly. At first, she had no luck at finding John at first. But she kept searching without any qualms of giving up. Luckily, she eventually found John sitting on a bench, under a lamp post.
At first, she kept her distance, silently studying him. His facial features appeared grim and full of sorrow. The tears that ran down his cheek were still visible.
John was heartbroken. Every attempt he had made to repair his relationship with Cameron had miserably failed. He pushed her away at first and now she is doing the same. If she were capable of feeling like how he did, then he knew how it must've felt to her. Every moment that he was ignoring her, berating her for every little thing.
He had hurt her. Not by bullets, or explosives, but with pure stupidity and emotion. She, in turn, had retaliated and did the same. He deserved it, every single moment of it.
"John?"
His thoughts were torn away upon hearing that voice. Almost as if he had assumed that his mind was just playing tricks on him. But that wasn't the case when he glanced in the direction from where those soft, full of concern, words came from. He attempted to suppress a sniffle and succeeded to no avail.
"What?" He inquired in a hoarse tone of voice.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
In a reserved fashion, John gazed away from her, His voice still breaking when he spoke. "I'm fine."
He couldn't just stare at her. First it was rude, and secondly, it hurt too much, as old memories came rushing into his mind.
How could he hurt someone who was so innocent, so kind and beautiful as her?
Cameron joined him on the bench and sat close. She made sure to keep her hands away from him as she felt that he was in no mood for any kind of physical comfort. She and he found themselves staring out into the night sky, seeing the stars gleaming brightly.
"I'm sorry," Cameron softly told John.
"For what?" John asked surprised and confused at her sudden apology.
"For everything that has happened in the past two months. I have tried to kill you and I…" She looked at the still visible bruise that ran across John's face. "...I harmed you."
"If I'm being honest, I deserved it," John said pathetically. "And it wasn't you who tried to kill me. It was Skynet. You would never kill me. I know that."
Cameron smiled slightly after hearing his reply. She felt good? But her smile was gone immediately being replaced by worry and concern. "But John, why are you crying? Did you fight with Emily?" Cameron asked carefully because she wasn't that he wanted to talk about it.
"No," John sadly sighed.
She was confused now. Why was he crying then? "Then why are you sitting here all alone?"
"Because after coming to this stupid dance, I realized something. All my life I was trained by mom to survive, to run, because the machines kept on coming after me. I was tired of my shit life. I wanted a life, friends, some fun for once in my life. But I knew it was impossible for me. I even accepted it. Yet it was hard. I craved comfort, I wanted someone by my side. So, there was Emily to possibly fill that role. I thought that maybe she was the one." John stopped for a moment because his throat felt dry. "I was a fool to believe that she would understand me. I was stupid and never realized that what I was looking for was right in front of me." John finished.
"I don't understand?" Cameron inquired.
"Cam…. Don't you see? I went against my family, even my own mother for you. Derek told me that I chose you over my family. He was right, partially. I did choose you over them, but you are family too. I…. even shot Alex when she tried to take your chip by putting you into that bathtub," John explained.
"But why?" Cameron asked.
None of them realized that their faces were getting closer.
"Because I cannot do this without you. I need you. You are my only friend. You make my life a bit easier by just being here," John said softly looking into the depth of her brown eyes.
"Just a friend, John Connor?" Cameron whispered, their noses were almost touching.
"Not just a friend." Before both of them even realized it, their lips came crashing into each others. John's hands pulled her body flush against his and held her possessively. After a minute John pulled back reluctantly to take a breather. Cameron wanted to maintain the contact but John's arms went around her waist and he buried his face into the crook of her neck.
"I love you," John whispered into her neck. "I love you, Cam."
Cameron just held him as she felt his tears on her bare skin. She too felt moisture, but it came from her cheeks. She touched them and found herself to be crying too? She held John tightly, making sure not to break his spine, and tears flowed freely from both their eyes.
"I love you too, John," She whispered. "I always have."
Downtown Los Angeles: Zeira Corporation
The city was beautiful. But why? Was it the lights, the skyline that drew in your attention. She was used to this view, and yet it intrigued her. There was always something to see through the thin layer of glass. There was always a new story to be told by those who lived beyond it.
It was probably the anticipation that had her on edge. Any moment she expected Mr. Murch to be calling her down to the basement so that she may check on her little pet project. Her original plan was on halt for a while after something was found in that chip. A message was displayed and she wondered who had sent it. Plans did change, but not for long. After what is found, then it was time to use that to continue her mission.
*Knock, knock, knock, knock*
Weaver turned to look at the doorway and bleakly smirked. "Hello, Mr. Ellison. What brings you here?"
"Uhh, Ms. Weaver. May I speak with you for a moment?" Ellison asked in anticipation.
"You may." Weaver acknowledged and indicated at a seat. She too sat down and the two stared at each other for a short moment before Ellison placed down a packet on the desk. "What is this?"
"All those machine sightings that I could find." Ellison eagerly explained. "Everything from 1983 to just last week."
"Oh. " Weaver mused and shuffled through each document encasing every machine related news post or conspiracy out there. "Teenage girl hit by a family car."
"That one is most likely a case involving Sarah Connor's robots." Ellison chuckled. "There is also the Arnold Jackson case, and the beach one where the only thing that I could find was a piece of torn cloth. Not exactly sure what that can do for us."
"All of this is useless."
Ellison's smile turned to a frown and he looked at the blank staring woman in confusion. "What?"
"Everything here, we know already, James. Do you have an exact location on Sarah Connor or not?"
"Actually, I may have an idea," Ellison answered unsurely.
Weaver sat back in her seat and listened intently to Ellison. "Let me hear it then."
"After I checked the beach, I questioned a few individuals. Most of them mentioned a black Dodge Ram arriving and leaving the scene at both the pier and the clothing store. Whom they possibly described as a kid named Connor who is most likely John Connor was who left in the truck."
"Do you know where this truck is?" Weaver inquired curiously. Ellison nodded in response and continued.
"The vehicle hit a few obstacles when it left both scenes. I'm no expert but if my time in the FBI has taught me anything, it's that I know how to track down someone.
A few days ago, the truck was spotted at a high school. I checked into it and found a John Baum and Cameron Baum is attending that school. I eventually narrowed the trucks sightings down to a twelve-mile radius and I may have found where it is stashed."
"You found where John Connor lives?" Weaver asked in astonishment. Again, Ellison nodded and continued his explanation once more.
"I don't know for sure. I have been afraid to get to close because of his machines possibly guarding the property."
"How long have you known of this?" Weaver then asked.
"A few days," Ellison answered.
Weaver smirked slightly and stood. "Good. Give me the location so that I may speak with them myself."
Ellison was surprised to hear Ms. Weaver's eagerness to meet Sarah and John Connor. He wondered why she was content with them all of a sudden. "Ms. Weaver. I don't know about that. I followed Sarah Connor's case for a long time. She is a skittish one and will run if she so much as catches a whiff of you."
"I am very careful, James," Weaver said with boldness. "Now tell me. Where is she?"
He wasn't sure about suddenly revealing Sarah Connor's location to Catherine at all yet. Her intentions seemed fine, but what if she just had plans to rat her out on the authorities? There was no telling what she would do when he told her. Sarah wasn't crazy like he originally assumed. She was right all along. He started to believe her the day he found that hand on the side of the road. When his partner was brutally murdered by one of these things right in front of him.
"Okay, fine," Ellison sighed heavily. "She's-"
"Ms. Weaver!"
Both James Ellison and Catherine Weaver were interrupted from their conversation when Mr. Murch came running into her office, with a horrified look on his face.
"Yes, Mr. Murch?" Weaver asked calmly. "I and Mr. Ellison are having an important conversation. Can't it wait?"
"The chip is talking!" Murch blurted out.
Weaver was shocked while Ellison was insanely confused. "Chip? What chip?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ellison, this is a private matter which is none of your concern," Weaver acknowledged the man. She stood up and made her way to the doorway, where Mr. Murch led her to the elevator. Ellison too followed but was stopped by Weaver. "Take the rest of the night off, James."
Weaver pressed the basement floor button and waited as the doors closed. However, Ellison stopped the doors from closing with his foot. "Not until you tell me what is going on!" Ellison hissed in anger.
"As I said. This is none of your concern," Weave deadpanned. "Now step away, James."
"Okay fine," Ellison sighed and let his foot from the elevator door. "I guess you don't want to know Sarah Connor's location."
Weaver's attention was immediately caught. She stopped the door from closing herself and glared at Ellison. "Are you blackmailing me?"
"I work here, Catherine. I think I deserve to know what is going on."
Weaver glanced at Mr. Murch, who was still ancy, and then back at Ellison once more. "Fine. Come then."
Ellison stepped foot inside the elevator and the three rode it down, all the way to the basement floor. Every possible outcome ran through the former agent's mind. Was there something extremely illegal going on beneath his nose? Was he walking into something completely insane, something that would warp the view he had on his boss?
Maybe he would never return from the basement? It was a stupid idea to think, but maybe she was going to murder him and chop him into tiny bits? Maybe the crazy cases he took in his long career as an agent had cooked up that ludicrous recipe in his mind.
Finally, the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened. The hall was dim, and the corridor was long. He followed Weaver and Mr. Murch down the hall until they made a right and up to a huge metal door. Murch typed in a passcode on the small panel next to the door before opening into another room that was almost as cold as his freezer at home.
What is this place? Ellison thought. The gigantic video monitors that covered each wall, the glass room that housed many computer servers racks. It was all so amazing, but so… strange.
"What is this place?" Ellison asked.
"It's where project Babylon was to be created," she answered simply.
"Babylon?" Ellison inquired. "What is that supposed to be?"
"A few months ago, I purchased a chess computer called the Turk. It's a highly advanced artificial intelligence for its kind, so I sought to use the tech to make it better."
"You're creating the very thing that ends the world and creates these killing machines?" Ellison stated both horrified and shocked.
Weaver shook her head and continued to explain. "No. This is designed to fight it. Fighting fire with fire essentially."
"I'm lost," Ellison huffed in defeat. "How do you even know you're not creating it without the knowledge it could probably become just that?"
"Miss Weaver we must…." Mr. Murch interrupted.
"Hold on, Mr. Murch," Weaver said to the man and focused her attention back to Ellison. "James, I planned on telling you this later, when work has… progressed farther into its development. But right now, we have hit a speed bump."
"Speed bump?" Ellison asked.
"I had a chip. One of... Unknown origin, let's just say. It's these machine's brain essentially. We hoped to use it to speed up progress but we found something. Someone still active in it."
Catherine finished talking and finally gazed at Mr. Murch. "Will you show me what is happening?" She asked kindly.
He simply nodded and started rapidly typing on the computer console. When he was finished, all that appeared on the monitors was a blue hue, and a loud scream, followed by strange, inaudible mumblings. Everyone, including Weaver, looked around them in shock at what they were hearing. Ellison himself was sure that a banshee was present on this terminator chip of Weaver's.
A voice was suddenly around the room, a female voice, full of concern.
"John? You there? John! Please talk to me!"
"What the hell?" Ellison was beyond speechless.
"Mr. Murch, can we speak with it?" Weaver asked the man. He nodded in response and scrambled for a microphone and placed it on the table. Catherine was the first to ask the mysterious entity a question.
"Who is John?"
"John Connor!" The voice replied with loud. Uncontrollable anger. "Where is he?!" it then asked with frantic worry.
"Why are you looking for John Connor? What is your intention? Do you want to kill him?" Weaver asked calmly.
"Kill him?" The entity mused. "No."
"Wait, hold on a second," Ellison halted Weaver from continuing to press the entity with questions. "Do you have a name?"
"Yes," It answered timidly.
"Do you mind telling us what your name is?" The mysterious entity seemed to stop talking out of fear. Ellison sought a different approach to this. "My name is James Ellison. Now it's your turn. "
"Where's John!?"
"Please tell us your name! Then maybe we can help you find him." Ellison told the entity. Luckily it seemed to somewhat calm down and spoke again.
"My model name is TOK-715. Cameron is my given name."
That name surely sounded oddly familiar. "Okay, Cameron. Why are you here?"
"I don't understand the question!" Cameron spat with anger. The entire room monitors flashed red before turning back normal. What he said angered Cameron.
"Why are you looking for him?" Ellison asked.
"I am supposed to protect him. He's my mission."
"John already has a machine protecting him. He's safe as far as I know," Ellison told Cameron. He half expected her to be calm, but that proved false when the screens in the room turned red again.
"Who is protecting him!? Who!?"
"Some other machine. One with blue eyes and blackish hair I think."
The entire room remained red and Cameron screamed with a mixture of anger, sorrow and agony. The glass that protected the equipment shattered due to the loud, deafening scream, and Mr. Murch, along with Ellison had to cover their ears.
"Who is she!?" Cameron demanded loudly.
"Alex is pretty unique if you ask me."
Catherine Weaver, James Ellison, and Mr. Murch looked behind them only to find a certain individual standing in the doorway, with an evil smile on her face.
"Ms. Azadian," Weaver stated with disgust.
"It's good to see you again, Catherine," Keran chuckled. "I didn't think we'd be speaking again this soon."
"Who are you?" Ellison demanded the woman.
Keran only glared at Ellison and studied him from head to toe. "You're quite the man, James Ellison. I've heard so much about you."
"Me?" Ellison inquired with him slightly blushing. She had a charm about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he had a strange feeling in his gut about this woman. One that churned and didn't allow him to fall for her looks.
"I always liked you, James. How about you leave before it gets real nasty in here," Keran strongly recommended.
Ellison stood his ground and stepped towards Keran. "And what if I say no?"
Keran drew a gun from her jacket and aimed at the former agent's forehead, making sure to pull the hammer back to further empathize her point. "Or I get to play with your brains like playdough, silly."
Weaver placed her hand on Ellison's shoulders and pulled him back from Keran's line of fire. "James. Take the rest of the night off. I'll call you tomorrow morning," she said sadly. She also looked behind her and motioned for Mr. Murch to leave as well. They both reluctantly accepted and left the room immediately.
That left Keran and Weaver alone in the same room with Cameron.
Keran put away her gun and she freely walked around the room, looking at all the video monitors. "My, my, my, plans have changed, Catherine. I was hoping to have this conversation in a few months, not a few days."
"What do you want?" Weaver demanded.
"I'll let my employer tell you himself." Keran pulled out a radio and spoke into it. A few minutes later, over a dozen armed soldiers came rushing in, followed by a man dressed neatly in a tan business suit.
"Hello Catherine Weaver," the man said. "My name is Adam White. I am a fan."
"A fan of what?" Weaver asked.
"Many things," Mr. White simply said. "Your knowledge, your skills. What you are."
"What are you doing here?" Weaver asked blankly.
"Last month, a man by the name of Sarkissian sold you a chess computer called the Turk. I'm sure you're well aware of that."
Weaver gritted her teeth in response. "I am."
"Good," Mr. White mused in satisfaction. "And I assume you used it to create your own artificial intelligence, right?"
"Things have come up," Weaver explained. "We've used the Turk's resources for another project."
"You what?" Mr. White inquired with a hint of anger in his voice. "You what!?" He repeated, this time, a little louder.
In response, Weaver's arm turned into a silvery mass and the tip of her hand turned into a sharp blade. It didn't seem to faze Mr. White, however. He only laughed and turned away from Weaver.
"It's good to see that you still have that fire in you, Catherine."
"You speak to me like we've met before," Weaver pointed out with confusion.
"It would just confuse you even more if I tried to explain it," Mr. White settled for saying. With a simple nod, every man aimed their weapons at Catherine.
"If you know what I am, then surely you know that won't work."
"I know." Mr. White chuckled. "That's why you're gonna try to kill me and everyone in this room."
Weaver didn't answer. The way this man spoke. The way he carried himself. It was almost as if he knew what was gonna happen in the next few minutes. Like he knew she was gonna kill him and all of his men to be rid of their games. She wasn't going to take this ridicule. She wasn't going to let this man get into her head. She was a killer. A good one at that. A machine that was beyond difficult to terminate. Weaver immediately ran up to Mr. White and slashed at his back.
But before she could even process another thought, she found herself pinned against the wall, and Mr. White holding her by the neck.
"I was honestly expecting you to save me for last."
She wasn't sure what to think. How in one moment she was about to terminate this man, and in the next, she had been overpowered.
"Who are you?" Weaver asked loudly.
"I'm not to be trifled with, Catherine. You made a big mistake in attacking me. Now you better have something that is worth my time or I may just pay a little visit to Savannah."
I have nothing!" Weaver hissed.
"What is going on?" Cameron frantically asked over the video monitor.
Mr. White looked around the room in amazement. A smile crept on his face and he released his grip on Weaver's throat. She fell to the ground and looked up at the man with hatred. He then turned to his men and spoke. "Set the charges along every support beam in this structure. I want this place to be rubble by the time I leave here today."
Weaver watched in horror as every man had left the room, while some stayed and began setting C4 charges along the walls. "What are you doing?"
"I told you. Give me something worthwhile and you lied to me. Now I'm gonna have Keran talk to Savannah. Maybe then you will straighten out, Catherine."
In a fit of rage, Weaver bolted onto her feet once more and lashed out at the man. She slashed and diced as much as she could until she found herself flying into another wall. She attempted to stand up again but found that she couldn't move. She looked at her chest and found a needle protruding.
"You didn't think Skynet would just create something like you without having a solution to stop you, did you?" Mr. White snickered.
"What… what did you do… to me?"
He knelt down next to Weaver and pulled out the needle. "I injected you with nanites that are attacking your own. You won't be able to move for quite a while, I'm afraid."
Mr. White glanced over at Keran and motioned his head at the computer server rack. "Take everything we can use."
"Yes sir," Keran obediently complied and started to unplug the wires from the Turk, and took the chip from its port. She handed the piece of tech to one of the men who placed it in a bag.
Keran herself gave the chip to her employer whom had taken it and examined it with great interest. "I may have some use for this after all."
"Sir, we are clear to leave the premises now," one of the soldiers mentioned. Mr. White acknowledged his soldier's suggestion and took one last glance at Weaver before standing up and heading to the doorway.
"I'm sorry, Catherine, but Savannah will have to suffer out of your own sheer stupidity. Goodbye."
All Weaver could do was watch as everyone left the building with all the equipment in their possession. She couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. It felt impossible.
Meanwhile outside, every car was loaded up, and they drove away from Zeira Corp. All that could be seen from the busy streets, was the tall standing structure burst into flames and eventually collapse on itself. The screams and the voices of panic and fear filled downtown Los Angeles as fire and smoke were all that could be seen.
•••
Author's Note: I hope this was a good chapter! I thought it was certainly interesting that's for sure. Now that we have full Jameron, let's see where that takes us!
I apologize for the lack of updates last month. There has been a lot of things I have been going through so I took a small break from writing so that I could sort things out.
Next Chapter we will have to see where this journey leads our characters. The new challenges they may face now that it's not just a simple machine that is their main threat.
Reviews and constructive criticism is gladly appreciated and I look forward to your thoughts on events in this chapter!