Chapter Five: On the road

Summary

John and the others begin their mission, Catherine reevaluates her priorities, James and Savannah head to the Cabin, John Henry and Cameron infiltrate Skynet Central.


Waking up was something most people dreaded. Whether it be getting ready for school at seven 'o' clock in the morning, or waking up at four 'o' clock to start your shift at the local supermarket. But for John Connor, he had considered it normal to wake up two 'o' clock in the morning. Though his head still hurt from hitting the top bunk above him...

He, Derek, Kyle, and Allison had been packing for the trip to John's "bunker". John had been trying all morning to not face either of his comrades all night. Luckily his puffy eyes that formed from his lack of sleep was aiding him in that endeavor. As he pondered over any last-minute ideas to get himself out of the mess he had made, he jumped at the sudden thud behind him.

He yelped and quickly turned around on his guard. What he saw was Howard loading the rest of the equipment into the truck and eyeing him strangely. "Shit, my bad kid. Didn't mean to scare you." he said as he slammed the closed cab on the back of the trunk. John took a deep breath and broke out into a small and humorous smile. "It's okay. So Allison ask for your help?" he asked.

Howard nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually coming with you too. You guys might need an Operator and I'm your guy. I've already cleared it with Perry." Howard explained.

John felt his throat swell up and fall down into his chest. "Oh great, like we don't have enough people who can keep an eye on me..." he thought. "Oh, uh... that's great!" John choked out. Luckily Howard didn't pick up on his reluctance and continued to load weapons and backpacks into the truck. John looked over the magnificent piece of garbage he was going to trek this hostile Wasteland in. It was a 2008 Ford Ranger with a rusty M2 Browning mounted in the cab - serving as their only means of protection. He had no idea what Perry was thinking when he assigned such a small truck for a task such as this. This thing probably wouldn't last against a T-800, much less anything specifically designed to destroy small vehicles, especially in the condition this one was in.

The door to the garage swung open, and in strolled Derek, Kyle, and Allison. Allison seemed to doll herself up a bit more than usual, her hair was rather clean by apocalypse standards, and she had silver rings in both ears. Derek looked like he usually did, brooding, but still good-looking, while Kyle looked like he was trying to hide his fear, failing miserably. Definitely not the determined and brave-looking warrior his mother described. John looked over his squad, a flirty teenager, a trigger-happy jarhead, an inexperienced younger jarhead, and the NOT leader of mankind...the most badass and invincible team of misfits the wasteland has ever seen...

John sighed. "Yup... cower in fear Skynet."

"You ready, John?" Allison asked with that unbearably adorable smile she had.

John slowly nodded with his head dropped down. His attention was brought forward when a large man walked inside the garage. "Don't look so down Connor. It's just a little supply run; not like I'm dropping you into a combat zone with a Glock." he quietly snapped as he stopped just in the light.

John saw the face of General Perry staring straight down at him. His large frame barely coming an inch under the door frame of the garage. He turned around to face his soldiers. "Alright, everybody. You get down to L.A. grab whatever is in that bunker, and bring it back here. On the way there you will find Refit-base Glen, the commander there will resupply you and give you the proper vehicle to tow all that stuff back. I want you back here by 0300 this afternoon. We clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Everybody responded. Without even facing John again, Perry signaled for Derek to follow him outside of the garage. Being met with a confused look from Kyle, Derek simply shrugged indicating he had no idea what was going on. Allison walked over to John and stood closer than necessary. "What do you think Perry wants to talk to Derek about, John?" she asked him.

John looked at her and shrugged. "No idea."


"Do you know why I pulled you out here, Reese?" Perry asked. He watched in amusement as Derek snuck a quiet glance at John. "I think I have a good idea sir." he replied.

General Perry stood tall and proud over his Lieutenant. "Good. I want you to keep an eye on Connor. I don't know what to make of him, and if he proves himself to be trustworthy then we'll take him in." Perry explained. He saw Derek's hint of disagreement flash quickly over his battle-worn face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. Sensing Perry was not finished, Derek returned to attention. "And if Connor does anything even remotely out of line, sneaks away, tries to kill someone... you know what to do." The General finished.

General Perry saw no hint of hesitation in Derek's expression as he nodded; he was probably looking forward to getting rid of the boy as soon as possible if he could guess...

"Understood, sir. I'll make sure he does what he's told." Derek said.


John felt something nudge his arm, and he looked to his right to see Allison looking at the quiet meeting between Perry and Derek. "This probably comes as common sense, but I would stay away from Derek if I were you. Whatever they're talking about, I guarantee it's about you." Allison said.

John cocked his eyebrows. "Yeah, no shit. Definitely no secret Derek has it out for me." John agreed. "Is there anything I can do to get on his good side?" he asked.

Allison chuckled. "Well, you could start with sitting in the back seat... with me." she said.

John didn't know what power he summoned to keep his jaw from dropping as Allison slowly walked away from him and jumped in the backseat of the truck. She had just hit on him... and he just stood there like a tree stump. When Derek finally returned from his talk with Perry, he was already walking to the driver's side of the vehicle.

Howard shook his head. "Shit. Who pissed in his cereal?" he joked quietly. John shrugged, "Nuclear Apocalypse does that to a guy. So I think I understand if he's a little grumpy." John retorted. Howard rolled his eyes and jumped on the back of the truck and mounted the machine gun-and John sat next to Allison in the backseat. Neither Derek or Kyle said anything to anyone in the truck as Derek started the truck. "We all ready to go?" he asked as he adjusted the mirror in the front seat.

"Yup. Let's get this over with." his brother answered.


Three days, three days Catherine Weaver had been walking. Avoiding Terminators and humans alike. She had gone the direction the bandit had pointed, but her journey granted her no opinions of success. How much farther did she have to walk just to find John Henry? Now, as she stood in the middle the blasted wasteland, burnt and looted buildings lining the Horizon, she found herself unable to move any farther in the indicated direction.

Sensing danger ahead, she scanned the city that filled her vision... everything pointed to it being deserted; though it was bound to be occupied by Bandits or patrolling Terminators. She didn't even put one foot in front of the other before the outline of light caught her attention as it pointed upward. It didn't take long for many other lights to join it, lighting up the space between the city and the sky with a haunting glow.

Catherine Weaver realized she entered the perimeter of Skynet Central. Any flesh and blood that continued would be vaporized under ten minutes.

Weaver began wondering why there were no Terminators around. Surely Skynet would program machines to guard it's most precious asset? Weaver marched towards the city; wondering if maybe John Henry was seeking out information about Skynet? But she stopped in her tracks as another thought struck her mind...John.

The future general seemed very upset that the cyborg "Cameron" was gone from him. He abandoned his destiny, his future, humanity's future, and humanity's destiny to jump with Weaver to find his friend. Weaver ran an internal analysis of the possibility of John's status...

JOHN CONNOR'S SURVIVAL CHANCE ALONE: 13%

JOHN CONNOR'S SURVIVAL CHANCE WITH RESISTANCE OPERATIVES: 56%

JOHN CONNOR'S SURVIVAL CHANCE WITH CAMERON PHILLIPS: Data not available

JOHN CONNOR'S SURVIVAL CHANCE WITH CATHERINE WEAVER: 88%

SCAN COMPLETE. RESULTS STANDING BY FOR CONCLUSION.

If Weaver was human, she probably would have breathed a sigh of relief. At least John would most likely survive with most of the associates listed. Last time she saw him he was in the company of the Resistance. But the more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion that John may stop at nothing to find Cameron, and she figured the chances of the Resistance willingly aiding him in his search to be rather slim, he'd probably have to go it alone if he was really that adamant about finding his Cyborg... she ran another scan...

JOHN CONNOR'S SURVIVAL CHANCE AFTER INITIATING SEARCH OF CAMERON PHILLPS: 6%

Weaver instantly regretted leaving John alone..."Damn kid." she said out loud to no one in particular. If he was as stubborn as she had heard, then he won't be alive for long. At least not alone and searching for someone recklessly. She realized then and there that she had made a critical error in judgment. John Henry might have to wait, she figured he could at least handle himself, assuming he followed Cameron's advice. She hadn't been looking for him long, but she was still far out into the Wasteland, far enough to try and find her way back; but it was still far enough into Skynet territory that she would have to tread carefully...


2009

"Savannah, please keep your head down. I can't let the police see you." Ellison told the troubled girl in the passenger seat of his SUV. The two were stuck in the middle of traffic due to all the activity around Zeira Corporation. Fire trucks, police units, and even FBI operatives lined the streets and highways surrounding the building. Savannah looked up toward her companion, her eyes were bloodshot from crying earlier. She didn't say a word, she simply sulked in her seat as she was told.

Ellison felt terrible, he didn't mean to make the child terrified. But he couldn't tell her the situation without Sarah's approval. All he could do was sit there until the car in front of him inched further up the highway. All the while trying to avoid any Kaliba allies or agents that might be searching for them.

Ellison breathed a sigh of relief when the cars in front of him started to move. He nudged the gas and his SUV started to move with them. It wasn't until he looked to his right that he saw a black Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser moving perfectly in rhythm with his own vehicle. What disturbed him more was the fact that the driver seemed to be eyeing him rather obviously. He didn't make it the least bit subtle, either; Ellison could describe it like that really perverted friend someone had that would lock his eyes onto girls behind as she walked by, and wouldn't break away until she was out of sight. This driver was no different, he just watched Ellison behind a pair of sunglasses...

Ellison thought the man was dressed rather well... he was in a suit actually. He even caught the earpiece and badge on the man's clothes. It was then that he realized... he was an FBI agent. Ellison felt his entire body tighten up like he was being squeezed by the world's largest Anaconda. He felt a bead of sweat fall down his right cheek and quickly turned his head so the agent couldn't see it. Even though they no longer made eye contact, Ellison felt the eyes of the agent burning into his head.

Ellison quickly turned on his blinker and moved into the right lane and sped forward. Moving with what little room he head at his disposal to avoid the FBI agent. He looked over to see Savannah looked like she had just seen a ghost, absolutely paralyzed by fear and tension.

Ellison summoned the warmest smile he could muster. "It's alright, Savannah. We're safe. We'll go see Sarah right now okay?" he said, hoping his words would offer her comfort. The girl nodded slightly and sunk back into her seat.

Ellison took the nearest exit and managed a U-turn under the bridge and approached the road he and Sarah were located. During the drive he routinely checked behind him to make sure the FBI agent wasn't following him. About ten minutes from the house, Ellison decided to pull into an occupied gas station parking lot. He parked in an unoccupied spot in front of the store. He rolled down the windows and scanned the roads for the FBI agent.

After a minute, Ellison sat back in the car and heard Savannah speak from the passenger speak. "Mr. Ellison, what's going on?" she asked nervously.

Ellison smiled. "Nothing hon. I just needed to take a break from driving. It's been a long day." He answered.

Savannah shrugged. "Okay, but we should go before that Policeman sees us again." she replied.

Ellison pinched his nose, he sighed in frustration. "Yeah, you're probably right." he replied as he started the car. He looked one last time down the road, checking to see if it was clear, and seeing that it was, he drove out of the parking lot and down the road.


2027

"We should tread carefully, John Henry. There is a 51.86% chance that we could be compromised." Cameron analyzed.

John Henry hid behind a downed chopper outside the walls guarded by Skynet Central's turrets. He and Cameron decided to put their plan into motion. "Yes, Cameron. I have yet to conclude the target range of the turrets guarding the wall. What is your analysis?" John Henry asked.

"Stand by... scan results state that the Grim Reaper Mark seven turrets have a scan range one-hundred and fifty feet. We are currently located one-hundred and seventy-nine feet away. It's possible we can avoid the turrets if we move cover-to-cover in quick motions." Cameron replied.

"We'll have to take that chance then." John Henry replied. He bolted from his cover behind the downed chopper to behind a large rock. He peaked from behind to see if the turret reacted at all... it didn't. It sat in its guard port motionlessly with no reaction. John Henry sprinted as fast as he could from the rock to behind a ruined car. This time, however, the turret quickly turned it's attention to where John Henry ran from.

"The Turret is scanning for targets. It must have detected movement when you sprinted. Be careful, John Henry." Cameron said. John Henry read the text as it appeared on his HUD. He waited patiently for the Turret to return to its default position; which it did after approximately twenty-five seconds of scanning the area. John Henry quickly bolted to the next piece of cover, a piece of building debris that tore away during the Nuclear strikes.

This time, all five turrets guarding the main gate of Los Angeles turned to face the exact area where John Henry was. Luckily he was just out of sight and he could not be detected by their visual sensors. Nevertheless, they remained on guard for about fifteen seconds before turning away.

"Now! John Henry, Now!" Cameron urged.

John Henry bolted from his cover once more and threw himself against the wall. He lined his back so that his entire body was hugging the wall. "They need better defense systems. Those turrets are rather ineffective at handling intruders." John Henry remarked.

"Grim Reaper turrets were designed to hold off a frontal assault, in the future I was from, the Panther turrets were built to handle human infiltrators. I assume John's absence from this future has compromised the Resistance morale due to lack of concentrated leadership. Skynet assumes humanity would never attempt to infiltrate Los Angeles." Cameron retorted.

John Henry scaled against the wall until he reached the main gate. He forcefully pried open the steel bars holding the gate locked and walked inside. When he entered Central, what he saw was both incredible and horrifying.

There were massive constructing war machines being built. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of humanoid Terminators patrolled the streets and buildings, and every single one of them doing Skynet's bidding. John Henry quickly moved behind one of the abandoned buildings so he couldn't be spotted.

"This is central then?" John Henry asked. "It's even more massive than I anticipated."

"Los Angeles is Skynet's most valuable asset. It's not strange to see this many Terminators occupy its garrison." Cameron replied.

John Henry climbed up the stone ruins made from building debris to get a better vantage point of the ruined city. However, when he got to the top, he was met face-to-face with a T-888 series Terminator, who identified him as a threat immediately.

Warning! No ID tag detected. Possible Resistance Infiltrator.

Directive: Terminate.

The machine raised its plasma rifle, but before it could fire, John Henry knocked the weapon out of it's hand. He then grabbed the machine by the shoulders and threw him onto the ground. As John Henry was following up with a powerful stomp to the Terminator's head, he was knocked from his feet onto the ground. The T-888 scurried for its Plasma Rifle, but John Henry grabbed the machine by its legs and pulled it to the ground as well.

The machine gripped its hand around John Henry's wrist, but John Henry knocked the arm away by freeing his hand, unfortunately leaving himself open for a swift but powerful kick to the face. Both of the machines scurried away from each other. They both began to circle each other, and John Henry purposely positioned himself in front of the Plasma Rifle. His combatant charged towards him, but John Henry swiftly juked to the left and kicked the machine to the ground. Seeing his chance, he put his knee on the back of the machine's neck, wrapped his hands around its skull, and began to pull.

The T-888 tried desperately to free itself as it's hands quested for John Henry, but to no avail. The A.I. pulled the Terminator's head off once enough pressure was asserted, and the machine's body fell lifeless to the ground. John Henry reached into his cloak's pocket and grabbed a small rusted knife. He opened the chip port on the machines head and pulled out the chip.

"Hurry. Make the transfer...now!" Cameron urged.

John Henry wasted no time doing so, as he cut into his head, flicked open his own chip port as he had done to his rival, and inserted the tip of the chip into the top of Cameron's he was currently using.

New entry point found. Data transfer beginning.

1% complete.

27% complete.

59% complete.

80% complete.

100% complete. Your new ID tag is T-888 unit 6159.

"The transfer is complete, Cameron." John Henry said.

"Yes, I know. Now we must focus on the task at hand."

"I agree. Let's go find my brother."


You know the drill. This is Chapter 5 of the RoaL REDUX.

Gracias for reading!