Nightmare
"Dreams are whatever gets you through the night. Nightmares are what's waiting for you when you wake up." – Gen. Daniel Dyson, 2028
Nicholai Givinchei coughed as he walked along the sewers of Los Angeles. He'd come down here over two days ago; just some overtime, a little extra spending money. Whatever had happened up top had knocked him out, and blocked every entrance he'd come to.
He stopped to catch his breath, further unsettled by the sight of the unmoving stream of sewage, he took a glance at his watch- 4:25 p.m. He walked a little faster when he caught sight of the next entrance ladder. Putting his hands on a cold rung, he climbed. At the cover he pushed, damn things weighed seventy pounds. He huffed as the lid gave way, shoving it to the side, he climbed out and got his first sight of the surface. His mind froze.
It was pitch black. No lights, no sound- no life. All the windows were knocked out, nothing made a sound. It was cold, too cold...What...A small black form near the doorway of a store, what was it?- His mouth dropped, recognizing a charred human skeleton for it was. He started looking toward the ground. Then he realized where he was. A crowd crossing the streets in between lights...
"Oh God, oh God...", he mumbled. They were dead, all dead. All around him, burnt remains laid. What the hell had happened?! How could this happen?! Terrorist attack?! Accident?! He...he had to do something. Were there any other people? That was it- he had to look for people who made through...whatever had happened. There had to be other people, right? Right?
Bright light assaulted Daniel Dyson as he painfully opened his eyes. What was going on?
"Sorry." A voice said, the light moving away. Now soaked in darkness, Daniel was no less confused.
"Wha-what's going on? Where am I?"
"We were doing that school thing, remember, Danny? Spend the night at a college to see what it's like?" Finally, a voice he could recognize, Ed Telly. The original voice spoke up again.
"I'm Stacy Conahan, remember? We were down here in the playing some games when something happened outside. It was big, whatever it was- it knocked you out the last two days. Ed here was afraid it was a coma." Well, his head hurt enough. But what the hell had happened? He could see a bit now, and faced Ed.
"Did you go up and check out what happened?"
"No, we wanted you up and about first. But, if you feel up to it, we can check now." Another voice intruded. It was...Stacy's sister, Kelly; the new kids.
"I'm fine," he said as he moved to his feet. Ed fumbled for a moment, then handed Daniel his backpack as he shrugged on his own. A thought struck Daniel.
"Hey, have you guys checked the radio?"
"That's the weird thing," Ed answered, "we get static from every station." Daniel began the feel more and more uneasy. No storm or quake could do this, so what the hell had happened?
Quietly, Stacy leading them with the flashlight, they made their way through the basement rec area to the stairs. Daniel couldn't help it as he marked where the vending machines were; what had him so on edge? Why did it feel marking those vending machines was so important? Then they saw it. The door was gone, the stairs leading up to open air. Nervously they climbed, what could just take off the door like that? The group reached the surface. What the fuck?!! It was almost as dark as the basement. But they didn't need much light to see it.
The college was gone. All of it, every building, just gone. Here and there a broken wall stood, crumbling remnants of three-story buildings. The parking lot was home to a mass of charred cars. Stacy screamed.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, MAN?!! WHA-what's going on?!" Ed cried out as Kelly began to weep. Daniel turned toward the center of the city, the center that was no longer there. Suddenly he knew, it was so obvious, so absolutely obvious.
"Judgment Day," he said quietly, "so this is Judgment Day." The nuclear holocaust his father had gave his life to stop. So, the death of Miles Dyson had been in vain. Skynet had come online, and the war against the machines had begun.
Ed was pacing, panicking, Kelly and Stacy embraced, crying. He had to stop this. He took off his backpack.
"Ed, Stacy, go back down and fill our backpacks with as much food and water as they can hold- at the bunch of vending machines." As the two complied, Daniel went over to Kelly. What to do? Then he remembered holding his mother while she cried after Sarah Connor had told them what had happened at Cyberdyne. He put his arms around her, and let her cry into his shoulder. They needed to find shelter, a place to build a fire and keep warm. No, finding a place to sleep wouldn't matter much in the long run. Not when the Terminators started coming. So this was the end of the world.
A cough awoke William Perry. The toddler let out a whimper as he hugged his knees to his chest. It was so scary and dark down here. He was so hungry. He'd been playing hide and seek with Josh when he came down here. Then the big rumbling had come and made him go sleep. When he woke up, it was all dark, and he couldn't see where the stairs were. Will's stomach growled, and his eyes began to get blurry. Where was everyone?! Where were mommy and daddy?! Had they forgotten about him?! He started to cry.
He sniffed and stumbled to his feet. He so hungry, he didn't care how dark it was, he wanted some food. Will felt around for the stairs, it was scary, but he was hungry. He found the stairs, and began to climb. At the top, he couldn't find the doorknob. He pushed, and a piece of something moved, letting him out. When he saw the outside world, he wanted to run back into the basement. It was dark, so dark and scary and cold. The big buildings looked all messed up and broken. Then he looked at the ground- and screamed. The scary skeletons, a whole bunch! Will ran as fast he could, he had to get away! Where were mommy and daddy?! Had the skeletons ate them up?! He couldn't get away, there were so many! He went into a store and hid behind a shelf. No bad monsters here. He was safe. He panted, so tired and hungry. Where was some food? Why was it so cold? Will closed his eyes and went to sleep.
While waiting for the radiation to drop, there was no point in staying up later than necessary. As such John was peacefully asleep by nine. Or, rather, as peacefully as Sarah Connor's son could be. An intruding hand touched John. Instinctively, he jolted, bringing his handgun to rest on his enemy at the base of the jaw. Then he saw who it was. Kate backed away wide-eyed.
"Sorry." he said, putting the gun back under the pillow. Kate came a few steps closer.
"It's alright." She said, looking every bit military in the gray tinted camouflage.
"I made some dinner, it'll be better than those ration packets things, come down to the galley when you're ready." She turned and left, leaving John to feel like a total idiot. Why did his mother have to teach him that little stunt? Now Kate was mad at him and- Wait. When did it suddenly matter so much if Kate was happy with him? Now his head was starting to hurt. He stood and dressed quietly, showers were a luxury fast passing.
He walked through the double doors of the galley to be shocked. In the center of the galley was a veritable feast. John walked toward as if in a daze, mouth watering all the while. Stopping and staring at the meal he looked up to Kate and her satisfied smile.
"I-is that steak?" he whispered reverently. Kate nodded smugly.
"What is all this?"
"I found this stuff in the freezer room. Seems this is what the President would be dining on if he was here." She replied as John dug in with earnest.
"But that isn't the real prize," she said, pulling out the tall bottle of champagne, "1956 red wine." John's mouth fell open. Grabbing a glass from Kate, John chugged half of it down in about two seconds. Wow, that was some good stuff.
They sat there, sitting in a comfortable silence while they ate. This was the best dinner John had ever had. His mom had never indulged him such, and he never thought it was safe to go to the places in the cities- John let go of his fork and put the glass back on the table. He was sitting here eat steak and drinking wine while people in the cities were starving. How the hell could he do this?
"I don't think I can-"
"I know what you're thinking," Kate said solemnly and grasped his hand, "you're wondering how we can eat like this." John's eyes cast downward.
"There's nothing we can do for them right now. It's not a sin stop seeing the bigger picture every once in awhile, John."
"Dreams are whatever gets you through the night. Nightmares are what's waiting for you when you wake up." – Gen. Daniel Dyson, 2028
Nicholai Givinchei coughed as he walked along the sewers of Los Angeles. He'd come down here over two days ago; just some overtime, a little extra spending money. Whatever had happened up top had knocked him out, and blocked every entrance he'd come to.
He stopped to catch his breath, further unsettled by the sight of the unmoving stream of sewage, he took a glance at his watch- 4:25 p.m. He walked a little faster when he caught sight of the next entrance ladder. Putting his hands on a cold rung, he climbed. At the cover he pushed, damn things weighed seventy pounds. He huffed as the lid gave way, shoving it to the side, he climbed out and got his first sight of the surface. His mind froze.
It was pitch black. No lights, no sound- no life. All the windows were knocked out, nothing made a sound. It was cold, too cold...What...A small black form near the doorway of a store, what was it?- His mouth dropped, recognizing a charred human skeleton for it was. He started looking toward the ground. Then he realized where he was. A crowd crossing the streets in between lights...
"Oh God, oh God...", he mumbled. They were dead, all dead. All around him, burnt remains laid. What the hell had happened?! How could this happen?! Terrorist attack?! Accident?! He...he had to do something. Were there any other people? That was it- he had to look for people who made through...whatever had happened. There had to be other people, right? Right?
Bright light assaulted Daniel Dyson as he painfully opened his eyes. What was going on?
"Sorry." A voice said, the light moving away. Now soaked in darkness, Daniel was no less confused.
"Wha-what's going on? Where am I?"
"We were doing that school thing, remember, Danny? Spend the night at a college to see what it's like?" Finally, a voice he could recognize, Ed Telly. The original voice spoke up again.
"I'm Stacy Conahan, remember? We were down here in the playing some games when something happened outside. It was big, whatever it was- it knocked you out the last two days. Ed here was afraid it was a coma." Well, his head hurt enough. But what the hell had happened? He could see a bit now, and faced Ed.
"Did you go up and check out what happened?"
"No, we wanted you up and about first. But, if you feel up to it, we can check now." Another voice intruded. It was...Stacy's sister, Kelly; the new kids.
"I'm fine," he said as he moved to his feet. Ed fumbled for a moment, then handed Daniel his backpack as he shrugged on his own. A thought struck Daniel.
"Hey, have you guys checked the radio?"
"That's the weird thing," Ed answered, "we get static from every station." Daniel began the feel more and more uneasy. No storm or quake could do this, so what the hell had happened?
Quietly, Stacy leading them with the flashlight, they made their way through the basement rec area to the stairs. Daniel couldn't help it as he marked where the vending machines were; what had him so on edge? Why did it feel marking those vending machines was so important? Then they saw it. The door was gone, the stairs leading up to open air. Nervously they climbed, what could just take off the door like that? The group reached the surface. What the fuck?!! It was almost as dark as the basement. But they didn't need much light to see it.
The college was gone. All of it, every building, just gone. Here and there a broken wall stood, crumbling remnants of three-story buildings. The parking lot was home to a mass of charred cars. Stacy screamed.
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, MAN?!! WHA-what's going on?!" Ed cried out as Kelly began to weep. Daniel turned toward the center of the city, the center that was no longer there. Suddenly he knew, it was so obvious, so absolutely obvious.
"Judgment Day," he said quietly, "so this is Judgment Day." The nuclear holocaust his father had gave his life to stop. So, the death of Miles Dyson had been in vain. Skynet had come online, and the war against the machines had begun.
Ed was pacing, panicking, Kelly and Stacy embraced, crying. He had to stop this. He took off his backpack.
"Ed, Stacy, go back down and fill our backpacks with as much food and water as they can hold- at the bunch of vending machines." As the two complied, Daniel went over to Kelly. What to do? Then he remembered holding his mother while she cried after Sarah Connor had told them what had happened at Cyberdyne. He put his arms around her, and let her cry into his shoulder. They needed to find shelter, a place to build a fire and keep warm. No, finding a place to sleep wouldn't matter much in the long run. Not when the Terminators started coming. So this was the end of the world.
A cough awoke William Perry. The toddler let out a whimper as he hugged his knees to his chest. It was so scary and dark down here. He was so hungry. He'd been playing hide and seek with Josh when he came down here. Then the big rumbling had come and made him go sleep. When he woke up, it was all dark, and he couldn't see where the stairs were. Will's stomach growled, and his eyes began to get blurry. Where was everyone?! Where were mommy and daddy?! Had they forgotten about him?! He started to cry.
He sniffed and stumbled to his feet. He so hungry, he didn't care how dark it was, he wanted some food. Will felt around for the stairs, it was scary, but he was hungry. He found the stairs, and began to climb. At the top, he couldn't find the doorknob. He pushed, and a piece of something moved, letting him out. When he saw the outside world, he wanted to run back into the basement. It was dark, so dark and scary and cold. The big buildings looked all messed up and broken. Then he looked at the ground- and screamed. The scary skeletons, a whole bunch! Will ran as fast he could, he had to get away! Where were mommy and daddy?! Had the skeletons ate them up?! He couldn't get away, there were so many! He went into a store and hid behind a shelf. No bad monsters here. He was safe. He panted, so tired and hungry. Where was some food? Why was it so cold? Will closed his eyes and went to sleep.
While waiting for the radiation to drop, there was no point in staying up later than necessary. As such John was peacefully asleep by nine. Or, rather, as peacefully as Sarah Connor's son could be. An intruding hand touched John. Instinctively, he jolted, bringing his handgun to rest on his enemy at the base of the jaw. Then he saw who it was. Kate backed away wide-eyed.
"Sorry." he said, putting the gun back under the pillow. Kate came a few steps closer.
"It's alright." She said, looking every bit military in the gray tinted camouflage.
"I made some dinner, it'll be better than those ration packets things, come down to the galley when you're ready." She turned and left, leaving John to feel like a total idiot. Why did his mother have to teach him that little stunt? Now Kate was mad at him and- Wait. When did it suddenly matter so much if Kate was happy with him? Now his head was starting to hurt. He stood and dressed quietly, showers were a luxury fast passing.
He walked through the double doors of the galley to be shocked. In the center of the galley was a veritable feast. John walked toward as if in a daze, mouth watering all the while. Stopping and staring at the meal he looked up to Kate and her satisfied smile.
"I-is that steak?" he whispered reverently. Kate nodded smugly.
"What is all this?"
"I found this stuff in the freezer room. Seems this is what the President would be dining on if he was here." She replied as John dug in with earnest.
"But that isn't the real prize," she said, pulling out the tall bottle of champagne, "1956 red wine." John's mouth fell open. Grabbing a glass from Kate, John chugged half of it down in about two seconds. Wow, that was some good stuff.
They sat there, sitting in a comfortable silence while they ate. This was the best dinner John had ever had. His mom had never indulged him such, and he never thought it was safe to go to the places in the cities- John let go of his fork and put the glass back on the table. He was sitting here eat steak and drinking wine while people in the cities were starving. How the hell could he do this?
"I don't think I can-"
"I know what you're thinking," Kate said solemnly and grasped his hand, "you're wondering how we can eat like this." John's eyes cast downward.
"There's nothing we can do for them right now. It's not a sin stop seeing the bigger picture every once in awhile, John."