Chapter 65

Surrender

John Henry's server made sure there wouldn't be any 911 calls if anyone reported anything. That was standard procedure for whenever they were on an operation. It kept the authorities and emergency responders away. By keeping them out of the combat zone, it also kept them safer.

The team left Dan, Frank, Al and Ed to clean up and police the area. They made sure there were no empty shell casings left behind. They also made sure there was no trace of the Liquid Metal Terminator. It may have actually only been a small piece of the Liquid Metal Terminator that visited John during the night. There was no way to know at this point.

John went back to the Resistance base with the others. He was still very uneasy about everything that happened at the park and last night.

Vanna and Allison both stayed with him when they returned. Allison insisted that they remain with him. She had her reasons….

John looked very upset.

"I don't know how much more of this I can take." John said.

That statement seemed to reaffirm Allison's fears.

John was very frustrated about everything.

Vanna and Allison lived most of their lives in a Skynet future. They knew people could actually take a lot.

"Life goes on, John." Allison said. "You take each day one at a time."

Vanna nodded.

"Sometimes you need to take each minute one at a time." Vanna said.

John was aware they'd suffered much more than he ever had. They both lived with death and being separated for a long time from the one they loved. That still did not help the way he felt. Maybe he was being selfish.

"It seems like when nothing can get worse, it does." John said.

Vanna and Allison knew where John was coming from. They also knew it could be worse.

"John, I know it seems everything is working against us." Vanna said. "We have delayed Judgment Day. That means so far we have saved billions of lives. That has to count for something. Millions more people have been born. Millions of people have fallen in love. Millions of lovers have been married. We are making a difference. If Skynet can not take over, we win. We ARE winning."

John was still unsure. He felt lost in all of what could happen and already had happened.

Vanna reflected on how much worse for her it was after Judgment Day. Her parents were dead and everything was destroyed. It was hard to find any food. There were always men that would find her and 'hold her down' after her clothes were ripped off….

"When I was Savannah's age it was already Hell for me. Look at her play. THAT means something to me." Vanna said. "John Henry has stockpiled weapons caches around the area and nation. We will be ready to fight as humans if we have to. If we have not lost, then we are winning."

Vanna went over and hugged Savannah. She was very grateful that Savannah was still a girl. She been forced to become a 'woman' long before the age Savannah was now. She went off to play with her.

Allison watched Vanna and Savannah go off together.

"John, Vanna suffered much worse than me. She sacrificed for me. That is a debt I will never be able to repay." Allison said. "When I was older as a young teenager I found her again. They'd dumped the daily dead in the 'burn pile'. I was there looking for clothes. I started to strip some ripped pants off a 'dead girl'. I saw the mark on her abdomen that she took for me. I KNEW it was Vanna the instant I saw it. I did not recognize her. She was barley alive and looked dead. They'd left her for dead. She was filthy and her hair was dark with mud."

Allison paused for a moment as she relived that event as well as the events that preceded it and followed it.

"When I saw that 'mark', I drug her out of the 'dead pile'." Allison continued. "I nursed her back to health. I gave her all my rations, ALL of them. Kyle and Derek helped me. It took months to bring her 'back'. I never left her side from that day until John Henry took her away. I will never leave her side again, ever. I gave her all my food and water whenever we had any. I survived on the smallest scraps to provide for her. Kyle and Derek shared their rations with me so I would not die. I took no more than enough to stay alive, barely. I remember the day she first spoke again. She looked at me and smiled. She said my name, she remembered me. 'Allison' was all Vanna said. I cried and held on to her, John. I wanted her to get better. I wanted her to live. Every day I loved her more and more."

Allison was filled with emotion as she remembered it all.

"'Savannah, I owe you so much. I owe you my life. I am going to help you get better; I am going to fix you.' I told her that and that I loved her. John, this world we are in now is Paradise. No matter how messed up it seems, it is Paradise. Our Future was Hell." Allison said. "It was our lives. You were only there for a short time. You are not a female. You can't really understand. You don't know what was done to us. Vanna suffered the most."

Allison reflected on how Vanna could never tell her all the things that happened to her and she needed to endure. She knew there were still things that Vanna could not talk about. What unspeakable horrors were they? Just hearing what was done to Vanna over and over made her sick.

John could see the anguish Allison relived as she recounted some of the past. He felt a little selfish for worrying about his problems. He was not the only one in pain and who suffered.

"I'm sorry, Allison." John said. "I did not want to seem insensitive. I always think back to Cameron. It is the not knowing that 'kills' me. How do you move on when you don't even know which direction to look? I don't really know what to do anymore."

There were times when John felt so helpless. It would be different if he'd seen Cameron destroyed. She was just gone and there was only 'nothing'.

Allison knew the 'place' where John was at right now. She'd been there many times. She needed to endure and fight to go on. She did those things and took what life threw at her.

"Sometimes you need to run as fast as you can until you can't move and never look back." Allison said. "That is the only way to move forward. You can't let what you leave behind 'catch you'. If you do, you are back to where you were. You go from nowhere to nowhere and everything seems worse. Life needs to move forward, not backwards."

John thought about everything from whatever happened last night to what he experienced with Allison and Vanna today earlier on before all the drama. Life was about choices and he needed to make some. He already had. He wanted to make sure they were all on the same page and it was for reasons that were for them as well. He did not want them to feel like obligations to anyone.

"Allison, today in the park before all of the 'fireworks, I finally came to accept that Cameron is not coming back." John said. "I want to be with you, Allison. I have always wanted to be with you since I first saw you. I know it is because I saw 'Cameron' when I first looked at you. I have come to know you both in the future and in the present. Now it is time to make our own future…."

Allison felt her heart beat a little faster. It was what she wanted too.

"I want that, John, not only for you and myself but for Cameron too." Allison said. "We owe everything to her. She is my best friend. I would do anything for her, for Vanna, for you or for US. I want to keep my promise to her. It is also for Vanna and myself. I have desires and wants too. We all have needs."

John was very glad to hear they were all on the same page for the same reasons. There was another thing that troubled him about what happened today. It reminded him of when he once did something similar. It was equally questionable at the time.

"That was a pretty brave but foolish 'stunt' you pulled today." John said.

Allison did not feel she had a choice at the time. Protecting the young Reese brothers was all that mattered right then. She would do the same thing again and not think twice about it.

"It was the right thing to do at the time. I understand now how Cameron can sacrifice so much. When it is the right thing to do, you do it." Allison said. "The cards will show themselves as they fall."

John felt Allison's words as much as her saw her presence. His bottled up feelings began to overflow. He needed Allison and he needed her now. He moved over and embraced her. She felt so 'right' in his arms.

Allison felt what John felt, without knowing what he felt. They both felt the same thing.

"Like this, John, this is the right thing now." Allison said. "I can feel it."

John needed to accept the reality. Cameron should have been back long ago.

"I can too, Allison. I can also accept it finally." John said. "If Cameron was coming back it would have been months ago."

Vanna returned to the area. She saw Allison and John embrace. Vanna looked very hurt they appeared to be moving ahead without her.

Allison looked over at her and held her arm open for her to join them. A smile blossomed on her face as he did. The three of them stood there as they embraced. They all knew and wanted what was about to happen. They all knew that their lives were about to change forever. It was a change everyone wanted. It was the future Cameron wanted for them. It was the future they ALL wanted. They could share the pain and the joy. Their love would conquer all.

Savannah looked up and saw Allison and Vanna with John - HER John. She knew what she'd promised Cameron.

"Vanna, can you help me look pretty?" Savannah asked as she walked over.

Vanna smiled at her.

"Sure, sweetie, what's the occasion?" Vanna asked.

Savannah looked at the three of them as they embraced each other.

"I want to look pretty so that when I get bigger John will want to marry me." Savannah said. "I'm going to be John's wife too."

Savannah looked at Vanna, then at Allison and then at John. She looked each one of them in the face to show her conviction to what she said and believed.

"Then the four of us can live happily ever after." Savannah said.

That statement took all of them by surprise, especially since they were on a very personal and delicate subject.

Vanna needed to think about THAT development for awhile. She walked off hand in hand with Savannah. She looked back at Allison and John. She felt that tonight everything would change. Their lives were all about to take a new direction. Vanna smiled at what the future offered.

John wanted to go over everything with Allison.

"Allison, before eight tonight if you want to come to my room 'first' I would like that." John said.

Allison still needed to think about her true love.

"And after eight?" Allison asked.

John wanted to make everything happen smoothly.

"I will come to your room with Vanna and you, together." John said.

Allison could feel the love and commitment even if it was unspoken. It was there.

"I want to share with Vanna and you. John, I love you both. I have wanted to be with you for so long. I may come alone, first. Let's wait and see what happens. Either way tonight is the night." Allison said. "Everything changes tonight."

Allison moved to kiss John.

John was ready for this kiss. They'd been so close earlier.

Savannah looked back at John. She was the one with the wedding dress.

Savannah ran up and grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her away. She offered up a lame excuse.

"Let's go play, Allison." Savannah said.

Savannah literally pulled Allison away from John.

Allison's hand slowly slipped from John's hand as her eyes pleaded.

"Tonight." John said.

John stared into the distance. He knew he was about to surrender to himself, surrender to the future and surrender to HIS future. He was about to surrender to what Cameron 'wanted'. She'd made it very clear for the three of them.

"Goodbye, Cameron." John softly said as tears filled his eyes. "I will always love you."

Surrender

Events in our lives become mixed
As they are run through life's blender
There are moments of anguish and pain
As well of moments of joy and splendor

To the one we love in our heart
We express love affectionately and tender
There is always the deep rooted fear
We may error and become an offender

We want to be the only one
We worry about an unforeseen contender
We know our love is pure and true
Intruders are nothing more than a pretender

True love must be shared freely
Not something borrowed from a lender
We fear the day our love will be stamped
Unwanted - return to sender

To each other our dream
Is to create and engender
It will all happen for us
As we succumb to sweet surrender

Nobody