Ch 5
Cameron drove off the train at 'Weaver Station' to find the platform was packed with people. Sad and despaired looking, they eyed her as she was pulled half out of the train car. A man in a suit rose up from helping a woman and her child.
"Cameron?" Mr. Ellison asked. If he didn't know better, he swore there were tear tracks down her cheeks. Had she been crying? That didn't make any sense, she was a terminator.
"Greetings, Mr. Ellison," Cameron said in a flat tone. "I brought two disabled terminators for Mrs. Weaver to inspect. Are these people going to the caverns?"
"They are," he said. Moving towards the train, he said, "Everyone, there is a cavern, a safe place you can be, this train will take you there."
Much of the mass got up and walked into the back cars. As they did, Cameron said, "Hold the train for me, I won't be long." as people got out of her way, she inched forward. A quick count showed 110 people boarding the train. She noted some were wearing robes. Bathroom type robes.
"Cameron, I called the cavern," Mr. Ellison explained. "Carts will be coming to the train station to pick these people up. John Henry also would like to update with you. Wait a moment and I'll show you where to take those."
As Cameron pulled off, people getting on eyed the trailer with wariness.
"What are those?" a pre-teen girl asked.
"Sky Net Terminators. They are out to kill everyone," Cameron said flatly. She pulled the cart up by a wall and waited as Mr. Ellison guided people on. A younger woman who looked dazed, he helped up and onto the train. Once Mr. Ellison had the train load on, he signaled to shut the doors and leave.
He glanced back at the trailer full of terminators. "Got a couple I see."
"Yes, we got a couple. Which way?"
Mr. Ellison got on the cart and guided her down a hallway she had to share with people going to and from offices, which slowed her down. She managed a left corner, then came to a more open area with various machines and men in white coats.
"On the right, the second door," Mr. Ellison said, pointing the way.
Inside was a terminator 'rebuild' lab. Cameron took the whole terminator in and laid it on the steel table. The two men and the woman there eyed it in wonder.
Cameron told them, "This one was disabled by a shot up under it's chin. The bullet got inside the armor and the severed the power cable. The chip is here, on it's chest."
"That might be hard to fix, we're computer experts," the woman said.
"You shot it?" one of the men asked.
"Negative, someone else did. The other one we got is a little more damaged." Cameron said, then began bringing in the pieces.
Once Cameron piled all the piece to one side, she brought the head and the chip to the woman. "After you work on the chip, this goes in here, for those not mechanically inclined," she said, showing how the chip went in it's port. She handed the gaping woman the head and the chip, then went to see John Henry.
.
"Hello Cameron," John greeted cheerily as he worked at a console. "Sky Net lost contact with some units west of here. I assume that was due to John Connor?"
"It was," Cameron said and sat down beside him. "Two groups of T-400's, lead by a pair of T-800's tried to block the roads to keep people from escaping. The Resistance stopped them. Prior to that, I found some Grays, and ten T-400's attacking people. I used five drones in my attack and damaged them severely. I have no more drones, so I cannot do it again. I brought the T-800's back for Catherine to work on them. Their chips are intact."
"From what I deciphered, Sky Net sent these Grays and units to find out if there was any humans left that are capable of resisting. It appears in a few transmissions, Sky Net had found resistance up and down the coast. Sky Net is using radio band frequencies. With the radiation in the air, it is affecting cell phone frequencies badly. The radio range is limited also, there is no satellite communications, and that is delaying information."
"That is good for us, Sky Net's reaction time will be greatly slowed down. I estimate up to 35 minutes." Cameron said.
"Possibly longer, if the units on the field do not get a message off before they are silenced. We destroyed six H/K's that came into the area," he said, bearing a creepy smile.
"That's good. I am sure Sky Net is still working at the military, so it will leave us alone for a few days."
"Agreed, my brother will not attack again until he is sure he can overcome the forces he faces. And at the moment he does not know what he's facing," John Henry said and flashed another creepy smile. "It gives us time to build and search for survivors. The group that just left for the caverns had gathered on the floors above. Mrs. Weaver brought them down and decontaminated them as much as possible."
"John Henry, you cannot pick up long distance signals either, correct?" Cameron asked.
"Correct. It is somewhat of an inconvenience, however it is more inconvenient for Sky Net, who was relying on long distance communications to coordinate it's efforts. With the direct line telephone signal we have that is shielded, I believe we are safe in upgrading it into a communications- basic network with PC's."
Cameron was happy to be thinking about something other than Claire and Allison. "So, then our hand held radio communications are fairly safe to use, if we use them sparingly," she concluded.
"I would say so. With limited communication range and Sky Net having other priorities, now would be the best time to do any exterior plans you may have."
"Yes, I will inform John, there are several things we want to accomplish," Cameron said and got up. "Is there anything you need here? Food, water, generators?"
"Negative. The team John Connor sent to change over the fuel for our generators has proven to be very useful. Since the water is not for consumption, we are taking it out from a nearby source and to process it is not difficult. Thank John Connor for me."
Cameron offered him a smile. "Friends help friends," she replied.
"Yes, we do."
"John Henry, may I have the radio frequencies Sky Net is using?"
"Of course. What are you going to use them for?"
"Triangulation. If we can detect their signals, we will know right where they are."
.
Cameron returned to the bunker, and found John sleeping sitting up at his desk. "John?" she asked twice while shaking his shoulder.
John's head came up, "What's going on?" he asked.
"You are coming to bed," Cameron told him.
"Cam, I have to …"
"Get some sleep," she said firmly. "Don't make me carry you."
"Cam," he complained, "We have to make some sort of warning system for approaching Sky Net troops, we have far too few solders, and there's probably thousands out there who are on their own."
"Yes, John, and I have possible answers for the questions you have that I will tell you about. In. Bed." Cameron stated.
John shuffled up under Cameron's gaze and her guiding hand. Keeping an arm around him to be sure he went the right way, Cameron guided John into their room. One of the dry foods Cameron made sure they had, was some cheese puffs. John smiled sleepily as Cameron showed him the bag.
"Ohh, I love you, Cam!" John said, fawning over the snack.
"And I love you too. First, let's get your shirt off." Cameron said.
Cameron got John undressed as he munched down one cheese puff, the fell back asleep.
Cuddling up to John, Cameron noted he snuggled into her, his head on her chest. Focusing on John and their problems was another good thing that kept her from thinking too much about Claire and Allison. Cameron set her standby timer for six hours and went into standby. She needed some rest also.
.
In Beverly Hills, Ron stood bracketed by a pair of T-800's as he looked at the motley crowd who used to be rich people. His men had collected them after the bomb drops. Scared and looking for safety, they had come with his men. Others his men had rounded up, and after shooting a couple people, they cooperated. Now, the whole bunch of them were here and under the watchful eye of terminators.
"Welcome everyone," he announced. "In exchange for saving your lives, you will work here in this factory. Work and you get food and sleeping quarters. Disobey, and you get punished, or we decide you're worthless and kill you. I might reconsider your fate if your begging is genuine. Men, take the rooms on the left side. Women, take the rooms on the right."
"You're going to treat us like slave labor?" an angry woman yelled.
"Shoot her," Ron said casually. A T-800 shot her in the head, blowing her brains over the ones behind her. Screams of horror sounded. The man who was with her bellowed, "You! … I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Shoot him too."
That man went down, spraying his brains across the floor.
"NOW! Men on the left, women on the right!" Ron barked.
Begrudgingly, and casting him hateful stares, they did as he ordered. Once the cells were filled, the doors were shut, then Ron went down the line. Seeing a girl in with a man, he
Figured she was around fourteen, fifteen. Nice little body and cute. He said, "Open that door, get that girl out."
The girl screamed and cried for her daddy, but she was dragged out. The door was shut. Ron pulled her out farther out onto the floor. "Do you want your Daddy killed?" he asked.
Casting him a fearful gaze, she cried, "He didn't do anything!"
"I don't care," Ron stated. "You will do exactly as I say, or you will watch him die. I won' be fast, and after I kill him, you'll be next."
"You're an evil man!" she said. A tear dripped down her cheek, shaken off my her quivering.
"I am." he agreed. "You'll find out how evil later. For now stay by me as I inspect the other slaves."
He walked on holding a hand on the back of her cute little neck. He watched for any other girls in the men's cages, then on the other side, looked for boys and noted which girls had the most potential. He had to smirk at the cold looks of hate he was getting from the people who were going to obey or die.
The factory was a simple operation, from the incoming metal scrap, separate the ferrous from non-ferrous, then the different metals by color. He was going to enjoy punishing those who did not do their work well. On the way down the women's side, he found a pair of starlets eyeing him with venom. He pointed and said, "That dark haired one, bring her out."
A T-800 retrieved her. She was punching away and spitting until he put his gun to the girl's head. "Do you want her to die?" he asked heavily.
"Fuck. You." she growled, but stopped fighting.
He guided her up onto the platform over the incinerator. "Take your clothes off, throw the in," he commanded.
She hesitated. "Do it or I throw the girls body in, right before I throw you in," He intoned.
"Figures, you're a fucking pervert!" she snapped, but did as he ordered.
Once she'd stripped down naked and all her clothes were burning up in the fires below, he announce, "Slacking off on work will get you punished! Deliberately doing your work incorrectly will get you punished. If a couple days of no food and water do not change your altitude, watch what your punishment will be!"
He shot the woman in her perfect left knee, that exploded as she wailed out in a scream and fell. She curled up, showing her back, so he put a bullet in the top of her ass. Wailing out again, she turned over to protect her backside. He shot her in the hip. She was flailing about too much for a shoulder shot, so he picked mid body and hit her low in her ribs.
Bleeding from her wounds, she moaned out in agony.
"Throw her in," he told an 800. The 800 did, it grabbed her arm and tossed her into the fire. Now she screamed in an ear piercing wail that kept up until she passed out and died.
Ignoring the crying girl beside him, he announced. "Disobedience means death. If you want to die, just tell me I'll shoot you in the head and end your pain. Otherwise, you better behave."
To the other T-800, he said, "Get them working. Tell them what to do, and make sure they do it." The terminators moved to obey. He took the girl up to his quarters to get a better look at her. If she was suitable, she'd live.
.
Before the bombs landed - Jesse Flores was not a happy woman. First it seemed like Riley was not doing well trying to get John Connor's attention. When she finally made some minor progress, John disappeared. When he returned a few days later, he seemed disinterested with Riley. Then, Derek seemed less interested in her. Yes, Derek care to see her, but was more interested in his bottle than getting in bed for a tumble. He had this thousand yard stare to him. He also wouldn't tell Jesse what the hell was wrong with him.
A short while later, they all disappeared. John and the metal stopped going to school, Derek didn't come around any more. Jesse figured they had fled, but had no idea why, or where they could have gone. In a desperate attempt to find them, Jesse introduced
herself to Riley's foster parents as a cousin so she could 'spend some time' with her relative. Taking this opportunity, Jesse took Riley to different places, searching for any sign of the Connors. A couple months had passed by now, and they had found nothing.
It was dinner time and the foster parents, knowing Jesse lived alone, invited her over for dinner again. Jesse got along well with them. All was going well, Jesse was helping to make dinner, then from the living room, Jesse paused at hearing John's voice.
"Hello, everyone, Sorry for this interruption. I am John Connor. What I am going to tell you is real..."
Jesse dropped what she was doing and ran in to see John's face in a static picture on the screen. One of the kids tried to change the channel. John's face flickered, he was on that channel too.
"He's on every station!" the boy complained.
Jesse grabbed the remote from him and barked. "Shut up!"
".. in a few days, Sky Net is going to launch a nuclear war. Before it does, it is going to cut and jam every form of communication to delay response times, making what it is doing even worse, for there will be no warnings before the impacts begin ..."
"It that John?" Riley asked as she came in. The boy yelled, "I'm telling DAD!"
"QUIET!" Jesse barked, listening to John closely.
"... the only warning you will get, is media going off line. Television, radio, internet, cell phone services, it will all go away one half hour to 45 minutes before the bombs start dropping. The only safer places will be deep underground, or get into the mountains. Either will give you a chance of survival..."
"It's happening again!" Riley cried.
"... after the bombs hit, keep something over your face. The most dangerous radiation after the blast is a dust like form known as Alpha. It will kill you if it gets inside you. It does so by breathing it in, or if you consume something coated with this radiation.."
"Isn't that your boyfriend?" Mr. Banks asked Riley.
"Is this like the beginning of one of those 'destroy the world movies?" one of the girls asked.
"It's no movie, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN!" Jesse barked.
"... Keep any food you can gather bagged, and water sealed in containers, these are your best defenses against radiation. Again, I do not know when Sky Net is going to launch, but I do know they will, soon. Pack up and leave the cities now, for your own safety."
John's picture flickered and he said, "Hello, everyone, Sorry for this interruption. I am John Connor. What I am going to tell you is real. We are going to suffer through an attack with nuclear weapons in the very near future. In a few days..."
The screen shifted to a notice saying : 'we are experiencing technical difficulties, please stand by.'
Jesse clasped a shocked Riley's shoulder. "Go get packed, love, everything you got. Move!"
As Riley ran up the stairs, Jesse told a confused Mr. Banks, "Keep a TV or radio at all times. Do you have camping gear?"
Not expecting to be pressed, he said, "Ahh, we got a camping trailer, what's this about?"
"Survival," Jesse stated. "Soon, Armageddon is going to come crashing down on our heads. If you're not ready for it love, you'll become a corpse, as will the rest of your family."
"That was just Riley's boyfriend on TV, this has to be a joke!" he insisted.
"No joke, that was, or will be General John Connor," Jesse stated. "Now, I'm taking Riley and heading for the mountains. You should pack your car up with everything you can, family too, and follow us. If John says it's coming soon, then it's coming. Our time is getting short."
"I can't believe you'd fall for a prank like that!" He snapped at her. "And I don't want you getting everyone all upset! You should go now!"
"I will, right after Riley is ready to move," Jesse stated.
"No, now, get out," he yelled and pushed her back. Jesse caught her balance and pulled up with her 9mm. "Sit down!" she barked.
"You wouldn't shoot ..."
BANG
The shot went past him to bury itself in the wall. His face bore shock. All the kids were staring at Jesse. Mrs. Banks stood frozen in place, hand over her mouth.
"Sit down, or I take your knees out and sit you down!" Jesse commanded.
He sat.
Riley ran down the stairs holding a stuffed travel bag. "I'm ready, let's go!" she announced.
"Get in the car, Love," Jesse told her. "Now, are you people coming or not?"
"This is insanity!" Mr. Banks cried.
"Welcome to the world," Jesse replied. "You know the signs to watch for, we're not waiting. We'll see you in the mountains if you can make it." Jesse then turned and ran out.
Mr. Banks did the only thing his sensibilities told him to do, he called the police about Jesse kidnapping Riley.
.
Jesse drove to her apartment and quickly stuffed her things in bags. She then headed out of town. On the way, she stopped at a store and bought all the food she could, saving enough to put some gas in her car. She drove out of town a couple hours, staying off the highways. Coming to a convenience store later at night, she pulled in and paid for gas and had Riley pump it.
At the moment, there were no customers and only one attendant. Jesse grabbed armloads of bottled water to put on the counter. She got the last of the water and stacked it on the counter.
"Thirsty?" the clerk asked. He grabbed the wand to total it up. Jesse shot him in the heart. She scooped up as many bottles as she could and went out to dump them in the back seat.
"Was that a shot?" Riley asked.
"It was, keep filling," Jesse told her and got more bottles.
Filled with gas and every bottle of water in the store, Jesse drove them into the mountains. There was a resistance camp in the area, and if she remembered right it was up the road they were on now, just past the summit.
Slowing as they reached the top, an 'overlook' point, Jesse remembered this place, only the camo covered resistance guard wasn't here. Driving slowly along, she noted a familiar path off to the side. It was wide enough for the car, so she drove up it. The headlights showed features and shadows, but no small opening to the cave. Guessing where it should be, she stopped.
The only flashlight Jesse had needed batteries. It had enough of a weak beam to let her see thing that were close up. Between the car lights and her weak flashlight, Jesse found the opening. She shown her light into the cave. No reflection of eyes came back to her.
Returning to her car, she got Riley out and the first load of water bottles. "Leave your stuff here, come with me," Jesse coaxed.
Jesse walked along the path and found a long stick. She broke about four feet off it and took it back to the car. In the trunk, Jesse pulled out the tire iron and jug. From the glove box, she got her spare clip out and tucked it in her back pocket, and grabbed a pack of matches. She pulled out an old hoodie and wrapped it around the end of the stick, tying it tight in place.
Seeing Riley watching her, Jesse said, "Never go into a hole unless you know no one's home."
She opened the jug with the immediate smell of gas. She soaked the hoodie and recapped the bottle. Walking to the hole, Jesse lit a match and lit the hoodie up. She then held the other end of the stick and thrust it into the opening. The glow of fire increased, for a short while flame licked out, then slowly died down.
Jesse went over to the car and shut it off. Walking back to Riley by the dim light of the fire from inside the opening in the ground, she said, "We'll sleep out in the car tonight. By morning, the air in the cave should be good enough that we can go in."
"This is really it, isn't it?" Riley asked weakly.
"Aye, love, it is. Sorry, we're going back to post-Judgment Day," Jesse told her.
"Where's John?" Riley asked in a whine.
"Don't know love," Jesse said with a sigh. "We're going to have to find him."
Riley was quiet for a moment, just staring at the ground, then said, "I can't go back."
"No, that house you lived in is going to be gone soon," Jesse agreed.
"NO! I can't go back to ... living in a sewer, letting myself be raped for a lousy, spoiled half can of peas!" Riley shouted as she clenched her fists. "No more being a toy for some disgusting animal just to have a blanket and a piece of ground to sleep on! I won't eat rat any more! I won't drink sewer water and watch everyone I know die slowly while we wait for some machine to find us and kill us! I'm NOT GOING BACK!" she ended in a wail.
"Riley, get a hold of yourself," Jesse said evenly.
"I won't go back to that," Riley said weakly as she cried. Falling to her knees, she cried, "I won't!"
Jesse knelt down and gathered Riley into her arms. "It will be different this time," Jesse offered.
"Take me back to the city. Dying is easier than what I know is coming." Riley sobbed as they hugged.
"Can't do that love," Jesse replied. "Can't let you die."
Riley looked to at Jesse's shadowed face. "I know," she said softly.
Jesse felt a tug behind her. Too late she realized Riley had pulled her gun. The next thing she knew Riley had the gun pointed at her own temple. Riley bore a sad look in her eyes as she pulled the trigger.
Jesse squeezed her eyes shut as gunpowder and blood splashed into her face.
"No!" Jesse cried. The girl in her arms went limp. Jesse's eyes burned, she couldn't, and didn't want to open them. She knew what she would see. In a sob she barked, "Damn you Riley!" Gritting her teeth, Jesse knelt, holding the corpse that was cooling in her arms.
.
Dawn was approaching when Jesse got up the energy to move. She did her best not to look at Riley's bloody head as she got up and looked for a place to bury her. The only thing she had to dig with was her tire iron. Picking a spot that had plenty of brush, Jesse chopped at the dirt and pulled at the plants, angrily ripping up the ground.
The effort took a long time. Midmorning she stopped to drink some water and get half her water supply into the cave. Taking the food in, she tore open a can of peanuts and crunched them down. Then, it was back to digging in the nearly knee-deep hole. She was hitting rock, and pried out a few stones that would be good for covering the grave. The bottom was uneven and in part of it, the stone made a floor. Bedrock, she wasn't getting that out. She dug deeper where she could.
Exhausted, Jesse drank some more water and ate half a can of Pringles. A few more gulps of water and it was back to digging. Half the hole was chest deep as the sun was going down. Screw it, this was better that most people got after the war started.
Dragging herself up out of the hole, Jesse found Riley had turned stiff. Her clouded over eyes were open, staring at nothing. Jesse tried to close them. The lids would move down, then slide back up.
"At least the pain is over for you," Jesse told the corpse. She hauled Riley over to the hole and put her in head first, pushing her limbs down to fit her in.
In the dark, Jesse had Riley covered and was putting the big stones on top of the grave when red and blue lights flashed into being. Looking up, Jesse saw a spotlight focused on her car.
"Fuck," she grumbled. Jesse touched her gun for assurance it was there, grabbed a bush she'd ripped up and staying low, stepped quietly to the cave entrance. By the time she got in and put the bush in front of her, two cops, guns drawn, were shining lights in the car.
"Dave! Report in, we've got the car, no one present."
"Be careful guys, this one's armed and dangerous!" a yell came back.
"Pete, there's blood spot up here! Shell casing too!"
Jesse could see one of the cops right in front of her, shining his light on the place where Riley decided she was going to end it.
"Hey, Pete! I can't raise the station, out link is cut and there's nothing on the radio but static!"
"Try your cell phone?"
"Yeah, nothing!"
Jesse knew what that meant. She pushed the bush aside and yelled, "Hey, get in here, hurry!"
A bright flashlight was immediately shown in her face. She squinted and waved. "Hurry up! Get in here"
"Come on out, keep your hands where I can see them!" the cop ordered.
Jesse thought fast. She held up her hands and said, "I can't move! I've been chained in place! I'll show you my hands but I can't get out!" Her knees were folded against a rock. As long as she could grab his hands, she could pull him in.
"Stay still, Dave…"
A bright flash, brighter than daylight lit up the sky and ground. Jesse winced, shutting her eyes. It was still bright and she could see the outlines of the objects before her.
"Ahhhh!" one of the cops cried out. The one in front of her dove to the ground. In the aftermath of the flash, she was bright-blinded, but she knew where he was. She crawled out and grabbed his hands, pulling him in.
"What the hell," he asked weakly.
"Nuclear detonation, help me get your ass in here, more nukes will be landing!" Jesse barked.
The cop struggled on his knees as Jesse pulled him in. Once they fell in and he tumbled past her, she said, "Stay away from the entrance."
From the entrance, another bright flash lit up the cave. The wind howled as a concussion wave blew past. The mountain rumbled. Jesse scrambled up to see outside, the brush was burning. The wave had blown her car farther down the path. A policeman was on the ground, screaming and covering his eyes. His uniform was smoldering. She ran out an grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him to the cave. Climbing in first she pulled him in behind her.
The first policeman had recovered enough to help her get him in. This one still had his flashlight. Another blast wave howled on by, making burning debris fly past. Jesse grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. She handed it to the other one. "What's your name?" Jesse asked.
Another flash lit up outside, then another.
"Hey! What's your name?" Jesse asked again.
"Joe, This is Dave… where's Pete?" he asked blankly.
"Most likely, dead," Jesse intoned. "Nukes are being dropped, we need to cover our faces and get lower in the cave." Between then, Dave moaned. His face was raw meat, skin was hanging off his hands.
"Dave's not going to make it," Jesse stated. She'd seen this before. If he lived a few days, it was going to be in agony. Joe's skin showed blistered red on the side of his head from the back of his neck to his cheek. Focusing on her had saved his life.
Joe gapped at her, then at the outside. "This can't be happening," he muttered.
"It is, we need to get deep, fast. Shine your light down there," Jesse ordered.
"But the bombs have gone off."
"More are coming, let's go!" Jesse said firmly.
"How do you know that?" Joe asked in a challenge.
"I've lived through this before. Help me carry him!"
They went down a rough ramp of rock and came to where the first guard post was. It was flat enough to lay Dave down. Thankfully for him, Dave had passed out. Jesse looked up. A dull orange light was coming from the entrance. "The brush is burning. I'll go up and get the supplies. Stay here and watch Dave."
Jesse climbed back up and carried as much as she could in each trip. She got the food and the water down, placing it wherever she could.
In a daze Joe looked at her and asked, "That blood on the ground, and on you, what happened here?"
Jesse sat back on a rock. "Do you remember John Connor on TV and radio, warning about the bombs?" she asked.
"Yeah, no one took it seriously … but he was right, wasn't he?"
"He was. I know John. If he says something, he's usually right. I was at Riley's house when I head the warning. I told Riley to get packed. She did. I tried to tell her foster parents that John's warning was no joke. They wouldn't listen. We left. I imagine they called the police after I left."
"Yeah, we got a call you kidnapped their foster daughter at gunpoint."
"I was trying to get them to see reason and come with us. They refused," Jesse said, correcting him. "We got up here, where I knew a resistance base was going to be made. Riley broke down. She didn't want to live … like an animal any more. See, Riley and I have lived through this war once before. The planet gets nuked and the only safe places are underground, eating whatever you can find, rats, insects, I do mean, whatever you can find. She refused to live like that again. When I was hugging her, trying to comfort her, she grabbed my gun and shot herself. I managed to give her a more-or-less proper burial. I was finishing when you guys showed up."
Joe blankly reached out his hand and said, "I need that gun."
Jesse eyed in him for a long moment then pulled her gun and held up out by the barrel to him. "You know what? Fuck it. I came back in time to make things better, I failed. The bombs are still dropping, I didn't stop the metal, and Riley is dead. Every fucking person I ever cared about is gone. The cities are gone. Your police station is in a nuclear wasteland. Go ahead, take it. You're probable the last cop alive so if you think I'm guilty, shoot me. You can deal with this shit all by yourself. I don't give a fuck any more."
He took the gun loosely, staring at her.
Jesse waited a moment, blank faced, then said, "Well, if you aren't going to kill me, I'm getting something to eat. I'm hungry."
Up above another super bright light flashed down into the cave, lighting it up briefly.
"We're all going to die," Joe said weakly.
"Unless we can find John Connor, that's a probability," Jesse agreed. "You want some? I'm only opening this once."
.
It was decided that looking in cities was a bad place to be looking for survivors. The outskirts and smaller towns had a better chance of people surviving the blasts. It was also decided that John was not to leave the bunker, for anything. Cameron got this idea going and everyone agreed. The only order from John no one would obey, was to let him out of the bunker.
Volunteers were asked for in the survivor hunt. Charlie Dixon volunteered but John turned him away. At the moment, he was the only trained medical person they had. Like John, he was too valuable to risk.
More anti radiation clothing was made, mostly with uniforms that had gloves sewn onto the ends of the arms and tucked inside boots with hoods and face cloths . The groups would be ten each. One officer, four soldiers and five searchers with tools to help get people out from under debris. All four box trucks would be used, 2 teams in each. The top of each truck had holes in the roof for lookouts. They were not to engage the enemy if at all possible, and if an engagement did happen, getting civilians out of harm's way was top priority.
Cameron led one team. The closest bunker was on a mountaintop only twelve miles away, and a vital lookout post. Cameron took her team into the canyon to climb up to the lookout post on top of their mountain, making much shorter trip outside.
The lookout post had grown some. A real ladder was what they climbed up, instead a rope ladder to get up to the post. At the top, a pit tall enough to stand in with a cover bearing soil and dead plants covered the post. View slits let the guards see outside, and a hatch let people in and out. An air cleaner had been brought up, and drew air in. the exhaust blew out of the view slits, minimizing any radiation inside the pit.
Getting her squad together, Cameron shifted the machine gun in her hand and said, "I will be point." Pointing to two soldiers, she added, You two will be wing points, back and to my sides, left and right. You other two will stay back with the rescuers and assist them as needed. We scout, then move. Everyone, be careful not to rip your clothing. I leave first, followed by the wing points, then the last two soldiers, then the rescuers. No talking unless it is vital. Hand signals only. Any questions?"
There were none. Cameron looked out the view ports then said, "Squad, exit."
Cameron scanned the area again after she got outside. Once everyone was assembled, she walked away, scanning ahead of her. Every few minutes, she looked back to ensure he squad was intact.
Cameron paused at the down slope, holding a fist up to indicate everyone to stop and crouch down. She scanned this hillside and the next, searching for any movement, threatening shapes or heat signatures. She found nothing. She raised a hand and motioned them on.
Coming down the hill, they met a dirt road. Cameron stopped them again to study the road surface. There had been no traffic here for at least a few weeks. Moving on, she stopped again finding a heat source near the stream at the bottom. Moved on alone. In the brush she found a man and two children huddled together.
"Hello, we are here to take you to safety," she said.
The man looked up at her. "Thank God! Are we at war?"
"We are," she replied. She motioned the rescuers forward.
All three could walk. Face cloths were put on them. None of them were showing hair falling out, so Cameron called back to the lookout post on the radio. "Mountain team, we found three survivors. Will need decon."
A simple 'received' came back.
Cameron sent a soldier and a rescuer back with them. She and the rest moved on. Working her way up this mountain, Cameron found more trails but no sign of movement. At the top, she slowly circled around the summit, again searching for any signs of people or terminators.
She found some. Standing still on a road coming up the mountain, two T-400's were watching the down slope of the road. Fading back, she moved and found two more by a burned-out police car. Another pair were off the road, at the entrance of where she knew another resistance base was. Again she faced back and motioned her three soldiers together to gather around her.
"There are six T-400's ahead, spread out, two by two. T-400's can be destroyed with the guns you have. They are also limited on tactical ability." Pointing to the two on the left, she told one man, "Down there, two are watching down hill. When I begin shooting, they will turn and head for where they hear gunfire. Position yourself uphill of them, but stay low and out of sight until I fire. Once they turn away, you'll be able to shoot them. If you can get both without them turning around, great. It they start to turn back at you, get under cover. The object here it to keep them out of the fight until the others are dealt with."
"Understood, Ma'am."
To the others, she said, "You two stay off to my right 50 yards. There are two beside a burned police car. Make sure you have a good firing position with cover. Once I start shooting, take them out. Keep firing until both are down."
"Understood, Ma'am."
"Take care getting into position. No noise, and stay low. Once I am ready, I will give you ten extra minutes. Rescuers, stay here and low. Go."
Cameron took her time walking crouched over to directly above the entrance. As soon as she saw the heat of the terminator easily, she laid down and crawled up behind the next large rock. She heard faint voices from ahead and to the left.
A male said, "I peeked up like you said, someone's out there."
Jesse Flores whispered back, "Describe them."
"Squarish, like they have some kind of armor on."
"Fuckin terminators!" Jesse spat. "All right, stay down, stay low, don't make any sounds."
Cameron peeked around her rock. She saw a hole in the ground. A vent in the cave below. She counted down her ten minutes, then gun ready, she shot to her feet and opened fire on the terminators. They adjusted their aim and fell over as Cameron's bullets ripped into them. They got a string of rounds off, into the air, not hitting anything. Cameron ran and jumped down in front of the entrance. To her right was gunfire. She jogged out by the police car to see both terminators down. One was moving. She put a long burst of fire into it. It stopped moving. Turning to the last threat, she strode towards the road. Her soldier appeared and gave her a thumbs up. She motioned him up to her.
.
"Who are they shooting at?" Joe asked in a whisper as the rattle of machine gun fire came through the entrance above.
"Not us, love, that's all we need to know," Jesse stated.
After the frantic rounds of gunfire, all fell silent. Then a familiar voice called, "Commander Flores, I am entering. Do. Not. Shoot!"
"It HAD to be her!" Jesse spat, then called, "Come on in, we need medics."
"I will get them."
A short time later, a form bearing a machine gun on it's back crawled in, followed by two other forms. They all had flashlights. Jesse stood up as the lead form climbed down to them.
Jesse gave a salute and said, "I hate to say this, but I'm happy to see you, General Metal."
Cameron looked at Joe, then Dave. She also eyed the meager supplies Jesse had collected.
Turning to look at the ones behind her, she said, "Wound treatment and decon for these two. The woman is Commander Flores, ensure General Connor knows she's coming."
The medics opened a kit and took out face covering hoods and suits for them.
"What about Dave?" Joe asked.
"Dave is dead, treatment will not help him," Cameron stated flatly. "Come out after you're looked at." Cameron then turned and climbed back up and went out.
"Who was that?" Joe asked, surprised by her abruptness.
"Cameron, John Connor's number one play thing." Jesse grumbled.
"Weren't those terminators out there? These people beat them?" Joe asked.
One of the medics chuckled and said, "Cameron beat them. She's a better terminator than they were."