Chapter 2: DYHECC

2004

Colorado

John woke up to feel his hand on his neck already. He closed his eyes and let out a deep, strained breath as he tried to calm his racing heart. Every heartbeat sent a dull ache through his chest and John's hand moved to the place where the machine had stabbed the pole through him. He wasn't sure if it was actually aching or if it was just a memory of the pain but it hurt regardless. As he slowly sat up, he contemplated his dream. If only it would be that simple. Skynet was a machine… how could it have been afraid of him?

He shook his head slowly and felt a gust of hot air blow through the hole where a window used to be, ruffling his short dark brown hair. It was the first time in four years that they were going out and had spent the night at the ruins of what had to have been an old shopping mall. It wasn't necessarily the smartest place to hide but it was well covered so if Skynet were coming to get them via T-800 they would be able to hide for a while. The silence was enough to make John on edge and he instinctively reached for the pistol that had been lying right by his head.

John quickly checked to see if it was loaded, and it was, but he knew that there was no such thing as being too careful in the world they now lived in. He rose to his knees and shoved the pistol into his belt as his pale green eyes searched the floors for any movement. He then grabbed his radio and carefully but tightly placed a comm in his left ear. Immediately, Catherine Weaver's Scottish voice rang in his ears.

"Good morning, John."

John warily looked over the members of his squad, making sure they were still asleep before he replied.

"Good morning, Catherine. What do we have to do today?"

John slipped on his combat boots as she replied.

"Cover more ground. Search for any survivors."

He nodded as he slipped his backpack on his shoulders and picked up his rifle before walking to the door. John peeked out over the edge, pointing the gun outward as he looked over the open land. They were on the second story of four and the fall down looked like it would hurt but John knew they wouldn't have to do that. He could see the early morning guard, Laura Cooper, awake and alert and he motioned to her to come back around. She nodded and turned away from her post, headed to him. As John propped his back up against the wearing concrete, looking over the rest of his team, he talked to her.

"Any movement from Skynet?"

"Not anywhere close."

"Where is it then?"

"The heaviest activity is in Nashville, Tennessee. Some survivors were trying to set up a safe haven but Skynet has sent machines to wipe it out."

John's heart sank because of her words and he prayed that something would help spare them an awful death.

"Anywhere else?"

"There is a moderate level of activity in Los Angeles, California. A Skynet aerial patrol called a Hunter-Killer is currently scavenging for survivors amidst the many ruins. But there has been no militaristic action there yet. Just keep moving forward and bring people to base. If Skynet comes, you run, not fight. Understand?"

John licked his lips quickly as he replied coldly.

"Yes."

"Goodbye, John."

John turned to see Cooper finish jogging up the stairs and came around to meet him. Her short dirty blonde hair was tousled and sticking up from when she had slept while sweating but despite the dirt and grime that they all had on them, she still looked pretty. She hated if you said that about her because she had heard it during her 12 year service in the military but there was still light in her dark brown eyes. She stopped next to John and let out a brisk breath.

"No action."

"Nothing?"

"Not one bit. I even used the night goggles but there's nothing around here."

John's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Do you think that's strange?"

Cooper nodded briskly.

"Very… we should get out fast."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get them up."

A small smile spread across Cooper's face as she drew in a deep breath to shout.

"Dietze, Young, Homes, Eisenberg; time to go!"

The first person up was 18 year old Parker Young. She shot straight up to her feet with no sign of weariness in her at all. There was a slight dull in her green eyes but they were already open and searching which made John wonder if she had been awake the whole time. With every day that passed, she was growing more machine than human and John could tell that she was struggling to hide it. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail behind her head that would slip through the opening of her hat perfectly. She quickly put on her boots and jacket and grabbed her gun, kicking Dietze on purpose as she passed.

Joseph Dietze groaned but pulled himself up to his knees as quickly as a 41 year old former Army lieutenant would. There were flecks of ash and concrete rubble in his buzz cut black hair that he quickly brushed out. His light blue eyes were dull and half-open as he got ready for the day quickly. Sitting next to him was Sam Homes, a 23 year old young man with tan skin, bushy black hair, and small brown eyes that always dashed around wherever they went.

Then there was Peter Eisenberg who was busy shoving all of his computer equipment into his bulging backpack. He had no military experience but was good with computers and was an excellent tactician. He had shoulder length blonde waves that he refused to cut and blue-grey eyes that reminded John of storm clouds. Once they were all to their feet with their rifles in hand, Catherine's voice quickly entered John's head again.

"Hunter-Killer approaching. Wait to alert your team until you hear it."

"Okay… we're moving out. Be on the look-out for anything. At this point, we have no idea what's coming but we need to be ready for it."