Chapter 4: Get Up

Colorado

"Stay still and try to feel the vibrations. You will need to learn to detect them if you want to keep your team safe."

Parker Young growled at the voice in her head.

"I know, Catherine."

She ignored the machine and slowly walked the hallway of the third floor, searching for anything out of the ordinary. Since the building was still standing, her best guess was that this mall had been robbed not long after the first missiles had been fired. White and silver metal mannequins were strewn across the glass littered floor. Shelves had been broken down and all glass windows, doors, and cases had been shattered. A chill ran down Parker's spine as her eyes locked onto a red stained baseball bat lying behind the counter. She didn't have to go closer to know it was blood and that one if not a few had to have been clubbed pretty hard.

Parker shook her head slowly as she turned her back on the store and focused on the hallway again. People had gone crazy once Skynet had sent off the bombs and she knew because she had witnessed it. She had watched from the Denver base computers as people fought and killed each other for all the supplies they could get. The whole point was a training exercise to have her learn how to turn her emotions off. It made her sad to see people so desperate and heartless but not as sad as she thought it would. And she wanted nothing more than to rip all the nanites out of her muscles and sever herself from both Skynet and JOHN HENRY. She hadn't realized how much she had missed being human until she had moments where she could feel the machine.

"Your heart rate has elevated. What are you thinking about?"

Parker drew in a deep breath and tried to keep her cool.

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

"You are thinking too much. Your mind must be empty in order to receive signals."

She nodded and stopped where she was, trying to focus on feeling any kind of vibration. Parker waited patiently with her eyes closed, taking in her surroundings. The sun was out and it was beginning to get hotter as the wind rushed through the open windows. She stopped breathing and focused on hearing the wind, trying to see if it was consistent or not. But after a few minutes, one large gust got her attention. She opened her eyes and looked down at the ground, feeling it begin to shake under her feet. It was subtle but she knew that it was going to increase.

Parker walked to the edge of the railing and looked straight up into the sky. She stared intensely, not blinking because she was afraid she would miss something. Her heart beat quickened as she waited and a chill ran down her spine as she caught a glimpse of silver in the sky, hiding behind a cloud. She waited a few seconds more and saw another flash and felt the warm air come from the engines down on the building. As she turned on her heel she whispered under her breath.

"Hunter-Killer."

She walked into a shop and placed her hands on the wall to brace herself. Then she drew in a deep breath before she took off running and jumped over the railing. She grit her teeth as she began to fall, ready to plant her feet into the ground. She noticed John Connor and the rest of the ground begin to gather and come out into the open. She let out a small gasp of pain as her feet slammed into the concrete, making small dents. Parker fell forward on her knees, trying to shake the shock of the landing off and felt herself begin to slowly lose feeling in her feet. She growled out a curse as she looked back up, noticing the Hunter-Killer pulling out its gun to fire.

John moved to walk toward her but Parker put her hand out and shouted.

"NO!"

Parker noticed John's face furrow in confusion but three seconds later, purple plasma blasts were raining from the sky. He stepped back and ripped the gun bag out of Joseph Dietze's hands and tossed it to Parker. She leaned forward to catch it and opened it as fast as possible. She stifled back a cry as a plasma blast hit her left shoulder and tried to make herself as small as possible as she pulled out a plasma rifle. The Hunter-Killer had moved out from behind the cloud and was perfectly visible as it tried to destroy the building. The ground shook as it hovered over them and Parker struggled to see through the wind blowing her hair.

Her heart began to pound with adrenaline that was accompanied by a small shock to her muscles. She aimed her rifle at the sky and shot at the gun, praying she wouldn't be killed. Parker grit her teeth and planted herself in the ground as she leaned back to fire up at the machine. She could see the purple blasts splatter against the sleek silver metal and knew that they didn't have enough firepower to take on a Hunter-Killer. Even if she could try to keep them protected, she would be overwhelmed and eventually they would find John.

The lasers blasted through the concrete around her, spraying dust and asphalt in her face. With every shot she took, the gun had to stop to recharge and it was taking too long. Parker fired as often as she could, feeling blood begin to run down her left shoulder. She hoped it was just a flesh wound and not something serious. That was the last thing she needed to deal with. She drew in a quick breath and watched a hangar door open, spitting something out.

The Hunter-Killer stopped firing and flew out of sight leaving one Terminator behind to take care of the rest of the work. Parker shakily rose to her feet and looked each direction to try and find where the Terminator would come from. She looked over her shoulder to see that the group had hidden and she was glad. Parker turned back and let her eyes travel back and forth, plotting how she was going to fight the machine. She heard a shot go off and turned around, firing at the machine a few feet behind her. The machine faltered for a moment but continued to move forward. Parker fired one last shot to its head and pulled the trigger again only for nothing to come out.

She drew in a deep breath as she dropped the gun onto the ground, ready to fight. She stared straight into its bright red eyes as she took a step forward to meet it. She gasped as she felt another spark tighten her muscles inside, strengthening her. Parker formed a fist with her left hand and punched its chest, hearing a satisfying clunk as pain ripped across her knuckles. The Terminator grabbed her wrist as she moved to pull it back for another strike and pulled her forward, knocking her off balance. Parker stumbled forward, closer to the machine, and took the opportunity to dig her fingers into the opening at its neck, scrambling for wires.

Parker quickly pulled one and gripped another but the Terminator kicked her knee out from under her. She gasped in pain as tears blurred her eyes but she blinked them away. The machine grabbed her arm and moved to twist it behind her back to break it but she pushed against it and the machine made one step forward. Parker slammed her right foot on the ground and when she lifted it a small compartment revealed a knife. She bent down and grabbed it and turned, jamming it into the machine's knee joint. Parker instantly felt a snap and fell to the ground as blood filled her mouth. She opened her mouth slowly and heard it creak and she knew it wouldn't be the same.

She spit blood out onto the ground and moved to get up but the Terminator's foot landed on her back, pushing her down to the ground. Parker's mind raced as she began to panic, trying to block out old memories and fears. She reached back with her right arm but the Terminator bent down and pinned it on the ground before it dug its other hand into the shot wound she had received earlier. Parker screamed in pain and felt her strength began to dwindle as a voice split through her head.

"Get up now or you will die."

Parker grit her teeth together and tried to push herself up and felt the Terminator take its hand off of her left shoulder. A shot rang in the air, followed by three more and she gasped as she felt the Terminator step off of her. But there was no time to rest. Parker rolled onto her back and pulled her legs in, kicking the machine in the chest. She scrambled to her feet as the Terminator stepped back and leaned forward, pulling the knife out of its knee. Then she jumped onto the machine, knowing that its red eyes had a perfect look at her face and the momentum knocked them to the ground. She sat up and stabbed the knife into its head.

The Terminator began to shake and Parker rose to her knees, using all the strength she had to push down on the chip. Parker's arm burned with effort and pushed until she felt an electrifying snap in the air. She gasped in surprise as she leapt back, falling onto the ground. Parker moved to get up and finish the job but was unable to do it. Her eyes widened as she stared at the sky, trying to get ahold of her breaths. The machine had shocked her. She struggled to lift her head but laid it back against the jagged concrete, tasting metal in her mouth. She grit her teeth in pain.

"What the hell was that?"

"It shocked you."

"I know that!"

"You should..."

Parker shook her head as she tried to block Catherine's voice out of her head, ignoring what she was saying. She finally lifted her head up and noticed John start to move out and Parker panicked. She couldn't allow him to compromise his position. Skynet didn't know where he was and it had to stay that way.

"Come on Parker, get up!"

She moved her arms and let out a cry as she fell back down.

"Dammit, Parker, get up!"

She growled and forced herself to move. She rose to her knees with a gasp and crawled back to the Terminator. Parker stopped by its head and kicked the knife trying to jam it in the machine's head.

"Come on! Come on!"

Parker pulled her legs back and kicked one last time and watched as the knife slid in and stuck. She gasped and leaned forward to watch the Terminator's red eyes dim to nothing. Parker let out a sigh of relief and laid back on the concrete, staring at the sky once more.

"Well done, Parker."

Parker shook her head slowly as she spoke.

"Shut up, Catherine."

"Next time I would suggest using the plasma rifle so make sure you don't run out of charges. Also…"

Parker rose to her feet in an instant, feeling a surge of power, and gripped the machine's head and pulled with all her might. After letting out one final cry, she finally felt it move and dug into the larger opening of its neck and ripped out the wires as fast as she could.

"How about now, huh!?"

Parker stood up and started kicking its head in anger.

"Why is it never good enough!? I swear I'm gonna tear your…"

"Parker!"

She stopped exclaiming once she felt hands on her shoulder and turned to see John standing there, breathing heavily.

"It's okay, Parker. It's dead. You did it."

Parker closed her eyes and John wrapped one arm around her.

"It's okay."

She opened her eyes and felt her stomach suddenly lurch inside of her. She leaned forward and gasped as her legs buckled from under her. John quickly ducked down and wrapped his arms under her's as she fell, kneeling on the ground.

"Whoa… are you okay?"

"I… I…"

"You need to stay awake, Parker. Get up."

Parker felt a shock and gasped, feeling more exhausted than energized. John looked over her worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

Parker opened her mouth to speak but couldn't. Her head snapped back limply and all she could hear was Catherine's voice piercing in her head.

"Infiltrator-953, I order you to stay awake."

"You can't… she can't… tell me what to do."

John's green eyes widened as he looked at her.

"What is she saying?"

"Stay… awake."

John nodded and spoke eagerly.

"Hey Parker. I need you to stay awake, okay? I need you. You can't give out on me now. We need to move. The Hunter-Killer will come back and we have to be gone. We have to be far away we need you. Please, Parker. Please stay with me."

"John, I…"

"Please, Parker. Stay with me. Stay awake for me."

Parker's breaths grew slower as she looked into his eyes. She had to stay awake. She had to… for him. He needed her; not Catherine, not JOHN HENRY… John Connor needed her. Parker drew in a deep breath before she gripped John's wrists.

"I can do it. I can do it."

John nodded quickly with a small smile on his face.

"Okay. Okay."

"Help me stand."

"Yeah."

Parker grit her teeth as she rose to her feet and nodded.

"I can do it."

"I know you can. Besides, you're going to have to explain how you were able to defeat a Terminator."

Parker frowned at the thought.

"Yeah…"