Chapter 8: Eager Minds
Colorado
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Laura Cooper wasn't one to stress but anxiety plagued her as she watched the sun fading in the sky. As she pushed her tired body onward, her posture stiffened and her grip on her rifle tightened. She couldn't help but search their surroundings every couple minutes more than she already did. A harsh yet beautiful golden glow cast over the dirt and rubble, threatening to close in on them before they could find a shelter for the night. So far, they hadn't been very lucky. They had been sighted by a Hunter-Killer and attacked by a Terminator so the idea of being out in the open made her spine tingle.
She didn't have as much military experience as she would have liked but apparently a girl who had been raised by a hunter knew enough to accompany John Connor. She had always been intrigued with the Connors. She vividly remembered the day they had brought John and his crazy mother into the United States. She had also predicted that they would get loose again and they did. Laura had to admit that she was impressed with their endless supply of grit. It took a special person to be able to live in the same country and evade the law the way they did. They went as deep off the grid as one could go. And as Laura watched John interact with Homes like they were the best of friends, she couldn't keep the thought in her head.
"How does he do it?"
Both Dietze and Eisenberg stopped their conversation and turned to her with confused expressions. Eisenberg leaned forward to get a better glimpse at her face as he spoke tiredly.
"What'd you say, Cooper?
Laura gestured at John's back with her gun.
"Connor… how do you think he does it? I mean, think of all that he has to manage. Compared to us, he's technically still a kid."
Dietze's eyes set on the ground beneath his feet as Eisenberg's head turned to the sky. He squinted from the sunlight and shrugged.
"I dunno. It's just what he does."
Laura fought back a chuckle by rolling her eyes.
"Thank you, Eisenberg, for your words of wisdom."
Eisenberg laughed and Laura's eyes drifted to Dietze whose face looked set in stone. Lines of seriousness crinkled along his forehead making him look older than he was. Laura playfully nudged his arm but his eyebrows only furrowed deeper.
"Dietze. You good?"
Dietze nodded slowly as his eyes moved from the ground to John.
"Connor sure does a lot… but I don't think he does as much as we think."
Eisenberg spit on the ground before he replied.
"And how would you know?"
Dietze's face turned away from Laura as he looked to Eisenberg but she could tell from the slight shock on Eisenberg's face that Dietze was not in a good mood.
"How long have we known Young now?"
Laura pursed her lips before replying for Eisenberg.
"About a year and a half."
"And yet we had no idea that she was a machine until this morning. That's a pretty big secret to keep."
"She's only half machine."
"But still… I don't know about you, but I'm not sure I want to trust someone who works with an undercover machine. And if there's one, there's got to be more."
Laura slung her gun over her shoulder, frowning at the thought. It had crossed her mind before and still felt uneasy about it. Just the thought was enough for her to think it had to be true.. She turned back to Dietze, speaking softly.
"Can you blame him? This would be impossible to fight without machines on our side."
"But how do we know they're on our side? If they're undercover here, they could be undercover for Skynet and no one would ever know. Not even Connor would know. Besides, machines aren't going to take orders from him. He's got to have someone helping him."
Laura chuckled as she watched a look of determination settle over Dietze's hard face.
"Well yeah, think of who his mother is. There's no doubt she got help."
"I don't think he knows where she is."
Eisenberg leaned in closer.
"What?"
"I don't think he knows where she is."
Laura scoffed.
"How is that possible?"
"My guess? They got separated somehow. Or maybe he separated himself from her."
"I doubt that. After everything they've been through together, they're not going to part ways."
Dietze rolled his eyes quickly before he turned to Laura.
"Think of all the trouble he's had because of her. I would run fast as hell if my mother was Sarah Connor. Besides, she hates machines. How do you think she would react if she knew that her son was working with the very things that they've spent their whole lives running from?"
Dietze turned to Eisenberg, speaking harshly.
"The very things that have tried to take their lives and ours so many times. At any second Skynet could control those machines and eliminate everything we've got!"
Laura couldn't help looking over her shoulder at Parker Young. The young woman was turned away from them, her eyes constantly moving as she watched their surroundings for any sign of trouble. What if she was listening? There was no way to know if she was without saying so. Laura's heart began to beat faster as she turned to look at Connor. Maybe there was a machine behind Parker; seeing what she saw and hearing what she heard. Maybe there was a machine, like Skynet, that was busy monitoring their every move. Maybe this machine was fooling Connor. Maybe that machine was Skynet. And as Laura looked back at Dietze, she could see the panic in his light blue eyes. He had been a soldier in the Army before this war and the terror was evident. And if he was scared, she had every reason to be. His eyes locked onto her's as he said the words they were all thinking.
"I think a machine is in charge of the Resistance and that Connor's there to make sure people don't know about it."
Eisenberg nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowing as he pointed at Connor's back.
"He always seems to know where to go."
Dietze's posture stiffened as he nodded bitterly in return.
"Yeah, he's got a voice in his head that tells him what to do."
Laura shook her head slowly.
"He's on comms. How did we not see that?"
Dietze shrugged.
"You're not military."
Eisenberg's face twisted with confusion.
"But you were. How come you didn't recognize until now?"
Dietze's jaw set as he turned slowly to Eisenberg.
"Because I didn't know Young was a machine."
Laura looked away from the two as they began to argue and took in a few deep breaths of the warm but cooling air. She squinted her eyes to see vague structures in the distance and couldn't help but think that Connor had led them here because he knew it would there. She understood someone being there to help him but she couldn't see how it could be machines. He had spent his entire life, running, fighting, and hiding from them. And because of that he had been a fugitive by birth. The machines had ruined his entire life. Sure, he probably didn't know any other way but that thought would have been enough for Laura to turn her back on it.
The wind rustled through her short blonde hair and she quickly fixed it, looking back to Dietze. His light blue eyes were wild and excited as if he were coming up with some kind of master plan. She could see Eisenberg buying more into Dietze's story and worried what they might do. If they could get angry enough, she didn't know what they would do. They could really hurt John if they wanted to. Laura didn't completely trust him but he was still a kid and the last thing she wanted to do was have John Connor's blood on her hands. And if Parker could hear what they were saying, Laura wasn't sure if she would stop them or let them hurt John. There was no doubt that Laura was frightened but she was also intrigued so she listened close. She waited until Dietze was done talking before she quickly leaned in, speaking apprehensively.
"Whatever you're going to say, don't do it here. She could be listening."
"Fine, but I think it's time we find out who's on what side."
