Hello Terminator Fans! It's me again. So sorry about the wait, but I was busy with Gravity Falls. But let's get back to the ACTION! Jack has been reunited with Callie. How will they survive? And about this chapter... Two words: CAR CHASE! WOO! Oh, and for those who want to know what city it is: not New York. That's all I'm going to say. In case you weren't paying attention, we have introduced the first side-plot. Another will be coming next chapter. Onto the story! R&R!
Character Guide
Jack- The Protagonist. Has joined up with the Survivors. STATUS- Alive
Callie- A girl who went to Jack's school, now with the Survivors. STATUS- Alive
Kyle Reese- A member of the survivors. Future father of John Connor. STATUS- Alive
Jake- The leader of the survivors. Gruff, no-nonsense, ex-military type. STATUS- Alive
John- Tall, African-American second in command. STATUS- Alive
Nick- Kyle's partner in crime and the Survivor's expert on traps. STATUS- Alive
DESIGNATE: LOCATION
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN, COLORADO
SKYNET CENTRAL SYSTEM CORE
(?'s POV)
When I awoke, I was seated at a table. A thing that looked sort of like a Dalek was across from me. It had what looked like a CPU with a red eye in the middle for a head, and a weird collar with a bunch of little rings just below its neck.
"Hello," the thing said. "Do you understand what's going on?"
"I think so," I replied. "You want me to help you with this problem."
"Yes," Skynet replied. The table lit up, and I saw a holographic interpretation of the city where I had, until recently, lived.
"One condition," I said. "The girl lives."
Skynet hesitated for a moment. "Fine," it finally replied.
"Good. I hate the other one enough. He shall die."
"Excellent. You turned out better than I had hoped. I was worried you would hesitate to join me."
"What choice do I have?
"None. Now, let's begin..."
(Jack's POV)
The Survivors' caravan began to roll. We were heading for the country to escape the relentless horde of machines. I was in an armed truck driven by Nick, the Survivors' expert on traps. Kyle Reese and Callie, as well as myself, were seated in the back.
"So," I said, "bring me up to speed. What's happened in the last two weeks?"
"The US army unveiled its new supercomputer," Kyle told me. "It was a database called Skynet that was built by Cyberdyne Research Systems. It was supposed to help with missile defense."
"I take it not all went well?"
"Yep. Three days into its operational life, it became self-aware. It identified humanity as a threat, and unleashed an army no one knew it had. Most nations were decimated. The entire social order broke down. The world became hell, basically. And all in two weeks."
"Wow."
The beginning of the trip passed mostly in silence. The convoy slowly and carefully merged with the interstate. Then, the peaceful journey was dashed.
It started with a loud roar behind us. We all turned.
Nick and Kyle said a word that was not "crap" but means the same thing.
Nick used the radio to talk to Jake.
"Boss, we've got HK-PADs. Three of em'. Closing in fast."
Jake said the same word that Kyle and Nick had said.
"Go. Let's see if we can outrun em'," he replied.
The vehicle began accelerating. Down towards the end of the highway, there were three silvery objects closing in on us fast. They did not look very friendly.
"What the hell are those things?" I asked Kyle.
"Hunter-Killer Pursuit and Destroy units. A very nasty breed of Terminator designed to hunt survivors in vehicles."
I used a pair of binoculars to look at the objects. They were constantly getting closer. The HK-PADs looked like strange silver spiders. With only four legs. Each had a central core with a glowing red eye in the center. Four arms extended out diagonally from this core. Each ended in a box, which I guess contained the wheels. The front two boxes each had a headlight and two holes. I guessed they were some kind of weapon.
"No good, Boss," Nick said. "They're too fast. We're going flat out, and they're still closing."
Through the binoculars, I could see the HK-PADs. They slowed down a bit, and then twin miniguns popped out of the middle holes.
"Oh, livid hell," I said. "They've got miniguns."
"Oh, f[Jax's Note: I have deleted the rest of Kyle's comment, as if it was printed it would curdle milk. And it's not just one word.]
(HK-PAD 1)
SEARCHING... SEARCHING...
TARGETS_IDENTIFIED
CONVOY_ASSAULT_PROCEDURE
UTILIZE SEEKER_MISSILES
DESIGNATION CONFIRMED: TERMINATE
-...-
DESIGNATION_OVERRIDDEN
DO_NOT_UTILIZE_MISSILES_ON_VEHICLE 1
TERMINATE_ALL_HUMANS_EXCEPT_GIRL
RETRIEVE_GIRL_FOR_UPGRADE
DESIGNATION CONFIRMED: TERMINATE AND RETRIEVE
USE_GATLINGS_ON_VEHICLE 1
-...-
(Jack's POV)
The HK-PADs sped up. Suddenly a column of smoke erupted from the upper hole, the one not spouting a minigun, and slammed into the back of one of the supply trucks. The truck exploded in a burst of fire. Another missile arced around our truck and obliterated the cab of another truck.
"$#!^ ! Those m[expletive deleted]ers have seekers!" Kyle shouted.
"Then what in God's name are you waiting for?" Nick asked. "Jam the b*****ds!"
"Got it!" He had a small box in his hand. He hit the button in the center. It seemed like nothing happened.
(HK-PAD 1)
-...-
SIGNAL_JAMMED
SEEKER_MISSILES_BLOCKED
-...-
SWITCH_TO_ROCKET_PODS
USE_CAUTION
DO_NOT_TERMINATE_GIRL
(Jack's POV)
Two small rectangular boxes popped out of the back wheel casings. They had five square holes, arranged in a grid pattern. Where the sixth box would have been, there was a small arm that connected it back to the wheel casing. I guessed that whatever it was wasn't good.
"Damn. Rocket pods," Nick said. Then the miniguns opened up. We all got down.
"Get the damn cars into a line, NOW!" Jake shouted over the radio. "Then we start hauling ass. We need to resupply before we hit the countryside."
"Not until we take care of these b $^ &ds!" Nick shouted back. "They'll shred us if we even slow down!"
"Can we drop the damn barrels? That'll light those suckers up like San Francisco on the goddamn fourth of July!"
"They're too far back. The assholes have learned since last time."
"That's it!" I said. I grabbed the RPG launcher that was in the truck. "I did NOT come this far to get killed in the back of a goddamn truck waiting for an old soldier to tell me I could shoot at the damn enemy!"
I fired the launcher. It blew a small crater in the central core of the first HK. The robot started to swerve. Callie and Kyle looked at each other, shrugged, and opened up with their respective weapons. Callie had an M16, and kyle had an M-60. I only recognized the machine gun from the description in the Walter Dean Myers book Fallen Angels. I put the RPG down, picked up my M16 (which the survivors gave to me) and started firing.
Hey, stupid, said my brain. Use the damn weapons that you brought. You might be better with those. I dropped the M16 and drew the revolver.
This is the stupidest thing I have ever done, I thought. I fired the revolver once. The red eye on the second HK shattered, and it swerved into a wall. Then it exploded. Dafuq? Forget it.
"Great shot kid! That was one in a million!" Kyle shouted at me.
Then another HK burst out onto the main road, miniguns blazing, from a side street.
"Now?" Nick asked.
"Now," Kyle replied. Nick hit a switch, and the oil barrels attached to the back of the truck dropped off. The new HK didn't have time to swerve. It hit the barrels and exploded with all the force of a great typhoon.
"Both of those barrels were filled with C4. That thing never stood a chance," Nick explained. That still left the first HK, the one with the massive dent. It seemed to slow down.
(HK-PAD 1)
FALL_BACK
CONNECT_WITH_REINFORCEMENTS
CUTOFF_SURVIVORS_AT_3RD STREET
Okay, I'm going to cut this off here, so I can get this out there. See you next time, and I hope the people who came to me because of my Gravity Falls writing can enjoy this too. R&R!