CHAPTER ONE - CRYSTAL PEAK
Crystal Peak, Sierra Nevada Mountains - Judgment Day
It's been eight hours and both teens are in the command center. Kate is sleeping and John is sat the radio console. ''Come on, there's gotta be somebody out there.''
Kate stirs and John looks over to her. She wakes up and sees John staring at her. ''Any luck?''
''No. Not yet.''
''I think we should call it a night, John.'' Kate says as she walks over to him.
''Yeah, I think you're right.'' John stands up and they begin walking through the bunker. They find the President's room. It's a fairly spacious room that has a bed, a desk and several lockers.
''So I guess this is your room, General Connor.'' John looks at her and smiles.
''No, you can have this room. I'm gonna sleep in the big dorm back near the command center. It's close enough so I can hear the radio.''
''Are you sure?''
''Yeah. That bed looks too comfortable for me anyway.''
''Okay. Good night.''
''Good night.'' John shuts her door and walks back towards the dormitory passing the bathroom, kitchen, infirmary, supply rooms and the armory. He enters the dormitory and flicks on the light switch. The entire room is lit up.
John flips his mattress over, putting the clean side up. Moments later he falls asleep. And the nightmares start once more. Eight hours later John wakes up in a cold sweat and his hand immediately goes for the Beretta M9 tucked under his pillow.
Realising he is safe underground, he laughs. ''Pull yourself together, John. There's no machines in here.'' He climbs out of bed and enters the bathroom where he takes a shower then gets changed into clean clothes.
Checking out the rest of the bunker he finds the kitchen, infirmary and supply rooms fully stocked. He leaves the kitchen and finds the garage. Two jeeps, a motorcycle and several fuel pump are all that's inside it.
He leaves the garage and goes into the armory. It's packed with weapons, ammo and explosives. John quietly laughs to himself and looks around. The amount of weapons in here could start a small war. Which is exactly what they're gonna do.
Something in the corner catches his eye. He walks over to it and pulls off the dust sheet. It's a minigun exactly like the one his protector used eight years ago. He runs a hand over it and nods. ''It was definitely him.''
A short while later Kate wakes up to find John sat watching her sleep. ''Morning.''
''Morning. Something smells nice.''
''I made you breakfast.'' He holds up an MRE and a cup of coffee. She smiles and takes it off him then begins eating it. John cleans his 5.56 M4 Assault Rifle with holographic sight, RIS foregrip, AN/PEQ-2 laser sight and flashlight.
''Did you sleep well?''
''About eight hours. I decided to have a look around, see what I could find.''
''Did you find anything useful?'' She casually asks whilst chewing on a piece of chicken.
''Definitely. We have running water, hot and cold. Enough food and water to last us a lifetime. We've got medical supplies, fuel and a shit load of weapons and ammo.''
Kate nods. ''Are we safe? From the radiation, I mean?''
''Yeah. The Mojave area would've sustained heavy fallout but since we're buried deep beneath the mountain, I'd say we're pretty safe.''
There's a quiet moment between them and Kate decides to break the silence. ''So what do we do now?''
''We prepare. Get ready for the day we open those doors and go outside. I'm gonna teach you how to fight, make explosives, maintain and use all kinds of firearms. It's up to us to get everything ready, Kate.''
''It looks like you've had a lot of time to think about this.''
''I have.''
Kate stares at him intently. ''You knew all about it and you never tried to stop it!''
''I tried, Kate. God knows I tried. I never wanted this. Not for me, not for anybody.''
She stands up and gets in his face. ''Well you should've tried harder! My father is dead because of you! For all I know my brother could be dead because of you! You don't care about anyone but yourself! You're a selfish bastard, John Connor!''
John stands up and stares her down. ''You're calling me selfish? Fuck you, Kate! You have no goddamn idea what it was like for me growing up! Whilst you learnt alegbra, I learnt how to blow shit up! Whilst you went to the mall with your brother, I smuggled guns over the border with my mom! Whilst you worried about prom, I worried about getting my head blown off by a fucking machine that was sent to kill me!''
He throws his cup of coffee against the wall and a few tears fall from Kate's eyes. ''When I was ten years old I blew up a building to stop Skynet from being created. I threw away my entire life so you could live yours despite the fact that I didn't know you. And for what? The world ended anyway.''
''John.'''
''Don't. I don't wanna hear it.'' He leaves the room and goes into the command center.
A few seconds later Kate goes into the bathroom. She strips off her clothes and steps into the shower. The dirt on her face and body slowly washes away down the plughole. She leans against the wall and slumps to the floor sobbing.
Thirty minutes later Kate comes into the foyer and sits down next to John at the radio console. ''I'm sorry, John. I never knew how hard it was for you. Or how hard it's gonna be for you. But just remember you're not alone. I'm here with you.''
''Thank you. I appreciate it.'' They sit at the radio console in complete silence.
Six months lafter Judgment Day
''Okay, keep your grip high and your legs apart like this.'' John shows her how to hold a handgun.
''You just wanna see me spread my legs.'' Kate flashes him a mischevious grin.
''Cute. Come on, you gotta learn this.''
John and Kate have been working together for the past six months to make their living conditions more bareable. They fell into a routine and work really well as a team. Which is surprising under the circumstances.
Cooking duties are split between them. Controlling the radio console is also split between them. Whenever they're not working, John and Kate both train and plan together. They're never really alone and they do almost everything together.
John has been teaching her how to fight, how to shoot, how to make explosives and basically how to survive. It never occured to her how much hard work it would be but she's a fast learner and John's a good teacher. Just like his mother.
''Alright. Palms pressed together, grip high, legs apart. Never point the gun in a direction you're not facing. Now tell me what's in front of you.''
''Twelve o'clock?''
''Are you asking or telling?''
''Is that a trick question?'' Kate smirks and John laughs. ''It's twelve o'clock, John.''
''Okay. Let's fire off three rounds into the target. Remember, squeeze the trigger, don't pull. And always keep your eyes open. Ready?'' She nods and readies her gun. BANG! BANG! BANG! Three rounds smash into the target. Dead center.
John smiles at how her shots hit the center of the target. ''You're learning quickly.''
''Well I have a good teacher.'' Kate smiles and John smiles back. Something is forming between them. John is about to say something when the radio crackles to life. ''This is Echo Two-Bravo. Is there anyone alive out there?''
The two teens share a look and run to the radio console. John grabs the reciever and puts it to his mouth. ''Hello? Is anyone there? Come in.''
''Holy shit. Sergeant Weaver, I have someone.'' Someone is fumbling with the radio on the other end. Several long seconds later someone else comes on the radio.
''This is Staff Sergeant Alex Weaver. Platoon Sergeant of Echo Two-Bravo. US Army.''
John and Kate look at each other relieved. ''Oh, man. You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.''
''Likewise. So who am I speaking to?''
''John Connor.''
''Connor? I've heard your name being mentioned. People are saying you're in charge. Is that true?''
''I guess so. What's your status?''
''My platoon commander was killed two months ago. I was the next highest ranking soldier in the platoon. So I'm in charge of 45 soldiers. We were doing long term survival exercises down in Mexico. After we started to run low on supplies we came back over the border.''
''Where are you now?''
''Corpus Christi. We're gonna try link up with Force Recon Marines stationed there.''
''Alright, how much have you heard? What do you know?''
''Not much. Rumours mostly. People are saying we launched nukes at the Russians so they launched a counter-attack. There's also been reports of UAVs flying around.''
''No, no. They're not military UAVs. Russian or otherwise. They're HKs.''
''HKs?''
''Hunter-Killers. Skynet war machines designed to kill us.''
''Skynet? Tell me about Skynet.''
''Look, this is gonna sound really crazy so you better prepare yourself.''
''Nothing's gonna sound crazy to me anymore. Not after what I've seen. So hit me with your best shot.''
''Alright, here it is.'' John starts laying it all down for Weaver.
A short while later John has finished talking and there's a long silence. ''Weaver? Are you there?''
''Yeah, I'm still here. Machines, huh? You're right it is crazy. But for some reason I believe you. So how do we kill them?''
''Well the CPU is in the skull directly behind the right eye, so direct your fire there and you'll disable the CPU. You might be able to slow it down by disabling the main joints. Use explosives, hollow point or armor piercing ammo. That's pretty much all I know. It's on you now, Weaver. Good luck.''
''Thank you. I'll contact you on this frequency in a week. Over and out.'' Weaver signs off and John looks at Kate.
''At least we've got people on our side now.'' She beams.
''Yeah, I guess.'' They both start laughing. The entire bunker is filled with the sound of their laughter.
One year after Judgment Day
It's been exactly one year since Judgment Day and Kate is asleep in her room. She wakes up and climbs out of bed. The bunker is dead quiet and Kate enters the command center. John isn't in there. ''John, are you in here?''
She leaves the room and searches the rest of the bunker. She enters the garage and looks around. ''Where are you, John?'' A noise from the corner startles her. She takes out her Beretta Px4 and goes over to where the noise came from.
Kate finds him sat in the corner with a bottle of whiskey in his right hand and an HK Mk 23 in his left hand. He looks up at her with red eyes.
''John? Are you okay?''
''I couldn't stop it, Kate. I couldn't stop Skynet. Judgment Day still came. And all those people lost their lives because I failed. My mom told me it was I who would lead the Resistance to victory and destroy Skynet. She fed me that shit ever since the cradle.''
''John.''
He takes a swig of the whiskey. ''I mean, why me? Why do I have to lead the Resistance? Look at me. The great John Connor. I'm not a leader. I never was. And I never fucking wanted to be.'' He takes a good, long look at the gun in his hand.
''I can think of a thousand reasons to blow my goddamn brains out right now. But I can also think of one reason not to.'' He looks up at her as she comes over and kneels in front of him. John puts the gun down and begins sobbing.
''I'm so sorry, Kate. I'm so sorry.'' Kate pulls him into her and hugs him. ''I failed everybody. I failed my mom. I failed you. Please forgive me, Kate. Please forgive me.
''I forgive you, John. It's okay. Everything is gonna be okay. I promise.''
A few hours later John is sleeping in her bed and Kate is sat watching over him. She climbs into bed and studies him. Moments later she falls asleep.
One year, two months, five days after Judgment Day
John is in the garage checking the engine of one of the jeeps. He finishes and loads several bags full of clothes, weapons and ammo into it. He fills up the gas tank before leaving for the command center.
Kate is sat at the radio console when John enters. ''Everything is ready for tomorrow. Did Weaver check in?''
''Yeah. He said he'll try to reach us on the hand-held radio once he reaches Tucson.'' She stands up and walks over to John who is looking at a map.
''I think we should head south towards the border. If we avoid the major cities like LA and San Diego we should be safe.''
''John. There's something I need to talk to you about.'' He sits down on the desk as she stands in front of him.
''Okay. Go ahead.''
''We've been here for a year now and during that time I've been thinking about what the older you told us. About you and I. He said that we lead the Resistance together. As husband and wife. That might be true, I don't know, but what I do know is that I'm alive because of you. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about you but now I'm a hundred percent sure how I feel. I love you, John Connor.''
Kate puts a hand on his and he looks at her hand as it becomes intertwined with his. She is surprised when he grabs her and kisses her passionately. She reciprocates and kisses him back. John picks her up and takes her into the bedroom.
They lay down on the bed and take each others clothes off. Time fades away as they indulge in a much needed night of passion. As they climax together John looks into her eyes and says the words he's never said before. ''I love you, Katherine Brewster.''
He kisses her deeply and lays down besides her. Later on Kate is laying in his arms with her head on his chest. Both of them are enjoying each others company. ''Talk to me.''
''About what?''
''I don't know. Anything. You never told me about your father. Tell me about him.''
''Alright. His name is Kyle Reese. He died before I was born. I sent him back to 1984 in order to protect my mom from a Terminator sent to kill her.''
Kate looks at him and finally realises his pain. In order for John to be born he has to send back his own father to die at the hands of a Terminator. ''Major drag, huh?'' There's nothing she can say so she just remains quiet.
The following morning John drives the jeep into the cargo elevator and Kate activates it. They go up to the surface and John drives towards the blast doors. Kate opens them up and wind blows in. She climbs into the jeep and they look at each other.
''I guess this is it.''
''Yeah, I guess. Are you ready?''
''Not really. But as long as I have you, Kate, I'll manage.''
''We're in this together. I love you.''
''I love you too.'' And with that John drives out of the bunker with Kate by his side, as they make their way towards their destiny.