CHAPTER 6

"So he told you about me…and what will happen…or has already happened?" John asked as he and Savannah walked through a winding darkened corridor. He found it quite difficult to grasp how he could comfortably speak about the future that he was now in, but which was apparently a present timeline for everyone else.

"He tried to relay as much information to me as he could once he thought I was old enough to understand." Savannah stated and then paused for a brief moment as if she were searching for the right words to say.

"Some of his information came directly from your mother…" John stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of his mother.

"What happened to my mother?" He asked with an anxiety riddled voice. Savannah turned her body slightly towards John as she searched for the correct statement.

"With every law enforcement agency in the country looking for her…" Savannah hesitated for a brief second, "…she didn't last long." John felt a sickening feeling begin to grow in his stomach.

"What HAPPENED to my mother?" he asked again with a bit of anger in his voice this time around. While he was not angry at Savannah the weight of the situation was quickly overpowering him.

"She was caught and arrested shortly after the incident at Zeira Corporation." John used his hand to brace himself against the wall as he felt the strength draining out of him.

"Everyone viewed her as some sort of domestic terrorist…she didn't receive much sympathy when she was convicted." John's eyes widened slightly.

"She received the death penalty, but Judgment Day occurred before it could be carried out." Savannah shifted her eyes slightly downward towards the ground

"I'm sorry John; I don't know what happened to her after that." John exhaled slowly as he tried to take it all in.

"So she could still be alive?" He asked, however he felt almost certain that the answer would be "no".

"I don't know." Savannah replied. "All I know is that I'm one of the last people left alive that knows anything about your story and she has never contacted me." John stood silent for a moment, and then suddenly the rest of Savannah's statement came through to him.

"One of the last ones left? What about Mr. Ellison?" Savannah's eyes immediately shifted back down towards the ground.

"He was…he was murdered." She responded and then added, "Just a few weeks before Judgment Day." Still racked with sorrow for his mother, John leaned up against the wall and spoke in a quiet voice,

"I'm sorry." he said, however, Savannah did not immediately respond. For a moment she stood silently staring at the ground. Then she slowly looked up at John.

"You know the man that killed him." Savannah's words were not a question, but a statement and this shocked John. How could he know who killed Mr. Ellison?

"What do you mean I know him?" he asked. There was another brief pause by Savannah before she spoke again, this time only saying one name.

"Danny Dyson." These words horrified John. The last time he had seen Danny, he had been a child. Surely this was a mistake.

"I think…I think Dyson knew what was about to happen and he knew that James would be a valuable asset in the future. Especially with everything that Sarah had told him." John leaned his head back against the wall still attempting to absorb this revelation. After a brief moment an unusual question came to him,

"He didn't come after you as well?" John asked. The instant he did so, John saw a look of anguish immediately streak across Savannah face. Then there was a sudden change to something else. Her look appeared to be a culmination of fear, anger, dread, sorrow, and pain. Finally, Savannah spoke, a certain eerie, raspiness in her voice,

"He did…" There was another few seconds of silence between the pair before Savannah spoke. "Come on..." She said as she motioned with her head back down the hallway, turned and began to walk away from John, who remained speechless. Amongst all the other turmoil and questions in his mind, John had to wonder exactly what Danny Dyson had done to Savannah. What had befallen her? John slowly pushed away from the wall and began to silently follow her.

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Alison Young stretched her bare arms out above her head stretching her body. She arched her back slightly underneath the thin sheets which barely covered her naked body. Turning her head she looked over at Martin and smiled slightly.

"That was nice…" She said, in an archly seductive tone. But soon afterwards her facial expression changed to one of dismay.

"Are you sure you have to go so soon?" She asked. Martin nodded his head.

"They need me back at my camp." He paused for a brief moment then spoke again.

"Ever since Perry's faction began their push for more ground, it's become even more difficult for me to be away." Alison nodded her head.

"I understand." She replied as her eyes shifted away from Martin. After a moments silence she then looked back at him.

"I could." Alison hesitated for a moment trying to hide her emotion. "I could always go back with you." Though she tried to conceal it, there was a distinct pleading look hidden behind her eyes. Martin took a long slow breath and before he could speak Alison interrupted him, betraying her emotions even further,

"I could be useful; I could help your faction." Martin glanced down towards the foot of the mattress they were lying on before speaking in a saddened voice.

"I know you could, but you know how badly they need you here." He hesitated, "You know…I need you here." Alison fought back the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes.

"I know." She replied solemnly. She then rolled slightly over on her side still looking at Martin. Another few seconds of silence drifted by as the couple lay next to each other. Then a slight smile danced across Alison's face.

"Doesn't mean we can't have as much fun as we can while you're here." Martin looked back over at Alison and smiled,

"You do know how to lighten the mood don't you?" He asked. Alison's smile broadened,

"It's one of my many talents" She responded in a mischievous tone as she gently leaned over and kissed Martin. After a few seconds, he responded by slowly sliding his arms around her, pulling her on top of him.

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The screeching sound of the metal hinges awoke John from his slumber. He immediately sat upright on the dirty mattress where he lay on. Looking over towards the door of the small room he observed Savannah stepping through the doorway.

"Sorry…" she replied, "…didn't mean to disturb you. I just came to get some maps for the Colonel." John blinked his eyes a few times trying to focus.

"It's okay." He replied. Before he could make another statement Savannah interrupted him.

"You get any sleep?" she asked.

"A little…" John replied as Savannah made her way over to a backpack located on the floor across from him and began to search through it, eventually pulling out several folded pieces of paper, presumably maps. As she stood from her kneeling position she looked briefly at John with an almost curious look. After a few seconds of this John spoke,

"What?" he asked. Savannah stood silently for another moment before speaking.

"So you really came here for it didn't you?" John gave Savannah a somewhat confused look, even though he was relatively certain what she was talking about.

"For it?" he asked, accidentally letting some anger slip through his tone of voice over the possibility that Savannah was calling Cameron an "it".

"For your machine friend…For Cameron." Savannah stated in a somewhat apologetic tone and then continued,

"You came across time for her." John opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He found it strange that in all the time he had to think about the actions he had done, he had in actuality not done so. His initial reaction to go with Catherine Weaver had been more of a reaction rather than a thought out plan. In fact John had avoided asking himself this specific question because in actuality he really did not want to answer it. However, while he had avoided a precise verbal response, his emotional state was far more betraying. John knew exactly why he had followed Cameron to this new and twisted future.

John sat silently, choosing not to reply to Savannah's question. He did not want to answer. He did not know how to answer. Savannah wrinkled her forehead in an ever so slight bit of annoyance.

"She really did a number on you didn't she?" Savannah asked. John gave her another perplexed look.

"What do you mean?"

"Cameron…She got you to actually care about her." Savannah paused briefly then continued,

"I mean, I completely understand, they're very good at that. I thought one was my mother for quite some time. But, I was young then, and this is different." Savannah took another step closer to John looking into his eyes with her icy green irises. She then gave out a slightly arrogant laugh and smiled.

"She did it didn't she."

"Did what?" John asked becoming more defensive by the second. Then something strange happened which completely took him off guard. The look of arrogance on Savannah's face faded. She now had a look John could only describe as sadness now encompassing her. Savannah moved slightly closer to him. She discretely placed the maps she had in her left hand down on the floor at the foot of the mattress where John was seated. Slowly Savannah sat down at the foot of the bed across from him turning her body so that she could lean her back up against the wall. She tucked one leg under the other trying to sit comfortably. Turning slowly to John she spoke in a more soothing voice.

"She got you to fall in love with her." John sat speechless with a look of shock on his face. Savannah smiled slightly letting out a slight chuckle and spoke in an almost solemn voice,

"Not something I encounter all that often." John tilted his head slightly to the side, having apparently picked up this mannerism from Cameron somewhere along the way.

"What?" he asked.

"Love…" Savannah responded quietly. John took a deep breath as Savannah continued.

"Most people here just take what they can get…or if they have enough power they take what they want." There was a certain remorseful sadness in Savannah's voice as she spoke. There was another moment of silence between them before Savannah spoke again.

"So you haven't seen Catherine since you got here?" John found the break from the original discussion somewhat jarring but managed to recover and rendered a response.

"Not since shortly after I got here." Savannah shook her head.

"Knowing her, you may never see her again." John frowned slightly upon hearing this. While he had no idea where Catherine Weaver currently was he surmised that she would at least make contact with him at some point. Savannah leaned her head back resting it up against the concrete wall that she was resting against.

"Bitch killed my parents." She said quietly.

"What?" John asked in a surprised tone. Savannah glanced over at John.

"That thing, what you knew as Catherine Weaver. She killed my mother and father."

"How do you know?" John asked.

"It's kind of obvious." Savannah stated. "Terminators don't allow the person or people they replace to live. My father was an excellent pilot and I don't buy that he would have let his helicopter deteriorate to such a state that it would have went down due to something as simple as metal fatigue." Not knowing what to say John nodded his head acknowledging Savannah's well-made points.

"Who knows what she would have done to me if I had figured out what she was."

"I don't think she was working with Skynet though." John added

"I don't care who she was with…She KILLED my parents." John nodded his head again in solemn agreement.

The pair remained in silence for the time being until suddenly a noise could be heard coming through the walls of the room. It was the sound of helicopter blades. Savannah quickly looked up towards the ceiling.

"Skynet?" John asked with a certain anxiety in his voice. Savannah shook her head,

"Skynet doesn't use choppers…"

"One of yours then?" Savannah shook her head again.

"No…we would never fly this close to someone else's camp unless…" Her voice trailed off as she quickly stood and picked up the maps that she had lain down at the foot of the mattress and threw them inside of her backpack, pulling it around her shoulder.

"We need to go…NOW!" She moved towards the door. John quickly rose from his seated position and followed after her. Upon reaching the door Savannah glanced back at him.

"We need to get you a weapon." She said as she drew her side arm and slowly opened the door in front of her.

"What's going on?" John asked. Savannah turned to him just before moving through the doorway.

"We're being attacked…by other humans." After speaking Savannah motioned with her head for John to follow her and then moved through the doorway.