"There is a greater darkness than the one we fight...It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope..."
J. Michael Straczynski

...

CHAPTER 18

The Blackhawk helicopter jolted slightly as it touched down onto the helipad and the engines groaned as they began to power down. A beaten and exhausted John Connor slowly turned his head and looked out of the window of the helicopter with a vacant and dazed look in his eyes. John had not spoken a word since their transition from the SUV over to the helicopter. The early morning sunlight was just beginning to make its way between the burnt out buildings that surrounded the helicopter. For the moment John remained motionless just staring out of the window. A few moments passed before the passenger compartment's door was pulled open. Cold air rushed in and whipped around the interior compartment. John squinted his eyes in the light that was now being allowed in.

Savannah Weaver stood in the doorway. The wind from the still spinning helicopter blades whipped her hair around and a few strands found their way across her eyes. Using her hand she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"John…" She said, "…come with me." As John climbed out of the helicopter he saw Sergeant Spears walking past him in the direction of an old, beat up pickup truck. John presumed he was going to use this vehicle to tow the helicopter to a more clandestine location after it had been fully secured.

Savannah motioned with her head for John to follow her and they made their way over to a dark green Jeep Wrangler that was parked several yards away from the landing area. Upon reaching it two soldiers exited the vehicle and made their way to back to a second Jeep that was parked directly behind the Wrangler that awaited John and Savannah.

"We need to hurry…" Savannah said as she climbed into the driver's seat, "…we can't risk being out long after sunrise." John did not respond except to quietly make his way around to the passenger's side of the Jeep and enter the vehicle after which Savannah put the Wrangler into gear and both Jeeps began to make their way down a rocky and debris strewn roadway.

.

.

.

John walked down the darkened stairwell following closely behind Savannah; the air inside the corridor although slightly warmer than the outside was still somewhat cool. Once the duo reached the base of the stairs they walked for several yards down a hallway until they reached a large metal door guarded by two soldiers with plasma rifles. Next to each soldier was a Labrador, one was black and the other was yellow, albeit a dirty yellow. Savannah reached over and petted one of the dogs on the head. Slightly wagging its tail the yellow lab whined a greeting to her.

"Weaver, EN3472." Savannah said in a flat tone.

One of the guards turned his gaze from Savannah to John who casually reached out and allowed one of the dogs to smell his hand. Giving John little attention the guard standing in front of him glanced back over at Savannah.

"He's with me." She said. The guard nodded and slowly open the large metal door.

Stepping through the doorway and walking into a long and moderately lit hallway John immediately noticed that the temperature had increased. While one could still not say that it was warm, it was a much more comfortable than what the climate had been outside. Savannah once again motioned with her head for John to follow her.

.

.

.

Making their way deeper into the base John noticed a large number of soldiers walking about, along with a small compliment of civilians. He was surprised to see the dramatic difference between Bedell's faction and the Reese faction. While the latter was organized and efficient, Bedell's faction seemed much more regimented and militaristic. John concluded that most of the members of this faction had been put together from the remnants of prior military units or at the very least from former Law Enforcement personnel. The civilians that worked within the base appeared to have some sort of specific function, if not they were probably only based here temporarily until they could be moved to a more suitable location. However, John was unsure where that location may be.

Savannah rounded a corner and passed two more sets of guards before walking down another descending staircase. As they proceeded deeper into the base of operations the lights appeared to brighten. John also could not help but notice several sets of eyes that stared at him as they continued their trek.

After several minutes of walking Savannah and John came to a section of the underground establishment that looked almost like a hotel room hallway. Doors were located on both sides of the corridor and each one John assumed would lead to a different room. Savannah passed by several before finally reaching one particular door. Retrieving a key from her pocket she unlocked the door and then opened it.

"Come in…" She said to John as she stepped inside.

The room itself was relatively small similar to any run down hotel room. There was a small bed with a few sheets strewn across it located in the far corner of the room. Two freestanding lockers were to John's right and a small table and wooden chair to his left, a Spartan living environment at best.

"You should get some rest." Savannah stated as she motioned over towards the bed. "You've been through a lot." She paused briefly and then spoke again. "There are some MRE's in the locker if you're hungry." John noted a certain caring tone had again crept its way into her voice. He stood quietly for a brief moment before responding.

"Where are you going to be?" he asked. Savannah glanced back over her shoulder and out of her room's open door.

"I have some…" She hesitated before finishing her sentence. It seemed as if she were searching for the correct words, or possibly the most useful lie to say,

"…business I need to attend to. Make yourself at home." She then added, "It's not much but it is warm and dry." Savannah turned and began to walk out of the room.

"Thank you…" John said in a muffled tone. Savannah stopped and turned her head to look back at John.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said in a quiet and solemn voice after which she did not immediately move. She just stood looking at John not saying a word. After a few brief seconds of quiet Savannah finally turned away from him and walked out of the room closing the door behind her, leaving John alone. He stood quietly for a moment before finally making his way over to Savannah's bed. Exhausted he collapsed onto the mattress. While this was not the most comfortable mattress or softest sheets John had ever felt, they were a much needed relief from the events of the last several days. John closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. However, slumber would not come easily; in fact, it would not come at all.

.

.

.

Captain Livie slowly closed the conference room door behind him leaving only Savannah and him standing quietly inside of the room. Several moments of silence passed before Savannah finally spoke.

"I had to…We need him." She said. "They were going to kill him. I could just…" Livie cut her off.

"I get it alright…" He said sharply, surprising Savannah. There was a brief hesitation on Livie's part before he spoke again.

"I get that Bedell believed he was important and that you think the same thing. And to an extent I believe both of you, but this was not the way to do it. You've completely burned Spears's cover; he won't be able to go back there. You've alienated our faction from the Reese's and God knows what else is going to befall us because of your actions."

"He didn't have any time left they were going to kill him." Savannah shot back.

"I know they were." Livie stated.

"Then what was I supposed to do?" she asked, "I would think they're not going to attack, they're no match for our forces." There was a momentary pause while Livie thought about his response. He then spoke,

"They're no match for us alone, but if they were to garner another Faction's help then who knows what they could be capable of." Savannah's eyes shot towards the ground upon hearing his statement. This was a scenario she had not necessarily thought of.

"But, it's not just that, they are an ally. Or at least they were until you pulled this stunt." Savannah's eyes continued to gaze downwards.

"You're letting your personal feelings impair your judgment." Livie said to which Savannah still did not respond. He then shook his head.

"Where is he now?"

"He's in my room." Livie's eyebrows perked up slightly. "Along with everything else he's gone through I'm sure he hasn't slept for days. I figured he could use the break." Livie nodded.

"Give him a couple hours then we'll talk to him."

Savannah nodded before slowly turning and walking over towards the door, but before she could reach it Livie called out to her,
"Savannah..." he said. She stopped, but did not turn to look at him.

"I can't guarantee that a vote will be in his favor." He said. Savannah let out a brief sigh before speaking.

"I know..." She responded in a sad tone before opening the door in front of her and walking out of the room.

.

.

.

Though he had been afforded the opportunity to sleep, rest would not come to John. Hours had passed as he tossed and turned in bed, his mind denying him any reprieve. Recent events, along with a multitude of other questions and ideas gnawed away at his consciousness. After finally coming to the realization that he was not going to be able to sleep John had risen. He took Savannah's advice and consumed one of the MRE's that was stored in her locker. It may not have been the best food he had ever eaten, but John found that at that moment it certainly tasted as if it were. Going over the inescapable questions in his mind for what seemed to be an eternity John was constantly aware of the fact that Cameron's time was running out and so were his options. Finally, after an exhaustive and grueling thought process that had nearly pushed him to the brink of insanity he came to the dismal conclusion of what his choices were for both Cameron and the future itself. John left Savannah's room in search of what had become the inescapable answer to his questions. The only solution to rectify this broken future was a horrifying one to say the least, but in the end it was both Cameron and humanity's only hope.

.

.

.

John quietly made his way through a large underground parking deck. The poorly lit expanse housed numerous salvaged vehicles; mostly trucks or SUV's, however a few cars were scattered throughout the parking lot as well. Most of the vehicle's paint and bodies had seen much better days. Few had escaped any damage at all. John assumed that not all of the vehicles were in working condition either. Walking through the parking deck he felt a sickening feeling growing within him as he eyed each vehicle attempting to decide exactly which one he would take.

"I knew you'd come here…" A quiet voice said from the darkness. John quickly spun around searching the shadows to ascertain who had seen him. A few seconds of silence passed before Savannah Weaver emerged from behind one of the concrete pillars near John. He felt his anxiety rising.

"What do you mean?" he asked in a somewhat nervous tone.

"I know what you're doing." Savannah said as she moved closer to John.

"You can't do this." She said, "I can't let you do this." The remorse in her voice grew as she spoke. John knew he would not be able to lie himself out of this situation.

"I have to do this…" John finally said grief instantly marking his tone. "There is no other choice. She doesn't have any other choice. None of us do." Savannah's response was immediate. There was a loud pop that echoed off the concrete walls as she smacked John across the face. His head barely moved from the impact and he gave little response to the minor amount of pain that it had caused him. Tears welled up in Savannah's eyes.

"How dare you…" She said her voice beginning to tremble due to her emotional state.

"We need you."

"It's too late..." John quickly shot back. "You said so yourself, a year, maybe two before all this is gone." There was a weighted pause before he continued.

"Don't you see?" He said, "I can fix all this. If I can get her back, I can fix everything. Nothing here will matter anymore." Deep down John knew he could never be completely sure of this solution, but he none the less believed it. He had to believe it; it was the only thing he had left to believe in. Otherwise John knew he would not be able to accomplish what needed to be done.

"All this…" Savannah said quietly, "All this for a machine…"

"She's not a machine." John responded. "At least not to me..." A stillness fell over the area before John broke the silence once again.
"But I need your help. I need your help to get out of here." Savannah did not respond. She just stood silently staring at John.

"Please…" He said now in a pleading tone. Savannah sighed and slowly reached into her pocket retrieving a set of vehicle keys. She clutched them tightly in her hand, not immediately turning them over to John, who now took a step closer.

"Please Savannah." He said as he slowly moved his hand towards hers. Savannah continued to grip the keys firmly. As John reached out to her, Savannah leaned towards John closing her eyes as she did so. Savannah gently pressed her lips up against John's, kissing him. Neither one of them immediately moved after this; both remained perfectly still, their lips tenderly touching one another's.

As Savannah continued to kiss John she slowly moved her hand with the keys over to him and slid them into his palm. There was another fleeting moment of hesitation on both of their parts, before John slowly pulled away from Savannah. She did not immediately move, but rather stood perfectly still with her eyes closed for another moment.

"Go…" Savannah finally whispered to John who took a step back away from her.

"Thank you…" he replied in a somber voice. A tear rolled down Savannah's cheek when she nodded her head in response. John turned and walked away leaving Savannah standing alone in the cold parking garage.

.

.

.

The Chevy Silverado bounced along the roadway as John drove quickly through the cityscape. The sun was beginning to set and he looked into the distance towards a massive structure that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He saw several mid sized skyscrapers which were all interconnected at their base by a larger building like structure. Woven in between the towers were numerous power conduits and a steel latticework that helped to connect the entire structure which was at least 25 to 30 acres in size. As John grew closer he could see a large wall that had been erected around the structure itself. On the wall were massive plasma cannons which were located approximately every hundred feet. In the air circling above the establishment were multiple unidentifiable flying objects. John assumed these Skynet aircraft performed some sort of maintenance function. The roadway grew smoother and more structured as John came closer to the establishment. He knew he would not be able to drive for much longer before he would need to proceed on foot.

.

.

.

The sun was setting behind the massive building and nightfall was all but upon him. The cold night air blew through the area and John pulled his jacket tighter around his body as he approached the massive castle like walls. He could easily make out the sounds of large mechanized systems which were just beyond the exterior fortifications. Fire could be seen billowing out of several sets of smoke stacks which stuck out of the base of the architecture. Dark clouds of smog poured out of other exhaust piping. John continued his walk closer as he made his way down the paved roadway.

Finally, when he drew to within what he estimated was about 100 yards of the main entrance doors he was suddenly blinded by several sets of spotlights placed atop search towers which were built into the defensive walls. He stopped walking and slowly raised his hands above his head. John heard the pistons and servos which controlled several sets of the massive plasma cannons buzz and hiss as they sung down to bear on him. He stood motionless staring up into the bright lights that now illuminated both him and the roadway. For the moment at least, there was no reaction from the plasma cannons.

"Come on you bastards…" John said in an angry and gravelly voice, "You know who I am."

Several moments of silence went by before John heard the thud of locks disengaging and then two large doors located on the protective wall in front of him began to slowly open. John remained still as he saw several Terminators emerge through the large doorway, their siliverish endoskeletons glistening in the bright spotlights as they grew closer to him. The dreadful machine's burning red eyes remained locked on John the entire time they approached. He did not move, but waited for the T-888's to approach him. When the machines finally reached him they surrounded John, their plasma rifles pointed at him. They stood silently, as if they were waiting for John to make his next move. John swallowed a long hard swallow, took a breath and spoke.

"Take me to Fischer…" He said in a low voice. The Terminators did not immediately respond, but just stood staring at him. Finally, one of the T-888's standing directly in front of John nodded its head and motioned for John to follow it using its metal skeleton like hand. The Terminator then turned and walked towards the entrance of the Skynet base. Flanked on both sides by machines John followed after it.

...

Author's Notes: Review! Review!