CHAPTER 20

"I'm guessing Livie didn't take the news to well?" Lauren Fields asked as she moved across the room toward Savannah, who was seated on the examination table wearing nothing but her BDU pants and high top boots. Dangling from the chain around her neck was the titanium key; it glistened slightly in the florescent lighting. Savannah responded to Lauren by shaking her head,

"No, he did not..." her head dropped and she looked down before she spoke again. "…but I can't say I blame him for reacting in the way that he did." Lauren removed a pen light from her breast pocket as she positioned herself in front of Savannah. She reached out with her free hand and carefully placed her fingertips under Savannah's chin, gently tilting her head back up.

"Look at me." She said in a soft tone. Savannah's green eyes darted upwards and met Lauren's gaze. There was a split second pause between them before Savannah was blinded by the pen light. She flinched and momentarily closed her eye before reopening it.

Lauren watched as Savannah's pupil constricted. She switched the focus of the light over to Savannah's other eye.

"Well I think your concussion is gone, hard to be completely sure without a CT scan though."

"Not that we have one of those." Savannah retorted. Lauren shrugged her shoulders as she replaced her pen light in her pocket.

"Your other wounds appear to be healing nicely as well. You should be back to 100% relatively soon." she said before briefly hesitating.
"Well as close to 100% as anyone around here can get." Lauren's voice drifted into silence at the end of her statement.

"Good to know…" Savannah responded as Lauren awkwardly stepped back away from her and then over towards a table positioned a short distance away.

"You can get dressed now." Lauren said. Savannah nodded her head and reached over to her right and retrieved her tank top. She pulled it on over her head, flicking her hair back out of the way as she did so.

"Can I ask you something?" Lauren asked in a timid voice.

"Sure…" Savannah responded.

"Why did you let him go? He knows about this place, he could bring Skynet back here." Savannah thought for a brief moment.

"He won't." She responded in a quieter tone.

"How do you know? How can you know?" Lauren asked accusingly. Savannah sighed.

"Because of all the horrible things that will eventually happen to all of us, John is not one of them."

"You're surprisingly optimistic about him." Lauren stated as she turned towards Savannah who responded with a half hearted nod.

"I thought you didn't believe in anyone…especially men?"

"Something is…" Savannah balked, "…something is different about him." Lauren snickered slightly as she reached over the table that she was standing next to and closed a folder she had left lying on it.

"You never could make up your mind about anything." Lauren stated in an annoyed voice as she picked up the folder, then she continued,

"I guess that's why things between you and me didn't work out." Savannah gave Lauren an ever so slight look of surprise at this unexpectedly candid comment.

"We're done here…" Lauren said curtly as she quickly walked out of the room, leaving Savannah behind.

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"Just a few more days…" Derek responded, calmly looking into Alison's eyes as she stood in front of him.

"We just need a few more days to check out the new locations and make sure that Skynet is not aware of them."

"That's…that's too long." Alison replied her voice quaking with fear. Her body trembled as she stood in front of Derek. She struggled to control her emotions.

"He's coming for me…" she said, "He knows I'm here and he's coming for me." Derek reached out and touched Alison on the shoulder.

"We're not even sure that he's with Skynet. Savannah Weaver is the one that came and got him."

Tears were welling up in Alison's eyes.

"No!..." she replied, almost shrieking her response. "He needs me so that he can get that thing, that machine back." Alison's breathing was becoming more rapid as her panic continued to surge.

"Don't you see? First he killed Martin and now he'll come after me." Alison was crying now. "I won't be captured; I know what Skynet does to people." She then paused momentarily staring at Derek.

"If you won't do anything about it…" Alison was gasping for breath between words, "…then I will." Alison suddenly reached out for Derek's hip grasping the butt of his sidearm and attempting to pull it from its holster.

"Wait!" Kyle shouted leaping across the room towards Alison. Derek grabbed his weapon with both hands, blocking Alison's suicidal attempt as he jerked his body away from her. At the same time Kyle grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from his brother.

"Alison!" he shouted as he dragged her away from Derek who was still checking to be certain his weapon was still in its holster. Now choking back the tears, Alison spoke again.

"Please…" she cried, "You can't let Skynet have me." Alison slowly collapsed to the ground. Kyle knelt down behind her.

"You're gonna be alright." Derek said as he moved closer to Alison who still had terror in her eyes. "We're not gonna let anything happen to you." He said as he knelt down next to her. "I promise…" Derek carefully reached out and put his hand on Alison's shoulder, attempting to comfort her. However, this did little to calm the young woman's nerves. Her fear of the ultimate nightmare was now unshakable.

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John sat on the edge of a soft bed, his elbows were on his knees propping his body up; his face was towards the ground. He stared blankly at the sheet metal floor that lay below him. The room's lights were set to a relatively dim illumination and the temperature remained at a comfortable 72 degrees thanks to the electronic thermostat located on an adjacent wall.

John's quarters were luxurious compared to what he had experienced in the last several days. The bed was comfortable with warm sheets; there was a clean table where he could eat or work and a cozy chair for him to sit in if he chose. He was even able to adjust the temperature and light settings inside of the room. From a physical standpoint he should have been very relaxed here and even able to get some sleep. However, this had not occurred. In the past few hours John had remained motionless, sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the floor, just thinking. He was aware of a unique blend of disgust, self loathing, and hatred that was consuming him, a sensation that he knew he would not soon be rid of. These feelings tore at him even though he knew what he had to do if his plan to prevent this timeline was to succeed. He was exhausted, but at the same time he was experiencing an almost nervous energy pulsating throughout his body so extreme that it made his arms quiver. No amount of training could ever have prepared him for his current situation, or for the path he was about to embark upon. John slowly tightened his fists and then relaxed them at an even pace as time drifted by.

There was a hiss as the automatic metal door to his room opened. Expecting to see Fischer or Danny, John did not react, but continued to stare at the floor. He then heard the soft tapping of bare feet walking across the metal floor towards him. John still did not move. Just then his bed shifted slightly as someone sat down next to him. He immediately turned his head to the right in order to investigate. While his facial expression did not change, John was slightly surprised to see Jody sitting down next to him. While she still had on the tight low cut black tank top that she had worn earlier, she had changed into a form fitting black skirt and was now barefoot. The material had a slight sheen to it and hugged the curves of her lower body well. John assumed that she had been afforded many "luxuries" due to her association with Skynet. She gave John a playful smile upon seeing him acknowledge her presence.

"Hello John…" she said. John made no response. Instead he only returned to staring at the floor in front of him.

"I thought it would be a good idea to check on you, to make sure you were alright." Silence encompassed the room as John did not respond. Jody spoke again.

"Are you…alright?" she asked with an almost timid voice.

"I'm fine…" John answered in a low tone. Jody gave him a curious look.

"I know this is hard for you. But you should know it's not all bad being here." Jody slowly reached out and then gently began to caress John's left shoulder. John's eyes immediately shifted over to his right, his suspicions growing.

"Skynet is not evil." She said in almost a whisper. "It helps us…" Jody slid her body closer to John as she spoke,

"…it provides for us…" John flexed his biceps as she moved nearer to him. "…it protects us…" John could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end.

"You can be happy here…" Jody said as she slowly moved her right hand across John's abdomen.

"…I can make you happy." She whispered as she leaned in closer as if she were about to kiss him. John immediately jerked his body away from her.

"Get out…" John snapped angrily. A surprised look streaked across Jody's face after his reaction. She quickly pulled her hands away from him, almost as if they had been injured.

"I just want to…" John cut Jody off.

"I said get out!" John's eyes flashed with rage as he glared back over his shoulder at her. For a brief moment Jody appeared almost paralyzed with confusion as John continued to stare her down. She nervously flicked her eyes about the room for a split second. However, it only took her a moment to regain her seductive composure. She nodded and gracefully stood from the bed. Her movements were so elegant that they were almost liquid in fashion.

"Well…if you need anything, just let me know." There was a sultry quality behind Jody's words as she gradually backed away from John, before turning and making her way out of his room.

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The metal door hissed behind Jody as it closed. She shivered slightly as the cold air inside of the brightly lit corridor touched her skin.

"That was fast…" A deep voice said from behind and to her left. She quickly looked over towards the sound and saw Danny behind her, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed. He pushed himself away from the wall and began to approach Jody. She instinctively backed away from him and towards the opposite wall.

"What did you find out?" Danny asked still moving toward her. She unsuccessfully attempted to disguise her efforts to retreat as she tried to back subtly away from him. Jody shook her head in response.

"Not much…" she replied still slinking away, however her back was almost touching the wall of the corridor behind her,

"I don't think…" Danny immediately grasped Jody by the throat and slammed her into the metal wall, pinning her against it.

"You're not here to think…" he replied angrily, but in a quiet voice. Jody quickly grasped Danny's hand with both of hers struggling to try and free herself. She gasped for breath.

"You're here to do what WE tell you to do." Danny moved closer to Jody until his face was just inches from her while at the same time tightening his grip around her neck.

"Do you understand?" He asked hatefully. Jody's eyes widened with fear and a frightening lack of oxygen. Unable to speak, she could only nod her head in response.

"Good…" Danny added as he stared into Jody's eyes, "You brought this on yourself you know. You did after all volunteer to help me with this little operation. I hope this personal vendetta against John's friend is worth it." Jody's eyelids fluttered and her eyes began to roll up into the back of her head as she began to lose consciousness. Danny abruptly pulled away and released his grip allowing Jody to drop to the ground in a crumpled heap. She coughed and gasped for breath.

"We'll try this again soon enough...you WILL do better next time." Still struggling to get a full supply of air into her lungs Jody was unable to look up at Danny, but she did shake her head in agreement and in submission. Danny gave her a disdainful look before turning and walking away. Jody lay trembling on the floor inside the cold hallway.

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Author's Notes: Please review! I really would like to hear what people think of where I'm taking this story.