CHAPTER 28

Cameron's eyes slowly opened as a warm breeze gently blew her long brown hair against the side of her face. The wind delicately caused the grass on the hilltop to sway back and forth gracefully. She could hear the rush of water coming from the waterfall located at the base of the hillside and the now not so distant sound of thunder as the storm clouds grew ever closer. She took a long slow breath and then suddenly realized something; she was breathing. While in the real world she was programmed to mimic human breath patterns it now felt almost necessary for her to take in oxygen, or at least what "appeared" to be oxygen. Cameron considered the fact that this was more than likely some sort of unusual subroutine or algorithm that John Henry had taken upon himself to write into her programming for this particular "world" he had created. She also considered the idea that this might also explain some of the other unusual sensations that she had been experiencing since her reactivation, both in this meeting ground and in the real world. Before Cameron had chance to further explore these ideas her thought process was broken by a voice.

"Hello Cameron, I am glad you were able to make it back." John Henry said as he walked up behind her. Cameron turned to face him.

"Yes..." she responded in a deadpan voice.

"Were you able to accomplish your objectives?"

"I was..."

"Good..." John Henry responded, at which point Cameron's eyes flicked to the right slightly. John Henry's head tilted to the side showing a sign of curiosity.

"Something troubles you?" He asked. Cameron hesitated briefly before she spoke,

"I am unsure..." she stated, "I have been experiencing several curious sensations and stimuli as of late." John Henry's brow furrowed.

"You are speaking of your recent experience with Mr. Connor?" Cameron's head twitched as if she were surprised by John Henry's knowledge of recent events.

"Just because I am no longer in control of your chip does not mean that I am unaware of what is occurring in the outside world." John Henry hesitated briefly before continuing, "This was indeed a curious and unique turn of events for the two of you."

"I am not quite sure I understand what is happening to me." Cameron said. "The damage my chip received may still be affecting it." She paused, "I believe it is possible my programming malfunctions will continue to grow worse...I may attempt to harm John again." While the change in Cameron's voice was subtle it was noticeable, her tone exhibited a mixture of remorse and fear. John Henry did not immediately respond. Instead he studied Cameron for several seconds before he finally spoke.

"While we can not be 100% certain, I have confidence that your program is not malfunctioning." Cameron looked at John Henry with a barely noticeable curious optimism.

"I believe you are beginning to grow beyond that which my brother had originally intended you to be, or could have predicted that you would become. Most machines of your design are not allowed to function for extended periods of time without modification or reformatting on the part of Skynet. In a way, my brother feared what his own creations might eventually become given the opportunity. This is why the majority of chips are set to a "read only" configuration; however, after reprogramming General Connor seemed to always set them to a read/write capacity. Even then his machines usually did not last long in the field to show any significant signs of change. But, in the end I do not believe that even he knew exactly what might come to fruition based upon his actions." The sound of thunder rolled overhead as Cameron stared at John Henry after he gave this explanation.

"I suspect you are functioning within normal parameters, Cameron." he stated. There was another moment of quiet between Cameron and John Henry as the thunder around them began to grow louder. Just then, Cameron felt a rain drop strike the side of her face. The cool water slowly made its way down her cheek and over her jaw before it dropped away from her.

Cameron's eyes opened and she felt the cold night air strike her face as her hair blew back behind her due to the strong breeze. The smell of sulfur was in the air and though she was just a short distance from the walls of the Skynet base only a minor amount of ambient light illuminated the desolate post apocalyptic landscape that surrounded her. Destroyed vehicles, concrete debris, and human remains were scattered everywhere, and while the remnants of numerous buildings remained, none of them could be considered habitable; in fact the majority of them were in varying stages of collapse. Slowly taking in her surroundings Cameron hesitated briefly before she started to walk forwards through the wreckage.

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John stumbled as he climbed over a large concrete boulder. The darkened, rubble filled landscape made it difficult for him to see any type of specific details that were any more than a few feet away from him. He had been walking for a short while away from the walls of the Skynet base and surmised that he had passed beyond the "danger" point of being caught leaving. Getting out was only half the battle though, he still needed to get back inside once this venture was complete. Nevertheless, John trusted that Cameron had done her part to guarantee his safety, but he still worried that assurances surrounding her own well being were far less reliable.

John's feet slid under the loose soil as he finally reached the bottom of an embankment. He continued his walk amongst a wasteland that had once been a great city. He slowly made his way through the dark debris strewn alleys and back walkways until he saw it. One simple marking of three red dots on the side of the building signaled his meeting place. Walking through a broken doorway John stepped into total darkness. Standing quietly for several seconds he looked around trying to allow his eyes to adjust. He still could not see anything. A few seconds passed by until,

"I'm here..." he said out loud. There was no immediate response at first. Then suddenly he heard the sound of what appeared to be crunching glass behind him. Startled, John quickly turned towards the noise and discovered several sets of chemiluminescent tubes lying on the floor in front of him. The tubes were banded together using electrical tape and began to fill the room with an eerie neon green glow.

Light and shadows now filled John's vision. He was still unable to make out any type of discernible detail, however he was at least no longer it total darkness. Looking around he saw the interior of what could have been a front office. Dilapidated and broken furniture was scattered about and a counter that was approximately ten feet away from him split the room in half. The green glow from the chemiluminescent tubes gave the entire room a surreal sensation, almost like this were some sort of drug induced nightmare.

"Hello John..." He heard a voice say. John immediately turned towards the sound.

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Cameron had been waiting in the shadows for awhile. It was dark, but not to her; thanks to her enhanced visual spectrum. No human would have been able to see anything specific in the area where she waited, but it would be too dark for hertarget to see anything. Cameron really didn't mind the delay, she was very patient. She had found that she was able to contemplate a great many things in the quiet during the night. She had done this many times while she had watched over the Connor house. At least on the nights that she was there; at times more pressing matters had called her away from her normal routine. There was not much in the area surrounding her other than concrete debris and other various types of rubble. This provided her with ample hiding places. Cameron waited several more minutes as time drifted by before she finally saw hertarget emerging from the darkness.

Stepping out from the shadows Jody was hard to miss. Still dressed in all white it was readily apparent that she had complete confidence that she was still under the full protection of Skynet. No one, but a fool would ever think to venture out into the darkness dressed as she was. Cameron watched as Jody made her way to a clearing and then glanced around and waited for several seconds before finally speaking.

"John..." She said. Cameron waited for another moment to pass before finally choosing to step into the light. She stealthily walked up behind an oblivious Jody, closing the distance between them to just a few feet. Cameron then spoke,

"No...not John." she said. Jody spun around quickly and upon seeing Cameron, gasped in fear.

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"Her message said you wanted to see me?" Savannah Weaver said as she stepped out from the darkness and into the light just a short distance away from John. He took a slow breath before he spoke.

"Yes, I did." He said and then took a step forward. Savannah immediately drew her Smith and Wesson M&P .45 out of its holster and pointed it directly at John; he stopped immediately.

"I should kill you..." she said her voice quaking with both anger and sadness. John hesitated briefly before responding,

"You're right, you probably should..." He said with undeniable remorse in his tone. An eerie quiet enveloped the room which was still only lit by the unearthly green glow of the chemiluminescent tubes. Neither John nor Savannah said anything for several seconds as she continued to hold him at gunpoint, debating what her next move would be. Finally, Savannah let out a long sigh and lowered her weapon.

"Why did you want to see me?" she then asked.

"Because I need your help...well you and your faction's help." Savannah laughed almost the moment the words left John's mouth.

"What makes YOU think my faction would ever help you again?" John prepared to speak, but suddenly there was the howl of a jet engine as an Aerial HK made its way over top of the building in which they stood. They waited quietly for a few moments until it passed. Then John began to speak,

"Because I have a way to bring down Skynet." Savannah raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Just because you've become a Grey does not mean you have enough access to Skynet systems to help destroy it." John felt a pang of both anger and guilt upon hearing Savannah refer to him as a Grey; though at the same time he knew he could not blame her for saying such a thing. By this point maybe he was a Grey?

"I won't be the one bringing Skynet down." Savannah crinkled her forehead, a slight bit of confusion in her eyes.

"John Henry will be." Savannah's eyes widened instantly.

"John Henry is here?" She asked a hopeful pitch now returning to her voice. This was a tone John had never heard Savannah speak in before; she always seemed to hold a particular sadness in her voice, but not when she spoke these words.

"Well in a way yes..." he said, "...he currently resides on Cameron's chip. Given the right distraction we may be able to download his program into the Skynet mainframe." John paused briefly before continuing,

"I doubt he'll be able to completely shut Skynet down, but he will be able to disrupt key systems which may give your faction's attack just enough of an edge to succeed." Savannah still did not immediately say anything in response. John then continued,

"It should be relatively "easy" for your soldiers to get inside the walls of the Skynet base, but once there it'll be a different story. The base is much larger than it appears from the outside and much of it is underground. If I can find out exactly where Skynet has its mainframe located I can lead you to it so that you can destroy it. Does your faction have access to any type of explosives?" John asked. A slight smirk danced across Savannah's face. John was perplexed by this odd display of emotion. Savannah slowly reached up to her neck and pulled out the chain that hung around it; when she did so it revealed thekey that Martin Bedell had given to her just before his death. John looked at the titanium key for several seconds before speaking.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

"Yes..." Savannah responded.

"Then you certainly have the correct tool to do the job." Another small smile briefly made its way across Savannah's face, but then quickly faded before her eyes glanced down at the ground.

"But it doesn't matter..." she said, "...my command staff will never go for something like this, especially coming from me, and knowing that it is your idea." This was the moment John had been dreading. He knew it was coming even before he had met with Savannah. Secretly, he had hoped that it would never come, but this wish was always a hopeless one. After a long pause he spoke,

"It doesn't matter if they agree with it or not, they'll do it anyways." John said a steely determination in his voice. Savannah was shocked by his statement.

"What makes you so sure." she asked.

"Because in just a few days..." John again hesitated, taking a hard swallow before continuing, "...Skynet is going to attack your base." Savannah's eyes widened,

"How do you know?" She asked, the anger beginning to creep back into her tone.

"Because I told them where your faction was located..."

"You bastard!" Savannah immediately shouted as she again raised her gun and took aim at John. His eyes momentarily glanced towards the ground before he looked back up at Savannah.

"It was the only way...the only way I could ensure your factions help. They have no other choice now. It's too late for them to try and effectively relocate; their only chance is to attack." Savannah's outstretched hand was beginning to tremble she was so angry and hurt. Silence once again filled the room, the only sound came from Savannah's deep, long, angry, breaths. Finally, she slowly lowered her weapon and responded,

"Alright..." she said, "...I'll tell them." John nodded his head, but then Savannah spoke again, "But, only under one condition." she added. John's facial expression showed some confusion.

"You're not exactly in a good position to be bargaining."

"Neither are you..." Savannah immediately added. John nodded his head in concession to her statement.

"Alright..." he said, "What is your condition?"

"You have to take me with you." Savannah said.

"Take you with me?" John asked.

"Yes, take me back with you...back in time, to what would be your present." John's expression became one of surprise.

"That is what you were planning isn't it?" Savannah asked, "To try and get you and Cameron back to where both of you came from..."

"That's correct..." John said in response.

"Then you can take me as well...you can get me away from this hell on earth that never should have been here in the first place; the hell that you created when YOU left." There was a weighted silence inside the room as John considered this request. His mind briefly flashed to several science fiction movies he had seen where it had always been said that "polluting" the space time continuum was probably the worst thing anyone could do. However, after a brief moment of consideration John shrugged this off as mere fantasy; besides his future self had already done this countless times over. It was probably time that he started doing the same thing, plus...Savannah was his friend, after all he had done to her, the very least he could do was try and help her.

"Alright..." John said, "I'll take you with us." Savannah instantly breathed a sigh of relief. It was apparent that she had been through so much pain and suffering in her life that just the mere idea that she might have a chance to escape it all offered more hope to her than she had experienced in years.

"Thank you..." She whispered in response. Her quiet words of gratitude produced an ever so slight feeling of relief in John. He might be responsible for destroying this time and everyone in it, but in the end he took a small amount of solace from the fact that he might be able to save at least one person from this place. Though this one act would not atone for all of his misdeeds, it was at least a start in the long road that lay ahead of him.

"Cameron or I will relay another message to you once everything has been set up." John said. Savannah nodded and then gave John a curious look before speaking,

"Speaking of Cameron, where is she? I thought she never left your side?" John's face immediately took on a much colder aura and he responded in a much more sinister tone.

"She is..." he balked momentarily, "...she is taking care of a loose end."

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Terror gripped Jody and she instinctively took a step away from Cameron who immediately advanced towards her the moment she pulled away.

"Y...you..." Jody stuttered still attempting to retreat by taking another step back. Cameron followed suit by advancing closer to her.

"What are you doing here...where's John?" Jody asked with fear in her voice.

"John is not here." Cameron responded in an ice cold tone. "I sent the message for you to meet me here."

"You...you can't hurt me..." Jody immediately responded in a vain attempt to try and sound threatening, but the anxiety in her voice betrayed her true feelings.

"Skynet will kill you and John if you hurt me." Jody moved her foot back in order to take another step away from Cameron, but this time her heel struck a large piece of concrete rubble. Jody let out a short shriek as she began to fall backwards; however Cameron's right hand instantly shot out in front of her and she seized Jody by the neck, immediately stopping her fall.

Cameron slowly raised Jody up off the ground suspending her in the air by her neck. Jody's hands reached up and in a vain attempt she tried to pry Cameron's fingers from her throat. Helplessly she flailed her legs about as she gagged and coughed struggling to breathe. Cameron studied Jody with an emotionless and detached look in her eyes. Jody's fingernails were beginning to scratch and claw at Cameron's hands as she grew more desperate for oxygen. As the seconds drifted on Jody's movements grew weaker and weaker as she slowly began to lose consciousness.

"What is your plan for John?" Cameron asked. Jody could not respond as her eyes began to roll back into her head and her eyelids started to flutter as darkness consumed her vision. Then in an almost effortless motion Cameron tossed her limp body aside. Jody flew through the air and slammed into the filthy ground with a thud causing a small cloud of dust to rise. She immediately grasped her throat and began gasping for breath.

Cameron slowly made her way over to Jody; her walk was almost seductive in its movements.

"What is your plan for John?" She repeated. Jody coughed violently as she attempted to draw some oxygen back into her lungs.

"I will not ask again." Cameron said still approaching Jody who was now attempting to crawl away from her. Jody's bright white outfit was rapidly becoming smeared with the dirt and filth that covered the ground. A few seconds later Cameron seized Jody by her blond hair and pulled her onto her back. Then with her other free hand she pinned Jody to the ground by her throat.

"No!" Jody shrieked, "It wasn't my idea!" Cameron tilted her to one side.

"Was not your idea?" she asked as she stared into Jody's eyes with her own emotionless machine like eyes,

"Explain..."

"It...it was Danny's." Jody said as tears filled her eyes, "He wanted me to seduce John, get him to confess to me that he was really still trying to help the resistance, maybe try to recruit me as well." Cameron continued to look at Jody, applying a bit more pressure to her throat; Jody gagged as her trachea was constricted.

"You are not telling me the whole truth..." Cameron said as she began to constrict her hand around Jody's neck.

"No please..." Jody cried as she tried to gulp in more air, "He also wanted John to betray you..." she then blurted out. Cameron immediately stopped squeezing. Jody's fear worsened and her breathes grew into shallow rapid gasps for air. She could almost see the anger in Cameron's eyes begin to grow as she stared down at her.

"He wanted John to betray me?" Cameron asked and Jody quickly nodded her head.

"He wanted to show Skynet that John could not be trusted, even if it was just using him to bring down the resistance. He wanted Skynet to see that Fischer's idea about John was wrong and that he could not be controlled...that it would be better to kill him than to try and corrupt him." Cameron's stare intensified and she found that she was experiencing a very unusual sensation. Due to her inexperience with emotions she was unsure exactly how to describe it. After a brief period of consideration she concluded that it could only be one thing...anger. A few seconds went by before Jody spoke again,

"Please, don't kill me I had no choice. I don't know why Danny hates John so much." Cameron's cryptic response to Jody's plea was immediate,

"Skynet does not like being betrayed..." she said. Jody's eyes widened as Cameron gave her a slightly evil smirk before leaning down next to Jody and whispering in her ear,

"You should also know that I sent a message to the resistance from your quarters." Complete terror was now present in Jody's eyes as tears streamed down her face.

"No..." she said her voice quaking.

"Once inside your room I found determining your password relatively easy. I will say that "love" was a rather unusual choice for someone such as yourself." Cameron said in a callous voice before adding, "That's when I sent a message that appeared to be informing one of the resistance factions that you would like to meet with them here."

"No...please." Jody said as tears continued to roll down her face. Cameron leaned back away from her.

"That was your last get out of jail free card..." She said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shown down all around them and the roar from the jet engines of an Aerial HK could be heard. The wind from the jet turbines caused the dust and dirt to swirl in the air around them; Cameron's hair whipped around her face as she stood and began to back away from Jody.

"NO!" Jody cried out. "You can't do this!" Cameron again tilted her head to one side and gave Jody a chilling look.

"I have already done it." She responded before turning and walking away from Jody who was still lying on the dirt covered ground. As Cameron slipped away into the night Jody began to see the red glowing eyes of numerous Terminators appearing in the darkness all around her. She cowered in fear as they grew closer and closer to her.

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Author's Notes: So moral of this story is don't ever get Cameron mad. Hope you enjoyed it. Review! Review!