Chapter 23
Cameron stood with her arms folded next to the window, standing in complete silence, not letting a single sound of frustration or anger become loud enough for the solders to hear. As every second became a minute and the minutes became hours, the frustration within her grew and grew the longer she was away from her son. Cameron had never fully understood human emotions, and likely never would and she knew John nor anyone else fully understood them either, they were just there and just happened. Emotions were part of humanity and the prime factor on showing who you truly were. To Cameron, what her body and emotions were telling her, was that she missed her family. She missed John, her husband, she missed Allison, her adopted daughter and she missed Kyle, her four month old son. She had been gone only three days and was supposed to be gone only two, but here she was, still standing at the window. It didn't matter how hard or how many times she tried, the more she tried to focus on the task at hand, images of those three kept forcing their way before her eyes.
Just outside the window and along the road, were the remains of union station, and that was what Cameron's eyes were fixed on. The Resistance had learnt that after their victory in the battle of Topanga canyon, Skynet began designing a new series of machines, to replace the highly successful, but now failing T eight hundred series. Not even Cameron knew what the T nine hundreds looked like, as she was sent back before they ever existed. John and Cameron knew how effective the T eight hundreds were, and even the T six hundreds were still a challenge to take down, so the T nine hundreds were definitely going to be more fearsome, challenging and dangerous. That was the reason Cameron was here, watching union station, as the station had been taking over and was now being used as a factory. This was where the first T nine hundreds were being build and where they were being tested. Cameron was here to capture one of the new machines and being it back to Serrano point, so they could find out the best ways to fight them. Now, as Cameron watched, she debated furiously in her mind. One part of her, wanted to give up and go home, back to John, Allison and Kyle. The other part, wanted to stay and wait, wait for the machines that seemed to never come.
But then something happened. A rumbling sound could be heard and it steadily got louder and the building Cameron and the solders were hiding in began to shake. An HK tank slowly came in to view from though the buildings, closely followed by a second, then a third and finally a forth. Two by two, they moved straight for the factory, crushing everything in their path, be it a small building or an old car. Everything was crushed beneath their large tank like tracks that carried them forwards. Cameron looked around and spotted a pair of binoculars on the table. Taking them and moving back to the window, she brushed her soft brown hair out of her eyes and held the binoculars to them. The tanks stopped before the factory and seconds later, the huge doors, much like bulkheads, began to open. As they did, a bright red light began to shine through the opening, and the light reflected off the silver metal of the tanks, making the surrounding area glow with red light. Cameron felt a shiver move up her spine and didn't try to deny that the sight scared her, despite the fact that she was originally built in a similar place. But back then, she was a machine, with a prime directive, to kill John Connor, nothing more.
Now, Cameron was human, she was flesh and blood with emotions and a love so strong for the man she was originally built to kill, and she would rather die then give that up. Cameron shuddered at the memories and forced herself to concentrate on her mission. Through the doors of the factory, machines began to move out, walking in perfect union with one another. She could hear their steps echoing through the night, and so could everyone else there with her. "Jones! Barrera! Get to your positions, charge the EMP!" Cameron didn't adjust her focus as her orders were obeyed and the men and women behind her grabbed their weapons and began to move. Cameron couldn't see the machines clearly, but at least a hundred of them stepped out from the factory, before they stopped in front of the tanks. The factory doors slowly began to close behind them and as it did, the red glow began to fade from the area, returning it to the natural darkness as it closed.
Then, two of the tanks began to move towards the south, right past their position in the building. The one hundred machines began marching after the tanks and the other two tanks followed them. Cameron lowered the binoculars and grabbed her rifle, priming it and only then realising how nervous she was. Taking a deep breath, she raised her left hand and kissed the brown string on her finger as a holy man would kiss a crucifix. But she wasn't kissing to show her love for God, which she and most others didn't believe in, she kissed her ring for her love for John, and her love for her children, Allison and Kyle.
Cameron then, with one last glance out of the window, turned and walked down the stairs at the other end of the room and she made her way outside. Crouching down, she made her way to the large pile of rubble in the middle of the street, lying down next to her solders waiting in ambush. The ground once again began to shake as the large tanks approached their position. Cameron peered over the top of her cover, and watched as the machines moved slowly towards them. Turning to her right, she saw one of her men was working with the EMP device, before he looked up to her. "The EMP's ready, ma'am". "Not yet! Wait until I say". The solder nodded his head and Cameron tuned to watch the machines again. The first two tanks moved past their position, making Cameron feel so small as it did. The tanks blocked out what little moonlight there was, drowning them all in darkness. Cameron peered over the top as the one hundred machines came in to view. At first, Cameron was surprised, as the first ones she saw were T six hundreds and T eight hundreds.
But then she saw what they were waiting for, the T nine hundred. There were only twenty of them, but Cameron could clearly see that they were far more advanced then anything Skynet had built before. Unlike the T eight hundreds, its battle chassis was completely covered with hyperalloy armour. Cameron bet that a T eight hundred would have a hard time to put even the smallest dent in it. As Cameron has had experience in fighting machines and the fact that she used to be one, she could tell by observation alone that the T nine hundreds were twice as fast, strong and durable then the T eight hundreds ever were. Cameron held up her radio, "I count twenty T nine hundreds, confirm?" Cameron waited until both Jones and Barrera had confirmed their were twenty of them before she turned to the solder next to her and nodded her head, and the solder pressed his hand over the switch, nodding in return. "Everyone, turn your electronic equipment off now!" Cameron spoke in little more then a whisper, but the sudden scurrying of solders turning off the radios told her that they heard her words. Cameron waited until the machines were right in front of them, before she turned again to the solder. "Now!" With a flick of the switch, a large shockwave was thrown outwards.
As soon as the shockwave hit the machines, they shuddered and eventually fell to the ground, where they twitched violently and eventually stopped moving, their glowing red eyes turning to black. The tanks, both in front and behind the formation of machines, all stopped moving. Their plasma cannons aimed wildly in all directions for a few moments before stopping altogether. All the machines were now disabled. Cameron gave a sigh of relief. She had purposely positioned herself only a few feet from the EMP machine, which ensured her chip wouldn't suffer damage from the blast. There were sounds of laughter and cheers from the solders as their mission was a success.
Captain Jones suddenly sprung from his hiding place and moved to the nearest machine, giving it a firm kick. "Ha! Useless metal shit. Come on! Let's get what we came for". Seeing that the machines were indeed disabled, most of the solders quickly followed Jones, and they moved through the fallen machines. Cameron didn't follow them, but instead watched from her cover. "Is everything alight ma'am?" Cameron turned to see who spoke. Captain Barrera stood watching her, and behind him were six men, the only ones who didn't join Jones in the field. Turning back, she shook her head. "Something's wrong. This is too easy, way too easy". Barrera moved himself next to her and looked over the rubble, shaking his head. "I don't see anything wrong….wait a second". Barrera stood up straight, getting a better view. "Oh shit! The T nine hundreds look!"
Cameron looked up and saw the T nine hundreds had begun to move, slowly at first. Jones and the others out there all stood still in terror as the machines got to their feet. The one closest to Jones seemed to be confused on what had just happened but then its eyes fixed on Jones. With a swift swing of its arm, Jones's head fell to the floor, quickly followed by his body. Within a second, screams of terror could be heard, as one by one, more solders were felled before they could even consider raising their rifle's, or even run for it. "EMP! NOW!" Cameron turned to see one of the solders with her panicking to press the switch. He eventually did so, sending out another shockwave. The T nine hundreds shuddered again as the wave hit them, but then they continued moving normally again. Cameron quickly realised that the machines were simulating being offline, so the solders would reveal their positions and be lured in to a false sense of security. Cameron watched as the T nine hundreds quickly finished off the other solders, killing them all.
There were now only eight of them left. Cameron and Barrera both fired at the nearest machine, hitting it numerous times, but every plasma shot proved futile, as they merely left a black mark on the machines armour. These new T nine hundreds were immune to EMP bursts and now it seemed, were also highly resistant to plasma fire. Cameron quickly knew that if they didn't get out of there, she and the others would be killed. "Fall back!" Cameron turned and ran after Barrera and the other solders and back in to the building. They passed the stairs and moved to the back of the building, out in to the old ally outside. The screams from their fallen comrades had drawn the attention from other machines in the near by area, and now, aerials were in the air, their spotlights scanning the ground, looking for them. Cameron ducked to avoid one of the lights from finding her. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Barrera next to her. "We have to get you out of here". Barrera then turned to the surviving men. "We need to get Connor out of here, it's critical she survives, let's go". Cameron looked confused for a second as when the name Connor was used, it was usually meant for John, but then she remembered, she was a Connor as well.
Cameron gave a sigh of dismay of how quickly things have gotten out of hand. Only minutes ago, they were over thirty in number and had just wiped out most of the machines. Now, they were running for their lives, and there were only eight of them left. As the spotlights began scanning elsewhere, the group moved quickly along the old ally, keeping themselves in the shadows as much as possible, but making sure they could keep their speed up. Cameron knew the T nine hundreds were following then, she could feel it. She gazed back as she ran, and she indeed saw three of them exit the building they were in and step out in to the alley, where their gaze found the group running and they quickly followed. Cameron glanced back a second time, and to her horror, the T nine hundreds were close behind them, and each one had a two plasma rifles in their hands. Cameron quickly veered left in to another building, forcing the others to follow in the same direction, off the route they came from in the first place. It was just in time for all but two of them, as the machines all fired their rifles. The two men at the back of the group fell to the ground with a scream as they were hit numerous times by plasma fire. The other machines fired and missed as the group managed to get inside. Their shots hit the already weak concrete wall, shattering it and sending debris everywhere. A rouge piece hit Cameron on the side of her head, nearly knocking her off her feet.
Clasping her free hand to her head, she felt some of her blood flow between her fingers. Trying to ignore the pain she kept running. The rest of the team ran out of the other end of the building and moved as fast as they could. "Wait, wait! Stop, they're not following us!" Cameron stopped and turned to look back, and true to Barrera's words, the T nine hundreds were no where in sight. "Do you think we lost them?" Barrera looked to Cameron for answers, but she was none the wiser then he was. "I don't think so, but we need to keep moving". Cameron turned and spotted a large hole in the ground and upon closer inspection, saw it lead in to the sewers. Looking up, the HK aerials were still searching for them. Knowing it would be safer underground, Cameron instructed the group to follow her and they moved into the sewer system. Barrera took the lead, making sure the coast was clear before they moved forwards. They were suddenly standing in a large Cavan, nearly a hundred feet in length, with a single tunnel entrance at the other end, leading in to the sewers, and the first thing anyone them saw, were dozens of bodies. Using their flashlights, they shone them on the bodies and saw that most of them were women and children.
Cameron looked away from them, trying to push the images out of her head. She instantly thought of her own children, Allison and Kyle. Barrera knelt next to one of the body's, which was holding on to an old plasma rifle and pulled a dog tag from around a man's neck. "Omega bunker used to be about a mile from here. I think this was one of their escape routes. Not much as an escape though, we only ever found six survivors". Cameron slowly moved through the bodies and found a crate, being held on to by one of the dead soldiers. Cameron opened it and found C4 explosives, ready to be used. Barrera and the other four soldiers had already begun to move towards the tunnel. "Wait! We can't go until we capture a T nine hundred!" They all stopped and looked at her as though she were mad. "No Offence Connor, but those things just wiped out our entire squad in about ten seconds, and their pretty much immune to anything we can throw at them". Cameron took one of the C4 explosives and held it up. "I know, and that's why we need the capture one. We're going to use these. We'll plant them at the entrance here, draw one of them in and detonate. It should be damaged enough for me to remove its chip".
Barrera shook his head before grinning at her and nodding at the other soldiers and they all turned around. "You're just as crazy as your husband!" Cameron handed out all of the C4 and they were carefully planted at the entrance back outside and Barrera volunteered to lure the machines inside. Cameron and the four remaining solders took cover at the entrance in to sewers and watched as Barrera disappeared as he walked outside. Cameron felt just as nervous as she did earlier when they were waiting for the machines to leave the factory. She once again tried to remain focussed, and tried to push the thoughts of not seeing her husband, son and daughter again from her mind. Suddenly, Barrera reappeared heaving for breath. Close behind him, was a T nine hundred. Cameron raised the detonator and waited until the last possible moment for Barrera to get clear of the C4 before she pressed the button. The resulting explosion was immense. The already unstable cavern shook violently and began to collapse. Cameron and the four soldiers dived to the ground and held their hands over their heads as the blast send debris flying in every direction.
As the blast subsided, Cameron was the first to rise. She looked over the top of her now mostly destroyed cover and looked around using her flashlight to see through the darkness. Both Barrera and the T nine hundred had disappeared. Cameron heard the groans of the soldiers near her and upon seeing that they were half buried beneath the rubble, quickly moved to dig them out. Cameron was relived to see that all four were alive but were badly bruised. "We'll be alright, we can still walk". That was all they said to her as they helped each other to their feet and took their plasma rifles, using the flashlights on the end of them to see. Cameron wiped some of the dust from her arms and face before beginning her search for the Barrera and the machine. "Barrera! Can you hear me?" There was no reply, and Cameron feared the worst, she had killed him, she killed a human, something she hoped she would never do again. "Fan out, keep your eyes open!" The four soldiers began to move but the Cavan was almost completely gone now, they barely moved ten feet in every direction before they covered half of what was left. "Over here!" Cameron quickly turned and moved towards the source of the sound, which came from the other end. Upon arrival, one of the soldiers was kneeling next to Barrera, who has nearly completely berried beneath the rocks. The solder had his fingers on Barrera's wrist, checking for a pulse.
"He's alive, but only just, we have to get his to an aide station". Something caught Cameron's eye only a few feet from her. She raised her flashlight and saw the head of the T nine hundred through the rubble. "You stay here and dig him out; I'm going to get the chip". Cameron moved towards the T nine hundred, whose red eyes still glowed in the dark. Cameron knelt down next to it and the machine turned its head slightly to stare at her. She could tell the machine was trying to fight its way free, but the weight off the rubble on top of it was keeping it from moving, and because it was mostly buried, Cameron couldn't tell how much damage it had suffered from the explosion. Lowering her rifle to the ground, she reached in to her pocket and took out her knife, and the machine began to struggle furiously to get free. Its CPU port was basically the same as a T eight hundreds was, just more tightly secure. It took Cameron a good five minutes before she managed to open the port. As she took hold of the chip, the T nine hundred spoke, using its cold computer generated voice. "You're Cameron Connor, wife of John Connor! Know this; this world belongs to us now. We'll hunt you all down, until your extinct".
Cameron tilted her head to the side and looked in to its red eyes, before saying in a clam but firm voice, "Yes, I'm Cameron Connor, and you're terminated!" Cameron turned the chip and removed it and the machine instantly powered down. Cameron held the chip up in her fingers and saw that it was far more advanced then the T eight hundreds were, and knew John would have a hard time finding what he needs on it to find the solution to destroying these new machines easily. Cameron pocketed the chip and returned to her men, who had just finished digging a now conscious Barrera from the rubble. "Connor, did it work? Did the plan work?" Cameron nodded her head and was glad to see he was smiling. "That's good. We might have a chance now. If I don't make it, I just want you to know it's been an honour to serve with you, I'd gladly do it again, providing I don't have to lure more machines in to a trap entirely made up of C4 explosives!" His words brought a smile to all their faces, and Cameron now felt slightly better. Though the cost was high, as many good man and women had died that night, they had got what they needed and with it, they could hopefully find the means to save thousands more.
It took only one radio call to John for him to send a squad of soldiers to bring Cameron and the survivors back safety to Serrano point. It was a common rule through out the resistance that no one was to be left behind and that rule was strictly enforced. When the soldiers at Serrano point heard that Cameron Connor was in need of rescue behind enemy lines, not one soldier didn't step forward and volunteer to be part of the rescue team. As the truck carrying her stopped in front of Serrano Point, Cameron stepped out and instantly fell in to the loving embrace of John, and for the first time since leaving days earlier, Cameron felt safe again.
"Never again Cameron, you're not going anywhere ever again. You don't know how worried I've been". Cameron didn't have any intention of letting go of John, just taking in the warm loving feeling he was giving her. John and Cameron then kissed as if they had been separated form each other for years again. After what seemed like an eternity, and both of them would have happily continued kissing for another eternity, they finally parted. Holding their foreheads together, they looked deep in to each others eyes, just glad to see each other again. John then noticed the blood on the side of Cameron's head and raised his hand to her wound. His face changed from relief to self hate in an instant. "I'm so sorry Cameron. I shouldn't have let you go. I should have gone myself, I'm so sorry!" John looked to the truck and groaned as he saw only five others had made it back with her.
"It wasn't your fault John. Things got out of hand so quickly, none of us saw it coming". John knew she was referring to the new T nine hundreds, but he didn't want to press the issue as she had just gotten back. A bolt of lightning flashed through the sky, quickly followed by a loud crack of thunder. They both looked up to the clouded night sky, just as the cold rain began to fall. "Come on, let's get inside". They moved quickly inside the power plant and down the ramp. Waiting at the bottom was Lauren and two other medics. The two medics moved right passed John and Cameron to help a critically wounded Barrera, who was being carried on a stretcher by the other four survivors. Lauren pulled Cameron to one side and began checking her wound. "It's not as bad as it looks. Allison finished her shift an hour ago, get her to clean it and patch you up". Lauren next used her small flashlight to look in to her eyes. "You haven't slept for days, you need sleep, and a lot of it". She put her flash light away and then turned to John.
"Make sure she sleeps. I know Kyle can be a handful, so you need to help out". John was a little offended by this, as Lauren was making out that he didn't help out with Kyle at all. Without another word, Lauren left with a smile to see Barrera, leaving John and Cameron alone. They both heard Lauren say that Barrera needed surgery as they headed towards the aide stations. John turned to Cameron, taking her hand in to his own. "Come on, let's go home. Kyle's missed you". Though Cameron felt a surge of joy to hear those words, she shook her head, "No John, not yet!" She reached in to her pocket and took out the T nine hundreds chip. John gave a small laugh before he also shook his head. "No, that can wait until later". He pushed her hand down, not interested in the chip, but Cameron shook him off. "Just listen John. Those new T nine hundreds are deadly. They killed nearly everyone in a matter of seconds. Their fast and twice as strong then anything we've fought before". She held up the chip and stared at it closely for a moment, remembering how the machines moved and how quickly and brutally they killed. "The chip's somehow immune to our EMP, and our plasma rifles do little to no damage to their armour. You need to hack this and find a way for us to fight them. If Skynet mass produces them before you do, it will be a bloodbath. Their wipe us all out in a matter of days".
John took in all her word before he raised his hand and took the chip from her. He held it up and stared at it with anger and disappointment. He felt anger at the death of his soldier and disappointment with the news that their weapons were now useless against Skynet's new machines. "Okay, I'll go to command and look in to this, but only if you promise me you'll get some sleep". Cameron gave a small nod before replying, "I promise". Cameron couldn't remember the last time she sounded so unconvincing, and wasn't surprised as John caught on with ease. "I promise I'll get some sleep after I've seen Kyle and got my self patched up, okay?" John nodded his head and with a smile, leaned in for another kiss. "I love you ". Cameron always blushed when he told her that, and now was no different. "I love you too, I'll see you when you get home, don't be late". John gave a laugh before leaving after another kiss. He quickly disappeared through the maze of corridors towards the command room. Cameron watched him leave and then turned towards home, and her son.
In just under five minutes, Cameron arrived home and pushed open the door, and then stepped inside her and John's home. Closing the door behind her, she heard Allison's voice, singing softly, coming from her and John's room. Slowly walking over and looking inside, she saw Allison sitting on her bed, and in her arms, fast asleep, was her baby brother Kyle. Allison was singing softly to Kyle and rocking him from side to side. Cameron listened hard to recognise the song, until she hear the words, 'the cradle will fall' to learn that she was singing rock a by baby to him. I was the same song that she and John sung to Kyle to help him sleep. Cameron didn't know whether to say anything and disturb them, but her urge to see Kyle again was stronger then she anticipated, so she decided to speak. "Allison". Jumping with surprise, Allison looked up as Cameron spoke and moved to jump up and run at Cameron, but she stopped herself as she was holding Kyle. "Mom, your back! About time!" She spoke in little more then a whisper, trying not to wake her brother. Cameron walked quickly to the bed and sat down next to her. She pulled Allison in to a hug and kissed her on the forehead.
"How's my boy doing?" Cameron looked down towards her son, and her smile became fixed. Watching him sleep became routine to Cameron, every chance she got, she would watch him sleep and stare in wonder on how she of all people deserved to have something so beautiful in her life. Kyle was huddled up in a thin blanket in Allison's arms, his right hand tightly grasped around Allison's smallest finger. Cameron reached out and stroked her son's slowly growing brown hair, identical in every detail to his fathers. He moved slightly at his mothers touch, but he didn't wake and carried on sleeping. "He's doing fine mom. He's missed you like crazy and it's hard to make him sleep, but other then that, he's fine. It's great having a little brother to look after. I've got something to look forwards to at the end of my shifts at the aide stations".
Kyle began to stir again, so Allison slowly turned herself towards her, and gently lowered Kyle in to Cameron's arms. As she positioned Kyle to make him as comfortable as possible, Kyle stretched his arms and opened his eye's. His chocolate brown eyes glared at Cameron until he recognised who she was and reached up to her. Cameron lowered her head to his outreached hands so he could touch her face, which he did with a small smile. Cameron kissed him on the forehead, just as he yawned and closed his eyes again. Allison stood up and stretched her arms and legs before she turned and gasped at the blood on the side of Cameron's face. "What the hell mom, why didn't you say anything?" Cameron didn't know what she was talking about for a moment, but as Allison moved to a green box near the door, opened it and began taking out medical supplies, she remembered her head wound. "I didn't want to worry you. Lauren said I just need some sleep". Allison began muttering under her breath as she sorted out what she needed and returned to the bed, holding some bandages, a pair of scissors, and a bottle of antibiotics. "Your lucky you're my mother or I'd hit you. The longer you leave it mom, the more likely it will get infected".
Cameron gasped in pain and tried not to move as Allison cleaned her wound. Once she had cleaned the wound and wiped the dry blood away, Allison cut some bandages for her and began to apply them to her wound. "You and dad are just as bad as each other. You've both got to stop keeping things from me and dad to stop us worrying". Cameron looked up with surprise. "What do you mean me and John are as bad as each other, what hasn't he told me?" Allison just stared at her with confusion for a moment, and then she looked annoyed and frustrated. "He told me he was going to tell you. What is it with him keeping secrets from you and me picking up the pieces"? Cameron felt more confused then ever. As far as she knew, John didn't keep secrets from her and hadn't done since before Judgement day, and she didn't keep any from him, she told him everything. "What's he not telling me?" Allison shook her head in annoyance and finished fixing the bandages. Leaning back to check she had done it right; she gave a smile of approval at her own work.
"It's his nightmares again. He won't tell me what happens but it scares him. He does a good job in trying to not showing it, but I've never seen him more scared of a nightmare since he kept dreaming that you were goanna die". Cameron felt a chill move up her spine, as Allison took the bandages she didn't use and moved to the green box and put them away again. "How long has he been having these nightmares?" Cameron knew all too well how bad nightmares could affect people, as she had been through the same sort of thing before. Allison sat back on the bed next to her and they both looked down to Kyle as he moved in his sleep again. "He's been having them ever since he found out you were pregnant. He didn't tell you then because of the near miscarriage and he didn't want you to get stressed over it". Cameron was even further taken aback, but felt a surge of gratitude for John. He had kept the secret and was suffering for it, but he did it for her. Cameron then stood up and moved towards the corner of the room, where Kyle's small cradle stood.
Inside, was a bundle of soft and warm blankets, as well as his favourite small teddy bear, which was a birthday gift from Allison. Next to the cradle, were four small wooden carved animals, each representing a dog, a horse, a eagle and a bear. Kyle wasn't old enough to understand what the animals were, but he loved to play with them. Lowing him in to the cradle, Cameron made sure he was wrapped up so he was warm and comfortable. Kyle seemed to know what was going on, as he reached out and grasped his small hand around its arm. Kyle yawned in his sleep and then didn't move anymore, sleeping in complete safety, comfort and warmth. Cameron kissed him again, softly on the cheek, before whispering, 'I love you Kyle, my little boy". Standing up straight, Allison watched as Cameron made for the door, and jumped up to stop her. "I don't think so mom, you're not going to see him". Cameron looked at Allison with a look that said, just try and stop me. "I'm not, I'm…". "You a bad liar mom. Look, it's late. If dads not here, then he's got a good reason to not be, hasn't he. He'll be home when he can, and when he does get home, then you can ask him about his nightmares, not before". Allison gave her a defiant look, forcing Cameron to back down.
Accepting defeat, Cameron made her way to her bed, and got herself ready for bed and Allison opened the medical box again. She took out a small black box, opened it and took out two sleeping tablets. Walking over with the tablets and a silver flask of cold water, she handed the tablets to Cameron. "Take these. You've hit your head hard, so you'll probably have trouble sleeping. These will help you to fall asleep". Cameron placed both tablets in her mouth and with the water, swallowed them both. Cameron lay back on to her pillow, pulled her blanket over her and turned herself so she could see the cradle in the corner of the room. She could faintly make out a sleeping Kyle in the darkness. Allison lowered herself and kissed her on the forehead, "Don't worry about Kyle, I'll keep an eye on him. Just sleep mom, I love you". Even as she opened her mouth to reply, Cameron could feel the sleeping tablets quickly taking hold of her. She was barley able to say, "I love you too", before she drifted off in to some much needed sleep.
At the other end of Serrano point, in the command room, John sat alone, with his eyes fixed on his laptop. For hours now, he'd been working to hack his way through Skynet's inscription on the T nine hundreds chip, and had only just finally broke through it. On the screen, he was watching the machine's last memory before it was shut down. The image was fuzzy at first, and even before it became completely clear, he knew it was Cameron's face the machine was staring at. He admired how beautiful she looked, even with her blood flowing down the side of her head; she was more beautiful then ever. Then he head the machines cold computer generated voice. "You're Cameron Connor, wife of John Connor! Know this; this world belongs to us now. We'll hunt you all down, until your extinct". He smiled widely as Cameron tilted her head to the side, something that made her look cute and innocent, and something he always loved about her. He watched as her loving and warm chocolate brown eyes looked straight in to the machines eyes, and se spoke, "Yes, I'm Cameron Connor, and you're terminated!" Cameron pulled out the chip and the memory sequence ended, leaving the laptop screen blank. John again smiled at her words. He could hear the pride in her voice as she named herself as Cameron Connor.
The laptop screen flashed suddenly and continued to flash a white light. John, confused as he hadn't done anything to chance what was on the screen, tried to carry on with his work, only to find himself unable to control the laptop, he was locked out. He tried one on of his old tricks that his mother taught him but that didn't work either. Before he could decide on what to do next, the flashing ended and an image appeared. It was a room, a dark room. He didn't know why, but as he looked in to its darkness, he had a feeling he was being watched, by something or someone that shouldn't be there. Then suddenly, John found himself standing in that very room, his desk, laptop and the command room long gone. He looked around at the sound of footsteps in the darkness, which could be heard somewhere to his left. As he looked for the source of the footsteps, they could be heard behind him, and then they were somewhere else. Every time he looked in the direction of the sound, the footsteps could be heard somewhere else. Then suddenly, something charged at him from behind and threw him high in to the air. John twisted and turned as he flew, trying to turn himself so he could and on his feet. Seconds later John landed on his back, his body aching from the blunt of the landing. As he lay there, a cold computer generated laugh echoed through the dark room, a voice John had heard only once before. It was Skynet, and it's laughing got louder and louder, until it eventually subsided. "You thought you had fulfilled your dream, you were wrong John Connor. Your dream ends here forever, along with your resistance, and your precious Human race".
Out of the shadows, a figure emerged, and as it came in to view, all of John's fears took such a strong hold on him and it began to suffocate him. Skynet stepped in to view, still controlling the body of Cromartie. In its hands, the machine was holding some sort of rifle, far more advanced and far more complicated then anything he had seen before. Skynet stopped and stood over John, staring down on him with a smirk on its face. "It seems fate favours me today, John Connor. Know this, I win, I always win". Priming its strange and advanced rifle, the machine took a step back and aimed for John's heart. John tired to be brave and stare down the barrel of the rifle, to make one last defiant stand, but his had no bravery left, nothing at all, and so he looked away to the his right, and waited for the inevitable. John then saw something through the darkness, something strange. Someone was standing there, absolutely still, and was completely engulfed in flames. The flames, a mixture of red, blue and for some reason white, didn't seem to bother who ever it was at all.
Skynet looked up and spotted the person, and instead of killing him, it fired at the person in flames. John was blinded by the flash from Skynet's strange rifle. He didn't know what was going on, but he heard screaming, Cameron's screams, screaming his name. She was screaming for help, for him to save her. "JOHN, HELP US, PLEASE HELP US!" He then heard Allison's screams, just as loud as Cameron's were. She too, was calling out for him, "DAD, WHERE ARE YOU, DAD PLEASE, DAD!" Through their screams for help, he could just hear his son Kyle crying loudly. Then Cameron's screams got louder and louder, until it sounded like she was right next to him. "JOHN!" With one final shout of his name, John heard nothing more and then their was silence. John tried to call out, but somehow, no sound left him when he open his mouth. Then suddenly, the sound came.
"CAMERON!" Screaming out the name of the woman he loved, John sat up in his chair, so fast he fell off it and on to the floor. It took a moment for him to realise where he was, back in the command room. He could feel how hot his body was, as the sweat seemed to flow like water from his body, John couldn't stop his body shake with fear, as Cameron's scream had been so real, more real then he could possibly imagine. John held his head in his hands and tried to control his breathing, with no success. "Are you alright sir?" John looked up to see one of his solders standing over him. John nodded his head, knowing full well that he wasn't alright. Dragging himself to his feet, he looked around to see the command room was almost completely empty. Usually, the room would be full with around thirty to forty people, all manning the many computers, keeping in constant communication with resistance solders across the planet.. But at this moment, there were only ten. All of them were staring at him, surprise and concern on their faces due to their sudden outburst. "Where is everyone?".
A few of them turned to each other, muttering words under the breath. "Errr, sorry sir, but everyone gone to bed, it's half one in the morning". John gaped at the person who spoke and raised his wrist, and true to his words, his watch told him it had just hit half past one. Shaking his head, John sat down on his chair again and looked to his laptop. The screen was blank, showing that the machines memory that he had watched had ended. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, or when he'd fallen asleep. He had spent hours hacking his way in to the T nine hundreds chip, with out taking a break. Every time he hit a problem in accessing the chip, he worked furiously to bypass it, not even considering giving up. He didn't realise how much he had tired himself out doing it. Looking up again he saw that the ten people were still staring at him. "Shows over!" They all immediately got back to work, except the one man who spoke before. "Sorry sir, we didn't know if we should have woken you or not". John merely shook his head, more annoyed at himself then he was at them.
"It's alright, I'm going home, see you later". John closed the laptop and quickly left the room, stepping in to the cold corridor. Normally, the cold would make him uncomfortable, but instead he felt a little better. Walking towards home, he hoped Cameron would be asleep, hoping he didn't have to tell her about his nightmares. He originally didn't tell her due to her near miscarriage and even when she became safe, he still kept it from her. He didn't know why he kept it from her; he just didn't want her to worry about him, especially over a few bad dreams. But even as he thought about it, they weren't just bad dreams. The dreams had steadily gotten worse as time went on. He didn't know how long he could or should keep this from Cameron. As he debated, his radio came to life, nearly giving him a heart attack due to how quiet it was. "Connor! Connor pick up!".
It was Bedell, and despite the urge to ignore him and go home to his family, he could tell something was wrong, and so he answered. "What is it Bedell?" "Connor, good, you're awake. You need to come to the roof and quickly. Its Liz, I think she might do something stupid". John instantly turned around and walked as fast as he could towards the roof, taking shortcuts along catwalks and through one of the large rooms in which over two hundred people lived and slept. John eventually hurried up the stairs which led to the roof and stepped out in to the old air. He wished he had brought his jacket, as it was absolutely freezing outside. Bedell was standing close towards the door and as he saw John, nodded his head towards the other end of the roof. He could see Liz sitting alone, her legs dangling over the edge of the building. There was no railing where she was sitting, the railings having long been destroyed in the battle to take Serrano point from Skynet. "She's been drinking up here for hours and talking to herself. I know you and her are close, so I called you here".
John nodded his head and muttered his thanks before making his way over to Liz. John ignored the gazes of the soldiers on the roof on guard duty. As John neared Liz, he could see a half empty bottle of vodka in her hand. He could hear her muttering to herself, but her words didn't make any sense what so ever. "Liz!" John insanity regretted saying anything, because as she turned to look at him, she nearly slipped over the side, but somehow, she didn't fall. "Hey John, take a seat and have a drink?". John shook his head and sat down next to her. He let his legs dangle over the edge of the building and looked down. It was on hell of a distance to fall. If either him or Liz fell, they wouldn't get up again. Liz again offered John the bottle, and this time he took it. John lifted the bottle to his lips and pretended to take a drink, which seemed to make Liz a little happier.
"What are you doing Liz, this isn't you?". Liz started to giggle, and John reached out to grab her, just as she looked like she was going to fall. "And how do you know this isn't me John, how do you know?". Liz reached out and took the bottle from him, and took another drink of vodka. John knew that she would be sick if she had anymore, so he reached out and took it from her, before he tossed it ahead of him, where it disappeared through the darkness. Only a few seconds later, they heard the smashing of the bottle on the ground below. "You bastard, I wasn't finished with that!". She raised her hands to hit John, but John was quicker, grabbing both her arms. "Liz, calm down now. You're drunk, this isn't you, I'm taking you home".
Keeping a firm grip on her arms, John somehow managed to get to his feet, and then pulled Liz to hers. Liz did her best to make things difficult, even threatening to jump and drag John with her. Her struggling didn't deter John however, and he pulled her away from the edge. "Let go of me John. Let go!". John let go of her left arm and dragged her towards the door back inside. He wasn't going to leave her in the state she was in. Bedell stood by the door, looking like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. Liz spotted him and began to point and laugh at him. "Look at him, look, he's got no hair!". Liz didn't seem to spot that Bedell was wearing a woolly hat to keep himself warm in the cold. She held her stomach as she laughed uncontrollably, not noticing both John and Bedell shake their heads. "I doubt she'll remember anything when she wakes up". Bedell nodded in agreement and held the door open for them.
John led Liz down the stairs, which took a lot longer then it would normally, as Liz kept missing all the steps and falling over on to John. He suspected she was doing it on purpose to make things difficult, but he wasn't going to give up. Bedell left them and headed towards the barracks where he slept. He refused any offers to sleep anywhere else, preferring to sleep close to his men, some of which he considered them to be brothers and they of him, due to the amount of times they had all watched each others backs in this long war. John led Liz towards her home, which she shared with her brother, William. John was thankful to eventually be standing outside Liz's home, as she had made every attempt to insult and shout at every soldier they walked passed. Liz dragged herself forwards and to her bed in the corner of the small room. John looked up towards the second room, and could hear Williams strong snores coming through the closed door. At the foot of Liz's bed, her dog Max, looked up to watch as Liz moved the room. Max eventually lost interest and tuned his back to Liz, keeping it's nose as far as possible from Liz, who smelt strongly of vodka. Liz suddenly fell to the floor, half laughing and half moaning in pain as she held her knee.
John, wanting to leave as quickly as possible and go to bed himself, moved forwards and helped her to her feet and towards her bed. Liz fell back with a sigh and as John turned towards to door, she reached out and took his hand. "Wait, don't go, stay!". John knew exactly what she wanted from him, so he quickly tried to think of an excuse to leave. His silence must have told Liz he wanted to stay for she pulled him down to sit on the bed next to her. John tired to stand up again, but she held him down, resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arm around him. "Just stay with me John, just for a few minutes at least". They sat in silence for a good fifteen minutes and every time John tried to stand, she would pull him down again and hold him tighter. After what seemed like an hour, Liz finally spoke, "It's not fair". John first tried to think of what wasn't fair, but nothing came to mind.
"What isn't fair?". Liz finally removed her arm from around John and turned her head to face him. John didn't dare look at her, mainly because by what she wanted and for he vodka smelling breath. "Life isn't fair, that's what. Look at me, I've got no one, no one who loves me. I come home every night and all I've got is William. He spends all his time with women, he has a new girlfriend every week and he's happy to keep it that way, but me, I've got no one. And then there's you". John's stomach turned as he was brought in to the conversation.
"You John, you go home and you've got… you've got Cameron". Liz said Cameron's name through gritted teeth, and John tired not to be angry with her, as he knew Liz wouldn't say any of this if she was sober. Liz turned John's head towards her and tried to kiss him. John instantly turned away and stood up, forcing himself out of Liz's grip. Liz gave a howl of despair and rejection and lay back on her bed, covering her face and crying softly. "Why don't you love me?. You love her, you love Cameron but you don't love me. Why don't you love me?". John couldn't think of anything to say that would hurt her feelings. He did love Liz, just not in the way she wanted. "Please go John, please leave me alone, go!". John felt guilty for leaving Liz like this, but decided it was best for him to leave, "I'm sorry". He walked for the door, stopping as Max stood up from his sleeping spot and moved to sit next to him. John knelt down and stroked him behind the ears. "Don't worry Max, she'll be alright". Max must have understood what he was saying, for he licked John once on his hand and went back to his sleeping spot.
He lay back down and watched Liz as she cried on her bed. John stepped out and closed the door behind him. Liz's cries got more distant the further he got and eventually, he heard nothing more of her. John finally stepped quietly in to his home. He spotted Allison fast asleep on the couch, wrapped tightly in her sleeping bag. He knelt and kissed her softly on the forehead and continued to his and Cameron's room. He could see Cameron fast asleep. He saw the bandages on the side of her head, undoubtedly the work of Allison and was glad Cameron was okay, more then glad, he was relived. John could tell she fell asleep watching over their son, who was also asleep in his cradle. Spending a few moments looking over Kyle, helping him drift back to sleep as he woke and made sure he was comfortable, he went to bed himself.
John didn't sleep well. Other then having only a few hours until he was due to wake up, his nightmare returned with a vengeance. He woke early, breathing heavily and with sweat on his face. The dream had been exactly the same as before. Skynet controlling Cromartie's body, however unlikely it seemed. Cameron's screams and then, a figure of flames, shining through the darkness. John didn't know why it scared him so much, and instead of dwelling on it, he got himself out of bed and made sure to wrap the blanket around Cameron to keep her warm in the cold room. He heard Kyle was awake and as he walked over, could see he was playing with his teddy bear. John could see he was hungry, so he took a bottle of warm milk and picked Kyle up in to him arms and held the bottle to his mouth. Kyle began eagerly drinking the milk, closing his eyes as he did. As John fed him, Cameron's eyes slowly opened, he eyes fixed on the empty cradle. She turned her head slowly and watched with a smile as John fed Kyle. Watching them brought sadness and happiness to Cameron.
She was sad for John, because his father never had the chance to do what John was doing now to his son. But she was happy also, for John was able to do this, to be there for his child, just like he promised he always would. She couldn't stop herself from yawning, which alerted both John and Kyle that she was awake. John moved towards the bed and sat down, allowing Cameron to run her fingers through Kyle's brown hair. "John, tell me about the nightmares". John's smile vanished and he groaned, his lie having been discovered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep it from you for this long, I just…..". Cameron pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him in an instant.
"Don't be mad at her, but Allison told me yesterday. I know why you kept it secret and I don't blame you. Just tell me about them". John told her everything, every detail. He told her about Skynet, Cromartie, her screams and the figure in flames. Cameron always listened, not just because she wanted to, it was because a lot of John's dreams and hers for that matter, have always happened in reality in some shape or form. Skynet controlling Cromartie's body, however unlikely, was a definite possibility. John would have to face Skynet one day, so what John was seeing in his nightmares, could happen one day, but hopefully, not as the nightmares showed. "You an idiot John, you care to much and you let yourself suffer for it. Next time, just tell me". John smiled, happy she wasn't taking the news of him keeping a secret from her for so long to heart. Kyle finished drinking the milk, and as John took the bottle away, he burped loudly, bring a larger smile to both his parents faces.
Later, John headed again for the command room to work on the T nine hundred chip she captured. But as the hours went on, he found it would take a while even to find the information they needed to fight the T nine hundreds. Every single file on the chip was encrypted and it took John at least half an hour to get through it. Even then, he didn't know what files he was hacking. One file however, did yield some interesting information, a Skynet hit list. Reading through the list, he wasn't surprised when he saw that his name was first, the priority target. Second on the list was Cameron and much to John's surprise, Allison was third. There was no information on why she was in third on the list, but John suspected that Skynet wanted all of the Connor's dead, and so they were on the top. Other familiar names followed the Connors, including Liz, Perry, Lauren, Bedell, William and Sidney. After those, their were at least three hundred others, all John's generals and lieutenants, scattered all over the world, on every continent. Thankfully, Kyle Connor's name wasn't on the list.
Either Skynet didn't know of Kyle's existence yet, which wasn't likely, or the list was made before Kyle was born. Cameron eventually arrived with Kyle in her arms, providing John with a welcoming distraction from his work for a while. Liz hadn't turned up from her room through out the entire morning. John guessed she was recovering from a heavy hangover. He sent two soldiers to check she was alright and they both returned ten minutes later, with a white faced and ill looking Liz. She didn't even bother to try and stop Max from running over to Cameron and wagging his tail as she stocked him behind their ears. Liz took a seat nearby and held her head in her hands, not once making eye contact with John. Leaving Cameron with Kyle on her lap as she had a go with the T nine hundreds chip, John walked over to Liz and knelt down next to her. "Liz, are you alright?". "No, of course not. I've got one hell of a headache, I'm late for my shift and to top it all off, I made a complete fool of myself last night. Do you know how embarrassed I feel right now".
She moaned as she shook her head. "I'm sorry for what I said, I wish I didn't and I know I shouldn't have. I'm sorry". It was John's turn to shake his head. "It's alright. There's nothing to be sorry for". Liz slowly turned herself to face him. She looked like she was going to be sick. "I am sorry". "Like I said, it's fine. Go and get some fresh air or something. It will make you feel better. I'll see you later, okay?". Liz nodded her head, though she instantly regretted it and moaned again in pain. She slowly got to her feet and tapped her hand against her leg. Max responded instantly and followed Liz out of the room. John returned to Cameron and sat down next to her, and playfully tickled Kyle under the chin, making him laugh loudly and drawing the gazes of those nearby. "What was all that about, with Liz?". Before John could answer, his radio came to life once again.
John held it up to answer as Perry's voice came through. "Connor, we need to talk, I've got some news from Falcon cove bunker. I'm in the barracks". John sighed loudly because when ever Perry spoke like this, it was always bad news. "Okay, I'm on my way". John looked to Cameron, who gave him an encouraging smile. He nodded his head and stood up and before he could walk out of the room, Kyle began to cry loudly. Cameron held him tightly and rocked him from side to side but he carried on crying. "Here John, take him with you. I'll stay here and see if I have any luck in getting what we need off this chip. John nodded and as Cameron kissed Kyle softly on the cheek, John swooped him in to his arm, where he continued to scream loudly. John then leant forwards and he and Cameron kissed deeply before he headed out of the command room and towards the barracks. Kyle stopped crying and looked around at everything and everyone with fascination, though not understanding anything due to his young age.
Nearing the barracks, he spotted Perry and Bedell standing together, talking quickly and quietly. As John approached, they both gave smiles towards Kyle, who didn't know who either of them were. Turning their gazes to John, their faces dropped and John waited for the bad news. "Connor, we've lost Falcon cove. No survivors". John's face dropped and he shook his head. Falcon cove was one of their newest bunkers, but it houses nearly four hundred people, three hundred of them were women and children. Kyle saw that John was unhappy and slowly began to cry again. John did his best to calm him down, but the looks on Bedell and Perry's faces told him they had more to say. John looked behind him and to his relief, he saw Allison talking with a group of people nearby. "Allison, come here!". Allison turned and was surprised to see him there. She walked over slowly, her eyes fixed on her brother. "Here, can you take him for a while?". He didn't wait for an answer as he pushed Kyle in to her arms. "It's okay, I'll take him for a walk. I don't have much to do at the minute". Kyle's crying didn't cease as Allison walked away, she herself trying to calm him. John turned back to Perry and nodded his head. "Okay, hit me with it". Perry sighed loudly before responding.
"It's not just Falcon cove. They took out Dakota, Arizona and shields head bunkers. All of them, no survivors. It's those new T nine hundreds, they walked in to our bunkers and came out with out a scratch on them. We're defenceless against them". John held his right hand to his head. All those people who had died in those bunkers made him feel sick. Those four bunker added up to nearly a thousand people, all dead in one day. "Where are the machines now?". "We don't know. They could be heading here or towards another one of our bunkers. If they did come here, we've got nothing that can stop them, unless you've found something on the chip". John shook his head, bringing groans from both of them. John turned and looked down the corridor. "Cameron's working on it now. I know we don't have any options but we…". John stopped talking and froze, his eyes fixed in place. He felt his body shake with fear. "Connor?, you alright?". John ignored Bedell and remained focussed down the corridor. Kneeling down to an injured soldier and his family, was Allison.
She had her medical kit with her and was changing his bandages. There was no mistaking that it was Allison, as the light from the corridor reflected off her diamond necklace, the same diamond necklace he gave Cameron for her birthday and Cameron gave Allison for hers. Bedell followed John's gaze and spotted Allison. At first, he thought nothing of it, then he caught on. "Err, Connor?, If that's Allison, then who…..". "Who the hell did I give Kyle to?". John broke in to a run in the direction Kyle was taken, Perry and Bedell close behind him. Bedell muttered something on his radio, and the alarms sounded. John didn't know where he was going, he just kept running, looking out for any sign of whatever was pretending to be Allison and his son. Asking around, the civilians in the corridor pointed him towards the back of the power plant, the back entrance. John, as well and Bedell and Perry were joined by other soldiers as they ran. John, panicking that his son was gone, threw himself in to the doors in the last room, and ran from behind the machinery in the room and could see the back entrance. Liz was there, standing by the entrance with her dog Max, who was barking madly at Allison, who held a screaming Kyle in her arms.
There was no diamond necklace around her neck, proving to John that this wasn't Allison, but a machine. "LIZ, GET AWAY FROM HER!". Liz looked from Allison to John and back to Allison. Realising what was going on, she reached for her pistol. But it was too late, the T one thousand resembling Allison raised its arm and it turned in to a silver blade. Before Liz could react, the machine extended its arm in to Liz's chest, deep in to her heart. Liz twitched and stared in horror as the machine retracted its blade and Liz fell to the floor, where she remained still. The T one thousand then calmly walked out of the back entrance, taking a screaming Kyle with it. John ran after the machine, so fast, he was well ahead of everyone else who followed. Outside, an HK aerial landed, nearly throwing John off his feet by the blast of air from its powerful engines. "KYLE!". There was nothing John or anyone else could do as the T one thousand stepped on the larger machine.
The machine turned and with Allison's face, gave a sly smile. Before John's eyes, the machine turned completely silver and reformed in to a new body. With red hair and a white dress, Catherine Weaver stood before John, holding his son. Cameron arrived seconds later, and she to tried to run to get Kyle back, but like John, the aerials engine kept her at bay. "PLEASE NO, KYLE!". John and Cameron grasped each others hands, and watched helplessly as the aerial took off, and disappeared in to the sky, taking Catherine Weaver and their son with it.