Terminator: Return of the Fallen

Part VI

Upon returning to the Safe House, young Connor takes me aside. He does not seem pleased with my performance at the bank today.

"Lieutenant, can I have a word with you?"

"Of course you can. What's up?"

"It's about your performance today. You need to be a little less....trigger-happy".

"Excuse me? Trigger-happy?"

"You shot up a bank that was full of people!"

"They were enemies and I killed them. I'm a soldier, it's what I do".

"You could have killed civilians. You are an officer in the Resistance! Act like it".

"I beg your pardon?"

"You JOB, Lieutenant, is to neutralize the enemy without endangering civilians. Destroying a bank is not doing your job".

"I did not destroy a bank. I simply, got into a skirmish with a T-888".

"A skirmish? You demolished everything in sight. Were you even watching where you were going?"

"It's hard to do that when a Terminator is punching you in the head".

"A lot of innocent people could have been killed. In the future, you will show more restraint when confronting an enemy. That is an order!"

"You can't give me orders. You are just a kid".

"I am John Connor, leader of the Resistance. Regardless of my age, that is who I am. You WILL obey my orders! Is that understood, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Sir! Restraint! Anything else, General?"

"You've been shooting first and asking questions later. That is a good way to waste ammunition and to attract attention. From now on, you are to engage only if it is necessary. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir! Even at this age you still have that commanding presence of yours. How is that you are always ready to lead?"

"I'm John Connor, it's what I do".

"Amen to that, General".

"Dismissed!" I salute and walk away. Young John Connor just chewed me out for conduct unbecoming an officer. There never seems to be a dull moment around here.

The following day is relatively uneventful. Night is an entirely different story. The first thing I noticed on returning to the Safe House from a food run was that the front door was wide open. That makes no sense; no one in the resistance is that careless. Slowly, I creep into the house. I can hear Sarah talking to someone, and it does not sound like a polite conversation.

"Just take whatever you want and get out!"

"Lady, you know what I want!"

"Get away from here you pervert!" Ok. Reese is definitely not happy with this situation.

I get a view of the living room, only to see everyone on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. Armed men are everywhere. How many times does this happen? Seriously, this is the second time they have been kidnapped since I got here. Why aren't the Terminators killing these guys? Rather than wait to see what happens, I grab the nearest man to me by his hair and throw him to the ground.

"AAA!"

"Good evening. What are you doing in my house?"

"OH MY GOD! IT'S YOU!" I grab him by the throat and slam him into a wall.

"Yes, it's me. WHAT.....ARE YOU DOING.......IN MY HOUSE?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch John Conner looking at me. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't have to. His eyes speak volumes. His orders are clear, do not kill them. Instead, I literally throw the man out of the open front door.

"STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOUSE!"

"Ok! OK!" The man wets his pants and runs off into the desert. I return to the living room to find one man pointing a gun at Sarah's head.

"Get back, or I kill her".

"Are you an idiot?"

"Huh?"

"If you kill her, then I will get really pissed off and rip you all limb from limb. If you do not kill her, I might just let you leave here with your lives. Your call, bonehead".

They have seen what I am capable of. They know that I can destroy them all in seconds and that I do not show mercy to my enemies. So they blink. They scramble out of the windows as fast as they can. All except for one idiot who just stands there. So I approach him as menacingly as possible.

"Maybe you didn't hear me: GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

"Ok! Ok! I'm leaving!"

He isn't! He just wanted me to get a little closer so he could stick a knife in my head. That was the last straw. I punch right through him, with my fist entering through his chest and exiting through his back. I storm out the front door and throw the body at his companions.

"Take this with you!" Then I pull the knife out of my head and throw it. "I throw a knife into the air. Where it lands, I do not care".

The knife does not hit anyone. In fact, I have no idea where it landed. The men just grab the corpse and disappear into the night. I walk back into the living room to untie everyone, and find John Connor glaring at me.

"What! You try keeping your head when there is a knife sticking out of it".

"Ok. We definitely need to teach you some anger management techniques".

"Anger management for Terminators! I don't remember seeing that at the YMCA".

The other Terminators break out of their bonds and help me untie everyone else. I can not understand why they did not do that earlier. When I ask them about, they just say a short phrase: low profile. I guess they did not want people to know that they were Terminators. Whatever the reason, I have another concern right now. Allison is crying again.

"Are you injured, Corporal?"

"Again! It happened again. Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Please stop crying. What happened here...it was not your fault. You have nothing to be ashamed of Corporal".

"Wh-Why are you being so nice to me?"

"We are Resistance soldiers. If we don't stand up for each other, then who will?"

"Funny thing about soldiers, they don't turn into the Hulk every time someone hits them".

"He STABBED me in the HEAD!"

"You're a Terminator! A knife wound is the equivalent to a paper-cut".

"Actually, General, it hurts a lot more than a paper-cut". Then Catherine, in the most sincere voice possible, explains why it is a bad idea to kill everything in sight.

"Charley you need to stop drawing attention to yourself. Or else, sooner or later, they will start looking for you".

"Then let them. I can take anything they can dish out".

"For now. But sooner or later, they will come up with those wonder weapons you were hoping for. They will not be using them to hunt Skynet, though. They will be hunting you! All of the resources and all of the manpower that you were hoping would be turned against our enemies will be focused on destroying you. One day, they will kill the big bad Terminator and everyone will think that it is over. They will think that they are safe, that they've slain the metal beast. Everyone will lower their guard and go back to their pathetic little lives. Until Judgement Day comes along and kills them all".

"So, you're saying I would be contributing to Skynet's victory?"

"You might as well launch the missiles yourself. Every moment that is spent trying to destroy you is another moment lost fighting Skynet. You need to get off their radar and stop attracting attention".

"All right. I will tone it down a bit. But, you can not expect me to turn into a saint overnight. I am a Terminator after all".

"You never used to be".

"Catherine, wait. I..."

I just stop talking and she walks away. She is right, I never used to disregard human life like this. What have I become? I am starting to act like one of them! Remember Zacks: You are man! Not machine! You fly jets for John Connor and fight Skynet to ensure the survival of the human race. At least, that is what I was.

"I don't get. You can be so compassionate, like when you're with Allison. But then you turn into a psychopath".

"Well, Allison has never shot and/or stabbed me".

"But she did bight, kick, and scratch you and you're still kind to her".

"None of that could hurt me".

"Neither can knives or most kinds of bullets".

"I know, General. I know".

"Then why do you turn into a nutcase every time you get hit?"

"I ..... I wish to hell I knew, General. But, it's not like you've never killed anyone".

"Only Terminators".

"Bullshit. You told me about the guy you strangled".

"He was going to kill my mother. I had no choice but to kill him. Whenever there is another option, I take it. You just kill everything in front of you".

"Like a Terminator".

"Exactly like a Terminator! Starting to doubt yourself, Lieutenant?"

"I'm starting to doubt what I am. I always thought that I was a man. Now, I'm not so sure. Can I ask a favour, General?"

"What is it?"

"If I ever completely flip out, I want you or one of the others to shoot me in the head. Can you promise me that?"

"Trust me. If you ever flip out, one of us WILL take you out! Get some rest, Lieutenant".

"Aye aye, mon General!"

"Wise ass!"

"Just like your uncle".

"He also has an impulse control problem. You two have a lot in common".

"Good to know. If your father where here, he would laugh his ass off".

"Good night, Lieutenant Zacks".

"Good night, General".

In my dreams, I am back in the bunkers. My comrades, my friends are all alive and well. People I had lost years ago are there. Suddenly, we hear the cry that makes our blood freeze; TERMINATOR. Machine guns blast and men cry out in pain. I watch my friends die in a hailstorm of bullets and shrapnel. Then I see the machine, and it is me! One of my friends, I think his name was Steven, tries to kill the Terminator version of myself and gets his head blown off. Then, Terminator me smiles and says a single sentence: "It's what I do!" I wake up just as my eyes start to glow red.

God in Heaven, what am I? I was a soldier, now I am a monster. Seriously, what is the difference between myself and York? We were both machines that were built for a single purpose: to kill people. My humanity is slipping away and it terrifies me.

"Good Morning!"

"Oh! Good Morning J.H."

"It's Sunday".

"What's your point?"

"Mr. Ellison and I are going to church. Would you like to join us?"

"Uh, I'm not actually Catholic".

"Trust me my friend. I think you will benefit more from this than Mr. Ellison or myself".

"All right. What do I have to lose?"

"It's not what you have to lose that is important. It's what you have to gain".