Hope
Chapter 05: Sand and Blood
NEVADA DESERT – MILITARY TRAINING SECTOR
SATURDAY 30TH MAY
9.00PM
The sand-caked ground crackled and growled as the military Humvee came to a sudden stop, spraying a nearby desert rat with a cloud of debris. Startled, the small mammal scurried back down into its burrow, fearful of the invaders and their heavy boots that crushed everything in their path. Drill Sergeant Gregory Apone set foot upon the desert floor and immediately spewed forth a torrent of insults and orders at his cadets, driving them like sheep to their positions and pre-planned operations.
"C'MON!!! YOU SORRY BASTARDS!!! I WANT THIS CAMP SET UP YESTERDAY!!! GET YOUR ASSES MOVIN'!!!"
Apone took a moment to catch his breath and, antithetical to this intent, shoved a thick cigar in his mouth and sucked on its intoxicating aroma. "Just another beautiful day in the Core", he mused aloud as he stepped forward to better observe his men as they obeyed his orders and began setting watch posts at every corner of the dried lake bed. The location was small but tactically advantageous, for they were hidden deep enough in the gulf to keep approaching foot soldiers from spotting them.
"GET YOUR SHIT IN GEAR, LADIES!!! MENDOZA!!! GET THAT TENT UP ASAP!!!"
Mendoza, one of Apone's most promising cadets, shouted a "Yes sir!" before driving the support pole deep into the ground, and then signalled the others to do the same in a pentagonal pattern as the canvas was brought forward. It took them less than five minutes to set up the command tent and even less to move the gear inside. Apone kept a conscious eye on his watch, taking note of every soldier and their level of efficiency. After twenty minutes had passed he blew his whistle, bringing every soldier to an immediate stop.
"Gentlemen, we have officially broken the academy record for the fastest setup. Smoke 'em if you got 'em, boys", he declared.
The soldiers gave a collective cheer and scattered to their respective posts, most of them reaching into their pockets to extract a cigarette. One soldier fumbled around, checking every pocket and pouch on his person before letting out a sigh and cursing under his breath.
"Jenkins! Get to your post! The Core ain't paying us by the hour!" Apone scolded.
"Yes sir", Jenkins replied, hurrying to join his partners at the south perimeter post.
"Hey man, you got a spare? I must a left mine back at the barracks", he asked one of them.
The soldier rolled his eyes and rummaged around in his pocket while the other sneered at Jenkins.
"Honestly mate, you'd lose your helmet if it weren't glued to your 'ead", he mocked.
"It isn't glued to me now and I haven't lost it yet", Jenkins pointed out.
"Don't think it ain't crossed our minds though", the soldier replied.
The other finished his search and held a cigarette to Jenkins, who took it eagerly and accepted the man's offer as he held out his lighter too. As the flame licked the end of the stick, something moved in the corner of Jenkins' eye. Just a few feet away the sand was shifting and a hole was starting to materialize. The men looked at each other for a moment, each as confused as the other, before taking a cautious step towards the strange anomaly.
"What the-?" Jenkins exclaimed.
Before he could make sense of what was happening, the ground suddenly exploded as if a grenade had gone off, except that in place of an explosion there was only metal and two red dots propelling themselves towards him. Pain exploded in his body as six serrated blades clamped around his face, piercing his flesh and digging into the bone beneath. With a strangled cry, he felt his body lurch forward as he was dragged head first into the hole from which the monster had risen.
His mates stood in shock and disbelief as he thrashed and screamed.
"JENKINS!!!" they shouted in unison.
As one they launched themselves on his back and tugged at his middle, trying desperately to pull their friend free from whatever had him. Jenkins continued to struggle and his cries became muffled before suddenly stopping altogether. The men were hurled back as he came free, but as they crawled back to their knees to check Jenkins' condition, all they could see was the bleeding stump that was once his head.
"ARRRRRGH!!! JESUS CHRIST!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!!" one of them cried, scuttling away from the body in horror.
Transfixed by the headless body of his friend, the soldier did not see the same movement in the sand to his right, and turned too late to shield himself from the claws of the creature. As its twisted metal tools sliced and diced, all he could hear was the deafening whirring and almost feral mechanical screaming of what sounded like a thousand power drills.
One by one, his comrades experienced the same terrifying fate as the sand reached out to take each and every one of them in turn.
-----000-----
HOMESTEAD – ARROWHEAD
8.53PM
An eye blinks. Two fingers squeeze. And a single crimson tear drops onto a puddle of the same hue. The tear mixes with the contents of that puddle, creating microscopic sparks of electrical energy... life energy. Tiny artificial cells move from one body to the next, latching onto the foreign cells like parasites, except these have no intent besides that to aid those whom it attaches to. More sparks occur as every cell merges then divides, breeding a new and superior form of life. A hybrid of two worlds made one.
Sophie gasped as her theory was now finally proven correct after a week of tests and failures.
She had found the way to create new life.
Ecstatic, Sophie reached for her cell and pressed 1 on her speed dial, her heart racing as she awaited a response. The phone kept ringing, however, and after a few moments Jason's recorded voice greeted her. Sophie's elation wilted as she snapped the phone shut, not wanting to add to the queue of messages she had already left him over the past week. She was used to not hearing from him for extended periods, but something was wrong in this case. She could feel it just as surely as she felt the aching in her spine from the hardwood chair.
Standing free from the horrid furniture, Sophie stretched her arms and legs, feeling her muscles flex and her bones crack from prolonged rigidity. Looking down at the chair, which seemed so small to her now, Sophie lifted a foot and stepped down on its base. The chair exploded into several pieces that scattered across the floor. Satisfied, she removed herself from the kitchen and moved into the lounge to find a semi-startled Sarah rising from the couch.
"What the hell was that?" she asked, craning her neck to see inside the kitchen.
"I destroyed your chair. May I?" Sophie replied, sitting on the other end of the couch without waiting for Sarah's permission. Her back welcomed the change and she slid her legs onto the other cushion. The couch was built for three, but as she lay with her head resting on the side, Sophie offered little room for Sarah to feel comfortable.
"What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to be finding a way to save the baby?" Sarah asked, visibly annoyed.
"Oh, I cracked it. Now I'm just taking a breather before I get back to work", she replied.
"You cracked it?" Sarah repeated, confused.
Sophie closed her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, a smug smile on her face. After endless hours of finding a way to beat the impossible, Sophie felt like she was entitled to everything the world had to offer, though at that very moment all she wanted to do was just revel in her victory. "Uh huh", she answered. "Just a few more beta tests on larger doses and all will be good."
For all her time there, Sarah had never once asked Sophie how she might save the baby. It wasn't her concern. All she cared about was whether or not she could save the child, and whether or not this was the right course for them to take. So it was no surprise to Sophie that Sarah was clueless as to what she meant. Sarah decided not to ask, however.
A few moments of awkward silence passed as Sophie continued to make herself comfortable. Slowly, her feet started to slide across the cushion, edging closer to Sarah's thigh. Opening her eyes, Sophie considered Sarah closely and was struck by a sudden inspiration. The woman was a healthy age and physically attractive with her dark hair and piercing green eyes, and as Sophie scanned below her neck, she saw for the first time that she was more than adequately built to meet her standards.
After all. Why not? she reasoned.
Sarah caught the mischievous glint in her blue eyes and suddenly felt very vulnerable. Sophie was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, not unlike one of her own, with the straps of a pale red bra visible beneath it. Having slid onto the couch, the shirt had ridden up a little to reveal her belly button, a fact Sophie was fully aware of. The summer heat had taken its toll on her in the form of the dark jean skirt she wore, from which protruded a pair of bare and perfectly smooth legs, ending with her usual sockless feet and painted toes.
Her skin was paler than Cameron's, but no less satisfying to the touch, as Jason was becoming more and more appreciative of as his senses slowly withered over the past months. Sophie's body was practically identical to the machine, though as Sarah narrowed her eyes at her features she noticed the absence of the mole on her left eyebrow and the slight changes to the shape of her mouth and cheeks. From a distance, they were impossible to tell apart (except for the hair) but up close the difference was clear to anyone.
None of this really mattered as the I-950 raised a foot and gently rubbed her toes down Sarah's arm in a seductive manner, her eyes briefly flashing with intent. Sarah jumped up from the couch as if it were scolding hot and drew her Glock, pointing it at the cyborg's throat. Sophie's grin widened as she spread her body across the entire length of the couch and placed her hands innocently on her stomach. Sarah held her aim, shaken and unsure of the Infiltrators true intentions.
"Relax. I just wanted the couch to myself", the I-950 giggled in Cameron's voice, sending a chill up Sarah's spine.
Sarah's heart gradually slowed to a steady rhythm as she eventually placed the gun back under her belt.
"Touch me again and I'll kill you!" she warned, striding out of the room with one last venomous glance.
Sophie chuckled at her reaction, though was a little put out that Sarah was not receptive to her advances. Closing her eyes again, she imagined how the night might've turned out had Sarah been accepting, and her toes curled as a myriad of delights played themselves out within the safe confines of her mind.
After all. Why not? she mused once more before losing herself to her dreams.
-----000-----
John didn't like this house.
He understood and appreciated its tactical significance; it was out of the way of the public and inconspicuous enough to keep almost anyone off their backs. It was made from the finest bricks and mortar, lined with the smoothest materials nature could provide, and possessed a warmth that kept him in a constant state of comfortable drowsiness. But it lacked one vital component that would otherwise have made it the perfect home: a corner, a small crevice for him to escape to and be left alone with his thoughts.
Instead he had to settle for his mother's bedroom and the hope that she wouldn't disturb him any time soon. She was aware of his habit of using her room for this purpose, and so she kept her visits few and far between. John was grateful for this as he sat quietly in the rocking chair at the end of her bed, gently bobbing back and forth with his chin resting on his knuckles and his brow knitted together in steady contemplation.
His thoughts drifted from tangent to tangent, unable to stay focused on one topic for too long. He preferred that it be this way however, for it kept him from worrying too much on any one subject, the most pressing and upsetting of which involved Cameron and the baby. He had convinced her to want their child to survive and though that was a step in the right direction, it hardly eased his growing dread that soon they would have no child for her to protect.
Therein lay the heart of John's turmoil.
But he was not inclined to feed the fire, so he forced himself to move on again to something less consuming. It was the second to last day of May and his mother's birthday was not that far away. He would have to think of something creative to make this year special, for it might very well be their last. Or at least, that was her philosophy. John was at a loss as to what to buy her, however. His mother had little interest in the things most women her age were in to.
As he began running through a mental list of her favourite effects, a faint static prickled his senses, disrupting his train of thought for the moment. Frowning, John leaned forward in the chair and perked his ears for whatever was making that noise. As he listened to the soft crackling he realised it was coming from a radio and instinctively looked to the police tracker on Sarah's desktop, but it was silent and the meters were reading zero.
Intrigued, he stood up from the chair and began moving slowly within the room, straining his ears to locate the source of the static. After a few minutes of searching he could not find it, however. Frustrated, he sat down upon the edge of Sarah's bed and stared sullenly at the floor. Where the hell is that coming from?! he asked himself, covering his ears to block out the constant sizzling of the signal. It was in the absence of said noise, however, that it finally occurred to him as to what he was hearing and from where it derived.
Jumping back up from the bed, he spun around and crouched to his haunches, reached under the bed, and removed a black flat-bag from beneath the mattress. He unzipped it in a heartbeat and extracted the laptop from its cushioned enclosure, snapping the top open to reveal the screen active and buzzing with information. Many months ago, Sarah went through a phase wherein she wanted to find some means of wirelessly monitoring possible Skynet activity, to which Derek suggested they hack into the US military network.
John explained how impossible this would be without the access codes, but was certain that he could achieve some measure of infiltration, namely the standard military radio frequencies. It proved a little challenge to tap into their signal and monitor all military broadcasts in the California area, though John soon programmed the laptop to only activate should certain parameters be met, such as specific words. In this case, those words were: ambush, unidentified hostiles, machines, red eyes, and SOS.
Tapping the 'enter' key commenced the replay and the static was replaced with the garbled ranting of self-proclaimed Sergeant Apone.
We're under attack! Taking heavy casualties! We need evac now! God damn it! They came out of nowhere! We need-
The message cut out after that, and playing it back further shed a little more light on their attackers, and more importantly their location. John replayed the message several times before confirming its validity and allowing his mind to work on the details of what may or may not be happening to that team. It sounded as if machines of some description were involved, though he couldn't be sure. The soldier might just be unable to identify his enemy, as he didn't sound too sure in the earlier transcripts.
However, after listening to it one last time, John knew for sure that this was relevant to their interests. And though every instinct in his body screamed for him to ignore it and focus on the home front, he couldn't help but feel it deserved investigating. The door creaked open as a weary and somewhat shaken Sarah stepped into the room, jumping a little at the sight of her son sitting on her bed.
"John, what are you- What's going on?" she asked blearily.
"I think we just cut ourselves a break", he replied.
-----000-----
PLESARIO HOTEL – APARTMENT 19b – LOS ANGELES
9.22PM
This life was a luxury. Derek knew that.
From the soft sheets to the warm tantalising touch of Jesse's skin, everything was a gift sent by God or John or someone else entirely.
"Do you think he's watching us right now?"
"What?" Derek started, snapping out of his internalised philosophical ramblings.
"Jason. Do you think he's watching us?" Jesse repeated.
Derek thought about this for a moment before glancing at the bedside window and seeing only blue sky.
"No, I don't think so. Besides, I haven't heard from him in almost a week", he replied.
"Yeah, I haven't seen him darkening my footsteps lately either", she added thoughtfully.
"Maybe he died", Derek mused hopefully.
"Like anything can kill him", Jesse pointed out.
Derek shrugged, staring at the swirling patterns on the ceiling as a rather graphic scene played itself out in his head.
"You never know. He might've walked into the path of a freight train", he suggested.
Jesse chuckled and slithered her hand up Derek's chest, nestling her head under his chin comfortably.
"Funny Derek", she chortled.
Derek smirked and wrapped his arm around her slender body, idly stroking her bronzed skin. As he did this his thumb touched a small lump on her surface and further exploration revealed more of the same. For a moment he was concerned, but then remembered what lay upon the small of her back: a scar from the war. Derek had always believed she was untouchable. Jesse had been through dozens of deep sea brawls with ASW bots and Krakens, many of which left the USS Jimmy Carter a little worse for wear.
She, however, remained perfectly flawless every time they were reunited.
But not this time.
"Metal did that", she clarified, sensing his curiosity.
"What happened?" he asked, continuing to examine her injury with his fingers.
"One of the girls flipped on us one day. Killed everyone in the base. We never saw her again, but I won't be forgetting her anytime soon", she explained.
"We?" Derek replied.
"Me and Cully. You remember him, don't you?" she asked.
Derek's eyes glossed over as he pictured a skinny man with broken glasses and a spanner in his left hand.
"Cully, he was one of your deckhands, right?" he ventured.
"Yeah, he was one of the best on my crew. Knew a lot about Skynet tech and how to block their tracking signals and the like."
"What happened to him?" Derek asked.
Jesse sighed as she reached behind her, taking Derek's hand and placing it directly on top of the scar. "He died. The same piece of shrapnel that did this to me killed him. We were just trying to escape the chaos when she squeezed off a few in our direction. Hit a gas pipe and blew half tunnel to pieces. I was injured and trapped, fire all around me. I look over and there he was: his throat slashed to ribbons", she reminisced with sadness in her eyes.
"That must've been awful", was all Derek could offer.
"Yeah it was. It certainly changed his brother's opinions of the tin-cans. It was he who sent me back", she commented thoughtfully.
"He did the same for me", Derek recalled.
"Good man", Jesse added.
"They were all good men", he corrected.
Once again, Derek was reminded of why he came here in the first place. He came back to stop those men from ever having to face the same horrors again. He was going to do everything in his power to stop the war from destroying all that he loved and what the men loved, and what their families and friends loved. Derek was going to see an end to the cycle of death and destruction, one way or another. But even as he reminded himself of this, Derek couldn't keep out the growing feeling that his efforts were becoming increasingly futile.
It had been almost three months since their last lead to Skynet. Yet another homemade soapbox turned out to be little more than a clever system designed to sort information, with no potential for any kind of growth or learning experiences. All they were met with were dead ends thus far. Perhaps there really was no stopping it. Perhaps Judgment was and forever will be inevitable. Or maybe they had already stopped the war and were simply treading water, but then Jesse's being there was evidence to the contrary.
A deep whirring noise suddenly erupted from the bedside table, startling the couple. Looking over, Derek could see his phone vibrating across the top, threatening to fall off the edge of the table. I could've sworn I switched that off; he thought as he reached out for it with a frown and held the device to his ear. Jesse tipped her head slightly so that her ear was no longer pressing against his bare chest, thereby allowing her to hear the conversation.
"Yeah, what is it...? You what...? And you're sure it's connected to Skynet...? No, I just wanna avoid chasing smoke and mirrors like last time... Uh huh... Right... Okay, I'll meet you in an hour and we'll go check it out."
Derek snapped the phone shut and let out a deep sigh.
"Let me guess: Sarah's thrown up the giant bat signal?" she joked, her lips curling into a smirk.
"Something like that", he moaned, sitting himself up with a groan and swinging his legs out of bed. "You wanna come along?" he asked as he roughly pulled his jeans onto his legs.
"Sorry, love. I have a spa session booked for tomorrow. I'll need a full night's sleep", she replied with another smirk.
"Alright for some", he retorted, wondering where in Hell he'd left his gun.
-----000-----
HOMESTEAD – ARROWHEAD
10.37PM
Deep rumbles of content resonated from Timmy's throat as Cameron ever-so-gently stroked the tortoise shell fur on his back. The cat was nestled quite comfortably against her left side, enjoying Cameron's affections as she too was bound to the soft refuge of the mattress. John had forbidden her to get up and move around, for he was concerned that movement would only worsen the baby's condition, though she knew this would make little difference either way; she decided to comply regardless.
As if the very thought had summoned him, John stepped into the room and sat upon the bed with a sigh, smiling weakly at the cat as he drooled all over Cameron's fingers. "At least somebody's happy", he commented, reaching over to scratch him behind the ears.
Glancing at her belly, John caught sight of a small crimson stain on the sheets and peeled the covers back to reveal the mess beneath. Taking a deep breath, he kept his nerves as calm as possible as he tore his eyes away from the blood and up to Cameron's blank features.
"Has it-" he began, fearing the worst had come and gone in his absence.
"No", she intercepted. "But it won't be long now. The baby's time is almost up."
This did little to ease John's concern, though he was grateful at least that the end had not arrived just yet. The feeling of helplessness as he sat beside her was almost too much to bear. He felt as if he should just be able to reach out and pluck the child from its dilemma, but when expressing this desire to Cameron earlier that day she bluntly pointed out that an emergency C-section would be fatal to the child this early in the pregnancy. There was nothing he could do.
"Has Sophie discovered anything yet?" Cameron asked, intending to distract him from the immediate unpleasantness.
"She won't say", he replied with a dark scowl.
"That implies that she either has a solution but isn't sure of its viability or she has simply been unsuccessful and doesn't wish to tell you", she calculated.
"Then I doubt it's the former", John sighed, placing his hand on her stomach and gently rubbing the mound.
Small soft fingers snaked over his and linked themselves together as Cameron held his hand above the child's exact location inside her belly. She spoke his name and a tiny tremor rippled into his palm, but it was incredibly weak by comparison to the others he had felt in the past. John felt like breaking down right then and there, but his eyes had shed so many tears these past days that he could no longer muster anymore.
"John."
At first he thought Cameron had spoken, but a quick glance at her eyes revealed them to be trained on the doorway, so he turned to see his mother standing there awkwardly.
"Derek and I are leaving in a few minutes. Is there anything you need before we go? Anything I can do?" she asked.
John considered her offer and stood up from the bed with a look of disparity. He knew it was a pointless request, but his mother always had a solution to everything. "Can you help our baby?" he asked.
Sarah's face fell immediately, for she knew it was beyond her power to perform.
"John, I..." she began, but realised that giving false hopes would only worsen the situation. "Talk to Sophie", she finished.
John's jaw quivered a little as he nodded silently, his eyes darting around the room to avoid meeting hers. Sarah stepped forward and pulled her son into a warm embrace, stroking the back of his head sympathetically as he held onto her tightly. Cameron watched the two comfort each other, catching Sarah's eye for a moment. Something indescribable flickered in her expression for a split second, leaving Cameron analysing all possible meanings behind the look Sarah had given her.
Before she could come to any conclusions, the two had parted and Sarah was already making her way back downstairs. John hovered for a moment before settling back down on the bed and staring into Cameron's eyes as he placed his hand back onto her stomach. He spoke his name but this time he could feel no kick. Cameron shook her head, however, reassuring him that it had not happened yet. But they both knew without a shadow of a doubt: it was only a matter of time before their baby daughter would stop kicking forever.
-----000-----
NEVADA DESERT
SUNDAY 31ST MAY
12.02PM
The drive had been long and difficult but not unlike any he had endured in the past. Derek was grateful at least that Sarah was not in a talkative mood. It had become her habit to choose these long hours of inescapable incarceration to express her displeasure towards his behaviour or methods or recent activities. There were times when he could've sworn she had called him 'John' once or twice. Sarah's overbearing mother routine was one of many qualities that he had to suffer with in John's stead.
"I'm simply saying that every time you go into that city you use fifteen dollars of gas. And every time you come back from it you use another fifteen dollars. It adds up after a while, you know", she lectured.
Derek sat as if in a stupor, barely registering her words as she ranted about the costs of fuel and the economic climate. By now he was well schooled in the knowledge that thirty dollars of gas could pay for one hundred and fifty rounds of rifle ammunition. Sarah was always meticulous enough to make sure that her points stopped on a fact that he would acknowledge, guns being one such item. But he knew she was just as likely to spend those thirty bucks on hair conditioner or whatever else women spent money on.
"Where is it you go all the time, anyway?" she asked.
"Recon. Meeting with contacts. Everything you told me to keep an eye on. It's not my fault you pitched your tent so far out of the city", he countered.
"You don't have to go every other day though. Once or twice a week would do it", she commented, her tone carrying a hint of finality to it.
Relieved that she was giving up her incessant nagging, Derek reached forward and flicked the radio on, only to be met by static. He twiddled the dial to search for another station, but like before was met with nothing but static and the odd snippets of whatever transmission it was blocking.
"That's odd", he said, trying to fine tune a station.
"It's probably just a weak signal. We're in the desert after all", Sarah pointed out.
"Even deserts can get the basic package. Something must be interfering with the signal", Derek concluded.
Sarah rolled her eyes and flicked the radio off, not wanting to spend the remainder of their journey listening to seven colours of white noise. Disgruntled, Derek sat back in his seat in silent brooding as they trundled down the beaten path. Their destination was barely a few minutes away, and as they approached, Derek could make out a soft glow on the rise.
"Seems a little early for sunrise, don't you think?" Sarah observed.
"Yeah, I'd say so", he replied, reaching into his jacket to feel the Beretta stored there.
Sarah pulled the Jeep into a hard stop just short of the hill. From here they could see in greater detail as black smoke poured over the drop, accompanied by the smell of burning metal and fuel. Derek stepped out of the Jeep and popped the rear hatch, inside of which a choice selection of rifles and shotguns greeted him. Picking his favourite M16 and throwing Sarah her trusty 12-guage, Derek closed the hatch and took a moment to check his clip.
"What do you expect to find over that rise?" he asked her.
"Skynet", she replied.
"Let's hope not", he spoke under his breath as they proceeded to climb the steep hill.
The acrid reek of the burning wreckage became increasingly intolerable as they stopped just short of the top. Careful not to give away their position, Derek slowly poked his head over the top and narrowed his eyes at what he saw: the source of the fire was a military Humvee, or what was left of one. It was now little more than a burning wreck with smoke billowing out of the top. Derek scanned the rest of the basin, spotting scattered pieces of equipment, a gun here and there, and what remained of a comms station.
As far as he could see, there were no hostiles in the vicinity, but he knew better than to trust his eyes. Signalling Sarah, they both moved over the edge and dropped into the basin as quietly as possible. Keeping their guard up, they crept around the Humvee and stopped short of the tent. Closer inspection showed the canvas tattered and torn to pieces in ways neither had seen before. It was almost as if an animal had attacked the camp.
"You getting this?" Sarah asked.
Derek stepped closer to the tent and switched on his mounted flashlight, shining it on the collapsed mess before him. While he examined the tent, Sarah moved further into the basin, using the fire glow as her only source of light. Dropped rifles and side-arms littered the sand around her, even a few grenades in places. A little further ahead she could see the unmistakable mark of an explosion, most likely caused by a grenade. The sand was blackened and ripples of heat were rising from the crater.
"Sarah!"
Derek came running to her side, his rifle slung over his shoulder and his hand closed over something.
"What?" she asked.
Derek opened his hand to reveal a single bloody tooth in his palm. It looked like it had been torn from someone's mouth, for pieces of gum and jaw were still attached. He let it drop to the floor where it landed in a patch of sand that was darker than everywhere else. It was only then that Sarah realised what she was standing in: a circle of flesh and blood. Lifting her eyes from the immediate patch, she noticed another stain just a few feet to her right, and as she widened her attention to the basin she could see dozens more.
"What the hell happened here, Reese?" she asked, tucking her shotgun a little tighter to her shoulder.
Derek knelt to the ground, placed two fingers in the sand and began sifting through it in small circles. After a few seconds, he extracted his fingers and held them to the fire light of the Humvee. The tips were bloody and tiny flaps of skin clung to his nails. Something about this felt so familiar to Derek: the blood, the absence of bodies, the tears in the comm. tent...
"Derek?" Sarah repeated.
Derek's attention was fixed on the smouldering crater she was about to investigate earlier, however. Without a word, he stood up and strode over to the black sand. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sarah followed and stopped at his side. He was looking down at something in the centre of the explosion. Following his gaze, she beheld the smoking remains of a machine she had never seen before. It looked like some kind of snake, or an eel, but one made of gears and metal clockwork.
The machine was burnt and twisted by the grenade and quite definitely disabled, its six serrated blade-like claws charred beyond use. Within the claws she could see a vicious-looking drill used for purposes Sarah could only imagine, and not without a shudder. Only a portion of the machine was above ground, however, for it was clearly in the process of emerging when the grenade exploded. But of what little she could see, Sarah was already in no doubt that this creature was a predator.
"We need to get out of here. Right now", Derek finally spoke.
"What is this thing?" she asked as he slowly backed away, his eyes visibly wider than normal.
"It's called a Burrower. Sarah, we need to go now", he insisted, grabbing her by the arm. Sarah shook him off, however; preferring to leave on her own accord and followed him as he briskly began his return to the Jeep, his head darting from side to side to check for any dangers.
Derek and Sarah stomped across the sand, their every footstep sending vibrations through the sand. Two feet below them, a creature stirred; the vibrations having jolted it out of standby mode. Two orb lenses flared to life, casting the otherwise pitch black of the underground in a deep crimson glow. Within seconds, the machine fired up its start-up protocol and its claws began rotating with increasing speed, cutting through the sand that imprisoned it.
With a powerful twitch of its tail, the Burrower burst forward whilst the blades cut a path for it to slither through, the sand instantly collapsing its passage behind it as if it were never there. Pushing itself harder, the machine gained speed as it tracked the vibrations from above, using them to pinpoint its prey's exact location. As it got close, the Burrower arched its nose upwards and started rising toward the surface.
--[ Targets locked... Terminate... Terminate... Terminate...
The hairs on the back of Derek's neck stood to attention as if he were zapped by lightning. He stopped dead and spun around, making a startled Sarah grind to a halt as he fixed his eyes on a lump in the sand that was fast approaching her feet.
"Sarah!" he cried, lunging himself forward and grabbing her around the waist. As they hit the ground, the sand exploded at their feet and as if in slow motion, the Burrower glided over them with a feral snarl. It landed a few feet away in an unceremonious heap where it flapped and twisted its body, spinning its drill with an unearthly screech before diving nose first back into the sand and disappearing.
Time seemed to stop as they both stared at the hole into which the machine had fled. Derek still had his arms gripped tightly around Sarah's waist, a fact she had yet to realise. "Skynet! It's Skynet!" Sarah gasped, struggling for breath. Her legs lit up like fire as the adrenaline kicked in, screaming at her to get up and run to safety. Derek was not far behind as every fibre of his being told him this was not a fight they could win.
Without warning, the sand exploded again as two more Burrowers burst forth and lunged at the couple. Cursing, Derek rolled onto his side with Sarah in tow, desperately scrambling to his feet.
"Reese!"
Derek snapped his head back to see Sarah being dragged by the leg towards the two machines. One was latched securely around her ankle while the other clicked its claws in sinister anticipation. Derek raised his M16 and fired, riddling the attacking Burrower with bullets. With a noise like metal scratching against metal, the machine released its grip on Sarah's leg and flopped to the side, twitching. The other dived back beneath the earth, its tail flicking sand in Derek's face as it descended.
"C'mon! Move it!" Derek barked, pulling Sarah back to her feet and running as fast as his legs could manage.
Within seconds they reached the other end of the basin and began the short climb to the edge, but upon stepping out onto the slope three more machines emerged from the side of the basin. Derek and Sarah skidded to a halt as the Burrowers flashed their red eyes at them threateningly. Seeing the Jeep below them, both knew their only chance of escape lay through the machines, so they raised their guns in unison.
Before they could fire, however, sand erupted from behind, showering them both as two more metal serpents leapt at them. Derek fired a burst into one, obliterating it into submission while Sarah dived to the floor, allowing the other one to sail over her and clatter down the hill. Brushing sand out of her eyes, Sarah caught sight of one of the three arching its spine in an offensive posture. Before it could plunge its nose through Derek's heart she levelled her shotgun and fired a single buck, destroying it instantly.
The other two dived to the ground but did not descend; instead they slithered around the two with terrifying speed. Derek took aim but Sarah didn't favour the chances of him hitting it, so she drove her elbow deep into his back, sending him tumbling down the hill with a yelp of surprise. Sarah followed suite, hurling herself away just as the Burrowers attempted to grab her legs once more.
The world spun and spun for what felt like minutes as she rolled and bounced her way to the bottom, landing hard next to Derek, who was clutching his leg and growling in agony. He had little time to tend to his injury, however, for in the corner of his eye he spotted a Burrower side-winding its way towards the Jeep. Derek quickly snatched up his rifle and unleashed a hail of bullets, taking care not to hit the car in the process. The Burrower stopped dead in its tracks as five rounds buried themselves deep into its central control node.
Derek allowed himself a sigh of relief and rolled onto his back.
"We need to ge-", Sarah began, only to be silenced as the two remaining machines came at them from above. Derek squeezed the trigger and didn't relent until the Burrower crashed limply on his right side. Sarah fired twice, hitting hers on the lower end of its tail and again on the side of its nose, demolishing two of its claws and one of its eyes before it hit the sand. Stricken, the machine gave out a high-pitched screech before diving into the ground.
Sarah and Derek waited with bated breath for it to burst out at them, but after a whole minute had passed, they allowed themselves to breathe a little easier and cautiously made their way back to the thankfully untouched Jeep. Sarah jumped behind the wheel and put her foot down, barely waiting for Derek to lift his injured leg into a more comfortable position. The wheels spun for a few seconds, spraying the rear with sand before lunging forward with a determined roar from the engine.
Sarah kept her foot to the floor for at least three whole minutes before finally easing off a little and returning to a steadier speed, for which Derek was thankful as he gently probed his leg. As far as he could tell, it felt worse than it looked and after a few pokes and stretches he was convinced it wasn't broken or fractured in any way.
"How's the leg?" Sarah enquired, glancing at him briefly.
"Absolutely fabulous", he dryly quipped.
Suit yourself, Sarah thought as she spun the Jeep in a hard turn, bringing them back onto the main road.
They then fell silent and neither spoke again for several long minutes. Sarah's mind was abuzz, however. She couldn't believe the blatant revelation to which she and Derek had been privy. All this time she had feared that Skynet was in the making, but never had she fully appreciated that this was realistically so. The Turk was gone, Cromartie was destroyed, and the arrival of Jason had completely skewered their once perfectly narrow path. They hadn't just been knocked off course; they were on an entirely different track.
"We can't wait around anymore, Reese. This has to stop. We have to get our heads in the game. No more distractions", she declared.
Derek gave a small snort and his lips curled up in a smirk as he replied, "It's about damn time, don't you think? I was starting to wonder if you'd even notice the bombs crashing around your ears."
Sarah flashed him a dangerous glare and he shut up instantly, not in any condition to pick a fight with her at that particular moment.
"It was a mistake to come here alone. We should've had back up", she continued, ignoring his comment.
"I doubt John would've been of much help tonight. Chances are he would've been more of a liability than anything", Derek replied.
"I'm not talking about John. I'm talking about help. Metal help", she clarified.
Derek frowned at her as he pictured a heavily pregnant Cameron trying to fend off an army of Burrowers.
"What good is Cameron to be in a fight? What's she gonna do? Break her waters all over them and hope they short out?" he jibed.
Sarah rolled her eyes but didn't even spare a look at him as she answered, "Jason."
Derek could hardly believe what he was hearing. Sarah had always been the main opposing voice against Jason's involvement with their affairs, even at times when his help was desperately needed. Yet now here she was, performing a full 180 on the idea.
"Are you kidding me? Nuh uh. No way are we bringing him into this. The less he's involved the better. You think we can trust that greasy son-of-a-bitch?" he protested.
"I never said I trusted him", she replied in quietly.
"It's the absolute wrong thing to do, and you know it."
For once she couldn't summon the will to shut him up. He was right, after all. But at the end of the day they needed some muscle for sojourns like this, and with Cameron out of commission, Jason was all they had at their disposal. She didn't like the idea, but it didn't matter what she thought. The threat of Skynet was very real, and as the night had just proven, they needed every bit of help they could get. The decision was already made and discussion had already passed.
In order to beat Skynet they needed help from a child of Skynet.
-----000-----
HOMESTEAD – ARROWHEAD
2.46AM
"What is this?"
John stared nonplussed at the small vial of red liquid being held to his nose, noticing the entirely random smiley face drawn on the tattered white label. Slipping his eyes from the vial to Sophie's face he recognised a strange similarity between the smile on the label and that which she wore. Her whole face was practically beaming with accomplishment and the more he looked at her the more it started to contaminate him. Suddenly he felt butterflies fluttering around inside his stomach and his pulse elevated.
"This..." she said, shaking the vial pointedly, "...is the key to your baby's salvation."
It took a moment for her words to make sense. It was like she was speaking backwards or out of order, for he knew what she said but couldn't quite make sense of it in his head. When it finally sunk in he realised she was telling him that not only could his child be saved, but the solution was barely an inch in front of him. He felt completely numb, but for the first time it was more of a pleasantly tingling sensation than the cold desolation he was used to when bad things happened.
"Wha- What is it exactly? Is it blood... I... err..." he stammered, unable to complete a full sentence for the moment.
Sophie's smile widened as she stepped aside and settled closer to the bed where Cameron lay, quietly listening to them speaking.
"It's blood, but not just any kind of blood. In fact, it's rather special blood. My blood", Sophie explained gleefully.
John was still a little confused, however, and shook his head dumbly.
"Her blood isn't like your blood", Cameron clarified, making him jump a little at the tiny difference in her voice to Sophie's. "She's an Infiltrator. Her entire genetic make-up is hybridised between flesh and machine, including her blood", she explained further.
"So... how's her blood going to help our baby?" he asked.
Sophie rolled her eyes and sat on the bed, looking up at him with a disturbingly condescending expression.
"My blood is a nanotech. It's laced with nanites at a cellular level. They're what allow me to control my blood and my healing to an extent", she explained.
"So you wanna inject your blood into our baby? It isn't a cyborg", he posited.
"Not yet, it isn't", she replied. Sophie removed a syringe from her pocket and removed the plastic cap covering the needle. "But one injection of my blood into the child's bloodstream will spread the nanites through her entire system. They'll recognise the similarities in its DNA and treat the foetus as if it were a part of myself, which means reproducing and enhancing the organism."
John shuffled uncomfortably and crossed his arms, "Enhance how?" he asked with a touch of scrutiny.
"It's hard to say. But I believe the changes will be to a lesser extent than you fear. The baby won't be like me", Sophie shrugged.
It sounded almost too good to be true, but John wasn't about to just agree to what was in front of him. He needed to stop and think about this: what if the baby came out with wires poking out of its head? Be realistic, he reminded himself. At worst the child will have tiny machines running through her blood, which compared to the prospect of not having life at all seemed a small sacrifice. But was he willing to father a child that would only be three quarters human?
"Or if you'd rather just let this one go, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I could give you a baby", Sophie offered with a coy smile.
John was taken aback by her blatant proposal and was for the briefest of moments tempted to take her up on it, but one look at Cameron reminded him of why he was so determined to save their baby. Besides, he had already learned a great deal about I-950 pregnancy from Sophie during her time with them. She was infertile with humans, and though she could reproduce through parthenogenesis in a male's absence, the result would be an absolute clone of herself. John didn't favour the idea of raising another blonde doppelganger.
"No... thank you. I'd rather take my chances with the injection", he replied awkwardly.
"Are you sure?"she tendered.
"Yeah, I'm sure", John insisted.
Sophie gave a little sigh of disappointment before sticking the needle inside the vial and drawing a small amount of blood. John sat down upon the bed and took Cameron's hand. She simply stared back at him without expression and then turned her attention to Sophie as she pulled up Cameron's dress, revealing her bulging stomach. With careful and uncanny precision, Sophie slid the needle beneath Cameron's skin and after a few seconds, pushed the blood into the foetus.
She then removed the needle and placed her hand on Cameron's stomach and closed her eyes. Unbeknownst to John, Sophie was opening a wireless connection to Cameron's CPU, allowing her access to Cameron's monitoring sensors. She viewed the data carefully as reports of mergence and successful bonding touched her mind. Cameron's eyes widened a little at the shared information, which Sophie translated and fed back to her. Sophie opened her eyes and smiled softly at John before removing her hand.
"John..." Cameron breathed, "...it worked."
The breath John was holding all this time finally escaped him, followed by a bout of incredulous laughter. He couldn't believe it. Relief and joy washed over him, cleansing his body of the turmoil he had suffered for so long. All of his doubts and fears were gone, replaced with the absolute knowledge that his one desire right now was to be a father, and that wish was now a reality.
"Thank you", he gasped up at Sophie as she quietly stepped towards the door, her work now done.
"Don't thank me", she said, her hand on the doorframe, "Thank Skynet."
John couldn't believe what he had just heard. But before he could muster any kind of response, Sophie had already departed.
Her work was done.
-----000-----
REDBIRD LODGE – APARTMENT 7c – LOS ANGELES
5.22AM
Scolding hot water cascaded around a body that could not flinch from it. The skin burned from the never-ending shower of white needles and yet the mind felt nothing. Water mixed with salt, flushing the tiny fragments out of dark hair and from between strong fingers and toes. Clothes riddled with the compound lay deserted on the bathroom floor, waiting for their turn to be cleansed of the hours they spent incarcerated.
Jason let out a deep sigh and clenched his hands into fists. His mind was polluted by self-loathing and hatred. It wasn't the fact that he was so easily duped. It wasn't that he spent what felt like an eternity trapped inside a giant salt bin. It was knowing that through it all, he felt nothing. Not the salt as it crushed his body into immobility. Not the incalculable stress and strain it required for him to force his hand through the tough walls that surrounded him. Not even the elation of finally forcing his way out of an otherwise inescapable situation.
He was completely numb to the entire ordeal. He felt that, in a way, he hadn't escaped at all. He was still trapped within himself.
With a growl of frustration, Jason smashed his fist into the wall, burying it deep into the brickwork. Slowly, he extracted his arm and examined the bloody cuts on his knuckles and fingers. Beneath the torn skin he could see the smallest glimmer of metal, once again reminding him of what he was rapidly becoming. It was almost inevitable.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and Jason looked up to see an exhausted Sophie standing there, her jaw dropped in surprise.
"Where the hell have you been?! I've been trying to reach you for days!" she yelped.
"I was investing in the salt business. I hear it's quite a profitable venture these days", he joked monotonously.
Sophie shook her head incredulously, noticing the sand-caked clothes on the floor and the trail of salt in the nearby rug. She was grateful to find him alive, but she couldn't fathom what he'd been doing all this time.
"Why are you-? What happened to you?" she asked, sitting down beside the shower, despite the harsh conditions inside.
Jason sighed and held his face up to the water, making Sophie wince as his face grew noticeably redder from the heat.
"I was following someone. They got the drop on me. Trapped me in a salt bin down at the docks", he explained.
"Who was it?" she enquired, reaching in to touch a gash on his arm, only to flinch at the touch of the water.
"I don't know. I'll save that for another day", he replied.
Sophie took the hint and decided not to push any further for now. The important thing was that he was alive and well, or as well as can be expected. Her attention flicked to the hole in the wall and the blood running from his knuckles. It didn't take much imagination to guess how that happened. Suddenly, she felt as if she were about to drop dead. The past week had taken an incredible toll on her body, and on Jason's too, apparently.
"Are you going to be long?" she asked.
"Give me a little while to wash this crap out and I'll be good", he answered, closing his eyes again.
Sophie nodded silently and got to her feet, thinking of going for a rest on the bed until he was done, but as she reached for the door a sudden impulse swept through her body and she closed the door instead. Without wasting any time, she stripped off all her clothes and let them lie beside his before stepping inside the shower. The water stung like a thousand bee stings at once, but she didn't care. Sophie sat down and leaned back against Jason, resting her head beneath his chin and linking her fingers with his.
Nothing needed to be said. He knew why she was doing this to herself.
The pain of one would always be shared by the other.
To be continued...