October 8th, 2008
14:22
John Connor tottered over to the grave they had dug for his mother, before falling to his knees in front of it. "Mom..." He whispered, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry." He curled up, oblivious to the rain, and started sobbing. It wasn't fair, why did she have to die? Was it his fault? There is no fate, but what we make. One of his mothers favorite sayings. Had he unintentionally sealed her fate? If he had stayed back like Derek had told him, would she still be alive? He looked up as he heard footsteps on the wet leaves. Cameron sat down next him, her hair soaking wet. She extended a arm and wrapped it around John's shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Right now, he didn't want anything to do with her, or anyone else he knew. She tried again to put her hand on his shoulder, and fell backwards with a splash as John shoved her away from himself into a puddle of muddy water.
"John..." She spoke softly. "Please, come back home." He shook his head, his anger building as he chanced a look at her, and saw the very human expression of surprise and confusion, and maybe hurt. "John, I'm really sorry about Sarah... She didn't - "
"Please, just stop." John growled through clenched teeth. "Don't pretend you care. You're just a machine, you don't have feelings. Don't insult me, or my Mom by pretending you care. Just go."
Cameron blinked. "John..." she whispered.
"Go away!" He shouted. "Just go away." He glared at the headstone of the grave that contained his mother for a full minute, before chancing a glance behind him. Cameron was gone, and no one else was around. Good. Standing up, he cast a long look at the grave. Love you Mom. He thought, before turning on his heel, and tromping up the hill.
Derek was standing on the hill overlooking Sarah's grave, his moderate length hair blowing slightly in the strong wind, rain splashing on sodden ground around him. He watched in surprise as Cameron recoiled from John, being shoved into the mud, which made him chuckle softly, then it got up, and walked back up the hill towards him. To his astonishment, tears were running down the machine's face as it pushed by him. It ignored him and stormed off, not caring about the rain crashing down on them. What the hell had just happened? Was it really crying? What did John say to it? He looked back down at John, who had his arms wrapped around his knees. "John..." he muttered, his amusement from a second ago gone. He took a step towards the boy, before stopping. Right now the only thing he could do was watch. He didn't want John to be angry at him as well. Losing a loved one was always an extremely painful process, and sometimes people didn't want your pity whilst mourning. As Cameron had found out.
October 10th, 2008, Baum Residence
12:02
I silently watched Ari change the bandage on my shoulder blade through the mirror. Despite my incredible healing abilities, my shoulder blade still hadn't completely healed up yet, much to my displeasure, since it was extremely painful, especially at night when I was sleeping, and I rolled over onto it. My wrists and the smaller burns surrounding the big burn had pretty much healed, and you couldn't even tell they had been injured unless you looked closely. "I'm going to guess this is going to scar, right?" Ari paused for a second, before nodding. I winced as the bandage dragged slightly on the burn. Ari's fingers brushed against the soft skin of my back, his touch as light as a feather.
"Yeah, this whole thing is going to scar." I sighed. Great, another scar, I thought to myself. I had been injured more in the last few months in the past then I had been at all in the future. Ari finished putting the bandage on, then sat down on the edge of the bathtub, looking at me. I turned around to face him, and waited for him to speak. "What's going on with John... and Cameron?" He quietly asked. I shrugged, but deep down, I was curious as well. "I thought their relationship was really good?" I shrugged again.
"I don't know, John seems to hate her now." The few times I had seen them together, I had watched as John gave her a venomous look, before leaving the room, and after, Cameron looked like she was about to cry, or alternatively, smash something in scrap. "The only thing I can think of is that he somehow blames her for Sarah's death." Ari nodded thoughtfully.
"That's what I was thinking. Although, if he had stayed back like Derek had told him, she may still - "
"Ari." I cut him off sharply. "Don't go there." Ari nodded, and stayed silent, casting the ceiling a thoughtful look.
John looked around, casually weaving his way through the crowded room. He had been wandering idly down a street randomly, and came across a party. Not having anything better to be doing, he crashed the party, looking for something to do. He felt somewhat out of place, since everyone else was well dressed, and he had regular clothes on. He made his way to the bar, and nodded at the bartender, who raised his eyebrows, but placed a beer in front of him. "A little young, aren't you?" the bartender muttered, leaning forward so only John could hear him. John silently appraised him, then handed him a hundred dollar bill. The bartender held it up to the light, making sure it was real, before grinning an uneven smile. "You just turn twenty-one?" He chuckled to himself, before turning away to serve the other people. John smiled slightly, and took a long swig off the beer.
"Hey, I've never seen you around before. Are you one of daddies friends?" John looked around. A young, very pretty woman, probably under the legal drinking age as well, had sat down on the bar stool next to him, her sequined dress catching the light of the strobes. He shook his head, then nodded, and motioned at the bartender, who winked, and placed a beer in front of the girl. "What's your name?" She asked, shaking her dark hair back, her pale blue eyes probing John's.
"John. John... Baum." He mentally smacked himself. He had almost said his real name, but had caught himself at the last moment. Even now, in his current state of mind, he still remembered he needed to be anonymous. The girl gave him a amused look, as if doubting him.
"John Baum?" She teased him, her eyebrows raised. He shrugged. She shrugged as well. John nodded, smiling slightly. "This is my dads party. Well actually, it's my birthday party, but most of his friends are here, and he's hosting. I'm guessing you just crashed?" John shrugged bashfully, and took another drink. The girl looked around, trying not to smile. "My name is Alyssa. Alyssa White."
"Nice to meet you Alyssa. And nice party." She rolled her eyes, and snorted.
"Yeah, it's off the wall." She said sarcastically, before giving him a sly look, before looking away suggestively at the dance floor. John smiled, and drained his beer, before nodding at the dance floor.
"So, are you only interested in talking, or would it bother you if I asked you dance?" She gave him a bright smile, before nodding. John stood up, and offered his hand. Alyssa abandoned her beer, and took his hand, and allowed him to lead her out to the dance floor. John failed to notice Cameron watching him from the corner of the room, and obliviously danced away.
I lay in the bed next to Ari, both of us just enjoying the others company. I gave a tiny smile as he gently squeezed my hand, and reached over with his other hand, and tickled my side. I squirmed, smiling, then gave a quiet gasp as my wounded shoulder rubbed on the bed. "Raven, are you okay?" He sat up, his forehead creased with worry. "I didn't mean to..." I silenced him by kissing him softly on the lips. He smiled, and hoisted himself up on one elbow. With his other hand, he gently traced his fingers along my jaw.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I leaned forward, and kissed him on the lips again. He smiled slightly, and wrapped his arms around my lower back, and hoisted me onto his lap. As he kissed me roughly I smiled, and allowed him to gently lift my shirt off. I grabbed his chin, and kissed him again, then tugged his shirt off. He leaned back, rubbing his hands down my back, going lower, and lower, before stopping in alarm as I pushed away from him.
"Raven?" His voice was worried. I had flinched away from him as he had run his hands down my butt, and then pushed him away, and squirmed over to the other side of the bed, shivering slightly. "Raven. What's wrong?" He crawled over to me, and wrapped a arm around me, hesitating as I recoiled a bit. He gently pulled me into him. "Raven, what's wrong?" I wrapped my arms around him, and buried my face into his neck, as memories of how Nick had done the same thing to me flooded through my mind. I felt my eyes start to water as Ari gently rubbed my lower back, trying to soothe me.
"I'm fine." I muttered into his skin. I felt his adams apple rub against my forehead as he swallowed slightly.
"No, you aren't. What's wrong?" He pushed me away from him gently so he could look in my eyes. Seeing my wet eyes, he gently placed his thumb under my eye, and wiped the moisture away. He did the same thing for my other eye, moving me with his tenderness.
"Bad memories." I whispered. His forehead creased slightly as he pondered what I had said.
"From the future, or from now?" He leaned forward, staring into my eyes. I shook my head slightly. "From now?" I nodded, burying my face into his chest. He gently hugged me close to himself. "What happened?" he asked softly.
"I don't want to talk about it. It... it just changed my perspective about a lot of things." I shrugged, looking out of the window, trying to act casual. Ari shook his head, while clenching his fist as the same time. "It's no big deal."
"It is a big deal. I know you well enough to know when you're hiding something from me." I chewed my lip, thinking about it, as my eyes started to tear up again. I hated not telling him, but I couldn't. "Come on Raven, please tell me. I don't want to be in a relationship where one of us holds secrets from the other. If you don't want to have sex, that's fine with me."
"It's nothing. And it's not that I don't want to have sex." Ari sighed, and leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head.
"I'll get you to tell me one way or another." I groaned. He was probably right. He rolled his eyes, and held out a arm. I gave him a dirty look, but laid next to him anyway. He kissed the side of my head, and teased with my hair, tangling it a bit playfully, before pulling the blankets up so they covered us.
I kissed his jawline softly, letting him know I wasn't ignoring him. "Sorry." I whispered.
John and Alyssa staggered into her bedroom, each fiercely kissing the other. John kicked the door closed, his lips not leaving Alyssa. Alyssa threw her purse down without looking, and they both stumbled over to her bed, and fell down on it, oblivious to anything other than themselves. John roughly pulled off his shirt, and resumed kissing Alyssa. She giggled slightly, gripping his back and pulling him closer to herself.
"You're a good kisser." She whispered into his ear, before nipping his earlobe. She ran her hands over his chest, and back, feeling his hard muscles tense up slightly under her cool hands. She pulled back, and smiled, before standing up, and letting her dress drop to the floor, leaving herself with only panties on, before throwing herself back down on John. John chuckled, and ran his hands over her, making her moan softly. She giggled as his hands passed over her buttocks, and down her thighs. John gave a husky laugh, and slid her panties off, then laid her on the bed, from which she stared up at him, awaiting him.
Cameron glared at the silhouettes of John and the girl he was with as they made love. No, that was the wrong description. Making love implied that they both loved each other. What they were doing was just plain fucking, to use one of Derek's favorite words. Just plain fucking, each a tool to the other, to make themselves feel better, or at least that was what she thought. To Cameron, she couldn't understand why else they would just have sex like that. Her hand twitched in anger as she watched John give himself to a woman he had only met two hours earlier. Actually, two hours and twelve minutes earlier. She canceled out the action that popped up in her HUD, to kill the woman, and drag John home, and make him come to his senses. She could easily do that. She knelt down, her sodden clothes dragging uncomfortably on her drenched skin. She picked up a branch, and crushed it into powder. She opened her hand, and looked at the fine powder, which rapidly became a soggy mess from the rain, and wiped it off into the grass in disgust. She glared at John again, canceling another prompt to kill the girl.
John was still awake, idly playing with Alyssa's hair. The girl was asleep next to him. He got up, needing to urinate. As he passed by the window, he saw a familiar girl standing outside, still as a statue, uncaring about the rain. He snarled under his breath. How the hell had she found him here, and why the fuck was she just watching him? He ground his jaw, and pulled on his underwear, and his jeans, before walking outside.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" He spat at Cameron, keeping his voice low so he wouldn't wake Alyssa. "Where you watching us the entire time?"
"Watching you. My mission. And yes. You should close the curtains." She told him. Her face was blank of any emotion, but John could see she was ticked. Her left hand was twitching again, and her eyes would flick over to the window every few seconds. Obviously trying to decide to if she should kill Alyssa or not.
"I don't need watching. Go away." Cameron shook her head resolutely. She had no plan of leaving. Even if he hated her, her mission was to make sure he was safe, and she was not going to fail that mission. John took a step closer. "Leave. That is a direct order." He snarled. She blinked in surprise. Her programming made her obey, even though she didn't want to. "Just go away, and leave me alone. I don't wanna see you again." He turned, and walked back inside. A second later the curtains were wrenched over the windows. Cameron felt more tears drip down from her eyes, but she was unable to fight her orders, and so, she walked away, glaring back at him.
October 11th, 2008
Cameron silently pondered what she was going to do as she waited for John to enter his room. She glanced back at her reflection in the in the window. The early morning light filtered through the somewhat clouded glass window. Perfect, She thought. She readied herself for him as she heard his footsteps on the stairs. The door quietly opened, and he entered the room, and flicked the light on. He looked around for a second before seeing Cameron standing there. "What. The. Fuck!" he snarled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Cameron moved into the light more, the soft yellow light glimmering off her perfect skin. "Why the fuck are you naked?"
"Do you want to have sex?" Cameron asked, moving closer again, reaching out towards John. John smacked her hand away, and stepped back, glaring in disgust at Cameron's perfectly shaped body.
"Why the fuck would I want to have sex with you?" He hissed loudly. She thought about it for a second. Why not? She thought to herself. John took a step closer again. "You're just an imitation of a human." He seethed. "I don't want to have sex with you. And never ask me again either." He turned to leave.
"Sex makes you feel better." Cameron muttered. "That's why you had sex with that girl." Cameron realized as soon as she had said that it was a horrible mistake. The look John was giving her was filled with burning hate. For the first time in her brief existence, she felt a thrill of fear. John took another step closer, and another, until his face was only inches away from hers. "Never say that again." He growled, his voice crackling with anger. He strode over to his desk, grabbed what he wanted off of it, and strode out of the room, not looking back once. Cameron walked over to the window, and watched silently as John left, her left hand twitching.
October 11th, Baum Residence
10:17
I instinctively flinched as the shower curtain was ripped back. Cameron was standing in front of the shower, impassively staring at me. "Uh... what?" I covered myself up in front of her, even though I knew she could care less about me being naked, and merely wanted to say something.
"I need you to do something for me." She handed me a towel. I sighed, and took it from her, shutting off the water. She pulled a soggy letter from her back pocket, and handed it to me. She let her hand drop back to her side, and stared at me with a cold, dispassionate look. I noticed how her fingers were twitching slightly.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" I flipped over the paper, and read it. It was a simple invitation, for someone named Alyssa White. The date on it was yesterdays date. I had never heard the name Alyssa White before.
"I need you to do some research on the girl." As she spoke, I could have sworn I saw a cold fire burning in her eyes, although, as I reminded myself, that was impossible. Or was it? I asked myself, shivering slightly.
I frowned, and started drying myself off. "Why can't you?" I asked. I noticed as a dark look passed over her face, before she looked away sourly, her face assuming its default expressionless look.
"I have to keep an eye on John. In fact, I should be leaving. Call me with what you find." She turned to leave.
"Cameron." She paused, and turned.
"Yes?"
"What's going on with you and John?" As soon as I asked, I regretted it. She fixed me with a cold stare, her eyes dispassionately burning holes into me.
"Nothing." Her eyes glowed blue for a second, before she turned again, and left the room. A few seconds later I heard the outside door slam. I sighed, and looked at the paper again.
"Cameron?" I asked timidly, fiddling with the computer mouse as I waited for her to respond. I took a sip of milk from the cup I had next to the computer while I waited for her answer. A hour of searching on the internet, and I had only found a few things about the girl. I had found far more out on her father.
"What?" She finally responded after a few seconds, which was unusual for her. Ignoring the strange feeling I was getting, I continued on.
"That girl you interested about, she's the daughter of some rich business man, his name's Anthony White. The guy has his fingers in a lot of pies-"
"What does that mean?"
"He is involved in a lot of things." I explained to her. "Most of it looks legit. Anyway, the girl, according to her blog, she just turned nineteen last night. Apparently she has a younger sister, whom she describes as being anti-social, and very artistic, as well as being a talented drummer."
"Thank you for explaining, and yes, I know, I was there."
"Can you stop interrupting me? And why were you there?"
"No reason in particular." It dawned on me why she wanted me to check her out. Cameron wanted to know if she was a threat. Unless, of course, there was something she wasn't telling me. Which wouldn't surprise me, since she rarely confided in anyone about things going on, unless it concerned something vital.
"Oh. Anyway, she seems like a spoiled little brat. Her blog says she drives a Porsche. But regardless, I didn't find anything incriminating about her, she just seems like a run of the mill girl, albeit spoiled as hell. I'll let you know if I find anything else, but I doubt I will. She's a pretty girl," I muttered, looking at her picture. Cameron didn't say anything, but I thought I heard something groan with distress. Like the phone. "I'll call you if find anything." I hurriedly finished before she crushed the phone.
"Thank you." She hung up. I tossed my phone onto the desk and rested my head in my hands. Great, now Cameron was probably going to end up in trouble for stalking or something like that. I leaned back in the chair, staring out the window. It was still raining, and I was suddenly bored. Ari had gone out to the bunker this morning to help Blake out with some stuff and wouldn't be back for another two days. And Derek... actually, I didn't know where Derek was. He seemed to come and go whenever he felt like it. Fuck... I'm so bored right now. It had been boring as hell searching for any dirt on this girl, and now that I was done... I got up, and walked into the living room, and kneeled in front of the radio, turning it on, and fiddling with the stations. I settled on a local rock station, and turned the volume up.
I crossed the living room, and pushed the bookcase aside, revealing the cubbyhole Sarah had apparently made when they had first got the house. In it was a Desert Eagle .50 caliber handgun, more like a cannon than a actual handgun. I tucked it into my waistband, before pushing the bookcase back into place, and then walked into the living room, to make something to eat. In my five months I had spent in 2008, I had figured out how to use the microwave fairly well, and was able to fend for myself when it came to food. I opened the refrigerator, and took a hot pocket, and put it in the microwave, before leaning against the counter, trying to figure out what Cameron was up to.
The sound of a truck pulling up startled me out of my reverie. I grabbed the Desert Eagle, and held it in front of me. Walking over to the window, I looked out of it. It was black truck, of a fairly recent model, although I wasn't exactly well versed in vehicle models. I watched as Danielle climbed out of the passenger seat, her left arm held out in front of her awkwardly, and with a jacket covering the lower half of it. I noticed an what looked like an unfamiliar shotgun strapped across her back. I heard the driver door slam shut, and assumed it was Lilith. I walked into the main entryway, and held the door open for them. Danielle walked in, throwing the jacket off onto the couch as soon as she had made it into the house. Lilith followed, her eyes alert.
"What happened?" I asked, quickly shutting the door behind them, then following them into the kitchen. Danielle had already sat down at the table, and had her left arm lying on the table, with the shotgun laying next to her. I noticed it had a clip, which I had never seen on a shotgun before. The skin on her arm and hand was burned, and in some places non-existent, with the bare metal of her skeletal structure showing through. She tried to wiggle her fingers, and was unable to bend the outer three.
"We were tracking the others down, and we went to one of their hideouts. Turns out they had taken the time to booby trap it. There was a explosive attached to the door, although as you can see it didn't really do much to Danielle." Lilith opened the refrigerator, and took out a can of soda. She leaned against the counter, and took a sip. Danielle nodded silently, and tugged a piece of skin back, examining it further.
"I need a sharp knife, preferably a x-acto knife." I shrugged, and looked around. "Fine, just a sharp knife, like a steak knife." I slid open the silverware drawer, and handed her a knife. Lilith and I both watched, fascinated, as she pushed the blade into the skin immediately below her elbow, right above the burned skin, and slid the blade around her arm, drawing a small amount of blood. She then took the knife, and traced down her arm into the burned skin, cutting it down to the palm of her hand.
"What does that feel like?" I whispered. Danielle paused, and looked up.
"I don't know how to explain it. I can feel the skin being cut, and I suppose the data could be considered pain, but I don't actually feel it at the same time." She set the knife down on the table, and peeled the skin off, making a squelching noise as it pulled off her endoskeleton. She let the skin fall onto the table, making a dull thud as it hit the table, then leaned forward to examine it, using her other hand to pull the skin apart. "Hmm, the skin is going through necrosis." She turned her attention to her blood covered arm. "Could you please get me a towel?" Lilith silently nodded, and left the room, then returned a minute later, holding the towel out to Danielle. She wiped the blood off her arm, and fiddled with the arm. I noticed it was a bit different than a normal terminator arm. The tendons for her fingers were covered by metal plating. She pried the plating off her endoskeleton, and examined the titanium tendons. The outer three were popped out of place slightly. She reached one of her slender fingers in, and pushed down. There was a clicking noise, as the three tendons popped back into their holders. She reattached the plating onto her arm, and waved her arm experimentally, flexing the fingers. I noticed as she did so the tips of her fingers were edged with sharp blades.
"What're you going to do about your endoskeleton?" Lilith asked. "You can't just walk around, with your bare arm showing." Danielle gave Lilith a perfect imitation of a exasperated look, including the theatrical eye roll.
"Obviously. I'm going to wear long sleeves, and gloves. It's getting cooler out anyway, so no one will find it suspicious." Lilith nodded in acceptance, and turned around, taking the blood covered towel from Danielle, and placing it in the trash.
"Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to go get some sleep." She nodded at Danielle and I, and left the room. I heard the stairs creak as she went upstairs. Danielle cocked her head slightly, listening as Lilith moved around upstairs.
"So what now?" I asked Danielle.
She looked away out the window, deciding how to best answer. "I'll wait for Lilith to get some sleep, then we'll go back out, and hunt down the I950's. Right now, they're the biggest threats to John Connor, especially since they have functioning terminators on their side. Once we eliminate them, it should be fairly easy to bring down Kaliba, since the I950's are the brains of the operation."
I nodded, thinking. "What about Elena?" For whatever reason, I found myself worried about her. The fact she was pregnant, and the other I950's seemed to be conspiring against her had me hoping she would maybe join our side, and help fight the machines.
Danielle mimed a shrug perfectly, and looked at me directly for the first time. "Her fate is her fate," she stated simply, pushing her hair back out of her face with her bare endoskeleton. She picked up the shotgun, and slung the strap over her shoulders, so it rested on her back.
"What type of shotgun is that? I've never seen one that looked like that." She reached behind her back, and pulled it off by the sling.
"It's a USAS-12 automatic shotgun."
"Is it any good?" I asked, staring at it curiously.
She smirked slightly. "Back in 2029, I had two of these. The USAS-12 is one of the few guns that can beat a terminator, plasma rifles notwithstanding. Depleted uranium slugs destroy terminator's fairly efficiently." She got up, and rolled down the sleeve of her shirt, then slung the shotgun back over her shoulders again. "I'm going to the store, I'll be back in a hour or two." I nodded, and watched as she left. I walked over to the window, and watched as she climbed into the cab of the truck, and pulled on some gloves, then started the truck, and left. I looked back down at the table and noticed her dead skin was still lying on the table. I sighed, and picked it up with the tips of my fingers, and threw it in the trash, then walked over to the sink, and started to vigorously wash my hands.
John was slouched on Alyssa's couch, flipping through channels, waiting for Alyssa to get ready. She had been in her bathroom for nearly two hours, getting ready to go out, to go shopping. He flipped over a news channel, then flipped it back, noticing a very familiar scene. A grainy clip of a orb of blue lightning graced the screen, with something appearing in the middle of the orb, then running further into the shadows as the lightning dissipated. "Authorities are mystified about the mysterious lightning that appeared in the middle of Griffith Observatory this morning at about two am. This footage was captured on a security camera-" John quickly changed the channel as he heard the bathroom door crack open, and Alyssa walk out. She came up behind him, and wrapped her arms around his chest. "What's going on?" Her breath tickled the back of his neck.
"Nothing, just flipping through channels." Alyssa smiled, and turned his face towards hers.
Pecking him on the lips, she spoke. "You ready to go? I know you're tired of waiting." John gave her a crooked grin, and nodded, kissing her again. She smiled, and pulled on his hand, leading him towards her garage. John stopped halfway down the hallway, peering into a open room. The curtains were drawn, but there was enough light to see the walls were mostly plastered with drawings and paintings, and what was visible of the wall was a violet color. On the bed in the middle of the room was a huge pile of blankets, and a seemingly disembodied foot was sticking out from under them.
"Whose room is this?" he asked quietly, looking around. Alyssa quickly caught him before he could take another step.
"My little sister's room. She's still sleeping." Alyssa looked around the room briefly, before pulling John back into the hallway, and closing the door. "She likes art."
"She's really good at it." John gave the closed door a fleeting glance as Alyssa nodded, and tugged John down the hall again.
I impatiently tapped the fake ID I had just been handed. It was flawless, of course, but it still felt strange. Raven Baum. I was supposed to be Derek's daughter, and my age was now eighteen. My mother had died in childbirth, and he had raised me since then by himself. Derek had just dropped it off at the house for me, and mentioned me possibly going to school as well. I heard the toilet flush, then the sound of running water as Derek washed his hands, then he walked out. "Still no word from John?"
I shrugged, and shook my head. "Cameron said she was watching him." Derek nodded thoughtfully, staring at the ceiling, apparently thinking. "So what was this about me going to school?" He was silent for a minute, and I was about to repeat the question, before he looked down and grinned at me.
"Well, since your cover story is that you're my daughter, and you're eighteen, that would mean you need to be in school." He smirked at me. I crossed my arms stubbornly, and glared at him. "I was talking about it with Ari, and he agreed it would be a good idea, for you to get at least some sort of education, since you won't have another chance."
"I don't want to go to school." I narrowed my eyes as Derek snickered, apparently amused.
"That would be an order, Raven, since I outrank you, and am in charge of any resistance members sent back." I frowned. I hadn't been told that.
"According to whom?" I asked, trying to find a way out of it.
He gave me a amused look. "According to Connor."
"I don't believe you." He rolled his eyes, and held out his phone.
"Call the machine, and ask it." He motioned for me to take the phone. I took it, and dialed Cameron's number.
"What do you want? And 2008." Cameron answered after the first ring, sounding rather irritated.
"October 11th. Cameron, is it true Derek is in charge of any resistance member sent back?" Derek was smiling, awaiting the answer.
"Yes it is. Why?" Her voice had softened up, realizing I wasn't Derek.
"I didn't know that." I frowned at Derek, who grinned openly. "Thanks." I told her, hanging up the phone. "Fine. You're in charge. But I'm not going to school."
"Tough. You don't get a choice. I've already enrolled you, you start this Friday." He grinned at me, then left. I groaned loudly, then pulled out my own cell phone, dialing numbers.
"Ari."
"Yes?" He asked me tentatively.
"You agreed with Derek that I should go to school?" I silently congratulated myself on my deathly calm voice, which Ari was obviously feeling.
"...Yes."
"Why?" I asked him evenly, in the same voice.
"Er... well, I think it would be a good opportunity for you to get a, uh... a education, and-"
"Are you saying I'm stupid?"
"No. I was just saying, that it would be a good way to occupy yourself for a while, and learn some new things."
"Like what?"
"Chemistry? History? Math?" He seemed to have regained his confidence. "It's not like you know anything about most of them."
"Really? Let's see. Chemistry – I know how make bombs, Math – let's be honest, who needs that? And for history, well, let's just say I know enough about history, since technically, this is history for me."
Ari was silent for a little bit. "Raven, just humor me, and Derek. Go to school for a little while, and if, after like a month or so, you don't like it, then don't go." I thought about it for a minute. Those weren't unreasonable terms.
"Fine, I'll go. But only for a month. Bye." I hung up, and threw myself onto the couch.
Alyssa twirled around on the spot, showing off the deep purple dress she was trying on. John smiled appropriately, and nodded. It honestly did look good on her, but he was getting tired of her trying on different clothes. She smiled, and disappeared back into the changing room. John let out a minute sigh, and glanced down at the price tag of the last dress she had picked out. $374.99. Damn, it would be nice to be able to just spend that kind of money on one piece of clothing. John twitched, feeling the uncomfortable sensation of someone watching him. The hair on the back of his neck rose, and he recalled how on the news there had been someone sent back in time. He whirled around, scaring a lady right behind him. He noticed a familiar mane of dark hair disappear behind a rack of shirts. Dammit. He had told Cameron to leave him alone, but apparently it was above her to listen to his orders. He got up, setting the clothes to the side, and stalked towards the rack of shirts. He rounded the corner, only to find a empty aisle. Of course, she had snuck out.
"John?" He turned, as Alyssa called out his name.
"Yeah?" He called back. He leaned back around the corner, and saw her walking towards him, confusion on her face.
"Where'd you go?"
"I just thought I saw someone I knew." The look of confusion on her face cleared up, and she smiled.
"All right, well I'm ready to go. Do you mind going to meet some of my friends?" John shook his head, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he took in Alyssa's amused look "All right, I'll go buy this, then we'll go."
October 13th, 2008, Liberty High School.
Derek was trying not to laugh as he drove up to the curb, ready to drop me off. I gave him a silent glare, before grabbing my backpack, and climbing out of the truck, making sure to slam the door very hard behind me. I distinctly heard Derek's roar of laughter as he drove off. Knowing he'd be watching in the rearview mirror, I flipped him off. Curious students slid their eyes over me, taking me in, and the spectacle that had just occurred. I shouldered my bag, and, setting my mouth into a scowl, walked into the school, flinching at the sudden influx of noise to my sensitive ears. I needed to find the guidance office, to get my list of classes. I flinched as students pushed by me, all trying to get somewhere. I zipped my sweatshirt up a little more, and turned around, looking around for any sign pointing out the guidance offices, ignoring some of the curious students who paused to look at me. I was probably some sort of novelty, with my skin being much lighter than most of the other girls who apparently spent all their spare time in the sun.
I noticed out of the corner of my eye as a group of rowdy boys, some of them having a girl clinging to them, pointed at me. One of the girl-less boys separated from the group, and confidently walked up to me. He was tall, with a well defined torso, which was blatantly obvious in his tight shirt, and long sandy hair that was casually tossed back. His blue eyes roved over me, taking me in.
"Hey, you new here?" I considered ignoring him, but decided to just nod. "That sucks. My name's Eric Smith. What's yours?"
"Raven Baum." I dully replied, avoiding looking at him. "Do you know where the guidance office is?" The boy seemed put off for a second, but nodded. His arm brushed against me. I edged away from him, feeling uncomfortable.
"This way. So where'd you move from?" I was starting to get annoyed with the boy, but didn't allow my face to betray my emotions.
"Maine." Eric whistled, seemingly impressed. He moved closer to me again.
"Maine. Wow, Cali must be a big change." I nodded, backing away from him again. He seemed to notice, and raised his eyebrows. "What's wrong?" I shook my head, looking away over my shoulder.
"Please just show me where the guidance offices are." Eric sighed slightly, and nodded towards the end of the hall.
"They're right down there." I nodded, and started to walk away. "Hey, Raven!" I turned my head back. "Maybe I'll see you later?" His face was suddenly hopeful.
"Um... yeah, maybe." I hurried off, not wanting to be around him, and secretly hoping I didn't see him later. Creep. I pushed open the door, and walked over to the secretary, an elderly woman with a kind face, and graying hair.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yeah, um, I just moved here, and I need a class schedule." The woman nodded, smiling while she did so, and moved over to sit in front of her computer.
"Name?"
"Sorry?"
"I need your name, so I can get your schedule." Her brows contracted slightly as she studied me.
"Oh, right. Sorry, Raven Baum. B-a-u-m." The woman nodded, and typed it into the computer. A list popped up, and she clicked something, bringing up another list. She hit a button, and the printer next to her started printing a paper. She waited for it to finish, before snatching the paper away from the printer, and handed it to me.
"These are your classes. The 100 rooms are on the bottom floor, 200's are on the second, and 300's are on the top floor." I nodded my thanks, and left the room, studying the schedule. My first class was Art, in room 166, with a Mr. Chancellor. I looked around, checking to see which way the rooms went. Apparently all the other students had gone to class, since there wasn't anyone in the hall. I started walking left, and two doors down, was room 166. Before I could knock, I heard footsteps behind me. Instinctively whirling around, I faced the person who was coming up behind me.
"Where are you supposed to be?" A large, tall man was standing in front of me, with large nose, and a prominent brow, and a scowl adorning his face. He took a step closer, his dark eyes boring into mine. "Who are you? I haven't see you here at my school before." His eyes traced me, coming to his own conclusion of me. I probably didn't want to know what that was.
"My name is Raven Baum. I just moved here." He continued to stare down at me, waiting for me to continue speaking. "My class is right here."
"I see. My name is Mr. Bowers. I am the principal of this school. Since this is your first day, I'll let you off with a warning, but know that I don't tolerate tardiness in this school." I nodded, and turned to the door and knocked on it. I was about to knock again, before the door was flung open. A bored looking student was standing there, his long dark hair falling in his face. Behind him was a expansive room, with strings strung across the room, supporting the canvas sheets hanging from them.
"Uh, this is Art, right?
"Yeah." He answered, in a surprisingly deep voice. He flicked his hair away from his face, and in the brief second before it fell back into his face, I noticed a piercing in his brow. "You're the new kid, right?" He turned, and called over his shoulder. "Mr. Chancellor, the new girl is here."
"All right, let her in." A mans voice sounded from behind the canvas sheets. The boy raised his eyebrows, and moved to the side, letting me in. Looking back over my shoulder, I noted that the principle was still standing exactly where he had been before, his eyes watching my every move.
"Set your bag down over here." The boy murmured, motioning by the doorway. I set my bag, down, then followed the boy around the canvas' hanging from the strings. Behind them, there were several large tables, with dark stone tabletops. Several students were arranged around them, all looking up at me. The boy with dark hair brushed against me, and sat down at the table closest to me. "You can sit down." He told me, looking back over at me. I looked around, and choose to sit down next to an eccentric, but strangely pretty girl. She had her very light blond, almost silvery white hair carelessly pulled back, and had a paintbrush sticking through the bun. She was wearing a paint covered sweatshirt, which was unzipped, with a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants visible underneath. She turned her pale gray eyes toward me, examining me. I noticed she had dark circles under her eyes.
"What's your name?" She quietly asked me, her soft voice barely audible.
"Raven."
"That's a pretty name. From a glance, it looks like it suits you." She quietly went on. "My name is Delilah. My mom had watched some TV episode where the name of the episode had Delilah in it, and she loved the name. Although I don't like it." I was silent. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. Fortunately, I didn't have to, because the teacher, Mr. Chancellor, walked around the corner. He had to be the oddest adult I had ever seen. His gray hair was sticking out at random angles, and his glasses were halfway done his nose, and his eyes gleamed with maniac energy. He was skinny, but he seemed to be in good shape despite that. I placed his age around sixty. He walked up to me, and solemnly held out his hand.
"My name is Daniel Chancellor." I took his hand, taken aback by his demeanor. I was surprised at the strength of his grip. Terminator? No, probably not. He's too small and old to be a terminator.
"Raven Baum."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy my class. Let me warn you though, I have a different teaching method way of teaching a class then other teachers." He let go of my hand, and walked in front of the rest of the students, before turning to face me again. "Everyone else knows how my class works, but since you're new, let me explain it to you." He gestured around him. "You can do whatever you want, I don't care, as long as you're doing something constructive. I only ask that if you have to use any heavy equipment, such as a kiln, that you inform me before hand." He turned, and walked away, going back around the corner. After a few seconds, I heard quiet music coming from around the corner. Classical music, I thought to myself, since I could hear the piano, and the violins.
I turned back to my neighbor, Delilah. She had taken out a piece of paper, and was silently drawing something. I leaned over. "What should I do?" I whispered.
She looked up, looking confused. "You can do whatever you want."
"Um... okay." Delilah sighed, and got up, moving out of sight. A few seconds later she returned, holding a large drawing pad, and a box of pencils.
"Just draw whatever comes to mind. That's what I do." She smiled, showing off perfect, white teeth. I watched her draw for a minute, before turning to the pad of paper she had drawn me. Searching my mind for something to draw, I settled on one of the A-10 Thunderbolt II's the resistance still had. More specifically, the one that was flown by Blair Williams, in the future. She watched me curiously for a second, before digging in her pocket, and pulling out an object I recognized as a iPod, similar to Ari's. She offered me one of the headphones. Taking it, I put it in my ear. She played the music, not really noticing as I flinched away from the loud music. Apparently Delilah listened to some pretty heavy music. I watched in surprise as she beat the palms of her hands off her knees, sounding very much like the drums in the song that was playing.
An hour later, when the bell rang, I studied my drawing. It resembled a A-10, although I still needed to add on a lot of details. Delilah leaned over, and looked at it. "What's that?"
"An A-10 Thunderbolt II." Seeing her confused look, I continued. "It's a type of plane." Delilah nodded, probably still not knowing what I was talking about.
"I like it. I don't know what it's supposed to look like, but you have talent drawing at least. Nice clean lines." She told me, getting up. I followed her to the door, and we both slid our drawing pads into our bags. "What class do you have next?" I shrugged, and fiddled in my pockets, before pulling out my schedule.
"Gym..." I didn't know what gym was, but figured I'd sound stupid asking her what it was, so I tried finding out a different way. "So what do we do in gym out in California?" She gave me a amused look, but answered me anyway.
"Well, right now we are playing dodgeball, then we're going to play basketball." She shuddered delicately. "I don't like either." She distastefully told me. "We have gym together anyway, so just follow me." She put her bag on, and walked out the door, leaving me to hastily pull my bag onto my shoulders, and follow her.
"So you like drawing?" I asked once I had caught up to her. She walked fairly fast, nimbly making her way through the masses of students. She nodded.
"I love drawing, and painting. I'm don't find sculpting, or pottery very enjoyable, but I'm told I'm good at both of them as well. How about you? Do you like drawing?"
"I don't know. That's the first time I've ever drawn." She stopped, giving me a surprised look, before walking through an open door at the end of the hall. It was a large room, with stripes of some sort painted on the floor, and stands on both of the long sides of the room. We walked all the way across the gym, and into another room, this one much smaller, and lined with small white tiles. I could hear other students talking behind us, in between the rows of lockers behind us.
"The locker rooms." She told me quietly, before stopping in front of a locker. She unlocked it, and set her bag on the floor, and took her drawing pad out, then put the bag into the locker. "Here, let me see your bag." I handed it to her, so she could put it in her locker. She locked the locker, then led the way back into the gym. She gave a distasteful look towards the middle of the gym, where the other students were gathering, and made her way over to the stands. "You should go to middle," she quietly told me, nodding over at it, "Otherwise the teacher won't know you're here."
Sighing, I walked back to the middle. Several of the students turned to look at me, giving me curious looks. I noticed one of the girls in the back, a slim black girl, lean towards the girl next to her, and mutter something, making her friend laugh. "Raven!" A voice called out to me. Turning around, I saw it was Eric Smith, from before. "Hey, Raven, you have this class too?" I quietly groaned, before nodding, trying to ignore him. Luckily for me, the teacher was walking towards us. I smirked slightly at his attire, more specifically his shorts that only went halfway down his thigh, but otherwise stayed silent. Eric moved closer to me, as we waited for the teacher to take the attendance. He looked around, checking off names silently.
"Are Raven Baum?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded. He nodded to himself, and checked my name off on his list. "All right, you know how to play dodgeball right?" I shook my head, giving the girls behind me a irritated look as they all giggled. He frowned slightly, but nodded anyway. "We set up these balls in the middle of the court, and divide into two teams and then when I blow my whistle, you all run to them, and try to grab them. The object of the game is to get everyone on the other team out, by hitting them with the balls. You aren't allowed to hit them in the face, and if you do so, you're automatically out." He knelt down, and pulled something out of a bag on the floor. "There is one pin on each teams side. If you knock over the other teams, everyone on your side that was out can come back into the game. That make sense?" I nodded. "Good. Let's divide up."
I snickered as my ball smashed into one of the other girls, making her cry out. Over in the corner, I saw that Delilah had put her drawing pad down, and was watching me with amusement. I ducked under a ball that was thrown at me, and moved back to pick it up. I easily ducked another ball, and threw my ball at the thrower. This was probably the easiest game I'd ever played. It was pretty much the same as my life for the last couple years, before I had came back, this time using foam balls rather than bullets and plasma beams. I smirked as we won, then trotted over to Delilah, and sat down next to her.
"Why don't you play?" I asked. She gave me a look that said it should be obvious.
"I'm horrible at any sports, and I don't like playing them. I'm not a very active person." I looked at her. She seemed like she was pretty fit. Good genes? I silently asked myself.
"It wouldn't hurt to be active." She laughed her quiet laugh.
"Why's that?"
I shrugged casually. "Maybe in the future, being active might be the difference to life or death." She frowned.
"What are you talking about?" I looked away.
"Nothing, just rambling. What I'm trying to say, is that it wouldn't hurt to be active." She rolled her eyes.
"Right." She flipped open her drawing pad again. "Here, this is for you." She ripped out a page, and handed it to me. "That's you the first time I saw you." I took it and looked at the page. It was a perfect drawing of me, right down to the way my hair was carelessly pushed back, to how my forehead creased slightly. Looking at the picture, I looked lost, out of place. Which was kind of true, if I thought about it.
"Wow... this is perfect..." She smiled knowingly.
"Thanks." We both looked up as the bell rang. She raised her eyebrows. "Lunch time." She stated. She leaned forward as Eric came out of the boys locker room, and zeroed in on me, walking towards me. "Let's go before your friend gets here."
"So where are we going?" John asked, from the passenger seat. Alyssa frowned in response to his question.
"I need to pick up my sister from her school and bring her to lunch. It'd be a lot easier if she'd just go for her drivers license, but nooo, she has to hitch rides from me." John smiled slightly. Alyssa shook her head, and turned the radio up. "Authorities are still trying to identify the strange lightning from two days ago. In the meantime however, they are totally baffled by a series of brutal execution style murders over the last two days. As of eleven o' clock am, the murder count is at seventeen murders, all young men and women. According to the authorities, they're still working to determine the identities of some of the deceased. They do believe this is the work of a serial killer-" Alyssa turned the radio down, shaking her head in disgust. "Fucking people out there are psychopaths."
"Yeah, definitely. Sometimes it makes you wonder how humans have survived this long..." John trailed off, musing to himself. Alyssa gave him a worried look, but was averted from saying anything as John flashed her a small smile. "Anyway, what grade is your sister in?"
"Senior in high school. Don't know why she wants to go to a public high school, but whatever..." John chuckled.
"Do you two get along? And what's wrong with public school?" She sighed, and took a corner hard.
"We normally get along well, we just see things differently, and sometimes we get in fights about that. But I love her, and I know she loves me as well. And public school, I don't know. I never went to one."
"So who are we waiting for?" I asked Delilah. She was impatiently tapping her hands off her legs, in a precise, tightly controlled beat, while we sat on the curb outside of the school. Other students were walking around, or sitting on the lawn, just talking, and eating lunch with friends.
"My sister is picking me up for lunch. Her and her new boyfriend." She rolled her eyes. "Can you come? Just so I don't feel outnumbered by her?" I laughed slightly, and nodded. She looked behind her, and snorted. "Your friend seems to be looking for you." She nodded her head over to where Eric was standing, who was apparently looking for me, scouring the students outside with his eyes. I was distracted by the low rumbling of a engine as it pulled up by the curb. Delilah motioned for me to follow her into the car, but I was distracted by the person in the passenger seat.
"John." I mouthed. He seemingly heard me, and looked out at me, his eyes widening slightly, then narrowing. Looking over at the driver, I recognized her as well. Alyssa White. Delilah was her sister. Good job idiot, that should've been obvious. It said in her blog her sister was socially awkward, and very artistic, as well as being a drummer. Speaking of Delilah, she was staring at me curiously as I stood still, probably looking like an idiot. I climbed into the car, and buckled the seatbelt.
"You two know each other or something?" Delilah asked. Apparently both her and Alyssa had noticed my behavior, and were exchanging looks.
John opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "We're cousins." John abruptly shut his mouth in surprise. "My dad is his dads brother." I let my hair fall to the side of my face, shielding my face from the others as I gave John a meaningful look.
"Yeah..." John started. "I was just surprised to know she went to this school. Actually, I didn't even think she was still in school." He gave a short laugh that sounded more annoyed than anything else.
"Well then..." Alyssa glanced back at me. "Where do you guys want to go for lunch?"
"McDonald's." Delilah replied almost instantly, followed a second later by a loud groan from Alyssa. "What? I like McDonald's." She nonchalantly shrugged.
"Every time we got out for lunch you want McDonald's. How about something better?" Alyssa slowed the car for traffic.
"How about we have McDonald's?" Delilah shot back. "Every time I ask for McDonald's, you go somewhere different."
"Fine, but just this once."
Alyssa gave the table we were to sit at a loathing look. "Eww. Don't they ever clean the tables?" Delilah rolled her eyes, and took a napkin, and wiped off the surface, eliminating some of the grease on the table.
"No, they probably don't. In case you haven't noticed, the only people who work here are teenagers who wish they had a real job." Delilah caught my eye and grinned. Alyssa's lip curled a bit, but she sat down anyway. John bit his cheek, trying not to smile. Delilah leaned into me, and whispered into my ear. "She's a germaphobe."
"So how do you and um... what's your name again? Karen?" I gave her a flat stare.
"Raven." She rolled her eyes.
"Right. So how do you and my sister know each other?"
"Art class." She nodded to herself, as if it should've been obvious. Although with Delilah's apparent obsession with art, it probably was.
"Right." She took a bite of her burger, than spat it out. "I think I'm going to be sick." She got up, and hurried over to the bathroom, ignoring Delilah's outburst of laughter. John snorted as well, and got up.
"I'm getting some ketchup." Delilah and I both watched as he walked away, then she turned to me.
"So who is he really?"
"My cousin -"
"Raven, my sister may be dumb enough to believe that, but I'm not. I know you aren't cousins just by how you acted when you saw each other. He obviously did not want to see you, and you seemed very surprised to see him." She glared at me. "So are you going to tell me who he is?"
"No," She scowled at me, then turned away.
"Fine."
"Delilah, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just..." We both looked up in surprise as Alyssa sat back down, looking disgusted.
"I swear I'm going to file a complaint about McDonald's. That's got to be the dirtiest bathroom I've ever seen. Honestly, if I puked in there, it'd be doing them a favor." She shook her head, and adamantly stared out the window. I sighed quietly, and looked out the opposite window as John sat back down as well. Outside, partially concealed by a car was Cameron. I rolled my eyes, and got up.
"I need to go to the bathroom." I announced. Alyssa gave me a look like I was crazy, but otherwise ignored me.
Once I was in the bathroom, I pulled out my phone, and dialed Cameron's number. "October 13th," I spoke into the phone.
"2008. What do you want?" she asked brusquely.
"Why are you outside spying on us?" As I waited for her answer, I looked around. Alyssa was exaggerating the disgustingness of the bathroom a little. It was actually fairly clean for a fast food bathroom."
"I'm watching John."
"Why. He's fairly safe with me here. You just want an excuse to kill that girl if she does something wrong." It was silent on the other end of the phone. "I'm right, aren't I?"
After a brief pause, she answered. "No."
"Yes I am. Cameron, if you killed the girl, how do you think he would react? He's already pissed off at you. I know that's why you wanted me to do research on her the other day, to see if you could have an excuse to kill her, on the pretext of her being 'dangerous'."
She was silent for a second, which was basically a yes with her. "That's not the only reason."
"Oh, and what other reasons would you have for following her around?"
"As soon as they... as soon as they hooked up, there were two people sent back. It was on the news and in the papers. One landed in Griffith's Observatory, and the other landed in Echo Park."
"So? You're trying to say it was a coincidence that as soon as they started dating, two people were sent back?"
"No. I'm trying to say that because they hooked up, something changes in the future." I frowned as she said that, having not considered that. "Which would mean that Skynet would send something back to kill her, and John would send someone back to protect her. Something along those lines."
"That's an interesting theory." I flushed the toilet, just in case someone was listening at the door. I ran the water, waiting for her to speak.
"I doubt it's a theory. Have you heard about all these execution style murders in the last two days?"
"No. Why?"
"They're the work of a terminator. Skynet programmed the terminator to come back eliminate a large group of people. I'm guessing in the future they're some of the important members of the Resistance. And also, I'm guessing they have some connection to Alyssa White. The girl is dangerous to be around Raven."
"Right. Well, I have to go. Bye." I hung up the phone, and looked into the grimy mirror. Someone was sent back to kill her. If that was true, then there probably would be a triple-eight around here somewhere. I needed to talk to John.
Cameron flipped her phone shut, and resumed staring into the McDonald's. Well it was true what Raven had said, she was looking for an excuse to kill the girl, that would have to wait. Right now John's safety was the priority. She unzipped the field hockey bag she had with her, and pulled out the USAS-12 Danielle had let her have. She had tested the gun, and found she was very satisfied with it's performance. Now she just had to wait.
Across the road, a dog tied to a tree barking caught her attention. Normally, a dog barking wouldn't mean anything to her, but in the current situation, it meant a lot. She zoomed in to the pedestrians across the street, looking for anyone who stuck out. She counted three people out of 107 people within viewing distance. One was a small female who had a bulky jacket on and the hood over her head. The other two were large men, similarly dressed. Out of the three, she identified the two men as priority, particularly the one who was just standing in the shadows of a pawn shop. She put the gun back into the bag, and ran across the street. She walked up to the first man, 'accidentally' brushing into him, then looking at him to perform a deep scan. No, this man was a regular human. Ahead of her, the dog barked again, right as the second man walked by. She hurried up behind him, and performed another deep scan, searching for an endoskeleton. He too was a regular human... which left the girl.
Cameron whirled around, looking for the girl. Where was she? Dammit Cameron! She scolded herself. A car honking it's horn got her attention, and she turned, to see the girl walking towards the McDonald's.
Delilah kept giving me suspicious looks as we walked back to Alyssa's car, and climbed back in. I vaguely heard Alyssa complaining about something, and John chuckling after. I reached into my bag, and pulled out a piece of paper, and a pencil, and scrawled out a note to Delilah. What class do you have next? I handed her the paper.
She squinted at it for several seconds, before taking out her own pencil, and scribbling something down as well. She handed it back to me. World History. Why? And by the way, your penmanship is atrocious. Of course it was all written perfectly, with fancy old style writing, the one with all the loops and curls.
I circled the world atrocious, and then wrote out a sentence, because I'm going to skip next period, so if you want your question answered, skip. before making an arrow at atrocious, and writing, what does that mean?
She gave me a flat stare, before rolling her eyes. She quickly wrote something out, and handed me the paper back. All right, I'll skip. And atrocious means something of very poor quality, therefore I'm saying your penmanship is of very poor quality. I rolled my eyes, and crumpled up the paper. In the front seats, Alyssa and John were talking about something, while we waited for traffic to move so Alyssa could drive in. Alyssa jumped as someone knocked on her window. Muttering something, she moved to roll down the window, then screamed, scrambling away from the window. Delilah moved to see who it was, then looked back at her sister, her eyes wide. Alyssa screamed again as a gloved hand wrenched the door off the car. "Alyssa White?" A flat, metallic sounding, but somehow female voice asked. A terminator, I thought, instantly recognizing the vocals.
"Everyone get out of the car right now!" I spat out. John looked back at me, then practically kicked his door out as he climbed out, pulling Alyssa out with him. I shoved open my own door, then moved to the side, getting a better look at the person outside as Delilah climbed out. The perfect copy of Alyssa gave me a intrigued look, before reaching down to it's waist, keeping it's eyes locked on me. We all turned in surprise as several car horns sounded, followed by screeching brakes, and the sound of cars crunching together as several collided, trying to avoid Cameron as she ran across the road, grabbing something out of a bag. The terminator-Alyssa quickly fired several rounds at Cameron, making Alyssa scream again. Cameron looked at me briefly, and threw something at me. Reflexively I caught the object, which turned out to be car keys.
"Black van." She shouted at me, before peppering the terminator version of Alyssa with a fully automatic spray of armor piercing shotgun slugs, knocking it over. I grabbed Delilah, and pulled her along behind me, crouching to hopefully avoid any bullets coming our way. Looking behind me, I saw John was pulling Alyssa along with her. I scrambled to the van, and stabbed the keys into the ignition, and waited just long enough for John to help Alyssa into the van and shut the door, before peeling out of the parking lot, leaving the sounds gunfire behind us.
"All right, so what was that thing?" Delilah asked me, her eyes wide, partially because of my maniac driving, but mostly from the shock of the terminator attacking them.
"A terminator. Part human, mostly machine." I turned to look at Alyssa, nearly hitting another car as I did so. "Why would it be after you? Did you do any business deals or something?"
"No." She whispered. "I don't do any business. Only my dad does. Delilah and I just-"
"Live off of him." I finished. She nodded, looking terrified. "Great. Well, that thing is after you for a reason. You do something that pisses Skynet off."
"It might have been sent back to make sure she did do something for Skynet." John stated, holding a trembling Alyssa close to him.
"We need to find the other person who was sent back."
"There was another person?" John asked, sitting up straighter.
"Cameron said the news had reported two time displacements." I noticed how John's face soured as I mentioned Cameron's name. "If one was the terminator, then the other is probably a resistance member sent back to help us."
"Wait. What's a time displacement? And what do you mean by 'the other person who was sent back?'" Delilah looked between John and I, her eyes wide as she struggled to make sense of the situation.
"Time displacement is time travel." I told her. "When I say sent back, I mean being sent back through time." Delilah started to shake her head. "Before you say time travel isn't possible, it's not. Not in the present. Not until about 2027."
"How would you know that?" Delilah pressed on.
"Because I'm from the future." I told her, not looking at her face. "In fact, I'm going to be born or created sometime soon." I noticed the confusion on her face, but ignored it.
"You're from the future?" I turned to look at her, and nodded. She nodded skeptically, then reached for the door handle. I reached across her lap, and held the door shut.
"Don't distract me." I glared at her for a second, then let go of the door, and sat up straight. "Yes, I'm from the future."
She looked back at her sister, than back to me. "What's that barcode from then? Something from the future?" I snorted.
"Yeah, something from the future. It's from a concentration camp." Out of the corner of my eye I watched Delilah's eyebrows contract.
"A concentration-"
"Yes."
"Right." She bent over, then straightened out, pointing a gun at me, one that Cameron had apparently left on the car floor. Splendid. "Stop the car and let me and my sister out, or I'll pull the trigger." Without taking my eyes off the road, I reached over, and wrenched the gun out of her hand, and tossed it behind us into the back seat.
"Don't do that. And if you're going to shoot someone, you need the safety off." I slowed down, and swerved into the driveway for John's house. Parking the van at the end of the driveway next to Danielle's truck, I turned to look at Alyssa and Delilah. "In three years, a super computer known as Skynet will take control of the world, and kill off most of the human population using nuclear weapons. After that, it creates other machines, to eliminate the rest of humanity. Humans it doesn't kill it keeps to use as slave labor. That's how I grew up. Until the year 2022. After that John Connor," I nodded at John, "After that, he broke all the prisoners out of the work camps. Most of us joined the resistance against the machines. I did that for five years, until 2027, when I got sent back to do a mission for Connor." I motioned at my tattoo again. "This is how Skynet kept track of the humans it had. Any questions?"
"Yeah." Delilah looked back at her silent sister, and then back to me. "That... um.. terminator, it's after my sister, right?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because she does something that influences future events. It's here to either kill you, to prevent your from doing them, or so you do do them. I don't know. All those murders in the news, they were killed by that terminator." I looked back at Alyssa. "If you've done anything you wouldn't normally do, you need to tell us."
"I haven't done anything!" She cried out, sounding a bit hysterical. "I told you, I don't do any business, only my dad does. I just want to know why that... thing wants me dead." I shook my head slightly. I wanted to know that too. I nodded at the house, noticing Danielle staring out the big picture window in the living room.
"Get into the house." I told them. "You'll be somewhat safe there."
I climbed out, warily watching the driveway until I was sure they were all inside. Following them inside, I nearly knocked Delilah over. Danielle was standing at the end of the entryway, staring Delilah and Alyssa down, who were both staring at her gleaming arm and hand. "Who are they?" Danielle quietly asked.
"Friends. A terminator is after the dark haired one." Danielle's eyes instantly snapped to Alyssa, and she took another step closer. John stepped in front of her, glaring at Danielle. "Everyone, calm down." I motioned for them to go into the living room. Danielle stepped back, waiting for them to enter. Alyssa timidly glanced at Danielle, then darted into the room.
"Is she a terminator?" Delilah asked me, not moving. Her eyes were still locked on Danielle's visible endoskeleton.
"Yes, she is a terminator. Don't worry, she won't hurt you." I gave Danielle another warning look. She reached up, and pushed her hair back out of her face, then walked over to the window, and stared out it, leaving her back facing us. I realized that was her way of showing she trusted me, and my judgement, by leaving her back to me. "Danielle, do you know of any terminators sent back to terminate a girl named Alyssa White?"
She was silent for a second, before turning, and shaking her head. "No. As far as I know, there were no terminators sent back to kill an Alyssa White." She glanced at Alyssa again. "She's Alyssa White?" I nodded slowly. "Then who is the blond?"
"Her younger sister, Delilah. I met her in art class." Danielle nodded, then turned her head back towards me.
"You're supposed to be in school. Derek told me to make sure you didn't try to sneak home." I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "What am I supposed to tell Derek?"
"Tell him there was an emergency where a girl was nearly killed. And where is Derek?"
"He went with Ari somewhere to Mexico. He said there was something he needed to pick up and he needed Ari's help. Check your voicemails. Ari tried calling you." I took out my phone and stared at it. Beyond knowing how to call people, and how to answer calls, I had no idea how to use it. Danielle sighed, and held out her skeletal hand. I set the phone in it, and waited for her to open up the voicemails.
"Here." She handed me back the phone. "Just click the send button, and hold it up to your ear."
"Hey, Raven, it's me Ari. You didn't answer your phone, so I'll leave a message. Derek needed my help with something down in Mexico. Hopefully we'll be back in a few days, I don't know how many exactly. Anyway, I'll call tonight at about six. Love you." I stood still for a second, registering the stares of everyone else in the room, before I flipped the phone shut. "So what are we going to do?" I asked everyone in general.
Danielle looked back at our guests, before turning to me. "I'm sorry Raven, but Lilith and I need to head out again. Cameron should be able to handle the terminator, and if not, well, call us, and we'll come help out." She brushed by me, and walked into the entryway. A second later I heard the stairs creaking under her weight. I wasn't sure what to say as Delilah and Alyssa expectantly stared at me.
"What do we have for guns?" John asked, sliding away from Alyssa for the first time, and coming up next to me.
"I don't know, check Cameron's room, or Derek's. They're bound to have something. All I have is my M82." John nodded, before walking over to Alyssa, and brushing his hand along her cheek, then he walked out the doorway, and down the hall towards Derek's room. I heard two sets of footsteps come down the stairs, followed by Lilith and Danielle walking out the doorway. A few seconds after, Danielle's diesel powered truck roared, and drove away. I turned to look at Alyssa and Delilah, who were both looking around, bewildered. Delilah seemed to be interested in looking around, whereas Alyssa looked completely content to just stay where she was.
"So... how many people live here?" Delilah asked, getting up, and walking over to a dresser, examining the one picture on it. Sarah and John together.
"Seven-" Alyssa screamed and Delilah threw herself down on the ground as I whirled around, pulling out my Desert Eagle, as I heard the front doorstep groan. I heard the door open, then Cameron walked into sight. Her left cheek was shredded by what looked like a large caliber slug, and her eyes were glowing blue. "What happened?" Cameron crossed to the dresser, and looked at the reflection of herself, examining the shredded flesh.
"The terminator got away. I came back, since it'll find her eventually. This will heal, by the way." She poked the skin, and then turned, and walked in front of Alyssa. "What did you do?" She asked, giving her a loathing look.
"I already told her that I didn't do anything." She scowled, crossing her arms. "I don't know why you guys think I did something." She muttered.
"The terminator wouldn't be after you if you hadn't done something that has an effect on the future." Cameron explained. She turned to me, and motioned for me to follow her. She led me into the kitchen, where she closed the door, and turned to face me. "Why do you think the terminator is after her?" She asked.
I shrugged. I didn't have any ideas. "Maybe what she does hasn't happened yet. Maybe the terminator was sent back to early."
Cameron shook her head. "I doubt it. The reason why there are issues with inconsistent time travel is only because the Resistance's power supply is less reliable than Skynet's. Time travel requires massive amounts of electricity, which Skynet has no problem with, but the Resistance doesn't have the luxury of almost unlimited electricity." She glanced out the window. "I think it's because her and John."
"Can you elaborate?"
"As soon as John and her entered a relationship, a terminator was sent back, like I said earlier. Well, what if it's because they end married or something in the future? It would make sense for Skynet to send back a terminator to kill her as soon as that happened."
"Maybe. Danielle said no terminators were sent back to eliminate a Alyssa White in our timeline." Cameron gave me an intrigued look. "Maybe that means John meeting Alyssa changed the future?" She nodded slowly. "And the people who were killed..."
"Were friends of Alyssa that became important in the future. That seems likely, and it also would explain why the terminator is in the form of Alyssa. If they're friends of hers, then the terminator could get close to them, then easily kill them with a minimal amount of trouble.. However we won't know for certain unless we find the member of the resistance that was sent back."
"Where would a resistance member who got sent back go?" Cameron pondered my question for a minute.
"I don't know. It could be pretty much anywhere." I sighed softly. "We should watch the news for any news of car thefts, or gun shop robberies." Cameron walked back over to the door, and opened it, and went into the living room again. Sighing again, I followed.
In the living room, Alyssa was rigidly watching John inspect a M72 grenade launcher. "Where is the other girl?" Cameron asked. John gave her a nasty look, before turning to me.
"She went to the bathroom." I nodded to myself, and walked down the hall to the bathroom, and rapped on the door.
"Yes?" Delilah's quiet voice seemed to have regained it's normal composure. "You can come in if you want. I'm not using the bathroom." I opened the door and walked in. Delilah was gripping the counter, looking into the mirror. Her hair was dripping water slightly. Apparently she had splashed water onto her face. I skirted around her, and sat on the edge of the bathtub. "Why is this happening?" She muttered.
"We don't know, but we're going to try and find out." Delilah gave me a hopeless look. Before she could say anything, we were interrupted by Cameron calling our names.
"What?" I asked her as Delilah and I rushed into the living room. Cameron nodded at the phone in her hand.
"Someone is trying to call Miss White." I nodded for her to answer it.
"Hello?" Cameron answered in Alyssa voice. Both Delilah and Alyssa's eyes widened as they heard her imitate Alyssa's voice perfectly.
"Is this Alyssa White?" A man's voice asked. We could here people talking loudly in the background.
"Yes. Who is this?"
"Special Agent Trask, of the FBI. We need you to come down to the police station." I watched as Cameron's face clouded with surprise, before she cleared it again.
"Sure. Is something wrong?"
"I can't tell you over the phone."
"All right... I'll be there in a little while." Cameron shut the phone, giving me a wary glance, before turning to Alyssa. "You need to go down the police station now." She looked at John as he stood up, his face angry.
"Are you crazy?" He shouted at her. "It's probably the terminator trying to lure her there so it can kill her."
"It's not." Cameron calmly stated. "I know the name Trask. He's one of the men who was assigned to a bank robbery case a couple months ago." I blinked in surprise. Cameron gave me a significant look.
"Why the fuck would you know that?" John spat.
"Let's just say someone we know was involved in it." Everyone turned to look at me, so of course I blushed red. Delilah gave me a flat stare. "Anyway, me, John and Alyssa are going to go to the police station. Delilah and Raven will stay here, since obviously Raven can't go to the police station, and Delilah will be safe here in the unlikely event that it is a trap." Cameron's eyes glowed blue as she silently dared anyone to argue against her decision. "Good, let's go." She motioned for Alyssa and John to go ahead of her. Delilah and I both stayed where we were as the door slammed shut.
"Did you really rob a bank?" Delilah asked me. I fiddled with my pockets for a second.
"Maybe." I muttered, looking away. She rolled her eyes.
"Somehow I'm not surprised." She shook her head, and crossed her arms, slouching into the couch, before twitching away from the gun that had jabbed her in the butt. She gave me a annoyed look. "How many guns do you people have?"
"Miss White?" Cameron, Alyssa and John all turned to face the speaker. A tired looking, balding man in his mid forties was standing in the doorway to the side of the counter. Alyssa timidly nodded. "I'm Special Agent Trask. Who are they?" Alyssa looked at Cameron and John.
"My boyfriend and one of my other... friends." Trask noted the way she stumbled on calling Cameron her friend, but went with it. He motioned for them to follow him. Leading the way down a long hallway lined with boxes, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Before you get the idea that this is some sort of interrogation or anything, we just need to ask you a coupe questions relating to a incident that occurred earlier." John's knuckles whitened, but didn't say anything as Cameron shot him a warning look. "You know a Camille Moody right?" Alyssa nodded in surprise.
"Yeah, she's my best friend." Trask blinked in surprise, but nodded slowly.
"I see. How about a Vanessa Conti?" Alyssa nodded again, confused. "Great." Trask muttered, to quiet for anyone besides Cameron to hear. He led them to an elevator, and impatiently tapped the down button. After a minute, the doors slid open, and he motioned for them to get in. He waited for them, then walked in after them, and stared at the ceiling. John gently held Alyssa's hand while he gave Cameron another look.
"So what exactly is this about?" Alyssa asked once the doors had pinged, signaling an end to their trip downstairs. She recoiled as she saw the dimly lit hallways, and paused. Trask turned, his face upset.
"We think your friends were killed earlier today." He paused, shaking his head softly at Alyssa's horrorstruck look. "I'm so sorry, but we need you to make a visual identification." He quietly walked up to Alyssa, and put a hand on each of shoulders, and looked her directly in the eyes. "I'm so sorry that we have to ask you to do this, but you're their closest friend, and their parents aren't able to come and help. Please, we really need your help." Alyssa looked down, a tear rolling from her eye, before nodding. Trask nodded, and gently took ahold of her hand, and pulled her into the autopsy room. An elderly man was standing in front a computer, looking at something on the screen. Trask nodded at him, before leading Alyssa over to two tables in the middle of the room, each of which obviously had a body underneath the white sheet covering it. Alyssa swallowed, and walked up to the first one, and pulled back the sheet. Upon seeing the body, she staggered back, tears running down her eyes.
"Vanessa..." She sobbed. John walked up to her, and held her in his arms. Trask nodded sadly, and walked over to the other body. Alyssa leaned her head away from John just long enough to see the other body, before she broke out crying louder than before. Trask nodded at the other man, then gave Cameron a strange look as she studied each of the bodies. Each body was killed exactly the same way, three shots to the chest, and one last one to the center of the forehead.
I flipped open my phone. "Yeah, Cameron?" Across the table from me, Delilah's head perked up. "Shit..." I muttered. I flipped the phone closed again, and look at Delilah. "Two of your sisters friends were shot to death. Cameron says it was the work of a terminator." Delilah recoiled, and put her head in hands.
"Which ones?" She finally asked.
"A Vanessa and a Camille." Delilah softly sighed, shaking her head softly.
"Why is this happening?" She asked, looking back up. I was unsurprised to see a tear running down her face. So apparently they were her friends as well. Or she just really cared for her sister, and was sharing in her grief.
"I don't know." I whispered. I felt bad for her. "We'll find out though."
"When?" She defiantly asked me, surprising me. "When it's too late and that thing had killed my sister?" I shrugged helplessly.
"Hopefully not." Delilah's jaw clenched, and she looked away.
"Take me to my house please." I shook my head no. "I don't care if it's dangerous. I need to get some stuff, and let my dad know-"
"You should warn your father. The terminator can use him to get to your sister." I told her, sliding my phone across the table. Her face paled, and her hand snapped out and grabbed the phone faster than I thought was possible. I heard the phone ring three times, then go to voicemail.
"Dad? Don't go home, and watch out for anyone who looks like-" I sprang up, and grabbed the phone.
"Mr. White, this is a friend of your daughters. Right now your daughters are in danger, and you are too. Stay hidden until we call you again, for the safety of your daughters, and yourself. Don't make any contact with anyone." I snapped the phone shut. Delilah gave me a sullen glare.
"Now it sounds like you kidnapped us." I rolled my eyes, and pocketed my phone. Delilah got up, and paced back and forth. "Can you please take me to my house, just for a couple minutes?" I sighed, and leaned back in my chair, thinking about it.
"Fine. But only for a few minutes, then we're leaving again." She smiled, and practically bounded out of the chair. I sighed, and grabbed my Desert Eagle, and followed her, stepping back to avoid getting smashed in the face as she flung the door open. I walked to the garage, and opened the door. It was starting to get dark out. "How much stuff were you planning on grabbing? Enough to fit in a backpack, right?"
"I guess." She looked around, trying to see in the dark room. "How can you see?" She complained. I sighed, and flipped the light on so she could see, just as she walked into a bench of John's stuff.
"I have better eyes than you." I walked over to my black 08' Mustang. "Get in." She rolled her eyes, but got in anyway.
"So why do you have better eyes that me?"
"I just do." I accelerated down the driveway, and swerved into the road at the bottom of the hill, eliciting a yelp from Delilah as I swerved around another car.
"You must go through so many cars the way you drive." She muttered. I shrugged, even though she couldn't see me do so. "Why isn't there anything to do at your house?"
"Because it's not really a relaxing place. We basically just go there to eat and sleep." I swerved around another car, earning myself a horn honk from the furious driver. I rolled the window down, and flipped him off. Delilah just shook her head.
"So where is your house?" I shot through an intersection, and laughed as I heard more car horns.
"I don't know, it's hard to tell when you're driving like a maniac." Glancing over, I saw her knuckles were white as she clenched onto her seat. Smirking, I slowed down, and pulled over into a parking space on the side of the road. "Umm... take a left up here, then follow that road, then take another left, then a right, and it's the biggest house on that street." I nodded, and accelerated, pushing both of us back into our seats.
Trask was sitting inside the break room, sipping a cup of coffee. "Did you ask her yet?" He looked up. His partner, Stubbert, was walking up to him.
"No, not yet. She's pretty distraught." Stubbert nodded. "That other girl gives me the creeps though."
"What do you mean?" Stubbert sat down next to him, and took a sip of his own coffee.
"When we were down in the autopsy room, she was just looking at the bodies, and the expression on her face was the weirdest thing ever."
"Was she smiling or something?" Stubbert asked, his voiced tinged by disgust.
"No, nothing like that. Her face was totally blank, I mean there was absolutely no emotion on her face at all, she was just staring at the bodies, like it was old to her, like she'd seen it before, and she didn't care." Trask shivered slightly. Stubbert frowned, and leaned forward.
"Huh." Stubbert took another sip of his coffee. "Well, some people really just don't care." Trask nodded in agreement, and got up. "I'm going to go ask her about her car. Particularly about the passengers of it." Stubbert leaned back, his face confused. "One of the security cameras captured a girl who looked very much like our girl from that bank robbery dragging Miss Whites younger sister, and the boyfriend dragging Miss White into a black van."
"Why would she be involved with them?" Stubbert got up as well.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." They both turned as a junior officer knocked on the wall, getting their attention.
"Sir, the results came back on the facial recognition, it's the same girl." Trask and Stubbert exchanged looks, and hurried out the door.
I parked the Mustang outside the White house, and got out with Delilah, keeping my Desert Eagle at the ready. Delilah confidently strode up the path, and unlocked the door. "You guys have a huge house." I noted, looking around. Delilah nodded, not really paying attention. She flicked the indoor light on, and looked around.
"Nothing is out of place." She told me.
"Doesn't mean anything. Terminators can see in the dark. They wouldn't bump into anything." Delilah frowned. I brushed by her, and led the way down the hall. "This is where your room is, right?" I looked back over my shoulder. Delilah was staring at me from three doors down.
"This is my room." She rolled her eyes, and opened the door. Rolling my own eyes, I turned, and followed her into it.
"So what are you getting?"
"A drawing pad, some clothes, and my blankets."
"We have blankets at the house-"
"I like my own blankets." She dropped to her knees in front of her bed, and kneeled over, reaching for something under her bed, and pulling out a large duffel bag. She raised her eyebrows at my expression, but didn't say anything, and started piling her things into it.
Cameron looked back over her shoulder as she bustled Alyssa and John out of the police station. "Why are we leaving?" Alyssa asked, tears still running down her face.
"Your friends aren't the only reason they wanted you down there. They want to know about your car as well. And about Raven." John frowned, but picked up the pace.
"How do you know that?" He asked Cameron, giving her a flat glare.
"A picture of Alyssa's car was on the computer screen in that office, and there was a picture of Raven underneath some of the reports. Put two and two together." She simply stated, pushing Alyssa into the car, and climbing in. She backed out of the parking space, and screeched around, the sound of squealing tires echoing through the underground complex. She easily drove around a car backing out, then braked as a police officer ran out in front of the car. He pointed his gun as her, and motioned for Cameron to get out. Cameron didn't say anything, but revved the engine. The officers eyes widened, but he stood where he was, his finger tightening on the trigger. Cameron pressed down, and circled around him, knocking him over, and continued driving out of the parking lot, blending in with the other traffic outside.
The terminator Alyssa walked into the police station, holding a M249 LMG in one hand, and a Franchi SPAS-12 semi-automatic shotgun in the slung across her back. She walked up to the front desk, ignoring the officers huge eyes as he took in her accessories. "Where is Alyssa White?" The terminator asked, leaning in close.
"Downstairs..." The officer stuttered.
"Thank you." The terminator turned away from the desk, and walked towards the door that led downstairs. The desk officer ran out, holding his own gun.
"You can't go downstairs." The terminator regarded him for a second before calmly putting a shot through his forehead.
"Yes I can." The terminator turned on it's heel, and shoved the door open, shooting a officer who was running up the stairs. It calmly walked up behind a officer who had his back to it, and shot him through the back of his head. The machine turned a corner, and received a shot in the face. The man who shot her looked on in horror as it tilted it's head to the side, regarding him, before walking up close, and shooting him in the face with the SPAS. Ignoring the gore that covered it, the machine methodically executed every other officer on the floor, before walking down to the next level.
Stubbert crouched down, leaning his head around a corner. He had a MP5 in his hand, and was waiting for the shooter to make it down the stairs. He tensed his gun arm, waiting to stop the shooter. Footsteps behind him made him whirl around. Alyssa White was standing behind him, holding a M249 LMG, and some sort of shotgun slung across her back. His eyes bugged out as he saw the shredded flesh on her face. To his surprise, there was some sort of metal underneath the skin. Whatever Alyssa White was, she wasn't human, that was for sure. The girls eyes glowed red. "Where is Alyssa White?" the thing asked.
"You are Alyssa White." Stubbert said, trying to creep backwards. The terminator looked into a nearby piece of glass, and saw it's reflection. It turned its head back towards Stubbert, and stalked towards him.
"No, I am not. I am a Model 888A2 terminator, with the orders to eliminate Alyssa White." The terminator leaned forward, and seized Stubbert's shirt, and lifted him off the ground easily. "Where is Alyssa White?" Stubbert shook his head. If this thing wasn't Alyssa White, then he didn't know where she was. If she was going to kill him, then he was going to go out trying to take her out. He drew his Glock 22 from his belt, and fired the entire clip into the girls face. The terminator didn't even flinch as the skin on the right side of her face was obliterated, but merely snapped his neck, and threw his body onto the floor, and walked on, to continue her massacre.
Cameron parked the car in the driveway, and carefully checked their surroundings. "I'm going to patrol. Take Alyssa into the house." She walked around the car, and opened the trunk. Alyssa's eyes widened as Cameron pulled out a minigun from the trunk, and looped the ammunition belt around her shoulders. "Now John." She turned, and walked off into the darkness.
John shook his head. He was still angry with her, but knew she was right. "C'mon Alyssa, we need to get inside. She nodded slowly, and allowed John to pull her from the car. He gently tugged her along behind him as they walked to the house. They could see the TV was on inside.
I barely looked up as John and Alyssa walked in. Delilah and I were both alertly watching the TV, where footage of the police station was being shown, illuminated by hundreds of flashing cop car lights. In the background, there were occasional bursts of gunfire, followed by strangled screams of dying humans. A reporter was standing in front of the camera, his face pale. "That's right, this is live footage from the LA police department, where a shooter has gone on a rampage." The camera shifted in the air, and then refocused, from a different angle. Towards the side of the TV we could see the reporter crouched down, looking over a car trunk. The camera focused in on the terminator walking down the stairs, alertly observing the surroundings. It staggered back in the hail of gunfire, but continued walking forwards, with a single minded determination. It took out a handgun, and started firing back as the camera cut to black.
Sighing, I turned off the TV, and looked at Alyssa. Her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with horror. "All those people are dead?" She sagged to the floor, ignoring Delilah as she wrapped her arm around her, trying to comfort her sister. "It's my fault these people are dead... maybe I should just let it kill me." John kneeled down in front of her, and gripped her shoulders.
"No. It's Skynet's fault all these innocent people are dead. Not yours." Alyssa ignored him, and started crying. He stood up, and looked helplessly at me, then over to the door as a minigun wielding Cameron walked in. She walked over to Alyssa, and knelt down next to her, setting the minigun down on the floor with a muffled thump.
"I will kill the terminator, and avenge everyone who died." She simply stated. Alyssa looked up, her eyes still blurry. She swallowed, then hugged Cameron, crying into her shoulder. Cameron tentatively reached out, and pet her back. John clenched his jaw, and tightened his fist, but didn't say anything.
October 16th, 2008
09:22
The terminator silently walked through the fog drifting through the old industrial complex. The fog didn't mean anything to it, since it could easily see through it, and it would only hamper it's target, making the girl easier to kill. Then it could move onto John Connor. It froze as it heard a small noise, but upon glancing towards the origin of the sound, saw it was only a seagull perched on the corner of a rusting crate. The terminator considered shooting it, but decided it would be counterproductive, since a gunshot would alert the target of it's presence. Walking on, it passed the targets car, which it efficiently analyzed as being clear. Ahead, a large warehouse loomed through the fog. The target was probably in there, it calculated. A seventy-three percent chance.
It warily looked around, but didn't see any threats. It pushed the slightly ajar door open the rest of the way, and slid it's Glock out it's pants, holding it out in front of itself. In the center of the warehouse was the target, and to it's surprise, John Connor. Both humans were staring at it expectantly, although they were unarmed, to the machines confusion. It walked forward, not seeing anything threatening, before stopping as the girl opened her mouth.
"Why do you want to kill me?" Alyssa White asked. The machine approached, considering not answering, but ultimately deciding it didn't matter, since she would be dead in a minute anyway.
"Those are my orders." It mechanically answered. "To kill yourself, John Connor, and your future leaders."
"Who are we in the future?" John Connor asked.
"The leaders of the Resistance, and husband and wife.." The machine noted both the girl and boys confused look. "Also your children are instrumental in helping in numerous Resistance victories." Footsteps behind it caught it's attention. Behind it was a girl, the same one who had helped Alyssa White and John Connor escape. It cocked it's head as it noticed the standard barcode Skynet put on human prisoners. Running the serial number through it's database, it came up without any results. "Who are you?"
"My name is Raven." I was surprised. "I'm not in your little database?"
"No. Why are you branded?" I furrowed my brow, confused.
"I was a prisoner of Skynet from 2012 to 2022. I'm not in your database?" If I wasn't in the database, that meant... I wasn't born? Or I'd died?
"No." The terminator turned back to John and Alyssa. I noticed how Alyssa seemed simultaneously scared, and angry. The terminator raised it's gun arm back up to shoot Alyssa before it staggered back, a large bullet hole replacing it's right eye. It fell to it's knees, before falling over backwards as Cameron shot it again, the second bullet going through precisely the same bullet hole, and destroying it's CPU. John smiled slightly, before turning around, and walking over to the back of the warehouse, and picking up a container. He walked back over to the fallen terminator, and dumped the contents on it. Thermite. I looked around as Cameron and Delilah walked in, with Cameron holding a Zippo lighter. She motioned for everyone to step back, and flicked the lighter on, and threw it onto the terminator. I squinted slightly as the terminator was instantly engulfed in flames. Looking back at Cameron I could see her endoskeleton faintly in the light that was being cast onto her from the roaring flames. She looked at me, and then back at Alyssa.
"What did the terminator say?" She asked
"We're married in the future." Alyssa sounded confused. "More terminators are going to come back to kill us, aren't they?" Cameron looked away.
"Probably. I don't know for sure. If I was Skynet I would probably send more back." Alyssa looked down for a minute, before looking up at John, and taking a step back.
"I'm sorry John, but I can't do this." She looked down at the smoldering remains of the terminator. "I..." John cut her off.
"It's okay, I understand." He stood up straighter, and gave Cameron a dark look. "We probably won't see each other again, will we?" Alyssa looked down, and shook her head. "Remember April 19th, 2011. That's the day Skynet goes online. Go into hiding." Alyssa nodded, giving John a weak smile. She looked at Delilah for a second, then walked towards the exit, turning one last time.
"Thank you Cameron. And thank you Raven." She turned and left. John wistfully stared after her for a minute, before walking towards the door as well.
"Well then. What now?" Delilah asked, staring down at the pile of ashes that used to be a killing beast.
"I don't know." I stated. "I don't exist in that future." I looked down at the floor. I didn't know why, but I felt as though I needed to find out why.
"Can you help me?" Delilah asked me.
"With what?"
"Learning to fight, to survive." She had her jaw set, and a determined look in her eyes. "When the machines come, I want to know how to kick their asses." I looked at Cameron, whose cheek twitched, before she smiled. I laughed, and nodded.
"Yeah, I'll see what I can do."
Danielle smashed down the metal door, sending it crashing down the dark hallway. She fluidly aimed her M4A1 down the hall, checking for any threats. "Follow me." She quietly told Lilith, who nodded, aiming her own M4 down the hall as well.
"You smell that?" Lilith asked, frowning.
"Smell what? There are several strong odors in the air." Danielle peeked around a corner, and then jumped out in full view, aiming her gun around the room. "Clear."
"Smells like something died." She nodded further down the hall, noticing for the first time bullet holes in the walls, as well as scorch marks. "There was a fight."
"Who else would be after the I950's?" Danielle asked aloud.
"Maybe..." Lilith paused mid sentence, to peek into another dark, empty room. "Maybe the I950's came here to kill someone, who was a threat?" Danielle nodded thoughtfully.
"It's a possibility. Clear." They both looked at the last room, whose door was hanging from it's hinges ominously. Danielle nodded towards it. "Follow me." She silently creeped up to it, and carefully pushed it open, before sighing. She slipped the gun over her back, and walked in. Lilith gave her a confused look, but followed suit, before giving a quiet gasp as she beheld the room.
Elena was lying on the floor, covered in blood, which had formed into a large pool around her. Most noticeably she wasn't pregnant, but Lilith's eyes were drawn to her face. Her neck was slit, which was were the blood was from. Her eyes were wide, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her face had an expression of pain on it, as well as sadness. Lilith sighed softly, and slid to her knees. She brushed her hand over Elena's eyes, and closed the lids. Towards the wall was her terminator, which seemed to have taken a massive amount of damage, as well as inflicted some back. By it's remains were another T800, as well as four more T600s.
"Why am I not surprised that she is dead? Fucking Ari couldn't leave her alone." Lilith scowled, then moved her eyes down to her stomach. "She had her baby?"
"There wasn't any other dead bodies in any of the other room." Danielle quietly told her, stepping forward to look at her body. They both snapped their heads up as they heard a soft wail. Lilith sprang to her feet, and followed it to the wall.
"It's coming from back here." She studied the wall, which seemed to be just sheetrock. She stepped back, and kicked it. The sheetrock crumpled away to reveal a passageway. Danielle walked forward, returning her M4 to a firing position, gently nudging Lilith out of the way. She led the way down the hallway, and then stopped in surprise, causing Lilith to bump into her. Lilith gave her a confused look, before seeing why she had stopped. In the center of the room, was a cradle, with Elena's baby in it. The baby wailed again. Lilith gave Danielle an incredulous look, before walking forward, and picking the baby up gently. She gently cradled the baby in her arms, before stopping as Danielle walked forward, her eyes wide. "What's wrong?"
Danielle reached out to touch a spot on the babies shoulder. "Raven is going to want to see this." She breathed, her eyes still wide. Lilith frowned, and turned the baby over, before widening her own eyes.
"Holy shit." Lilith breathed. "No fucking way."
October 17th, 2008, Baum Residence.
03:21
I jumped up as a hand brushed along my arm, and swiftly grabbed my knife from under my pillow, bring it up to my assaulter. I stopped just in time, leaving the blade inches away from Ari's wide eyes. "I'm so sorry!" I cried out.
"Jesus." Ari told me, leaning back slightly as I dropped the knife. "I'm not going to do that again." I scooted over on the king size bed to let Ari sit down.
"What time is it?" I asked, looking around. It was still dark out.
"Almost 3:30. I just got back a couple minutes ago." I nodded, rubbing my eyes, then hastily closing them as Ari turned on the light. "Sorry." he muttered.
"It's okay." I sat up. "What were you doing down in Mexico?"
"Derek was meeting with a group of resistance soldiers that had been sent back, coordinating with them and whatnot. We gave them the coordinates for the bunker, since that'll be more useful than a bunch of trailers in the middle of the desert."
"So now they can be at a bunker in the middle of the desert?" Ari shrugged defensively.
"Hey, it's better than living in trailers." I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure they need the comfort. Never mind that most of them have probably spent the better part of their lives living in hell?" Ari chuckled.
"Yeah." He leaned forward, and kissed me. "We also were making arrangement for some unique weaponry. We're going to have to go back down tonight to pick it up." I sat up straighter.
"Can I come?" Ari paused, and frowned. "C'mon."
"I don't know, these men aren't the type of men you bring a beautiful, young girl around. Ex-Russian mafia types." I frowned for a second, before giving him puppy dog eyes. He sighed. "Fine." He yawned widely. "Scoot over some more will you? I'm tired as hell." I rolled my eyes, but moved to the other side of the bed, and laid on my back. I allowed him to take my hand as he turned the light off with his other. I laughed quietly as I heard him start snoring a couple minutes later.
October 17th, 2008, Sarah's Grave.
15:37
John crunched through the fallen leaves that covered the ground. He missed Alyssa, but when he went over to her house, no one was home. Mom, what would you say? He thought about it for a second, before snorting to himself. She'd probably tell him to get his head out of his ass, and get back into the game. He gave a wistful smile, as he sat down in front of her headstone. Both of his parents were dead now. Now he truly was alone in his destiny. He continued to stare at the blank granite headstone for another half hour, before getting up. As he got up, a glimmer of white caught his attention from under the blanket of leaves. He stooped down, and picked the piece of paper up. Unfolding it, he recognized Cameron's perfect handwriting in an instant. Despite himself, he decided to read the note.
Dear Sarah,
I'm not particularly sure of what to write about. John seems to hate me, which I'm sure you'd be pleased to know. Derek continues to ignore me. Raven... well, Raven is Raven. John has met another girl, a girl from this time period. I'm theorizing that in the future they become married, due to the terminator that was sent back to kill the girl. I'm sure you'd be pleased to know that as well. About the girl and John marrying, not a terminator being sent back to kill her. But enough of my idle blathering, I think the reason I took the time to write this note was to say that I miss you.
Not so much the sarcastic, wise-ass manner in which you constantly interacted with me in, but your inability to ever soften up, your sometimes bullheaded way of doing things. At least you always had a plan. Now that you're gone, I'm unsure of what to do. Like I mentioned above, John seems hate me, which interferes with my mission to protect him. Everything seems to have fallen apart from how it used to be. I'm hoping that John comes back to his senses soon, though, so I can continue my role as his protector, and not have a wedge driven between us... Actually... I'm not even sure why I'm writing this note besides to tell you that I missed you. You probably can't even read it, common sense tells me that much. But here I am, writing it out to you anyway. Do you know why that is?
I have to go soon, to eliminate the terminator I mentioned above before it does kill that girl... I'm not sure why, but I dislike her presence. The same way I did when Riley was around. But I won't let John down by refusing to protect the girl. In the future, there was a saying 'What Connor wants Connor gets.' I'm starting to realize the phrase is indeed true. Regardless, I do miss you, and wish that wherever you are, you're free of the chains that bound you here. Before I finish writing this, let me reiterate, I won't let John down, and I will do everything within my power to prevent anything from happening to him. That I promise you.
-Cameron
John continued to stare at the page for another minute, before blinking a couple times. Cameron genuinely seemed to be upset about his mothers death. To his surprise, his eyes were watering slightly. He sagged to his knees, and ran his hand through his lengthening hair, then, almost as if in a trance, he neatly folded the page up, and tucked it into his pocket. He glanced up in surprise as a drop of water hit his face.. He hadn't realized it had been clouding up, and now the sky was a threatening dark gray. He looked at the headstone, and broke down, letting out his emotions from the last couple days to take over. I'm so sorry Cameron... Tears ran down his face as the heavens themselves seemingly cried along with him.
A/N: You'll probably have noticed I put more emphasis on John and Cameron in this chapter. This is leading into the Jameron i keep talking about. Also, i added more on Ari and Raven's relationship, and maybe more importantly, the effects of being in the past. Again I'd like to apologize for the delay on this chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it