Epp 3
Five figures stalked through the blackened landscape, keeping careful watch around them. Only one of the five bore a weapon. A rough looking dark haired man carried a plasma rifle as they crept along. From his hidden watch post, Simon watched the figures approach. He noted a brown haired girl limping, being partially carried by a darker haired woman. The one in front, a red haired, freckle faced man looked at Simon and held his arms up, stopping the group.
"Not safe here, go back," the red haired man said.
They were sixty yards away, and Simon was well hidden with only his eyes visible in his camouflaged trench. Damn, than guy must really be on his toes, Simon thought. He shouted out, "Stay where you are!"
The group shifted around. The limping girl was blocked from sight as the red headed man backed up to shield her. The dark haired man with the gun moved forward to protect the whole group. He didn't point his gun right at Simon, but in his general direction, keeping the muzzle lowered.
"We don't want any trouble," the dark haired man stated. "A girl we found is badly hurt. We can't help her. Do you know where a medical station is?"
Simon called down the pipe that ran back to the main entrance. "Sarg! Corporal Simon, I have five individuals here, one injured. Contact Weaver."
From the pipe, a voice said, "Get them under cover."
"Got it!" Simon called down the pipe, then called out to the group, "Someone's coming. Walk towards me. To your right is a large square of sheet metal. Lift it up, there's a cavity there big enough to fit you all. For God sake, don't stand out there in the open!"
"Thank you," the dark haired man said and led the group to there Simon had indicated. He lifted the metal sheet and got everyone under it. Squatting in last, the man closed the cover.
A short time later, Savannah Weaver emerged with six men, four guards and two medics carrying a stretcher between them. Two men stood guard as Savannah and the others went out and knocked on the sheet metal.
"I'm Savannah Weaver, who are you?" Savannah asked, bracketed by her guards.
The dark haired man lifted the cover. "Hello, my name is Jake Tok," he said with a smile, then pointed to the others. "This is Elanore Tok, the red haired man is Gregory Tok, and holding Allison there is Mary Tok."
"I take it you're all family," Savannah said, then she studied the injured girl. "Cameron?" she asked in disbelief.
Allison cast her a confused look. "My name is Allison Young, Can you help us, please?" she asked meekly.
Savannah turned her head to make her long red hair toss in a wave. "Medics! Get this girl down to the medical station." Standing up to get out of the way, she held her hand out to Jake to help him up.
Jake took her hand stood up, and moved as Elanore helped the medics get Allison on the stretcher and laid down. "Thank you for your help, Savannah Weaver," he said sincerely.
"Where did you find her?" Savannah asked, nodding at the stretcher.
Jake pointed back the way they came and said, "We found her six point three miles back with some people that had died. She was mostly buried in rubble. We got her out and gave her the little sustenance we had. Her leg is not broken but it does require stitches and disinfectant, as does another cut on her back and a few smaller cuts on her arms."
Savannah looked at the group, and their single gun. "How did you find us?" she asked.
"It wasn't on purpose," Jake said. "We were looking for Cameron Phillips." he then pointed to Allison, and said, "Cameron looks like her, we thought she was Cameron at first. She isn't but we could not let her stay where she was. She would have died without help."
Savannah frowned in thought and asked, "You said you were looking for Cameron Phillips?"
"Yes. We were informed she would be in this direction."
"Do you know what Cameron is?" Savannah asked.
Savannah's world had come crashing down the day before her 12th birthday. It had killed her Nanny Sarah, who turned out to be the infamous Sarah Connor. Mr. Ellison had explained everything to her. Sky Net, Judgment day, Sarah and John Connor who had tried to stop Sky Net – both now gone, so was her own mother who was a liquid metal machine. John Henry, the friend she played with when she was little was a machine, as was John Connor's machine protector, Cameron.
Jake grew a smile and said, "Of course we do. Cameron Phillips is our mother."
Raising her eyebrows in shock, Savannah asked in a squeak, "Your Mother?"
Jake nodded happily.
"Who's your father?" Savannah asked weakly.
"John Henry. He sent us out to help Cameron."
Savannah winced at the possibility of machines having children. "Jake, I need you and your siblings to come with me," she told him evenly.
Still sporting a smile, Jake said, "Of course, Savannah. Father said you were a good friend to him. I hope we can all be friends too."
.
John stared at the battery he was about to hook up to their battery charger. For some reason, he sat trying to figure out which lead went where. They had gotten moved into the room with the dish shaped depression on the floor, and were almost done. He's spark tested each one, then wired it up and Cameron spun the bicycle wheel with a belt attached to the pulley of the alternator, and tried to charge the battery. They had seven good batteries and a pile of useless ones, only two more batteries to go.
"John, did you hear me?"Cameron asked.
"Huh?" John grunted lethargically.
"I said you need to sleep," Cameron repeated.
"Almost done," John said in a slur. All he had to do is remember ... how did these wires hook up?
Cameron walked over and lifted John by his underarms. "You are tired. Not getting any sleep is bad for you," Cameron admonished. Getting him to his feet, Cameron steered him to the cot.
John staggered along under Cameron's guidance. "Where are we going?" he asked with a frown.
"Bed," Cameron stated.
A dim smile lit his sleepy face. "Oh ... good."
Cameron sat him down on the bed and got his shirt off, then knelt down to remove his boots.
"You too?" John asked with a drunk-like grin.
"If you want," Cameron stated and pulled his boots off.
John reached up to unbutton Cameron's shirt. She got closer to move him to lie down. John hugged her. Cameron got him horizontal. She got his legs onto the bed, and settled down as John hugged her closely.
"Cam..." John whispered in contentment snuggling his head into her chest.
Cameron wiggled herself flat. She didn't need to sleep, but with John hugging her and using her chest as his pillow, she wasn't going anywhere. Yes, she could pry him off, but for some reason she really enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her. John using her chest for a pillow was a nice feeling also.
Idly running her fingers through Johns' hair, Cameron calculated John should sleep approximately nine hours before he woke up for either the need to relieve himself or eat.
Cameron set her standby timer, kissed the top of John's head and said, "Good night John," She then went into standby mode.
.
Savannah looked at the old road map she had of the area. Coming from pre-Judgment days, the map listed tourist sites and hotels that were only broken ruins now, if there was anything at all left to them. The map was useful for following old roads, and for giving her a visualization of where her underground 'camps' were in relation to each other. Instead of trying to keep everyone together, she broke the refugees up into roughly fifty person groups, reasoning that if Sky Net found one group, then others would remain safe.
There were three groups left out of eight. Despite careful placing, lookouts, and escape routes, the numbers of survivors were dwindling. Sickness, Sky Net attacks and many times, suicides were constantly thinning their ranks. Savannah didn't have a 'resistance'. Her and all those with her were only trying to survive. Between them all, there were only ten guns, mostly used to keep troublesome people in line. Knowing John Connor was a target for Sky Net from the day he was born, she tried to dodge that bullet. Unfortunately, Sky Net didn't care if people didn't fight. It wanted to kill them anyway.
On her map, Jake pointed out where John Henry said Cameron would be. "Right here, inside the city. It used to be the Zeita Corp headquarters building. That is where we have to go."
"I thought that area was a hot spot for Sky Net activity?" Savannah asked.
"Sky Net considers the area pacified. No human activity has been reported for 190 days. Sky Net's search has moved north up the coast. We are going to travel down this old rail line. It will take us close to where we need to be," Jake explained.
"Subway," Savannah noted. She studied Jake's face. She didn't see any resemblance to John Henry, but Jake had told her they got to pick their own look. "You are going back with John Henry and Cameron to when I was young?" she asked.
"Yes. From the information we have gathered on TDE's, in a series of displacements, the first is always the most accurate. The closer between TDE events, the more random the landing point. Therefore, we will allow 24 hours between events so we land close to each other. John Henry, John Connor, Cameron, and Mrs. Weaver will be the first group though..."
"Wait, Catherine Weaver is here in this time?"Savannah asked.
"Yes, she came after John Henry," Jake said.
Savannah frowned at nothing. "I want to send my people with you. If there are any people left where you're going, it may be safer than it is here," she said.
"I am sure that will be the case," Jake offered. "We will not provoke anyone, but we also will not be passive should Sky Net attack us."
Although this was very strange, Savannah was glad to see John Henry's 'children'. From what she learned so far, they preferred to be kind and friendly just as she remembered John Henry had been. They were also metal cyborgs that could fight back the next time Sky Net came to kill people. "When do you want to leave?" she asked.
.
In the haze of awakening, John remembered his dream of snuggling up with Cameron. It was so wonderful to hold her. The gentle petting, soft words of love between them, how warn she felt next to him. So soft. So ... furry?
John opened his eyes to see a pointed ear and the back of the German Shepard's head. "Huh?" he asked as he recoiled.
The dog stretched and having the room, rolled over on it's back.
Cameron came in with a box and called, "Max, down!"
In one motion the dog twisted and launched himself off the bed, bouncing John in place. In an instant, Max was by Cameron's side, his tail wagging as he panted happily at her.
"Sit," Cameron commanded.
Max sat, his tail swishing the floor as he watched her expectantly.
John sat up, feeling cheated that his 'dream' girl was actually a dog. Somehow, it figured.
"Morning John, I see that works for both of you," Cameron said with a slight grin.
'This is going to be a great day,' John thought unhappily as he rubbed his face, "Morning, Cam," John replied in a grumpy tone. Seeing the rough concrete walls and the dangling bare bulb overhead, he remembered he wasn't home. That's right, he was in the dismal future after Judgment day. At least he'd found Cameron.
Ignoring him, Cameron set the box down and explained, "I brought breakfast. Here Max," she said. Pulling a bowl from the box, she sat it down in front of Max. It looked like a pile of bloody entrails. Max dove in.
Cameron then brought out another bowl and came over to the cot.
"What's he eating?" John asked.
"Rat entrails and bits of skin," Cameron said. She sat down by him on the bed to give him his bowl. "Small chunks of meat, mushrooms, and the biggest apple I could find," she explained.
The apple was small and peppered with spots, but it was an apple. John picked up a piece of meat and sampled it. "What is this?" he asked.
"Rat. It's fully cooked," Cameron explained, which made John's face scrunch up. "If you find any bones, don't give them to Max. He wants them, but they are not good for him."
"Rat, huh?" John asked as he eyed the bowl.
"It's protein, and better than the crushed insect many people get," Cameron told him.
Right, the people here had to scrounge to eat anything. John decided to try the apple. It was a bit sour but it was recognizable. Somehow, he knew Cameron had gotten him the best meal she could find. "Thank you," he said.
"I let Kyle know we have one battery left to charge before we can try your device," Cameron explained as John ate the mushrooms. "I found two lengths of re-bar and removed the rust on them, and some suitable rubberized material to make insulated handles."
John nodded while he munched down the last mushroom. Still hungry, he ate the rat meat, trying to pretend it was something else.
After licking the last of the blood from his bowl, Max trotted over and sat in front of John, watching him intently.
"Mine," John grumbled.
Rrrr," Max replied with a slight curl of his lip.
"Don't tease him, John," Cameron advised.
Ignoring Max, John turned to Cameron and asked, "Just how did you get a dog? I thought dogs could sense whether or not someone is human?"
"They can," Cameron agreed. "Max can also. It caused a problem when I first got here. Max was almost grown, and had only been around me and John Henry since he was a puppy. Humans were strange to him. The other dogs barked at me and Max, and Max barked and snapped at them. The good thing about it was Kyle determined that the dogs just didn't like each other. Once I got Max calmed down, he accepted Kyle and the others being around us, and Kyle accepted me. I just have to keep Max away from the other dogs."
John chuckled and said, "I never would have guessed a terminator would have a dog."
"Neither did Kyle," Cameron stated.
A couple pieces of rat meat were left in John's bowl. He looked at Max and put the bowl down. "Here Max, peace?"
Max wagged his tail as he scoffed down the last bits of rat.
"Let's get that last battery charged," John said as he got up.
Looking at Max, it occurred to John that John Henry and Cameron had been here a while. "How long have you been in this future?" he asked.
"Two years." Cameron said as she picked up the bowls. "There is no organized human resistance and very few attacks on Sky Net installations. Sky Net does not need to pay close attentions to it's factories. When John Henry and I walked into a Sky Net factory. We were scanned, but not challenged once the guard recognized us as machines. I had John Henry isolate few machines from the production line stating maintenance for experimental research to improve the T-888. We were not questioned. John Henry had all my schematics. He built me a new chip and a new body based off the triple eight. While that was being done, he sent a couple terminators to collect my old body."
John eyed her. "Cam, if John Henry was building you a whole new body, why did he want the old one?"
"My organics," Cameron explained. "Sky Net does not have a good organic system yet. It does not have the nanites to regenerate. He took the organics from my old body to use on my new one."
"So, your hardware is all new, what about your programs? Do you remember everything?" John asked.
Cameron smiled and said, "I do! And John Henry was able to remove the remaining Sky Net programming, so I don't want to kill you any more."
"That's always a plus," John said with a crooked grin.
John remembered her left hand twitching when they were by that car under the tent, thinking they were alone. If all her mechanics were new, and there were no bugs in her software, then that had to be an emotional response due to her anger at him. He looked over at Max, who had laid down by the door. Dogs were perceptive. Watching Max, there was no doubt he was devoted to Cameron. John firmly believed that Cameron's emotions were real, and not just programming.
"I'm happy you got everything you need," he said sincerely. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
"I don't have everything I need yet," Cameron said, eyeing him. "I need you someplace safe."
"Same goes for me," John said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."
Cameron eyed him blank faced for a few seconds, then asked, "Are we going to start arguing again?"
John shrugged. "Maybe. I understand I'm very important to you. You need to understand you are very important to me. If I believe you're in danger, say someone grabs your chip and runs, I'll be chasing them to get you back no matter where they go."
Cameron's face softened. "You do love me," she whispered.
"I do," John agreed.
Cameron went over to the door and made sure it was locked, then went over to John who was sitting down, getting the battery set up to charge. She held out her hand.
Curious, John took her hand. She pulled him to his feet. Before he could ask what she was doing, Cameron kissed him. He kissed her back. At first, the kisses were light and exploratory. As the kisses went on, they became deeper and longer. Their hug turned into petting.
Finally having to take a breath, John broke the kiss and hugged Cameron tightly to him. "Wow," he said in a gasp.
"I think I know what sex is for now, beside trying to make children," Cameron said.
John pulled back enough to look at her. "Really?" he asked.
Casting him an intense look, Cameron rested her arms on his shoulders and gently hugged him. "Yes," she stated. "I never understood before. I do now. When you love someone, you want to be as close to them as possible, to share everything and do everything possible with the one you love. That is how I am feeling right now."
"Really?" John asked as he grew a big smile.
"Really." Cameron stated. "Please, John, show me you love me."
They kissed again, hungrily this time. Hands seeking to undo clothing, they moved towards the bed. Focused more on each other, they didn't sit but tripped to fall on the bed, their lips and hands constantly busy.
.
Max perked up an ear upon hearing his two legs let out a soft whine. Picking his head up, he saw clothes were all over the place, and his two legs was being held down by the stranger. It appeared she was wrestling to try to get up and he was on top of her trying to keep her down. His lips curled back in a snarl.
"I love you, John!"
Never hearing such a soft sounding cry from his two legs before, Max determined she was in trouble. With the moving arms, the neck of the stranger was partially covered. But half way down the stranger's body was the large double globes of rear end Max could get a hold of to drag the stranger off his two legs. Max jumped up and raced for the bed.
.
Kyle came to John's room to see how they were coming with John's device. The door before him was shut. He paused at hearing soft, loving sounds coming from the room. Cameron was metal, she could do that?
He then heard Max's growl. It was followed by a male wail of pain, then a frantic female cry of, "MAX, NO! STOP IT!"
Kyle turned around and figured later might be a better time to check on them.
.
The old subway station had been checked clear and the platform was large enough to accommodate everyone and their belongings. Mary Tok, Gregory Tok and Savannah sat in a circle, singing.
I've just come down from the Isle of Sky
I'm not very big and I'm awful shy
and the lassies shout when I go by,
Donald where's your trousers?
.
Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
Through the streets in my kilt I'll go
All the lassies say hello,
Donald where's your trousers?
.
A lass took me to a ball
and it was slippery in the hall
and I feared that I might fall
for I had nae trousers
.
Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
Through the streets in my kilt I'll go
All the lassies say hello,
Donald where's your trousers?
.
To wear my Kilt is my delight
It's not wrong, I know I'm right!
The Highlanders would get a fright
If they saw me in trousers.
.
Let the wind blow high, let the wind blow low,
Through the streets in my kilt I'll go
All the lassies say hello,
Donald where's your trousers?
Savannah sang with a smile on her face. She remembered when she was little, she'd taught John Henry that song. For some reason, it made her happy that he had taught it to his children as well. The song seemed to brighten the mood for everyone. It had been so long since any of them had heard some kind of music, or had any joy for that matter.
Although she didn't fully explain, she did introduce people to the Tok's, telling them they were the children of a friend she had when she was a little girl. All the Tok's were friendly and helpful, and a bit on the innocent side just as John Henry was.
After the song, one of the older women came up to Savannah. "Excuse me, but is it safe to be singing? Won't the tunnels carry the noise?"
Mary Tok smiled at the woman. "It's safe, Ruby. Elanore and Jake are down the tunnels, keeping watch. Two other men are at the entrance above ground keeping watch. If Sky Net comes, we will know in time to get up and leave before they get here."
"You know this for sure?" Ruby asked.
Mary Tok nodded. "Yes," she said happily. "The humans at the entrance have a very good visual range, and Jake and Elanore have just as good infrared sight and hearing as a triple eight, if not better."
Ruby frowned at her and asked, "How do you know that?"
Savannah wanted to interrupt. Before she could, Mary stated, "Because our Father and Mother made sure we were made with the highest quality sensors."
"Made?" Ruby asked, now staring at Mary. "What do you mean, made?"
Savannah noted their conversation was now being listened to by everyone.
"That is how my siblings and I came to be," Mary explained. "Father and Mother found a suitable Sky Net terminator factory. They isolated a portion of it off so Sky Net would not interfere. Father first made Mother's new body, then he made us."
Ruby's face grew into fright and shock. "You are ... machines!?" she asked in a wail.
"Yes. We are going to see our Mother. Her name is Cameron Phillips," Mary said, then tipped her head slightly and asked, "Do you feel well, Ruby? You look pale and your heart is beating rapidly."
"Hold on!" one of the men said as he got up. Glaring at Savannah, he asked, "Did you know about this?"
Savannah got up to face him. Loud enough for everyone to hear she said, "I know their father, John Henry. He was around before Sky Net, and he was a good friend of mine when I was little. He never did anything bad. In fact, he was very nice to me. These are his children, and they are just like him." Pointing to the stretchers they brought that bore the injured, she asked, "Haven't they been helping us this whole time? Believe me, if I though they were any threat at all, we would not be traveling with them!"
"They could be leading us into a Sky Net ambush," another man said heavily.
"Why would we do that?" Mary asked. "That would cause people to be injured further or die. Father says all life is scared, and needs to be preserved whenever possible."
"Excuse me," Gregory said, holding an arm up to get their attention. "In the westbound tunnel, Jake has found a small group of humans. He is leading them towards us."
Savannah turned to him and said, "Thank you, Gregory." Turning back to the people who were now casing her questioning looks, she said, "They are probably good folks coming, but those with guns, cover the west tunnel just in case."
.
Paul led his patrol down the tunnel to hear the last thing he had expected. A friendly greeting.
"Hello, My name is Jake Tok. What's yours?"
Paul dropped to cover as his three other squad mates did. Shining a light toward the voice, he saw a man standing in the tunnel, smiling at him. "I'm Paul. Are you here alone?" he asked.
"Oh no, I'm the lookout for this tunnel. Everyone else is back at the train station. They need rest," Jake told him.
Paul got up and ordered, "Weapons down, but keep them ready." He walked over to Jake and asked, "How many?"
"We number seventy two now. Savannah collected the rest of another group before we left. Another group has a good place to hide and sufficient food and water, so they did not want to leave," Jake explained.
Paul nodded. "Makes sense," he mused. "Who's in charge?"
Jake tipped his head slightly and said, "No one has been appointed, but Savannah Weaver is the one who makes the decisions. She is quite personable, it is a pleasure to know her. She even knows the song, 'Donald where's your trousers' that Father taught us," he beamed.
Paul eyeing him. For the man's silly-assed grin and his simpleness, Jake just might be a retard. Paul doubted he could fight, but his screams would alert the rest of them if he was attacked. Crude, but effective. "Ahh, fine. Can you take us to see Savannah?"
"I have to stay here and keep watch," Jake said.
Right. Thinking about it, Paul decided it would be safer if he left a couple people to cover their backs. "OK, Jake was it? I'll leave two people here to guard the tunnel. That way, we'll make sure it's safe, and you can take me to meet Savannah. That sound good?"
Jake nodded. "Yes. This way," he said brightly, turned and walked up the tunnel.
.
Paul met Savannah at the edge of the terminal platform. He wasn't surprised to see a few weapons pointed his way. Paul nodded his head to Savannah in greeting. "Hi, we're from an LA group. I'm Sargent Paul Willey, this is my medic, Carol Westfield."
"Hello, Sargent. I'm Savannah Weaver. We were looking for a new place to live. We have injured, I would appreciate it if your medic could look them over."
Paul nodded and motioned Carol up the stairs in front of him. Following her, he got on the platform and shook Savannah's hand, saying, "We were looking for a new place also. We had a terminator break in a short while back," Paul explained. "We got it, but Kyle is afraid it radioed in before we destroyed it."
"Sarg, come over here!" the medic called, waving for him to hurry.
Paul strode over to the stretchers. On the stretcher his medic was by lay someone he knew well. At the moment, she wasn't looking the best. "Allison? How you get here?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, I don't know you." Allison replied.
Paul 's mind worked. Allison was here, and obviously human from her wounds. That meant ... He grabbed the medic and pulled her close. "Run back and tell Kyle what we found," he said, glancing at Allison. "Someone is not who they claim to be. GO!"
The medic strode quickly to the edge of the platform. Once she got down, she ran back down the tunnel.
"What was that about?" Savannah asked.
"Have you known this girl long?" he asked, pointing at Allison.
"No, Jake and his siblings found her in rubble. They pulled her out and brought her to us."
Paul squatted down by Allison, staring at her intently. After a moment of eyeing her as she cringed back from his stare, he asked, "You metal?"
"What? No!" Allison cried defensively.
From behind them, Mary Tok said, "Allison is human. We verified that from the large bruises and cuts she suffered."
Paul nodded. He looked around at the platform and the stairs going up. "Savannah, it's best if you people stay around here. Back down the tunnel bout a hundred yards, we saw a good opening with plenty of rats and mushrooms growing. There's also flowing water nearby. If you close up those stairs, this tunnel should be pretty safe. Like I said, we're planning to move, and that was one of the places we've been looking at."
Savannah nodded and asked, "Why did you think Allison was metal?"
"We have a woman who looks identical to her," Paul stated.
"You do?" Mary asked with an excited smile. "We were going to see my mother, Cameron. Allison looks like her."
Paul eyed her and asked, "No shit?"
Mary tipped her head slightly. "I did not find any feces here," she said.
"I bet your last name is Tok," Paul guessed.
"Yes, Mary Tok," she said with her smile.
"Not surprised," Paul grumbled. To Savannah, he said, "I'm going to head back and give my report to Kyle Reese, he's our leader. If we had any extra weapons, I'd offer them, but we're short ourselves. Someone will be back."
"May we come with you?" Gregory asked.
"Yes, please?" Mary added.
Paul wasn't happy to drag retards back to base with him, unless they had intel. "Do you know anything about Sky Net?" he asked.
Mary, Jake and Gregory all took turns on filling him in on factory locations, how terminators, H/K's and hunter tanks operated, where the weak points were, and where two communications towers in the area were. By the time they finished giving him more information that he could have ever dreamed of getting, he was happy to escort them back to base.