Ch 28
John went to their quarters, the front half of a quonset hut that was sealed against the airborne radiation and pollution outside. He stood in the small entryway to get 'cleaned by an air curtain that blew fresh pressurized air over him to remove and dust, then upon the little green light over the door coming on, he contunied inside. This wasn't a complete decontamination, only enough to get any 'excess amounts' off him.
John met the Yuka, and returned her bow when she greeted him. Or course, Sarah was doting over the skinny, pale girl and Byron cycled around trying to find a way to be useful.
Sarah took John to the side. In a serious tone she said, "John, we have to get that girl out of here to someplace without so much radiation. It's not doing any of us any good, and she is beginning to loose her hair."
"I know, Mom. As soon as Cameron says it's OK to move Allison, we're heading home," he said in agreement. "General Matsumoto is taking over the Far East command, he's not meeting any hard resistance. It seems the remaining Sky Net forces are fighting only when we find them. The war has turned into a giant mop-up operation."
Sarah glanced over at Yuka and said, "I called Jenny in the Palmdale city council. She said there are many vacant houses they would like to get filled. We need to take one."
John winced and said, "Mom ... I don't know. We are still tied to the Army, I don't think they will just let us go on our merry way."
"Then we need to put an addition on our house, rapidly," Sarah stated.
.
Cameron migrated the bulk of her newly formed nanites to a point in her forearm, then put a hypodermic syringe in her arm to draw them up. Although it wasn't possible to get all of them, she did get 89% of them transferred to inject into Allison's arm. From all the damage Cameron had received, her body was maxed out on producing nanites. Most of these, she was injecting into Allison to help her daughter repair herself.
Normally, Cameron liked to take care of herself and maintain a perfect exterior for John and herself. It made her feel good to be pretty. At the moment, she didn't care if she was bare endoskeleton. She had to save Allison.
Allison moaned and tossed her head. Cameron watched her eyes move under their lids. Allison was dreaming. This was an improvement. Dreaming meant activity, and activity meant more of Allison's systems were operating. Although humans called them 'organs', be it mechanical or biological, all parts worked in concert together to create systems. More nerves were sending signals, more muscles were reacting, more of Allison was coming back from the brink.
"Noooo!" Allison whined as she thrashed her head again.
Putting a hand on her shoulder, Cameron said, "Allison, I'm here. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"Mom ... run," Allison whined as her body stared to twitch.
"You are in a hospital, you are safe. Allison." Cameron said firmly.
"It's coming ... run," Allison cried louder as she thrashed in place.
"Allison, nothing is coming, wake up."
Tears came to Allison's crimped eyes. "It's coming! Mom, help me!" Allison cried, this time loud enough to get the attention of a couple nurses in the hallway.
"Is everything all right?" a nurse asked as she poke her head in the door.
Cameron knew Allison was having a nightmare, and she couldn't wake her up. Not knowing how much Allison had recovered, or if her invisible arms worked, Cameron spun to the nurse and said, "Clear the hallway and this end of the hospital."
"Maybe a sedative..."
"NOW, before she brings the building down on you!" Cameron snapped.
"Mom, get away!" Allison wailed as her body shuddered in tremors.
In the hallway, the nurse had taken Cameron at her word and was calling for everyone to quickly leave the area.
"Allison, you have to wake up!" Cameron said, and shook her. Try as she might, she could not get Allison to open her eyes and break out of her nightmare.
A figure appeared just inside the door. Looking anxious, Apollo asked, "What is it?"
Allison erupted with a scream as her eyes flew wide open. Cameron was hit hard to be driven into the outside wall, causing a spiderweb of cracks around her as the window above her shattered. Right in front of Allison, Apollo was blasted back to be torn to shreds along with the door frame and wall behind him. Ten feet of wall and bits of Apollo sprayed down to the end of the now vacant hallway, causing a few people to recoil back into the rooms, and a few doors to burst open.
The fire alarm went off.
Sitting up, Allison panted in gasps as she took in her surroundings. She had a straight line view down the path of destruction where gray dust hung in the air, debris on the floor was mixed with red gore. The wall beside her was buckled, and the wall that now had a gapping hole instead of a window to the outside was cracked. She wasn't fighting huge Sky Net machines that reassembled themselves as fast as she was destroying them. She was in a hospital bed. She saw a nurse peek cautiously out of the partial room next to hers.
Relieved it was only a nightmare, Allison let out a sigh and she relaxed. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell limp.
.
Although all the doctors and nurses had a great respect for Allison, it was unanimously decided Allison could no longer stay in the hospital. The danger of another nightmare causing massive destruction was too great. Orderlies were shocked when the pieces of whatever poor soul that got caught in Allison's blast, reassembled themselves together and then asked for a robe.
Gathered around Allison's bed, where Allison was again sleeping peacefully, John, Cameron and Apollo pondered what to do with her.
John rubbed a hand over his face and said, "Byron is aching to see her again, but I don't dare let him."
"Agreed," Cameron said, now showing more metal from getting hit by Allison's blast. "I was on the edge of the mind blast, and I was almost thrown outside. Apollo was smeared down to the end of the hall."
"Let me take her home," Apollo offered. "Only Kahlua and I are there, and it is remote enough that there will be no danger to anyone else should she have another nightmare."
"Where is your home?" John asked.
"The hills outside LA. It is a nice, quiet place which I think she needs right now," Apollo explained.
Cameron said, "Allison still needs my help. I am sorry, John, but Allison is dangerous to be near for you or Sarah to join us."
"Any idea why she had such a violent nightmare?" John asked.
Casting John an unhappy gaze, Apollo said in a somber tone, "Mr. Connor, you sent your eight year old daughter off to war where she saw nothing but death and destruction for how long? Tell me. do you really need to guess WHY she is having nightmares?"
John flushed at Apollo's reprimand. He couldn't deny it. No matter how justified they were, he knew Apollo was right. "I'm sorry, Allison," he said meekly.
"We had no choice," Cameron stated. "Allison knew that. That is why she went and insisted on ending it."
"And you let that innocent girl make her own decisions," Apollo grated as he cast Cameron an evil eye.
"Did you stop her?" Cameron asked, casting Apollo her blank stare.
"I would think that would be your job," Apollo grated.
"Enough," John snapped and frowned at Apollo. "You want to hear we fucked up? FINE! We. Fucked. Up. Bad John, Bad Cameron! Instead of arguing about it, we need to do what's best for Allison. At the moment, that is someplace quiet, and where she can recover and not hurt anyone. Someplace she recognizes to help keep her calm."
"Dietrich Academy," Cameron said. "The building is collapsed, but the grounds are familiar to her, and it is isolated."
"Daddy?" a tiny voice asked.
John looked to see Allison was awake and looking at them. "We're here, sweetie," he assured her and went to sit on the bed by her. "How do you feel?"
"Pretty bad, but it's getting better," Allison said with a slight smile. "This damage, did I do that?"
"You had a nightmare hon," John said gently.
"I'm sorry."
John shook his head, saying, "Not your fault, sweetie."
"Did Mommy say I could go back to Dietrich?" Allison asked hopefully.
"We were talking about it, yes," John agreed.
Allison looked at the plastic that had been put up where the window had been, and now hung down to close off her room where walls used to be. "I'm a danger now, aren't I?" she asked sadly.
"You are sick, hon," John said softly. "Very soon, we're all going to fly home and help you get better,OK?"
"Allison," Cameron said as she came over to the other side of the bed. "Would you like to help rebuild the Dietrich school?"
Allison nodded.
John pondered briefly a Cameron's idea. He got it, if Allison was involved with a project like that, she would focus on it and maybe not have these destructive nightmares. "You'd have to live there for a while, hon," he told her. "Will that be OK?"
Allison nodded again, looking at him. "It would also keep everyone safe from me too, right?" she asked.
"Yes," Cameron stated, which made John gape at her for admitting such a thing. "Right now, Allison, your thoughts are all of Sky Net and war. The sooner you start thinking about something constructive, the sooner your nightmares will decrease in intensity."
"Cameron, why did you tell her... ?" John asked.
Cameron cut him off. "Allison must know the truth, John. She has already figured out part of it. Her nightmares are a danger to herself and everyone around her. The sooner we can help those nightmares go away, the better for Allison and us."
.
Allison and Cameron flew by helicopter from the hospital to the airfield to be loaded onto a A-747 with the rest of her family. Apollo insisted on coming 'just in case'. No one had any illusions the plane would survive one of Allison's nightmares, so only the flight portion of the crew were aboard.
Byron became glued to Allison's side the moment she arrived. Clasping Allison's hand, he convinced Cameron and John that Allison would have better dreams if he was with her. Allison stayed awake long enough to confirm she had good dreams when Byron was there, so they let Byron stay in Allison's cabin with Cameron monitoring them. Twice during the flight, Allison woke up briefly to verify Byron was with her, then drifted back off to sleep.
After the second time Allison fell back to asleep, Byron quietly started talking to her. He felt like she needed to hear his voice to confirm his presence. He talked to her about all the things he did in school, the improvements Gramma Sarah made on the house, and everything he could think of to just keep talking. Becoming tired, he fell asleep sitting next to Allison, still holding her hand in his.
Not long after Byron passed out, Cameron saw him lift up as if someone was lifting him, and lay beside Allison. Allison shifted to put her head on his shoulder. Byron put an arm around her. She also took note Allison now bore a peaceful look on her face. Cameron was sure that no nightmares would haunt her daughter as long as Byron was right there with her. She was like her father in that respect. Back when John had a bad dreams, all it took to sooth his mind was for Cameron to lay down with him.
At the same time it did concern her that Allison had used her mental arms unconsciously. It was possible that Byron, or anyone was not going to be safe so close to her.
.
Although everyone from High Command and every political figure up to the President wanted to congratulate John and his family on destroying Sky Net, John asked them to hold off due to Allison being injured. He did have Cameron explain over the coms about 'Sky Net's final moments', and the strike Cameron called down on their position to destroy it, then discovering it had escaped and finding it on their transport where Allison finished it off.
Before their plane touched down at the base near Palmdale, the tale of how Cameron and Allison Connor had found and destroyed Sky Net was international news. By the time a hospital unit consisting of two trailers and a portable power generating station was set up at the ruins of Dietrich Academy, More of Cameron and Allison's exploits from the war were reaching the UN and news reporters. By the time Allison was loaded into an ambulance and taken to Dietrich, Cameron was recognized formally by the UN as a 'Hero of Humanity', and Allison was christened the worlds' very first real 'Super Hero'.
One station played the news, then showed pictures of Cameron and Allison – even pictures of the car accident Cameron was in as well as Pictures of Allison in Nicaragua getting her public awards- as they played Bonnie Tyler's 'I Need A Hero'. Several music bands also got to work on writing commemorative songs for Cameron and Allison.
.
None of this mattered to John or Cameron. They got Allison set up in her new private room in the care trailer. John had ordered plenty of food for Cameron so she could supply the nutrients for Allison and herself. He went outside to ensure a guard force was in place around the perimeter of the property, but no closer than 200 yards to Allison's trailer. While it made sense her nightmares would lessen with some therapy and time, he'd seen the blast that she had unwillingly caused. Even asleep, Allison could lay waste to whatever was caught in the path of her invisible arms.
The room inside the trailer was nicer than what John had expected. The large, quiet air conditioner set in the wall also had a radiation filter on it. Her bed was a standard full sized hospital bed, the windows had curtains and pull-down blinds, she had a bathroom with a shower in it, and a carpet lay on her floor. Inside, it was hard to tell she was in a trailer. Even the door to her room looked like a bedroom door. All the services, medical lab and the supplies were in the other trailer.
John had to agree with the crew who set this up. Only the best for Allison.
The bedroom door opened and Sarah came in, trailing Byron and Yuka. "How's she doing?" she asked. Yuka was in new clothes and being cleaned up, looked much better than she did. Byron held up a Teddy bear with a 'get well' on it.
"I got something for Ally. I couldn't find her stuffed monkey," Byron announced.
Cameron put a finger to her lips. "Shh, Allison is asleep."
"Sorry," Byron said in a loud whisper. He went over to the bed and put the bear by Allison's pillow.
Quietly, Cameron explained to Sarah, "Allison is sleeping sound. No further nightmares so far. If she does have one, run."
"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "I'm going to take Yuka and Byron home. Yuka still needs to get settled and we have to put all her new clothes away."
"Ahhh, Gramma Connor?" Byron asked. "Is it OK if I stay here with Ally?"
The adults pondered for a moment, weighing the risk to Byron VS the calming affect he had on Allison should she suffer a nightmare. Seeing their faces, he added, "If Ally can't help herself, I'll run, OK?"
"Byron," Yuka said meekly. "Allison asked me to help keep you safe."
"Then ... hold the door open so I can run faster," Byron offered.
John couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "How about this?" he asked. "Byron, you go help Mom and Yuka get things straightened out at the house, then come back later?"
"Yes, please," Cameron added.
Byron let out a huff. "OK," he said begrudgingly. He clasped Allison's hand and kissed her forehead. Quietly he said, "I have to go but I'll be back later. It's OK, Ally, your safe now." He then left with Sarah and Yuka.
After they left, Cameron collected another pool of nanites and injected them into Allison's IV.
Watching her, John waited until she was done, then came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He gently rubbed them, even the bare metal shoulder. "How are you doing, hon? You haven't had any rest in days."
"I need to care for Allison," she said tonelessly.
"You need to take care of you, too," John said, scolding her mildly. "I don't care about all your metal showing, but you need to shut down in maintenance mode for a while. You've been non stop active since you got back, and for a few days before that, if I'm not mistaken. Cam, honey, please. Lie down and rest for a while. I'll be here for Allison."
A hand sporting a few bare metal fingers laid atop of John's. In a hollow tone, Cameron said, "Sky Net killed our other two babies. I can't let Allison die."
John laced his fingers in hers. "Hon, our baby is no longer in immediate danger. You have already done wonders for her. Now rest, please," he coaxed.
Cameron got up and faced him. They hugged, and Cameron reluctantly let John guide her to the cot by the wall and got her laid down. "John, if she wakes up, try to get her to eat something."
"I will," John assured her.
"And try to determine if she is sore anyplace, or has any damage inside, or if she can't feel any extremities."
"I will," John said a little more firmly. "Rest, hon."
Cameron cast him a brief smile with the half of her mouth that was still there. "I love you, John Connor."
"I love you too, Cameron Connor. See you when you wake up, at least four hours. More if you want."
"Four hours," Cameron agreed. She relaxed and went into maintenance mode.
.
Riding back home in the front seat with Sarah and Byron, Yuka asked, "Mrs. Connor? What is Allison's mom? She's not a yokai like Allison is, but she has metal bones and having all that skin missing, doesn't that hurt?"
Explaining so Yuka could understand, Sarah said, "Cameron is a cyborg. Part machine, part person. As for missing skin, I'm sure it does hurt, but Cameron doesn't feel things like you and I do."
"I think she does," Byron mussed. "I mean, she looks pretty sad. Cameron used to smile a lot and she was nice to be around. She talks in a flat tone now, and, I dunno, she just looks like she's hurting. I don't think she will yell in pain, but I do think she feels it."
"I think so too," Yuka agreed.
Sensing the somber tone in the car, Byron piped up with, "I hope Ally gets better soon. I want to have a party for her with everyone. We all miss her, and I know she missed us."
Sarah cast him a tiny smile. "We will, just as soon as she's healed."
.
John sat by Allison's bed waiting for any sign of Allison waking up. He also kept watch of the time to ensure Cameron stayed inactive for at least four hours. The first two house were pretty boring, watching
Allison sleep. He then noted her head twitch from one side to the other and she let our a moan.
John perked up immediately. Allison's eyes were shut, but he could see her eyes moving quickly under the lids. "Allison, honey?" he asked.
"Byron?" Allison asked in a whisper.
"Sweetheart, it's Daddy. Byron went home, he'll be back soon," John told her soothingly.
Allison shook her head a little harder. "No ... not home... Byron," she said, sounding stressed.
"Allison, Byron is safe, you are safe," John said firmly. "Allison, wake up."
"Noooo, not Byron!" Allison cried.
"Allison, wake up!" John said loudly. He saw her twitch again and her body stiffened.
"Allison, wake up!" John cried and dove to the floor.
"BYRON, NOOO!" Allison screamed. She shot up to sit and her eyes flew open. A resounding BOOM sounded and the whole front wall of the trailer and a good portion of roof was blasted away to fly off in pieces.
John got up and looked at the destruction as Allison panted in gasping breaths. He didn't see any blood or bodies. "It's OK sweetie, calm down," he said.
Allison stayed sitting up. She blinked and looked at the damage. She then turned her head to John. "Daddy?" She asked in a small voice.
At the scream and explosion, Cameron also sat up.
Allison burst out in tears. John held her as she cried. After a moment, Allison pushed him away. "Daddy, you can't be near me," she cried. "I'm dangerous Daddy!"
John resisted her push. "It's OK, Allison. I'm not going to leave you. Nether is Mommy, she's right here too," he explained.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," Allison whined and fell into him.
"You're safe," John said as he held her and petted her hair. "You're safe, Byron is safe. Calm down."
"But you're not," Allison said meekly. "Daddy, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone!"
"I know, baby. No one is hurt, OK?"
Coming over to sit on the bed facing Allison, Cameron asked, "Allison, what did you dream?"
Allison let out a sniffle and said, "I was back in Byron's house. The Terminator man was there, he was going to kill Byron."
"You were afraid for Byron," Cameron stated.
Allison nodded.
John looked at the front of the trailer, rather the leaned over side walls and open sky. It was a good thing he ducked. He also noted guards running towards them.
They were going to need another trailer.