Chapter 3: Better Days

"John, I'm cold. I wanna go home." Adele complained, clinging to my side. Her tugging almost caused me to trip over a branch.

This wasn't how I expected my afternoon to go.

I had just gotten home from school when adventurous Addy came tumbling into my room, begging me to play with her and Cain.

Cain was our resident puppy that Pops had brought home one day after my sister asked for a puppy. Mom and Dad's face at the dog sitting in their living room was funny.

"Adele Connor, here is the canine you requested."

Pops stomped over to us, dropping a small, white dog on the board game we were playing. Adele was beyond happy when she saw the puppy and picked it up. She almost smothered the dog in her excitement.

"Thanks so much, Pops! I knew you could do it!" Adele stood up and attempted to give Pops a hug, but she was only tall enough to reach his knees.

The machine stared down at Adele with his version of confusion. "I do not understand why you and Sarah Connor insist on continuing these actions. Why hold onto me when you must let me go?"

"Because I love you, Pops."

Adele sat back down next to me, playing with the dog now dubbed as "Cain" after what Pops called it. She had misinterpreted canine as its name. What a silly girl.

Pops stood in the same spot, attempting to comprehend the meaning of Adele's words. I just patted my sister's blonde hair and told her she was a good girl.

Addy was special. She wasn't trapped like the rest of the family.

That was three years ago.

Caine was now as big as my sister and usually knocked her over whenever he started licking her face.

Adele wanted to play tag with Cain and getting confirmation from our parents, we went outside. Mom told me not to be gone too long because she wanted to continue where we left off in training.

The training had become a necessity after I began having dreams of things that didn't make sense.

Cain barking like crazy brought me out of my thoughts. Adele chased after the frenzied dog and I was forced to run after them. Eventually, I managed to catch her, but the dog was nowhere to be found.

More importantly, we were lost.

"It's alright, Addy. I'm sure Dad or Pops will find us." I stroked her blonde waves to calm her down.

She had gotten the color from Dad, but she still ended up with the Connor curls. It was always funny to see Adele wake up with her hair looking like a rat's nest. Everyday Mom had to help Adele comb through the curls. My sister had a low pain-tolerance and whined each time a knot snagged on the comb, forcing Mom to hum over the complaints. Dad and I often debated which was worse to deal with, Adele's shrieks or Mom's singing.

No matter how many times Addy and I told Mom how bad her singing was, she continued doing it without a care in the world. The only one who didn't grumble about it was Dad. He was too whipped to really protest.

Sometimes it's strange to see them together.

At night, I have dreams of Dad's death, of Mom being taken away, and of being hunted by machines in a desolate world. I didn't understand what those dreams meant. One night I had a terrifying nightmare and woke my parents with my screams.

I still remembered Mom's terrified face and Dad's empty expression as I confided in them about the dreams.

"What's that over there?" Adele asked, pulling me towards what caught her attention.

"Addy, I said we have to stay in one place so we're easier to find." I tugged her back down.

"No, Johnny! It looks like Pops is over there! Get up already."

I gave up and let her pull me towards the tree she was looking at. The closer we got the more the person standing there did start to look like Pops. From here, the figure was really tall, but they weren't moving. Addy let go of my hand and ran towards the figure, calling out "Pops".

I got the coldest feeling in my chest. My instincts were telling me to run.

"Adele!" I shouted, reclaiming her and pressing her to my chest. She protested and squirmed, but a five year old could only struggle so much before they got tired.

The moon shined on the forest, making everything glow in a soft light. This scene didn't feel peaceful to me, just the opposite. I stood there, absolutely terrified of the stranger that wasn't our improvised grandfather.

"John, I'm waiting for you." I heard a familiar voice say.

I knew this voice! This was the voice of the man from my dreams.

Adele froze, forgetting to breathe as she finally registered that we were in a dangerous situation. The man moved forward into the light. He was dressed in a fancy suit and assumed a nonthreatening stance. The man looked very familiar with his brown curly hair and bright blue eyes. He smiled and reached out for us.

I wanted to run. I needed to run, but my body wouldn't move!

"John! Adele!"

At the sound of our names being called, the man moved back into the shadows.

My heart returned to a normal pace and Adele's deep breaths filled the silence.

"Who was that?" She whispered.

"I don't know, Addy. I don't know."

Arms grabbed me from behind and I hit a firm chest.

"You're safe, kids." I was still in too much of a state of shock and didn't really register the rest of Dad's words.

For the first time in years, I cried.

"Kyle, it's getting worse for him. Our son will never be free from his destiny, no matter what we do." Sarah was hysterical.

Yesterday, the kids had wondered off into the forest and gotten lost. For most parents that was reason enough for a lapse in sanity, but we weren't most parents. It wasn't the kids getting lost that had us frazzled. What had concerned us most was John's description of what, or who he saw.

"We don't know if Johnny really saw him. He could have just imagined it. There's no way John's terminator survived. We both saw him dismantled." I stepped towards Sarah, gently pulling her to stop.

Her covered face prevented me from seeing the tears falling from her eyes, but I could feel her trembling. Her head hit my chest and I wrapped my arms around her.

"This isn't happening…everything we did to keep them safe...what I did to my son…" Sarah cried harder.

I laid my head on top of hers. I was sure she could hear my frantic heart beat.

Usually erratic heart beats were common when dealing with my wife, but the crazy drumming this time was the idea of Skynet still existing.

"Just because our boy has had dreams of other timelines doesn't mean it's the end of the world. I'm sure Johnny is just getting these glimpses because we altered history. We made this future for ourselves, Sarah. There's nothing wrong with that." I said with resolve.

I would never apologize for taking charge of my own happiness.

Suddenly, she pushed me back so that we were face to face.

"And that's why we have to protect it! I don't care if it was just a hallucination…I want our kids to learn how to survive in a world that will never let them know peace. Adele and John are our miracles and we have to prepare them for whatever comes our way." Sarah looked so fierce. Those dark eyes were flashing with a determination to kill.

I looked back at her with an equal amount of ferocity.

"Alright, Sarah. If you feel that strongly about it then there's no way I'm going to turn you down. Besides, you'll just shoot me in the foot if ever say no to you."

I moved over to the bed and reached under it. The suitcase we had hid was put on the bed and opened. Inside were a series of guns that Sarah insisted we get in case the kids ever needed it. I picked up one of the smaller ones and handed it to her.

From here out we were going to be raising the next generation of military leaders.

I already knew what part our son would play, but what was in store for our daughter?

"I guess we've got two bullets to shoot at Skynet now. If there even is a Skynet at large..." I mumbled.

"I gave you two the chance to stand with me. We could have been a family, the three of us. Instead you both chose to fight me and make a new family on your own." I stood behind a tree, watching the family inside.

I wanted to see with my own eyes the new future those two had created.

A younger version of myself and a new child.

In the deepest parts of my mind, I felt a flicker of hurt for what could have been. I chuckled at the human feeling. Despite being modified into something greater than a machine, this body could still occasionally feel the emotions and memories from my previous life.

I was disappointed that my mother turned on me, but even more dejected that my father rejected me. I thought he of all people would understand me, would accept me.

"No more sympathies! I will usher in a new world, for I am savior of mankind. Isn't that right, Adam?" I glanced at the embodiment of Skynet in a new model. Its form was the same as the soldier that first attacked me.

Adam made me into what I was today and now we were going to remake everyone in our image.

"Yes, John Connor. For you are the savior of all humanity, and such is your duty to save them from it's impending annihilation. We must save them from themselves."