Chapter 14:Fitting In
Crystal Peak One Week After Arrival
Things had been quite hectic for everyone at Crystal Peak. New and old faces intermingling, new friendships being forged, while old acquaintances catch up on news and gossip.
Allison and her friend Amanda had settled quite well into the life of Resistance trainees. Both girls were eager to learn new skills involving hand to hand combat, weapons, bomb making, communications, computers, reading and their favourite, watching old music videos and movies. Melissa and Blair had made it a point to let the eager learners drink in as much of what life was about before Judgement Day as they wanted, including learning basic skills on being a lady. To the older girls, this was of upmost importance to help the younger girls integrate into life at the resistance base and maybe have a taste of normalcy.
Melissa was glad that the past week had only seen one incident with one of the girls waking up from having a nightmare. Allison had had a bad dream and woke everyone up in the room with her screams. It took Melissa a good hour to get Allison to calm down, but only when she relented and allowed Allison to curl up in the same bunk with her. It was still too early to expect the girls to come to grips with what had happened to them, but at least Melissa knew Allison and Amanda would be more leery of others they did not know. Present times dictated that one was to assume a stranger was someone not to be trusted, until they proved themselves trustworthy. Through intense coaching, the girls would eventually be able to take care of themselves.
Blair had healed up enough to be let out of the infirmary, but she was warned to take it easy until she had fully mended. Melissa was glad to have Blair back in their room; it would be nice to have her around to help in instructing the girls as they were a handful to manage.
Kyle had helped Derek integrate into the military camp lifestyle by showing him around Crystal peak. Star remained close behind, following the brothers every move, gathering as much intel as she could before she was to make further contact with Skynet's machine lurking nearby. The brothers were oblivious to her true reasons for following them. In their mind she was just being Star and they allowed her to tag along on most of their outings. Her mission was to gather information and report to Skynet, she had not been designed to terminate humans, she was there to infiltrate. Derek's arrival provided ample opportunities for Star to learn more about Crystal Peak, she was able to gain entrance to areas not normally made available to her.
John and Kate had settled back into regular duties of being loving parents to their daughter as well as running the base and resistance operations. They both had managed to find more time for each other and for their daughter, something they knew was of upmost importance in keeping the family together and happy in these turbulent times. Finding spots for the new arrivals had been difficult and resources were stretched thin with the extra burden of more mouths to feed and clothe, but the Connors had managed to place everyone in areas where they could be helpful. The struggle now was to ensure there would be enough food and water for the long term.
6AM, the girls' room...
Melissa had already been up for a while, she had left the room to clean up a bit in the woman's washroom and prepare for the days training. She had managed to drop by the mess hall to grab a fresh cup of coffee to help wake her up and clear the cobwebs out of her brain. Guzzling the cup of hot black brew, Melissa slammed the cup down on the table and quickly got up to make her way towards her room. Today was going to be another big day; hand to hand combat was the lesson for a good part of the morning.
Melissa's combat boots made a steady thump as she wound her way through the dreary concrete hallways towards her shared quarters. Once she arrived at her door, she took a deep breath, smiled and slowly reached out to open it. The knob clicked softly and the door opened with hardly a complaint, she entered the dark room and noticed the girls were still fast asleep.
"Ladies...time to get up." Melissa spoke softly.
Her words were met with light breathing from both Allison and Blair. Amanda remained snoring softly while one of her legs dangled precariously off the edge of the bunk bed.
Feeling she had made little effect in waking up the girls, Melissa went to stage two. She ran her hand along the wall by the door and flicked the light switch on. Piercing white light shone from the high intensity LED bulbs in the ceiling.
In a louder tone of voice, Mellissa repeated her words. This time she was met with groans and grumbles from two of the three girls, Amanda was still oblivious to what was happening. Melissa smirked then reached out and grabbed onto Amanda's foot with her left hand and proceeded to tickle it with her right. Instantly she was rewarded with a yelp and frantic wiggling of the foot trapped in her tight grip, as well as the girl's whole body instantly writhing to release itself from Melissa's grip and clamber for safety.
Allison and Blair grumbled loudly and stretched, both had been disturbed by the outcry from Amanda.
"Glad to see I got your attention ladies." Melissa grinned.
"Well an ear piercing screech from Amanda is a guarantee we will get up Mel." Blair huffed as she slowly sat up in bed. She still found it difficult to get up in the morning, her wound still managed to provide her with some grief, especially if she tried to rise quickly.
Allison nodded her head in agreement and grunted her disapproval in being awakened to abruptly.
"Well I can't let you guys sleep all day...we have work to do." Melissa chirped.
"What time is it?" Allison yawned.
"It's just past six in the morning." Melissa cheerfully replied.
Both Allison and Amanda shot Melissa unimpressed looks. Blair slowly stretched, still favouring her tender shoulder as she began to dress herself.
The younger girls were not impressed with the rude awakening, but relented and began to slowly prepare for the day. Melissa went to the laptop and searched for an appropriate song to play while they got ready.
Hmmm...Kiss a Girl by Keith Urban should work. Melissa smirked and clicked on the icon. Instantly the music started blaring over the speakers hooked up to the machine.
"I like this song Mel!" Allison grinned as she dressed and bopped her head to the beat of the tune.
"Mmmm...Me too, he has such a cute voice." Amanda added.
"Yeah ...well it's meant to get you ladies motivated to get dressed, fed and willing to tackle another day of training." Melissa solemnly mentioned.
Allison caught a glimpse of Melissa as she spoke. She may have sounded all business, but the twist of her lips into a smirk and the shine in her eyes failed to hide the excitement she had. Allison liked her new friends; it was a nice feeling to hang out with bigger girls. They were like big sisters to both her and Amanda, sisters with the benefit of being teachers and drill sergeants. She was not to keen on the drill sergeant part as much as them being friends to her and Amanda.
Blair extended her arms over her head and winced as she tried to get her sore shoulder to gain more mobility. It would be a few weeks before she could begin to build up her strength in her damaged shoulder, but she was determined to heal as fast as possible. Being injured or crippled up was never good during these trying times. It was bad enough her leg still gave her grief from time to time, but that was usually tied in with the weather changing. Or is it old age? Blair mused.
The teen girls were much quicker in getting up and mobile, both Allison and Amanda were already out of bed and busy getting dressed before Blair had managed to crawl out of her spot.
"I dunno about you guys, but I'm ready for breakfast." Amanda cheerfully chirped as she pulled on a well worn t-shirt.
Allison followed suit by eagerly getting her clothes on quickly and bopping to the beat of the music at the same time. "This is so awesome to wake up to music." She cheerfully added.
"Glad you ladies like my choice of tunes."Melissa responded happily with a genuine smile, then she changed to a serious look. "Now I want you two to get down to the mess hall, eat and be ready for training at o- six thirty...got it?"
Both girls nodded and proceeded to rush out of the room towards the mess hall.
Blair sat back and smiled at Melissa. "You really are a slave driver aren't you Mel."
"Yeah...maybe so, but they need some good strong leadership to whip them into shape." Melissa added.
"Agreed Mel...but c'mon...I need my rest too." Blair smirked as she pulled on her boots, before getting out of bed.
"Yeah...I know what you're resting for..."
"Oh?" Blair lifted her brow.
"Derek!"
Blair smiled and winked at Melissa. "Am I that easy to read?"
"Why yes Blair." Melissa shot back. "Look...Blair...he is a nice guy, but be sure to take things easy."
"Sheesh...okay Mom." Blair added with a sigh. "Now let's go get some food and coffee!"
Melissa smiled and nodded in agreement, then she turned to exit their room with Blair following close behind.
###
Allison and Amanda raced down towards the mess hall, turning a corner they almost ran into Commander Conner. Instantly they both froze and turned beet red in embarrassment.
John stepped back but held his hand up to stop the hyper teens. "You ladies in a hurry?"
Quickly turning more shades of red, Allison began to sputter out her answer. "Uh...mum...yeah...we need to get eating fast...so we can uhh... be on time for training."
"Sorry for running into you like that sir." Amanda added with a shy smile.
John grinned back. "No need to apologize ladies, it's nice to see you two so eager to train and help out."
Both girls blushed and mumbled thank you to John. He waved his arm and added with a smirk. "Well... shall we continue on to breakfast? I am starving too."
The three of them proceeded to make their way towards the mess hall for breakfast, both girls following John as he led the way.
Allison was still taken aback by John Connor and his seemingly larger than life persona. Amanda noticed her infatuation with John and chose to bring Allison back to reality by elbowing her in the ribs.
"Owww... what was that for?"
"You're such a dork Allison." Amanda whispered, so as to make sure John did not hear them.
"What?" Allison hissed back.
"It's so obvious...you are like totally in love with Connor."
"No" Allison snapped, but the color that appeared on her cheeks hinted at the comment as being possibly true.
Amanda rolled her eyes as she rounded the last corner before they reached the mess hall.
"What?" Allison quietly asked.
"Allison...you're terrible at hiding your feelings." Amanda responded nonchalantly. "It's written all over your face."
Puzzled over what the girls were talking about, John turned to ask. "What's with all the secretive talk ladies?"
Like deer caught in headlights, both girls just stopped and stared at John.
John came to a standstill and turned to face them fully, he crossed his arms in front of him to strike a more menacing pose. "Did you two forget how to talk?"
"No sir...sorry sir, it was just girl talk." Amanda responded with a sheepish grin and a quick glance towards a red faced Allison who nodded in silent agreement, but kept her eyes averted from his.
John lifted his eyebrow while he processed the answer and stared down at the two teens. Slowly his face went from stone to a crooked smile. "Okay ladies let's get some food."
All three entered the large cafeteria style room filled with long rectangular tables with bench seats and a few smaller round tables with chairs arranged around them. Although the girls had been to the room many times, the size of the room, with its bright artificial lights, always seemed to hold them in awe as they were used to living in dark cramped underground hideouts. John and the girls made their way to the long counter with glass barricade in front of the fresh food displayed. To the girls, it was like heaven. Delicious items were laid out in a neat row behind the glass and all they had to do was point and a cheerful server would fill their plate with anything on display. John was the first to grab a tray, followed by Allison and then Amanda proceeded to line up for breakfast.
A minute or so later Melissa and Blair strode into the room and proceeded to pick out trays and utensils for themselves.
Blair was first to notice who was standing just behind John Connor. She poked Melissa and nodded towards the two girls once she had Melissa's attention.
"Well damn...How do those two manage to always be around Connor?"
Melissa smiled. "Seems fate always has a way of bringing Connor and those girls together... especially Allison, the one he personally saved."
"Oh it's not fate Mel, I think they both have a crush on him and have turned into stalkers." Blair chuckled.
"Connor can be a bit dense...I doubt he would know he was being stalked by them if they hit him over the head and dragged him away. He's too busy trying to keep things together here." Melissa added with a tone of seriousness.
Blair nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah...but still...I think it's cute...you know...schoolgirl crush on the older guy kinda stuff."
Melissa looked away for a moment as if in deep thought, a hint of a smile crossed her lips while she casually raised her cup to her mouth.
Moments later, after they had their trays filled with basic items for breakfast, Toast, beans, sausage, instant scrambled eggs, pancakes and juice from instant powder kept in storage. Because of the resourcefulness of the cooking staff, the base had a variety of fresh items and items from a vast storehouse inside the military bunker. Hugo ensured he was constantly re-supplied with new items helped to keep the kitchen from running out of items and to ensure the troops didn't get bored with consuming the same items every day.
Lana already had a cup of coffee poured for John as soon as he had made it to the other end of the counter. He smiled and thanked her while he took the cup from her hand; Lana beamed a big smile back at him, her face slowly turning red from excitement and embarrassment of being acknowledged.
Allison saw the exchange; she was not impressed, but wisely chose to remain silent about it. Both her and Amanda followed John to a circular table nearby, Allison looked back to make sure the girl that handed the coffee saw her with John. Inwardly she smiled and tilted her head up in triumph as she glanced over to see Lana's look of puzzlement change to that of being extremely pissed off when she realized Allison was having breakfast with the John Connor.
Blair and Melissa finished getting their plates filled and made their way to the table occupied by John and the two teens. The girls were seated across from John, but still stuck close by him.
Melissa spoke up first. "Mind if we join you guys?"
John smiled and swept his arm in invitation. "By all means ladies...have a seat."
Blair thanked John and sat down beside him, while Melissa chose to sit beside the girls, opposite Blair.
After taking a few bites of the fresh slice of bread, Blair looked over to John. "So Connor... these ladies aren't giving you trouble...are they?"
John took a sip of coffee as he mulled over the question. Allison and Amanda both gave Blair funny looks, wondering if they had done something wrong.
"Come to think of it Blair...they do seem to be always just around the corner and always in a hurry." John finally replied with a hint of playfulness.
In a state of turmoil and visibly flustered, Allison tried to justify her and Amanda being with John. "No...We weren't being trouble...we...we just accidently ran into him at a corner..."
"Oh really?" Blair cut in.
"Yes...really...it was by accident that we met... we weren't following him." Allison's eyes went big as saucers and her face turned various shades of crimson as she struggled to explain herself. "John...Connor was going to breakfast too... and..."Her sentence ran out of steam and she lowered her head in defeat at being read by others so easily.
"Blair...you are such a tease." Melissa wagged her finger at Blair, then she looked over to John, narrowing her gaze. "And you... Connor... playing the same game? Shame on you two."
"Ahhhh...but making fun of someone...in good taste... helps to ensure they feel at ease around me. I may be a leader, but I am also approachable." John was dead serious, but still managed a crooked smile.
Both teens remained quiet, content with taking a back seat to the conversation, instead of being in the thick of things.
Melissa spoke up again. "Teasing and having fun is fine, but it has only been a short while since the newbie's arrived."
"Maybe so, but bumping into them and having breakfast is a good way to get to know them better. You should know me by now Webster; I like to get to know everyone. I care for each and every person that is under the protection of this camp and other resistance camps...without these people, we would certainly lose this war."
Amanda was puzzled over the talk of war and so decided to ask. "But isn't the war over now? We haven't seen any machines for a long time and the ones we have seen were few and far between. If anything, it's the other people we have to worry about ...you know...Cannibals and slave traders."
"Good question Amanda..." John looked directly at her and continued. "...We dealt Skynet a heavy blow two years ago and many feel Skynet has been defeated, but I have my doubts...and we also have to deal with the various groups of people that continue to cause problems for the resistance camps and other settlements. When there is no one, no Government, Pandemonium and anarchy set in. It becomes survival of the fittest then."
Intrigued over John's words just spoken, everyone at the table leaned in a bit closer.
"So you think Skynet and its machines are still around?" Amanda pressed further.
John sighed. "I'm afraid Skynet is not that easy to crush. We certainly did a lot of damage to its infrastructure and research plans, but I feel it is far from defeated."
This time Melissa pushed the subject with another question. "Didn't we destroy Skynet central? Isn't that Skynet itself?
"It could be that we did kill Skynet, but I just have a feeling Skynet is like a hydra." John replied nonchalantly.
"A hydra?"
"Greek Mythology...a serpent with nine heads...and ...if one cuts off a head, it grows back two more in its place." John made a motion with his butter knife to animate his explanation.
All four girls were caught up in John's very serious explanation. He went on to list possible branches of Skynet that would still have strongholds in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and many other places. Intense looks from around the table met John as he rattled off reasons for not believing in Skynet's demise.
"So you are saying that Skynet is faking that it is gone?" Allison asked. Her expression on her face had been both of fear and intrigue as John had delved deeper into what he believed Skynet was doing.
"Exactly Allison." John looked directly into Allison's bright brown eyes and smiled. Shocked with his steady gaze Allison's heart skipped a beat, but she remained cool and calm on the outside.
Melissa finished her meal and rose from the table. "Connor...Ladies...I'll see you all later..." She nodded towards John then turned to the girls while she rested her hands on the table. "...You two need to meet me outside near the Motor pool...training starts in ten."
"Motor Pool?" Allison questioned.
"Yeah... Motor Pool...where we park all the vehicles." Melissa clarified.
The two teens nodded as they finished stuffing food into their mouths.
"We'll be right there Mel." Amanda mumbled between bites of food. Her mouth was never completely empty of food a she continued to stuff food into it.
John looked over to Blair. "She is quite the slave driver."
"Hmmmm well somebody needs to whip the newbie's into shape. We need to train them to combat machines and people...especially since we have so many gangs attacking out outposts." Blair added with a nod.
Allison and Amanda finished gorging on their food, grabbed their dirty dishes and proceeded to excuse themselves from the table.
John gave the girls a quick nod and Blair wished them good luck in the days training. Fearing they would be in trouble for being late, the teens quickly made hast towards the exit with their dishes, but stopped by the counter, they had almost forgotten to place their dished in the dirty pile. After the items were dumped, the girls made haste out the mess hall doors.
John watched them leave and smiled.
Blair looked into his eyes. "What's up Connor?"
"It's amazing after all these years...there are still those that are excited about joining the resistance and helping to fight Skynet." John beamed.
"I think it's more like the two girls have a crush on their leader and are willing to do anything to impress him." Blair lifted her brow, looked John straight in his eyes and smiled.
"Ohhh...please Williams. They are caught up in what's going on around them." John waved his hand around, prompting Blair to look around. "There is a buzz about the place...a positive buzz."
"Face it Connor...You have groupies." Blair winked as she spoke, stood up and proceeded to make her way away from the table.
John remained seated with a puzzled look on his face.
Blair continued on her way, but kept grinning as she thought about John Connor. John is so dense sometimes... I swear he is in his own little world when it comes to knowing how some people think and act. Thank goodness he knows how to lead and fight.
Two hours later... at the motor pool.
Melissa had been strict in her training and the girls were dead tired from being drilled in hand to hand combat. Both of them had found a bit of shade by a large truck and took advantage of the coolness its shadow offered as they rested sore muscles. The area by the vehicles was just a dirt parking lot, converted into a makeshift training area littered with posts, a small obstacle course and fabric stitched from old clothing and stuffed so as to look somewhat like attackers. The training area was about half the size of a football field and was not covered over for protection from the elements, unlike the vehicles that had camouflage netting strung up above them to shield them from Skynets satellites and the sun's intense heat. The last couple of days had been warmer than the usual weather people had grown used to and today was no exception.
"Just our luck...we train outside and the sun decides to come out and cook us." Allison whined as she slid down beside Amanda. Her face and shirt soaked with sweat and dirt.
Amanda didn't look any better as she took a large gulp of cool water and pressed the cold flask against her sweat soaked neck to help gain relief from the blistering heat. "I can't understand why we need to learn this kinda fighting if we're gonna be fighting machines."
"Because we also have to fight people...like the ones that raided the subway station you two were at." Melissa replied sombrely as she strode up beside them. "Most of the time it can be a life or death situation. I suggest you two keep paying attention as it may save your life one day."
Feeling exhaustion from the unusually warm day, Melissa and Blair took advantage of the shade and sat down beside the girls to escape the intense sun. Passing a cold flask of water between themselves, they both took advantage of the well needed rest. Although Blair had not participated in the physical part of the training, she had been offering technical assistance in training the girls, making sure they got the moves right.
Just as the girls settled in for a few minutes of solitude, Derek and Kyle came walking up.
"Ladies...What's all this? I thought you would be out in the sun working on a tan." Derek called out smugly.
Melissa looked up, smiled and proceeded to show Derek her middle finger.
"Ohhh...Derek...yer number one." Kyle teased.
"No stupid...I want him to sit on it and rotate." Melissa snapped, and then muttered something about boys being so dumb sometimes.
Blair winked at the girls and all three girls laughed out loud.
Derek was not pleased, but Kyle chuckled at the snide comment.
"I think someone needs her ass kicked." Derek looked directly at Melissa as he spoke.
Melissa took his challenge in stride and replied. "Bring it ...tough boy." She cracked her knuckles, raised her chin and pursed her lips to bring the clarity to her challenge as she got up to spar with Derek.
Derek responded with a sly grin as he removed his jacket and nonchalantly tossed it at his brother. "Hold on to this Kyle...I'll be right back."
"Be careful...her bite is worse than her bark bro." Kyle warned.
Derek smirked, twisted his neck to snap a few bones, stretched out his hand and beckoned Melissa forth with the wiggle of his finger tips. "Let's do this sweetheart...time to play."
"Too bad you'll be crying like a baby soon enough Reese." Melissa scoffed as she leisurely strode up in front of Derek. Once she was within arm's reach, she looked back at the girls. "Watch how it's done ladies"
"Is that so?" He raised his brow in mockery. "I think it'll be more like you'll be crying Uncle...or you'll be beggin for more." Derek winked at Melissa and did a couple of upper body twists to loosen up for the skirmish.
Melissa strode right up to within inches of Derek and looked up into his eyes. "Quit it with your girly Yoga moves and let's get this done before I grow old from waiting."
Derek turned red from a combination of rage and embarrassment, he made a move to press his finger on her shoulder to goad her into fighting, but was met with her lightning quick reflexive snap of her hand grabbing his fingers and twisting his arm behind his back. Derek cried out and fell to his knees to try to escape or ease the pain. Melissa immediately pressed her knee into Derek's back, forcing him to fall face first into the dirt.
"You gonna call me Auntie now Reese? Or is it mistress?" Melissa leaned in and whispered into Derek's ear. Her voice was unusually calm while she wrenched Derek's arm into an unnatural position behind his back. Derek shook his head and groaned.
Kyle stood silently off to the side, painfully aware his brother just had his butt kicked by a smaller opponent.
Blair and the girls whooped and hollered in support of Melissa, others nearby stopped to take in the epic battle between man and woman. It wasn't much longer before a small crowd had gathered to see a desperate Derek trying to squirm his way out from under a dominant Melissa.
"Don't hurt him too much... I may need him later Webster." Blair cheerfully called out.
Feeling like she had already won, Melissa relaxed her grip and looked over to wink at Blair. This provided Derek with the opportunity he needed and he took full advantage of it. Instantly he used his free hand to help boost himself up and flipped both of their bodies over, he was now on top of a flabbergasted and pissed off female. Spider like , Derek twisted around and grabbed Melissa's legs, pulling and twisting them into a knot between his legs and using his good arm as leverage to put pressure on her knee.
Melissa cried out in pain, but refused to give in when asked by a smug Derek if she was ready to give up.
The girls' cheers had now changed into desperate cries of support to help Melissa gain the upper hand again.
At the same moment, a small girl with long dark hair made her way towards the back area of the motor pool, slipping past guards caught up in the entertainment being displayed in the training area. Star felt this was a perfect time to slip out and get to a spot where she could send forth a message to the machine nearby and ultimately to Skynet. She easily slipped behind crates and under carcasses of vehicles stripped for parts; slowly she made her way to the edge of the encampment until she found a good spot to remain until darkness fell. Star decided she would remain concealed under an old jeep and wait for the sun to slip behind the mountains so as to provide more cover for her to slip away to make contact. Quiet as a mouse, she remained hidden there. In the distance she could still hear the cheers and jeers from the crowd as it grew larger.
Amanda had seen Star scurry past, but paid no further attention. She had seen the girl a few times before and felt she was just probably playing hide and seek with one of the other kids in the camp. Her attention was now fully on seeing Melissa gaining the upper hand in the challenge.
Squirming around to get a better angle, Melissa got into a good position to lash out with her fist and managed to land it on the back of Derek's head, causing him to groan and let loose his iron grip. Melissa took advantage and expertly slipped out of Derek's wrestling move, easily spinning around on her back and landing a kick with the heel of her boot to Derek's head. Derek fell over but recovered by rolling away and springing to his feet. He shook out the cobwebs and managed to steady his stance before lunging towards a now fully erect Melissa, he struck her midsection and knocked the wind out of her as she hit the sandy ground hard. Before Derek got a good grip, Melissa swiftly brought her forearms down on either side of his head, causing his ears to ring and providing another opportunity for her to gain the advantage.
Melissa scrambled from under him, spun and pounced on top of Derek, but she was overpowered by the stronger opponent. They rolled along in the dirt, each of them desperate to try to become the one on top. Derek managed to grab hold of Melissa from behind, like a monkey, he wrapped his arms around Melissa's legs and his feet locked in a vice grip as he wrapped his legs around her waist.
"You ready to give up Webster?" Derek puffed out as he caught his breath.
"Ha...you must enjoy being beat up by a girl. I can feel your growing excitement pressing up against my leg." Melissa snapped back between gasps of breath as she squirmed to get free.
"What? ... No way Webster..." Derek was shocked at what Melissa had just said. This gave her the chance she needed as he let his guard down to verbally defend her accusation. Smacking Derek's thigh with her fist, Melissa's attempt at a 'Charlie horse' was met with success as Derek's protest was cut short with a yelp and he let loose his grip to nurse his leg. A fast spin and punch to the head knocked Derek backwards. Melissa jumped up to her feet then pounced on top of Derek, her knees pinning his arms down while she sat on top of Derek with her crotch mere inches from his face.
"You gonna say Auntie? ...or do I have to fart?" Melissa threatened with an impish smile.
The crowd had grown to almost sixty people, both soldiers and civilians had gathered to cheer on the gladiators' epic battle. The girls naturally were on Melissa's side, while the men backed up Derek. It was to the girls' pleasant surprise when Derek relented and held two fingers up in the air, signalling he was yielding. Melissa got up and graciously offered her hand to help Derek get up. He paused for a moment, smiled and put his hand up to grab onto Melissa's. Once he was standing up, Melissa held onto his hand and raised his arm up with hers to give a victory holler. The crown yelled back and cheered for dirty and sweaty pair proudly standing before them.
Blair and the girls yelped their support for Melissa as they ran up to congratulate her and hand out fresh water to quench the tired and thirsty fighter.
"Way to go Webster... now I know just how easy it will be for me to whip Derek's ass." Blair cheekily made sure to make eye contact with Derek while she congratulated her friend.
Unimpressed, Derek spoke up. "Just wait Williams, as soon as you are healthy enough..."
Blair cut in quickly. "I'm pretty sure I could easily whip your butt... even with only my one good arm Reese." Blair winked but sensed he was about to explode in anger, she offered up her canteen of water as a token of peace. Derek grumbled but took the flask and tilted it back to quench his dry mouth.
Kyle walked up with Derek's jacket. "Hey Bro...You know you coulda had her."
"She threatened to fart." Derek deadpanned. "I wasn't about to take any chances."
Blair and the girls burst out laughing at Derek's comment.
"Ohh my Gawd...is that true Mel?" Amanda questioned as she handed Melissa a water canteen.
"It's my secret weapon." Melissa winked and took a gulp of water from the canteen.
Blair held her good arm up in the air to quiet down the crowd and announced that 'the show was over'. Some smiled and clapped, most of the men grumbled and hinted out loud that a re-match was needed soon as the people slowly split away from the gathering and hurried back to their duties. The training area returned to normal pre sparing match numbers, plus the addition of Derek and Kyle. The small group left behind settled on small talk and light hearted teasing, mostly aimed at Derek and little his brother.
"Mel...Will you teach us how to kick Derek's butt too?" Allison innocently asked as she pointed at herself and Amanda.
Derek mumbled words in defence, but it fell on deaf ears.
Blair noticed Derek looked a little down and so decided to lighten things up a bit. "I'll take him on next time...once I'm a hundred percent." She looked directly at a grim looking Derek, smiled sweetly and added with a wink. "Don't worry...I'll be easy on you Reese... I might even let you win."
Derek responded by first looking at Melissa. "As long as there is no threat of farting..." He then gazed back at Blair and smiled. "...you're on Williams."
Blair took a step closer to Derek and playfully ran her finger along the front of his chest up to his chin, before locking her dark eyes with his. "The loser has to volunteer for latrine duty."
"I prefer the loser has to do what the winner wants." Derek smiled sheepishly and handed Blair her canteen back.
"Mmmm...We'll see Reese...we'll see." Blair gave Derek her brightest smile, then quickly turned about to rejoin the girls.
Allison was getting tired of waiting around and was eager to continue with her training. She decided to speak up before her brothers distracted Blair and Melissa anymore. "So when do we get back to training Mel?"
Derek lifted his brow in surprise. "Wow Allie...So you and Amanda liking the whole training bit?"
Allison stood straight and lifted her chin. "Yes"
Derek cracked a crooked smile, then looked over towards Blair and Melissa. "So have these two girls been doin' good at training?"
"Yeah Derek, Both Amanda and Allison have picked up a lot. They still need much more, but seeing as it has only been about a week, I'm pleasantly surprised." Blair replied.
The two teens high fived and gave a yelp of approval, but their celebration was short lived.
"Hold on ladies...I said you guys have picked up on a lot, but you still have a long ways to go ...especially if you want to take on a smelly ape like Derek." Blair winked at Derek and flashed him another brilliant smile.
Derek sighed and shook his head. He was getting used to the teasing from Blair, but figured he would dish back some teasing himself. "Well Blair, It is nice to know you like Apes enough to kiss them."
"I was on powerful pain killers... you just got lucky." Blair shot back with a cheeky grin, she then quickly turned towards the girls. Ignoring Derek on purpose, she called out to the girls. "Ladies... almost time to get back to training."
Derek stood silent, fully aware that if he pressed the subject further things would turn against him again. As if his mind had been read, Kyle nudged Derek and motioned for them to get going.
"C'mon bro... I think we need to get back to the armoury to do some more inventory checks. Besides, the girls here will verbally tear us apart if we stick around any longer."
As Derek and his younger brother trudged off towards the main base entrance, Melissa dropped her water bottle to the ground, cracked her knuckles and called out to the girls in her Drill Sergeant voice. "Okay ladies... break time is over... Let's get hustling. We need to get serious about doing more training before lunch break."
Her orders were met with rolling eyes and groans from the two teens, but they quickly gathered near to listen in on more instruction. Both Allison and her best friend Amanda were eager to learn as much as possible. Blair noticed right away how the girls soaked up the instructions and paid close attention. She felt the training would also help in the girls being more able to take care of themselves, if the need arose in the near future. Having skills in protecting one's self was of upmost importance in these troubled times, not against the machines but for the gangs of thugs that roamed the ruined cities and untamed countryside.
For the next hour, Blair and Melissa instructed the girls on the finer points of hand to hand combat, using any available weapons to their advantage and learning that being smaller is not always a disadvantage. Sand, sticks, rocks and anything else within reach was used to drive home the point that when it comes to life and death, all avenues of winning or escape had to be exhausted. By the end of the hour, everyone was wiped, sweaty and hungry. After a short water break, the girls gathered up personal items and headed back inside the main base to cool off and sit down for some lunch. The base being built into the side of the mountain did have the advantage of remaining much cooler inside, especially when it was an unusually hot day.
After gathering a plate of food and some more water, the girls sat down at one of the open tables to scarf down lunch. Allison and Amanda both ate like it was to be their last meal, while Melissa and Blair consumed their food at a more leisurely pace.
"If you two don't slow down to chew, you'll choke on your meal." Blair warned.
"Mmmm...But its sooo good... and we are both starving." Amanda answered between bites.
Blair shook her head while grinning at the two slender teens.
Melissa looked over towards the girls then back at Blair, after mulling over what had just been said. "Ya know...back before the world went to shit, us girls were always worried about getting too fat. Look at those two...chowing down like they never saw food before."
"I remember days when I would sift through garbage to find something edible...it was tough going to sleep hungry." Allison mused.
Blair shot a glance over to Melissa; both of them fully knew how tough life had become in this changed world.
All four of them remained silent while they finished off lunch and slipped into deep sombre thought about their life and uncertain future.
Brooding meditation was broken by the sudden arrival of Kate Connor and her daughter Kayla.
Kate instantly knew something was wrong when she glanced around the table. "Ladies ...What's with the long faces?"
All four girls looked up with Blair the first to speak. "Hey Kate, seems we were all caught up in thinking about things...it's been a tough week settling in."
"Well I have a proposal for the girls here."
Both teens looked up at Kate with questioning stares.
Kate smiled and shifted Kayla from one arm to the other. "It's nothing tough, I just need one or both of you to take turns at watching Kayla for me, when duty calls me away for extended times. It seems my regular nanny has been promoted to rotating patrol duty, so I need someone to help out. It wouldn't be every night, just from time to time... Would either of you be interested?"
"YES" Allison blurted out right away, with Amanda repeating the same answer half a second later.
Kayla smiled at Allison, but quickly got shy and hid her face in her mother's shoulder.
"Fine then...Who wants to take first shift tonight?"
"I will!" Allison piped up first. "I've done it many times before."
"I can too." Amanda cut in.
"Great" Kate smiled. "I'd like one of you to come around John and my quarters around nineteen hundred."
Kate's instruction was met with a blank stare from both girls. Puzzled at their 'deer in the headlight look', she shifted her eyes over to Blair and Melissa for help.
"They aren't up on military time Kate." Melissa replied with a wink and a smile.
"Oh...okay then... seven tonight?" Kate waited for a glimmer of recognition from either or both the girls.
Kate got nods of approval from both girls, indicating they understood
'Perfect' Kate thought to herself. A smile of relief crept across her face. Now she could concentrate on the actual running and organization of the encampment and take some of the pressure off of her husband John.
1900 hours (7pm) outside of Crystal Peak
The sun had dipped in behind the mountains a short while ago. Star had kept herself well hidden and was sure she would not be missed. She found it easy to slip past people and keep a low profile in the resistance encampment. Sensing no one was nearby, Star proceeded to climb out from her hiding spot and make her way to a higher vantage point towards the southeast corner of the resistance camp. When she was satisfied she was in a good spot and detected no humans near to her location, she ducked behind an outcrop of rock and began her transmission.
800-4239 I am beginning to send details of encampment, number of troops, Civilians as well as maps and a preliminary list of weapons that have been observed at Crystal Peak.
Star sat back and went into what a person would call a trance, but unlike a human, her eyes began to flicker between the human color she was given and a red hue from the ocular sensors behind the eye lens. Terabytes of data poured out and was sent off to the machine in Skynet code.
Approximately five miles away, the other machine acknowledged that the data had been received and that a Skynet attack would proceed once forces had been alerted, Star was to return the next night to await further instruction. The transmission was cut off immediately and the 800 series machine proceeded to climb down from its receiving spot to make haste towards another rendezvous spot to meet up with a special Skynet Battalion.
Upon finishing her information exchange and receiving a confirmation from the other machine, Star proceeded to climb down from her transmitting spot and make her way back to the main camp. She made sure she was quiet and steered away from any sources of light, so as to ensure she was not spotted by guards or refugees. Once by the motor pool it was easy for Star to insert herself into a group heading towards the main entrance into the mountain. The hard part was over, now all the machine had to do was go inside and head towards her sleeping quarters and wait for tomorrow.
1901 hours at the Connors quarters
Allison was nervous. Palms were sweaty and her stomach was churning to the point where she was worried she might just barf as soon as the door opened. She took a deep breath, knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.
Both she and Amanda had wanted to go, but Blair had made it clear that only one was required to watch over Kayla. After three rounds of "Rock Paper, Scissors" it was determined that Allison would be the one to take first nights watch.
Allison stood up straight as she heard the latch slide and the door creak open. Kate had Kayla in her arms and greeted Allison with a warm smile.
"Hi Allison... We were worried you were not going to show up." Kate's steel blue gaze looked directly into Allison's milk chocolate eyes.
Allison looked down at her feet and took a deep breath before answering. "I... well I kind of got lost at first. I'm so sorry I'm late ... I know you are on a tight schedule..."
Kate waived it off with a flick of her wrist. "Not to worry Allison, I wasn't ready to leave anyways... and besides I need to go over a few things with you about Kayla before I am off to my duties." Kate liked Allison from the first time she had met the slender girl. Deep down she knew Kayla would be in good hands with either Allison or Amanda. Both girls had a certain grown up aura about them. Kate was not sure if it was to do with them being raised in such a harsh world or if it had just come naturally to them. She knew it would be good for both Kayla and the teen girls to spend time together.
Allison let out a deep breath. She was glad she wasn't in trouble, especially since this was her first night. She made a mental note to show Amanda how to get to the Connor's quarters so as to not let her friend make the same mistake she did. Allison knew the importance of showing that she was trustworthy and responsible too.
Kayla immediately gave Allison a big smile and even leaned forward to go into Allison's arms.
"I think she likes you Allison... She certainly isn't shy anymore." Kate Beamed.
Allison held her arms out and Kate passed the little girl over to her. Kayla greeted Allison with baby babble and an offering of a saliva soaked toy.
"You'll have to excuse her messy toys, but she is teething and so constantly drools... not to mention she will chew on anything, including your fingers ... so watch out."
"No problem...I've taken care of a few kids before... at the other camps that Derek and I had been to." Allis0on replied while she instinctively held Kayla close to her and began to straighten out the child's clothes.
Kate smiled and ushered Allison into the main room. "Well... come in sweetie and I'll give you the grand tour."
The room was small but well laid out for the Connors to sleep as well as work. Being about the size of a standard living room in a house, it was divided up by curtains to provide privacy for the baby and the Connors to sleep separately. To Allison's left she could see a huge office desk up against the wall with a laptop, papers and a small desk lamp. In the center of the room were a love seat, coffee table and armchair. To Allison's right was the sleeping area, closed off by curtains partly drawn in front of the bed and baby crib.
"It's not much, but it is cosy enough for us." Kate beamed.
Allison took another look around "I like it...it is very cosy."
Kate pointed towards the desk. "There is a fridge beside the desk there, it works and has some juice for Kayla and you can have some too. The cabinets above have her bottles and there are glasses too." She paused for a moment, then continued. "Oh...almost forgot...some snacks are there for you, soda crackers and dried fruits too. You are welcome to help yourself to some if you get hungry."
Allison smiled sweetly. "Thank you Kate...I think Kayla and I will do just fine and you should get going." Allison looked down at the little girl in her arms. "Right Kayla?"
Allison was met with a big smile, drool and baby talk from Kayla.
Kate began to gather her things before leaving, but paused to give Allison some final instructions in regards to if anything happened inside the encampment. She was told about an escape tunnel down the hallway from the room, as well as where extra guns, medical supplies and provisions were kept just in case of an attack. Allison listened closely to what Kate had to say, absorbing every detail explained to her. Once finished, Kate gave Kayla a big kiss, then she got Allison to distract the child with a toy while she made ready to exit the room.
Once leaving her room and softly closing the door, Kate let out a sigh of relief. She had high hopes Allison would become a loyal and trustworthy member of the resistance. She pressed her ear up against the door to listen for a split second. Kate could make out the fait sounds of Allison talking and Kayla giggling. She smiled to herself, relieved that her baby was in good hands. Glad that Kayla had not made a fuss, Kate strode off down the hallway. Her mind a little bit more at ease, now that she had Allison and Amanda to watch over her daughter while she was off doing day to day duties around the camp.
Kate still had a nagging feeling in the back of her head that Skynet was still about. John was in the same frame of mind, but then he had never been fully convinced blowing up Skynet central in San Francisco had really stopped the machines. His uneasiness had also rubbed off on Kate. She was worried about her family, as well as the lives of others in the camp. As she made a left turn down at the end of the hallway, Kate almost ran into the tiny figure walking the opposite way.
"Star?"
Star was a bit startled too; as she was sure she would not be noticed. She smiled and signed to Kate with her hands that she was on her way to bed.
"Ok Star...but it is a bit late for you to be out and about. Does Kyle know?"
Star answered Kate with a smile and nod. She hoped nothing would be mentioned to Kyle as he would probably flip out and find some way to keep a closer eye on her. This would not be good for her, especially if she wanted to keep in contact with Skynet. Timing was crucial if Skynet was to be successful in decimating Crystal Peak.
Kate rolled her eyes. "Okay young lady...get off to bed right away, or I will tell Kyle about this."
Star smiled, turned and ran off towards her room. So far plans were going off without any complications.
Kate sighed as she saw Star run off towards her room. She hoped her daughter Kayla would not be as much trouble as Star. Kate always wondered about the small girl that never spoke, it was so weird, but fully understandable that the girl would not speak. Kyle had told both her and John about how he had found the mute girl; she could understand why Star was still not speaking. After all, even a child will suffer for years when something traumatic has happened, especially if she never got any help in dealing with it. Only time would tell if the girl would ever speak, or even grow. Kate was unsure of the girls age, but still felt that after getting proper food the girl would show signs of actually growing taller or fatter, but she had remained the same size as when Kate had first seen her.
Kate shook her head. She had more important things to worry about and needed a clear mind to tackle the problems that were mounting on a daily basis at the camp. She brushed past another guard in the hallway, went through the door leading to the spiral staircase that went down about three stories deeper into the mountain. The main command center was located here and so was her husband John.
Kate softened her gaze and smiled warmly at her love.
John, sensing he was being watched, looked up and smiled at his wife as soon as he saw her. He motioned her to come closer as he needed her opinion on some short term solutions to the growing need for more food and water for the camp. Kate was his wife, but also his second in command and a somber second opinion whenever he needed one. Without her, decisions would be much tougher.
"C'mere my love... I have some things I need to discuss with you."
Kate moved up beside her husband and after hooking her arm around his waist, she proceeded to stare down at the paperwork spread across the table in front of them. 'It was going to be a long night.' She thought to herself. 'But at least I get to spend it with John."
Kate rested her head on John's shoulder as he went about explaining plans to send out small groups to search an ever broader area for anything they could use for food or to help grow food.
A split second later one of the radio staff burst through into the room.
John and Kate instinctively had drawn weapons, but soon realized the young man was not a threat.
John approached him first. "What's the rush soldier?"
The man took a second to catch his breath. "We intercepted something... something big sir."
Intrigued and also alarmed, Kate prodded the private for further explanation. "What do you mean?"
"It's a coded message, but has the traits of something from Skynet..."
"Go on "John placed his arm on the soldiers shoulder.
"Well there were more than one involved...as far as I can tell, but... it originated from inside the camp."
"This camp?" Kate's hands became sweaty as soon as she braced for the answer.
"Yes Commander."
John and Kate looked to each other at the same time. Skynet was back...