THE FUTURE 2024, SIX MONTHS AFTER JOHN CONNOR'S ARRIVAL
Since John has arrived in the unknown future, his only goal was to retrieve Cameron's chip and then travel back to his time, so he could have Cameron at his side again. That was his greatest desire but also he missed his mother greatly. He seeked her guidance. She was like a beacon to him. Never before John had to worry about greater things in his life, because he knew that his mom was there to take care of everything. He missed her presence in his life.
Things weren't going so well for him in this timeline either. His mission to search for Cameron was put to a halt as he was under constant surveillance in the hideouts. He did manage to convince them temporarily or so he thought about reprogramming terminators but it didn't work in the long run. The people thought it was too risky. They didn't want any more danger than they already have. One thing John understood is that no one here has the will to fight back against Skynet, the goal of the people here is just to survive as long as they can by hiding from Skynet. But they didn't see that in the long run it is ineffective. Skynet will eventually find them and slaughter everyone, just like it does. But who would convince them? It was not possible for him, because here he is just a nobody and no one seems to trust him, except Allison.
He has gone out on a few missions and has seen the world outside. It was nothing he knew, it was just a wasteland filled with wreckage and high radiation in some places. The missions were nothing revolting, just scavenging missions - Weapons, ammo, rations and medical supplies.
John wanted to leave the base and went out on his own to search for John Henry, but he had no idea where John Henry was. Where'd he look for him? Also Weaver had made no attempts to contact him. He felt so lost here and naked here without his mother and Cameron.
This future has no hope. People are scared and unmotivated. When he came to this future he never thought how he'd return to his time after he retrieved Cameron's chip. He was so heart-broken and emotional over losing Cameron that he'd never considered these things before time traveling with Weaver.
John came out of his thoughts at Allison's warning and ducked at the last second as a rapid burst of bullets missed his head narrowly.
What the hell?
John thought. He was so engrossed with his feelings that he completely forgot where he was. Right now they - he, Allison and a few more were in a fight against Skynet's machines. Aerobots, T-7s, HKs all were after them. John peeked slightly over his cover to look at the T-7 which was raining bullets over other men who were pinned down behind a small wall. John quickly realized that the wall will not hold on for long before it crumbles against the bullets from the T-7s machine guns. He ran his hand over his pockets and found a pipe bomb. Last one. He had to make it count. Observing that the last T-7 was distracted, he quickly and quietly flanked the machine and got into a position where he had a clear view of the machine's rare side.
All the members of the team are almost out of ammunition, because the fight was going on for so long and they didn't fight efficiently. Right now John had only a single mag left of his M-17 rifle, two bullets of his SPAS-12 and a single pipe bomb. The T-7s armors were thick, it took a lot of bullets to take even one down. But John knew where the machine's weak points were, in theory. Cameron had taught him in the past about all the Skynet's patrolling machines, their weakness, strengths, etc. He was glad now that he'd listened back then.
From his cover John threw the pipe bomb at the rear of the T-7. The explosion didn't destroy it but it was damaged and stunned. John could see electricity sparking in the body of the machine. Wasting no time, he aimed his rifle and emptied half of his mag at the machine's weak spot. It was enough. The machine trembled for a moment before exploding into several pieces of metallic junk.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief and relaxed for a bit. John also slumped down against the wall. He was in the future for several months and had gone out on missions. He even took down some machines but it was never this serious. This one felt like an ambush, like the machines were waiting for them in this position. It was because of Allison's leadership that they had survived. She'd never panicked in the middle of the fight and encouraged others to focus. If you turn your back on Skynet's machines and try to run you are as good as dead.
Allison came to John and slumped down beside him tiredly.
"Casualties?" John asked, looking at her. Her eyes were closed with her head resting against the solid wall behind her.
Allison took a few seconds before answering. "No one so far. Few had scratches but nothing serious." She then looked at John. "How are you holding up? This must have been tough for you. But you did good John. I'd say your performance was great for a newbie." She smiled at him slightly.
"I am alright." John assured her. "But we have a problem Allison. All of us are almost out of ammunition."
Allison's expression turned worrisome immediately. "Yes. Without ammunition we're dead anyways."
John looked at her and hesitated. Allison noticed that.
"Is there something on your mind, John?" She asked curiously.
John was looking at the ground below his feet. He was not sure why he'd felt it and he was even more doubtful whether he should talk to Allison about his hunch. "I don't know. It's just that I think something is wrong about this mission. We've never come this deep into Skynet's territory for scavenging. Then why send us now? And did you see Skynet's machines? They were waiting for us. They had known that we'd come here. Something is off." John explained his doubts.
Allison never stopped John while he explained his mind. She listened carefully to him. His reasons. She never had any reason to be doubtful before but now she does. John was right. How did Skynet track them? They never got spotted before getting ambushed in this place. And why would their superior officers send them here without any support? She felt it strange when she was given the order to venture so deep into Skynet territory for scavenging. But she never doubted it back then because she was raised as a soldier who just follows orders. She'd never thought about her superior's orders before. She was given a task and she'd complete it. But John, he has changed her way of thinking. Now she could see the flaws in this mission. Right now, in the Skynet territory they are almost out of ammunition and they couldn't even find anything important from the place of their mission. Her men were now scared. She couldn't blame them though. No one wants to die, everyone fears death. But she has managed to keep her people in check so far. She didn't know for how long she would be able to do so. They have another area to explore but with their current state, she doubts they'd even survive long enough to even reach the place.
"Allison." John called her softly. Hearing his voice she just stared back at him, her expression was full of worry. "Do you trust me?" John asked her.
She sighed slightly and looked John into his eyes. "I don't know, John. I know that you are not working for Skynet and not our enemy. But the things you know, you can do, for someone your age is something misfitting, I guess? The way you fight against Skynet's machines, you are no rookie I can tell. You know how to fight them. And when you first showed up at our camp you never answered all of our questions. You are a mystery John Connor, to me and everyone else."
John shook his head. "I was a rookie. I had no idea what I was doing when I went out on scavenging missions with you guys months ago."
"But you adapted, so fast. It is impossible for someone who has no knowledge about the war and especially about the machines." Allison countered, looking at John. She saw that John wanted to say something to her, but decided against it at the last second. She could tell it by the expression on his face.
"I do want to tell you guys. But if I'd explained myself back then and told you guys the whole story, you would have either thrown me out of the camp or would have shot me for lying. My words are hard to believe. If I was in your position, I wouldn't have believed it myself. It was not an act, I was really confused when I first arrived at your base. I had no idea where I was or when. Then Derek didn't recognize me, it made me more confused." John paused for a few seconds. His throat was becoming dry. But he decided that Allison deserved to know some things from his side. She'd have been by his side from the moment he arrived in this post-apocalyptic timeline. She had done nothing but always supported him. She can't know all the things but she'd deserved to have an idea. "It was overwhelming for me, when I realized that he had no idea who I was. I was trying to cope with that feeling, but then it all crashed down, when I first saw you." John said the last part in almost whisper. His eyes began to turn glassy. Allison didn't interrupt. She'd let him speak. "I was so sure that you were her. For whom I had abandoned everything, the world and even my own mother."
Allison now looked at John. Really looked at him. She didn't see a liar or a traitor but a broken young man who seems to have lost everything. He abandoned his mother? For Cameron? He loved her that much? Allison felt slightly envious of Cameron because of the loyalty, love and dedication John has for her. These things are hard to find, especially these days. People only think about themselves and here is John, who perhaps sacrificed everything for someone he loved.
John didn't notice Allison's stare. He was staring at the ground while his mind was with Cameron and his memories of her. He let out a sad smile. "You know I didn't even acknowledge to myself that I had a special connection with her. I should have realized long ago, but I didn't and neither did she. Then I pushed her away and she'd let me because she thought that I'd be happy if she kept her distance from me. All the connections we had were almost destroyed and it was entirely my fault." John murmured under his breath.
Allison didn't understand John's actions. "Why did you push her away?"
John waited a few seconds before replying, "I blamed her for something which wasn't her fault. I guess I let out my frustration on her about something which I desired so deeply but could never have. Then one day, I met someone else and things turned worse. I know neither my mom or Cameron blamed me for anything, but deep inside I know I was wrong. I was the one to blame. I turned everything upside down. Cameron warned me several times - Fair is Foul. But I'd never listened and I stubbornly went after something which I never wanted in the first place. It was all a lie though. But it was too late when I knew the truth, by that time I had already destroyed my relationship with my mother and especially Cameron. My actions not only destroyed the relationship we had, but also endangered my whole family. My uncle died, my mom was imprisoned and Cameron was badly hurt the last time I saw her. It was all a blur after that, and before I could even get my head in about what the hell was going on I ended up in your camp."
Allison's eyes were glassy too. She could tell that there are some things about which he didn't speak but for now this much would do. At least for her. There are still a lot of questions which needed answering but she knew not to push someone, someone like John Connor.
"I'm sorry, John. I didn't want you to remember all your painful memories." Allison apologized.
John smiled. "You didn't. They are always here." He pointed towards his head. Then he let out a deep sigh. "I miss my mom though."
Allison scooted closer to John and pulled him into a hug. He'd let her. "We all miss our loved ones, John. I can feel your pain." She could feel his body shaking as she'd let him cry into her shoulder silently. "Let it out John. Don't hold back. I'm here for you." She whispered into his ears as she held him against her side.
SOMETIME LATER
Allison observed her six teammates other than John. They were not military and were never trained properly with guns or given knowledge about Skynet's patrolling machines. They were just civilians. It was not the right thing to do by bringing them into a dangerous mission like this one, but during this time, everyone is needed, even the civilians. They are scared, she could tell and are reluctant to move forward. They want to return back to the base. But with their rations and ammunition so low, they'd never make it on foot back to base. They'd either be gunned down by Skynet's patrolling machines or would be taken hostage to work in factories.
The only option open to Allison was to communicate with her superiors and ask for support to get them out from here. She'd even tried to contact them, several times actually but all she got was static. It was not just her radio but everyone else's. It was evident that something was interfering with their signals. She was frustrated but nevertheless she tried again and again.
"Stupid machine!" She cursed.
Suddenly John appeared beside her and stopped her from making sounds on the radio. "Shhh!" He hushed her.
Allison immediately warned others to duck behind covers. Currently they are now holding their position in an abandoned and destroyed building. If the machines found them now, they are as good as dead. From her cover she peeked slightly to see what was happening, because she didn't hear any sound of machines approaching their position and top of that they are fairly well hidden inside the ruins of the building.
"Aw shit!" John cursed beside her. "102m North-West. Five T-7s."
Allison peeked slightly before quickly ducking down again. "Have they seen us?"
"Nope. Not yet at least." John whispered.
"Oh fuck! We are going to die!" Someone cried.
"The machines are going to kill us." Another one complained. "We can't stay here."
"How did they find us?"
That was what John was curious about too. He was wondering that too himself. Everywhere they are going and trying to avoid the machines, it seems they always knew their positions. At that moment his eyes fell on the radio in Allison's hands. And then he knew.
"Allison the radio, give it to me. I've an idea." John said urgently.
Allison immediately handed the radio over to him. John instantly slipped away from his cover and keeping his head low he moved forward quickly and silently while crouching.
"What the hell is he doing?"
"That kid is going to get us killed."
"I don't want to die. I've to return to my son."
Allison realized the others were panicking more by John's actions. She was surprised herself too. She couldn't understand what he was trying to do. She peeked from her cover and saw John heading into a small tunnel.
What the hell is he doing? That's a dead end. There's nowhere to go. She thought.
She was about to leave her cover and go after John but as if reading her mind he looked back at her and shook his head. He didn't want her to come. Then she saw him pulling out a C4 from his backpack and then he went down and she could see him no more. A minute has passed and she could see the machines are getting closer. They are within 70m now. She felt her men panicking behind their covers seeing the machines so close and being defenseless, almost.
"Don't show yourself. Stay hidden. No matter what happens. John knows what he is doing." She tried to provide confidence to the people. "I hope." She murmured the last sentences to herself.
The machines were close now, but from their position they still couldn't see John. Suddenly the machines' attention was diverted away from Allison and her team when they heard a loud static. A radio static. Allison saw from her cover John quickly ran out from the tunnel and jumped behind the wreckage among the streets. The machines immediately begin to move towards the sound of the static. They slowly and methodically entered the tunnel one after another and then the tunnel exploded and crushed the machines to their death.
Now Allison realized what John did. He distracted the machines and destroyed them all with a single C4. His actions were risky but it was brilliant. John Connor just saved them all. She saw John stand up from behind the cover, looking at his handi-work. He was slightly bleeding from a cut on his forehead but it was nothing serious. John showed a thumbs up towards her. Allison returned the gesture and smiled.
But among all this chaos none noticed a small Aerostat observing them quietly from far above. The drone was controlled by a man, who was sitting in front of a complex computer in an unknown facility. He saw everything. What John Connor did. But as soon as the explosion happened, he realized that his hands, legs and other parts of his body were not in his control anymore. An unpleasant sensation occurred in his head, in human terms he could define it as a panic attack. Right now, he is not in control of his body. He saw himself jump up from his seat and immediately move towards the entrance of the facility. In his CPU he felt an urgency to go to John Connor, to see for himself whether John Connor was okay or not.
But all these sensations and actions were not him. It was her. He experienced what she was feeling or felt. The explosion was very close to John Connor's hiding position, he could've been injured badly or worse. It made him curious how advanced she is. He has extended studies of human brains and emotions and he could see that her CPU works almost as similar as a human brain, meaning she could feel genuine human emotions and could even express them herself. She was capable of it. He had studied chips of other cybernetic organisms but her CPU was so very different from them and much much more advanced. He could've overwritten and stopped her but he didn't. As he saw his body walking towards the door fast, someone halted him in his path or rather her. It was a woman with red hair, without an ounce of expression on her face, her eyes were cold and merciless, and she was wearing a business suit as usual. Catherine Weaver.
"You cannot leave this facility, John Henry." Weaver stood still in front of him.
He retorted back, but it was not his voice that came out from his mouth. It was a female voice. "I've to go. John needs me. He shouldn't be here."
"No. He doesn't." Weaver countered back.
"Please step aside." The female voice was heard from John Henry's mouth again. His eyes glowed red behind his human eyes, in anger. John Henry could tell that Cameron was angry at Mrs. Weaver for stopping her. But more than that she was concerned for John Connor's well-being. He could understand everything that was going inside her CPU, as they were both sharing a single one.
"I can't let you put John Henry in danger." Weaver said, without any expression. "Your John is safe where he is. He needs to learn."
"John is more important. You shouldn't have brought him here." Cameron replied through John Henry's mouth.
Weaver stared back evenly. "I didn't bring him here. He came on his own will. He is too emotionally attached to you."
Cameron didn't understand why John came through time behind her. She thought that John hated her. And he left Sarah behind for her? She gave her chip to John Henry willingly. Her reason was that she thought John wanted her away from his life, so she thought by giving her chip to John Henry at least she would be able to help him by passing her knowledge to John Henry. Future John had given her a choice, whether to stay by his younger-self or sacrifice her chip to John Henry and she had chosen the latter. She had lied to him when she told him that she was not hundred percent after she got Sarah out of prison. The firearms of the police officers could do nothing to her except damage her skin. And John had believed her.
But then again, John had also lied to her like the way she lied to him. He told her through his actions that he didn't want her around, but him coming after her through time proved otherwise. He wanted her, just like she wanted to stay around him. After the car explosion when she told him that she loved him, it was a lie. But things changed when John decided not to burn her. She was not the same after rebooting. She could understand everything, feel everything. Every time she saw John close with Riley, she just wanted to crush Riley's skull with her bare hands like a watermelon. She had no idea why she felt that way. Felt? Yes, she could feel. It started to happen after the car explosion. Every time John talked with her harshly or dismissed her, she felt insecure and hurt. She never let him see but she knew she cried every time. Being around Derek Reese, she wanted to punch him through a wall sometimes, she felt irritated around him. She also didn't like being around Sarah much, but she didn't hate Sarah like Derek. The only person whom she liked didn't want her near him. That was sometimes overwhelming to her CPU. She never understood her feelings back then.
But now she does.
Weaver said John was attached to her emotionally. What she suspected was true. John does care for her, just like the way she cared for him. Just like the way she loves him. The word 'love' was a lie to her before, but not anymore. She could understand, feel and even show it just like a human does. Maybe just like John does.
She let John Henry take over when she observed on the screen that John was okay except for a small cut. If she was there she could've helped him, treat that wound but she is not. John would've to take care of himself until….
Her eyes fell on the lifeless body of her own lying a few feet away at the corner of the large room. Her endoskeleton needed fixing before her chip could be inserted back into her own body.
Another thing she didn't understand - Why did Weaver bring her body back in this timeline? Did she already know that this would happen? Guess she would have to ask Weaver later, but for now she is content that John is okay.
LATER
Allison quickly decided that they would continue their journey. It was the only way. She had heard there are a number of humans hiding under Skynet's nose. Her only goal was to find them and restock supplies. John was walking beside her silently. He hadn't said a word till his stunt.
"What you did back there, saved our lives, John. We all owe it to you." Allison said. The others agreed with her.
John didn't smile. "You would've done the same in my place. It was nothing."
"Yes. We would've but your quick thinking got us out from certain death. I don't think we could've done that. I've spent all my life running away from machines and fighting them, but I never did what you did back there. It was brilliant." She praised him with utmost sincerity.
"Yes, Connor. You're a goddamn hero in my books." Someone agreed with Allison.
John looked at Allison and the others. "I had a hunch and it just worked." John replied simply.
Allison was curious now. "What hunch?"
"I was thinking about how Skynet zero'd our position. Then our radios were not working and I got the feeling that our radio signals were hacked. And I was right. That was how Skynet found us." John explained.
"So…." Allison tried to say but her words remained unspoken as she found at least twenty rifles were pointed towards her and her team.
"Don't move!" A voice warned them. "Drop your weapons!"
They did so.
A man came forward and stood in front of her. He was at least six feet tall and built heavy. He looked like a veteran soldier.
"Who are you people? And what are you doing here?" The man asked with suspicious eyes.
Allison spoke first as she was the leader of the group. "We're not here to cause any trouble. We're just looking for some supplies then we'd be on our way. Anything you could spare."
"Hmph!" The man grunted. He looked back at his men. "We shouldn't stay out here in the open. The HKs are patrolling occasionally. And you people follow me. Any sign of trouble we will shoot you in the head. Any questions?"
"None." Allison replied with her hands up.
Allison and her team followed the man inside into a building and then inside a tunnel. It was an abandoned subway station. The man sat down on a chair and faced them.
"Name is Barnes. Now tell me the real reason why you are here." He demanded.
"I've already told you." Allison said.
"You told me you are looking for supplies. But you never told me what you are doing so deep into the Skynet territory. No one comes here." The man stated, looking at Allison.
"Scavenging missions." Allison replied shortly.
The man raised his eyebrows. "Scavenging? And so deep into the Skynet territory? You should've questioned your orders, soldier."
"We only follow orders. No questions are asked."
The man let out a sigh. "Typical." He paused. "I hope you didn't bring the machines here. We've been safe here for sometime now."
Allison didn't reply.
"By the way, you cannot come back the way you came here. Skynet has blocked all the roads and put heavy patrols everywhere. You won't make it without assistance." Barnes revealed. "The reason? Unknown."
John came forward though. He faced the man directly. "Do you know any Skynet facility nearby which could be jamming our radio signals?"
The man looked John up and down. "Who are you kid?"
"John Connor. And I am not a kid. I am seventeen."
The man snorted. "It's all the same to me. But if that makes a difference to you, well okay. And yes, there's a Skynet facility about two miles from here, North-East. Skynet is jamming all communications from there."
"Skynet is not only jamming the signal, it is also tracking every signal. We couldn't even communicate with our base." John said.
The man stood up from his chair. His face showed the realization of something he was confused about. "So that's how they found us." He murmured to himself.
John left him alone with his thoughts and came to Allison who was talking with the others. "Allison, we need to talk." He said urgently.
"Excuse me." Allison said to her men and followed John to the corner. "What is it John?" She asked with concern in her voice.
"I've found a way out from here." John said.
Allison's eyes lightened up at his words.
"No. Wait. You won't like what I will say next. Barnes said there's a Skynet jamming tower about two miles from here. Our only shot of getting out of here is to destroy it." John explained.
Allison's eyes widened. "That's goddamn suicide, John!"
John was not angry at her. "I know. But it is the only way. If we can destroy that tower then we can also get all these people out from here."
"But John, no one will agree to come with you on this one. Trust me." Allison pleaded with him.
But John didn't listen. "I know. That's why I am going to do this alone. No one should die for me." He said with a look of determination on his face. John was not stepping back, he had already made up his mind. He has nothing to lose anyway. He has lost his mom, lost Cameron and probably destroyed everything by time traveling here, in this timeline.
Allison looked at him with disbelief on her face. "Tell me you are bluffing."
But he was not. She could tell by the look on his face. One thing Allison knew about him that once John Connor made up his mind about something there is no one who could persuade him otherwise.
