Chapter 47

Gone

There was a thunderous roar and vibration which shook the Resistance base.

Savannah awoke. Neatly hanging on the back of her room door was Cameron's wedding dress.

"Cammy!" Savannah cried out.

Allison awoke. She noticed all of Cameron's clothes neatly folded and sitting in their room on top of her dresser.

"Vanna!" Allison called out.

Vanna awoke. She saw some things she'd been working on in the lab. They sat on her dresser. They were completed and finished now. Cameron previously told her she would assist her with them.

"Allison!" Vanna gasped.

Sarah awoke. Hanging on the back of her room door was Cameron's purple coat.

"Kyle!" Sarah shouted.

Kyle awoke. He'd heard Sarah call his name. He looked at her face and knew he'd never seen her look like that before. There was a look of shock and terror on her face.

"Sarah!" Kyle said.

John awoke - he was alone.

He looked around. Sitting on the dresser was Cameron's Poem book. On top of it sat her wedding band and her diamond engagement ring.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" John screamed.

The loud hum and thunderous roar intensified in magnitude.

Everyone awoke at the same time.

The reason was obvious to everyone. The TDE was being powered up. There was no mistaking it for anything else. With the intensity of the TDE they heard, they all knew it wasn't a test.

It required immediate action to stop the mission. Everyone knew they would be too late, but they all tried anyway. Each one of them wanted to reach Cameron and stop her.

John grabbed his shorts and ran out into the hall. He put them on as he ran. He was unaware they were now on backwards.

Allison grabbed a long tee shirt and threw it over her unclad form. It would have almost covered her private parts if she was standing still. She was running and everything was clearly on 'display'. She didn't know it. Even if she did, she wouldn't have cared. She needed to get to Cameron. It was the only thing which mattered. Cameron NEEDED her. If she couldn't stop Cameron, she was going to go with her.

Vanna grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top. She slid the shorts on and headed out the door topless. She tried to put the top on as she ran after Allison. She dropped it but was able to grab it on the go. She wouldn't have cared if she missed it and left it behind. She needed to get to Cameron. It was the only thing which mattered. Cameron NEEDED her. If she couldn't stop Cameron, she was going to go with her.

Sarah and Kyle threw on whatever clothes were closest. They weren't even sure, or cared, whose clothes they grabbed. They just knew they needed to move and move NOW. They needed to get to Cameron. It was the only thing that mattered. Cameron NEEDED them. Sarah knew if she couldn't stop Cameron, she was going to go with her.

Savannah just looked at the wedding dress and cried.

"I promise, Cammy." Savannah said.

Savannah knew her destiny. Cameron prepared her well. She made a promise to Cameron at her wedding. She intended to keep it one day. It might be sooner than she'd anticipated.

"I promise, Cammy. I promise, Cammy. I promise, Cammy…." Savannah repeated it over and over.

There was a rush of Resistance members headed to the TDE room.

Bob and Jim stood outside and blocked the path. They remained unmoving. They blocked and guarded the door to the TDE room. They wouldn't allow anyone to pass.

John struggled to get by them. It was impossible.

"Move." John yelled at them. "Get out of my way."

The big Terminators didn't yield. Cameron only ever asked them for one thing.

"I choose termination to honor Cameron's last request." Bob said.

Jim wanted to assist Cameron as well.

"As do I." Jim added.

Both of them remained unmoving.

John still struggled to get by them.

"I have to see her." John cried. "We need to stop her."

John continued to try to get around them. They were like solid rock.

"Cameron!" John screamed. "Cameron!"

Allison and Vanna were there now.

"Let us go by. PLEASE!" Allison and Vanna pleaded.

Vanna finally was able to get her top on.

They also tried to get by. The Terminators didn't yield.

Bob wanted them to understand the nature of their mission.

"It's Cameron's last request. Please honor it as we do. I'll submit to chip extraction after she's gone." Bob said. "I can't fail in the only thing Cameron has ever asked of me."

Jim heeded Cameron's last request too. He felt it was important the others understood.

"It's our duty to Cameron." Jim said. "We will not fail. I'll submit to chip extraction after she's gone as well."

The Terminators felt it was their duty to honor Cameron. It was what they intended to do.

Kyle and Sarah showed up.

Sarah didn't understand why the TDE door was being blocked.

"What the Hell is going on?" Sarah demanded. "Get out of the way - NOW."

The thunder died down. The hum disappeared. There was no more vibration.

The TDE was shut down.

There was no sound at all. Everyone knew what it meant. It was over. Cameron was gone.

John Henry emerged from the TDE room.

John moved up to him and looked him square in the face.

"Where is she?" John demanded.

John Henry understood everything came with a price. He was willing to pay it. He simply stated the obvious.

"Gone…." John Henry replied. "I'll now submit to chip extraction."

John Henry knelt on the floor. Bob and Jim knelt next to him.

"If you choose to terminate us, we won't resist. What we did, was what Cameron asked of us. What has Cameron ever asked of us, any of us?" John Henry asked. "I honored her by honoring her only request. It was the only thing she ever asked of me."

The three Terminators remained on their knees.

John Henry produced a scalpel. He'd come prepared. It was time to 'pay the piper'.

"It will be an honorable termination for us. We carried out Cameron's final request. You may begin chip extraction." John Henry said. "I'll go first."

He held the scalpel out for John, or anyone, to take.

Allison and Vanna looked at each other and held hands. Each of them gave a knowing nod to the other as tears streamed down their cheeks. They knew what Cameron wanted from them if she failed to return. They would keep their promises. They held each other as they burst into uncontrollable crying.

Bob wanted the others to understand the significance of Cameron's only request to him.

"Cameron only gives and sacrifices for ALL of us." Bob added. "We wanted to obey her. We chose to obey her. We did what she wanted us to do. She's done so much for everyone."

Jim wanted to honor all of Cameron's assistance, and her personal sacrifice, to protect the Resistance members.

"She's taken damage for all of us. She's saved many of your lives several times over. She saved our lives too." Jim said. "We all owed her. Carrying out her last and only request, was the way to honor her sacrifice."

Sarah and Kyle tried to comfort John.

John could only think of one thing to do. It was what he'd done before when Cameron's chip was taken away. He could see no other choice now either.

"I have to go after her. I have to." John pleaded

Tears streamed down John's cheeks.

John Henry still held the scalpel out. Before he was deactivated, he wanted John to understand he wouldn't be able to follow her.

"It's impossible. I've erased the information from the TDE, and my memory. There's no record of it. It was her request." John Henry said. "I don't even know where, or when, she's gone to. There's no way to know. It was what she wanted so no further mistakes would be made on her behalf."

John still couldn't believe it was happening. There was a sick feeling which nagged at him. He couldn't shake it.

"She's never coming back is she?" John asked.

John knew the answer before he asked the question.

John Henry felt the prospects of a successful mission were slim.

"It's very unlikely. She'll most likely end up lost in time. She may be lost in some divergent timeline because of all the changes we've made." John Henry said. "Since she's not back now, she's failed. She said she would return right after she left, if she was successful. She wanted to avoid the very scene which is currently happening."

They all looked around. There was no sign of Cameron anywhere. The gravity of John Henry's statement seemed to take an even more ominous note. There was a certain amount of finality to it.

Vanna, Allison, and Sarah all knew it was what Cameron planned to do when she went after John, when he was in the future. She planned to return right after she'd left. It should have been seamless if it worked. It wasn't how it played out.

"We need to give it more time." Sarah said. "The TDE isn't accurate to the second. There can be a considerable time lag."

More time passed. There was nothing. Cameron wasn't there. She'd failed to return.

John Henry repeated his earlier assessment.

"Cameron belongs to time now." John Henry said.

Allison remembered what Cameron told her before when they'd gone out on a mission.

"Where Cameron will look for John, until her power cell runs out, or she's terminated." Allison cried. "She'll never stop until one of those two events occurs."

John heard the same words before.

"Cameron said the same thing to me too." John added. "It was almost those same exact words."

John Henry still held the scalpel.

Sarah was upset with everything. She noticed something was missing. A new red flag went up. It left her with a very uneasy feeling.

"Where are those two new Terminators?" Sarah asked. "They didn't take her, did they?"

John Henry glanced at Sarah. He wanted her to understand their mission. He believed they would increase Cameron's chances of survival, in whatever timeline she found herself in.

"Unit Two and Unit Three went with her." John Henry said.

It upset John further. He didn't think Cameron trusted them. She never used them for anything. She always kept them in the storage room in standby.

"What was their purpose?" John demanded. "Why did they go with her?"

John would rather have had John Henry, Bob, or Jim go with her instead. He knew he could trust them.

John Henry laid out their mission as he understood it. He didn't believe they would fail to protect Cameron either. The fact none of them were there, only made it worse. There was one more thing Cameron didn't want them to do.

"They went for her protection and security. It's their function to protect Cameron at any cost." John Henry said. "None of them have returned. Cameron asked we not mourn her."

John Henry was sure since none of them returned, they were all terminated. One of them should have made it back.

Bob didn't want to delay the inevitable. He was ready for the next step. It was his termination.

"You may terminate us now." Bob reminded them. "Please make it swift."

The three Terminators silently awaited termination on their knees.

John was thoroughly disgusted. He was heartbroken and upset. He didn't want vengeance enacted on the Terminators for doing the one thing Cameron asked of them. They all did it for her, even as they believed it would result in their own termination. They still did it anyway. They were all willing to sacrifice for her.

It was clear they all 'loved' Cameron in their own way. Sacrifice was the true test of love.

John didn't want any more drama. It was still hard to believe any of this was real.

"Get up! Get up everyone. There will be no terminations. There's been enough loss today." John said. "I can't believe this."

The tears still flowed down John's cheeks

Kyle and Sarah walked John back to his room. They were as hurt and upset as he was.

The three Terminators resumed their normal duties. It was something Cameron told them to do. She told them they most likely wouldn't be terminated and to continue to serve the Resistance. They were to carry on the fight in her demise and defeat Skynet. She reminded all of them to be careful in their endeavors, and wear the body armor when it arrived. She didn't want any unnecessary damage done to them. They could see her concern for them. It only made their commitment to her stronger.

Vanna and Allison were left standing there alone. They still held each other. The tears continued to stream down their faces. They slowly walked away to return to their room and get dressed. They'd both made a promise to Cameron. It was a promise which they both intended to keep. They now understood her insistence. She KNEW. Cameron knew it was a one way trip.

Cameron KNEW she would be terminated and she needed them to replace her for John. They never really understood her actions and insistence before with her pushing them towards John. Now it was clear, crystal clear. They still remembered the time lag before when Cameron went into their future to retrieve John. They would carry out their promise, but they needed to wait a reasonable amount of time before they did. To carry out their promise to Cameron, would indicate she was never coming back.

The tears were gone for now. There was a sad finality to it all. Allison went with Vanna to the lab. Life went on. Life moved forward, not backwards. Cameron attempted to move backwards in life. Look where it took her. She was gone.

Vanna started her duties. Allison sat at the desk. Cameron's poems were neatly stacked in the corner. She gently touched them. She felt like she was touching Cameron's mind. Allison noticed her player. She couldn't find it earlier. She thought maybe she'd left it in the lab. Evidently she did. She picked up her player. She saw it was ready to play.

Fear gripped her. She thought it would be a message from Cameron. She didn't believe it would be a good one either.

"Vanna!" Allison swallowed hard.

Vanna rushed towards Allison. On the way there, she noticed the gutted server. She stopped and looked at it. She saw the trash can sitting there in front of it with the crushed hard drives in it.

Vanna just stood there and stared in disbelief. THAT was 'her Cameron'. 'HER Cameron' now lay in broken and crushed pieces in the trash can. She burst out into tears. Allison came to see what was wrong. She still held her player in her hand.

Vanna reached in the trash and picked some of the crushed pieces of the hard drives.

"Cameron!" Vanna screamed.

She looked up to Allison in total shock and disbelief.

Allison was startled by Vanna's scream. She bumped the 'play' button. The player started to play.

Vanna collapsed all the way to the floor as she heard the words of the song. Allison went down with her. Both women cried helplessly as the song played. They held onto each other as the grief tore them apart. The sadness and sorrow was overwhelming.

'Seasons In The Sun' by 'Terry Jacks', eerily echoed throughout the room.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Gone

The quest for things we want
Can slowly drive us insane
Many things we seek are illusive
They are very difficult to attain

We often want the impossible
Propelled by some inner drive
We are so caught up in the hunt
We miss those things when they arrive

There's what we have
There's what we want
How far will we go to get it
Maybe even pull a crazy stunt

It could be for more or a change
It always is something
In the end it doesn't matter
Everything is really nothing

We may be more ignorant
Than any common moron
We never realize what we have
Until it is forever gone

Nobody