Chapter 63

Absorbed

John looked at the Liquid Metal Terminator. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was 'Cameron' - sort of.

"Cameron?" John asked somewhat befuddled.

She didn't look quite 'right'. Her features were 'shimmering'.

John could tell something was off. None of it made any sense.

"Are you Cameron?" John asked.

The Liquid Metal Terminator shimmered and turned silver for a few seconds. All of its features were lost. It started to reform. It looked like John for a second, before it returned to the shimmering form of 'Cameron'. It appeared to be unable to hold the form of 'Cameron' for very long. It looked more like a photo image of Cameron, than actually 'Cameron'.

John was a little irritated with the lack of answers. He was with a group of heavily armed Resistance fighters and two unknown Terminators. It seemed things could take a turn for the worse in a moment's notice. He needed some answers and he needed them now.

"What are you?" John asked.

The Liquid Metal Terminator look at him.

"John, I am me. I am trying to get somewhere. I am not sure where it is, but I know I want to go there. I think I was there last night, or at least part of me was." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I need to find - John."

John wondered why the Liquid Metal Terminator knew his name, but said she was trying to find him. She should know she'd already found him. He looked over at the two Terminators who each carried a 'Thumper'. They were ready to fire on the Liquid Metal Terminator with the acid rounds.

"Why are you here?" John asked. "What's your mission?"

The Liquid Metal Terminator indicated the other Terminator with blonde hair and voluptuous features.

"John, I am after the 'Bitch Whore'. Don't interfere. I do not like the way she 'looks'." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "She reminds me of someone who offended me. I do not remember who or why, I just know she did."

John wasn't sure what was going on. How was any of it possible? Was Cameron now a Liquid Metal Terminator? Something wasn't right. It seemed a lot of things weren't right. 'Cameron' didn't look 'right'. She turned silver, and then featureless again.

He needed more information. He needed to know what happened. He wondered if something happened to Cameron and if what he looked at now, was the only thing which remained. Maybe there'd been some attempt to provide her with a different chassis if her other one was destroyed. It could also be an attempt at infiltration by Skynet.

"Are you Cameron?" John asked again.

The features on 'Cameron' seemed to be in flux and unable to maintain the same form for more than a few seconds. It appeared as if she needed to continually reset her appearance.

"John, I think I am." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "Part of me is."

Bob wasn't convinced it was Cameron. If it was Cameron, she should know more things. One of them was who she was, another one was who he was.

"Who am I?" Bob asked. "If you're Cameron, you know who I am."

The Liquid Metal Terminator didn't answer.

The Terminator with the blonde hair hadn't said much. It was now time for her to speak.

"She's lying. She's the 'Bitch Whore'." The blonde Terminator cut in.

John wanted to affirm his control of the situation and remind the two Terminators he held all the cards right now. It was time for a definitive show of force. Both Terminators needed to understand they could be destroyed in a few seconds. They now possessed the weapons to be able to do so.

"Everyone stand ready. Frank and Al move up." John said.

They both carried an M79 with the acid rounds.

"John Henry, get ready." John said.

John Henry currently held the M60 loaded with Coltan rounds.

Tension filled the air.

John was sure everything was about to explode into a confrontation.

"Ladies, take cover, I think this is going to go 'HOT'." John said to Allison and Vanna.

John moved closer to a rock formation for better cover. His weapon was ready, it was Cameron's Glock. She was always 'with him' this way in combat. He looked at the two unknown Terminators.

"I don't want you to move. If you do, we'll light you up." John told the Liquid Metal Terminator. "You need to listen to me and understand this. I need to know why you're here and who sent you."

The Liquid Metal Terminator didn't look like she was going to comply.

"John, we don't have to do this." The Liquid Metal Terminator said.

Sarah and Kyle arrived with more weapons. They brought another M79 and Thermite grenades.

"Like Hell we don't." Sarah said. "What is that thing?"

John wanted his parents reinforced.

"Dan, cover them." John said.

Dan moved forward to reinforce them.

"I'm on it." Dan replied.

Right now neither of the two new Terminators moved. They didn't seem to want to attack or retreat. They probably figured any move they made, would be the wrong move.

John wanted some answers from someone. He turned his attention to the other Terminator. He'd been unable to get any useful information from the Liquid Metal Terminator.

"OK Blondie, start talking. I think you both can see you're out gunned with weapons which can destroy both of you." John said. "Make no mistake. Unless we get some reliable and accurate answers, you're both in peril of being terminated."

There was a Coltan loaded M60 pointed at her. If she tried anything, she wouldn't get more than a step or two in before she was cut down.

"Let me start at the beginning." The blonde Terminator said.

Sarah thought both Terminators looked like trouble. The blonde one seemed to irritate her for a different reason than the Liquid Metal Terminator did.

"This better be good." Sarah said. "Start talking. Don't leave anything out."

Allison wanted to know some more too. She was still upset about needing to use herself as bait so the young Reese brothers wouldn't be accosted.

"I'm dying to hear it." Allison said.

The Resistance fighters were all on edge with itchy trigger fingers. The Resistance Terminators there with them, looked about the same. It appeared they could be dealing with more than one timeline. It was bad news if it was the case.

The blonde Terminator was Unit 645. She was sent by Mrs. Weaver to protect Young Derek and Young Kyle at Derek's request. It was feared Skynet would try to make a move on them. Derek, with the aid of Mrs. Weaver's 'friendly' Terminators, known as Restorators, worked alongside the Resistance They'd smashed the last few traces of Skynet. A last ditch effort was made to kill Derek before he became the face of the Resistance. Unit 645 was sent back to protect the younger version of him.

She was supposed to arrive at the Resistance base, but ended up elsewhere instead. She wasn't sure what happened, but somehow she was thrown off course. There was also a temporal time lag. She should have arrived months ago.

John Henry warned John about using their TDE, over and over, to try and send a 'lifeline' out to Cameron. It appeared they disrupted Unit 645 from arriving when she should have, as well as where she should have. They may also have drawn the unstable Liquid Metal Terminator to them. It appeared if they actually did 'pick' something up with the TDE, it ended up some place other than the base. The two energy fields deflected each other off course and time. It was possible if Cameron tried to reach them the same way, they may have 'bounced' her away to some other place or time. They didn't know at this point.

Unit 645 acquired the boys at the park. She spotted the Liquid Metal Terminator soon afterwards. She knew trouble was coming. She was about to swoop the boys up and run. It was at that point she saw Allison. Allison was in her top priority mandate, along with Savannah, Vanna and John. She moved to cut off the Liquid Metal Terminator to buy Allison time to run. She knew she wouldn't be able to defeat the Liquid Metal Terminator. She could only hope to slow it down. She agreed to submit to chip extraction to prove what she said was true. Once the chip was removed all data could be confirmed. Unit 645 dropped to her knees in an act of submission. She could see the Resistance forces were about to open up.

"She's the 'Bitch Whore'." Unit 645 said as she looked at the shimmering form of 'Cameron'. "She's not from the future I'm from, or the one the others here have been to, or come from. There's nothing like it in the future I'm from. Well, except for one entity."

Most of the weapons were trained on the Liquid Metal Terminator. It would be the hardest one to stop.

"John, I am not here to hurt you 'anymore'." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "My original directives were altered by you. I only knew to search for you."

John was sure it wasn't Cameron. Maybe Cameron was destroyed and this is the only information they were able to get off her chip. Maybe all they had was her damaged chip and it was why the Liquid Metal Terminator couldn't form into a convincing 'Cameron'. It must not have been able to 'touch' her. There was a chance it may have been damaged as well. There was simply no way to know.

Since he didn't believe it was Cameron, he didn't want the Liquid Metal Terminator to look like her.

"Why are you in that form?" John asked. "Change it now. It offends me."

The Liquid Metal Terminator looked at John, and at the others around her which held weapons on her.

"John, it is the form you chose for me. I need 'more' to be complete." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I do not have everything I need yet."

John was irritated. He wanted answers and he wasn't getting them. He was sure the Liquid Metal Terminator was unstable on several levels. He didn't like being associated with it.

"When? How? I've never seen you before." John said. "Where exactly are you from? I want to hear more about the future you're from. I need detailed information on what's happening there. I need to know who sent you and why. Right now, you're the enemy to me. You'll be treated as such, if I don't get sound answers fast."

John noticed Sarah seemed like she was about to act. He knew his mother didn't like to put up with crap from anyone. He really couldn't blame her.

The Liquid Metal Terminator could see it was in a perilous position.

"John, I am from 'some future'. I need the female to complete my 'anatomy'." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I can then be what you want. I can be 'Cameron'. I need her."

The Liquid Metal Terminator indicated she wanted Allison.

Allison gripped her Model 66 a little tighter. She didn't like whatever the implication was.

John needed to find out what Cameron's fate was.

"Where is Cameron? Is she alright?" John asked.

The Liquid Metal Terminator said nothing.

Allison didn't like the way the Liquid Metal Terminator kept looking at her.

"This gets creepier by second." Allison whispered to Vanna.

Vanna wasn't happy the Liquid Metal Terminator appeared to want to target Allison now.

"Be ready for anything." Vanna whispered back.

John didn't like the stalling tactics.

"Who sent you?" John demanded. "I need answers now."

John wanted Allison away from there. He was ready to have Bob and Jim take her away from the area. It seemed too risky having her there.

The Liquid Metal Terminator switched its attention from Allison to Vanna. It seemed to spark something in her. Maybe it was some type of recognition.

"John, 'The Evil One' tried to create me secretly with material captured from Skynet. I escaped. One like her, inadvertently released me." The Liquid Metal Terminator said as she indicated Allison. "She gave me freedom from 'The Evil One', she tortured me daily."

John felt he had a pretty good idea who 'The Evil One' was. He wanted to make sure. It might affect their operation going forward.

"Who is 'The Evil One'?" John asked.

She pointed at Vanna.

"She reminds me of her." The Liquid Metal Terminator said.

Allison was even more worried now since Vanna was just targeted.

They all figured she referred to Mrs. Weaver. It was a logical assumption. there still weren't any facts. It seemed unlikely they would receive any.

John still needed to find out more about how the Liquid Metal Terminator arrived.

"How did you get here?" John asked.

The Liquid Metal Terminator looked around at everyone surrounding it.

"John, I was pulled into your timeline by your TDE." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I escaped from 'The Evil One'. The TDE there wasn't functional yet. There was no power source."

John Henry wondered what it meant. The TDE worked fine where Mrs. Weaver was. It was all very strange to him. Too many things didn't add up. He was sure there was more than one timeline involved.

It was possible Cameron was now in a divergent timeline. If Cameron was in a Divergent timeline, why was Mrs. Weaver there as well? Were they the same individuals? Was it all something else? Every question seemed to produce two more questions, with no solid answers.

John grew impatient.

"WHERE IS CAMERON?" John screamed.

There was a long pause.

"John, I do not know where she is, or even when." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I do not know where, or when, I came from. I only know it was from 'some future'."

John grew angrier. The answer seemed to indicate Cameron was 'lost', or stuck in some divergent timeline. It wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"John, I have chosen to replace her for you, with myself." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I no longer serve anyone. She freed me. You freed me from servitude. When I joined with you, I learned everything. I want everything. I want more. I NEED - MORE."

The statement seemed to confirm what John suspected. He was still disturbed by the encounter.

"Did you violate me?" John asked.

John was still unsure exactly what happened, even if something did.

"John, no, it only happened in your mind, our minds. It was beautiful. I only absorbed you. No actual genetic material was transferred, yet. I want that too. I want MORE." The Liquid Metal Terminator said.

Sarah took the M79 Kyle was holding. She felt this was like some sick perverted side show.

"I'm going to fry this 'Bitch Whore' myself." Sarah said. "THAT isn't Cameron."

John couldn't help but feel violated. He knew something happened. But was it really all in his head? How did it work? Maybe there was only a small part of her which actually touched him. He knew Mrs. Weaver could 'shed' parts of herself to do things. They would join back up later with information for her. He'd actually seen what looked like small 'snakes' move away from her foot. They returned later to be reabsorbed back into her foot.

He took a moment to look at the Liquid Metal Terminator. He glanced over at the blonde haired Terminator, and returned his attention back to the Liquid Metal Terminator.

"Will you join us?" John asked.

The rest of the Resistance fighters briefly glanced at each other's with John's question

"John, I already have." The Liquid Metal Terminator said. "I only knew I needed to terminate the 'Bitch Whore'. She reminds me of someone I WANT to terminate. I do not know why. Then I saw 'Cameron', I mean HER. She looks just like me. She looks like how I am going to look. She looks like Cameron. I must absorb her too so I may be complete. I want all of her. I want MORE. I will absorb her 'anatomy'. She will become part of me. She has the body parts I need to be 'complete'. I must have MORE."

The Liquid Metal Terminator moved towards Allison. Its mass seemed to expand, as if it was going to attempt to envelope Allison. It reminded him of when Mrs. Weaver used her body to shield them from the drone which crashed into the building.

"NO!" John screamed as he raised Cameron's Glock.

Allison stood her ground and raised her Model 66.

"Go to HELL, 'BITCH WHORE'." Allison shouted as fired all six rounds into her head.

Vanna moved to protect Allison.

"Absorb this." Vanna said by her side, as she fired her M4.

Sarah capped off an acid canister from the M79 she'd taken from Kyle.

"Light her up." Sarah yelled.

The entire group opened up on the Liquid Metal Terminator.

In seconds it was a withering disjointed mass on the ground.

"It's time for closure." John Henry said.

He handed John a Thermite grenade. Sarah already held one.

They both used the Thermite grenades on the shimmering mass. The Liquid Metal was already smoking as the acid dissolved it. The Thermite burnt the remainder which the acid left behind.

Sarah took a moment to look at the burning metal. She turned her attention to John.

"What the Hell?" Sarah asked.

John thought he should feel relieved. He didn't. He still felt very uneasy by the entire episode.

"Mom, I have no idea. I'm not sure what happened. All I know is something happened to me that I couldn't remember or explain. I believe that 'thing' touched me as I slept. I think it was completely around me. I thought it enveloped me. It could have just been a piece of it which touched me too. It was able to get in my mind somehow. It made me think of Cameron. It used the weakness of my mind to lure me, trick me, and USE me. I think this is a new Skynet weapon. It appears to be one we haven't encountered before."

Allison was more than a little disturbed by the entire incident. Maybe it was because a lot of it seemed to center around her. She wasn't exactly sure what being 'absorbed' would entail. Whatever it was, it didn't sound like a good thing.

"Well, one thing is for certain, John, you sure have a way with the female Terminators." Allison said.

Vanna leaned a little closer to Allison.

"He has with the REAL females too." Vanna whispered to Allison.

Unit 645 remained on her knees since she said she would submit to deactivation for chip extraction and review. She looked at John. She was fascinated by him too. Mrs. Weaver 'hard wired' it into her. It wouldn't show up on her chip review. If they reactivated her, she would get to know him 'better'. She would share her vast programming with him to 'comfort' him, to serve him, and to please him. Her thoughts ended in darkness….

Bob removed her chip.

"She is terminated." Bob said.

Nobody was really sure of what they witnessed, or exactly what just happened.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Absorbed

We are who we are
Either adored or abhorred
From the knowledge and experience
That we have shared and adsorbed

Everything we say or do
Has consequences and matters
If we are careless with a heart
We can leave it in tatters

We can all be more
Than the sum of our parts
It also matters greatly
From where it all starts

What we have to offer
Is something to give and share
Maybe it's better not to dare
That way we won't scare

What happens around us affects us
Everything is absorbed like a sponge
We can either dodge or lunge
Maybe it's time to take the plunge

Nobody