Cameron kept still and waited. And waited for the vehicles to arrive at their destination. Being a terminator herself she has endless patience and it was impossible for any human to hold herself underneath and keep completely still for more than three hours.
Eleven hours, forty seven minutes, seventeen seconds - She would have replied in the precise manner if she had never met John. She would have been just a machine.
A tin woman without a heart…
But John had saved her, made her free. He had shown her that she was more than a machine. He stood beside her, supported her and became her friend when everyone else would just discard her as a machine - A machine who couldn't make a decision for itself, always controlled by humans or Skynet to fulfill its mission without any kind of feelings or emotion.
But she had both - feelings and emotion. Most importantly she could make decisions for herself. She didn't need another to tell her what to do. She had no idea whether Skynet built her this way or if something happened without Skynet's knowledge but she was glad it happened.
But now she has to find and rescue the person who had saved her - John Connor. As she remained still under the vehicle, she observed and heard when Skynet's machines dragged the helpless prisoners inside. One man tried to escape and in a moment he was gunned down. He died instantly as his body turned to ashes against the plasma fire. From under the vehicle she couldn't see the faces of the prisoners and because of that she still has no idea whether John was here. She waited several more minutes before slowly getting out from under the vehicle. She quickly scanned her surroundings, but it didn't look like a Skynet workcamp, it looked more like a secret Skynet facility.
The path she was moving forward looked like a long tunnel dimly lit by the lights which were emitting from the large thick wires running through the roof of the tunnel and disappearing inside the facility. She had no idea what was further ahead but she knew there would be a lot of Skynet machines guarding the facility. If Skynet gets alerted then she would lose any hope of rescuing John from here and she would never allow that. But rescuing John without alerting Skynet would be a very difficult task.
Then maybe she has something which can help her to infiltrate the facility with stealth. She inserted her hand inside her jacket pocket and pulled out a small box, it looked like a box for a pen but a little bit wider and lengthier. She opened the box and inside it lay a knife, but it was no ordinary knife, the blade of the knife started to sparkle with electricity once she took the blade in her hand. A special gift from John Henry.
The semi bright passage in front of her headed a few meters forward and then got divided in two ways. Cameron assessed the situation quickly. If she followed this passage she would be completely visible to Skynet's eyes, but there was also no other way inside the facility. The only cover she has were the small metal slabs that emerged from both sides of the walls every few feet. They were small but would be enough to cover her smaller frame easily. Cameron moved slowly without making any sound with her feet. Once she reached the junction where the path was separated in two different ways, her ears caught the sound of heavy metal footsteps - Terminator.
She quickly hid herself behind one of the metal slabs and waited for the sound of the footsteps to get close to her. From the sound of the footsteps she could make out that it was only a single machine, if there were more than one together she would have problems disabling them silently.
The footsteps got closer and she watched from cover a T-800 endoskeleton marched past her slowly with a plasma turret in its hands. She wasted no time and followed the machine silently like a cat and then jammed her knife right at the machine's neck. The machine didn't even react, it simply crumbled down on the floor, offline. But Cameron knew the machine was not dead. It was simply rendered offline until another machine restarted it. John Henry had told her that the knife in her hand was not designed to destroy terminators but simply disable them temporarily or permanently as long as no one restarted it.
Cameron dragged the offline machine away from that path and hid it partially. She observed the wires overhead which went towards her left. She decided to follow the wires. She scanned the walls for signs of the cameras and fortunately there were none. Cameron went deeper inside the facility without any sign of resistance. After walking for about a few minutes she suddenly noticed a door to her right, which was open and she could sense the presence of a human on the other side of the door. Someone was walking inside and from the sound of the footsteps she could tell that it was not a machine.
She quickly peeked inside and indeed there was a man inside. He had his back turned towards the door and was looking at something on the screen in front of him. He didn't sense her presence there. The man stood tall over six feet, had a well shaped build, he was wearing a military officer's suit and his skin was dark.
Cameron didn't know who this man was, but she knew that he could be nothing more than a gray. No human would be allowed freedom inside a Skynet facility except a gray. She decided not to kill him because he may have information where the prisoners are kept. She crept behind him silently and grabbed him from behind in a choke hold, taking him by surprise. The man couldn't make a sound, only his eyes were getting round from the sheer strength of Cameron's hold around his neck.
"Don't try to make a sound or your life will end before you can even open your mouth." Cameron whispered in the man's ear. He nodded frantically. Cameron silently loosened her grip around the man's neck and let him breathe. She then pointed her 9mm right on the back of the man's head. The touch of the cold barrel of the gun sent shivers down the man's spine.
"Turn around slowly." Cameron ordered.
The man did as he was told as the gun touched his forehead now. And seeing the face of the man, even Cameron who was a terminator herself, was surprised.
"You?!" Cameron said.
The man only smiled slightly.
Barnes arrived with his fellow soldiers at the location which was the Resistance HQ, but now only the ruins remained and a dead body.
"Holy Shit!" Baron exclaimed in shock seeing the state of the dead body. "This is Ashdown?" She asked, looking at Barnes.
Barnes nodded silently watching Ashdown's dead body. He looked at the other soldiers and ordered, "Look for survivors." He knew it was unlikely that anyone would have survived Skynet's assault on the HQ, but Connor had evened the odds before.
"What the hell happened to him?" Baron whispered and crouched down to check Ashdown's dead body. "It doesn't look like he was killed when Skynet bombed this place. Someone killed him after that."
"Yes. But not someone, something. A Terminator." Barnes said.
"A Terminator?" Baron asked without looking towards Barnes. "How can you say that?"
"Come here." Barnes called her.
"What?" Baron got up on her feet and walked up to Barnes a few feet away where he was looking at something on the ground. When she saw what Barnes was looking at, her eyes widened in shock. "Is that…. A human heart?"
"Yes." Barnes acknowledged. "A crushed human heart." Barnes said, looking at Baron.
Baron also turned towards Barnes, "But I don't understand, why would a terminator go to all this trouble to kill a human? It almost looks like the machine who had killed Ashdown was pissed off. We all know that's impossible, right?"
Barnes shook his head negatively. "No, it's quite possible."
"Terminators do not feel anything sir, they just follow their mission directives. Everyone knows that." Baron protested immediately.
"You are partially right, Baron. Terminators do not feel anything. But she does. I can bet that she was the one who killed Ashdown." Barnes replied in a low tone.
"Wha…" Baron said in frustration. "I don't understand who you are talking about sir."
Barnes looked deep into Baron's eyes. "Cameron Phillips. She is also searching for Connor on her own. She was here. And…" Barnes smiled slightly.
"We're on the right track." Baron completed for him. She also smiled slightly.
"Men search for tracks leading away from this place. Spread out and search." Barnes ordered his men. He saw the frown on Baron's face after hearing his order and he knew why. "I don't like this more than you do, Baron. But we need to find Cameron Phillips, perhaps she is the only one who can track down Connor if he was captured by Skynet or somewhere else."
Baron greeted his teeth, "I know. We are in an open area, and vulnerable to Skynet's attacks and we are putting everyone else in danger because of one man, sir. Do you think it's worth it?" She didn't ask the question expressing any anger towards Barnes; she was just worried. Barnes understands why she'd asked that question, if he was in her place and didn't know Connor like her, he'd have the exact same doubts.
"I am sorry, sir. That was out of line." Baron apologized immediately.
Barnes placed a comforting hand on Baron's shoulder with a small smile. "You are nothing to be sorry for, soldier. If I was in your place I'd have asked the same question. You know when I first met him, he looked a little frightened and perhaps even a bit sad. But I saw the fire in his eyes, there was something different about him. He need not ask people to follow him in battle, they'd follow him anyways."
"It seems like you hold Connor in very high regard, Sir." Baron replied, smiling slightly.
"And you don't?" Barnes asked.
"Well, I do but maybe not like you do." She replied teasingly.
Barnes smirked, "Trust me, you will admire him too one day like no one else. He is the only one who can get rid of Skynet and end this war. Humans need John Connor."
Baron was about to ask something else but she was interrupted by the arrival of their comrades. "Sir, we found a single track, human, small footprints. Most likely a female. Heading North-East from our position."
Barnes immediately straightened out. Small footprints, alone. It must be her.
"Let's follow the tracks." Barnes ordered his men to move. But before they could even move they found themselves surrounded by at least hundred people all armed to the teeth, pointing their weapons towards Barnes and his team.
"Drop your weapons and raise your hands above your head!" Barnes heard one of the men and women who had surrounded them ordered. Barnes recognized them immediately seeing the uniforms all of them were wearing.
Resistance. But what are they doing here?
Barnes' men were now looking at him for his order. They were ready to shoot back and fight.
"I said, drop your guns on the ground now!" Another bark of order came from the Resistance members.
"We are not your enemies. We are on your side." Barnes replied.
But the Resistance members were not ready to believe them.
"Can't trust you. Put your guns down or we will open fire. This is your last warning." Another warning came.
Barnes shook his head slightly towards his men. "You must listen to me, we are wasting precious time here. We need to find Connor." His men tensed at the sounds of gun safety being turned off.
"Sir?" They questioned.
"Wait!" A voice was heard and stopped both the Resistance members and Barnes' men from killing each other. "Sergeant Barnes?" A female voice asked. It was Allison Young.
Barnes' eyes widened not in shock but in relief. "Miss Young?"
Allison left her teammates behind even when they protested and came running to Barnes. Because she only needed one answer, "Where is John, Sergeant?" She asked immediately once she reached where Barnes and his men were standing.
"We don't know. But we are trying to track him down." Barnes replied.
Allison seemed distracted at Barnes' reply, "You don't know…."
But no one was more flabbergasted, confused and shocked as Baron. When she realized that someone from the Resistance knew Sergeant Barnes, she let out a sigh of relief because things were turning to be ugly. But then she saw the woman who came running towards Sergeant Barnes and she almost tripped on her foot seeing the face of that woman.
Cameron Phillips.
But the Sergeant had called her Miss Young and she was clearly human, not a machine. She could clearly see the distress in the young woman's expression, the same kind of expression she sometimes saw on Cameron Phillip's face, only they were a bit guarded.
But this human woman, Miss Young looked exactly like Cameron Phillips. Like a carbon copy. Everything was the same, even her voice. How is this even possible? Why did Connor's machine bodyguard look like this young woman? Not only that this young woman also seemed to know Connor very well, it seemed they were even rather close.
Was Connor bagging her behind Cameron Phillips?
Baron almost slapped herself because of her inappropriate thoughts despite the situation. So far she has known Connor, he isn't anything like that, he only has eyes for Cameron Phillips. But both Cameron and Miss Young are almost like replicas of each other, maybe that's why….. No shut it Baron. She again chided herself.
Baron was about to open her mouth to speak and ask the question which confused her to no end, but once she saw Barne's expression and warning eyes she just shut up.
"What are you doing here, Miss Young with your…. Friends?" Barnes asked.
Several men came to stand behind Allison and one of them, a large man, almost the same size as Barnes took his place beside Allison protectively.
"You know this man, Allison?" The man beside Allison asked.
"Yes, he works with John." Allison answered looking towards the man beside her.
"We all work under Connor. He is our leader." Barnes corrected.
Allison smiled slightly. "Yes. We do." She agreed.
The man beside Allison extended his hand towards Barnes for a handshake. "Lieutenant Derek Reese." Derek shook his hand with Barnes.
"Sergeant Barnes."
"Do you have any idea where Connor might be, Sergeant?" Derek asked.
"None. But we have discovered a track and we believe that it would lead us to Connor or to someone who might be closer to finding Connor than we are." Barnes replied honestly. Connor had requested them not to reveal Cameron's identity to anyone, only a handful of people knew what Cameron really is and Barnes didn't break his promise by his reply.
"Who?" Allison asked.
"I am sorry, Miss Young. But that's all I can say." Barnes replied. And Allison observed he really looked sorry for not answering her.
"We have to move now. Allison." Derek said.
She only nodded and a look of pure determination replaced the expression of sadness and hopelessness on her face. "Let's go and bring John back."
Everyone agreed with her.
Sarah was worried for her son. She had seen him pacing, not resting for even a second. She knew where his mind was. To her. Ah, how she hated her. But deep down she always knew. Her son hadn't made good attempts to hide that he had a deep connection with Cameron.
When the T-800, who John called Uncle Bob, came to protect them from the T-1000, she saw how close John was to the machine. She was skeptical at first because of her horrific experience in the past. But she had quickly learnt that Uncle Bob would never ever let anyone hurt her son and John never looked at Uncle Bob as a machine, he was his friend in his lonely and secluded life and a father.
When Uncle Bob sacrificed himself to protect the future, John was devastated. He had his mother back, but still he craved for someone else, someone in whom he could confide anything, share some light hearted moments, someone who wouldn't judge him, who wouldn't remind him of the burden he carried on his small shoulders. It took years for John to recover and as his mother she knew that he craved a normal life which she couldn't give to him. Although they had initially thought that after the destruction of Cyberdyne the threat of Skynet was gone for good, it was not.
Then he met her and everything was turned upside down again. Her presence answered the lingering question in Sarah's mind that Skynet was not gone. Very soon John got close to her and formed a bond with her. But this time the situation was not the same with the T-800, this time it was different. For she was so different from the T-800, almost human like, behavior, curiosity, habits everything was different from a typical terminator.
And her physical appearance was that of an extremely beautiful girl of John's age. She feared that her son would overlook what she really was and her fear proved true. The bond between her and John was so strong that it compelled John to leave his own mother behind and time travel to get her back.
Her son, John, jumped time for the girl he loved, just like his father. She cursed and berated Cameron for taking John away from her several times, but not anymore.
She always told her son that, "There's no fate, but what we make." But maybe John and Cameron are destined to be together, there's perhaps nothing in this world that can tear them apart as long as they are still alive, well in John's case and she was sure that Cameron would do everything to keep John alive and protect him, Sarah had seen that.
She approached her son quickly who was talking with Eric. "Have you made any contacts?" She asked.
Eric turned towards her. "Sorry mam, but I have to go through and find a signal to make contact and at the same time I have to block Skynet from tracking our signal. I am almost through, I just need a couple of minutes."
John didn't say anything. He just sighed and let Eric work.
"We will find her, John." Sarah tried to assure her son.
He nodded. "I know. But I am not just worried about her. There are many people out there who would risk everything to save me. I have to get the word out that I am safe without exposing ourselves."
"I understand. But…." Sarah was interrupted by Eric. "Excuse me, mam. But I have traced activity near the destroyed Resistance base."
Both John and Sarah immediately came rushing forward.
"Skynet?" Sarah asked.
Eric shook his head. "No, mam. I was able to intervene with some of their radio signals, they are humans. From the Resistance and other groups, all are looking for John Connor. I heard three names over their comms, Sergeant Barnes, Allison Young and Derek Reese."
John stood straight hearing the names of his friends and comrades. A look of pure determination formed on his face. "We have to move, now." John said. "Eric, send the message that I am safe and tell them to hide somewhere safe away from Skynet's eyes, until I reach their location." John ordered immediately. He looked at his mom, "I know what you are thinking mom and you need to stay here, because he might be there with Allison. He can't see you."
Eric immediately began to work. His fingers typing swiftly on the keys in front of him.
"John, what would you do, once you find them?" Sarah asked after pulling her son away from prying ears.
"I wanted to bring them here, but you know why I can't. We both know that Derek is there and maybe Kyle too. Neither of them can see you, mom." John explained. Sarah reluctantly agreed. She so badly wanted to see Kyle again but she knew she couldn't. "Once I find them, I will send Derek, Allison and others back to their base and then I need to come up with a plan to find Cameron."
If she was here looking for me and I am sure she was, she would have headed straight for one of the large Skynet facilities mom was talking about. I have to find her fast.
John knew if anything happened to Cameron, it would utterly and completely destroy him. There would be nothing left to recover.
Sarah never wanted her son in danger but there's nothing she could do to stop him now. His destiny is catching up to him. He was born to do this.
The Resistance team and John Connor's personal team were working together to find him. Their resolve and royalty were beyond any question. They have followed footprints of Cameron to a place of city ruins but then her tracks were lost to them. They had nowhere to go.
When they were trying to decide what to do, a radio call came to the Resistance soldiers. It was Derek who answered the call, "Derek? It's me Kyle. If you guys are out there and in one piece please answer the call."
"Everyone is okay here. Anything happened to the base?" Derek asked. All the other members were listening to his conversation, especially the members of the Resistance.
"Thank god." Kyle let out a sigh of relief. "The base is okay. Share your location. We are coming to aid you."
"No, Kyle. Stay back there, they will need you." Derek immediately disagreed. Allison also agreed with Derek. If the base gets discovered by Skynet then Kyle is the only one they can count on to lead the surviving members out to safety.
"John Connor needs me, us. Everyone of us, Derek." Kyle countered. "He is the one who matters the most. We all know that. Without him there is no future. Everyone agreed with me. We are coming whether you like it or not."
Derek knew that once his brother makes up his mind about something, there's no one who can make him turn away from his decision. "Fine. Jesus! You are so stubborn, brother. You and Connor are so much alike." Derek shared their coordinates with Kyle and then the connection ended.
"We should take shelter in the ruins of these buildings." Martin suggested. "We do not want to stay out in the open for Skynet to hunt us down like flies."
"Turn off the lights and hide those vehicles." Derek ordered. "We are going to duck down here for a few moments."
Once they were all hidden inside the ruins a question was lingering inside Allison's mind. "Derek, we are near one of the three largest Skynet facilities, aren't we?"
Derek looked at Allison with eyebrows raised, "Yeah, what's your point?"
"You see we couldn't raise anyone on the radio when they were in this area but now Kyle was able to contact you? How?" Allison asked.
Everyone sat up straight at Allison's question. "Do you suspect it was someone else impersonating Kyle?" Derek asked.
"We should always be cautious, Derek." Allison warned. "And I am not saying it was not Kyle. I hope it was him. But we have given our location to him, and if it is not him but a terminator, we are practically waiting to get slaughtered here.
"I know we are taking big risks here and I just can't imagine that Kyle is…." Derek tried to say but couldn't complete because the thought of his brother being dead overwhelmed him.
Martin placed a comfortable hand on Derek's shoulder. "She never said that Kyle Reese and the others are dead, Derek. She just said we need to be cautious." Derek nodded. Allison on the other hand looked downright sad and ashamed of herself. She shouldn't have even said those words to Derek, Kyle also meant a lot to her, she just wanted no else to die.
Derek stood up on his feet, "Men spread out and prepared for an ambush, if it is Skynet we will kick its metal ass to oblivion. Just in case."
Barnes and his people also followed Derek's suggestion. Connor always said to them that they always must be prepared for the machines.
And time went by, they waited for the arrival of Kyle Reese and his team. But no one came. "Bedell, you see anything?" Derek asked Bedell, who had his eyes fixed on the scope of a sniper rifle augmented with night vision for better view.
"Nothing so far." Bedell replied.
"They should have been here by now." Derek murmured under his breath.
"Wait, Derek. I see something. Vehicles about 378m NE. Not Skynet. Likely." Bedell said.
"We need to be prepared just in case. Everyone, be ready." Derek ordered and the word spread from men to men, men to women and women to men, since their radios were turned off because of necessary precautions.
Within a few moments the vehicles arrived and stopped near the place where they were all hiding. People who got out of the vehicle were clearly humans, not machines. From the outline of one of them in the dark, Derek instantly recognized his brother. He flashed his light on Kyle from his position just once and they all immediately understood. Quickly they hid their vehicles and met up with Derek.
Derek immediately hugged his brother in relief, Allison also came to give a hug to both the men who were like brothers to her.
"Kyle! It was stupid of you to come here." Derek immediately said.
Kyle only smiled. "You know it was not stupid, you would need all the help you could get. And did you receive the radio message?"
"No. We all have our radios turned off. What message?" Allison asked.
Kyle nodded. "He said that it's likely that your radius would be turned off."
"Who are you talking about Kyle?" Derek asked curiously.
"Connor." Kyle revealed.
Everyone's eyes widened in shock. "John? John contacted you? Where is he, Kyle? Is he okay?" Allison immediately bombarded Kyle with questions.
But Kyle just smiled because what he suspected was true. Allison does love Connor. He had suspected for a long time, but was never sure. But now he was. "He is fine. He had traced activity near the Resistance HQ and suspected that it might be us, looking for him." Kyle said.
"But where is he?" Derek was about to ask Kyle something to Kyle but Allison cut him off.
"Don't know." Kyle shook his head. "Wherever he is, he is safe. And he is coming for us. He ordered us to hold this place. He will come and get us."
At that moment someone Barnes arrived there. "Connor contacted you?" He asked Kyle.
"Not just us. He contacted everyone else including you. But since your radios were turned off you guys didn't get his message." Kyle replied. "And he had warned us to never turn on our radio, no matter what. Every radio frequency is watched by Skynet. If we turn our radio on, Skynet will be on us in no time."
Derek had some doubts. "But how did Connor know where we are exactly? We had turned off our comms after contacting you."
"I shared your location with him." Kyle said.
"Kyle…." Derek wanted to say something. He knew this could cause controversy but he needed to tell his brother. "Are you sure it was Connor? Because if it was not, we are dead." Derek received several angry glares when he asked Kyle.
Kyle raised his eyebrows. "Who else would it be?"
"What if someone was impersonating Connor?" Derek asked.
Kyle smiled slightly. "Your fears are justified brother. But trust me on this, it was Connor."
"I trust you, Kyle. We will wait." Derek murmured.
John was traveling to the location he received from Kyle along with his mom's several soldiers. He was glad to hear from Kyle that everyone is alright. He never interacted much with Kyle before, not because he didn't like Kyle but it just felt uncomfortable for him to talk to Kyle when John had the knowledge who Kyle will be to him in the upcoming future. He had asked his mom several times about his father, his mother gave him the best description of Kyle from the memories she made with Kyle. And John was not even a little bit surprised to realize that whatever his mom told him about Kyle was one hundred percent true. He was brave, passionate, stubborn, caring and had a good heart. Kyle doesn't even know how important he is in the fate of mankind and John had neither any intention nor could he tell Kyle about it. But he wants to. So badly to tell Kyle that he was Kyle's son. He wanted to have the love of a father which he never did. Uncle Bob had filled that place somewhat but not entirely. He didn't understand emotions, nor could he express them. But John knew Uncle Bob did his best. He had evolved, sort of free will he gained. But he was not like Cameron. Not anywhere near. If John didn't know who Cameron really is, he couldn't make any difference between her and a normal human girl. She is really unique and now she has a place in his place which no one could replace and nor could he live without her.
He was worried for Cameron. He knew that she could take care of herself better than anyone, his only concern was that she would not hesitate to go to any length if she suspects that his life was in danger and he was not ashamed to admit that he would do the same for her, no matter how odd people would think it is.
And then there was Allison. Months ago she had openly expressed her desire to be with him but he couldn't accept her proposal. John could not deny that he cared for Allison a lot, a hell lot, but not as much as he cared for Cameron. He never looked at Allison the way he looked at Cameron. Although they are physically identical, his feelings were only for Cameron. He felt bad when he kind of rejected her, well literally he didn't but Allison had understood that he had never returned her feelings nor he ever could. She had backed away on her own. She had assured him that it was okay, but John knew he had shattered her heart to pieces and he knew that feeling all too well.
John diverted his thoughts away from Cameron and Allison and tried to focus on the mission that was waiting for him. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head around to see the red headed young woman looking at him with concern in her eyes.
"They are fine, John. Trust me." Savannah said with an assured smile on her face.
John also smiled back. "I know. It's just that…."
"You don't have to explain, John. I understand what you are going through." Savannah said. "But amongst all this chaos you got Sarah back and she you."
"Yeah…." John murmured. "You stayed with my mom all these years?"
"Well, I had no choice really. The day you left with my….." Savannah stopped herself. "...the liquid metal, Mr. Ellison brought me to Sarah from my gymnastics. I have often asked her where my mom went and cried, but Sarah comforted and took care of me, like a mother. She promised that she would explain everything when I get a little older and she kept her promise. When I was old enough to understand everything Sarah had explained everything to me, Skynet, future war and machines. Your role in the fate of mankind and also about my mother who was not my mother at all. She had trained me to fight the machines, passed all her knowledge about Skynet and the machines and she had also taught me how to survive."
John kept silent for a moment before speaking, "But Savannah, Catherine Weaver, the T-1001 kept you protected."
Savannah sighed and flopped back on her seat. "I cannot deny that. Don't know why she did it though. She had no reason to protect me aside from maintaining her cover in public."
"I understand what you have gone through, Savannah. Maybe not entirely. But we know that Cathe…..the T-1001 is on our side in this war." John said.
"Maybe." Savannah didn't seem to agree with John completely. "Do you know where she is?"
"Yeah, I do." John answered truthfully.
"After all this is over you will have to take me to her. I need some answers." Savannah demanded.
"Knowing Weaver, I doubt you will get any answer but I will take you to meet her." John agreed.
"Thanks. I appreciate this, John." Savannah said with a twinkling in her eyes. She still remembered when he first met John when she was little and he helped her to tie her shoes. It was a simple gesture but it meant a lot to her. What she had heard about John Connor from Sarah, she had come to the conclusion that John was really a nice kind hearted person. And Savannah realized now that she was wrong. She had often seen Sarah looking at pictures of John in her room and crying. When she got older she had often comforted Sarah who had become a mother figure to her.
When Sarah was not in her room, Savannah herself had looked at John's pictures several times. She had to admit that John Connor was really a handsome young man. Of all his facial features the most captivating features were his kind green eyes. There was a haunted look and hidden sadness in his eyes, but most of all what Savannah had observed there was a fire in his eyes which held outstanding courage and determination.
Savannah had often found her thoughts wondering about her future. Sarah was already a mother figure to her and if one day…..Savannah perhaps would never outright admit it, but she knew that over the years she had developed a major crush on John Connor. She often dreamt about her getting married to John and she knew that Sarah would accept her without any problem.
Savannah glanced once towards John beside her who was absent mindedly looking outside the window and her desire to be his one day came crashing down on her so heavily that she couldn't help but blush slightly.
"John?"
"Yeah?" John looked at her.
"One thing Sarah never told me, although I had asked her several times. She had told me it was not her place to say anything." Savannah said. John raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Why did you leave Sarah?" She asked.
The effect was imminent. John immediately stiffened and a guarded expression appeared on his face. "I…." John hesitated.
"You don't have to say anything, if you are not comfortable." Savannah responded, seeing his uneasiness. She had no wish to make him uncomfortable with her curiosity.
"No. No. It's alright." John replied. "I was trying to get my friend Cameron back."
Savannah arched her eyebrows. She had to admit that it was not the response she was expecting. "Was he so important to you that you had to leave Sarah behind? Was it worth it?" Savannah had no intention to question John's decisions but people all around the world are just pure selfish. They would make you think that they are your friend only to stab you in the back when you give them your trust and turn around.
"Yes." John replied instantly. There was no trace of doubt in his words. He believed what he thought was right, he didn't question his decision. "And Cameron is not a he but a she."
Savannah's body immediately stiffened in mild anger. He left his mother alone for his female friend? And he still thinks what he did was the right thing to do? But was this Cameron just his friend or something more? Savannah already realized what she was feeling at that moment was not anger but jealousy.
John had sensed that Savannah wanted to ask him more questions but he was not comfortable discussing his decision or regarding Cameron, especially when she was not there with him. Savannah had opened her mouth to speak but John had stopped her before she could ever utter a single word, "That's all I could say. I am sorry, Savannah."
"Sorry." Savannah murmured.
John smiled slightly to let her know that there were no hard feelings between them. "Don't be. It's alright."
Savannah smiled brightly. "Thanks, John."
"I heard that you are the best marksman in mom's army? Is that true?" John asked with a slight smile.
Savannah again blushed at the praise she received from John. But she covered it with a mocking smile, "Three hundred and Twenty three terminator heads so far."
John raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was really a big feat for her age. "You are keeping count?"
"Why not? I bet no one can break my record." She said proudly.
"True." John shrugged his shoulders with a smile. But someone already has Savannah. Neither you nor anyone can close. But John didn't want to ruin Savannah's pride, so he chose to remain silent. There was also another reason: The less people know about Cameron the better.
"Sir?" The radio operator in the car called John. "A signal is trying to get through."
"Skynet?" John immediately tensed.
"I don't think so, sir. We have studied Skynet's signal patterns. This does not look anything like it." The radio operator replied.
"Do it." John said.
The radio operator allowed the message to go through. He listened through his headset but then he turned to John. "It is for you, sir."
John's brows furrowed in confusion. "Who is it?"
"The sender is refusing to provide any details. Whoever this person is wants to talk to you, directly."
"Fine." John agreed. The radio operator handed the headset over to John. "This is John Connor speaking."
"John?"
John's eyes immediately widened after listening to the voice on the other end. It was the voice he wanted to hear for so long. Was it really her or was he just hallucinating?
"Stop the vehicle." John ordered. "Leave the radio with me, I need some privacy."
"Yes sir." The soldiers immediately followed his order and got out of the vehicle giving him some privacy. Even Savannah gave him his space and saw his need for privacy.
"Cameron?" He whispered once he was alone. His eyes got moistened slightly at the sheer relief and emotions he was feeling at that moment.
"It is me, John. Are you okay?" That was the first thing John heard Cameron say. He could hear the relief in her voice also.
"I am fine. Where are you? Send me your location, now. I will come and get you." John spoke in a hurry.
"You can't come here alone, John. You will need an army." She replied.
"Where are you Cameron?" John asked desperately. Although Cameron didn't answer, John suspected where she was.
"232 miles away from your location, SE. Skynet facility." She replied.
"Get out of there, Cameron. Right now." John said.
"I am sorry, John. I can't. There are thousands of human prisoners here. I have to save them. Human life is sacred, you taught me that."
"You are not doing anything alone. I am coming." John replied with sheer determination in his voice.
"You can't John."
"You know you can't stop me from coming to you. You should know that by now." John replied.
"I know. I can take care of the camp's defenses but still there would be hundreds of terminators endos guarding the camp. You would need serious firepower to even the odds."
"What about the other two facilities? I have received intel that they are interconnected."
"Correct. They are connected through two underground tunnels I have discovered. Skynet won't need to send his machines over the road to overwhelm you. You have to attack the three facilities simultaneously."
"I think I have people who will help me. I can't ask them to lay down their life for me, but I can give them a choice." John said. "I have our men waiting for us, alongwith Derek and his men." John hoped that it would be enough.
"It will not be enough, John. Skynet defenses are too strong here even without the camp's main defenses. You will need more guns and air attack would be advantageous. I am sharing the coordinates of the camps with you."
"Thanks for the info. Cam. I will contact Weaver. She can send Uncle Bob and other terminators with him. It will even our chances."
"No." Cameron disagreed. "Weaver would never agree to waste her resources to rescue humans. Contact John Henry. He will help."
"You are right."
"I am always right." Cameron replied and John couldn't help but smile after hearing the slight laughter in her tone.
"Cheeky much?" John replied, smiling slightly.
"I have learned from the best." She replied immediately and made John blush. "John, these humans do not have much time left. Skynet is planning to skin them. Whatever you can do, do it fast." She got serious again.
"I am on it, Cameron." John said. "See you soon. Be careful Cam."
"Be safe, John. And don't get killed." She responded. And John knew she said that out of genuine concern for him. "I love you, John."
"I love you too, Cameron and I am proud of you." John responded with a loving smile and he heard Cameron disconnecting the connection. But he couldn't see the smile on Cameron's face after his confession. It was not the first time he had told her about his feelings but every time she hears the words from his mouth it makes her smile, just like him.
"Come on, men." John called the soldiers. "We have people to save."
I am coming for you Cameron. Please be safe.
A/N: So, I am back. I still have full intention to complete this story. Please let me know what you think so far the way the story is headed.
Important: After reading this chapter you will probably suspect that there will be something between Savannah and John and there will be a love triangle between John, Allison and Savannah as Thomas Dekker had said in his interview. But I have a small problem, I do not know how to make this happen. If anyone can come up with ideas, help me to write, write some parts along with me of the story from here with me and stay until the end I would be grateful. I need a commitment. He\She who would write alongside me and help me will receive the same credit as me for writing the story as me. Please let me know by PM.