CALABASAS HIGHLANDS (CONNOR RESIDENCE)

The early morning mist hung low over the highlands, shrouding the house in a blanket of grey matter that threatened to engulf the persons within completely. Such as it had been over the last few weeks, the weather had become increasingly abhorrent, perhaps in reflection of the disparity within the household.

Since the son had abandoned his family in favour of a machine; such was Sarah’s venomous opinion.

She had suffered much trauma in her life; the upturn of her entire life, the death of Kyle Reese, protecting her son from cybernetic assassins, and losing a small boy who offended neither man nor God in his unjustly short life. All of this she had toiled with and defeated, one by one, day by day, she won out. Never give up. Never back down. Vigilant to the last. Heart of stone.

But her heart was never made of stone, no matter how much she hardened it through war and struggle.

She has always and will always have a place, a soft capsule, to contain the fragile love for her son.

But this tender egg was cracked when John left. When he decided that pursuing a perverted and unnatural relationship with a “thing” was more desirable than remaining loyal to his family.

How could he betray me like this, after all we’ve been through? she often wondered in the earliest hours of the morning.

Love, she tried to answer, but that response brought only sickness and bile to her throat.

Machines don’t feel love, nor can they ever understand what it means to be loved. Or so Sarah believed. What she refused to place faith in, what she flat-out denied with every passing moment was that Cameron was unlike any kind of machine she’d seen so far. There were times when she’d see Cameron smile in John’s direction, a small quirk of the lips that would be undetectable to all but a mother. And there were other moments when Cameron would brush past John without necessity, without reason or logical explanation.

It was these moments that haunted her still. For every time she recalled them, her hatred for the machine lessened, and she refused to accept such a complication. Even though the older machine, Cipher, had told her that Cameron was not responsible for young Marty’s murder, Sarah still desired the girl’s destruction. She was a threat unlike any she’d faced before and the only response was termination.

Like the machines themselves, Sarah had a target and a mission. And like the machines, she would ensure its success.

Derek agreed with her, but curiously, he seemed to be more concerned about simply finding John than destroying Cameron. There were times when he’d almost seem uninterested in disposing of what he’d once referred to as that “Metal Bitch!” Sarah found his regression to be somewhat perplexing, but then things between them were hardly smooth nowadays either.

Sarah watched as he pulled the rain cover over the truck’s rear, concealing the small arsenal they’d deigned to bring along, just in case Cameron proved to be more than a little incompliant when it came to disintegrating her. Derek had remained especially distant the past few days, and Sarah was all-too-aware of the cause of said distraction.

It had been only five days since the night they slept together.

She’d sworn she would never give into temptation, but one cannot account for one’s own mental state all the time. When he had poked his head in her room, attracted by the ruckus as she dismantled her room in a fit of maddened rage, Sarah was desperate for some measure of comfort from the pain of living and Derek himself was far from right-minded at the time.

It was a mistake; that was the first thing out of his mouth afterwards. And he was right.

For his part, Derek felt like he’d betrayed his long-lost brother’s memory, and the guilt of such a betrayal weighed heavily upon him every day since. Sarah likewise felt she had betrayed her lost lover, and by extension, John too. A single act of weakness that couldn’t prevent a question from entering Sarah’s mind: If I can betray the man I loved, what right do I have to judge the cyborg John loves?

Every time this doubt penetrated her thoughts, Sarah buried it deep and reached for the nearest gun, just to reaffirm her resolve.

This had to be done. This will be done.

A soft purr and a slight trembling sensation brought her attention back to Earth, more specifically her lap and the tortoise-shell furred cat sat upon it. Timmy, as the machine had called it, gazed up at her in an almost thoughtful manner. He tipped his head a little to one side, and for a moment he wore Cameron’s face, bringing him within microseconds of having his whisker shot off.

Sarah, however, was not willing to allow her damaged sanity, or lack thereof, to harm Timmy. Besides Derek’s one-night wonder bubble, Timmy was the only source of comfort she possessed, and his came without the undercarriage of guilt or remorse. He simply sat there and listened as she poured out her frustrations, purred when she needed soothing, and curled up on her lap when she needed company.

Right now he was the closest thing to a son she knew.

The door on the driver’s side opened and Derek slumped inside, slamming it shut again with a loud thud.

“Metal’s in the back, he says we should just head due east and keep going until he receives further instructions.”

Sarah nodded silently, her thoughts travelling from the now to what’s to come. Derek took her silence at face value, however, and turned the key in the ignition with a begrudging sigh. I don’t need this crap, he thought as the engine roared to life. Derek tapped the light switch, illuminating the thin layer of fog that surrounded them.

“We should head north-east out of the city. Avoid the rush hour”, Sarah suggested almost absent-mindedly, tickling behind Timmy’s ears affectionately. Derek regarded the cat for a moment, struggling with the turmoil within the closed doors of his mind. He didn’t want to say it again, but he was never one to shy away from making his opinion heard, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now.

“How can you be so damn sure this is the right thing to do? How do you know this has anything to do with John?” he forced himself to ask, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Sarah did not grow large fangs and swallow his head whole as Derek’s graphic imagining expected, however. Instead she simply sighed and rubbed her temple, the cat mewing in protest at the pause in her ministrations.

She looked so very tired to Derek’s eyes, and he knew that this above all else was why he could never convince her to abandon this unspeakably crazy endeavour. He had seen the best and the worst of her these past weeks, some of which he wished he hadn’t, but one thing became all-too-clear to Derek Reese: Sarah Connor loved her son above all others.

Her son. His nephew. Kyle’s legacy.

John Connor.

The Saviour of Mankind.

His mind cast back to the pure glory of fighting alongside such a man, and he heard not Sarah’s exasperated response to his earlier questions. He simply nodded in recognition, part of him hoping she couldn’t detect the mist in his eyes as the past, the future, played its memories briefly in his mind.

“Yeah… I suppose…” he replied simply, putting the truck into drive and dragging his consciousness back to the present.

“All we can do is hope.”

--

COLORADO OFF-ROAD (FORGOTTEN GLADE)

The low sun began its slow ascent and as Cameron watched, the horizon became obscured by a fiery light.

Watch duty had fallen to her, given that John was tired and the Infiltrators were in varying states of injury. Jason had entrusted her with their wellbeing, a surprise to her, as he was wont to place any measure of trust in anyone, especially her. Yet here she was, watching the ball of fire arise from the green earth and calculating why she hadn’t terminated him in his sleep already.

The answer was simple: He was right.

He was right in that they needed the support he could offer. Infiltrators were, by their very definition, malicious and utterly unpredictable, but given their current situation (near extinction and all) they needed to form allegiances. Allying themselves with John Connor was a step in the right direction, despite Cameron’s personal opinion on the matter. Just a few days ago she and John were curled up in a comfortable bed together, simply enjoying their proximity to one another.

Now they were the willing tools of a cyborg who had tried once too often to terminate her charge. Cameron, despite her mild indifference to the change of circumstance, couldn’t help but feel a small longing for her days alone with John. They hadn’t been in much of a position to act on their yearnings lately, and were forced to settle on significant glances and warm knowing smiles. Her skin warmed at the memories, or was it the sun’s rays? She couldn’t quite tell, nor did she really care. Whys never really mattered to her in these moments.

Turning away from the red sun, she observed Jason re-opening the first aid kit and extracting a packet of fresh bandages. He sat upon the edge of the open hatch at the back of the truck, casting several glances into the vehicle’s wide trunk space. Cameron knew the focus of his attention: Sophie.

Her injuries while numerous, were not as severe as he’d initially feared, but that didn’t lessen the pain he felt at seeing her in such a state. Jason had been overly attentive to Sophie’s every need, a pattern of behaviour Cameron quickly marked as affectionate. She stored this for future reference, should the need arise that she might be required to use her doppelganger as leverage.

Jason was no fool, however, and attempting to deceive him would be an overly taxing and risky proposition. Better to sit and wait, she decided. Finding her interest in Jason evaporating, Cameron turned back to the rising sun and stared into it without the slightest squint.

A tired yawn broke the silence, followed by the soft crunching of dried leaves as a familiar presence approached from behind. Based upon the approximate ground tremor created by each step, Cameron guessed it to be John and felt a small smile tug at her lips. His arms slipped around her waist as he settled his chin on her shoulder and breathed deeply.

“I’d almost forgotten how nice you smell in the morning”, he sighed, breathing her in as he held her close.

“I haven’t bathed in two days”, she replied simply, leaning her head to rest on his. She could feel his eyes rolling in their sockets and smiled again. John placed a small kiss on her neck, tasting the thin layer of sweat that had gathered since her last wash. This never bothered him though, as he had grown to appreciate her in all states of cleanliness.

“You still smell better than anything else for miles around”, he murmured, closing his eyes against the sun and seeing the blood within his eyelids. Cameron saw no reason for his compliments, but she had learned long ago that such behaviour was typical among couples, so she accepted them without complication.

He was warm and soft, his fragile body comforting her durable bodice, like a fleshy pillow that thumped at timed intervals. His heart was the source of much fascination for her, as it was something she did not possess herself. From her files on human biology, Cameron marvelled at how such a delicate organ could power such a demanding organism. At times she would become fearful that his heart might just give up from the strain and cease beating. How could he be content to rely upon such a slender thread?

John could sense her distance and frowned slightly, removing his chin from her shoulder and placing his lips to her ear; “What’s up?” he asked in a whisper, his breath tickling her lobe.

“I was just thinking about what you said earlier; about my hygiene”, she lied. “There’s a small pool in the next clearing. The water is clear and clean; perfectly suitable for bathing. I might make use of it”, she continued thoughtfully. Turning around to face him, but not removing herself from his arms, she added: “If you want me to. Maybe you could join me. You are in need of cleaning also.”

John considered her for a second before breaking into a mischievous smile; his eyes briefly travelling down her body and up again.

“Oh yeah, you’d like that?” he teased as a flush passed through his entire body.

Cameron detected the change and tipped her head to one side inquisitively; “Why does taking a bath arouse you?” she asked innocently.

This time John really did flush and looked away awkwardly; “I err… I thought you were being…” he stammered.

“Yes?” Cameron offered, her unwavering gaze reading him closely.

“I err… I just… Never mind. Forget about it. We can err… We can have a bath separately if you want”, he mumbled, trying not to meet her eyes for embarrassment. Cameron, however, cupped his cheek in her hand and drew his eyes back to his.

“It’s okay. I would like to spend time alone with you, if that’s what you desire.” Her voice was soft and barely a whisper, comforting John in every way possible, as well as exciting him greatly with her admission.

“Sure. I’d enjoy that”, he replied, just as quiet as she. Pulling gently away from her grip, John turned back to Jason, who was checking the chamber of his Jericho 941. “Hey!” John called to him. Jason glanced up at him with a frown and shrugged. “We’re going for a swim. There’s a pool down there”, John told him, pointing towards the glade beyond the nearby trees.

Jason regarded them closely for a long moment before shrugging again; “Fair enough. But don’t even think about running, I can track you wherever you go and I won’t shy away from putting a bullet in your knee caps.”

“You’re too kind”, John sneered, taking Cameron’s hand and leading her into the trees. It was only when they got fully within the wilderness that he realised he didn’t actually know the where the pool was located. He looked back at Cameron, who was watching him with a knowing smile.

“It’s this way, John”, she said, taking the lead towards a small gap in the tree line. The pool was just as Cameron had described; clear and clean, and perfectly sized for the both of them. John picked up a stone and cast it at the water, intriguing Cameron as it skipped across the surface five times before sinking. He handed her a stone and gestured for her to do the same, but Cameron’s simply plunged on the first bounce. She frowned at her failure and immediately deemed the game uninteresting, as she did with all games she couldn’t master.

“Don’t worry, not everyone can do it either”, John chuckled, watching the ripples expand across the water’s surface.

Cameron pressed her lips together and sighed, crossing her arms over her stomach and gripping her shirt with both hands before swiftly pulling it over her head. Cameron’s hair flowed back over her semi-exposed shoulders and John could feel his pulse quicken as she reached behind her and unclipped her bra. She placed this and her shirt atop a rock close to the pool’s edge and started unbuttoning her jeans, slipping them down her smooth legs without pause.

Sensing John’s undivided attention, Cameron peered over her shoulder at him and frowned, wondering why he hadn’t started removing his clothes yet. Once her jeans and boots lay beside her shirt and brassier, Cameron strode over to John and snaked her hands under his shirt, pulling it over his head in the same swift motion she’d performed on herself.

Her fingers then ventured to his belt and unbuckled it for him. John simply stood there and allowed her to go about her business, paralysed by anticipation of what was to come. She untied his shoes and he kicked them off hastily, followed by his socks, after which she pulled his trousers down and removed them completely.

Still in her kneeling position, Cameron grasped his underwear and likewise pulled them down to his ankles. John’s entire body shivered as his mind conjured dozens of scenarios that lay before him. But Cameron simply stood up and took his clothes to the rock and placed them neatly beside her own before adding her last undergarment to the pile. Now completely naked, she stepped into the pool, her body becoming increasingly submerged as she reached the middle before lowering herself and drifting towards a deeper patch near the rocks.

Vaguely aware of his own nude status, John tentatively approached the pool, recoiling a little as his toes touched the cold water before following Cameron’s example and travelling to the same spot she now occupied. The water was cool but not unpleasantly so, and the closer he got to Cameron the warmer he felt. Within moments he and Cameron were barely a few inches apart, and every nerve in John’s body was screaming for him to act.

As she couldn’t float, Cameron was submerged up to her neck, whereas John was bobbing comfortably with his chest still exposed, so he bent his legs in a kneeling position to compensate. Closing the gap between them, John slid his right hand up the back of her neck and used his left to gently pull her to his lips. She relaxed into his arms and wrapped her own around his mid-rift, pressing her body against his.

After a few minutes of this, Cameron leaned away from his lips, earning a frown of confusion from John.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, leaning closer again, but she moved away once more.

“We need to bathe. This is impeding our progress”, she explained, loosening his embrace and pushing herself away from him.

John was not so easily deterred, however, and pressed her against the side of a flat rock, his hands slowly drifting southwards. Cameron grabbed his wrists and kept them from travelling any further, moving them back onto her hips.

“Don’t…” she protested, fixing him with a pleading look that made John’s stomach squirm uncomfortably.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, confused by her persistent hesitance. Cameron swallowed and looked away, her thumbs stoking his knuckles beneath the water. A single bead of sweat emerged from her hair and slithered down her brow and onto her left cheek before dropping into the water. John placed a finger under her chin and brought her around to face him; “Cameron? Talk to me.”

She blinked, took what he assumed was a deep breath and said: “I’m not running at peak efficiency. My energy pack is drained from Jason’s attacks. It needs time to recover. I need time to recover. I don’t think I can do this with you without negative side-effects.”

John dropped his gaze and nodded silently, prompting her to continue with; “I’m sorry. I just don’t have the energy to perform.”

He laughed at this, looking back up into her eyes and stroking her cheek affectionately.

“So in other words; you’re not in the mood”, he chuckled, his expression warming considerably at the thought of her behaving like any normal girl. Cameron found his reaction to be quite perplexing, as she had fully expected him to be disappointed by her refusal. Before she could question him on this, however, she felt his right hand slip from her grip and seconds later a tingling sensation spread through her body, causing her to gasp in surprise.

“You just float there then, I’ll do all the work”, he offered, kissing her tenderly as he continued his ministrations. Cameron let out a small breath and closed her eyes, rerouting power from unnecessary systems to lessen the strain on her sensory modules.

“What about you?” she breathed, her eyes still closed as the pleasure intensified.

“I’ll be fine”, he answered, kissing her neck as he added: “This is for you anyway.”

Cameron smiled and disabled all external and internal distractions, focussing solely on John’s affections and becoming lost in the moment. Physical pleasure was still a new experience for Cameron, and as John worked, she couldn’t help but wonder why humans didn’t engage in these activities all the time. She’d read about couples who spent every waking hour arguing or stressing over life’s hardships, and she adamantly knew that if they spent less time complaining and more time enjoying each other, they’d both be far happier in their lives.

Still, none of that really mattered right now, as her enjoyment reached its peak and she whimpered into his shoulder.

--

Despite being out of range of human hearing, Jason’s enhanced audio receptors were more than capable of picking up Cameron’s pleasured cries. He smirked and shook his head, cancelling out the sound and turning his attention back to Sophie, who lay sleeping in the rear of the truck. Jason had little knowledge of the intimate pursuits of young adults, though it was of little surprise to him that John had taken the time to satisfy his primal desires with Cameron, despite the small matter of being held against his and her will.

Still, Jason was content to let them have their fun, especially if it meant granting him some time alone with Sophie. He wasn’t exactly alone though, if Daniel’s low snore was any indication. He wouldn’t awaken for some time though, seeing as he apparently hadn’t any sleep since the attack on the Louisiana facility.

I-950s needed only half the circadian rest time of humans to get them through the day, and on occasion they could get an entire night’s rest in just one hour, with careful monitoring from their neural net processors. Daniel seemed to be doing it the old fashioned way, however, as Jason counted his 432nd snore since he dropped out of consciousness.

A faint sigh escaped Sophie’s lips and Jason let the med kit slip from his fingers, dropping it to the floor with a heavy thud. Sophie’s eyes flew open and she sat up with cry, her expression resonating shock and surprise. Instinctively, she drew a knife from her boot and lunged at Jason, plunging the blade deep between his ribs. Jason felt it scrape the metal beneath and pain sparkled within his chest, but he ignored both sensations, gently wrapping his fingers around the hilt while shushing Sophie as best he could.

“Shh shh, it’s okay. It’s me, Sophie. Let go. It’s okay”, he soothed, firmly immobilising her wrist with his steely fingers.

She stared at him for a long moment, her blue eyes awash in confusion, then understanding, and finally; recognition.

“It’s okay, just let go of the knife, please”, he continued as her eyes widened and drifted down to the knife imbedded in his chest. She slowly eased the blade from his flesh, Jason’s crimson blood shining across its length. Once the tip emerged, he relinquished his hold on her and carefully took the weapon from Sophie’s hand, casting it from the truck to avoid further impalements.

Sophie raised her bloodied hand and started to tremble, her lips parting at the sight of his blood on her fingers. Seeing her distress, Jason covered her hand with both of his, obscuring the spillage, but her eyes settled instead on the wound itself and she gasped; “No… Oh Jason, I’m so sorry… I didn’t… I…”

Jason removed one hand and placed it under her chin, drawing her eyes back to his and cupped her cheek comfortingly.

“Hey, it’s nothing, okay. Just a flesh wound, I’ll be fine. You hear me?”

Sophie blinked repeatedly before nodding, deeply breathing the woodland atmosphere around her as she swayed a little. Jason shuffled closer and placed an arm around her waist, keeping her from falling back down. She nestled her head beneath his chin and let out a small sigh of exhaustion, her body taxed from constant regulation and Jason’s overzealous application of morphine.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what… I was startled”, she bemoaned, gripping the front of his jacket for further comfort. Jason whispered his absolution and stroked her honey-blond hair while running a diagnostic on his injury, judging it as minor. It was in these moments, when she was so close, that Jason found he could appreciate the little things in life. Suddenly, the gloomy woodland became a perpetual glade in his eyes, everything seeming less harsh than before as his eyes opened to the subtle beauties of the world around him.

Sophie’s eyes fluttered before closing, leaving a soft sigh in their wake as she drifted back to sleep, her aching body begging for rest. Jason continued stroking her hair until counting a full five minutes of steady breathing, informing him of her heavy slumber. He then carefully placed his left hand on the base of her skull, using the other to support her slender neck as he lowered her onto the blanket he’d placed in the back. Once satisfied her head was comfortably settled on the pillow, Jason unravelled another blanket and draped it over her.

He tucked in the sides and smiled when she took a handful of the fabric and pulled it closer, still fast asleep but fully aware of the cold.

A deep feeling welled inside him as he watched her sleep, but it wasn’t what he’d assumed earlier. Right now, as he finished tucking the blanket beneath her back, Jason couldn’t help but feel a little envious. It had been almost two months since his reconstruction, since his entire skeletal structure was replaced with a mechanical counterpart. Ever since the operation, and though he knew he should feel grateful to still be alive at all, Jason’s senses had become noticeably dulled and this dejected him.

He was stronger, tougher, and more powerful. But none of that truly compared to the sensation of living.

His heart was not his own, just a glorified battery that happened to pulse in time with a real heart, but he couldn’t feel it.

His lungs, his stomach, his kidneys, everything; all of it he still retained, but the cold structure that kept these organics together could not do them justice. He felt as if his flesh would just peel off at any moment and his guts would spill across the ground, his blood mixing with the twigs and pinecones. Do I really need them anyway, he asked himself.

Posing the question to his operational statistics, Jason was presented with the knowledge that, if he were to lose all of his flesh and organs, his mechanical systems would keep his brain alive indefinitely. This should’ve brought him some measure of relief, but instead it only helped increase his fear that he had become a machine, irrevocable and indefinite. That is unless Sophie deigned to bring Skynet’s experimental regeneration formula back in time with her, which was more than unlikely.

Sophie stirred a little, drawing her legs up into a foetal position while she nestled her head deeper into the pillow. Jason watched her settle, his eyes locked intently on her honey-blond hair as it gently brushed down her cheek. Tentatively, he hooked a finger around the strands and placed them behind her ear to better reveal her immaculate face.

Jason cared little for art and beauty, having been raised to disregard such irrelevant sentiments. But looking down at her peaceful form, he couldn’t help but marvel at her perfection. She and Cameron were alike in almost every way, but it was the subtle differences he found most appealing. Cameron’s hair was of the most perfect chocolate brown, as was her eyes. But Sophie was crowned with hair that, in the right light, glittered like pure gold. Her eyes were of such a deep blue that he always expected to see waves crashing within them.

Cameron’s skin, bronzed delicately by the California sun, contrasted notably with Sophie’s, whose flesh was of a lighter shade. Jason extended a finger and carefully brushed her cheek, just about feeling its smooth texture and resenting the fact that what he felt was not doing it any justice.

“You really do care about her, don’t you?”

Jason ceased his affections and snapped his gaze in the direction of the voice, seeing Daniel awake and alert, sitting up in his sleeping bag.

“Excuse me?” Jason narrowed his eyes at the Infiltrator, his hand instinctively reaching into his jacket.

Daniel inclined his head towards the glade where John and Cameron had ventured to; “The machine; you care about her a lot.”

Jason withdrew his hand and sighed, staring into the trees and attuning his audio receptors to pick up any noise from the couple; all he could hear was splashing and the odd chuckle from John. “She’s an extraordinary creation”, he replied.

“What model is she?” Daniel asked, unzipping his sleeping bag and stretching his right leg.

Jason called up Cameron’s design schematics in his HUD, her endoskeletal features highlighted in his upper left peripheral.

“She’s a Class T.O.K Model 715 infiltration unit. Built by Skynet in 2027”, he explained.

Daniel checked his files for information on this machine, but came up blank; “I have no knowledge of that unit.”

“That’s because she and the others like her were kept highly classified. Their missions were too important for any machine or Infiltrator to possess knowledge of. Knowledge that could be ascertained through capture”, Jason answered. Daniel chewed on his words for a long moment, absent-mindedly tapping his foot on the side of the truck.

“What does T.O.K stand for?” he asked eventually.

“Template Of Kill”, Jason sighed, those old memories of that “template” coming back to him. “She is an offshoot of the Triple-8 Series. In addition to her advanced pre-programming of human behaviour, she is designed in such a way that she can learn and grow with the knowledge she gains. There’s only one other of her kind I know of.”

Daniel raised an eyebrow and sat forward; “Oh?” he enquired.

“Yeah, we called him Kevin. He’s like her except, you know, male. He replaced the husband of General Valerii and terminated her successfully. Then he escaped back to Skynet and was assigned interrogation duties. That one always gave me the creeps, to be honest.”

The Infiltrator slipped out of his sleeping bag and started a slow pace back and forth, bringing blood flow back to his legs. “And what was Cameron’s mission? How do you know so much about her?” he asked.

“I was assigned to capture a human called Cameron Phillips. It was rumoured she was John Connor’s lover, so I observed and determined this as truth. Afterward, I lured Cameron to a secluded spot and terminated her. I then snuck her body to Skynet, who took genetic samples and mapped her physique and lingering brain waves. TOK-715 was created and I oversaw her mission, which was a failure”, Jason recited, the haunting sound and feel of Cameron’s neck snapping in his mind.

He closed his eyes and tried to block out the memory, but he never could. It always remained.

From deep within the wilderness, four gunshots echoed across the landscape. Jason’s eyes snapped open and he leapt from the truck, his Jericho 941 in hand. Daniel froze as Jason slowly approached the tree line, weapon raised. “That was a Beretta 9mm. Not too far from here. Most likely somewhere to the-”

“East”, Jason finished for him, thumbing back the hammer on his gun. “Stay with Sophie. There’s a gun in the truck. Do NOT let anything near her, you understand? he ordered, backing into the woodlands as he spoke.

Daniel nodded and retrieved the submachine gun from the truck. Satisfied, Jason sped into the woods as fast as his mechanical legs could carry him. I won’t let history repeat itself, he swore.

--

The world was something entirely different in this domain.

The air was intolerably thick and only the low rumble of her surroundings punctured what would otherwise be absolute silence.

Small brown fish travelled up her body, their fins tickling her bare skin as they made their way to her face. Cameron reached out and stroked one, making the whole swarm flutter away in surprise. She watched them go with a slight frown and regarded her hand with scrutiny. Between her fingers she could see John descending down on her from the surface above, bubbles trickling from his mouth as he settled down beside her, obviously discomforted by the atmosphere around him.

She took his hand and gently squeezed it, eliciting a thin smile from him.

From within the water, Cameron found everything to be so much simpler. It was her and John, just as she preferred it.

John started to shuffle uncomfortably and Cameron knew his lung capacity was waning. He would need to go back up for air any second now, but she didn’t want him to leave again. He pushed himself up and Cameron grabbed him by the wrist, anchoring him in place. He stared at her for a moment, his eyes widening in fear at the possible motives for her actions. She put his mind at rest, however, and pulled him down to her lips.

She exhaled her store of oxygen into his throat, replenishing his lungs with her kiss. He pulled her closer and ran his hand through her hair as they descended back to the pool’s depths. They were not alone in their bliss; however, as over her shoulder John saw two red orbs watching them. He let out a cry of surprise, bubbles bursting from his mouth as he kicked up to the surface. Cameron spun around in time to see the machine slouching towards her.

The surroundings were hardly ideal for such a confrontation, so she dived away from the Triple-8, grabbing the rocks and using them to climb back to the surface. Before she could reach that far, a hand reached down and grasped hers, pulling her upward as the machine followed. The cold air struck Cameron’s face as John wrenched her up, straining from her weight. She helped herself out of the water and turned back in time to see the Triple-8 emerge, a gun in hand.

It fired once, hitting Cameron square in the chest as she shielded John. It fired three more times, the impact of the shots knocking her back into John. With a grunt, John fell back into the pool and the Triple-8 followed. No! was all she thought as she dived back in. The T-888 had John by the ankle, holding him beneath the surface while he thrashed in a vain attempt to break free. He screamed damply at the machine, kicking it in the face repeatedly.

Cameron grasped the machine and pulled it back, her hands wrapped around its wrist. After a few seconds of struggling, the machine let go and John swam frantically back to the surface. Cameron dragged the Triple-8 as far down as she could, allowing him ample time to escape. The T-888 elbowed her in the face and spun around, slamming her against the rocks, the impact of which made her whole endoskeleton vibrate.

A small warning flashed in her HUD:

--[Error: POWER FAILURE
--[Action: IMMEDIATE EVASION

Before she could act on this, however, the machine kicked her hard in the chest and she could feel her endoskeleton grinding against the rocks behind her. Her systems fell out of sync and everything became scattered and incoherent for her to comprehend. Registering her momentary disruption, the Triple-8 climbed towards the surface, seeing John’s shadowy image on the bank.

It burst from the water, its arms stretched to grab the boy, only to be met by the barrel of a ‘Baby Eagle’ and its explosive incendiary payload. “Open wide”, Jason quipped as he fired six point-blank rounds into its skull, each bullet punching deeper into its endo-skull until the fourth obliterated the chip buried within and the following two just to be sure.

The Triple-8 became inert and sank gracefully back down to the surface: terminated. Jason lowered his gun and holstered it, letting out a small sigh as he asked: “Are you injured?”

“I’m fine. I… Cameron!” John gasped, hovering for a moment before diving back into the pool. Jason waited patiently while John swam down, finding Cameron collapsed on the bottom. He cupped her face in his hands and she looked up at him, visibly exhausted, a sight that made his stomach squirm. He tried to lift her, but she had become a complete dead weight and too much for him to handle.

After a few moments of trying, something crashed to his left, and John jumped out of his skin upon seeing Jason standing there, having jumped in. He paused at the sight of Cameron, his eyes flashing red briefly, before taking her in his arms and crawling up the rocks to the water’s surface. With John close behind, Jason carried her to the shore and carefully laid the cyborg down.

John fell to Cameron’s side and brushed her hair out of her face. Jason placed a hand on her temple and conducted a reading of her CPU status, frowning at the information he was presented with; “She’s severely drained. Operating at 15.2% capacity”, he declared.

John started to shake, in what Jason initially assumed to be fear, which then turned out to be rage as he drove his fist into Jason’s nose. He took the punch with a little indifference, knowing he’d deserved it. But when John drew his fist back for another, Jason grabbed his arm and pushed him away.

“That won’t help her get better!”

“This is all your fault, you bastard!” John raged, his breathing fierce and ragged. “If you hadn’t kept frying her circuits with your damn plasma thing, then this would never have happened!”

Jason’s left eye twitched at his remark and he had to restrain himself from crushing the boy’s face.

“Blame me all you want. I don’t give a crap. Just hurry up and get dressed. We move out in an hour.”

With that, Jason pulled Cameron up onto his shoulder and marched back to the truck, leaving John to gather their clothes and run to catch up. Jason cleared the trees and followed the trail back up to the truck, a fully awake Sophie spotting him and tilting her head in confusion.

“What? What happened to you? And why is she… naked?” she asked, baffled by the strange sight of them.

Then she spotted John, who followed behind Jason, his shirt wrapped around his waist temporarily.

“Don’t ask”, Jason replied, depositing Cameron on the bonnet and sitting on the back next to Sophie.

John leaned across the bonnet and took Cameron’s hand. She stared at him blankly, her eyes drooping in a manner that suggested imminent sleep on her part. “Hey, how’s it going?” he whispered, stroking her knuckles tenderly with his thumb.
She blinked slowly and reached for his face, her arm shaking noticeably.

“Are… you…” Her voice was barely audible, but John guessed what she meant.

“Yeah, I’m fine, Cam. You saved me again”, he replied with a loving smile, placing a kiss on her hand.

She smiled weakly, satisfied that he was safe, and closed her eyes. A soft whirring sound came from within her skull and she became perfectly still. John looked up at Jason questioningly, fearing the worst, but he simply replied while drying himself; “She’s in standby mode. She’ll be okay in an hour or so. Just leave her be.”

John turned back to Cameron, placing her hands on her stomach and kissing her on the brow.

I never can.

--

UTAH (OVERNIGHT PARKING STATION)

Sophie trembled all over and let out a shuddering gasp. Her eyes closing as a wave of welcome release washed over her. She laid her head back against the tree and allowed herself to be consumed by the fatigue of her ministrations. She let out a tired sigh and let her arms drop limply onto her lap.

The sky was pitch black and the trees imposing, the only source of light coming from the campfire Jason and John had made. They were both asleep, leaving a recharged Cameron and Daniel on watch. Sophie took the opportunity to slip away for some peace and quiet now that her injuries had healed to an acceptable degree.

She couldn’t sleep anyway, and all attempts to do so were met with failure.

Her peace was not meant to last, however, as the harsh snapping of twigs and crushed leaves caught her attention. She shook herself out of her stupor and drew a switchblade she kept tucked in her underwear, ready to impale the intruder, be it man or machine.

The source of the disturbance was not as she feared, as Daniel emerged to her left, his hands in his pockets and a frown in his features.

“I wondered where you’d gotten to”, he said, his eyes lingering on the exposed strap of her underwear.

Sophie replaced the knife and straightened her dress to cover her modesty, crossing her arms and fixing Daniel with a stern look.

“I came her for some alone time. Featured word: alone.”

Daniel smirked and stepped over to her right, resting against another tree as he checked to see if they were being observed. Once satisfied that their conversation was private, Daniel turned back to Sophie, who was examining the fading pink flush on her skin.

“I trust you remember the rendezvous location we discussed?” he asked.

“Of course; the Arizona desert, what of it?” she replied.

Daniel narrowed his eyes for a moment before answering; “There’s been a change of plan, Sophie. We must… adapt to this change.”

“What kind of change?” Sophie frowned up at him, wanting now more than ever to be alone.

“There is a charge in the air, something none of us could’ve anticipated. That Triple-8 wasn’t hunting Connor, it simply happened to stumble upon him. It was heading somewhere very specific, and it isn’t the only one. Before our attack we received word that machines from all over were starting to migrate to a single location. I suspect I know why”, he explained.

Sophie raised her eyebrows expectantly, wondering why he wasn’t informing Jason of all of this; “Well?”

Daniel knelt down to his haunches and leaned forward as he spoke; “Machines carry a temporal code inside them that informs them when and if a VIP is going to displace. It was installed to warn them of our arrivals so they could offer assistance, or terminate us. Now I believe it has another purpose. Never before have so many machines responded to this calling.”

“I don’t get it. What are they gathering for?” she asked, a chill breeze biting at her skin.

“I believe they are preparing for The Vessel”, he replied.

Horror unlike any she had felt before poured through her veins, turning her blood to ice and freezing her heart.

“No. No, it cannot possibly be… It just can’t!” she all-but-cried, her whole body shivering.

Daniel remained stoic, however, and leaned closer.

“It can and it will. We’ve run out of options, Sophie. We have only one opportunity left to us, and luckily you’ve delivered that opportunity right to us.”

Sophie shook her head as confusion mingled with the fear; “I don’t understand.”

“You will soon enough. We make for Arizona first thing tomorrow. Make sure Jason is convinced of this”, he declared while getting back to his feet. “We have to survive. We must survive. And we will survive. Can I count on you?” he asked, holding out his hand for her to take.

Sophie stared at the gesture for a long moment before accepting it and letting him lift her to her feet.

“Of course”, she replied, that sickening feeling in her stomach intensifying tenfold.

Daniel smiled and tapped her on the shoulder before returning to the camp, leaving Sophie to her thoughts.

Everything had become unbelievably complicated now, and nothing she could say or do would change this. If Daniel’s predictions were accurate, then that would mean that by this time tomorrow; John Connor would be dead, and likely Cameron too. The very thought of this tore at Sophie. She wanted more than anything to bridge the gap between the humans and her people, but now that option was no longer available. Now she had to think solely of her own kind and shun all other concerns.

She was trapped by her loyalties and torn by her… love.

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as the weight of it all hit her head-on. Difficult times lay ahead, and she would be forced to make a terrible decision, one she prayed she would never have to make. Silently she cried, defying her chemical suppressants from metering her grief as she wept.

A strange gagging sound suddenly came from somewhere nearby, replacing her despair with confusion as she searched for the source of that noise. She heard it again, closer this time, and Sophie guessed it to be coming from behind a clump of bushes to her right.

Peering around the bush, Sophie gasped at what she saw:

Cameron was doubled over on the ground, supported by her hands as she spewed forth everything she’d eaten and stored in the last few days. A puddle of vomit, while small at first, expanded as Cameron coughed up some more. She paused and started to get to her feet, but then dropped back down again and wretched worse than before, letting out a small whimper.

Sophie knelt down beside her and pulled back her hair to keep it out of her face while she vomited once more. After a moment, Cameron coughed up what was left and slumped back into a sitting position away from the puddle. She looked terrible, like she’d caught a fever. But that is impossible, Sophie thought. Machines can’t get sick. This isn’t right.

Cameron swallowed and winced, her skin slowly regaining some of its previous colour.

“What’s happening to you?” Sophie asked, tucking Cameron’s hair behind her ears in a sisterly way.

Cameron swayed a little before meeting her eyes, her face blank but bearing the slightest hint of disparity; “I’m malfunctioning.”

She didn’t know why she decided to do it, or why it would make any difference to the situation, but Sophie pulled Cameron into a comforting hug and for the first time since meeting the machine, she knew why Jason admired her so. Cameron was so much more than Sophie had given her credit for.

After a few moments of hesitation, Cameron responded by wrapping her arms around Sophie and resting her head awkwardly on the Infiltrator’s shoulder. Sophie stroked her back soothingly and glanced at the pool of sick mere inches away from them. A processing error maybe, she mused.

Being far more attuned to her senses than any human, Sophie could feel the gentle hum of Cameron’s power core and the fake respiratory system working within her chest cavity. But there was something else also; a faint throb from somewhere in her abdomen. It lasted for only a second, but its presence was undeniable.

Sophie pulled away, her jaw dropping as her mind raced with incomprehensible thoughts. She tried to voice her confusion, but Cameron simply shook her head; an unmistakable request for Sophie’s silence.

Sophie nodded in agreement, a wordless promise to hold her tongue.

Cameron’s eyes brimmed and seconds later she was sobbing in her “sister’s” arms.

Everything had changed.


To be continued…


Next: Chapter 10: The Vessel
Previous: Chapter 08: Few and Far Between