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Chapter Five: Love's Sacrifice
Cameron's Reflection
"Love’s Sacrifice"
“Cameron?”
She’d been here. He could smell her. Heightened senses were one of the many virtues of being an I-950, and it served him well here. So I’m not the only one investigating this, though I doubt poor mei mei is in any state to conduct her affairs at the moment. Jason tried to drag his train of thought back to the matter at hand, but it was difficult to forget that look of pain on her face. John had a lot to answer for, and once he was finished tracking this Terminator, Jason swore to pay the boy a visit.
For now though, he had to focus his anger on a machine, though he’d paid that sorry excuse of a teacher another visit since his attempt on Cameron. Jason shook his head, he was getting sidetracked again. He left the crime scene and began searching the surrounding area for any clues of the Terminator’s whereabouts. A glance at the floor revealed a small droplet of blood; he crouched down and pressed his finger against the miniature puddle. Jason held his finger at eye level and conducted a scan.
Analysing… Blood Type Confirmed: AB positive… Tracking… Trail leads west…
The Terminator had left a trail of his victim’s blood. Jason smiled to himself, and followed the droplets of blood to their source.
This one’s for you, Cameron.
--
‘Have you ever heard of the Singularity? It’s a point in time when computers become so smart that they’re capable of creating even smarter versions of themselves.’
Sarah remembered John’s words well, and knew that things were about to get very, very difficult. She read through Bobby’s file again, just to be sure. After the fifth read through, the reality of their predicament settled in. Bobby had created a computer capable of achieving ‘Singularity’. Though it had yet to do so, there were many tests being run in preparation for its activation, which would occur in just four days. Four days, and Skynet could be born.
Sarah took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before going through various plans and schemes in her mind. She was not going to let this happen.
--
John put his pencil down, having finally finished the conclusion to his essay. He flexed his tired fingers and stood up to stretch his legs. He took a few steps forward, his foot brushing against something on the floor. He leaned over to pick it up; it was a photo of him and Cameron on the beach. Fond memories flooded into him; she’d been so beautiful that day, especially when she built a heavily fortified sand castle to protect him…
Chloe!
The name emerged in his mind, like a proverbial bad penny, to remind him of what she’d done. Suddenly, the sight of her body was all he could see, and he crushed the photo in his hand, hoping it would appease the guilt. But it didn’t, it couldn’t. If anything, it made it all worse. He was being buried by the weight of it all, he couldn’t breathe…
A soft tapping on the window brought him back to the present. He glanced at the window to see Kevin on the other side. John slid the window open and was met by the cold night air.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything. You seemed pretty distant, what were you thinking about?”
“Uh, nothing, just a bit of nostalgia, you know.”
“Well, when you’re done with that; I have something I wanna show you.”
John sighed; he was tired, and didn’t feel much like sneaking around in the dark.
“Not tonight, I’m kinda tired right now.”
“C’mon, it’ll be worth it.”
“No, I can’t, I’m really knackered.”
Kevin poked his head through the window and scrutinized him.
“Are you feeling guilty about something? Is she getting in your head again?”
John froze. How could he possibly know what I’m thinking?
“I mean, I know some sisters can be twisted, but yours, well, she takes it to another level. I mean, look at you. Look at what she’s done to you. You wanna stay in the same house as her?”
He was right, as always. Cameron’s attempts to seduce her way back into his good graces had given him pause, but now he saw it for what it truly was; an infiltration technique. He scowled and closed his fist on the photo before letting it fall to the floor.
“Alright, what did you have in mind?”
--
Cameron put the pen down and read through what she’d just written. Satisfied, she went over to the mirror and carefully applied her favourite shade of lipstick. She then leaned over and pressed her lips to the paper, forming a perfect kiss. Cameron wiped the lipstick from her mouth and folded the letter.
She had heard John sneaking out and so just entered his room without hesitation. It was just as it had always been, minus the warmth it possessed in the past; when everything was good in the world. She lay on his bed, her head resting on his pillow, and shed the last of her tears. She then placed the letter on the pillow and stroked the mattress, taking it all in before whispering:
“Goodbye, John.”
Cameron left without a sound, almost as if she were a ghost, leaving no trace of her existence.
--
“John? I need to ask you something. John?”
Sarah knocked once more, the door creaked open at her touch. She instantly noticed the open window and felt that familiar rage building inside her.
“Cameron? John’s disappeared again.”
Sarah approached her room, only to find it empty too.
“Cameron? Where are you?”
No answer. Now where did she go? After John? Yes, that’s most likely. I’d better join the hunt. Sarah grabbed her coat and keys, and dashed outside.
--
“So, what am I looking at exactly?”
“Just keep watching.”
Kevin had led him out to a small levy where he apparently had something highly amusing to show John. But John was getting tired, not to mention cold as well. Kevin perked up as a homeless guy came hobbling towards their hiding place beneath the bridge.
“Right, now this guy is your typical bottom feeder. He goes around scavenging everything he can get his filthy hands on, never actually needing any of it.”
“Well, he’s obviously got a raw deal. What’s your point?”
“My point is that people like him are parasites. No different than the insects that forage in his hair. It’s disgusting.”
John still couldn’t see his point. So he hates homeless people; so what? What does this have to do with me?
“I still don’t get why you dragged me out here, in the freezing cold, to show me a homeless guy.”
Kevin smiled sinisterly.
“Just watch. I’ve prepared a little… surprise for our parasitic friend.”
John didn’t like where this was going. They’d played many pranks these past days, some of which bordered on immoral. But John could tell that whatever Kevin had in mind for this man was far from pleasant.
“What are you-…?”
John’s question was immediately answered as the homeless guy stepped into Kevin’s trap. Suddenly, a stack of old TVs fell from the bridge, a rope snatched the man’s ankle, pulling him upwards. John watched in horror as the man’s head hit the floor before being suspended upside down. Kevin crept out the hiding place and clapped his hands, a look of savage joy on his face.
“Oh, brilliant, I couldn’t have planned it better. How it does feel to be truly helpless, parasite?”
The man didn’t answer. He didn’t even try to free himself. He just hung there, immobile. Kevin frowned and examined the man closely, before stepping back, his arms crossed.
“Oh dear, that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
John’s mouth had gone completely dry.
“Is he…?”
“Dead? It certainly seems so. He must have hit his head harder than I predicted. Pity, I wanted to play with him a little first.”
John couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Kevin had just murdered a man and wasn’t in the least bit troubled by it, in fact, he was enjoying it.
“Are you insane?”
Kevin smiled at him.
“No more than you are… Connor.”
--
“Oh, Jesus, God in heaven.”
Jason pulled his phone out and dialled Sarah’s number. While the phone rang, he looked back at the false I.D.s that littered the floor of the apartment. Jason had traced the blood to this apartment and found its previous tenant dead. Amongst the many cuttings and I.D.s were a photo and a name.
‘John?’
“Sarah?”
‘Jason? I was just about to call you; you haven’t seen Cameron have you?’
“No. Why?”
‘John’s sneaked out and I think Cameron has gone looking for him. I’ve searched everywhere, but I can’t find either of them.’
Jason ran his hand through his hair.
“Has John snuck out with that boy Cameron told me about?”
‘I think so, why?’
“We need to find him, fast.”
‘Jason? What is it? What have you discovered?’
Jason took a deep breath.
“I know who the new arrival is.”
--
“What did you just call me?”
John’s blood had frozen. He was paralysed.
“I called you by your name; John Connor.”
John managed to move his legs. He slowly took a few steps back.
“How do you know that name?”
Kevin smiled and slowly began circling him.
“I know everything about you. Who you are, who you will become? Everything.”
“You’re from the future?”
“Yes, as is your mechanical girlfriend. Oh, I’m sorry, make that mechanical ex-girlfriend.”
John was incredulous. How could I be so stupid? As if he could read his thoughts, Kevin smiled again.
“You have no idea how hard I worked to integrate myself into your life, to gain your trust. I won’t lie, it was not easy, but I found a way in. Your sentimentality works against you. The death of that girl gave me the perfect opening. I fed your anger for Cameron, and I twisted it into hate. I forged you into the perfect weapon.”
John’s heart was beating at three times the normal rate. He felt like his chest was about to burst.
“Why? Why not just kill me when you had the chance? Why all of this?”
Kevin laughed. A maniacal cackle that sent shivers down John’s spin.
“Who ever said I was sent here for you?”
--
Jason burst into his apartment, but no one was there. Derek’s door was busted open. He rushed inside the room to find him gone, a makeshift lock-pick lying next to the cuffs.
“No. No, no, no. This is too much. Damn it Derek, why now?”
Jason bolted out of the apartment, his phone already dialling Sarah’s number.
--
John burst into the house, gasping for breath. Kevin had let him go, laughing like a maniac as he watched him run all the way home. Once he’d gotten his breath back, John called her name.
“Cameron? Cameron? Where are you?”
He staggered into her bedroom, which was empty. He then searched his mother’s room, with no luck. John rushed into his room, which was also empty, but noticed a letter on his pillow. He grabbed it and instantly recognised Cameron’s writing, accompanied by a kiss. His hands shook as he read it:
Dear John,
I couldn’t do this face to face, so I decided to put it into a letter instead, like you taught me. I have tried to say I’m sorry. I have tried to show you my remorse. I have tried to show you my love. But obviously it was not enough, as you still hate me. I have failed you, in every possible way. I know there is nothing I can say or do to fix my mistakes, to redeem myself in your eyes. And I know that trying will only make you hate me further. So I have decided to make things easier for you. I am letting go… of everything… and nothing. I am giving you a chance to move on, to find another who will love you the way you deserve.
Please forgive me for what I must do, and know that I will always love you.
Yours eternally,
Cameron
John finished reading the letter, he didn’t need to read it twice, her words had burned into his very soul. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he was beaten into submission by the awful truth. It was entirely his fault, all of it. He was the reason Cameron had given up. He had allowed Kevin to twist him into a mockery of everything he once was. John was presented with the raw reflection of himself, he could see everything that he was, and everything he had become, and all the consequences that laid between them.
And in this moment of clarity, one name alone touched his dying heart.
“Cameron.”
--
She chose her spot carefully, and then lay down upon the tracks, her head resting on the line. The end would arrive in less than ten minutes. She was ready. She knew it had to be done, for his own good, and only shed a single tear as the light approached.
--
John raced through the city on his neighbour’s motorcycle, frantically searching every face for those brown eyes. But he could not find her, no matter where he looked. He stopped near the local train depot, scanning every face, without result. He felt like the whole world was about to end, and he was not far off. She was, after all, his world. She was everything to him, and he’d made himself forget that.
Right now, the one person he hated more than anyone else was himself. The sound of a train horn snapped him back to the present; he looked over to see a train about to pass through the depot. His gaze followed the length of the track and spotted a small figure lying twenty seconds away from the train: it was Cameron.
John let out a strangled cry and raced across the road, dodging several cars, and scaled the fence. He dropped to the other side and, ignoring his sprained ankle, sprinted over to her.
--
Cameron closed her eyes and prepared for the end; however, something grabbed hold of her and pulled her off of the track seconds before the train sped past. She opened her eyes and saw an exhausted John staring down at her. She wondered if she had indeed died and gone to what humans referred to as heaven. She sat up and reached out to touch his face, to prove that he was actually real.
“John?”
He took several deep breaths before suddenly slapping her across the face and then grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her hysterically. His face was a mix of emotions, too many for Cameron to identify, but the most prominent was grief. His voice was ragged and hoarse as he shouted at her.
“What the hell are you doing?!!! What are you thinking?!!! How could you do this?!!! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!!! I found your letter and I… What are you doing?!!!”
Cameron was unable to fully understand what was happening. He was still angry with her, but it was a different kind of anger, one born of concern and love.
“I was trying to give you a chance to live a better life.”
John stopped shaking her and just stared into her eyes, his mouth fell open.
“But I… Cameron… Don’t you understand? I can’t do this without you… I need you… you’re all that keeps me going.”
“They’ll be others… Jason will take my place. He’ll protect you.”
John loosened his grip slightly, but still held her tight, afraid that she might jump under another train if he let her go.
“That’s not why I need you… Cameron… I can’t lose you.”
Cameron was confused, he wasn’t making any sense. Everything he said contradicted what she’d seen.
“But… you hate me.”
John searched her eyes, his own brimming with tears in the process.
“No! I love you.”
And then it all made sense, she could see his change, he was John again. The John she devoted her existence to. The John she loved. The revelation made her burst into tears, but not because she was unhappy, these were tears of pure joy. She laughed between sobs and John pulled her into a tight embrace.
“I’m sorry, Cam. I’m so sorry, please forgive me.”
She didn’t use words to answer his plea; she simply pressed her lips against his, their tears mixing together.
They were as one again.
Next: Chapter Six: In A Mirror, Darkly (Contains explicit content. Mature readers only.)
Previous: Chapter Four: Confessions of the Damned
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Veran |
Latest page update: made by Veran
, Jul 27 2008, 8:08 AM EDT
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About This Update
Edited by Veran
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Keyword tags:
Cameron
Derek
I-950
Jason Corvain
John
Sarah
Terminator
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| kirirur | WOW | 0 | Jul 9 2009, 9:09 AM EDT by kirirur | ||
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Thread started: Jul 9 2009, 9:09 AM EDT
Watch
W-O-W!!!
My infinite compliments!! While I was reading this chapter my heart was beating fast, expecially at the end! Congratulations!! |
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| david534ever | omg... | 0 | May 5 2009, 6:29 AM EDT by david534ever | ||
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Thread started: May 5 2009, 6:29 AM EDT
Watch
this chapter got me all teary eyed in alot of spots man.. expecially the end... good writing...
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