“I love you, Cam.”

She opened her eyes and blinked, warm tears mixing with the water drops. She was about to tell him she loved him too. That she would do anything for him. That she would die for him. But the sight of his eyes suddenly dilating blew such words from her mind. Before she could react, however, he pushed her aside and pressed his body against hers.

“No!”

Cameron heard a gunshot and felt John shudder. She quickly turned around to see Ethan grabbing Ellison by the throat and squeezing until it snapped. He then let the agent fall to the floor and turned around. His face, previously set with rage, now changed to disbelief as John fell into Cameron’s arms.

It took her a few seconds to acknowledge what had happened, before catching John and carefully lowering him to the floor, his head resting on her lap. The sprinklers stopped and the sun shone through the large window at the end of the office. John’s breathing was erratic and his eyes fluttered, but he was still alive, though he knew this would not last. Cameron pressed her hand against the wound and ran a detailed scan.

>Scanning…
>Scan Complete: bullet has punctured the thorax and grazed the heart (expiration imminent).

Cameron let out a shuddering breath as the grim reality presented itself to her; John was dying and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

“Wha-… Why… No… No! No! No! Why did you… You didn’t have to do that, I would’ve been fine, why did you… Oh no… John!”

Cameron burst into tears and kissed him on the brow. Ethan fell to his knees next to them, though keeping a respectful distance. John just continued to gaze at her, apparently unconcerned about his quickly approaching death. He cared less about this fact and more about Cameron, whose theoretical heart was breaking.

“Why? Why did you take the bullet?”

“I don’t know.”

“But you must have known what would happen.”

“I did. But… I… needed to protect you.”

Cameron shook her head, unable to understand why he would make such a fatal and, otherwise unnecessary, sacrifice. But then she realised why he’d made such an irrational decision: he loved her, as much as she loved him, and was more than willing to die for her. Logic and reasoning had no say in the matter; he just followed his heart, and took a bullet in it.

“But… I’m supposed to protect you. Not the other way around. It’s me who has to die for you. You can’t die!”

“I… won’t let you get hurt… I can’t… I don’t want to see you in pain… Not again…”

“But… I am in pain… and if you hadn’t… I wouldn’t have felt it… and you would still be alive.”

John blinked stupidly and a small smile touched his lips.

“Yeah… That was very idiotic of me wasn’t it? I’m still using all the muscles except the one that matters, huh?”

Cameron laughed between sobs and stroked the side of his face affectionately.

“Well, maybe you can do me a favour and keep a certain muscle working.”

Cameron placed her hand over his heart, feeling the gentle tremors as each beat came 0.4% slower than the one before it. His biological clock was slowly ticking towards midnight.

“Oh, Cameron, I don’t think I can do that. I’m getting awfully tired.”

“John, please… Please don’t leave me… I… I can’t live without you… I need you…”

John reached up and brushed the hair out of her face. She held his hand against her cheek and sobbed some more, the sunlight making her beautiful features glow, bringing a smile to John’s face.

“Do you remember… the very first day we met…? In that classroom… you asked my name… remember?”

“I do.”

“I’ve always wondered… what was your first thought when you saw me?”

Cameron took a deep breath and smiled down at him.

“I thought… I thought…”

In truth, she hadn’t thought anything back then, her development was too primitive and her emotional range was very restricted. But she imagined what she could have thought, were she to relive the experience.

“I thought you were the prettiest target I’d ever been assigned to protect.”

John laughed, followed by a coughing fit. Cameron panicked; fearing the worst, but John settled down and grinned up at her. She let out a sigh of relief and stroked his hair.

“What about you? What was your first thought when you saw me?”

“I was too busy trying to appear anonymous to give you your dues... But I can tell you what you reminded me of the next day… when you promised to keep my secret.”

The sound of helicopters pierced the silence, and Ethan went to the window to search the skies. Cameron kissed John’s hand and smiled down at him, trying to distract him from the noise of approaching danger.

“Tell me.”

John marvelled at her beauty for a moment, highlighted by the sun’s radiance.

“I thought you looked like Christmas morning… I don’t know any other way to say it.”

The sound of the helicopters became louder and John heard them for the first time, understanding their significance.

“Ethan…”

Ethan returned to John’s side and crouched down beside him, exchanging a look with Cameron.

“Hey, buddy, how’re you holding up?”

“Never better. Listen, I know… You have to get her out of here… You have to promise me you’ll take care of her… Please, I’m begging you…”

Cameron shook her head in denial.

“No! No! I’m not going to leave you!”

John ignored her and grasped Ethan’s hand.

“Promise me.”

Ethan placed his other hand on top of his and John’s, giving him a small smile.

“You have my word… brother.”

John chuckled lightly and Cameron cried even harder as the helicopters became louder.

“John?”

John returned his gaze to Cameron and took hold of her hand.

“I’m so sorry Cameron… I hate to leave…”

>Warning: expiration imminent.

John grunted and gasped, blood gathering in his mouth, his eyes widening.

“Cameron… I’m scared… I don’t… I want to stay… I… Cameron?”

Cameron felt herself slowly dying with him. She could feel him slipping away and didn’t know what to do. There was so much that she wanted to say, but there was no time to say any of it, so she pressed her lips against his… a final kiss that told him more than words ever could.

“I love you, John.”

John mouthed his reply, a single tear running down his cheek. He smiled once more as his vision slowly faded, her face burning into his mind, becoming his very last thought before his heart finally failed him.

Cameron.

Cameron slowly extended her trembling hand towards his eyes and gently closed them. She spent a few moments stroking his face before dissolving into tears and despair. Cameron held his body close and cried without restraint as her soul withered and died. John was dead, and so then was she.

“JOHN!!!”

--

The roaring sound of rota-blades was deafening, which could only mean one thing; the military had arrived. Ethan knew he had to act, that he had to honour John’s last wish. But he couldn’t bring himself to even try to separate Cameron from her lover’s body. She cradled him, gently rocking back and forth, crying and screaming his name. The sound of approaching footsteps forced Ethan’s hand, however, and he slowly reached out to break Cameron’s grip on John’s body.

“Cameron? Cameron, we have to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I can’t leave him.”

“Cameron, the military are here, we must leave.”

“NO!”

The footsteps became louder. Ethan moved forward and pulled her free of John, dragging her away from the body.

“NO! NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

She fought against him, punching and clawing every part of Ethan she could find, but he held her tight.

“Cameron. Cameron, listen to me. LISTEN TO ME!”

He placed his hands on her face and held her eyes level with his.

“John wanted me to keep you safe. To take you away from here. I have to honour his last request. Please, Cameron.”

The military were very close now; they’d be smashing down the door any second. Cameron stopped fighting and looked in Ethan’s eyes, seeing his loyalty to John and slowly nodded, fresh tears running down her face.

“Good girl, now let’s go.”

Ethan grabbed her hand and sprinted towards the large office window. Cameron turned around as the military burst into the room and held out her hand towards John before smashing through the glass and hurtling down countless stories.

--

They landed with an almighty crash, shattering the concrete beneath them. Ethan got to his feet and, with her hand still in his, ran with Cameron to a nearby motorcycle. Once hot-wired, they sped away from the building with the helicopters fast on their trail. Ethan weaved in and out of abandoned cars and burnt-out trucks, desperately trying to dodge the helicopters’ gunfire.

He knew they couldn’t outrun the choppers, however, so Ethan decided to look for somewhere to hide, which was hard at his current speed. As they turned a corner, narrowly avoiding a stream of gunfire, the duo found themselves face-to-face with a military blockade and roughly fifty odd soldiers with their weapons aimed, ready to fire. Ethan slammed on the brakes and skidded into an open warehouse, he then sped through, straight into a gas station on the other side where they were confronted by the helicopter.

A hail of bullets struck the side of the bike, causing them to slide across the tarmac and into the gas station’s convenience store. They got to their feet and took a moment to scan their surroundings.

“They’re just going to keep coming. We can’t escape.”

Ethan spotted a hatch behind the counter and opened it, discovering a basement with sewer access.

“Brilliant. Cameron, I want you to listen to me carefully, okay?”

She nodded silently.

“I want you to take this tunnel and follow it as far as it’ll go. Once you reach the final exit, go to the house, you know which one.”

“What about you?”

Ethan pulled her into a hug and whispered in her ear.

“I’ll meet you there, I promise, now go… please.”

Cameron searched his eyes for a moment before heading into the tunnel and setting off at a run. Ethan watched her go for a few seconds before returning to the convenience store. Numerous soldiers had gathered together and were slowly approaching the store. Ethan stepped out into the open and was immediately met with heavy gunfire, but was undeterred.

He snatched the nearest soldier’s gun and pointed it at a gas line. Realising what he was about to do, the soldiers ordered an immediate retreat, but were unable to escape before Ethan pulled the trigger, causing an explosion that immolated the soldiers and himself. The sergeant in charge of the hunt gathered his men and had them take defensive positions around the raging inferno; he even ordered some of them to unload the RPGs.

One of the corporals gave the sergeant an inquisitive glance.

“Sir, what are we waiting for? No one could’ve survived that blast.”

“Just keep your eyes down range, corporal.”

The soldier did as he was told and focused his aim at the roaring fire. After a few minutes, the corporal could see a shadowy figure moving amongst the flames, and was not the only one to notice. The sergeant threw down his cigar and took aim.

“Open fire on my command.”

The shadow grew bigger as it slowly approached the soldiers. Then a wave of bullets swept through the ranks, killing four men.

“FIRE AT WILL!”

The corporal opened fire at the shadow, but it continued to move towards them, until it finally cleared the wall of flames and became fully visible. The corporal almost dropped his gun in amazement as the he saw the figure clearly for the first time. It was shaped like a man and bore many similarities, but it was, in the simplest possible way, a chrome skeleton with red, glowing eyes.

“What the hell are you gawping at corporal? Fire your weapon!”

The corporal continued firing, but the bullets just bounced off of its body, while it continued to gun down his squad mates.

--

>Remaining Hostiles: 32.3
>Threat Assessment: Moderate
>Warning: Rocket Propelled Grenades detected

Ethan took aim and shredded three more soldiers, enjoying a certain satisfaction in the process. Their weapons were useless against him, and at this rate they would all soon be dead long before he got so much as a dent. That was before they brought out the RPGs, however.

Ethan stopped in his tracks and watched as they prepared the first rocket and deftly ducked when they fired, avoiding the potentially hazardous projectile. Though his endoskeleton was extremely resilient against damage, it did have its limitations, and a direct hit from a rocket of that yield would damage his integrity, making him more vulnerable to attack.

He wiped out five more soldiers and continued onward as yet another rocket skimmed past him. Ethan was amused by their apparent lack of accuracy, but his amusement did not last as a third rocket struck him squarely in the chest. Ethan was sent flying and landed several feet away, momentarily stunned by the explosion.

He ran a quick self-diagnostic and discovered that his hyper-alloy armour was down to 22% integrity. Annoyed that he had fallen for such a ploy, Ethan quickly got to his feet and easily dispatched four more soldiers before being struck by another rocket, with greater consequences this time. His left arm was completely obliterated.

Ethan cried out in frustration and dropped his gun, opting instead for his ChemTech. He let loose a jet of flame that swept through the ranks, immolating a dozen soldiers as another rocket struck the ground at Ethan’s feet, destroying both his legs.

He knew, even as he crawled towards the scattered soldiers, he knew that this would be his last stand. In fact he had intended it to be so, for there was a hidden purpose behind his death. It was shortly after Cameron’s displacement in 2011 that Ethan became aware of the truth behind her disappearance in 2008. As she arrived naked on that beach, Ethan immediately became aware of her presence.

Before he could do anything about it however, a Terminator unlike any he had seen arrived and hindered his progress. A brief scan quickly identified it as a T-Infinity, a time-travelling machine with one purpose: to ensure Skynet’s creation. But this one’s directives must have suffered some form of corruption, for its actions made little sense, or it was a lot smarter than he gave it credit for.

Either way, Ethan knew that it would remain hidden until forced to show itself, and the best way to do that would be to cause untold destruction to its delicate plan. And so Ethan was without regret as the final rocket struck him, disabling his motor functions entirely. The sergeant ordered a cease-fire as he approached Ethan’s dying body. With great effort, the sergeant turned the Terminator over so that he could look into its eyes before putting a .50 calibre round through its head. But as he took aim, the machine laughed; a terrifying mechanical cackle that sent shivers down the man’s spine.

>Plasma Reactor has suffered critical damage (meltdown imminent).

“Mwuhahahahahahahahaha!”

Ethan’s chest glowed bright red as his reactor lost stability and exploded, obliterating the sergeant, his men, the helicopters, and five city blocks along with them.

--

Cameron climbed out of the manhole and scanned the area carefully, not sensing any danger as she had come out in the suburbs, not far from the house. But it was immediately obvious that Ethan wouldn’t be joining her there as she saw, in the distance, a dazzling light from the direction she had just come. Ethan was dead.

She would have cried for him, if she had any tears left. But her heart had died with John, and she felt nothing towards Ethan now, nothing but emptiness. With no other path left to her, Cameron decided to return to the beach, what she would do once she got there, she didn’t know. The long walk there went unhindered. She had no encounters with desperate civilians nor crazed gangsters, and the military were no where to be seen.

Cameron felt like a ghost in a world where all other spectres had moved on to another life, leaving her behind.

--

The beach was not much different than it was in 2008, except for scattered trash here and there, and the sand seemed to be of a lighter shade. The waves crashed violently against the rocks and the wind started to pick up, followed by a rumble of thunder.

Cameron closed her eyes as heavy rain cascaded all around her. She wanted her existence to just end right here and now, and decided upon the best way to satisfy her desire. With her eyes still closed, Cameron strode towards the sea, ready to keep walking until she was as deep as she could possibly go.

But as her feet felt the touch of the cool sea, a series of images flashed within her mind; memories of John. He had made love to her on this beach, taught her how to float in this water, and showed her what it truly meant to feel alive. Unbidden, emotions she thought dead arose within her again. Chief among these was love, that aching pain of loss that told her what she no longer possessed. And as she saw John’s face in her mind’s eye, that love turned to pure rage. Rage against the dying of her light.

Cameron lifted her head up and screamed as the embers of her soul were rekindled. She couldn’t die yet; she still had one more thing left to her: revenge. Cameron opened her eyes and turned around to face the machine that had ruined her existence. As Ethan predicted, the T-Infinity had come out of hiding to tidy up loose ends, Cameron being one of them.

“Connor is dead. Skynet will be born in three weeks and nothing can stop this.”

“I don’t care about Skynet. I only want you.”

Cameron stepped towards the T-Infinity, a bolt of lightning illuminating its already surreal appearance.

“We shall fight, you and I. But it will be me who terminates you.”

Cameron slowly circled the T-Infinity, clenching her fists in readiness.

“We’ll see.”

Another crackle of lightning and Cameron launched herself at the machine, who dodged the attack with ethereal agility. Undeterred, Cameron proceeded to launch a series of punches, but all missed their mark as the T-Infinity danced around her, its every movement a blur. Cameron took a moment to run a tactical analysis and was shocked to discover that this model had the ability to phase through time and space, allowing it to anticipate and dodge her attacks before she even made them.

Frustrated, Cameron picked up a heavy rock and hurled it at Infinity, but it side-stepped and launched an attack of its own, sending Cameron flying. It had struck so fast that she hadn’t time to react. Regardless, Cameron got back to her feet and charged her opponent once more, desperately increasing the speed of her attacks, hoping to move too fast for the T-Infinity to react.

But it continued to evade her, and delivered another strike that sent a jolt of electricity through her body, searing a few of her circuits. She would not last long under these circumstances. Her opponent was too advanced and too unorthodox for her to have any hope of defeating it. But then something happened that changed Cameron’s perspective.

She had picked up a jagged piece of metal and tried to spear the T-Infinity with it, but like before, it evaded. Cameron then decided to swing the weapon around and try again, but the T-Infinity made to strike her with its glowing hand, so she changed her mind in mid-strike, pulling the weapon up to block the incoming attack instead. As she brought the weapon to bear, its sharp edge scraped the T-infinity whilst it was re-materialising, causing a spark.

Though the T-Infinity suffered no damage, it opened Cameron’s mind to a possibility, one which she immediately began constructing a plan upon, even as she was sent flying through the air again. The T-Infinity stalked towards her, its energy fist ready to crush her endo-skull.

Cameron leapt to her feet and drove a punch at the T-Infinity, causing it to phase and shift to her left. But as it did this, Cameron changed the angle of her punch to coincide with the T-Infinity, resulting in it re-materialising around her fist. It took the machine a moment to realise what had happened, granting Cameron time to wrap her fingers around the T-Infinity’s power core and violently rip it out of its chest.

The T-Infinity stared at its core with wide eyes and let out a slow moan as its systems suffered a catastrophic failure. Cameron dropped the “heart” at her feet and crushed it beneath her boot. The T-Infinity cried out in apparent dismay, its metallic feminine voice becoming a scream. Cameron looked on with a bitter smile on her lips.

“Welcome to my world, bitch!”

The T-Infinity screamed even louder as its endoskeleton started to fracture and its blue aura became blindingly bright. Cameron watched her enemy die, her eyes glowing blue as she absorbed that feeling of closure. After what seemed like an eternity, the T-Infinity exploded, the blast of which consumed Cameron as well.

Cameron could feel every sensor on her body screaming a thousand reports of data, but she ignored them all and allowed herself to be carried to wherever fate had planned for her.


Next: Epilogue
Previous: Chapter Nine: ...Call For Desperate Measures