T2 - 02 - The New John Connor Chronicles - An Evil Hour

by Russell Blackford

  Then, from fifty feet in the air, Big John fired four Hellfire missiles deep into the factory. Explosions came from the rear of the building. John tried to move, to get to his feet, yet again. He had to get up, every time he fell. That was the only way. Fight! Or try to... don't give up. He knew that Jade could fight for days if she had to, wounded or not, but Sarah must be tiring, just as he was. for all her strength and training, his mother was only human, just as he was: she could not wield that heavy laser rifle for hour after hour.

  "Come on, John," he said to himself. The two women tod one of the shapeshifting Terminators under control. The other one was after him. He couldn't let the side down. "You can't die now," he told himself.

  He rolled onto his back, fumbling at the pockets of his webbing vest. He still had two impact grenades in there for his launcher... But then he saw. ..

  "His" T-1000 had frozen in its tracks like a silver statue. What about the other one? He looked to Sarah and Jade: "their" Terminator had also ceased to move. Neither had been destroyed, but they were quite immobile. He got to his knees, looking around at the black sky, the strange surreal landscape, seen through his nightvisions. What had happened?

  Sarah had flung herself away from the direction of the blast and also lay on the ground, looking hurt or winded. But she twisted around suddenly, ready to fire her laser rifle.

  Jade lowered her rifle to the ground, and walked over to John. "They did it. We know they have taken out Skynet."

  "What?" John said, finally getting now to his feet. He winced when she reached out to touch him. "My shoulder," he said, trying to smile through the pain. "I think I've torn something."

  She looked deep into his eyes, without coming near.

  "The liquid metal Terminators have stopped fighting. Their sole mission must have been to protect Skynet That mission has now ended, John. Skynet is no more."

  He stepped closer to her, now feeling the pains all through his body. "The missiles got its hardware, right? They got through any armor it was using?"

  Jade nodded, still looking sad somehow, even though they'd won. The pain she'd endured showed in her eyes.

  As the Black Hawk landed for the final time, its rotors screeching as they scattered dust all round, Sarah walked to John and Jade. She didn't seem badly hurt but her head and shoulders drooped. Sweat plastered hair to her face. Her lips were bruised and bleeding but she'd be okay. For now, at least, they were both going to be okay.

  Big John sat at the Black Hawk's door, his legs dangling over the edge. He tore off his nightvisions and ran one strong hand through his severely-cut hair, looking upwards into the coal-black sky that never showed moon or stars. What could he be thinking, John wondered. There was so much that they still needed to discuss—the histories of their different worlds. . .and the future that Jade and Anton had come from. So much for each to understand.

  "It's over," John said, walking toward the older man. "You did it—you took out Skynet. You must have hit its hardware."

  The human general looked his way, peering into the terrible dark. "Yes, it's over," he said. "But it's never over. There are still machines out there—Hunter-Killers, Terminators—" he shook his head slowly "—acting on their mission instructions. More people are going to die, John."

  "Well get them. You know you can do it. . .you and the Resistance. You'll track the machines down."

  "Or they will come to us."

  "It'll be finished soon."

  "I know. We just need the stomach to fight on, another day, and another—then another." General John Connor finally gave the slightest smile. "We'll get through it. Then the real work starts."

  "Yeah, I can kind of see that."

  Once more, the general gazed upwards—into the endless darkness. "There's a whole world to rebuild."

  EPILOGUE:

  SKYNET'S

  WORLD

  MADRID AUGUST 2029

  For the moment they were stranded here. They had no aircraft capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and Skynet's time vault in the mountains was damaged beyond repair. Until a plane could be found in North or South America—to get over here and take them back— they had to base themselves in Madrid. They had a whole world to rebuild, a world without Skynet. But there was one more thing.

  The time had come to reclaim the Earth. But what awaited was uninviting. The sun never shone. Radioactive poisons blighted the soil. Some war machines were still out there, acting on their final commands from Skynet.

  Oil lamps bathed Nicolas Escandell's planning room in dim light. Two dozen people had crowded here, not in a formal conference, just an ongoing freeform debate. In one corner, they'd set up a radio to talk to Resistance leaders in Los Angeles. John watched his older counterpart speaking to Gabriela Tejada. Gabriela sounded tired, but strong and dignified. She'd been through so much, suffered terrible losses. . .her husband and two sons. Juanita Salceda joined the conversation in quieter tones. She and General Connor had still not admitted they were in love, but surely they were getting round to it.

  For John himself, there was the problem about Jade. She liked him, for sure, but maybe that was all she felt.

  Sarah and the Specialists joined him. "So, what now?" John said. He looked to his mother, to Anton. .. then to Jade. When they returned to America, General Connor planned to move his militia south. With Skynet defeated, they had no reason to be in the old U.S. anymore. They'd find somewhere warmer, less contaminated, try to make a better life. But, for John, there was still that one more thing.

  "I thought I'd never go home," Jade said, "that I'd put it all behind me." She faltered, breathing calmly, her large, sad eyes meeting John's. "The T-XA changed that. My world's Skynet will never leave us in peace. We can't let Skynet win anywhere...in any world, however hopeless it seems." She looked to Anton for support. "We've got to go back."

  Anton simply nodded.

  "I know," John said. "But we're going, too. Me and my mom." He, in turn, looked to Sarah. He couldn't read her expression, but he knew she'd join them. No one had done more for humanity's cause. She'd fight on to the end.

  Jade bent forward to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you."

  Five Specialists had gone back in time from Jade's World. Only two had survived. If they returned, it would not be nearly enough. Not that alone. In the world that

  Jade had come from, Skynet was all-powerful, more than it had been here, and humanity's days seemed numbered. But they couldn't leave it at that. They had to do something, or no world was safe.

  "We'll work it out," John said.

  "Yes," Jade said. "We will plan the best way."

  "Whatever it takes."

  But what could they offer to a world that already had Specialists like Jade and Anton, people enormously enhanced beyond John himself, or Sarah or anyone else here? John couldn't find the answer, but he knew they had to do it. It might not be tomorrow. It might not be this week, or this month. But they had to go through with it. There'd be the pain again, the white light. The terror. What awaited at the journey's end?

  It didn't matter. He just had to do it.

  He had to go to Jade's World.

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