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Chapter 03 Extract From the Journal of John Connor
Chapter 3
The Tin Man
Extract From the Journal of John Connor
2027, Day 5
After leaving the city, our progress was much faster as we could now travel in daylight as well. Because of the detour from our original route, Kyle decided we should travel during the day and night for one day to make up for lost time.
By the end of the day, the two recruits were flagging. Allison wasn’t doing much better. I was just holding my own, but it was obvious, Kyle, Mike and Lewis were used to such marches.
We were low on water, but it wasn’t much further to the rest stop. It had its own well. Before J-Day it had a service station, a combination general store and diner, plus the obligatory gas pumps out front that looked like they were from the 1950's. I only hoped the well was still functioning.
It was coming on to dusk. Kyle ordered the men to rest. He wanted to wait until dark before approaching the rest stop. I sat with him, Mike and Lewis. I sketched out the area the way I remembered it. I prayed that my information was still good. According to the calendar, it had been over twenty-four years since I was last there, but for me it had been only four.
Kyle decided that instead of the whole unit approaching in mass, that he would send a couple of scouts to check the area first. He ordered Mike to take one man with him and scout the rest area. If there were any hostiles, not to take any offensive action. One of them was to stay put, keeping an eye on them, and the other was to come back and fetch the rest of the unit and we would plan a proper form of attack. If there were no hostiles, one was to remain and locate the well, while the other returned to fetch the unit.
I wanted to be one of those that went, but Kyle insisted that I was too important, that I would be needed to locate the weapons cache. My life wasn’t expendable. It was all I could do not to argue, it sounded too much like what my mom had been telling me all my life. But I swallowed my pride, nodded my assent and went back to the group and waited.
It seemed the wait was awfully long. Lewis stayed with Kyle keeping an eye out for their return. The lone recruit and Allison were sleeping in a hollow beside the road. Allison had kept her boots on. Either she feared the scorpions or she didn’t want her feet to swell. I laid down near them, resting my head on a smooth rock. The sand was still warm from the sun.
I laid there and studied the stars. They were like old friends. I was taught how to navigate by them since I was old enough to walk. The guerilla soldiers of Guatemala, Costa Rica, and the other countries of Central America were like Uncles and Grandfathers, teaching me and spoiling me. A few didn’t like the idea of this American woman and her boy traveling with them. But she was a soldier. I saw her break the jaw of one man who had been hurling insults and rubbish at me with equal vehemence. No one bothered us again after that.
I hadn’t realized I had fallen asleep until I felt someone shake my shoulder. It was Kyle. “Mike’s back” he whispered, “and he’s alone.”
Kyle shook Allison and the other recruit awake. Mike then told us of what he and the other guy saw. They had found the rest stop exactly where I said it was. The buildings were more dilapidated now, due to neglect but they weren’t empty.
A group of armed Grays were holding fort there. Kyle explained that the machines used Grays on their outer lines or to guard minor posts, but you could count on each unit to have one maybe two machines with them.
Miked cursed the Grays as traitors to humans, but he also said that most only joined out of desperation for food, shelter, clothing - the basics. But in time they were brainwashed into helping the machines, they couldn’t help it. They tried to un-brainwash a few Grays they had captured in the past, but they still turned on their fellow humans.
Kyle interrupted him. “Ok Mike that is enough! You four come closer. Mike has made a sketch of the rest stop. There are three maybe five Grays in the store. There are three Grays outside guarding the area, one at each entrance from the highway here and here, and the third in back near the well.”
Mike added, “The well is functional. While Jimmy and I were observing, we saw one of them come out and fill a bucket. Also, the three men on guard duty are on a staggered three hour watch. Every hour one of the guards is replaced by another Gray from inside.”
“Does the replacement come out and swap places or does the guard go in and then some one else comes out?” I asked.
“Only one time did we observe a replacement come out first, all other times the guard went in and a few minutes later some one else came out.” answered Mike.
“I’ve got a plan.” I said.
An hour later we were all in place. Kyle, Mike and myself were all undercover each with an eye on one of the guards. We were waiting for one of the guards to go inside after completing his shift. As soon as he stepped inside, he was to be shot. The idea was to confuse the Grays inside and out. When the other two of us heard the shot, we were to take out the other two guards. Allison and the recruit were both in a position to lay down covering fire on the store. When they heard us fire, they were to fill the store full of lead. In the meantime, Kyle, Mike and myself were to storm the building. As soon as we got close the others were to stop firing. We would then go in and shoot anything that was still moving. Lewis and the other recruit were taking observation points. Lewis remained where we had rested and the other recruit had walked on past the rest stop. If they were to see anything moving, they were to run back here on the double and warn us. When they heard the gunfire stop, they were to return here. If we were dead than they were to report back to Derek that we had failed. If we survived, then they would resume their positions as lookouts. We had two hours maybe less before dawn. The sky in the east seemed just a bit lighter.
Just then I heard Mike fire his rifle. The guard at the well must have gone inside. Instantly Kyle and I pulled our triggers and the men in front of us dropped dead. Allison and the recruit opened fired on the store. I heard some shouts from inside, and some of the Grays began to return fire. Kyle and I had the longest approach to the store as we were hidden on the opposite side of the road. Mike was closest to the building as he ran in from the back.
A Gray tried to dash out the front and Kyle pulled out his handgun and shot him. We were just reaching the porch and Allison and the recruit ceased fire. I saw a movement through a window and fired my weapon. Kyle went through the front doors firing like mad. I hadn’t even got through the doors when the firing had stopped. Mike came out blood running from a wound on his temple. I went inside to find Kyle standing looking at the carnage. I saw six corpses laying on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. There were three corpses outside, the guards Kyle and I shot, and the Gray that made an unsuccessful dash for freedom.
Allison walked in the doors. Her face looked a little pale. “Jimmy is dead.” she said.
It was one of those lucky shots. We had completely surprised them. But out of the few shots they had managed to get off, one found its mark. Mike’s wound wasn’t even from a bullet. He had misjudged the door and bashed his head on the jamb. We would have laughed at that but for the sobering news of Jimmy’s death.
We stripped the Grays and Jimmy of their ammo and gear. The bodies needed to be buried quickly. We needed a shovel. Mike and Alison searched the service station, Kyle and I searched the store. We didn’t find anything in the store. All of a sudden there was a loud “Whoop!” shouted from the general direction of the service station. Kyle and I ran as fast as we could with guns drawn, only to find Mike and Allison with big grins on their faces, standing outside an open bay to the service station. They had found an old gray van.
We had transport! Lewis and the other recruit showed up. I finally learned his name, Billy. Allison took him to one side and told him about Jimmy. Apparently they were brothers. We gave him his time to grieve, while we buried the bodies.
We spent the last hours of darkness resting. Each of us took it in turn to stand watch. We just had a long march through the desert followed by a firefight. Kyle stood guard the whole time in back of the rest stop. He wouldn’t let anyone relieve him. Allison came around in the morning and handed everyone canteens she refilled with water from the well.
Kyle, Allison, Billy and Lewis took turns as lookout while Mike and I worked on getting the van ready. It had good fluid levels and nearly a full tank of gas. The battery was flat. The only thing keeping this task from being a success was a dead battery. I began looking around the garage for items.
I finally found what I was looking for. In a garage like this I knew they would have to have a few on hand for motorist who had broken down. I found an alternator and some fan belts. I turned to Mike, “Is there any wires, cables or extension cords over there?”
“What about this?”
“Too short!”
“Hey, Look at this!”
“Perfect, I shouted.” He had found three loops of heavy duty extension cords which must have been a 100 ft. long each.
“What are you going to do with all this?”
“Out back is an old windmill that was used at one time to pump water from the well. I’m going to convert it into a power generator.”
“Will it provide enough power to recharge the battery?”
“I don’t know. But It will only need to provide enough power to start the truck. The engine will finish recharging the battery.”
Mike and I dashed out the back door where we ran into Allison.
“Any luck with the truck?”
“You‘ll know in a moment.” I said cheekily just before Mike and I went scrambling up the tower.
Mike and I swung the windmill out of the wind. The fan blades stopped turning almost instantly. Mike held it in place while I scrambled on top. I tied the alternator in place with some bailing wire. I took the fan belt, cut it in half, looped it around the axis of the fan blades and the wheel of the alternator. I cut it to length and use a couple of heavy wire staples to link the cut ends together. Mike then handed me the first extension cord. I cut off the end and stripped the wires with my knife. I then attached the wires to the screw terminals on the alternator. I fed the cable down through the tail of the windmill and Mike guided it through, letting the end drop to the ground. I took some more bailing wire and tied the cable in place to keep it from shifting.
“Mike, will you be okay here, while I go hook the other end of the cable to the battery?”
“Yeah.”
“When I give you a shout, turn the windmill back into the wind.” I said as I scrambled back down the tower.
We were so busy, I hadn’t realized we had gained an audience. Everyone but Lewis, who was out front as lookout, had come around to see what we were up to.
Kyle gave me a questioning look as I plugged an extension cord into the one from the windmill. He and Allison followed me to the service station as I unrolled the cable.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m building a wind generator to recharge the battery.”
“How long will it take if it works?”
“Hopefully no more than hour. It depends on so many variables, will the battery take the charge, are the cables still good, does that alternator work, how long will the wind continue to blow?”
“Okay, I get it.” He was looking kind of grim.
“Is there something wrong?” I asked him.
“Yeah, there are too many Grays with no metal. There are usually one sometimes two with a group of Grays this large. It worryies me that they are not around.” He was looking worried. “You’ve got one more hour with that van. If it isn’t running by then, we are leaving.”
I finished stripping the end of the wires. I had maintained the black wire as negative throughout. I twisted the white wire around the positive post and the black wire around the negative post.
“Allison,” She had followed me in and had been watching me with intense interest. “Would you tell Mike to turn the windmill into the wind. I’m sure he would like to get down off that tower now.”
With a smile and a nod she left. I had a few minutes to myself to think. Kyle was concerned about the absence of metal in the vicinity. That means they could be laying in an ambush someplace. Did that mean they knew about the weapons cache? I didn’t know. But these Grays had to be out here for a reason.
Mike and Allison walked in and joined me. Allison handed me a canteen of fresh water from the well. God it tasted good.
Miked asked, “Is it working?”
“Let’s find out.” I said picking up a short length of copper wire. I briefly touched it to both terminals and there were a few sparks.
We all cheered, patted each other on the backs. Allison gave Mike a brief hug. I felt a brief pang of ‘jealousy.’ My heart definitely did do a flutter.
Mike ran out saying, “I’ll go tell Kyle the generator is working!”
Allison turned, walked over to me and embraced me. She held me for a while and as she pulled away she paused. We were looking into each others eyes. My heart was beating rapidly. My mind was swimming. It didn’t seem hardly any time had passed since I was in a similar position with Cameron. This wasn’t Cameron. She was Allison, and she was flesh and blood. I took her face in my hands and kissed her. She kissed me back.
We were still kissing when we heard someone clear their throat. We stopped and turned around separating and there just inside the door stood Kyle and Mike. Kyle looked like a stern father or a grumpy sergeant major with a bad tooth. Mike had the biggest ****-eating grin on his face. Without letting Kyle see what he was doing, he gave me a wink and a thumbs up.
Allison looking a little flushed, excused herself, “I’d better go relieve Lewis at his post.” and she left quickly.
“Mike tells me the generator is working.” Kyle managed to say while still looking grim. “Keep me informed.” And with that statement he walked out.
Mike stayed behind. He was stilling looking at me with a grin on his face. “So you were the one to do it?”
“Do what?” I asked.
“Break through the shell of the ice princess.” Mike took a sip of water. “Everyone’s tried to. None of the guys got anywhere with her. Some of us thought she was holding out for one of the Reese boys. Others thought she didn’t like men. But when you showed up, I could see her begin to thaw.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well she was always someone of good spirits, but after you showed up. She was seen smiling for no reason when she was alone. She likes you, John.”
“Is that why Kyle was looking so stern?”
“Yeah, he’s always had a thing for her. But she’s never seen Kyle, or Derek for that matter, as anything other than like surrogate father’s or older brothers. I can’t wait to tell the others when I get back.”
“Why?” I said feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“Because it means I won the poll. We all had stakes as to who would break through her shell, and I chose you. You are a charmer, aren’t you.” And with that, he left the garage laughing.
An hour had gone by, Kyle had Mike and Billy on lookout. Lewis was filling up the last of the canteens. Allison had gathered up all the Grays guns and equipment and had separated out those items we could use and had put them in the truck.
It was time to start the truck. To ensure a full current I left the generator attached. I climbed into the cab and turned the key. The only sound to hear was a clicking sound. The starter motor was definitely trying to start. I tried again and the same thing happened.
“It’s been a complete waste of time, Connor!” Kyle turned away and shouted. “Grab your gear people we are heading out!”
“No wait! I think I know what’s wrong.” I said jumping out of the cab.
Kyle spun around and grabbed my collar and shoved me against the van. “What’s wrong is being sent out here on some wild goose chase after weapons only you know about. Who the hell are you!”
I didn’t know what to say and no one else seemed to know what to say either.
“You come out of nowhere. Tell my brother some fantastic tale. And the next thing I know I am out here in this god-forsaken desert, babysitting a bunch of new recruits. And the only thing you’ve accomplished besides getting us deep into the middle of nowhere is to make out with Allison!”
I was struggling to come up with something to say. It was obvious he was upset about something, and it had to be more than just me. Lewis walked up and took Kyle’s hand from away from my throat and just looked at him. I don’t know what nonverbal signals went between the two of them, but Kyle walked away.
Lewis then spoke to me in a low voice. “Hey Connor, it’s not good outshining the boss, dude.”
I replied in the same low voice. “I’m not trying to outshine him. I just know how to do things. I grew up learning how to be a soldier, how to build and rebuild mechanical and electrical devices. This stuff just comes naturally to me.”
“Well just try not to do it so well around Kyle. He’s spent his whole life in his brothers shadow and his light has seldom shined. Now here you are with your weapons cache, your plan on how to get there, how to storm the building, and how to fix the vehicle.” then he dropped his voice even lower, “And now you’ve managed to take the one thing he has always desired.” He looked over my shoulder. I turned and there was Allison. She had witnessed the whole thing and had never said a word.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry okay.” I stormed out of the garage. I brushed past Allison, went out the back door and sat down next to the well.
Oh God. I thought, why am I here. I need Kyle on my side and the only thing I’ve managed to do is alienate him. Will he ever trust me. I was angry and scared. All my life all I heard was how someday I was going to be a great leader, and now here I was making the very man who was or will be my father my enemy.
Allison had walked up behind me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “He’s calmed down now. I think he might be willing to listen to your idea.”
“Is it true?”
“Is what true?”
“That Kyle has feelings for you.”
“I guess so, but he has never said anything to me. Besides, he’s been more like an older brother to me. We are only a few years apart in age. Derek looked after both of us. He’s something like a father to me. To both of us really, since Judgment-Day.”
“Then, in the garage, earlier, when we kissed. What or why . . . .”
“I choose who I want, not anyone else.” She looked at me squarely in the eye. “You’re different from anyone else I’ve met since J-Day. There is a strength and a confidence in you that I haven’t seen in anyone else before.”
I stood up and brushed the sand off my pants. Allison continued speaking.
“Derek and Kyle have been good leaders. They have kept us alive. Derek said when he first saw you that you were going to be famous. I know why. He is a very good judge of character. He sized you up immediately. He’s got something big planned for you John. Remember, back on the edge of the city when you wanted to know why I had come along?”
“Yeah, you turned the question back to me, asking me why each of the other members were in the unit. But you never answered my question.”
“Well I’m telling you now. Derek sent me to keep an I on you. To give him a report about how you handled yourself and what you contributed to the mission. He wanted to know more about you, so he threw you into this mission without any preparation. It’s how he does things with new recruits. ‘Sink or swim’ as he calls it.”
“Is that the only reason you came?”
“Yes, at first. But then I found another reason.” She paused and looked at me so passionately. “I love you John.”
We embraced again for the second time that day. Lewis approached us and said, “Okay lovebirds. Kyle has simmered down. I think you better get in here before he blows his stack for you being late.”
On the way back in, I looked at Allison, and mouthed the words, “I love you, too.”
**
“Right! Lewis, when I give you the signal, turn the key.”
I was laying underneath the van. I had cleaned the electrical contacts to the starter motor, and replaced the lead from the positive terminal to the motor. I was just doing a final check of the connections when there was the rattle of gunfire from the western entrance to the rest stop.
Lewis leaped out of the cab, grabbed his rifle and went flying out the front of the garage.
I had just stepped outside, rifle in hand, when more rifle shots sounded, this time from the east. That was where Billy was stationed. I heard more shots and a yell of rage from that direction. Then, I’ll never forget the sound: POP! . . . POP! . . . POP! Billy was dead, just like his brother.
Mike and Kyle came running up to us. Mike’s right arm was bleeding and Kyle was struggling to unjam his gun.
“We’ve got two terminators approaching. One from the east and one from the west. Lewis is going to lay down some covering fire so we can get out of here.” Kyle said.
He turned to me, “Will that truck start now?”
“Yes!” I said, with more confidence than I felt.
I dashed inside. Allison climbed up into the cab and sat in the passenger seat. I got in and turned the key. The engine coughed. “Oh god, please start!” I prayed. I turned the key again and the engine roared to life.
I leaped out of the cab to strip the wires coming from the generator to the battery. Just then there were several bursts of automatic gunfire. They got Lewis, I thought. Then there was another burst of gunfire and Mike fell back from the door with a scream and died before hitting the ground. Blood spouting from holes in his chest like some kind of grotesque fountain.
Kyle shouted, “Get Allison out of here in the truck I’ll provide cover.” He slammed the hood down and I was about to leap into the cab when a terminator came into view.
They are so much scarier without flesh. His metal endoskeleton just glimmered in the bright sunlight. Kyle pulled his gun from its holster and fired rapidly at the machine to no effect. With the machine occupied with Kyle, I leaped forward and jammed the wires I still had in my hand into the machine.
It turned its head and faced me then it began to twitch and spasm. Its fingers closed down on the trigger of its gun and it began to shoot wildly. The passenger side windshield shattered. Allison screamed. I heard Kyle grunt and hit the ground. I thought I was going to die when the machine suddenly stopped twitching and fell to the ground.
I pulled out my knife and popped the seal off the chip. I then grabbed the pliers I had just used to change out the cable on the starter motor, gripped the chip, gave it a twist and yanked it out.
Allison shouted, “Quick, I need help with Kyle.”
I slipped the chip into my pocket and ran around the other side of the van. Kyle had taken three bullets, one in his left leg, one in his right hip, and the other in his right arm. We picked him up and half dragged, half carried him around back and laid him in the back of the van. Allison got up and sat beside him.
“Bind up his wounds. Try and stop the bleeding.” I shouted and ran around got in the drivers seat.
I put the van in gear, hit the accelerator and went flying out down the road heading east towards the weapons cache.
“No, No, we need to go back, back to base.” Kyle said through gritted teeth.
“No, you listen!” I said, “ We’ve got one more of those things out there and its after us. You and I both know the guns we have, have no effect on those machines. Our only hope is to get to the weapons cache. There we have armaments capable of taking that machine out. And once we do we can get you back to base for some proper medical care!” I shouted over the roar of the engine.
I heard Allison say in a low voice, just barely over the noise, “Listen to him Kyle. He knows what he’s doing. Don’t let your pride be your downfall. What good is pride anyway?”
I didn’t know what Kyle said, or if he said anything in response. All I heard was a few groans of pain while Allison saw to his wounds.
Quite suddenly a terminator stepped out into the road and began firing at us. The windshield exploded all around me. Allison screamed and threw herself over Kyle to protect him. I hit the gas, swerved to the left, like I was trying to avoid it, then swung hard to the right and hit it a hard glancing blow. It went spinning off onto the shoulder. I straightened the wheel and tried to get my breath back.
“Is everyone okay!” I shouted.
“We’re fine John.” Allison said. “Is it far to the weapons cache?”
“No its not far.”
I glanced in the driver’s side mirror. I could see the terminator standing up in the middle of the road watching us drive away. I felt a shudder go down my spine. There was no doubt it was going to follow us. They always follow us. I prayed that we would get to the hideaway in time to lay down the trap I had in mind.
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