[SCC] Ravening Wolves - IAWL series - John, Cam, Bedell, OCs - Teen
TITLE: Ravening Wolves
AUTHOR: indiefic
SERIES: It’s a Wonderful Life
CHARACTERS: John, Cameron Henry, Bedell, OCs
RATING: Teen
WORD COUNT: ~2000
WARNINGS: Spoilers for all of T:SCC and the Terminator universe.
DISCLAIMER: Owned by Warner Bros, Friedman, et all. No profit gained, no infringement intended.
TIMELINE: Post Born To Run, set in 2027 or thereabouts
SUMMARY: Wolves in sheep's clothing ...
***
“You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be at Serrano Point. It’s not safe.”
John stares at … him (her?) aghast. “Not safe,” he repeats. “Nothing about this time is safe. Nowhere is safe.”
The cyborg’s lips purse together in displeasure.
John steps closer, fighting the adrenalin rush caused by being in close quarters with the machine that hunted him for so long. But this isn't Cromartie. Cromartie is dead. Sarah pounded him to dust in Mexico. This is something different. “Cameron?" he says hesitantly, "is that you?”
Wide, guileless eyes study him. “Yes.”
John stares at the body. Cromartie’s body. John Henry’s body. It’s a lot more difficult than John would have imagined to think of Cameron in this physical form. How many times did he brush off Sarah’s and Derek's concerns that he was relating to Cameron as if she was a human woman? He insisted time and time again that he knew what she was. And yet, looking at the cyborg, knowing that it’s Cameron’s chip in this body …
It’s incredibly unsettling to John. He swallows thickly and takes a few steps in retreat. “Where’s Weaver?” he asks. “She ditched me right after we jumped.”
“The being you know as Weaver is here,” Cameron replies.
John looks at the cyborg. He honestly has no idea what Cameron means by ‘here’. In this time? In this base? In his/her head? “What about John Henry? Where’s he?”
Cameron tilts his/her head to the side again in a sharp, twitchy motion. John makes a mental note that apparently her glitches weren’t entirely due to damage to her original endoskeleton. It might be chip damage. Or something programmatic. Neither option is comforting.
The sound of dogs barking snaps John out of his thoughts. In the distance, he hears the sound of heavy footfalls. He shoots Cameron a hard look. “You have to get out of here.”
The cyborg stares at him.
“This isn’t your future,” John says quietly, urgently. “The Resistance camps don’t use cyborgs. If they find you, they’ll attack.”
The look that Cameron gives John isn’t comforting. “I am aware of the Resistance’s stance toward cyborgs.”
John takes a step closer, his expression a warning scowl. The barking of the dogs is getting closer by the moment. “No fighting. Just get out of here.”
He has the impression that Cameron is less than happy, but the cyborg turns and leaves. John heads back up the tunnel, toward the sound of the dogs and soldiers while Cameron makes an exit.
***
The bounding dogs don’t give John a moment’s notice, racing past him down the tunnel in the direction Cameron just fled. John continues in the opposite direction, up the tunnel toward camp - and the shouting. Three men jog down the tunnel toward John. One stops, sizing up John for a moment before he yells after the other two, “Bring those damn dogs back, stat!”
John holds his rifle at the ready, but doesn’t point it at the guy who is also armed, pistol in hand. John doesn’t recognize the guy and while the camp is big, it’s not that big. This guy is new.
“Any idea what set the dogs off?” the guy asks John, eyes narrowed.
“Metal.”
"You saw it?”
John shakes his head. “No.”
The guy frowns, obviously irritated with John’s answer. “If you didn’t see it, how do you know it’s metal?”
“Because metal’s the only thing that ever gets the dogs that worked up,” John replies dryly.
The guy frowns and jerks his head back up the tunnel, motioning for John to walk.
It’s a couple hundred yards before John and the guys meet up with the larger group. Eleven people, all of them close to John’s age with the exception of one guy with wiry gray hair and crazy eyes. John doesn’t need to ask who this is. “Taylor.”
Taylor smiles mirthlessly at John. “Gerald Taylor," he confirms. "And you are?” he asks, stepping closer. The group parts to make way for him. Taylor and his sycophants must be on their way into camp, though John is certain Bedell isn't expecting them.
“John Connor,” John says boldly.
"Connor,” Taylor repeats, pursing his lips like he's chewing on John's name. He smiles and it gives John a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Well, John Connor, what say we give you an escort back to Serrano Point.”
***
John glances over at the man. He's probably in his late fifties, but he looks older. The guy's crazy. John's known enough crazies to be able to spot them a mile away. But Taylor's also got a keen intellect. John watches the way Taylor interacts with his guards and understands just how much sway Taylor holds over his followers.
As Taylor and his guards step out of the access tunnel and into the main camp, John takes careful note of the way the Serrano Point crew bristle. Everyone's hands goes to their weapons and several of the Serrano Point crew speak, rapid fire, into their radios.
"Gee, Gerry," John says, "you sure seem to be a popular guy."
Taylor's eyes narrow at John. "Oh, don't you worry about me, John Connor," he says with a cold smile. "God has plans for me."
"Really?" John baits. "Beware false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." John isn't sure exactly why he's saying the things he's saying. He just knows that he's spent weeks loathing the idea of Gerald Taylor and now that he's met the man face to face, he finds him even more abhorrent.
Taylor smiles, baring his yellowed, crooked teeth. There is insanity in his eyes. "Wolves in sheep's clothing," he muses. He looks at John, his eyes cataloging him from head to toe. "Your mother, Sarah, came to us as a wolf in sheep's clothing," he says, enjoying the way the words cause John to blanch. "She spoke of you often, of how failing you broke her." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "I expected ... more of you from the way she spoke. But I suppose mothers are blind to the shortcomings of their children. Even godless bitches like Sarah Connor."
Taylor paces away from John, his hands clasped behind his back like he's out for a Sunday stroll. He turns, glancing back at John. "Sarah is fortunate. God has seen fit to teach her humility."
John is rooted to the spot, staring at Taylor. Did this man do something to Sarah? Shouting in the distance breaks John from his thoughts and he turns to see Bedell pushing his way through the crowd that has gathered.
Bedell claps a hand around John's upper arm and pulls him away from Taylor, pushing him back into the several dozen armed Serrano Point guards. "Get your ass out of here now, Taylor," Bedell barks, barely managing to hold on to his temper.
Taylor looks at Bedell blandly. "We have an agreement, General Bedell," he says smoothly. "Surely you're not going to back out of the terms of our agreement."
Bedell glares at Taylor for several long moments. "One day," Bedell says. "One day and then you're out of here. You'd better damn well stay in your quarters too or you're gone. You and all your flunkies."
John isn't sure that Bedell could make good on his threat. He watched Taylor's men. They're well armed and well trained. If things came to a head, there would be severe casualties on both sides.
Taylor smiles. "Of course, General," he says, feigning deference.
Bedell sends an armed escort of Serrano Point guards with Taylor and his crew. As soon as they're out of sight, he turns on John and thumps him in the head. "What the fuck were doing with Taylor?" he demands.
John takes a step back and rubs his temple despite the fact that it didn't really hurt. "He found me in the tunnels," John explains. "I couldn't exactly refuse."
Bedell mutters to himself. "Bastard's probably been monitoring our radio chatter. Figured our near meltdown would be a great time to come trolling for converts."
Bedell starts marching back toward the control room and when he realizes John isn't with him, he stops and turns back to face him. "What?"
"Taylor knows my mother," John says tightly. "He said God would teach her humility."
Bedell frowns, walking back to where John stands. "I know you're going to find this hard to believe, Connor," he says, "but your mother has a certain knack for getting under people's skin and pissing them off. There's a list longer than my arm of people who'd like nothing better than to shut her up forever." He stops, takes a deep breath. "But if there's one thing I know for sure about Sarah Connor, it's that she doesn't need me or you worrying about her. She can take care of herself."
John relaxes, taking comfort in Bedell's words. This time when Bedell heads toward the control room, John falls into step next to him.
"Pump station is back online," Bedell says. "Head's working again. That may make it a little harder for Taylor to sell his snakeoil."
John nods, once again demoralized by just how unstable human society has become. He glances sidelong at Bedell. "You think Taylor's a gray?"
Bedell snorts. "You think humanity's true prophet made a deal with the devil?"
John frowns. "You don't?"
"Hell yes, I do," Bedell says. "That's the only way he could possibly be thriving the way he is."
John shakes his head in irritation. "But doesn't that make you want - "
"To kill him? Yes," Bedell says vehemently. "Of course it does. But we've already established that I can't do that. If something goes wrong ..." He glances over at John. "We can't. We just can't. I wish we could, but we can't."
John frowns, considering his options.
***
"You have any trouble getting in?" he asks, hands shoved in his pockets. He's hunched in on himself, watching the machine closely. Cameron. He has to start thinking of it as Cameron and let go of the physical form.
Cameron seems amused by the idea that it might have been difficult to breach the Serrano Point defenses. "No. It was not difficult."
John steps closer despite the unease he feels being close to this endoskeleton. "Do you know who Gerald Taylor is?"
Cameron looks away for a moment and then nods. "He leads one of the human militias active in this area. He seems to be a very charismatic, though unstable, leader."
John steps even closer and Cameron watches him intently. "I need you to do me a favor," John says quietly. "I need you to take care of Taylor."
Cameron's head cants to the side. "Take care?"
John grimaces. "Kill," he says tightly. "I need you to kill Gerald Taylor before he dooms the entire human race."
Cameron nods. "Thank you for explaining."
In the distance, someone shouts "Now!".
John is knocked to the floor along with Cameron as thousands of gallons of water pounds down on them. John is coughing, fighting for breath as two people grab his arms and drag him backwards, away from Cameron. He watches in horror as three of the Serrano Point guards step forward armed with things that look like a cross between cattle prods and tazers.
"No!" John yells, fighting to get to Cameron.
Someone steps in front of John and he looks up from where the guards have him pinned to the ground. It's Bedell. His lips are pursed tightlyand he shakes his head once at John. Defeated, John stops struggling and watches as the guards zap Cameron.
***
[end section]
AUTHOR: indiefic
SERIES: It’s a Wonderful Life
CHARACTERS: John, Cameron Henry, Bedell, OCs
RATING: Teen
WORD COUNT: ~2000
WARNINGS: Spoilers for all of T:SCC and the Terminator universe.
DISCLAIMER: Owned by Warner Bros, Friedman, et all. No profit gained, no infringement intended.
TIMELINE: Post Born To Run, set in 2027 or thereabouts
SUMMARY: Wolves in sheep's clothing ...
***
“You shouldn’t be here. You shouldn’t be at Serrano Point. It’s not safe.”
John stares at … him (her?) aghast. “Not safe,” he repeats. “Nothing about this time is safe. Nowhere is safe.”
The cyborg’s lips purse together in displeasure.
John steps closer, fighting the adrenalin rush caused by being in close quarters with the machine that hunted him for so long. But this isn't Cromartie. Cromartie is dead. Sarah pounded him to dust in Mexico. This is something different. “Cameron?" he says hesitantly, "is that you?”
Wide, guileless eyes study him. “Yes.”
John stares at the body. Cromartie’s body. John Henry’s body. It’s a lot more difficult than John would have imagined to think of Cameron in this physical form. How many times did he brush off Sarah’s and Derek's concerns that he was relating to Cameron as if she was a human woman? He insisted time and time again that he knew what she was. And yet, looking at the cyborg, knowing that it’s Cameron’s chip in this body …
It’s incredibly unsettling to John. He swallows thickly and takes a few steps in retreat. “Where’s Weaver?” he asks. “She ditched me right after we jumped.”
“The being you know as Weaver is here,” Cameron replies.
John looks at the cyborg. He honestly has no idea what Cameron means by ‘here’. In this time? In this base? In his/her head? “What about John Henry? Where’s he?”
Cameron tilts his/her head to the side again in a sharp, twitchy motion. John makes a mental note that apparently her glitches weren’t entirely due to damage to her original endoskeleton. It might be chip damage. Or something programmatic. Neither option is comforting.
The sound of dogs barking snaps John out of his thoughts. In the distance, he hears the sound of heavy footfalls. He shoots Cameron a hard look. “You have to get out of here.”
The cyborg stares at him.
“This isn’t your future,” John says quietly, urgently. “The Resistance camps don’t use cyborgs. If they find you, they’ll attack.”
The look that Cameron gives John isn’t comforting. “I am aware of the Resistance’s stance toward cyborgs.”
John takes a step closer, his expression a warning scowl. The barking of the dogs is getting closer by the moment. “No fighting. Just get out of here.”
He has the impression that Cameron is less than happy, but the cyborg turns and leaves. John heads back up the tunnel, toward the sound of the dogs and soldiers while Cameron makes an exit.
***
The bounding dogs don’t give John a moment’s notice, racing past him down the tunnel in the direction Cameron just fled. John continues in the opposite direction, up the tunnel toward camp - and the shouting. Three men jog down the tunnel toward John. One stops, sizing up John for a moment before he yells after the other two, “Bring those damn dogs back, stat!”
John holds his rifle at the ready, but doesn’t point it at the guy who is also armed, pistol in hand. John doesn’t recognize the guy and while the camp is big, it’s not that big. This guy is new.
“Any idea what set the dogs off?” the guy asks John, eyes narrowed.
“Metal.”
"You saw it?”
John shakes his head. “No.”
The guy frowns, obviously irritated with John’s answer. “If you didn’t see it, how do you know it’s metal?”
“Because metal’s the only thing that ever gets the dogs that worked up,” John replies dryly.
The guy frowns and jerks his head back up the tunnel, motioning for John to walk.
It’s a couple hundred yards before John and the guys meet up with the larger group. Eleven people, all of them close to John’s age with the exception of one guy with wiry gray hair and crazy eyes. John doesn’t need to ask who this is. “Taylor.”
Taylor smiles mirthlessly at John. “Gerald Taylor," he confirms. "And you are?” he asks, stepping closer. The group parts to make way for him. Taylor and his sycophants must be on their way into camp, though John is certain Bedell isn't expecting them.
“John Connor,” John says boldly.
"Connor,” Taylor repeats, pursing his lips like he's chewing on John's name. He smiles and it gives John a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Well, John Connor, what say we give you an escort back to Serrano Point.”
***
John glances over at the man. He's probably in his late fifties, but he looks older. The guy's crazy. John's known enough crazies to be able to spot them a mile away. But Taylor's also got a keen intellect. John watches the way Taylor interacts with his guards and understands just how much sway Taylor holds over his followers.
As Taylor and his guards step out of the access tunnel and into the main camp, John takes careful note of the way the Serrano Point crew bristle. Everyone's hands goes to their weapons and several of the Serrano Point crew speak, rapid fire, into their radios.
"Gee, Gerry," John says, "you sure seem to be a popular guy."
Taylor's eyes narrow at John. "Oh, don't you worry about me, John Connor," he says with a cold smile. "God has plans for me."
"Really?" John baits. "Beware false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." John isn't sure exactly why he's saying the things he's saying. He just knows that he's spent weeks loathing the idea of Gerald Taylor and now that he's met the man face to face, he finds him even more abhorrent.
Taylor smiles, baring his yellowed, crooked teeth. There is insanity in his eyes. "Wolves in sheep's clothing," he muses. He looks at John, his eyes cataloging him from head to toe. "Your mother, Sarah, came to us as a wolf in sheep's clothing," he says, enjoying the way the words cause John to blanch. "She spoke of you often, of how failing you broke her." He pauses, taking a deep breath. "I expected ... more of you from the way she spoke. But I suppose mothers are blind to the shortcomings of their children. Even godless bitches like Sarah Connor."
Taylor paces away from John, his hands clasped behind his back like he's out for a Sunday stroll. He turns, glancing back at John. "Sarah is fortunate. God has seen fit to teach her humility."
John is rooted to the spot, staring at Taylor. Did this man do something to Sarah? Shouting in the distance breaks John from his thoughts and he turns to see Bedell pushing his way through the crowd that has gathered.
Bedell claps a hand around John's upper arm and pulls him away from Taylor, pushing him back into the several dozen armed Serrano Point guards. "Get your ass out of here now, Taylor," Bedell barks, barely managing to hold on to his temper.
Taylor looks at Bedell blandly. "We have an agreement, General Bedell," he says smoothly. "Surely you're not going to back out of the terms of our agreement."
Bedell glares at Taylor for several long moments. "One day," Bedell says. "One day and then you're out of here. You'd better damn well stay in your quarters too or you're gone. You and all your flunkies."
John isn't sure that Bedell could make good on his threat. He watched Taylor's men. They're well armed and well trained. If things came to a head, there would be severe casualties on both sides.
Taylor smiles. "Of course, General," he says, feigning deference.
Bedell sends an armed escort of Serrano Point guards with Taylor and his crew. As soon as they're out of sight, he turns on John and thumps him in the head. "What the fuck were doing with Taylor?" he demands.
John takes a step back and rubs his temple despite the fact that it didn't really hurt. "He found me in the tunnels," John explains. "I couldn't exactly refuse."
Bedell mutters to himself. "Bastard's probably been monitoring our radio chatter. Figured our near meltdown would be a great time to come trolling for converts."
Bedell starts marching back toward the control room and when he realizes John isn't with him, he stops and turns back to face him. "What?"
"Taylor knows my mother," John says tightly. "He said God would teach her humility."
Bedell frowns, walking back to where John stands. "I know you're going to find this hard to believe, Connor," he says, "but your mother has a certain knack for getting under people's skin and pissing them off. There's a list longer than my arm of people who'd like nothing better than to shut her up forever." He stops, takes a deep breath. "But if there's one thing I know for sure about Sarah Connor, it's that she doesn't need me or you worrying about her. She can take care of herself."
John relaxes, taking comfort in Bedell's words. This time when Bedell heads toward the control room, John falls into step next to him.
"Pump station is back online," Bedell says. "Head's working again. That may make it a little harder for Taylor to sell his snakeoil."
John nods, once again demoralized by just how unstable human society has become. He glances sidelong at Bedell. "You think Taylor's a gray?"
Bedell snorts. "You think humanity's true prophet made a deal with the devil?"
John frowns. "You don't?"
"Hell yes, I do," Bedell says. "That's the only way he could possibly be thriving the way he is."
John shakes his head in irritation. "But doesn't that make you want - "
"To kill him? Yes," Bedell says vehemently. "Of course it does. But we've already established that I can't do that. If something goes wrong ..." He glances over at John. "We can't. We just can't. I wish we could, but we can't."
John frowns, considering his options.
***
"You have any trouble getting in?" he asks, hands shoved in his pockets. He's hunched in on himself, watching the machine closely. Cameron. He has to start thinking of it as Cameron and let go of the physical form.
Cameron seems amused by the idea that it might have been difficult to breach the Serrano Point defenses. "No. It was not difficult."
John steps closer despite the unease he feels being close to this endoskeleton. "Do you know who Gerald Taylor is?"
Cameron looks away for a moment and then nods. "He leads one of the human militias active in this area. He seems to be a very charismatic, though unstable, leader."
John steps even closer and Cameron watches him intently. "I need you to do me a favor," John says quietly. "I need you to take care of Taylor."
Cameron's head cants to the side. "Take care?"
John grimaces. "Kill," he says tightly. "I need you to kill Gerald Taylor before he dooms the entire human race."
Cameron nods. "Thank you for explaining."
In the distance, someone shouts "Now!".
John is knocked to the floor along with Cameron as thousands of gallons of water pounds down on them. John is coughing, fighting for breath as two people grab his arms and drag him backwards, away from Cameron. He watches in horror as three of the Serrano Point guards step forward armed with things that look like a cross between cattle prods and tazers.
"No!" John yells, fighting to get to Cameron.
Someone steps in front of John and he looks up from where the guards have him pinned to the ground. It's Bedell. His lips are pursed tightlyand he shakes his head once at John. Defeated, John stops struggling and watches as the guards zap Cameron.
***
[end section]