24The next morning, they had come to the horrifying realisation that Greenway had been murdered and replaced with a Terminator who seemed hellbent on causing a meltdown at the Plant. By the time Derek and Kat came whizzing through the car park, the sirens were blaring and people were running for cover. It seemed like the end of the world. Derek was out of the car before the wheels had even stopped rolling, as Kat reached for the handle of the car door. Her eyes snapped down as she heard a clicking sound, which she realised was the car locking. She looked up at Derek on the other sign of the car window in confusion, seeing the car keys in his hand.
"What are you doing?" She gaped, pulling harder on the door handle but it wouldn't budge.
"It's too dangerous in there. Stay in the car, I'll be back soon" Derek announced, before turning on his heel and sprinting in the opposite direction.
"Are you kidding me?!" Kat shouted, banging on the window.
Derek's protectiveness was seriously starting to piss Kat off, he had no right to tell her what was too dangerous for her to handle. Moving backwards, she raised her leg to start kicking at the door, but it still didn't move. She looked around the car, trying to find something to break the window but came up empty. Never one to give up, Kat began to elbow the window, hoping that if she did this action enough it could break the glass. Her head shot up when she heard gunfire from within the building, as panic rose within her. With an angry yell, Kat banged her fist into the car door, more from annoyance than anything else. She heard a loud crash a moment later, her mouth going slack when she saw the car door was now thrown metres away, a large dent in the side of it. A large dent from inside the car door. Kat looked down at her hand which was beginning to throb as she realised what had happened. She had almost broken the door in half with only her hands. But how? With a shake of her head, she quickly jumped from the car and started running towards the building, deciding it wasn't the time to ask those questions. She had the small problem of a nuclear reactor about to blow first.
"Sarah, there's no time. We've got to go" Derek insisted, from inside the control room, as he watched the reactor coolant level continue to rise.
"It's too late. C'mon, we need to go! Now!" Derek told Sarah, as he grabbed onto her arm, but she shoved him away.
"No! No, we…we can figure something out" Sarah replied, as she desperately began to flip through a manual.
"Do you want to die?!" Derek yelled, angrily.
"I had no idea you were such a coward, Derek" Sarah muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.
"This isn't…I brought Kat. She's in the car. I need…I've got to go" Derek shook his head, as he turned to walk away.
"That's what this is about? Saving her?" Sarah frowned, realising it wasn't his own life that Derek feared for.
"It's always been about saving her, Sarah" Derek confessed, whipping his head around when he hears someone approaching.
"Well luckily for you…I don't need saving" Kat announced, hobbling into the room with her crutch.
"How did you get out?" Derek questioned, too surprised to say anything else.
"Where's the Terminator?" Kat inquired, trying to change the subject.
Sarah quickly brought up footage of Cameron fighting with the Terminator still masquerading as Greenway on a monitor. Kat grimaced as she watched their ally get thrown across the room, looking like she needed help.
"Sarah, you go help Cameron. We've got this" Kat ordered, as Sarah nodded and was running out of the room a moment later.
"Kat, this whole place is going to blow. We can't stop it" Derek advised her, as Kat looked around the room.
"Your right we can't…" Kat trailed off, as she spotted a man on the floor whose chest was slowly rising and falling.
"…But maybe this guy can" Kat finished, as she started to shake him, hoping he would wake up.
The man barely stirred as Kat looked to the countdown clock nearby and saw they had less than fifteen minutes left before the reactor blew. Balling her hand into a fist, she slammed her hand down onto the bald man's face, who awoke with a pained cry.
"W-what the hell's going on?" The man cried, looking at the pair staring down at him.
"Your about to save our lives" Kat informed him, holding out a hand to the older man.
It was touch and go for a few minutes, but luckily the man Kat had awoken knew the security codes needed for staff at the control base to help them. Sarah and Cameron had managed to stop the reactor from blowing and destroyed the Terminator at the same time. All in all, the day seemed to be a success. After a great deal of convincing, they had managed to get the man to agree that Kat and Derek were never there. Kat had explained that it would be better for everyone if the man took the sole credit. He seemed more than happy to be the hero of the day. In fact, he seemed to just be happy to still be alive. They all were. Kat was relieved when no one seemed to question her own story about finding a hammer in the car and managing to break the car door down with the weapon. Why would they question it? Not even Kat could believe what had really happened. There was something wrong with her, she couldn't deny it any longer.
"I don't understand the expression 'as boring as watching paint dry'" Cameron announced, a couple of days later, after she had finished painting the house as Sarah had instructed her.
"Well, paint drying virtually has no movement. So, you're basically just staring into space…which is seriously boring, trust me" Kat sighed, feeling like she had done nothing but do just that all morning.
"And boring is an emotion?" Cameron questioned, as Kat frowned at her.
"I guess…why do you ask?" Kat inquired, as Cameron came to sit beside her.
"I find it boring at night when you are all sleeping" Cameron replied, as Kat turned to her.
"What do you do when we sleep?" Kat asked, curiously.
"I sit in the kitchen for a while. Check the perimeter at twenty-minute intervals. Check our weapon inventory. Watch John sleep. Review the footage-" Cameron was quickly cut off before she could say anything else.
"Woah, woah. You watch John sleep?" Kat cringed, as Cameron nodded.
"Yes. I watch you all sleep. It is important to check you have not died in your sleep" Cameron explained, as Kat gave her an exasperated look.
"Cameron, you can't invade people's privacy like that, it's wrong and…does anyone do anything weird in their sleep?" Kat whispered, a moment later, her curiosity taking over.
"You were correct in your assessment that John farts in his sleep" Cameron answered, as Kat burst into a fit of giggles.
"You also drool in your sleep" Cameron added, as the smile faded from her face.
"Fair enough. What about Sarah? Does she set up the guns in her sleep or something?" Kat suggested, making Cameron shake her head.
"She cries in her sleep" Cameron admitted, making Kat feel bad for asking.
"…What about Derek?" Kat couldn't help but ask, as Cameron seemed to mull over the question.
"He talks sometimes in his sleep. I think he has nightmares. He says your name a lot" Cameron informed her.
"Oh…" Kat trailed off, a small blush dusting her cheeks.
"Why do humans dream?" Cameron queried, as Kat raised an eyebrow at her.
"I don't have the answers to everything you know, Cam" Kat chuckled.
Kat slowly hobbled down the steps outside their property later that morning, careful not to trip herself over with her crutch. Derek seemed to hear her coming, his head shooting up as he rushed over, holding out a helping hand. Kat rolled her eyes, refusing to let him help, hating how much she felt like an invalid lately.
"I'm not a damsel in distress, Derek" Kat grumbled, making it down to the last step.
"Maybe I just like feeling useful" Derek shrugged, surprising Kat with his honesty.
"Well same here. So…hydrate" Kat told him, throwing a water bottle that she had been holding in her other hand his way.
His excellent reflexes meant he could easily catch the bottle, giving her a small smile as he unscrewed the lid. Her eyes drifted to the array of guns he had splayed out in the garage, clearly wanting to be ready for the next attack.
"I heard you talking to Cameron earlier" Derek stated, bringing her attention back to the man in front of her.
"Oh…you heard what we were talking about?" Kat mumbled, cringing at the thought.
"No, not that I can understand why you'd want to talk to her in the first place" Derek scoffed, placing the bottle against his lips.
"She's different since John reinserted her chip. You pointed that out" Kat shrugged, watching Derek's biceps with interest as he brought the water bottle back to his side.
"She's still a machine, Kat. She's dangerous. Don't forget that" Derek warned her.
"Well, with those guns…I think most people would say you're the dangerous one" Kat grinned at her own pun, as Derek shook his head fondly.
"How long did it take you to come up with that one?" Derek chuckled, as Kat's grin grew wider.
"Cromartie's got Charley Dixon's wife" Sarah announced, rushing towards them out of nowhere.
"Where's John?" Derek questioned; the smile immediately having fallen from his face.
"I sent him to get the new computer's, he's with Cameron. They don't know" Sarah answered, as she placed a large duffel bag into the back of the jeep.
"Where are you going?" Derek frowned.
"You know where I'm going. Come if you want" Sarah muttered, not bothering to turn to look at them.
"You can't go" Derek exclaimed as if it was the obvious choice.
"And yet I am" Sarah replied, sarcastically.
"Sarah, maybe we should stop and think about this…" Kat trailed off, as Sarah jumped into the driver's seat and turned the ignition on.
"It's a ploy to get John. It's a trap" Derek insisted, as Kat walked towards the jeep and opened the backdoor.
"I know that. You don't see John here, do you?" Sarah retorted.
"It's the absolute wrong thing to do!" Derek went on, as Kat pulled herself into the backseat, bringing her crutch along with her.
"Wouldn't be the first time" Sarah mumbled, as Kat turned to look at him over the backseat.
"C'mon…you said you wanted to feel useful" Kat stated, raising an eyebrow.
With an exasperated expression, Derek turned around to grab a few of his guns and tossed them into a duffel bag, before jumping into the passenger's seat. The plan was going to end badly, he knew that already.
They soon caught up with a distraught Charley, who received a phone call from his wife telling them exactly where she was. If they weren't sure it was a trap before, they were sure now. Derek kept giving Kat concerned looks as Sarah drove towards the abandoned building off the highway Michelle, Charley's wife had been trapped in. By the time they arrived, Derek looked all but ready to handcuff Kat to the car.
"Don't even think about it. I'm coming whether you like it or not" Kat told Derek, as they exited the car.
"…You stay behind me at all times. I tell you to run, you run" Derek ordered, as he handed her a gun, their fingers touching for a moment.
"Don't forget to save some metal ass for me to kick too" Kat replied, as Derek's lips twitched into a smile.
He was soon rushing off towards the building, Sarah close behind him, as Kat stayed at the back of the group with Charley, who looked terrified.
"You'll be okay. Don't worry" Kat insisted, as Charley let out a sigh.
"It's not me I'm worried about" Charley admitted, as Kat gave him a sympathetic look.
"If anyone can save your wife. It's Sarah" Kat told him, patting the man on the shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.
Derek entered the building quickly, his soldier-like reflexes kicking into action as he checked every inch of the room they entered. Kat kept her gun close to her, ready to shoot at a moment's notice. Charley had been good to her, she wanted to protect him, and that meant protecting his wife too. She was only an innocent; she didn't deserve to be in the position she was in. Kat was brought back to the situation at hand, as Derek spotted Michelle tied up in one of the central rooms, rope and wires all over her body. Charley went to rush forward, but Kat held him back, knowing there could be booby traps all over the building. Derek and Kat moved to protect two entrances to the room to make sure that Cromartie didn't sneak up on them. Sarah and Charley moved to cautiously to crouch in front of Michelle, as Sarah spotted a concerning device strapped underneath the chair. A bomb.
"Derek…" Sarah trailed off, bringing the man's attention to the device, which had wires all around it.
"They never let you have a good day, do they?" Derek sighed, his eyes connecting with Kat's from across the room.
Michelle began to freak out as any sane person would when Sarah removed the tape over her mouth. The only information they were able to get out of the crying woman was that the Terminator had gone into the back. Derek was quick on his feet and moving towards the doorway before anyone could stop him.
"If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, leave without me" Derek announced, his gun raised.
"Like hell we will" Kat mumbled, as she went to follow him.
"Kat, I told you-" Derek started, but she quickly cut him off.
"Look, I know I'm your mission or whatever, but this isn't going to work unless you trust me. I've got your back, so…do you have mine?" Kat whispered in a hushed tone, hoping none of the others heard.
"Always" Derek nodded, missing the strange look Sarah was him.
The pair quickly got on with surveying the rest of the building, finding it to be completely empty apart from one suspiciously boarded-up room. Kat frowned as she saw electronic equipment and wiring strewn across the room, clearly having been brought there by Cromartie. Her frown deepened when she heard a garbled sound from nearby and opened the lid of a briefcase to find a computer inside. A computer that seemed to be listening in to a conversation between Sarah and John.
"Sarah…Sarah, get off the phone!" Kat yelled, looking over to Derek.
She watched as he picked up a phone beside a boarded-up window, that was beeping and flashing red. It had wiring all around it, which had been pulled through the gaps in the window. Derek was quick to pull the wooden boards away from the window, with a surprising amount of strength. Derek let out a panicked noise as he seemed to spot something outside, turning to her with fear in his eyes.
"Run! There's a bomb!" Derek ordered, grabbing Kat's arm, and practically pulling her out of the room.
"Get out! Now!" Kat yelled to the others, as they sprinted through the abandoned building.
She heard the phone suddenly ring as there was a crashing sound from outside, and before she knew it, the ceiling was caving in. Derek grabbed her by the waist, flinging them both to the ground as he protectively shielded her from the debris, clinging onto her tightly.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! We'll be finding out in the next few chapters what exactly is wrong with Kat, and it's going to change everything. Things might start to get a little more AU from here on out. Is there anything in particular you want to see in this story? Please leave a review:)
olischulu: I won't spoil anything, but it's an interesting theory! Thanks for reviewing:)
Lil'Sparrow7: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Don't worry, it'll continue as long as people keep reading:)
Gast: Thanks for the review! Lots of good things to come in this story:)
