Then she turned and started walking, passing her son, who stood stunned behind her. 'Let's go, people!' she shouted. 'This place is gonna blow!'
John got himself walking with difficulty. That was the thing about this war. For the most part, it was machines they were fighting. But at bottom, it was people who had made it possible for Skynet to come as close to succeeding as it had. But this was the first time he'd seen his mother kill. He was genuinely horrified— and at the same time, deeply proud.
Outside, there was a small fleet of choppers waiting to take them away. He caught up to Sarah as she bent below the blades and put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him.
'Thank you,' he said. She couldn't hear him over the rotors, but she knew what he'd said.
Sarah touched his face. 'You're welcome, son.'
Inside the chopper there was no possibility of conversation, but he held her hand and ignored her tears as he knew she'd want him to.
After a long while they landed and Dieter was there to greet them. Sarah walked up to him and into his arms. He held her, saying nothing. John had been accosted by a soldier, who gave him a message; with a nod he thanked the woman and walked over to his mother and Dieter.
'The complex is destroyed,' he said.
Sarah took a deep breath and turned toward him. 'Good,' she said wearily. Dieter stroked her arm and she looked up at him and smiled. 'So,' she said, 'I guess it's all over but the shouting.'
'Unfortunately,' Dieter said, 'I think there's quite a lot of shouting still to come.'
Sarah smiled at John and he smiled sadly back.
'But we don't know what's coming,' John said.
'We only know what's been,' his mother agreed.
The Austrian looked from mother to son. 'Then what's to come,' he said, 'is up to us.'
