Terminator: Realities

O/B/G (oldie but goldie or original gangster)

Quin spent the entire night jogging in any random direction. He didn't know how he could be found so easily, but he knew it could be done. For that night, he had to avoid trouble at all costs.

For his part, Benny had to mostly sit and wait for Quin to stop moving so much before moving in. With no truck it would take a while to find anything, that or he could go through the trouble of stealing another vehicle.

During the day, around noon, Quin decided it would be safest to make his move. Though, he continued to walk along a beach as he traveled. With lots of people around, not much bad could happen he figured. Everyone was wearing clothes different from his. His Resistance style of clothing didn't seem too far out of place. Some of the people's sense of fashion was weird to him as if it was them who came from another planet.

It was then he remembered that he hadn't showered or brushed his teeth in a month. Surely that would affect the people around him.

"Excuse me," Quin said to a random passerby, a young teenager. "Could you help me? I'm running a test."

"I guess," the teen answered, "What'cha need?"

Quin stood straight, arms to his side. "Smell me, please."

"What," the teen asked. "You testing some new cologne or something?" they said, then leaning in to sniff.

"Among other things," Quin answered, then leaning forward. "Now, my breath, please."

The teen took another sniff. "Your breath smells kinda weird, like metal I'm guessing," he answered. "Pretty strong. Could use a scrub or two. The rest smells kinda normal, or not normal. I don't smell the cologne or anything."

The strange smell could only be the result of the merger, Quin assumed, also noting to himself that he hadn't cut his fingernails in weeks. He grabbed the teen's shoulders. "Thank you," he said. "That's all I needed to know. Run along now." He then continued his walk, away from the beach and more into the city where he was surrounded by lots of people now.

The lights, sounds, and smells were amazing to Quin. Everything and everyone moving so fast and freely made him wonder how such a place could become so desolate. The number of intact buildings was staggering. It was only his mechanical brain that let him pick one sound out of the hundreds bombarding him in all directions. Dozens of food smells were utterly intoxicating.

Quin almost couldn't believe it, it reminded him that the last time he ate was about a month ago. That's when it occurred to him that even though he hadn't eaten, he felt no need to consume anything.

One sound he zeroed in on was that of a woman crying. "Help me!" very loudly. Walking another block, Quin found a small abandoned building, the sound grew clearer but still distant.

'It must be coming from inside!' Quin thought. Everything seemed boarded up except for a doorway he found at the back of an alley.

"I can't hold on!" another female voice said.

Quin stepped into the building, following the cries for help. It was a small office building with one floor and several rooms. 'Even this looks better than many of the buildings back home.' He thought.

Walking down the main hall, he heard another cry for help. It was at the end, in the last room he found two girls, holding each other desperately to keep one from falling through an opening in the floor.

Quin immediately ran over and lifted the girl in danger of falling up and back onto firm ground. Neither of the girls noticed how easily he lifted the girl out, attributing it to adrenaline and him being male.

"Thanks, mister!" the girl said.

The other girl stood. "It's a miracle you showed up when you did. I don't think I could've held on much longer."