Chapter 1352

Spiral Staircase

Savannah led the way down the spiral staircase. She held her silenced M9 in front of her. The glow stick was still inside her vest as there was still residual light from the energy ball behind them.

Young Allison checked in back of her and around the room they were about to depart. There was no movement. She watched Savannah slowly and soundlessly start down the spiral staircase. She went in the doorway and waited ten seconds. She popped back around the corner again to look around the room with her M4 in front of her. There was still no movement. She started down after Savannah.

Savannah glanced back up the spiral staircase to see Young Allison take a final look behind them before she started down after her. Since they didn't know where this went, she did not want to get trapped down there.

She soon reached the step that would put her foot into view in what looked like a small room below them. She crouched down and bent over to take a peek with her eyes and M9 first. The room was very dim. It was clear she would need her glow stick once she moved away from the spiral staircase.

Savannah straightened and went down the rest of the stairs. She spun in a circle as she searched for a target. The room seemed to have a foul odor to it. At first it did not seem too bad. But it was worse every second.

Young Allison came down the spiral stairway.

"Let me rig the Thermite grenade here." Young Allison said. "If anyone follows us down they will trip it and get Thermite burns."

Savannah did not know how soon they would need to go back up or where this area led to.

"Let's hold off in case we need to get back up in a hurry." Savannah said.

Young Allison was going to point out it would also cover their retreat if anyone else came up out of the passageway. They would know the trip wire was there, any pursuers would not. She decided to move forward instead.

"I'll cover the far side of the room." Young Allison said.

She wondered why the female Fanatic that was tied to the desk was not kept down here. Maybe that was the easiest place to restrain her in the manner that they'd used. They had unfettered 'access' to her the way she'd been spread out and tied down.

The smell down there seemed to grow worse every second. It was a smell she could now identify. She'd run across it in the future several times.

Savannah saw something at one end of the room. She spotted a foot. There was no shoe or sock on it. It was unmoving. Right away she knew what it was and it confirmed what the smell was. She inched closer to look and make sure it was not a living person.

She glanced back and Young Allison covered the other side of the room with her M4. She moved forward in a quick motion and faced the unknown figure. She took one step back when she saw what was there. She took out her glow stick for a better look.

Savannah saw what looked like two figures on the ground. That might have been a mistake. They were both naked and both of them were female. They were both dead. They both appeared to have been mutilated. She was not sure if that was done for an interrogation or for pleasure. Grays were known for both. The blood was dried on the two females.

Young Allison watched Savannah and spotted what she'd seen. She saw the foot. It was a small foot too. It was only a little bigger than hers. She knew what Savannah would find. She covered the other side of the room and the way back up the spiral staircase. She watched Savannah take a step back and pull out the glow stick. She turned her face away from it and concentrated on the back of the room they were in. The glow stick gave enough illumination to see there was a doorway without a closed door. It was a second room of some kind. It could be an underground passageway as well.

She snapped her fingers once to get Savannah's attention. She did not look back but pointed with her left hand. She covered the opening with her M4.

Savannah heard a snap and looked in Young Allison's direction. She saw her point with her left hand. There was a doorway of some type. Based on the stench in this room, the men who came up the staircase came from that room or wherever it led. She doubted anyone stayed in this room very long.

Savannah took one last look at the deceased females and moved towards Young Allison. She slid the glow stick up her left sleeve so only a small portion of it was visible under her left hand.

She passed by Young Allison and moved towards the opening.

Young Allison looked back at the foot as Savannah passed her. She quickly fell back and looked at what was there. In the dim light she could barely make out they were females. She did see the dried blood and knew what was done to them. She quickly moved back up to Savannah.

Savannah glanced back to see Young Allison look at the dead. She watched Young Allison's face and her expression never changed. It that instant Savannah felt she was looking at 'Cameron'. That was the look on her face. It did not sicken Young Allison to see what she saw. It angered her. She wondered what kind of training Cameron did with her. None of the death she'd seen in the last few minutes seemed to faze her. That included the death she'd dealt out. She made sure the dead were dead on top of it.

It was very evident that Young Allison was much tougher than her. Then again Cameron worked with Young Allison since she was very small. Now she began to understand why Young Allison never talked about her training with Cameron. She'd obviously been exposed to this type of death and destruction more than a few times. No wonder Young Allison started to train Summer as her 'replacement'. She felt she was going to die sooner rather than later with what Cameron must have acclimated her too. That was a heavy trip to lay on anyone, especially a young female.

Savannah shook her head and turned her attention to the doorway. She calculated the room that it led to was directly under the room with the energy ball. Young Allison was behind her. She still covered the stairway. They didn't want any surprises behind them.

Savannah held her left hand out to her side away from her body as she looked into the opening. It was another room. There was electrical gear in it. She looked up and there were several conduits that ran up to the room above.

She moved into the room for a better look. She hoped to see a power cell from a Terminator sitting on the desk hooked up to some wires but there was nothing visible. It could be inside one of the electrical cabinets that were down there. It would take a few minutes to open them. She was not sure if she would need tools to do that or not.

She looked around the room and saw there was another door at the far end of the room. Young Allison motioned for her to take a quick look.

Savannah carefully moved over there to see what it was or where it went. There was a door but it was not closed. She moved her left hand away from her body again and took a quick glance. It was a passageway. She could not see where it ended or how far it went. She motioned for Young Allison to move up to her position.

Young Allison looked at the electrical gear. She'd made much the same summary as Savannah had. She watched Savannah check the other doorway and motion for her to come forward.

The girls spoke in very quiet tones.

"Take a quick look." Savannah said.

Young Allison looked down the opening.

"I think it's a passageway to the other building." Young Allison said.

Savannah backed up and closed the door so there was only a small gap.

"Cover this and look for any light in the distance. It could be someone coming towards us." Savannah said. "We don't know if it turns or if anything else is connected to it. There could be more rooms or other passageways. If there is a bend or a turn someone could appear very quickly."

Young Allison slung her suppressed M4 and drew her silenced M9.

"I got it." Young Allison said. "Watch the stairway when you look through the electrical cabinets."

Savannah nodded and went back to the electrical equipment. She decided to close the open door on the other side completely. She pulled it closed with a slight screech and blocked off the way they'd entered. They would have a half second warning if anyone went to open the door. She would be able to use the full light from her glow stick now.

Maybe she should have let Young Allison rig the Thermite grenade with a trip wire at the base of the spiral stairway. That would have given them additional warning and stopped any pursuers.

Cameron was troubled by what Allison said to her. Allison and Vanna did matter. She did not want to further fracture their relationship. She'd damaged it once already. Maybe it was even more times than that and she did not pay attention too it.

Her first meddling was when she got Jesse, Vanna and Allison very drunk and put the three of them together naked. She made them believe that they had sex with each other. That actually led to them doing just that. Vanna and Allison both spent more time with Jesse than each other after that. Jesse was simply better in bed and always delivered. Jesse never stopped until she was able to give someone a nice finish. It also gave the girls someone else to easily turn to if there was a problem. They didn't need to work out their problems that way. They sought the comfort of another instead.

Cameron did not want any animosity between them since Vanna and Allison were going to each be provided with a child. She wanted them together as a family for mutual support. Her plan was to strengthen their family unit, not to weaken it.

She also wanted John protected. The anti-Metal faction was out there and it was a real threat to John. Maybe she would stop leaning on Vanna and Allison and bring Young Jesse here to live. Savannah and Young Jesse would want to be with each other. She was aware that might damage Savannah and Young Allison from developing their relationship.

"…to do now?" Allison asked.

Cameron looked around.

The music had stopped.

"What?" Cameron asked.

Allison wondered if Cameron even heard her at this point.

"What do you want us to do now?" Allison asked again.

Cameron took Allison by the hand and led her back over to where Vanna and John were. She handed Allison's hand to Vanna.

"I want you two to have a good time." Cameron said. "Strengthen your bond and share your love with each other."

Cameron took John's hand and led him away from Vanna and Allison.

John looked back at Allison and Vanna as Cameron led him away.

Vanna and Allison were a little confused. It just looked like things were going to evolve.

"What just happened?" Vanna asked.

Allison felt she was responsible.

"It was my fault." Allison said. "I told Cameron we were people, not machines and that we mattered too."

Vanna was not sure that was all that happened. She wanted to make sure Allison knew what was at stake.

"John is ready to be with us." Vanna said. "I can tell."

Allison felt it too.

"I know." Allison said. "I don't know if Cameron is."

Vanna did not see it as a problem if they at least tried it one time. Maybe that was all it would be. It wasn't like they were going behind Cameron's back. She was the one pushing them.

"I just want to try it once even if it is for a few minutes." Vanna said. "I want a choice ONE time."

Allison wanted that too.

"I don't know if we could stop with one time." Allison said. "We both love Cameron and John. It would be a way for us to culminate that love. We would be able to share and express our love."

Vanna wondered if it would give her the chance to be with Cameron one time. She'd dreamt about that for so long. There was not a day since Cameron was back in her chassis, even with the tether, that Vanna hadn't thought about sharing with Cameron.

"I think Cameron is worried about us separating and not remaining a couple." Vanna said. "She wants us together for your baby."

They watched Cameron lead John out of the rear lounge.

"Goodbye to all that." Allison said.

Vanna nodded.

The next song started.

"Would you care to dance, Miss?" Vanna asked.

Allison gave Vanna a quick kiss.

"I would, Miss." Allison said.

This is where they both wanted to be. It was with each other. It was their future, their past, the present and the new future. As long as they shared it together, that was all they needed. It was each other.

Holly and Gail-Cam watched what just happened with some astonishment.

"I think Allison set Cameron straight." Gail-Cam said.

Holly wasn't so sure.

"I don't think that was her intent." Holly said. "It seemed to me she wanted it to be more, not less."

Gail-Cam wanted to make the most of this chassis she was in right now. She wanted to be with all the girls and have Cameron use this chassis with her chip in it. Cam-Gail was able to do that with her chassis. She wanted to see what was different. She really liked what was smaller on this chassis as opposed to what was bigger.

"Let's let them have a couple of dances together." Gail-Cam said. "Then we can go down and claim what belongs to us."

Holly didn't see it that way at all.

"Allison belongs to herself." Holly said.

Gail-Cam did not want to argue. Allison clearly belonged to Vanna.

"Sure, Holly, we all do." Gail-Cam said.

Gail-Cam was convinced that they all 'belonged' to someone, even if they were not 'claimed' by that someone. There was some special person in each of their 'hearts', even if they weren't in that person's heart.

John tried to figure out what happened as Cameron led him away. He took one quick last look back at Vanna and Allison. He thought it was finial going to happen. Now what?

"Cameron, what's wrong?" John asked.

Cameron looked at John and frowned.

"I don't want to fracture their relationship again." Cameron said. "They are people, not machines and they both matter."

John was aware of all of that. He did not know those were Allison's words to Cameron.

"I think we are all ready to do what you've wanted for so long." John said. "I really don't think it will hurt or damage anything at this point."

Cameron felt John was ready because he'd been able to share her love in five different virgin chassis in a few days. He was about to have another one tonight.

"We'll see." Cameron said. "There are still plenty of nights left for things to happen. Nothing needs to be rushed at this point. As long as we are on the ship you are better protected."

John saw they were headed for the elevator.

"Are we going to the sky lounge?" John asked.

Cameron smiled at him.

"We are going back to our suite." Cameron said. "I want to make sure you don't jump the gun when I am in Ally's chassis later on. We are going to knock off a quickie."

John felt the side to side motion of the ship.

"Do you think I need to take some 'seasick medicine'?" John asked.

Cameron smiled.

"I think you are good for a few hours still." Cameron said. "I will make sure you get what you need."

John knew Cameron always watched out for him.

"Thanks." John said. "I know you will look out for me. It shows me that you care about me."

Cameron smiled at him and calculated the duration of the medicine she'd already slipped him and its remaining effect.

Sheila kept an eye on Ally. She was happy for her and what she was about to experience.

Ally looked forward to what was about to happen. It was time she experienced what everyone else already tried. It was something she'd wondered about for a long time anyway. She just hoped it would be better than Allison's experiences. None of them were positive in any way. There seemed to be a lot of pain, guilt and shame associated with them. Most of the pain was not physical.

It annoyed her that every four minutes or so there was one or two guys that wanted to get her a drink or dance with her. At this point she only wanted to be with Sheila. She did feel people were a little more understanding than they'd been in the past when she indicated she was with someone. She was glad it did not take as long to sink in that her partner was also female.

Right now she was very content to be with Sheila. It always gave her a sense of security. She knew she was hopelessly in love with Sheila and always had been. That was what was behind all the bickering and banter that Sheila and her exchanged back and forth.

Sheila tried to determine what Ally thought about right now. There were probably a million thoughts in her head. She wanted the best for Ally and what Cameron was about to do was about the best thing she could think of for Ally.

Sheila knew Ally was her true love. She also knew she loved Cammy just as much. Eight years was a long time to be alone together. It counted for something. Right now it was Ally and she would make sure she kept her date. If not she would keep it for her.

She would even allow Cameron to plug Ally and her in at the same time so Ally could experience Cameron in her chassis with John. Ally would be a digital bystander at that point.

Riley was still worried about Samantha.

"Are you sure she didn't go?" Riley asked.

Jesse and Claire looked at each other. It was clear that Riley was in love with Samantha. She was as worried about Samantha as much as she was about Derek. They weren't really comfortable with that knowledge especially since they all been with Samantha except Riley. They felt as if they stole someone else's love.

Jesse assured her that Samantha was just checking out the base to make sure everything was secure. She did hope that she returned soon.

Summer was busy keeping Jan calm about both of her parents being out. That never happened before that she could remember. She also saw the great concern that Riley experienced over Samantha. She was aware in a few days that Samantha was going to look identical to her mother. She did notice that everyone already 'checked out' her mother.

She used her phone to quietly find out where Samantha was. She was a little dismayed to see it was the infirmary. She knew what that meant. They were preparing for people to return hurt.

A wave washed over her insides. This is what Allison – Young Allison had been preparing for. It was in case Young Allison did not make it. She remembered how Young Allison made her promise over and over to be there for Savannah, John and Cameron. She even showed her video files of what Metal Summer looked like. She remembered herself. The video files showed something else. They showed how everyone else interacted with Metal Summer. She was a total knockout and very pretty. Summer hoped one day she would look that pretty.

The way Riley seemed to get worse and worse bothered her. She sent a message to Samantha that Riley was very worried about her. Samantha responded she was on her way back immediately.

Summer excused herself from Jan and went over to Riley.

"Samantha will be back in less than a minute." Summer said.

Riley nodded.

"You have a bigger responsibility." Summer said.

Summer looked over at her mother who now held Precious.

Riley nodded at her.

"After you greet Samantha you need to set your priorities." Summer said.

Summer left Riley and went back over to Jan.

"What did you say to Riley?" Jan asked.

Summer smiled at her.

"I told her the same thing I told you." Summer said.

Jan smiled.

"You told her everything was going to be alright." Jan said.

Summer smiled.

"It was something like that." Summer said.

The door opened and Samantha returned.

Summer watched as Riley checked herself and greeted Samantha instead or running to her to hug her. She then went and took Precious from her mother.

Summer followed the operation with input from John Henry and CamNet. She was very worried about her sister. She received what updates there were in her com. There weren't many.

John Henry was able to slow the progress of the troops that approached the two buildings. They all understood the Terminators could not go in yet and the humans were not going to be able to see.

He would need to inform them before they actually did enter that Young Allison was there too. He knew that was not going to go over well with anyone.

He really hoped that Savannah and Young Allison would emerge soon. The worst part was that they did not know what their fate was. They still didn't know if they'd been brutally savaged or killed. All they knew is they were both in the one building before contact was lost. That did not tell them much.

Cammy was with Sarah as they neared the location with the two buildings.

It was a toss up over who was more frustrated.

Sarah looked at Cammy.

"So what are we supposed to do when we get there?" Sarah asked.

Cammy knew she was physically restricted.

"I can not function with the energy field in place." Cammy said.

Sarah wondered what it actually was for.

"Is it a weapon or a beacon?" Sarah asked.

Cammy hoped it was not a beacon.

"I don't know." Cammy said. "We have encountered technology from a further future than the Fanatics are from in the last few days."

That worried Sarah.

"Is this new or have we just found out about it?" Sarah asked.

Cammy frowned.

"I don't know." Cammy said.

Sarah wondered how long they'd been here.

"Why are they here now?" Sarah asked.

Cammy was aware a lot of changes were made. That had to make a difference on future timelines.

"I think it is because of all the changes Cameron has made to hurt and slow down Skynet." Cammy said. "Maybe it is some other purpose."

Sarah hoped for a better answer.

"Like what?" Sarah asked.

It was evident that Cammy felt a lot of frustration about the current situation right now.

"I don't know." Cammy said. "There's a lot I don't know."

"Who does?" Sarah asked.

"Nobody." Cammy said.

Anna and Mel needed to move back further from where they were at. The energy field seemed to either get bigger or it was stronger.

They relayed the information back to John Henry and he passed it along.

Mel could see how disappointed Anna looked.

"There will be others here soon to help." Mel said.

Savannah and Young Allison did not want that. The order was to not send anyone else.

"That's not what they want." Anna said.

"You know it is still going to happen anyway." Mel said.

Anna did know one thing. This was far from over and bound to get bigger.

"When they find out Young Allison is in there with Savannah they are all going to come." Anna said. "Even those on the ship will come. They are not going to allow a drone strike on those buildings until we know where Savannah and Young Allison are at. No one is going to act to 'kill' them no matter what happens."

"I agree on that." Mel said. "When do we make that known?"

Anna knew more than one factor was at play.

"Not until it is absolutely necessary." Anna said. "You know Young Allison does not want her mother to know what she's been up to."

Anna was still ready with the M82A1. Her angle of fire now was not very good. If they needed to move again, there would be no field of fire at all. She really wanted to reach out and 'touch' someone.