Chapter 56
Challenge
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Resistance Base - Current Timeline:
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John Henry considered the possibility of trying to use two TDE units at the same time. The TDE was not designed to be used in that manner. It was to send, not receive. Maybe if the power was on they could 'pull' Cameron into this timeline when she attempted to come back. He did not think it would work. He would try it once a day for a week, then once a week always at twelve noon on every Saturday. It was one of the things he ran by Cameron but they both discounted its results at the time. At some point Cameron may remember this and try it if she was not terminated. John Henry did not run this by Unit Two and Unit Three. This information was only shared with Cameron and himself. He was aware she was leery of Unit Two and Unit Three because of their association with Mrs. Weaver. He believed that Cameron did not fully trust Mrs. Weaver either.
It was the day Cameron left. She hadn't returned yet, noontime approached.
John Henry told John of the untested idea. He was disturbed by Savannah's revelation to carry out Cameron's plan regarding John as she got a little older. He was going to mention it to John and then thought otherwise. That might be something that John would encourage in the absence of Cameron. He'd seen the 'demand' on younger females in the future he'd visited.
They headed together to the TDE room in silence. John was made aware what they were about to attempt probably wouldn't work. He said he wanted to try it anyway.
John and John Henry powered up the TDE. John Henry transmitted the 'destination' as their TDE pad. They ran it for two minutes. They sent a time bubble from their TDE pad back to their TDE pad. It left empty and returned empty.
Nothing happened, Cameron was not there. John Henry went to shut the equipment off.
John saw what was about to happen and wanted to stop John Henry.
"Leave it on longer, John Henry." John said.
John Henry hesitated.
"No. I do not want to damage it." John Henry said. "It is operating outside its design parameters already. If Cameron was transmitting, now would be the time. There was nothing there."
John did not want to ruin anything. They might need the TDE for something else. He did not want it incapacitated.
"OK. Let's not damage it." John said. "I just want Cameron back."
John Henry was aware of the precision that Terminators were capable of.
"I told Cameron if we tried this that it would be at these specific times and coordinates." John Henry said. "That is when she would try it."
John Henry knew if Cameron was doing the same thing and tried to transmit, that it would be at the same specific time. That is how they functioned. It was like clockwork. He also knew Cameron could end up anywhere as well. It would most likely be some divergent timeline.
He did not point out to John that any time Cameron could get to a TDE that she would attempt to make the transfer back to the earliest date possible regardless of when she tried. That should have been a few minutes ago. The fact it did not happen was a very good indication that it was not going to happen ever.
John Henry left. He would try again at the next appointed time.
He expected John to follow him out but he did not. He still remained there. He hoped John would not try to operate the TDE on his own.
John watched John Henry leave. He sat there awhile in the empty TDE room. This was the last place that Cameron was before she left. At this point it appeared that she was terminated or 'lost in time'. That thought made him think about what he almost did in his room.
He thought of his encounter with Allison earlier. He realized she most likely saved his life. His life, what was that worth? John wondered. He knew Allison or Vanna or both of them would be there for him. Cameron made that quite clear to everyone. He also knew if they were there that it would be because they wanted to be as well. They were not blindly following an 'order' from Cameron. He cared deeply for both girls, especially Allison.
John thought of Allison. He'd been falling in love with her when he was all alone in the future and thought he was stuck there. She was so pretty. She was a real firecracker. She could be hot or cold in an instant. She was quick to bite and to easy to forgive. He knew what Cameron tried to do with the three of them. He thought it would work too as the time went by. Time was the key. Cameron would fade in their hearts as they all grew in each other's heart. That was the way humans were 'designed' to exist and go on. It always seemed that when someone got 'stuck in the past', things did not go well for them.
He was painfully aware that was not how it worked for Metal. For them whenever they thought of a past event, it was if that past event just occurred. That caused a lot of problems. They could never really 'get over' something unless it was deleted or erased from their chip.
John thought back to the times Allison literally threw herself at him. That happened even when there was a copy of 'Cameron' in 'Bob'. Bob-Cameron never interfered. 'Bob' would get up and leave the area. That freed John up to do as he wished. Bob-Cameron allowed him to make a choice. John knew 'Cameron' wanted him to make a choice. Bob-Cameron already told him his happiness and well being came first.
Life is about choices John thought. Every choice has a price to pay too. John found out that price might end up being paid by the one offended, not the offender. John knew his folly already got one person killed and he forever hurt Cameron. It was damage done to Cameron that seemed it could never be undone. Any attempt to rectify it only seemed to make it worse. Cameron stressed she did not want anymore of her life removed or erased. Future John already had done enough of that.
John reflected back on the time Allison was in his bed in the alternate future. It was before they found John Henry. When John said something about it later on to Allison, she said, "I have no idea what you are talking about." and walked away.
John did not know the full story of that future encounter:
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Alternate Future Timeline:
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Past Event:
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John was out on a short patrol. He returned to his 'room'. It was very small and cramped. Still it was a room and there was a 'bed' of sorts.
Allison was in his bed under the covers. That was not unusual as they often needed to 'hot bunk'. Allison was usually in the section for females. They tried to keep the sexes separated and isolated, especially at night. Even at a Resistance base 'things' could happen and sometimes did. It was still better than what happened to all the females in the Wastelands at some point.
He saw Allison look at him as he entered. He greeted her.
"Hey, Allison, were you taking a nap?" John asked.
She looked at him with love in her eyes.
"John, I want you."
Allison tried to get closer to him several times previous. She was never in his bed before.
John wanted Allison very much but he was not ready to give up on Cameron.
"I want you too, Allison. I told you I need to find Cameron. I love her. I need to try everything I can first to find her. If I can't, maybe…." John said. "I need some time."
She threw back the covers. She was naked.
John drew in his breath as he took in her beauty. He wanted her really, really bad right now.
"John, here I am, right now. No one knows I am here. No one will ever know."
John looked away.
'I will know.' John thought.
He wanted to strip off his clothes and go to her. She was ready and waiting for him. She was right there. It was everything he wanted. There was a goal more important to him right now. He'd crossed that line once before. He ended up hurting Cameron greatly with his actions. He still remembered that look on her face as he went up the stairs. Why did he have to smirk at her on top of it all?
When he looked back he could have sworn Allison's breasts were larger.
John moved closer to her.
He wanted to touch her. He wanted to hold her. She was so pretty and he felt so alone.
John sat on the bed next to her.
"Allison, I would really like to do this with you but I just can't, not yet. I have to try to get Cameron back." John said. "If I did this with you now, it would kill her."
"John, she is not here, she will never know. It will be our secret."
She took John's right hand and placed it on her left breast.
John couldn't help but give it a squeeze. It was so tempting.
She then grabbed him and kissed him. She was strong.
John knew this was about to get away from him. He was losing control as his 'hunger' built up. He quickly stood up.
"I will KNOW." John shouted. "Please, Allison, not yet, I am not ready for this yet. I won't lie. I do want you but not like this. I can not betray Cameron until I know what her fate is. Please understand how I feel. Please understand how she would feel."
She laid back down on the bed.
"John, you do realize there are people that would kill for 'this'." Allison said as she indicated her perfect figure. Right now it looked even shapelier somehow.
Allison's beauty was outstanding, especially among the females of the future.
"I do." John said sadly. "I would be one of them."
"John, you can just 'walk away' from me? LOOK at me, I am here. I'm willing and ready. I can feel my body wants you."
John took one last look at Allison's perfect naked form. He was sure this was a mistake on his part. He covered Allison back up and took a step back.
"At this time in my life I HAVE to walk away, Allison. I have to find Cameron. I have to exhaust every possibility." John said. "You don't understand what this would do to her."
John still felt the shame for having sex with Riley. He knew it was more than that. He loved Riley. They'd made love, they didn't just have sex. Cameron caught him the next morning when he returned. He rubbed it in her face. That look of hurt on her face seemed to be all he could remember right now. That look haunted him still. Every time he thought about this he wondered why he needed to smirk at her when he went up the stairs. Why?
"John, OK, I will ease up and wait for you a little longer. Never speak of this to anyone. I need you to understand that I won't wait forever. Never ask me about this again either."
John was still on the verge of going back to her. He needed to fight to keep it together.
"Thanks, Allison, thank you for understanding. I will go get some food and come back later, get dressed, please." John said. "I will pretend this never happened."
John moved away with great difficulty. He never wanted anything so much before in his life.
John walked out the door without turning back.
"You truly are an oak, Mr. Connor. I believe you actually do love a machine." 'Allison' said as her voice switched to a Scottish accent.
'Allison's' hair turned red as she resuming the form of Mrs. Weaver.
She actually felt a little disappointment. John would have been her first.
"It would have been an interesting experience." Mrs. Weaver said. "What is a little shared sex between machines? We can try it first in Allison's or Cameron's form and then in 'mine'. This will be a new challenge. I'll be back."
Mrs. Weaver changed into a male Resistance fighter and walked out of the room and away.
Challenge
What is a challenge
Isn't it really a test
It is a competition
To see who is the best
It may become obsessive
When it turns into a quest
Reality may soon be forgotten
As we move forward with the contest
It can be overwhelming
Something others may detest
We try to play it down
We may even joke and jest
The challenge can be brutal
It can turn into a real slugfest
We become deaf to those near
As we ignore them protest
We want to be the victor
There will be no rest
Until the crown and title
Away from them we wrest
Nobody