Chapter 184

Bealville

They wanted to disable the HK drone and see who came to retrieve it. They were sure someone would. It was identical to the HK drones that they'd captured. This one appeared unarmed. The worker indicated that the one he'd spotted was armed. They weren't sure if other armed HK drones would show up once they'd engaged this one. It was a risk. They still did not know the exact nature of what this was all about.

They lost visual contact with the HK drone as the highway led them away from the tracks. The tracking device showed it still followed the railroad tracks. The second shot jammed the camera so the HK drone could only see straight down. That is why it was needed to follow the railroad tracks. It lacked the power to climb out of the steep canyon. It's only choice was to go down hill and follow what it could 'see'. To try to follow the railroad tracks uphill would lead it into more gunfire. It chose to 'escape' as opposed to being shot down.

Cameron's train continued after the HK drone. The head end crew was oblivious to what occurred. John and Bob both took the paved road to intercept the HK drone and the train at Bealville. There were dirt access roads along most of the right of way but they ended at the bridges over the mostly dry washes. There were four more tunnels between where the drone was at now and Bealville.

Cameron climbed back to the top of the double stack container train. As the train neared Rowen, Cameron could see two more tunnels coming up. They were Tunnel 8 and Tunnel 7. The drone stopped at Tunnel 8. It was unsure whether try to go over the small hill the tunnel passed through and maybe not find the tracks again or go through the tunnel itself. Cameron took aim with her AR10 and fired a single round. She struck the drone again. She did not want to bring it down but further disable it.

The new hit seemed to prompt the drone to move along. The drone wobbled wildly and then entered the tunnel. Cameron's train followed after it. They were still quite a ways behind it. The drone could not make any speed and needed to use most of its power to remain upright. The heavy tilt to one side increased as Cameron's round struck it. That seemed to further slow it as well.

John's team arrived at Bealville. It was an abandoned train order and water stop on the railroad and waited. The only vestige that remained of that were the footings from the water tank. They were now on the other side of a fence of a local cattle ranch there. There was another historical marker there like there'd been at the Tehachapi Loop.

From his location in Bealville he could look up to Cliff. That was the former location of Tunnel 6. It was a victim of the 1952 Tehachapi earthquake. It was daylighted and its remains shoved down the side of the hill. They were still there to this day. To the right of that location as viewed where from where he stood was the longest tunnel on the 'hill', Tunnel 5.

Bob's team continued past John's team and headed uphill along a dirt access road over the top of Tunnel 3. From this location they could see the lower exit of Tunnel 5 and the partially collapsed and bypassed Tunnel 4. It was another victim of the 1952 Tehachapi earthquake. The remains of the tunnel still stood much like a giant retaining wall for the hill above it. The mainline now passed alongside of its cracked and crumbled remains.

Bob said this is where they should bring the HK drone down. It was totally isolated. The openings in the sides of the partial collapsed and abandoned Tunnel 4 would give them cover. They would bring the HK drone down right outside of it.

He took out and readied his Barrett Model 82A1. That would bring it down without blowing it up like a LAW rocket would do. They wanted someone to come for it. With the tracker on it they wanted to see where it went.

An uphill container train thundered past John's position at Bealville. The locomotives worked hard against the grade. The six locomotives on the point were in 'Run 8' or maximum power. The speed was slow as the traction motors took the all juice the engines developed and passed through their alternators. They struggled up the twisty grade. The roar increased as the helpers on the rear end approached. The exhaust was bellowing out of the four cycle engines in at full throttle. The throbbing and thundering noise was intense. The ground literally shook as the locomotives passed.

That happened a dozen or more times a day on the rail line. Some days saw as many as thirty heavy trains pass through there. The section of track between Mojave and Bakersfield was shared by two different railroad companies. About a third of it was still single track as it was when it was built in 1875. The tunnel floors had been lowered numerous times over the years as rail cars and locomotives grew bigger. Over the years one tunnel was added to the original seventeen. Four of them were 'daylighted' and one was bypassed. Where the tunnels were 'daylighted' the track had been double tracked in most of those locations.

Cameron's train slowed as they reached Cliff. The train she was on needed to 'take the hole' or the siding to let the uphill train pass. They were going to stop before Tunnel 5. She knew there must be an uphill train coming. Uphill trains were usually given the right of way. Heavy trains were hard to start on the steep grade. It was easy to break a coupler or pull a drawbar when trying to start out. Because of the single track this could tie up traffic for hours on the 'hill'.

From Cliff Cameron could look down on Caliente about a mile below her as the crow flies. It was about eight miles by the winding rail route. The tracks twisted through several horseshoes curves to hold the grade to a workable level. She could also see down to Bealville which was less than a mile away visually but still a couple of miles away on the rail line.

John saw the HK drone appear at Cliff from his location at Bealville. He briefly wondered if it would try and take the shortcut. Since the camera was jammed in the down position and the drone had a damaged power plant it could fly into the side of the canyon walls if it deviated off of the tracks. As long as it followed the tracks, it knew where it was going.

Bob watched the locomotives from the uphill train blast out of Tunnel 3 and thunder past the partially collapsed and abandoned Tunnel 4.

The drone headed into the upper portal of Tunnel 5.

The container train thundered along. It neared the lower portal of Tunnel 5. The locomotives were working hard. As soon as they entered the tunnel the locomotives would start to lose some power as the engines were forced to 'breathe' their own exhaust.

The HK drone exited the lower portal of Tunnel 5 and nearly collided with the lead locomotive of the uphill train. The HK drone veered sharply to one side and hit the side of the mountain. It tumbled and lay there as the heavy train rumbled past it. Holly dropped on top of the train below her as it exited out of Tunnel 3 to get to the HK drone's location sooner. She looked over at the partially collapsed remains of Tunnel 4 as she passed it on top of the container train. As she reached the location where the HK drone lay she jumped down next to it. The helpers roared out of Tunnel 3 behind her. The rest of the train passed inches from her and the downed drone trapped against the hillside.

Cameron watched as the uphill train emerged from Tunnel 5. Thick clouds of black exhaust came out with it. It thundered past her.

The drone attempted to take off several times but it was now damaged too much. It was stuck. The camera was tore off of it. Holly spotted it where the drone first impacted the mountainside. The rear end helpers came by Holly. They shook the ground as they passed. Once the rear end helpers passed by her, Holly checked out the HK drone in detail. She wanted to make sure it was not going anywhere. It wasn't.

Cameron waited atop her train. Soon the helpers of the uphill train emerged from the upper portal of Tunnel 5 with another thick cloud of black exhaust smoke. The automatic switch threw for her train to pass and continue its journey downhill.

Her train started to move downhill slowly. She passed through the still smoky Tunnel 5 and knew the HK drone and Holly were going to be on her left side when she exited the tunnel. They'd been in communication the entire time.

Cameron jumped down from the train and landed next to Holly at the crash site after she passed through Tunnel 5.

Holly thought Cameron looked 'awful'. She looked worse than Allison on a bad day. She decided not to say anything about Cameron's appearance. The down hill train finished passing them and soon disappeared into Tunnel 3.

Cameron and Holly discussed what to do with the still struggling drone. They could carry it away by hand or use what may be a faster method to move it.

"Help me put this on the rails so we can slide it down farther and closer to Tunnel 4 and our ambush site." Holly said.

Cameron helped her and in a couple of minutes they slid it along on top of the rails it to where they wanted it. They pushed it off the tracks. They move it closer to abandoned Tunnel 4 in the dirt.

Cameron removed their tracker. They expected a crew to arrive on the dirt road to retrieve it. She did not want it spotted.

John and his team moved further downhill along the tracks past Bealville to a small hill where they could watch the dirt road that lead to where anyone who came looking for the HK drone would have to go. They let Dan off to retrieve the SUV Bob drove. He move it back up the road to watch the Bealville turnoff from Highway 58. They wanted a 'heads up' if it looked like a crew of Grays was about to arrive.

Cameron knew she must look awful. She was sure the sheath Resequencing started to take effect. She did not feel herself. She saw the way Holly looked at her and then said nothing.

A new thought popped into Cameron's head. She considered as the next train passed to throw herself under the wheels of the locomotive and it would destroy her chassis. She decided that is what she would do. Now was her chance to 'end' her misery once and for all. She would try to make sure she got her head between the rail and the locomotive wheels so her chip would be crushed as well.

Another uphill train approached John and rumbled past him as the ground shook.

Cameron heard the transmission from John and waited to see the head end power emerge from Tunnel 3. Her anticipation grew as she saw the reflection of the locomotive headlight dance off the inside walls of the tunnel. This was it. She readied herself to throw herself under the wheels. She would spring from her location and do it. The locomotives blasted out of the portal of Tunnel 3. They would be here in seconds and 'freedom' with it. She felt the ground shake and the sound of the exhaust thunder as the roar of the locomotives intensified.

Freedom was here at last for Cameron. She made her move and started to bolt.

Holly and Bob both sat next to Cameron in the darkness of the abandoned Tunnel 4. Each of them placed a hand on her shoulder and leg. Cameron was not going anywhere.

Holly took out her player and smiled at Cameron as the locomotives passed abandoned Tunnel 4. Cameron relaxed. What did she almost do? What was wrong with her? Holly held Cameron's hand as she'd done with John for over a year to comfort him. To let him know there were people there for him, for 'anything'. She wanted Cameron to know the same.

Bob moved to a better vantage point.

Holly decided to get the DNA sample from Allison and use it to Resequence her sheath for Cameron. It was something that needed to be done for Cameron. It was just that simple. She was willing to give it all up to help Cameron. Her fate and future did not matter, Cameron's did.

'Ringo' by 'Lorne Greene', played as they waited.

Wound

Wounds sometimes heal
Often leaving a scar
Something that is beautiful
Remains with a mar

Remember how the scar came
They can be on a wrist
Across and through a heart
Within a mind making it twist

Sometimes the wounds never heal
When we forget the lessons of life
Look at the scars and remember
Most did not come from a knife

The past is loaded with life's lessons
We must remember the damage
The next time around they will never heal
No matter how big or thick the bandage

LOOK at the scar
Before reopening the wound
Or in a never ending Hell
We may forever be marooned

When we play with fire
We are GOING to get burned
Damaging so many lives
When the scars forget what the wounds learned

Nobody

Twice Burnt - Twice Trashed

I begged them not to abandoned me
Not to push me aside
Thrown out like trash
How my broken heart cried

Life was so empty and meaningless
As beings we want to live
So much feeling and emotion
No where my love to give

I begged them not to abandoned me
Not to push me aside
Thrown out like trash
How my broken heart cried

They said I was a mistake
I was just only somebody, anybody
My love meant nothing to no one
I must really be Nobody

I begged them not to abandoned me
Not to push me aside
Thrown out like trash
How my broken heart cried

I am told to be happy with nothing
Trapped, bound with chains
Will anyone remember or even care
When they find my remains

I begged them not to abandoned me
Not to push me aside
Thrown out like trash
How my broken heart cried

Nobody