Chapter 260

Earthquake

The Resistance team continued to look around the facility. It was a filthy mess inside from the build up of dust and water damage from the bad roof.

Bob looked at the walls and floor. He noticed a lot of unrepaired damage. There were a lot of cracks in the concrete. It looked as if a cheap grade of cement was used. It appeared that someone cut corners in the building's construction. The damage seemed consistent with seismic damage.

"This structure was damaged in an earthquake." Bob said.

Sheila inspected a few of the joints where the walls connected together.

"It has some cracks in the cement and some of the bolts that hold the walls together have snapped." Sheila said. "This building is unsafe. It may collapse if it is ever in another earthquake."

John Henry looked up the most recent earthquakes in the vicinity with a heavy magnitude.

"Records indicate the last two earthquakes in a twenty mile radius that could cause significant damage were in 1971 and 1994." John Henry said.

The first date caught Cameron's attention.

"When was it in 1971?" Cameron asked. "What was the date?"

"It was February 9th 1971." John Henry said. "That is around the time of the last non automatic activity."

The dates seemed obvious to John.

"Do you think what they were doing was interrupted by the earthquake at that time?" John asked.

Cameron thought the building itself was a dead end. The mountain was the key.

"That is most likely. Since this building looks vacant and is right next to this mountain, the logical deduction is whatever happened here was inside the mountain." Cameron said. "Most likely that was done to shield it from future Skynet nuclear attacks. Perhaps the earthquake upset their plans or terminated whoever was involved."

John started to look around. He didn't know what he could find on his own but it never hurt to look. He was aware that Savannah was the one who uncovered this location by finding a visual key. Sometimes the human touch could add or see something different than Metal could. He didn't like Cameron to baby him so much either. He like to get out in the field and this seemed about as low risk as was possible. He did understand her concerns but he did not like to be stuck at the base all of the time. He really understood Derek and Kyle efforts to do as much recon as possible.

Cameron watched John look around the building. It irritated her that John was out of the office area again. She did not want him to trip a booby trap. If something happened to him it would be 'her fault'.

"Let's find the entrance." John said.

Cameron noted when they entered the building that it was locked from the inside. That would seem to indicate that whoever locked it - never left. It would also indicate that vandals or 'partiers' hadn't been in here either. That alone would raise the possibility that there could still be booby traps in there somewhere.

They started their search. Ally stayed close to John. She found him very difficult to manage. Cameron wanted her to stay with him but that took away her ability to search for things on her own. She wondered why he always looked at her when she looked away.

John could not help but look at Ally. It reminded him of when he was first around Allison in the future. He always needed to look at her. He tried not to let her see but she always did. Now he did the same thing with Ally. She just looked more vibrant and 'alive' than Cameron. Ally really reminded him of Allison.

Ally noticed John continued to stare at her and 'check her out' a lot. She pretended that she didn't notice. He seemed to do it more and more. Maybe she needed to say something.

The 'Allison' in her influenced her decision making process. She looked around to make sure Cameron was not listening and then the words just slipped out.

"I have everything Cameron AND Allison have." Ally whispered to him. "It's the best of both worlds. I'm good to go twenty-four seven. I'm ready when you are…."

John was a little stunned by what she said. He knew she said that because he kept looking at her.

"What? I'm sorry." John said. "You remind me so much of Allison. You're not like Cameron at all."

That statement excited Ally. She wanted to hear more.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Ally asked.

Ally and John really started to check each other out.

Cameron suddenly appeared between them. She glared at Ally.

"It's a bad thing." Cameron said. "Just like this conversation is."

Ally hoped Cameron wouldn't deactivate her now. She was aware that Cameron deactivated three versions of herself already.

John quickly looked away and went to a different part of the building. Cameron continued to glare at him. He didn't feel he did anything wrong. It wasn't like he touched Ally or anything. Maybe he should have copped a feel. If he was going to get blamed for something, he might as well have actually done it.

Vanna was very upset. Allison was going to start her own family with Holly. She did not feel she was going to be part of it. It appeared she was excluded. That didn't seem fair. She sought out Jesse for comfort. Jesse could always make her feel 'nice'.

Jesse gently soothed Vanna's cheek with her hand.

"It is OK, love." Jesse said.

Vanna was sure the relationship was with Allison was dead.

"I've really lost her." Vanna said. "She's moved on without me."

Jesse held Vanna tightly.

"It's OK, love." Jesse said. "You have me now. I'm here for you."

Vanna clung tightly to Jesse. It gave her some reassurance. Jesse was warm. Her body was firm and tight. Every curve was so smooth and distinct.

Jesse gently stroked Vanna's hair now. There was a slight smile on her face. This is how she liked her women. She was sorry for Vanna's pain but excited that Vanna was now 'hers' at the same time. This new turn gave her even more 'control' of Vanna. She liked control.

Vanna looked desperate.

"Allison is going to have John's child." Vanna said. "There's no stopping her or changing her mind. She's going to do it."

Jesse saw it as a little deeper. What Allison wanted was life changing. It was a big decision and commitment. She did not think it was done lightly.

"If it is what she wants, that's her choice." Jesse said. "We could too you know. We could both try to have children."

Vanna didn't think it was Allison's choice. She was sure she was brainwashed into doing it. It seemed Cameron leaned on her because she wanted Allison's baby for herself.

"But is it her choice?" Vanna asked. "Is Cameron manipulating her to do this?"

Jesse felt Allison would do what she wanted to do in that regard.

"She's been around her younger self and baby sister Summer a lot now." Jesse said. "I think she feels comfortable enough to become a mother. She's received plenty of on the job training…."

Vanna could see that Allison was going to move her life forward and she was not going to be a part of it. She understood why Cameron felt the way she did sometimes better now.

"I wasn't good enough". Vanna said.

Vanna sobbed as Jesse tried to soothe her.

"Easy there now, love. Jesse's here for you now. I will help you will all your troubles. No worries, love. You're mine now. I'll take care of you…."

Vanna looked at Jesse with wide tear filled eyes. She found comfort in the broad lips with the faint comforting smile. The beautiful dark eyes seemed to look right through her into her soul. She wanted Jesse to 'take' her.

Jesse slowly stripped Vanna….

Vanna felt the loss of one lover and found comforted by the arms of another lover…. She would do whatever Jesse wanted her to do. She didn't want Jesse to reject her either.

Jesse was very content. Today she would try some 'new things' with Vanna. Things she would not have tried before. Vanna would be more willing to 'learn' now. She was going to teach Vanna. She would soon see how far Vanna would go to earn and keep her love.

The smile broadened on her face as she soothed Vanna. Right now she would do everything and give Vanna the comfort she needed. She would be able to teach Vanna how to love her now. It was going to be different and more involved than her relationship with Allison was. Her girls always need to put out a lot more and then prove their love to her. She was highly sexually stimulated now just thinking of past events.

Cameron and the team continued to search the building. Something was bound to turn up. I did. It was in the floor itself.

"I found it." Hanna said.

There was a large metal door in the floor. It was covered with fallen ceiling debris from the roof damage. They cleaned it off. The door was originally controlled electronically.

Bob took a closer look at it and pushed on it with some Terminator force. Nothing happened. There was water damage to it as well.

"There's no electricity to activate it." Bob said. "The door is jammed and it's rusted closed."

John looked at the group of Terminator there. He was sure they could generate a lot of pushing force together.

"We have twelve strong arms and six strong backs." John said.

The six Terminators got down and slowly moved the hatch back. There was a loud screech of resistant metal on metal as the rusted steel was forced to move. Once it was back an inch, Bob and Steve used some pipe to pry it open more. Now the Terminators really could push.

There was a sloped ramp down into the ground towards the mountain. The six Terminators were able to shove the hatch open enough to walk down. It looked as if a forklift or even a small truck could venture down the ramp into the unknown. It was total darkness below.

Cameron faced John. This was serious now. Anything could be down there waiting for them. She feared there were Terminators in 'standby'.

"You will wait here with Ally and Hanna while we check out the tunnel. You can look for any additional intel around the building. Keep an eye open for anyone who might show up to investigate." Cameron said. "We may have tipped someone off."

John knew when not to push Cameron. This was one of those times. She was worried about his safety and this was an unknown for sure.

"That sounds like a plan." John said. "I want you to be careful and use caution too."

Cameron smiled at him and touched his cheek. She didn't want another argument in public. They already seemed to have enough of those. They did not look good for John's leadership or hers.

John checked with John Henry to see if the drone spotted anything unusual around where they were. He reported back that he hadn't. They didn't want to get surprised and attacked there.

John Henry updated their information before they went down. They were currently only a few miles from the epicenter of the 1971 earthquake. That could explain the extensive damage. That earthquake was sudden and struck without warning. There hadn't been any build up of smaller earthquakes. His implication was that it may not have been a 'natural earthquake'. That in itself left a lot of questions.

The four Terminators advanced into the darkness. Their weapons were ready but not up. The place was like a tomb. After advancing into what would have been the side of the mountain they came across another steel door. This one slid. The four managed to pry it open. It was damp and spots of slimy water pooled on the floor. They came across several rodent skeletons. It appeared the last one survived on the bodies of its brethren by the bone scatter. Nothing moved down there in years, maybe decades.

"I'm turning on my flashlight." Cameron said, she did not want to startle the others night vision. "I want a closer look at this wall over here."

They could see that everything was in total disrepair.

"These walls are damaged. They have many cracks in them." Bob said.

The underground cavern looked very unsafe.

"This is very poor construction." Steve added. "They did not take earthquakes into account when this was built."

Cameron was unaware of this location in her future.

"The question is who built it and why?" Cameron asked. "Someone went to a lot of work, time and effort to do this. This was all done for some specific purpose."

They still used the utmost caution as they moved around. If one of them triggered a booby trap, the whole place might collapse. They all wondered what was next. It was sooner than they thought.

"Cameron, you better take a look at this…." Sheila said.

Jesse was touched and disturbed by Vanna's grief. She wanted to give her some options. She was willing to work with Vanna for what would comfort her the most. Cameron showed her a new path in life and she wanted to follow it. She did not want to revert to the 'old ways'. The 'old Jesse' was buried right now. She did not want to 'dig her up again'. Vanna's needs came first.

"You can move in with me or I can move in with you, love." Jesse said. "I will do whatever you want and feel comfortable with."

Vanna appreciated that offer greatly. She was the one with the power to choose now. She also needed to think of Jesse's prior obligations. Those mattered too.

"I don't want to mess up anything with you and Gail." Vanna said. "You love each other."

Jesse smiled. There were several 'workarounds' to all of this to keep everyone happy and from feeling unwanted. She was willing to sacrifice a little for Vanna. Their rooms were fairly close anyway.

"Gail is on rotation a lot." Jesse said. "I can move in here with you and when Gail is in I can go back to my room…. We can try that if it is acceptable to you. I don't want you to feel you are being used. Gail will share with you too anytime you need her. She loves you as well."

Vanna wanted to comfort of Jesse. She wanted to feel loved. She wanted the human touch.

"It's fine with me. I don't like to be alone." Vanna said. "I'll share with anyone if they will have me. I know you would never use me or anyone."

Jesse hoped not but she knew she'd done so in the past - the future. She'd made some of her subservient female lovers 'prove' their love to her. Jesse shuddered at the memories. Cameron 'fixed' her. Now she was a better person. She hoped to remain that way. Vanna always showed her love.

"Let me get some of my things real quick." Jesse said. "I'll be right back."

Vanna was aware Cameron was responsible for taking Allison away from her. She loved Cameron so much she could not be angry at her. Vanna knew that when Jesse moved in that it ended her relationship with Allison. It was over.

'Mountain Of Love' by 'Johnny Rivers', played as Vanna cried.

Knock Knock

Hold me
Touch me
Feel me
See me

Tickle me I laugh
Hurt me I cry
Cut me I bleed
Abandon me I die

Hold me
Touch me
Feel me
See me

I'd broken my shackles
I'd shed my chain
The prison still exists
It's all within my brain

Hold me
Touch me
Feel me
See me

Is it too much to ask
To share your lonely mind
Open your sad heart
There is much to find

Hold me
Touch me
Feel me
See me

Nobody