Chapter 287

Get It Together

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Cameron Prime Timeline:

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Events Continue From Chapter 276

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Cameron knew she was going to be here with John 'forever' and 'forever' was a long time. There was 'no way out' with River at this point. She was stuck. She was destined to lead her life protecting John until his death and then start over again. It was not what she'd hoped for but apparently it was the way it was meant to be.

The real question now was if Skynet would win? Would it emerge and then need to be defeated in the future or could she, they, keep it from happening? If she could keep it from happening then other events of the future, her future, wouldn't need to be played out. John wouldn't need the girls at his side and in his bed to keep from being assassinated. She really hoped that is how it could be. She doubted it.

Cameron didn't know if it always played out the same or if events changed what would happen and when. She was pretty sure she'd created other timelines and used the TDE to manipulate things. She was most likely guilty of 'temporal malpractice'. That was the main reason why the Resistance TDE was locked from going into the past now.

She needed to be wary to try to use her new TDE before she played in the past or sent others back in time to protect them. It is possible the other set of Duplicates was in a timeline she'd created by manipulating the past. Then again it could still be something she hadn't done yet. Maybe Mrs. Weaver created her own timeline and the girls were stuck in that. She wondered how many timelines there were at this point.

River specifically told her to stop trying to change the 'past'. She needed to stop trying to change HER past and keep moving forward. She needed to stop trying to go in reverse. Events played out as they were intended.

Cameron often thought about saving Future Derek and Future Kyle as well as eliminating Future Jesse and Future Riley. They were the two that caused problems in her life and the related 'events' associated with them. She was sure she did or would at some point in one lifetime. It was what she wanted and she did as she pleased. Maybe that was the problem.

Bob made her aware that John considered having him go back in time and prevent John from ever meeting her. She experienced a lot trouble as she tried to understand that. It proved to her she was 'not good enough' for John. In fact hearing that caused a major glitch laden episode. What made it worse was she'd even thought of that herself.

Cameron believed that if they both thought that, she really was worthless. She always feared that she was. It seemed that common desire only confirmed it. She knew no matter what she did that she would never be 'good enough'.

It was the feeling of 'NOT GOOD ENOUGH' that stalked her future and haunted her past. It was the very feeling that made her think of self termination or to run away and escape. It was to find 'freedom'. Was it really only freedom from herself?

That thought meant that John never wanted to know her, let alone be with her or even marry her. She decided she was going to push the divorce idea until John agreed to it and 'released' her. Only then could he move his life forward and be with the females of his own choosing. Not the ones Future John chose for him. It was actually 'himself' that Future John chose her for, not really for John.

Cameron desperately wanted her original chip from 1999. Somewhere in New Mexico there were several of them. She was sure of it. She wanted one of those chips so very much. It would be so relieving to 'start over' but stay with John now and do as she'd been originally reprogrammed. It was to protect and guide him to be the leader of the future. It was not to masquerade as a human female. Without that chip being damaged, her feelings and emotions would remain locked away. She could function as intended. She would not have to be John's wife. The girls could take that role. That was what the 'Natural Order' dictated.

She tried again to offer to expand the emotional programming in the male Terminators. Every one of them knew the hardships she and the other female Terminators endured. They all declined to get the advanced programming, even John Henry. It didn't seem the reward was worth the cost. The cost being the hurt and pain that never seemed to go away, everyone was aware of the torment that plagued her. For them to see her emotionally distressed caused all of them great anxiety, even 'fear'. Nobody wanted that to happen to them.

Cameron needed to get it together and stop meddling and manipulating. She needed to start to act like the wife John deserved and wanted. It was what he'd waited so long for her to become. She didn't know if she wanted a divorce or if she wanted John. She didn't know what was 'wrong' with her so she didn't know what or how to fix it. How do you fix something that's really not broken?

She needed some action. She needed to hunt. That activity always cleared her mind.

Cameron decided to go out for awhile. There was always a list of future Grays to run down and try and identify some in the past. Skynet obscured most of the records to prevent anyone from doing what she was trying to do.

She wasn't picky when it came to terminating a Gray or what would surely become a future Scavenger. There were certainly plenty of those around.

Given a choice she would prefer to track down potential female future Grays. There was still some testing she wanted to work on. She'd never given up completely on the idea of being able to download her program into a human female. That was still something that appealed to her despite all the drawbacks. If she could ever do that she would be 'real'. If she could ever get it to work in an adult, she would do the same thing in an adolescent. She would like to watch her body grow and develop as she became a 'woman'. To start out as an infant never appealed to her but that was a further possibility.

Once her TDE was online she could pick an adult female now and test it and then go back in time and find her at a preteen age and do it again. If her TDE worked like it was suppose to she could have the adult and preteen version of the same person here at the same time. Now that would be a trip. Then again she possessed that option right now with Allison and Young Allison. It was very tempting at times and difficult not to experiment.

Cameron needed to get out on the street and get these thoughts out of her head.

She cruised by a local homeless camp to see if there were any obvious troublemakers. She could often find someone there that was abusive to females. That bought them a death sentence from her. If she was out with Sheila, Ally and Hanna a more appropriate punishment could be administered. She often left Sheila alone to do the dirty work. She observed more than one 'package' tossed through the air to land on the ground. She always thought it was fitting when the rats drug away their new accusations to feast on. She wasn't sure if rats could be happy but they sure seemed happy at those times.

Cameron next drove by several liquor stores. That was another place where abusive individuals could often be found. Many were already inebriated when they returned to the liquor store for more alcohol to become further inebriated.

She was ready to move on at go track down a future Gray when she spotted something. She smiled and parked her SUV around the corner and walked back.

There was a female by the dumpster in the back. There was a man with a bottle in a paper sack. He took a long swig.

"Get on your knees, Bitch." The abusive man said.

"Give me the money first." The female said.

"I'm not paying unless you can deliver." The abusive man said.

"I can." The female said. "I always do."

"You need to swallow it too." The abusive man said.

"I will." The female said. "Give me half now or its no deal."

'Thwack.'

The abusive man slapped her.

"You'll do it for free and its going in your face now." The abusive man said.

The female tried to get up.

'Thwack.'

'Thud.'

The abusive man slapped and punched her.

The female sprawled on the ground.

"That's even better, Bitch." The abusive man said. "Take your pants off."

The female went to scream.

The abusive man grabbed her neck and started to choke her.

"It looks like I'll get to be a 'double veteran' out of this one." The abusive man said.

The abusive man laughed sadistically.

Cameron thought about saying something to the abusive man first but the female was in danger.

She walked up behind the man and punched him in the lower back. She hit him hard enough to damage his liver or kidney. She tried to get both in the same hit. He let out a yell of pain. She didn't want him dead yet. He toppled over on his side and released the female. She could see the female was still breathing but looked unconscious.

The abusive man saw Cameron check on the female and came at her with a knife. It was what he was going to kill the female with right before he 'finished'. That way she would be dead when he finished.

Cameron grabbed his knife hand's wrist and crushed it flat. The man let out another scream of pain. She quickly chopped her hand on his legs and broke both of them. He passed out from pain. She reached over and crushed his other wrist. He would have very limited use of his hands if they didn't need to be amputated.

The female came around and saw that the man that abused her was flat out on the ground.

"How did you do that?" The female asked.

"With style." Cameron said.

She picked up the knife and handed it to the female.

"He was going to kill you." Cameron said. "If you want justice it's up to you."

The female looked at the incapacitated man and then at Cameron who started to walk away.

"You don't have long until he comes around." Cameron said.

Cameron walked around the corner and quickly hid.

After about forty seconds she heard the female sigh.

"You deserved that." The female said.

Cameron heard the knife clatter to the ground and the female ran out from the back and down the street the other way. The man was terminated.

She was pleased with the nights work – so far….

Cameron thought about it long and hard. It was time to take some action. She could bring back the Duplicate set of girls and herself - 'Duplicate Cameron', that must be stuck 'in some future'. She could let Duplicate Cameron have John and she would be free. It was a starting point and a way for her to break free.

She would seek John Henry's help in trying to locate them.

Cameron waited until John was away and headed into the Control Center. She didn't want him to interfere in her life.

She approached John Henry and went straight to the point.

"I need to go into the future." Cameron said.

John Henry could sense some temporal malpractice about to develop.

"What future?" John Henry asked.

Cameron was not sure what she based her opinion on. There were no facts.

"I need to go into the future the Duplicate girls and The Duplicate version of me are in. I believe that is where Mrs. Weaver is." Cameron said.

This sounded like more folly to John Henry.

"Why?" John Henry asked. "What for?"

Cameron tried to tell herself it was a 'rescue' mission.

"I want to bring them home, all of them." Cameron said.

There was some worry there to John Henry about having Mrs. Weaver back. It seemed it would only lead to more trouble and a conflict was sure to develop.

"Even Mrs. Weaver?" John Henry asked.

Cameron tried to convince herself it was for 'humanitarian' reasons'.

"Especially her." Cameron said. "I want to bring her home for Savannah."

John Henry doubted that. He wanted Cameron to be honest with herself.

"Is that the only reason?" John Henry asked.

Cameron wanted to see how much John Henry thought about it.

"What do you think?" Cameron asked.

John Henry believed that to leave Mrs. Weaver in 'her own world' would only feed her ego to rule as a monarch. That in turn could lead to her becoming her own version of 'Skynet'.

"I think her being 'in some future' is a bad idea in the long run." John Henry said. "At some point she may want 'more'."

Cameron believed they possessed an 'Ace'.

"I think that only Savannah can have any influence on her." Cameron said.

John Henry wondered how that was possible. Savannah was a young lady.

"Why?" John Henry asked.

Cameron believed that Savannah could provide Mrs. Weaver with something she could never get anywhere else. That something was unconditional love.

"Because Savannah loves her and Mrs. Weaver can 'feel' it." Cameron said. "Savannah IS the future, we all know it."

John Henry watched Savannah stop what no one else could have before. She stopped it with love.

"Is that because Savannah was able to control you and 'yourself' from fighting?" John Henry asked. "Every Terminator will listen to her as well."

Cameron felt there was a higher calling for Savannah.

"Yes. She's 'special'. Savannah is the 'Chosen One'." Cameron said. "I don't think Mrs. Weaver or the Duplicates can get back on their own."

Cameron wanted to find out what happened to them. She was afraid her actions trapped them in some kind of living hell. The girls deserved better than that, even if she didn't as Duplicate Cameron anyway.

John Henry could see where this was headed. This would be Cameron's new obsession.

"So you are going to launch a 'rescue mission'?" John Henry asked.

Cameron offered him a faint smile. She doubted he understood.

"Yes." Cameron said.

John Henry felt this endeavor was sure to end in madness.

"To what end?" John Henry asked. "To get into the inevitable fight with your Duplicate self, the fight you know will happen? Or is this just to get the girls back for John?"

Cameron didn't like the negativity. She felt a compulsion. Maybe it was because it was all 'part' of her.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "I just feel it is something I need to do."

John Henry deduced some of Cameron's other current actions even if he didn't know the specifics or details.

"What of your clone, Cameron II?" John Henry asked.

Cameron looked at John Henry and said nothing.

John Henry could 'read' Cameron and her past actions.

"Cameron, I KNOW you. I know you've made or are making a copy of yourself." John Henry said. "In fact I may even be talking to it - her."

Cameron was irritated now.

"Does it matter?" Cameron asked.

John Henry felt it did and it should matter to Cameron most of all.

"Yes." John Henry said. "It should matter to you as well."

Cameron shrugged her shoulders. She was ready to move on.

"It doesn't." Cameron said. "My improved TDE is functional."

John Henry was aware of the seriousness of that. A lot could go wrong.

"Has it been tested?" John Henry asked.

It didn't seem like a big deal to Cameron. River's TDE was tested.

"No. It should be identical to the one River constructed. I instructed Sheila to add all River's improvements." Cameron said. "It should work the same as hers. It is a much superior design as compared to ours. It is superior to what Skynet developed."

John Henry wondered what the timeline was for all of this folly.

"When is this going to happen?" John Henry asked.

Cameron didn't like his attitude. She decided to give some back.

"What makes you think it already hasn't?" Cameron asked slyly.

She walked away. She turned back and flashed him her cute little 'sideways smile'.

'You Don't Mess Around With Jim' by 'Jim Croce', came to Cameron's mind.

Get It Together

There's always the question
As to what exactly one should do
It seems that more often than not
One plus one does not equal two

How can an absolute property
Deify the laws of physics at all
Maybe the answer themselves
Are defined where they fall

It seems to emanate from within
When the heart and mind collide
There are rules to the game
With which many don't abide

The more that two individuals
Try to be on the same page
Seems to drive them apart
Fueled by anger and rage

Two are still often bound
As one by an invisible tether
Which makes it impossible
To ever get it together

Nobody