Chapter 1002

Jewelry Store

Cammy agreed to drive Savannah to a jewelry store. It seemed that Savannah came up with another idea other than the one that she'd presented to Savannah.

Cammy was headed to a specific location.

"Where are we going?" Savannah asked.

Cammy was aware of the time. The mall opened at a later time than all the other stores did. Because they'd taken Susan to rehab, it was almost time for the mall to open.

"We can go to the mall. It will be open when we get there." Cammy said.

Savannah was glad to hear that, there was a food court there. She hoped at least a few of the places would open up early. She didn't really care for the mall because it was so big. There were always a lot of people wandering around inside of them. Some of the people were trouble. They were only there to see what they could steal from other people. It was a sad narrative if one thought about it. She hoped because it was early there wouldn't be many people there.

"I can get a bite to eat too maybe." Savannah said. "I'll make it quick."

Cammy hoped she hadn't neglected Savannah's eating habits too much. She always blamed Cameron for doing that to Savannah. She didn't want to be like Cameron. Maybe she should have offered earlier to do that for Savannah.

"That's very important." Cammy said. "There are clean restrooms there too."

Savannah thought about using the restroom at the homeless shelter but decided not to. The rehab facility didn't seem like the right place either. They'd passed a couple of fast food joints on their way to the jewelry store.

"Everything will be fine, Cammy." Savannah said.

Cammy was still worried that all of Savannah's needs were being neglected.

"The food court may not be open yet." Cammy said.

Savannah thought maybe she shouldn't have even said anything. Next time she wouldn't.

"I'll be fine." Savannah said.

Cammy didn't think so.

"There are several places we can stop before we get there." Cammy said. "There's that place with the clown."

Savannah tried to think where they were at. There were two establishments that seemed to emanate from that theme originally. She didn't think that either one of them played up that image much anymore. She couldn't blame them, clowns were kind of creepy.

"Which one did you have in mind? There are two of them that are clown based." Savannah said.

Cammy preferred one over the other. It set off as many warnings in her HUD about the food as the other one but it was a little less toxic to the human body but not by much.

"The one with the big round head popping out of a box." Cammy said.

Savannah actually liked the 'secret sauce' that was put on the hamburgers at that establishment. She didn't want to feel like a burden. She'd already requested two stops. One was the jewelry store and the other one was Cameron's base.

"I don't know." Savannah said. "You don't need to make any special stops for me. The jewelry store at the mall is good enough."

She asked Cammy to have CamNet set her up with some credit.

The traffic was light and they made good time.

They arrived at the mall a short time later.

Savannah wanted to verify that everything was good to go.

"Did CamNet get my line of credit established?" Savannah asked.

Cammy smiled at Savannah.

"Yes, you're good for one million dollars." Cammy said. "That's to start out with."

Savannah was a little shocked to hear that. It was extremely excessive. She wondered what CamNet thought she was going to purchase. She wondered if there was even a million dollars in inventory at the jewelry store. She thought about how overpriced everything was and figured there was.

"That's way too much." Savannah said. "I didn't ask for that much."

Cammy thought Savannah should purchase something for herself. Apparently CamNet thought the same thing.

"CamNet wanted you to buy something nice for yourself." Cammy said. "You don't have a single piece of jewelry."

Savannah was warned by the girls from the future not to have any.

"I always thought I wouldn't need any in the future." Savannah said. "It might become a liability."

Savannah was told that people would be killed over such things for the first few years after Judgment Day. It would soon become evident for survival that other things were more important.

"After Judgment Day it would still have some value. Once survival becomes evident, food will have more value than almost anything." Cammy said. "People need food to survive. A wad of cash might be good to start a fire to cook some food at that point. After Judgment Day, money was just paper with green ink and numbers on it. It was valueless."

Savannah heard all the stories firsthand from Vanna, Allison and Jesse.

"I understand." Savannah said.

Savannah was warned that females would become items of value to be traded for goods or food. Parents would be killed and their daughters taken from them. Females would be forced into 'compliance' with beatings and food rationing. Those who refused to submit to the 'future' would be abused and banished to the Wastelands. They would eventually be picked up by Scavengers and brutalized until they died.

Cammy started to get out.

Savannah didn't move yet.

Cammy looked over at Savannah.

"Let's go." Cammy said.

Cammy wondered if there was some type of a problem.

Savannah needed to do something on her own. She wasn't sure how to say it and not hurt Cammy. It wouldn't matter what the reason was why she needed to do it. She knew it was still going to affect Cammy in a negative way. She just needed to say it.

"I need you to wait out here." Savannah said.

Cammy looked hurt. Savannah never excluded her from anything.

"I wanted to go with you." Cammy said. "I should go with you anyway."

Savannah felt bad about it but there were some private matters she wanted to attend to alone.

"I need some private time." Savannah said. "I need you to understand."

Cammy didn't understand. If Savannah needed to do something like this in this manner, it must be important to her. She didn't want to wait in the car. Savannah would be unprotected. She needed to be closer to her even if she wasn't with her.

"I can wait in the food court." Cammy said. "It is right outside. I need to be close by in case there's a problem. You know that's the way it has to work. I can turn my hearing down or whatever else you want me to do. I still need to be near you even if I'm not with you."

Savannah didn't want what she was going to do to turn into a problem. She would need to make a few concessions for Cammy. She was worried about what she was about to do. Cammy would need to take her to Cameron's base later on. She didn't want to cause Cammy to have a problem. She wanted Cammy to understand she needed private time every now and then.

"That's fine." Savannah said. "This is personal to me. I don't ask for very much."

Cammy was well aware of that. Savannah never complained about anything and she never asked for anything. She was very self sufficient.

"No, you don't." Cammy said. "You're very disciplined."

Savannah hoped that the issue was behind them. She wasn't sure that it was.

The two girls exited the SUV and headed into the mall.

Savannah felt bad for Cammy. She knew that Cammy didn't understand this. She reached down and took Cammy's hand as they walked.

Cammy looked over at her and smiled.

"You know I love you, Cammy." Savannah said.

Savannah squeezed Cammy's hand so she could scan her.

Cammy began to scan Savannah immediately. She knew that she spoke the truth.

"I know you do." Cammy said.

Cammy thought back to when they were to return from Cameron's future. Cameron made her physically hold Savannah in the energy bubble when Cameron stepped out. Cameron stayed behind and they returned without her. Savannah was very angry at her and said she hated her….

Savannah could see that things deteriorated more rapidly than she thought they would.

She switched sides and took Cammy's left hand. It had started to glitch.

"What's wrong, Cammy?" Savannah asked.

Cammy didn't want to say what she thought about it. She didn't want to remind Savannah that she said she hated her. Maybe Savannah would hate her again if she was reminded about it. Savannah already wanted to be away from her. Maybe she'd done something wrong that she didn't know. She began to replay all the past events since Savannah and her went off on their own earlier.

"I thought about something…." Cammy said. "It was unimportant."

Savannah didn't think Cammy's statement provided her with any useful information. She knew that the Metal girls were always thinking. They thought about things twenty four hours a day. They could think about millions of things per second as well. She hoped that she could narrow it down a little.

"Can we talk about it?" Savannah asked.

Cammy knew it was Cameron's fault that happened. She decided she would never do that again, ever. Maybe that was one of the reasons why she felt that Cameron was a Bitch. She'd only agreed to do it because she wanted to get Savannah back home and out of Cameron's future. Every second longer Savannah stayed in any future environment exposed her to more toxins in the environment. She didn't want to relive the past again. She didn't want Savannah to relive the past again.

"I don't want to talk about it." Cammy said. "It's in the past now."

Savannah knew that wasn't the case. She'd dealt with Cameron enough over the years to know how it worked for a Terminator. Time didn't do anything for them like it did for a human to make an event less painful and more tolerable. If anything it actually seemed to make it worse.

"Nothing is ever in the past for a Terminator." Savannah said. "It's always in the current moment when they think of it. It is the same as if it just happened for them. It's in the present, right now."

Cammy knew that was true. Cameron 'made' Savannah 'hate' her then. She didn't want to upset Savannah again or remind her of the incident. She'd never been as devastated as she was when Savannah screamed and yelled at her that she hated her. Savannah told her later on that she didn't mean it and she didn't hate her. She said it was something that humans said when they were angry or upset. They didn't think straight. It seemed that emotions would override logic and their true feelings.

"I'm fine." Cammy said.

Savannah could see it was a problem. She decided to ask Cammy to come with her. She didn't have any secrets from Cammy. She discussed everything with her all of the time. Sometimes she even discussed the effects of her body's functions with her.

"You can come in with me." Savannah said. "I don't like how this has turned out. It's not what I want. It's not what I wanted to happen."

Cammy could tell that Savannah felt distressed now. Now she felt her actions would further upset Savannah. She didn't want Savannah to tell her that she hated her again.

"You said it was personal." Cammy said. "I need to give you some space."

Savannah made a choice. Cammy came first. She didn't want to hurt anyone, even if it was inadvertently.

"It is personal." Savannah said. "I don't want to hurt you either. You may come with me."

Cammy could see Savannah was willing to sacrifice her personal or private time for her. Sacrifice was the true test of love. It was clear Savannah loved her.

"I'm fine." Cammy said. "Thank you."

Savannah saw they were about to pass a pet store. She didn't want an issue to develop with all the pets. Many of them were very young.

"We better move to the other side." Savannah said. "I don't want all the puppies and kittens to be terrified of your predator pheromones."

Cammy was given something new to try by Cameron. This would be the test to see if it actually worked.

"Cameron worked on a new group of pheromones." Cammy said. "Animals shouldn't sense me as a threat or a predator. What I am should be masked to them."

Savannah wasn't so sure about that. They tried some other things in the past with less than stellar results.

"Have you tested it?" Savannah asked. "I mean this new version."

Cammy saw a giant picture on the wall of the pet store. It was a small girl with a puppy and a kitten.

"Not yet." Cammy said. "I want to hold a puppy or a kitten. I want to hold both of them."

Savannah was worried about some of the other things that could go wrong. She was afraid Cammy might crush it or snap its neck if it 'attacked' her out of fear. She didn't think it would go over very well if one second Cammy was holding a kitten and the next second she was holding a mass of pulped bloody fur in her hand that used to be the kitten.

"You can't terminate any of them, even if they bite or scratch you." Savannah said. "They're all reacting to instincts at this age. They're like a human baby, they don't know any better."

Cammy saw how happy the girl looked in the photo. She didn't want to cause a problem. She didn't want Savannah to get mad at her and tell her that she hated her again. If she killed a kitten or a puppy by accident, Savannah would hate her.

"Maybe I better not." Cammy said. "I don't want to hurt them."

They walked by the window next to the animals and none of them flipped out or had any type of adverse reaction. There was a cage in the doorway with a puppy and a kitten in it. Savannah hoped Cammy was right.

They passed by the exposed cage. The puppy wagged its tail and the kitten looked at Cammy and let out a faint meow.

They continued past the pet store.

Savannah waited for all Hell to break loose. It didn't. Maybe this time Cameron got the pheromone correct. She thought that maybe a few of the animals wouldn't be affected by Cammy's true nature but it didn't appear that any of them were.

"That went better than I thought it would." Savannah said. "It actually looked like the puppy and the kitten in front of the store like you."

In the futures that she'd visited, Savannah saw how violently dogs reacted to Terminators. She also saw how they were fearful of Cameron and the other Terminators in this timeline. Cameron originally developed a pheromone that would cause fear among all animals. The animals always cowered and ran off if they could. If they couldn't they whimpered and whined but didn't react violently. They would usually urinate or defecate because they were in such fear if they couldn't run off.

Savannah still remembered one time when they went 'camping' when she was younger. They'd gone to a remote location in a forested area. They were confronted by a bear.

Cameron faced off with the bear. The bear took off as fast as it could when Cameron approached it. Her predator pheromones made it fearful and it ran off. The bear made no attempt to attack Cameron or hold its ground when she faced it. She'd wondered if that was the first time that the bear was scared of anything.

Savannah knew those 'camping' trips were really survival training. Cameron always brought a backpack with things in it for her but the goal was for her to find everything she needed herself for food and water. Cameron would give her those items from the backpack once she located a food or water source. Cameron wanted to make sure that the items she consumed were clean and healthy.

The first thing Cameron made sure she acquired once they left the vehicle was a sharpened 'walking stick'. It was really a spear. It was a weapon.

Savannah couldn't help but think of an incident that involved the use of a weapon just like that. She'd used a spear to kill a Gray that was about to Taser Cameron in her future once. That seemed so long ago but it wasn't. She'd practiced since she was a girl to do what she ended up doing. There was no thinking, it was all training. She knew where to strike and how to do it. She did. She'd killed the Gray instantly. She'd saved Cameron from being deactivated. She didn't run from the enemy when her only weapon was a spear. She moved in to engage the enemy and bring them down. Cameron had been in danger and she would have done anything to help Cameron. She did. Cammy also fabricated a rock knife for her on that expedition as well. She would have pulled that next and engaged the enemy with that if she needed to. She would have fought hand to hand if it was necessary.

Cameron taught her many things. She hoped she didn't need to use ALL of them. If she did, it would be training. She was trained to survive. She knew Young Allison was being trained the same way but even more so. It was clear to her that Young Allison would be superior to her at everything. She actually thought that was probably a good thing. She wasn't sure exactly what she was being trained to do sexually. Maybe that was something that she didn't want to know. As long as Young Allison had a choice, she didn't have a problem with anything that she did sexually. She wasn't going to allow anyone to make or force Young Allison to do something she didn't want to do.

Savannah was lost in thought as she walked hand in hand with Cammy.

Cammy stopped in front of the jewelry store.

"I'll wait outside or down the way." Cammy said.

Savannah didn't want to hurt Cammy anymore.

"You can go in with me." Savannah said. "It's fine, Cammy. I don't want any problems."

Cammy knew it was time to grow a pair. It was clear that Savannah wanted her and loved her. She hadn't done anything wrong and it was nothing personal against her. Savannah just wanted some private time.

"No." Cammy said. "You're entitled to some privacy. I know there's not much at either base."

Savannah was sure that Cameron knew everything about her and what she did at the Resistance base as she grew up. She actually didn't think the 'monitoring' ever stopped. She was sure Cameron knew when she first started to 'touch' herself and 'experiment' with her body. She was aware they knew what she looked at on the internet. No one stopped her. If anything, she felt that they encouraged her to do both. She spent a lot of time looking in doors that weren't closed tight and how the girls loved each other and how they made love to each other. She always knew that was what she wanted too. The images of a male with a female always made her feel uneasy. She believed it looked more like an 'attack' on the female body than anything. She didn't know why some things needed to be done that were being done. They didn't make any sense. Everything looked like a mess on the female's face or belly or back when the male finished. It always made her uneasy and even a little sick when there were three or more males with a female at the same time. It didn't take her long to only watch females together. She found it much more pleasant and satisfying. Savannah blinked her eyes twice. She needed to refocus.

"No, there isn't much privacy." Savannah said. "I know there will be less if Judgment Day happens."

Savannah knew what everyone 'did' at the base from the first few days there. There were no secrets. She was sure they allowed her to 'spy' on them. She was curious. Allison told her Young Allison did the same things. Allison told her nothing was hidden from Young Allison.

Cammy thought that Savannah looked a little distracted. She hoped it wasn't because of her earlier actions. She wanted to make amends with Savannah.

"I can order you something to eat." Cammy said.

Savannah appreciated the offer. There was only one problem. She didn't know how long it would take to do everything that she wanted to do. Maybe she would have to wait. If Cammy ordered the food now, it might be cold by the time she could eat it. It was better just to wait.

"I'm not sure how long I'll be." Savannah said.

Cammy wanted to smooth things out. She smiled at Savannah.

"You take as long as you want." Cammy said. "I'll make sure the place isn't robbed while you're in it."

Savannah didn't want any trouble. She could actually picture that in her mind. If Cammy determined that there was some type of a threat, she would meet it head on.

"I hope not." Savannah said as she looked around. "I have my Taser and M9."

Cammy wanted to reassure Savannah that she would have privacy

"I do too." Cammy said. "I won't eavesdrop on you either."

Savannah touched Cammy's cheek.

"Thank you, Cammy." Savannah said.

Savannah gave Cammy a quick kiss and went inside.

Cammy sat down by an indoor fountain that was one store over.

She looked in the bottom of the fountain at all the coins that were in there. She started reading the dates on the ones that were face up.

She glanced over at the jewelry store and a single tear slid down her cheek. She went back to reading the dates. Now she looked for the mint markings as well. She moved her left hand under her and sat on it to hide it.

"…Cammy…."

Cammy looked around. She'd lost track of time.

She wondered where Savannah came from. She was standing right in front of her now.

"You're done already?" Cammy asked.

It was clear to Savannah that Cammy was a little off.

"Yes. Are you alright?" Savannah asked.

Cammy was still a little confused. She wasn't going to admit that.

"I'm fine." Cammy said.

Savannah wanted to make a hint about the food.

"Do you want a snack?" Savannah asked.

Cammy thought she could try a taste. She had quite a reference database for the types of food Savannah liked. She also knew what she didn't like.

"I'll try some of what you have." Cammy said.

Savannah wanted to joke with Cammy. She wanted to lighten the mood.

"We can share, all three of us." Savannah said.

Cammy glanced at Savannah's belly. She thought maybe Savannah better have all of the nutrition for herself.

"Maybe I'll just watch." Cammy said.

Savannah wanted to share with Cammy.

"No, you'll try some anyway." Savannah said. "What do you want to try?"

Cammy tried to dodge the issue. She felt that since Savannah was going to eat the food and she was only going to try a taste of it that Savannah should pick the place that she wanted to eat at.

"There are a lot of places." Cammy said. "You can pick it."

Savannah looked around the food court.

"There are many different styles of food here." Savannah said.

Cammy watched Savannah carefully. She wanted to see which place she looked at more than once. She spotted one that Savannah looked at three different times.

"This one looks Asian." Cammy said. "It looks different. We can try this one."

Savannah was pleased that Cammy selected the one that she wanted to try. She ordered a plate of food from the Mongolian Barbecue.

After the food was selected. It was dumped on a giant circular grill and cooked in a very short time.

"That cooks really fast." Savannah said as she watched the food cook.

Cammy determined there were two reasons for that. One was the way that the food was sliced, the other was the intense heat of the grill.

"Everything is really thin." Cammy said.

Savannah watched as the smoke and steam drifted off of the food as it cooked.

"It smells good." Savannah said.

Savannah ate the food.

Cammy tried a few small bites.

Savannah checked the time.

Cammy noticed what Savannah did. She wondered what was supposed to happen.

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Cammy asked.

Savannah thought maybe she should have checked the time a little more clandestinely.

"Not until later." Savannah said. "I need to pick something up at the jewelry store in another thirty minutes."

Cammy could think of a few things to kill some time.

"We can look at some clothes." Cammy said.

They walked along the shops at the mall.

"The last time I went shopping for myself we were at the scene of a bank robbery." Savannah said. "I let Cameron pick my things out, you do too sometimes."

Cammy tilted her head slightly.

"Do we pick the same things?" Cammy asked.

Savannah actually found it quite amusing.

"Yes." Savannah said. "I've seen you both look at identical items."

Cammy was a little irritated to hear that. She didn't want to be a Bitch like Cameron was.

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Cammy said.

Savannah could see that Cammy was being negative. She wanted to turn it into a positive.

"I guess that's why the apple is so good then." Savannah said.

Cammy smiled at Savannah.

They were by a mini playground for children now.

Cammy saw Savannah look over at it.

She took Savannah's hand but didn't say anything. She knew Savannah started to think of her two daughters she'd left in two different futures.

"Cammy…." Savannah said.

Cammy looked at Savannah. She could see the tears in her eyes.

"Yes?" Cammy asked.

Savannah swallowed hard. She needed to toughen herself up some. She managed to flash Cammy a faint smile.

"Nothing…." Savannah said. "I'm fine."

Poem And Song

The nights are short
The days are long
May it ease your mind
With a poem and a song

To give you a sweet hug
You so much deserve
For you get very few
From those you serve

To caress your mind
To touch your heart
To rebuild your spirit
Others have torn apart

A kiss upon your lips
A hug around your shoulders
Maybe you can nuzzle
Some voluptuous boulders

To make you smile
To make you feel happy
To bring some pleasant joy
When things seem crappy

All that's expected
Is for you to survive
Be happy and healthy
Stay alive and thrive

Nobody