Chapter 1222

Ropes

Riley and Sarah were near the front of the ship. They were on top of the bridge. They looked over the side of the flying bridge. Holly did as well. She still kept watch around them.

They watched as a small rope was thrown from the side of the ship below them somewhere.

Riley thought it looked like a regular rope.

"It doesn't look like a very big rope." Riley said.

Sarah didn't think so either. She figured a rope would last about a fraction of a second against the weight of the ship.

"I don't think it's what they're going to tie it up with." Sarah said.

Cameron made sure every Terminator who went on the ship watched all the training videos for each job. They could operate every piece of machinery on the ship. They could even steer it if necessary. They knew how everything worked and what to do.

Holly was aware of the docking procedure.

"It's a pilot rope." Holly said. "They'll use it to pull a bigger rope out from the side."

As they watched, the small rope turned into a giant rope as the dock workers pulled it toward the mooring.

Riley was impressed with the size of the actual rope the ship would be secured by.

"THAT'S a big rope." Riley said.

Holly indicated the other moorings along the dock.

"There will be several of them at each end as well as along the side." Holly said.

Sarah wanted to get ready to go off and see Jan.

"Maybe we need to go back to our room and get ready." Sarah said.

Holly was aware it took some time to get tied up and be cleared by the local authorities. Neither operation seemed to happen with any speed.

"It will take awhile for the ship to clear customs." Holly said. "It's mostly a formality. Many of the economically depressed countries want the tourist trade. They make things easy for the cruise line."

Sarah understood what Holly meant. The quicker the tourists could get off the ship, the quicker they would be able to start spending money for the local economy.

Riley thought Holly knew a lot about the ship. She wondered how she knew so much.

"Have you done this before?" Riley asked. "I mean have you been on a cruise before?"

Holly tilted her head slightly. She'd studied many things before they'd left. She wanted to avoid a detailed description. She decided to keep it simple.

"No." Holly said. "We were all instructed to watch videos and read the training manuals for each of the ships functions and know everything about the ports."

Sarah thought it would take a long time to study everything. It sounded boring too. She'd take a pass on all the 'homework'.

"It must have taken some time." Sarah said.

It actually went very swiftly for the Terminators. Everything was downloaded. They all stopped by John Henry's server and used a tether.

"We all plugged in and watched them almost instantly." Holly said. "It was short but very informative. I have all the files."

Sarah was very anxious. She looked forward to seeing Jan soon.

"I want to find Kyle." Sarah said. "He was with Derek earlier."

Riley tried to be funny.

"Do they have a jail on the ship?" Riley asked. "Derek is probably in there by now."

Holly checked the ship's plans in her files.

"There's a small brig." Holly said.

Riley continued her joke.

"Maybe we should start there to look for them." Riley said.

Holly looked concerned. She was about to contact Bob. She didn't think he would allow anything of that nature to happen.

Sarah could see Holly took it seriously. She didn't want to cause a problem.

"She's just joking." Sarah said. "I'm going back to the suite."

Holly got an update from Samantha about Precious. Everything was good. She passed the news quietly to Riley as they walked. They headed back to the suites.

Riley nodded to quietly thank Holly. She didn't want to make a big deal about her concern. She felt very relieved. It still hadn't even been one day yet. She wondered if she felt this way now after being away for only a few hours how she was going to feel if Judgment Day ever came. It would be when the real worry would begin.

Derek, Gail and Kyle watched the ship dock from the Promenade deck.

The deck was blocked off past where they were at. There were a few of the ship's crew wearing bright orange vests as they did something above them.

They were near the rear of the ship. The ship was soon tied up with some giant ropes.

Derek was impressed with the size of the rope.

"Now that's a rope." Derek said.

Kyle noted it took three men to secure it.

"It looks heavy." Kyle said.

Derek nodded.

"Better them than me." Derek said.

Gail felt the dock workers were very inefficient. She knew she could have easily handled the rope by herself. She decided not to say anything.

A gangplank or walkway was lowered down from off to the side of where they were at. It was lifted from above the blocked off section. It was what the workers in the orange vests dealt with earlier.

A small entourage of officials arrived on the dock. They drove up in two SUVs and let some people out.

Derek recognized the 'brass' when he saw them.

"The honchos are here." Derek said.

Gail tilted her head slightly.

"The term honchos is correct in this application." Gail said.

There wasn't much happening.

Kyle was ready to move on.

"This looks boring now." Kyle said.

Derek nodded. He knew the feeling.

"I think they're in the 'hurry up and wait' phase." Derek said.

Gail tilted her head slightly in the other direction. She learned a lot of slang and phraseology from Derek and Kyle. They were different from the girls. They said a lot of things to each other that wouldn't normally be said to others out loud. Maybe it was because they were brothers. Only Ally and Sheila talked to each other the same way at times. They were actually much more crude at times.

Kyle was ready to wrap it up.

"Maybe we should go back and find the girls." Kyle said. "I know Sarah will be antsy."

Kyle didn't want to admit it but he was antsy as well. He looked forward to seeing Jan on the ship.

Derek missed Precious. They'd only been gone overnight really.

"It hasn't even been a day yet." Derek said.

It seemed longer to Kyle for some reason.

"It seems like a lot has happened." Kyle said.

Gail silently went over the events she'd experienced since she came aboard the ship. A lot did transpire. A lot of it seemed to revolve around Sheila.

"It has." Gail said.

Gail hadn't told them anything about what happened with Sheila and her nude, high heeled balance on the railing of the balcony. She briefly reflected on the fact she was going over the side as she held onto Sheila's ankle.

She didn't know when she made her desperate lunge to grab Sheila, she'd already shut down. She knew they would sink to the bottom if they weren't ground up in the screws of the ship. She would have been able to carry Sheila back to shore underwater. It was really something she didn't want to think about.

They headed back to the suites.

Ally followed Sheila out of the Owner's Suite. Sheila quickly checked the Master Suite and the Honeymoon Suite.

"Which suite did Derek and Riley move to?" Sheila asked.

Sheila acted as if everything was normal.

Ally was sure there was something wrong with Sheila.

"They're in the first suite outside of the private area." Ally said.

Sheila went out and checked it to make sure it was perfect. It was. She thought about what would happen in the main part of each suite as well as the spare bedroom.

"I'm going to be busy now." Sheila said. "In reality there are six suites to contend with."

Ally followed Sheila around. It was like nothing happened with Sheila.

"Let me check with Jim and I'll see how much time we have." Sheila said.

Ally wanted to be with Sheila to show her she cared about her. She wanted to make sure Sheila understood what she wanted to do.

"I hope we have time to be together." Ally said.

The smile faded from Sheila's face. She briefly looked down the front of her sheath.

"I think I may not be in quite as fresh of condition as I normally am." Sheila said.

Ally wanted to know the story.

"Is that it?" Ally asked.

Sheila almost snapped at Ally.

"No." Sheila said. "There may be more."

Ally couldn't understand what for.

"Why?" Ally asked.

Sheila stopped and faced Ally. She wanted to make her intentions perfectly clear.

"I plan to go back to the Owner's Suite every night if no one else does." Sheila said.

Ally couldn't understand why. Sheila apparently served her time. Why did she need to go back?

"Really?" Ally asked. "What for? What's Cameron done to you?"

Sheila smiled when she thought of Cameron. Sheila felt it was her most beautiful experience.

"Cameron has allowed me to share her world with her." Sheila said.

Ally didn't like the demotion to second place. She remembered Cammy was a contender as well. Maybe she was actually lower at this point.

"What's that mean?" Ally asked.

They were in the Control Center now with Jim.

Sheila was given a taste of something new. She wanted more. There was only one way for her to get it. She didn't want to answer a bunch of questions for Ally.

"It means just what it sounds like." Sheila said. "I don't want to talk about it yet."

Sheila greeted Jim and updated with him on all the events happening. She received the approximate arrival time of Claire and Jesse along with Jan and Summer. She didn't think there was a large enough time cushion.

"I don't have time to go out before they come aboard." Sheila said.

Jim wanted to handle things for now. There wasn't anything pressing occurring.

"I can take care of everything for now. Ally and Hanna did an outstanding job." Jim said. "There's a lull in any action."

Sheila wanted to see Hanna.

"Where's Hanna at?" Sheila asked.

Jim could tell her without checking but he checked anyway.

"She's gone to the gangplank to wait for Claire." Jim said.

Ally figured Gail would be there as well.

"I'm sure Gail will too." Ally said.

Jim thought it was natural.

"They all miss their lovers." Jim said.

Ally looked at Sheila. She wasn't 'Her Sheila' right now.

"I do too." Ally said.

Ally really didn't know what was going to happen going forward. It seemed as if Sheila found a new sexual addiction, even if it was in the hands of Cameron, literally.

Bob was at the gangplank. He wanted to make sure everything went smoothly when the rest of the team boarded. They were all human and would bring minimal carry-on luggage. They were only supposed to be on board for a few days. Cameron prepared all their fancy clothes for them. They were already in their rooms. He was aware Cameron had fancy clothes for everyone, including Savannah and Young Allison. He didn't plan to share the information with anyone. He doubted either one of them would be on the ship.

He noticed Hanna waiting outside the security zone area. There were some other security personnel near her. Bob wanted to play it cool when he addressed her.

"Excuse me, Miss, it's going to be awhile." Bob said. "You can wait in the common area if you want or with your friends."

Hanna understood the general address. It wasn't news she wanted to hear, even if it was the news she'd expected.

"How long is the wait?" Hanna asked.

Bob gave her a quick rundown.

"They'll let some of the crew off first and then the passengers. It is doubtful anyone will return for over an hour from now. Some people only look around the shops outside where we're docked. They usually return to the ship rather quickly."

It gave Hanna a clue where to find them in an hour.

"I may do the same thing myself." Hanna said.

Hanna left and headed back up to the suites. She used the stairway. Bob indicated to her Claire and Jesse wouldn't arrive for an hour. She would find Gail and they would both go off to wait for Claire and Jesse by the outside shops.

Maybe she would find out what Sheila's status currently was. She wasn't really sure if she wanted to know.

Savannah watched the two girls get dressed after their shower. They were thrilled by the new clothes they could wear. They'd both cleaned up nicely. They didn't look as sickly as they did before their shower. Maybe part of it was their attitude. It seemed to improve greatly. They were no longer under the fear of abuse or arrest.

Cam and Cammy helped them get ready and a little fixed up. The girls actually looked quite presentable now.

Cammy previously told Savannah not to come into close contact with them until Cam and her thoroughly scanned them. She didn't want Savannah to 'catch' anything from them.

The girls were cleaned and dressed. The girls scanned back as non contagious with any communicable diseases. Both Cam and Cammy scanned them to make sure. They were sure the girls would have caught something by now with their forced lifestyle. It appeared the girls were very fortunate in more ways than one.

Before the girls left the motel room, they'd stood side by side and looked in the mirror. Both of them realized they hadn't looked as good as they did currently, since they'd left their homes.

Savannah got everyone squared away and they loaded up in the SUV, they took off right away. They'd only been at the motel for thirty eight minutes.

Cammy put all their clothes into a large trash bag she'd retrieved from housekeeping. She left them for Steve and Tom to analyze.

Savannah apologized to the girls for the apprehension they were caused by stopping by the motel.

One girl reiterated the reason again.

"It was only because bad things happened before, at least at places like it." The other girl said. "The place we stopped at was actually quite pleasant."

Savannah still felt bad about the needless worry she'd caused them.

"I'm really sorry about it." Savannah said. "We wanted to help you get cleaned up and look nice."

The girls were still a little concerned. They didn't want to get 'fixed up' and sold again. They would bring in good money how they looked now.

"Where are we going?" The other girl asked.

Cammy wanted to quell their fears.

"You're going to a nice rehab place in Calabasas." Cammy said.

One of the girls wanted to know where Cam was.

"Where did your sister go?" The girl asked.

Cammy looked back at her and smiled.

"She went on ahead to make sure there wouldn't be any problems." Cammy said. "I don't like problems."

Savannah looked at the other girl. There was an issue they might need to deal with.

"If we find the truck, what do you want to happen to the driver?" Savannah asked.

The girl who'd been abused spoke up. It worried her as to her involvement.

"I don't want to go to the police or to court." The other girl said.

The first girl thought something needed to be done.

"He needs to be punished for what he did." The girl said.

She looked at her friend and leaned over and gave her a hug.

"I don't want him to be able to do it to anyone again. I know I'm not the only one he's done it too. We're just lucky to have gotten away." The other girl said. "I really don't know what to do."

Cammy pointed out the obvious.

"He may not want to be taken into custody and punished." Cammy said.

The girl who'd been abused looked frustrated. She'd been through similar things a lot since they'd escaped captivity recently. It seemed to happen wherever they went.

"Maybe we should just forget about it." The other girl said. "What happened was really no different than what happened to us at the other place we were chained up at or in the homeless encampments we've been to."

Cammy looked at Savannah quickly. Savannah gave her a slight nod.

"As you wish, we'll drop the matter." Cammy said.

She didn't want the girls to worry about it anymore.

They arrived at the rehab facility. Cam was there with an administrator. They let the girls off. They both thanked Cammy, Cam and Savannah.

They left. The girls were in a facility they couldn't leave on their own until they completed their treatment.

Cammy pulled into a park a few miles away. Cam was behind her. They both went through the SUV for any kind or tracker that may have been left. There was nothing.

They left a team at the motel room to check for anything.

"Steve and Tom report the room is clean." Cammy said.

Savannah noted Cam packed away the filthy clothes the girls wore. One of the team was to analyze them for DNA.

"Were they able to get a DNA sample off the clothes the one girl wore?" Savannah asked.

Steve's report was troubling.

"There were at least ten different samples on both of their discarded pants." Steve reported. "One sample was recent, we have it."

Savannah wanted to verify another aspect of the girl's story. It was more than a little troubling to her.

"Was the recent DNA sample only on one girl's clothes?" Savannah asked.

Steve had been provided with very specific things to look for.

"Yes." Steve said.

Savannah looked at Cammy.

"Everything checks out so far." Savannah said.

Cammy went over the precautions.

"They will be monitored in rehab. There are cameras everywhere there." Cammy said. "Are you still worried?"

Savannah was worried. She'd feared they could be anti-Metal plants sent to infiltrate them or the Grays. It seemed less likely now.

"I'm worried less than I was. It sounds like a terrible story no matter how it's looked at." Savannah said.

Cammy wanted to see where Savannah stood.

"What happens if we find the 'Scavenger'?" Cammy asked.

Savannah wasn't sure. It shouldn't be an issue any longer, somehow it still was.

"I don't know." Savannah said. "The girl said to drop it."

Cammy pushed the issue some more. She wanted to make it more personal to Savannah.

"What if it was Young Allison and you?" Cammy asked.

Savannah didn't like the question. She looked a little irritated at Cammy. In the future, it was her, well Vanna actually. It was the same thing. Similar things actually happened to both Young Allison and her in the future. She really didn't want to go there.

"It wasn't." Savannah said. "Let's go."

The other members of the team who'd gone into the old newspaper plant were ready for their next assignment.

"Al, Ed, Steve and Tom want to know what else you'd like them to do." Cammy said.

It seemed to Savannah the operation was wrapped up. She didn't want to tie up Resistance resources any longer.

"Thank them and they may return to whatever they were doing before." Savannah said. "The drones can return too."

Cam wanted to give them an extra layer of protection. She switched vehicles with them. She headed back to the Resistance base.

Cammy looked at Savannah for a few moments. There were a couple of things she was going to need to deal with. She thought about her earlier indecision and her decision where it would be safer for Savannah to be. It wasn't out in the field. It was either to see Young Allison or in the arms of CamNet. She would let Savannah make the choice. She would prefer it was Palmdale. She doubted it would be.

"Do you want to go to Palmdale or Cameron's base?" Cammy asked.

Savannah noticed Cammy didn't mention CamNet by name. She didn't want to dance around the issue. It was what it was. She wanted to make it clear to Cammy.

"I need to see CamNet." Savannah said.

Cammy's face was expressionless. It was what she figured it would be.

"I understand." Cammy said.

Savannah smiled at Cammy.

"Thank you." Savannah said.

Savannah doubted Cammy did understand. It was complicated. She wanted to be with CamNet more often. It wasn't an obligation to her. She believed it was something beneficial to all of them. It wasn't about the short term. It was about the long term. It was about the end game.

The group was at a location near the port city of Ensenada. They've gone to view a marine blowhole to kill some time.

La Bufadora spouted one more time when Summer said it would.

Claire was ready to move on. She could only look at the same thing so many times. She wanted to get to the port.

"I think we've seen enough here." Claire said.

Jesse was a little bored too. She was anxious to see the ship. She wanted to be on a ship again, just to be on a ship. All the amenities it offered were a bonus.

"I agree." Jesse said.

Jan and Summer wanted to stay longer but were outvoted. The adult votes counted for more than their vote. Summer thought she could persuade the three Terminators to vote with her but she didn't use her 'influence' to try. She also believed she could get Jesse and her mother to reconsider. It wasn't something she wanted to do over such a minor issue. She was aware she could 'tell' what people thought. She was also aware she could 'influence' them.

They went back down the path and headed to the van. They took one last look back when Summer told them to and watched the water spout one more time. They left without incident.

Jan thought the drive back to Ensenada was just as boring as the drive to the blowhole. She was going to point it out. Right before she spoke, Summer looked at her for a moment. Her thought quickly turned into a passing thought. She remained silent.

It wasn't long before they neared the port area.

They could see the giant ship was already in the small harbor as they headed back towards the port.

"The ship is docked now." Frank said.

Jesse wondered about the clearance time involved.

"When can we get on?" Jesse asked. "Will we need to wait longer?"

Dan received an update from Jim.

"It should be about ten minutes after we get back." Dan said. "We don't want it to look like you're getting on the ship for the first time."

Frank offered them an idea to kill some time.

"We can drive around the city some more if you want." Frank said.

Jesse felt they'd seen enough. One street looked the same as the next. Most of the people tried to keep their homes and businesses nice looking. Not all of them did. It seemed to be the same way in any location.

"Not really." Jesse said. "I think once you've seen several streets, there's nothing different to see."

Claire looked at Jan.

"Do you still want to go to the beach here or wait for the pool on the ship?" Claire asked.

Jan remembered the warning about the water. Maybe it was 'safer' to wait for the ship. She looked at Summer.

"We can wait for the pool." Jan said.

Summer flashed Jan a big smile.

Ken knew the layout of the cruise terminal in Ensenada. There were spots for two ships to dock broadside at a ninety degree angle from each other. It was on a small man made Peninsula. It was built into the harbor. It was specifically for cruise ships. There were several small buildings specifically for the tourists. One of them was the customs facility to get back on the ship. The other ones sold items to the tourists. Most of them were souvenirs or trinkets. Everything was sold from clothing to alcohol as well.

"There are a few small shops before you board the ship." Ken said. "The girls from the ship can meet you there."

Claire figured it was better than waiting in the van. She wanted to make sure it wasn't a problem.

"We can wait there and look around." Claire said. "Is it OK with everyone?"

Jesse, Jan and Summer were all at a high excitement level. They were as ready as Claire for the adventure to actually get started.

It was something they all looked forward to.

They drove back to the small port.

They pulled up to the port checkpoint. Lou spoke in Spanish to the attendant and showed them something. The little gate went up.

The ship loomed large in front of their eyes. The anticipation level rose.

There was a small parking lot. The group of seven exited. Lou stayed with the van.

We were only several hundred feet away from the ship at this point. The ship was impressive to see up close and at a broadside view.

Claire paused for a moment as she looked at the ship.

"Oh my, that's a big one." Claire said.

Jan's eyes were as wide as saucers and she looked from one end of the ship to the other.

"The ship is gigantic." Jan said.

Jesse hadn't been close to a ship of its size in a long time.

"It is a big one." Jesse said.

Summer was impressed as well. It was exactly as how she pictured it would be. Somehow it was even more dramatic to actually be there in person and see it.

"It will be like its own little city, once we're on board." Summer said.

Jan looked back in the direction of Ensenada.

"I hope it's better than the last city we just went to." Jan said.

Summer was a little disappointed in Jan.

"You need to remember everyone is different." Summer said. "There will be people from all over the world on the ship. Not everyone is going to look or dress the same. There will be many different languages spoken."

Jan felt a little embarrassed about her earlier comment.

"I know what you mean." Jan said.

They entered the tourist shop. It just opened. They were the first customers.

Dan was updated by Jim again.

"Gail and Hanna will meet us here." Dan said.

Jesse and Claire glanced at each other. They would see their Metal girls very soon.

Claire looked out the open door towards the ship.

"Did they see us?" Claire asked.

Frank wasn't sure. There were hundreds of people out on their balconies, the upper levels and the Promenade deck of the ship.

"I don't know." Frank said. "Everything is under control."

Dan was updated by Bob.

"I spoke with Bob. He'll be at the gangplank when you board." Dan said. "It won't be much longer. You should be able to walk right on board and pass through the metal detector without any problems."

The excitement level of the four females was very high.

Jan wasn't sure when she'd been as excited before. There were times at night when she went to bed when she did. It was a different feeling. The feeling now was less intense but it was continuous. She looked over at Summer.

Summer looked back at her and smiled.

John Henry returned to the Resistance base. He'd only been gone for a few hours. He would have preferred to stay out longer and have gone with Cam. He was a little disappointed he wasn't 'allowed' to go. He figured he could have provided extra security if nothing else.

He plugged in with his server and updated.

He was going to speak with Vanna but changed his mind. He'd heard what the girl told Savannah when he updated. He really didn't want Vanna to relive any of her past experiences.

Everyone went back to what they were doing before the incident developed.

It looked like the matter was concluded.

Vanna and Samantha returned to their work in the lab after checking on Precious.

Allison helped Vanna with a few things. She wanted to make herself useful. She felt she'd slacked off too much with all of her time in Palmdale.

Samantha quietly sent a message to Holly every fifteen minutes to update her on Precious. They decided to cut it back to once every two hours unless something developed. It would simply be a case of 'no news was good news'.

Vanna and Allison were both bothered by what the two girls went through. They'd survived. Life goes on. They were glad the girls could share with each other.

Allison could tell Vanna was upset by everything. There was something that seemed to still bother her. She was aware you could take a girl out of the future but you couldn't take the future out of the girl. It didn't matter if the future was actually the past. The events that happened, still happened.

Young Allison and Anna followed the events.

It seemed things were concluded.

Anna looked at Young Allison

"You don't look very pleased." Anna said.

Young Allison checked the monitors.

"I'm not." Young Allison said.

Anna pointed out Savannah indicated they were finished.

"Savannah has called for the drones to return and the other teams to go back to where they were." Anna said. "She wants everything to wind down and return to normal."

Young Allison wasn't satisfied. She planned to make use of some of the assets which were currently available. There was no need to return all of them yet.

"We will keep the two drones out that are searching for the truck." Young Allison said. "CamNet will also keep one over the old newspaper plant for a few more hours at least."

Anna wondered what it was about. It seemed things were done. Maybe there would be some further action.

"Do you expect trouble?" Anna asked.

Young Allison didn't want to get played.

"I just want to watch the old newspaper plant for a little longer." Young Allison said. "If it was under some kind of Skynet or anti-Metal watch, we'll know within a few hours."

Anna followed up on the ship.

"Sheila's back to work." Anna said.

Young Allison looked at the images. She was actually surprised to see the way Sheila looked. It wasn't what she'd expected she was going to see when she viewed Sheila again.

"She looks quite happy." Young Allison said.

Anna looked at some additional images. It was clear not everyone was.

"Ally doesn't." Anna said. "She looks very upset."

The issue wasn't to Young Allison's taste. She thought it was something she shouldn't get further involved with. She figured her time would come soon enough. She wanted to refocus the conversation. There were images from the port in Ensenada on their monitors.

"I don't want to discuss it right now." Young Allison said. "I see the group at the gift shop."

Anna knew what the plan was.

"Gail and Hanna will be down to see them soon. Sarah and Holly will be as well. Holly is going to watch the girls." Anna said.

Young Allison checked on Savannah and Cammy.

Anna noticed. She wanted to point out what was about to happen.

"They're going to see CamNet." Anna said.

Young Allison knew it all went back to what she'd 'done' with CamNet and how things got out of control. Savannah stepped in and took the pressure off of her.

Young Allison shook her head. She knew Savannah was her lover. Maybe they weren't lovers yet, but they were going to be at some point. Now there was another obstacle in the way. She thought back on all of the females in the Resistance, both Terminator and human. There seemed to be a lot of obstacles in the way. CamNet was only the newest one.

"I know." Young Allison said. "It's on me…."

It was a lesson learned by Young Allison on how not to get played in the future. She really wondered about CamNet's 'end game'. Maybe the whole thing was a ploy to get to Savannah and have Savannah volunteer on her own to 'interact' with CamNet. She'd watched Cameron manipulate people the same way. She was unaware of Cameron ever doing it to her. Maybe she had. CamNet was really only an extension of Cameron.

The Gray smiled to himself as he moved over the top of the unconscious female Fanatic.

"You're mine now, Bitch." The Gray said.

Hank moved forward with his silenced M9 ready.

Larry took a look behind them and followed Hank.

"There will be two less targets to worry about later on." Larry said.

The two Terminators headed straight for the door.

Seconds ago:

The female Fanatic regained consciousness as she was pulled into the room. She realized she'd been captured.

She could feel the man roughly fondle her. She tried to look through barely open eyes to see how many men were in the room with her. She could only spot one.

She realized her pants had already been pulled down. She knew what was about to happen next. It was something she'd experienced more than a few times in the future.

"You're mine now, Bitch." The man said.

There was a spring knife in one of her pants pockets. She didn't think she would be able to reach it since her pants were pulled down. She tried to look around for a weapon without opening her eyes. She didn't want her assailant to know she was about to fight back.

The Gray was in a hurry to claim his prize. He roughly fondled the female through her ripped open shirt.

"This is going to be sweet." The Gray muttered to himself.

He went to pull her pants completely off. They hung up on her shoes. He looked away from her down to where her pants were stuck.

There was a blow to the side of his head. It stunned him. The female rolled away from under him since he'd needed to change this position to get her pants off.

The Gray took a swing at where her head should have been. It wasn't there. He realized he'd made a major mistake by not binding her hands behind her back. It was what he normally did when he was with a captured female Resistance fighter. It always excited him the way they struggled when he started in.

He quickly regained all of his senses. The female had moved completely away from him. She'd actually pulled her pants back up. He made a lunge for her. He felt a sharp pain in his gut. It was quickly followed by another and then another. They didn't seem to stop.

The female Fanatic saw the man look away from her as he tried to get her pants off.

"This is going to be sweet." The Gray muttered to himself.

She mustered all of her strength and punched him as hard as she could in the side of the head. She immediately rolled away from underneath and. She pulled her pants up and she did.

She was pleased to find her knife was still in her pocket. She reached in and pulled it out as the man took a swing at her. She moved and he missed. She opened the blade of the knife as the man made a lunge at her. She moved again as she stuck it into his abdomen. She pulled the knife out and stuck it in time after time. He let out a scream each time the knife plunged into his flesh.

The man let out another cry of pain as he fell backwards. She got a good look at him. She saw his pants were down. She couldn't help but notice he'd been ready to abuse her. She quickly moved over the top of him and stuck the knife into his throat. His muted screams faded to a gurgling bubbly sound of blood as it flowed out of his neck.

The female Fanatic could see the Gray was finished. She quickly looked around the room she was in. It was some type of storage room. She didn't know if the man's screams would bring anyone else. She was sure at this point she didn't want to get captured alive. She still had an option available to her. It was her poison tooth.

Hank and Larry were headed for the room when they heard the man inside scream multiple times.

"The female has attacked him." Larry said.

They were going to enter the room and finish both of them off.

Hank detected some noise down the hall from the direction they've been headed.

"There are more Grays coming. " Hank said.

Hank and Larry could either choose to engage the Grays who approached or go into the room to finish off the female. They hoped to avoid gunfire before they had a better chance to take a look around.

Ropes

There are often times
When one's down on their luck
They may become confused
Maybe even run amok

Everyone can trip and fall
It depends upon height
As to how much they'll hurt
They can choose to run or fight

When one gets knocked down
It's how they get back up and stand
Their strength will build
They're the one in command

Push away the naysayers
It's just so much noise
Move ahead in life
Do it with poise

Never give up on
One's dreams and hopes
It's just the start
When one is on the ropes

Nobody