Chapter 1559

Six Million Words

They're Clear

Cam didn't like to split up from Samantha. The Grays that just appeared required a closer look. She needed to know if there were more of them. They didn't want Grays in front and in back of them. She went up the branch of the tunnel that appeared to lead deeper into the hillside.

So far everything she'd seen was on one level. It was unlike the mine she was in earlier in the evening. She looked down at her clothes with the thought. She was reminded how filthy they were. Gail, Bob and Jim were just as filthy.

Cam approached a series of turns in the tunnel. They ended at another metal door. She tried to communicate with Samantha where she was at. There was no reception. She worked the combination and unlocked the door. She also changed to combination to what Gail used earlier.

It did make her wonder if Skynet or 'Sky-whatever' was able to track them. There were no cameras visible. She'd been extra vigilant since Samantha brought the issue up earlier.

She opened the door an inch. Bright light flooded in. She listened. It was quiet. She opened the door more and poked her head around. No projectiles slammed into her face so it was a good thing. She passed into the area on the other side of the door. It was more like the area they'd passed when they went by the living quarters. The tunnel turned back into a passageway of a larger size.

Cam made her way forward. Her M4 was in front of her. The M203 mounted below it was loaded with a 'sticky shocker' round again. She figured it would work as well against a Terminator as it would an HK Track. She hoped she didn't encounter either.

Samantha stayed behind the four Grays. She listened to them talk. They all seemed like a very disgruntled group.

"Do we even know where this tunnel goes?" The first Gray asked.

"All we know is it parallels the road and the ravine on the other side of the road." The second Gray said. "We're supposed to make sure it's clear."

"We're not even combat trained." The third Gray said.

"It's real simple." The second Gray said. "Point your rifle and pull the trigger."

"Don't point it at me, stupid." The fourth Gray said.

"I wasn't." The third Gray said. "Don't call me stupid or maybe I will next time."

"Enough." The second Gray said. "If we were up against the Resistance, you would all be dead."

"What are we up against?" The first Gray asked. "Does anyone even know?"

"It must be another group of Grays." The second Gray said. "Robby was concerned after the distress call from the mine's computer when everything here went on the 'fritz'. Something locked up the computers here big time. He said it was a code or virus they couldn't crack. It was why he wanted the 'Metal Bitch' to assist him."

"We should have her here so she could assist us." The third Gray said.

"It wouldn't be with a stupid code either." The fourth Gray said. "I would be with her on her back instead."

There was a round of jeers and cat calls.

"Enough." The second Gray said. "If you morons don't get it together, I'm going to smoke all of you myself."

The Grays moved along silently for awhile.

Samantha lost sight of them. She paused were she was at. She'd moved right along the side of the tunnel and ducked below each red light as she passed.

She figured they were at another one of the ninety degree bends. She moved up closer.

"Hey, look." The first Gray said. "There's a junction up ahead."

"OK." The second Gray said. "You and Carter go down and make sure it's clear. It should open up at the road. Don't go out. Hurry back to where we are. We'll wait for you at the next bend."

"Why don't we all go check it out?" The first Gray asked.

"We're supposed to make sure the tunnel is clear. We don't want anyone in behind us." The second Gray said. "That's why."

Samantha moved up and paused at the final bend on the turns and peered around the corner. Two Grays of the four up ahead disappeared off to the left side and the other two continued on straight. She hurried to the junction and paused. The other two Grays were headed down towards the end of the branch. She went after them. She didn't want anyone behind her either.

Hanna and Ally followed the HK Tracks to where Cammy was at. They were able to slip in behind them and move off to the side. They paused as the HK Tracks stopped and faced each other. They hurried up along the side of the chamber behind some crates until they heard the HK Tracks move again.

They paused and carefully looked out to see what happened.

The HK Tracks appeared to have taken up guard duty in front of a hoist. It went down to a lower area. They seemed focused on the entrance to the chamber. They were already inside the chamber so they needed to move carefully.

They could still communicate with Cammy. They knew she was up ahead of them.

Cammy was aware Ally and Hanna were in the chamber she was in and moving up along the side she was on. She decided to disable the HK Track closest to her. It should give Ally and Hanna some better cover.

She armed her 'sticky shocker' and tossed it at the closest HK Track. It made contact with a dull 'thunk' sound and stuck. Since the HK Track wasn't moving, she could only assume it worked.

"Get up here where I'm at." Cammy said. "I've disabled the closest HK track."

Ally and Hanna hurried forward and joined her.

"What's the story?" Ally asked.

Cammy moved back further into the chamber with Ally and Hanna behind her.

"As far as I know there are two Terminators at the bottom of the shaft with some version of Skynet." Cammy said. "I don't know how many Grays there are with them."

They moved around until they were completely behind the second HK Track.

"I'm going to try and take that thing with my Taser." Cammy said.

"Wait." Hanna said. "How were you going to make entry into the area below us?"

"I thought about going down the cable itself." Cammy said. "If I call the hoist up, it will alert everyone below."

Ally looked over at the cable.

"It looks greasy." Ally said. "You might slip."

Hanna looked over against the far wall.

"Maybe we should see what's behind or inside the metal door first." Hanna said.

"You two go check it out." Cammy said.

Hanna and Ally continued to move in that direction. Cammy moved towards the rear of the still active HK Track.

Young Allison and Anna watched as the damaged HK drone left the area. It righted itself to only a thirty degree list. The starboard power plant was severely damaged and continued to smoke. There was probably some friction in it from the damage.

Anna was updated by CamNet.

"CamNet hasn't spotted any other hostile HK drones at any altitude within thirty miles." Anna said.

Young Allison knew the surveillance perimeter was increased to fifty miles.

"There are still drones further out that need to report." Young Allison said.

John Henry and Summer followed the drone situation and the loading of the trucks.

Summer was aware where her mother was currently at. Holly placed her in John's room to keep her from checking to see where she was at. It was blocked from John Henry by CamNet as it was done. It was actually her suggestion. She knew everyone was influenced by all things sexual. It was a vice they'd all succumbed to. It appeared to be something they all enjoyed and sought, even if it was distracting. She knew her sister was headed down the same road too. It would probably happen to her soon enough as her hormones began to change and new ones were produced. Maybe she should ask CamNet for some drugs to suppress her hormones. She could tell Jan was already affected to a certain degree. Nature didn't wait for anyone. It moved along on its own.

"It looks like the trucks are almost ready to roll." Summer said.

John Henry knew it would happen soon.

"They're two drivers short for the loaded trucks." John Henry said. "There are several other vehicles they want to take as well."

Summer didn't want anyone around the area any longer than they needed to be.

"They'll have additional drivers soon enough." Summer said.

John Henry was unaware of any new development.

"Where will they come from?" John Henry asked. "The girls are all still inside the hill."

Summer previously contacted CamNet and set some things into play.

"Hank and Larry will join them soon as well as Steve's team." Summer said. "Ken and Lou are on the way back with the Iroquois. They picked up Steve's team when they stashed the other trucks."

John Henry knew it would give them eight additional drivers if they left the UH-1 parked outside of the hanger of the third building.

'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' would watch the UH-1 and keep the back door open for the girls.

"You've been a busy girl." John Henry said.

Summer smiled. She hoped to keep her youthful appearance as long as possible. She would need to pull out a few more new hairs she'd noticed earlier. It seemed to be a never ending process.

Samantha followed the two Grays into the branch.

"I say we just keep going." The fourth Gray said.

"I hear you, bro." The first Gray said. "If we do it and this all blows over, you know the 'Bucket Heads' are going to be all over us."

"Yeah, I heard they tracked down Domingo for running out." The fourth Gray said. "They brought him back."

"You mean they brought his head back." The first Gray said. "I saw it. It was ripped off while he was still alive. We all saw what was in his mouth."

"It wasn't his tongue either." The fourth Gray said.

"It was ripped out too." The first Gray said.

The Grays slowed up.

"Hey, I think were here." The fourth Gray said.

"It looks like it's clear to me." The first Gray said. "Let's go back."

"Let's open the door and see what's out there." The fourth Gray said.

Samantha closed up on the two Grays. They'd only looked behind them once. She quickly prepared a 'burst transmission'.

There was a squeak noise as they opened the door a few inches.

There was the unmistakable sound of HK drones outside.

Samantha was able to make contact with John Henry and fill him in with a low decibel transmission.

"Quick, close it, man." The first Gray said. "None of our drones were operational here."

The heavy door squeaked closed and was secured.

"Maybe they are from another one of the outposts." The fourth Gray said.

"What if they're not?" The first Gray asked.

Cam moved along the well lit passageway. She didn't know at what point she would face Terminators or Grays.

She passed by a few rooms that were empty. They looked recently built. They appeared they would house electrical gear of some type.

She came to another metal door and opened it.

Cam heard Cammy speak to Ally and Hanna. They were right outside the metal door.

"Cammy what's going on?" Cam asked.

Cammy told her to hold at the metal door she'd encountered. It opened into the area were she was at with Ally and Hanna.

"There is an HK Track facing to your right when you enter the chamber". Cammy said. "I'm about to take it down with my Taser."

Cam possessed something a little less risky.

"I have a 'sticky shocker' loaded in my M203 right now." Cam said. "Let me take a shot at it."

Cam quickly filled them in on where Samantha was at. She leaned around the door frame and fired the 'sticky shocker'. It hit the HK Track.

Cammy rushed up to it and checked both of them out. She deactivated them and removed the 'sticky shockers'.

"They're both deactivated right now." Cammy said.

Cam looked at Ally and Hanna.

"I need both of you to get these things reprogrammed properly." Cammy said. "Send them to block open both of the blast doors for now. They can act as a relay for us too so we can get communications back."

Cammy headed for the hoist cable.

"Where are you going?" Cam asked.

Cammy pointed down.

"To meet Skynet and deal with a couple of Terminators." Cammy said. "There may be Grays down there as well."

Cam didn't want her to go alone.

"Let me go with you." Cam said.

Cammy remembered her report.

"I thought you needed to link back up with Samantha." Cammy said.

Cam frowned.

"I do." Cam said.

Hanna thought she could get both of the HK Tracks programmed herself.

"I can take care of this. Ally can go meet Samantha." Hanna said. "I know 'Cameron' likes to deal with Skynet personally. Right now there are two of 'Cameron' here."

Ally showed Hanna what she'd done so far on her HK Track.

"I'll go." Ally said and left.

Cammy looked at Hanna.

"You make sure this area stays open for us." Cammy said. "I'll send the elevator or bucket up as soon as I can."

Cammy and Cam each slung their M4 on their back. They made sure their Tasers were available for a quick one handed grab. Cammy handed Cam the 'sticky shocker' she'd fired from her M203. They looked over the side of the shaft into the darkness.

"Let's go." Cammy said and jumped over to the cable and caught it. She started down, hand over hand. Cam waited ten seconds and did the same thing. Down into the rabbit hole they went. The didn't have a clue what awaited them.

Hanna looked back once and resumed work on the HK Tracks. She needed to keep track of everything happening around her. She didn't want any surprises.

Ally moved rapidly through the passageway and into the tunnel. Cam told her what to expect. She hurried to make the rendezvous with Samantha.

The Grays closed the heavy door. It squeaked closed and was secured.

"Maybe they're from another one of the outposts." The fourth Gray said.

"What if they're not?" The first Gray asked.

"I don't know." The fourth Gray said. "This whole thing sucks."

"Let's go back." The first Gray said.

The two Grays turned around and were surprised to see two red eyes in front of them. Before they could speak or do anything they were both grabbed and slammed together. They were both out cold.

Samantha snapped their necks and quickly checked them for any intel. She turned and ran back towards the rendezvous point.

She slowed as she neared the junction. She though she heard some movement.

"Pink." Samantha said in a low decibel level.

"Flamingo." Ally answered.

Samantha went around the corner and was surprised to see Ally.

"Cam and Cammy went down into 'The Hole'." Ally said.

Ally gave her an update as to what they'd done so far.

Samantha told Ally there were at least two Grays between them and Young Jesse team. They quickly set off in pursuit.

Sheila and Camille wondered what the hold up for the Grays was. There could only be one explanation.

"They're waiting for more Grays." Camille said.

Sheila held her silenced M9 up. She was still prone on the ground.

"I can pop one for sure." Sheila said.

Camille held her M4 ready.

"Go ahead and do it and I'll rush the other ones." Camille said. "I'll continue on and take any more behind him."

Young Jesse could see Camille was about to make some kind of an assault. She didn't want to be JAFO.

"Let's go." Young Jesse said.

Young Jesse brought her M4 up and quickly moved past Gail, Hank and Larry. They were taken by surprise at her quick action. It was clear she was a 'go getter'.

Camille looked back and saw Young Jesse was almost to her position at a run. She moved out and headed for the corner.

"Shoot." Camille whispered as she passed by Sheila.

Sheila fired once and was up on her feet on a second. Camille already started to go before she'd even fired. She started after her. Much to her surprise Young Jesse was right next to her.

Hank and Larry were right behind her. Gail covered the rear.

Camille was surprise the second Gray tumbled into view and landed on the ground in front of her.

Young Jesse watched it happen as well.

"Black." Young Jesse said loudly.

"Panther." Was the reply.

Moments ago:

Samantha and Ally closed up on the next set of turns in the tunnel.

Samantha signaled for Ally to slow. She moved up and peeked around the corner. There was one Gray mostly around the corner and one mostly in back of it. She raised her silenced M9 to shoot. Right before she pulled the trigger the first Gray fell. She squeezed the trigger and the second Gray fell.

"Black." Young Jesse said loudly.

"Panther." Samantha said.

The Grays were shoved out of the way and the two teams formed into one.

They quickly went back the way Samantha and Ally came from.

Camille took Young Jesse aside as they hurried along. The other Terminators gave them plenty of space.

"What were you going to do?" Camille asked Young Jesse.

Young Jesse didn't like the rebuke.

"Back you up." Young Jesse said. "It was the right choice."

Camille didn't like the risk to Young Jesse.

"There were others to do that." Camille said.

Young Jesse pointed out the obvious.

"Is there always going to be?" Young Jesse asked. "That's not how you trained me. You trained me to act. Not hide. Skynet needs to know humans and machines are working together to insure its defeat."

Camille was proud of Young Jesse. She did do everything like she was trained. They'd been holding her back too much.

"I'm sorry." Camille said. "You're right."

Sheila and Ally took the lead.

Samantha fell back to talk to Hank and Larry.

"They need more drivers." Samantha said. "John Henry requested both of you."

When they went to the junction where Samantha killed the two Grays they ran down it at full speed. Samantha went with them. They passed the two deceased Grays and opened the door.

"Hank and Larry are about to go outside." Samantha said.

She didn't want any 'friendly fire' incidents.

"We have your location on drone footage." John Henry said. "They're clear."

Hank and Larry went out and Samantha secured the door and ran back. Young Jesse and Camille were there looking down the tunnel as she approached. They started out at a run to catch up to Sheila, Ally and Gail.

Thirty seconds later the team was together again. They headed for the spot where Ally left Cammy, Cam and Hanna.

John was asleep. Claire was in his bed naked. They both were. She was thrilled to be in his bed again.

She didn't want to move or wake him. She wanted to see how he would respond to her. She hoped it would be in a favorable manner.

She'd already touched herself several times to try a quell some of her excitement. She actually only made it more intense. She was very aroused right now.

Maybe she should just go down a little lower and 'start him up'.

Claire looked for a clock. She didn't even know what time it was. It was already the next day but she didn't know by how much.

She needed some release right now. She began to repeat her earlier actions.

John opened his eyes. There was a slight rhythmic motion to the bed. He thought it may be a mild earthquake at first. He was about to sit up when her heard a muffled gasp next to him. He looked over and Claire or Samantha was next to him. The sheet was pushed down to her waist. Her arm disappeared under it the sheet which still covered the lower part of her body. There was some motion going on there. He heard her stifle another gasp. It was clear what she was doing. It was all the 'boost' he needed. He was instantly ready.

He carefully pushed down the sheet. He was ready as he watched Claire. He knew it was her by her breathing. He watched her at work. She moaned again.

Claire felt a rush of pleasure. She knew she was pretty loud on the latest time. She opened her eyes and looked over at John. His eyes looked into hers. She saw the sheet was down, John was ready.

She rolled over on top of him and kissed him deeply. She let out a slight expression of joy as she found what she wanted. She broke the kiss and moved to a more upright position. She liked to have control of what happened.

John was always happy to go along for the ride.

He wondered when Claire arrived in his room. It didn't matter right now.