Chapter 1561

Bit Players

Cam and Cammy went down the cable and were inside the elevator car at this point.

Cammy carefully pried the doors apart an inch. It was still total darkness. She shoved them the rest of the way open.

There was nothing but solid rock in front of them.

"What the Hell?" Cammy asked.

Cam reached out and touched the rock wall.

"They must have raised the elevator car up to prevent someone down there from using it." Cam said. "If it was up from the opening, no one could get in it or try or climb up the cable either."

Cammy thought about it.

"It must mean there are Grays down there. They think they'll try to flee." Cammy said.

Cam thought about it a little more.

"They might have a way to have some better control over the elevator than just an up or down button." Cam said. "Maybe it's hooked to a computer."

Cammy figured it was worse.

"Maybe it's hooked to Skynet." Cammy said. "Maybe the elevator is just 'stuck."

From the information they'd gathered so far, it seemed when the version of Skynet in the mine sent out the 'distress call', the virus Summer created was transmitted with it to everything the computer was in contact with. It was probably why the blast doors weren't closed and the HK Tracks were just sitting there and not doing anything.

"Maybe the elevator was on its way back up when the virus confused this version of Skynet and stopped everything from working." Cam said. "Everything was pretty wide open when we arrived. This place should have been buttoned up."

Cammy knew Summer was a force to be reckoned with. It could be this version of Skynet thought everything was secured when it wasn't.

"If one, or both, of the Terminators here tried to interface with the computer to see if they could find the problem, they should be afflicted too." Cammy said. "We can hope they are anyway."

There was some noise above them.

Cammy and Cam pointed their M4 carbines up at the opening in the top of the elevator.

A coil of electrical wire dropped onto the floor of the elevator between them.

"Purple." Ally said.

Cammy gave the recognition word.

"Chimpanzee." Cammy said.

There was a thud on the top of the elevator and Ally looked down inside the hatch opening.

Cammy's and Cam's weapons were point at her head.

"It's nice to see you too." Ally said. "If those are phallic representations, you're out of luck. I still prefer 'tacos'."

There was a second thud on the roof of the elevator as Sheila landed.

Ally dropped inside the elevator followed by Sheila.

Sheila looked at the open doors of the elevator and rock wall.

"What's this?" Sheila asked.

Ally touched the rock wall.

"It looks like 'The Twilight Zone'." Ally said. "You've entered a realm where all doors lead to nowhere…."

Sheila and Ally got Cam and Cammy up to speed on everything which happened at the surface so far.

"What's this electrical wire for?" Cammy asked.

She noticed Sheila and Ally were tethered by more of the same.

"It was in case there was some kind of energy field and we fell off of the elevator cable." Ally said.

Cam didn't like the sound of it.

"What would have happened to us?" Cam asked.

Ally thought it was self evident.

"We would have used the other wire to attach to your smashed chassis and have you hauled back up." Ally said. "Hopefully your chips could have been recovered"

Cammy didn't like the prospect either.

"Wouldn't you have been affected too at that point?" Cammy asked.

Ally and Sheila looked at each other.

"Maybe so." Sheila said. "At least we wouldn't have impacted with the bottom."

Cammy wasn't impressed.

"Thanks." Cammy said.

Cam looked at the roll of heavy wire.

"We can use this to lower ourselves down from here." Cam said.

Sheila looked at the close clearance between the elevator car and the wall.

"I'm the thinnest one here. I can't fit through such a narrow gap." Sheila said. "I don't think 'Twiggy' is coming either."

Cammy already thought about the space shortage.

"There's just a little more than a foot of useable space around each of the four sides of this elevator car." Cammy said. "Watch this."

Cammy went over to the open elevator door and held one side of it with her right hand and pushed against the rock wall with the other hand. There was a 'thud' sound as the elevator was shoved against the far wall. A gap just over eighteen inches wide was available at the bottom of the door and the rock wall now. The elevator was at a slight angle. There was enough room for them to pass through this way.

"It will work." Sheila said.

Cammy was ready to go. She picked up the roll of wire.

"We didn't have any rope or this wire before." Cammy said. "Now we do. Boost me up."

Cam lifted Cammy part way up through the roof hatch of the elevator. She attached the heavy wire to the support for the cable on the hoist and the elevator car. She didn't want the wire to run through the elevator car itself. She needed to figure the elevator car could move at any moment. It would raise a lot of questions as to what the wires were for.

"Go to the door and catch the cable." Cammy said.

Sheila moved to the door and caught the coil of wire.

Ally and Sheila quickly unhooked from their wires and handed them up to Cammy who also dropped them over the side.

There were now three wires available. Two were attached to the top area they left from. One was attached to the hoist cable itself at the junction with the attachment on the elevator car roof.

Cam lowered Cammy back down.

"There's someone coming from up above." Cammy said. "It looks like two people."

They wondered who it was. There weren't many choices.

"I hope it's not Young Jesse." Sheila said.

They all hoped it wasn't.

John Henry was worried about the Metal girls who were headed down into 'The Hole'.

Summer was as well.

"Can Camille and Gail haul the elevator car up by hand?" Summer asked.

John Henry figured both of them could. They would need to run the cable through the brake if they did in case it started to slip or fall.

"I believe they could." John Henry said. "I would prefer such a scenario not need to be used."

Summer didn't know if they could control it any other way.

"It was just a thought." Summer said. "Let's get the Blackhawk ready."

Ned and Wes were given the go ahead to push the Blackhawk away from the executive transport 727. The UH-60 sat on wheels as opposed to skids. It was much easier to move around in this manner.

"It looks like we're done with this gig." Ned said.

Wes nodded.

"Secure the side door and we will use the airstair." Wes said. "Whoever they send to replace us will need to use it for easier boarding."

Ned and Wes went back through the fuselage. They took another look at all the sleeping nude girls as they passed. They all captured plenty of images to review later on, along with the video files. They reached the aft galley and opened the rear door which led to the airstair.

"I'll close the rear door and secure it once you're out after I raise the airstair." Jesse said.

Ned and Wes both turned around quickly. They were a little startled she was there. There was a silenced M9 in one hand and a Taser in the other. All she wore was a smiled on her face. She was naked.

"I see you don't miss much." Ned said.

Jesse tipped her head back towards the bedrooms.

"I see you two didn't either." Jesse said. "Just ask me and I show you everything if you really want to see it. I'll even let you touch everything."

Ned and Wes looked at each other. They'd liked the idea.

"We need to push the Blackhawk away from the jet so it won't be so loud when we start it." Wes said.

Jesse was a little worried. Why did they need to start the helicopter?

"Is everything alright?" Jesse asked. "We're blacked out on the information here."

Ned didn't want to get into the details.

"Everything is fine." Ned said.

Ned and Wes quickly left so they didn't have to answer anymore questions.

Jesse waited until they stepped off of the airstair before she retracted it.

"Stop by sometime for a real look." Jesse said as the airstair rose.

She secured the rear door. When she turned around Allison and Vanna were there. They were armed as she was and wore the same thing, nothing.

"No one sleeps sound after they've lived in the Wastelands." Vanna said.

The three girls from the future knew Ned and Wes checked them out twice. They'd all experienced worse things than someone looking at them nude, it was nothing new. There was little privacy in the tunnels and bunkers in the future.

Samantha and Hanna started down with a direct wire communication link.

They made quick progress. They soon reached the top of the elevator. It was empty inside.

"Where'd they go?" Samantha asked.

Hanna looked at the narrow gap.

"They must have pushed the elevator car off to the side to squeeze through there." Hanna said. "I see the wires hanging down."

Samantha checked the three wires which went over the side of the elevator. All three of the wires were still taunt.

"They're still using them." Samantha said.

Hanna thought it was better than smashed into the ground at the bottom of the shaft.

"Let's hope they're not dangling in dead space." Hanna said.

Hanna and Samantha shoved the elevator car off to the rear side and squeezed through the gap. Each on held the elevator car off to the side for the other to pass.

They sent Camille, Gail and Young Jesse a progress report.

Young Jesse was worried for the Metal girls who went down into 'The Hole'.

"I want to have a way to raise or lower the elevator." Young Jesse said.

Gail and Camille looked at the controls.

"Everything is locked up." Camille said.

Young Jesse wanted them to 'fix' it.

"Disconnect everything and rewire it if you need to." Young Jesse said. "I want it to function. Make it work from up here."

She wondered if they could use one of the HK Tracks to pull the cable up or lower it down.

Camille said it would work. They would lose communications again if they moved one of the HK Tracks. They both were equipped with a powerful transmitter.

Hanna gave them another progress report. She told them about the big forklift. It was at the first blast door.

"I'll go get it." Young Jesse said.

Camille didn't want Young Jesse to go off on her own.

"I'll go." Camille said. "You stay here with Gail."

Camille took off at a run.

Young Allison and Anna waited for something to happen with the damaged HK drone. So far nothing changed.

"It will be light soon." Anna said.

Young Allison knew it was going to be a problem.

"It will force our hand or theirs." Young Allison said.

Anna went over their options.

"We can do nothing and someone may find and report the HK drone. We can keep waiting to see what happens or we can send Ned and Wes after it now."

Young Allison didn't want to leave the girls at the jet without Terminator protection.

"We can send Brian and Randy after it." Young Allison said. "It will be dawn as they arrive if they leave now. They can go back and pick up the Huey."

Anna knew the risk of the HK drone playing possum.

"Do you want to hit it again with 'metal hail'?" Anna asked. "We can make sure it's destroyed or severely disabled."

Young Allison hoped to capture it intact. With the drone subassemblies they'd just recovered, they could get it flying again for their team.

"I'm not sure." Young Allison said.

Young Allison began to wonder why Anna didn't question her about sending Brian and Randy after the HK drone, unless they were already on the way there. She quietly checked the drone status around the house. There were four of their drones around them right now. It was highly unusual.

"How long ago did Brian and Randy leave?" Young Allison asked.

Anna only found out herself a few minutes ago.

"It was as soon as the HK drone was first damaged." Anna said. "CamNet kept some of our drones from earlier around the area. She didn't want to make a big deal about it."

Anna was filled in on the plan by CamNet. She filled Young Allison in.

Young Allison saw it for what it was.

"This has 'Summer' written all over it." Young Allison said.

Anna could see it now too.

"She does seem to play the game about two moves ahead of everyone else." Anna said.

Young Allison always knew Summer would be superior to all of them.

"She's the real future of the Resistance." Young Allison said. "We're all just 'bit players'."

Cammy lowered herself down on the heavy gauge electrical wire like a rope. She constantly monitored her systems to make sure she wasn't caught up in some kind of an energy field. It could either be the work of Skynet, or some Skynet equipment which was about to overload and go critical. It would most likely result in an explosion. She'd experienced similar things before.

She left the elevator car a few hundred feet ago. She began to wonder if she missed an opening. She paused and replayed her scans. She also did another diagnostic to make sure she wasn't being affected by an energy field.

Cammy looked up. Cam was twenty feet above her. Ally was twenty feet above Cam. Sheila brought up the rear another twenty feet above Ally.

She spotted something down about thirty more feet. I was a crack with light.

Bingo.

Cam signaled for everyone above her to slow down as she did herself. She was pleased the bottom of the shaft was about three feet lower than the closed doors of the elevator exit. It would allow her to stand and walk right up to the crack for an easier look inside. Cam, Ally and Sheila all joined her.

"There's someone else coming down." Sheila whispered. "They just moved the elevator car off to the side."

The Metal girls all looked up.

"I hope' it's not Young Jesse." Cam whispered.

Cammy looked through the crack in the elevator doors. She could see nothing of value. The area was dimly lit. It might be a good thing for their entry unobserved.

She took out her phone to see if she could stick her hand through the gap in the doors if she made it wider and shoot some video. It didn't work. There was definitely some kind of jamming field in effect, or something running out of control. She moved all her limbs. She didn't detect any sluggishness. She was good so far. She'd been in a couple of places where the problem only got worse until there was a catastrophic failure.

Cam moved up alongside of Cammy.

"Let's each pull a door open four inches." Cam whispered.

Ally moved behind Cam. Sheila moved behind Cammy. They were all behind the doors. Ally and Sheila pointed their M-4 carbines at a twenty degree angle inward from opposite directions. Cam held her Taser in her free hand. Cammy held her silenced M9 in her free hand. The doors opened smoothly in three seconds.

Cammy cautiously poked her head out. It was clear around them.

Cam and Cammy opened the doors so there was a three foot gap. Ally and Sheila went through. Cammy followed them. Cam stayed where she was at and closed the doors. She would wait for whoever was on their way down. It looked like Hanna was the closest. She couldn't tell who was above Hanna yet.

There were two hostile Terminators down there and some version of Skynet.

Ally and Sheila fanned out on each side. Cammy went up the middle. She held her silenced M9 in one hand and her Taser in her other hand now.

The three of them moved forward. They passed by a couple of dark openings. They followed the light.

Hanna was on her way down the shaft. Samantha was behind her. She spotted three girls at the bottom exit out of the shaft. One of them stayed behind.

"It looks like we have about two hundred feet to go." Hanna said.

Samantha looked down.

"This location is 'bunker buster' proof." Samantha said.

Hanna knew they brought along an 'Ace'.

"It depends on where the bunker is busted from." Hanna said.

Samantha knew this location needed to be destroyed, even if they pulled the hard drives. Skynet's forces were here once. They'd be back.

"Your point is taken." Samantha said. "I'll let them know up top to send the package down."

Hanna wanted to make sure they secured the area.

"Let's see what's at the bottom first." Hanna said.

Gail worked on the elevator controls.

"I think I have it." Gail said.

Young Jesse looked over at her.

"The Skynet computer down there is tied up with Summer's virus. It's fighting to survive right now." Gail said. "I've routed control of the elevator solely to this panel."

Young Jesse was glad to hear it.

"What about the power?" Young Jesse asked. "Can Skynet get to it and cut it?"

Gail didn't think they could prevent Skynet from shutting the power off.

"I think it's most likely." Gail said.

Young Jesse was worried.

"Beautiful." Young Jesse said.

Camille ran out towards where the forklift was at. She passed the inner blast doors and the first HK Track. She made her way through the zigzag and neared the outer set of blast doors.

She thought she spotted some movement.

More Grays, or even worse, hostile Terminators would be something they could do without right now.

"I may have a hostile on the east side." Camille said.

The word was received inside the Young bunker and at The Command Center.

Young Jesse looked at Gail when they received the warning from Camille.

"Go help her." Young Jesse said.

Gail didn't want to leave Young Jesse alone.

"I need to stay with you." Gail said.

Young Jesse pointed out the obvious.

"The threat isn't here." Young Jesse said. "Stop it before it gets here."

They heard gunfire in the distance. There was the distinct sound of a minigun firing. It fired again a few seconds later.

"Go." Young Jesse said. "Or I will."

Gail frowned and took off at a run.

Young Jesse drug the backpack nuke off to the side over in front of the spot in the shaft where the elevator door would open. She armed her Taser and brought her M4 into firing position. She was protected on three sides with metal around her. It also limited her view.

Cammy's team heard males talking behind them. They were headed for the elevator shaft. So far they'd remained undetected.

"I don't think it's there." The first Gray said. "I checked earlier."

"Robby said to check again." The second Gray said.

"Why didn't he do it?" The first Gray asked.

"He was too busy fooling with the 'Metal Bitch'." The second Gray said. "Something happened to her when she tried to fix Skynet."

"If something happens to Robby, I'm 'doing' the 'Metal Bitch'." The first Gray said. "We'll pull their chips if they both go offline. I don't want either of them to 'flip' on us. I've seen it before, man, nobody knows why."

"What if we get stuck down here?" The second Gray asked.

"You saw what the 'Metal Bitch' looks like. We'll die happy." The first Gray said. "I've got 'wood' now just thinking about it."

"TMI, dude." The second Gray said. "I'll get some too."

The two Grays arrived at the elevator and pushed the buttons. Nothing happened.

"See, dude." The second Gray said. "I told you it wasn't nothing."

The first Gray tried to force the doors open. Nothing happened.

"Help me." The first Gray said.

The two Grays managed to open the outer elevator doors a foot. There was nothing there but empty space.

The first Gray put his head inside and looked up. He looked around inside too before he pulled his head out.

"I can't see anything but rock." The first Gray said.

The Grays pushed the buttons again and nothing happened. They closed the outer elevator doors and left.

"That was a waste of time." The second Gray said.

They Grays moved away from the elevator and went back the way they'd come.

Cammy sent Sheila and Ally after them. She figured they would lead them somewhere important. She continued down the main passageway.