Chapter 1482
What Kind Of Machines
Mary and Laura searched for Leticia. She'd gotten out of the car when they decided to go back home.
Leticia was so worried about 'Sue'. She got out to go and assist her.
Mary was frustrated. She was the one who'd put everything into play. She'd put her old phone in the 'secret girls' SUV.
"This is all my fault." Mary said. "If I wasn't so nosy, none of this would have happened."
Laura thought it was Mary's fault too. She didn't want to say it, yet. If something happened to Leticia she might have to.
"I don't know what she was thinking." Laura said. "We were going to go back home. We determined this was a common sense test."
Laura thought at least she did anyway. She wasn't so sure about the others.
Mary wished it could be so easy. She'd only recently met Leticia on the cruise ship. Leticia was an old friend of Laura's.
"This is still on me." Mary said. "Any luck on reaching her?"
Laura tried her phone over and over. Nothing seemed to happen.
"It's like the phone doesn't work or something." Laura said.
Mary thought of some 'worse case' scenarios. Maybe the 'secret girls' wanted them dead. There was a way they wouldn't have to do it themselves.
"Maybe this was to lure us here to be caught by the bad guys. They could catch us and kill us." Mary said. "It would take care of the 'problem' for the 'secret girls'. Someone else would get the rap for it, if they were ever caught."
Laura thought it would take care of both accounts. She didn't think she'd caused any of the 'problems'. She did go along with what Mary did though. Look where she was now. She didn't believe the 'secret girls' would do anything so extreme to them.
"Maybe, but I'm not so sure about it." Laura said. "It was never the vibe I got from any of them. Leticia could see nothing but beauty and good in them."
Mary felt there was more than a little bit of deception there. There'd been some important information kept from them.
"You mean the girls where there's two of each one?" Mary asked. "It was why the 'same' girl seemed different at times. We didn't imagine that. Who could?"
It was a head shaker to Laura. How could there be so many of each one of them?
"I really can't explain it." Laura said. "I wondered if they're twins or clones."
Mary didn't think there was any kind of advanced technology twenty years ago. They could be part of some secret program. There were all kinds of things which went on behind the scenes. She wouldn't be surprised what was hidden away in different labs around the world. It could be anything from clones, to death causing pandemic viruses. There was one thing in particular which she couldn't quite figure out.
"Do you think Stephany is a clone of Sue and her twin sister?" Mary asked. "They were totally identical. Stephany was just younger."
Laura could see they even had the same moles. She didn't think identical twins would have the same moles. A younger sister surely couldn't either.
"I really don't know." Laura said.
Mary honked at a driver who cut in front of her. She normally would have flipped him off. Based upon the current circumstances, she decided not to. She didn't want to create another problem. They needed to find Leticia.
She wanted some answers. There was the place Leticia brought up a few times. It was like 'No man's land' or something. No, it was the 'Wastelands'.
"Search on your phone for the 'Wastelands'." Mary said. "We heard it mentioned it several times."
Laura looked. She didn't like what she found. The information was very disturbing.
"There were some reports out of several mental institutions. They were about patients claiming to know about the future." Laura said. "They talked about a computer system which went rogue and destroyed the planet. They claim soldiers and 'other operatives' were sent into the past to prevent it from happening. They claimed the rogue computer sent back machines to stop them."
Mary swallowed hard. There was a bad taste in her mouth right now.
"What kind of machines?" Mary asked.
Laura didn't like what she read.
"They were machines which looked like humans." Laura said. "They possessed great strength and couldn't be stopped easily with conventional weapons. They were ruthless killers."
Mary tried to think about it. It seemed like about half of what Laura just told her is what they'd already witnessed with the 'special girls'. Maybe they weren't secret agents at all.
"Do they mean the rogue computer sent back robots which looked like people?" Mary asked.
Laura looked away from her phone. The more she read, the more disturbing everything was.
"It says they were patterned after specific humans to infiltrate and replace them. It was to carry out the rogue computers bidding." Laura said. "No one knew they were machines. It says they were 'cyborgs', not just robots."
Mary tried to take in what she'd just heard. There were a lot of things bouncing around inside of her mind right now. It was all hard to process.
"So there were robots who looked like someone else already here?" Mary asked. "It must be a real person. How is a robot different from a cyborg?"
Laura looked it up to see what a cyborg was.
"They're more advanced than robots." Laura said. "Cyborgs are robots covered with organic tissue."
Mary tried to picture it.
"If it was some kind of living tissue, and it looked like someone, how could you tell it wasn't them?" Mary asked.
Laura didn't know. She was going to search further. She looked back at her phone. She became even more concerned.
"The story's gone." Laura said.
Mary looked over.
"Search again." Mary said.
Laura tried. Everything else was about old movies or novels.
"The story isn't there anymore." Laura said.
Mary figured the rogue computer was here now in this time period where it originated.
"Maybe the rogue computer erased the story." Mary said.
Her statement caused Laura a lot of worry. She wished she would have used Mary's old phone instead of her phone. Now the rogue computer knew who she was. She might be considered a threat now.
"Great." Laura said. "Now it knows I searched for information about it. I probably triggered some kind of search protocol and am now a target myself."
Mary thought about how the 'secret girls' beat the odds at cards all the time.
"I would have to think robots would be good at gambling." Mary said.
Laura swallowed hard.
"Good at gambling, super strong so they could pick someone up with one hand by the neck, and they never get tired…." Laura said.
Mary remembered some of the other things she'd witnessed herself.
"Like the rogue computer could control the elevators on the ship or make our phones not work…." Mary said.
Laura wanted Leticia's input on some of this.
"I sure wish Leticia was here." Laura said.
Mary wished she was too. She was more concerned about her well being at this point. She looked around. Since Leticia left on her own, it made her wonder about why she did it.
"How do we know she's not one of them?" Mary asked. "Maybe she was replaced by one of the robots."
Laura wasn't so sure robots, or cyborgs, would enjoy sex so much.
"Would robots be sexually active?" Laura asked.
Mary tried to put it all together.
"You said they were infiltrators." Mary said. "Can you think of a better way to infiltrate?"
It all seemed to be getting out of control to Laura.
"How do we even know if any of it's real or not?" Laura said. "It sounds fake based on what I know."
Mary saw it for the 'Catch 22' it was.
"We don't." Mary said. "Now with more information, we know even less."
Laura didn't want to get pegged as insane. She remembered it indicated where the information came from. It was an insane asylum.
"The people who talked about this stuff, all ended up in the nut house." Laura said.
Mary really wished she was back at home.
"What are we in the middle of?" Mary asked.
Mary and Laura were sure they bit off more than they could chew right now.
They kept looking for Leticia.
It didn't seem like any of it was going to end well for anyone.
One thing was for sure. No one would believe them if they said anything. They sure didn't want to end up in a padded cell if they told anyone.
Cameron allowed John one 'last day' for their honeymoon. She'd promised to make it the best honeymoon ever and she'd done so.
John was with Claire. They'd made love several times. They rested now as they snuggled and kissed. They were both very content and happy.
"This was everything I always wanted." Claire said. "This is what love is."
John and Claire shared a long slow tender kiss.
"I really don't know how this could ever be better." John said.
There was some movement by the bed.
"I do."
John and Claire both looked. They were taken by surprise.
Jesse stood next to the bed naked.
"We can do a 'three way' if it's what both of you want." Jesse said.
John wanted it. He didn't want to seem overly anxious or be rude to anyone. He would leave the decision up to the ladies. He looked at Claire.
"It's your call, Claire." John said. "I want you to feel special."
Claire looked at John and then at Jesse and then back at John. She'd never done a 'three way' with a male and another female.
"I'd like to try it." Claire said. "As long as you're good with it, I am too."
John felt a new rush of anticipation and excitement as he looked at both of the nude females.
"I'm in." John said.
Jesse smiled and looked down at John's groin area.
"You will be." Jesse said. "I can see things are 'reloaded' already."
Jesse climbed over Claire and gave her a kiss as she did. She passed over John and gave him a kiss too.
John wondered how it was going to work.
Jesse wanted to give John plenty of time to recharge. She wanted a good performance from him. She knew what would stimulate him immensely.
"John wants to see us together first." Jesse said.
Claire wondered about it. She was good with it.
"He does?" Claire asked. "OK."
John sucked in his breath slightly. It was what he wanted to see. He'd watched Vanna and Allison before.
"I'd like it." John said.
Jesse wanted to get warmed up first. She wanted a quickie right now.
"First he's going to knock one off in me." Jesse said.
Claire lightly moistened her lips. She understood Jesse and her would be the 'same' at then. They would both be freshly serviced. She wondered if Jesse wanted to try to get pregnant herself. She didn't know she already was.
All three of them knew things were going to be something special.
The B-25 Mitchell was parked on the tarmac at the Madera airport.
Cameron felt Camille laid into her pretty hard. She wasn't really sure why. It seemed to have been a good day up until then. Now her hand started to glitch. She didn't want the girls to see her with a malfunction. It was Camille's fault, or was it? Everything Camille said was true. She glared at Camille and headed for the rear hatch of the Mitchell.
"Get everyone ready for the start up and take off." Cameron said. "Then do it. It can be followed half a dozen 'touch and go' landings."
Cameron disappeared up the rear hatch and started to move to the tail gun position. She changed her direction and moved to the waist gun position instead.
Camille watched Cameron leave and shrugged her shoulders. She didn't think she'd done anything wrong other than call it like it was. Everything she'd said was true.
The girls arrived. They looked around for Cameron.
"Where did Cameron go?" Savannah asked.
Young Allison looked in back of them.
"We just saw her." Young Allison said.
Camille kept it simple. She didn't want to point out how flawed Cameron really was. She figured Cameron could do it on her own. She didn't need to mention it to anyone. She looked at the three girls and thought about what she'd said Cameron turned them into. They all look like schoolgirls. How many thousands were dead because of them, especially Young Allison? They'd even used nuclear weapons on more than one occasion. At least they been used underground. She decided to keep it simple.
"She wanted to check on a few things inside the Mitchell while we did the preflight check and took off." Camille said.
Camille laid out the game plan. Young Jesse would be the pilot. She offered to let Savannah be the copilot. Savannah declined.
Savannah and Young Allison would take the jump seats unless Cameron joined them in the front fuselage. Anna would take up observation from the top turret. She make sure nothing approached them from any direction. CamNet watched the sky around them as well.
Young Jesse, Savannah and Young Allison did a 'walk around'. They entered the front fuselage. Camille and Young Jesse strapped in and ran through the start up procedure.
Savannah was going to take a fire extinguisher out. It never hurt to play it safe on start up.
"Cameron is already out there." Camille said.
They checked to make sure it was 'clear'. Cameron gave them a thumbs up.
They all watched and listened. The first big radial engine began to turn over to clear the cylinders before Young Jesse gave it some spark. The big R2600 fired up with the usual massive cloud of gray smoke.
The second engine was started with the same procedure and results.
Cameron went back into the rear fuselage and closed the hatch. She said she was secured.
Savannah looked back to see her but couldn't.
She looked at Young Jesse and she was clearly thrilled. She checked around her.
Anna gave Young Jesse the all clear. She began to taxi forward.
Savannah was happy for Young Jesse. She looked back but would need to unhook to see anything.
Young Allison placed her hand on Savannah's leg.
"It's alright." Young Allison said. "She'll be fine."
Savannah nodded. She was aware of Cameron's idiosyncrasies. She knew it was always a dark path for Cameron. She didn't want her to go down it right now. Once they were airborne, she would go back and make sure.
Young Jesse went down the taxiway and lined up with the runway. She ran the engines up and released the brakes. The Mitchell shot forward.
Savannah briefly thought Young Jesse was going to try and get off in three hundred feet or less but she didn't. She used plenty of runway. The liftoff was smooth and gentle. She glanced over at Young Allison. She knew she was going to try to do it at some point. She would try to match what the Doolittle Raiders trained for.
The first man got out of the back of the van. He was in the process of adjusting his pants.
"Damn, they look sweet." The first man said. "They're all bound and secure."
The second man gave him a 'high five'.
"I'm just glad I get to go first this time." The second man said. "Normally I have to go last. Things aren't so hot by then."
The first man laughed.
"Today is your lucky day." The first man said.
The first man waited for the florist van to arrive. It was there now. It was what he wanted. The other van was just 'street trash' they'd collected. The florist van was sent to collect the 'cream of the crop'. They'd all heard what a knockout the new girls were going to be.
The florist van backed up next to the other van.
"This looks like all of our lucky day." The first man said. "The next meat wagon is already back."
The first man stopped adjusting his pants. They were going to be off in a minute anyway. It looked like he was about to get a little action.
Two more men came out of the building and headed for the florist van. The second man looked over at the florist van and entered the back of the first van. Maybe this was his lucky day. There were three females laid out side by side. He'd get to have his pick for once. Two of them looked homeless, but didn't look 'burnt out' yet. They looked to be about thirty, which meant they were probably only twenty. The street put 'years' on everyone fast. The third female was a drug addict. It was clear she needed a fix. She was the only pretty one of the three. He knew where he was going to start.
He took out three syringes. The goal was to make sure all the girls were hooked on drugs to keep them compliant. He could see the drug user wanted to say something.
"Don't scream or call out." The second man said. "If you do, you won't get your fix."
There was a look of terror in the drug user's eyes at the thought of not getting a fix.
The second man loosened the gag.
The drug user coughed.
"I'll do whatever you want as long as you keep me 'hooked up'." The drug user said. "The more you give me, the more I'll do. I can't live without my medicine. I'll do anything for it."
The second man liked how cooperative it seemed she would be. He was going to play it to the fullest. He'd give her a chance and see what she would do. Maybe he could get a 'girlfriend experience' out of it. He'd start out simple and see what she did.
"Give me a real kiss and I'll give you half of their dose as well." The second man said.
The drug user's eyes widened. She'd go for a heavy dose anytime. Those were the best. She didn't care anymore. She didn't even know how many men she'd been with. One time she woke up at a rave. There was a line with at least twenty men in it. They gave her another fix and she woke up the next day in an alley. She was really sore 'everywhere'.
"I'll do everything." The drug user said.
"Everything?" The second man asked.
"Everything you want." The drug user said.
The two homeless females looked over at what was happening between them. Maybe it was the way to play it. What was the point of getting beat up for nothing? It was going to happen anyway.
The second man bent down and the drug user kissed him. It was a nice kiss. He touched her and she kissed him more. It was a real kiss. He thought about some of his past experiences. He used to contribute to 'Nature's Treasury' on the street. When he got hooked up with his current gig, he didn't need to shell out cash anymore. He did have to put up with a lot of whining though.
"This is even better than paying for it." The second man said. "I'll actually get a response out of this. It's much better than to hear someone cry and whimper. It always slows me down."
The two homeless females figured they would probably fall into the latter category.
The first man went to open the back of the florist van. He was a little irritated the men in the front didn't get out and help them. It meant they'd probably already 'done' the four skanks in the back. It was probably what took them so long. They'd probably went twice on each of them.
Two of the men from inside came out to 'help'. They must have gotten word the four they'd just went to pick up were super hot.
One man planned to 'interview' the twins, just to see what was different, and hopefully one of the others. He'd need some time to do the fourth one.
He reached for the rear door to open it.
As soon as he lifted the door handle, he heard the side doors on the van open too. Now those lazy punks were going to get out to help. What a bunch of losers. He figured it would be pretty smooth sailing with the new girls at this point.
Both of the rear doors shot open with great speed and intense force. The one door slammed into him and sent him flying. His brain was unable to process everything which occurred at the speed it happened.
In a flash there were people who'd jumped out of the back of the van. He realized he was being drug inside. The other men were already gone. There were two people who opened the back of the other van.
He looked down at his right forearm. There were two bones sticking out of it and his hand hung uselessly in front of it.
It was a hit!
Were they all chicks?
Darkness overtook him.
Samantha was thrilled she would get to bottle feed Precious. She planned to do like she'd done before. She watched Jesse go and unbuttoned her top.
She decided to see where Jesse went first. She waited and listened. It sounded like Jesse was going to go to her room first. She went towards John's room instead. Maybe she would pass it and go look for Claire.
It looked like she was going to stop by Sarah's room but she moved on past John's room. Maybe not, she took a few more steps and turned around. She looked around and entered John's room.
Samantha smiled. Now Riley would have something to think about. She still didn't know Riley was actually in Sarah's room.
She used the shorter bottle so she could place it between her breasts as she fed Precious. She wanted Precious to have the same experience she did with Riley, Vanna and Jesse. She wanted it for herself too.
Summer didn't think John Henry was aware of the problem with Leticia. Maybe this was a test for her. She resisted the urge to glance up at the security monitor. If CamNet wanted to 'play', she would see where it led her. There was an operation underway. There were additional assets available. She could ask Bob's team or Jim's team to intercept Leticia.
It was clear Mary and Laura were searching for her. She could contact them and let them know exactly where Leticia was at.
The operation behind the janitorial front was just about to start. She wanted to follow it. There were body cams on all of the Metal girls. They all wore their protective vest. None of them wanted to suffer the same type of breast damage like Cameron used to.
She checked around for any other Terminators in the vicinity. There were no other teams close. She wondered if it was by design. She was going to need to make choices. They could be life and death choices. She didn't think it was the right way for CamNet to act. She might do a little something on her own to give CamNet a reminder. The operation started with the florist van and the Metal girls were moving.
The Metal girls were in motion. There was security footage inside the building. The Metal girls were already in there. She began to issue advisories and directions. She contacted Steve and Tom and asked for their assistance. She called Mary and Laura, but the phones didn't connect. She tried Leticia's number and there was nothing. She felt a little frustrated and irritated.
This wasn't the kind of test she thought should be performed with innocent people. She glanced at the security camera and knew CamNet was gambling with people's lives to test her. She wanted her to know she wasn't pleased with the test. It didn't matter. She would do what she could on her own and with the resources available. She would give CamNet her own test later on.
She stayed on the operation with the Metal girls. Their team came first. She held Bob's and Jim's teams in reserve for the Metal girls. She didn't dispatch one of them to help Leticia.
Leticia neared the florist shop on foot.
It wasn't where the Metal girls were. Leticia didn't know it. There was another florist's van parked in front of the building. It looked like she was going to approach it.
She thought of having a drone fire a missile into the center of the florist shop's roof and destroy the building. It would certainly send a message to everyone. She needed to think about collateral damage. They were in the middle of the city.
Leticia may be too close. She didn't know what was inside the building. She saw the three girls in the back of the van Gail and Holly opened. There could be more detainees inside the florist shop.
One of the drones picked up a black sedan which may be headed to one of the two locations. She alerted Jim's team to be ready for a possible interdiction. She was ready to play hardball.
Sarah and Riley were both very content. They'd playfully moved to the shower now and washed each other off. They both agreed they were going to do more of the same thing. It was just a little good clean fun with friends sharing with each other.
They both took a long look at each other in the bathroom as they dried each other off.
Riley didn't feel like a second class person any more. She felt the same as everyone else. She'd needed to carry the stigma of what another version of her did. She was free of that yoke now. She hoped she was anyway. So far everyone made it clear to her they always wanted to be with her. It really made her hate Future Riley.
It was time she returned and checked up on Precious. She'd really neglected her today. It was unlike her, but so much happened, and then happened again.
Now she'd been with John's mother a few times, she really wondered what it would be like to be with John. She'd always heard about the mother-son thing. She would really like to give it a go. She didn't know if they would actually share with each other or not. The idea really seemed to stimulate her. She needed to keep it under control.
She shared a long kiss with Sarah as she left her room. She really thought about going by John's room. All the other girls seemed to get a 'turn'. Maybe she would like it too. She fantasized about being with John and then getting pregnant again. She decided she wouldn't tell anyone it was John's baby. Sometimes she wondered if Precious wasn't his baby anyway. Maybe when Cameron 'helped her out', she'd cut a few corners and used good genetic stock instead of Derek's damaged genetic material.
She realized she was standing in front of John's door again. She wondered if Cameron would actually kill her or not if she did it with John. She didn't think so.
She looked around and turned the handle.
One time couldn't hurt anything could it?
CamNet expected new leads about the 'off the books' operation. She wanted the male Terminator to be able to respond to some of those before he dealt with the other building. The situation with the Resistance members was much more fluid.
There were currently two locations identified. One was a front as a janitorial service. The other one was a florist shop. There'd been some phone traffic earlier. She was aware there was another location. A new development indicated there were some suspicious vehicles in the area.
CamNet's Terminator was directed to a new location. It was related to the incident going down with the Resistance group.
CamNet provided Lena and Tina with the direction she wanted them to go. The female Terminators were directed to continue on the path they'd been going. They pulled out of the gas station and made a left hand turn. They could see the Gray behind them. They didn't know if he would go left, right or straight. He would probably stop for fuel as well.
The drone image showed the Gray pulled into the gas station two minutes after they'd left.
The six bikers were still at the fuel pump where they were earlier.
The drone image also showed the main group bikers were closing rapidly on the female Fanatic.
They started in the direction they were directed to go by CamNet at a moderate speed. They didn't want to go too far ahead in case the Gray went either left or right at the junction.
Lena checked her rear view mirror
"I think there's less than a fifty percent chance he'll come in this direction." Lena said.
Tina checked over the drone images on each of the three possible routes. She also checked on the drone image over the building which was blown sky high earlier in the day.
"So far no one has arrived to investigate what happened to the building." Tina said.
Lena hoped there would have been a survivor.
"If anyone was in any of the other buildings, they've never come out." Lena said.
Tina kept track of any possible lead they could use.
She watched as the bikers closed in on the female Fanatic. They seemed to be in a much bigger hurry now.
"I don't care for the new turn of events." Tina said. "The sudden hurry of the bikers seems troublesome."
CamNet's female Terminators continue their slow ride forward.
The Gray pulled into the gas station. He was a little irritated to see the motorcycle riders were still there. He noticed what looked like another group of them coming in the distance as he made his turn into the gas station. He hoped they weren't from a rival gang. Whenever there was a large number from one biker gang as compared to another, there was usually trouble.
He pulled up to the gas pumps away from where they were at. He didn't like the way the six bikers looked at him as he went into the building. He went inside and gave the attendant some money. He kept an eye on them while he was inside. He exited and went back out to his vehicle. He started the pump and looked around. He could hear a thunderous roar in the distance. He could see the other group of bikers was almost there.
As soon as the pump stopped, he put the nozzle back onto it. He quickly put his gas cap on and got back into his car. He started it and drove out of the gas station as the first of the large group of bikes began to turn into it. He took one more look at the six bikers who'd been waiting there. They all gave him a dirty look.
The Gray reached over and touched his weapon. If they wanted to dance, he was game. He was ready to show them how it was done in the future. He didn't care for Scavengers, even if they weren't Scavengers yet, in any timeline.
The female Fanatic watched the Gray's turn signal come on up ahead. It indicated he was going to make a left. They weren't sure as to which establishment he was about to turn into or if it was the direction he was about to go.
Jill concentrated on the Gray in front of them. She checked her rear view mirror. She became even more concerned.
"There's a large group of bikers coming up fast." Jill said.
The female Fanatic had been distracted as well. She quickly turned around and looked.
"They seem to be in a really big hurry." The female Fanatic said. "Pull to the right, but don't go into the dirt. Give them plenty of room."
The female Fanatic checked her assault rifle again. She moved the hand grenades up. She put them on each side of her.
The roar of the motorcycles increased dramatically as they closed. It was soon extremely thunderous.
Jill felt her heart pounding in her chest. She touched the pistol next to her. She was ready to use it. She wasn't going to let what happened in her dream, happened for real. So far there hadn't been any aggressive moves on the part of the bikers.
"I think they're going to pass us." Jill said.
The female Fanatic glanced back. She could see the bikers forming up into pairs as they moved into the oncoming lane to pass them. They'd given them plenty of room.
The first pair was alongside them in seconds. They didn't slow down. They went past them and moved over in front of them. They gave them plenty of room. Each group went by in pairs.
Six pairs of motorcycles went by them. They continued on down the highway at a rapid pace.
Jill was glad to see them keep going. She noticed something behind her which bothered her. There were still four motorcycles behind them. They stayed behind them by several hundred feet. They made no attempt to close on them or pass them.
The female Fanatic didn't care for the new turn of events. She looked at the small collection of buildings ahead.
"There's a general store up ahead." The female Fanatic said. "Turn into the lot, and park on the side, don't go around to the back."
They watched as the Gray pulled out of the gas station. The large group of bikes up ahead begin to pull in. The four bikers remained behind them. They saw the direction the Gray was headed. They didn't believe he saw them because of the motorcycles in front of them. They began to turn into the gas station, even as he drove away.
Jill activated her turn signal. She began to slow. She turned into the parking lot and pulled up alongside of the General Store. The four bikers behind them slowed as they slowed. They went straight. They didn't turn into the General Store parking lot. They joined their compatriots at the gas station.
The female Fanatic kept an eye on them. She could see them look back in their direction as they entered the gas station.
"How's the fuel gauge?" The female Fanatic asked.
Jill could see they had a fair amount.
"It's just over half." Jill said.
The female Fanatic was sure they were on a one way trip. It didn't seem wise to her to attempt to get gas with the group of bikers at the station.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 22 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Cameron and Young Allison headed for San Antonio. They still had a few more hours to go before they reached it. They would spend the night there.
Young Allison followed all of the posted speed limits along the way. They spotted a few law enforcement personnel in various locations. They didn't have any 'identification' with them other than the two firearms they'd acquired.
She tried to listen to the radio a few times. There were some channels with country western music on them. They heard intermittent news reports about the events earlier in the day. It was soon announced the 'lone gunman' had been taken into custody after killing a police officer.
"We could have prevented the police officer from being killed." Young Allison said.
Cameron was aware it was how the events played out.
"If it wouldn't have been him, it would have been someone else." Cameron said.
Cameron's temporal experience seemed to indicate there were certain 'tides in time'. More than once she'd been drawn to a spot other than where she intended to go. There was always something happening. It was on one of those events where the Duplicate set of girls, including Duplicate Cameron, ended up on River's spaceship. They'd been hiding behind a large asteroid at the time to avoid a patrol of the authorities.
Young Allison glanced over at Cameron. She could see the glazed look in her eyes. She wanted to help her refocus.
"How much longer until we get to San Antonio and where will we go once we get there?" Young Allison asked. "Summer always said she wanted to go there. She didn't specify where to me. Did she ever say anything to you?"
Cameron already looked at the map. She'd brought it along for Young Allison sake. It was a dated map. It showed all of the roads they needed to take to get to where they were going.
She reflected on some of her interactions with Summer. She was sure many of them weren't even verbal. She believed Summer was actually more advanced than River was. She'd also come to believe she was probably more intelligent as well. Intelligence of such magnitude said a lot. She was aware Summer was able to bring down more than one version of Skynet. Reports indicated she almost played with them, and taunted them, as she did. She didn't think it was necessarily cruelty. It was more to see how the different versions of Skynet would respond to being terminated by a human. It seemed to be an extremely negative experience for all of them.
Cameron explained to Young Allison how long it would be and what they would do once they arrived.
It wasn't too much longer before they were on the outskirts of San Antonio.
Cameron didn't want to hang onto the car any longer than necessary. She debated on whether she wanted to take a bus or the train out of San Antonio. She thought the bus would be more inconspicuous. She wanted Young Allison to have some comfort. She knew the temporal ride was always a little tough on humans, especially the first time. So far Young Allison hadn't shown any ill effects. She figured there were some, but Young Allison wouldn't admit to them. She was in prime physical condition.
She gave Young Allison directions to reach the railroad tracks. They parallel them for a short distance until they reached the station. Cameron was aware there were various local trains and non priority trains. There was also the long distance train from New Orleans to Los Angeles. It was the premium train on the line.
Young Allison pulled up to the station. She was impressed with its appearance. Even if it was a little bit run down, it was still magnificent.
"Wow." Young Allison Said. "This is a lot fancier than I expected to see."
Cameron was aware the interstate highway system, and the jet airliner, drove more than a few nails into the passenger train's coffin. It would be the loss of the postal contracts a few years later which would be the final blow. It was a few years after the major loss of revenue when Amtrak was founded to save rail service around the nation. The logo looked like an arrow without a head. It soon became known as the 'Pointless Arrow'. It was the way many politicians viewed the federal funding of the passenger rail system. At one point it was determined it would be less expensive to buy every rail patron an airline ticket instead of providing passenger rail service.
"There was a time when railroads took pride in their passenger service." Cameron said. "After World War II, all of the major railroads bought new equipment through the mid Fifties. They spent millions of dollars on the finest equipment ever to ride the rails, only to watch their clientele fade away in masses. Instead of taking a few days to a week to go from point A to point B, it could be done on an aircraft overnight. The arrival of the jet changed it to a few hours."
Cameron hoped the level of service hadn't faded too badly on the train she wanted to take. It would be in tomorrow morning just before noon. She was able to purchase two first class tickets with the money she had.
Young Allison used the restroom. She hadn't gone since she'd used the restroom at the clothing store. Cameron informed her she'd secured passage on the train for tomorrow. They could still take a bus tonight or take the local train. The premier train would overtake it before they reached the New Mexico border.
Cameron told her she wanted her to get a nutritious meal and a good night sleep.
Young Allison looked at the map Cameron gave her. She saw something of interest to her which was very close.
"Will we have time to visit 'The Alamo'?" Young Allison asked. "It's only about a half of a mile from here."
Cameron tilted her head slightly.
"Of course we can." Cameron said. "It's a very significant location."
She wanted to try to allow Young Allison to visit as many cultural and historical sites as possible on her stay in the past. She did want to get to California so she could get to one of the safe houses Cammy and Sheila set up.
Cameron could see there was a nearby hotel. It didn't appear to be the greatest, but it was close to where they were at and where they wanted to go. She took over the wheel of the T-Bird and headed towards it.
What Kind Of Machines
What will be the verdict
As the jury of time convenes
One can only hide for so long
Behind lies and smokescreens
The truth is always the truth
It can't be shoved into ravines
It will only buy some time
The reality still demeans
Good will and feelings
Are from what one slowly weans
It's accompanied by grief and sorrow
As the tears flow in streams
The direction the wind blows
Is how a tree bends and leans
Such is the way of life
Is how it often seems
A heart and mind are replaced
With machines in one's dreams
It's the nightmares which reveal
What kind of machines
Nobody
