Chapter 1514
Lake Tahoe
Cam led the group through the darkness of the mine on the Level One passageway. The ground was littered with debris and fallen rocks.
Bob looked around them. He touched the top of the passageway.
"This area is unstable." Bob said.
Everyone tried not to touch anything on the sides or the top of the passageway. They were afraid if they disturbed anything, it would result in a collapse or cave-in. More than likely, anything which was going to collapse on its own, already accomplished it. There were several massive earthquakes in the outlying area over the years. The mine made it through all of those. There were several sections of it, which probably didn't fare as well as the rest of it.
Cam checked the diagram. It gave them a good representation of what they may encounter.
"There should be a sloped shaft. It goes down to Level Two. It should be coming up." Cam said.
There were some rotted timbers on the ground ahead. Cam went to step over them.
Gail reached out and stopped Cam.
"I detect a downward draft." Gail said.
Cam paused and detected it as well.
"There's a shaft of some type here." Cam said.
It was in the wrong spot from the one they'd expected to find. It was something different. It wasn't on their diagram.
Bob and Jim carefully moved the timbers. Two of them broke into little more than splinters when they set them down. There was no strength left in the rotted wood. The wooden timbers which lined the passageway were in no better condition.
Cam moved forward and looked.
"It's a vertical shaft." Cam said. "I can't tell how far it goes down."
She took a small pebble and dropped it down. It was several seconds before there was an impact sound they could barely hear.
"It goes down several hundred feet." Jim said.
The ground around them jolted and then shook some. They heard a muffled explosion from inside the small shaft they looked down. A quantity of dust emanated from the gaps between the wooden timbers above and around them.
"Someone is blasting inside the mine." Bob said.
Dirt and small rocks drifted and fell from the top of the passageway.
Cam looked both ways down the length of the passageway.
"It explains the condition of this area a little better." Cam said. "Since this area is abandoned and sealed off, they don't know the damage being done here."
"… rock in the … part of the … network." John Henry said.
The transmission was garbled.
They attempted to contact him. None of them could reach him.
Gail looked back at the way they'd come. There was movement in the blackness.
"What is it?" Gail asked.
The other three Terminators all looked.
The darkness seemed to shimmer some.
"It's a dust cloud." Cam said. "Let's move."
Bob made sure everyone made it past the narrow shaft.
"I think there was a small cave-in from the direction we came." Jim said.
Cam moved ahead with less caution. She wanted to find the sloping shaft.
Bob hung back a little. He watched the dust cloud get sucked down the narrow shaft they'd uncovered. Very little of the dust cloud passed beyond the narrow shaft. He wondered if the ventilation shaft they'd reopened, now played a factor in what was happening. The area they were currently in may have been cut off from all outside air flow for decades.
He hurried to catch up to the others. He didn't see them. He stopped to listen. There was another jolt and more dust and small rocks fell from the top of the passageway. The explosion noise they heard earlier was less audible once they were away from the vertical shaft.
Jim felt and heard the new detonation. He could see Gail and Cam in front of him. He looked back but couldn't detect Bob. He should have been right behind him.
"Bob's gone." Jim said.
Cam was back to him in a second.
"Where'd he go?" Cam asked.
Jim used all of his vision spectrums.
"He's just gone." Jim said.
Cam took out her phone and turned on the light. All she could see was the dust cloud behind them. It moved very slowly.
"He must have fallen down the shaft." Gail said.
Cam turned around and started back the way they'd come from.
"You two stay here for now." Cam said. "If you don't hear from me in two minutes, something is wrong. Go to the next air shaft and try to make your way out."
Jim and Gail looked at each other.
"What about Bob and you?" Gail asked.
Cam neared the dust cloud. She looked back over her shoulder.
"We'll most likely be terminated." Cam said.
Two seconds later she vanished.
"I lost her on thermal." Jim said.
Gail scanned too.
"Inferred shows nothing either." Gail said.
Jim and Gail looked at each other.
"I'm not leaving without them, Savannah wouldn't." Gail said.
Claire passed by Young Jesse's room. She peeked in. Vanna and Young Jesse both just finished. Vanna rolled off of Young Jesse and rotated around. They shared a long kiss. It was fueled by each other's earlier actions.
Claire coughed.
Vanna and Young Jesse both looked over.
"I can see where you just came from." Vanna said.
Claire looked at her robe and smiled. She looked at Young Jesse.
"You can say that again." Claire said. "Jesse's up if she wants it. I'm on my way to see Jesse for some dessert. She'll be headed there soon enough herself."
Young Jesse looked at Vanna.
Vanna didn't think Young Jesse needed to seek her approval.
"It's fine." Vanna said. "I was there, so was Allison. I recommend you get it while you can. When Cameron is back, it's 'Game Over'."
Young Jesse smiled. She wanted to look nice. She didn't want to go there naked or in a robe.
"I want to go there dressed." Young Jesse said.
Claire wished them well and headed off to Jesse's room. She looked in the gap of the open door. Jesse was on top of Allison. It excited her to watch them. It looked pretty much the same as it did in the other room. Jesse liked to be in control. They both finished up.
She knew she was about to take her daughter's place. Jesse could compare them as John just did a short time ago. She knew she could please Jesse better than Allison could.
Jesse lifted her head up after Allison finished.
"Care to join the party, love?" Jesse asked.
Allison looked around the side of Jesse's leg. She wasn't surprised to see her mother standing there. It did leave her feeling a little awkward and compromised.
Claire wanted them to know what the situation currently was. She wanted to throw a prospect out there for Allison and Jesse to consider. It was clear she planned to stay with Jesse.
"Vanna is all alone in Young Jesse's room, if you don't want a three way." Claire said. "I'm in if you are."
Jesse could see Allison was hesitant.
Claire let her robe hang open.
Allison was a little surprised at what she witnessed. Somehow it was Déjà Vu, even if it wasn't.
Jesse watched how Allison responded to the new situation.
"It's just like Samantha but better." Jesse whispered in Allison's ear.
Allison got up and looked at her mother's rings. She was very impressed with her new look.
"Those really do you justice." Allison said.
Allison went back and kissed Jesse. She picked up her robe and headed for Young Jesse's room. She stopped and looked at Claire. She wanted to give her something to think about.
"It might happen one day." Allison said and left.
Claire watched her go out. When she turned around, Jesse was right there. Jesse slipped her robe off and admired her earlier handiwork.
"Those look so Hot." Jesse said as she carefully touched everything.
Claire and Jesse kissed and headed for the bed.
Things got started right away.
After they both finished, Claire made an observation.
"John would like to be with Young Jesse and you together." Claire said.
Jesse felt a rush of excitement. It was something to look forward to in any sexual situation. It would mean she would need to cut her time with Claire short.
"It's just my speed." Jesse said. "I'll let her have some alone time first. I hate to 'eat and run', but it's what will happen here then."
Claire checked Sheila's room before she entered Jesse's room. She could see there was a lot of action going on inside of it.
"The Metal girls are in Sheila's room." Claire said. "I'll be good."
Jesse smiled and started in again with renewed vigor.
Life was good in Paradise.
Allison saw Young Jesse go around the corner. She was dressed. She looked very nice.
She looked in Young Jesse's room and Vanna just put the bed back together. She should have arrived earlier. She didn't.
"I hoped to use it with you." Allison said.
Vanna came over and gave Allison a kiss. Since it wasn't her room, she wanted to free it up.
"Let's just go to our room so we don't mess anything up for anyone later on." Vanna said. "Who knows what will develop."
Allison helped straighten the room up and they headed for their room.
They kissed as soon as they were inside and went right at each other. They'd just both been with a 'Jesse', it fueled their kisses. They got down to business in no time. It was where they were most comfortable and wanted to be. It was with each other.
Holly and Samantha were both a real hit with their new rings.
Samantha liked to look like Claire, but she thought Holly was much more beautiful than her.
Camille and Hanna thought the whole thing was great.
They knocked off a four way and Samantha soon excused herself.
Samantha dressed and looked back before she left.
Hanna, Camille and Holly seemed to make the most of it.
She left the door ajar as she went into the hall. She spotted Allison and Vanna go into their room. She passed by Jesse's room. Jesse was hard at work on Claire. She smiled and kept going.
She quietly entered the nursery and listened. She could hear Riley and Derek sharing. She carefully entered Riley's quarters and went and checked on Precious.
"There's my little angel." Samantha whispered.
She adjusted Precious blanket a little. She was about to stand in the corner and go into standby, she decided to take a peek at Riley and Derek and see what they were doing. She slowly moved up to the door and peeked one eye around the corner.
Derek was working hard on Riley. Her legs were back, and up in the air. She could see they were having a good time. She went back to Precious' room and checked her again. She stood in the corner and went into standby.
John took a shower and lay down. He thought about checking to see where Cameron was at but didn't bother. He was happy with the way things played out so far. He didn't want to spoil the mood.
Young Jesse made her way to John's room. She paused outside for a few seconds before she entered. The door was ajar so she took it as the signal to enter.
She looked forward to being with John again. Things were pretty much like she'd pictured they would be. She liked her time with John and she liked her time with the girls.
The main part of the room was empty. She made her way to the bedroom and peeked around the corner. John was on the bed. He was wearing a pair of shorts. She moved closer. He looked like he'd dozed off.
She undressed and folded her clothes and set them on the dresser. She wore only her underwear. She was going to lie next to John with them on. She paused and took her underwear off too. She was there to be with John. She wanted to be naked and get things started. She wanted everything available.
Young Jesse silently and carefully climbed into bed next to John. She looked over at him and just stared at him. She could go to bed like this and wake up every morning like this. It could be just like this.
She needed to have Jesse's baby first and then she could think about her own. She wasn't ready to be a mother yet, but she would be if she needed to be. The girls would all help her.
What about Camille? What about Cameron? If she did move in full time, she could have Camille's program combined with Cameron's if they were to be a threesome. It would free up another chassis for combat. It could also serve as a spare for Cameron.
John stirred a little but didn't open his eyes.
Young Jesse wanted what Cameron offered her. She needed to think about Savannah and Young Allison. Savannah told her many times she would be with John to protect him. Savannah hadn't been with him yet. What if she didn't like it? There was Young Allison too. She was clearly ready for anything. She would probably be more inclined to be with John. It was evident she wanted Savannah.
She looked at John in detail. He was handsome and strong. He treated the girls with respect and did what they wanted. He wasn't mean or demanding. He was a nice guy. She didn't think she would have a problem sharing him since it was how her relationships were. They were all about sharing. It was beautiful.
Young Jesse could see his shorts were resting on top of him. He wasn't actually wearing them. She reached over and carefully removed them. She dropped them on the floor on his side of the bed.
She looked at him…. It was different to look at 'him' in person as opposed to photos or videos on the internet. He was resting now so he was, well, smaller. How did he get so much bigger? Now she wanted more.
Young Jesse carefully climbed on top of John and positioned herself in front of him as she faced away from him. She decided it was time to get things going. She looked back and then started in. John moved some and much to her joy, he started right in on her. In seconds, things rapidly changed. They both shared with each other. She planned to stay there until John finished.
Moments ago:
John's eyes opened and he was startled a little bit. There was something beautiful right in front of him. He could feel what woke him and liked it. He started in on her. He knew it was Jesse. She had the darkest pigmentation and other distinctive features. It took him a few seconds to realize it was Young Jesse. He wasn't sure exactly how he knew, but he did. He was going to stay with her until she finished.
John Henry and Summer followed the operation. They tried to create a more accurate map on the interior based on the description of things from Cam.
So far communication was OK, even if it wasn't the greatest. It changed pretty fast.
"I just lost them." John Henry said.
He checked everything on his end. It was all good.
Summer was more than a little concerned. There were a multitude of things which could go wrong.
"There may have been a cave-in." Summer said.
John Henry feared the same thing. He thought about the condition of the passageway they were in from their previous reports.
"They indicated the timbers were in bad shape and there were a lot of rocks and debris on the ground." John Henry said.
Summer knew they could run a temporal mission to prevent them from going in. It evidently didn't happen because they still went in.
Until they knew more about the extent of the current Skynet activity, she didn't want to initiate the temporal mission.
"We need to wait a little bit and see what happens." Summer said.
Summer was ready for a face off with Skynet. Maybe it would happen a little sooner than she'd anticipated. She was also the smallest one. She remembered when Young Allison volunteered to try to go into the mine after Savannah and Cameron and the rest of the team. Maybe it would be her task there. She wanted to contain things as much as possible. The more other people found out and became worried, the worse the situation would become, even if it didn't need to be.
"I want CamNet and you to 'put a lid' on this operation." Summer said.
John Henry didn't like the direction things just took. He wasn't sure exactly what he was being told. He wanted to clarify it.
"Is it an order?" John Henry asked.
Summer looked at him. She was never told she'd been given the authority. She wasn't about to ask for it either. She wanted to make it more personal, like a favor.
"No. It's what I asked you to do." Summer said.
John Henry was sure she could make him comply with her desires. She didn't do it. He also knew CamNet could shut him down. It didn't happen either. He really thought John should be in on the operation. Based upon what he just witnessed a short time ago, it appeared John would be tied up for an additional period of time.
Summer smiled at him. He decided to comply. It was going to happen anyway.
CamNet contacted Summer with the conversation from the SUV Young Allison was in. She heard the conversation and understood its implications. It was clear Anna was trying to talk her down, and not doing a very good job of it.
Summer called Young Allison and recommended she pick up some food and go home. It wasn't what Young Allison wanted to do yet. It was mainly an unspoken reminder to not get carried away with any vigilante activities.
Young Allison made a circuit of the park in the SUV. They didn't spot anything out of the ordinary. It was early in the evening. The sky was dark and the moon was soon to rise. It seemed most of the 'bad things' happened later on.
"What's happening with the operation?" Young Allison asked.
Anna checked.
"There is no new information." Anna said. "It must be a recon still. They didn't set out to fight Grays or Skynet. Their goal was to find out what Skynet was up to, so we could properly address the situation."
Young Allison hoped for more. There was no hurry to get home. She drove around the park a second time.
Anna could see Young Allison wanted to pick a fight. She was probably upset because Savannah was off with Cameron. Maybe there was some other issue.
Young Allison pulled over to the curb two blocks away from the park. Mel pulled up in back of her a little ways.
Anna watched as Young Allison put the silencer on her M9.
Randy and Brian were in the back. They both held their M4 at the ready.
"You don't need to do this." Anna said. "Nothing good will come of this."
Young Allison thought it was a matter of perspective.
"In the future, I was almost savaged by Scavengers. In reality, Savannah was too along with Young Jesse." Young Allison said. "They all paid a stiff price in the alternate future."
Anna didn't like the way things were headed at all. Young Allison distorted what happened.
"It was Vanna, Jesse and Allison." Anna said.
Young Allison quickly looked at Anna. She knew it was different In a way, even if it wasn't. They weren't different at the time.
"We're the SAME people." Young Allison shot back. "It was still them, and still ME."
Young Allison got out of the SUV and slammed the door.
Brian and Randy were out in an instant.
Mel got out and stopped Young Allison.
"Please put this vest on first." Mel said.
Young Allison smiled at him and put it on along with a windbreaker to cover it.
He handed one to Anna too.
She didn't take it.
"Someone needs to be the bait." Anna said.
She stripped off her top. She was topless. She started to take off her pants.
Young Allison was a little mystified.
"What are you doing?" Young Allison asked.
Anna wanted to get things taken care of as quickly as possible and get Young Allison back at home. The easiest way to do it, seemed to be to force the issue.
"I'm going to offer myself up as bait. Someone is bound to approach me at some point." Anna said. "You can kill them then."
Young Allison looked at Anna. She took off her windbreaker and vest. She started to take off her top.
"What are you doing?" Anna asked.
Young Allison decided to play 'hardball'.
"I'm going to be dressed like you when we do this." Young Allison said. "We're still going to do it, even if we're both naked. I won't be able to carry a firearm when I'm naked either."
Randy, Brian and Mel all looked at each other and the two topless girls. Under other circumstances, they would be intrigued. Under the current conditions, they were worried. It looked like things were getting out of hand and becoming much more dangerous by the second.
Cameron carried Savannah into the luxurious cabin.
"Let's look around." Savannah said.
Cameron set her down. She'd hoped Savannah would kiss her while she held her. She didn't
They looked around the house, it was two levels. There was a double deck houseboat tied to the dock behind their lower deck.
The kitchen was stocked with a variety of fresh food as well as frozen food, canned food and dry goods.
Savannah was impressed by the selection. It was a full pantry. A lot of the items were fresh.
"They have everything here." Savannah said.
Cameron looked at the liquor cabinet. It was locked. She knew Savannah didn't approve of alcohol and wouldn't drink any if she could. She wouldn't have any anyway since she carried Vanna's baby.
They moved to the upper level. There were two large bedrooms each with their own bathroom. The Master Bedroom was gigantic. There was a fireplace in all of the rooms as well.
They looked at the large bed. It faced a series of sliding glass doors which overlooked the lake.
Savannah took it all in. It was all more than picture perfect.
"This is beautiful." Savannah said.
Cameron looked at the bed. She wanted to use it right now. She thought about stripping. She needed to think about Savannah's needs.
"Why don't I fix you some food first." Cameron said. "We can check everything out later."
Savannah wanted to see what other amenities were available to them.
"Let's go outside on the open deck." Savannah said.
Savannah took Cameron's hand and led her outside after she turned the light off. The moon was just about to rise. It was dark out on the deck. There were chairs and a table. There was a bed type lounge chair set up as well.
They walked to the edge of the deck and stood at the railing. They could see the lake in the darkness lit by starlight. The stars looked very bright without any light pollution. It was also because they were at over six thousand feet in elevation. They were above a lot of other pollution as well.
Savannah looked over where the moon would rise above the lake.
Cameron understood the true nature of the celestial event.
"Here comes the moon." Cameron said. "The earth is rotating to reveal it."
It wasn't quite how Savannah would have termed it, but Cameron was correct.
The sky was suddenly lit by a bright shooting star.
Both of the girls looked up at it. Their faces were illuminated brightly for a few seconds.
Savannah and Cameron moved close and faced each other. The moon popped up on the horizon and reflected along the top of Lake Tahoe's surface. It was like an arrow on the water which pointed at them.
They looked deep into each other's eyes as they moved closer together.
"I love you, Cameron." Savannah whispered.
They moved even closer together. The moon continued to rise.
"I love you, Savannah." Cameron whispered back.
Their lips touched in their first real kiss.
The kiss deepened but was gentle and soft. It lasted a long time. It was a kiss of love, not lust.
They separated and looked at each other. There was no stopping anything now.
"Did you make a wish on the shooting star?" Savannah asked.
Cameron smiled. She was aware she wasn't supposed to say what the wish was. Since it just happened, she figured it was okay to mention.
"I did." Cameron said. "It was just granted."
The girls kissed again with more passion.
Cameron didn't mention it was her second wish on a 'shooting star'. She'd made one earlier when they'd boarded the T-33 Shooting Star for the flight. She knew whatever their destination was going to be, this was going to happen. She'd wished on two 'shooting stars'. She hoped the second wish came true now.
Savannah led Cameron to the bed. It was out on the open deck under the stars and the moon.
They started to remove each other's clothing. This was where it would happen.
It did.
It was something both of them desperately wanted. It was long overdue.
The Terminator decided it was time to go on the offensive. He opened the door of the storeroom and stepped out. He saw the two men who were loading the vans in the back. They never saw him. He fired his silenced M9 twice. Two more were down. He quickly looked around the workroom area of the building. There was no one else spotted. He moved towards the office area.
He'd heard two of the men reference a lower level. He didn't know if they were just mouthing off to each other or not.
The Terminator moved into the office area. He spotted a man in a suit wearing sunglasses standing in front of a door. He looked surprised to see him. He reached for a firearm but never even came close. A silenced 9MM round punctured his head and dropped him.
He figured the man who'd arrived in the limo was inside of the room. He checked the other rooms along the way. They were all empty. Several of them had beds in them. They were currently unoccupied. There were restraints on all four corners of the beds.
He moved back to the room the dead man lay in front of. He listened carefully. He could hear a lot of noise going on inside. He wasn't exactly sure what was happening. He opened the door.
The man was busy throwing papers into a small metal trash can which had a fire in it. He looked up in surprise when he realized someone was standing there. A red hole blossomed in his forehead and he fell over backwards.
The Terminator moved over to the papers and looked at them. He didn't see anything useful. He'd collected the phones of each of the men he terminated. Everything would be turned over for CamNet to review later on. He broke open the computers in the room and removed the hard drives. There was a gym bag on the desk full of money. He dropped the hard drives and all of the phones into it and closed it up.
He exited the room and looked for an entrance to a downstairs location.
The drones overhead showed the area was still clear. There were no vehicles approaching the location. There'd been no movement around it other than him earlier.
He went back into one of the rooms with a bunk in it. He spotted another doorway. He opened it with his silenced M9 in front of him. There was a spiral staircase which led down. He would have preferred a normal stairway. He needed to make sure no one reached through one of the steps and grabbed his ankle when he went to step down and caused him to fall. The metal of the stairway blocked any good scans as to what was directly below it. Since there hadn't been any audible gunfire, he didn't think he needed to worry too much.
The Terminator reached the bottom of the spiral staircase and looked around. He was in a small room. He spotted several doors. He went to the first one and opened it. There was a female inside. She was unclothed. She lay on the ground and stared up at the ceiling. He thought she was terminated at first. He could see a gentle rise and fall of her naked breasts.
He moved on to the next room. He opened the door. The room was empty.
There was some noise behind him. He turned around and spotted the nude female going up the spiral staircase. Evidently she'd waited to have a chance to make a break for it.
He carried three Thermite grenades with him. He armed one of them and rolled it up against the wooden cages. He went up the spiral staircase after the female. She made it out the door into the room above before he could catch her. He saw her look at the bunk with the restraints on it. He figured she'd been on it more than a few times. He reached around her and held the door closed when she pulled on it to get out.
"I'm here to help you." The Terminator said. "Put some clothes on and I will take you away from here."
The female looked at the large man behind her. She didn't really hear what he said. She assumed the worst. She looked over at the bunk and headed towards it. She knew what was going to happen next. She didn't fight it anymore. It only made it worse.
"What do you want first?" The female asked.
The Terminator tilted his head slightly.
"I need you to get dressed so we can leave." The Terminator said. "The building is on fire."
The female looked over at the smoke coming up from the doorway where the stairway was at.
"Are you really here to help me?" The female asked. "I don't feel I'm worth saving anymore."
The Terminator pointed to some clothes near the bunk. She went over and started to dress.
"The men who abused you, will never abuse anyone else again." The Terminator said. "Don't try to run off."
The Terminator opened the door and went out into the hall. The female could see the dead man on the floor with a bullet hole in his head. She froze up.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Young Allison looked behind her as she ran. She checked her surroundings. She was in a park. It was the park in Palmdale. It was the one where they'd had all of the trouble with the different gangs and sex traffickers.
She wasn't sure why she was running. They were the ones who cleaned up the park. She reached down to touch her Model 66. She didn't have it. She went to check her backpack for her silenced M9. She didn't have her backpack. She checked to see if she had her knife. She always carried it so she could remove a Terminator's chip if she needed to use her Taser on them. She looked for her Taser. She didn't have it either. She was unarmed.
There was always at least one Terminator with her. It had been like that ever since she could remember. She didn't know they were Terminators when she was younger. The Metal girls all looked like human females to her. They acted like human females and did the same things human females did. She'd watched Allison and Vanna plenty of times. She knew the future was very cruel to females. No, it wasn't the future which was cruel, it was the people in it who were cruel. It wasn't Skynet who abused the girls, it was other humans.
Cameron wanted her to know the truth about the future at a very early age. She believed it would make her training seem worthwhile to her. It did. She had an important part to play in the future.
She felt a little out of shape. Normally she did a minimum of a three mile run everyday. Sometimes it was five miles. She was in very good condition. She didn't feel like it right now. She wasn't sure how long she'd been running for. It must have been more than five miles because she could do it without too much difficulty. She liked to cool off with laps in the pool afterwards.
She spotted a tree branch on the ground up ahead. It was only about an inch in diameter. She grabbed it on the run. She looked at the edge where it broke off from the tree. It was angled to a point. She touched the wood. It was firm, but it wasn't solid. She looked behind her to see who was pursuing her. She couldn't see them, but she could hear them. She was able to move through the trees and brush almost effortlessly. She knew it was from all of her dance practice. She was very light on her feet.
Savannah always told her the dance practice Cameron gave her allowed her to survive more than one encounter with Grays and even with Terminators. She was very agile. She believed she was even more so. Cameron wanted to make her the human version of herself. When it came to killing, she'd been very successful. It never bothered her to kill the enemy. She didn't just shoot them, she killed them. She made sure they were dead.
She could see the next group of trees started to thin out. She wanted to know what she was up against. She hung a hard right hand turn and moved as carefully as she could not to make any noise. She went back the way she'd come when she was fifty feet over and moved behind a tree. Whoever was after her, should continue on the trail where she'd been.
She could hear running footsteps. There was more than one individual. There was some noise off to her other side. Someone was off the trail. There were two groups. It looked like she was in between them right now.
Two men came into view. They were on the trail she'd been on. They were shabbily dressed. They both carried long guns. They look very tired. She crouched down next to the tree. She wanted to spot who was on the other side of her. It was a lone individual. They were shabbily dressed as well. She noticed something tied around their waist. There were two dark ones and one of a much lighter. It was when she saw the fourth one when she realized what it was. It was of a reddish tint. She realized they were scalps. There was a group of Scavengers after her.
The three men slowed.
"Do you see her?" the first man asked.
"She's gone." The second man said.
"Where did she go?" The first man asked.
"She's just gone." The third man said.
"We need to get her back." The first man said. "I'm going to make her my woman."
"I don't think she's going to want to be your woman." The second man said.
The first man reached down and touched the scalps around his waist.
"I'll add her to the collection then." The first man said. "You know it's not all I collect."
The other two men laughed.
"Yeah, we do know what you collect." The third man said. "We always get them after you're done with them."
"I like when they're still alive." The second man said. "They know what's been done to them."
Young Allison held the pointed tree branch tightly. She should be able to stab one of them with it like a spear. She wanted to try to get his long gun away from him. If she could do it, it would give her a chance against the other two. They wouldn't expect a female to attack them. It was what Cameron trained her. Don't wait for the enemy to hunt you down. Hunt them down instead.
The Scavenger who wanted to make her his 'woman' was very close to her. The other two Scavengers had moved a little further down the trail. She carefully moved around the side of the tree so her back was to the trail. The Scavenger was very close to her.
She held the tree branch at waist height. She would use an upward thrust and jam it into his abdomen. She didn't think it would be able to penetrate his ribs and get to his heart, otherwise it was where she would aim. She knew it was a technique Savannah used to bring down a Gray who was about to use a Taser on Cameron in her future.
It was when Savannah and Cammy had been knocked off 'course' during a temporal transfer. They'd arrived without any clothing or weapons. Cammy fabricated clothing made out of grass woven together to cover their private areas. Savannah told her they look like Xena and Gabrielle on a TV show. Cammy fabricated a rock knife, as well as a crude bow and some arrows. She'd actually blinded a Terminator with the bow and arrows.
She made her move. She came around the tree and jammed the pointed tree branch into the gut of the Scavenger. There was only one problem. It wasn't a Scavenger. It was a female jogger wearing a track suit.
Young Allison's eyes shot open.
The Hi-Power was in her hand. She flipped the safety down.
She could hear a vehicle approaching. She got up and looked out the rear window. There was no movement in the back. She quickly moved through the house to the front. She watched the Falcon pull up to the front gate. Cameron got out and opened both of them, drove through, and closed both of them. She went to the garage and opened the door and backed in. She emerged a few minutes later.
Cameron headed for the house. She carried a paper bag with her.
She quickly returned to bed. She put the safety back on the Hi-Power and slid it under her pillow. She pulled up the cover and closed her eyes. She could hear Cameron enter a few seconds later. She could hear some noise in the kitchen. She figured Cameron would scan her in a few seconds. She was going to detect an elevated heartbeat. She didn't want her to worry.
"How did it go?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron looked around the door frame into Young Allison's room.
"Everything is fine." Cameron said. "I was able to pick up some groceries for your breakfast tomorrow. I drove around all of the streets in the neighborhood to see what vehicles were parked in front of each one, or in their driveway. If something was in their garage, I didn't see it. I want to know what vehicles are in the area so if I see one I didn't see before, I know to keep an eye on it. The population in this section is very scattered during this time period."
Young Allison wondered what she bought. She figured it was better to wait until morning to find out. She wondered what else Cameron did.
"I heard a freight train go by earlier." Young Allison said.
Cameron entered the doorway.
"I saw it when I was on Lassen." Cameron said. "It's the next main street which crosses the railroad tracks south of Devonshire."
Young Allison was familiar with the layout of the streets in this time period, as well as in her timeline. It was one thing to know where everything was at and how it was arranged, and another thing to actually see it."
"We can check it out tomorrow in the daylight." Young Allison said. "Did you pick out a good place for me to do my run?"
Cameron planned to look into things further in a few minutes.
"When you go back to sleep, I'm going to check out all the trails on the back side of the property." Cameron said. "We're only a few miles from multiple movie sets, and filming locations."
Young Allison looked forward to viewing some of the locations of various episodes she'd watched on the computer which were filmed in the area. It seemed most of the movies were westerns along with a few science fiction ones. There were a few comedies and a couple of dramas. There were more television programs filmed than movies.
"We can check everything out in time." Young Allison said. "We don't need to rush anything. I know we're only about nineteen miles from the ocean in this particular location, maybe twenty miles at the most."
Cameron tilted her head slightly.
"You're correct." Cameron said. "Topanga Canyon Boulevard is a little curvier during this time period. I'll make sure our bikinis are modified before we go there."
Young Allison looked at magazines and photos from the era.
"Don't overdo it". Young Allison said. "Perhaps in this case, it would be don't under do it."
Cameron wanted Young Allison to go back to bed.
"Get some more rest." Cameron said.
Young Allison could see the clock on the dresser.
"I see it's already tomorrow." Young Allison said.
Cameron knew it was past midnight.
"Today was yesterday's tomorrow." Cameron said. "I'll be back."
Cameron left the room and exited the house. She locked the door behind her.
Young Allison got up and moved to the rear window. She saw Cameron in the backyard. She figured she would check out the horse trails in the back.
She headed for the kitchen and looked around to see what Cameron purchased. She saw the empty paper sack folded on the counter. She didn't touch it. She was sure if she moved it, even a fraction of an inch, Cameron would know she'd been up to look at it. She opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. She didn't touch anything. She was pleased to see there was fresh milk and eggs.
Young Allison went back to bed. Her hand slid under the pillow and touched the Hi-Power. She soon drifted off to sleep.
Cameron made her way to the rear of the property.
There was a gate in the rear fence to access the horse trail. It was obviously installed by the original owner. She opened the inner fence gate and then the outer one.
Cameron started up the trail. She would check all of them.
Make A Wish
Things which make up a person
Are easy to taint and tarnish
It does little good to anyone
To try to hide them behind varnish
Some like to criticize
Others like to admonish
Does any of it really matter
If it's no more than rubbish
There are those who exist
To become little more than garnish
It's usually by those
Who are the most selfish
Everyone should be encouraged
They should be able to flourish
They should be held dear
As someone to cherish
Avoid unnecessary worry and anguish
Don't allow something good to perish
Grab it before it can vanish
It's time to make a wish
Nobody
