Chapter 1520
That Was A Big One
Cam moved the team forward. Rin-Tin-Tin gave them a heads up on what was in front of them. They were tapped into its signal now. It seemed Rin-Tin-Tin patrolled all the passageways to search for problems. It looked for cave-ins, liquids, or any gas leaks. It didn't search for individuals. Some of the Grays even kicked it when it passed. It usually hurried past them. They were able to see where some of the Grays were at. Most of them were on Level Four and what looked like Level Five in the making. It may have just been some chamber enlargement too. They needed a better look at it.
They watched Rin-Tin-Tin approach a pile of rubble. It scampered up on it and looked around. They understood why Rin-Tin-Tin had four legs and wasn't on wheels or tracked. The pile of rubble was uneven pieces of rock. It was very easy for it to maneuver over uneven and irregular surfaces. It actually moved more like a cat than a dog.
The team was almost to the sloped ramp that connected Level Three with Level Four. There were a few Grays up ahead. They entered one of the side caverns.
Cam told the team to wait as she moved up herself to look inside. There were a lot of crates inside the enlarged cavern. It was much bigger than the other ones they'd passed. She looked back and slipped inside. She wore her body cam so the others could see what she saw.
She moved over to where the men were at. She passed a lot of crates. Most of them were empty. It was probably not a good sign. They were all marked as the contents being 'toys'. She'd encountered the same thing before. It was at the old newspaper plant. She'd concealed herself inside one of the boxes inside of the box car she was trapped in. The Grays unknowingly unloaded the crate and put it inside of the building. It facilitated her attack immensely.
Some men approached. They seemed to be looking for something specific.
"Here it is." The first man said.
"It looks like the Metal moron knew what she was talking about." The second man said. "Damn, I wish she'd be wrong some of the time."
"Well, you know Metal." The first man said. "Too bad we can't 'do' her."
The second man reached down and adjusted the front of his pants at the suggestion.
"She'd make a good 'Metal Whore'." The second man said. "We need to settle for human ones now. The one in the living quarters Gomez put the grab on, is just about used up."
The first man looked indifferent. He slightly shrugged his shoulders.
"She's no different than the sluts who were brought into the work camps." The first man said. "We had our pick from each group before we replaced them with a new one from the next batch the 'gear heads' brought in."
"I hope they get another one soon." The second man said.
The two men removed something from a wooden crate.
"This looks like it." The first man said.
"We got what we came for here." The second man said.
They put it back in the crate.
"Let's go." The first man said.
Cam thought their statement confirmed there were Terminators there. At least one of them sounded like a female Terminator. She knew Sheila wanted to make a Terminator version of Leticia. She was all for it. Maybe they could capture the female Terminator. If they couldn't, she hoped to be able to personally terminate her.
The men used a hand truck to move the crate out of the chamber. It wasn't as large as the other crates which were there. She let them pass. She wanted to see what was in the other crates. She didn't want someone to come looking for the men if she'd terminated them now. It was clear they'd come after something specific for someone. She certainly didn't want to alert a hostile Terminator to their presence prematurely. She also planned to terminate both of the men personally.
There was another blast right before the Gray's went out. They paused for a moment.
"When is the blasting supposed to be done?" The first man asked.
"Whatever it is, it won't be soon enough." The second man said.
"There have been some horrendous explosions recently." The first man said.
"It's because they switched to nitroglycerin to speed the process." The second man said.
"Using nitro is worse than playing with fire." The first man said.
"Using nitro is like playing with Hell." The second man said.
The two men brushed a little dust off of themselves and continued on their way.
Gail kept watch from the other cavern the team was in.
There was another large explosion. It sent more dust down from above them.
"That was a big one." Jim said.
Bob thought the workers were getting careless. The Grays, or Skynet, must be on some timetable.
"I wonder what the hurry is." Bob said. "They're working recklessly."
Gail watched the two men leave with a small crate. Cam hadn't returned yet.
"I think I should back Cam up." Gail said.
Summer wondered if calling the new Metal quadruped Rin-Tin-Tin was offensive to the Terminators. She didn't want to seem insensitive. Rin-Tin-Tin was a 'hero' on TV when the show aired. She'd heard Bob's suggestion.
"We can call the quadruped Toto if it would be a more acceptable name for it." Summer said. "I don't think Cameron liked being referred to as 'Tin Miss' or the 'Tin Man'. I don't want to offend anyone."
John Henry knew from his interaction with Cameron she didn't like being called other names. Cameron also understood the 'Tin Man' wanted to have a heart.
"Toto is fine." John Henry said. "I've already sent out the update. Your consideration has been noted. Rin-Tin-Tin was a noble and heroic canine. It was noted as well. Toto was, well, cute."
Summer smiled. Now she wanted to be 'Dorothy' and meet up with the 'Wizard Of Oz', Skynet.
Young Allison and Anna began to look at everything happening. The mine seemed more involved and complicated than they were first clued in about. There were already several new dimensions to the operation.
Anna was surprised Young Allison didn't try to check where Cameron and Savannah were at. She thought it would be the first thing she would do. It wasn't. It appeared Young Allison was a little more grown up than she was a few days ago. Then again, Young Allison did grow up a lot in the last few days. She'd been in combat and needed to fight for her life and the other team members' lives. She'd needed to kill. She used a nuclear weapon again. When she killed, she killed decisively.
Young Allison looked over all of the data. She was troubled by several things.
"I don't like the direction Cam's operation has taken." Young Allison said. "There's too much to go wrong and nowhere for them to go. They're trapped in there if it falls apart."
Anna thought they might be able to run a temporal mission to get them out. John Henry worked to update the exact location of the passageways and shafts.
They were both aware Summer and John Henry were the only ones in the Command Center. Neither one of them commented on John's absence.
They also received the feed from the quadruped. They found it to be somewhat unique with the infiltration of a Skynet group.
Anna thought about the choice of names. Maybe one name was better than the other. As far as the animal actors went in their roles, clearly Rin-Tin-Tin was a true hero. She thought Toto looked a little less threatening. Well, to everyone except the Wicked Witch.
"I think I like Toto better than Rin-Tin-Tin." Anna said.
Young Allison didn't want to end up as 'Dorothy' there if she could help it. She became aware of all of the small collapses and some not so small ones in the long abandoned section. It appeared the damage was caused because it wasn't reinforced with steel supports as the active parts of the mine were.
"How much longer are we going to have a signal from them?" Young Allison asked.
Anna was aware it was lost more than once.
"It probably won't be much longer." Anna said.
Young Allison wondered about the female captive she'd heard the Grays discuss. She also knew Summer wanted a crack at Skynet. She had a very uneasy feeling about what could possibly happen or go wrong. There was nothing to base her feeling on, other than a thought which crossed her mind. She didn't really want to think about it, but she still needed to.
"Can Summer establish any kind of a link into the system with enough speed to do anything?" Young Allison asked. "I don't want her to need to go there."
Anna knew exactly what Young Allison was worried about. It was something she was worried about as well. The implication was there, even if it wasn't.
"You're afraid she ran a temporal mission, and it was her the Grays referred to." Anna said.
Young Allison wondered how many others thought the same thing she had.
"The concept crossed my mind. It wasn't a good thought." Young Allison said. "It could be me too, they're talking about."
Anna wanted to prevent the possibility. There was a way to do it.
"You must order CamNet not to allow Summer, or you, to go on any temporal mission in this regard." Anna said. "It's the only way to be sure."
Young Allison didn't know what was necessary or not yet. She did want to put a couple of guidelines in place without ruling out any possibilities.
"We'll cross the bridge when we get to it." Young Allison said. "I want to know of any temporal missions related to this before they happen. Unless it's an emergency extraction, I want to know before it happens. I also have the final say if it happens or not."
Anna wondered if it meant for Young Allison herself too. She doubted it.
Allison was thrilled at Holly's new look. She loved the new jewelry.
Holly wanted to remind her everything was changeable.
"I can always take them off." Holly said. "In a few hours, it will be like they were never there."
Allison fondled them some more.
"I think you're good for now." Allison said. "I want you to keep them for a while anyway."
Vanna began to fondle Claire who was playing herself off as 'Samantha' right now in case they got into a four way.
Vanna switched over to check out Holly.
"That's nice." Vanna said.
Allison went back over to 'Samantha'.
They fondled each other.
Allison still didn't know it was Claire.
'Samantha' leaned forward and kissed Allison.
Allison felt the kiss and knew right away it wasn't Samantha. She backed up and looked at her mother. She couldn't believe what she'd just done. She slowly released Claire's breasts. Claire took a little longer to release hers.
They didn't say anything for a few seconds. They were at a 'bridge' right now.
Holly took Allison and led her to the bed. It interrupted the unspoken moment.
Allison looked back at Claire.
Claire was ready to cross the bridge.
Allison wasn't sure where the bridge led.
Vanna knew she was about to hook up with Claire. She'd determined it was Claire and not Samantha when they'd kissed earlier. She was curious to see how far Allison would go. The prospect of being with Claire and Allison excited her greatly. She was up for the 'mother-daughter' thing. She would work on it in the background and see what she could come up with.
There was a knock at the door and Jesse and Young Jesse entered. Everything changed in an instant.
Jesse headed for Claire and admired her handiwork.
Young Jesse headed for Vanna.
Holly was more than happy to claim Allison.
Jesse and Young Jesse established who they wanted to start out with. They both admired Holly's and Claire's jewelry before things got started. They both wanted to be with Holly before the night was done. Young Jesse and Jesse opened their robes and let the girls all compare their breasts for the size difference. They were identical otherwise.
Jesse and Claire went to Jesse's room.
Young Jesse led Vanna to her room.
It left Allison and Holly alone.
Allison was a little miffed because she didn't recognize her mother at first. She thought Holly would have given her a heads up.
"Everything just changed real fast." Allison said. "Were you going to say anything to me about it?"
Holly knew what she meant in regards to Claire.
"I wanted it to be your decision." Holly said. "I knew you would know the difference. She's just another girl like you in reality. I didn't want to influence your decision one way or the other. "
Allison did think about it.
"I probably would have this time." Allison said. "She's like my best friend, and she's beautiful. Since we're the same age, it's really hard to see her as my mother most of the time. Her kiss was what sealed the deal. It was a kiss of passion. I understand she needs to express her true self. She did in her kiss."
Holly took the opportunity to scan all of the girls in the latest encounter. Cameron would be very pleased with her scans. She was pleased Allison was pregnant again. She'd never told her she wasn't from the last time. It looked like Allison was good for another month or two before things went 'wrong again'. They always did. She did wonder if becoming pregnant the traditional way would make a difference. She didn't see how, but time would tell.
Young Jesse led Vanna back to her room. They kissed wildly at first and then slowly. They backed up and looked at each other.
They could both feel it. It was very overpowering. The attraction was love.
Vanna tossed her robe on the floor by the bed and came over and removed Young Jesse's robe. She tossed it next to hers. They touched each other as they kissed. She just loved her tight and trim body. Every curve was distinct and prominent. She knew her body wasn't as nice as it once was, but it was still pretty good. She wished she could be Savannah's age again. No, she wished she could be Summer's age again. It was what she wanted. She could start over….
Young Jesse could feel the 'power' Vanna radiated. She'd experienced it on the ship and it was beautiful. It was able to touch 'inside' of her. She knew Vanna was 'Savannah', but they were really two different people other than their appearance.
Vanna led Young Jesse to the bed and laid her down.
"Take me." Young Jesse whispered.
Vanna moved over the top of her.
"I intend to." Vanna whispered back. "You're all mine."
Vanna kissed Young Jesse.
"Yes…." Young Jesse whispered.
Vanna went to work.
Claire and Jesse were more than content to be with each other.
Jesse admired her handiwork in detail. She saw Claire make a face a few times.
"I can see you're still a little tender." Jesse said.
Claire felt exhilarated. The pain was only a small flash for a fraction of a second.
"It's what I want." Claire said. "I feel so alive."
Jesse never let any of the pain stop her. It actually drove her to seek more.
"That's the spirit." Jesse said. "To be alive is beautiful."
They soon melted into each other's arms.
John awoke from his short nap. He looked around and was surprised to see he was alone. He was sort of glad. He needed to recharge some more. He was spent and tired.
He thought about getting dressed and going to the Command Center. He got up and looked at his clothes. He put his underwear and socks on. His pants and shirt didn't make it that far. He looked over and finished the rest of his energy drink. Most of it was still there. He drank it down quickly and then lay back down.
He figured he would be good to go once he took a short nap.
He just needed to rest his eyes for a little longer.
Kyle looked over at Sarah. They both rested right now. They'd been hard at 'work' and heated up quite a bit. They didn't usually cuddle and they didn't do it for long now either. They both wanted to cool down and rest a little.
Sarah smiled at Kyle. She was a little worried about what she'd done, but didn't regret any of it. This is where she belonged. A little extra time with the girls wouldn't hurt a thing.
They both leaned over and kissed and then lay back down to rest.
Derek was very pleased at the way Riley looked and performed. He hoped she found what she'd needed. It was clear she needed more than he was able to offer her. She seemed very rejuvenated and much like her old self. It was fine with him. If one of the girls gave her what she needed, he was indebted to her.
Riley needed to catch her breath some. She'd really ridden Derek hard. It was like she couldn't get enough. She liked what she'd just done and she liked what she'd rediscovered with the girls.
Samantha came out of standby and checked on Precious. She was doing well. She was awake now and she picked her up and talked to her softly.
She listened to hear what Derek and Riley were up to but it wasn't much.
Cammy spotted some gang members in a car as she was driving. She figured she could follow them until they broke the law, or spark a confrontation with them herself. It usually didn't take much.
Ally didn't think they needed to fool with any local gang members.
"I think we can find something better to do." Ally said. "It's not like we don't have anyone to hang out with."
Cammy broke off the pursuit of the gang in the car and headed for the airport. She wanted to finish the job the Metal girls started there.
"We're going to the airport." Cammy said.
Sheila was pleased to hear it. There'd been some indecision earlier. She was game to go back to Frisco and look up the gang they ran into before. She wanted to teach the female gang member a real lesson. She planned to take more than her front teeth this time.
"I'm ready for more." Sheila said.
Leticia looked at Sheila. It was hard to tell when any of the 'special girls' was serious or joking.
"Are we really going to the airport?" Leticia asked.
Sheila already thought about what she wanted to do. It was plenty.
"Yes." Sheila said. "You said you wanted some action. Now all we need is a plane."
Laura and Mary looked at each other. It looked like it was for real.
"What kind of a plane will we fly in?" Mary asked. "I don't think we're flying commercial."
Cammy laughed. She didn't think any of them would do so well through the metal detector. Everything could be circumvented, one way or another. She wanted a better option.
"Hardly…." Cammy said. "Commercial flights are for commoners. We're not commoners."
Ally checked to see what jet they could get on short notice. CamNet told her she would have it taken care of. She was glad to hear it. It would take all the hassle out of procuring it. She didn't doubt Cammy or Sheila would simply 'borrow' one to get things started. She wanted to relay the good news.
"We'll have a private jet." Ally said.
Mary saw Ally only spoke with someone for a few seconds. She thought about how much influence the 'special girls' must have to set something up so quickly. There wasn't any prior notice.
"I can see you arranged things very fast." Mary said. "You really have some pull."
Cammy looked back at Mary.
"You'd be surprised." Cammy said. "Some people have friends in high places. Our friends are the high places."
Mary was already surprised.
Sheila and Leticia put their clothes back on. The prospects of what would soon be available to her excited her greatly. She didn't know all the details yet, but it didn't matter.
"I plan to break all you girls into the 'mile high club'." Sheila said.
Laura heard about it before.
"Do people really do that?" Laura asked.
Sheila smiled. She could speak from personal experience
"I can assure you they do." Sheila said. "You're going to be in the 'five mile high club'."
Sheila looked forward to being with each of them at thirty thousand feet.
CamNet contacted Camille and Hanna. She knew they were left out of the current pair ups which just occurred recently. She gave them the option to get some action. There would be several types of action.
Hanna looked over at Camille.
"Are you in?" Hanna asked.
Camille knew where Young Jesse was at.
"I don't see why not?" Camille asked. "It sounds like fun."
Hanna knew some more of the details involved.
"There may be some terminations involved." Hanna said.
Camille was made aware of everything which occurred on the cruise before she'd joined it. She would have liked to have been a part of most of it. Now was her chance.
"I'm in." Camille said.
John got back up. He was amped up from the energy drink. It was really potent. He put the rest of his clothes on and was about to head to the Command Center. He figured the 'honeymoon' was over at this point.
He exited his room and saw 'Vanna' and 'Allison' running down the hall naked as they tried to dress.
'What the Hell?' John thought.
Maybe it was 'Savannah' and 'Young Allison'. He wanted a better look. Who wouldn't?
He changed directions and ran after them. Something must be wrong. He figured John Henry would be all over it as well.
He didn't know CamNet blocked the images from the Command Center.
He hurried after them. He wondered where their Terminator protection was at. It didn't look like they were armed. He stopped at an arms locker. It opened as he approached it. He was glad John Henry was on the ball. He didn't know it was CamNet. He grabbed an M9 and a Taser and headed for the carpool.
He exited into the carpool and watched 'Allison' and 'Vanna' get into an SUV. He ran to it and got in the back before they pulled away. He was able to get a better look at them.
'Cameron' and 'Savannah' turned around in their seats and looked at him.
John was a little shocked. He could see the perfection.
"Cameron?" John asked. "What's the problem?"
Camille looked at Hanna.
"I'm Camille." Camille said.
John looked a little harder. He could see the other one in the SUV was Hanna.
"I'm sorry." John said. "I can't tell since you all look so smoking Hot. Both of you I mean."
Camille and Hanna liked the complement.
Hanna didn't think John should be there.
"We were on our way to run a private mission." Hanna said.
John was amped up and pumped full of adrenaline right now. He wanted to get out a little. He was already in the SUV, so why not?
"I'm going with you." John said. "Drive."
Camille and Hanna both received instructions from CamNet. They were good to go. CamNet made it clear there needed to be two Terminators with John at all times.
CamNet, like Cammy, wanted to settle a 'personal score' with Cameron. All the cards just fell into place. She wished she could take full credit for it, but there was a certain amount of chance involved. She did understand John needed to be protected when he went out. She didn't know the only protection he really needed right now, was protection from himself.
Cammy was updated by CamNet. Things just turned better than anticipated. It was better than she could have planned. CamNet wanted to call a 'truce' with her about Savannah. She understood it was her chance to get back at Cameron and make amends with CamNet. CamNet and her both wanted Savannah, not for Cameron to have her. She figured Savannah with CamNet once or twice a week was worth it to 'punish' Cameron. It was going to happen anyway. The best part about it was, CamNet was the one who would take the heat for it. Everything she'd been pushing on to make happen, was all going to happen now thanks to CamNet.
Ally and Sheila were also both informed what was about to happen. They didn't say anything but understood what it all meant. With CamNet on board, it would free them from most of the heat. They could all claim they were just along for the ride. They'd been worried about the direction Cammy wanted to push things earlier. It was no longer their problem. Well, they hoped it wasn't anyway.
Sheila moved close to Leticia.
"Love, you're about to get your wish." Sheila whispered.
Leticia wasn't sure what it meant. She hoped Sheila would take her in as her submissive. She would do everything Sheila wanted or whoever she wanted. She knew Sheila would be her best 'Master' ever. She looked forward to being told what she needed to do. She looked forward to being told what she could enjoy and couldn't enjoy as well. She was extremely stimulated by the thought.
Camille gave John a brief run down about their current private mission. They were on their way to San Francisco. She left out the part about Cammy and the other girls were going there too. She figured it should be more of a surprise so John didn't change his mind and want to go back to the base.
John wasn't sure what all was happening, but it sounded exciting. He wished Bob and Jim could have come with him but they were out. Normally when he did go out in the field, one, or both of them, was with him. He knew it was always a problem when Cameron became involved.
Now he wondered where Cameron and Savannah were at. Maybe they were in Frisco. He knew Cameron wanted to take Savannah there before, but she wouldn't go. He hoped he could 'break in' Savannah somewhere along the way. He really wanted her virginity.
'Maybe this night can get better.' John thought.
John didn't have a clue how much better it was about to get.
Nobody did.
The Terminator neared the location. A drone image showed him the specialized vehicle was about to return to the target location. It also showed him the location of several groups of street punks serving as guards for the drug location.
The weapon he needed was slung over his back. He approached the first group of street punks. He picked a paper bag up off of the ground as he neared them. He wanted to be able to get in close to them. It would make it easier to police the target area.
Two of the street punks spotted him. They moved out in front of him. The low drone scan earlier indicated there were two more inside of the building behind them.
"What's in the bag?" The first punk asked.
The Terminator continued to approach them.
"Clear out and no one gets hurt." The Terminator said.
One of the punks produced a knife.
"What's in the bag?" The second punk asked.
The Terminator continued to walk towards them.
The two punks moved to block his path. The other two punks moved out of the building. It was what he wanted.
The third punk from inside the building held a pistol in his hand. It wasn't pointed at him yet.
"What's in the bag, man?" The third punk asked.
The Terminator pulled his silenced M9 out of the bag and pointed it at the four street punks.
"Eternity…." The Terminator said.
He fired four silenced rounds. All four punks fell. He took a quick look around the area to see if anyone else appeared. He didn't see them. The drone overhead didn't spot anyone else either. He quickly moved the four bodies back inside the building. He armed a Thermite grenade and tossed it inside the building as he left.
The drone did spot the special vehicle pull up in the rear of the location he wanted to attack. It was about to back up to the building. It was an armored car the group had stolen in the last bank heist.
He quickly unslung the LAW rocket he carried. He armed it. Both ends of the tube popped out. He took aim and fired. The rocket streaked forward and punched through the thin armor on the side of the armored car. He watched as the rear door blew open. a burning body fell out of the back of it and rolled around on the ground for a few seconds. He saw a series of sparks land around the flaming figure, as well as the others standing at the rear of the building. They'd just received a dose of 'metal hail'.
The driver's door on the armored car opened, along with a cloud of smoke. The driver got out and fell to the ground. He attempted to draw his weapon. Another group of sparks landed around him. He fell to the ground again. He didn't get back up.
The Terminator reached the rear of the building. The door was unlocked. The crew inside awaited the arrival of the armored car. It had been in the process of backing up towards the rear door.
He entered the rear of the building. There were several groups of individuals. One of the groups was around a table stacked with bags of some type of white powder. They wore some crude face masks normally used for paint. Everyone in the group fell. Each one was hit with a silenced round. The table with the white powder was knocked over. A cloud of the substance started to drift out of the doorway as he passed by it. He tossed a Thermite grenade inside.
One man emerged from a small room across from where the white cloud emanated. He was in the process of pulling his pants up. He'd been in the restroom. The white cloud enveloped him. He started to cough and choke. Both of his hands went up to his throat. A silenced round ended his suffering before he could even scream.
The Terminator moved on to the next group. One of the men inside saw him coming and closed the door. It was a door made from steel. They didn't have time to latch it before his foot slammed into it and ripped it loose from its hinges and sent it flying across the interior of the room.
It impacted the table several other men had been working at. It was the money table. They were in the process of bundling up large stacks of cash. A lot of the cash now flooded around the interior of the room like snowflakes after the table was crushed.
Two of the men attempted to reach for firearms. They didn't make it. The man who'd closed the door was lying on the ground. It appeared his body took the full impact of the door as it was torn loose. It severed one of his arms above the elbow. There was an arterial blood spray which showed the results. He wouldn't bleed for long. A third eye blossomed in his forehead. His suffering was over.
The Terminator tossed another Thermite grenade behind him as he exited the room. There was one more area where the drone picked up heat signatures just a short time ago.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Young Allison could see they were going to follow the curve in the tracks around to the eastern portal of Tunnel 28. They could have gone over the top of it since they were already there a while ago.
"I take it we're going to walk through the tunnel." Young Allison said.
Cameron didn't think it would be a problem. It was the shortest of the three tunnels.
"It's a short one." Cameron said. "It's one foot short of six hundred feet."
Young Allison noted there was a wooden structure built several hundred feet in front of the tunnel. It consisted of two large pieces of lumber, which were mounted upright, with a cross piece holding them together at the top. There were pieces of rope hanging down from it for several feet across the length of it.
"I take it that's a 'Tell Tale' I've read about." Young Allison said.
Cameron knew there was one in front of each tunnel portal, or any low bridges, during the time period.
"It was to warn the crewman on top of the equipment they needed to get down quickly because there was a low obstacle in front of them." Cameron said. "There used to be walkways on top of the freight cars for the trainmen. In inclement weather, or at night, visibility was very limited. They saved more than a few lives."
Cameron listened for the sound of an approaching train from either direction. She couldn't detect any. The passenger trains were scheduled, as well as a few of the priority freight trains. The rest of the freight trains ran as 'extras'. The extras always needed to be 'in the hole' when a scheduled train was to arrive. Any conductor, or engine crew, responsible for delaying a scheduled train would need to report directly to the local superintendent. It was often referred to as being 'called on the carpet'. It was always an unpleasant experience. It was usually followed by a suspension, or even termination. The timetable was held sacred by the railroad officials.
Young Allison could see the distance of the tunnel was approximately the length of ten houses. It was double the length a B-25 could be off the runway, even if it didn't climb. She'd made several less than three hundred foot long takeoffs with Cameron's Mitchell. She was aware Savannah and Young Jesse had as well.
She could see the block signal just outside the western portal of Tunnel 28 was yellow. She knew a train hadn't just passed by. It indicated there was one coming. The block signals she could see, in the straight section south of the curve at Stony Point to Chatsworth, had been dark earlier.
"How much time do we have until the next train arrives from Santa Susana?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron didn't want to give too much away.
"It's scheduled to arrive at Los Angeles Union Station at 8:30. It has one stop in Glendale before its arrival there." Cameron said. "It's the overnight passenger train from San Francisco."
Young Allison previously looked at the brochures on the Sunset Limited. There were still two premium passenger trains on the coast route. She thought about the timing and the direction.
"I think it's the Lark." Young Allison said.
Cameron was pleased with Young Allison's knowledge. She knew if it was a few years earlier, the Lark would have arrived with cars painted in two shades of Grey. The dark gray color would be the color adopted for locomotives after 1958. Now the cars were silver like on the Sunset Limited with the same red stripe across the letter board.
Even though the cars used to be painted in two tone gray, the locomotives which hauled them previously were painted in Daylight Red and Daylight Orange colors as was the Daylight passenger train of the same time period. There was always some confusion among people because some of them felt Daylight Orange looked more 'yellow' and Daylight Red looked more 'orange'. The names were very specific to the actual colors of the paint. It was a railroad trademark.
It reminded her of one time when someone described their Continental as being 'white with a blue tint'. The car was clearly light blue. The manufacturer actually referred to the color as 'Platinum'. It appeared everyone had their own definitions as to what was what, regardless of the facts.
"You're absolutely correct about the train." Cameron said. "It's Train 76. The railroad still tries hard to meet the schedule. It was originally set up so business travelers arrived in the city with a good night's sleep and a hearty meal before they started their daily activity. The jet airliner has done much to steal most of the business. It will continue to steal more."
Cameron looked into the issue as passenger trains became pariahs for the railroad companies. Southern Pacific even established a ticket agent for one or more of the regional airlines in several of their main stations try to drive away more business faster. The airline ticket was actually cheaper than the railroad ticket. It cost a dollar less and was approximately eleven hours faster.
Most of it occurred after the railroads lost the United States Post Office contract to haul First Class mail in 1967. The post office itself would be reorganized and known as the United States Postal Service at a later date. They too suffered much the same fate as the railroads did. Telephones cut into local letter delivery. The internet captured most of the other business. It seemed the only thing the Postal Service now handled was what was referred to as 'junk mail', even if it was classified as 'Standard'. 'First Class' mail seemed to be limited to cards, usually from grandparents, and bills. There didn't seem to be a shortage of those.
Young Allison looked at the interior of the tunnel as they passed through it. She could see it was braced with giant wooden beams. The date over the tunnel portal said 1904. Next to it was 1921.
"I take it the tunnel was built in 1904 and rebuilt in 1921." Young Allison said. "I think it's when they added the concrete portals."
Cameron knew freight cars kept getting longer and taller. Double stacked containers would one day rule the rails.
"Many of the tunnels on all of the rail systems have been enlarged multiple times over the years." Cameron said. "The latest technique they use is called 'crown mining'. The material is taken out of the sides of the top of arch to clear the top sides of double stack containers. There are domestic containers and international containers. The domestic containers are larger than the international ones. The international containers are designed to fit on ships."
Young Allison was aware of another technique.
"I remember watching a video where they removed the track from a tunnel, and actually dug the tunnel several feet deeper to give it more clearance to the top of the arch." Young Allison said. "I know it's a more extensive procedure and results in a shutdown of the line for certain amount of time."
Cameron knew railroad crews could be very productive. They were usually much more productive than government funded crews. It seemed to her at some of the locations where a municipal crew worked, there appeared to be a half a dozen individuals who simply leaned against a shovel and watched two or three other individuals actually work. There was one section of the road she'd passed for six months. It was less than an eighth of a mile long. She watched the same crew work in the same section for the entire amount of time. It really made her wonder how ten miles of railroad track was laid in one day in 1869 by hand, and a small section of the street needed six months, or longer, to be worked on with modern equipment. She actually considered bringing a team of Terminators there on the weekend, and finish the construction themselves to improve the traffic flow in the area. They would have been able to accomplish everything in one weekend.
"The tunnels in Chatsworth will all have the floor of the tunnel lowered later on." Cameron said.
As they neared the western portal of Tunnel 28, she could hear the traffic passing above them.
"It's not going to create some kind of a problem if anybody sees us, will it?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron didn't think so. They wouldn't be vandalizing anything, nor throwing rocks at the trains.
"I think we're good." Cameron said. "We can tell anyone who asks, we are on our way to Chatsworth Park."
Young Allison was aware there were two Chatsworth Parks.
"I guess it would be Chatsworth Park North." Young Allison said.
Cameron looked around at the traffic off to the north side above them and off to the south side of them as they passed the 'Tell Tale' and block signal.
"There's only Chatsworth Park for over another decade." Cameron said. "The area which will become Chatsworth Park South is currently privately owned. When the land is acquired by the city, Chatsworth Park will become Chatsworth Park North. Strangely enough, there's no direct connection between the two parks. Local hikers created their own path over the top of Tunnel 27. For the less ambitious individuals, they went through Tunnel 27."
Cameron and Young Allison walked up a moderate grade as they left Tunnel 28.
Young Allison looked at their surroundings.
"I read about what happened around here." Young Allison said. "There was a shady group of people for a couple of years."
Cameron was familiar with the story. More than likely, if the group survived into the future, they would have all become Scavengers.
"This is the approximate location the ranch hand from the Spahn Ranch was buried a half decade from now." Cameron said. "The cult, and criminal group, usually referred to as the 'Manson Family', took up residence in the old Spahn Movie Ranch on the other side of the hill directly in front of us. Members of the group were responsible for several grisly murders. They would steal Volkswagens and put fiberglass bodies on them and sell them as 'dune buggies'. The authorities would later find a number of Volkswagen bodies dumped in a ravine on the backside of the Spahn Ranch. A wildfire in 1970 would obliterate everything from the old movie location except the Volkswagen bodies. It exposed them."
Young Allison looked nervously around them.
"I'm pretty sure we don't want to be around here during the time period when all of the drama and activity occurs." Young Allison said.
They soon reached a curve in the tracks which angled in a southerly direction. The tracks went up a noticeably steeper grade and through a massive cut. They soon curved around to the west to enter Tunnel 27 which they couldn't see from their location. They could still look back and see the western portal of Tunnel 28
"Let's go up the side of the embankment on the north side and wait." Cameron said. "We don't have enough time to make it up the grade to get to another traditional viewing spot. It's normally used for taking photos of trains working uphill about to enter Tunnel 27. The spot we're in right now is normally used for images taken of trains headed towards Los Angeles. It's what we're waiting for right now."
Cameron and Young Allison waited for Train 76. It was the Lark headed for Los Angeles. They could see the block signal near the cut was red. It indicated a train was near.
That Was A Big One
To get ahead in life
It's not about how fast one can run
It's more about how much
Others tend to shun
The narrative shouldn't be
About how the truth is spun
It needs to be about the facts
Even if they're hard or stun
The battle is never over
Even when it's done
To be able to hold onto victory
Determines what is actually won
One goes nowhere fast
If they continue to jump the gun
There won't be a rerun
Because the race hadn't even begun
Put in the time and effort
It's not all games and fun
It should be more than a pun the hear
That was a big one
Nobody
