Chapter 1562


Better You Than Me


Young Allison didn't like when Young Jesse sent Gail away to reinforce Camille, but she understood why.

"Send 'Cherry Bomb' into where Young Jesse is at." Young Allison said. "I think it will fit without any problems. 'Coltan Overcast' is inside the hangar now. It can watch the hangar and the Huey."

Anna understood the extra protection for Young Jesse would be nice. She knew the drone hovering around her down low was going to be loud.

"It should keep a little distance away for the noise factor." Anna said. "Young Jesse won't be able to hear in detail."

Young Allison thought the protection benefit was worth the loss of hearing temporarily. She turned her attention to Brian and Randy. They neared the downed HK drone on the dry riverbed.

"She'll manage." Young Allison said. "Has there been any movement on the downed HK drone?"

Anna hadn't detected any.

"No." Anna said. "It's facing towards the bridge and the road next to it. The Iroquois should be able to set down a mile or two out. It's almost there."

Young Allison wanted the Huey to let Randy out two miles away from the downed HK drone and take back off. The helicopter should move about five miles away.

It was what they would do. Randy would make his approach on foot and try to disable the HK drone before Brian returned with the UH-1.


Cam was inside the bottom of the elevator shaft. She heard the Grays outside the double doors. She quickly grabbed the three electrical wires which hung down in front of the doors and moved to the inside corner with them. She should be in the 'shadow' from the doors when they were opened. The light outside was already dim. She didn't think she would be spotted. She held the three wires in one hand and her silenced M9 in the other hand.

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

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

Cam was still covered from head to toe with the dirt and dust from the other mine. It seemed with all the dirt on her, she was 'invisible' to the Gray who'd looked inside the shaft. She was almost the same color as the surrounding rock.

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

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

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

Cam quickly moved to the gap between the doors to see where they went. She knew Cammy, Ally and Sheila were already inside somewhere.

Sheila and Ally emerged from the side of the corridor and followed the two Grays. They each held their Taser in one hand and their silenced M9 in the other hand. Cammy continued down the main passageway.

Cam looked up. Hanna and Samantha were almost down to her. She was glad Young Jesse wasn't with them.


Hanna paused as the other wires were all pulled into one corner. They saw the elevator doors open about a foot and a head poke into the empty shaft. She held the wire with one hand and pointed her silenced M9 at the Gray's head about fifty feet below her.

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

The head retracted and the elevator doors closed.

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

Hanna saw Cam move into the center of the shaft and look through the gap of the closed outer elevator doors.

They hurried down to the bottom and joined her.

They filled Cam in on what was happening up top. They held a communication line. It was a direct line to the top.

Cam spoke with Young Jesse and was informed of the latest development with the shooting outside the main bunker area. Camille and Gail were sent to deal with it.

Young Jesse said she had control of the elevator now and was ready to send the 'package' down.

Cam told her to wait. They wanted to clear the area down there first.

It was decided to send the elevator up to the top.

Cam directed Hanna and Samantha to follow where Cammy went. She set out into one of the other passageways there. She wanted to catch up to Ally and Sheila.


Young Jesse listened to the gunfire out past the inner blast door. It was very discomforting. She wanted to get the 'package' down to the bottom.

She was relieved when Cam contacted her. They discussed the tactical situation.

"I can send the 'package' down now." Young Jesse said. "I have control of the elevator."

"Not yet." Cam said. "We want to make sure we have everything down here under control."

Young Jesse thought the package should be sent anyway.

"I'm going to bring the elevator up to the surface." Young Jesse said.

There was a slight pause.

"OK. We're moving out now." Cam said. "I'll get back to you."

Young Jesse activated the controls. The winch system started with a heavy whine, it subsided a little. The big drum of cable over the shaft spun and the cable wound itself up as the elevator rose in the shaft.

The gunfire in the distance stopped for now. She looked over the area with her M4 raised as she searched for a target.

The elevator continued to rise. There was a lot of vibration and a deep electrical hum. She was a little worried it might draw some unwanted attention.


Earlier:

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

She thought she'd spotted some movement.

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

Camille was almost to the outer blast door when she spotted two Grays. She immediately fired at them. One made it out past the outer blast door into the hangar area. The other one was hit and crawled back into the passageway they'd come out of. She fired and scored again on his feet before he was out of view. She continued forward to pursue the Gray who made it into the hangar area.


'Cherry Bomb' was in the hangar. It sat on the ground. It was pointed at the opening into the hillside.

It was on alert and would keep the hangar area secure. The UH-1 was parked outside the hangar. 'Coltan Overcast' was on patrol around the immediate area.

'Cherry Bomb' bomb heard the gunfire in the direction it was pointed. It aimed its minigun and prepared for a quick start of its power plants. It was primed for a 'cold start' at full power.

A figure ran into view.

The sound of an approaching drone from outside grew louder.


'Coltan Overcast' was outside the hangar when it detected gunfire from inside the hangar.

It immediately headed for the large opening.

'Coltan Overcast' spotted 'Cherry Bomb' sitting on the ground.

'Cherry Bomb' opened fire towards the hillside opening with its minigun.

'Coltan Overcast' flew over the top of 'Cherry Bomb' and passed beyond it. It opened up too as it closed in on the opening. There was a Gray who was shredded. He ended up shredded even more.

It flew right up to the outer blast door.


Gail was sent off by Young Jesse to assist Camille. She wasn't happy about leaving either.

It was true the fighting was out where Camille was at by the blast doors. It wasn't where Young Jesse was at.

Gail heard Camille's M4 fire and it was soon joined by the sound of a minigun and then by another minigun almost at the same time.

She hoped it was the two drones and not one of the HK Tracks. It may have reverted. They didn't need a problem like that.

Gail could hear a drone in close as she passed the inner blast door. She could hear Camille off to her right side as she approached the outer blast door. One of their drones was right there a few feet off of the ground. A thoroughly shredded Gray lay in a spreading pool of blood.

She didn't see Camille right away. She heard some more gunfire off to her right and spotted bloody drag marks on the ground. She started in the direction and paused. She looked back at 'Coltan Overcast'. She was still uneasy about being ordered away from her post. There was something she felt she could do about it.

"Go inside and protect Young Jesse." Gail said.

No sooner than she said it, 'Coltan Overcast' backed up into the hangar. 'Cherry Bomb' hugged the ground and flew past it.

'Cherry Bomb' quickly negotiated the zigzags without any trouble.

It was at that point when she realized Young Allison already sent 'Cherry Bomb' to do the very thing.

'Coltan Overcast' dropped back down and covered the exit into the hangar.

Gail followed the blood trail. It ended soon with a dead Gray. There was more firing up ahead.


Moments ago:

Camille heard the minigun fire as she approached the outer blast door. She figured it was 'Cherry Bomb'. The Gray was shredded. She saw 'Coltan Overcast' enter the hangar and open up as well. It sped in her direction. It allowed her to go after the Gray she'd shot inside and any others with him.

There were bloody drag marks on the ground so someone else pulled the Gray away. She rounded the corner and fired at another Gray who pulled the wounded Gray. He disappeared behind a wall and left the wounded Gray. Camille promptly shot him in the head as she neared.

She ran past the opening at full speed. She fired her M4 on full auto as she passed in front of the opening. She started to take fire. It was all directed where she was, or would have been, if she'd looked around the corner.

She saw another Gray go down and another was hit before they disappeared behind another corner.

Gunfire tore through the corner of the wall where she was at. She backed up a step and dropped flat to the floor to return fire. She was aware of running footsteps from the way she'd come. It was Gail.

She was upset Gail left Young Jesse. She did hear Young Jesse tell Gail to go and help her or she would go herself. She soon heard the com traffic. 'Cherry Bomb' was in there now with Young Jesse.


Ally and Sheila watched the two Grays leave the elevator area. They'd both pointed their silenced M9 at each of the Gray's heads. If the Grays would have spotted Cam in the shaft, or Hanna up on the wire, they would have 'dropped' them. Their bodies would most likely be in the bottom of the elevator shaft now.

Cammy signaled for them to follow the Grays. It's what they did. They were joined by Cam soon enough. One look at Cam only served to remind them how filthy she truly was. She looked like a 'dirt person'.

Cam filled them in on what Hanna and Samantha told her and there was a direct line to the surface inside the southwest corner of the shaft.

The two Grays led them to a small area filled with computer gear.

"I'd better go talk to 'Bucket Head'." The first Gray said.

The second Gray looked very relieved he wouldn't have to do it himself.

"Better you than me." The second Gray said.

"I'm 'doing' the 'Metal Bitch' if Robby is offline." The first Gray said. "I just wanted you to know that."

"I'll go tell Robby if you don't want to." The second Gray said. "I want some of her as well."

"Believe me, there's plenty there for both of us and the others too." The first Gray said.

The three Metal girls looked at each other. They wondered how many 'others' there were down there.

The first Gray went off and Cam followed him with Ally. Sheila stayed behind to deal with the second Gray.


Hanna and Samantha hurried to catch up to Cammy. They passed a few junctions along the way.

Cammy indicated they should fall back. She was soon headed back their way. She joined them in an alcove. They watched as a Gray passed by where she'd been twelve seconds ago. They filled her in on everything up top. There was also now a way to communicate.

Samantha was surprised Cam and Cammy were both worried about a direct assault on everything down there. They didn't know if this version of Skynet was hooked up to a doomsday device or not. They needed to identify the power source as well.

"Do you want the backpack nuke yet?" Hanna asked. "They can send it down in the elevator."

Cammy did want it. She thought they at least needed to look around first.

"Let's give this a few more minutes and see what we can find out first.

Cammy sent Hanna after the Gray they'd watched pass by and sent Samantha down a dark corridor. She went back to where she was at earlier and resumed her search.

All six Metal girls at the bottom of the shaft searched with their Taser in one hand. They all held it close to their body so it couldn't be knocked away easily. Their silenced M9 was in their other hand in front of them. If anyone went to grab for their weapon, their Taser would 'zap' them. They knew there were at least two Terminators down there.


John Henry was concerned about what was in 'The Hole' and the Grays who'd appeared near the blast doors. The girls should have been through all of the areas there at least once. Some of them they'd been through a few times. There were some passageways early on which weren't checked. Proximity charges were left behind and the combinations on the doors were changed. There must be some other place they'd come from. There was something they'd missed.

Summer was most concerned about Young Jesse being alone. It was covered for now. She'd also sent Brian and Randy to deal with the downed HK drone. She'd stripped away some of Young Allison's Detail. She'd replaced them with four drones. They would be able to engage any threat on the ground or in the air.


Camille saw another Gray go down. Another one was hit before they disappeared behind another corner. She was aware of the running footsteps from the way she'd come. It was Gail. She was aware 'Cherry Bomb' was in the main area now with Young Jesse.

Gail saw the dead Grays.

"How many more of them are there?" Gail asked.

Camille knew of one for sure. She didn't know the total.

"There's at least one Gray, maybe more." Camille said. "I wounded another one."

Gail was on the other side of the passageway.

"Can you get a shot with your M203?" Gail asked.

Camille knew she could. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do it yet.

"I can get an HE round in the doorway." Camille said.

Gail wanted to wrap things up and get back to Young Jesse.

"Do it, or let's advance." Gail said. The hangar is covered by 'Coltan Overcast'. 'Cherry Bomb' is with Young Jesse."

Camille didn't want a fire to start and fill the area with smoke. It would necessitate the removal of Young Jesse earlier than anticipated.

"Follow me." Camille said.

Camille started towards the doorway where the Gray went into. She hoped the body armor worked.


Young Jesse worked the controls to bring the elevator up. It was on its way.

She was advised a drone was about to join her. She wondered exactly how it was supposed to work. She would find out soon enough. She heard the loud noise of a drone as it approached. It came into view at the far end of the room. It was an intimidating sight to see it move towards her just two feet above the ground. Once it was fifty feet into the area, it paused and scanned around in a three hundred and sixty degree circle before it continued towards her.

She could see the name 'Cherry Bomb' on the side of it. There were a couple of hearts drawn on it as well. The metal of the superstructure possessed a few small dents and some scratches. It appeared to be well used and was obviously in close contact with other objects to show wear. She knew it was Young Allison 'personal' drone and it was here now to protect her.

Young Allison told her 'Cherry Bomb' would fight as fiercely as any Terminator.

Cameron gave them advanced programming once the girls, Young Allison and Savannah, 'chose' them for 'special duty'.

Much to her surprise, it set down at an angle so the minigun could cover the main door in the front and the side door her team entered from. It shut down its power plants. The room grew eerily silent. There was only the hum of the hoist as it wrapped up the cable and lifted the elevator car.

She walked over to 'Cherry Bomb' and touched the side of it. The lights on it came on and went off. It was aware she'd touched it. She moved in front of the camera.

"This is just for you." Young Jesse said.

Young Jesse blew 'Cherry Bomb' a kiss and went over and looked down the shaft. She could see the elevator car was almost to the top. She went over to the controls and stopped the elevator as soon as the top of it was almost even with the floor of the outer area. She opened and blocked the outer elevator doors open. She moved over to the backpack nuke and went to lift it. It was heavy. She pulled it over instead and onto the top of the elevator car. She looked at the hatch which opened into the interior. She opened it once to see how it worked.

She went back to the controls and allowed the elevator to rise to its normal position to enter. She looked around and found a three foot section of metal electrical conduit. She leaned it up against the side of the propped open outer doors. She also cut about twelve feet of the heavy wire off and coiled it up.

Young Jesse checked in with John Henry for an update and then with Camille and Gail. They were currently hunting Grays in an area which was once clear.

There was no current contact with any of the Metal girls down in 'The Hole'. They were going to need the 'package' soon enough.

Young Jesse went over to 'Cherry Bomb'.

"You're in charge up here for now, love." Young Jesse whispered. "Don't tell anyone I'm going down to deliver the 'package' for a few minutes."

She gave 'Cherry Bomb' another long touch. She'd found a felt marking pen on the counter near the electrical conduit she'd procured. She drew a heart on the side of 'Cherry Bomb' next to the other two which were already drawn there. She put her initials in it.

Young Jesse went to the controls of the elevator and pushed the 'down' button on the control panel Gail rigged.

The inner elevator doors closed and the elevator car started down. She moved to the edge of the opening. She picked up the electrical conduit and a ten foot coil of heavy wire. She stepped onto the roof of the elevator car as it went down.

She didn't know what would be at the bottom, but she wasn't about to take any chances. She didn't want the elevator to open and be faced with armed Grays or worse, A Terminator. She thought the ride on the top of it would be a little safer, at least in one regard.

As the elevator car went down, she stuck the electrical conduit through the top of the hatch and into the central mount for the cable which held the elevator. It would prevent anyone from opening the hatch from the inside. It got dark a lot faster than she thought. She looked back up. The opening of the shaft looked a lot smaller now. She put on her night vision goggles and tied the electrical wire around one of the straps on the 'package'. She would be able to brace her feet against the opening of the hatch and lower the 'package' onto the floor once she knew the area was clear. She hoped the Metal girls would be there.

Either way, she was headed down. The package wouldn't be coming back up. She hoped she would be. She went over the arming procedure in her head as she descended. She also went over the manual detention sequence. One way or another, the nuclear bomb was going to detonate at the bottom of the shaft.


Cammy sent Hanna after the Gray they saw pass by and sent Samantha down a dark corridor. She went back to where she was at earlier and resumed her search.


Claire just experienced several finishes with John. She wanted more of the same everyday.

"I'm - moving - in…." Claire said with labored speech.

She rested her head next to his as her arms slid under him and pulled them even closer together.

John was sure at this point he needed a bigger room. All of the girls wanted to move in. The Metal girls all wanted more as well. He really should have listened to Cameron a long time ago when she'd first indicated what was 'available' to him. He looked at his right hand and smiled. He was pretty sure 'Rosie' was retired at this point.

He checked the time. It was almost morning.

Claire noticed him do it. She didn't want to overstep.

"Do you want me to leave?" Claire asked.

John wanted her to stay. He needed to get a little sleep.

"I need to rest." John said.

Claire went to get up.

John reached up and touched her.

"You can stay longer." John said. "I do need to get a little sleep."

Claire gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll be a good girl." Claire said.

Claire figured he would be good to go in a couple of hours again. She really wanted him again. She curled up next to him. Their naked bodies pushed against each other. They were both soon sound asleep.


The Terminator moved up the corner and peered around the front side of the building. He could see the second man at the front door. He looked down the side of the building to the south. There was no sign of the first man. He decided to make his move.

He started to go around the corner from the west side of the building to the front side. He could hear the man pounding on the glass by the front door. He spotted another set of headlights coming down the street from the same direction the truck which was there now came from. It appeared to be another box truck.

He looked to the south to see if the other man had come around the corner yet. He hadn't. He decided to head down to where the truck was currently parked at. He moved rapidly. He needed to reach it before the man from the front side came back around to the west side, or the other truck arrived. He needed to worry about the other man returning from his investigation on the south side.

The Terminator reached the box truck. He quickly moved underneath the rear axle so he was shielded by the wheels on either side. He didn't think anyone would notice him unless they were actually looking. There shouldn't be a reason for anyone to look.

He could see the man from the north side of the building come back around to the west side. The other box truck turned down the street next to the building. They pulled into the parking lot along the west side. He pulled up next to the man as he walked along.

"What's going on?" The truck driver asked.

The second man shrugged his shoulders.

"No one answers the door." The second man said.

There was some movement on the south side. The first man returned. He could see the other truck towards the front of the building on the west side.

"There's a couple more clowns I'll need to deal with." The first man muttered.

The second man hopped up on the running board next to the driver's door on the truck which just arrived. It headed down towards where the first box truck was parked.

The second man hopped off as the other truck arrived. He saw the first man.

"Everything in the front was locked." The second man said.

The first man lifted his hand up and indicated with his thumb over his shoulder as he spoke.

"Everything in the rear is locked up as well." The first man said. "I didn't spot any homeless people either."

The new arrival looked a little irritated with the news.

"Where do you want me to park?" The truck driver asked.

The first man shrugged his shoulders.

"You can park next to the other truck for now." The first man said.

The Terminator expected the men to be inside of the building soon. He could see both of the men on the ground went over to talk to the new arrival as he parked. He decided to make his way back into the building.

He slipped out from underneath the rear of the first box truck and made it around to the south side of the building. He hurried to where the ladder was which went up onto the roof. There was no sign anyone spotted him yet. He made a jump and grabbed the second rung above the cover and quickly pulled himself up. He moved over to the roof access hatch and opened it. He left it in the open position. He made his way back over to the west side of the building on the roof to hear the conversation between the men. He didn't need to look over the top of the building to hear them.

From his elevated vantage point, he looked over in the direction where he spotted the vagrant who'd started the fire near the railroad tracks. The fire was still burning in the same location. He could make out one figure near it. No others were spotted around him.

He turned his attention to the three men. It sounded as if all of them were on the ground now.

"I don't have any keys." The truck driver said. "I expected to find you guys loading."

"We're going to need to force our way in." The first man said.

"I don't think it's going to go over very big if we do." The second man said.

"I'll let you call Ajax then." The first man said.

"I don't think Ajax he's going to be very happy with the news." The second man said.

"It's why I'm going to let you call him." The first man said.

"You just got here, maybe you can call him." The second man said.

"Better you than me." The truck driver said. "If you talk to him on the phone, he can't snap your neck."

The Terminator listened from his vantage point. He quickly determined Ajax must be a Terminator.

"What about when he gets here?" The second man asked.

"He still might anyway." The first man said.

"Maybe we should see if we can get in without causing too much damage anywhere." The truck driver said. "If I remember correctly, this place has some skylights."

"There was a ladder to the roof on the south side." The first man said. "There was a metal cover over the first eight to ten feet. It was locked."

"What about the doors on the rail siding?" The second man asked.

"I only looked around the corner on the east side." The first man said. "Everything looked secure. Nothing was wide open."

"Let's check everything first before we make the call." The truck driver said. "We don't need any more trouble than we already have."

The Terminator could hear the three men head for the south side of the building. He moved along the roof to the south side above where the roof access ladder was at. He could hear some metallic noises.

"I can get my foot up a couple of rungs on the back side, but there's no way to step up from there even when I'm holding on above it." The truck driver said. "I need you guys to boost me up. Okay. Thanks. I got it. Let me take a look."

"I'll go check the east side." The second man said.

"I'll go with you." The first man said.

The Terminator quickly made his way towards the roof access hatch.

He was glad he'd already opened it. He quickly went inside and pulled it down. The latch was broken. He would hold on to it when the man came over to try it.

The Terminator listened as footfalls moved around the top of the roof. It sounded as if it was only one man. He knew at least one man went around to the east side.


The security chief was out of options. He made a dash for the opening of the spatial portal. He would rather take his chances with the unknown. He ran towards the black rectangle which looked like a doorway. He couldn't see any flames on the other side of it as he stood in front of it. He looked around the side of it and could see the two female Terminators. One of them still pointed the RPG in his direction. He looked in back of him at the burning building. He could see the HK Track clearly now. It would be near his position in a very short time. He took a deep breath and stepped into the darkness. He hoped the unknown was better than certain death.


The water was designed to go in one direction. It was through the trench and into the pipe, where it would exit into the dry gulch.

The light the female Fanatic spotted earlier after the explosion indicated they weren't too far from some type of exit. It was the sound of the rushing water behind her which worried her the most. They needed to get out of the pipe before the mass of water reached them. If they didn't, they'd be carried along. They'd most certainly be battered to death, or drowned, if not both simultaneously.

"Run." The female Fanatic shouted.

Jill wasn't really sure what was happening around them. Whatever it was, she knew it wasn't good. She watched Jackie take off in front of her. She increased her speed to stay with her.

It was hard to move through the knee deep water.

The female Fanatic could see some dim light ahead of her. She wasn't going to turn off the light on her phone to make sure. She could hear the water sloshing in front of her. She figured it was running out of the pipe into the dry gulch. She wasn't sure what the drop off was going to be like. It didn't really matter. They needed to get out of the pipe before the water pushed them out. The water was up to mid thigh level at this point.

"No!" The female Fanatic said loudly.

Jill looked in front of her. Jackie had stopped. She could see why. There was a metal grate over the front of the pipe. It blocked their passage. The water was up to their waist now. There was considerable force behind it now as well. There seemed to be a little more room on the right side of the pipe for some reason. They both moved over in the direction so they didn't get pinned against the grate as the water continued to rise. The roar of the rushing water was very intense.

"We're trapped." Jill said. "This is it."

The female Fanatic and Jill could go no further. It was the end of the line.


Lena and Tina checked for any other threats around them. None were spotted. They both made sure they didn't suffer any residual effects from the last energy discharge from where the spatial portal was at. They carefully moved over to where the crater was in the ground at where the HK Track had been just a few moments ago.

"There's not much left here." Lena said.

Tina thought they should still keep a little distance.

"We need to hope it doesn't reappear." Tina said.

Lena didn't look forward to the prospects if it did. She figured if it did and it acted like the original one the Resistance team encountered, it would probably suck the remains of the burning building into it. She didn't think it would be a bad thing on their part if it did.

"We don't know what happened to the female Fanatic and her accomplice." Lena said.

Tina looked at the raging inferno of the building.

"The last we saw of them, they were inside of there." Tina said. "There was a lot of gunfire as well. Random chance, or luck, only goes so far."

Lena felt the female Fanatic had been very fortunate in all of her encounters with the Skynet forces. She'd also done very well against the biker gang.

"Their luck may have ran out. " Lena said. "We would have needed to terminate them anyway."

Tina was a little disappointed she hadn't been able to personally terminate the female Fanatic. It had been her goal.

"We were unable to determine the nature of why her accomplice assisted her." Tina said. "Maybe it was just gratitude for being rescued in the first place. I would be very grateful to anyone who prevented the further abuse of my chassis if I was unable to resist what others did to it. I believe it would be very degrading."

Lena agreed with her. As long as they were functioning Terminators, it would never happen to them. She needed to think about how the spatial portal severely weakened both of them. One strong blast could have incapacitated both of them. They heard how the Grays talked. Something similar could have happened to them.

"I hope we never find out." Lena said. "I'd request a new chassis and recommend this one be destroyed if anything similar were to occur to it."

Tina agreed with her assessment. It was a very uncomfortable thought.

Lena and Tina could see the main building was a total loss. They proceeded to head towards the other outbuildings.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Temporal Mission:

Past Timeline:

November 26 1963

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Cameron left the bedroom. She made her way into the kitchen. She looked at what was available for Young Allison's breakfast. There was quite a selection. She quietly left the house. She went out to the garage and went inside. She carefully inspected all of the vehicles and checked the fluids in each of them. They all currently possessed a full tank of gas except for the panel truck which they'd used yesterday.


Young Allison hoped she should get one more hour of rest in. Maybe she should just get up now. She decided she would try to get a little more sleep.

The sun was already up. She didn't usually sleep past sunrise. She reached under her pillow to collect her Hi-Power. It wasn't there. She lifted the pillow and looked around. It wasn't anywhere. She looked down both sides of the bed. There was no sign of it. She opened the drawer in the nightstand next to it. The Model 19 wasn't in there either.

'What the hell?' Young Allison thought.

She stood up and headed out of the bedroom. She looked in the bathroom as she passed. It was empty. She looked in Cameron's room. The closet door was open. There were no clothes inside. Some of the drawers on the dresser were pulled out. They were all empty.

Young Allison made her way into the living room area. She looked around. She looked over at where the safe was concealed. The door was open. It was empty inside. She made her way into the kitchen. She didn't see any of the things they purchased previously. She opened the refrigerator. It was empty.

She felt a little bit of a chill. She looked down at herself and realized she was naked. She hurried back to her room. She opened some of the dresser drawers. They were all empty. She opened the closet. It was empty.

She looked out the window towards where the garage was. She could see both of the doors on it were open. There was nothing inside of it.

'Something is wrong.' Young Allison thought.

She could hear the sound of motorcycles. It wasn't just one of them. There were a lot of them. They began to circle the house. She hurried over to the window and looked out. She could clearly see the patch on the backs of several of the motorcycle riders. They all said: 'Sons Of Chaos'.

'Oh no!' Young Allison thought.

She looked down at her naked body. She realized they were two things she needed right now. One of them was clothes, the other one was a weapon.

She could hear the motorcycles start to shut down. There was laughing going on outside.

"We're here." The first biker said.

"I hope it's someone good this time." The second baker said.

"You're in for a treat." The first biker said.

"Is she inside?" The second biker asked

"She's supposed to be alone." The first biker said.

"Fresh meat is always good." The second biker said.

"This meat is as fresh as they come." The first biker said.

There was a round of laughter outside.

"At least for the first three minutes." The third biker said.

There was another round of even louder laughter.

Young Allison went to grab a towel from the bathroom. There weren't any. She move back into the bedroom. She was going to take the sheet from the bed. There was nothing there but a mattress on top of an open box spring. She looked around for the pillow. She couldn't spot it.

She ran back into the kitchen. She opened the drawer with the silverware. There was nothing in it.

She could hear the front door rattling. Her head snapped over in the direction of the back door almost as quickly. It was rattling as well. They were about to come in. All of the windows begin to rattle as well.

Young Allison was aware of what happened to all of the girls in the future. It look like the future was now, even if it was the past.

The doors and windows all exploded into the room at the same time.

Young Allison's eyes opened. The room was dark. She didn't make a sound. Her hand slid under the pillow. She could feel the comfort of cold steel and wood. She reached down and touched her body with her other hand. She was fully clothed in her nighttime attire. She looked at the clock on the dresser. She figured it was time to get up. She wasn't about to go back to sleep. She moved over to the window and looked out. There wasn't much there but darkness. She moved to the other window in the back and looked at the garage. She could see the door was closed. A light was on inside.

She quickly went through the house. She carried the Browning with her. The house was empty. She went to the restroom and took care of her personal business. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. She was ready to get started.

She turned on the light in her bedroom. She put her Hi-Power on top of the dresser. She took off her night clothes and folded them. She put them in the dresser. She went to the closet and opened it.

"I'm going to wear my Western attire." Cameron said.

Young Allison jumped a little, even if she tried not to. She glanced over at the doorway and Cameron stood there in Western attire, complete with cowboy boots.

"You look nice." Young Allison said.

She was aware Cameron always looked nice. It didn't matter what she wore, or if she were nothing at all. She always looked beautiful.

"Thank you." Cameron said. "All of your clothes will be broken in, including your shoes and boots. Cammy was supposed to have everything ready so it would be comfortable for you to wear but still look as in near new condition as possible."

Young Allison could picture it. She was sure if Cameron was dissatisfied with something she would have already taken care of it herself.

"I guess I should dress like a cowgirl." Young Allison said.

Cameron tilted her head slightly.

"I think it's more appropriate than dressing as a saloon girl." Cameron said.

Cameron watched as Young Allison dressed.

Young Allison tried to dress similar to Cameron. She'd gone through the house only a few minutes ago. Cameron wasn't in it.

"When did you put those clothes on?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron reached down and pulled on her vest slightly.

"I just threw these on when you were in the restroom." Cameron said.

Young Allison looked at the shelf above the clothes rack in the closet. She could see there were several hats. She took one out and put it on.

Cameron smiled. She reached in back of herself and lifted her hat up onto the top of her head. It was the same one Young Allison picked.

"You have good taste." Cameron said. "We picked everything the same."

Young Allison thought about it for a moment.

"You were already dressed when you came to my room." Young Allison said.

Cameron shrugged her shoulders.

"You would have picked the same thing anyway." Cameron said. "Your pick is my pick."

Young Allison took a few steps in her boots.

"These are comfortable." Young Allison said..

Young Allison exited into the hallway. Cameron followed her. She headed for the kitchen. She stopped when she entered and looked at everything which was laid out. It was all the same things he was going to lay out for breakfast herself.

"I can see you've been hard at work." Young Allison said.

Cameron smiled and poured some orange juice for Young Allison.

"It only took a few seconds." Cameron said.

Young Allison got the rest of her breakfast ready with Cameron's assistance. She noticed the backpack was already on top of a chair near the dining room table.

Cameron noticed where Young Allison looked.

"I don't sleep." Cameron said.

Young Allison felt Cameron was lucky she didn't.

"It must be nice." Young Allison said.

Young Allison finished her breakfast and brushed her teeth again. Everything was taken care of when she left the restroom. She walked out the open door and Cameron locked up the house. It was time to get started.


Better You Than Me

Not everything in one's life
Is possible to predict and foresee
Sometimes it seems like
They will need more than a referee

Some will move around blindly
Others are more likely to sightsee
It seems over a span of time
Two may agree more than disagree

Some may act bolder
Their moves may seem gutsy
Others flow with the wind
Everything they do is carefree

Any decree needs to be
Firmly rooted in reality
Things will get crappy fast
When they need to wade through debris

One can get raked over the coals
As they are given the third degree
Everyone else watches and thinks
Better you than me

Nobody