Chapter 49

Future's Past

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Cameron's Past Timeline:

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Early 1999:

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On the remote outskirts of town, the arcing and flashing started. An energy bubble appeared with three figures in it.

The arcing and flashing ended.

Cameron slowly stood up. She looked around. She looked up to the sky. Her naked figure was back lit by the full moon. Even in the darkness, her beauty was unmistakable.

She'd arrived in the past at a time before her 'first' arrival from the future. So far things seemed to work as she'd planned. She didn't want to get 'lost in time'. There was always a risk. There were many risks.

Cameron knew she needed to be careful not to alter anything which would change her future, once she arrived in the past and met up with John in Red Valley. She needed to calculate her every move and every action. One false move could change everything. One wrong move could ruin everything.

Her first impulse was to go find John and Sarah. She could go to them and protect them. She could team up with 'herself' from when Future John first sent her back. They could be with John as twins. This time they would be his girlfriends and not his twin sisters. It was a very enticing prospect to her. She already knew what would happen, and could make things safer for John. There was always the risk her 'other self' may perceive her as a threat and terminate her. She'd evolved greatly from who she was back then. It would be like night and day.

The more she thought about it, the more likely it was she would end up terminating herself. She didn't think she'd be able to trust herself. She didn't think her other self would trust her. She realized she could terminate 'herself' and replace 'herself' with herself.

'No.' Cameron thought. 'I can't change anything here or now.'

Cameron wanted to return to her current life with John. He was now her husband. She wanted to resume life again from the point where she'd left. It should be a seamless event, if everything worked properly. She'd been able to consummate her love with John. It was a very pleasurable and rewarding experience for her. It was more about the 'feeling' to share their love, both 'emotionally' and physically. She wasn't sure what a human female felt during a time of sharing the same way. Maybe they had a more intense experience, maybe she was the one who did. There were files regarding Future Allison and Future John. She chose not to view them. She'd wanted her experiences to be her own.

She wanted to be with John as he took his role in the future. She wanted to be at his side as his wife. It would be man and machine as equals for the future. It would set an example for everyone. It would prove man and machine could exist and thrive, side by side. There could be harmony, instead of conflict.

She didn't know if the future would be ready for such an event. It should be, but it probably wouldn't. She needed to not get ahead of herself. She was on a specific mission, with a specific task. She wasn't alone either.

Unit Two and Unit Three arrived with her. They stood naked next to her as they waited for her instructions. They both scanned for any threats. They knew it was their duty to protect Cameron at all costs. They'd been instructed to do as little as possible on their own, so they didn't affect anything.

Cameron wanted to direct and control their actions. She wanted to be the one to make the decisions. If something went wrong, it would be on her. She knew what she was doing was a risk. She still needed to do it. She would need to be accountable for her actions.

The trio carefully walked into the nearby town under the cover of darkness. They avoided a few late night drivers and remained unseen. They located a 'Goodwill' donation bin and took some clothing out of it. There was plenty for all three of them. They took the bare minimum. They didn't want to look too tacky or homeless. They didn't need to interact with local law enforcement. Questions could arise they wouldn't be able to answer. It would end badly for the policeman.

Cameron noticed something. She decided to conduct a test.

"I'm going to walk ahead of both of you." Cameron said. "Stay back a little bit and flank me. Keep your eyes open."

Unit Two and Unit Three did as instructed.

Cameron walked ahead by herself. It appeared she was alone. She wasn't.

"Nice night for a walk." The first man said.

Cameron stopped.

There were a couple of men who looked like they had a few too many drinks. They stepped out and blocked her path.

"It looks like we're going to have some fun tonight." The second man said.

One of the men pulled out a knife.

Unit Two appeared from the side.

"Wrong…." Unit Two said.

Unit Two stepped forward and grabbed both of the men by the neck. The knife clattered to the ground.

Unit Three put himself between Cameron and the two struggling men.

"Don't terminate them." Cameron said. "They're drunk. Choke them out and let's go."

Cameron liked how both of the Restorators moved to protect her. She wanted to test what their response would be. She'd spotted the two drunks earlier and purposely walked in their direction. The Restorators did everything the way she asked them to do. It gave her a little more reassurance. She didn't believe the two drunks would remember anything. If they did, they wouldn't believe what they remembered. It was doubtful they would report themselves to the police, and the attempted abuse they'd initiated. She doubted they even saw what happened.

The next step would be to get to one of the other banks built with a TDE. Cameron planned their arrival close to one location. So far everything was going as she'd planned. They would be ready in the morning. Cameron wanted to get back to her future before they inadvertently changed anything in the past.

There was a chance the TDE might not function. They would ride on public transportation. They wouldn't appropriate any vehicles if they needed to go elsewhere. They would try to keep their interaction with others as minimal as possible. They would try to stay off everyone's radar. She didn't want Cromartie to know she was there.

Cameron and her entourage headed to the bank.

They arrived before it opened. They waited for the manager to arrive. They waited across the street as they watched everything around them. Cameron saw a car pull into the back of the parking lot. A man with a suit headed for the door. She moved up behind him after the alarm was shut off. She put him in a choke hold. She choked him out as carefully as possible. She didn't want to hurt or damage him in any way. She then disabled the security cameras. She called Unit Two and Unit Three forward.

"We have to move fast before anyone else gets here." Cameron said.

John Henry was able to look up the records as to what the combination was on the vault during the time period. They were within the 'time lock' parameters as planned. Cameron opened the lock and swung the big vault door open. They went in.

Cameron closed the vault door behind them. She'd set it to lock automatically. It should look undisturbed when the bank actually opened.

The TDE was the same type as the one she would use to time jump from 1999 to 2007.

She set the TDE up. She gave them all enough time to make it appear the vault was untouched. Everything would be set back to the way it was when they'd entered. It would also allow the TDE to be used again. There was no plasma rifle being fired at the same time the energy bubble would form around them. There should be no explosion this time. There should be no indication they were ever there.

She'd checked the local newspapers of the location and date she planned to leave from in the past. There was no mention of any 'trouble' at any bank. Cameron hoped the banana peel she'd left by the bank manager's foot would help explain why they 'fell'. At any rate there was no record anything happened.

Everything was set.

Cameron went over what her goals were and how best to pull them off without changing anything. She didn't think she would be able to succeed. It didn't matter. She was going to do it no matter what. She hoped all her prepositioned supplies would be where she hid them before she'd left. If they weren't, it would mean her future would be different than it was before she left. It also might mean she was in the wrong future, or she may have experienced a temporal error. There was a slight glitch impulse which shot through her left hand. She was able to control it. It was time to go.

"Back to the future…." Cameron said. "It's time to go back to MY Future. Back to my future's past."

The arcing and flashing occurred, the time bubble formed. Then they were gone.

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Cameron's Future Timeline:

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The arcing and flashing started. An energy bubble appeared with three figures in it.

The arcing and flashing ended.

Cameron didn't need to wait until darkness to determine the time or date.

She'd planned their arrival during the time when a Skynet transport crashed. She knew the exact time and place. In fact she knew precisely when everything would happen in HER Future, down to the microsecond, including where it was safe to be, or not to be. It all depended on everything being the same and unchanged. She was very aware Mrs. Weaver could have returned to her future and altered things.

The thought sent another glitch impulse through her left hand. She was able to control it. She didn't like the way Mrs. Weaver interacted with John. It always left her with a very uneasy 'feeling'. She wasn't exactly sure what it was. She was aware Mrs. Weaver protected John as well as Allison. She'd also returned Kyle to the past. It was what John asked her to do for his mother. She didn't want Mrs. Weaver to interact with Future John. She needed to hold it together. She didn't want to get ahead of herself.

The energy bubble appeared in a small gully next to where a Skynet transport crashed. There was a massive explosion thirty seconds after the initial impact. It was the window Cameron aimed for. They'd arrived right on time. The massive secondary explosion happened as the energy bubble dissipated. It should mask them from any Skynet detection. She'd instructed Unit Two and Unit Three to drop prone as soon as they were able to. They were concealed within the depression. The explosion didn't affect them.

She hoped to avoid detection by Skynet, Grays, the Resistance, or Scavengers. She didn't want to interact with any of the groups from the future. There would be some type of negative repercussion if she did.

Cameron carefully lifted her head as soon as the debris stopped landing around her. There were destroyed Terminators, dead Grays, and dead Resistance fighters all around the area they were in. Clothing wasn't a problem, even if it was torn or with burn marks or drenched with blood. They were able to gather some supplies.

They obtained food, water and other materials out of the wreckage. There were things she would need for Future Allison if she succeeded. She didn't know yet if the items she'd stockpiled before she left would still be there in their places of concealment. It would aid her greatly if they were still there. She planned to make Future Allison a better person than she was before the 'incident'. She planned to make up for what she'd done.

She needed to set up a secure area where Future Allison would be brought and held until after 'her future self' - Future Cameron, was sent into the past. She selected several locations in the past, from what she knew from her future, and hid some supplies. She would then return Future Allison to Future John and Future Savannah. After she accomplished her goal, there was another major challenge. It would be to get back to her time period with John. It was the part of the operation which actually concerned her the most. It would be a risk and gamble with all the changes they'd made.

She would keep trying no matter what timeline she ended up in to get back to John. She hoped Allison and Vanna would be able to comfort him if she failed to return. John deserved the best. They were the same females of his future anyway. There was no need to wait. She was very pleased, she chose them to replace her.

She hoped Savannah would keep her promise to marry John when she 'grew up'. It was a safety measure in case it took her years to get back, or if she was terminated. She reflected on the fact she may never return. It comforted her to know Young Allison would grow to fill any void as well. She'd left specific instructions with Bob, Jim and John Henry as to what the future would be for Savannah and Young Allison. Their destiny was already determined by the future. They were to make sure it happened. She wasn't exactly sure what they would need to do to accomplish the task. Maybe it was something she didn't want to think about.

Cameron programmed four of the Terminators she'd captured to protect both Young Allison and Savannah in the advent of Judgment Day. Two of them would stay with each girl until John 'needed' them. They wouldn't suffer the same fate Allison and Vanna experienced. They should both be with John by that point in her 'absence'. Bob, John Henry and Jim would look after John, Vanna and Allison if Judgment Day ever came.

She tried to think of everything to protect everyone else. It was everyone but herself. She hoped John would accept Allison and Vanna as her replacements. She'd made it as clear as possible it was what she wanted. It would mean a lot to her if John would choose them. She wanted it to be them. 'Allison' was in her system. John deserved Allison. It was the 'Natural Order' of time. Every John deserved Allison. Every Allison deserved John. She thought she better stop thinking about it before she ended up crying or worse, and experienced a 'melt down'. Where she was at now wasn't the time or place for any errors.

Getting on the aircraft carrier would only be a small problem. Being at the right place, at the right time, is what would be the hard part. It would all come down to split second timing. She hoped to do it without having to destroy any Terminators or kill any Resistance fighters. Until the moment Future John sent her into the past, she didn't want to alter anything, except Future Allison's termination. There were things about herself which were erased. She would need to leave them the same way.

She knew she would be tempted to spy on Future Cameron and Future John to see exactly what occurred. It was the 'not knowing' which always hurt her the most. She might be able to learn, one way or the other, what actually occurred, or didn't occur. She needed to focus. It wasn't about her. It was about Future Allison and Future John. She needed to fix what she'd destroyed. What happened to her was irrelevant to her mission.

Cameron and her team donned Skynet clothing from the wreckage of the transport. It was the clothing they would need for where they were headed. It was deep into Skynet held territory. There were no Resistance patrols in the area they would traverse. If they ran into any Scavengers, they would be terminated. It was something she was willing to change. It would help protect females if nothing else. She didn't want to make the Scavenger problem her mission. It would be a sideshow at best. She would still like to keep the interaction in the future to a minimum in all regards.

She watched as Unit Two and Unit Three watched everything around her. She was confident they wouldn't hesitate to step in front of a plasma rifle, and take the blast intended for her, if it came down to it. They'd acted without hesitation before. She knew they would do so again if necessary. She was sure it would help the chances of success with her mission.

Cameron and the two Restorators continued their journey. They advanced further into Skynet controlled territory. The enemy was all around them. As long as they were in Skynet's backyard, their Skynet uniforms would aid them. The trek continued. It certainly wasn't the Yellow Brick Road.

Down the rabbit hole they went.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Future's Past

We can live in the moment
But moments don't last
Or live today for tomorrow
Tomorrow quickly becomes the future's past

There are things one can change
But change is often slow
We believe everything we know
Yet don't have much to show

Hearts become battered and bruised
They may often shatter and bleed
Was it only a moment of greed
Or the true love we all need

I can't say there will be a tomorrow
I know there was a yesterday
There needs to be more in play
Than what happens on any given day

We can fight windmills
Ignore the future's forecast
Cling to what once was
And forever live in the future's past

Nobody