Chapter 50
Timing
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Cameron's Future Timeline:
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Cameron was back in her future a few days before the time when Future Allison was terminated. She wanted to do some recon of the Resistance base and the Connor compound. She thought about preventing Future Allison's capture in the first place. She resisted the compelling urge to do either of those things. Any interaction with the Resistance could change everything.
They made their way to several of the 'safe houses' they would use once Future Allison was retrieved. Not all of them were in territory held by the Resistance. It was by design. She was pleased to see the items she stockpiled in the past, were still where she'd concealed them. They hadn't been found or suffered from the elements. It would aid her greatly in her dealings with Future Allison, until the time she could be returned to Future John.
They left the 'safe areas' behind. They needed to pass through Skynet held territory as well as Resistance held territory. They'd been able to avoid contact in all but one instance.
Cameron and the two Restorators entered Skynet territory earlier. They usually travel during the hours of darkness. It normally gave them the advantage. It gave them the advantage over Resistance fighters, as well as the humans who worked with Skynet, the Grays. It wouldn't give them an advantage over a Terminator. It could be a Terminator who worked for either side. The majority of them worked for Skynet.
They were currently in an area Cameron didn't have any prior knowledge about. She only knew about the areas where she'd been, or any operations she'd been involved with.
Cameron detected movement up ahead. Unit Two and Unit Three detected it as well. They also detected something else.
"There's movement in front of us." Cameron said.
Unit Three pointed out the other problem.
"There's also a disturbance behind us." Unit Three said.
Cameron didn't think it was an attempt to attack them. She didn't even think it was an attempt to capture them. She believed it was two routine operations. She decided to hunker down and wait them out. There was still some time before they needed to get to the port.
It wasn't long until the two Skynet patrols met up with each other. It was actually very near where they were concealed. They'd been able to arm themselves with sufficient weapons for the time period. They were taken from the dead on the battlefield, and the crashed Skynet transport.
The first group to arrive was a squad of Grays led by a Terminator. The second group which arrived consisted of four Terminators.
Cameron didn't think the odds were overwhelming if a firefight broke out. They would deal with the Terminators first and then switch to the Grays. The lead Terminator from the group of four communicated with the Terminator in charge of the Grays. Both Patrols selected their next direction to be on their right side, when they left. They would be better able to cover all four points of the compass with their maneuver.
They waited two hours to see if anyone returned. No one did. They continued on their journey and arrived at the port. They weren't challenged or attacked by anyone along the way. It appeared they'd arrived undetected.
It was soon the day Future Cameron terminated Future Allison.
Cameron's team waited until there would be a reassignment of some personnel. She was aware of the timing of when it would occur. There would be some supplies and equipment brought on board the aircraft carrier. They were positioned where the supplies would arrive, and then be taken onto the aircraft carrier. They were ready to move when it was time, to carry the supplies on board. They waited until the first group of Terminators went up the gangplank. They all collected a few more boxes from the storage location and followed them up the gangplank. They successfully boarded the aircraft carrier. They took the supplies to one of the storage rooms and remained there.
So far they hadn't altered anything that she was aware of. Cameron knew where her future self - Future Cameron, would be and when, as well as the other Terminators or prisoners she passed or interacted with on that day. They would attempt to avoid everyone until the moment Unit Two and Unit Three needed to act.
Cameron's plan was to have Unit Two and Unit Three enter each side of the compartment Future Allison was being held in, at precise offset moments. This was to hopefully disrupt Future Cameron from killing Future Allison. She hoped Future Cameron would be aware of what was happening in front and in back of her. If Future Cameron was aware there were other Terminators present, she should release Future Allison before her termination. Future Allison should be left in the same condition Jodi was at her parent's home. If the first attempt failed, she would commandeer the Skynet TDE and try again and again.
She intended to prevent Future Allison's termination no matter how complex, or repetitious it needed to be, to accomplish the task.
The last resort was for Cameron to time jump and terminate Future Cameron herself, with the help of Unit Two and Unit Three, before she killed Future Allison. She would replace herself with - herself and relive her life over again for the past few years. Future Allison wasn't going to die today in the compartment she was in. She wouldn't allow it. If she was terminated herself during this procedure, it was the price she was willing to pay.
If Cameron failed and was terminated, either Unit Two, or Unit Three, was instructed to try to use the TDE and prevent Future Allison from being captured in the first place. At that point, she would never exist. Unit Two and Unit Three questioned her last decision only one time. She told them it was her choice and her wish. They said they would carry out her instructions.
Cameron was concealed within a compartment on the aircraft carrier. She went over the timing again with Unit Two and Unit Three. The timing needed to be precise. There were specific words Future Allison would say which determined when they would act.
The two Restorators confirmed the moment in time when they were to act.
"I understand, at the word, 'help'." Unit Two said.
"I understand, after the word, 'John'." Unit Three said.
Cameron also gave them the corresponding time stamp to go along with it. There were to be no mix ups. She wanted to do this one time and get Future Allison off the aircraft carrier.
They were in position. From her hiding place, Cameron watched Future Cameron enter the compartment. Future Cameron would stand in the shadows as she talked to Future Allison and then step forward.
It all played through Cameron's mind as it happened, right down to the moment of 'truth'.
"You lied to me." Future Cameron said.
Future Cameron lifted Future Allison by her neck, as she choked her.
"I'll never help - "
The door behind Future Cameron opened. She turned her head slightly.
"- you get to John - "
The door behind Future Allison opened. Future Cameron slightly turned her head back.
"- Connor." Future Allison gasped.
Future Cameron dropped Future Allison.
"You already did." Future Cameron said as he snatched the bracelet off Future Allison's unmoving shape, and walked out the door.
Future Cameron walked past where Cameron was hiding.
'What a Bitch.' Cameron thought.
Cameron entered the room. She rushed to Future Allison. Future Allison was still alive but unconscious. Future Allison wasn't breathing. She administered chest compressions. With a gasp of air, Future Allison started to breathe again.
She briefed Unit Two and Unit Three what to do and where to go. She picked up Future Allison in her arms.
Future Allison started to come around. Her eyes opened and widened as she realized she was being carried by Cameron. She believed it was the Terminator who'd just abused her.
Cameron wanted to maintain some control. She looked directly at Future Allison's face.
"If you want to live, come with me." Cameron said.
Future Allison wondered what was about to happen now. It must be some new tactic to further 'break her'. Maybe she was being taken to provide 'comfort' for the Grays. She'd heard the stories from others. She would be abused repeatedly. If she survived the abuse, she would be sent to a work camp. There it got really rough. If it was a camp with a high concentration of captured Scavengers, she would be abused until she died, or was able to take her own life. If it was mostly made up of captured Resistance members, she would be worked to death. She would also be abused there, but not as often. Death was the only escape. She thought about the words she'd just heard spoken to her. They didn't really make any sense.
"You just tried to kill me." Future Allison gasped.
She was barely able to speak.
Cameron tried to tell her the truth.
"It wasn't ME. I've been sent to rescue you." Cameron said.
Future Allison looked around to see if she could flee. If she saw she was being taken to the Gray's living quarters, she would attempt to attack and provoke the Terminator who held her into killing her. What the Grays did to her still warm dead body, wouldn't matter. She wouldn't be there. It was clear to her there was more in play than met the eye.
"This is a trick." Future Allison said.
Cameron wanted to get Future Allison away from where they were. She gave her some information about the Resistance which Future Allison hadn't divulged to Future Cameron.
"This is no deception. I'm here to reunite you with Savannah and John." Cameron said.
Future Allison's eyes widened again at the mention of her beloved.
"How do you know about Savan….'' Future Allison started to say and then quickly stopped.
Future Allison didn't want to give Skynet another target.
Cameron thought she could release some personal details as to what she knew from her time with Future John and the Resistance.
"I'm here for John." Cameron said. "I can tell you every scar or mark on his body. The Terminator who just questioned you couldn't know the same information. Only you can, or someone who's seen him unclothed. I can tell you everything in his room. I can tell you what and where his possessions are. I can tell you where your possessions are, and what they are."
Future Allison began to wonder about it. The things Cameron told her were correct to the smallest detail. She asked Cameron a few things only she knew about items in the room, and scars on Future John. They were scars only one who'd seen him naked would know. They were scars only someone who'd made love to him would be close enough to see.
It was all too real for Future Allison. Maybe Cameron was telling her the truth. If she was, there is one thing she needed to know.
"Have you had sex with him?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron spoke what she knew as the truth. There were many files deleted.
"No. I've never had sex with Your John. I've tended his wounds, helped him and saved him." Cameron said.
Future Allison was confused. She wondered how it was possible. She didn't think she'd been a prisoner very long. Something was off here. It didn't add up, even if it was one hundred percent factual. There was some factors missing she didn't understand. She even looked at the cuts and scrapes she'd received during her capture. They weren't very old.
Cameron wanted to give Future Allison as much assurance as she could about her safety.
"Allison, once we're off this ship, you'll be safe." Cameron reassured her. "It will at least be safer. No one is ever safe."
They avoided other Terminators and prisoners as they made their way off the ship. Allison walked behind Cameron with Unit Two and Unit Three behind her on both sides.
Future Allison looked for an opening to run. She certainly didn't feel safe now in any way. She still found it hard to believe everything she'd just been told by the cyborg. The cyborg who looked like her. The cyborg who looked identical to the cyborg who'd just attempted to kill her, only a short time ago.
Cameron could see Future Allison was ready to bolt.
"Allison, I'm here to help you." Cameron said. "I need you to trust me and believe me. I know you still think this is some form of an elaborate deception. It's not. We're going to have to stay at several secure locations for months."
Alarm bells started to go off in Future Allison's head. Why did there need to be a delay? It must be the prelude to something sinister.
"Why can't I go back to John now?" Future Allison asked. "How does it make any sense I would need to wait for months to see him again? I want to go back now."
Cameron looked Future Allison in her eyes. She was sure the answer wouldn't go over well. All she could offer her was the truth. She didn't want to start lying to her. She didn't believe lying would build trust, regardless of the situation.
"John hasn't sent me into the past yet." Cameron said. "Once he does, I'll return you to him."
Future Allison took a moment to think about the answer she'd just been given.
"Are you saying you're from the - Past?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron looked directly into her eyes as she spoke the truth.
"Yes." Cameron said.
Future Allison thought the cyborg was insane, if it was possible for a machine to be insane. It was clear she needed to get away immediately. The cyborg was obviously defective.
She tried to bolt. She knew she needed to get away from them somehow.
Cameron stopped her and held her in her arms until she calmed down.
"Allison, you need to relax." Cameron said. "I'm here to help you. You need to trust me. I'm not going to do anything to you, or allow anything to happen to you."
Future Allison faced Cameron.
"What's really going to happen to me?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron tried to look passive.
"These two units, Unit Two and Unit Three, will remain with you at all times." Cameron said. "They'll protect you and provide for you. They'll never abandon you or leave you until I can return you to John."
Future Allison looked at the two expressionless Terminators. She knew either of them could kill her in a second.
"Do they have names?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron wondered why Future Allison was confused. She'd already told her.
"They're known as Unit Two and Unit Three." Cameron responded.
Future Allison rolled her eyes some.
"I'm glad I asked." Future Allison said.
Cameron smiled at her. She was pleased everyone was on the same page.
Cameron's team made it back to Resistance controlled territory. She took Future Allison into the foothills. There were a series of abandoned bunkers, and collapsed buildings with fallout shelters, they could occupy. There were also some current bunkers she knew weren't in use. The Resistance pulled out of them after Future Allison's capture.
She would go out and get food and supplies for Future Allison as needed. All of her stockpiles of materials and items were where she'd hidden them in the past. She would only take a little at a time, in case they were detected and needed to move. She didn't want to leave any of the supplies behind.
Cameron stocked several locations with things she would need to 'remake' Future Allison. There were several other abandoned bunkers and fallout shelters they would need to move to at specific times. She knew all the events which occurred and when. She could stay ahead of Skynet and The Resistance. She didn't want to interact with Future Cameron in any way, or with Future John. If she did, it would change her past. She didn't want anything to change the future's past. She wanted to return to John and resume her life with him if at all possible. She really didn't know if it would ever happen.
Cameron spent all of the time Future Allison was awake with her. They were always together. If nothing else, Future Allison soon developed 'Stockholm Syndrome'. She no longer tried to escape. In fact, it was over three months since her last attempt. She monitored Future Allison every day to make sure her health was as good as it could be.
She also noted Future Allison wasn't yet pregnant. Cameron worked everyday with Future Allison to teach her, educate her, exercise her, groom her, and 'remake' Future Allison in HER image…. It was the same thing she planned to do with Savannah and Young Allison in the past with John, when she returned. The difference there would be, she should have years to work with Savannah and Young Allison, instead of only months like she would with Future Allison. It still all revolved around if she was able to return. She needed to complete the current mission first.
Cameron was very proud of her work with Future Allison. Now it was time for everything to change. She was aware of the timeline.
"I'll be sent back into the past, tomorrow." Cameron told Future Allison. "I'll make sure everything occurred as it did. I'll then return you to John."
Future Allison looked a little apprehensive. Some of the old fears began to creep back in.
"How is any of this going to be explained?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron believed the best course of action would be if it wasn't explained. It would be best if it wasn't explained how it actually happened. They would need to put some spin on it.
"It would be more plausible if you told anyone who asks, you escaped from a work camp." Cameron said. "It would be better if no one knew I returned from the past to free you, or I was ever here. I understand you'll tell John and Savannah the truth. They are two individuals you can trust. Tell no one else."
Future Allison felt very uneasy. She'd grown accustomed to Cameron. She'd grown more than fond of her.
"I don't know if they'd believe me." Future Allison said.
Cameron tried to be honest with Future Allison.
"Allison, I've sacrificed my future for you. This was a crime I could no longer exist with." Cameron said. "I needed to rectify what I'd done."
Future Allison didn't understand why Cameron would do this for her.
"Why?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron felt great shame as she spoke.
"I killed you before in the compartment on the aircraft carrier. I've come back and traded my future for you to have a future with John." Cameron said.
Future Allison was still a little confused.
"Can't you get back to where you were sent 'to', and then 'from', again?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron felt sadness flood her. With all of the changes made it seemed very unlikely.
"It's doubtful." Cameron said.
Future Allison didn't understand why Cameron would do all this.
"Why did you give up everything?" Future Allison asked.
Cameron thought about everything she needed to leave behind. She started to cry.
"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Cameron whimpered.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Timing
Everything in life is fluid
Events are often determined by timing
When we try to figure it out
The words can come out rhyming
More often than not
Being in the right place
At the right time
Can determine who we embrace
What is hoped for or planned
Often falls apart or goes awry
It can happen in the blink of an eye
Leaving us befuddled and asking why
Someone who is just there
Can become someone for whom we care
We may accept it and dare to share
Maybe even soon become a pair
A future can develop
It may even become binding
However it plays out
It all falls back on the timing
Nobody