Chapter 93

Jet Plane

Bob and Jim were on a recon mission. They did some follow-up work for John Henry. They were to check out some possible suspected Grey activity.

"So far we have nothing to report on." Bob said.

Jim agreed.

"Maybe this was nothing." Jim said.

Bob knew Cameron usually followed up on the potential targets.

"I'm surprised Cameron hasn't come to check on things herself." Bob said.

Jim worried about Cameron.

"She hasn't been herself lately." Jim said.

It was a worry for all of the Terminators.

"We've all noticed it." Bob said.

Jim was a little reluctant to say what he thought the problem was. He still thought it needed to be addressed.

"I don't think she's functioning at one hundred percent." Jim said.

The incident in the lab was very troubling to witness.

"You saw the episode in the lab." Bob said. "I was afraid she would need to be deactivated. Sometimes they just go bad. Nobody knows why."

Jim nodded.

"I'm not sure what happened." Jim said.

Bob doubted anyone knew for sure, including Cameron.

"It was something, and it was nothing good." Bob said. "I don't think the issue is going to resolve itself on its own."

Jim believed most things were the same way.

"Does it ever?" Jim asked.

Bob nodded.

"No." Bob said.

Bob and Jim wrapped up the surveillance with nothing conclusive. The only thing they noticed was a female pass by. No Grays were spotted. There was no activity at the location.

There were other leads they needed to follow up on.

They visited the location where Cameron was incapacitated, and almost trapped in the burning building. She told them about finding the passageway which went underground, but it was collapsed.

They parked a quarter mile away and walked in on foot. They looked for signs of any surveillance equipment. None was spotted. They didn't notice any footprints, other than theirs, from the direction they came. They didn't spot anyone anywhere near the location. There were no animal tracks either.

Jim looked around the remains of the burnt building.

"Where should we start?" Jim asked.

Bob looked the area over as well.

"Let's see what Cameron found and try to determine what our next move will be." Bob said.

The two Terminators moved the piece of machinery, and opened the hatch where Cameron told them to look. They went down the stairway and reached the same blockage she did. It didn't appear as if anyone had tried to dig anything out. Everything looked as Cameron described it to them.

"It looks like a dead end." Jim said.

Bob and Jim went back up the stairway, closed the hatch, and moved the piece of machinery back on top of it.

"It's possible there's a secondary entrance." Bob said.

They continued to look around the remains of the building. Everything was completely cooled down now. When they removed the remains of the Terminators, everything was incredibly hot.

They removed several other pieces of burnt machinery to see if there was anything under them. There wasn't. They started to move in a pattern around the exterior of the remains of the building.

They moved further away from the buildings, closer to the tree line on one side of the location.

They switched through several different vision spectrums to look for any anomalies with the ground. If something was warmer or cooler, it should show up.

Jim picked up a 'hit'.

"You'd better take a look at this." Jim said.

Bob moved over to the location. He detected the different temperature reading as well.

"The ground around this area doesn't show any disturbance." Bob said. "If someone came out of whatever is there, they obliterated their tracks."

Jim bent down and scraped his foot over the surface. Once the thin layer of dirt was moved away, there was clearly a piece of metal there.

Bob broke off a tree branch and helped clear the area off. There was a metal hatch in a concrete frame.

They tried to open the hatch. It was secured from the inside.

"It looks like we're going to need to blow it open." Jim said.

Bob hoped to avoid anything so drastic. There was a slightly more subtle approach they could take. It would be less noisy anyway.

"I'm going to use some Thermite on the hinges." Bob said.

Bob took one of the Thermite grenades and opened it up. He removed the explosive charge from it. He dumped some of the Thermite onto the hinges. He used the fuse of the grenade to ignite the Thermite.

Jim kept track of the area around them. There were no signs of anyone else.

In a very short time, Bob used his knife to pry up on the side of the hatch where the hinges were burned away by the Thermite. Once he was able to get his fingers underneath the metal, he was able to pry it open without too much trouble. There was a loud squeal as the metal bent when he applied 'Terminator force' to it.

Jim quickly rejoined Bob once the hatch was open.

"Let's go down and take a look." Bob said. "Let me get a few second head start, in case there's some type of problem."

Jim understood his warning. It's possible there was an ambush waiting for them when they went down. To open the hatch required a certain amount of noise to be made. They made it.

Bob looked down the hatch. There was a ladder which went down. It was a circular opening with the ladder bolted to the concrete. He paused and listened. He didn't hear any sound. Down the ladder he went.

He reached the bottom in a few seconds. There was a square concrete passageway which ran in both directions. It was clearly a little more elaborate than they anticipated.

"Jim, I need you to assist me." Bob said.

Jim quickly joined Bob at the bottom, after he closed the hatch. He bent the lip of the metal slightly, to prevent it from being easily opened.

"I think we need to split up." Bob said. "We need to find out where these passageways go. I don't want anyone behind us."

Jim looked down both lengths of the passageway.

"There are bends in it after several hundred feet." Jim said. "There will be blind corners."

Bob wanted to get started.

"I'll take the side which goes back towards the building." Bob said. "Follow the other side and see where it goes. If you don't find anything in five minutes, return back to this location. I'll do so as well. If one of us isn't back here in five minutes, it means there's a problem."

Bob and Jim each started out down a separate branch of the passageway system.

Jesse opened her eyes. She looked to her right, Allison was lying next to her asleep. She looked to her left, Vanna was there asleep as well.

She was glad it wasn't a dream. She pinched herself to make sure. The pinch hurt. She smiled. It wasn't a dream. If anything, it was a dream come true.

Jesse just experienced the best time of her life. She'd never felt so loved before. It was like she mattered for once. It was like she was someone who was actually wanted for who they were, not what they could offer. Not someone to use, abuse, or take advantage of.

She loved Vanna and Allison. Between them and Cameron, Jesse never felt so alive and such caring before. She really didn't want to be with males anymore. Her preference was always for female anyway. Being in a Scavenger camp as a captive, seemed to make every female think the same way. She would have to let Derek down slowly, she didn't want to hurt him. If John ever did want her, she would 'do it' for Cameron. She would do anything for Cameron.

Jesse wondered how she could ever show her love and appreciation to the three women. She could never see Cameron as anything but a 'woman'. She did feel a little remorse the 'second time' around with Allison. She pretended she was 'Cameron'. She decided she wouldn't do it again, or at least not too often. She wanted to treat the two women with dignity and respect. She wanted to treat them with love. The same caring and love she felt from them. The same feelings they shared with her.

Vanna stirred. She looked over at Jesse and smiled. Jesse reached over and touched her cheek as she smiled at her.

Allison yawned. Jesse looked over at her and smiled. Allison smiled back.

It looked like everyone was happy and satisfied as to what transpired. They'd all experienced multiple finishes. It was always a good sign everyone would be content afterwards.

Jesse spoke first. She felt she needed to. She wanted to.

"I want to say I've never felt such love and compassion in my life, ever." Jesse said. "You two and Cameron are the most precious people to me. I thought this type of feeling and love only existed in fairy tales. I just experienced it first hand. I honestly never thought it would happen to me."

Allison was sure Jesse saw her as 'Cameron' the second time around. She knew Vanna did too sometimes. Vanna didn't know it, but sometimes she said Cameron's name. It happened more than a few times. She felt more honored, than upset, to be thought of as 'Cameron'. She wished she was Cameron.

When Vanna was down at times, Allison would try to act more like 'Cameron' for Vanna to excite and stimulate her even more. It always worked. It was fun to pretend to be 'Cameron' for Vanna.

"It was a special time for me too, Jesse. You really turned things up a notch, especially the second time around." Allison said.

Allison was sure she knew why. She didn't want to say it specifically. It actually made her feel good about herself to be thought of as 'Cameron'.

Jesse felt a little guilty about it. She would try not to do it again to Allison. It was wrong, but she couldn't help it. It was the only way she could ever be with 'Cameron'. Now she felt bad.

'I'm sorry Allison'. Jesse thought to herself.

Vanna wanted to express her gratitude and her personal level of enjoyment.

"It was fantastic, Jesse. I'm glad you came by." Vanna said and giggled.

Vanna's statement caused Allison and Jesse to giggle.

"You know, Allison, the song you played when I first came in really touched me." Jesse said. "It set the atmosphere for love."

The song was: 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' by 'The Shirelles'.

Allison found it on her player. Cameron selected it for her. Whenever there was a song selected, it was always Cameron who left it for her. Cameron always seemed to know…. Cameron always tried to make everyone happy and feel loved. She couldn't understand why Cameron felt so 'damaged' inside and so hurt ALL the time. Everyone loved Cameron. Nobody hated her.

The three women reflected on their 'adventure' as they showered and dressed together.

A new chapter in their lives was opened.

Each of them was hungry to turn the pages and find what other hidden treasures lurked within each other.

One thing was for certain. When they were with Jesse, it was a guaranteed finish. She wouldn't stop until she was able to make it happen. She could make it happen often too.

John looked around for Cameron. He told her she didn't have to stay in bed all night while he slept. He knew she was always busy and didn't sleep. She said she was 'afraid' to ever go into standby again. She wouldn't tell him why. The tears on her cheeks told him enough. He left it alone. He didn't know Cameron was too ashamed of what she'd experience to even tell him.

The 'memories' still haunted Cameron. Whenever she viewed one, it seemed as if it just happened again.

Cameron wondered if they really did happen before. If they were repressed memories she needed to figure out some way to change them and prevent them from happening in the first place. It was probably part of the problem. If she was going back in time to 'replace' herself, she was only creating more problems and more 'memories' which might resurface as nightmares. It was like some crazy 'Catch 22'.

John's words brought Cameron back to now. She was grateful for it. The darkness in her mind was nowhere to dwell.

"You can always show back up, when I wake up." John said jokingly.

Cameron was in a playful mood now.

"And if I do?" Cameron had asked. "What happens next?"

John was ready to find out.

"We start our exploration, again." John said.

It sounded good to Cameron. She really liked the sensations John provided her with, and made her feel. She didn't know if they were the 'same' as a human female but they were very rewarding.

"It's a deal." Cameron said.

Cameron was usually there every morning as John awoke. She would be there waiting for him to wake up and start again. She'd begun to look into her programming files for 'new things'. She didn't tell John, she showed him instead. There were many variations and positions they tried. They were all rewarding to her. She wasn't so sure about John. He seemed a little uncomfortable with some of them.

It was a new day.

John woke up and looked around. Cameron wasn't there today. He fell back asleep and hoped when he woke up again she would be.

When Cameron was in John Henry's server, she systematically erased, or crashed, every operating system which contained any information about Sarah, John, or her on them. She erased any news footage, and any police records. Only a few paper files remained. As she tracked them down, she targeted them for shredding. She slowly wiped their existence from history, and all traces of Sarah's parents too. She also made sure any information on the Reese family was limited.

Nothing was off limits to her. Cameron even entered facilities in disguise to eliminate files and records herself. She eradicated everything other than what remained in people's minds. If she determined them to be a potential threat, they were terminated. She wanted to protect her family. Nobody stood in her way.

Cameron still thought all she needed to do now was 'erase' herself. Then everyone's life would be better off without her. She made sure John would be 'taken care of' in the two timelines he existed in. What bothered her the most was if she may have created other timelines. What was the deal with the Liquid Metal, 'almost Cameron', thing? Was it her doing? Was it something Mrs. Weaver did?

She didn't know how to tell what she'd done, or 'one of her' may have done. It disturbed her so when John Henry pointed out what she wanted to do, seemed to have already been done to a certain extent. It was sloppy. It wasn't like her. Was someone else manipulating her? Only Mrs. Weaver might have the capability, or Skynet. It seemed sloppy for both of them too.

Because the episode, and all of the things seemed 'sloppy', she really wondered who was behind them specifically. Her biggest worry was if it was some other version of herself from some timeline she may have accidentally created.

There was the possibility it was some type of outside force as well. What that force was, or its purpose was, she didn't have a clue. It was the trouble with the entire situation. She didn't know for sure about any of it.

Cameron decided she would try to upgrade herself to a Liquid Metal Terminator if she went into the future again. She would be better able to please John with the new 'body', if she returned. She could be anyone he wanted, except Riley or Mrs. Weaver.

Riley was John's 'first'. It wasn't her. What John did with Riley still bothered her. It was how he did it which bothered her more. She again felt the same look on her face, as she felt on the morning she 'caught' John. Did he really need to smirk at her as he went up the stairs? It really rubbed her face in it. She made it clear to John by that point in time, she wanted to be with him, and she was available. She'd even told him she loved him. He didn't believe her when she'd said it. The impact between the two trucks brought her back to reality, and she was actually herself again when John 'terminated' her.

Now she was about to get lost in another tangent. It wasn't where she wanted to go. They were all the things which bothered her. They all bothered her as if they just occurred when she thought about them. It seemed the more she tried not to think of them, the more she did think of them.

What Mrs. Weaver tried to do with John angered her also.

Cameron thought about it again. As a Liquid Metal Terminator, she could be anyone John wanted, except Riley or Mrs. Weaver. She really wondered what he would actually want. What if it was her, the way she was? It at least gave her something to hope for.

John tossed and turned. There was something jammed against his side now. He hadn't noticed it before. It was Cameron's player.

'Leaving on a Jet Plane' by 'Peter, Paul and Mary', started to play when he bumped it.

"Not again." John said as he sat upright and looked around.

It was the only other thing in the bed with him.

Cameron was gone.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I'm Interested In The Past

For there to be a future
There must also be a past
The sum of it all
Is slowly amassed

Every action has a reaction
Every event has a price
Perhaps before one acts
They should think twice

Everything can change in a second
Beware what the future may bring
The events that can unfold
May wound, hurt and sting

People aren't suddenly constructed
In a day they weren't built
There are things they have destructed
Leaving them with remorse and guilt

Be honest about what proceeded
If one wants to builds something to last
I need to know where I stand
I'm interested in the past

Nobody