Chapter 100
Jealousy
Love + Hate = Jealousy
It's been said: Sometimes in life people think they know what they want. Then after they attain it, they want more, or something different. What once was important, soon becomes 'unimportant'. The lifespan of a loving relationship is six months to two years. After that, it then becomes 'toleration'. What can override everything in life, even when a relationship is 'dead'? What one feeling can light a fire inside someone until it consumes them?
Jealousy!
Love is a powerful feeling. It can make people do a lot of things….
Hate is just as powerful. It can make people do some things….
Jealousy overpowers all. It can make people do anything….
Jealousy is fueled by Love and Hate combined – Watch Out.
Cameron pondered these feelings and ideas in her poems. She was able to express how she felt and why. She felt wronged in many ways from her treatment by others to the actions of others. She didn't like what John did to her, especially how it was done and perpetuated. The feelings of love, heartbreak, anger and hate all ended up in one's mind on a collision course.
Cameron led Allison, Vanna and Jesse on a temporal mission into her future to prevent Future Allison's capture and hence her construction. She desired her 'one wish'. It was never to have been built.
The last second events which transpired were filled with jealousy, anger and hate.
The arcing started. The flashing was blinding.
The energy bubble formed around them.
Cameron couldn't believe her eyes.
She saw Riley standing next to John, HER JOHN.
RILEY!
"Nooooooooooooooo!" Cameron screamed.
It was to be her very last memory of John.
Earlier:
Derek contemplated his current actions with Riley. They were on their way to the Resistance base. He knew once they arrived, there was no turning back. Either Riley would become part of the group, or she would be terminated. He understood his current actions might be responsible for her death. It wasn't something he wanted to see. It wasn't something he wanted to happen.
He understood he was on the 'rebound' with Jesse. He believed his connection with Riley was deeper than just a 'rebound' reaction. He didn't know for sure. From past experience, he learned emotions could cloud someone's judgment in the worst ways.
He was fairly certain he saw some of it in Cameron as well. Cameron wasn't equipped to deal with feelings and emotions like a human could. He understood every time she thought of some past event, it occurred as fresh in her mind as if it just occurred. There was no way for time to dull the pain of past events. If anything, it seemed to amplify them.
Derek glanced over at Riley as they neared the location of the base. He thought about asking her to close her eyes and not watch where they went. He wasn't about to ask her to wear a blindfold or a hood. Perhaps if things weren't going to work out, he could take her and dump her in another location and leave her with some cash to restart her life.
He was actually surprised at some of the stacks of cash in one of the storerooms. He found out Cameron was able to glean the funds from various drug and sex trafficking operations she took down on the side. He thought it was a very good source of funding, as well as help reduce the crop of future Scavengers.
He finally decided not to say anything to Riley as they approached the base. If one of the Terminators wanted her terminated, it was going to happen eventually. Everything was what it was.
He pulled into the carpool when his phone rang. It was Kyle. It seemed there was some type of problem developing as they spoke.
Bob let Jim out on the east side of the target location. He parked down two side streets from where they wanted to go. They would approach the location from both sides of the alley.
John Henry's, JH, server kept them in contact with each other through their com system.
They were currently at each end of the alley. The building was about two thirds of the way down the street to the west. It was closer to where Bob was at.
"Let's move." Bob said.
Jim already started down the alley
"I'll be one building to the east in approximately sixty-seven seconds." Jim said.
Bob calculated what time he would need to leave to arrive at the building to the west of the location. He started out twenty-one seconds later.
Jim looked for any signs of surveillance cameras or people in the vicinity of where he was in the alley. None were spotted.
Bob checked to make sure no one tracked him as he moved along. There was no indication anyone did.
He approached the building on the west side of the target location. The building was vacant. He believed it would give them a better perspective to move up along the fence between the two properties to get closer to the target location. They might be able to hear any activity going on inside of the building.
Jim received the message and continued along in back of the building in question. He wanted to see if he attracted any attention. He didn't. He joined Bob at the building on the west side.
Bob thought the best choice of entry would be through a gate which was secured with a lock and chain. Rather than break the lock, which was easier than breaking the chain, he would open a link in the chain instead. He would leave the lock intact.
He stretched out the joint of one of the links in the chain enough to slip it out of the link next to it. He let Jim in through the gate and put the chain back through it. He hooked the two links back together, but didn't close the separated link tightly.
Bob and Jim moved to the fence which separated the two properties. They passed by the out building on the other side of the fence, after they listened for a moment. They continued along the fence towards the main body of the target location.
Seconds ago:
Derek parked the SUV in the carpool.
Riley looked around in awe.
"Is this all part of your base?" Riley asked.
Derek knew this was just the tip of the iceberg for her.
"Yes." Derek said. "There is a lot that goes on around here."
Riley could see it was a more sophisticated operation than she'd expected. It looked like living there would be way better than the future she came from, or the run down dump of an apartment she just left behind. She hoped to restart her life over from this moment.
It seemed as if her life could now have purpose. She wasn't really sure what purpose it actually had before. It didn't seem there was one, other than to exist. Times always seemed tough in the Wastelands. She didn't care for the abuse when it happened. It was something she always knew would happen at some point, and it did, more than a few times. The other females told her it was just the way life was.
It made her think about the actions of some people. Why did they do what they did? There was a television in the shabby apartment. She watched a nature show about sea lions one time. Somehow it made all of the future make sense. A dominant male sea lion, known as the Beach Master, controlled a harem of females. His control was maintained through violence. The animals bit and tore into each other until they were bloody. It was repeated over and over. It was clear the most violent and abusive animal was the victor.
It was somewhat disturbing to her to watch a female sea lion come ashore. In seconds there were half a dozen male sea lions all over her. They were the ones the Beach Master defeated earlier. They still wanted to mate anyway. They took any opportunity they could to do so. It reminded her of the way some of those in the future acted. They didn't care what happened to anyone else, as long as they got what they wanted.
The female seal lion needed to give birth to her pup. The male sea lions didn't care. They wanted her. They tried to take her. even as she tried to get away from them. She….
Riley blinked her eyes several times. She let her mind wander. She needed to refocus. The past was the past, even if it drifted over into the present. Her life was about to enter a new chapter.
"I look forward to being part of it." Riley said. "I can't wait to meet everyone."
Riley really looked forward to meet, and work, with a new group of people. She didn't think she would need to worry about being abused by anyone. She hoped she no longer would need to worry about being awoken in the night with a knife to her throat, or a gun to the side of her head. What followed those awakenings was always the same. She wanted her life to begin fresh from here. She wanted to start over. She thought going to the past would restart her life. Even though everything was different, it was all somehow still the same. The housing and culinary changes were the best.
Derek hurried Riley along. He needed to find out what the problem was about which troubled Kyle.
"We need to hurry. My brother told me something was about to happen. It didn't seem like anything good." Derek said. "It's not an attack from an outside group or anything."
Riley listened to some of the stories Derek told her about his brother. It was evident they shared a strong bond. They were lucky too in the fact they still had a family member alive and with them. It was rare in itself.
"I'm looking forward to meeting your brother." Riley said. "You've told me a lot about him."
Riley didn't see much of Kyle when he untied her hands earlier, when she was being held as a captive. He needed to go after a Gray who escaped.
Derek wanted her to understand it was a close knit group.
"He is a great guy. Everyone here is, even the Terminators." Derek said.
His revelation took her by surprise. She felt like someone just hit her in the midsection with a two by four. She wanted to clarify his statement.
"Metal?" Riley asked.
Riley slowed and then stopped. Now she was a little worried. No, she was more than a little worried. She was afraid of Terminators, even if she'd never met one. She heard all the stories.
Derek sensed a problem. Maybe he should have made it clear before he brought her there. Since they were now at the base, if she wanted to leave, it was going to be a problem. He knew at this point it would lead to her termination. He tried to blow it off as no big deal. In reality it wasn't a big deal, even if it seemed like it at first.
"We work hand in hand with Terminators here." Derek said. "All of them are really great, especially Cameron. John and Cameron are married. We need to hurry."
Riley wasn't so sure about things now. She didn't know how it would be to work with Terminators up close. She heard sometimes they went 'bad', nobody knew why. The part about a human and Terminator together was another story. She wanted to know a little more.
"I've heard about Terminators and humans together before. I didn't think it was true." Riley said. "Is it really?"
It made her wonder how it worked out. She wondered what was the same, or what was different. Where were the shared feelings and emotions in all of it? Was it just sex? Maybe there was more to everything than met the eye.
Derek wanted to keep it simple. He thought Riley would understand better once she'd met everyone. It was really no big deal and everything seemed 'natural' to him at this point. He'd been a little apprehensive at first in his future. Having been saved by a Restorator more than once, including Cameron, quickly dispelled any of his earlier fears and prejudices.
"It's true." Derek said. "We can all learn to get along, coexist, and even love. It's all in the mind anyway, love or hate."
Riley trusted Derek. She knew he was a leader in her past, the future. She was aware the Resistance leadership worked with Restorators, and reprogrammed Terminators, to defeat Skynet. She was never up close with them before. She was afraid of them. Most of the people she knew were afraid of them. They'd all seen what Skynet Terminators had done. They all heard stories of what happened if they were captured and sent to a work camp. The humans who worked with Skynet were nearly as bad as Scavengers in the way they treated the captives, especially females. She understood why everyone hated Grays.
"I'll trust you, Derek, but I'm afraid of Metal." Riley said. "I've seen what it does. I've witnessed what they can do. I also know Scavengers can be worse and more brutal. We all know what they do to the females they get a hold of. If one was lucky, they could escaped before they were mutilated. I guess anyone, or thing, can be evil and brutal."
Derek felt it was about choice. Scavengers were Scavengers by choice. They chose to be brutal and evil. Skynet Terminators were programmed to be ruthless and kill. He was able to see when Terminators were given free choice, they were anything but brutal towards humans. They were only brutal towards the enemy who wanted to kill humans. He witnesses the good Terminators did in the future to save humanity. He was there and he'd been a part of it. They couldn't have defeated Skynet without the assistance of 'the machines' who were on their side. They made a difference. It was a big one.
"It was the Terminators who cleaned up the Scavenger problem, Riley. It was Cameron and Mrs. Weaver, both them. They were Terminators who did it to protect humans, especially human females. They did it because the Scavengers hurt people they both loved." Derek said. "I know it's hard to believe but Terminators can love too."
Riley started to move again. She hoped it wasn't a mistake coming there. She wondered what would happen if she tried to leave.
"I'm a little worried." Riley said.
Derek could see she was more than a little worried. She almost looked terrified.
"Please trust me on this." Derek said. "We need to hurry."
Derek and Riley started to run fast.
They came around a corner. The TDE thundered and vibrated the entire area.
They saw John pounding on the glass with his fists calling Cameron's name over and over.
'Cameron, Cameron, Cameron, Cameron, Cameron….'
It was unnerving to watch.
Derek rushed up to Kyle.
"What's happening, Kyle?" Derek asked.
Derek could see Sarah was upset and angry.
"They're all going." Sarah answered.
Sarah felt sick.
Kyle didn't know much.
"It's nothing good, Derek." Kyle responded. "They're all leaving."
Riley looked at the young man pounding on the glass.
'Damn, he's hot.' Riley thought.
She decided she would need to get to know him better, MUCH better. This trip to 'Paradise' seemed to get better and better.
Riley moved to stand next to him. She wanted to be closer to him. She could check him out easier this way. She wanted to see in the window too. She wanted to see what was going on. It all seemed so dramatic.
Riley stood next to John and peered in the window.
'Damn, that's four HOT women.' Riley thought. 'Look at those twins, especially the one.'
She noted the redhead and the Asian girl were just as HOT.
Riley was captivated as she looked at Cameron.
'Just LOOK at the one twin. How can she look so good?' Riley wondered.
The super Hot twin looked at her.
When Riley looked at the face of the super hot twin, she saw Hate in her eyes.
Riley saw Hate on her face.
Riley heard her scream - 'Nooooooooooooooo!'
Riley saw her eyes turn red.
Riley saw - Death.
Seconds ago:
Savannah went to study after John left. Cameron always pushed her to learn all she could. Cameron pushed her to improve herself. Cameron pushed her hard in everything, both mental and physical. Cameron told her she wanted to create the 'perfect female'. Cameron reminded her John deserved ONLY the best. She knew what her destiny was. She knew what her promises were and what they meant. Cameron made it clear to her what her function would be when she was 'ready'. She always promised Cameron again every time they talked about it.
Savannah knew something bad was about to happen this time.
She felt fear.
Cameron was always with her everyday. She went over what the future held and what she must do to protect John and the future. Cameron told her what she was destined to achieve and indicated what was 'expected' of her. She was onboard for all the things Cameron made her promise to do. It was to be her and Young Allison. The future depended on them. She was aware of the great responsibility it would be.
Sometimes Cameron came to her room in tears. She held Cameron as she cried and cried before. It seemed only her promises to Cameron could make her stop crying. Her love for Cameron seemed to be the only thing to calm Cameron. She did love Cameron. She loved her more than anything or anyone. Cameron was her life. She was what gave her the strength to go on herself. She already lost so much. Both of her real parents were gone. Mrs. Weaver was gone. Her whole family was gone, along with her home as well. Cameron gave her a new life and a new purpose.
Now the TDE thundered. Nothing good ever happened when it was on. There was always trouble afterwards. Everyone was sad and upset after it turned off.
Savannah knew her place in 'time'. The future called to her.
"I promise, Cammy." She cried over and over.
"I promise, Cammy." "I promise, Cammy." "I promise, Cammy."….
Savannah heard a scream like she'd never heard before, over the roar of the machinery.
'Nooooooooooooooo!'
Savannah knew she had two things to do with her life.
One was to marry John. The other was to find and protect someone named 'Young Allison'. The future depended on them. She knew she wouldn't fail. She swore she would do both of those things.
"I promise, Cammy." "I promise, Cammy." "I promise, Cammy."….
Allison saw the new girl.
She heard Cameron scream.
'Nooooooooooooooo!'
Allison looked at her. She KNEW it was that 'Bitch Whore' Riley.
Allison screamed in rage.
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
Vanna saw the new girl.
She heard Cameron scream.
'Nooooooooooooooo!'
Vanna looked at her. She KNEW it was that 'Bitch Whore' Riley.
Vanna screamed in rage.
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
Jesse saw the new girl.
She heard Cameron scream.
'Nooooooooooooooo!'
Jesse looked at her. She KNEW it was that 'Bitch Whore' Riley.
Jesse screamed in rage.
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
Riley looked on in horror.
Riley saw DEATH.
Riley felt DEATH.
Riley heard DEATH.
It was like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and each one of them was going to kill her.
Riley KNEW it.
DEATH was coming for her.
The four women saw the man they all loved and wanted, standing next to the one person who could 'take' him.
John stood next to the one person who'd already taken him before.
John stood next to the one person he'd chosen before over Cameron.
"Nooooooooooooooo!"
It was to be their very last memory of John.
The memory was of John and Riley together and alone.
The flashing and arching intensified as the energy bubble enveloped them. In a flash of light they were gone.
Nothing was left but memories.
The TDE pad was empty
Only nothingness remained.
Nobody was there.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Jealousy
It often starts out as love
It's beautiful while it may last
Time and change soon catch up
The love is soon left in the past
When one moves on
They leave the other behind
The parting words shouted
Are often very maligned
When one still loves the other
They can not let go
For deep inside of them
Their love continues to flow
Then along comes another
Into the other's heart they interlope
The pain of rejection and replacement
Becomes more than the one can cope
The love is still there
But is now fueled by hate
Jealousy overpowers everything
As the vanquished reject their fate
Nobody