Chapter 256

Time Won't Let Me

Cameron arrived back at her base and left off the three deactivated Terminators. She would still need to go through their chips. The hard drives they picked up were copied. CamNet would go through them later after she looked them over and made sure there were no hidden 'surprises'.

She would take the original hard drives to the Resistance base and give them to John and John Henry as a sign of good faith. She wouldn't alter them or change anything. She was very worried because John didn't seem to trust her anymore. Why did he need to know everything she did? Everything she did was for him. She wanted to protect him. She wanted him to have a better life than Future John experienced. She didn't want him to have the same lonely life. It was why Future John wanted him to have the girls. He wanted John to have 'a human touch' earlier in life.

She was very pleased with herself for restoring all of it for Future John. She gave him back Future Allison and Future Savannah. She was out of his life. Everything should be good now. They should have a family by now and a future to live for. It should all be a thing of beauty at this point.

Cameron looked over the captured female Terminator. It was going to be 'her' once she was Resequenced. It would be her identical clone. It should be a thing of beauty too. Somehow it was going to work this time. She didn't know how. It was just going to be.

She wanted to see John and not fight with him.

It was time to go 'home' to the Resistance base.

Cameron left her base behind. It wouldn't be too long of a drive to reach the Resistance base. She thought maybe she could take care of a few things on her way there. As long as she was out, she might as well make productive use of the time. She would most likely be tied up with John later on.

She wasn't sure if the meeting would be contentious or loving. She carried a peace offering for the Command Center. She would try to make sure everything went smoothly upon her arrival.

Cameron checked her files and selected a business. It was a company whose name appeared several times in relation to a target she recently took down with the Metal girls.

When she passed by the front of a convenience store, she could hear some screaming. It caught her attention. She watched as a car started to back out of a parking spot. There was a male part way inside of the driver's window as the car started to move. The car turned sharply and the male fell away from the side of the car.

The car headed for the driveway and made a turn onto the street. There was a female behind the wheel. One of the wheels bounced off of the curb because the car cut the corner short.

She turned her attention to the male. He got up off of the ground. He raised his fist in the air as he issued a string of curses at the vehicle. Another car started. He ran to the passenger side and got into it. The second vehicle took off after the first vehicle. The two right side tires bounced off of the curb, much as the first vehicle did in its haste to leave the area.

Cameron made a U-turn and began to follow them. She was sure whatever she witnessed was probably some type of domestic dispute rather than some type of robbery.

She knew it was something she shouldn't get involved with. She was concerned about the safety of the female. She couldn't help but think about the girls from the future and some of the abuse they needed to suffer at the hands of others. She would try to make a determination as to the nature of the dispute before she became actively involved. It was possible there was a just grievance between the two parties.

Cameron closed up on the vehicle with the male in it. It was driven by another male. There were two males in the vehicle. It caught up to the vehicle with the female in it. Neither one of them were speeding more than fifty percent above the speed limit. It wasn't much more than the average driving speed. It seemed to her few people followed the traffic laws. If anything, it was even worse now than it was previously.

She became a little alarmed when the male passenger produced a handgun and held it out of the window. He pointed it in the direction of the vehicle with the female in it. She wasn't sure what the dispute was, but it appeared as if someone were about to be terminated.

She quickly replayed her files to determine if she was able to detect any of the conversation associated with the scream earlier. She was able to identify the female say, 'I hate you.' It was enough for her to act.

Cameron moved to the right side of the road. She pulled her Glock. She fired twice. Both rear tires on the vehicle with the two males blew out. The car began to swerve out of control. She got on her brakes hard to see what developed in front of her. She saw the handgun fall to the street and bounce over towards the curb. It disappeared into a storm drain opening.

The male driver of the vehicle was able to stop it without running into anything or rolling over. She saw the vehicle with the female continue on. It was still traveling at the same speed. She was unsure if the female understood how close to termination she may have been.

She made a U-turn and went back in the direction of the Resistance base. She hoped with some time for the male to cool off, the next encounter wouldn't result in a near termination. The female could seek assistance from the authorities if she felt it was warranted. She was glad she didn't need to terminate any of the individuals without knowing more details.

The incident made her desire to see John more. She decided she wasn't going to be confrontational when she did. She didn't want their relationship to ever devolve into what she just witnessed a few minutes ago. It wasn't how it was supposed to be between people who cared about each other.

Cameron returned to the Resistance base. She brought the captured hard drives with her. She wanted to look like she was cooperating with John and everyone. She didn't like it because she felt John didn't trust her. It left her with a very unpleasant feeling.

She sought out John when she arrived. She was still bothered by the earlier incident.

They hugged and kissed when they spotted each other. There was love waiting to be unleashed. There was just not enough time to do everything. If there were 'two of her', there could be. She forgot about time for now and went with John to their quarters. They were both ready to share with each other. Time could wait.

Cameron looked over at John. He was asleep now. They spent some loving time with each other earlier before he fell asleep. She carefully got out of bed and dressed. She slipped out the door. She still needed to take care of a few things.

She was originally going to do them upon her arrival. After the trouble she viewed on the road, it was more important to see John first. Since he was now asleep she could complete her tasks. One of them was to secretly check the TDE to see if she now regained the ability to unlock it to go back into the past. She hoped it would since she agreed to impregnate Allison artificially and not change the timeline. It didn't work. The TDE was still locked. There must be something else she needed to do, or think she was going to need to do. None of it could be good.

She checked on a few more things and quietly returned to John's room. She wanted to reaffirm her love and commitment to him. He looked so at peace asleep. She almost didn't want to disturb him. Since she wasn't at the Resistance base very often, she decided to make the most of her time there. Once she stripped, she made a slight movement to wake him.

John looked over at Cameron, she smiled at him. Normally he woke up alone, even if Cameron started the night with him. He didn't like her to leave, but he was aware how boring it was for her to listen to him snore for hours and do nothing but stare at the ceiling in the dark. He knew she didn't want to go into standby again because of her past bad experience.

"Hey, Cameron." John said as he stirred. "I'm surprised you're still here."

Cameron didn't like the reference, even if it was justifiable.

"I've come and gone several times." Cameron said.

John liked the double meaning.

"So have I…." John said with a grin.

Cameron noticed something over the years. It was a slight effect, but it seemed to be cumulative.

"My sheath absorbs your 'protein'. It actually improves the quality of my sheath where it's 'deposited'." Cameron said.

John was glad to know it was more than his imagination. It always seemed to feel a little better in those areas than when they first were married. He wasn't sure if it was just the fact he would be able to share with Cameron after days or weeks at a time without her. Maybe it all wasn't in his head, the big one.

"I've noticed." John said. "It seems to be true in several locations."

Cameron would prefer if it was only in one location. The one where there were actually pleasure receptors. She always did what John wanted because she wanted him to be happy, even if she wasn't. The discomfort was over fairly quickly. She was pleased right now. John wasn't angry at her, or on her case. She decided to get on his case in a different way. She liked to be in control. She was the one who determined where things went when she was. It was more than enough incentive to take the lead. It wasn't a problem for her.

"Are you ready for a rematch?" Cameron asked as she climbed up on top of him.

John liked it when she was on top. It always amazed him how Cameron could do the same thing over and over continuously. She never needed to slow down or stop. It wasn't the same way when he was with Future Riley. She seemed to tire out very quickly. He didn't mind too much. He was always good to go when they were together. He needed to keep his concentration on Cameron.

"In that case…." John said.

John was happy Cameron was with him and not out getting shot up somewhere. These times didn't happen much anymore. He wanted to make the most of it. He did. Cameron never slowed or tired. He understood Cameron believed she was protecting him and everyone else by trying to do it all on her own. She was trying to make it a one 'woman' war.

It was a 'one woman war' to Cameron. She wanted to kill Skynet herself, alone….

Sarah was in the Command Center with John Henry. She wanted him to look over the captured hard drives again.

He already did so, more than a few times. Everything was the same.

"I've been over the hard drives several times." John Henry said. "There's nothing new."

Sarah was sure there was something there. Someone went to a lot of trouble to retrieve them.

"There must be, or they wouldn't have been after them." Sarah said. "It must be hidden or encrypted somehow."

John Henry wasn't the only one to check them.

"I went over them with John and Cameron." John Henry said. "Cameron's team went over them as well."

The reminder there was 'another team' was a source of irritation for Sarah.

"Why does Cameron have a 'team'?" Sarah asked. "What we have here is good enough. It should be all anyone needs."

John Henry could only go by what Cameron told him.

"It's a back up of our operation." John Henry said. "There could be problems here at some point."

Sarah could see the face value of it, but she felt it was much deeper.

"What is Cameron really doing?" Sarah asked. "What's the end game?"

John Henry could only go on what Cameron told him and what she feared.

"Maybe it's to become her own version of Skynet to fight it." John Henry said. "Skynet will need to be fought on more than one front or arena. Most of the fighting won't happen on land, on sea, or in the air."

John Henry was sure it would be fought in cyberspace.

Sarah studied the battles of the future. The fight was everywhere. It happened in the present and the past too, from the future. There was still the million dollar question.

"Will Cameron become Skynet?" Sarah asked.

John Henry hoped it was the 'good Skynet' but it might not be. A lot of things could go wrong.

"She told me she fears she will." John Henry said.

Sarah wondered where the 'check' was to any of it. It seemed like a recipe for disaster.

"Then why's she doing this? No one has control over her." Sarah said. "There's no oversight and she is surrounded by Terminators, HER Terminators."

John Henry knew Future John lost focus and cost needless human deaths.

"It sounds just like what happened to Future John." John Henry said.

Sarah knew the stories. It was quite a revelation. She quickly put the pieces together.

"Oh my God." Sarah said. "In this version, Cameron is - Future John…."

John Henry knew even a cyborg could lose focus.

"So it would seem." John Henry said. "Cameron is trying to insulate herself from death, just like Future John did, or tried. She can't have those she loves and cares about hurt or killed. She's even recreated her friends as Terminators. Future John pushed everyone away and relied only on Terminators. Cameron was his right hand man, so to speak."

Sarah was aware how much more 'human like' Cameron became over the years. It was all part of her programming to be a better infiltrator.

"The more human Cameron becomes, the more she hides behind Terminators." Sarah said. "It's very ironic."

John Henry wondered if it would happen to all of them.

"Evidently history does repeat itself." John Henry said.

John Henry hoped to avoid it. Would Cameron try and send everyone away into the past to protect them? He wouldn't put it past her. They could live their lives without Skynet hunting, or haunting, them. Cameron even told him she thought she did it already in one of her 'lifetimes'. There was no proof one way or the other.

Ally felt the need to visit her 'family'. It was the 'Allison' in her which motivated her. It called to her. She went to see Allison and Holly. They were together at the Young residence. She wanted to see her younger 'sisters' too. She wasn't really sure why.

The drive out to Palmdale was uneventful as usual. Ally possessed some 'memories' from Allison of the area, but she knew they weren't her own. She notified the Young Detail she would be arriving soon. She didn't want to cause an incident, or any unnecessary apprehension. She drove around the neighborhood. Everything seemed in order. It never hurt to do an additional double check.

She pulled up in front of the Young residence. She paused for a few moments. It was time to meet her 'mother' and 'family'. She headed for the door and knocked.

Claire opened the door and looked at her.

Ally could tell she was trying to figure out who she was.

Claire looked at Ally for a few more moments.

"You're not Cameron. Who are you?" Claire asked.

Claire thought she looked like Allison.

Ally hadn't tried to fix herself up much before she arrived. She preferred the plain and simple look. It was better not to be noticed. It was exactly how Allison felt.

"No." Ally said. "My name is Ally. Like in 'Alley Cat'."

Claire looked Ally over real close. She took in every detail.

"You look almost identical to Cameron." Claire said.

Ally didn't like the 'almost identical' part. They were the same DNA. It was just the preparation which was different.

"My sheath is identical. I am DNA sequenced to Allison Young." Ally said. "My programming is different."

Ally wanted to say she wasn't flawed like Cameron was as far as programs went. She decided not to. She didn't want to cause any hard feelings with anyone. She was aware Claire was 'sweet' on Cameron.

The more Claire looked at Ally, the more she could see someone else.

"You're more like 'Allison'." Claire said. "You look like my daughter."

Ally thought it was a good thing. The improved 'Neural Interface' Cameron used made her more like a real human female. She was supposed to look like Allison. She could seamlessly replace Allison without anyone knowing if a dangerous situation arose.

"I'm a hybrid of Holly and Allison." Ally said. "I'm a cyborg version of your daughter. I'm what Cameron was supposed to be. I'm superior to Cameron as an infiltration unit."

Claire felt like she just 'found' another daughter.

"Are you going to call me 'Mom'?" Claire asked.

Ally smiled and laughed. She looked just like Allison when she did.

"I would like to. To me you are my 'mother'." Ally said. "May I see Summer and work with Young Allison? I feel like they are my 'sisters' to me."

Claire didn't see why not. The girls would think it was great.

"Of course." Claire said.

Holly watched Ally from the moment she pulled up. She wasn't sure what kind of threat or opportunity Ally posed. It was something. She approached Claire and Ally.

"I'll join her." Holly said.

Holly didn't like the way Ally interacted with Claire. Maybe it was the way Claire interacted with Ally. It seemed more was happening at a different level that either seemed aware of. It was clear they were attracted to each other as females, not in a family way either.

Holly and Ally faced each other.

"Do you wish to update?" Holly asked.

Ally wasn't sure what she wanted. Her previous interaction with Claire seemed to occur on two different levels. She got the same readings back from Claire. One vibe was as a family interest. The other vibe was as a sexual interest. It was very similar now with Holly.

"I don't know." Ally said. "It would be like being with me and myself, separate but together."

Ally eyed Holly. She made her 'hungry'. It was the 'Allison' in her.

She could offer Holly something 'different'. She also 'wanted' Holly at this point.

"I can update you on my experiences with Sheila and Hanna." Ally said. "If you desire."

Holly felt a number of conflicting feelings. Somehow it seemed like a bad idea, even if she wanted the information.

"Let's think about it first." Holly said. "I don't think it's a good idea."

Holly tried to hide her hand behind her back. She felt a glitch impulse.

Ally noticed something was wrong right away. She became a little concerned.

"What's wrong with your hand? Are you malfunctioning?" Ally asked. "I'm going to call Cameron."

Holly already needed to deal with one 'problem'. It was a recurring problem.

"No, I'm fine. Allison and Vanna are together right now…." Holly said.

Ally was a little confused. The 'Allison' in her felt it was part of who Allison was. Vanna and Allison were true lovers. They were each other's true love.

"It still bothers you?" Ally asked. "They've been lovers for many years. It was long before you came into Allison's life."

It always made Holly feel insecure. She didn't want to be 'thrown away'. She didn't want to be replaced.

"I know. I must accept it. It still hurts me." Holly said. "I love her."

Ally possessed some insight on how they both felt.

"Allison loves you too, Holly." Ally said. "I know. She is me, as are you. I know how much you both love each other."

Holly hoped it was true. Sometimes she was afraid maybe she was only a mechanical 'love doll' to Allison. She did whatever Allison wanted to try. She often did everything on her own to make sure Allison was satisfied.

"Does she really?" Holly asked.

Ally could share part of her programming with Holly.

"Yes she does. I have her files from the 'Neural Interface'. I can share them with you. You too can have a part of her. You can have all of her this way. It can be both mental and physical."

Holly wanted it, but she wanted to be who she was. She wanted to be herself.

"No, I want to remain independent." Holly said. "I want my own experiences. I've only ever been with Allison. Allison is my 'mate'. I will only ever be with Allison, forever."

Ally doubted it. Allison once thought the same thing about Vanna. It was Vanna who showed Allison sharing the love was beautiful. There were a few other things she found in her 'programming' from Holly.

"Forever is a long time…." Ally said. "You will get 'hungry' as time passes. We all do, Allison will too. There's nothing wrong with 'experimenting'. It's beautiful to share. I know you have thought of experimenting with Claire."

Holly was going to deny it, but it would be a lie. She did think about it and wonder what Claire would be like. She was like Allison, but different. She thought about Claire often. She remained silent. Ally knew what she knew. Maybe it was because she was around Claire as much as Allison. Maybe it was the way Claire looked at her sometimes. She knew Claire wanted her. She could feel it. It made her feel good inside to be desired.

Ally didn't want to get into it, but Holly needed to expand her selection of 'partners'. She would make sure Sheila and Hanna knew. She was there now. She would take a 'crack' at it herself. What could it hurt? The 'Allison' in her wanted Holly 'bad'.

She knew if someone limited themselves to one partner exclusively, it usually ended up causing emotional problems. It was natural to want variety and to keep learning. At least in her infiltration programming it was. The more experiences she could share would allow her to be a better infiltration unit. She knew everyone offered something different, even if it was the same things they offered. Everyone was unique.

She was a little conflicted on one thing. The 'Allison' in her wanted Holly. The 'Holly' in her wanted Claire and Allison. She looked a little further and was sure the 'Allison' in her also wanted 'Claire' a little as a sexual partner…. She wanted to see and experience what she was like to others.

Allison told Vanna of her plan to become a mother. She made up her mind and was going to do it, well try anyway. Cameron assured her she wouldn't take her baby from her. She was afraid she wouldn't be a good mother. She was sure Holly and her mother would have to take over. Then again, Cameron and her mother made sure she received plenty of experience with Summer. There was still a lot of doubt in her mind.

Vanna was worried where things would lead.

"Are you sure about this?" Vanna asked.

Allison wasn't sure. It was 'a calling' inside of her.

"Vanna, it's what I want to do…." Allison said.

Vanna could see their future together would be altered and changed forever.

"What about us…?" Vanna asked.

Allison was very unsure about everything.

"I don't know." Allison said. "Things change, people evolve, relationships evolve…."

Vanna was afraid it was the end.

"Relationships dissolve…." Vanna said. "I think would be more accurate."

Allison wanted Vanna to know she would still be 'taken care of', in some way.

"You have Jesse now and I have Holly." Allison said. "I want to be with my family. I can still be with you anytime you want. I will be with you anytime you want. No matter how far we drift we always reunite, Vanna, you know it."

Vanna didn't want to see her world crumble.

"What's happening to us?" Vanna asked.

Allison knew what it was. It was the clock that never stopped ticking. Life moved forwards, not backwards.

"Time…." Allison said. "It's the scourge of all relationships."

'Time Won't Let Me' by 'The Outsiders', played in the background.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Time Won't Let Me

The clock keeps on ticking
Each new second replaces the last
All the time once before us
Erodes and evaporates fast

There's always more to do
There's never enough time
We always rush and hurry
To take it easy seems a crime

Do this and do that
We soon forget where we're at
When we play the game of life
Everything become tit for tat

Where does it all go
Little remains the same
We often feel shame
Receiving everyone's blame

I think there is one thing
On which everyone can agree
I can never get what I want because
Time won't let me

Nobody