Chapter 277

In Some Future

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In Some Future:

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Action continues From Chapter 103

Resulting From Events Involving

A TDE Malfunction And Temporal Error

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Cameron and the three girls bounced through time as the TDE malfunctioned, or was reset.

They didn't understand the nature of the problem by what they witnessed for a few seconds, before they ended up where they were at.

Cameron knew things weren't 'right'.

The energy bubble appeared. The arcing and flashing was done.

There was fighting going on all around them.

Plasma rifles fired along with automatic weapons.

The four naked women hunkered down in a crater. It seemed evident where they were by the nature of the weapons.

"We're in the future." Cameron said.

Vanna wasn't sure it told them much. She knew there were at least two futures. There was the future Cameron was from, and the future she was from.

"Whose future is it?" Vanna asked.

There wasn't enough information for Cameron to make a determination.

"I don't know yet." Cameron said.

Allison knew they left for the future. It was supposed to be Cameron's future. The prospect of ending back up in her future wasn't something to look forward to. Things were bad enough there when she left the first time. She didn't want to have to do it twice.

"Nice." Allison said. "I hope we don't end up back in my future, our future."

Allison, like Vanna and Jesse, believed if they were still in their future they would all be dead by now. They were in no hurry to see such prophecy carried out.

Cameron looked over the top of the crater they were in. It was clear there was heavy fighting recently. She didn't know if it was done, a lull, or waiting to restart. It didn't really matter. They would need some supplies.

"Let me get us some clothes and weapons. There are a lot of dead around here." Cameron said, but she was hesitant to move. "Everyone wait here together."

Cameron waited. It seemed like the TDE tried to pull them back for a fraction of a second but now there was nothing. It seemed like the rough TDE ride was over. It was clear there was some type of malfunction. She would know more when she could determine the time period they were actually in. She needed to get moving.

"Everyone stay here while I look around." Cameron said as she moved out.

The weapons fire slacked off in the background. It could mean one side got the upper hand, or one side retreated. It was too early to tell. The battle appeared to move away from them. It seemed like a good thing. It didn't mean much though. Things were always fluid on the battlefield. One side might think they put the enemy on the run. The enemy might only retreat back to a more fortified position and then launch a counter attack. The battle could go on back and forth the same way for any amount of time.

Cameron moved from body to body. She tried to gather the least damaged clothing and weapons which appeared to still function. She would need to give them a closer inspection once she returned to the crater. Right now she needed the clothing for the girls. They didn't want to run into anyone, either friendly or foe, without clothing on. She returned with a pile of clothes, and some weapons. Things could be upgraded later on once they were able to be a little more mobile.

The girls rummaged through the clothing to find something to wear. Some were burnt, and some were slick with fresh blood. The girls all understood the seriousness of the situation. They were no strangers to the battlefield. It looked like they were in it deep right now.

Allison tried to find a pair of pants and a shirt. It bothered her a little to know where the clothing just came from. It could be them anytime from now who were the ones dead on the battlefield. She tried to make light of their circumstances.

"I don't think any of us will look very Tight for awhile." Allison said.

Vanna picked through the clothes and found a pair of pants. She needed to agree with Allison. She did think there was something which would make her distinctive besides her scar.

"Not in the future we won't look Tight, nobody does." Vanna said. "At least if you run into another 'future me', you should be able to tell us apart…."

Allison and Jesse both watched as Vanna pulled her pants on. They knew what she meant. It would apply to all of them. It would probably draw attention in any setting where they were unclothed. The current lack of sores on them might also raise questions. Maybe it depended upon the future.

Cameron continued to scout around. When she returned this time, she brought more weapons and some better clothing as well. It was clear all the clothing was taken from dead people who died in combat. There was no other choice available.

Vanna listened to the battle rage in the background. There was no doubt they were in the future. It could cover quite a time span.

"Do you have any better idea of the time?" Vanna asked.

Once the girls were dressed, Cameron looked them over. She was satisfied their bodies were properly covered as well as footwear for all of them. She didn't want anyone to pick up an injury right after their arrival. She saw the girls look at her every now and then as they looked over the top of the crater they were in. She was still naked. She took whatever clothing was left and put it on. She would really like to have a better answer for Vanna. She didn't. There was something else which weighed heavily upon her.

"Not yet. I don't think this is a future I've been too." Cameron said. "I need to go back…."

Cameron was clearly upset. She looked very worried.

The girls knew it was because of more than just where they were currently at.

Jesse decided to address the issue head on. They all knew what the problem was.

"Look, Cameron, we're all here for you." Jesse said. "We all saw her too."

Cameron felt very frustrated. Events occurred which were unforeseeable as they 'left'.

Allison knew who it was, based on Cameron's previous description. The blonde hair and the large breasts were both very unmistakable and prominent.

"It was that 'Bitch Whore' Riley, wasn't it?" Allison asked.

Cameron knew it wasn't the same one. She viewed Riley's terminated body later on after John did. She felt John would see the new Riley as 'his' Riley. It would mean the version who was terminated would be Future Riley, since there was a new Riley. It would be like the others from her future. They all seemed to follow a common theme. Future Kyle, Future Derek, and Future Riley were all terminated. She was unsure of Future Jesse's status. She didn't have much to go on but it was enough. Their appearance was identical.

"Yes." Cameron finally said. "It was some version of her."

Jesse looked at a knife in the pile of weapons Cameron appropriated.

"A 'Bitch Whore' is a 'Bitch Whore'." Jesse said.

Jesse took the knife for herself. A knife made 'it' up close and personal. It was a way she could feel anyone who challenged her in combat, die in front of her.

Cameron was aware, depending on what future it was, would be what determined their fate. She needed to return to the past. She needed to go back and deal with the current issue. John couldn't be trusted to be alone with any version of Riley. She witnessed what happened before. She still remembered the smirk John gave her as he went up the stairs. He was very proud of what he did. He didn't mind rubbing her face in it. She needed to suppress a glitch impulse just thinking about it. The battle which raged in the distance didn't help with anything either. She knew what the current objective needed to be.

"I need to find a TDE and get us back." Cameron said. "I need to get back to the Resistance base."

Vanna was aware there were differences in her future from Cameron's future. They didn't know how many timelines there were, or how many futures. There could be as many things different as there were the same. She didn't want to cause Cameron too much distress when she pointed a few things out.

"What happens if a TDE doesn't exist in this future?" Vanna asked. "I don't mean to sound negative, but it's a possibility. We don't have a clue what's going on around us yet."

It was a grim prospect for Cameron to contemplate. She may need to construct one. Materials may be hard to acquire and a massive power source would be needed. There was no way to know what materials would be available for her to use. The best scenario would be for one already to have been constructed. It would most likely be controlled by the enemy if one existed. She needed to suppress another glitch impulse as she thought of the possibilities. None of them were positive.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "I need to go back…."

Cameron was aware every future would be different in some way, even if Skynet never took over. There could be other worse things. She thought about some of the differences in the alternate future she went to. Where they were at now could be worse.

There could be a bigger Scavenger problem. Skynet could be bigger or stronger. There may be an even more bitter and non-understanding anti-Metal faction to contend with. The Terminators there could all be early models, or something more advanced than the Liquid Metal Terminators. There could be more than one Skynet.

The current situation was bad enough. It still couldn't stop her from thinking about what she witnessed as they left the Resistance base. She wanted to go back to stop John from pursuing Riley, whatever version it was of her. Any version of Riley was bad enough. It didn't really matter. They all started from the same girl. John was the weak link in the chain of events. He was the one who buckled and did what he did. Just thinking back on it angered her even more. The more she tried not to think about it, the more she did. The same series of events plagued her again as it did earlier. She still remembered the morning she caught him after he spent the night in Riley's arms. He rubbed it in her face. Did he really need to smirk at her on top of it all as he went up the stairs? It bothered her even more this time when she thought about it than just a few seconds ago.

'Get it together.' Cameron told herself.

She needed to push John's past actions out of her mind. She couldn't. She was sure the new version of Riley would be in John's bed by the end of the day they left from in the past. Since they were in the future, in some future, it meant it already actually occurred in the past they left from. Life would go on for him the way he wanted it to be as if nothing ever happened. She was the one who was gone. Riley was back. She needed to focus and concentrate.

Right now she was responsible for the girls who followed her into the unknown. It was done as an act of love and support. Her concern for their safety helped prevent her from glitching out over Riley. She needed to stop thinking about Riley.

Cameron needed to act like what she was. She was a Terminator. She was designed to kill. It was her function to terminate the enemy. She needed to get a better understanding of their surroundings. There was only one way to do it. It was on foot. She directed the girls to remain in the crater and keep watch around them.

She started scouting in larger circles from their position. She always promptly returned to the girls. She wanted them to remain where they were until she could find a better place to stash them. There was no telling when the battle would sweep back their way or who would emerge to claim the battlefield. She didn't want to be caught out in the open if some type of weapon of mass destruction was used. There were a multitude of them available in the future.

Cameron found some small supplies of food and water as well as more weapons and better clothing on each trip. She scanned the food and water. It was consumable, but still contained high levels of pollutants. She worried what it would do to the girl's reproductive tracts and their general health. They already experienced enough toxic exposure in their own future. Now to add the current future on top of it, could expose them to different toxins. They could be at greater risk than those already in this future.

She was more worried than ever she made a major mistake. She should have asked one of the girls to stay behind. She KNEW she could have ORDERED one of them to stay. She wanted it to be their choice. Now in hindsight, she wished it would have been Jesse. She saw Jesse look at the knife and knew she thought of using it on Riley. Jesse could have claimed John for her own. Jesse would have helped to protect John from 'himself'.

Cameron almost stumbled over something. She looked and saw what it was. She nearly tripped a plasma mine. A nearby explosion pushed it up from the ground. She was lucky, this time. She needed to think about where she was at now. The plasma mine would have destroyed her. She needed to be functional to keep the girls alive and from harm. If Scavengers got a hold of them now with their pristine bodies, they would literally be abused to death.

She disabled the plasma mine. She would like to come back for it later. It would make a nice booby trap for someone who tried to breach their hideout location once she was able to establish one. There was a preliminary one picked out, but it was real estate which belonged to someone. They may come back to claim it at some point. There was no way to know which side controlled what yet. Their hiding place might get set up behind enemy lines without them knowing it, until it was too late.

Cameron came in low and fast to rejoin the girls again. She didn't want to be spotted by anyone still alive on the battlefield and pinpoint their location. Not all of the dead may be dead. She wanted to let the girls know what she did locate.

"I found a bunker not far from here. I'm moving you there for now." Cameron said. "There appears to have been a major battle fought here. There's evidence of Terminators fighting Terminators. There are dead people and weapons everywhere. I don't know why there aren't any HK drones flying around. The sky should be full of them in a battle this size."

Allison wondered about it herself. She needed to avoid plenty of those in her future. Their power plants gave off a whine which dogs could detect long before they could hear them. It gave them an edge to get under cover if there was any. Sometimes there wasn't any so they would need to scatter. It usually meant one of their squad would be 'selected' by the HK drone to attack. The rest of them could fire at the HK drone and hopefully bring it down. The person the HK drone selected to attack usually was killed.

"Maybe there's a bigger battle being fought elsewhere now." Allison said. "They may have gone there."

HK drones weren't the only HK equipment they needed to worry about. There could be HK Tracks as well as HK Treads. All of them were extremely deadly.

What Cameron said about the evidence of Terminators fighting Terminators made Vanna wonder about her 'mother', Mrs. Weaver.

"Is this where my mother is at, or is it Future John's Terminators?" Vanna asked.

Cameron tried to ascertain those very questions herself. She would need more time to determine it. There might not be a 'Mrs. Weaver', or 'Future John' in the timeline. She just wanted to go back at this point.

"I don't know yet." Cameron said. "This all seems different. I need to find a TDE."

Allison looked around. They were in the Wastelands of whatever future it was. It didn't look like they were near any type of military installations. Most likely, if a TDE existed, it would be in some type of rear area which would be more secure. Where they currently were was clearly not secure in the slightest.

"What if there isn't one close by?" Allison asked.

They all saw Cameron fight her glitch.

Allison was sorry she said it immediately.

It was an issue Cameron already contemplated. She worried about what was going to happen to the girls too. Right now they needed to get to a more secure location.

"I'll have to construct one." Cameron said. "I don't know where we can get the power to run it. We may be marooned here fighting for our lives. We're in a very dangerous area right now. I'm so sorry."

Cameron tried to hold it together. She was devastated Riley was alone with John. She needed to keep the girls alive. They risked everything to come with her. Now she must protect them at all costs to herself. She knew she made a major mistake. If she could have thrown up, she would have. She was sure it was the feeling she currently experienced. Everything they did needed to be thought through first. One false move and they could be injured or killed.

Now it was about surviving….

She already came to the conclusion it was most likely she would never see John again. Where they were didn't look like any future she ever visited. The Skynet equipment she looked at so far didn't seem as advanced as the equipment from either future she fought in. It wasn't a good sign for returning 'home'. It was to her home with John. It was to return home to John, who was now in the arms of Riley. He would seek comfort and solace from her. They were probably making love right now.

Cameron needed to fight within herself to focus so she could fight to protect the girls. She needed to allow her love for them to come to the forefront to keep her focused on them. They were the present. They would provide her with love and comfort. John was now the past….

Her future would now take a different direction. The only trouble was, she didn't know how long anything would last. They could all be terminated within a few hours or sooner.

Cameron moved the girls into the bunker along with the weapons and food she collected. The food wasn't very much, but it was a start. There was some water for them to share. An initial scan of the water determined there were traces of pollutants in it. It was the water the people there drank. It was doubtful she was going to find any with a higher quality.

She went out on patrol again. She needed to get some intel, or a live person. She came across some destroyed Terminators. Most of them were missing their heads. On the ones who weren't missing their head, the chips were all pulled. Someone removed them to keep anyone from getting a look at the chips.

It appeared someone wanted to either glean information, or keep anyone else from getting it. They would be able to determine where the Terminators were sent from. Without the chip, everything remained unknown. It was an effective strategy.

Cameron soon came across a pile of Terminator heads. It appeared once someone felt secure, they took the time to remove the chips from every one of them. Cameron looked at the faces to see if she recognized any. She didn't. She was almost glad she didn't…. It would have bothered her to see the 'heads' of the Terminators she served with in the Resistance. She was even more relieved not to see one who looked like her. They were all males anyway.

Cameron didn't know if they were Mrs. Weaver's Restorators, or Skynet Terminators. She never saw any of their faces before. Somehow she thought it wasn't a good thing. It further reinforced she was dealing with the unknown.

The girls were alone in the bunker. Cameron previously set out from the bunker to try to get some answers and more resources. They encouraged her to be extra vigilant.

Allison was on watch along with Jesse. They were going to take shifts.

Vanna tried to rest. She was too keyed up. She was filled with anxiety, doubt, and fear. It was the fear of the unknown.

"This is useless." Vanna said. "If one of you thinks they can sleep, go ahead. I'll take the watch. I can't even relax, let alone sleep."

Jesse was on edge herself. She was just as wound up. She felt as jumpy as a 'Joey'.

"We're all pumped full of adrenaline and scared." Jesse said. "I want to remain on alert until Cameron comes back."

Allison felt the same way. It seemed the best way to face the unknown was head on."

"We all do." Allison said.

Vanna got up and looked outside the entrance opening. She noticed movement in the distance. Those were the first living people they spotted. It could have been Terminators as far as they knew. There was something with them which indicated they weren't.

"Look, there are two figures moving with a dog." Vanna said.

Allison and Jesse were worried now as well.

"Are they Grays or the Resistance?" Allison asked.

No one wanted to consider they were Scavengers. If they were Scavengers, there would be more of them. There still could be. They might be off in a different section. They might be working their way behind them right now. There was a lot of uncertainty.

"How do we tell? The clothes they have on seem to be a jumble of everything." Jesse said. "Just like ours."

The girls all looked at their ripped and blood stained clothing. What they wore now were the 'good clothes' Cameron found later on. To know they came off of dead people wasn't a comforting thought.

Vanna retreated inside the doorway.

"Great, they're coming this way." Vanna said. "We need to hide."

Jesse looked around.

"There's nowhere to hide." Jesse said. "We're trapped in here."

Allison knew it was useless. There was a dog with them. They needed to go on the offensive. She quickly formulated a plan.

"We can't all hide anyway, the dog will find us. I'll distract it." Allison said. "You two try to conceal yourselves and I'll talk to them if they come in here. I'll try to get them into the corner over here so you can move in from behind them."

Jesse was worried they were Scavengers. The only good Scavenger was a dead Scavenger.

"Do we kill them?" Jesse asked. "I think we should to protect ourselves."

Jesse held her knife in her hand.

Vanna didn't want to kill any Resistance fighters.

"We don't know if they're from the Resistance or not." Vanna said.

Allison didn't want to run into Grays or Scavengers either. Maybe the dog indicated they were from the Resistance. There was no way to know. There was no way to know anything yet.

"I don't know." Allison said. "I'm not sure what to do."

It seemed any choice they were about to make was going to be the wrong choice. It would be anything but a good choice.

If it was Grays or Scavengers they planned to fight.

They all really wished Cameron was there right now with them. She wasn't.

Jesse was sure what she wanted to do. She didn't plan to be anyone's captive ever again. Her answer was rather straightforward.

"We fight." Jesse said.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Unknown

Whatever isn't known
Is the known as the unknown
It makes it hard to face
When one is all alone

Some meet the challenge
Above others they have grown
The rest that are left behind
Only complain and groan

Some will forge ahead
Many will end up prone
What will be remembered and said
On their cold tombstone

Uncertainty creates character
Some will grow a backbone
Those who choose to lead
May one day sit on a throne

The unknown is empty
It leaves many to moan
Few provide comfort and strength
Some are willing to loan

Thoughts move like a cyclone
Many things one will postpone
In the end they still must atone
Or let the unknown remain unknown

Nobody