Chapter 313

Are You Ready

Cameron and John spent more time together. Perhaps it was their attempt to capture some of the 'magic' of the past. It was something many couples experienced and attempted to do in various ways. The bottom line was, the past was the past. It was done and over with. What once was, was gone. Sometimes a moment of it could be recaptured. The only trouble was, it wasn't really real, even if it was. Time moved forward, not backward.

John felt ashamed for wanting to alter Cameron's programming. Cam was right, it was wrong to change Cameron's files for what he did. How was it fair? He knew what he was doing when he was with Future Riley. It was what he wanted to do. He was pretty sure he would still do the same thing again, if he was back in the same place. Maybe if Cameron hadn't caught him with Future Riley, it would have been different. Maybe he shouldn't have rubbed her face in it. He still remembered the look of hurt, disappointment and betrayal on her face as he went up the stairs. To make it worse, he even smirked at her.

John needed to get back to the real world.

John Henry and John identified targets for Cameron and their Terminators to eliminate.

Cameron made sure John, Kyle and Derek stayed out of any potential combat. Recon or surveillance was fine, but if it was for an outright assault, only Terminators were going in, PERIOD. She learned her lesson from the future about it.

She made sure everyone understood how things needed to be. She wasn't going to get John killed or assassinated in the future, by needlessly 'spending' human lives. The tough jobs were what Terminators were for. Terminators were all expendable and replaceable, no human was. As long as their chip, or a copy of their program existed, Terminators were eternal. She made sure she copied all of their programs. She did the same thing for her own program.

Nobody was about to be terminated on her watch.

Cameron wanted to obtain some more female Terminators. There were now several future projects she needed to take care of. So far they hadn't encountered any. She possessed enough chassis 'parts' to construct one with some additional fabrication. She originally planned on using those as spare parts for the Metal girls and herself. There was a pretty good chance she was going to sustain more damage.

She tried to make John happy as often as she could and spend more time with him. Her schedule was busy. It seemed it was non stop, twenty four hours a day. Every second needed to be planned to get everything done. She found if she was busy and always rushing, she didn't glitch or malfunction. She tried to fill every second with activities. The more she hunted, the less she hurt. It could also be the more she killed, the better she felt….

It was somewhat of a disturbing thought to her. She didn't think she liked to terminate anyone, even if she did. She definitely derived satisfaction from terminating those who deserved it. Well, technically anyone she terminated deserved it. It was the individuals who abused females she actually liked to terminate. Their actions were what gave them their sentence. She was simply the executioner who carried it out. She didn't think her actions were the same as the things Sheila did. Well, she derived satisfaction from some terminations, Sheila seemed to derive pleasure. She wondered if she would ever go as far as Sheila did. She didn't think so. The bottom line was, there were things which needed to be done. Someone needed to do them. It was just that simple.

Cameron would always make extra time for John and cut anything else short for him. All of her plans slowed. She needed to search for the Duplicates 'in some future', and Mrs. Weaver. She didn't have any idea if they were in the same place or not. She intended to find out. She was going to need to figure it out first. She explained the problem to River before she left her future. She believed if anyone could help her, it was River. Maybe it was just an excuse to be able to see her again. Maybe it was what needed to be done.

She needed to process Summer and Claire's DNA, as well as make another clone of herself for Gail and Young Jesse. She needed to find out where the drone came from which could have attacked John. She needed to work on her 'Neural Interface' implant. She needed to monitor the girls, and find a way to help Riley as well.

Her biggest concern was the girls from the future. Skynet was responsible for damaging the environment they needed to grow up in. They were all exposed to numerous pollutants and toxins over the years. There was bound to be some negative effect because of it. What wasn't known yet, was the extent the damage would play out in each of them. She needed to go visit Allison and Holly also. She monitored all the scans from Gail of Jesse, and Holly of Allison. Cam's scans of Vanna didn't look good.

There was just so much to do….

Cameron took Savannah out for additional weapons training. She went over every safety detail several times. She provided Savannah with combat instruction as well as simulated combat training. She tried to make everything as real as possible. She wanted to make sure Savannah was ready for anything. Savannah took everything with the utmost seriousness. She told Savannah she would have to kill at some point. She explained the more she needed to kill, the less she would 'feel' it. She hoped Savannah would never enjoy it. She really hoped Savannah wouldn't follow a path similar to what Jesse followed. She worked long and hard with Jesse to brighten the darkness within her.

Vanna asked to accompany them. After Cameron scanned her, she told Vanna to rest instead. She didn't like the readings she received from her scans of Vanna. She already was alerted by Cam, things weren't looking good. They weren't the way they should be. It appeared as if this pregnancy was about to be 'terminated' by Vanna's own body. It was the second time she was aware first hand of Vanna's 'trouble' with carrying an embryo. Duplicate Vanna also experienced the same problem. It appeared Vanna was incapable of reproduction. It only increased Savannah's importance for the future.

Cameron thought after a few months she would try again with Vanna. If it failed too, then she would follow a different route. Her tortured thoughts were soon brightened.

Savannah walked towards Cameron. She flashed her a smile as she did.

Cameron was pleased to see Savannah's beautiful smiling face. It was a genuine smile, and it was directed at her. It always made her feel better about herself when she was around Savannah. She didn't look forward to providing Savannah the training she needed for the future. It was still something which needed to be done and was extremely important. Savannah needed to be able to survive.

"Are you ready, Savannah?" Cameron asked.

Savannah's smile brightened. She looked at Cameron for a moment before she responded. The pause seemed to intensify her statement.

"I'm ready for anything." Savannah said. "I'm ready for 'everything'."

Savannah and Cameron stared at each other.

Cameron frowned and Savannah giggled.

Savannah knew what she 'said' without saying it,

So did Cameron.

Cameron did notice her choice of words. She didn't want it for Savannah, at least not yet.

She felt at some point she would need to yield to Savannah, as she knew she would need to yield to Young Allison when she matured. She wanted it to be years away or 'never'. If she could keep Skynet, or any of its illegitimate offshoots from taking control, then things could be different.

Cameron made sure Savannah wore her eye and ear protection, as well as body armor. She wasn't taking any chances with Savannah. She instructed her on the use of several weapons, and also on some explosives. She noted Savannah was quite proficient at everything. Savannah seemed to be a natural for anything she did, was instructed, on or tested on. No doubt, Savannah would probably be superior to her in John's bed in a relatively short amount of time, once she started.

She also put Savannah through strict physical training. Sarah helped conduct the training when she was absent or needed to be elsewhere. She valued Sarah's input and assistance. Without it ever being spoken, both women knew what Savannah was being groomed for. It was to be at John's side in the future. It would be the same as in the future Cameron came from. It was the same training Young Allison would receive soon enough. Nature worked in Cameron's favor. It was what she tried to convince herself of anyway. She was there to do a job and protect John and the future. In Cameron's absence, Holly and Hanna would see it was carried out, and then with Summer as well. It never hurt to have an additional 'backup'.

There was an unforeseen development which occurred. It presented new possibilities she hadn't thought of previously. Claire became Cameron's 'close' friend. She knew Claire loved her. She always tried to make sure the ones she cared about 'loved' her. She worked hard at it to find what it took to 'reach' someone and then never let go. She did it instinctively without knowing it. It seemed to be part of her programming. She only knew everyone soon loved her. It seemed to happen after she was in contact with John Henry's program on the server, and on her chip.

'You're not MY Cameron.' Were the words which slammed into Cameron's mind.

It wasn't a 'rejection', but a statement of fact. Cameron needed to remind herself it was Duplicate Cameron who loved River, even though she felt those same feelings now. She wondered if she would have to fight Duplicate Cameron for River in the future. It might not be a smart Idea. River would be on Duplicate Cameron's side.

"Stay with me, Cameron." Savannah said.

Savannah needed to tell her to remain focused and keep her head in the game.

NOW Savannah was instructing her…. Savannah always looked out for her.

"I'm fine." Cameron said.

Savannah doubted it. She would need to keep an eye out for Cameron as well as the objective. It would be a further challenge.

The training session was in a wooded area. They were in a remote part of a National Forest.

At Savannah's suggestion, they switched from live weapons and ammunition, to MRX Paintball 'markers'. They were very similar to an M4. It necessitated the use of a full face mask for her.

They were up against an 'unknown force' in a series of some abandoned cabins and a few outbuildings. They would use modified 'party poppers' to represent Claymore mines, and baseballs to represent grenades.

The Terminators she was to go up against represented Grays. They needed to reduce their Terminator abilities to those of what a human would be. They were all suggestions made by Savannah. She didn't like using live ammunition against their Terminators, even if they used blanks against her. There was no need to cause sheath damage to anyone.

The first scenario was to infiltrate an outpost:

Savannah left Cameron behind. She was on her own for this one. It was a new training location which was unfamiliar to her. It made the simulation even more realistic. If she was actually operating in a hostile environment, there would be little she would know about it.

She moved from tree to tree. She kept a watch on the ground. She needed to look for trip wires. They could be connected to 'flares or Claymore mines'.

Savannah was unsure what she would face, and even exactly where it was at. She was only instructed of the general vicinity. It was as if she received a report from someone who stumbled upon something, and wasn't sure about any of the details or an exact location.

She stayed low as she moved. She moved like a deer. She would advance a few paces and pause to look and listen for danger. She was aware many people proceeded at a rhythmic pace, even when they advanced through unknown territory as she did.

It wasn't long until she came across the first trip wire. It was connected to a 'Claymore mine'. It was set to detonate down the trail. She was off of the trail at this point. She spotted some footprints earlier. She 'deactivated' it and took it with her.

She spotted a sentry. She must be getting close. She moved around the sentry and soon spotted the first building. She rigged the 'Claymore mine' a hundred feet behind him on the path it seemed he would use. It would keep the sentry from pursuing her if things went bad and she needed to evade. She needed to remember the location. She didn't want to come across it the 'hard way' later on.

There were several 'Grays' around the buildings. She kept to the side and bypassed them. There were some more buildings. They were all small, but were supposed to represent bigger structures.

She moved up and looked inside of the first one. It was marked as 'weapons' inside. She moved to the next one and it was marked as 'communications'. Someone was inside and speaking.

Savannah came across another one. There was a guard in front of it. Inside she could see Cameron.

'What the Hell?' Savannah wondered. 'What was this?'

She quickly realized Cameron changed the scenario. She was a 'prisoner' now. It wasn't what she wanted to see. It was clear Cameron wanted to make her think. She might need to make a few hard choices. It wasn't how she wanted to play the 'game'. She understood it wasn't supposed to be a 'game'.

Savannah now needed to make a choice. Was she to try and free Cameron, or finish her mission? What if it was actually Allison, or Young Allison who is in there? The fact it was Cameron was bad enough. She needed to think the scenario was changed to make her think just such a thing. It was a very unpleasant thought.

"Let me go." Cameron said.

"Shut up, Bitch." The first male voice said.

"I'll tell you nothing." Cameron said.

There was a loud slap.

"Shut up, Bitch." The second male voice said.

There was the sound of a struggle and ripping material.

Savannah tried to move closer.

Wait.

She needed to maintain situational awareness. She didn't want to end up captured too.

"Get your hands off of me." Cameron said.

There was another 'slap'. It was followed by a series of dull 'thuds'. It sounded as if someone was beaten.

"Shut up, Bitch." The first male voice said. "Tie her down."

Laughter emanated from inside the building.

There was more struggling and more ripped clothing sounds. The screams were muted.

It sounded like Cameron was gagged.

"Hurry up and get her stripped." The first male voice said. "We need to all take a turn before the overgrown Zombie gets back."

It was a new problem. There could be a Terminator there. It wasn't in the original scenario either. She checked her Taser.

She checked her two 'grenades'. She checked her sidearm and knife. It was in case she needed to remove a Terminators chip. She rigged a 'Claymore mine' of her own. It was the only one she carried. She was able to peek in a window and saw Cameron was stripped naked.

'Is this for real?' Savannah thought.

Both of Cameron's arms were stretched out over her head and secured to a single post. Her legs were apart and secured with a stake for each of them.

Savannah sucked in her breath. It was very disturbing to see. It reminded her of an incident Vanna told her about. It didn't take much for her to remember Vanna was her. It could be her who was the one inside of the building right now. It threw her off a little bit. It appeared to her the simulation was more than realistic.

She saw one of the Grays pull his pants down and move towards Cameron. What she saw sickened her as much as it surprised her. The man was 'ready' to start in on Cameron. He was at 'full attention'.

'Are you kidding me?' Savannah thought.

The second man moved so he could get a better view of what was about to happen.

"I get to go next." The second man said.

The first man laughed. It was a very sinister and evil laugh.

"It won't take me long." The first man said. "Everyone will get a turn, just like always."

The second man wanted to make a point.

"I think it's more like three turns each before we're done." The second man said.

She looked in utter disgust as the first man moved into 'position' over Cameron. She could see Cameron squirm in utter fear as to what was about to happen.

Savannah couldn't take anymore.

It was time to act.

Savannah pulled her Taser and moved forward and into the building. She needed to get Cameron out of there. She wanted to keep it quiet as long as possible. She didn't want to compromise the mission because she rescued a hostage. She needed to make tough decisions and be able to back them up to pull it off.

'ZAP!'

'ZAP!'

Both 'Grays' fell. So far it hadn't raised an alarm. She needed to make sure the men wouldn't be able to either. There was only one way to be sure. She needed to act silently.

Savannah used her knife and 'slit' their throats.

She freed Cameron's hands with the knife she held.

Cameron pulled the gag out of her mouth, it was her underwear.

"There's more of them." Cameron whispered. "It was really close."

Savannah went to free her feet.

Cameron only acted as another 'human' at this point.

There were voices in the background. They were indistinct at first. They became very descriptive a few seconds later.

"Yeah man, they have her in here." The first voice said. "We all get a piece. Most of the skanks are used up by the time we get our hands on them. They said she was fairly decent looking for a change."

At least two men laughed.

"She won't be for long." The second voice said.

The laughter was even louder.

The 'Claymore mine' she set went off.

She freed Cameron's right foot and gave her the knife.

The 'Claymore' she repositioned by the sentry went off.

"Intruders!" A voice screamed.

There was random weapons fire.

The Gray's were shooting at shadows.

Savannah moved to the door to look for threats.

Cameron freed herself and took the shirt off of one of the dead men. Her clothes were rags in a pile.

Cameron took a pistol from one of the 'interrogators'.

"What do we do?" Cameron asked.

Cameron put on her underwear and her shoes.

Savannah didn't want to get trapped in the building. They would need more room to fight or evade.

"We need to move." Savannah said. "Follow me."

Savannah led Cameron out of the building. There were two 'dead' Grays alongside the building.

Savannah held her MRX - M4 in front of her.

One man came around the corner. She fired twice. He went down.

She looked behind her and another man lifted a rifle at them. She fired twice. He went down.

They quickly moved back the way Savannah entered from.

There was some noise behind them.

Savannah tossed a 'grenade'.

There was a scream.

There was also the sound of footsteps running. Someone was moving fast.

Savannah put Cameron behind a tree and moved behind one herself for cover and sighted in on the sound. A figure appeared.

She fired twice. No effect.

The figure was nearing fast.

She flipped the selector to full auto and fired into the Terminators left knee. He dropped down on the 'damaged' knee, but kept coming in a half crawl. It was evident nothing was going to stop him.

Savannah pulled her Taser and fired.

He dropped down.

She retrieved her knife from Cameron and 'removed' his chip.

Savannah was pumped full of adrenaline and sweating. Her heart was pounding. It was pretty intense training. She needed to make sure she didn't get target fixation or distracted. She needed to pay attention to what was in front of her as well as what was behind her.

Cameron and Savannah made it out of the danger zone. It indicated the end of the drill.

Savannah was still taken off guard by what happened. She was also more than a little upset as to the way things played out.

"It was a little too real." Savannah said.

Cameron wanted to make the scenario more believable, with a real sense of danger.

"It was the point." Cameron said.

Savannah looked at Cameron wearing a shirt, her underwear, and her shoes. It bothered her immensely to think what almost occurred. Wait, what if she wouldn't have acted when she did? What would have happened? She wanted to know.

"How far would the abuse have gone?" Savannah asked.

Cameron looked directly at Savannah. The situation was designed to portray real life events of the future.

"They were instructed to make it real." Cameron said. "I would have been abused repeatedly by multiple assailants if you hadn't acted."

Savannah felt the bile rise in her throat. It didn't look like Cameron was kidding.

"Do you mean you would have been abused by everyone there?" Savannah asked.

Cameron wasn't thrilled at the prospects of what could have happened. The scenario was designed to make Savannah think and act. She needed to use caution and planning to 'survive' the scenario and free her. Events could have played out differently.

"Yes. Everyone in the camp could have taken me." Cameron said. "My muffled screams would have forced you to act at some point."

Savannah looked at Cameron. She didn't think so. It was still a very scary prospect.

"Now you're just messing with me." Savannah said.

Cameron laughed.

"I almost fooled you." Cameron said. "The goal was to change the scenario to make everything unpredictable."

Savannah didn't know what to expect.

"It worked." Savannah said.

Cameron took in Savannah's demeanor.

"Your hands are shaking." Cameron said.

Savannah wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or what could have happened to Cameron.

"It will pass." Savannah said. "My body responded for real to everything."

Cameron was aware of the reality of the future. It was brutal.

"It will be different when it happens for real." Cameron said. "Training like this will help, but the real thing is still different."

Savannah wasn't so sure. She didn't like what she saw.

"It was pretty real to me." Savannah said.

When they reached the SUV Cameron removed a fresh set of clothes from the back.

"I see you planned to set me up all along." Savannah said.

Cameron dressed. The mission was to hone Savannah's training and skills.

"YOU made yourself better today." Cameron said. "It was all that mattered. You met the challenge. You always do."

Cameron was very proud of Savannah.

Savannah was still very uneasy about the incident, simulated or not.

After the training session Cameron took Savannah back and they cleaned and inspected the weapons. She then went over some cooking and seamstress skills with Savannah. It was followed by some dance instruction. She also made sure Savannah went to get music instruction from Claire, and to be able to be around Young Allison as much as possible. Savannah seemed to master it all with minimal instruction and practice. She was proud of the woman Savannah was becoming. She looked at Savannah's perfect figure, her pure sweet beauty, and changed it from 'becoming' to 'already was'.

For the first time, Cameron felt some shame and remorse for building up one life, while destroying another….

Cameron only hoped she wouldn't take as much pleasure when the new test subject of the 'Neural Interface' implant was terminated.

She was worried what Savannah would think of her.

Cameron knew they didn't always like the way she did things. It bothered her a lot as to what Savannah may think of her, she knew why….

Cameron looked at Savannah and knew why.

The 'Natural Order' called to HER.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Are You Ready

Each new moment in time offers change
No one knows what tomorrow will bring
Everything is always in motion or flux
The results may make one cry or sing

Things can get complicated
When there needs to be a decision
Often a last minute alteration
Will create doubt and indecision

There are always hopes and plans
They seldom seem to pan out
What should be bountiful
Often ends in a drought

In the blink of an eye
Things can pass one by
There's no way to figure it out
All they can do is wonder why

Things can turn out great
They seem firm and steady
When the direction shifts again
Are you ready

Nobody