Chapter 330

Time to Talk

Cameron looked around the dark cell. The man cowered in the far corner. She looked at the female she previously terminated. She felt some remorse about it. She should have terminated her more swiftly. The data gleaned from her would prove interesting, especially with the pain and fear before death when she reviewed it. In fact, she looked forward to experiencing it herself once she downloaded it.

She bent down and picked something up from the female's hand before she moved over to the man. She let her eyes glow red as she spoke in her natural metallic voice.

The man jumped. He was now aware there was a Terminator in the darkness with him. She noted the wet stop which formed between his legs. She knew it was a typical response when some animals were frightened.

The man and the group he represented wanted her terminated. She didn't have a problem returning the sentiment. Not only were they a threat to her, but to John as well. The people's actions determined their own fates, not her. She simply carried out the sentence they gave themselves. She was only the executioner.

She was unsure if things would go swiftly, or if she would drag it out. It would all depend on the man's answers and his attitude. She really didn't care either way. The nature of his fate was in his hands, not hers.

Cameron started her questioning….

John Henry went through the Terminator's chip to see what he could find, if anything. The most recent information was quite interesting.

"John, you'd better take a look at this." John Henry said. "It appears the Terminator was stalking the anti-Metal group as well. It seems he purposely let them follow him, so he could lead them into the ambush which was set up."

John was glad for the update. It wasn't his main concern. He hoped to get some information on the future. He would like a heads up on when the next Judgment Day would be, and where it would be initiated from.

"Do we know where he came from, as in which future?" John asked. "Is there any information we can get about the future?"

John Henry found a pattern to his question. It was troubling in itself.

"No, there's nothing about the future." John Henry said. "The information has been erased from every Terminator we've encountered, even the ones Mrs. Weaver sent."

It was hard for John to understand. There should be some clues.

"Why?" John asked. "You would think some would have it, or at least some information."

John Henry figured everyone wanted to protect what they already controlled. It was an effective strategy. Most likely each version of Skynet expected the Terminators to be destroyed at some point and their chip examined. It was one of the reasons for the self destructing chips. Those only appeared to be from the future Cameron was from. It was also an effective strategy.

"Everyone is keeping the future to themselves for this very reason. The more we can find out about anyone's future, the more we can change it." John Henry said. "It was the purpose of my mission, as well. I gathered the information first hand. There was no filter that way."

John Henry didn't think now was a good time to point out much information was removed from Cameron's chip before she was returned to the past. He was sure it was a lot more than just Cameron's 'personal interaction' with Future John. He knew it was something which always bothered Cameron whenever she thought about it. She felt as if part of her life was stolen from her.

John was aware they hunted future Grays down for years. Cameron also dealt with future Scavengers on the side with her own operation. Many of the later terminations were quite graphic, especially when Sheila was involved.

"Yes, we've been able to remove a number of Grays and future Scavengers." John said. "I wonder how many timelines we've created."

Both John and John Henry really wondered how many timelines Cameron created or eradicated. There were bound to be a few.

Previously Cameron contacted Summer and Camille and asked for them to return to assist her with the interrogation, as soon as they finished the current target list.

They took down two more drug operations in the last hour.

"How far do we want to go with this?" Camille asked.

Summer tilted her head slightly.

"We need to finish the list." Summer said. "Cameron will need to do it herself if we don't."

They were in another rough neighborhood.

Camille looked in the rear view mirror.

"We have a 1962 Impala on our tail." Camille said. "It's lowered."

Summer briefly wondered if it was powered by a four hundred and nine cubic inch engine. There was a song titled '409' she heard one time about a vehicle from the era. It didn't really matter, but now the tune of the song was stuck in her head.

"It looks like 'gang bangers'." Summer said. "I'd think they would use one of the stolen vehicles which populate the neighborhood if there was going to be a problem."

Camille thought so too. It was probably the first contact until reinforcements arrived.

"It looks like there will be some targets of opportunity for us." Camille said. "It won't hurt to terminate a few more future Scavengers."

Summer wanted to get to a more secluded location. She checked her internal satellite images.

"I can't locate an industrial area near here." Summer said.

Camille frowned slightly.

"There are few industries around this location. Most of the residents are on various forms of public assistance." Camille said. "It's a generational thing."

Summer knew It wasn't good. Generations raised without a work ethic led people to either become a Gray or a Scavenger in the future. She was sure if the troublemakers and problem people were removed from the neighborhood, along with the drugs, the community would be able to thrive as any other community was able to do. It seemed to her the common denominator for failure was drugs. It was usually the root cause behind everything else including sex trafficking specifically, and human trafficking in general.

"It would be nice to eliminate the riff raff from this community, and allow these people to reinvent themselves." Summer said. "We're supposed to help people better themselves. They need to be given a chance to do so."

Camille looked in her rear view mirror.

"I think we'll help the community out real soon." Camille said. "There are two more vehicles behind the Impala. Wait. The Impala has fallen back to the third position."

Without looking behind her, Summer reached back and brought forward an M4 for both of them. We were already headed to a preselected target. A few minutes to clean up the local neighborhood wouldn't slow things down too much.

"It shouldn't delay us too long." Summer said.

They were notified by CamNet there was a jamming field in place around them. They were the only ones who would be able to communicate currently.

Camille made a quick turn and sped up a little. It was to draw the pursers off of the original course they were on. If they already called for additional reinforcements, they wouldn't know where to look now.

The three pursuit vehicles sped up too.

Camille was a little concerned as to why the occupants of the Impala started to tail them in the first place.

"I wonder how they clocked us." Camille said.

Summer wondered about it too. She was worried they may have been careless. There could have been other individuals watching some of the locations they took down. It was probably a precursor in an attempt for them to do the same thing. They could have been seen going in empty handed, and come out of a burning building carrying boxes or sacks full of cash. Anyone watching them would know it was cash. They might even figure they took drugs with them as well. There was no way for them to know they left the drugs behind to burn. They hadn't put things on hold and allowed the different gangs to fight each other first, and then mop up the winner. Usually the winner would turn out to be a bigger loser, especially if Sheila was along, if any sex trafficking was identified.

"They may have been watching the last drug location we took down. These groups often fight over turf." Summer said. "We were the last ones in and the only ones out."

Camille believed there could be another factor involved. It was somewhat disturbing and more personal in nature if it was. She wasn't sure about it, or if their appearance caught someone's fancy. They would bring top dollar in many foreign countries. Well, they would if they were human females. They were a little better able to defend themselves than unsuspecting human females would be. She checked her rear view mirror.

"It looks like they're about to make a move." Camille said.

Summer saw they were almost to an industrial area in the next community over. She checked her M4. There was a full magazine. The weapon was charged. She placed an HE round in the M203 below the barrel.

"Here they come." Camille said. "They're going to try and get a vehicle in front of us."

Camille purposely signaled and moved into the left lane. She wanted the vehicle to pass them on the passenger's side. It would give Summer a clear field of fire directly into the vehicle.

Summer placed the barrel of her M4 on the open windowsill. She held the M4 with her left hand and placed her right arm on top of it to hide its position.

The first vehicle went to pass them.

Camille waited and then sped up so they were side by side.

Summer looked over and smiled at the gang members. There were three men in a sedan. One of them smiled back. All three of them held firearms in their hands. She lifted her arm, moved the barrel slightly forward over the windowsill and emptied the magazine into the passenger compartment. All three men died instantly. The speeding sedan went out of control. Camille stood on the brakes as soon as Summer was on her last three rounds.

There was a minivan behind them. It was the second vehicle. They needed to swerve off to the side to avoid running into the back of the SUV. The driver braked hard at the same time.

Up ahead, the driverless sedan turned sharply to the right and rolled over twice. Three lifeless bodies were ejected onto the pavement. One of them was hung up halfway out the window. It appeared as if the body ended up in two pieces once it was finally flung free of the rolling wreckage.

Summer leaned out the side window and fired the HE round in her M203. It smashed through the front window and exploded in the interior of the van. It flipped end over end. She only noticed one of body ejected through the side door of the van as it flipped. It took a moment for the fuel from the ruptured gas tank to run along the bottom of the van and into the interior before it ignited. She was somewhat surprised to see a burning figure emerge from the flipped van. She aimed and fired once. The burning figure fell to the ground and continued to burn. There was no longer any movement.

They went past the smoking sedan. The van flipped once more and landed on the wreckage of the sedan. They were both engulfed in flames. There were bodies and debris scattered all over the right side of the road.

Summer loaded a fresh magazine into her M4, and another HE round into the M203.

Only six seconds passed from when Summer smiled to when she placed the second HE round into her M203. They weren't done yet.

Camille used the emergency brake and spun the SUV around almost instantly in a power slide turn. She watched a professional driver do it on videos before. It was really easy to turn the vehicle and go in a different direction, especially back the way they came from, and keep the speed up. What made it all seem somewhat surreal is in one of the videos the professional driver made, they passed a white Bronco followed by a line of police cars. The professional driver ended up underneath a freeway overpass with a car much like the one behind them. Well, it was actually in front of them now. She briefly wondered if it had the same hydraulic lift system or not. She remembered how the Mustang the professional driver drove donuts around the hopping car. The thought only cost her a millisecond.

The Impala was slow to react.

They passed the two burning vehicles in an instant. There was one man in the street who was still alive. His right foot and entire right arm were missing. By his screaming, it was clear he was in agony. She wasn't Sheila. There was no need for those who needed termination to prolong the process. She drew her M9 and fired once. She hit him in the head as they passed. His suffering was over.

The Impala made a U-turn to run. Summer leaned out the passenger's side window and fired two shots from her M4. Both of the rear tires were blown out on the Impala. It fishtailed wildly.

Camille looked over at Summer. She expected her to use the M203.

They caught up to the disabled Impala almost immediately. Summer fired her M4 two more times. Both occupants were killed. The weapons they held fell from their lifeless hands, as their bodies slumped over to the side. The disabled Impala stopped in the street. It didn't hit anything. The vehicle wasn't damaged.

Camille stopped next to it. She looked into the interior of the Impala. There were two decedents.

"Everyone is terminated." Summer said.

Camille drove away. She was curious as to the action taken by Summer.

"Why didn't you use the HE round?" Camille asked.

Summer was able to see the badge on the front of the fender when the Impala made a U-Turn. She was able to identify the specific type of vehicle.

"The Impala was a 409." Summer said. "I didn't want to destroy it. It's a classic. It just needs a couple of rims and tires, and a good cleaning of the interior."

Camille looked back.

"It would have been a waste of machinery." Camille said.

Camille made a turn and then another one soon after. It was probably better they played it cool for the rest of the night in the part of town they were in. There was a good chance the description of the current vehicle they drove was out amongst the gang members. When they abandoned the vehicle, they would need to make sure it was in another gang's territory. They would make an anonymous call to the gang they just dealt a blow to. It should pit the two gangs against each other once the vehicle was spotted in the other gang territory. They decided to head for Cameron's base.

Savannah awoke. She was comforted to see Sheila by her side. She would rather have Cameron there. Cam or Ally would have been nice too.

She knew if Vanna remained incapable of having children, she would also be assigned at least one permanent Terminator 'friend'. Maybe it is why Sheila was there now. An unexpected rush of excitement shot through her body. She could feel her body respond just with the thought. She looked at Sheila, she was beautiful. She looked just like Jesse. She was actually the perfect version of Jesse.

Savannah tried to get closer to Jesse, but Jesse was 'afraid'. She was afraid of Vanna, and of Cameron, if she picked the 'forbidden fruit', her. She didn't think it should matter if she wanted to be 'picked'. Why couldn't it be her choice? Why couldn't she do what she wanted to do? She wanted more. No. She needed more.

Sheila scanned Savannah. Her readings were very much identical to Vanna's before a sexual encounter. It was clear Savannah was highly sexually aroused right now. She didn't want Savannah to get the wrong idea. She also didn't want to face the wrath of Cameron or Vanna. The best course of action was to address the situation and the reason why.

"I know what you're thinking." Sheila said. "Cameron will not allow any of the Terminators, female or otherwise, to do what you desire, with YOU. They would face deactivation."

Savannah was pleased to see Sheila understood what she wanted. She wanted to push the issue a little bit to see what would happen. She was ready right now for a little more.

"Don't you have free choice?" Savannah asked. "It won't hurt anything one way or the other. I just want to try a few things to see what it's like."

The 'Jesse' in Sheila wanted to be with Savannah more than anything. She didn't have the same inhibitions or restrains as Jesse either. It was an absolute certainty Cameron would terminate them in the most brutal way she could devise if they touched Savannah sexually.

"Yes we do." Sheila said. "We also know how to follow orders and none of us wishes to anger Cameron and be terminated as Isabel was, more than once. You know John and Young Allison are your future. It's not any of us."

Sheila wasn't sure exactly what Savannah wanted the most. She thought about recommending Savannah visit John's room when Cameron was away. Somehow it seemed like a bad idea so she didn't mention it.

Savannah frowned. She needed to think about all the things Vanna told her. It helped to calm her down. It calmed her way down.

"I'm in no hurry." Savannah said. "Vanna has slowed me down with her story. It's MY story in reality. It's a sad story. All those things actually happen to me."

Just thinking about it again started to make Savannah feel sick. She could only imagine her body being forced to do some of those 'things'. She wasn't sure if it was the acts themselves, or because multiple men were doing them over and over. Why did they need to flip her over too? Wasn't the 'real thing' good enough?

Savannah knew she needed to stop thinking of Vanna as a 'mother figure' and more of as 'herself'. In fact they were the same person. She wanted to start sharing more with Vanna as the same person they were. She would ask Cameron if it was possible to use the 'Neural Interface' with Vanna and herself. She didn't know if it was possible or not. She was willing to try. Savannah wanted to be all of 'herself' to be complete. She wanted ALL of Vanna's memories. They were HER memories and experiences. She wanted to have the good, the bad, and the ugly.

She was aware Vanna also experienced good things as well as the bad. She wanted those good things for herself. Maybe she could share some of Vanna's. If not, she was ready to make her own. She was ready to experiment with more than just herself. She looked at Sheila. She knew Jesse would help her 'learn'. She noticed Jesse look at her with hungry eyes many times. Maybe she just needed to be a little more persistent. If she put 'enough' in front of Jesse, and they were alone, at some point Jesse wouldn't be able to stop herself. It was what she wanted. She wanted her first experience to be aggressive, but with a female, instead of a group of males.

Savannah decided to 'offer' herself to Jesse again and see what happened. She really needed someone NOW. She knew Jesse possessed a lot of experience. She hoped she would be able to satisfy her in several different ways during the encounter. She really hoped she would be able to reciprocate. She wasn't really sure if she could or not. She watched all the videos and looked at all the images on the internet. She knew what to do. She just needed to do it right.

She could see one of Sheila's nipple rings. The view made her want more. Maybe a little 'touch' wouldn't hurt.

When Savannah reached out to touch it, Sheila quickly readjusted her top and covered herself. She didn't look forward to ending up on the scrap pile.

"It's not for you." Sheila said.

Savannah giggled a little.

Sheila moved her head a little closer to Savannah.

"Not yet anyway." Sheila whispered.

Savannah sucked in her breath. It seemed as if her heart fluttered a little.

Sheila smiled and winked at her.

Savannah was thrilled. It was clear it would happen someday. The trouble was, it wouldn't be anytime soon.

Cameron questioned the man for hours. He lied to her over and over. She resisted the urge to strike him repeatedly. It was time to give him something to think about.

"Open your hand." Cameron commanded.

The man reluctantly did. Cameron placed something in it. She closed her hand around his so he couldn't release it.

"It's exactly what you think it is." Cameron said. "The female held it in her hand as she terminated. She tried to put it back in several times before she grew too weak. It was rather pathetic."

The man struggled wildly. Cameron held him firmly in place.

He was unable to break free. The man at this point realized there were two Terminators in the cell with him. The other one held him firmly in place.

The man looked frantically around. There were now three sets of red eyes around him. He never heard any of them enter. There were three Terminators in the cell with him. The very 'things' he swore to eradicate.

"The next lie you utter will be the last words you're ever able to speak." Cameron said. "Speech will be impossible without a tongue."

One of the Terminators forced his mouth open. He wasn't sure what was up but they looked like they meant business.

"Do you wish to start telling the truth or become speechless, forever?" Cameron asked.

The metallic voice of one of the other Terminators sounded.

"Let me do it. He will not comply." The other Terminator said.

The man uttered a bunch of incoherent babble.

The Terminator released all pressure.

"I want the truth, all of it. You're being scanned as we speak. We know when you're lying." Cameron said. "There will be no further warning."

Cameron asked the questions and the man talked and talked. He cried and whimpered until she wanted him to shut up….

Cameron received a priority message from Gail. It wasn't the message she wanted to receive. She left the room soundlessly. Camille took her place. The developments at the Resistance base required her to leave at once. She took Summer aside and talked with her.

Cameron explained her sheath would be Resequenced with Allison's DNA and she would be known as Cammy from now on. She would also install a second chip port as well as a second power supply. She wanted Cammy to be 'special'. Cammy would be for someone 'special' to her.

She said they would update one more time and explained what her new duties would be. She was specific on what was allowed and not allowed until she personally approved of everything. Any deviation would result in violent termination.

Summer, now Cammy, would assume her new 'duties' as soon as her sheath Resequenced.

Cameron would have to wait until later to create her own 'Summer'. Maybe with Claire's recent decision, it was better if there wasn't a Metal Summer yet. There was no need to rock the boat or upset anyone needlessly.

She called and spoke with Holly to check on Allison. She explained the latest development at the base. It was nothing good.

"I want an update every fifteen minutes." Cameron said.

Holly didn't think it was practical.

"What if she is sleeping?" Holly asked.

The question irritated Cameron.

"Then you need to be more careful." Cameron said. "We're losing control."

Holly didn't believe they actually could control the situation.

"What can we do to help Allison or the others?" Holly asked.

Cameron remembered what she saw people do in a church she was in previously.

"Pray…." Cameron said.

Cameron wasn't sure why she said it.

Holly already tried everything she could think of.

"I have been." Holly said.

It was somewhat of a surprise to Cameron. Faith wasn't in their programming. She was sure of the source.

"Do you and Claire pray?" Cameron asked. "I've listened to Claire before as well."

Holly wanted to know more about how faith worked.

"Yes." Holly said. "Belief is a new concept for us, for ME. Claire believes in something I know is impossible. To her it is as real as she is. Because she believes it, it is REAL to her. I want to learn more."

Cameron was aware humans could 'believe' in something. Their belief could make them do anything, including blow themselves up for a 'higher cause'. She watched news reports on TV several times about some suicide bombers who did it.

There were billions of people on earth and most of them believed in something at some point which wasn't real or provable, even if it was someone else's love for them, or to them.

Love may be the thing most humans believed in which wasn't tangible. Then again, sometimes it was. For most of them it wasn't for long. It didn't take much for them to turn in a different direction and seek out a 'new lover'. She witnessed it with her own eyes. She watched John do it as quickly as one could flip a switch.

Cameron looked down at her left hand with disgust. The glitch was back.

There was a soft knock at Jesse's door.

Gail slowly got up and answered it. She needed to suppress her tears. She no longer could as she sensed Cameron outside.

Cameron and Vanna were at the door when Gail tearfully opened it.

Jesse looked up from the bed and saw who was there at the door.

"NO!" Jesse screamed.

She burst into tears when she saw them. She knew why they were there.

Cameron and Vanna entered the room. Ally and Cam waited outside. The door closed….

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Time To Talk

There is a time to listen
There is a time to talk
Listening is more than hearing
Talk needs to be more than squawk

When everyone withdraws into themselves
There is no worthwhile communication
It can lead to trepidation
This often leads to stagnation

If no one is moving forward
Then they might as well park
Going nowhere fast
Will never ignite a spark

The call for help
Can come in many ways
Will any assistance
Arrive in months, weeks or days

At life's door when there's a knock
It's not the time to gawk and mock
There's no need for shock
When two find the time to talk

Nobody

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cameron Prime Timeline:

Events Continue In Chapter 337

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX