Chapter 614

Impressed

Cammy wasn't pleased with Cameron's decision to go into the mine alone. There was absolutely no idea what they'd face inside the mine other than some type of hostile force.

She wanted to make her report. She was sure Savannah was going to be upset with her for leaving Cameron alone. She planned get additional assistance and hurry back to the mine.

Cammy ran back up the hill and made her report. It was relayed out of the 'dead zone'. John Henry was updated and plans were made accordingly. There was still no hostile air activity or reinforcements spotted.

There hadn't been any shooting from the area of the outbuildings or mine that was detected so far.

Cammy returned with Al to backup Cameron. Al would become the 'runner' if they needed to communicate again. Cammy ordered all of the other Terminators to hold their position and prepare for Skynet reinforcements to attack.

If there was an attack, it looked like it would be a drone attack since nothing was spotted approaching the area on land. Then again, no HK drones were spotted yet.. That could change fast.

Maybe because John Henry and CamNet blocked all the communications the Skynet forces didn't know what they faced now either.

The Skynet forces certainly didn't know they were about to face Cameron. The 'Metal Bitch' they'd all heard about and feared was on her way.

So was she.

Savannah wanted to speak with John before she entered the 'dead zone'. She didn't really care for that name. She needed to stay away from the mine area proper to do that. Steve was able to get her back to the target area quicker than she'd anticipated. She was geared up and ready to go.

"John, I'm back. I'm ready to reinforce Cameron." Savannah said. "I'd promised to get Young Allison home in the same condition she'd left in…. I did that."

John was pleased to hear Savannah's voice. He didn't like her in the danger zone any more than he liked Cameron there. She was there now and it was what it was. He didn't want to comment about Young Allison. He didn't like where the conversation always led. It did bother him that Young Allison faced a Terminator. That all seemed to end well even if it never should have happened.

"Thanks…. I was a little worried but you all got caught up in events." John said. "I'm glad everything worked out and that Young Allison and everyone else emerged undamaged."

John Henry was up to speed on all the events. It seemed everyone preformed well. Things worked in their favor this time.

"I was impressed. Young Allison took down her first Terminator." John Henry said.

John didn't care for the fact that John Henry said 'first'. That indicated that there would be more. He didn't comment.

Savannah wanted them to know how critical it really was. She was very close to being injured. She would have blasted the Terminator with her Taser a second later but he may have grabbed her first. Young Allison prevented that.

"She saved me from being attacked." Savannah said. "I may have been injured without her fast acting. She didn't even flinch."

John was pleased with the past events. It was the current ones that troubled him the most. His main worry was Cameron all alone inside the mine.

"We need to get Cameron more help." John said.

Savannah was already on her way. She was about to lose communications.

"I'm leading a force of Terminators as we speak." Savannah said. "We'll be in the 'dead zone' soon."

John was worried about both of them. They were both about to go from the frying pan into the fire.

"Please, be careful. Watch out for Cameron and yourself…." John said.

Savannah was concerned for all the Terminators. She was glad there hadn't been any shooting yet.

"I will as well as for Cammy and all our troops." Savannah said. "Nothing here appears to have gone 'hot' yet."

John thought about the future, their future. There was so much to say.

"Savannah…." John started.

Savannah felt it too. She felt everything as well.

"I know, John, I do too." Savannah said. "I'll try to find what's jamming our communications and knock it out if Cameron doesn't get to it first. We're going dark now…."

John and Savannah both wanted to say more. They didn't need to, they both knew all there was to say and do.

John Henry made sure John and Savannah's communication was isolated from everyone else. Well, CamNet was sure to listen. That was expected about everything.

"John, they'll watch out for each other." John Henry said.

John always felt guilty when Savannah was out in the field with Cameron or Cammy. It seemed to him that should be his place, not hers. Cameron always insisted that he remain away from the danger.

"I know they will." John said. "I just feel with Savannah out there that she's doing MY job. I should be taking the risk, not her."

John Henry knew where the 'General' belonged. It was right where he was at now.

"You know your job is here." John Henry said.

John frowned. The reality did nothing to ease his inner conflict.

"I do." John said. "It doesn't make me feel any better."

John didn't like Cameron putting herself in harms way to protect him. Now Savannah did the same thing too. He knew he should be taking the risks, not the ones he cared about. Not the ones he loved.

He really hoped that they hit Skynet hard and where it hurt them the most. This was all Skynet's fault, not theirs.

Cameron was relieved there was no reception committee or any HK Tracks when the 'door' opened. She was a little surprised there wasn't anything. It was possible everyone from inside was out and already dead. As nice as that sounded, it was far from likely. Cammy went to deliver the news. She hoped to have things taken care of before Cammy returned or Savannah arrived.

Right now nothing else mattered.

It was Showtime.

Cameron entered the tunnel. It was a horizontal shaft. She could see the remains of rotted wood supports that now were replaced with steel beams. There was a lot of reinforcement. Someone tried to make this shaft safer or at least keep it from collapsing. That meant they wanted to use it or were using it for something important.

She looked for traces of any Terminators or HK Tracks. None were spotted. The confined space was too small for an HK Tread to be in there. That was unless there was a larger chamber or cavern and one was assembled from sub-assemblies at that point. She really expected to find just about anything. With each new step she wondered why she hadn't.

Cameron could detect an electrical hum. It seemed to grow louder as she moved deeper into the hillside. She passed two divergent tunnels. One of those ended in a vertical shaft that went down to a lower level. At the junction of the second tunnel split there was another vertical shaft that went up. The pulley system elevators that would have once been in them were long gone.

She didn't like to leave unexplored tunnels behind her. The enemy could slip in back of her. She could end up trapped between two groups of them. She decided to continue on. She would head in the direction of the increasing louder electrical hum. That was the path she followed. Something was there that made that noise. They may be others there with it.

She left markers to indicate her path if Cammy returned. This seemed to be a mystery that kept growing. The lack of any opposition worried her. Maybe this was a trap. She knew Skynet wanted her. Maybe this would be her tomb.

Right before Savannah and her group started down the dirt road, Mel ran up to them and said they'd discovered a power tap on the giant transmission lines. It was disguised as part of the tower itself. It went into an underground conduit that led in the direction of the old mine that was concealed by the 'barn'.

Savannah didn't know how long the adventure into the hillside would last or where it would take them. She wanted to deny Skynet the use of any extra power to do anything. They could have a TDE inside the mine for all she knew at this point. The enemy could escape to anywhere or 'any when'. She gave instructions to cut the power or blow the conduit in twenty minutes. If an attacking force arrived or any hostile HK drones were detected they were to blow it immediately. If there was shooting or explosions from anywhere they were to blow it. She told them not to bring down the tower carrying the power to the city, just the tap. She also directed them to search for other power taps. It seemed likely if there was one that there could be more. If there were other power taps they could lead to additional areas that would need to be searched as well.

She checked her night vision equipment and Taser as she led her group forward. It was a journey into the unknown.

Earlier:

Cammy ran out of the target zone with the news and ran back in with Al once it was delivered. Cameron should only be ten minutes in front of her maybe less. She knew if Cameron came across divergent tunnels or shafts that they would slow her down. Cameron would also have to proceed with caution. She knew if she could find Cameron's 'markers' she could move much faster.

She moved up to the barn and peered into the opening of the old mine. She listened for fifteen seconds. There was no gunfire detected. She hoped that was a good thing. She knew that Cameron could have already been taken down too and the Grays would be waiting for her next. It didn't matter. She needed to reinforce Cameron.

Into the rabbit hole they went.

Cammy picked up Cameron's trail. She soon detected an electrical hum. The electrical hum grew more intense. Cammy figured that is what Cameron would head for. That's what she was headed for.

She remembered when they were in Cameron's future that Savannah was about to detonate a Thermite grenade to try and damage a power source that made a hum like that. She felt a glitch impulse shoot through her left hand. Savannah was about to collapse but she was about to conduct that final act to slow down Skynet before she fell. She didn't like the underground area there and she already didn't like the underground area here.

Cameron found many more blind shafts, both horizontal and vertical. She also came to a 'cave in' spot in one divergent horizontal tunnel. There were a series of steel beams stacked on the floor of the tunnel. It appeared they were about to reinforce the area when the 'cave in' occurred. The breakage of the rocks appeared to be recent. The dust that covered them was different from the dust that covered the blind tunnel floors. That would give her an indicator of any other recent work or problems as she went along.

She continued her journey. The hum was more intense the closer she moved towards it. There was a throb to the walls and floor now as well. The journey so far was in total darkness after she was a few hundred feet away from the 'barn' entrance.

It wasn't that long ago that she was in a place similar to this one. It reminded her of 'Skynet Central' in her future. As she moved along she was also aware there may be Terminators in 'standby' there as well. She'd experienced an unfortunate interaction with one before. It almost ended her mission before it was completed. She needed to focus on the present. She didn't want to end up with another unexpected encounter.

After she'd viewed the 'cave-in', she'd slung her M79. She was afraid it may cause another 'cave-in' if she needed to use it in the confined quarters. She didn't want to get trapped inside the mine.

Cameron calculated she wasn't in far enough or deep enough to use one of her 'warheads' there. Without a clear destination it was too risky, that could change….

If she needed to use one here, she was going to use it. She would only do it if she was sure the radiation would be contained or there would be minimal exposure. John, Savannah and Young Allison were out there. She didn't want to contaminate them.

Skynet was going to be terminated or obliterated.

Savannah and her team reached the entrance from the 'barn' into the tunnel. She looked into the darkness and knew Cameron and Cammy were in there. She also knew Al was with Cammy. So far, he hadn't come out and there still hadn't been any shooting or explosions. At least no shooting that anyone could detect.

Savannah checked her surroundings and time. She wanted one of her team to guard the entrance.

"Dan, I want you to secure this opening." Savannah said. "Make sure only our teams come out and no one else goes in."

Dan would have rather gone in with Savannah. He understood that Savannah and the others needed a way out too.

"Affirmative…." Dan said.

Savannah didn't think any ground reinforcements for Skynet would get through. It was always a possibility. She figured the main threat would be from the air. She wanted Dan to use caution so he could remain in the fight and not be terminated himself.

"If hostile HK drones show up you are to seek cover and try to keep our exit open." Savannah said. "If a time bubble appears I want you to enter it."

Dan appreciated the level of concern that Savannah showed for him. It was genuine too.

"I will not fail." Dan said.

Savannah reached up and touched his cheek.

Dan felt impulses shoot through him. The touch was soft and gently. It conveyed a 'feeling' within him.

"Thank you." Savannah said.

Savannah moved her team forward.

Dan touched his cheek where Savannah touched him. He could feel the power of the 'Chosen One'. It stirred 'feelings' inside him he didn't know he possessed. Like all of the Terminators he'd 'grown' and 'expanded' over time. Their programming was to adapt to blend in better with the humans. The female Terminators were all like human females at this point. The male Terminators lagged behind them. He didn't know that he 'felt' what human males feel toward females. He only knew the 'power' that Savannah radiated. He watched them enter the mine.

Into the rabbit hole they went.

Savannah didn't have a good feeling about anything where they were. It was an even worse feeling that Cameron was already inside far ahead of her, so was Cammy. It could be a maze of tunnels and shafts inside the mine. It could be a death trap. It could be their tomb.

The 'dead zone' terminology reverberated in her head.

The darkness was all around Cameron. It seemed like a bad omen. It reminded her too much of the last time she'd faced Skynet. The ending was all that mattered. She'd won and they'd lost.

Cameron could see light ahead. She slowed her pace. The light moved and then it moved again. She knew someone that needed light to see was headed towards her. That meant a human or humans. They were easy targets. They didn't last long. There could be a Terminator with them as well. They'd been careful to try and remain off of the cameras when they disabled them. Maybe someone was going to see what went wrong. They didn't seem to be in a hurry.

With all communications blocked by both sides, they may not know of the battle that occurred. They also may have been monitoring security feeds and seen Cammy and her earlier. There was no way to know.

If she detected there wasn't a Terminator with them, she would try to take them down Terminator style. It should be fast, efficient and mostly quiet. That would also depend on the size of the group. It could be one Gray or ten of them. A larger group would take a different tactic. Gunfire would be involved at that point. That was sure to bring a heap more trouble with it.

Cameron could now hear two voices. There was the clang of metal against rock. That meant they were armed. She knew it was awhile ago since she'd encountered the cameras. If the Grays were traveling all this time it indicated that they were in really deep somewhere. That wasn't a good sign. Maybe this place was bigger or deeper than she'd thought.

She quickly moved back to one of the blind tunnels and waited. She would let them pass and attack them from behind. They wouldn't expect that. She was now the cat and they were the mice.

Cameron waited in the darkness for her prey to pass. She could hear them getting closer. She could see their light dancing on the tunnel walls and floor. She pressed herself back against the rock in the divergent chamber. The Grays went by the opening she was hidden in with only a glance. They weren't searching for anything as they went.

It was time to strike. Cameron moved up to the opening and looked both directions. She was about to step out and take down the two figures. Something caught her eye. There was another figure hurrying after the first two. He didn't carry a light. It could be a Gray who paused to relieve himself too.

Cameron dropped back into the blind tunnel. She would have to take this threat down first and then go after the first two men.

There was still the possibility that the new figure that approached was a Terminator.

If it was a Terminator, that was bad news for her. When she saw him, he would've seen her. He was traveling without a light. Maybe this was all about to go hot. Maybe this was where it all ended for her.

Impressed

There are some in life
Who take everything in jest
Most don't think that path
Should be considered as life's test

There are those few people
In whom one will invest
Most of the other people
They soon despise and detest

There are those that one
Wants to part from and divest
The other clings and hangs on
They become irritating and a pest

Many people become stressed
With life's journey and quest
Few seem to be blessed
Most seem to be distressed

Some want more and seem obsessed
They make the other feel oppressed
There seems little time for rest
As they seek out who is best

When true feeling are expressed
They don't feel like a visiting guest
Maybe soon both are undressed
Hopefully together they'll be impressed

Nobody