Chapter 626

I'm OK

Savannah knew that she needed to find Cameron. Tom made an opening large enough for her to barely fit through. She needed to leave all her gear behind to fit. That included her breathing apparatus. He boosted her up and she squeezed through the small opening. She was in darkness. The only light was from the flashlight she carried. It was taken from a dead Gray earlier. It was still on the side with Tom.

She coughed. The air was difficult to breathe. She didn't know where her 'scarf 'went. It must have snagged on a rock as she squeezed through the tiny gap.

Tom held the flashlight for her to see and handed it to her after she'd passed through. He reached down and was about to hand her the breathing mask and oxygen bottle.

Savannah felt the rocks start to move as she reached for her breathing gear. She quickly pulled her hand away and jumped back as a new pile of rocks closed up the opening. They'd just missing crushing her arm. She saw the end of her scarf but it was buried in the rocks now.

She coughed again. The air was terrible here. She ripped a four inch wide section of material off the bottom circumference of her shirt and tied that around her face as well. It didn't seem to do much. The air was full of dust and smoke.

The flashlight was on but it was all but useless. It was like a heavy fog all around her with all the smoke and dust. The flashlight beam reflected back off of the thick haze that surrounded her. She could barely breathe and was all but blind.

She heard Tom call to her. His voice was very muffled.

"Are you alright, Savannah?" Tom asked.

She coughed when she went to speak. She tried it again with success.

"I'm OK." Savannah shouted.

She hoped Tom would hear her.

There was a loud 'crack' noise and a rock landed next to her. It splintered when it impacted the floor and a section of it rolled onto her foot. It was heavy. She knew it would have smashed her foot if the impact would have been direct. She knew it would have killed her if it hit her head.

Savannah moved forward toward where Cameron should have gone. It was as much by touch as it was by her limited vision. There were rocks all over the ground and it was hard to walk and not trip over things she couldn't see. There seemed to be new ones that fell at random times and locations. She was sure she would be hit by one sooner or later. It was hard enough not to trip on the ones already on the ground. This was going to be slow going and it was harder and harder to breathe…. Here eyes stung and she could barely keep them open. Her eyes watered and somehow that seemed to make it all worse. Her hands were filthy so she couldn't touch them. There was nothing clean to wipe them with either. She could take off her underwear and try. Wait. She wondered if her underwear was even clean with all the fine dust, she doubted it.

She forced herself forward. Failure wasn't an option. She needed to find Cameron. Cameron would come for her. She was there for Cameron.

Earlier:

Once Al and Bob linked up they rushed to clear the pipe of earth and rocks. It happened quickly.

They waited for Cameron, Savannah and Tom to return. It never happened.

They sent out the deactivated Terminators. They waited but the others never returned. It was clear they needed to do something.

"We need to go find them." Ed said.

Cammy thought otherwise. She felt that was her job. It was clear the mine was close to a total failure. She knew that one by one the Terminators there and then from outside would try to find them. More and more of them would be drawn into the mine. Soon all of them would be in there. She knew this was about to be a repeat of the 'Day Of Loss'.

"I'll do it alone." Cammy said.

Cammy spoke with Al, Frank and Ed. She told them she would now assume the role of 'Cameron'.

They all nodded. It seemed as if Cameron was terminated at this point. Neither Tom nor Savannah returned either.

Cammy ordered Al, Frank and Ed out. She ordered no one else to enter. She was going after Cameron and Savannah herself. No one was to risk themselves under any circumstances.

She made sure John knew and repeated the order back. She issued the order as 'Cameron'. She knew if she got out that would be her new role anyway as 'Cameron Prime'. That was IF Cameron and Savannah were unrecoverable. They should have returned by now. Tom didn't make it either.

Cammy headed back the way they'd come. She saw the trestle was tilted a little to one side now. It creaked and cracked as she ran across it. It sounded as if pieces fell off of it. It seemed to tilt a little more. It was about to fall into the small canyon next to it. She wondered why that cavern was there again but didn't know.

She took Savannah's lantern with her. She figured they would need it for Savannah to see better in the dust and smoke. The air was thick and heavy with both. She needed to dodge the new rocks that fell onto the tracks.

Cammy heard the rhythmic sound of rocks falling and knew someone was moving them. It was probably Tom but it might be Cameron. They were crashing down at a rapid pace.

She got closer and saw the entrance to the main tunnel was now completely blocked. Her lantern lit up the area and she saw Savannah's vest, equipment and breathing gear on the ground.

"Where the HELL is Savannah?" Cammy screamed.

Cammy feared Savannah was under the pile of rocks Tom was moving. She would be dead with all that weight on her. She wouldn't be able to breathe.

Tom could tell what Cammy thought happened. He saw her eyes glowed red. He needed to calm her down.

"Savannah's on the other side." Tom said. "She said that she was OK. She needed to remove all her gear to squeeze through. The opening closed up before I could hand anything to her. All she has is a flashlight."

Cammy looked at the thick haze they were in. She could see any length of exposure was going to be fatal.

"The air in here is terrible." Cammy said. "She's not going to make it if I don't get to her soon. The smoke will kill her."

Tom didn't tell her that the air was even worse on the other side of the blockage. There was nothing either one of them could do about it. She would find out soon enough if they could open up another gap. So far that hadn't happened again.

Cammy planned to order Tom out when she found him. Now she needed him to help her move the rocks.

Tom could tell that Cammy wanted to send him away. He wanted to make his position clear.

"I'm not leaving until I get Savannah out." Tom said. "I hope that Cameron is with her."

Cammy calmed down.

"Thank you, Tom." Cammy said.

They both worked in at a frantic pace….

Every time Cammy caught sight of Savannah gear on the ground she tried to work faster. The sight of Savannah's breathing gear laying there made her worry more. She pictured Savannah gasping for her final breath somewhere alone in the darkness.

There was a sigh of relief at the Command Center when it was learned they'd all survived. The trouble was that Cameron and Savannah were missing. Cammy ordered everyone out and that no one was to enter the mine. The mine was too unstable. Cammy also reported Tom was still inside waiting for Cameron.

The three Terminators who came out told their stories of all that happened and what each of them witnessed.

When it came to Savannah, none of them seemed to have anything to say.

They'd all heard about what everyone else, including Cammy and Cameron did. It seemed a lot happened. There were other things they spoke of but not how they happened.

John was worried and confused.

"What about Savannah?" John asked.

The three dirt and soot covered Terminators all looked at each other. They didn't want to violate Savannah's trust.

"Savannah asked that we not report about her." Al said.

John was irritated. He needed to know more.

"Asked or ordered?" John asked.

Al didn't want to play this game.

"Savannah asked us to respect her wishes." Al said. "Everyone else should do the same."

John felt he was the General. Everyone should answer to him and obey him.

"I've ASKED you to tell me." John said.

The three Terminators looked at each other but said nothing.

John's phone rang, he looked at it. He stared at it as it rang a few more times.

John Henry was sure he knew who it was and why. John was overly harsh on the three Terminators.

"Is it the future calling?" John Henry asked.

John nodded as he answered the phone.

"Hello, Allison." John said.

John expected a rebuke but he received assistance instead. It was clear he couldn't predict Young Allison.

"Hi, John, let me talk to them." Young Allison said. "I need to find out about Savannah. WE need to find out."

Young Allison spoke to them. They all spoke of what Savannah did in the mine. It was everything, including about her take down the Grays and two Terminators. They told of how Savannah put their safety before hers and volunteered to do a dangerous mission. They also told how she returned to go after Cameron and that was the last they saw of her….

Nobody said anything….

Savannah needed to move from side to side to avoid the obstacles on the ground. She needed to make sure she didn't get turned around. If that happened she knew she would die in there. The ground we littered with rocks and boulders everywhere.

As she moved along in the gloom she spotted something up ahead. Savannah rushed forward. She thought it was Cameron.

It was the four Grays she'd killed earlier.

Savannah saw that three of the four wore breathing masks but there were no air bottles. They were all back in the area where she'd been earlier.

The first mask contained a bloody hole in it. The next one was intact but full of blood. The last one was undamaged and unbloodied. It would help protect her eyes if nothing else. There was a lantern with them. She armed herself with a pistol and two extra magazines from one of them. She didn't know what else she would come across.

The lantern lit both sides of the tunnel as Savannah moved down it. The breathing mask helped her to see better as well. Her eyes no longer watered and stung. She'd been ready to take her underwear of an wipe them. She was glad she could leave her pants on. Onward through the gloom she moved.

She didn't think she would get turned around now with the lantern and mask. She at least knew she was still headed in the right direction.

Cammy and Tom tore away at the rocks that blocked their path.

The progress was frustrating and slow. There was always more to move. Finally there was an opening. They worked to keep it open and enlarge it.

Cammy could see the opening they'd made get bigger and bigger even as it continued to try and close up. They stayed ahead of the closure. The size of the opening continued to grow.

"It's almost big enough for me to go through." Cammy said.

Tom was still worried about what happened with Savannah. The hole closed up almost immediately and nearly crushed her arm.

"Let's make it a little bigger so you can take all your gear with you." Tom said. "In case it closes up again."

Cammy glanced back at Savannah's gear and breathing equipment on the ground, she understood his reasoning.

She quickly reached down and grabbed Savannah breathing mask. She dropped Savannah's equipment, breathing gear and extra oxygen through the gap first. She hoped even if the opening closed again that Savannah would have some supplies.

"I'll give it one more minute and then I'm going through." Cammy said.

She'd called to Savannah earlier but there was no response. It was possible Savannah was down from lack of air or falling rocks. She was sure Savannah was dying as they worked. She didn't want Savannah to die alone in the darkness. She deserved better than that.

Cammy needed to make a hard choice. She needed to think of Tom as well as Savannah and Cameron.

"You can keep working on this." Cammy said. "If we're not back in fifteen minutes you're to follow the tracks and go out. No one is to enter to look for us."

Cammy took off her gear and dropped it through to the other side. She then scrambled through the gap. She put her gear back on and picked up Savannah's things. She didn't know if she would run into any Grays or Terminators. She watched the gap to see if it would close back up. It didn't. Not yet anyway. Tom stayed with it to enlarge it.

Cammy started to run to look for Savannah and Cameron.

There was debris everywhere. She needed to be careful not to trip and fall. She carried Savannah's lantern.

Savannah moved through the thick haze. She was worried now that Cameron must have stayed and explode her power cell with the spare one she took with her. There was no sign of her anywhere. She wondered if she'd missed her before she'd found the lantern. She thought about going back. No. She would continue on until she found the tunnel blocked. She wouldn't turn back before then. She was aware she probably wouldn't be able to get back at this point anyway.

She struggled to go on. It was almost impossible to breathe at this time. She willed herself forward. She saw a shape. It gave her hope. With that hope it gave her strength. There was a figure lying on the ground. There were rocks all around her. It was Cameron.

"Cameron!" Savannah said.

Savannah rushed to her.

Cameron was offline. Savannah was unsure why. Cameron didn't appear to have too much damage. She rapidly checked her for any bullet wounds. She wanted to make sure her power cell wasn't damaged. She also made sure Cameron's chip port hadn't been opened. It wasn't. Cameron appeared intact and relatively undamaged. She didn't know why she was inopreatable.

Savannah found the oxygen tank Cameron carried when she'd checked her for wounds earlier. She quickly hooked it up and took in a few breaths before her next feat. The fresh air helped clear her mind and her vision. Her gasping slowed and stabilized. She thought she may have been close to blacking out. She realized she'd been very close to death.

She needed to move Cameron. It would be easiest to drag her but there was too much debris. Cameron would be torn up as she was drug over them. She needed to make a choice.

Savannah moved Cameron into a sitting position against the wall. She was going to try to lift Cameron over her shoulder. She'd only trained doing that with the other females, never a cyborg. There was going to be a big weight difference. Her other choice was to drag Cameron over the rough floor littered with rocks of all sizes. She needed to do this.

She stripped off all of Camerons gear and weapons. She tied the lantern to hang in front of her. She wouldn't be able to pick it up once she stood with Cameron on her shoulder. She needed to see. If she tripped and fell it would be hard to pick Cameron up a second time.

Savannah knew she needed to do this. She bent down and leaned Cameron over her shoulder and back. She used all her strength and stood up with Cameron. She almost fell over but regained her balance. There was something metallic that fell to the ground. Savannah didn't know what it was but kept moving.

She started back the way she'd come. The weight was very difficult and the terrain was rough to navigate. She staggered several times but continued along. She wasn't going to leave without Cameron. She knew this might be where it all ended. No. She was going to make it. She willed herself to continue. She'd promised Cameron that she would never abandon her.

Cammy ran through the scattered rocks and boulders. She spotted a bright light up ahead. She was about to call out when she remembered Savanna left her lantern between the two mine cars. She carried it now. It must be Grays. They carried lanterns. She slowed her pace and pulled out her Taser and Glock as she advanced. She turned off Savannah's lantern that she carried.

She advanced quietly until she could see a large shape. It was what Savannah described to her earlier when Cameron carried the 'Metal Bitch' back with her.

Cammy threw caution to the wind.

Cameron must have found Savannah passed out and needed to carry her back.

She looked closer and could not believe her eyes.

It was Savannah who carried Cameron.

Cammy turned the light back on.

Savannah knew she was nearly finished. She wasn't going to stop until she dropped. She was going to make it no matter what it took.

"Savannah." Cammy called in the distance.

A wave of relief flooded Savannah. It seemed to give her more strength. She knew help was coming. She felt rejuvenated.

Savannah could see Cammy carried a light as well.

"I'm up ahead. Cameron's incapacitated." Savannah said through her mask.

She couldn't move her hand up for fear of dropping Cameron. Cammy should be able to see her light moving as she walked.

Seconds later Cammy ran into view.

"I saw your light." Cammy said.

Cammy reached to take Cameron from Savannah.

Cameron rebooted and saw Savannah was carrying her as Cammy took her and set her down.

Cameron looked at Savannah. She was as surprised as she was impressed, especially under the current conditions.

"You came for me." Cameron said. "You picked me up and carried me."

Savannah didn't want to make a big deal about it. She never would have left Cameron there alone. She would have stayed with her. They would have been together forever….

"And Cammy came for both of us." Savannah said. "We all help each other."

They went back and quickly retrieved all of Cameron's gear and weapons. Cammy changed the oxygen tank for Savannah and gave her, her gear.

As they started back, Cameron reached down and picked up something. It all made sense to her now what happened and why. She'd actually incapacitated herself inadvertently.

"This shocker was activated when I was hit by rocks." Cameron said. "I'll have to modify the activation system. It prevented me from rebooting. It did what it was supposed to do. It just wasn't supposed to do it to me."

Cammy led the trio.

As they walked, Cameron moved up and took Savannah's hand. She gave it a squeeze. She wanted to make her thanks personal to Savannah.

"Thank You, Savannah…." Cameron said.

In the gloom of the smoke and dust, Cameron could see Savannah was covered in soot and dirt. Through all of that, she saw Savannah smile at her through the grimy face mask.

Just to see that smile under these conditions was beautiful. Cameron knew she was going to get Savannah out of there no matter what it took.

I'm Good

I know how things work
I know what is real
I also know now
That I can feel

I am what I am
I can't change a lot
I know what I am
I know what I am not

You do know
I am more than I was
Is it from what happened
Or is it just because

Each day I continue to grow
My progress may seem slow
At least who I am you know
Who don't think so

Everything has changed
I think it is understood
If I'm not bad, then maybe
I'm good

Nobody