Chapter 828

Touch And Go

The flight pattern that Savannah flew sent the plane near Cameron's old house every time. Six times in a row Cameron looked down at the house and all the 'memories' it held. All the BAD memories it held along with the anger and hate. The betrayal, rejection and replacement….

It was where Sarah, Future Derek and John all made fun of her or rude and unnecessary comments. They always reminded her what she was in a very negative way. It was done as an insult to her personally. Maybe it didn't matter to them but it did matter to her.

Each time the plane passed near the house Cameron re-lived every second of everything that happened in the months they'd spent there. It was where her Poem Book was created and stored for years. The poem book that was created because of what others did to her. It was created because of what John did and did to her. It was created because of what John did with Riley and how it was rubbed in her face. It was where they showed her that her true worth was nothing and that she was - Nobody.

The house was where Cameron's future was stolen from her. Her destiny to be chosen by John as his lover was stolen from her right in front of her face. None of them cared, especially John. None of it meant anything to them but it meant everything to her. On each of the five previous passes over the residence she was able to suppress a glitch impulse. Each time it was stronger and lasted longer. She was able to hide it from Savannah.

On the last touch and go Savannah flew out a little farther south before she made her turn to the east. This time they would pass directly over the house. As they flew directly over the house, she wanted to find what was lost. She wanted to find what she'd lost. She wanted what was stolen from her. She wanted to get it back. She needed to be there to do it. She needed to go there right now.

Cameron was there now. She wanted to go there and find what was ripped from her. She started to open the door on the plane so she could get out and try and find it. She was so close to it now. The house would be right below them in a matter of seconds. If she wanted to go there she would need to get out now. She reached for the door handle to open the door so she could get out of the plane.

Young Allison was informed that she would be able to go out with Cameron and Savannah shortly. She wanted Anna to go with her so it would be the four of them.

"I want you to come with us, Anna." Young Allison said. "We'll look like the younger versions of Savannah and Cameron."

Anna was very disturbed about the way Hanna made fun of her appearance and said that she would never look like that. It made her very self conscious of the way she looked currently. It also bothered her because more males stared at her with her current appearance than they did with her full teenage appearance. That didn't make any sense to her. She wondered if the movie 'Pretty Baby' was more popular than she thought. She wondered how John would look at her now. She knew that was his favorite movie.

"I'm not comfortable that I look like this." Anna said. "I look like I'm about thirteen."

Young Alison looked down the front of her body. She didn't have a choice as to how she looked. Nature dictated her current appearance. Time would rectify that.

"It's what I look like." Young Allison said. "Don't you find me attractive?"

Anna looked at Young Allison with love in her eyes.

"Of course I do." Anna said. "You're beautiful."

Young Allison didn't know if that was true or not. She too noticed that a lot of males stared at her now. It seemed most of them were older on top of it. She found their looks to be unwanted and revolting. She wasn't bothered by any of the females that stared at her, even if they were older.

"That creepy guy at the park must have thought I was attractive." Young Allison said. "He always looked at me, he even followed me. I was worried he might try and do 'something'."

Anna was aware of everything that happened when she was out with the Young Allison. She too was bothered by the men that stared at Young Allison. Most of those were when she still had her teenage appearance and looked exactly like Savannah. She saved images of all of them. She wanted to make sure they could be properly identified by any of the other Terminators. Every Terminator that was on Young Allison's Detail or that visited Palmdale was given the information and told that those individuals were a threat to Young Allison. Any threat to one of the 'Chosen Ones' carried a sentence of termination.

Young Allison remembered how sometimes there were men at the park or even other places they visited. They would look at her and she knew what they 'saw' and 'thought' about her. It always gave her a creepy feeling. She'd been followed before.

It was Anna's job to make sure that Young Allison was protected twenty-four hours a day.

"I was aware of that." Anna said.

Young Allison actually wondered what happened to the one aggressive individual.

"I haven't seen him for a while since he did that." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't want to get into details about what she'd done with the images she shared with the other Terminators. She decided to keep it simple.

"He's probably moved on." Anna said.

Young Allison was well aware of the trouble that the future held. Skynet wasn't the only problem or the only threat.

"Will he become a Scavenger if Skynet takes over?" Young Allison asked.

Anna looked at Young Allison and smiled

"I wouldn't worry about him…." Anna said.

Anna was aware he was no longer a problem or threat. She'd buried him herself.

Sheila, Ally and Hanna took care of the other 'problems'. The park and the surrounding areas were now much safer places for anyone to go, especially Young Allison.

Unbeknownst to all of them, Cameron took care of several additional threats they hadn't identified. Nobody put one of her girls in a corner.

John was very pleased that they'd tracked down the cargo from the two boxcars they let slip away from them at the old newspaper plant. The other ones that they'd scored on from the 'Coast' and the 'Central Valley' were another plus.

They knew there were more boxcars out there. They just didn't know how many or where any of them were. They looked for the welded doors as a clue. Now they needed a hit. There hadn't been any new activity lately.

"Any luck on more of the boxcars?" John asked.

John Henry viewed the boxcar situation as a personal challenge. He'd been bested by the Skynet forces several times in their initial search for the boxcars. He viewed that as a personal insult. His close association with Cameron when he shared chip space with her showed him sometimes there needed to be retribution and payback. He planned to do both before he was done.

"Not yet." John Henry said.

John was aware the Skynet forces evidently planted a man inside of the railroad management. Their determination was it was most likely a Terminator.

"Have you been able to track who has been in the different railroad's computer systems?" John asked.

John Henry was disturbed by that as well. He saw it as more of the personal challenge to him. That was one individual that he wanted to see terminated.

"It led to a dead end." John Henry said.

John knew they'd been stumped temporarily. That didn't go over well with him

"I don't like dead ends." John said. "Cameron likes them even less."

John Henry thought he caught a lucky break one time. He'd thought wrong.

"It traced some things back to a 'drop' location like the surf shop in Avila Beach." John Henry said. "The location was burnt and the computer equipment was missing."

John wondered if the Skynet forces attempted to cover their tracks.

"Did Skynet or Grays do it themselves?" John asked.

John Henry was currently aware that there were three or four different groups they needed to contend with. Very little seemed cut and dried anymore.

"That's unknown." John Henry said. "It could have been Skynet covering its tracks. It could be the Fanatics or the anti-Metal faction. There's always the possibility of Skynet activity from a different future as well. We know that those groups don't get along with each other for very long. Every Skynet wants to be the only ruler and master."

John wondered what Cameron's involvement was, if any. She often operated outside of the Resistance framework. That was mainly so she wouldn't endanger any of the Resistance personnel.

"Did Cameron do it?" John asked.

John Henry personally looked into that.

"That's also unknown." John Henry said.

John didn't think Cameron would tell him even if he asked her but she might mention it to John Henry if he asked.

"Did you ask her?" John asked.

John Henry was very displeased with the answer.

"I did." John Henry said. "She said I knew 'all I needed to know'."

John slowly shook his head from side to side.

"She wants to find them herself." John said. "So none of the rest of us are put in danger."

John Henry didn't want to make an issue out of it.

"You know she cares deeply about everyone." John Henry said.

John scoffed at the idea.

"I know she cares deeply about some of the people." John said.

John Henry didn't care for John's response.

"You know that's not true." John Henry said.

John let out a sigh. He did know that Cameron was worried about all of them and took the brunt of the damage herself to protect everyone.

"I do." John said. "I'm sorry."

John felt sometimes he let his personal feelings creep into the operations. The fact Cameron took many of the risks herself was nothing new. She'd always done that. The damage to her over the years was horrific at times. Some were so severe and repeated, that parts of her sheath couldn't properly regenerate.

What bothered him the most about Cameron acting on her own was that Savannah was with her often and it put her at great risk. There were plenty of Terminators to assist her but it was usually Savannah who was the one at her side, especially lately. He felt that was a lot of unnecessary risk for Savannah.

Gail checked the computer feeds. She needed to see if Cameron would take Savannah out on any operations. If she did, she was going to go and back them up. This was outside of her 'duty assignment' but she was going to do it anyway. It was a need that seemed to emanate from deep inside her.

Jesse watched her and knew what she was doing and why. It was out of 'a love' that existed almost as a sickness. It was beyond an obsession.

Jesse wanted to know where she stood and exactly where Gail and her stood.

"Have I lost you?" Jesse asked.

Gail didn't think that it was a big deal. They were part of the Resistance. If she needed to participate in a Resistance operation she thought it would benefit the operation.

"No." Gail said. "I just wanted to check on what was happening."

Jesse wanted Gail to know she knew the real reason.

"You're worried about her." Jesse said.

Gail was concerned that some people seemed to see a lot of action.

"I am." Gail said.

Jesse called it like she saw it.

"I know you love her." Jesse said.

Gail looked at Jesse.

"I do." Gail said. "I also love you."

Jesse knew from personal experience how 'love' worked.

"Do you love her more?" Jesse asked.

Gail didn't want there to be a problem.

"I love you no less." Gail said.

Jesse didn't think that was a real answer. Then again that answer sort of said it all.

"She's very special." Jesse said.

To Gail there was no one that was more special.

"She's the 'Chosen One'." Gail said.

Jesse sometimes wondered what that term actually meant.

"I hear that a lot." Jesse said.

Gail came to Jesse and kissed her. It seemed Gail wanted to reassure her she still mattered.

Jesse broke off the kiss and turned away from Gail.

"I don't feel like it right now." Jesse said.

Gail looked stunned. That was the first time Jesse ever turned down sex. Jesse liked to have her 'bell rung' at least several times a day, even if she needed to do it herself.

Jesse looked very depressed.

Gail felt this was her fault.

"I'm sorry." Gail said.

Jesse was troubled by more than personal issues.

"It's me." Jesse said. "It's not you."

Gail found that hard to believe. She was sure it was tied in directly to her actions.

"I'm still sorry." Gail said.

Jesse looked at what the current operations were when Gail checked earlier.

"I feel the need to do more." Jesse said. "Cameron keeps us out of the fight."

Gail didn't like Jesse in danger any more than she did Savannah being in danger.

"She cares about you." Gail said. "She's protecting you."

Jesse was very worried about Savannah herself. Savannah was very special to her. She desperately wanted Savannah to spend more time with Young Jesse. The thing that she feared the most was Young Jesse would become like her at some point. She believed that the more Young Jesse was associated with Savannah, the less likely that would be. She never wanted Young Jesse to become her.

"Who is protecting Savannah?" Jesse asked.

They both already knew the answer to that one.

"Nobody…." Gail said.

Savannah heard some movement on Cameron's side of the airplane. She looked over to see what was going on. She saw that Cameron was about to open the door of the airplane and had just removed her safety belt. She realized that Cameron was about to get out of the plane at altitude and she wasn't wearing a parachute.

What was about to happen seemed unreal to Savannah. It took a second for everything to sink in as to what the magnitude of Cameron's current action would be.

"CAMERON…." Savannah yelled.

Cameron continued to open the door on the airplane.

"C-A-M-E-R-O-N…." Savannah shouted louder.

Cameron seemed unable to hear her. She must be in a stupor or something.

Savannah reached for Cameron and physically grabbed her. She forcefully pulled on her and yanked her back from getting up. It was clear she was just seconds from stepping out of the airplane at altitude.

Cameron turned and looked at her.

The door of the airplane closed.

Cameron looked around in total confusion. It was clear she was having an emotionally induced episode. She may not know who she was at this point. It certainly didn't appear that she knew where she was and that she was about to get out of an airplane at altitude.

"Savannah?" Cameron asked. "Savannah Weaver? Why are you back from the future?"

Savannah continued to fly the plane. Flying the plane and trying to subdue a Terminator weren't part of her training. She reached down and touched her Taser. She was afraid she was going to need to use it. If Cameron reached for the door handle again she was going to act.

Cameron noticed that Savannah touched her Taser.

"Are you afraid of me?" Cameron asked.

Savannah picked up Cameron's hand and placed it on her neck. She wanted Cameron to know what she was about to say was the truth.

"No. I'm not afraid of you. I've never been afraid of you." Savannah said. "I'm afraid for you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I would rather die first."

Cameron scanned Savannah as she spoke. As always, Savannah spoke the truth.

"You never lie to me." Cameron said. "Savannah, you're the best."

Savannah wanted to know what Cameron was about to do a few moments ago.

"It looked like you were going to get out." Savannah said.

Cameron shook her head a few times. She wanted to clear her mind. There seemed to be a fogginess that clouded her thoughts. She looked out the front and then the side window of the airplane.

"I was?" Cameron asked. "We're several thousand feet up in the air in a plane. I would be terminated if I were to get out."

She fastened her safety belt once she saw they were in the air.

Savannah felt a little more comfortable once Cameron was buckled in again. It would give her an additional second to get to her Taser if she saw Cameron unhook her safety belt again.

"I know." Savannah said. "I'm flying it."

Cameron smiled faintly and nodded.

"Are you going to start your 'touch and go' landings now?" Cameron asked.

Savannah looked at Cameron and wondered exactly how long she'd been 'out to lunch'. It appeared that whatever problem Cameron experienced had been going on for quite some time. She'd concentrated on her flying and hadn't been focused on Cameron.

"I already did all five of them, after our take off." Savannah said.

The faint smile on Cameron's face slowly faded away and she began to realize that there was lost time.

"This isn't the take off segment?" Cameron asked.

Savannah wanted to set the plane down before Cameron experienced another problem. She didn't think that she would become violent towards her but she was worried she might try to get out of the airplane again. If she started to do that she would need to Taser Cameron multiple times before she could set down. She didn't believe there was enough time to do that. She would need to put the plane on autopilot and try to remove Cameron's chip while they were in flight.

"No, we're supposed to be on our way to Lancaster to pick up Young Allison. I'm going to try to get in the landing pattern back to Van Nuys." Savannah said.

Cameron suddenly looked very worried. She remembered that she wanted to see Young Allison. She wanted to see Young Allison and Savannah interact with each other. She wanted to interact with both of them. It made her feel very comfortable and happy. She knew that she was a machine and that she wasn't supposed to be happy but she was when she was with her girls. They were the girls that loved her unconditionally. They always had and they always would. That was more than she could say about anyone else.

"No." Cameron said. "I'm fine."

Savannah was about to contact the tower at Van Nuys to get clearance to land.

"I think we should land." Savannah said.

Cameron really wanted to see Young Allison.

"No." Cameron said. "I really am fine. I don't want to disappoint Allison – Young Allison. I really want the three of us to spend time together alone."

Savannah looked Cameron over carefully. She appeared to be back to 'normal'. She wasn't really sure if there was a 'normal' for Cameron. She needed to know what almost happened and why before she would go to Lancaster. She wasn't about to put Young Allison in any danger.

"What happened to you just now?" Savannah asked.

Cameron checked her files for the fifty third time.

"I don't know." Cameron said. "I have no recollection of anything other than this being the take off segment."

Savannah looked to see if Cameron's hand glitched, it didn't.

"Are you sure you're one hundred percent?" Savannah asked.

Cameron continued to run internal diagnostics.

"Everything checks out fine." Cameron said. "You know sometimes I have a 'problem'. I'm sorry. I'm really, OK."

Cameron smiled at Savannah and moved her hand from Savannah's neck to her cheek and gently touched it.

"Please, Savannah, for Young Allison." Cameron said. "Everything is perfect."

Savannah didn't want to create any new issues for Cameron.

"OK." Savannah said. "If you feel anything is off, I need you to say something immediately."

Cameron smiled at Savannah.

"I promise, Savannah." Cameron said.

Cameron wondered what happened since the take off. She searched her files and she showed no record of it. The time and events were just gone. It was like they never happened.

Cameron looked down as they headed north out of the Valley.

"That's the former Nike base LA-94 down there." Cameron said. "I was there with Future Allison. We made love there."

Savannah quickly looked over at Cameron again.

"What?" Savannah asked.

Cameron misspoke. She said what she wanted to happen.

"I mean, we almost made love there." Cameron said. "She almost seduced me."

Savannah thought that was part of Future Allison's training.

"Isn't that what you taught her?" Savannah asked.

Cameron tilted her head slightly. She realized that she'd almost been a 'victim' of her own training.

"It is." Cameron said. "It works quite effectively too. I've instructed you as well."

Savannah wanted to give Cameron something else to think about.

"Do you want me to try it out on you?" Savannah asked.

Cameron's face looked very serious now.

"No." Cameron said. "You have and offer what is real. THAT is what I want. Sometimes I think I'm ready and then something always happens."

Savannah was painfully aware of all of their 'lost moments'. They were all natural and organic. It was the way it would need to be for Cameron to fully accept the moment.

"Life is like that." Savannah said.

They flew over the mountains for a while. It was a much shorter journey than taking State Highway 14.

Cameron spotted another location that she recognized.

"That's where LA-98 was." Cameron said. "That place shut down early."

Savannah didn't want Cameron to dwell in the future or the past.

"Right now we need to think about Young Allison and what we're going to do today." Savannah said.

Cameron looked at Savannah and nodded.

Savannah communicated with the tower in Lancaster.

"Cameron, we're going to land soon." Savannah said. "I don't want Young Allison to see you experienced a problem. Are you sure everything is good?"

Cameron smiled and nodded again

"I'm fine." Cameron said.

Savannah received her clearance and did five touch and go takeoffs and landings.

She came around again the final time and landed. She spotted Dan and Young Allison waiting. Anna was there as well.

Savannah taxied and parked. Cameron and her climbed out. Savannah did a quick check of the plane. Everything looked in order.

The girls all greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries. There were hugs all around.

Young Allison looked over the plane that they'd just landed in. She thought it looked beautiful.

"Can we take this one?" Young Allison asked. "I'm ready for some multi engine time."

Dan already made the arrangements and verified them.

"Cameron has a Cessna picked out for you." Dan said. "We discussed this on the way over."

Young Allison looked at Dan and frowned.

Savannah wanted Young Allison to take her flying one step at a time.

"You will work up to a twin engine, Allison." Savannah said.

Young Allison didn't think now was the time to tell Savannah that Cameron already let her have some stick time in a twin engine aircraft already. She decided to change the subject somewhat.

"I want to fly a Huey like you've done too." Young Allison said. "I want to do everything you've done."

Anna leaned over and whispered in Young Allison's ear.

"I'm sorry." Young Allison said. "Everything that's appropriate for my age."

Savannah was aware that Young Allison was going to try everything that she'd done.

"I think Cameron is going to need more Terminators to watch over you in the past." Savannah said. "Don't be in such a hurry to grow up. Stay a girl as long as possible. Life is much simpler."

Frank came out of one of the airport buildings.

"Everything is all set." Frank said.

Young Allison could see that Anna was about to leave with Dan and Frank.

"Can Anna come with us?" Young Allison asked.

Cameron instantly looked irritated at the suggestion.

"That's unnecessary." Cameron said. "It will be the three of us like I planned."

Savannah decided on a new plan based on Cameron's earlier 'incident'.

"Cameron, I want Anna to come with us." Savannah said.

Cameron now look a little agitated.

"I'm fine." Cameron said. "Everything is perfect."

Anna, Dan and Frank were instantly alert.

Savannah looked at them and slightly nodded. They all understood what that meant. She thought it was prudent to have another Terminator present with them. She believed that Anna was the best choice.

"I want to make sure it stays that way." Savannah said. "She's coming with us."

Young Allison smiled broadly.

Cameron frowned greatly.

A Way Back Home

You've reaped the rewards
Of the wild oats you've sown
Unconcerned of the pain and anguish
Into another heart you have sewn

Your ship blindly plods on
Into the waves it will crash
Be wary of the unseen iceberg
Your hull it can slash and gash

Go live in the moment
Forget about tomorrow
It appears not to matter
Whose pleasures you borrow

Yet I still cling to you
My feelings are true
I'm still here waiting
Hating what you do

When you find yourself forgotten
Cold all alone nowhere to roam
Remember there's always
A way back home

Nobody