Chapter 1348
One Time
Savannah wanted to use her experience. She moved into the lead. She was surprised at Young Allison's actions. She seemed unfazed at having just killed three people first hand. The fact she'd just shot them all in the head as they passed was the real shocker. She'd made sure they were dead. It was clear Young Allison was very aware of what she'd done. The people Young Allison shot were armed. She was sure Young Allison could kill in cold blood too without remorse. Cameron's handiwork was very evident.
She signaled for Young Allison to hold up. They were at the approximate location of where the men appeared. The room which seemed like it might have a fire in it was just ahead. There was still no smoke or even any smoke smell.
Savannah looked into the open doorway of another room. There was a spiral staircase. It led down. It was too small for anything but personnel to use. She motioned for Young Allison to move up. She was going to look in the opening with the flickering yellow and orange light. It was where the limited illumination which lit the area faintly came from.
Young Allison moved up to the doorway and looked at the spiral staircase which went down. It wasn't on the blueprints and it wasn't done in the last two days or even the last two years. The paint was well worn on the handrails and the steps.
She wanted to go down and check it out. It went somewhere. The three men she'd shot came out of it.
Anna held the M82A1. She could still feel the effects of the high frequency energy field. She wasn't sure if it was expanding or not. Maybe they should have moved further away. She'd told Mel to stop when she regained full movement. She thought the current twinge would pass. It didn't.
"We need to get to a position where I can see the two buildings and the space between them." Anna said. "I can only see the south building from here."
Anna looked at her phone. It was still flickering some. She looked at the satellite map and the drone footage. It was breaking up more than it had been.
She sent out a warning the high frequency energy field seemed to be expanding. The drones needed to put some more distance away from the area.
She could feel it now making her seem a little sluggish. It appeared to happen quicker.
Mel could feel it as well. He didn't want to become incapacitated.
"We need to get out of here." Mel said.
She didn't want to go further away from Young Allison and Savannah. The energy drag was getting worse. She knew they needed to take action, even if she didn't want to.
"Alright, break off." Anna said. "Let's move back two more blocks."
Maybe it would allow them to find a better firing position. She at least needed a better angle. She knew she needed to monitor the expanding energy field as well. There was no need to get stuck if it could be avoided.
Derek, Kyle, Sarah and Claire waited for the downed Terminators to reboot. The seconds seemed like minutes. Maybe it was because they didn't know what would happen.
Claire was visibly nervous.
Sarah noticed it and wanted to help calm her. She touched Claire's arm.
"Relax and breathe." Sarah said.
Sarah smiled at Claire.
Claire tried to calm herself.
"How much longer will it be until something happens?" Claire asked.
Derek and Kyle moved to flank each other with Taser fire if necessary.
"It should be any second now if they're going to reboot." Derek said.
Claire wondered what would happen if they didn't reboot. She would see what happened first before she asked.
Sarah and Claire were by the door
Kyle didn't want anyone to take any chances.
"Remember, we don't know how they're going to be affected." Kyle said. "John Henry said it was something new."
Steve and Tom both began to twitch. They were lying on their backs right now.
"Something's happening." Derek said. "Get ready."
Every Taser was pointed at the Terminators.
Savannah moved up and peeked around the corner of the room with the fire like glow. There was some machinery in there. She didn't know what it was.
She looked at her body cam to see if it was functioning. It didn't look like it was. Her phone didn't function either.
Young Allison looked over.
"What is it?" Young Allison asked.
Savannah wasn't sure. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before.
"I don't know." Savannah said. "It looks like some kind of an 'energy ball'. It's suspended in the air between two machines. It looks very unstable to me."
Savannah moved back to cover the opening with the spiral staircase.
"Take a look." Savannah said.
Young Allison checked the area behind them and moved over to look at the machinery.
She didn't see a power source, unless it was the power source. There was almost no sound from anything in the room. There was only a very faint electrical hum.
"Do you think it's what's causing the electrical disruption, or what is powering it?" Young Allison asked. "We need to destroy it if we can't shut it down."
Savannah was around several future power sources before. They all ended quite catastrophically when they were shut down or destroyed.
"I think this is something dealing with the Fanatics." Savannah said. "It is either them or another further future group of Grays. Every future power source I've been around seemed to end badly when they're disrupted."
Young Allison thought about the unknown portal.
"Does it seem like it's related to the portal you encountered?" Young Allison asked.
Savannah didn't know for sure. She didn't see anything of its nature when they'd encountered the portal. If it was a power source of some time it could have been what powered the portal. She didn't know. It was all speculation.
"I've never seen anything like it before." Savannah said. "It may or may not be related to it. We don't have enough information to know."
Young Allison knew it still needed to be destroyed.
"I have one Thermite grenade." Young Allison said. "I'll put it on one of the machines that seems to be associated with it. Go back and evaluate the detainee and determine if she lives or dies. We need to make some type of decision so we can move on. The situation needs to be resolved one way or the other."
Savannah needed to process everything Young Allison just said.
"I can't allow you to risk your life fooling with the machinery." Savannah said. "We can pull out and call in a drone strike."
Young Allison was adamant.
"I think the energy ball needs to be off or disrupted first." Young Allison said. "You know I've studied all of the energy sources from the future. If we can shut it down, I don't think it will explode. The other ones which were encountered were all functioning at capacity when they blew up. This looks more like a test. I don't think this was done in the last two days either."
Savannah was worried now. They could blow up several city blocks with the unknown energy. She thought Young Allison was right too about it not being built in the last few days. They didn't know how extensive the operation was.
"There may be one in the other building too." Savannah said.
Young Allison thought they needed to check the underground part and the other building. Maybe they were connected. The spiral stairway led somewhere.
"Steve reported what may be a Terminator who was taken to the north building by four people." Young Allison said. "It was several hours ago. What if they're using the power cell from the Terminator to run this thing and maybe another one in the other building?"
Savannah knew they were at a major disadvantage being unable to communicate with anyone. They didn't have any Terminators to back them up. It didn't appear they were going to get any either, at least not anytime soon.
Young Allison moved away from the energy device. She moved to the three men she'd shot. They were a bloody mess.
"What are you doing?" Savannah asked.
Young Allison wanted some intel.
"I'm checking to see about the flashlights it looked like they carried." Young Allison said. "Mine doesn't work."
Savannah already checked her phone.
"Nothing electrical seems to work except the thing in the next room." Savannah said. "The portal we encountered was from a further future too, like this thing looks like it's from."
Young Allison only found some kind of chemical 'glow sticks'.
"They aren't flashlights." Young Allison said as she held one up in each hand. "Only two of them are still working."
She wiped the blood off of one of them on one of the dead men's pants legs. She handed it to Savannah. She kept the other one.
The glow seemed to increase from the room the energy ball was in.
"That thing keeps getting brighter." Savannah said.
It seemed the electrical 'hum' was a little more noticeable as well.
Young Allison knew they needed to act and act soon, one way or another. She wanted to take care of the unfinished business so they could move on. Savannah hadn't made a move to go back and check the detained female. She sensed there was some hesitation on her part. Maybe it was best if she went back and took care of it herself.
"I'll go check on the female." Young Allison said.
Savannah didn't want Young Allison to do it, or to see her abuse in detail either. She also thought about what Young Allison indicated needed to be done.
"I'll do it." Savannah said. "I'm sure she's from the anti-Metal group or a Gray."
Young Allison knew what needed to be done in either case. She decided to spell it out clearly. Things needed to happen. They needed to get moving.
"You must kill her then, unless you want a prisoner." Young Allison said. "If she's the enemy, do what you need to do, or I will."
Savannah already watched Young Allison in action. She knew it was the right decision. She just didn't want Young Allison to do it. She knew if the female became a prisoner, it would be a worse death for her. They still might extract information in the process. She didn't want things to get out of hand. She didn't want Young Allison to be a cold blooded murderer. After her previous encounter, she didn't doubt her at all as to what she would do to her.
"Wait here and cover this opening." Savannah said. "I'll be right back."
Derek and Kyle covered the five Terminators lined up in a row next to the TDE pad with their Tasers. Sarah and Claire backed them up. They didn't know what to expect.
Steve and Tom both sat up at the same time. They didn't look threatening, at least not yet. They looked around. They both noticed right away someone was missing.
"Where's Savannah?" Tom asked.
Derek didn't have a concrete answer.
"We don't know for sure." Derek said. "She's still there as far as we know."
Tom knew why. It left him with a very uncomfortable feeling.
"She stayed behind to make sure we all made it out." Tom said. "We couldn't communicate back to her after she ordered everyone to leave. I know she stayed to make sure we all made it out. She could see we were becoming incapacitated."
Tom and Steve were both on their feet now.
There were a lot of Tasers pointed at them.
"Are you going to use the Tasers on us?" Steve asked. "It's very intimidating."
Kyle wanted to play it safe. He told them the truth.
"We hope not." Kyle said. "It's just a precaution. We don't know what affected you or how it affected you."
Tom thought of a qualifier. They didn't have any Skynet programming to revert back to.
"We're both Restorators." Tom said. "We never were under Skynet control. Mrs. Weaver created us, as she did Holly and Gail."
Al and Ed both opened their eyes and sat up. They took one look around the area and noticed someone was missing.
"Where's Savannah?" Ed asked.
They seemed OK too.
Cammy sat up next. She quickly looked around her.
"Where's Savannah?" Cammy asked.
Cammy was on her feet in a second. It was clear she was highly agitated.
Derek explained what they knew. It wasn't much.
Cammy needed to go back to where Savannah was at.
"You need to send me back." Cammy said. "I need to get Savannah."
Cammy moved over to the TDE controls.
The TDE shut down.
"What happened?" Cammy asked. "The power is off."
Steve was aware of Savannah's order. John Henry or CamNet enforced it.
"You heard Savannah's order." Steve said. "Everyone was to pull out and no one else was supposed to go there."
Cammy didn't know if John Henry shut the TDE down or CamNet did. If John Henry did, she needed to convince him to send her back.
"I need to speak with John Henry." Cammy said.
Cammy brushed past the other Terminators.
Claire wasn't sure if Cammy was thinking straight. She was still naked.
"Do you want a robe?" Claire asked.
Cammy didn't look back.
"No." Cammy said. "I'm fine."
Cammy headed out of the TDE room.
Sarah felt some alarm. She could tell Cammy was very frustrated.
"We still don't know if she is fine or not." Sarah said. "Jan and Summer are there with John Henry."
Claire looked at Sarah.
"Let's go." Claire said and went out after Cammy.
Claire held her Taser at the ready.
Sarah still held her Taser as well.
"Make sure everyone here is good." Sarah said to Derek and Kyle. "We need to come up with some kind of a plan."
She took off after Claire.
John Henry received bad news from CamNet. The six Terminators she'd brought back to her base were able to give her a run down as to what they saw before they were pulled out.
There were two men working on a Terminator. He was cut open and his power cell was gone. They discussed two prisoners who were spying on them. One was male and the other was female. Before the male prisoner died, they were able to determine he was from the anti-Metal faction. There was a female with him when they were captured. It seemed to be a positive contact with the anti-Metal faction. They may be hunting John and Cameron along with any other 'Metal Lover' supporters.
Cammy ran into the Command Center naked.
Jan and Summer looked at her. They thought she was beautiful.
Claire and Sarah were right in back of her.
Sarah wasn't sure what would transpire. She wanted the girls taken to a safer location.
"I think you can take the girls out for a snack." Sarah said to Claire. "I have this."
Claire saw the Taser in Sarah's hand. It was 'hot'. She ushered Jan and Summer away. The girls both looked back at Cammy.
John Henry quickly got Cammy up to speed. He tried not to stare at her nude figure.
"I know where the female anti-Metal prisoner is at." Cammy said.
Cammy filled them in on what she knew.
With the new information about the anti-Metal group, and possible advanced future Grays, John Henry sent a report to Jim in the Control Center on the ship.
Cammy wanted to return to the location to get Savannah back.
John Henry could see it was going to cause a problem.
"You heard Savannah's orders." John Henry said.
It wasn't good enough for Cammy.
"Savannah is all alone." Cammy said. "I NEED to go back and help her."
John Henry was about to say, 'Not exactly.'
He refrained because Sarah was still there. He didn't want Claire to find out Young Allison went into the building to back Savannah up. It was all very uncertain as to what would happen.
"Maybe you should plug in." John Henry said. "There're a lot of updates. I think it would be better if you went over them while you were plugged in."
Cammy looked at John Henry and frowned.
Sarah held a Taser in her hand. She still covered Cammy.
Jim received the information about the anti-Metal group from John Henry.
He debated whether to inform Cameron or not.
He decided to let her know since it was her standing order to be alerted if they made contact with anyone from the anti-Metal group. It meant John was in danger.
Ally with the assistance of CamNet was able to win several thousand dollars for Mary on the video poker machine. She didn't want things to get carried away.
"I think you've done enough for today." Ally said. "You need to stay under the radar."
Mary was thrilled at all the money Ally helped her win.
She cashed out and thanked Ally and Sheila.
"How much did you win?" Mary asked Sheila.
Sheila smiled and handed her one ten dollar chip.
"That's it." Sheila said. "I didn't want two big winners in this small casino. I played it all back. It was very hard to do."
Mary was a little shocked. She knew it was a lot of money
"It was like fifty thousand dollars." Mary said.
Sheila smiled.
"Easy come, easy go. We can win the same amount at any casino, even the really crooked ones." Sheila said. "We're gifted."
Ally reminded Mary about their run ins with the casino types.
"There's nowhere for us to go on the ship." Ally said. "At a casino, we can take off and get lost in the crowd."
Mary wondered if they were hassled before.
"Have you run into real trouble?" Mary asked.
Sheila didn't want to elaborate.
"The Syndicate doesn't like people to win, especially when they try to rig the game against us." Sheila said. "We can still beat them."
Mary really wondered about everything.
"Is this all real?" Mary asked.
Sheila patted Mary's pocket with the money in it.
"You tell us, love." Sheila said. "It seems real to me."
Ally winked at Sheila.
"I can tell you right now, if you don't get back to your cabin soon, Laura and Leticia are going to be doing more than just kissing." Ally said. "Laura is still sort of out of it."
Mary looked at both of them and hurried out of the casino.
Sheila took one look around.
"Let's blow this dump." Sheila said.
Mary rushed back to her cabin and went inside.
Leticia was kissing Laura.
Laura was still out of it too.
"I suppose you're giving her mouth to mouth resuscitation." Mary said.
Leticia looked a little embarrassed.
"I was just checking her responses." Leticia said.
Mary looked at Laura. She was very disappointed in her.
She thought Leticia was beautiful.
"Do you want to check mine?" Mary asked.
Leticia smiled and came over to Mary.
It looked like the jackpots weren't over yet.
Cameron led the group toward the rear of the ship on the Promenade deck.
Vanna and Allison looked at the steak house and Italian restaurant along the way to the rear lounge and small theater.
Allison thought they could have come up with a better name for the Italian restaurant.
"Do they have to call it 'Tony's'?" Allison asked.
Cameron wondered what was wrong with the name. It sounded very Italian to her. It was also where they needed to go to evacuate the ship in case of an emergency.
"It's your muster station as well." Cameron said.
Allison didn't like the name 'muster station' either. She thought they should just call it the evacuation point.
"Where do these names come from?" Allison asked.
Vanna stopped and looked at the menu for Tony's. She saw several things she liked.
"Are they only open for dinner?" Vanna asked.
Cameron wanted to let her know there were many options available to them.
"Yes." Cameron said. "CamNet can have them do a special lunch just for our group. We're a VIP group. They'll make anything for us."
John wasn't so sure about her idea.
"I don't think we should do it." John said. "It might raise too many eyebrows."
Cameron didn't think it would be a problem for dinner one night. She remembered Derek recommended the lasagna.
"We can eat here any night." Cameron said. "We still have some time to do it."
Holly and Gail-Cam didn't say much. They were happy to be with Allison and Vanna. They just went along with the girls. They wanted this to be about them and each other.
John was happy with the main dining room.
"Everything in the main dining room is so good." John said. "I'd need to be on the ship for a month to eat everything that looks or sounds good."
Cameron knew it could be arranged.
Allison was aware of how rich the food was.
"You might end up weighing about three hundred pounds too." Allison said.
Cameron didn't think it sounded very healthy. She thought it would affect John sexual performance.
"I'll make sure John picks up on his PT." Cameron said. "A week is long enough on the ship at a time."
Vanna knew their stay was shorter.
"Or a few days, if it's all you can do." Vanna said.
Allison patted her belly gently. She thought she could put on five pounds a day.
"It's a good thing for us." Allison said. "We won't gain too much in just a few days."
Vanna tried to be funny.
"We're lucky to still have our school girl figures." Vanna said. "I'd hate to lose it."
Allison looked at Vanna's nursing breasts and at her own belly area. She thought maybe they were 'bad school girls' at best.
Vanna smiled.
Gail-Cam felt she could assist Vanna in several ways.
"I can increase your physical training." Gail-Cam said. "I can keep you fit and toned, Vanna."
Extra exercise was about the last thing on Vanna's mind right now.
"It sounds like too much work." Vanna said. "I need an easier activity."
Now it was Allison's turn to make a wisecrack.
"She'll be happy to increase her activity in the bedroom." Allison said. "I'll help her out with it."
Vanna and Allison boldly 'high fived' each other over a sexual 'workout'
"Now you're talking." Vanna said. "That's just my speed."
Cameron received an update from CamNet through Jim. She was informed about the positive contact with the anti-Metal group. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. She visibly stiffened some. It was the news she feared. She looked at John and then at Vanna and Allison. The solution to her worries was right in front of her.
"Maybe John can help you two out." Cameron said.
Vanna and Allison looked at each other. It looked like Cameron was going to 'lean' on them again after all.
Vanna didn't want any problems for Cameron or anyone.
"We wouldn't want to intrude." Vanna said.
Allison still wanted to try it at least once in a loving way. She'd been ready to try it with John since they were in her future. Her next sentence just slipped out.
"I don't think one time would hurt anything." Allison said.
Vanna shot Allison a challenging glance. Two can play the same game.
"Maybe it wouldn't. I'd like to have a choice one time." Vanna said. "I don't think one time would hurt anything."
John felt very uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what Cameron was after. If Cameron put any female in his bed, and it was her choice to be there as well, he wasn't going to turn them down again. He wasn't going to look a 'gift horse' in the mouth any longer. He was still surprised Cameron didn't put Claire or Jesse there before they got off the ship in Catalina. He was more than willing to give each of them a try.
Cameron wanted John protected. She smiled at John, Vanna and Allison.
"Remember, what happens on the ship, stays on the ship." Cameron said.
Vanna and Allison looked at each other again. They both checked to see if there was any glitch impulse in her left hand. They didn't spot any. Maybe Cameron was serious.
Allison and Vanna both felt the competitive juices rise in them. It wasn't the only juices which began to stir in them either. They both began to anticipate a sexual encounter. Their bodies began to respond accordingly. It was a natural response.
Both of them knew Vanna was better in bed with a female and she had a lot more experience with men, even if it wasn't her choice.
Vanna couldn't help but reflect when the girl next to you was sprawled on the ground with a bullet wound in the side of her head; you did what they told you to do when the same gun was now pointed at the side of her head. There was no escape possible is she was dead. Maybe it was the 'escape' for the other girl.
Cam-Gail and Hanna tried to make the most of each other in the Honeymoon suite.
Cam-Gail was very satisfied with her current chassis. The more she used Cam's chassis, the more she liked it. She wondered if Savannah would be with her again while she was in Cam's chassis. She was lucky she was able to have Cameron use her chassis and Cam's chassis with her chip in it.
She would see if Cam wanted to trade for a longer time period. She did miss her large breasts but not as much as she did her other smaller area. Those were the two things John seemed to like most about her chassis, especially the latter.
"I'm still here." Hanna said.
Cam-Gail needed to pay better attention.
"I'm sorry." Cam-Gail said. "I was distracted."
Hanna wondered by what. They were the only ones in the room.
Young Allison waited until Savannah walked away. She went and rigged her Thermite grenade to one piece of machinery next to the energy ball. It was still the same size but brighter. She used a piece of wire to act as a pull cord or as a trip wire.
She checked back at the spiral staircase and then at where Savannah went. Maybe she would drop down and see what was at the bottom of the staircase.
The Rockabilly Trio was just about to start to play when Cameron's entourage entered the rear lounge. They tuned their instruments some.
Cameron led them over to some open seats. There were only four of them together. Holly and Gail-Cam moved to the back without a word.
Cameron received the message about the anti-Metal faction earlier. It disturbed her greatly.
She looked where she was and with whom. She sat with John, Allison and Vanna. She realized in the moment, it was the 'Natural Order' more or less. It was the same cast anyway. It was more than a coincidence. She needed to protect John and there were two beautiful girls sitting with them who could do it. If Cameron could get one of them to come to the Owner's Suite tonight, she was going to promote it. Ally's virginity might have to wait. She wanted to give John the 'real thing'.
The guitar player who was the lead singer stepped up to the mic.
"Earlier tonight, and earlier on the cruise, a few of you may have listened to some of the 'Country' music which preceded rockabilly. Some of you may have heard of the 'British Invasion' that followed. We just wanted to let you all know why rockabilly still rules the roost."
They started to play and sing. They were the same songs they'd played before and the ones the Metal girls played.
The vibrations of the music filled the room. The bass and drums drove the beat. The music was very physical in its nature.
Cameron wanted Vanna or Allison to dance with John.
She wanted John to feel a 'real' female in his arms. He could feel her naked in his bed later too.
"Would you like to dance?" Cameron asked John.
John looked at Cameron and smiled.
"Sure." John said.
Cameron smiled at him and they both stood.
"Here are your dance partners." Cameron said as she placed him in front of Vanna and Allison. "Have some fun."
Cameron stepped back and joined Holly and Gail-Cam.
They both looked at her.
Cameron thought she owed them an explanation.
"There's been a positive hit on the anti-Metal faction." Cameron said.
Holly and Gail-Cam nodded in acknowledgement.
"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Cameron said.
The three of them were prepared to do it. It wasn't something to relish, but it was the way of the future. This wasn't about anyone trying to 'steal' someone from someone else. They were all beyond that. Everyone knew who 'belonged' to whom. There was no reason there couldn't be a little sharing. It was what all the girls did anyway with each other.
What could it hurt?
No, really.
What could it hurt?
There was plenty of love to go around. Love with something which should be shared.
The female Fanatic watched the two men get in the car and drive away. It was clear there was a third person in it. She figured they wouldn't go very far. They would probably be on the next street soon enough to see if there was something they could steal easily. Right now she needed to get her bomb ready.
She quickly checked over the truck to make sure there was no damage to it. There was none she could spot. All the tires were still inflated. Nothing appeared to be broken or missing.
She climbed up into the back of it. The lid was still on the crate. She didn't think it would matter. It wasn't going to be around for much longer. She checked the roll of duct tape she'd found. She started to pull off a strip. It broke in her fingers. She needed to use her fingernails to get it started again. She was able to pull off a couple inches before it broke again.
"Damn." The female Fanatics said.
See use her nails to get it started again. This time she was able to get a foot to come off of it. It looked like it was going to hold. It appeared only the top layer was somewhat dried out. She took out the Thermite grenade and placed it between the two drums. She used the duct tape to secure it firmly to the drum in the center of the truck. She wrapped the tape around the drum and the Thermite grenade multiple times until the tape ran out. She gave the Thermite grenade a gentle tug. It was firmly attached to the drum.
She kept a watch around her for the car or the men to return. She knew it was a possibility they may return on foot to see what was happening around the area. It seemed the one individual really wanted to take the truck.
No one was spotted. She loosened the pin on the Thermite grenade. She straightened the little prongs on the end of it. It would pull out easily now. She still didn't know what the detonation time was on the grenade itself. She figured it would be five or six seconds. She needed something to be able to pull the pin out with.
She took out her knife and pried the top loose on the crate. She thought it would be looser than it was. She didn't know a Terminator looked inside of it earlier. There were wires attached to some of the electrical components. They were only about eighteen inches long. She cut off half a dozen of them and securely fastened them together.
When she jumped out of the truck before it impacted into the building, she would need to pull the pin out. She originally was going to use the wire pull cord on the outside of the truck. She remembered the bullet hole through the rear window. She thought it would work even better. She quickly put the wire into the hole. She got down out of the back of the truck and opened the cab. She climbed inside and carefully pulled the wire through until it was taunt.
She climbed back out of the truck and went back up onto the bed. She checked around her again to make sure no one was there. She didn't spot anyone. She gave the pin a slight tug. She saw it move approximately an eighth of an inch. It wouldn't take a whole lot of effort to pull it out.
The bomb was set and rigged to explode. She climbed back down and got back into the truck. She carefully laid the wire out next to her so she could grab it as she bailed out of the truck. She didn't want to pull it prematurely or have it bind up. Everything looked like it was good.
She wasn't sure what the blast radius of the bomb was going to be. She knew six seconds wasn't a whole lot of time for the truck to travel away from her. She figured her best bet of survival would be to try to get down into the truck well again in front of the dock. It would put her below the level of any blast. Her main concern was a secondary blast. She didn't know exactly what was inside of the building. She was aware the other one was rather catastrophically destroyed.
It was time to get moving. She took one more look around and started the truck. She put it into gear and slowly pulled away. She made sure there was enough slack in the pull cord so the pin wasn't accidentally pulled by going over a bump. She made it wide circle with the truck and headed back down to the driveway. She slowed as she neared the end of it. She looked in both directions. There was no traffic. She pulled out and made a right hand turn. She was on the lookout for either of the white vans or the sedan which had been parked behind the truck earlier. She knew there were at least three men in it.
It was her duty to serve SkyMaster. It was what she intended to do. If she needed to sacrifice her life in the service of furthering SkyMaster's goals, so be it. She was ready for Ascension. She knew she'd earned a high level of Ascension by all of her achievements in the service of SkyMaster.
So far she hadn't spotted any other vehicles. She approached the street to reach the target location. She made another right hand turn. She looked at the street coming up. It was the cul-de-sac she'd gone to earlier. She looked down it as she passed it. She didn't see anyone on it. She figured the sedan was probably on it or the next street. She really hoped it wasn't on the target street.
Her heartbeat picked up. She could feel her body was full of adrenaline. She was glad she'd eaten the two MRE packets earlier. Maybe she should have taken some more of the anti drowsy medication. She still had a few tablets left. She felt pretty amped up right now.
She made the turn onto the next street. The target building was four buildings down. She hadn't spotted the sedan from earlier. Maybe they were still on the next street back. She'd really like to put the grab on their vehicle. She was two buildings away. She felt her heartbeat pick up a little bit more. She moved all the way to the right side of the street. She wanted to make as direct of an approach as possible into the office area.
The brown van wasn't parked in the driveway as the men had discussed earlier. She thought they might still put it there anyway. It didn't matter, she wasn't going to use the driveway and attempt to back into the building. She didn't want to give them any advance notice she was coming.
She made sure the stake side truck was in low gear as she approached. She wanted it to go as far as possible before it stalled. She cranked the wheel hard to the left and made her approach. She bounced up on the curb. She hoped the bounce hadn't pulled the pin yet. It didn't really matter. She was going through with it anyway. The truck neared the building. The glass windows of the office area were right in front of her. It was only about fifty feet away. She opened the driver's door. She made sure the truck was straight. She was forty feet away. She pulled the pin and jumped out. She rolled on the grass in the front of the office area. It was a small patch. She was glad it was there. It was going to be a little more forgiving on her body than concrete or asphalt would be.
She hit the grass hard and rolled. She hoped she would still have her Beretta and knife after the jump. There was a loud crash and tearing of metal noise. She saw the stake side truck go through the front windows and into the building. She lost track of the seconds. She knew it was going to explode momentarily. She scrambled towards the well for the trucks to back into. She was almost over the concrete side when she heard the first explosion. She dropped down and rolled up against the dock. She wasn't going to go under one of the metal lifting plates this time in case the awning collapsed down. It might jam the lifting plates downward and she would be stuck there.
There was a much larger second explosion a few seconds later. She could feel the ground around her shake. The loading doors on the dock blew out and flew over her where she was at. Various types of debris rained down around her. Most of it went past her and into the well and the street beyond. She was sure the explosion was massive. She wasn't about to lift her head up yet to look. She didn't know if there were going to be any additional explosions.
She heard a few more smaller explosions inside the building. She figured it was time to get moving. She continued across the well of the dock. It was as she'd done earlier. She hadn't heard another explosion for a few seconds. She figured it was time to get away from there. She could feel the heat from the burning building. She still didn't know what the chemicals were. All she knew was they were poisonous and flammable.
Flames licked out of the side of the building from where the doors were blown off on the dock. The awning hung at a forty five degree angle. It was only partially collapsed. The flames hit it and deflected off to the sides. She went over the side of the well on the east side. She could see flames coming out of the bathroom window she'd spotted earlier. She moved over to the next property. She took one look back at the building. There were flames coming out of the roof. She was sure the building was destroyed.
When she reached the end of the cul-de-sac, she took one more look back before she entered the field. There was another large explosion from somewhere within the building. She saw the entire front wall collapse and fall down. She knew the entire building would soon follow it.
She moved through the field towards the next cul-de-sac. She still had her Beretta and knife. She was mindful of the coyote which was spotted earlier. She was sure it would head the other direction once the explosions started. Then again, if it had any young nearby, it may attack her and think she was the one responsible for all the mayhem. Well, it actually would be right. It just wasn't directed at the coyote or her pups.
The female Fanatic turned in on the next cul-de-sac. She could see the flames and smoke billowing up from the building on the next street over. There were actually pieces of debris in the street as she ran. She kept an eye out for the three men in the sedan. She knew they were little more than Scavengers.
CamNet's Terminators watched as two men walked back towards the opening of the mine.
There was nothing they could do about the white van as it drove away. It seemed the situation at the building where Savannah was in was serious. They didn't mind losing their drone support if it could assist her in some fashion. It didn't appear the drones would be able to do a whole lot yet. There was some type of energy field in place around the two buildings.
They were made aware of the electronic attack directed at the Terminators where Savannah was at. They weren't sure if the two groups were connected or not. There's been no indication yet they were. It didn't mean they weren't. They were apprised of the situation and how if something similar occurred, they may become incapacitated. They were given the option to withdraw and return to their SUV.
CamNet noted there'd been some slight seismic activity around the area the female Fanatic was last spotted in. There'd been two 911 reports about some type of explosion. She'd suppress them and any emergency response.
Lena wasn't surprised to hear the report.
"It appears she was successful again." Lena said.
Tina still didn't like providing assistance to the enemy.
"It was only because we provided her with equipment." Tina said.
Lena knew they were blind without the drone image files.
"We don't know if she reached Ascension or not." Lena said.
Tina glanced over at Lena.
"There is no such thing as Ascension." Tina said.
Lena nodded.
"We know there isn't." Lena said. "The female Fanatic believes it. Remember, when someone believes something, it doesn't matter if it's true or not. They believe it's true. It makes it real to them."
Tina felt humans expressed a lot of irrationality.
"How many millions of them have died because of false beliefs?" Tina asked.
Lena didn't know the answer. She knew it was a lot. She also knew another false belief killed billions.
"It's nothing if you put it into perspective." Lena said. "Skynet is willing to kill billions."
Tina checked around them. It was clear to advance.
"It's what we're trying to prevent from happening again." Tina said.
They understood there was a new threat of an unknown nature. All of the Terminators were recovered from the other location. Only Savannah was left behind. To make everything even more complicated, Young Allison had gone in to assist her. It was unknown what the fate of either of them was.
They came down on either side of the entrance to the mine. It was a large enough opening for a vehicle to drive into. More than likely there had been some type of rail line inside of it to move the ore to the stamp mill. They waited in the shadows for a moment.
Much to their surprise, a man came out with a rifle. He didn't stop to guard the entrance to the mine. He moved down to where the other vehicles were parked. They watched him take up position there. He appeared to speak into some type of communication device.
They continued their conversation at a low decibel level only another Terminator could hear.
"We can take him out now or bypass him." Lena said.
Tina considered their options.
"If he doesn't detect us, he'll think everything is alright." Tina said. "If we kill him now he won't be able to make his report back in. There must be some type of a time schedule."
Lena felt there was another option available.
"We can move in behind him and listen for a while." Lena said. "We can hear his voice and any type of recognition signal given for his transmission. We can terminate him and take his communication device with us. We can give them updates it's all clear on the outside, as we traverse the interior of the mine."
Tina thought it was a good idea.
"It won't put anyone on alert if we do it." Tina said. "They won't activate the electronic device ahead of time, if they even have one."
CamNet's Terminators decided to take the guard out. They didn't want any threats behind them. They planned to terminate everyone as they went along.
One Time
Life can be a struggle
It's full of dirt and grime
One must be very careful
Not to be caught in the slime
They must reach out
It's an uphill climb
To be heard and listened to
Their voice must chime
It's a great dishonor and blow
Perhaps it's even a crime
To push someone aside
When they are so sublime
When things start to go bad
Don't be afraid to drop a dime
It's not going to be forever
When someone is in their prime
Say what is really meant
It doesn't always need to rhyme
It never hurts to take a step back
Give it a try one time
Nobody