Chapter 1529
Heavy Haze
The lights on Level Four flickered on and off more frequently now. The thick dust and smoke cloud from Level Five blanketed the area. A heavy haze permeated the entire area.
Gail pulled her knife out and was about to remove the chip from the Metal Bitch when another figure appeared at the electrical room door. They must have been inside of it already. She was on her knees bent over the Metal Bitch. She grabbed the ankle of the person and pulled. It caused them to fall over backwards. She stuck a 'shocker' on the Metal Bitch and stood to engage the new threat.
She rushed into the electrical room. She took in the contents of the room at a glance as she prepared for combat. There were two large power cells in there. They weren't the giant type like Cameron encountered before. They were big enough to bring down the rear section of the mine, if not the whole thing.
The person she'd tripped was up on their feet in a second. It was another Terminator. They made a grab for her, and tried to hit her. She dodged most of the force. They were deflected off to the side.
She spun around and gave them a shove. They slammed into the rock wall. They turned and expected her to be there to grab them. She wasn't there.
Gail took two steps back once she'd sent the Terminator flying. She drew her Taser and fired twice. The Terminator was fast, but not fast enough. He dodged the first set of barbs. The second set found its mark and he went down.
She went to pull her knife out, but it was lying on top of the Metal Bitch. She needed to act fast. She went out and collected her knife. She could hear a few Grays asking if anyone was hurt. They were near, but not close. The area outside the electrical room was a thick fog of smoke and dust at this point. Visibility was only a few feet. The lights stayed off longer between flickers.
Gail moved back into the electrical room. She cut the scalp open on the Terminator.
"Why is this door open?" The first Gray asked.
She could hear someone trip and fall. They were closer than she'd thought. This could be a different group too. The two clean rooms blocked a lot of space.
"'Bitchzilla' is down on the ground here." The second Gray said.
She drew her silenced M9 as she popped off the chip port cover on the downed Terminator. There was coughing outside the door.
A Gray stepped into the electrical room. There was another Gray behind him. She didn't have a clear shot at the second Gray yet. She didn't want to shoot the first Gray and have him fall backwards and knock the other Gray out of the way. She shot the first Gray below each knee. He collapsed forward with a scream. She shot the Gray behind him in the face. She then shot the screaming man on the ground in the face as well half a second later. They were both quiet now.
Gail quickly pulled the chip from the male Terminator. There were still a few seconds to spare before he rebooted. She reached out and pulled the Metal Bitch into the electrical room by her hair and closed the door. She removed her chip as well.
She placed each Terminator on top of a humming large power cell and set an explosive charge underneath each of them. They were set to detonate with Cam's timeline to blow along with the nitro on Level Five. The explosives Bob and Jim found were set for detonation at the same time too, along with the other electrical room with the power source from the surface.
Gail was about to exit the electrical room when she noticed the hum of the larger power cells change pitch. There'd been a rhythmic pulse to the humming noise. It now changed for each of them. One started to hum faster. The other became irregular. Summer's encryption must have done something to their function, or at least the energy demand. Cammy reported an increase in power demand when the Skynet TDE in Cameron's future was infected with the encryption.
She opened the electrical room door a crack and listened. There were intermittent shouts and calls. The area was in total darkness now. The dense fog like dusty mist was everywhere and thicker. She went out of the electrical room and closed the heavy door. She smashed the keypad with her fist. No one was going in there anytime soon.
Gail wanted to make sure Toto was still docked with the Skynet mainframe computer. She moved to the completed clean room. Toto was still engaged. She could communicate with the Command Center. She'd given a running commentary to John Henry after she took down the second Terminator.
"Toto is still connected." Gail said.
John Henry looked at the feedback from Toto.
"Skynet has fallen." John Henry said. "It's now trapped."
Summer didn't want to declare victory yet. She wanted Skynet defeated. She wanted to bring it down. It was the only way to be sure.
"I want to be positive." Summer said. "Gail, try to keep Toto connected. I'm not done yet with everything."
Gail knew it was her job to make sure Skynet was defeated. It was more than just blowing it up. She unslung her suppressed M4 and held it in her left hand. She held her silenced M9 in her right hand.
"I will protect Toto." Gail said. "No one will pass by me."
There were more voices. It seemed like they were all around her. Lights could be seen moving through the heavy haze of the misty gloom.
Bob and Jim moved through the passageways and caverns on Level Three in total darkness. They killed a few more Grays. They neared the sloped shaft down to Level Four. Smoke and dust billowed up the slopped shaft.
They were able to contact John Henry. Once they reached the sloped shaft. There was a loud 'crack' noise and the apparent collapse of some rocks behind them somewhere. More dust swirled around them.
They heard Gail and Cam respond to the Command Center. It looked like the repeaters they'd placed on the elevator in the Main Shaft kept the link open on Level Four. There was now a drone over the Main Shaft to keep the link hot. It also gave them an accurate look at everything which happened on the surface.
"We'll be back down to Level Four shortly." Bob said. "Level Three is clear of Grays. We found the girl. She was terminated."
Jim wasn't content with what they'd found.
"We will turn this mine into her tomb to honor her." Jim said.
Bob was in total agreement.
"Affirmative…." Bob said.
Cam made sure everyone on Level Five was terminated. She started up the sloped shaft. She unslung her M4 and held it in her left hand. She held her silenced M9 in her right hand. She would need to rely on thermal imaging until the air cleared some.
She didn't know what would await her as she ran up the sloped shaft. It was a long incline. The blast knocked out her communications. She'd checked her repeater at the bottom of the slopped shaft. It was good. She figured the one at the top of the sloped shaft was damaged by falling debris. It was a really big double explosion. There was still rock falling from the top in places. A big rock landed in front of her, she needed to dodge off to the side a little. Everything was clearly unstable. When she detonated the hundred gallons of nitro later on, there was going to be an even bigger explosion….
She neared the top of the sloped shaft. The smoke and dust was thick. The flickering lights on Level Four went out before she cleared the top of the sloped shaft.
She was able to communicate with John Henry and placed another repeater. She was linked up with her time bomb on Level Five. It could be command detonated at any point now, or delayed. The nitro would still be explosive on its own. It was possible a rock could fall from the ceiling and detonate the entire batch prematurely. Nitro was very volatile and contact sensitive. It wouldn't be at its full strength until the time it was set to detonate. It would still do a lot of damage before then.
Cam was aware Gail took down two Terminators and rigged the two large power cells with explosives and the Terminator's power cells
She heard the conversation between John Henry, Summer and Gail about what Summer wanted done. Gail would protect Toto.
There were more voices. They were all around her. There were lights with people moving through the heavy haze.
"I'll join Gail in thirty seconds." Cam said. "There are a few targets."
Gail wanted to make sure the link was undisturbed.
"I'll remain with Toto." Gail said.
Cam was disappointed the female was terminated. It was what the men indicated happened. There would be no rescue for her. She did like Jim's comment about turning the mine into a tomb on her behalf. She felt she was off to a good start.
She spotted several lights in the hazy darkness. They were Grays coming to check on what they thought was an accident on Level Five. They seemed concerned but not in a hurry. It was most likely they wouldn't be able to mount much of a rescue mission after an explosion the size of the one which occurred. It was probably more an assessment of the damage than anything.
The voices grew closer. The voices weren't happy voices.
"I told them it was insane to use nitro." The first Gray said.
"You look at that stuff the wrong way and it blows up." The second Gray said. "It's why nobody uses nitro anymore, not in liquid form anyway."
"Where's 'Bitchzilla' at?" The first Gray asked.
"She probably went down to see what happened to 'Gigantor'." The second Gray said.
"If we find her destroyed, I'm bringing her back to the living quarters." The first Gray said. "As long as we have her torso section, we're good to go indefinitely. It's got everything we need."
Both Grays laughed.
"It feels just like the real thing." The second Gray said. "I never could tell the difference."
Both Grays laughed again.
"I do miss one thing though." The first Gray said. "Even though a Metal Whore will do everything you want, I still miss the struggling and crying from the females we pull out of the work details. You would figure they would be used to it at some point. It still excites me see the fear and terror on their faces."
Both Grays laughed even louder.
"Sometimes I miss the good old days." The second Gray said.
"The chick Gomez brought back was pretty sweet." The first Gray said.
"I can't wait until he picks up another one." The second Gray said.
Both Grays laughed again.
Cam heard enough. The two individuals didn't deserve to live any longer. She raised her M9. She would pop both of them and deal with another figure moving on the far side. They all showed up on her thermal imagery. The lights they carried made the job easier.
Before she could act, two more figures moved up and silently took care of them. Bob and Jim were back. They extinguished the lights.
She moved over to the third figure and snapped his neck. She turned off his light as well. It was 'lights off', in more ways than one.
Cam went over the timetable.
"We have fifty seven minutes to get out of this mine." Cam said.
Gail, Bob and Jim all acknowledged her. They all met at the clean room with Toto.
Young Allison and Anna were relieved all four of the team in the mine were back together. None of them reported any damage. They knew it didn't mean there wasn't any.
"We need to make sure they get out." Young Allison said.
Anna thought it seemed like a good bet they would.
"They have fifty five minutes." Anna said.
Young Allison saw it differently. She didn't want to cut anything close. The episode in the Nevada desert was still fresh in her mind. They'd literally gotten to cover only seconds before the old H-bomb exploded. They could have been caught out in the open, or been nearer the location in an attempt to deal with the Grays themselves. It would have proven quite catastrophic if they had been.
"I want them away from there in forty five minutes." Young Allison said. "Has the Blackhawk departed yet?"
Young Allison instructed Anna to have CamNet send additional assistance once the big double explosion was caused by Cam. Skynet would know something was up by then anyway.
"Ken and Lou are flying there now." Anna said. "Al and Ed are with them…."
Young Allison waited for a little more. There was nothing. She could tell by Anna's demeanor there was. She decided to ask directly since she wouldn't be told otherwise.
"Who else is with them?" Young Allison asked.
Anna looked at her monitor and frowned.
"I don't think you want to know." Anna said.
John Henry watched Summer work. The team was back together. Toto infected the Skynet mainframe with the encryption. He wondered how Summer was doing. She was 'fighting' Skynet right now.
"It's going fine." Summer said without looking at John Henry.
John Henry was only a spectator to what was happening. Summer worked directly with CamNet through his server.
He was aware the Blackhawk left a short time ago. He wasn't aware of everyone on board. CamNet blocked what was happening inside the base from him. He was sure there were some 'hookups' there shouldn't have been. He didn't think it was his place to worry about it. They were all adults.
Summer was able to see who else went. She also knew it was what they wanted. She'd allowed them to go by not stopping them. Everyone needed to get their feet wet at some point. One day it would be her.
Earlier:
Samantha came out of standby when she heard Precious stir. She figured Derek and Riley were fast asleep at this point. She went and checked to make sure. They were.
She picked up Precious and went out into the hall with her. She figured Vanna or Jesse would be 'busy'. One of them may not be. She didn't want to spoil a finish for one of the girls. They didn't have the ability to resume where they were at like a Terminator could if they were interrupted. She would listen to see which one of them wasn't near a finish as she passed their rooms.
Samantha spotted Young Jesse's door was open slightly.
Vanna and Young Jesse rested in each other's arms.
She knocked softly and went in.
Young Jesse looked up. She saw it was Samantha with Precious. She looked over at Vanna.
"Is Vanna needed?" Young Jesse whispered.
Samantha glanced down at Precious and smiled.
"Yes." Samantha said.
Young Jesse looked at Vanna. She wanted to keep things as normal as possible for Precious and the others. Vanna and Precious should be in the nursery.
"Let me take Precious." Young Jesse said. "You can carry Vanna back to Riley's room."
Vanna sat up. If Precious needed her she was good to go. Her maternal instincts were awakened and very strong.
"I'm good." Vanna said. "I'll go to Riley's room anyway. She won't know where Precious is if I stay here. I don't want to cause her any stress."
Vanna threw on a robe and took Precious. She headed for Riley's room.
Samantha and Young Jesse watched Precious nurse as Vanna walked with her.
"Maybe I should get dressed." Young Jesse said. "I'll join her."
Samantha picked up Young Jesse's robe off of the floor.
"You can wear a robe." Samantha said.
Young Jesse thought she should be properly dressed around Derek. She didn't want to seem overly suggestive to either Derek or Reilly. Maybe it was just her modesty, even if it was a false sense of it.
"It won't take me long." Young Jesse said.
Samantha watched Young Jesse dress. It didn't take long.
They headed out after Vanna. She was already in Riley's room.
Young Jesse spotted two armed Terminators head out to the carpool area.
"What's up?" Young Jesse asked.
Samantha didn't know.
"I'm not sure." Samantha said.
Young Jesse went to the nearest arm's locker and put on a vest and grabbed an M4, M9 and a Taser.
Samantha tilted her head slightly. There'd been no alarm raised. It appeared as if Young Jesse was ready for combat.
"What are you doing?" Samantha asked.
Young Jesse could tell something was happening somewhere.
"I'm going with them." Young Jesse said. "There must be trouble."
Samantha didn't want Young Jesse to go off with her own, even if there were two male Terminators with her. It wasn't how it was supposed to work.
"No." Samantha said. "Cameron will want to be with you. At least Camille needs to be."
Young Jesse didn't see how either one of them could be right now.
"They're not here." Young Jesse said. "I am."
Young Jesse started off after them. She wanted to do more and take some of the load off of Savannah.
Samantha grabbed a vest and a complement of weapons and hurried after her. She called Holly and told her what was happening and to watch over Precious.
Holly told her she would be there shortly with Allison.
There'd been a heavy haze of fog roll in as they crossed the Golden Gate Bridge earlier in the SUV.
Steve and Tom let Camille and John off at the terminus of the Powell and Hyde cable car route. As they approached the ticket kiosk, two 'all access' tickets popped out.
John was very pleased.
"Now that's service." John said.
Camille frowned. She was aware CamNet currently tracked them.
"Big Brother, or Big Sister in this case, is always watching." Camille said.
Camille was aware it was CamNet and she probably knew everything which happened so far tonight. She looked up into the brightly moon lit sky to see if there was a drone above them. It was out of her hearing ability range if it was. It didn't mean there wasn't one there.
John saw Camille look upwards intently.
"What's up there?" John asked. "Was it another shooting star?"
Camille looked at John and smiled. She took his hand.
"It was nothing." Camille said. "Everything is fine."
They got onto the cable car. It was less than a quarter full. Two young men ran and hopped on the back as the cable car pulled away from the stop. They were loud and appeared drunk or on some type of narcotics. They appeared to be gang bangers as well.
Camille noticed they hadn't purchased a ticket either. She didn't like the way they looked at her. She felt she'd been visually abused. She didn't take any crap from 'whackers'. As soon as they started up the hill, she slid back to where they were.
The first punk leered at her.
"Are you looking for some action?" The first punk asked.
The second Punk reached over to touch her. It was one step too far.
Camille pushed both of them off of the back of the cable car. They rolled down the hill some.
"No." Camille called out after their tumbling figures. "Next time buy a ticket. Get some manners while you're at it."
John didn't see all of what happened. He'd been looking forward to where the cable car was going. He did see enough to know what Camille did. He didn't say anything as she moved towards him.
Camille slid back up to John and cuddled up tight next to him. They watched the scenery and sites as they passed by.
Steve and Tom were one block in back of the cable car in the SUV when Camille shoved the two trouble makers off. There was no traffic around them. CamNet already took control of the traffic lights before John and Camille started out. She wanted to keep traffic away from the cable car.
CamNet informed them the two individuals in the street accosted the General and Camille.
Tom pulled out his silenced M9.
"I'll Terminate them when we go by." Tom said.
Steve and Tom were advised to take less drastic measures by CamNet. She did want a message sent.
"I'm going to run over their legs." Steve said.
The two punks just started to move around when he did. They both screamed and rolled further down the hill. Their next stop would be the hospital. Tom thought they got off lucky. He holstered his M9.
Steve was given instructions to stop at the next drug store. Tom would need to go inside and pick something up from the pharmacy. It was already waiting for them. They would also need to stop at a Starsucks and obtain an espresso and a hot chocolate for John when he reached the terminus at Powell and Market Street. It would be ready for them as well to grab and go. They should be able to stay one block behind the cable car at all times.
John was a little shocked at Camille's action earlier. He enjoyed the way she snuggled up to him and held him. It wasn't something Cameron would normally do. When he looked at her, she kissed him.
Camille didn't want any trouble with John. She wanted to be with him again. She wanted to remind him what was available. If it prevented him from asking about what actually occurred, so much the better. If he asked, she would tell him. She didn't think a little distraction for the next phase would hurt.
Moments ago:
John didn't see the 'offensive driving' by Steve behind them. He'd been kissing Camille.
It wasn't a coincidence.
She wore her com and was aware of everything around her, including the other teams. She'd wanted to distract him and was able to do so as the punks' legs were broken.
John pointed out what some of the things were he remembered.
Camille already knew all of them. She smiled when he told her anyway. He only messed up a few of them. She didn't mention it. She gave him a little kiss and touched his inner thigh.
The fog seemed to roll in heavier behind them. Much of the bay became obscured. There was a very heavy haze.
Dan and Frank spotted a new attack by the three male, and one female, gang members. Two of the punks held down a female while the leader pulled her pants off. The female gang member gagged the female and held her head. She told the female what was going to happen as she fondled her. She said she was going to 'go first' and get her 'warmed up' for the men.
There was a thick fog bank. It started to move in from the ocean side of the long park. It didn't give Dan and Frank any cover. They didn't need it yet. The gang was fixated on abusing the female. The leader removed her pants and pulled her underwear off. One of the punks holding the girl took the underwear. He put them in his pocket. It was something they did to remember their conquests. He had over twenty pairs at home under his mattress. The other Gang members took turns collecting them too. It was his turn today. He would be allowed to go second. They all took turns after the leader was done.
Dan and Frank witnessed enough. It was time to stop the abuse. They weren't going to allow it to go any further. It was time to thin the herd. They each drew their silenced M9 and fired once.
Sheila drove with Leticia in the front seat with her. Hanna and Ally were in the back seat.
"We have drone coverage." Ally said.
Hanna was a little surprised. It was clear the drones had already been dispatched earlier.
"The drone footage was fast." Hanna said. "I bet there are more here too."
She showed her phone to Leticia. They watched the abuse begin.
Leticia was surprised there was an overhead image from somewhere.
"Is it a satellite image?" Leticia asked.
Sheila wanted to keep the details undisclosed.
"No." Sheila said. "It's something a little simpler. We have people who help watch over us sometimes."
Cammy received the drone feed too. She held her phone up for Mary and Laura to see.
Mary felt her gut tighten as she saw the female's pants removed.
"They're getting ready to abuse her." Mary said. "Where's this image from?"
Laura felt a little sick. She did wonder about what they were able to see.
"Is it a satellite image?" Laura asked. "I read they could read a matchbook cover on the ground from some of those."
Cammy didn't want to get explicit.
"No." Cammy said. "It's something a little simpler. We have people who help watch over us sometimes."
As they watched, the two figures which held the female on each side slumped over. One punk had just put the female's underwear in his pocket. It didn't appear he would get a turn this time, or any other time. His turns were over.
The leader of the gang and his squeeze didn't know what happened yet. There'd been no sound. The other two punks just fell over. There'd only been a faint 'wet meat' smacking noise.
The female felt the two men who were holding her on each side let go of her. She didn't know what happened. She just knew she wanted to be away from there. She broke free from the female gang member.
The leader was busy going through the pockets of the female's pants.
She yanked them out of his hands and ran away with them.
He'd hoped to find some cash like they'd done with the foreign tourists. It was one sweet haul all the way around. They'd all gone twice with each of them. It was why they were so busted up. They wouldn't lay there and take it. They made sure they took it. They dumped them tied up, gagged and nude by the homeless camp when they were done as 'punishment'. He was sure a line probably formed behind each of them. They hadn't stuck around long enough to find out.
By the time the leader and his squeeze figured out what happened, it was too late. They were still trying to rouse their associates. There were two large figures standing over them now.
The red eyes clued them into the fact there was going to be a problem.
"You're in our park." Dan said. "You were warned."
Now they knew there was going to be a real problem.
The darkness which overtook the leader and his squeeze was soon masked by the fog which rolled in. It was a very heavy haze.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Temporal Mission:
Past Timeline:
November 25 1963
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Young Allison passed by a small hill on the south side. She immediately saw what she wanted to see. It was quite impressive. It was a large lake.
"Wow, there's the Chatsworth Reservoir." Young Allison said. "It's quite impressive to actually see it with water in it."
Cameron often wondered why every map showed it with water in it. It had been drained in the early Seventies. There was only a very, very small wetland area left.
"It does look very nice." Cameron said. "It's a shame it's no longer there."
Young Allison read a little about it before her temporal mission.
"I know it was part of the water retention system for the Los Angeles Aqueduct." Young Allison said. "It was quite an amazing feat to bring water from four hundred miles away to a growing city in the early part of the last century."
Cameron wondered about human logic at times. She was aware there was a lot of controversy which surrounded the Los Angeles Aqueduct and where the water was obtained. Previously the water from the Owens River ran into the desert and most of it evaporated.
The water came from the eastern side of the Sierras. The aqueduct was designed to operate through a series of siphons to avoid the need for pumps. It was actually an engineering marvel. Later on some misguided environmental groups decided the water should run back into the desert and evaporate instead of going to the population where it was needed. There were a number of court battles.
Currently the city was on water rationing because there wasn't enough water. It really made her question the intelligence of some of the people in charge. With the entire Pacific Ocean setting off the coast of the Los Angeles area, all of the water in the world was literally at their disposal if they wanted to build the facilities to use it. The could build more reservoirs to store it.
"The Chatsworth Reservoir was one of the last of the retention basins built for the system." Cameron said. "The city of Canoga Park changed their name to Owensmouth because it was now considered the 'mouth of the Owens River'. Luckily, the citizens changed the name back to Canoga Park later on. The street which runs by near our safe house continues the name of Owensmouth."
Young Allison felt the road, which ran around the northern edge of the reservoir, was rather narrow. There were very few scattered houses in the area. She was surprised to see there was even a little store.
After a short drive, there was a divide in the road up ahead.
"Do you want me to continue on Valley Circle Boulevard or take Box Canyon Road?" Young Alison asked.
Cameron thought they could take care of several different things if they took Box Canyon Road. She would see what Young Allison wanted.
"We will drive by Studio Road if we take Box Canyon Road to Santa Susana Pass Road." Cameron said. "There are western movie sets in place there. If we continue on to the pass road into Santa Susana, we will be by Corriganville Movie Ranch. It is another large western movie set and filming area. Spahn Movie Ranch and Iverson Movie Ranch are both located to the east of Santa Susana Pass Road where Box Canyon Road joins it. We will visit those locations another time."
Young Allison wanted to drive through Box Canyon. She figured they could come back through Black Canyon and then down Woolsey Canyon Road. It would give them an even better view of the Chatsworth Reservoir and the San Fernando Valley. The smog wasn't too bad today. She knew it would continue to get worse through the Seventies before various anti pollution measures were taken.
"We'll take Box Canyon Road." Young Allison said.
When the road divided, she took the right branch and started up the hillside. There were quite a few twists in the road. She thought the road was even narrower than Valley Circle Boulevard had been. There were a few scattered houses through the canyon.
Cameron knew they would pass the original location of the local Fire Station.
"An LA County Fire Station will be up on the right hand side of the road around the next corner." Cameron said. "It will be relocated later on."
Young Allison spotted the small structure when she came around the corner.
"I don't think they have a very big fire truck there." Young Allison said.
Cameron didn't think it really mattered. Wildfires are what took out the majority of the structures at all of the movie ranches over the years. Even with more modern firefighting techniques, the wildfires burnt out of control. It was usually the ocean which stopped them. There was nothing left to burn.
"Wildfires devastated the community more than several times." Cameron said. "Over the next decade, there will be a large hippie population which will move into the area."
Young Allison spotted the small sign for Studio Road.
"I wonder if there's any filming up there right now." Young Allison said.
Cameron was aware in a few decades, a group of illegals would move into the remaining structures off of Studio Road. They would construct cardboard and plywood backs to the movie fronts and live there. Another wildfire solved the problem. Everything was gone in their time period.
"There's probably filming happening at one or more of the handful of movie ranches located throughout the area." Cameron said. "We will try to visit them at an appropriate time."
Young Allison spotted another road off to the left side.
"What road is over there?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron glanced over.
"It's the North American Cut Off." Cameron said. "It runs along the side of the hills and joins up with Black Canyon Road just north of the Rocketdyne test facility. The test facility will later be known as the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. In more modern times, it serves as a fire road for both Ventura and Los Angeles counties."
Young Allison heard about the road before. She wondered if it was constructed as a shortcut for workers coming from the Santa Susana area and beyond, to take a shortcut to reach the Rocketdyne facility. Rocketdyne was originally a subsidiary of North American Aviation. After many mergers it ended up as part of Boeing in more recent times. The road they would take back, Black Canyon Road, was built specifically for workers to access the area of the Rocketdyne facility directly from the Santa Susana area.
"I think they're all places we can check out." Young Allison said. "Gates over roads don't stop people on foot."
Cameron didn't feel gates stopped her anytime. If she wanted to gain access to an area, she would simply break the lock. It wasn't hard for her to do it all. If she needed to do something, or check on something, she did. Things didn't get done by thinking about them. Sometimes they didn't like the way she did things.
Young Allison could see there was a steep descent in front of them. As soon as she started down, she was able to look over at the Santa Susana area. It would eventually adopt the name Simi Valley. She went down the hill in second gear, and first gear when necessary. She still needed to use her brakes. She remembered Cameron's earlier warning about people overheating their brakes on Santa Susana Pass Road and going off to the side. She let the engine act as a break whenever she could. The 292 absorbed the punishment without a problem.
She never shifted into third gear since she'd been on Box Canyon Road. Both the ascent and descent had been in first and second gear. She needed to wait for some cross traffic to go by when she reached Santa Susana Pass Road. When it was safe to do so, she made a left hand turn and started down the hill. After she started downhill, she left it in second for most of the way.
Cameron looked over to the right hand side.
"Corriganville is down there." Cameron said. "You can see some of the movie sets. The railroad tracks are down there as well. The western portal of Tunnel 26 is right off to our side. You can't see it from this road, but it's there."
Young Allison knew the old Stagecoach Road came through the hills near where they were at.
"I read the Stagecoach Road on this side of the hills was lost to its exact location." Young Allison said. "After one of the wildfires burnt all the brush away, they actually were able to find it again. I guess sometimes a wildfire can do some good even though most of what it does is bad."
Cameron thought of the illegals who'd lived in the western front houses on Studio Road.
"I guess a wildfire can do some good." Cameron said. "It does help remove the deadwood."
Young Allison spotted a small sign for Santa Susana Park.
"I think I need to turn at Katherine Road." Young Allison said.
Cameron glanced over.
"Yes." Cameron said. "This is the location they will later move the Santa Susana Depot to. Right now it's just Santa Susana Park. It's a quaint little park with facilities. "
Cameron learned through her research, after the Santa Susana Depot was moved, it sat derelict for a number of years until a group of hobos started a fire to keep warm one night and caused severe damage to the station. The bright side of the story was, the damage allowed them to get a State grant to restore the station back to pristine condition. She was aware it happened to more than one of the old depots after they were abandoned. Some of them weren't as lucky. They burnt to the ground. She really wondered how ignorant someone was to start a fire on a wood floor inside of a wooden building. She wondered how many of the imbeciles terminated from smoke inhalation before being burnt to death.
Young Allison looked over at the park. It was on both sides of the road. Most of it was on the north side of the road next to the railroad tracks. They were very close to their location right now.
"This looks like a really cool park." Young Alice said. "I think we can come here some time to picnic and hike. We can walk along the railroad tracks and go by Corriganville to Tunnel 26 from the Santa Susana side. How long did you say it was again? It was like a mile and a third long."
Cameron was aware of the length.
"Tunnel 26 is seven thousand three hundred and sixty nine feet long." Cameron said.
Young Allison continued down Katherine Road. It was a narrow and curvy street. She eventually reached the intersection with Black Canyon Road. There was a small store located near there. There was a giant 7UP advertisement painted on the building. There was a fire station nearby as well. It was a Ventura County Fire Station. The last one they'd seen was the Los Angeles County Fire Station in Box Canyon.
The turn off was very near the railroad tracks. She spotted a small siding just off of the crossing. There was a different looking railroad car parked there. It consisted of what looked like a number of horizontal tubes on a flat car which contained some type of compressed gas.
"There's an unusual type of tank car." Young Allison said.
Cameron agreed with her. It wasn't something seen very often.
"It's a car designed to carry helium." Cameron said. "The helium is used with the testing of the rocket engines up at Rocketdyne. We're going to see more than a few tests occur there. All types of rocket engines are tested there including ones under development for the Apollo spacecraft."
Young Allison wondered if they would need to be close when one of them was tested to see everything.
"We can find a vantage point before one of the tests." Young Allison said.
Cameron knew they wouldn't need a vantage point.
"You'll easily be able to hear and see it from anywhere in the western San Fernando Valley." Cameron said. "The noise level will be very loud. There will be a lot of smoke and steam associated with it. Any test conducted in the evening, will light up the entire area with an orange glow."
Young Allison thought about it for a moment.
"It sounds really powerful." Young Allison said. "I know many of the rockets have more than one engine on the first stage and some do as well on the second stage. Do they ever test more than one engine at a time?"
Cameron tilted her head slightly. She knew there were several different test fixtures located up on the hill.
"I don't think they do, but they could if they wanted to." Cameron said. "Every one of the rocket engines which goes on a spacecraft is tested through an entire burn to make sure it will function flawlessly. They don't just build a rocket engine and put it on a spacecraft new without testing it."
Young Allison took a moment to look at the giant 7UP sign on the little store at the intersection. She started up Black Canyon Road. There were a few houses along it. They reached a sign which said the road was now private property.
"We're not going to have a problem if we take this road, are we?" Young Allison asked.
Cameron didn't think it was anything a smile wouldn't fix. Well, it wouldn't hurt to show a little skin either. There were many ways to distract a mark. She didn't plan on any terminations though.
"The Rocketdyne facility itself is fenced off at the top of the hill." Cameron said. "We'll see it shortly. The road is incredibly curvy and steep. I recommend you leave it in first gear the entire way."
Young Allison started up the incline of Black Canyon Road. It steepened rapidly. She thought Valley Circle Boulevard was narrow. She thought Box Canyon Road was narrower. She really thought Black Canyon Road was even narrower. She also could see there were a lot of places where a car could go off of the road and down the side.
Cameron tried to look for any hazards as they started the climb.
"Your uphill speed won't be a problem." Cameron said. "If you come down this road in the other direction, you need to be in first gear the entire way and break before each of the hairpin turns. There is nothing to stop a vehicle once it goes off the side."
Young Allison thought there was.
"I think the bottom of the canyon would do it." Young Allison said.
Cameron tilted her head slightly. It seemed logical. She didn't want to find out.
Young Allison and Cameron continued their climb up Black Canyon Road.
Heavy Haze
Every time one needs to hurry
They are met with even more delays
Nothing is ever really new
It's just another phase
How events play out
Determines who goes or stays
It happens sooner or later
As one seeks more and strays
Everything adds up over time
Upon ones mind it all weighs
They can't see the sun shine
Even if they can feel the rays
The fastest way to no where
Are through the secret ways
What looks like a shortcut
Turns into a convoluted maze
When things hit rock bottom
It leaves one in a daze
They can't see a path forward
Through life's heavy haze
Nobody