Chapter 523

Going In

There was still some concern at the Resistance base as to what actually happened.

Kyle, Derek, and Jim could find nothing out of the ordinary as they checked. There was nothing to indicate anything was ever different or actually happened.

John called the Command Center and said he would be back shortly after he checked out Cameron and John Henry. He thought to finish dressing seemed like a good idea as well.

Everyone was still on high alert for anything different. Every team checked in and nothing was out of the ordinary anywhere. There were no impending threats.

CamNet reported back no apparent threats were detected either.

It was good news for all, as much as it was disturbing.

An incident of some type occurred and took down both Cameron and John Henry.

John Henry checked himself over three times as did Cammy and Vanna. There was nothing wrong with him. Now the question remained, what did go wrong then? Would it happen again? When would it be if it did? Would what triggered it, trigger it again?

The problem may have only been with John Henry and Cameron. Holly and Cam didn't seem to be affected either as of yet. They were all in contact with Cameron through the server in the lab. Both of them were physically plugged into it. John Henry accessed it through his server, JH.

The best they could come up with was his recent 'contact' with Cameron through the server as the only common point. Why things would be different for the two female Terminators was unknown.

Holly and Cam double and triple checked for anything. Holly connected directly with the server but she was currently unaffected. Cam was connected with the server earlier but was operating normally.

The question persisted, what was wrong with Cameron?

Why did she shut down?

Why hadn't she rebooted?

Why was John Henry back to normal?

Why weren't Cam or Holly affected in some way?

John went to Savannah's room. His underwear, shoes, and socks were all still there scattered on the floor. Cameron's wedding dress was there along with Savannah's bra.

He just stood there and looked. The bed was open and waiting, calling him…. So close….

John quickly finished dressing. He hung up Cameron's wedding dress, folded Savannah's bra and made the bed.

He took one last look around and reflected on the fact he was less than a second away from making love to Savannah, A SECOND. If he wouldn't have been in such a hurry and bounced around near the objective, he would have made it.

John thought he should feel 'bad' or 'guilty', but he felt neither. If anything, he felt elated. He planned to pursue things a little further. He wanted what Savannah could offer him. It was her virginity. He wanted to be her 'first'. He didn't feel guilty about the night he 'spent' with Riley either. She was his 'first'. He really wanted to be Savannah's first.

For him to be with Savannah is what Cameron said she wanted for him. It was what Cameron always pushed on him to do since not long after they were 'married'. It started with Vanna and Allison, later Jesse was added to it. Now it was Savannah. The implication was there for Young Allison. Strangely enough, Cameron seemed to indicate Claire Young was also available to him.

He wasn't really sure how he would be able to explain it to Allison, all of them, or any of them. In reality he thought the only one it would actually be objectionable to would be Young Allison. There wasn't much of an age difference between any Allison from the future, and her mother in the present. There was a major age difference for Young Allison.

John knew being 'married' to Cameron wasn't a 'real marriage'. How could a person marry a 'machine' anyway? Maybe it was time to have a real wedding, with a real person. Isn't it what Cameron wanted anyway? She said it was, over and over….

As he exited the room, he knew it was going to happen. He knew it was going to be with Savannah. The only thing which would change it was if Future Allison returned…. If she did, he was going to pursue her. The woman Cameron 'created' for him. The woman Cameron was created from. The woman Cameron created for herself….

John wanted more. He wanted what was offered. He wanted what was available. He wanted to make Cameron 'happy'. He decided to listen to Cameron for once and do what she demanded he do.

He took one last look around Savannah's room. His gaze settled on the bed. It was what he wanted, and where it would happen.

"I'll be back." John said as the door gently closed.

He knew he wanted MORE. He knew where to get it.

John remembered the look from Vanna as he left the lab, she knew something happened. He figured she would think it was 'everything'. It wasn't.

If Vanna decided to 'offer' herself to him in place of Savannah, he was going to 'take' it too. He pictured being with one, right after the other. He knew how special it would be. What could be better than to share with them one after the other? It would be to share with both of them at the same time. He needed to adjust the front of his pants as he thought of it. He was tired of missing out and there were a lot of females available to him. It was time he did what Cameron wanted.

Vanna watched John leave the lab. She was sure what happened. How could it be anything different? She followed John and watched him from a distance.

It appeared Savannah 'took' what should have been hers. It was John. She was so close before. Now Savannah 'cut her off' and grabbed the 'brass ring'. She also knew Savannah was going to be with Cameron now as well. Cameron was who she really wanted.

Vanna wanted what was hers. She wanted what was promised to her by Cameron. What she promised Cameron. She decided to show John what a real woman was like instead of an inexperienced teenager…. Sure Savannah was young, but after two kids was she still snug? She knew she was. She also learned a few things over the years, whether she wanted to or not. She knew how to please a man or a woman.

With a gun held to the side of her head, as blood oozed out of the side of another female's body right in front of her, it was real motivational to do as she was 'instructed' by a male. She did what the men wanted. She received a lot less beatings because she did. She only received one scar as a reminder. She 'saved' Allison, so it was worth it. She would do it again in a heartbeat.

Vanna wasn't angry at Savannah. She would rather Savannah have her first sexual encounter with a male be with John, by her own choice. Not at the hands of brutal Scavengers like her 'initiation' was….

Did they have to flip her over when the front was a mess? The back soon was too.

Vanna's face was blank as she returned to the lab. Thinking about events of the past, the future, was always more than a little traumatic.

Jesse and Gail were on their way to Palmdale. Allison and Holly were with them. There was an escort SUV in front and in back of them.

The phone Gail took from Jesse earlier started to ring. It was the phone from the dead man who stalked the Asian female. Jesse was the one who killed him. It abruptly stopped in mid ring. CamNet contacted Gail directly. She had the location of the man on the other end of the phone. It was only a slight detour off of their current route.

Allison wondered about the phone call. She noticed it was a different phone.

"Who was it?" Allison asked.

Gail looked back at Jesse. They both knew. They weren't sure how much to involve Allison and Holly. It didn't seem like a good idea right now because Allison was worried about the rest of her family in Palmdale. Maybe it was best to keep it simple.

"They hung up." Gail said. "If it's important, they'll call back."

Gail didn't like the conversation with the man on the other end of the telephone earlier. CamNet told her everything was stable with the Resistance if she wanted to make a 'quick stop'. CamNet contacted Ed and Frank and told them to follow Gail's lead.

Holly noticed Gail made a deviation in the route. She looked around to see if there was a reason for the change. She was unable to spot one.

Gail saw Holly was about to question her. She didn't want it to turn into a big deal. It would only delay them a few minutes to make the side trip.

"I need to make a quick stop." Gail said.

CamNet contacted Holly directly and told her to follow Gail's lead and not question her in front of Allison. There was a personal issue which needed to be resolved. It was only a minor deviation of the route back to Palmdale.

Holly looked at Allison. She could see she was worried enough as it was. She understood CamNet's desire not to cause her any more stress. Since the issue involved Gail, it most likely involved Jesse. If it was a personal issue for one of them, it was most likely a personal issue for both of them.

Jesse looked at Gail and then at Allison. She knew where they were headed. There was some unfinished business they needed to attend to.

Allison wanted to get back to Palmdale and her family. She didn't like the change in plans. She didn't know why it happened. No one explained anything to her.

"Can we do it some other time?" Allison asked. "I want to go home."

Jesse understood Allison's concern. She didn't want to get too explicit. She was sure if Allison knew the nature of the problem, she would understand.

"It will just be a few minutes." Jesse said. "There is a loose end we need to tie up. It's a personal issue which is important to deal with. I think you need to see why."

Jesse looked at Gail and nodded.

Gail didn't want any animosity. She handed Allison the phone. The photos of the girls were there for her to look at. How they were abused was evident.

Jesse touched Allison's arm.

"I need to put an end to it." Jesse said. "I can't allow it to continue. They want someone else tonight. I need to stop it. We have a location now."

Allison understood the work of a Scavenger when she saw one.

"I agree something needs to be done." Allison said. "It will be bad enough in the future. It can't happen now either. You have our full support. Holly will understand."

Allison handed the phone to Holly.

Holly didn't want to 'go against' what Allison said. It was why Gail handed the phone to Allison first. She knew Allison would think about Vanna, Jesse, and herself. They were all involved in similar situations. It was worse for some of them than it was for others. She didn't like what she saw. She briefly considered they should take Allison to Palmdale and she would come back with Gail and Jesse to deal with the issue. She knew a termination wouldn't take very long to conduct.

"Drive us to where we need to go." Holly said. "Such behavior needs immediate remediation."

Gail took the lead for now and Ed and Frank followed her.

Allison could see Jesse looked a little anxious. She wondered exactly how they became involved with the situation. She didn't think it was direct contact or they wouldn't be headed to where they were headed now. She was sure the situation would have already been resolved. There must have been more to it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Allison asked Jesse.

Jesse didn't want Allison to know they were 'hunting'. She was worried it would cause some additional problems. She still wanted to deal with the local street gangs there. She would stick to the truth as much as possible to get the story out there.

"We were near a movie theater and spotted a predator." Jesse said. "We followed him and took him out when he went after an Asian female. He followed her into a park, it was very dark. I couldn't let anything happen to her. You know…."

Allison nodded. She was under more than one man against her will. A knife to the throat, or a gun to the side of the head, made one submissive real fast. The cold steel of a knife blade, or the barrel of a gun was very unsettling to say the least. She already knew what to expect from the other females. They told her it happens to everyone. They said the best thing to do was just lay there and let it happen. It was going to happen anyway so there was no need to get hurt in the process. After the first few times, it's what she did. It was always over very quickly when she was submissive.

Holly looked back as Allison absentmindedly touched her throat. She knew what Allison thought about. She wanted some retribution as well now. Someone needed to pay for what happened to Allison when she was younger. Perhaps the perpetrator they were after was one of the individuals involved. Maybe she should ask to be allowed to terminate him herself. Maybe she should bust him up first and let Allison finish him off.

Gail parked a block away from the target location.

"I'll be back." Gail said.

Gail exited the SUV.

Jesse did as well.

Gail was about to tell Jesse to wait, but she could see she wouldn't. She knew it was personal to Jesse in multiple ways based upon the current circumstances.

Jesse looked back and saw Allison and Holly were about to get out as well.

"I'd prefer if both of you waited here." Jesse said. "This is personal to me."

Allison understood. She also knew of Jesse's past.

"You don't need to overdo it." Allison said. "Just finished it and be done with it."

Holly thought she should go with them but wanted to remain with Allison.

"We'll wait here unless you need us." Holly said.

Jesse gave them a thumbs up and followed after Gail

Gail wanted to reaffirm their protocol for similar situations.

"I'll lead." Gail said. "We don't have a lot of time."

Jesse nodded. She knew she couldn't do what she wanted to do. She didn't want to cause Allison and Holly any more apprehension.

"Sure, love." Jesse said. "We'll 'smoke' him and go. He won't know what happened when we 'light him up'."

Gail walked right up to the front door and pushed on it. The door splintered around the lock and flew open.

They spotted a man on a phone. He didn't know he actually spoke to CamNet at this time. He thought it was the man who was going to bring the Asian female to him. He was able to catch a brief glimpse of her as the big female approached him. He saw what he wanted was behind her. He thought the Asian female was Hot. It looked like there was going to be some kind of trouble, and he was on the receiving end of it.

Gail was on him in a second. She punched him hard in the chest. He went down like a rock. Both of his lungs collapsed. He gasped for air as he lay on the floor.

Jesse and Gail quickly searched the house. It was clean.

They noted a bed in one room had sections of rope at all four corners. It was where the girls were held. There was a table with several different items on it. There was a scalpel, a small clear jar, a vibrator, as well as an electric prod. There was no indication of what happened to them after the man was 'done' with them. It was doubtful they were let go.

Jesse picked up the jar. There was the letter 'M' on the front and on the lid. The went to the closet and opened it.

There were a dozen jars lined up with the letters 'A - L' on them. She picked one up and looked at it. She felt sick.

"I want him to suffer." Jesse said.

Jesse pulled out her knife.

Gail wanted to do what Jesse suggested. An idea popped into her head. It would be a way for the man to suffer without Jesse needing to do the dirty work.

"Hold on a minute." Gail said.

Gail opened the door to the garage and entered it. She returned thirty seconds later with a can of gasoline.

Jesse looked at it.

"What's that for?" Jesse asked.

Gail dumped the gasoline over the withering man and made a trail to the door with the volatile liquid.

"You said to 'smoke' him." Gail said. "It's what I intend to do. I'll let you 'light him up' like you suggested."

Jesse wanted to laugh but didn't. Gail took her statement literally. She knew they were about to burn the man alive. She knew it was a very painful and terrible way to die. If there was time to 'work' on him, she would give him a much more painful and drawn out death. They needed to get Allison back to her family and not delay any longer.

"Make sure he can't crawl away." Jesse said.

Gail broke the man's legs in two places each. One was a compound fracture.

"He won't go anywhere." Gail said.

Jesse took his phone he dropped. There might be something else in there they could follow up on. The predators tended to cluster together. She found some matches in the kitchen. They went out the front door after Jesse dropped a lit match on the trail of gasoline. It ignited with a slight 'whoosh' sound.

They went back to the SUV.

Allison was surprised they were back already.

They drove away as smoke poured out the front door. They could hear the man screaming.

Allison looked at Jesse and nodded. She didn't think it made up for the suffering the females were put through, but it would need to do. She gave Jesse's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Holly and Gail both noted the exchange. It was clear the girls from the future wanted all future Scavengers terminated.

CamNet would suppress any emergency response.

They continued on to Palmdale.

John Henry thought of interfacing with Cameron to see if he could communicate with her. He was hesitant to do so. He was worried whatever happened, would happen again. Cameron was still offline. Maybe it would happen to him as well.

He wondered if Cameron experienced any of her nightmares again. He deleted most of them. He knew the ones he deleted were terrible. They were too terrible to keep.

John wanted John Henry to get back to his job. He was hesitant to do so.

Vanna could see he didn't want to leave the lab. She understood his apprehension and 'fear'. They were uncomfortable feelings.

"You're cleared to go back, John Henry." Vanna said.

John Henry looked around. He was still hesitant to leave

"Maybe I should stay here longer." John Henry said.

Vanna didn't want him to second guess himself. It was never good for anyone.

"I want you to try it anyway." Vanna said.

She knew the best way to face the internal demons was to face them head on.

Vanna directed Cam to go with John Henry when he returned and plug into his server with him.

Cam felt some of the same apprehension John Henry did.

"I'm 'Cameron' too." Cam said. "I may malfunction. I was connected to the server also."

Vanna didn't want Cam to second guess herself either. She was sure they were all fine now.

"You haven't yet." Vanna said. "You love me. I trust you."

Cam left with John Henry.

Vanna watched them leave. She turned her attention to Savannah and Cammy. She then looked over at Cameron.

"What are we going to do with her?" Vanna asked.

Vanna decided not to say anything to Savannah about her apparent 'encounter' with John. It would put Savannah on the defensive and make her advances on John harder. She knew Savannah could offer herself to John more often to keep her at bay.

Savannah was more worried about Vanna than she was John Henry or Cam. She didn't like how she looked at her. Maybe she knew what happened, or almost happened. The reality was, nothing happened. She was aware how protective Vanna was of her. She remembered Vanna threatened to kill Jesse, if Jesse 'touched' her. Vanna was serious at that time. A lot happened since then.

Cammy thought Vanna and Savannah were distracted. It didn't seem like the right time to be in such a way. The circumstances warranted the full attention of both of them.

"The best option is to remove Cameron's chip and permanently deactivate her." Cammy said. "I'll relinquish this chassis. Savannah will install Cameron's spare chip in it. At that point, 'Cameron' will be back to normal like nothing ever happened. She will have only missed a few days. It will be much better for her going forward."

Savannah knew it was an option. It wasn't one she was on board with. She didn't want to lose Cameron and Cammy.

"It's NOT going to happen." Savannah said.

Vanna didn't like the idea either. Without Cammy, Savannah would be more inclined to seek out John for more love making. It would be an additional obstacle in her way to claim John for herself. She would support Savannah on this issue.

"I don't like the idea either." Vanna said. "It's not fair to Cammy or Savannah."

Savannah wasn't sure why Vanna seemed to stare at her when she 'wasn't looking', but really was. What happened with John didn't seem like an issue since nothing actually happened. It was a 'close encounter' and nothing more. She was worried it was a deeper personal issue. She was afraid Vanna might have found out Allison and her started a 'relationship'. Maybe it was time to come clean and get it out in the open and over with. It would come out sooner or later. Cameron knew and encouraged her. Cameron wanted to make sure she would bond with Young Allison once she was a little older. Cameron told her they would both make John a happy man, a better leader, and safe from assassination….

Cammy really didn't know what was wrong with the two human girls. She wanted to move things along.

"I want to interface with Cameron." Cammy said.

Savannah didn't want Cammy 'corrupted' either if it was what happened. She wanted to see how Cam and Holly made out for a little bit first.

"No. it's a bad idea." Savannah said. "YOU are HER."

Cammy knew her place. She always knew it. She was painfully aware who Savannah really loved. There were more important issues which needed to be addressed. She didn't want an attack to happen for real. Until they knew what the issues were with Cameron, it remained a possibility.

"It is important we find out what happened." Cammy said. "If I'm terminated, I'm terminated. Cameron is the only one who matters, we all know it. It isn't an issue."

Vanna doubted she would get any real answers out of Cam or Cammy since they were both clones of Cameron. They would both push Cameron's agenda. She knew there was one person she could trust. It was her long time lover.

"Let me contact Allison and get an update on Holly." Vanna said. "I know Allison will give me an honest answer."

Savannah wondered what THAT was supposed to mean. Maybe it was time to come clean. She didn't want to hurt Vanna, but it looked like it may have already happened. She just wanted to be honest. She decided to confess about what Allison and her 'shared'. All the girls shared. She didn't think it should be an issue.

"Look, Vanna, I know it was 'wrong', but it was so 'natural'. It just happened. It was very much driven by love. We've only done it a dozen times or so. I didn't really keep track." Savannah said. "We both wanted it to happen. We love each other."

Savannah and Vanna each thought of a different person in their conversation. Savannah thought about Allison. Vanna thought about John.

Vanna was stunned. Savannah and John were 'together' a dozen times? Cameron surely must have known about it. No wonder she was inoperable now. It was Savannah's fault Cameron was 'broken'.

"You've been together that many times?" Vanna asked. "Does Cameron know?"

Savannah didn't see there should be an issue. Everything was sanctioned by Cameron for Allison and her.

"Yes, she encouraged it." Savannah said. "She said I needed to share my love and receive love in return. I only did what she indicated I should do. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. It was what we both wanted. We love each other. We should be able to share like everyone else does."

Cammy tilted her head slightly as she listened to Vanna and Savannah.

She started to get worried. The conversation wasn't 'right'. Everything was off. They were talking about different people and didn't know it. She wanted to stop Savannah from confessing to the 'wrong' thing.

"Savannah, now isn't the time for THIS discussion." Cammy said. "Under the current circumstances it's inappropriate for both of you to continue."

Savannah looked over at Cammy. She was irritated with her now. Her problem was with Vanna over Allison. Cammy should mind her own business. She wanted to set things straight with Vanna, it was 'her' in reality.

"OK, I'm sorry, Vanna." Savannah said. "It just happened. We never meant to hurt you…."

Cammy didn't want things to get out of hand. There were enough problems already to deal with.

"We NEED to worry about Cameron." Cammy cut in. "NOW."

Vanna could see Cammy and Savannah were about to have a problem. It wasn't her intent. She should have spoken to Savannah when Cammy wasn't there. They needed to focus on Cameron.

"Let's discuss this another time then." Vanna said. "I know they love you as much as I do, and I love them."

Savannah was about to respond. She didn't like the tone of the conversation with Vanna or Cammy.

Cammy decided to act before things went further off of the rails.

"Plug me into the server and get Cameron hooked up." Cammy said. "I'm going in."

Those last words echoed through Vanna's mind. She thought it's what John must have thought all of the different times he was with Savannah. She wished she still possessed the same tight, firm, young teenage body Savannah did. Well, at least one thing on her was tighter than on Savannah…. She actually thought it was something which would matter, especially if they were compared side by side. She was open to the idea because she thought she held the advantage where it mattered with John. She then wondered if Savannah was pregnant again. If she was, John was out of her reach forever.

Vanna and Savannah still seemed to have no idea they were thinking and talking about different people.

Vanna thought Savannah confessed to having made love to John, when it was Allison who Savannah confessed to have made love to.

What kind of nightmare was this going to produce?

When was it going to blow up in their faces?

It was going to be a surprise for someone, a big surprise and a shock. It would most likely be a Future Shock.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I'm Going In

Invisible walls in one's life
Block them from many things
Everything they reach out for
Seems to be attached with strings

Without any doubt at all
There's absolutely no free ride
Everything comes with a price
Even if the true cost can hide

Sooner or later or even now
The toll will come due
Everyone needs to pay the Piper
Or the interest continues to accrue

So what does one do to exist
If nothing is done there is nothing
The long term effects of it
Can be degrading and quite crushing

Eventually everyone rolls the dice
To want to be loved isn't a sin
No one ever really thinks twice
As they say, 'I'm going in'

Nobody