Chapter 970

I Feel It Too

Gail was inside the target structure. She carefully forced a door open and entered. It should have been a simple affair. Now most of the Metal girls were involved. The worst part of it was, Savannah was on the way to help her too. It's what she tried to avoid in the first place. She wanted to keep the danger to Savannah to a minimum, not increase it.

She felt it was best if things were rushed and the operation was concluded before Savannah arrived. Maybe things were already rushed a little too much. They were already underway. It wasn't the best way to run any operation.

Cam didn't like the fact Gail was already inside of the building. She understood Cameron was on her way along with Savannah and Cammy. She figured it was best to enter the building now since Gail was already inside. She made her decision and moved towards the same door of the building.

"Gail, we're about to enter the building through the side you entered. We'll check the south side of the building." Cam said. "Holly is with me, we should join up before you strike."

Hanna, Sheila, and Ally confirmed they were in position in case anyone bolted. They covered the back and the front.

Cameron called and said she was still ten minutes out, but if the opportunity to strike arose to take it. There was no point to allow the enemy to gain any type of advantage, especially if they suspected something was wrong. It was usually best to catch the enemy with their pants down. When it came to Scavengers and Grays, it wasn't too hard to do.

Gail didn't care for all the recent changes. Her original plan was to act alone. Now with Savannah on the way, it changed everything. Cam decided to move her team up on its own. She would take the assistance now to get things going. She decided to use the information from Cameron about her arrival time and launch the strike. Savannah and Cammy were still a few more minutes behind Cameron. There was no need to wait for Savannah to enter the danger zone.

John wasn't happy there seemed to have a growing combat operation in the making with little planning. It reminded him of the way Cameron often operated. He didn't always like the way she did things, but she did produce results. The purpose was to defeat the enemy. Cameron was good at it. He just didn't like the damage she received on her own at times. He would prefer if she worked with at least one other individual, and it wasn't Savannah. It wasn't how events normally played out. It usually was Savannah.

John Henry thought the response for a few Grays was a little on the extreme side. Gail should have been able to handle the target alone like she wanted to do. He felt he needed to say something before they continue to commit additional resources.

"This is a large response to target a few Grays." John Henry said. "I won't say we're overreacting, but the targets shouldn't be too difficult. We might want to keep some of the troops in reserve in case anything else develops. With everything being rushed, there isn't a lot we know about the target area. We don't know if there are additional Grays, or even hostile Terminators nearby. We don't know if there are any Terminators inside of the building. We don't know a lot more than we know."

John wanted to wait until it was darker so the drones could operate lower and be in gun range. In daylight they were forced to remain at altitude not to be spotted. Other than the ability to fire a missile, the drone could only be used for observation from such a high altitude.

The more he thought about it, the more he was dissatisfied with the way events continue to play out. If he would have been in the Command Center, like he should have been, the situation wouldn't be playing out right now like it was. There was one big question he would like a reasonable answer for.

"Is there any reason we couldn't have waited until darkness?" John asked. "Darkness is our friend. It would give us much more flexibility in how we could respond, especially with the drones."

John Henry knew the target could be attacked anytime during the day once it was identified as a target. They normally attempt to attack during the darkness so they could use drone support. With the new quieter and more efficient power plants, the drones could operate at gun range and not be detected by human hearing. At night they only needed to worry about being back-lit by the moon. There weren't too many stargazers in the city. With the extreme 'light pollution', only a few stars were visible anyway.

It always irritated him when he heard some intellectually challenged person on TV, or the internet, talk about how the stars were the future. They simply didn't understand most of what was visible was still thousands of light years away, if not millions of light years away. The objects which were furthest away could have been gone for centuries, if not millions of years. Their interaction with River's future confirmed the only living creatures in space were originally from Earth. It included the people as well as the animals.

John Henry returned his attention back to John. He agreed with his summation about when the attack should have occurred.

"No. They could have waited." John Henry said. "This is a soft target. The target should expect a hit less in the daytime than at night anyway. We should have total surprise."

John felt everything was rushed. He was very dissatisfied the operation was already in progress. If Gail and the other Metal girls weren't already inside of the building, and around it, he would have them pull back and wait until darkness. He wouldn't have approved the raid if he would have been notified of it ahead of time. It didn't seem like a priority target. He would have insisted they wait until darkness. He wasn't sure if the raid was done in this manner because he was 'busy' with Cameron or not. Since he left orders not to be disturbed, the operation was put into motion. It would happen without his approval or disapproval. He believed the nature of the target was relevant in any raid.

"I want to know more about the target." John said.

John Henry actually thought it was going to be more of a recon operation since they knew very little. He gave John what little information he could. Once Gail forced the door open, it could no longer be a recon. The occupants of the building would have discovered the intrusion at some point and gone on alert.

They weren't even sure what the target was, other than it traced back to what was most likely a few Grays. The information was based on some of the intelligence gleaned from the Syndicate casino raid.

The property manager of the location was under the 'influence' of Skynet. Because the structure was 'abandoned', they hadn't looked too closely before. It was when a second reference popped up it was now a location of interest.

They learned over the years Skynet could hide its ugly head anywhere. There were always various angles to what Skynet would attempt to carry out. Not everything was done in the same way every time. The fact there were different timeline versions of Skynet involved, further complicated the matter. They always needed to worry about the anti-Metal faction as well. They couldn't forget about the Fanatics either.

Savannah looked at the drone footage. She didn't think they would reach the target area before hostilities broke out. She attempted to determine exactly what the structure was being used for. The location appeared to have been some type of shopping area at one point.

"What exactly is the target area?" Savannah asked. "It looks run down."

Cammy already reviewed the same information Savannah just asked about. She was surprised at the location as well. It was a first for the team. She figured maybe she shouldn't be too surprised since they just dealt with a child day care center inhabited by Fanatics in the Las Vegas area. Maybe infested was a better word.

"It's a closed supermarket." Cammy said.

It all made sense to Savannah now. She understood the layout of the location better.

"It appears to be surrounded by a few strip malls." Savannah said.

Cammy noted the lack of vehicles parked in front and in back of the buildings there.

"I think they're all closed." Cammy said.

Cammy reviewed the live feed from the drone overhead.

"I don't see many vehicles in the area." Cammy said.

Savannah became more concerned about the location the more she thought about it. It didn't really make sense to her. This wasn't the normal type of location chosen for Skynet activity. She needed to think about what was inside of a supermarket.

"Why would Grays want a closed supermarket?" Savannah asked. "Are we missing something, or is the real location actually somewhere near the supermarket?"

Cammy didn't have the information and apparently John Henry and CamNet didn't either.

"I don't know." Cammy said.

Savannah received detailed images of the supermarket from one of the drones. She looked them over thoroughly.

"They only have limited loading dock space." Savannah said as she thought about it. "What they do have in a supermarket are giant freezers and refrigerators."

Cammy tilted her head slightly. Those two items, refrigeration and freezing, could be used in a number of applications. Most of them wouldn't be of a good nature either.

"I think you may be onto something." Cammy said.

Savannah liked the location less the more she found out about it. If her suspicions were correct, John Henry should be able to find out the information.

"I want John Henry to check energy and water usage." Savannah said as she relayed her request.

Savannah didn't believe there was any reason for Grays to be in a location like it. It was unless they wanted the use of the giant refrigerators and freezers located there. It spelled bad news no matter how it was looked at. It indicated there may be some type of experimentation going on. It most likely would be biological in nature. It could be chemical as well.

Both of those things proved very deadly in the future. Everyone with 'pre-existing conditions' died from the chemical and biological attacks. The girls from the future were all left with reproductive issues. Very few babies were born in all of the futures. Even fewer of them survived.

Savannah's concern made John wonder what was really going on there. He was worried about the operation being conducted in the daylight. Now he was worried about the nature of the operation and exactly what the team would face.

"What's Savannah getting at?" John asked.

John Henry was more concerned as well after Savannah's questions.

"I'm checking now." John Henry said.

John decided to speak with Savannah. He wanted to know more. It seemed like he was missing something.

"Hi, Savannah, tell me what you're thinking." John said.

Savannah was a little surprised John called her directly. She felt something was off about the location as soon as it was identified as a closed supermarket. Her suspicions only continued to get worse the more she thought about it.

"What would Skynet need with giant freezers and refrigerators?" Savannah asked. "Could they be doing something with Terminator sheath production with all the cold rooms? It could also be for some biological storage. Maybe there is research of some type going on there. It's a location where no one would think to look for any of those things."

It wasn't something John wanted to hear. He knew those were some of the weapons Skynet used in the future. They might want to get a head start. If they could unleash toxins into the environment now, they could deliver a serious blow without destroying any infrastructure. They could use HK drones to deploy the virus in the atmosphere around different countries in the world. Millions would probably die initially. Depending upon what the virus or toxins were, it could kill billions.

John Henry continued to check for information. Savannah's concerns bothered him as well. It wasn't long ago when a 'mystery virus' was introduced into the world. Nearly a fifth of the world's population on all seven continents was infected. Millions died from it. There was some speculation the virus was actually created and released by Skynet operatives. They wanted to test the effectiveness if they would use a more deadly virus. Based on his calculations, some of the toxins released in the future, would kill at least half the Earth's population if they were released in the same way as the 'mystery virus'.

"We're looking into it right now." John Henry said.

They already terminated several scientists and chemists who were known to aid Skynet in the future. Maybe it was time they started to terminate more potential candidates rather than just the known collaborators. They would need to look at all of the people who stayed at the Syndicate casino once Skynet became affiliated with it. Any of those individuals who were compromised through gambling debts or other vices, would need to be looked at in detail. They would probably need to conduct a few more terminations than they anticipated. It was the only way to be sure.

Savannah thought some things could be ruled out while other ones needed to be considered. Until they actually checked, nothing could be ruled out for sure.

"I can't imagine a Skynet mainframe being set up in such a location." Savannah said. "It may be part of a Terminator production line, or possibly some type of biological or chemical storage area. I think we need to know more before we actually attack. We don't want to inadvertently release some type of toxin into the environment."

John Henry drew a positive hit on Savannah's earlier question.

"I'm showing high energy usage at the location." John Henry said. "They're most likely using the refrigeration or freezer sections, it may be both. There's a lot of electrical wiring inside of a supermarket. They could have a number of things plugged in around the location"

Savannah was very worried about the personnel on the ground already. John was in charge since he was back in the Command Center.

"I think we need to know more before we act at this point." Savannah said. "It's your call now, John."

She refrained from referring to him as 'General'. She didn't want to sound derogatory. She knew sometimes when Cameron was upset and didn't like John's input, it was how she referred to him. Maybe it depended upon the circumstances if she would use the term or not.

John understood what Savannah indicated. She wanted him to hold the operation from going further. He appreciated she worked through the chain of command. It seldom happened on an operation Cameron was on, if they even knew about it until it was over. There were probably some they never knew about.

"I need Gail to hold for a few minutes. It applies to Cam's team as well." John said. "We need to figure out what we've stumbled across. This doesn't appear to be a few random Grays. There might be a whole can of worms. We need to find out more about what's inside, and what they're working on. Hopefully it can be done without an attack on the building first."

Gail halted her entry as soon as Savannah began to question the nature of the location. She understood how valuable Savannah's info it was. She raised a lot of good questions as to what exactly was going on inside of the old supermarket.

"Affirmative…." Gail said. "I see Cam and Holly across the way. They're holding as well."

John hadn't heard any gunfire, but he wanted to verify no contact was initiated.

"Have you spotted any Grays yet?" John asked.

Gail checked the area thoroughly before she made her first move. Nothing changed since then. She didn't spot movement of any kind. No one challenged her, or shot at her.

"Negative. No one's been detected. There are no guards or cameras I can see." Gail said.

Cam checked around her area again.

"We haven't spotted anyone or any security devices." Cam said.

The more information Savannah heard, the more red flags went off in her head. She needed to make her position clear immediately. A lot of things didn't add up. The location and low profile were just two of them.

"Something is off there." Savannah said. "None of this is right. They're trying too hard not to be noticed or make it look like they're not trying to watch anything."

John could see it now as well. It was clear something wasn't right at the location.

"I feel it too." John said. "I think there's a whole lot more going on than we've been able to detect. It's probably a good thing they don't have surveillance set up to watch over everything. Our troops should be undetected currently. I think it's better if we keep it the same way for now."

Savannah wanted to work within the chain of command, but she didn't think a little bit of 'influence' from her would hurt in this situation. She was aware if any of the Terminators were a little hesitant to follow John's orders, they would be a little more inclined to listen to her recommendation. She wanted it to apply to not only the Terminators who were there, but to the Terminators on the way who hadn't arrived yet. Her recommendation should apply to Cameron as well.

"I recommend everyone fallback for now. If there's something biological or chemical in there, we could unleash it ourselves if we're not careful." Savannah said. "I don't want to risk it."

John understood the urgency of Savannah's recommendation and who all it would apply to.

"I want everyone to withdraw from the immediate area." John said. "Try to secure whatever door you entered from as best as possible. It's doubtful they have some type of a roving patrol, but we don't know for sure. If the door doesn't move, they shouldn't look any further, if they even check. If they want to keep a low profile, I don't think they will have any type of a patrol."

Cam and Holly watched to make sure Gail pulled out and then exited from the location. They weren't sure she would withdraw and might attempt to press the attack herself.

Savannah called earlier and asked Cam and Holly to keep an eye on Gail.

Gail followed the rules. It was only because Savannah recommended everyone fallback.

John Henry verified the team pulled back both visually from the drone footage and from their trackers.

"Everyone is away from the structure." John Henry said. "The door is secured."

John wanted to know more about the target location. The fact there was a tie in from the Syndicate controlled casino compromised by Skynet, only added to the mystery. There could be dozens of properties controlled by Skynet the same way the old Supermarket was through someone compromised at the Syndicate casino hotel.

"We need to see what this place is a bigger part of." John said. "There needs to be other things connected to it in some way."

It appeared the Grays were trying to hide here and lay low. The power usage was the giveaway. There wouldn't be very much, if any, power usage if the old supermarket was shut down like it appeared to be.

The Grays were up to something while trying to keep it very low key.

Earlier:

Anna and Young Allison returned home after their run.

"You need to get cleaned up." Anna said.

Young Allison wanted to get down into the bunker. She tried to brush off Anna's suggestion.

"I barely broke a sweat." Young Allison said.

Anna wanted to remind Young Allison of her importance.

"You should always look after yourself." Anna said. "Cameron always wants you to look your best. Hygiene is very important."

Young Allison was well aware what some of her 'functions' would be in the future, as well as the use of her body to produce a child for Cameron.

"Oh, brother…." Young Allison said. "I already know what I need to do. Let's get the full run down on the operation first. I want to do the laundry too."

Anna wanted to provide Young Allison with additional time.

"I can do it." Anna said.

Young Allison knew it was important she didn't shirk her responsibilities.

"So can I." Young Allison said. "I want to do the work I'm responsible for."

Anna didn't want her to forget about her academic work either.

"What about your chemistry studies?" Anna asked.

Young Allison didn't think she would have any trouble multitasking. It was something she often did anyway.

"I'll work on those while we monitor the operation." Young Allison said.

Young Allison went to her room and grabbed a few books.

Anna noted there were several additional books.

"Those are history books." Anna said.

Young Allison wanted to make sure she could find out everything about the past before she left. She wanted to make sure she didn't change anything. Whatever was in the books is what should have happened because it happened in the past. Even if someone changed it in the future, it would still be the past at this point.

"I need to know everything about the time period we're going to in the past." Young Allison said. "I asked Cameron specifically to get me these books."

Anna wanted to point out what was done, was done.

"If they changed anything, or we did, those books will only show what we changed things to." Anna said. "There is no way to know if anything has changed unless we see or do it ourselves."

Young Allison wanted to cover all of the bases.

"I'm also checking online newspapers from the areas we're likely to visit." Young Allison said.

Anna tilted her head slightly.

"How do you know which areas those will be?" Anna asked.

Young Allison didn't know what would happen in the past. She could only try to use some logic. She knew logic didn't always play out.

"Hopefully it will be the areas where they constructed the various TDE locations at." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't care for what Young Allison indirectly indicated.

"Are you expecting trouble?" Anna asked.

Young Allison believed with a group of Terminators in the past, there were bound to be a few changes whether they were planned or not.

"Yes." Young Allison said. "I'm searching for anything which may indicate there was trouble in those areas."

They entered the bunker.

Anna was immediately updated as soon as she plugged in. She was a little surprised with the sudden change of events.

"John has issued a withdrawal." Anna said. "Everyone is out of the building."

Young Allison began to look over the various monitors. It sounded like there was a potential problem in the works.

"What did we miss?" Young Allison asked. "There doesn't appear to have been any shooting or explosions."

Young Allison wanted to see the satellite map with the location of everyone.

"I see Savannah and Cameron are on their way." Anna said.

The information was no surprise to Young Allison. It also reminded her of her future.

"Would you expect anything less?" Young Allison asked. "I'm going to be going with her soon."

Anna didn't want Young Allison to get too far out in front of herself. She was aware Savannah would attempt to put the brakes on it as much as possible.

"Nothing needs to be rushed." Anna said. "Things still need to be determined."

Young Allison referred to the near future as well as what would happen in the past.

"We both know it will be sooner, rather than later." Young Allison said. "I'm going to miss Summer for all of time we are gone."

Anna wanted to remind Young Allison's about the realities of life.

"Life is about choices." Anna said. "Everything is a 'trade off' of some type. There is some type of 'cost' associated with everything. Every action seems to have a reaction, even if the reaction may happen at a much later date."

Young Allison frowned and let her breath out slowly.

"I guess it is." Young Allison said.

Anna didn't want Young Allison to dwell on 'what ifs'.

"You should start on your chemistry." Anna said.

Young Allison already opened her book. She looked over at Anna.

"What are you going to do?" Young Allison asked.

Anna wanted to run with the idea Young Allison floated earlier. If she found anything relevant she could direct Young Allison to those specific areas to review the information herself.

"I'm going to start reading every local newspaper I can find from the early to mid Sixties." Anna said. "I think you may be onto something with the local news stories."

Once Anna started to look, she decided some of the bombings and shootings of the time period weren't actually from the groups they were attributed to. Someone else may have taken the rap for whatever was done by someone in the Resistance group. There was a vast amount of civil unrest in certain locations for a multitude of different reasons, even if some of them may have overlapped. There were riots in various cities sparked by different things. It made her wonder who sparked some of them.

Were some of those events initiated to mask something else? If someone wanted to do something and not have anyone talk about it, the best way to do it was to create a giant distraction which everyone looked at instead. She also realized it may not be the Resistance who was behind any of them. There were other groups out there with access to a TDE.

There was also the possibility there could be other Terminators or individuals who experienced a 'temporal error'. They knew about one from Cameron's experience. 'Myron Stark' went to a lot of trouble to set the stage to complete his mission nearly a century later.

Young Allison would like to have the information. She believed it would lead them to something specific in the past.

"Thanks, Anna." Young Allison said. "I think it's how I'll find Cammy and Sheila. I don't think either one of them will have any hesitation settling any personal scores they need to deal with."

It made Young Allison think about what Sheila and Cammy indicated about their run-ins with the Syndicate when they were in the past. It seemed they still needed to settle a personal score, even in the present. She thought they did a pretty good job of doing so when they made a 'forceful unscheduled withdrawal' from the Syndicate casino.

Anna was afraid they would find a whole lot more than Cammy and Sheila. Two Terminators could do a lot of damage in a very short time. They could also operate very clandestinely to make changes to events, or even people. Nobody would know.

Samantha could see Riley was tired. She didn't want to push things too much. It was evident Riley was doing a lot more than she was doing previously.

"Why don't you rest for a while or work on your studies." Samantha said. "If Precious needs to nurse, I'll come and get you."

Riley could see Samantha offered her a break. She really appreciated it.

"I need to learn to do this." Riley said. "Cameron has helped us achieve the most precious gift with Precious. I need to do this. I want to be a good mother."

Samantha didn't want Riley to worry about anything.

"I'll be right here for any assistance you need." Samantha said.

Riley smiled at Samantha. She felt more confident in herself now.

"I really appreciate this." Riley said.

Samantha wanted to offer Riley some suggestions to further improve herself. She would like to go to the store with Riley. Until her sheath was Resequenced, it wasn't going to happen. There were a few other alternatives.

"Send Derek out to the store again on the next recon. He can bring home the things you want to learn to cook." Samantha said. "Sarah, or any of the girls could pick things up. I think Claire might be a good option as well. I can help you with anything."

Derek was there and took in the entire conversation. He was very happy Riley seemed to be improving with every hour. It was a dramatic turnaround. He was sure Riley was on a one way path there might not be any return from.

He was unsure about one thing. Why did Cameron really provide them with Samantha? Was it to assist Riley, or was it to protect Precious from Riley?

It was a terrible thought he couldn't get it out of his head. He heard stories of mothers becoming overwhelmed and kill their own children. Drowning and suffocation seemed to be two of the methods used most often. They were silent and effective against an infant. They couldn't fight back. It sent a chill down his spine.

Allison saw Summer understood the implications of what her mother told her. It wasn't a pleasant thought for anyone. Unfortunately it was a historical reality from her future.

Summer said she was open to the idea.

What they didn't know was Summer was for the idea for the peace of mind it brought her mother. Cameron and Young Allison always told her the truth about everything. There was a lot she knew. She knew the future could depend on her at some point. Young Allison told her it almost everyday. She was ready to step into her big sister's shoes if the need ever arose.

She began to look at images and videos on the internet as to what her future functions would most likely involve. She was educated and understood how everything worked biologically and the traditional norms. Her personal tastes were outside of those norms.

Vanna spotted Allison and Claire. They were done with their talk. Neither one of them looked like they were visually upset, so it was a good thing.

"How did it go?" Vanna asked.

Allison wanted to tell Vanna the truth about what they uncovered.

"It went better than we thought. We found some other information I could have done without." Allison said. "It seems Cameron and Young Allison have both been 'working' on Summer without us knowing. It seems most of it is from Young Allison directly."

It in itself was disturbing to Allison how a teenager planned for her own demise in the future, when she still needed to live her whole life yet. She hadn't even assumed any of her roles, and set up her own replacement. It really made her hate Skynet even more.

Vanna knew the future was unpredictable in many ways. It troubled her to know Young Allison needed to contemplate her demise. She didn't think they were anywhere close to such an event occurring. There were a few things they were given some insight into.

"Does it really surprise you?" Vanna asked. "We all saw what Metal Summer looked like."

Allison was able to get a look into the future and how beautiful her younger sister would be.

"Metal Summer was a total knockout." Allison said. "I didn't think anyone could ever look better than Cameron."

Vanna felt a surge of excitement.

"Metal Summer did, we all saw it." Vanna said.

Allison remembered how Cameron banished Metal Summer to the distant future.

"Now she's gone." Allison said.

The more Vanna thought about Metal Summer, the more excited and stimulated she became.

"But not forgotten." Vanna said.

Allison looked around to make sure no one could hear her.

"Nope…." Allison said then whispered. "I can be 'Metal Summer' if you want. We can leave the lights out and your imagination can do the rest."

Vanna didn't think telling Allison she already did it many times would go over so well. She figured she might as well up the excitement level for both of them.

"If you're 'Metal Summer', then I'm 'Savannah'." Vanna whispered.

Allison didn't think telling Vanna she already did it many times would go over so well.

When the lights were out, it was a pretty good bet whoever was sharing, was sharing with someone different in their mind than the person they were actually touching and who was touching them. There were many choices from which to choose. It was something they all did. Life was good and full of variety, both real and imagined.

Both of them secretly shared with 'Riley' and 'Sarah' many times. No one ever spoke of it or mentioned it at all. It seemed to be a taboo subject, but the point was mute since it already happened in their mind many times. They were both sure it would happen for real at some point in time. The future had much to offer. Not the future they were from, but the future they helped create.

Life was good in Paradise.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

I Feel It Too

What are feelings
Where do they come from
Do they actually exist
Anyone can succumb

Feelings start out small
Then rapidly expand
They seldom work out
As one may have planned

It seems it's very easy
For feelings to take control
Everyone makes the mistake
That feelings will make them whole

Feelings change who people are
They cloud their mind
They lose rationality
It makes them blind

They are a powerful force
They grow and accrue
I feel it from you
I feel it too

Nobody