Chapter 979

Elsewhere

The truck departed from the back of the dilapidated supermarket. Based upon the fact there were Grays and a Terminator inside, the structure was anything but dilapidated. The front of it maintained the appearance of being abandoned. A false wall was constructed to conceal what was going on in the back of the old supermarket. Anyone who looked in the windows in the front would only see the remains of a grocery store now out of business. There were abandoned strip malls along both sides of it.

A drone from altitude kept track of the truck. They still didn't know what was going on for sure inside of the old supermarket. They didn't know if the refrigerator truck could carry any type of chemical or biological warfare agents. It was locked up with a missile in case it was necessary. It wasn't something the Command Center wanted to use if it could be avoided. It was just a precaution.

Hanna and Holly were in position to follow the truck once it left. They knew the approximate route it would take to leave the location. They were concealed on a side street in an alley as they waited for it to pass. A few minutes later it did. They pulled out to enter the main street. It was a little more crowded than they anticipated.

"There are quite a few cars." Holly said.

Hanna was a little surprised. It wasn't too busy earlier.

"It looks like we get to ride out a little traffic jam." Hanna said.

The box truck was in the other lane. It seemed to be moving even slower than the lane they were in. They started to creep up on it a car length at a time.

John Henry monitored where all their troops were at. He didn't like everything he saw.

"Hanna's team is in too close to the truck for safety." John Henry said. "I recommend they fall back."

John saw it too. He wasn't sure why they closed up so much.

"Hanna, don't get too close." John said. "We have them locked up with a drone."

Hanna didn't feel they did anything wrong. It was the circumstances which dictated the action.

"It's the traffic." Hanna said.

Holly quickly looked at their options.

"We can turn off the main street and parallel them." Holly said. "We could pull into one of the businesses here and wait for a few minutes."

Hanna wasn't sure if she wanted to actually park.

"We're dropping back." Hanna said.

John Henry wanted to reassure them help would soon be on the way. He didn't have a definite timeline.

"Cam and Savannah will be behind you soon." John Henry said.

Holly was fairly certain Savannah would want to stay with Cameron. She didn't think they would need any help.

"I think we have it under control." Holly said. "With the drone overhead, we know we've got good fire support if we need it. I don't think we will."

John knew when not to push. He checked the other areas they took under observation.

"Cammy, is there any movement in the front?" John asked.

Cammy had separated from Gail earlier when Hanna and Holly needed to follow the box truck when it left the old supermarket. She took up station in the front of the old supermarket.

"There's nothing yet." Cammy said.

Gail needed to be extra alert since Cammy left her position with her.

"There's no change in the back." Gail said. "When the Terminator went inside, he secured the door with all of the drop bolts and barricade bar. It would probably be easier to go through the wall at this point than it would be to try to force the door open."

Cameron heard what Gail said. It reminded her when she needed to do something similar. It was when they were in pursuit of the Turk. It took her a little longer to get through the wall than anticipated. It allowed the individual they were after to escape initially. He didn't go far. It led to a series of unfortunate events. They were events she would rather not think about.

Sheila was worried about Ally. She knew Ally` ran to where Cameron was at to confront the three homeless individuals headed down the alley. They weren't certain yet if they were associates of the Ogre. If they were, there was bound to be trouble. More than likely there would be three more terminations.

"Maybe I should go and help out Ally and Cameron." Sheila said.

John didn't want to lose the coverage on the building. They knew a Terminator was inside. He wanted to keep plenty of their Terminators close.

"Remain at your post." John said. "They have it under control."

John hoped they would be able to keep it under control. He didn't actually know what was going to happen. Everything was pretty much guesswork. He also had the success rate for the team to go by.

Riley made dinner. She wanted to try and cook some other things she normally wouldn't even attempt. She tried a few in the past and they all ended in failure. It seemed the help she received from Sarah didn't actually help very much. She wasn't actually sure if it made things worse or not. The one thing Sarah did help her with was pancakes. They just needed to be flipped at the right time. The heat on the stove needed to be just right. Things were different today. Samantha was there to offer her help and guidance.

Samantha never actually cooked before herself but she contained programming on how to do it and could follow the instructions. She thought it was almost like building a mechanical device. There was a set amount of parts, which were the ingredients. They needed to be assembled or combined in the proper order to achieve the end results. It seemed it took a little more finesse to pull it off with cooking. There could be unforeseen variables. If the temperature of a pan or the oven were off by a few degrees, it affected the overall outcome of the product.

"Shake the pan a little to level the mix." Samantha said. "It will help when you stack the layers. You don't want them to be domed. The flatter you can make them, the better the result will be."

Riley looked at Samantha and smiled. She was more worried they would be doomed rather than domed. She wanted to try and explain her inexperience.

"I don't bake much." Riley said. "You seem to know what you're doing. I actually don't cook much."

Samantha tilted her head slightly to the side.

"I've never cooked before." Samantha said. "I was going by what it said in the instructions."

Riley did remember something about it, but forgot once she started. She usually needed to look in the trash to find the instructions on the box when she started to run into trouble before. By then, it was usually too late to salvage whatever she was working on.

She went over everything she was doing. She also needed to see how Precious was.

"I need to check on Precious." Riley said.

Samantha didn't think it would be a problem at this stage of the operation. She was glad Riley remembered she needed to attend to Precious as well. She thought she was going to need to remind Riley in a few more minutes if she didn't act.

"Go ahead." Samantha said.

Riley left to see how Vanna was doing.

Allison just finished changing Precious.

Riley checked with Vanna and Allison. Everything was good and they were going to put Precious in her crib to take a nap.

Riley thought maybe she should try and do a little more.

"I'll do it." Riley said.

Riley wore an apron with flour dust on it in several places.

Vanna didn't want the flour to get on Precious.

"I'll do it, Riley." Vanna said. "Then we'll go. We can come back here, or go to our room. I'll do whatever you want."

Riley was very pleased with all the help.

"Thanks." Riley said. "You're all helping me a lot. You can do your own things too. I'm really sorry I've imposed so much."

Allison sniffed the air a little. It made her feel a little hungry.

"We can come back later and try whatever you're baking." Allison said. "It smells good."

Vanna felt the things she tried to make before left a little to be desired. She thought it applied to all of the girls from the future she was from.

"We aren't very good cooks." Vanna said.

Allison felt she was as bad as Vanna for making things. She worked with Young Allison and her mother to improve. She thought her mother could help Riley too. It seemed her mother knew all the tricks and shortcuts. Somehow she seemed to make everything work. Even if there was a problem, she was able to pull it out and still turn out a masterpiece. She was able to cook multiple things using different methods at the same time.

"My mom is a good cook." Allison said. "She would love to teach you how to cook. She tries to teach me, but I never seem to make things as good as she does. Young Allison can make all kinds of things. She learns it all on the first try. Summer does too."

Allison was aware whenever Summer made something, she usually adjusted or recombined the ingredients. She said she needed to 'tweak' the recipe to get the most out of the ingredients available. Whatever she did, everything came out perfect and tasted excellent.

Riley felt a little insecure thinking about it. She couldn't help but think of herself as a failure. There was nothing in life she was able to master. Everything she touched was more of a disaster. She hadn't been much of a soldier in the future. She didn't think she was much of a wife either. On top of it all, she felt she was a terrible mother. She wasn't even adequately able to provide for her child. It didn't matter if her body was the failure, it was her body and 'she' was inside of it. It made her a failure by extension.

"I think it's how everyone is." Riley said. "Some people are good at everything. Some are good at a few things. Then there are the others like me who don't seem to be good at anything."

Vanna didn't want Riley to sell herself short.

"I don't think Derek would share the same opinion of you." Vanna said. "I don't. We don't."

Riley wasn't so sure about it. Derek seemed to like what any woman could offer.

"I think any willing female would make Derek happy." Riley said. "We all have the same 'equipment'. I'm sure most everyone is better at using it than I am. Why would it be different from anything else I do?"

Samantha came to check on Riley. She heard Riley's statement and checked her files. She thought there was something relevant to add.

"I think it is how the 'equipment' is used. It makes the difference along with its owner." Samantha said. "In love, none of it should matter. It's the person inside who matters, not what can be done with the outside. The 'equipment' is simply a secondary means of expressing the love between two individuals."

Vanna, Allison, and Riley looked at each other, but said nothing. Everyone did have the same 'equipment'. It was all different. Each person's 'equipment' was as different as their body type, or their face. In a relationship it was who was behind the 'equipment' which actually mattered, not the 'equipment' itself.

The girls left to put Precious in her room.

Vanna set Precious down and covered her with a blanket in her crib.

Riley thanked Vanna and Allison as they left.

She checked Precious and headed back to the kitchen area.

Samantha took one look around the room and at Precious and then followed Riley. She made sure the room was in order and there were no immediate threats to Precious.

"Where were we?" Riley asked.

Samantha looked over at Riley and smiled

"We were about to make the frosting." Samantha said. "It's the best part."

The first time Riley tried a piece of cake in the past, the present, was a real eye opener. She never really tasted anything like it in the future. She heard people talk about it who remembered. There were a lot of things people talked about they remembered. Most of it was gone forever. The only way to get any of it back was to be where she was at in the past, the present.

She remembered when she took her first bite of frosting. She never tasted anything so sweet in her entire life. She actually coughed a few times when she did. She didn't care much for coffee, even though she tried it a few times in the future. She found black coffee rather soothing after eating a bite of frosting. Alone, one was too sweet, and the other was too bitter. Together they canceled each other out.

"It's really sweet." Riley said. "Is it what you like?"

Samantha found a file which indicated many people liked the frosting the most.

"I don't know." Samantha said. "I've never tried any."

Samantha only tried a few small bites of food since she started to help Riley cook and bake. She only ever tried a few small bites of anything. They weren't really more than just a taste. She had files from some of the other girls as to some of the things they tried. Most of them never tried more than just a taste of something so they could have a reference as to exactly what it was going forward. There seemed to be one universal food item all of the Terminators would try without hesitation. It was ice cream. It didn't matter what flavor it was. She decided she wanted to try some as well.

Her files indicated the more warnings which went off in her HUD about food items, seemed the humans would like them the most. She found it rather strange. The most damaging items to their health, were the ones they preferred. Maybe Skynet needed to rethink the best way to terminate humans. It didn't need to poison them. It just needed to feed them junk food. They would terminate themselves.

Cameron and Ally moved to intercept and confront the men who were about to enter the target zone. They looked homeless, but they could be Grays in disguise. They could be Fanatics, or from the anti-Metal group. They might be reinforcements or an attack force. The fact the Terminator didn't go with the truck, set off a few red flags, especially with the unknown group approaching.

One of the men smiled faintly at Cameron and Ally as they moved from the side of a building.

"Nice day for a walk." The first man said.

Cameron and Ally continued their trek to stand in front of the three men approaching.

"Nice day for a walk." Cameron repeated.

Cameron and Ally now blocked the path of the three men.

Ally looked at the men, one at a time.

"Nice day for a talk." Ally said.

The three men looked at each other. It was clear to them they were being stopped. There were plenty of people to detain them. Most of the encounters never ended well.

"We don't want any trouble." The first man said.

The man looked a little nervous at the encounter with the two beautiful looking girls.

"Who are you?" The second man asked Cameron.

Cameron smiled at them and tried to play it cool.

"We're here to help." Cameron said.

The third man got a look of disgust on his face. He didn't need people trying to run his life. He thought he was doing a good job. He was just a little down on his luck right now, he just needed a little time and space to get back up on his feet.

"We don't need any 'do-gooders'." The third man said. "We can manage."

Cameron noticed they looked around as if they were trying to locate something.

"Is there something you're looking for?" Cameron asked. "Maybe I can assist you."

The first man looked at the other two. Maybe he would tell her.

"We're looking for our friend." The first man said. "We haven't seen her. We were worried something happened to her. Bad things happen around here."

Cameron decided to offer them a 'carrot'. She hoped she didn't need to use a 'stick'.

"Are you looking for Susan?" Cameron asked.

The men quickly looked at each other. They looked concerned.

"Do you know Susie?" The second man asked.

Cameron smiled at the men again. She wanted to diffuse the situation. She also hoped they might be able to provide them with some more intelligence.

"We took her to a shelter." Cameron said.

Cameron could see Cam hang back. She was ready to move up if necessary. So far the men didn't appear to be a threat. It could change in an instant.

The third man seemed to soften his demeanor and tone.

"Did you and your sister do it?" The third man asked. "Did you help Susie?"

Cameron figured it wouldn't hurt to play up their roll some. If they could get the men to trust them, or at least not be afraid of them, they might be able to get some more intel.

"We got her some hot food and took her there." Cameron said. "She was scared of someone. She said they were coming and she was afraid. She was hiding. She actually tried to warn us to move away from the area before we were attacked. She tried to help us so we decided to help her as well. I wanted her to feel safe and protected. She was very worried about what was around here. I didn't want her to feel terrified anymore."

The first man developed a disgusted and angry look on his face.

"It's the Ogre." The first man said. "We heard he was back. He likes to hurt the girls. He hurt Susan a few times. He did bad things to her and beat on her face. She used to be real pretty. He told her he didn't want other men to look at her anymore. He wanted her for himself every time he was around. Susan was correct when she told you this area wasn't safe. You shouldn't be here. The Ogre is really mean and he will hurt you if he gets his hands on you. He gets his hands on all of the females and a few of the males."

The other two men look nervously at each other with the last part of the first man's statement. They may have suffered at his hands, among other things, as well.

Cameron smiled.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about him." Cameron said.

It was clear the men cared about Susan as a person, more than as a female, or a sex object. She was their friend.

"He hurt Susie real bad the last time. It's why we came to see about her." The second man said. "We expected a fight if we needed to take her back and free her. The Ogre does bad things to her. She was really pretty a year ago. The Ogre beat her face to a pulp, twice. He did it so no one else would want her. I still care about her. She didn't do anything to deserve be treated like she was and disfigured."

Cameron wanted to see what information she could get them to divulge without the need to use force. She was still prepared to do it if necessary. She thought the best course of action was to remove the men from the immediate area. They would probably be more pliable with a full stomach and a clean place to stay.

"I can take you to her." Cameron said. "I can get you all a healthy meal."

The third man looked a little apprehensive again.

"Why would you do anything for us?" The third man asked. "You don't know us and we don't know you."

Cameron smiled at them and spoke about what she felt she learned.

"Sometimes it's nice to have help." Cameron said. "Susan helped us, we can help you. She could probably use the comfort of some friends right now. She was really worried something horrific was going to happen to her. She wanted to go to a safer place. We took her to where she wanted to go."

Cameron talked to the men for a short time. They were able to give her a full rundown on everything. Cammy pulled up in her SUV a few minutes later.

"My sister will take you." Cameron said.

The men looked at Cameron and Cammy and then at Ally.

"You have a twin too?" The first man asked.

Cameron glanced at Ally and saw she was displeased at his statement. The idea Cammy looked like her twin, but Ally only looked like her sister, usually her 'older sister', upset Ally. She liked it when everyone was happy, she wanted Ally to feel included.

"We're triplets." Cameron said. "There are three of us. We're all identical."

Cameron saw Ally smile at her statement.

"You're all real nice and pretty too." The first man said. "All three of you are."

The third man looked over Cameron, Cammy, and Ally. He concentrated his focus on Ally.

"The pure natural beauty of you three is very evident." The third man said. "Natural beauty has its merits. It really says something about an individual who relies on it instead of other things."

Ally smiled when she realized the man actually referred to her. She may not look Tight like Cameron, Cammy, Camille, and Cam, all the time, but she still possessed the natural beauty of Allison. She needed to look like Allison so she could step in and assume her role at any point, especially if there was some type of a threat. It most likely would be from Skynet.

Cameron was pleased to see Ally was now satisfied.

"Thank you. They will both go with you. They will get you some food and take you to see Susan." Cameron said. "She will really appreciate seeing three friendly faces. Thank you for going to see her."

Cammy stowed all the gear before she drove over. She didn't want Savannah to have to take off her vest and stow her gear in the other SUV.

As soon as the men got into the SUV with Cammy and Ally, they drove off.

Cam moved up.

"I'll take Ally's position." Cam said.

Cameron was satisfied with the arrangement.

"Savannah and I will take the front." Cameron said.

Savannah drove up and picked up Cameron. She was glad there were no more terminations and hoped perhaps they could prevent a future Scavenger or two. From what she heard, the three men didn't sound aggressive, even if they were willing to use force to get Susan back from the Ogre if he had her. It was a very noble gesture on their part. She hoped there was more they could do for them. She didn't like the fact the Ogre marred Susan's beauty, just to destroy it. It reminded her of what happened to Jesse and Vanna.

She didn't know if there was anything they could do about it going forward. The living conditions would need to change for her. The drug use would need to stop. She believed the two conditions fed off of each other. She would think about it for a while before she became further involved with anything.

John followed the events. He wanted Savannah out of there. Now she was with Cameron. Things were back to the way they were when they arrived. As long as Savannah was with Cameron, she was in the most danger.

"What just happened there?" John asked.

John Henry saw it as fast thinking by Cameron. He understood Cameron wanted to keep Savannah near her. What she was able to do with the homeless men allowed for it to happen.

"Cameron orchestrated a way to keep Savannah at the location." John Henry said.

John made a face, shook his head slightly, and let out a slow breath. He didn't want to get into an argument with Cameron at a critical time like this. He needed to deal with the rest of the operation as well.

"What about Holly and Hanna?" John asked. "Now they don't have back up."

As soon as John finished his statement, John Henry received an update from CamNet.

"CamNet has just informed me they do now." John Henry said.

John was aware CamNet watched out for everyone too. It was evident CamNet was active in the background.

"I'm not even going to ask." John said.

John Henry believed it was the best course of action when dealing with CamNet.

"I think it's best." John Henry said.

They both understood CamNet would concentrate her efforts on Savannah and Cameron. They were well aware CamNet would respond to suggestions and ideas from the Young bunker as well. Some of those decisions were going to bypass the Command Center. They were aware when it occurred, those decisions were always the correct ones. It was something to think about.

Cameron and Savannah were together in the SUV. They'd moved around to the front of the building where they took up their position of surveillance.

Savannah was afraid Cameron would terminate the three men when she first encountered them. She was satisfied with how it turned out so far. She wanted to know for sure to see if she was right in her assumption of what Cameron would do.

"Were you thinking about terminating them?" Savannah asked.

Cameron did think about it. Why risk three future Scavengers on the loose. If the men were aggressive, rude, or belligerent, things may have turned out differently.

"The thought crossed my mind." Cameron said.

Savannah thought she knew what specifically made her reconsider.

"It was when the one man called Susan, Susie, you changed your mind." Savannah said. "I felt it too when I heard it."

Cameron learned from Savannah there were many different types of people and different ways to deal with them.

"It was." Cameron said. "It was a name used as a term of endearment. I could tell he cared about her. It was clear at that point they wanted to help her, not abuse her. It was clear the men were willing to risk a violent confrontation with the Ogre to get her back from him to protect her. They didn't sound like future Scavengers to me, but more than likely what would become the victims of future Scavengers."

Savannah smiled at Cameron and touched her cheek.

"Thank you." Savannah said. "I know it could have all gone down differently."

Cameron felt the warm gesture from Savannah. It made her feel good inside.

"It didn't." Cameron said. "Now it's time to get back to business."

Cameron checked the drone footage on the truck. It was stuck in traffic. She was aware being stuck in traffic was never good when someone was being tailed. It meant the chase vehicle was stuck as well. It made them a target with nowhere to run.

Young Allison observed everything and listened to the conversations as she studied. She closed her book. She monitored all of the visual input but they received from the area of the old supermarket, and the drone following the truck.

"Have the drone on the truck zoom out." Young Allison said.

Anna became concerned. It was clear Young Allison was onto something.

"Have we overlooked something?" Anna asked.

Young Allison didn't like the location they were in. She wondered if there was someplace specific they intended to go. If there wasn't, they could have made a better traffic choice a couple of times. They didn't.

"I'm not sure if we missed something but I'm concerned as to the location they are currently at. Why would the truck take the route it took?" Young Allison asked. "There's a lot of traffic. It was a choice they made on purpose."

Anna noticed how the other vehicles were 'trapped' when they were stuck in traffic.

"There's nowhere for any car to go easily." Anna said. "It would be easy to ambush someone. They would be trapped."

It was exactly Young Allison's concern. She figured if someone wanted to set someone up who was tailing them, there wouldn't be a better way to do it.

"It's what I was thinking." Young Allison said.

Anna immediately issued a warning through CamNet. It took a few minutes and some maneuvering but the chase car was able to get out of the traffic jam.

"Hanna and Holly have fallen back." Anna said.

Young Allison believed they had good coverage of the truck from the drone.

"Maybe being over a few streets would be better for them. The drone has the truck covered." Young Allison said. "What do the scans in the sky show? I know it's still daylight but maybe we need to think about additional drone coverage of our own."

Anna went over all of the available aerial information. She also understood what Young Allison wanted to happen.

"All is clear except normal air traffic. No hostile HK drones have been spotted." Anna said. "Do you want CamNet to start sending more drones to reinforce our operation?"

It was exactly what Young Allison wanted to happen. She wanted it to look like the decision came from CamNet instead of her.

"You know I like to cover all the bases. Make sure John Henry knows all this." Young Allison said. "I'm sure he does."

Anna knew what Young Allison's aspirations for the future were. She personally wanted her better protected than out in the field. It never hurt to make a suggestion.

"You will serve the Resistance well." Anna said. "Your place should be in the Command Center with John."

Young Allison smiled to herself. She understood her concern for her. She shuddered a little bit at the thought of some of the images she viewed on the internet. Did some of those things really need to be done? Did they need to be done the way they were done? She quickly pushed the images from her mind. She wanted to make sure Anna knew what she wanted.

"My place will be with Cameron and Savannah in the field." Young Allison said. "My interaction with John will be 'elsewhere'."

Anna frowned because she didn't want Young Allison in danger needlessly. As to what exactly Young Allison's interaction with John would be 'elsewhere' was obvious to everyone. She was still disturbed by some of the images she viewed on the internet of male and female interaction. She didn't see it as anything for anyone to look forward to. It was clear to her through personal observation it was a much more pleasant experience for two females to share together. Everyone was able to be satisfied in one of those situations. It didn't appear to always be the case with male and female interaction. From what she read in Cosmo, it seemed to back up her personal observation. It was usually eight to nine times out of ten the female was going to be left unsatisfied and without a 'finish' through traditional interaction with a male.

It made her wonder if they actually knew what they were missing or not. Maybe they were just conditioned by traditional norms and didn't realize what else was available out there. She figured as soon as things took a downhill turn, they would be more likely to find out about other things.

CamNet provided the conversation to Cameron which occurred between Young Allison and Anna. She smiled at what Young Allison indicated about her future 'interaction' with John.

There was an upset look on Savannah's face.

"NO." Savannah said. "It won't be 'elsewhere'."

Cameron was surprised Savannah received the conversation too.

"I didn't know you were listening." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't want anyone to make personal decisions for Young Allison. It included her as well.

"I didn't either." Savannah said. "There will be no 'elsewhere' for Young Allison. I won't allow it."

Cameron reminded Savannah why such 'interaction' would be necessary.

"John must be protected." Cameron said.

Savannah swallowed hard. It was her duty to protect Young Allison.

"Cameron, I'll take care of it." Savannah said. "I promise you. Don't do it to her. Please."

Cameron wanted to see how far Savannah would go to protect Young Allison.

"You can order me, us, on what to do or not to do." Cameron said.

Savannah didn't want to make a big issue out of this.

"I'll let Young Allison make all her own choices." Savannah said. "I want it to be the same as you've allowed me to do. Just don't push her. Anything like it should be because it's her choice and not anyone else's choice.

Cameron wanted to remind Savannah of her decisions.

"Have I ever pushed you?" Cameron asked.

Savannah didn't even need to think about it. Cameron did everything she could to assist her with their sexual desires.

"No, I've always acted on my own." Savannah said. "You have only facilitated my desires."

Savannah frowned a little.

"Do you regret any of your decisions?" Cameron asked.

Savannah felt there was more than one way to make her point about Young Allison.

"I only regret I didn't start sooner with 'everything'." Savannah said.

Savannah saw Cameron lower her left hand down to her side out of view.

"No one will push her." Cameron said.

Savannah smiled at Cameron and touched her cheek again. She was pretty sure she gave Cameron something to think about.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Elsewhere

When one opens up
What do they bare
Is it everything inside
That they've needed to bear

Does one take a chance
Do they risk and dare
Will they be accepted
Or be treated cruel and unfair

Just because one
Can another ensnare
Doesn't necessarily mean
They will end up a pair

Things go bad fast
They are hard to repair
They often get worse
As they become a nightmare

Always try to care
With the other learn to share
Never try to scare
Or they will go elsewhere

Nobody