Chapter 1308
Can I Touch One
Savannah watched Steve and Tom fire off a half dozen HE rounds each from their M203 grenade launchers. The projectiles simply went into the 'wall' and disappeared. They didn't hear the explosions. There was no smoke. Luckily there wasn't any shrapnel or return fire either. The grenades simply disappeared as if they never were.
She didn't like the situation at all. There were way too many unknowns they were dealing with. The unknown technology was more worrisome than it was marveled.
Savannah looked at the feed from Cam's body cam. It showed nothing but blackness. She wondered what else they could try.
"Maybe everyone can throw their Thermite grenades inside." Savannah said. "Will the SUV fit inside the opening? We can light it on fire and send it through."
It seemed like it would be big enough to get everyone's attention, especially if it was burning.
Cammy made a quick calculation. The mirrors would most likely be sheared off of the SUV. She looked inside. The keys were still in it. Some of the machinery inside of the building would be in its path.
"We need to move the drill press and work bench out of the way." Cam said. "It should clear the lathe."
They could hear the sound of a drone approaching very low. It was followed by the sound of another. It was clear something was about to happen.
They all received new information from John Henry.
Young Allison and Anna watched the barrage of HE rounds fired inside the portal. They just disappeared inside the 'wall' with no apparent effect or damage.
"Nothing has shown up on Cam's body cam." Anna said.
They heard Savannah suggest sending the SUV into the unseen opening. It seemed somewhat risky, especially if it was on fire first. What would happen if it got stuck? It could catch the whole building on fire. The gas tank could explode.
Young Allison wanted to try a harder hit. Their troops needed to fall back some.
"I want a drone to line up with the roll up door of the building from outside and fire its missiles into the opening." Young Allison said. "It can fire its minigun too."
Anna thought their troops should withdraw to the outside of the building for any type of extreme weapons fire. It might produce some adverse reaction. She felt they should error on the side of caution for the next part of the procedure.
"I think Cammy's and Steve's team need to fall back before it happens." Anna said. "We don't know what will happen when the drones will use so much ordnance. You need to be mindful of attracting too much attention to the location as well."
Young Allison wanted to play it as safe as possible for Savannah. Protecting the team was her primary concern. If unnecessary attention was attracted, they would find some way to 'spin it'. They always did.
"I'll take the heat. Let's proceed with the plan. Make it an 'order' from me." Young Allison said. "I want two drones waiting to evacuate them to take back off. I want them to fire their weapons one after the other. They can then resume their positions for evacuation afterwards. Keep 'Cherry Bomb' and 'Coltan Overcast' ready to carry out their original mission if there's a counterattack. They will come inside the building and give direct fire support."
Anna sent out the message.
"Two drones are moving into position." Anna said. "The teams have been notified. John Henry has taken care of everything."
Young Allison didn't want CamNet to take over John Henry's job. She wanted CamNet to work with him instead. It's what they were doing. She only wanted CamNet to act as a 'pinch hitter' if necessary. Anything was possible as the scenario played out. It all remained to be seen.
She already started work on another idea to strike back if necessary. It wasn't going to go over very well with everyone. She actually doubted it would go over well with anyone. It didn't matter. She was going to do it anyway. It was clear they weren't always going to like the way she did things. If she needed to hit hard, she was going to hit very hard.
Cammy didn't like the 'order' to pull out. It was issued by Young Allison so it needed to be obeyed without question. All the Terminators moved toward the roll up door as the first drone moved into position.
Savannah covered her ears as she passed directly underneath the drone. Cam was in the lead, Cammy was behind her. Steve and Tom brought up the rear. Steve set his body cam on the frame of the standard pass door before he exited. He wedged it in place and bent part of the frame in front of it. It was so it wouldn't fall or be knocked over easily. They weren't sure what results the attack by the drone would produce.
They would get footage from each drone and from Steve's body cam. It was the feed they all looked at now from behind the relative safety of the concrete wall of the building.
Savannah watched as the two drones lined up to take their place. It all happened very fast. They were only out of the building for fifteen seconds before they heard the first drone fire all four of its missiles and open up with the minigun. She figured the heat seeking missiles were fired at the air to surface missiles. They became their target. They would follow the missiles in front of them to wherever they were going. They didn't have any idea where they were going.
There were no primary or secondary explosions of any kind. None of the building was blown apart. The two drones both did the same thing in rapid succession.
Savannah moved up as the second drone pulled away to set back down in the parking lot. The interior of the building looked the same as before. It was as if nothing happened.
"It seems impossible there's no apparent reaction of any type." Savannah said. "There's no damage anywhere to the building itself. Where is everything going?"
Cammy wanted to find out. She wanted to find the 'sixth man'. She was still irritated because he was able to elude her previously. She was going to throw him around 'Terminator Style', to get some answers, when she was able to put the grab on him. She wanted to look at the area in detail.
"I'm going to take a closer look." Cammy said.
There was no way Savannah was going to allow anyone into the unknown where a massive amount of ordnance was fired with no apparent effect. She wanted to set a hard rule. She wasn't exactly sure what to call the anomaly.
"No one is going into the gateway." Savannah said. "I'm going to make it 'order'."
Cam wanted to do something. She could think of one other thing which might provoke a response. It seemed relatively simple to do.
"Maybe we can have John Henry cut the power soon." Cam said. "I'm sure it will produce some type of reaction. There's still a lot of power being used. There's no indication where it's going."
Savannah felt they were out of options. Maybe the images couldn't be transmitted back from the future or wherever the portal led. There was still one more option available with the body cam itself. She knew it was something which occurred at other locations where there was a Skynet jamming field in effect.
"I'll get Cam's body cam back. John Henry can then cut the power." Savannah said. "We might be able to get something off of her cam we can't see transmitted."
Tom stepped up. He didn't want Savannah to take an unnecessary risk. He felt she needed to take too many of them as it was.
"Let me retrieve it, Savannah." Tom said. "You should wait here."
Savannah was going to protest but it didn't look like Cammy or Cam was going to let her pass. Nothing was spoken but the body language was there. She wanted Tom to play it as safe as possible.
"OK." Savannah said. "Drag him out first and then retrieve the cam. Don't reach inside there. You should move away from the opening as fast as possible. I don't want anyone to shoot at you or attempt to pull you inside."
They watched on Steve's body cam as Tom hurried over and then hurried back. It looked like he was holding something else besides the cam.
Young Allison and Anna watched the footage from the two drones as they fired their weapons. The new all of those projectiles would travel until they hit something, or they ran out of momentum.
"Where's all the ordnance going?" Young Allison asked. "It has to be going somewhere. It's hard to believe we haven't seen any indication of what may have occurred. I would need to think someone on the other end, wherever, or whenever, is probably having a bad day right now."
Anna didn't have a clue. She checked other drone images from the outside.
"I have absolutely no idea." Anna said. "There's no apparent damage to the building anywhere else. All of the ordnance is going inside the portal. As to why we can't hear anything afterwards is a mystery in itself. No one there has heard or felt anything from the expended ordinance."
Young Allison wanted to make a statement. She considered sending for the backpack nuke. They could arm it and put it in the SUV and send it through. The only trouble was, she didn't know what would happen with the explosion. What would happen if some of the blast came back through the portal? It could cause massive damage and leave radiation contamination around the area. Without knowing where the other end of the portal was at, it would leave a big question as to where the nuclear blast and radiation would go.
She thought maybe she should try a less drastic approach first.
"I think it is time to cut the power." Young Allison said.
Anna thought it should be a decision made by Cammy or Savannah.
"I'll have John Henry contact Savannah's team for their recommendation." Anna said.
Young Allison wanted to make sure the drones sitting in the parking lot were ready to lift off if necessary. She wanted to have everything ready for a quick evacuation.
"Make sure the transport drones are good to go and the rest of the teams backing them up are ready to withdraw." Young Allison said. "If we need to evacuate, I want it done as rapidly as possible by everyone. 'Coltan Overcast' and 'Cherry Bomb' will be the last two Resistance machines to leave the area when we pull out.
Anna received confirmation.
"John Henry says everything and everyone is ready." Anna said.
They heard Savannah give the command to cut the power.
Young Allison wasn't sure what would happen. She wasn't sure about anything at the location. She was sure she wanted to have more options available if she needed to 'up her game'.
"Now we'll see what happens." Young Allison said.
Tom returned with the cam. It was all he carried. He gave it back to Cam.
John Henry asked about cutting the power.
Savannah talked it over with Cammy and Cam.
Cam and Cammy would re-enter the building and wait behind the SUV again when John Henry cut the power. They would make an assessment on what happened. They hoped there would be some type of opening visible once the power was off. They really didn't know what they would see.
"OK, Savannah, we're ready." Cammy said.
Savannah wanted to make it clear to Cammy and Cam. She didn't want anyone to go into the unknown.
"Neither of you will go inside whatever is there." Savannah said.
Cam and Cammy both agreed not to.
Savannah was ready for the next stage. She knew it was going to get dark real fast.
"Cut the power, John Henry." Savannah said as she took out her night vision. She needed to put it on to see what was happening once the power was cut.
The lights all around the area went out. John Henry wanted to make sure there wasn't a secondary power feed they didn't know about. They encountered one of those just the other day. It was something they missed the first time they were there at the old newspaper plant.
Cam and Cammy watched from either side of the back of the SUV.
As the power went out, they both saw a black square momentarily appear and shrink down into a small box in the center of where the opening was. There was a single very small bright flash of light. Then there was nothing there.
Savannah was a little surprised as she looked at it. She did see the full outline of the opening for a brief moment before it closed in on itself. It reminded her of an old style TV being turned off. Maybe it was just the reverse of what happened when it was turned on.
With their night vision and thermal spectrums, all they could see after it was the wail. There was no opening apparent. The wall looked exactly like it did before.
Cammy wanted to see if anything actually happened or not.
"I'm going to fire three rounds from my M9." Cammy said.
Savannah thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"Only fire three." Savannah said.
Cammy took out her M9.
There were three silenced shots fired.
Cammy looked over at Cam. She then looked back towards Savannah.
"You're not going to believe this." Cammy said.
Savannah was unsure what to believe at this point. Not too much was going to surprise her.
"What is it?" Savannah asked.
Cammy needed a closer look.
"I need to approach the wall." Cammy said. "I need to verify something."
Savannah adjusted her night vision. She looked at Steve and Tom.
"Let's go." Savannah said. "Wait until we're there to back you up. We're coming, Cammy."
Savannah led Steve and Tom into the building.
Young Allison and Anna watched the images from Steve's body cam and Cammy's body cam.
Young Allison watched the power go out. All she saw was darkness. There may have been a very small flash of light. She wasn't sure what she was looking at.
"Can you see anything?" Young Allison asked.
Anna wasn't sure what she saw.
"There was a black square which appeared and it instantly compressed in on itself. It vanished in a very small bright flash of light." Anna said. "It looks like the wall is still there. I don't see any opening. There's no apparent damage to the wall. Everything looks just like it did before."
CamNet provided Young Allison with enhanced images of them.
They heard what Cammy wanted to do.
"Cammy is going to shoot at the spot in question." Anna said.
They waited as the three silenced shots were fired. They glanced at each other from the image they looked at on their monitors.
"Can you see what just happened?" Anna asked.
Young Allison could see something.
"It makes no sense." Young Allison said.
They heard Cammy was going to investigate and Savannah was going back inside to back her up.
Young Allison wanted to try one more thing.
"Have John Henry get ready to turn the power back on and then off if we need it off again." Young Allison said.
Anna made the arrangements. Savannah would be warned beforehand.
"Everything is ready." Anna said.
Anna and Young Allison were perplexed at whatever the new threat was.
The girls were on their way back from the miniature golf area. Gail just made another joke. It surprised all of them again.
Jan wanted to go down to the pool deck again since they were right there above it. They were on the way back to their suite. She didn't think it would hurt anything to take a minor detour.
"Can we go by the pool one more time?" Jan asked. "I like the way it looks at night. The lights inside make it look fancy. It looks so blue with the little waves from the motion of the ship."
Hanna felt it would give them a few options.
"I don't see why not." Hanna said.
Hanna led Jan and Summer back down to the pool deck from the sun deck. Gail brought up the rear.
Hanna looked at Jan and Summer. She made an offer earlier but it wasn't acted upon. Now they would be on the same deck the amenities were located on.
"Do you two want to go to the buffet again to get a snack?" Hanna asked. "There's also ice cream here."
Jan felt too cold for ice cream. She liked the bedtime snacks they tried yesterday in their suite. Summer already reminded her of what was available.
"There are some snacks in the room." Jan said. "There are a lot of them. They were good too."
Summer liked what they tried last night. It was a nice selection. She didn't want to overdo anything.
"We can use what's in the room." Summer said. "We'll use moderation and restraint."
Hanna was aware none of the Resistance members liked to waste food if it was possible. The waste of food on the ship was appalling, even to the Terminators. It was clear the people in the present didn't have any concept of what the future was going to be like.
"It's very thoughtful." Hanna said. "I can see most of the people on the ship are not."
Jan heard the stories from her father and uncle as well as all of the girls. She knew 'bad things' happened to all of the girls from the future. Having to eat garbage or going hungry for a week at a time, many times, wasn't the worst of them.
"They don't know what's coming." Jan said. "I should say, what may come. I know everyone works very hard to prevent it."
Jan wondered at what point she would need to become actively involved. She went through a lot of training with both of her parents, Cameron, and a host of Terminators. She wasn't sure how she would do in a real combat situation.
Summer hoped they could avoid a Skynet future. There seemed to be several versions of those too. Maybe the one Cameron was from was the 'best'.
"We don't know for sure what will happen." Summer said. "We could all be in an alternate timeline at this point and not even know it."
Jan wondered about it. She wasn't known to exist in Cameron's Future, or the future her father was from. It troubled her at times to think about it. It made her feel insignificant.
"Do you mean like maybe I don't really exist?" Jan asked.
Summer knew her mother died in Cameron's future. She wasn't in Cameron's future either.
"I don't exist either then." Summer said. "Somehow we're both here. Our parents are here and alive as well. There are other timeline versions of some of the Resistance personnel. There's a lot we don't know. To anyone not involved, it would seem impossible. Everything is impossible until it isn't."
Jan heard some speculation. She wasn't going to mention it, but it slipped out anyway.
"Everyone thinks you're River." Jan said.
Summer wondered about a lot of things. She only knew what she knew. Her life was here is all she knew. She didn't have any memories or recollections of any other place. She started life in the timeline they were in as a newborn baby. She even saw the video files of when she was born.
"I don't know. I just know I'm 'me'. Metal Summer is with River now in her future." Summer said. "Maybe I'm a clone. Maybe we're both clones. We could be from a further future than River's future. Without facts, or knowledge, it's all guess work."
Gail didn't care for the speculation. The girls were going to cause themselves unnecessary grief without any basis in fact. She didn't comment. She was afraid it might make it worse.
The group headed for the elevator bank. They were a little surprised when they needed to push the button to call the elevator. Jan did so with a smile on her face. Once the elevator arrived and the door opened, Jan selected the floor they wanted to go to. It was fun for her to push the buttons and actually make them work. She realized it would get boring rather quickly. She remembered some movie she saw where there was an elevator attendant who pushed the buttons for the people on some tall building. Even though it seemed like it would be fun, it would become very mundane rather quickly.
They exited the elevator and approached the private area. Jim didn't open the door. She wondered if he was out. She thought about the fact Jan needed to push the buttons on the elevator as well. Maybe there was a problem.
Gail and Hanna could hear everyone was busy in their suites as they passed. If there was a problem, it would only seem to be of a personal nature to any of the individuals involved.
Hanna was pleased to hear it. If there was a problem, it wasn't on the ship.
It seemed like a ghost town to Jan.
"It seems quiet here." Jan said.
Summer looked at Gail and Hanna and then she looked at Jan.
"Everyone is 'busy'." Summer said.
Jan suppressed a giggle. Her observation was the girls were busy a lot.
Hanna opened the door to the spare bedroom of the Honeymoon Suite. Jan, Summer and Gail all followed her in.
Summer looked at Hanna and Gail. She was well acquainted with how things were. She wanted to give them the opportunity to be with their human girlfriends.
"We know what to do and we won't stay up too late. If you two want to go to the Master Suite you can." Summer said. "We'll be OK here. We won't leave. Holly, Ally, or Sheila should be back soon anyway."
Jan wanted them to know Summer was correct, they wouldn't be a problem."
"We know the drill and how things work." Jan said.
Gail wanted to be with the girls. They always showed her 'fun' things. Savannah was the only other one who showed her 'fun' things.
"I would like to stay with you two." Gail said. "I like to have fun."
Hanna hoped Cameron would use her chassis again. It was worth a shot. She was willing to let John and Cameron have a crack at it.
"If Gail wants to stay, maybe I'll go." Hanna said.
Gail wanted to stay and do everything with the girls like Holly did the night before. Holly told her how fun it was. When she went out with Jesse, her 'fun' wasn't fun. People died. There was always a lot of violence and blood. The girls showed her what real fun was.
Hanna quietly excused herself and headed for the Control Center. She was sure there was a 'problem' somewhere. She wanted to find out a few things while she was at it.
Jim was aware he was about to have a visitor.
Hanna entered the Control Center. She quickly exchanged pleasantries with Jim. She wanted to find out what Sheila and Ally were up to. If Cameron didn't want to use her chassis again, she would either enter the Master Suite or go hangout with Sheila and Ally.
She listened to see what was happening in the Owner's Suite. It sounded like they were finished up for now. She felt a faint smile cross her face. Holly allowed Cameron to take her virginity and share the file with Holly the same way Cameron did with Sheila and her. She didn't have any regrets doing the same thing herself. She would do it the same way again if she could.
She knew Holly was going to be even more in love with Cameron and John now. It was what happened to Sheila and her as well. It was a very beautiful experience. It's better than she could have experienced on her own. She would attempt to get Vanna to try it one time when she came on board. She really wanted to help Vanna work past some of the negative experiences. If John touched Vanna the way he touched Cameron in her chassis, it would 'help' Vanna a lot.
She wanted to see what else was happening. She was surprised at what was going down with Cammy's team. It seemed very unusual. There was nothing she could do at this point. She was on a ship at sea.
Hanna found out where Sheila and Ally were. She was surprised to see there was a new 'player' involved. She listened to Claire and Jesse before she entered the Control Center. They were resting now. She knew Jesse was always good to go but she wanted Claire to get some rest. She needed to think about Allison's baby which Claire carried.
Hanna decided to go to where Sheila and Ally were. If it developed into some kind of 'action', there would be three Metal girls and three human girls. They were all Hot looking too. She really liked the look of the newest girl. She was a total knockout.
Sheila let Mary, Laura, and Leticia look at her rings as she stood in her high heels.
She could see the 'hunger' in their eyes. Leticia even moistened her lips absent mindedly in anticipation of what could be. She liked the thought.
This time she made everything available for them to see. It caught Leticia's attention.
'Can I touch one?' Leticia wanted to ask.
She didn't want to seem too intrusive. She didn't need to express her admiration. She knew something she liked when she saw it.
"Wow!" Leticia said. "Everything about you is beautiful."
Mary was sold on the look.
"I want more." Mary said.
Sheila wanted to make sure Mary was going to go through with it for herself.
"You can." Sheila said.
Mary smiled at Sheila.
"I will." Mary said. "I just want to make sure."
Sheila wondered if Mary would touch more but she didn't ask. She could see the stern look on Ally's face.
"You need to be sure." Sheila said.
Mary looked at Sheila with a very serious face.
"I'm ready." Mary said. "It's what I want. I want to be as beautiful as you are."
Sheila wanted to get one of the other girls to commit as well. She figured if she made them part of the process, they would be aroused enough to try it too.
"I need Laura or Leticia as my assistant." Sheila said.
They both looked at Ally.
Ally looked at them and then looked at Sheila.
"I'm just the referee." Ally said. "I'm here to make sure things don't get out of control."
Ally realized she was nothing more than a glorified JAFO.
Sheila retrieved her 'bag of tricks' and laid out some rings. She wasn't impressed with the navel piercing Leticia had. It was fine for casual conversation. It wasn't bold and it didn't have any pizzazz. She hoped to rectify the shortcoming. She wanted everyone to have a little style.
Cameron still didn't know how she got booted out of Holly's chassis.
She wondered when she thought about taking Holly's chassis from her by force if Holly 'heard' her. She thought she blocked the file. Maybe she didn't. Her program was on Holly's chip twice. It was once as Duplicate Cameron for fifteen months and once with her program when they visited her future the second time.
Cameron felt a glitch impulse. She remembered how she destroyed Holly's sheath and chassis in her future to save the Resistance base as she protected Future John and Savannah. She protected everyone else too, everyone except Holly. She destroyed Holly when she took control of her chassis.
At the time, she even considered trading her chassis for Holly's severely damaged chassis. At that point, it was a genderless chassis. It was unfixable as a female due to the massive plasma burns and the sheath material which was burnt away.
She remembered when Holly lifted her plasma rifle to her head and begged her to end it. She was very grateful the 'Cameron' on Holly's chip at the time, used 'temporal management' to create a 'temporal loop'. What happened to Holly, never happened to her at all.
Cameron got up and unplugged the cable from her neck and Holly's neck.
Holly looked very disappointed. She hoped to be able to have Cameron use her chassis again when John was ready. She could see the disadvantage males experienced for sex. It seemed to be quite a shortcoming.
Cameron felt a lot of guilt about what happened to Holly in her future. It made her feel guilty about a lot of other things too.
"I appreciate what you've given to John and me." Cameron said. "I love you dearly for it. I should have allowed you to do it yourself first since you were a true virgin. I'm sorry I took it from you."
Holly didn't know what was happening. She thought they already settled everything. She didn't have a problem with any of it.
"I wanted you to help me learn what to do." Holly said. "You were able to give me an experience better than I could do on my own. I would do the same thing again if I could do it over. I appreciate what you did for me. I love you, Cameron."
Cameron felt even guiltier now than ever. She destroyed Holly's sheath and chassis before, and now she just stole Holly's virginity from her. She also just considered taking Holly's chassis from her by force because of its superior neural network. It would be nothing more than theft. How selfish was she?
She knew what she was doing when she stole Sheila's and Hanna's virginity from them as well. They all allowed her to do it because they loved her. She used their love to 'abuse' them. She was sure she looked in the dictionary and looked up the word, there would be a picture of her there next to it.
Cameron looked at Holly. She had a debt to pay several times over. She knew she needed to play all her cards right to pull off what she felt she must do. It was time to make amends.
"I appreciate both of you allowing me to share the experience with each of you." Cameron said. "I'm going to go out for a few hours now."
Cameron started to walk away.
John looked around a little confused. He wondered what was going on.
"Where are you going?" John asked.
Cameron wasn't sure. She was still naked.
"I want you two to be alone for a few hours." Cameron said.
Holly didn't understand. She wanted a little bit more. The same way was fine with her.
"I want you to be here so you can use my chassis again, Cameron." Holly said. "Please, I want you to do it again for me."
The guilt piled on Cameron.
"I promised you one time with John." Cameron said. "You may have several over the next few hours. Thank you again. I appreciate your sacrifice."
Holly needed to say something.
"Sacrifice is the true test of love." Holly said.
Cameron felt another glitch impulse and quickly walked away. She could no longer control the glitch in her left hand. She hurried to the Control Center. She hoped to calm down in there. She turned her hearing to a very low level. She didn't need to hear it happen.
She needed to repay three debts. One was for Duplicate Cameron who inadvertently prevented Holly and John from sharing for fifteen months when they should have been. She needed to repay Holly for the damage she did to her sheath. It was so severe Holly begged to be terminated after she destroyed Holly as a female. Luckily a version of her program was able to create a temporal loop which actually kept the destruction from ever happening to Holly in the first place. She needed to repay her now for stealing her virginity from her.
How could she do all those things to someone? She needed some better news.
Jim was surprised when Cameron walked into the Control Center. He liked the fact she was naked. He could see there was a problem. Her hand started to glitch and she tried to hide it. It was very difficult to do without clothing on.
He looked at the operation unfolding with Cammy and her teams. He quickly switched those monitors. He was sure if Cameron saw the nature of what was occurring at the location, it would probably shut her down after further agitating her. There was nothing she could do from the ship.
"Hello, Cameron." Jim said. "It's a quiet evening. Cammy and Savannah are still doing surveillance and everything on the ship is in order."
Jim wondered if Cameron even heard him. It seemed she was about to shut down. He wished Savannah or Young Allison was there to comfort her.
He thought he knew who could help Cameron.
Jim quickly made a call.
There was another.
The female Fanatic counted down the seconds as she ran. She heard a metallic impact noise from behind her. She could tell the van hit something. It was followed by a much louder one a second later. She could tell it hit something else. She heard the tires of the van begin to squeal again. She was a little worried. She was already up to fourteen seconds. It was two seconds past her calculated explosion time.
She was almost to the wall of the neighboring property. It was a taller fence than she anticipated. It was like the rear fence at some of the other locations. She was pumped full of adrenaline. She made a jump for it anyway. It was already five seconds past the time of the scheduled explosion.
Both of her hands grasped the top of the wall. She pulled hard for all she was worth. She was able to use the extra strength available to her. She pulled herself up and over. The satellite map she viewed earlier indicated there were several box trucks parked in the adjoining property.
She dropped down on her feet and continued to run. It was almost ten seconds past the scheduled explosion time. She could still hear the tires on the van squealing loudly inside of the other building. She didn't look back. She ran towards the first box truck backed up to a dock. She went underneath it. She continued underneath it to the second one. She was sure it was about to explode, she covered her ears. She just made it underneath the second truck when the bomb went off.
The area around her was lit up in a massive flash of light. She heard the sound at the same time she felt the ground shake. It felt like an earthquake. She hunkered down under the metal of the frame of the second box truck. There was a very loud crash next to her from where she just was a second ago. The box truck above her shook wildly back and forth. She actually thought for a moment it might tip over. She wasn't sure what happened.
She could hear debris landing all around her. She could hear glass breaking and metal bouncing. There seemed to be chunks of concrete landing all around. She could hear and feel the truck above her take impacts. It seemed to be a lot more powerful than just the C-4 explosive the bomb contained. She figured the fertilizer bomb worked.
The female Fanatic rode out the after effects of the bomb blast.
Moments ago:
The man inside the building was surprised the way the van accelerated into the building. It caromed off of the side of the doorway as it did. He watched the van slowly push the other car sideways as the tires squeal loudly. He was sure the other man was trapped between the two vehicles. He figured if the impact didn't kill him, he was probably scalded to death by all the steam from the compromised coolant system of the van. Thick smoke poured off of the rear tires as they spun wildly.
He thought about trying to go over to see what the problem was. He hesitated for a few moments. It seemed to him like the best thing to do was to get away from the whole mess. He turned around and headed for the open roll up door. He almost reached it when the world around him turned white, as everything in his mind went black.
Seconds ago:
The Gray stayed on the accelerator as the van disappeared from view. He was still more than a block away from the building. He didn't know if he would be able to reach it in time to assist those inside. He was almost there. All he needed was a few more seconds before he could make the turn.
He still needed to cross one more street before he could reach the location. He could see a set of headlights coming. He thought he would be able to beat the other vehicle to the intersection. He stayed on the gas and was going to drive right on through. His side had a stop sign. The other side didn't.
As he reached the intersection, the other vehicle already started through it. He swerved to the left to try to avoid it and get in front of it. He almost made it. The other vehicle clipped the rear quarter panel of his speeding car. It spun out of control. He attempted to correct the fishtailing vehicle. He was unable to do so because of his excessive speed.
Once the vehicle was sideways, the tires bound up with the pavement and it rolled over. It rolled in the direction of Tango. It rolled over a second time. There was a bright flash of light and a thunderous sound as the vehicle started its third roll. The roll of the car stopped right in the middle of it. The bottom of the vehicle happened to be turned towards Tango.
He felt a strong deceleration force as the vehicle stopped its roll. It was instantly replaced with a strong acceleration force as the vehicle rolled back in the direction he just came from. He felt himself pushed hard into the seat as the vehicle rolled once more in the other direction. It landed on its roof. The roof was crushed down to half its original height. The vehicle spun around in a lazy circle. It took him a moment to gather his senses.
He could see things land around him and feel impacts on the bottom of the car which now face upright. He realized Tango just blew up. It was a massive explosion. It was even greater than the one at the previous location. He thought there would be secondary explosions but there weren't. They must have sympathetically detonated at the same time as the bomb went off at Tango.
The car spun around one more time. He could see there was a fire burning where Tango once stood. Two thirds of the building was gone. The car spun around a little bit more before it stopped. He could see the vehicle which clipped him was on its side. He wasn't sure if the accident saved his life or not. It didn't take him long to realize he couldn't hear anything. He hoped it was just temporary. There wasn't even any ringing in his ears yet. Maybe he was suffering from sensory overload.
His hearing may have been off. His sense of smell wasn't. He could distinctly smell gasoline. It must be coming from his vehicle. After the ordeal it just went through, it didn't surprise him at all. He knew he needed to get out of the vehicle as soon as possible. He struggled to free himself.
The `Gray didn't know how much time he had left. He didn't think it was much.
Seconds ago:
CamNet's Terminators waited for the explosion. It was clear it was Showtime.
They watched the female Fanatic make it over the fence of the property next door and head for some box trucks. They didn't know if she was attempting to steal one, or use them for cover.
The second Terminator watched the drone image.
"There's another vehicle approaching the intersection." The second Terminator said.
The first Terminator drove towards the location. They were still several blocks away. They glanced at the phone.
"A collision looks imminent." The first Terminator said.
They watched as the two vehicles collided and both of them went out of control. It was only two seconds later when the screen on the phone turned white for a few moments. They saw the flash in the distance and heard the explosion at almost the same time.
"It was a very large explosion." The second Terminator said.
The first Terminator remembered the destruction done by a fertilizer bomb in the past.
"A similar bomb took down half of a federal building in Oklahoma City." The first Terminator said. "It was a very large multistory building. One entire side of it was blown away. It's a wonder the entire building didn't collapse."
CamNet's Terminators decided to halt their approach for now. They wanted to see how things played out a little further. They didn't know if anyone would attempt to return to the vehicle they took the box of items from. They didn't know yet who survived and who didn't.
The female Fanatic waited until debris stopped hitting the box truck over her. She could see bits of flaming debris scattered here and there. None of them were very large. She didn't know if any of them would start a secondary fire. She wasn't about to stick around to find out. There was an intense ringing in her head. She actually covered her ears right before the flash happened. The sound of the explosion and the flying debris was only a millisecond behind it.
She didn't know if she got ahead of herself in the 'second count', or if the phone and the bomb itself were a few seconds off. She was pretty sure she would have achieved Ascension if the timing would have been off in the other direction. She doubted she would have survived if she was on the other side of the wall.
She looked over in the direction of where the wall was. She actually couldn't see anything. She reached out and touched the darkness on the side of her. It was metallic. She realized it was the roof of the box truck parked next to where she was at. She was glad she made it all the way underneath the second box truck and wasn't where the side of the other box truck was currently laying. She really was close to Ascension on about five different levels. She was very close for the last few days multiple times. She hoped to achieve the highest level of Ascension.
It was possible by the first box truck being knocked on its side, it may have shielded her from some of the blast and definitely from a lot of debris. She came out on the far side of the box truck she was underneath. She looked around the area as she checked her body. She may have a few more scrapes and bruises. She didn't find any wounds. There weren't any pieces of metal or concrete embedded in her flesh. She knew sometimes it took a few moments for a wound to make itself known after a traumatic injury.
She was a little disappointed to see there wasn't another box truck. In the satellite photo, there were four of them parked behind the building. It was also daylight when the photo was taken. They could have been making deliveries or pick ups. She moved around and looked at the front of the box truck she hid under. She could see the front window was broken. She didn't think it would be a good idea to attempt to take it.
Her best bet was to get away from the location as soon as possible. There was always the option to make her way back to the vehicle she left in the supermarket parking lot. She might attempt to do so. She needed to worry about the police being at the location at some point. She would look for another vehicle first.
When she reached the sidewall of the property on the far side away from where the burning building was, she could either go over the wall, make a right hand turn and go out to the street she was on earlier, or she could head for the back of the property, pass through it, and go to the next street in back. It would actually put her closer to the supermarket than if she went out to the front. She would need to pass by in front of the burning building. Somehow it didn't seem like a very good idea at this point.
She was about to go over the wall to the next property and then go along the fence to the rear of it when she realized there was a dog barking on the other side. It was more of a howl and whine. The animal could be injured or just scared from the massive explosion. It was probably listening intently when it heard the tires squealing to determine exactly what it was. It would have been right before the explosion. More than likely it had some sore ears.
She realized hers were a little bit sorer than she realized. She heard the dog when she was right at the fence. She was glad she hadn't gone over and faced it. It probably would have been very aggressive. It would have blamed her for whatever ills it currently suffered from. She thought it wouldn't have been wrong either. It was her fault, even if it was somewhat indirect.
The female Fanatic made it to the back fence. She paused for a moment to see if she heard a dog on the other side. She didn't. It didn't mean there wasn't one there. She was sure all of the animals would be very scared about what just happened. She was scared too and she knew exactly what everything was. She also knew she was responsible for it. She went over the wall and through the property out to the next street.
The Gray struggled to get out of the overturned car. He could see pieces of flaming debris land around him. He was pretty sure if one landed on top of the car, it would ignite the gasoline. He wondered if he would die screaming as the gasoline burnt him to death. He quickly remembered there was a satchel charge in the trunk of the vehicle. It would probably detonate before he was fully burnt to death. Maybe it would put an end to his suffering. Depending upon where the gas tank was punctured at, would determine if the satchel charge was saturated with fuel or not.
He managed to crawl out onto the ground. There was debris everywhere. He needed to get up and get away from the car. It was the thought forefront in his mind. He was able to stagger to his feet. He took one look back at Tango. He could see more than half the building was gone. He knew there wouldn't be any survivors. It was time to head in the opposite direction. Unfortunately it sent him back in the direction of where the accident occurred.
He could see someone attempting to crawl out of the vehicle which clipped him. He really didn't want to confront them. They appeared dazed and confused to him as they stumbled around the vehicle.
He quickly reached the corner and headed up the street away from everything. He needed to get another vehicle and get out of there. He would attempt to take the first one he came to. If not, he knew there were some along the way to the supermarket.
The thought of the supermarket made him think twice. He wasn't sure if he wanted to go near there. At some point the authorities were going to be there. The homeless Bitch with the green dress was bound to tell somebody at some point.
The Gray needed to put some distance between where he was at currently to any other place he could go to as quickly as possible.
CamNet's Terminators could see both the female Fanatic and the Gray survived. It didn't appear to them they were severely injured. The female Fanatic appeared to be in the best condition.
They were currently parked several blocks away from where the explosion occurred. They tracked both of the individuals as they attempted to flee the scene.
"The female Fanatic appears to be quite resilient." The first Terminator said.
The second Terminator watched the progress of both of the individuals.
"It does seem random chance favors her." The second Terminator said. "Her chances are over. I should move now to intercept and terminate her."
The first Terminator agreed. They thought things went on long enough.
"I'll move to intercept the Gray." The first Terminator said. "We can eliminate both of the ongoing threats. The sooner they're terminated, the better."
CamNet instructed both of the Terminators to remain where they were. They were to monitor the progress of both of the individuals. She was certain both of them would lead her Terminators to additional targets.
John Henry was able to detect the explosion. It happened miles away from where Savannah and her Terminators were located. He immediately began to look into what the situation was. He wondered if the events were somehow correlated. They just shut down the power to the building the team was in. The explosion happened a short time later. The obvious conclusion was one event was related to the other. Maybe it's where the portal led to
He was about to contact the team and let them know of the new development. When he went to do so, he was unable to reach them. He was a little surprised when CamNet told him the events were unrelated and not to worry about it. He wasn't going to argue. It was obviously some operation she conducted 'off of the books'.
More than likely the other series of events and anomalies he encountered earlier were all related to it. He was always told not to worry about them. He wondered how he wasn't supposed to worry about them when they had troops out in the field. He worried about everything.
It really made him wonder who the Terminators were CamNet was using. He didn't even know how many she controlled. He did know from Ally and Sheila there was a room full of inactive Terminators. They couldn't tell him anymore than that.
John Henry turned his attention back to the current operation with the Resistance forces.
Closing monologue by Cameron:
Can I Touch One
To wish upon a star
Is what has been said
Is that any way in life
To actually move ahead
We can reach for the sky
How far is too far
If we can't reach the sky
Then we can never reach a star
Maybe we don't need to reach
For what's unobtainable
Things which are much closer
Are what's quite stable
Just open your own eyes
To see what's around
There is no mystery
There's nothing to astound
Feel the warmth of the sun
Try to have a little fun
It's as simple as to ask
Can I touch one
Nobody