Chapter 1355

Naughty Girl

Ally and Sheila entered the private area. They saw Allison in her bathrobe walk over towards the Master Suite. She looked back at them and smiled before she went inside.

"I wonder where she's been." Sheila said.

Ally thought Allison would be a better choice for Sheila instead of chasing down the skanks they saw in the sky lounge. There were even more people they didn't know anything about. Even if they looked, they might not get straight answers.

"Maybe you can ask her while I'm with Cameron and John." Ally said. "Maybe she has what you like right now."

Cameron appeared at the door to the Owner's Suite.

Sheila looked at Cameron and to where Allison just went. She thought Ally was joking at first. Perhaps she actually was right. She was ready to do a more thorough investigation.

"Maybe she does." Sheila said. "I'm going to find out."

Sheila went after Allison. She turned back to look at Ally.

"Good luck and enjoy the ride." Sheila said.

Sheila winked at Cameron. She didn't think it would hurt to remind everyone she was close by in case anyone got 'cold feet'.

"I'm available anytime." Sheila said as she passed by Cameron.

Cameron smiled. She was aware all of the Metal girls were ready and available anytime if she needed them. She was sure she would like to do more of the same going forward.

"I know." Cameron said.

Ally stood before Cameron at her suite door. She knew this was it. Things were about to be irreversibly changed in just a few minutes.

"Are you ready?" Ally asked.

Cameron smiled at Ally and let her pass inside. She looked over at Sheila who entered the Master Suite in pursuit of Allison.

She gave Ally a close firm hug.

"I really appreciate this, Ally." Cameron said.

Ally shrugged her shoulders.

"Everyone sacrifices for John Connor." Ally said.

Cameron nodded. She knew it was how things seemed to work. Circumstances seemed to have a big influence as to the degree of what the sacrifice would be.

"It's true. It's some more than others." Cameron said. "It's the nature of the world we live in."

Cameron looked over at the door of the Master Suite for a moment before she went back into the Owner's Suite.

Ally wondered why Cameron was already naked.

"Did you start without me?" Ally asked.

Ally started to remove her clothes.

Cameron didn't see anything wrong with a truthful explanation. She glanced back towards the room where John was at.

"I wanted to make sure John would perform well for our 'first experience'." Cameron said. "I don't think he'll finish too soon tonight."

Ally was naked in no time. She hoped this was going to be as good of an experience as the other Terminators said it was. She didn't think they lied to her. She wouldn't put it past Sheila to prank her in some way, but she didn't think it was the case. She didn't believe all the other Metal girls would be in on it or do the same thing. She believed every one of them was truthful in what they told her. The fact they all wanted to take over for her if she changed her mind seemed to be proof of it.

Cameron took a moment to look Ally over. Her appearance was flawless. She knew it was how other people viewed her when they looked at her. She found it very pleasant to see.

"You look beautiful, Ally." Cameron said.

Cameron moved Ally over to the full length mirror as they stood side by side.

Ally felt she always came up short. She didn't think she came up short right now. She didn't think she was the only one with a better appearance today.

"Nobody can ever look as good as you." Ally said. "I did come pretty close. I have to say Allison did tonight as well."

Cameron wanted them to all do their best.

"We all do what we can." Cameron said.

Cameron picked up the tether and took Ally's hand.

"Let's go see John." Cameron said.

Ally was filled with anticipation as they entered the bedroom of the Owner's Suite. She was about to allow Cameron the privilege of giving her virginity to John. She didn't know exactly what to expect. Based on what the other Metal girls told her, it should be the best time of her existence.

"I can hardly wait." Ally said.

Derek and Kyle moved rapidly towards the north building. They tried to keep cover between them and the building. They were now less than a hundred feet from it. So far there hadn't been any shots taken at them from the building. They hoped to be able to approach it without incident. Their hopes were soon dashed.

They heard the delivery van approach their position rapidly. The driver stayed on the gas until the van sputtered and stalled. He put it in neutral and coasted along. It stopped about seventy five feet in back of them. It was way too close for comfort.

Derek and Kyle sought cover. More enemy troops was about the last thing they needed. Where did the van come from and how did it get through? It appeared the driver knew exactly how to make the delivery van go as far as it possibly could under the current circumstances. They obviously were acquainted with the situation. Now there were hostile forces in front of them and in back of them. It would be all close quarters combat now when it broke out.

To make matters worse, someone came out of the north building. They were armed. Four men exited out of the delivery van. It looked like some of them carried things. Another man was visible in the north building now behind the first man.

Kyle didn't care for the current turn of events. They were not in a good position.

"Do you think they made us?" Kyle whispered.

Derek looked in front and in back of them. There wasn't any gunfire directed towards their position yet. It could change quickly. The enemy might want to play coy so they could get into a better firing position.

"I don't know." Derek whispered. "All of a sudden we're surrounded. We didn't have much warning to do anything."

It looked like going back the way they came in was out. There was still a chance they could get to the building. The two men from the building moved away from the doorway. They went to help the other men.

Kyle didn't think they were clocked. It actually seemed unrelated to them.

"I think they're going to carry something inside." Kyle whispered. "There's no one else in the doorway of the building right now."

Derek saw it as where they should go. It was their objective. It was to get inside of the building.

"We can get in there." Derek whispered. "We still need to look for Savannah."

They heard the report about the female who was tied to the desk. They weren't leaving until they found Savannah. It's why they were there in the first place.

Derek and Kyle moved up closer until they were near the door.

What they needed was a distraction. They would need for all of the enemy to look in a direction other than the door to the building, just for a few seconds.

Savannah led the way up the spiral staircase. They were pretty sure at this point there was no one behind them. If there was, they were going to find the dead man. They didn't bother to drag him away because there would be a fresh blood trail on the concrete. There was nowhere to hide him anyway. Their best bet was to keep moving.

She reached the top. The stairway came out into a room like the one on the other side in the south building. It was dark and the door was closed. It was most likely the door they heard 'squeal'. She didn't see where the hoist would come up at so it must be on the other side of the wall. They looked for any other way out of the room. There was none.

Savannah kept the door covered with her M9 as they looked around. Someone could walk through there at any moment. The goal would be to let them walk into the room before she took them down. There could be more than one. They didn't want anyone to fall back into the room, or someone behind them to give a warning.

Young Allison was concerned about their current position.

"We need to try the door." Young Allison whispered. "We need to know what's on the other side."

Savannah moved up.

Young Allison moved in front of her and took the door handle.

"I got it." Young Allison whispered.

Savannah held her silenced M9 ready.

"Be careful." Savannah whispered.

Young Allison was worried about the 'squeal' noise the door might make.

"We need some oil." Young Allison whispered.

She thought about the man she killed just a few minutes ago. They didn't have any oil with them. She knew where there was plenty of blood though. She didn't think it would be thin enough to act as a lubricant for the current application.

Savannah thought maybe some water could provide a little lubrication.

"I have some water." Savannah whispered. "It might help a little."

Savannah took out her small water bottle and dumped some water on the three hinges.

"Hide the glow stick." Young Allison whispered.

Savannah pushed it back up her sleeve.

The room went into total darkness.

Young Allison turned the handle with one hand and held her M9 with the other. She pulled on the door and it opened an inch. Very faint light entered through the gap.

"There must be glow sticks set out." Savannah whispered.

It was probably not a good sign either. They didn't need to run into more of the enemy.

"There must be people moving around inside." Young Allison whispered.

Young Allison tried to peek out through the gap. The space was too small.

"I can't see or hear anyone." Young Allison whispered. "I'm going to try and open the door more."

Savannah made sure the glow stick was hidden. She switched to her M4 after she holstered her M9.

"If we get into a firefight with a superior force, we can retreat back the way we came. We can rig a booby trap with the Thermite grenade." Savannah whispered. "So far all we know is there's one more man inside here somewhere. I'm sure there are more."

They both knew a target was still a target. They knew one individual could put up a lot of resistance. If they were able to ambush them, one individual could take both of them down

Young Allison opened the door about seven inches before it made the first faint squeal sound. It wasn't quite big enough for her to pass through. Savannah would definitely not fit.

"Put more water on the hinges." Young Allison whispered. "I'll close it some while you do it and then reopen it. Keep putting water on them."

Young Allison closed the door a few inches and then reopened it. The gap was now a little over a foot wide before the door started to squeal again. Maybe the opening was about fifteen inches. It looked big enough for them to squeeze through.

Savannah slung her M4 and drew her silenced M9 again.

Young Allison poked her head out and looked both ways. There were a few glow sticks set out. The room was very dim. There was only enough light to see to move around without tripping. She motioned for Savannah to follow her. They entered the workroom area.

She was aware every combat operation would have a lot of questions as to what the enemy was up to, and where they were positioned. So far it seemed like an infiltration mission to her. She knew they wanted to avoid a firefight with the enemy if at all possible. With only two of them, they could be outgunned in a matter of seconds. Things would only get worse from there.

Savannah wasn't sure if this was the equivalent of the sheep entering the lion's den or not. One thing for sure was, if they were captured, they were in for a rough time at the hands of brutal men.

Cammy started out with the M82A1. In just a few seconds, she started to feel the effects of the energy field. It was more than she expected. It was much sooner than she expected as well. It didn't matter. She needed to get to Savannah. She needed to do her part.

Sarah wasn't so sure it was a good idea for Cammy to go. She was concerned she might become incapacitated somewhere along the way.

"How are you doing?" Sarah asked. "Are you affected yet?"

Cammy could feel it get worse with every step.

"I'm fine." Cammy said. "It's not too bad yet, but I can feel it."

They moved further along to get back to the spot Anna told them about.

Cammy was affected more. She started to become visibly sluggish.

Sarah noticed. She didn't like what she saw. She didn't want Cammy to get stuck.

"Give me the Barrett and go back, Cammy." Sarah said. "I have it from here. It's not much further. You can't fight like this and there is no need to damage yourself."

Sarah took the M82A1 from her. It was heavy.

Cammy tried to go further until she fell to one knee.

Sarah wanted to make her position clear. She didn't want to waste more time.

"Cammy, go back." Sarah said. "Don't get stuck here. I'm not going to leave you if you do. I'll drag you back to where you can function. It will take more time and tire me further."

Cammy was on both knees now. She could see she was going to get stuck soon if she didn't go back. She turned to crawl back the way they come.

"I can make it back." Cammy said.

Sarah was very bothered by what she witnessed. It made her feel sick inside.

"Keep going or I'll come back for you." Sarah said. "I swear it."

Sarah moved forward as she watched Cammy crawl back. It saddened her greatly to see her struggle. She soon saw Cammy stand and limp away. Eventually Anna and Mel came to assist her and all three of them made it away from there. She had a job to do now herself. She moved forward with the Barrett.

She needed to be aware of her surroundings. She didn't know what the long term exposure of the energy field would do to a human. If she felt herself starting to be affected, she would probably need to withdraw since she was alone. She didn't want to get stuck either. She didn't want to be taken captive by the enemy.

Allison entered the Master Suite and went to the bedroom. She was surprised to find Gail-Cam waiting for her there.

"I've been waiting for you." Gail-Cam said. "Vanna is with Holly in the spare bedroom. It's just you and me."

Allison smiled.

"It works for me." Allison said. "I need to warn you, I'm pretty tired out. I was very busy when I was out."

Gail-Cam hoped she would elaborate some but she didn't.

Allison slipped off the robe.

"You look beautiful." Gail-Cam said.

Allison seemed to hear the same thing a lot tonight. Normally no one ever said anything. Usually she didn't feel beautiful. She felt less than average. It was better if people didn't pay attention to her. Somehow they always did. They always looked at her face.

She heard the door to the Master Suite open. Sheila poked her head around the corner.

"Got room for one more?" Sheila asked.

Allison looked at the bed.

"These beds hold three people easily." Allison said. "I think five people could fit on one. I need to let you know I'm pretty tired out."

Gail-Cam didn't want to push her too hard.

"We can let you rest." Gail-Cam said. "I know it's late. I can take care of Sheila."

Sheila wanted to check Allison to see if what she thought happened, actually happened.

"Let me get you there once and then we'll leave so you can rest." Sheila said. "You know I always deliver."

Sheila looked at Gail-Cam.

"I've got the middle position." Sheila said. "I'll take care of you in the spare bedroom of the Honeymoon Suite afterwards.

They positioned themselves on the bed and started.

Sheila lifted her head.

"I see someone's been a naughty girl." Sheila said.

Allison smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"It happens." Allison said.

John Henry was able to see Derek and Kyle were close to entering the building. The men in the van were too close to them for a missile strike.

He wanted to create a distraction for them. He knew the people were from the future. He didn't want to tip his hand. He was going to use a drone at first but decided against it. One of them might recognize it for what it was.

He contacted Cameron's Terminators who were on their way to back up Steve's and Al's teams to create a diversion. He wanted something which would be noticed, but not too drastic. They said they could create a spectacular diversion. It would be very plausible as well under the current conditions.

A short time ago:

Anna saw Cammy crawling on her hands and knees. It wasn't pleasant to witness. To see another fellow Terminator struggling in such a fashion was very unnerving. It could be her out there. It could be any of them. She knew Cammy stayed out for too long. She understood why. She needed to do something to assist.

"I'm going to help her." Anna said.

Mel thought she would be affected the same way. He already experienced what the energy field could do. They were already in it. They knew how it could creep up on them

"It will happen to you too." Mel said.

Anna didn't think it would affect her as fast. She would be going in fresh. Cammy was on her way back. She was in the energy field much longer. As soon as she saw Cammy stand and start to limp back, she knew the effects of the energy field would be less. She couldn't watch Cammy struggle anymore. It was time to act.

"I'm going anyway." Anna said.

Anna took off at a run and felt the effects right away. She slowed drastically by the time she reached Cammy. She was in better shape than Cammy since she was only in the energy field a short time. Mel followed her out. They both helped Cammy back to the SUV. Mel and her made a quick recovery. It took Cammy longer.

Cammy was very upset about the outcome. She didn't like leaving Sarah out there alone. She knew Sarah would have pulled her back if she needed to and aborted her mission. She knew the mission was very important.

"Sarah is there by herself." Cammy said. "I didn't want to leave her alone. It's worse than I thought. If I went further, I would have endangered the mission."

Anna did know what being on the periphery of the energy field was like. She knew Sarah was worried about everyone else too.

"Sarah will do what she needs to do." Anna said. "We all will."

Anna wanted Young Allison and Savannah out of there as much as Cammy did. It was how all of the Terminators felt. They needed to worry about Sarah, Kyle, and Derek now as well.

All of the Terminators felt powerless in the current situation.

Derek and Kyle were about to chance it and sneak into the building. They were worried about Savannah and didn't want to shoot their way in. They didn't have a clue what awaited them inside.

They were ready to move when there was a brilliant flash on the horizon. The faint sound of an explosion followed. It was on the opposite side of the door the building was on.

The heads of all the men by the van turned in the direction of the light and looked away from the building.

Derek recognized it for what it was. It was a distraction created for them to move.

"It's our cue." Derek said.

There was a second flash off to the side a second later, and then one on the other side a second after it.

They heard the men by the van say they were electrical transformers. They thought the transformers were overloaded by trying to get the power grid back up. They figured it was really the Resistance Terminators at work. They knew they could be observed by their drones even if they couldn't communicate. Everyone was on the ball and tried to do what they could.

Derek and Kyle made their way into the building.

There was one more explosion right after they were past the door. So far the alarm hadn't sounded.

They were in. Now they needed to find Savannah. They also needed to figure out what they were in the middle of. The other group of men knew how to get to where they were. They were all there for a reason.

John Henry was satisfied the diversion worked. Cameron's Terminators pulled it off. They needed to wreck a few transformers on the power poles, but it did the job. The goal was to create a diversion and not tip their hand as to what caused the diversion. Overloaded transformers occurred from time to time with too much power ended up going through the lines.

He saw the men return back to unloading the van. None of them appeared to see Derek and Kyle make their entry. None of them went in yet. No one else came out either.

Derek and Kyle were inside the building now. He didn't know what they would encounter. He didn't know what they would find. He was sure it was only a matter of time until the shooting started.

He was ready to go with a missile strike when the men would start back towards the building. He wanted to buy Kyle and Derek some more time before the fireworks started.

Al and Ed were backed up by Hank and Larry. They were at one location where the delivery van may have originated from. They were ready to make entry.

Steve and Tom were backed up by Richard and Michael. They were at the other location where the delivery van may have originated from. They were ready to make an entry.

Brian and Randy were tasked with blowing up a few of the small transformers on the power poles. They were on their way to backup whichever team needed it.

They all needed to be mindful of the effects of the unknown energy field. It was growing in size and intensity ever since it was first detected. They all might have to withdraw further. Cammy indicated it was totally incapacitating anywhere near the buildings.

Moments ago:

Savannah and Young Allison were on the workroom floor. They didn't want to get spotted. They moved low to see what they could find. They searched for a control room of some type. It was possibly shielded in some way.

Savannah spotted where the hoist was at as they exited the room with the stairway.

They paused as they heard four explosions in the distance.

"What was that?" Young Allison whispered.

Savannah was unsure. She was around a few explosions before. There was no concussion effect. The building or ground didn't shake any.

"I don't know. It wasn't very close to where we are. It sounded like it was in the distance to me." Savannah said. "It's possible combat has spread beyond the extent of the energy field. There could be additional enemy reinforcements on the way. There might have been some interdiction on the part of the Resistance. I can't imagine it's not related to what's occurring here. The energy field may have spread further and could be affecting other electrical devices. It could shut down equipment designed to cool other things in other buildings. There's no way to know."

They both wondered how it was related to them. Maybe it was additional help.

They continued their careful search.

Derek and Kyle were in the building. The entry proved less eventful than they anticipated after seeing the two groups of men. There were some rooms along a hall where they were. There was a larger open area further back. They were surprised there was some kind of dim lighting inside.

A door opened and a man walked out of the room.

They came face to face with him.

"Intruders!" The man screamed.

Derek shot him in the face with his M4.

They could hear some commotion from where they just came in from the outside. Those men were alerted.

"We need to move." Kyle said. "We're still in a pinch here."

They ran down the hall towards the larger area. They would have room to fight there.

There was a bright flash outside behind them as they ran followed by the sound of an explosion. It may have been more than one. The building shook and shrapnel could be heard striking the area they just left.

They made it out of the hall as another man with a rifle came out. They shot at him. He ducked back in the room as another explosion rocked the building outside.

Two men entered the door they used to enter the building. One man needed to assist the other. The other man looked like his arm was missing below the elbow. There was blood on him elsewhere. He was probably hit by additional shrapnel as well.

They fired on those two. The man with the missing arm fell. The other man took cover and returned fire.

A third man came out of the room with a rifle where the man who shouted the warning came out of.

Kyle and Derek needed to moderate their response since they didn't know where Savannah was at. She could be in one of the rooms.

A bullet impacted between them. It was fired from behind them somewhere. There was a fourth target.

It looked like it was going to get messy.

Derek turned to engage the new threat. It took him a few moments to spot the man. He was surprised at what happened when he went to engage him. The man's head took a hit. There was no gunfire at the time. The round was fired from a silenced pistol. It looked like Savannah was still in the game. He didn't know where. It was good to know she was still able to fight. It was a really good shot too. He was certain she remained undetected. Now Kyle and him were inside and the building was on alert. Maybe they should have waited a little longer. No. They couldn't wait any longer. Savannah could have been in trouble in the worst way.

John rested in the bed. He opened his eyes when he heard talking outside the bedroom. He reached over to touch Allison. She wasn't there. Maybe she was talking to Cameron. He hoped they were setting up a schedule for him to visit her.

He touched the sheet but it wasn't damp. He thought it still would be. In fact, the bed looked really neat. It looked like it did when Cameron was with him earlier.

Wait.

Wait a minute.

John tried to remember what happened in detail. The images were still fresh in his mind.

"I hear John moving around." Cameron said from outside the bedroom.

She walked into the bedroom naked and 'Allison' was with her. She was still naked as well. He hoped Cameron would let him have another round with her.

Cameron held the tether in her hand.

John was more than a little surprised. They already used that ploy on him.

Wait a minute.

What was going on?

'Allison' smiled at him.

"Hi, John." 'Allison' said. "I just want you to know I'm here by my own choice and Cameron has agreed to allow me to have one time alone with you at a later date."

Wait a minute.

Cameron held up the tether.

"Will you plug us in?" Cameron asked.

Wait a minute.

John wondered if this was a sick joke at first.

He was getting ready to ask 'Allison' what she was doing.

Cameron and 'Allison' both turned around and moved their hair out of the way. There was a neck port exposed in the back of both of their necks. The little piece of sheath material was off.

It was Cameron and Ally. He didn't think it was Cam-Gail again. He already used Cam's chassis twice.

Wait a minute.

He thought there needed to be some type of explanation.

"Was I asleep?" John asked.

Ally heard John snoring when she entered. She could hear him at the base sometimes too when she passed by his room. Sometimes he would snore very loudly. This time wasn't too bad, but it was bad enough. She wanted to tell him in a playful manner. She wasn't there to cause trouble.

"It sounded like someone was sawing wood when I arrived." Ally said. "It's no wonder Cameron doesn't spend the night with you. I wouldn't want to deal with the same kind of racket either."

John didn't know what to say. It seemed like something he didn't have a lot of control over.

She looked down below John's waist.

"Speaking of 'wood', I can see some things are quite impressive." Ally said.

Cameron smiled. She wondered why John was ready to go already.

"Were you dreaming about what was to come?" Cameron asked.

Ally looked at Cameron and laughed.

"I think something is about to come." Ally said.

Ally hoped it wouldn't happen too quickly. She knew she would need to wait a while for further activity if it did.

John looked back at the bed again. It was hardly messed up.

Cameron wondered what he was looking for.

"Were you waiting for someone else?" Cameron asked.

John didn't want to mention what he thought happened. He still wasn't sure it hadn't. He reached behind him to touch his back. There were no nail furrows in his flesh. His back felt smooth. Maybe it was only a dream. He didn't want anyone to get second thoughts or be accusatory.

"Who else would there be?" John asked nervously. "It's just us three."

Cameron handed him the tether. She wanted to offer him several options for later on.

"I can go get whoever you want after we're done here." Cameron said. "Or Ally can spend the night."

Ally didn't want to be in standby all night.

"You can bring Allison in here to hear him snore." Ally said. "I'm sure it will be a real turn on for her."

John pinched himself twice.

Ally saw him.

"That looks kinky." Ally said. "Try not to leave marks on my sheath if you do it to me."

John plugged the tether into the back of Ally's neck and then into the back of Cameron's neck. He tugged on the tether to make sure it was seated. It was.

Ally thought John seemed nervous.

"Is he nervous or does he always do this to make your 'first time' more authentic?" Ally asked.

Cameron wasn't sure why John was a little off. Maybe he experienced a nightmare. She knew how to get him past it. She climbed into bed and Ally followed her. She took up her normal spot and covered herself over.

He watched Ally close her eyes and then open them a few seconds later.

"I love you, John, and you love me." Ally-Cameron said.

John swallowed hard.

"I love you, Cameron, and you love me." John said.

John moved close to Ally-Cameron.

She put her lips near his ear.

"Go slow." Ally-Cameron said. "This is my first time."

John looked over at the covered figure of Cameron. She was inactive. He was with her only a short time ago.

"I will." John said as he gave Ally-Cameron a slow soft kiss.

He touched the back of her neck to make sure the tether was firmly plugged in. It was.

John regained his composure and fell back into the swing of things.

"Our wedding night is a special night." John said. "It is where our love will be shared and expanded."

Everything was back to 'normal'.

Seconds ago:

Savannah and Young Allison were at the far end of the building when there were several more explosions. It was at the other end of the building. They rocked the building and gunfire followed. They heard the suppressed rounds fired in return.

"I think it's someone from the Resistance." Savannah said.

Young Allison thought the same thing.

"It's probably Derek, Kyle, or Sarah." Young Allison whispered. "It's probably all three of them. They're here looking for us. They don't know what happened to us."

Young Allison started to move in the direction of the gunfire.

"Someone is in a jam." Young Allison said.

Savannah thought they needed to know more first.

"Wait." Savannah whispered. "We need to use caution and not end up as a target from either group."

Young Allison was ready to act.

"It's what I'm doing." Young Allison whispered. "We need to let them know we're here and in the fight."

There was more gunfire exchanged at the other end of the building.

Both girls held their M4 at the ready.

Young Allison wanted to send them a message. She also didn't want to give away their position to the enemy.

She took out her M9 and rested her hands on the workbench in front of her. She spotted one of the Grays.

"What are you doing?" Savannah whispered. "You're going to be a target."

Young Allison didn't look back at Savannah.

"I'm aiming at a target." Young Allison whispered.

Her M9 coughed out a single round. Young Allison quickly ducked back down. She didn't see if her shot struck what she aimed at. She was sure it did. It was almost like target practice. She felt the same about it as if it was. Every enemy was a target. Cameron conditioned her well. People died in combat. The whole point was to make sure it was the other side who paid the price.

Sarah heard the series of explosions and gunfire erupt.

She couldn't see where anyone was yet, but she was ready.

She hadn't expected it to go hot this fast. It did.

Things probably just went from bad to worse.

It was time to join the 'party'.

The two Grays parked the white van near the part of the building still standing. It was only one wall at a corner. Everything else around it collapsed and burnt. They got out to take a look.

They could hear the crackle of the fire in different sections of the remains of the building as they approached. They paused for a moment to see if they could hear any sirens. None was heard. Nothing else was spotted around the area.

The first man noticed something was missing when they arrived at the area where he could see the dock.

"There was a flatbed truck with stake sides back up against the dock when we left." The first man said.

The second man wasn't sure if it mattered.

"It's possible some more people got out after you did." The second man said.

The first man figured it must have been what happened. The other two men he was with didn't wait around for anyone else. As soon as they got in the truck, they left. He was in the middle seat between the other two men. He couldn't see much of what happened off to the sides. It's what he tried to tell himself anyway. He knew there were others still in the building when they fled. They just wanted to get away from the building. It seemed like it was every man for himself at the time.

"It must have been." The first man said. "I thought we were the last ones out. We stayed as long as we could. I wonder where they're at."

The first man was a little concerned he might run into whoever came out after they did. He didn't want to need to explain why they were left behind.

The second man knew there were several other places they could have gone to.

"They probably went to a different location." The second man said. "They may find one or more of them destroyed."

They continued their approach to the building. They went up a concrete stairway to the outer dock area. Everything inside of the building was burnt. The roof and interior walls were gone.

"I don't think we can get in from here." The first man said.

The second man didn't think so either. Everything was still very hot around them. Parts of the debris were still burning.

"Let's go closer to where the wall is still up at." The second man said.

The first man wasn't so sure it was a good idea.

"What if the wall collapses?" The first man asked.

The second man didn't want to hear excuses.

"If it collapses, we move faster." The second man said.

They came down off of the dock and approached the area where the wall was still up. It was near where the office area once was. So far everything they found was in pieces. They hadn't noticed any dead bodies yet, or parts of them. It was likely anyone inside of the building was incinerated. There was a lot of debris on the outside of the building. If there were any bodies there, they were probably under the debris. It appeared most of the debris burnt as well.

There was a section of the wall with a doorway in it. The door was missing. They cautiously entered through it. They made their way around some of the burning debris. They came across an object near the work area. It was the only thing identifiable.

"I think it's the frame of the forklift." The first man said. "The backside of it is ten thousand pounds of solid metal. It shouldn't be anywhere near the office area. It must have been blown here in the explosions."

The second man knew a forklift needed to weigh at least twice as much as its rated capacity in order to actually pick something up of its maximum capacity. Often a forklift weighed more. He could understand a giant chunk of metal surviving the fire. Everything else on the forklift was gone. There was melted metal all around it.

"I can see it was a hot fire." The second man said. "I think it was fueled by the chemicals in the drums."

The first man couldn't see the drums any longer. He figured they must have either melted or exploded. They probably did both. He spotted something else near the forklift.

"I think those are the remains of the HK equipment." The first man said.

The second man saw enough. There didn't appear to be anything identifiable if anyone would check later on. Right now it seemed like a bad idea to remain where they were. They already observed whatever they were going to discover.

"We'll have to see about sending some teams in here once the place has cooled down." The second man said. "I think we should roll."

The first man was ready to roll before they arrived. He thought both endeavors were a waste of time. It seemed like an unnecessary risk, without any payoff. He wanted to point out things were exactly like he said. The only one they could really gig him on was abandoning the box truck. From the burnt out remains they viewed, there was nothing in the back of it anyway.

The two men headed back to the white van.

The first man took one more look around before they left. He felt a little concern for his fallen comrades. He wondered more about the female they tied to the comfort bunk. He thought it was a shame she needed to die in such a way. He was only able to visit her twice.

"Let's put some distance between us and this place before any first responders show up." The first man said.

The second man doubted any would. There was more in play than met the eye.

"I don't think any of them will." The second man said. "There's a greater force at work behind the scenes. It's what should be our real worry. It may be behind all of our recent losses."

The white van drove away from the building. It went over the bumpy road and back towards the main street.

When they reached the main street, the van paused for a moment. It made a right-hand turn.

The first man thought they were going back to the building where he parked the brown van.

"Where are we going now?" The first man asked.

The second man tried his phone again. It still wouldn't connect with anything.

"I want to check out the hillside location." The second man said.

The first man heard about it recently. He knew there were great plans for it. It was a location he hadn't actually visited yet.

"I didn't think they started on it yet." The first man said. "Were they able to make good progress already?"

The second man knew there were people there on and off for a few weeks. They were still attempting to determine what supplies they would need. One thing they were told was they would need some additional supports for the interior. Most of the ones there were very old. The wood was weak and rotted in some locations. Many of the timbers were cracked.

"Everything is still preliminary." The second man said. "They haven't even finished exploring the interior yet. Some of the passageways are down. There was no working hoist mechanism to go to the lower or upper levels."

The first man didn't think it was really even necessary.

"They might be able to construct a cavern which won't collapse. It might even be bunker buster proof." The first man said. "I'm sure the way in, which is also the way out, will collapse if there's some type of an attack going forward."

The second man didn't think the decision was up to them.

"We're just following orders." The second man said.

The first man felt they were really pawns in Skynet's game of global domination. He didn't see any need to make a big deal about it. He wasn't sure of the exact location.

"How long will it take us to get there?" The first man asked.

The second man planned to take a shortcut. He would follow the access road for the high-tension power lines. They ran very near the location. It was a dirt road. It would be a little bumpy but it would save them a lot of time instead of driving around the other hillside roads to get there.

"It won't take us too long." The second man said.

The two Grays headed for the hillside location in the white van.

The Gray in the other white van checked his mirrors one more time. It was still clear behind him. He couldn't help but wonder about all of their locations being compromised in the last few days. He didn't think he was being tracked currently. He could be.

He saw the headlines of another vehicle approaching. As it got closer, he was able to make out it was a big rig. It passed him by. His van shook slightly from the vortex created by the big rig as it went in the other direction.

He watched it in his side view mirror. He saw the tail lights go off and come back on and go off and come back on a couple of times. He wondered what it was all about.

It quickly dawned on him what it was. It was the universal signal for one driver to indicate to another driver going in the opposite direction they didn't have their headlights on. He realized he was probably being followed by a vehicle without its headlights on.

Since the location he just left was blown up, it was probably the perpetrators. They probably waited around to see who showed up so they could make a clean sweep. He let his foot off of the gas but didn't hit the brake. He wanted to slow up some but not too quickly. He moved the shift selector into 'neutral'. Right now the van was still moving, but it was slowing down. He intently checked his side view and rear view mirrors for any telltale signs of another vehicle.

There was a straight section of road coming up. He needed to go through a couple of small curves. He put the van back in gear but continued at a slower pace. So far he was unable to spot anyone. Maybe he was chasing shadows. Maybe he was chasing ghosts. Maybe they were chasing him.

The Gray continued on towards the mine in the white van. He continuously checked behind him for any telltale signs of a tail. So far he hadn't spotted anything. The actions of the big rig still bothered him.

Moments ago:

The female Fanatic stayed behind the white van. She didn't know what the destination was yet. It didn't matter. She would bring it down and kill everyone inside whatever it was. The comfort of Ascension gave her renewed strength and resolve.

She could see the headlights of another vehicle approaching. As it got closer, she saw the driver turn his lights on and off twice. She noticed it was a big rig. She didn't respond and kept driving. She actually thought about pulling over before she encountered another oncoming vehicle earlier. She didn't. Now she wished she would have.

She realized she was much closer to the tail lights in front of her now. She didn't see the driver hit the brakes. He must have taken his foot off of the gas. He probably noticed it was the second vehicle, of the three which passed him, who's lights went on and off several times.

"Damn." The female Fanatic said.

She didn't think he spotted her, but it was clear he suspected something. She immediately downshifted to slow the vehicle. She didn't want to tap her brakes. The sedan rapidly slowed. There was no longer a curb along the side of the road where they were headed. There was a dirt shoulder on both sides. She didn't know how firm the dirt actually was. It hadn't rained in a while. Hopefully it was dried out and rock hard. It could also be dusty as well. A dust cloud wouldn't be a good thing either.

She thought about moving over to the opposing traffic lane and driving on the shoulder on the opposite side. She didn't think he would check on the other side of the road. If the car kicked up dust, it would be self defeating.

What was needed was a probable location. So far there hadn't been any indication as to what it would be. She took out her phone. She checked the street map for any type of clue. Nothing stuck out right away. The rolling hills around them began to get a little larger. The road seemed to skirt the base of them.

The female Fanatic dropped back even further. She needed to keep track of where the van was at in front of her. She didn't want to get ambushed. She was worried if she lost sight of it, the driver might pull over to the side of the road and wait for her. All he would need to do was wait for a vehicle approaching without its lights on.

Tina waited at the branch for the man to arrive.

She could hear him coming. She decided to follow him out of the mine instead of taking him down the caved in passageway for questioning. His screams might be heard by the others.

He carried a powerful flashlight. He never even looked in her direction as he headed towards the opening to the outside. His entire focus was on what was in front of him, not what was behind him. She closed up the distance. She always looked for a depression in the rock wall in case she needed to seek cover.

The wooden barrier was up in front of him. She watched his light dance around on it. She became a little concerned when his light shined on the wooden section which snapped off from the top when Lena went over.

It didn't stay there long. He unlatched the door from the inside and went out.

Tina decided she wasn't going to take any chances. She moved over to the side of the rock wall as she proceeded. She used multiple different vision spectrums to scan what was on the other side of the wooden barrier. She didn't detect the Gray waiting on either side of the doorway to ambush her.

Lena moved forward to bring the second man under direct observation. She wanted to wait until Tina took the first man into custody. She needed to be mindful there were two other men. There could be additional men as well.

Tina reported the man passed through the wooden barrier.

Lena decided it was time to act. She pulled out her silenced M9 as she approached the second man. His attention was focused on what appeared to be part of a hoist. It looked as if it was in the process of being assembled. She wasn't sure why he was working on it where it was.

The second man started to turn around. She fired her silenced M9 once. The man dropped.

She quickly looked in the direction the other two men went. She didn't see or hear anything.

As she got closer to the fallen man, she could see there was a shaft. It went down. She carefully moved up to the edge of it as she kept track of the passageway where the other two men went earlier. She didn't spot any light down inside of the shaft. There was no rope or ladder going into it. She took one look around and grabbed the man she shot and dropped him down into the shaft after she took his phone. She could hear his body impact a few seconds later. The shaft didn't seem to go down more than a few hundred feet. It indicated there was at least one lower level.

She moved on in pursuit of the other two men who left earlier. She could hear metal on metal up ahead. She listened a little further. No. It was metal on rock. She wondered if they were trying to anchor something or remove something.

There was light coming out of the side of the passageway up ahead. It appeared the men dismantled a wooden barrier and entered a side cavern. She slowed as she approached. She watched behind her, as well as in front of her, as she neared the opening. She could hear the two men talking.

"This stuff looks like it's a hundred years old." The third man said.

"It's a wonder it hasn't blown up already." The fourth man said.

"All I know, according to the instructions we were given, was to remove the wooden siding where we're working." The third man said.

"Did anyone mention the hundred year old explosives?" The fourth man asked.

Lena thought a Thermite grenade would do wonders inside the cavern the two Grays were in. It also would probably detonate the explosives a little too quickly. She didn't know what was in there in the way of blasting caps or if it was just TNT or dynamite. She would need to do a closer look before she took any action. She knew even if the explosives degraded over time, some of them would probably still do what they were intended to do.

"You don't see the boss working around this stuff." The third man said.

"It just goes to show he's smarter than we are." The fourth man said.

"I think we should take a break." The third man said.

"We just got here a few minutes ago." The fourth man said.

"It seems like an even better reason to take a break." The third man said.

Lena decided to take the men down. She figured it would be for her own safety as much as anything else. She would need to make sure her shots were true when she took them. She didn't want one of the rounds to ricochet and end up in the crates of the old explosives.

It left a lot of questions unanswered. On whose orders were these men working? How did they know to be in the location they were and to remove the siding from the cavern they were in? She understood the two men were just flunkies. Whoever directed them to do something specific wasn't. She didn't think the orders came from the man Tina currently stalked either.

Lena hoped to hear a little more before she acted. She also hoped the men didn't accidentally set off the explosives inside the cavern they were in. Old explosives could be very unstable.

Closing monologue by Cameron:

Naughty Girl

Everyone is free and independent
To make up their own rules
Those who stay between the lines
Are nothing but lost fools

When someone puts down their boot
There are those who will fold
Maybe it's because
Their story hasn't been told

Everyone only lives once
Maybe it's time for the fast lane
Things might soon work out
Or there may be a lot of pain

It's time to take a gamble
Go ahead and roll the dice
Things may work out nice
They may also come with a price

Some may think they've found a gem
It might even be a golden pearl
Little do they know
They've actually found a naughty girl

Nobody