1
00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:07,920
Speaker 1: Chapter nine, Sasha. They unloaded her in plaino. The porters

2
00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,000
Speaker 1: who cracked open her crate, two men in dirty jumpsuits,

3
00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,560
Speaker 1: seemed disappointed that she wasn't food. One of the men

4
00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,919
Speaker 1: was tall and balding, the others shorter and still fairly young.

5
00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,319
Speaker 1: They had white skin burnt reddish by the sun, and

6
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:23,640
Speaker 1: neither of them looked like they bathed in quite some time.

7
00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,960
Speaker 1: Their faces were gaunt. Sasha didn't see any extra fat

8
00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:31,480
Speaker 1: on either of them. Add Dang, said the tall one, welcome,

9
00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,040
Speaker 1: said the short one. I hope you're ready for what

10
00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,000
Speaker 1: this is. They were not exactly the welcome crew she'd expected.

11
00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,120
Speaker 1: Saul had told her a man named David would be waiting,

12
00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,320
Speaker 1: but neither of the porters knew who David was. They

13
00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,600
Speaker 1: seemed much more frustrated than joyous at her presence. The

14
00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,080
Speaker 1: building wasn't what she'd expected either. It looked like an

15
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,960
Speaker 1: old FedEx facility, with all the branding covered by red

16
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,000
Speaker 1: spray paint. There was trash everywhere, mostly food waste from

17
00:00:57,040 --> 00:00:59,440
Speaker 1: crates of aid supplies that had been opened too late.

18
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,600
Speaker 1: The spoiled food had been shoved into large piles and

19
00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,319
Speaker 1: left to rot. In one center of the large room.

20
00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,960
Speaker 1: Sasha guessed this had once been a loading dock where

21
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,360
Speaker 1: delivery trucks would have dropped off and received packages. The

22
00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,319
Speaker 1: room was filled with a mix of aid crates and

23
00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:16,880
Speaker 1: miscellaneous boxes, stacked into piles by a ragged army of

24
00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:19,880
Speaker 1: tired looking men. Like the two men who had greeted her,

25
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,560
Speaker 1: they all looked malnourished and skinny. The only people not

26
00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,760
Speaker 1: dressed in blue jumpsuits were a pair of armed guards.

27
00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,039
Speaker 1: They stood in the back of the room, near a

28
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,039
Speaker 1: door that seemed to lead deeper into the facility. Both

29
00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:34,920
Speaker 1: men had white paint crosses daubed across the body armor

30
00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:39,119
Speaker 1: on their chests. Both carried very large black rifles. One

31
00:01:39,160 --> 00:01:41,240
Speaker 1: of them ran over once he saw her emerge from

32
00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,600
Speaker 1: the shipping crate. Welcome to the heavenly Kingdom, ma'am, the

33
00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:46,959
Speaker 1: boy drawled. He looked young enough to have come from

34
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,440
Speaker 1: her own high school. There was a dusting of acne

35
00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,160
Speaker 1: on his unlined face, and his round cheeks still held

36
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,000
Speaker 1: a bit of baby fat. Thank you, sir, she said,

37
00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,640
Speaker 1: and pointed to the cross on his chest. It's good

38
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,520
Speaker 1: to see that. The young martyr smiled. Yes, ma'am, we

39
00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:04,320
Speaker 1: wear the cross here. He glanced at the porters and

40
00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:08,560
Speaker 1: narrowed his eyes. Most of us anyway. He extended his hand.

41
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:10,959
Speaker 1: Sasha took it, and he helped her take her first

42
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,320
Speaker 1: few steps into this strange new world. Her legs felt

43
00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,640
Speaker 1: wobbly and unstable after so much time crammed into a crate.

44
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,919
Speaker 1: She was grateful for the help. I'm looking for David,

45
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,799
Speaker 1: she said, Do you know where I might find him? No,

46
00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:27,119
Speaker 1: David here, ma'am, the martyr replied, But Darrell's the team

47
00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:29,639
Speaker 1: leader for this receiving yard. He'll set you to rights.

48
00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:32,880
Speaker 1: They walked through the rear door and into the building proper.

49
00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,440
Speaker 1: Sasha's escort guided her past old offices and break rooms

50
00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,480
Speaker 1: into what looked like it had been a waiting area

51
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,120
Speaker 1: for customers. It had been transformed into an office. The

52
00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,600
Speaker 1: only occupant was a single man, surrounded by four folding tables,

53
00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:48,440
Speaker 1: each piled high with a mix of paper shipping manifests

54
00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,680
Speaker 1: and folding e paper displays. He sat in the middle

55
00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 1: of it all and scrolled feverishly on a heavy government

56
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:59,079
Speaker 1: issued tablet computer. This man, Darrell, was tall and broad shouldered,

57
00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,919
Speaker 1: but stooped forward. It looked as if his spine had

58
00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,960
Speaker 1: been bent at the mid's shoulders. Sasha relished the deep

59
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:07,480
Speaker 1: lines on his face, the bags under his eyes, his

60
00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:10,800
Speaker 1: receding hairline, and even the way his joints popped audibly

61
00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,560
Speaker 1: as he stood. When she entered. No man she'd met

62
00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,120
Speaker 1: in the American Federation had aged so honestly, not even

63
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,080
Speaker 1: her father. Sasha realized with a start that this was

64
00:03:20,120 --> 00:03:23,360
Speaker 1: the first older man she'd ever really seen. He must

65
00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,519
Speaker 1: be fifty at least. Hello, sir, she started, Ah nuts,

66
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:30,880
Speaker 1: he spat not another one? Ee you. The man had

67
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,600
Speaker 1: a thick drawl. He sounded country in a way Sasha

68
00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:36,160
Speaker 1: had only heard in movies. Her voice caught in her

69
00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,440
Speaker 1: throat as she tried to respond, Sir, I'm I'm looking

70
00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,240
Speaker 1: for David. Yep. He grunted you and every other teenager.

71
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,560
Speaker 1: What's come through a depot? I'll tell you the same

72
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,040
Speaker 1: thing I told them others. Ain't no David here. Sasha's

73
00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,200
Speaker 1: eyes widened. She squeaked and immediately hated herself for it. No, No,

74
00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:56,080
Speaker 1: David Darrel must have seen the fear in her face

75
00:03:56,120 --> 00:04:01,360
Speaker 1: and taken pity, because his tone softened. Listen. He glanced

76
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,640
Speaker 1: at the small screen wrapped around his wrist. Tapped it

77
00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:05,840
Speaker 1: a couple of times and looked back to her. I

78
00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,920
Speaker 1: got about fifteen minutes left Herefore, I got a mating downtown.

79
00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,360
Speaker 1: I can drop you off. Folks there can help you

80
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,240
Speaker 1: get set up if and you decide to stay. I

81
00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:17,800
Speaker 1: would appreciate that very much, Sasha said. Her face reddened

82
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,400
Speaker 1: again when she asked, is there a restroom I can

83
00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,479
Speaker 1: use around here? I'd like to clean up a bit. Yep,

84
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,000
Speaker 1: the man grunted and nodded towards a red door in

85
00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,160
Speaker 1: the back of his office. That's brabbit. No shower, but

86
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,440
Speaker 1: the water runs. Sasha couldn't really smell herself anymore, which

87
00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,839
Speaker 1: she knew she probably smelled terrible. The thing she wanted

88
00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,559
Speaker 1: most was a long, hot shower with shampoo. Holy God,

89
00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,919
Speaker 1: she realized, shampoo is amazing. She was so preoccupied with

90
00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:47,320
Speaker 1: the thought of clean hair that she didn't even chastise

91
00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,719
Speaker 1: herself for the blasphemy. Sasha knew she wouldn't find shampoo

92
00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:52,880
Speaker 1: in this restroom, but any kind of clean was better

93
00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,800
Speaker 1: than her current level of filth. She thanked Darrell and

94
00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:06,000
Speaker 1: stepped into his bathroom. Sasha told herself it wasn't the

95
00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:08,359
Speaker 1: worst bathroom she'd ever seen, even though that was a

96
00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:12,200
Speaker 1: clear lie. The floor, once white tile, was so crusted

97
00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:14,240
Speaker 1: with black and yellow she could only tell they'd ever

98
00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:17,440
Speaker 1: bin tile by the slight suggestion of squarish shapes underneath

99
00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,960
Speaker 1: the filth. The toilet had been shattered almost completely. All

100
00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,679
Speaker 1: that remained was a little circle of busted ceramic around

101
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: a hole in the ground. It seemed to function as

102
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,880
Speaker 1: a squat toilet now. The sink was intact, but it

103
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:30,919
Speaker 1: also looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all in

104
00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,480
Speaker 1: the last year. The metal of the faucet was green

105
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,600
Speaker 1: where it should have been silver. Sasha held her nose,

106
00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:39,039
Speaker 1: turned the hot water on, and hoped for the best.

107
00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:41,719
Speaker 1: It took her a round minute to stop hoping for

108
00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:44,520
Speaker 1: hot water. Of course, this place didn't have a functioning

109
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,400
Speaker 1: water heater. This is a war zone, you stupid girl,

110
00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:50,360
Speaker 1: Sasha cursed herself. She felt tears at the edge of

111
00:05:50,400 --> 00:05:53,960
Speaker 1: her vision, but fought them down. Slowly, deliberately. She pulled

112
00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,360
Speaker 1: off her top, undid her braw, and hung both from

113
00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,599
Speaker 1: the door knob. As she did, she thought of the

114
00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,320
Speaker 1: Book of Romans. We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that

115
00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,520
Speaker 1: suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

116
00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,600
Speaker 1: and hope does not put us to shame because God's

117
00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,320
Speaker 1: love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,

118
00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,559
Speaker 1: who has been given to us. The word of God

119
00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,080
Speaker 1: gave her some comfort, but Sasha's stomach still churned as

120
00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,359
Speaker 1: she scrubbed the grime from her body. She confronted the

121
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:25,560
Speaker 1: fact that this was all real. Now. She'd fled her

122
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,880
Speaker 1: home and her family, traveled to a war zone, and

123
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,200
Speaker 1: now she was here. It was done. Her great sacrifice

124
00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,760
Speaker 1: was now real, not theoretical. The excitement she felt that

125
00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,520
Speaker 1: that realization was marred by an anxious kind of horror

126
00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,640
Speaker 1: at the things she'd never do now. She hadn't really

127
00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,240
Speaker 1: thought about that before she'd left, but now Sasha realized

128
00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,159
Speaker 1: that she was never going to graduate high school, she'd

129
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,400
Speaker 1: never go to college, she'd never see her father's face again.

130
00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,159
Speaker 1: She started to cry. It surprised her a little. For

131
00:06:54,279 --> 00:06:57,440
Speaker 1: days now, her emotions had felt stunted, buried under the

132
00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,200
Speaker 1: very immediate concerns of escape and survive evil. But as

133
00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:03,520
Speaker 1: soon as she had a minute to breathe, everything she

134
00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,159
Speaker 1: hadn't been able to let herself feel flowed out of

135
00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:09,840
Speaker 1: her eyes. First, she tried to fight it, but then

136
00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:12,400
Speaker 1: she remembered something Pastor Mike had written in one of

137
00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,480
Speaker 1: his columns for Revelator. Embrace your pain, for you will

138
00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:19,680
Speaker 1: hurt again. Embrace your grief, for it is a gift.

139
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,679
Speaker 1: Lean into the wounds the world gives you. Have faith

140
00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,400
Speaker 1: that the Lord God does not send us burdens we

141
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,520
Speaker 1: are too weak to bear. She left behind a world

142
00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,400
Speaker 1: where people denied their age with science, saved their pain

143
00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,240
Speaker 1: with narcotics, and fought the natural order of the world

144
00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,840
Speaker 1: the Lord had built. Sasha had wanted authenticity. She'd wanted

145
00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:42,280
Speaker 1: to live the truth of Christianity without compromise. That meant

146
00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,840
Speaker 1: leaning into this pain and letting it lift her up

147
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,960
Speaker 1: into the arms of God. So Sasha leaned in. She sobbed,

148
00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,600
Speaker 1: and sobbed and sobbed, shook and shuddered with a pain

149
00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,400
Speaker 1: more profound than any she'd known before, and then she stopped.

150
00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:58,400
Speaker 1: She dried herself off, pulled her one fresh pair of

151
00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,640
Speaker 1: clothes out of her backpack, and got dressed to go

152
00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:04,200
Speaker 1: and meet the heavenly kingdom she'd sacrificed so much to join.

153
00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,640
Speaker 1: Darryl banked twice on the door right as she slid

154
00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,800
Speaker 1: on her socks. Ma'am, I gotta get moving. Maybe do

155
00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:14,240
Speaker 1: the make up later. Sasha shoved her dirty clothes in

156
00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:18,560
Speaker 1: her backpack, zipped it up, and opened the door. The

157
00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,120
Speaker 1: Heavenly Kingdom included rather more ship and bullet casings than

158
00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,360
Speaker 1: Sasha had expected. She'd known, of course, that it was

159
00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:27,560
Speaker 1: a war zone. The whole Kingdom was less than two

160
00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:30,840
Speaker 1: years old. Plaino had been taken just days ago. It

161
00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:33,679
Speaker 1: had all been won by blood and violence. She just

162
00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:36,440
Speaker 1: sort of figured the Army of God would have cleaned

163
00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:40,400
Speaker 1: up after itself. Daryl's truck was the oldest vehicle and

164
00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:43,320
Speaker 1: the first non autonomous one she had ever ridden inside.

165
00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:46,600
Speaker 1: It was frightening to think that one person's movements were

166
00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:49,800
Speaker 1: the only thing that stood between her and a grizzly death,

167
00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,280
Speaker 1: but her fear at that soon faded into anxiety at

168
00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:56,720
Speaker 1: the state of the world around them. The signs identified

169
00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,040
Speaker 1: this as plain O. She knew the center of that

170
00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,560
Speaker 1: city had been a stronghold for the Republic of Texas

171
00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,880
Speaker 1: and its corporate masters. They'd been content to leave many

172
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,520
Speaker 1: of the surrounding cities in the hands of the Heavenly Kingdom.

173
00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,400
Speaker 1: Since that had meant more work for the SDF in Austin.

174
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,559
Speaker 1: Despite its proximity to the front, Plaino's status as a

175
00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:17,160
Speaker 1: stronghold for some of the Republic's wealthiest citizens and corporations

176
00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:21,200
Speaker 1: had made it seem unassailable. The notoriously stingy Republic had

177
00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,000
Speaker 1: spent heavily on the city's garrison. Sasha still didn't know

178
00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,680
Speaker 1: what had happened, how a Republican stronghold had fallen so fast,

179
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:31,240
Speaker 1: but she saw evidence of how the fall had gone

180
00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:35,120
Speaker 1: down all around her. The city was devastated. They drove

181
00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,440
Speaker 1: past a police station that was filled with bullet holes

182
00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,440
Speaker 1: and burnt black around its windows. They passed an elementary

183
00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:42,600
Speaker 1: school that looked as if it had been barricaded, turned

184
00:09:42,600 --> 00:09:45,880
Speaker 1: into a fortress, and then blasted apart with rockets. The

185
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,840
Speaker 1: streets they rolled over had been cracked and broken by shellfire.

186
00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,360
Speaker 1: Sasha stared out with wide, excited eyes as they passed

187
00:09:52,400 --> 00:09:55,840
Speaker 1: mansions that had completely collapsed under the weight of heavy bombardment,

188
00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:58,960
Speaker 1: and all around them the streets were filled with soldiers.

189
00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:01,600
Speaker 1: There seemed to be a checkpoint every two or three minutes.

190
00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,360
Speaker 1: The martyrs who manned those checkpoints looked impossibly young. That

191
00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,200
Speaker 1: made Sasha feel a little less lonely. This is what

192
00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,800
Speaker 1: it looks like when a generation comes back to God,

193
00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,600
Speaker 1: she thought. At each stop, Darrell pulled a laminated paper

194
00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,080
Speaker 1: id out of his pocket. The soldiers would take it,

195
00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,640
Speaker 1: look it over, and then ask him about her. None

196
00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:23,400
Speaker 1: of them met her eyes. Just arrived today, Darrell always said,

197
00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:26,160
Speaker 1: she's here to help build the kingdom. Thanks be to

198
00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,000
Speaker 1: God was the usual reply. Some of the men at

199
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,839
Speaker 1: the checkpoints were enthusiastic and shouted it with all the

200
00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,600
Speaker 1: joy she'd expected to hear, but a few of them

201
00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:36,880
Speaker 1: just looked at her with eyes that were half sullen,

202
00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,680
Speaker 1: half hungry. Darrell, she asked, twenty minutes and three checkpoints

203
00:10:41,679 --> 00:10:45,360
Speaker 1: into their drive, what exactly happened here? I left home

204
00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,640
Speaker 1: the day after plain O fell. It felt like just

205
00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,880
Speaker 1: such a miracle. It seems impossible for things to change

206
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:54,280
Speaker 1: so much so fast. Darrell fixed her with a look

207
00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,520
Speaker 1: that Sasha couldn't quite read and made her nervous. The

208
00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,280
Speaker 1: next words jumbled up as they left her mouth. It's

209
00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:04,040
Speaker 1: just I mean, I know all things are possible through God,

210
00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,360
Speaker 1: but how how did we win here? From what I

211
00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,360
Speaker 1: read on the news? The older man laughed, well, there's

212
00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,839
Speaker 1: your problem. Trust in the news, you ain't gonna read

213
00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:16,000
Speaker 1: much true about Texas. There all those foreign papers love

214
00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,439
Speaker 1: the s d if. He spat out the window for emphasis,

215
00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,160
Speaker 1: and they treat the Republic like a real government, not

216
00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:24,760
Speaker 1: like a collection of robber barons and their hired guns.

217
00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,199
Speaker 1: Truth is, their position was always rocky. People around here.

218
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:30,160
Speaker 1: You'd rather live under God's law than the rule of

219
00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,760
Speaker 1: the rich or those Prance and Austin faggots. He spat again,

220
00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,920
Speaker 1: and somehow made the gesture look like an apology. Sorry

221
00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:38,960
Speaker 1: for the curse, Miss Sauchi, It's been a minute since

222
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,520
Speaker 1: I spent much time around a woman. She smiled in response,

223
00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:44,920
Speaker 1: because she wasn't really sure what else to do. And

224
00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,400
Speaker 1: then they turned a corner, passed a mostly intact line

225
00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,120
Speaker 1: of shops and a sign that welcomed them to downtown Plano.

226
00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,360
Speaker 1: The wide streets had been cordoned off by sandbags and

227
00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:57,080
Speaker 1: what looked like enormous fabric cubes filled with rocks. Several

228
00:11:57,080 --> 00:11:59,640
Speaker 1: dozen armed men milled about, and in the center of

229
00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,240
Speaker 1: the broad thoroughfare, Sasha saw what could only be a

230
00:12:02,320 --> 00:12:04,880
Speaker 1: gallows built right in the middle of the two lane street.

231
00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,679
Speaker 1: It was her first gallows. Capital punishment was illegal in

232
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,320
Speaker 1: the American Federation. She stared horrified at the way the

233
00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,000
Speaker 1: six corpses strung up there swung to and fro with

234
00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,880
Speaker 1: the breeze. Sasha squeaked just a bit in shock. She

235
00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:22,440
Speaker 1: was glad the bodies weren't very close. Darrell seemed to

236
00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:24,840
Speaker 1: notice her discomfort. He looked down at her with a

237
00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,600
Speaker 1: mix of pity and understanding, ain't always pretty what we're doing,

238
00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,480
Speaker 1: but it's the Lord's work. The truck rolled to a

239
00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,080
Speaker 1: stop outside of a large red brick building that reeked

240
00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,760
Speaker 1: of government. Sasha couldn't tell what it had once been.

241
00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,880
Speaker 1: The sign was too thoroughly burned. A new sign made

242
00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,560
Speaker 1: of white vinyl identified this building as the House of Miriam.

243
00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:48,920
Speaker 1: This be your stop, ma'am. Darrell said thank you. She

244
00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:51,760
Speaker 1: forced a smile and then asked, should I just go in?

245
00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:56,760
Speaker 1: I'll walk in, how about that? Sasha nodded her gratitude.

246
00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,440
Speaker 1: She wasn't a hundred percent sure what was supposed to

247
00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,240
Speaker 1: happen at this point. Revelator had claimed that every man

248
00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:04,480
Speaker 1: and woman who journeyed to the Heavenly Kingdom would be

249
00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,400
Speaker 1: given meaningful work, food, and as much shelter as the

250
00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,320
Speaker 1: martyrs can provide. She knew that she could expect to

251
00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:13,040
Speaker 1: be housed with other young, unmarried women, at least until

252
00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,440
Speaker 1: she and Alexander were finally together. But this trip and

253
00:13:16,480 --> 00:13:19,760
Speaker 1: the Heavenly Kingdom was already so very different from everything

254
00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:23,120
Speaker 1: she'd expected. That was reinforced when she stepped out of

255
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,280
Speaker 1: the truck and directly onto a pile of spent bullet casings.

256
00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,120
Speaker 1: There were burnt cars in the street, burnt buildings all

257
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,800
Speaker 1: around her, and a vague but persistent smell of sour

258
00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,200
Speaker 1: milk in the air. The feeling of dread that had

259
00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:36,439
Speaker 1: built inside her since she'd left the crate hid a

260
00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,080
Speaker 1: new crescendo. And then Darrell took her inside the House

261
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:43,760
Speaker 1: of Miriam, and everything changed again. Sasha saw a middle

262
00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:46,040
Speaker 1: aged woman sitting behind a desk in a big white

263
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,839
Speaker 1: room while younger women sat and lined the walls around her.

264
00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,800
Speaker 1: The older lady had loose, friendly jowls and a mop

265
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:54,800
Speaker 1: of gray hair tossed into a lazy bun. She looked

266
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,959
Speaker 1: exhausted until the moment she fixed eyes on Sasha. At

267
00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,679
Speaker 1: that moment, her eyes lifted, along with her lips, into

268
00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,520
Speaker 1: a smile that was the truest thing Sasha had ever seen.

269
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:07,560
Speaker 1: Praise be to God, she cried, You've made it. And

270
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,400
Speaker 1: then a sea of girls rose up around her. Most

271
00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,079
Speaker 1: of them appeared to have been sewing up military uniforms,

272
00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:15,360
Speaker 1: but at the moment's call, every one of them set

273
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,000
Speaker 1: their work down and rose up to meet her. Sasha

274
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,920
Speaker 1: was swarmed by a sea of smiling faces, as girls

275
00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:24,040
Speaker 1: pressed their hands to hers, or embraced her, or prayed

276
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,200
Speaker 1: over her and chanted in tongues. A dozen people told

277
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,960
Speaker 1: her their names at once. Sasha went stiff at first,

278
00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:32,680
Speaker 1: shocked and a little mortified by the mass display of

279
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,200
Speaker 1: physical affection by so many strangers. But then the older

280
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:38,320
Speaker 1: woman made her way through the crowd and put her

281
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,680
Speaker 1: hands on Sasha's shoulders. She brushed a stray hair out

282
00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,120
Speaker 1: of Sasha's face and fixed her with a smile that

283
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:47,000
Speaker 1: was more motherly than Sasha's actual mother had ever been.

284
00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:49,840
Speaker 1: It's all right now, she said, in a voice that

285
00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:53,840
Speaker 1: was pure comfort. I'm sure you're probably feeling frightened and overwhelmed,

286
00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,600
Speaker 1: but you've reached the heavenly kingdom. Loose yourself from the

287
00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:02,000
Speaker 1: chains around your necko captive daughter of Zion. Your home now.

288
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,280
Speaker 1: Something about the woman's voice and the way her hands

289
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,600
Speaker 1: felt broke through the anxious wall around Sasha's heart. She

290
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,680
Speaker 1: found herself in the older woman's arms. She sobbed, and

291
00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,160
Speaker 1: then she felt the press of bodies close against her.

292
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:17,760
Speaker 1: The mingled sense of lavender, citrus and human beings filled

293
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,720
Speaker 1: her nose. It comforted Sasha in a way she'd never

294
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,440
Speaker 1: quite known. The anxiety and fear were gone now, but

295
00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:28,000
Speaker 1: so was any sense of motive inspiration. She let her

296
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,120
Speaker 1: sisters guide her to a pillow on the ground. The

297
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,680
Speaker 1: room got very busy. Girls scattered. They heated up water

298
00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,880
Speaker 1: and prepared food, and generally bothered themselves with every aspect

299
00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:41,280
Speaker 1: of Sasha's comfort. Soon she had coffee and buttered muffins

300
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,920
Speaker 1: and a heavy jug of gatorade. A fan was moved

301
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,280
Speaker 1: into position where it could blow more cool air onto

302
00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:49,240
Speaker 1: her face. The older woman sat down next to Sasha

303
00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,480
Speaker 1: and started to speak. My name is Helen, she said.

304
00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,200
Speaker 1: I watch over the newcomers here, and I helped them

305
00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,359
Speaker 1: adjust to life in the heavenly Kingdom. The most important

306
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,840
Speaker 1: thing for you to know is that you loved and

307
00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:04,240
Speaker 1: wanted here. You'll have food and shelter into purpose. Do

308
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:08,080
Speaker 1: you understand that, darling? Sasha tried to smile, but realized

309
00:16:08,080 --> 00:16:10,480
Speaker 1: her face was still stuck in the same absent grin

310
00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,480
Speaker 1: she'd worn since the greeting. After a long pause, she

311
00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:18,000
Speaker 1: managed to nod and speak, yes, er, sorry, Sasha. My

312
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:23,000
Speaker 1: name is Sasha Marian. I'm from Virginia in the American Federation, Sasha.

313
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,840
Speaker 1: Helen said, just Sasha, we have no last names here

314
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,800
Speaker 1: and no nationalities beyond our allegiance to God and his

315
00:16:29,840 --> 00:16:34,800
Speaker 1: heavenly kingdom. Do you understand? Sasha nodded yes. I mean,

316
00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,200
Speaker 1: of course, I've I read every issue of Revelator before

317
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:40,440
Speaker 1: coming here. I know that nations and states are a

318
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,600
Speaker 1: worldly concept that only serves to separate us from God Almighty,

319
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,960
Speaker 1: I memorize, Pastor. It's one thing to read the truth,

320
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:50,120
Speaker 1: it's another to live it. Don't worry, child, It'll take

321
00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,240
Speaker 1: some time to unlearn your old habits. Helen had cut

322
00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:55,680
Speaker 1: her off, but she'd done it so gently that Sasha

323
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,560
Speaker 1: didn't even take it as a rebuke. She just nodded again,

324
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:01,480
Speaker 1: and then she remembered something. I need to find a

325
00:17:01,480 --> 00:17:04,200
Speaker 1: young man. His name is Alexander. He's in a mechanized

326
00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,280
Speaker 1: infantry unit. I think he's a corporal, and I have

327
00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:08,040
Speaker 1: a picture of him printed out in my bag. If

328
00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,080
Speaker 1: it will help, dear, Helen's voice dropped an octave. I

329
00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:14,240
Speaker 1: know this is hard to hear, but the martyrs have

330
00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,280
Speaker 1: important work to do. They fight that we might build

331
00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,200
Speaker 1: the heavenly Kingdom if the Lord sees fit to deliver

332
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,040
Speaker 1: him safe from the fray. Sasha really didn't like the

333
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:25,800
Speaker 1: way she said. If then we will find him and

334
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:30,000
Speaker 1: reunite you two. Re Sasha gave a nervous laugh. Oh no,

335
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,600
Speaker 1: we we've never met except for online. He convinced me

336
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,199
Speaker 1: to come. I mean, I didn't come for him, but

337
00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,520
Speaker 1: I was really on the fence until I met him.

338
00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:42,520
Speaker 1: Helen's expression shifted. She looked was that anguished or angry?

339
00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,200
Speaker 1: But Sasha didn't detect any anger in her voice when

340
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,240
Speaker 1: she replied, I know it's hard, love, but you're going

341
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,359
Speaker 1: to need to wait to hear from Alexander. For right now.

342
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:54,440
Speaker 1: It should be enough that you're here, you're safe, You've

343
00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:57,520
Speaker 1: done it. Do you know what this means. It means

344
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,960
Speaker 1: I didn't get caught. Helen laughed, You had a beautiful laugh.

345
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,679
Speaker 1: Sasha wanted to curl up and fall asleep inside it. No.

346
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:07,720
Speaker 1: I mean well, yes, of course, she said. But more

347
00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:10,680
Speaker 1: than anything, it means that, for all time, forever and ever,

348
00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,480
Speaker 1: you're a person who made the choice to be brave.

349
00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,840
Speaker 1: You took a leap into the dark and trusted that

350
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,879
Speaker 1: God's light would rise to meet you. There were tears

351
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,360
Speaker 1: in her eyes, genuine tears wrapped up in genuine wrinkles

352
00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,399
Speaker 1: and laugh lines that had never felt the touch of

353
00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,000
Speaker 1: a surgical laser. That's the most beautiful thing in the world,

354
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,800
Speaker 1: Helen said, I want you to know that. Sasha started

355
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,199
Speaker 1: to cry too. Helen embraced her, held her close, and

356
00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:42,359
Speaker 1: Sasha was certain she'd never been happier. Hey, everybody, Robert

357
00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:44,359
Speaker 1: Evans here. I hope you just enjoyed the chapter you

358
00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:46,640
Speaker 1: listen to. I hope you enjoyed the chapters to come.

359
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,280
Speaker 1: If you would like to read the text version of

360
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,720
Speaker 1: this book either on the web or on your e

361
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,119
Speaker 1: reader as an e pub you can find those on

362
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,960
Speaker 1: the website a t r book dot com. So again,

363
00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:01,199
Speaker 1: the free ad free EP hub and the text of

364
00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:04,399
Speaker 1: every chapter will be on a t r book dot com.

365
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:05,400
Speaker 1: Thanks