WEBVTT - After the Revolution: Chapters Eighteen, Nineteen, and Twenty 0:00:02.120 --> 0:00:07.440 Chapter eighteen, Sasha. Sasha didn't feel safe out on the 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:10.840 street after Anne's abduction. The next day, she'd volunteered for 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:14.080 four extra hours of duty in the emergency ward. She 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:18.079 changed bandages and administered antibiotic salves and delivered food to 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.239 wounded soldiers until her eyes started to glaze over and 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:24.919 doctor Brandt ordered her home. She'd barely had the energy 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:27.080 to eat that night, but by the time her driver 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:29.200 dropped her off at the House of Miriam, it was 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:32.440 dark and there'd been no one waiting for her. That 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:35.839 strategy hadn't worked. The day after that, doctor Brandt had 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:38.760 even tried to send her home early. Sasha had talked 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:40.680 him out of it, but not out of sending her 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.960 back downtown at the normal time. She was sure her 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:46.879 driver must have noticed how anxious she was. By the 0:00:46.920 --> 0:00:49.280 time they reached the main drag, she was drenched in 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:52.440 sweat her hands were shaking. She asked him to drop 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:54.760 her off a half block down from the normal spot 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:56.960 so she could enter the square from the left side 0:00:57.000 --> 0:00:58.840 and get a good look at who was hanging out 0:00:58.880 --> 0:01:02.560 near the House of Miriam. Alexander had been there, of course, 0:01:02.760 --> 0:01:04.800 sitting out in front of a building two doors down 0:01:04.840 --> 0:01:07.760 from the house, along with one of his friends. Avoiding 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:10.120 them had brought her to the Cafe Clement, and then 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:13.240 something she could only assume was God's providence had bumped 0:01:13.240 --> 0:01:16.200 her into a manual. He was sweet and fun to 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:18.440 talk to, and it was actually refreshing to have a 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.800 conversation with some one who didn't constantly quote scripture or 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:25.280 pastor Mike. She was surprised at herself for feeling that way. 0:01:25.560 --> 0:01:27.679 A few weeks ago, she'd have given anything to have 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.679 an open conversation about her beliefs, but now that she 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:32.760 was deep within the Kingdom, it was nice to talk 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:36.880 about normal things with a normal boy. The next day 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:39.240 had brought her back to the hospital, which was filled 0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:42.119 with wounded soldiers from an air strike on a troop transport. 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.840 Sasha had spent nine hours without a break helping doctor 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:49.160 Brandt cut clothing off of horribly burned young men. She'd 0:01:49.160 --> 0:01:52.560 applied slick, gummy burned dressings and changed ivy drips of 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:56.480 pain killers. The day was long, bloody, and brutal. Four 0:01:56.480 --> 0:01:58.520 men died in front of her eyes, and there was 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:01.320 no time to really think about it. She knew that 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:03.760 she should have been more horrified at what she was seeing. 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.200 But the exposed organs and burnt, shriveled limbs didn't feel 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.240 like parts of people. Even the screams felt more like 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:14.040 rhode hazards or bad weather than damaged pieces of human beings. 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.960 They were obstacles to be dealt with. She and doctor 0:02:17.000 --> 0:02:20.040 Brandt dealt with them well. A still small voice in 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.160 the back of her mind recoiled in horror at the 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:25.400 sheer volume of human misery she saw that day, But 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.280 that voice was quieter than it had been on other days, 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.680 and it grew quieter as the day went on and 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:34.000 the death toll mounted. Sasha had read about post traumatic 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:37.440 stress disorder back in school. She understood the mechanics of it. 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.760 The people tended to cope with terrifying situations by suppressing 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.880 their fear. But this didn't feel like that. It felt 0:02:43.880 --> 0:02:47.080 like she was just doing her job, and she enjoyed 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.560 her job. Before she knew it, ten hours had gone by, 0:02:50.639 --> 0:02:53.240 and doctor Brandt demanded she find a ride back to 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.080 the House of Miriam and get some rest. That was 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.760 the first time in the entire day when Sasha felt 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.399 truly scared. It started in her chest, her heart fluttered 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:05.200 faster and faster, until the flutter turned to a pounding 0:03:05.320 --> 0:03:07.760 so loud it felt like someone was smashing a hammer 0:03:07.800 --> 0:03:10.520 on the inner walls of her cranium. She pressed her 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:12.560 back hard into the seat of the jeep and hoped 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:16.240 her growing panic wasn't obvious to the driver. He dropped 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:18.120 her off on the other side of the square again. 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.440 She didn't see Alexander or his comrades near the House 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.639 of Miriam this time, but she knew that didn't mean 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:26.440 they weren't watching the place. She had plans to meet 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:29.760 Emmanual again anyway. Sasha half expected him to have moved 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:32.160 on since she'd been so late, but he was there, 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.880 standing out in front of the Cafe Clement when she arrived. 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:38.840 I'm sorry, I'm so late, she said. He shrugged in response, 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:41.880 I just got here myself. They dismissed us late. We 0:03:41.920 --> 0:03:45.480 had a special lecture before dinner about a His face 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:48.960 grew red and he trailed off about what she poked. 0:03:49.560 --> 0:03:53.320 Maybe let's just sit down first, huh. So they found 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:56.200 a seat and ordered their coffee. Manny tried to change 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.120 the subject by asking Sasha about her day, but she 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.160 was curious about his reaction and would not be dissuaded. 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.280 I'll tell you all about my day if you tell 0:04:05.320 --> 0:04:07.680 me about that lecture and why just thinking about it 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:10.880 made your face go red. He grew redder and stared 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:14.600 down into his coffee. Pastor came over to lecture us 0:04:14.640 --> 0:04:16.880 about our duty and helping to heaven the kingdom grow. 0:04:17.080 --> 0:04:21.280 You know our duty, Emmanual gave her a significant look. 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:25.559 She gathered his meaning, and then she blushed too. That's 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:28.360 uh why they bust us out here every day, he continued. 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.599 It's so we can get to know the local women 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:34.599 and then get to know them in the biblical sense. 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:37.719 She laughed in spite of herself. I think that was 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:40.719 the first off color joke I've heard in weeks. It 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.920 felt good and risque. It was actually the same sort 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:46.479 of thrill she'd gotten back home when she'd sneakily read 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:49.440 issues of Revelator and browsed the media feeds of various 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:54.000 martyrs brigades. You know, Emmanual, she said, You're not quite 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:56.520 like anyone else I've met here. It's nice to meet 0:04:56.520 --> 0:04:59.200 someone who wasn't afraid to joke. I didn't think i'd 0:04:59.200 --> 0:05:02.719 missed that. He was quiet for a little while Manny 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.640 stirred his coffee awkwardly cast his eyes down, he went paler, 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:11.040 you seem different too, I dunno this place. Maybe it's 0:05:11.080 --> 0:05:14.080 not exactly what we thought it would be. She should 0:05:14.080 --> 0:05:16.200 have gotten angry at that. It was the kind of 0:05:16.240 --> 0:05:18.160 common that could have gotten a manual into a lot 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.240 of trouble. Why would he say that to me, she wondered? 0:05:21.480 --> 0:05:24.159 And why am I okay with all this? Maybe it 0:05:24.200 --> 0:05:26.680 was Marigold rubbing off on her. Maybe it was just 0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:30.240 gradual disillusionment, the climax of a process that had started 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.880 with Alexander's betrayal. But the Heavenly Kingdom no longer felt 0:05:33.920 --> 0:05:39.000 magical or even all that wholly. It's complicated here, she 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:41.880 finally said. I mean, before I came here, I knew 0:05:41.920 --> 0:05:45.440 it couldn't be perfect no places, but yes, it's not 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:49.200 what I'd hoped to find exactly. Sasha felt a spike 0:05:49.240 --> 0:05:51.440 of panic as soon as the words left her mouth. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.760 You barely know this man, Sasha. His whole job might 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:58.440 be ferrying out potential disloyalty. She coughed and tried to 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:01.600 walk her admission back a little. It's still better than 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.040 the st f or any of the other Heathen states, 0:06:04.200 --> 0:06:06.919 I have to keep telling myself that what's important is 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:09.520 what we're fighting for, not the imperfections we have to 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:12.760 live with. In this moment, hum he gave an on 0:06:12.839 --> 0:06:17.520 committal grunt that surprised her. She hadn't expected anything specific exactly, 0:06:17.800 --> 0:06:20.640 but that surprised her. He started to say something else, 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:24.279 then his eyes went wide. Who he started to say? 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.520 Sasha heard boot falls. She felt the presence of several 0:06:27.560 --> 0:06:30.880 tall men behind her. The heavy, familiar scent of Alexander's 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:36.560 cologne filled her nostrils. Madyr Emmanuel Sanchez, Miss Sasha, may 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.719 the blessings of the laud be with you and also 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:43.400 with you, Sascha replied by rote. Emmanuel chimed in a 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:46.279 second or two later. He sounded a bit awkward, like 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:50.120 he wasn't exactly sure which words to use. Alexander pulled 0:06:50.200 --> 0:06:52.080 up a chair and set it against the right side 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:55.320 of the table. He sat down, placing himself between them. 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:57.760 He rested one arm on the table, but his left 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.920 arm hung directly over his side arm. He looked at Immanuel, smiled, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:04.359 and then looked at Sasha. She felt a wave of 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:07.320 nausea grabbed her by the guts and tug. His lips 0:07:07.320 --> 0:07:12.840 curled up, revealing his straight white teeth. Excuse me, Manny said, 0:07:13.080 --> 0:07:16.800 but who are you? Alexander looked back to Manny, his 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:23.320 expression unchanged. Mata, Alexander du Bois. I'm a friend of Sasha's, 0:07:23.360 --> 0:07:25.560 he glanced back at her with a wink that curdled 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.720 her stomach. And I'm also in charge of recruitment for 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:32.760 the Storming Battalion. Never heard of it, Emmanuel said in 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.440 a gruff, clipped tone. Sasha realized she was shaking a little. 0:07:36.720 --> 0:07:40.080 Alexander's lips curled up into an even more ghoulish variant 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:44.440 of his already unsettling smile. He replied, there's a reason 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:48.200 for that, Mada Sanchez. The Storming Battalion plays a key 0:07:48.280 --> 0:07:51.720 role in our success on the battlefield. They've been central 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:55.200 in every one of our victories. We don't publicize their 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.600 work for various reasons, but I assure you it's a 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:02.360 distinct honor to be crouded by me. That's actually why 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:07.240 I'm here, Emmanuel. We've chosen you. By now, it felt 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:10.520 like the pit of Sasha's stomach was boiling. Something terrible 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:14.280 was clearly happening, even Emmanual seemed to realize that his 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.920 face had gone pale. His pupils were the size of 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:21.040 dinner plates. I ah, thank you for the honor, but 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.960 I'm happy with my unit. I feel that's where the 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:28.480 Lord needs me. My friend Aaron Alexander put a hand up, 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:33.040 flat palm facing Emmanual. Your comrade will be taken care of, 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:35.880 and we'll be the judges of where the LRD needs you. 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:40.040 Trust me, We've got a lot more experience interpreting his 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.280 will than you do. There's a reason the cross flies 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:47.520 over this entire city. Emmanuel half stood in his chair. 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:50.960 It was a sudden gesture, and a faintly aggressive one. 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.200 Sasha noticed his hands were bawled up into fists. His 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.679 eyes darted left and right. He seemed to be looking 0:08:56.679 --> 0:08:59.880 over the heads of Alexander and his men Alexander ten. 0:09:00.520 --> 0:09:02.960 Both the men put hands over their side arms, but 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.400 Emmanuel didn't take any further action. After a few turns 0:09:06.400 --> 0:09:09.200 of his head, he stopped looking, relaxed his hands, and 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:13.680 sat back down. Okay, he said, I get the feeling 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:16.840 you want me to go with you now, Alexander smiled. 0:09:17.000 --> 0:09:19.560 It was a vicious, oily thing, and it confirmed in 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:23.760 Sasha's heart that he had something terrible planned. Yes, that's 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:26.760 exactly what I want. He cocked his head up and 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:31.640 pursed his lips in an exaggerated gesture of consideration. Well, actually, 0:09:31.720 --> 0:09:34.280 I want you to go with these men. I need 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:38.200 to stay here and have a wood with Sasha. Emmanuel 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:41.240 looked into her eyes. He was scared clearly, but he 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:45.040 kept his voice steady when he spoke, Sasha, I've got 0:09:45.080 --> 0:09:48.720 to go do my duty find errand for me. Will 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.640 you tell him I am wish him the best, and 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:55.960 I hope to see him soon. He put definite emphasis 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.360 on that last word, and then he gave Sasha a 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:02.199 very deliberate nod before he stood and stepped towards Alexander's men. 0:10:03.280 --> 0:10:06.079 Take him to the factory for his intake process, and 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:10.120 I'll be along. Showtly, Alexander said. He put a hand 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.120 on Emmanuel's forearm as the young man passed by, and said, 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:16.440 you should give a prayer of thanks, brother, God has 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:20.000 blessed you with a great honor. Emmanuel smile was as 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:24.520 false as Alexander's God bless you, Martyr du Bois. I'll 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:26.840 pray that you and all your men grow closer to 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:30.800 our lord. Was that a threat, she wondered, before deciding, 0:10:30.960 --> 0:10:34.120 of course it was. In a more normal situation, Sasha 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:36.480 would have moulled that over. It certainly was not the 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.080 sort of comment she'd have expected from a true martyr, 0:10:39.480 --> 0:10:42.080 But just then she was far too consumed with terror, 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:47.400 both for Emmanuel and for herself. Alexander's guards led Manny away, 0:10:47.480 --> 0:10:50.440 and Alexander took his place at the table. He took 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.680 a long sip from Emmanuel's cooling coffee and smiled his 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.520 snake smile again. I must say, Sasha, I thought you 0:10:57.600 --> 0:11:00.520 had better taste than that. For the first time in 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:04.080 her life, Sasha found herself trying to stare daggers at someone. 0:11:04.559 --> 0:11:07.200 Oh if only I could shoot knives out of my eyes, 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.440 she thought, as she imagined one striking Alexander in the 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:12.840 forehead with enough force to burst out the back of 0:11:12.920 --> 0:11:17.040 his skull. Is that something chromed people can do, she wondered, 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.679 and decided she'd ask Marigold if she had forgot another 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:23.160 chance to talk to the woman. Hey, he snapped his 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:25.200 fingers in front of her eyes, and she hated him 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.720 a little more. She was sort of surprised to learn 0:11:27.800 --> 0:11:31.840 that was possible. Look, I know coming here can be disorienting. 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:34.040 I know this is a lot to get used to. 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:38.040 But him a fucking it's people like him who filled 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.439 this continent with them mongrel spawn and tore American civilization 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.240 to splinter us. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, 0:11:45.360 --> 0:11:47.800 she said. We are all the fruit fruit of the 0:11:47.880 --> 0:11:51.240 same tree. Yeah, I know, I've met Pastor Mike. I 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.960 know God made us all, and I also know he 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.800 made some of us better than others. There's a reason 0:11:56.920 --> 0:12:00.280 civilization reached its peak under white Man, and there's a 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:03.360 reason it crumbled once. We let them take the reins 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.800 for a while, it's not worth arguing with him, she 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:10.319 told herself. So Sasha decided to ask a blunt question. 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:16.080 What's going to happen to Emmanual? Alexander smiled, Exactly what 0:12:16.120 --> 0:12:18.720 I said was going to happen to him. He's going 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.559 to the factory for a trainin' and then he'll participate 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:26.079 in the invasion of Waco as part of the Storming Battalion. 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.119 And what is that? In a way, it's the luckiest 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:33.280 unit in the Heavenly Kingdom's whole military. They are the 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:37.680 first ones in guaranteed glory. He took another long, slow 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:40.920 sip from Manny's coffee, his eyes bored into her all 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:45.520 the while, and guaranteed modyed um. Sasha felt a little 0:12:45.520 --> 0:12:48.599 pride for not crying. Tears threatened at the corners of 0:12:48.679 --> 0:12:53.400 her eyes. Praise be to God, she choked out, followed 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.760 by I still have duties tonight at the house. May 0:12:56.800 --> 0:13:00.320 I go? Alexander sneered at that, and then he waved 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.360 his hand in a gesture that was surely meant to 0:13:02.360 --> 0:13:06.240 be casual and dismissive. It looked calculated, though, like it 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:08.520 was important to him that she feel like this didn't 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:12.280 matter to him. For some reason, that observation made Sasha 0:13:12.320 --> 0:13:16.280 feel a little stronger. Go on. Then he said, we'll 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.960 talk tomorrow. Maybe we'll do more than talk. Maybe not. 0:13:21.040 --> 0:13:23.960 She stood up, still fighting back tears, and left the 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:29.199 cafe without a response. Sasha wanted to go to someone, anyone, 0:13:29.360 --> 0:13:31.600 in the wake of all this. There's nothing to do. 0:13:31.880 --> 0:13:34.120 The smarter, colder part of her brain, the part that 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.560 always sounded like her mother, warned her, anything you say 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:40.679 will only make it worse. She knew that was true. 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:44.080 Even Helen couldn't do anything for Emmanual. Now she'd made 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.200 it very clear that military matters took precedence over everything 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:50.480 else in the Heavenly Kingdom. It made sense, and yet 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.200 shouldn't right and wrong be what matter most here? She 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:57.120 wasn't even sure what either of those words meant anymore? 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.120 Was this really what God wanted? Was this how a 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:04.440 society based on his laws operated? Sasha told herself over 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.200 and over again that she'd made the right decision, that 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.520 the Kingdom wasn't perfect, but it was the best of 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:12.880 all the other options. That voice grew quieter and less 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:15.280 convincing as she walked through the doors of the House 0:14:15.280 --> 0:14:20.080 of Miriam and noticed another missing person. Where's Suzanne, she 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.040 asked Helen, after scanning the dining room for her friend. 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.240 The older woman smiled, but it wasn't the warm look 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:30.520 Sasha had come to expect. Helen looked strained, tired, perhaps 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:36.200 even a little ill. Suzanne met her husband today, Sasha 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.360 narrowed her eyes and fought down an immediate surge of rage. 0:14:39.720 --> 0:14:42.520 She met him or did he see her and claim her? 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:46.440 Like Anne suitor? Helen did not like that. She almost 0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:50.360 growled her next words, be very careful with what you insinuate, 0:14:50.440 --> 0:14:52.520 Miss Sasha. I know this isn't what any of you 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:54.720 dreamed of, but you did come here to help further 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.720 the kingdom. This is how that looks Sasha knew in 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.680 that moment that there was nothing thing else she could 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:03.360 say to Helen. What would be the point? So she 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:07.040 nodded meekly, and she apologized, and then she ate her 0:15:07.080 --> 0:15:10.320 dinner like a robot and cleaned up for bed. Throughout 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.600 all that, Marigold's words rang louder in her memory. You 0:15:13.680 --> 0:15:16.760 got suckered into a fucking nightmare. It's time to wake ups. 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:18.800 Time to wake ups, Time to wake ups, time to 0:15:18.800 --> 0:15:21.320 wake Sasha went to bed around nine. She'd had a 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.120 long and exhausting day. Tomorrow was sure to be more 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.000 of the same, but she couldn't sleep. Now that she 0:15:27.120 --> 0:15:29.800 was safely in bed, hidden from the world, the tears 0:15:29.880 --> 0:15:32.920 refused to stay hidden behind her eyes. It was all 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:36.280 Sasha could do to avoid audible sobs. She lay awake 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:39.400 for an hour, maybe more, until she heard a thwack 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.040 followed by a thump. She opened her eyes and rolled 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:45.400 over to face the door, and the time it took 0:15:45.440 --> 0:15:48.000 to complete that motion, she heard the door whosh open. 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:50.560 And then a series of thumps so rapid they sounded 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.560 like one long drum roll. Sasha felt a rush of air, 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:55.680 and then since the presence of a new person. The 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:58.920 instant before she completed her roll, she looked up to 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:00.880 see a man at the side of her bed. He 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.520 was big, broad, and clad in a torn and bloodied 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.680 Martyrs uniform. He had a heavy metal pipe in his hand. 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:09.720 Sasha rose her hands up in an instinctive gesture of 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:12.480 self defense. The moment before she saw the holking man's 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:17.280 face and realized who he was, Aaron. The man blinked. 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:19.880 He looked confused for a moment, and then he laughed, 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:23.280 all right, Yes, saw my name, Han, you can call 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:28.640 me Roland. What do you What's happening? Are we under attack? Yes, 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.640 sorta by me. I knocked out the old lady. He 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.240 gestured his head back towards the other girls sleeping in 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.880 their beds. I knocked them all out too, just minor concussions, 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:41.960 but they're out cold. I am very confused, Sasha said, 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.520 in a flat voice, and very frightened. You're not frightened. 0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:49.400 She was surprised to realize that he was right. Sasha 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:51.560 knew she should have been scared, but her heart rate 0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:55.400 didn't elevate, she didn't start to sweat. She did feel confused, 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:59.200 but she also felt calm. Maybe I've just been so 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.600 scared the last few days my body can't handle any 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.880 more of it. Maybe I've reached the limit of my 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:07.800 capacity for fear. I guess you're right, she said, I 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:11.400 should be afraid. This is also She trailed off, grasping 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:14.840 for words. Yeah, it's fucked, Roland said, and then he 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:16.919 pulled up a canteen that had been hanging from his 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.680 shoulder and took a deep poll. The scent of alcohol 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:23.000 wafted over to her. You want some, he asked. I 0:17:23.080 --> 0:17:25.240 made it in my guts, filled a ganteen as I 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:29.480 finished up at the base. Wait, Sasha said, what happened 0:17:29.520 --> 0:17:32.880 at the base? Roland gave another shrug and took another pull. 0:17:33.800 --> 0:17:35.879 The boss guys told me Manny had been reassigned to 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:39.200 some sort of I don't know, suicide battalion. This pissed 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:41.560 me off, so I broke exactly half of their bones. 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:45.719 Sasha could hear sirens now often the distance. It sounded 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:48.240 like there were rather a lot of them. She imagined 0:17:48.280 --> 0:17:52.440 this was connected to whatever Roland had done. I'm going 0:17:52.520 --> 0:17:55.280 to guess you and E Manual aren't really martyrs, are you, 0:17:56.000 --> 0:17:59.520 he chuckled. I mean maybe some days, sister. Just now, 0:17:59.640 --> 0:18:02.040 I don't say any causes worth dying for, but I 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.000 get your meaning. And no, I don't give a shit 0:18:04.040 --> 0:18:07.840 about your heavenly kingdom. Man he actively hates it. We're spies, 0:18:08.160 --> 0:18:10.720 or we were spies. Now he's a captive and I'm 0:18:10.760 --> 0:18:16.000 a terrorist again. Oh, she said, And then I think 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:19.040 I would like a drink. He handed her the canteen 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.960 and she took a generous gulp. Sasha had only tried 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:25.560 alcohol once before. She'd been thirteen, not yet a Christian, 0:18:25.640 --> 0:18:28.080 and at a party she'd been far too young to attend. 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:31.840 She remembered the sensation of gentle warmth spreading down her throat, 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:34.560 and the sense of elation and well being that had followed. 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:36.879 She'd taken a few more SIPs, which had made the 0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:40.159 world far too spinny for her comfort. She'd vomited not 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:43.280 long after, but she figured if there was ever a 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:47.440 time to try alcohol again, it's now. The drink tasted 0:18:47.480 --> 0:18:50.080 like beer, but it burned like a shot of hard liquor. 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:53.520 Sasha passed the canteen back. She felt like taking more 0:18:53.560 --> 0:18:56.920 would be a bad idea. All right, then, Roland said, 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.679 I'm gonna make a few guesses. I guess one is 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:02.159 that you're a little less than enthusiastic about the heavenly 0:19:02.240 --> 0:19:05.160 Kingdom now that you've seen it up close. Guests too 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:07.720 is that you're looking for a way out. And Guests 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:10.080 three is that you know something about where my little 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:14.800 buddy went. Huh, Immanuel, Manny, you know where he is? 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.399 I don't, she started. I'll bet you do. Even if 0:19:18.440 --> 0:19:20.320 you don't know, you do. I know you were there 0:19:20.320 --> 0:19:22.560 when he was taken. I could smell it in the street. 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:26.720 Smell it. He sighed, and needed the bridge of his nose. 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:29.960 This is the time where you explained things. The time 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:32.879 where I explained things comes later, or maybe never. He 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:34.960 lifted up the pipe in his hand so she could 0:19:35.000 --> 0:19:38.080 see how bloody and dented it was. I have the pipe. 0:19:38.160 --> 0:19:42.080 Whoever's got the pipe doesn't have to explain shit. Sasha 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:44.399 couldn't argue with his logic, and she did want to 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:49.200 see Emmanual free and safe. Look, she said, this, this boy, 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:52.280 I know, Alexander. He found us at the cafe. We 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:54.560 were just sitting down to coffee. He had two men 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:56.679 with him, and he said, Emmanuel had been selected for 0:19:56.720 --> 0:19:59.879 the Storming Battalion. Do you have any idea where they 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.439 took him? The kids sent trail grows cold about a 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:05.919 mile from here. Sasha racked her brain. Of course, she 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:08.640 didn't know where the Heavenly Kingdom did this sort of training. 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:13.679 But Alexanders said something about the factory, and at that 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:17.080 Roland's eyes lit up. He turned around as if to leave. 0:20:18.080 --> 0:20:20.560 I know where he is. Then he looked back and 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.919 down to Sasha and said, moment of truth time, Darlin, 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.160 you want to stay here in this ship pile Kingdom? 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:28.600 Or He jerked his thumb to the door. Do you 0:20:28.680 --> 0:20:31.080 want me to break you out? And I'll make offers 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:34.600 like that often, so take it as a compliment. This time. 0:20:34.680 --> 0:20:38.200 It didn't take long for Sasha to make up her mind. Yes, 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:50.000 she said, I'd like to go with you. Chapter nineteen. 0:20:50.920 --> 0:20:54.280 Manny he knew where they were taking him as soon 0:20:54.320 --> 0:20:58.240 as the transport exited Highway seventy. It took Exit forty 0:20:58.280 --> 0:21:02.080 B White Avenue, Kenny. He visited the town a few 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:04.320 times as a kid, before things in this part of 0:21:04.400 --> 0:21:08.040 df W had gone entirely to ship. Many thought of 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:11.080 the satellite photos Reggie had shown them. He thought about 0:21:11.080 --> 0:21:14.080 that Tesla plant and what strange mysteries it must hide. 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:16.879 Somewhere in that plant was the answer to how the 0:21:16.920 --> 0:21:21.280 martyrs had so thoroughly befucked the stf's defense network. Many 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.000 hadn't exactly planned to find an answer to that question 0:21:24.000 --> 0:21:26.679 on this trip. Now it seemed like he wouldn't have 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.639 a choice in the matter. His escorts, Alexander's men, hadn't 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:33.720 said much. They directed him to the proper transport and 0:21:33.720 --> 0:21:35.639 told him to keep his mouth shut when he asked 0:21:35.640 --> 0:21:38.879 for an explanation. Manny did as they asked, because he 0:21:38.920 --> 0:21:40.960 half expected them to gun him down if he made 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:44.200 a real fuss. Roland's bound to find me. He can 0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:47.040 find any fucking one. I just need to stay alive 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.720