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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha, and welcome to Stephan

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Speaker 1: never told your protection of iHeartRadio. And welcome to our

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Speaker 1: Sminty fiction segment, which is a once a month thing

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Speaker 1: where our excellent superproducer Christina comes in makes something amazing

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Speaker 1: out of some words I wrote in twenty ten for

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Speaker 1: Nano Rimo. It is ongoing. It is, yes, once a month,

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Speaker 1: but I do think we might have missed a month. Anyway,

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Speaker 1: it's happening. Yeah, we had a love stuff and when

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Speaker 1: you have short months, yeah, keep it together. It is.

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Speaker 1: We get a lot going on. So this is chapter

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Speaker 1: eight of Terminus, but I actually think it's chapter seven

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Speaker 1: because there was a mishap somewhere. I can't tell if

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Speaker 1: it was in my original document, which I have like

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Speaker 1: seven documents, and I think I'm pulling from a bunch

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Speaker 1: of different ones where I edited. I've made small edits,

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Speaker 1: you know, and then they're essentially the same, but one

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Speaker 1: of them is better. I think I'm pulling from like

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Speaker 1: the first one I wrote. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this

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Speaker 1: is actually chapter seven, but because it was such a

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Speaker 1: long chapter, we have split it into two. So this

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Speaker 1: is going to be eight point one, and I was

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Speaker 1: telling you, Samantha, because my chapter links are wildly varying.

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Speaker 1: I think it's because I like to end. I'm kind

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Speaker 1: of you're like, what like I like to end on

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Speaker 1: a they called a button in acting, but you know,

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Speaker 1: or you want to go to the next chapter. But

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Speaker 1: this was quite a longer chapter because I guess it

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Speaker 1: took a while for me to get to that button.

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Speaker 1: So we split it up and content warning before we

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Speaker 1: get into it, because this is yeah, if this is

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Speaker 1: not you're saying, this is like the worst time for

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Speaker 1: it to be coming out. But anyway, all right, So

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Speaker 1: the world is kind of dying off because of this

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Speaker 1: sex based virus that's just killing everybody. Because of this virus.

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Speaker 1: Any child basically, once you have vaginal penis intercourse, if

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Speaker 1: you don't get pregnant, then that's it. No more pregnancy

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Speaker 1: for you. So any child who is born is born

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Speaker 1: under the jurisdiction of the Board of Better Parenting and

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Speaker 1: this religious organization called arm ARM who works with the governments,

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Speaker 1: and they believe that the virus is due to the

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Speaker 1: sinful nature of humanity. So after giving birth to a

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Speaker 1: child outside of a conception center illegally, Tilda runs away

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Speaker 1: with her son, Madison, in order to keep him from

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Speaker 1: being separated from her. And so this takes place seven

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Speaker 1: years later, when she and Madison are facing the stark circumstances.

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Speaker 1: Winter is coming. They're clothes are thin, they don't have

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Speaker 1: any supplies, and in their inspiration they were captured by

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Speaker 1: the governments enforcers who had been looking to capture them

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Speaker 1: because they are a quote priority number one case. However,

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Speaker 1: Tilda and Madison are able to escape, but Tilda is

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Speaker 1: shot car chases running away. Tilda is now recovering under

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Speaker 1: the care of a woman named Flynn, while wrestling with

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Speaker 1: this really low self worth about her parenting and fears

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Speaker 1: of being discovered by enforcers. So that's here. I guess

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Speaker 1: that was a synostis not the content warning. The content

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Speaker 1: warning is a depression, sadness, loss of child, stigma around sex,

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Speaker 1: internalized ableism, around disease. And I just want to say,

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Speaker 1: I wrote this in twenty ten, and oh my goodness,

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Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, this is so much like the Last

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Speaker 1: of Us. Okay, they go to Kansas City. Oh, the

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Speaker 1: Last of Us came out in twenty thirteen. But the ideas,

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Speaker 1: you know, they're always out there in the ether. But

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Speaker 1: if you hear a lot of similarities, I swear I

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Speaker 1: wrote this before I ever played the last it was.

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Speaker 1: But okay, with all of that out of the way,

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Speaker 1: let us get in two, chapter eight point one of Terminus.

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Speaker 1: Distorted images unfurled Tilda's mind, both feeding them and devouring them.

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Speaker 1: She was writing a word, over and over and over again.

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Speaker 1: She didn't know what the word meant, only that she

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Speaker 1: had to keep writing it, even though her fingers cramped

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Speaker 1: her wrist eight, her arm heavy like lead. She wanted

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Speaker 1: to stop. The pencil reduced down to the stub, papers

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Speaker 1: crammed with the word she could not read, littering the floor,

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Speaker 1: her handwriting growing progressively worse. She wanted to scream, to

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Speaker 1: ask to know why she was condemned to this word,

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Speaker 1: why she was shackled to something. She didn't understand what

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Speaker 1: it meant, but she had no voice. She sat at

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Speaker 1: a desk like the one she sat at when she'd

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Speaker 1: been instructed on the dangers of sex, the penalties of intercourse.

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Speaker 1: Outside of a conception center and without state approval, the

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Speaker 1: room was barren, HER's the only desk, the walls gray stripped,

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Speaker 1: A scratched blackboard, somehow ominous, stretching out before her, encompassing

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Speaker 1: her view. Behind her, there was no wall. Though she

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Speaker 1: could not see this or turn to verify it, she

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Speaker 1: could sense that nothing stood between her and the world

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Speaker 1: she had her back to. She could feel the monochrome

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Speaker 1: park abandoned, leaching the life out of her, as if

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Speaker 1: through water. She heard a female voice screaming, but she

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Speaker 1: hunched her shoulders in to shield herself from the woman's pain,

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Speaker 1: doing all she could to ignore it. She couldn't face it.

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Speaker 1: She'd rather write this word she didn't understand until her

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Speaker 1: fingers rought it off, than to face whatever was happening

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Speaker 1: behind her. But the screaming was getting harder and harder

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Speaker 1: to ignore. Tilda gasped herself awake, her heart pounding. It

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Speaker 1: took a moment for her to remember where she was

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Speaker 1: waking up, warm and comfortable and alien sensation to her now,

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Speaker 1: but the events of the day came flooding back to her,

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Speaker 1: almost a dream in itself. So much had happened in

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Speaker 1: such a short time her eyes did not adjust, so

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Speaker 1: complete was the darkness. She relaxed back into the pillow,

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Speaker 1: jumping again when something moved by her side. Madison curled

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Speaker 1: up against her, the blankets hiding him from view. Tilda

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Speaker 1: released a shaky breath, petting his hair absently. When a

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Speaker 1: flash of light caught her eyes, she whipped her head

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Speaker 1: toward the window, where the edges of wide beams of

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Speaker 1: illumination played with the curtains. The enforcers had found them,

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Speaker 1: just as Tilda knew they would. But despite the fear

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Speaker 1: the racing of her heart, Tilda found she was too

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Speaker 1: tired to care, and she sank into darkness again. When

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Speaker 1: she next opened her eyes, it was morning, or at

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Speaker 1: least it felt like morning. The sun cast a light

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Speaker 1: made gray by the many clouds in the sky. Her

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Speaker 1: head ached with the intensity of her sleep, like she'd

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Speaker 1: almost drowned in it, gone so deep she nearly passed

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Speaker 1: the point of no return. Growing aloud, she sat up,

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Speaker 1: her back popped in protest. She massaged her temples, trying

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Speaker 1: to find strength to get out of bed. The smell

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Speaker 1: of cooking food and cheerful voices convinced her to rally.

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Speaker 1: Fighting with the blankets and her footing, she hoppled down

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Speaker 1: the hall, bumps in her hair bouncing from the odd

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Speaker 1: way it dried, pressed against the pillow. Madison was laughing

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Speaker 1: when Tilda entered the kitchen. He was assisting Lynne at

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Speaker 1: the stove. The woman helping him stir some batter. Splotches

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Speaker 1: of flowers streaked his cheeks and dotted his nose as

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Speaker 1: he regaled Lynne with all the facts he knew about

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Speaker 1: random forest animals. Lynde caught sight of Tilda first and

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Speaker 1: gestured to her with her eyebrows. Madison, who was in

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Speaker 1: the middle of explaining all about wild turkeys, stopped mid sentence,

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Speaker 1: mouth comically agape as he called Tilda's name, and rushed

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Speaker 1: over to her, greeting her with an enthusiastic hug. We're

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Speaker 1: making pancakes, he told her, gleefully as she carted her

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Speaker 1: hand through his hair that seemed out of the realm

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Speaker 1: of possibility to Tilda, a food that had to be

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Speaker 1: long extinct. At the flabbergasted expression on Tilda's face, Linds applied,

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Speaker 1: they're made with oat and honey. I don't have milk,

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Speaker 1: so we'll have to use water and honey for the

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Speaker 1: syrup as well. She planted flowery hands on her hips.

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Speaker 1: I was listening off options for breakfast, and the poor

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Speaker 1: deer had no idea what I was talking about when

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Speaker 1: I mentioned pancakes. I had to remedy that postaste. Batter

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Speaker 1: poured out onto the griddle was a sizzle. Madison bounced

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Speaker 1: over watching Lynne avidly Lynde says everyone loved them. He

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Speaker 1: told Tilda, all struck. Did you like them? Tilda dropped

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Speaker 1: into a chair, old memories like movies playing in the

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Speaker 1: back of her mind, her mother asking her how she'd

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Speaker 1: like her pancakes. Even then they were a bit of

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Speaker 1: a rarity. Yes, she grinned with blueberries and sometimes chocolate chips.

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Speaker 1: Wide hazel eyes roved up towards Lynn, who chuckled just

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Speaker 1: plain this time. She flipped the pancakes and Madison giggle delighted.

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Speaker 1: Get us some water, will you? Madison obeyed, filling a

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Speaker 1: glass for each of them and setting them on the

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Speaker 1: table one at a time, and the fruit. The boy

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Speaker 1: pulled a bowl of fruit from the refrigerator and put

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Speaker 1: it in the center of the table. Then he turned

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Speaker 1: back to Lynn, mesmerized as she piled the finished pancakes

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Speaker 1: onto a plate and then poured some more batter. How'd

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Speaker 1: you sleep, Tilda thought a minute, Well, I guess I

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Speaker 1: slept all day again mostly. Lynn flipped the pancakes and

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Speaker 1: Madison giggled again. Tilda licked her lips, dredging up foggy memories.

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Speaker 1: I thought I saw lights. The woman faltered, siting this

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Speaker 1: second batch of pancakes onto the plate. Yes, we'll discuss

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Speaker 1: it after breakfast. Tilda address Madison. Are you feeling better?

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Speaker 1: Forgot to ask you yesterday? Better? Mass and chirped, no

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Speaker 1: more cold. Lynne got me medicine. Good, Tilda side relieved,

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Speaker 1: you sound better. Lynne finished up the last of the

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Speaker 1: pancakes and set them on the table, along with some honey.

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Speaker 1: Here we go, she said, scooping three onto each plate

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Speaker 1: and putting forks by each setting. Put some honey on them.

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Speaker 1: Just a little, she laughed, as Madison up ended the

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Speaker 1: bottle over the warm and fluffy pancakes. Now take your time,

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Speaker 1: she instructed, firmly, mirth in her voice. As Madison froze

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Speaker 1: with a heaping forkful of pancake hovering in front of

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Speaker 1: his unhinged jaw, he bit off half instead, His face

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Speaker 1: screwed up in concentration as he tried to savor every

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Speaker 1: second and pick out every flavor. The expression quickly morphed

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Speaker 1: to joy as the taste set in, and he bit

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Speaker 1: off the rest, already shoveling up another forkful. His enjoyment

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Speaker 1: of the pancakes amplified Tilda's the oats, making them heartier

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Speaker 1: than she remembered. Not much was said as they ate.

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Speaker 1: Tilda had to pace herself so as not to get sick.

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Speaker 1: At the start of the meal, she'd promised herself to

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Speaker 1: take a sip of water between every bite, but her

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Speaker 1: resolution didn't last. Soon the plates were cleaned, Madison skipping

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Speaker 1: up to the sitting room to read after his help

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Speaker 1: was turned down and cleaning up. For a while, the

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Speaker 1: only sound was the clattering of plates as they were

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Speaker 1: washed and put away. Then Lynne spoke in a low voice.

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Speaker 1: Enforcers were outside the house last night. Tilda sank into

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Speaker 1: her chair, drained. They have no way of knowing you're here,

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Speaker 1: Lynn reassured her. The car. Tilda whispered, They found the car, car,

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Speaker 1: Lynne repeated. Tilda swallowed. Lynde took the chair across from her.

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Speaker 1: We I stole a car from the enforcers. Lynne drew back, surprised.

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Speaker 1: I left it in the car wash. A fruit streets down.

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Speaker 1: They knew I was wounded, that I couldn't make it

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Speaker 1: very far. Despair grew with every word she uttered, Her

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Speaker 1: stomach royaled, and her delicious pancakes threatened to make a reappearance.

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Speaker 1: The older woman leaned forward, her face soft. Tell me

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Speaker 1: what happened? What I said? Tilda said, shakily. We were

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Speaker 1: captured by two enforcers. They stopped to get mass and

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Speaker 1: some cold medicine. We escaped and I took the car,

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Speaker 1: but they shot me. We made it here, hit the car,

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Speaker 1: and I collapsed somewhere near your house. Apparently, Lynne studied

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Speaker 1: her for a long moment. Tilda, uncomfortable, muttered, we have

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Speaker 1: to leave Madison and I. They'll find us. No. Linda disagreed,

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Speaker 1: reaching forward to grasp Tilda's hand. It's no place her

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Speaker 1: children out there, Tilda averted her eyes. I can take

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Speaker 1: care of Madison. Shame welled up in her at the lie.

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Speaker 1: You're just a child yourself, When kept her voice low,

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Speaker 1: not wanting to attract Madison's attention, tell me what happened,

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Speaker 1: Tilda opened her mouth to point out she'd already explained.

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Speaker 1: Lynn clarified, I mean you're much too young, to have

212
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Speaker 1: a child's age, not a state approved one in a

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00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:25,199
Speaker 1: conception center. There was no judgment in the observation. Tilda

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00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,280
Speaker 1: looked away, opening her mouth and closing it again. Then

215
00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,640
Speaker 1: she shook her head, unable to speak. The sores felt

216
00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,640
Speaker 1: tight on her face. She flexed her hands to keep

217
00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,000
Speaker 1: from scratching them. Lynn seemed to take a moment to

218
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,680
Speaker 1: gather her thoughts before leaning forward. You can stay here,

219
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:46,000
Speaker 1: I can keep you hidden. You'd be safer A warm bed,

220
00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,360
Speaker 1: warm food, clothes, medicine, a chance for you to teach Madison.

221
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:55,200
Speaker 1: He can play with toys, breathe do arithmetic. It'd be

222
00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:59,320
Speaker 1: so much safer for both of you. It all sounded

223
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,280
Speaker 1: so not to worry about the weather. Where they were

224
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:05,440
Speaker 1: going to sleep that night, where they would get their

225
00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:09,480
Speaker 1: next meal. But the enforcers would find them. They wouldn't

226
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:13,240
Speaker 1: stop until they did. The longer she and Madison stayed,

227
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,840
Speaker 1: the greater chance they had of being discovered. I can't,

228
00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,760
Speaker 1: she whispered. Though Tilda's decoration was barely audible, Lynne recoiled

229
00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,960
Speaker 1: as though it had been shouted, Blinking in surprise. She

230
00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,600
Speaker 1: took a moment and tried a different track, imploring think

231
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:33,120
Speaker 1: of Madison. He deserves to be safe, to be happy.

232
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Speaker 1: He's one of the few children we have left to us.

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Speaker 1: Her words felt like a blow, but Tilda didn't back down.

234
00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,160
Speaker 1: The enforcers will keep looking. They won't stop until they

235
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Speaker 1: find him. Sadness flashed across Lynn's face, something almost calculating

236
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:54,320
Speaker 1: following in its wake. Madison could stay, you could leave,

237
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:57,800
Speaker 1: draw away the enforcers. Though the words were not said

238
00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:00,560
Speaker 1: maliciously and obviously cost Lynne a great deal of grief

239
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:05,720
Speaker 1: to say them, they still cut Tilda deeply. Leaving Madison

240
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:08,640
Speaker 1: was an option she had never even considered, and she

241
00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:11,600
Speaker 1: supposed on some level that demonstrated what a poor candidate

242
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Speaker 1: she was to raise him. Keeping Madison safe, even if

243
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,640
Speaker 1: it meant never seeing him again, was more important than anything.

244
00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,480
Speaker 1: Lynne knew that, so did Tilda. But Tilda wasn't strong

245
00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,680
Speaker 1: enough to make the hard decisions. She never had been,

246
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,000
Speaker 1: and that's why they were here in the first place.

247
00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:32,640
Speaker 1: She couldn't let the state take Madison from her, the

248
00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,160
Speaker 1: state that would have found him a loving family, that

249
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:38,880
Speaker 1: could have provided for him. She was just a dangerously

250
00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,560
Speaker 1: inept substitute for the real thing. She heard herself say

251
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,240
Speaker 1: it's not me they want. They want Madison. They'll think

252
00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:51,680
Speaker 1: Madison is with you. Lynne countered. They won't realize until

253
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,280
Speaker 1: it's too late, or you might have aid them forever.

254
00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:58,600
Speaker 1: Who knows, we both do. Tilda thoughts, and it lingered

255
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,000
Speaker 1: between them, as if she had spoken, allowed, you can

256
00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:06,040
Speaker 1: trust me. I'll keep him safe. They'll never find him. Here.

257
00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,560
Speaker 1: Tilda could see a shadow of Lyne's pass shining through,

258
00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:12,720
Speaker 1: a woman so excited about a baby that she picked

259
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:15,800
Speaker 1: him out coloring books before he was even born, imagining

260
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,720
Speaker 1: all the things they do together and everything she'd teach him,

261
00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,880
Speaker 1: wondering what his favorite color would be, what foods would

262
00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,720
Speaker 1: he like, what games would he play, and what subjects

263
00:16:24,720 --> 00:16:28,680
Speaker 1: would fascinate him, all the wonderful and terrifying unknown things.

264
00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,640
Speaker 1: Lynne must be envious of Tilda, and on some level

265
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:36,240
Speaker 1: bitter that Tilda, a young woman who never planned on

266
00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:38,440
Speaker 1: a child, who had never sought to have one, and

267
00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,400
Speaker 1: who had little to no parenting skills, had a child

268
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,160
Speaker 1: while Lynde did not. Tilda had thought these things herself.

269
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,840
Speaker 1: They will they pick up on the little things. Someone

270
00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:52,280
Speaker 1: will notice that you're picking up more food than normal.

271
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,520
Speaker 1: Are clothes for a child, children's books, toys. People want

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00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,560
Speaker 1: to believe there's a child around, They'll cling to any

273
00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:01,640
Speaker 1: sign of one. It will spread and people will think

274
00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,399
Speaker 1: they're just rumors, But the enforcers will be there watching.

275
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:09,600
Speaker 1: When you think you're alone. Silence fell, faint, shock registering

276
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,919
Speaker 1: on Lyne's face. Years of dodging enforcers had made it.

277
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,119
Speaker 1: Tilda observant of all the tiny details, small things that

278
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:18,920
Speaker 1: could bring everything crashing down around you in an instant.

279
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:23,080
Speaker 1: For every incompetent enforcer, there was a deadly one lurking

280
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,480
Speaker 1: unseen in the shadows. On more than one occasion, only

281
00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:31,320
Speaker 1: some small random event had saved Tilda and Madison from capture,

282
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,360
Speaker 1: probably more than she knew. In this she was more

283
00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,640
Speaker 1: experienced than Lynne, and the sureness in her words surprised

284
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:42,439
Speaker 1: even herself. She'd never spoken these things aloud. Apart from

285
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:45,720
Speaker 1: the occasional rules she gave for Madison to follow. It

286
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,240
Speaker 1: was just a part of her now habits and safeguards

287
00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:53,000
Speaker 1: she did without giving them name or conscious thought. Madison's

288
00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:56,040
Speaker 1: too curious to keep hidden anyway, Tilda added a hint

289
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,320
Speaker 1: of humor in her exhausted voice, Flustered in a tad

290
00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,640
Speaker 1: and dignet Lynn vallied, I can handle one child. As

291
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:06,600
Speaker 1: if on cue, Madison's voice rang from the sitting room.

292
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:15,200
Speaker 1: What does sob ra a ninga mean? Despite everything? Tilda

293
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:20,200
Speaker 1: smile tiredly affectionately. What was that mouse? Again? He tried

294
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,000
Speaker 1: to pronounce the word, adding an extra syllable. The second time,

295
00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:28,000
Speaker 1: Lynn mount to Tilda social studies aloud. She said, spell

296
00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:32,440
Speaker 1: it for his dear s O V E r e

297
00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,560
Speaker 1: I g n grin widening. Tilda called to him, it's

298
00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:42,920
Speaker 1: pronounced sovereign. Sovereign, he repeated thoughtfully and again to second time.

299
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:48,280
Speaker 1: Then he inquired, almost suspiciously, Are you sure it's got

300
00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,480
Speaker 1: a G in it? Pretty sure? Tilda could imagine his face,

301
00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,919
Speaker 1: brow creased, finger tracing the letters, trying to find meaning

302
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,879
Speaker 1: in the symbols. Lynn spoke up. It means independent are

303
00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:04,560
Speaker 1: supreme authority, like a monarch or country. Oh. There was

304
00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,560
Speaker 1: a pause for a moment, then a more excited oh.

305
00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,920
Speaker 1: The word fell into place. The senates understood. Thanks. Both

306
00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:14,280
Speaker 1: women smiled, but their eyes still carried the burden of

307
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,160
Speaker 1: his future. Tilda felt in some way she had won,

308
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,960
Speaker 1: although she couldn't say what or why You've done a

309
00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,800
Speaker 1: good job with him. Tilda would have scoffed, but the

310
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,200
Speaker 1: sincerity in the woman's voice had her lifting her gaze

311
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,240
Speaker 1: to Lyne's disbelief obvious on her face, Lynne reached forward

312
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,600
Speaker 1: and gripped one of Tilda's hands. You have He's a

313
00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:36,720
Speaker 1: bright little boy, an excellent reader. A little on the

314
00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,320
Speaker 1: thin side, as are you, but that's to be expected,

315
00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:44,000
Speaker 1: she observed lightly, How long have you been on the run? Dazedly,

316
00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:48,800
Speaker 1: the answer came to Tilda almost six years behind her glasses.

317
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:53,680
Speaker 1: Lynne's eyes narrowed and her forehead crinkled. Madison is seven. Yes.

318
00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:58,879
Speaker 1: At Tilda's confirming nod, she clarified, stiltedly, you skate with

319
00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:02,600
Speaker 1: Madison when he was one year old. Scratching her no

320
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:07,000
Speaker 1: self consciously, Tilda muttered an affirmative. Aghast all dawned like

321
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:11,960
Speaker 1: molasses across Lynde's face. How did you escape? Unaccountably? Embarrassed

322
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,800
Speaker 1: by Lynn's scrutiny, Tilda bit her lip, unable to think

323
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:16,760
Speaker 1: of something she could say that could cut to the

324
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:18,880
Speaker 1: point and make it so she didn't have to say

325
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,000
Speaker 1: anything else that was part of her life. She avoided

326
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,240
Speaker 1: thinking about a fuzzy nightmare that could only hurt on

327
00:20:25,359 --> 00:20:28,560
Speaker 1: further inspection. Most of the time, it didn't even feel

328
00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,119
Speaker 1: like reality, but a dream she'd had years ago that

329
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,640
Speaker 1: still lingered in the deepest recesses of her memory. She'd

330
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,960
Speaker 1: been so young, then, impulsive, and for better or worse,

331
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,520
Speaker 1: here she and Madison were because of it. Regaining her stride,

332
00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:47,840
Speaker 1: Lynne continued, you can't go on as you have, that's

333
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,040
Speaker 1: no sort of life. I have no idea how you've

334
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:53,360
Speaker 1: carried on this long. Tilda had no response for that.

335
00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,240
Speaker 1: Lynne was making her feel young and silly, and the

336
00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,600
Speaker 1: older woman's gentle ripprimand her shock at what lives had

337
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:05,000
Speaker 1: been gave Tilda renewed perspective on how dangerous their situation was,

338
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:08,240
Speaker 1: how ridiculous it was for her to think they could

339
00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:14,200
Speaker 1: continue this. And definitely, we can't stay here, Tilda reiterated,

340
00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:18,800
Speaker 1: her voice barely above a whisper. We can't. Lynne opened

341
00:21:18,800 --> 00:21:21,560
Speaker 1: her mouth to argue further, but Tilda's set face stopped her.

342
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,560
Speaker 1: There's nothing I can say to change your mind, she tried. Resigned,

343
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,880
Speaker 1: Tilda shook her head, wishing her answer could be different.

344
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,920
Speaker 1: Lynne straightened hand splayed on the table. What will you do?

345
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,160
Speaker 1: A shrug of the shoulders was the only answer Tilda had.

346
00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,920
Speaker 1: What we've been doing. I guess how will you get

347
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,520
Speaker 1: out without the enforcers? Knowing a heavy sized skate pass

348
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,080
Speaker 1: Tilda's lips. What she'd done her whole life suddenly insurmountable

349
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:56,119
Speaker 1: at night, We'll stick to dark alleys. Lynde's disapproval of

350
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 1: this plan was evident on her face. A tinge sourly,

351
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,960
Speaker 1: she followed up with, and where will you go if

352
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,000
Speaker 1: the enforcers don't get you first? We were heading west,

353
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,800
Speaker 1: Tilda offered, flimsily, feeling like an underprepared student under a

354
00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,680
Speaker 1: strict teacher's microscope. I hear there are less enforcers out there,

355
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,200
Speaker 1: less state officials, only the one conception center in California.

356
00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:20,920
Speaker 1: A fierce battle seemed to be waging inside Lynn's mind.

357
00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,679
Speaker 1: With a weary huff, she hung her head, running a

358
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 1: frustrated hand through graying hair. Tilda watched her, nonplussed and distracted,

359
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:34,920
Speaker 1: already plotting various escape routes. There's a place, Lynn forced out,

360
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 1: in a hushed voice, giving in in Kansas City, somewhere

361
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,600
Speaker 1: near the Liberty Memorial. Dan Moscov told me about it.

362
00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,240
Speaker 1: It's against my better judgment to tell you this. She

363
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,920
Speaker 1: broke off, glancing towards the sitting room where Madison sat

364
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:54,960
Speaker 1: reading oblivious. There's an underground resistance there, she paused, licked

365
00:22:54,960 --> 00:23:00,320
Speaker 1: her lips, her face, grim. They are working on a cures,

366
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:02,359
Speaker 1: like a void is sucked out the air in the kitchen.

367
00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 1: What the word fell from Tilda's lips and dropped like

368
00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 1: a dead thing between them, dull and lifeless. She felt

369
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:15,359
Speaker 1: sure she'd misheard. Lynn rubbed her face. A cure. I

370
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,919
Speaker 1: hear they're close. At least, I've heard rumors that she

371
00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:23,359
Speaker 1: trailed off, staring at a blank space on the wall.

372
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:31,240
Speaker 1: A cure, Tilda choked out to h V five. An

373
00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,520
Speaker 1: odd half shrug, half nod, accompanied by a desperate peal

374
00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:40,040
Speaker 1: of laughter was the woman's response. No more sores. People

375
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:43,920
Speaker 1: could have babies again. Tilda's mind could not fathom such

376
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:49,000
Speaker 1: a world. Lyne's shoulders twitched again. I don't know, maybe,

377
00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 1: but at the very least it should be somewhere you

378
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,560
Speaker 1: could hold up, stay safe. Dan told me they have

379
00:23:54,680 --> 00:24:00,359
Speaker 1: quite the system going. Tilda couldn't help herself. Can you

380
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,880
Speaker 1: trust Dan? She didn't want to get to Kansas City

381
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:09,080
Speaker 1: only to find nothing. Yes, Lynn looked loath to admit it.

382
00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:13,720
Speaker 1: He wouldn't lie. Honesty is just who he is. It's

383
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:18,280
Speaker 1: a makeup. Tilda fidgeted with her hands. Do you think

384
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,520
Speaker 1: there's a cure? Is that there could be one? As

385
00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,280
Speaker 1: a doctor, it sounded too good to be true, the

386
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:28,240
Speaker 1: wishful thinking of a dying race a lie propagated to

387
00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,040
Speaker 1: give some sense of hope. Lynn meant her eyes regaining

388
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:37,280
Speaker 1: some control. Yes, HSV five is not Unlike other diseases.

389
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:41,040
Speaker 1: Humanity has overcome the only anomaly allies in patient zero.

390
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,439
Speaker 1: We never could pinpoint from where the disease originated or

391
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,760
Speaker 1: how I managed to remain dormant until the first instance

392
00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:50,720
Speaker 1: of intercourse. But other than that, I've always thought that

393
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:53,520
Speaker 1: a cure was possible. I kept waiting to hear the

394
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,919
Speaker 1: announcement of one, in fact, but it never came, and

395
00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:02,160
Speaker 1: we grew less and less. The possibility of a cure

396
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 1: had never occurred to Tilda. She just accepted HSV five

397
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,480
Speaker 1: as part of their lives and a movable object, a blight.

398
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,000
Speaker 1: They'd all accept it as fact now and forever. A

399
00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:14,639
Speaker 1: life without it, a life where Madison didn't have to

400
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:18,000
Speaker 1: fear being stolen away to conception centers, wouldn't have to

401
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,520
Speaker 1: face the shame that came with the sours of sterility

402
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:25,159
Speaker 1: on his face. Could have a family, She could envision it,

403
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:29,760
Speaker 1: she wondered if Madison could. But if there was a chance,

404
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:34,240
Speaker 1: she had to try for Madison, how far as Kansas

405
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:39,080
Speaker 1: City Lynde's face twisted. Tilda's decision obviously made, She sighed heavily,

406
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 1: not far by car, about a day and a half,

407
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:46,560
Speaker 1: squalk eyed guess with prospective gain from years of being

408
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,960
Speaker 1: a nomad that didn't seem far, not at all, this

409
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: was doable completely The enforcers complicated things. Do the enforcers

410
00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:01,400
Speaker 1: know about this resistance? Lynn rejoined, I can't see how

411
00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,159
Speaker 1: they wouldn't, But they don't know where it is, or

412
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,040
Speaker 1: else they would have been shut down by now, as in,

413
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:12,200
Speaker 1: they don't know what's city or I don't know it's dangerous.

414
00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 1: Tilda ruminated on this, thinking of what she knew about

415
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:19,560
Speaker 1: the enforcers, their numbers, their strategies, their technology, trying to

416
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:23,000
Speaker 1: anticipate what she and Madison might face. But she didn't

417
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,760
Speaker 1: know enough to make an accurate prediction. They'd have to

418
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,119
Speaker 1: be extremely cautious if you're set on this, Lynde started darkly,

419
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,119
Speaker 1: a minute pause where she waited hopefully for Tilda to

420
00:26:33,119 --> 00:26:37,760
Speaker 1: contradict her. When she didn't, Lynne continued dispiritedly, you'll need

421
00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:42,359
Speaker 1: warmer clothes. Ah in the whirlwinds set off in her

422
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:44,680
Speaker 1: thoughts by the word cure. She'd d forgotten about the

423
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,239
Speaker 1: weather and Rashian's I'm not sending you in Madison, out

424
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,840
Speaker 1: there with no food and water. She sat back in

425
00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,680
Speaker 1: her chair, crossing her arms. I wish you weren't going

426
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,159
Speaker 1: at all. Tilda gave her a half smile, saying delicately,

427
00:26:57,680 --> 00:27:01,360
Speaker 1: you would have been a great mother. Lynn Tears glistened

428
00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:03,920
Speaker 1: in the woman's eyes. A shaking hand pressed to her mouth.

429
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:07,879
Speaker 1: You've got the worrying and carrying thing down pat That

430
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:11,960
Speaker 1: garnered a watery chuckle from Lynne, her shoulders dissolving into shakes.

431
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,119
Speaker 1: Tilda didn't know how to offer to comfort her, so

432
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,560
Speaker 1: she stood witness, witness to all of the damage drought

433
00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,320
Speaker 1: by HSV. Five families ripped apart, futures obliterated, Hope's loss,

434
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:26,320
Speaker 1: a race facing slow extermination. So much devastation caused by

435
00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,680
Speaker 1: a mindless virus so small it was invisible to the

436
00:27:28,760 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 1: naked eye. The tears passed, and Lynne visibly pulled herself

437
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,280
Speaker 1: together with a snuffle. She asked, when will you leave?

438
00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 1: Tilda looked out the window, weighing the pros and cons

439
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 1: of staying one more night versus taking off once the

440
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,359
Speaker 1: sun had set. She flexed her leg experimentally, only to

441
00:27:45,359 --> 00:27:49,560
Speaker 1: find a ghost of her previous pain. Tonight, we'll leave tonight,

442
00:27:50,600 --> 00:27:53,760
Speaker 1: Lynne sacked. You really should wait one more night. Your

443
00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,199
Speaker 1: leg is still healing, but Tilda shook her head. The

444
00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,440
Speaker 1: longer we stay, the harder it will be to leave.

445
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,639
Speaker 1: A giggle came from the sitting room. Every year of

446
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:07,200
Speaker 1: Lynn's life, every heartbeak carved deeply into her skin, making

447
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,920
Speaker 1: her look frail. But then she stealed herself. Well, we'd

448
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:15,280
Speaker 1: better start packing, then, hadn't we. She got to her feet,

449
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,400
Speaker 1: more in control now that she had something she could do,

450
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,919
Speaker 1: striding down the hall and disappearing into a room at

451
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,119
Speaker 1: the end of it. Tilda considered following her, checking to

452
00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:25,159
Speaker 1: see if she needed any help, but she sensed to

453
00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:29,399
Speaker 1: Lynne wanted a moment alone to collect herself. Tilda sat

454
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,280
Speaker 1: staring vacantly at the wooden table, wanting to put off

455
00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:34,480
Speaker 1: dealing with what was to come as long as possible,

456
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:37,480
Speaker 1: A course of doubt rising now that she'd made her decision.

457
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:41,480
Speaker 1: When she finally pulled enough strength, she stood tiny details

458
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,640
Speaker 1: of the kitchen jumping out around her. The peeling wallpaper,

459
00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:49,440
Speaker 1: bagel blue stripes, the countertop, chipped in places, wide slatted blinds,

460
00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,000
Speaker 1: and flowery drapes on the window over the sink. A

461
00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,520
Speaker 1: spatula painted like a snowman. This was home, these things,

462
00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 1: screamed at her, leaping in her mind's eye. This is

463
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:19,400
Speaker 1: what you've been searching for. Why leave? And that brings

464
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:24,080
Speaker 1: us to the end of our fiction segment for this month.

465
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,520
Speaker 1: You will get part two of chapter eight, Sue Niche

466
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: within a month. If you're thinking about, well, that didn't

467
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,200
Speaker 1: end where I thought it would. Yeah, well it wasn't

468
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,240
Speaker 1: intended to, but here we are. I did want to

469
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:42,840
Speaker 1: briefly address Lynn's reaction to kind of trying to convince

470
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:45,880
Speaker 1: Tilda like, hey, you could give me Madison, Like I

471
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:47,960
Speaker 1: could take care of Madison and you could go out

472
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: and kind of this like very subtle tension. Well, I

473
00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:55,120
Speaker 1: don't know, you could argue with me about subtle but

474
00:29:55,760 --> 00:30:00,040
Speaker 1: between Lenn and Tilda, where Tilda fells like a and

475
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,600
Speaker 1: would have been such a better mother than I would be.

476
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,400
Speaker 1: But I can't leave Madison because this has been my

477
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,600
Speaker 1: whole thing. I never intended and I hope it didn't

478
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,320
Speaker 1: come off this way, but yeah, again, you can argue

479
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,080
Speaker 1: with me about it. I meant it more to be

480
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,680
Speaker 1: kind of like a two women talking about what was

481
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:21,040
Speaker 1: the best option they could take, and much less like

482
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:24,160
Speaker 1: a kind of catfight kind of thing, which I don't

483
00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 1: think it is, but I just when I was reading it,

484
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 1: I was kind of like, oh, this is kind of

485
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,440
Speaker 1: more tense than I remember it, but you know, arguing

486
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:32,800
Speaker 1: about like what it's the best thing for this child

487
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:38,120
Speaker 1: when there aren't that many children left, and ultimately Lynn

488
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:40,640
Speaker 1: is like, yeah, I trust you, and it is cool,

489
00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:42,440
Speaker 1: like it is cool to see that moment of Tilda

490
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,440
Speaker 1: being like, actually I have been doing I have been

491
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:47,240
Speaker 1: taking care of him, and I have seen this world

492
00:30:47,240 --> 00:30:49,640
Speaker 1: and all this stuff, so I do know more about

493
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:53,120
Speaker 1: it in this context. But yes, this is sort of

494
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,880
Speaker 1: the you know, it's nice. She has a nice home,

495
00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,720
Speaker 1: she has like working electricity, she has food. It would

496
00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:05,080
Speaker 1: be nice to stay there, Untilda being like, we can't

497
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,720
Speaker 1: stay because there's this danger and it'll put lennon danger.

498
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:12,480
Speaker 1: It will put them in danger, making that tough decision

499
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 1: and then deciding to leave. But and watch will happen next? Well,

500
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,080
Speaker 1: you shall see, yes, And if you have any theories,

501
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,440
Speaker 1: I love hearing them. You can email us at Stuff Media,

502
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,920
Speaker 1: mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us

503
00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,880
Speaker 1: on Twitter at mom to podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok.

504
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 1: Stuff will Never Told You and i'lso YouTube if that's

505
00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:40,120
Speaker 1: your thing. Thanks as always to our super producer, Christina,

506
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,240
Speaker 1: Thank you, and thanks to you for listening Stuff and

507
00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:45,440
Speaker 1: Never Told Us production of iHeartRadio. For more podcast from

508
00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:46,880
Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, you can check out The Heart Radio

509
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:48,840
Speaker 1: at Apple podcast or if you listen to your favorite

510
00:31:48,840 --> 00:32:11,320
Speaker 1: shows and Samantha