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Speaker 1: Uh, I'm doing the intro right now. I'm Robert Evans.

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Speaker 1: This is the podcast. It could happen here book club edihione,

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Speaker 1: and that's my job.

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Speaker 2: I'm done. Yep. You know that's that's closer to true

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Speaker 2: than it usually is. That that that's my job or

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Speaker 2: that I'm done both. Oh good, okay, because Cool's own

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Speaker 2: book club is where at least this month is where

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Speaker 2: Margaret reads you stories. Oh yes, and particular I read

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Speaker 2: you from the Lammle Slaughter of the Lion my the

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Speaker 2: first book in the Danielle Kine currently duology of novella's.

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Speaker 2: A novella is a short novel. They're fun to write.

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Speaker 2: I recommend them. They're fun to read.

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Speaker 1: In the Spanish that a novella was a lady novel,

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Speaker 1: I don't. I hope that's a correct joke about Spanish.

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Speaker 2: I may be wrong. My Spanish is terrible, you know.

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Speaker 2: It's funny. It's like, for a little while I knew

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Speaker 2: enough Spanish to actually kind of answer these things about

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Speaker 2: like because I used to pay attention to old Spanish

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Speaker 2: fiction projects. But I don't know enough to play off

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Speaker 2: of that joke successfully.

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Speaker 1: No, no, so probably not a joke. No, was reasonable

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Speaker 1: or a good idea to make because I don't know

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Speaker 1: enough Spanish.

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Speaker 2: And here we are and it's a shame. There's no

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Speaker 2: it's been done live editing or we're just only forward.

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Speaker 2: The only direction, the only way out is through Robert.

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Speaker 2: That's right, that's right. What hand dare? Seize the fire?

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Speaker 2: I feel like I could seize the fire. I feel

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Speaker 2: like it wouldn't be hard. Yeah, yeah, what's that there's

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Speaker 2: that study that like it's like like twenty five percent

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Speaker 2: of American men think they could find a grizzly bear

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Speaker 2: or whatever it is.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I I feel like I feel like

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Speaker 1: I have a shot. The other years ago, I read

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Speaker 1: a story there's a guy who got attacked by I

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Speaker 1: think it was a grizzly up in Canada. Like his

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Speaker 1: dog got attacked and he just like threw just a

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Speaker 1: sheer crapshoot of fate, swung at it with like a

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Speaker 1: stick he found on the ground and killed it, and like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: like I feel like there is some some percentage of

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Speaker 1: people who will get lucky. So all we need to

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Speaker 1: do is have enough of us try to fight a

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Speaker 1: grizzly bear. A couple of people will make it work right.

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Speaker 2: I have found I often run combat simulations and there's

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Speaker 2: always a five percent chance of success no matter what,

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Speaker 2: because if you roll a natural twenty, it's a critical hit.

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Speaker 2: That is that every time you do.

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Speaker 1: Occasionally come across stories like that where it's like, oh yes,

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Speaker 1: some dude just roll a twenty.

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Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, good stuff. Well, shall we get

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Speaker 2: back into it. Yeah, we are on chapter seven out

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Speaker 2: of eight. So this is the last episode of the

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Speaker 2: Lamoslaughter of the Lion. Wow. And if you like this book,

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Speaker 2: you can go out and buy it. It's a book.

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Speaker 2: You can buy it in print. They can't stop you.

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Speaker 2: The man will try to stop you. Yeah, that's right,

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Speaker 2: but he hasn't the power. Yeah. The man might try

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Speaker 2: and stop you from stealing the book, but I'm not

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Speaker 2: going to stop you from stealing the book. Yeah either way. Yeah. So,

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Speaker 2: where we last left our heroes, they are in a

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Speaker 2: treehouse and they're like, ah shit, we figured out the

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Speaker 2: obscure clue, but it didn't really do us any good.

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Speaker 2: And truly the complicated thing. Eulixes down below the treehouse

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Speaker 2: waiting for him. What are they going to do? Well?

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Speaker 2: For an hour at least Brynn cried in the hammock

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Speaker 2: about the death of her friend as I tried to

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Speaker 2: comfort her. The sun set behind the hill after an

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Speaker 2: interminable day, and Eulyixi ran off into the gloaming, his

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Speaker 2: guardian bowl keeping pace alongside. The birds remained watching us

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Speaker 2: with their dead eyes, but they made no move to

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Speaker 2: follow us. As we went down the ladder and headed

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Speaker 2: for town. We were hungry and thirsty, and there weren't

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Speaker 2: really words left for us to say. By the time

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Speaker 2: we made it as far as the look out rock,

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Speaker 2: it was full dark and every light in town was

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Speaker 2: on the streets below us were swarming with a commotion

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Speaker 2: of lanterns, headlamps, and torches. Brynn broke into a run,

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Speaker 2: and I went after her down the hill, taking the

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Speaker 2: steps two at a time. The first house we reached

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Speaker 2: was a run down split level. A pickup truck was

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Speaker 2: idling out front, and a family was loading bags and

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Speaker 2: boxes onto its bed. What's going on, Brenn asked. A

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Speaker 2: white woman in her mid thirties set down a laundry

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Speaker 2: bag full of clothes and put her hands to her

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Speaker 2: head to rubber temples. Bren where have you been out

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Speaker 2: in the woods. What's going on? We're leaving, she said,

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Speaker 2: everyone's leaving. The cops are on their way. What that

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Speaker 2: punk kid, Eric, the tall one, he said he went

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Speaker 2: into town to cool off. Says he saw more cops

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Speaker 2: in the parking lot at Walmart than he could count.

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Speaker 2: The manager at the food bank, that old guy with

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Speaker 2: the ponytail, the one that likes us. He told Eric,

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Speaker 2: the cops are going to raid. He's lying, I said, what.

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Speaker 2: The woman looked at me for the first time. He's

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Speaker 2: fucking lying, I said, I looked at Brynn. He's just

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Speaker 2: trying to get everyone panicked so that we leave Doomsday alone.

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Speaker 2: I don't know, Brynn said. The next house down was

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Speaker 2: overgrown and covered in graffiti. Vulture and a stranger were

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Speaker 2: walking out of it, each with a sack of concrete

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Speaker 2: over their shoulder. Brynne and I saw them and started running.

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Speaker 2: Brynn Danielle. Vulture loped over like he wasn't holding fifty pounds.

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Speaker 2: You're all right, What the fuck? Brynn asked the cops.

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Speaker 2: Vulture started, we heard, Brynn said, who's watching Doomsday? I

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Speaker 2: asked Thursday, As Vulture said, the rest of us are

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Speaker 2: getting ready. Where's Rebecca. She's dead, I said, Doomsday might

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Speaker 2: end up that way too, and soon she was the

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Speaker 2: only one left who could dismiss Ulixey and Eric knew it.

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Speaker 2: Bryn stayed behind to help Vulture, but I ran down

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Speaker 2: the hill. Barricades of lumber, brick and trash blocked the

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Speaker 2: street at every bend, with only small gaps still left

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Speaker 2: open to let through the vehicles of those who sought escape.

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Speaker 2: Lengths of rebels are thrust forth from anchors long ago

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Speaker 2: embedded in the concrete. Freedom Iowa had been preparing for

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Speaker 2: this night since its first day. There was a fire

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Speaker 2: in the air, a certain spark that's only found in

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Speaker 2: the otherworldly calm of conflict. But it was all wrong.

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Speaker 2: It was all a distraction. The cops weren't coming. I

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Speaker 2: was sure of it. I ran downhill, my feet slapping

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Speaker 2: on the pavement. I ran past anxious people, excited people,

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Speaker 2: terrified people. I wasn't any of those things. I was furious.

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Speaker 2: The largest mass of lights and people was by the bridge,

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Speaker 2: the most logical choke point. Probably people there were getting

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Speaker 2: ready to delay the police long enough for Doomsday's ritual

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Speaker 2: and for everyone else to escape through the woods. That's

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Speaker 2: how I would have planned it. I reached the block

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Speaker 2: with Doomsday's house, but the place was unlit. It looked abandoned, No,

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Speaker 2: not abandoned. A hooded figure crouched over in the side

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Speaker 2: yard the wardstone. Whoever it was they were pulling up

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Speaker 2: the ward stone. My fast beating heart, my ragged breath,

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Speaker 2: and the rhythm of my feet were all I could hear.

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Speaker 2: My legs burned and ached, I could feel my pulse

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Speaker 2: in my wounded hand. My lungs had long since given

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Speaker 2: up complaint. Anger alone fueled my body. Hey, I shouted,

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Speaker 2: which was all I could get out between my failing breaths. Hey.

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Speaker 2: The figure stood up just as I started up the embankment.

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Speaker 2: They turned toward me, a crowbar in one hand. You

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Speaker 2: shouldn't fuck with someone who has a crowbar. I launched

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Speaker 2: myself toward them a desperate tackle. The crowbar struck my

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Speaker 2: left shoulder. I was lucky, I suppose, since as likely

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Speaker 2: as not they'd aimed for my head. The claw that

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Speaker 2: split my skin and sent blood into the air. My

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Speaker 2: antagonist went down me on top. I spun around behind them,

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Speaker 2: got their neck in the croak of my right arm,

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Speaker 2: and applied pressure a sleeper hold, choking off the blood

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Speaker 2: to their brain. Useful self defense for someone as small

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Speaker 2: as me. They fell unconscious. It wasn't Eric, it was Kestrel.

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Speaker 2: The white wardstone lay cracked open to a black geode.

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Speaker 2: The house was no longer protected. Shit. I stood up.

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Speaker 2: He wouldn't be out for long, just ten seconds or so.

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Speaker 2: I needed something to tie him up with. The world exploded,

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Speaker 2: sort of, it felt like it at the time. It

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Speaker 2: was a gunshot, really, but it was louder than noises

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Speaker 2: of any right to be. And the bullet crashed into

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Speaker 2: the wall of the house not two feet fet from

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Speaker 2: my head. Get down, I heard. I didn't register the command, though,

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Speaker 2: so I didn't follow it. Another shot, this time from

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Speaker 2: behind me. Gunshots are kind of like a nonverbal way

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Speaker 2: of communicating get down. And after that second shot, I listened.

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Speaker 2: I dropped down next to Kestrel. If he was conscious,

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Speaker 2: he wasn't showing it. I might have killed him. It

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Speaker 2: never killed anyone before. It turned out that I didn't

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Speaker 2: very much like the thought of having killed somebody. It

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Speaker 2: bothered me more than I expected. Then a rapid back

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Speaker 2: and forth of bullets, and I saw the squat figure

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Speaker 2: of Thursday on the porch, calmly firing and a two

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Speaker 2: handed grip. A figure ran off toward the tree line.

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Speaker 2: A tall figure, an Eric tall as fuck figure, more accurately,

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Speaker 2: his punk rock spikes gleaming in the muzzle flash as

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Speaker 2: he fired wildly behind himself. I staggered to my feet

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Speaker 2: to go after him. Then my brain turned itself back

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Speaker 2: on and I dropped to the ground again because there

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Speaker 2: might be bullets up there, and because I had just

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Speaker 2: taken the pointy end of a crowbar to my central mass.

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Speaker 2: So what the fuck did my body know about still working?

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Speaker 2: Eulyxe is the revolution, It was kestrel talking his mouth

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Speaker 2: right next to my head. Eulixe is the lamb that

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Speaker 2: will slaughter the lion. Doomsday is going to end it.

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Speaker 2: Doomsday is going to end the revolution. At least I

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Speaker 2: hadn't killed him. I was going to add it to

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Speaker 2: my bucket, right next to visit Antarctica and torch something

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Speaker 2: evil was going to be make it through the whole

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Speaker 2: of my life without killing anyone. You're fucking wannabe, he

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Speaker 2: whispered conspiratorily, like he was imparting the wisdom of the ages.

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Speaker 2: You act like you're a revolutionary, but you're a fucking poser.

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Speaker 2: On the other hand, maybe it would have been okay

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Speaker 2: if I'd killed him. It wasn't like I was probably

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Speaker 2: gonna make it to Antarctica either. I staggered to my feet,

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Speaker 2: then almost fell back over when the report of a

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Speaker 2: pistol exploded in my ear. Thursday was next to me,

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Speaker 2: his arm around my back supporting me. Get inside, Thursday said,

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Speaker 2: Jesus Danielle, Get the fuck in the house. Hestrol was gone.

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Speaker 2: I saw him running after Eric. What kind of asshole

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Speaker 2: calls someone a poser? No one's answering, Doomsday said. All

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Speaker 2: of her composure had been stripped away by days of

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Speaker 2: stress and fear. Her hair was a wild tangle, and

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Speaker 2: she clutched at her phone in a shaking fist. She

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Speaker 2: hadn't taken it well when I told her what Kestrol

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Speaker 2: had done to the Wardstone. She'd taken it even worse

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Speaker 2: when I told her what had happened to Rebecca. I

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Speaker 2: sat on the edge of the bathtub in my sports

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Speaker 2: brawl while Thursday cleaned the wound on my shoulder. They're

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Speaker 2: mixing and pouring cement, Thursday said, would you answer your

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Speaker 2: phone while you're mixing and pouring cement. Yes, Doomsday snapped,

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Speaker 2: I'd answer my goddamn phone. This is pretty bad, Danny,

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Speaker 2: Thursday said, trying to mop at the blood that dribbled

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Speaker 2: down my chest. Danielle, I said, for fuck's sake, my

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Speaker 2: name is Danielle. Like I can clean it out, and

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Speaker 2: if you want, I've got a sewing needle. I've never

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Speaker 2: been given no one's stitches, never even read a book

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Speaker 2: about it. The basic idea seems kind of simple, right,

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Speaker 2: Clay could stitch a wound. I mean, you're not like

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Speaker 2: bleeding out or something. I think I'm at least as

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Speaker 2: worried about the blunt trauma as the cut. Your confidence

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Speaker 2: is really inspiring, I said, Hey, I never signed up

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Speaker 2: to be a doctor. I'm just doing what needs doing. Okay, Sorry,

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Speaker 2: I said it didn't mean anything by it your hand

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Speaker 2: all right? I still had the bandana tied tight around

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Speaker 2: my right hand. The pain was a dull throb but

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Speaker 2: nothing compared to how bad my left shoulder hurt. It's fine,

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Speaker 2: Come on, come on, Doomsday said, praying to the room

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Speaker 2: with her phone to her ear. You ever read the

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Speaker 2: Man Who was Thursday Thursday asked, what I'm trying this

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Speaker 2: bedside manner thing. You're looking pretty pale, even for you.

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Speaker 2: I'm trying to keep you thinking about something else. No,

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Speaker 2: I've never read it. That's where I got my name,

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Speaker 2: Thursday said. It was written about anarchists, like a one

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Speaker 2: hundred years ago. There are these seven anarchist leaders, each

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Speaker 2: named after a day of the week, and Thursday, well,

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Speaker 2: the first Thursday. He's the only one of him who,

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Speaker 2: it turns out, wasn't a cop the whole time. You

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Speaker 2: know how the first Thursday gets it in the end, well,

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Speaker 2: actually the beginning how, I asked. He's so committed to

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Speaker 2: his ideals of anti oppression that he refuses to drink milk.

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Speaker 2: But since he is you know, British, he has to

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Speaker 2: like drink something I guess in his tea or whatever.

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Speaker 2: So he drinks powdered chalk all the time, and one

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Speaker 2: day it kills him. Huh, I said, No, seriously, it's

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Speaker 2: hilarious that shit was making fun of vegans before vegan

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Speaker 2: was a word. Okay, I said, Anyway, Doomsday named me

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Speaker 2: after the book. She told me I was the only

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Speaker 2: person in the world she knew wasn't a cop undercovers. Right,

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Speaker 2: they're lying anyway, so they'll swear up and down their

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Speaker 2: God's gift to revolutionary politics. Me. I was set on

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Speaker 2: this no politics thing for a long ass time. Now

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Speaker 2: I'm a damn third generation Central American leftist, and I

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Speaker 2: didn't even want to be a leftist at all. I

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Speaker 2: guess my dad would be proud. All right, Hey, look

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Speaker 2: at that. The bleeding stopped, he said, I smiled. No, no,

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Speaker 2: it started again. Shit, don't smile. The bathtub was slowly

250
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Speaker 2: filling with bloody toilet paper. God, God, God, fucking Doomsday.

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Speaker 2: Put her phone down carefully on the porcelain sink, barely

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Speaker 2: containing her rage. Clay's dead, Anchor's dead, Rebecca's dead. You're

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Speaker 2: not dead, and you're not going to be dead, Thursday said.

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Speaker 2: The wards are down. I don't even know how to

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Speaker 2: dismiss you, Lixy. And now now the fucking cops are coming.

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Speaker 2: The cops aren't coming, I said, Eric, he just said

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Speaker 2: that to stir up the town. You've been here two years.

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Speaker 2: The cops aren't coming tonight. If they were evicting us,

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Speaker 2: you'd have heard about it before tonight, probably been warned

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Speaker 2: to clear out, not unless the cops were serving a

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Speaker 2: warrant for something serious. Thursday and Doomsday looked at each other.

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Speaker 2: Someone's got a warrant, I said, Kestrel knew. Doomsday said, yeah,

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Speaker 2: Kestra would have known. Thursday agreed, knew what the cops

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Speaker 2: are coming for. Doomsday. Thursday said what I used to

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Speaker 2: live in Alaska. Doomsday said, I was married for fifteen years.

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Speaker 2: It was good for a while, but I couldn't get pregnant.

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Speaker 2: My husband got worse and worse. I shot him. He

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Speaker 2: deserved it. It wasn't self defense, not in the immediate sense,

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Speaker 2: not in the way that I could have proved in court. Jesus,

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Speaker 2: I said. Doomsday took a deep breath. Neighbors heard the shots.

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Speaker 2: I guess sheriff showed up. I tried to talk to them,

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Speaker 2: tried to make them understand. They didn't understand. Damn, I said,

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Speaker 2: you shot them too. I wasn't going to prison. Doomsday said,

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Speaker 2: for that, motherfucker. Okay, so maybe cops are coming, I said,

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Speaker 2: Kestrel must to snitched me out. I never would have

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Speaker 2: thought fucking hell. Thursday said, it's almost like you can't

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Speaker 2: summon other worldly beings into existence. Let them loose on

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Speaker 2: your enemies and set up a culture of worship around

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Speaker 2: them without people getting all crazy. You were in favor

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Speaker 2: of summoning him, Doomsday said, I know. Thursday said, Hell,

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Speaker 2: I'm still glad we did it. It was worth a shot.

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Speaker 2: I've got until dawn to figure out how to un

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Speaker 2: some in him. Doomsday said, what hand dare sees the fire?

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Speaker 2: I said, pardon? I told them what I learned from

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Speaker 2: Clay's notebook, which wasn't much. Doomsday put her hands to

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Speaker 2: her temples. I think you read the signs right. Clays

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Speaker 2: mis quoted poetry Rebecca's figuring Solstice's solstice? But how how

288
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,560
Speaker 2: do we dismiss him? And with the police there as

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Speaker 2: likely as not, Oh Jesus, I said the cops. If

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Speaker 2: eulyxes around cops, he'll slaughter them, Doomsday said, and everyone

291
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Speaker 2: who's ever lived here will wind up running or in prison.

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Speaker 2: I don't want to be on the run, I said,

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Speaker 2: No one does. Doomsday said, then what's the plan? I asked.

294
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Speaker 2: We somehow get everyone out before the cops show up,

295
00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,760
Speaker 2: somehow on smmon Eulyxe before the river runs red, and

296
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Speaker 2: somehow evade the remaining police somehow. Thursday asked, all the

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Speaker 2: while avoiding Eric in Kestrel, I would go with stop

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Speaker 2: more than avoid. Thursday said, but yeah, what was the line?

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Speaker 2: Doomsday asked suddenly, what hand dare sees the fire? And nodded.

300
00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,199
Speaker 2: Doomsday got a Glinton Or I had never seen before.

301
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,720
Speaker 2: It was frightening. Maybe Elixie took down Anchor for the

302
00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,200
Speaker 2: same reason I took down those sheriffs self defense. Maybe

303
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Speaker 2: we summoners can control him. Maybe I could turn him

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00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:24,720
Speaker 2: on Eric Hell after that, when we summoned him in

305
00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,320
Speaker 2: the first place, we named these hills this river as

306
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,120
Speaker 2: his territory. If I renew the summoning, I could name

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00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:34,119
Speaker 2: a whole lot more than that. I could name the world.

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00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:38,200
Speaker 2: The only way out is through. Thursday asked what hand

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Speaker 2: Dare sees the fire? Doomsday agreed no, I said. I

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Speaker 2: didn't want to fight with them. I just wanted to

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Speaker 2: go home. Only I had a home. What I've been

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Speaker 2: through Way too much shit for you to switch sides

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Speaker 2: on me now, I said, And I know what the

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Speaker 2: other side looks like. Eric Kestrel, All of them, they

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Speaker 2: say they want to make the world better, but they're

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00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:03,399
Speaker 2: just supplanting one authority for another. And they'll fucking murder

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00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:05,480
Speaker 2: anyone who tries to stop them, because that's what power

318
00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:08,800
Speaker 2: does to people. I believe in a messy, imperfect world

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Speaker 2: where we just collectively or individually figure things out. So no,

320
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Speaker 2: I'm not gonna let you switch sides. And what do

321
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Speaker 2: we do? I don't fucking know, I said, we figure

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Speaker 2: something out, Brennan. Vulture came in, slamming the door behind

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Speaker 2: them and startling all of us. Brynn took the gun

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Speaker 2: from Thursday, knelt with one knee on the dining room chair,

325
00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:33,840
Speaker 2: and started reloading the mag How many bullets do you

326
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Speaker 2: think Eric shot? I asked four in Rebecca, and it

327
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Speaker 2: had to be at least three more outside the house.

328
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,040
Speaker 2: How many can it's mag hold can't like think like that,

329
00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,760
Speaker 2: Brynn said. Bullet County is some next level shit. You

330
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Speaker 2: see some with a gun. It's loaded, same as you

331
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Speaker 2: treat your own gun like it's loaded, even when it's not.

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Speaker 2: Still I said, still nothing, Danielle. You see a gun,

333
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Speaker 2: it's got a bullet ready to shoot. Vulture, for his part,

334
00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:01,119
Speaker 2: took over treating my shoulder. He want stitches, he asked,

335
00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:05,040
Speaker 2: what are my options? I can stitch you up and

336
00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,160
Speaker 2: I'll probably do a decent job, but not a great job.

337
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,000
Speaker 2: I could not stitch you up, maybe hit it with

338
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,919
Speaker 2: butterfly bandages and splitting your shoulder and to keep you

339
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,600
Speaker 2: from moving and reopening the wound. Or you do what

340
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:17,399
Speaker 2: you should do, which is get someone to take you

341
00:19:17,440 --> 00:19:20,280
Speaker 2: out of here, get you to an emergency room. What

342
00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,520
Speaker 2: would you do, I asked? He bit his lip. If

343
00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,679
Speaker 2: I were you, just come to town chasing after your

344
00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:29,840
Speaker 2: old friend's ghost, I'd use the excuse to cut out.

345
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:32,360
Speaker 2: You're not in any shape to stand behind a barricade.

346
00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:35,119
Speaker 2: You're not any shape to go to jail. There's no

347
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:38,359
Speaker 2: shame in leaving now. He was right, of course, it

348
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,280
Speaker 2: was a liability still just leaving after all of that.

349
00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,359
Speaker 2: But what I'd do if I were me, Vulture continued,

350
00:19:45,840 --> 00:19:49,280
Speaker 2: Let's stick around and see what goes down. I watched

351
00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:51,639
Speaker 2: Brynn through the open bathroom door as she loaded an

352
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:55,159
Speaker 2: extra mag Dozens of cops were en route. A demon

353
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,720
Speaker 2: slept nearby. I had seen two corpses already, and the

354
00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,480
Speaker 2: wards were down. I had already been bitten by an

355
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,000
Speaker 2: undead goat, crowbarred by fanatic, and shot at by an

356
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:10,880
Speaker 2: asshole fucket I said, I'll go down fighting. Vulture put

357
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Speaker 2: his fingers to his lips and hopped with joy. Then

358
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Speaker 2: he took out his phone and took a photo of

359
00:20:15,160 --> 00:20:18,200
Speaker 2: my wound. I've always wanted to stitch someone up, he said,

360
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:23,000
Speaker 2: I'll do it before and after for Instagram. It turned

361
00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,000
Speaker 2: out he'd done it plenty of times on dogs as

362
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,040
Speaker 2: part of an animal rescue operation in New Orleans. I

363
00:20:28,119 --> 00:20:30,879
Speaker 2: was long past the point of nervousness regardless, but he

364
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,399
Speaker 2: did a fine job. You're right about kestrel, I asked,

365
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:38,240
Speaker 2: as he was fussing with the last stitch. Well, I

366
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:41,840
Speaker 2: thought I loved him, but I don't anymore. As easy

367
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 2: as that, as simple as that, not easy. He didn't

368
00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,120
Speaker 2: want to talk about it, and I realized I shouldn't

369
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:50,760
Speaker 2: risk upsetting a man who was in the process of

370
00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:54,080
Speaker 2: reassembling my body with needle and thread. When he was

371
00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:56,480
Speaker 2: done with my shoulder, he unwrapped the bandana around my

372
00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 2: bit in hand. I don't know what I'd expected, maybe blood,

373
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:04,280
Speaker 2: maybe open wounds or teeth marks. Instead, my skin was whole,

374
00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,480
Speaker 2: already healed, but my hand was modeled with the pale

375
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:12,000
Speaker 2: gray of overcooked steak, not the white of scar or

376
00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,159
Speaker 2: the pink of new skin. It hurt like it was

377
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:18,280
Speaker 2: still healing, though, and I had the sudden fear that

378
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,400
Speaker 2: the pain would never stop. Then I remembered the rest

379
00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:23,600
Speaker 2: of my situation, and honestly, my hand didn't seemed like

380
00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,520
Speaker 2: the worst of my problems. Vulture tied a spare t

381
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,960
Speaker 2: shirt around my arm as a sling and chastised me

382
00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:33,240
Speaker 2: not to move my arm, and I stood up. As

383
00:21:33,240 --> 00:21:35,440
Speaker 2: a group, we made our way out to the front door,

384
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 2: heading for the bridge and the relative safety of the crowd.

385
00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:42,080
Speaker 2: The moon hung heavy and low on the horizon, and

386
00:21:42,119 --> 00:21:45,520
Speaker 2: I focused on my breathing, reminded myself just how tough

387
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,760
Speaker 2: I was, how not close to panic I was. We

388
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,840
Speaker 2: had it made it halfway down the block when the

389
00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,240
Speaker 2: cop cars poured out of the woods in a cacophony

390
00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,439
Speaker 2: of red and blue light. A crowd on the bridge

391
00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 2: overturned a school bus and it began. Police raids are

392
00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,920
Speaker 2: always at like four am or some shit, always after

393
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:14,240
Speaker 2: the witching hour, when they think everyone's not only asleep,

394
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 2: but going to be groggy as hell when they wake up.

395
00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,480
Speaker 2: It's honestly pretty smart. That's actually why Robert Evans stays

396
00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:23,840
Speaker 2: up very late. Just yeah, I don't I want to

397
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,600
Speaker 2: go to bed after I know we're safe from a raid. Yeah,

398
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,560
Speaker 2: there were a couple hours of night left, but only

399
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,320
Speaker 2: a couple of hours. None of us were sleeping. We'd

400
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 2: had enough warning that most of the town had cleared out.

401
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:38,040
Speaker 2: The fifteen or so who remained were there for the

402
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 2: same purpose. We were to keep Doomsday safe long enough

403
00:22:41,080 --> 00:22:44,320
Speaker 2: for her ritual whatever it was going to be safe

404
00:22:44,359 --> 00:22:48,320
Speaker 2: from the police, safe from Eric. Most of us were

405
00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:52,000
Speaker 2: veterans of riots and demonstrations across the country. It wasn't

406
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:54,800
Speaker 2: going to be a mourning of civil disobedience. However, the

407
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:57,119
Speaker 2: police were there and forced to arrest a cop killer,

408
00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,480
Speaker 2: and we had no way of knowing if they'd come

409
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,280
Speaker 2: in with less ethal weapons like pepper spray, or just

410
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:05,280
Speaker 2: come in guns drawn. The police were massed up on

411
00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,359
Speaker 2: the far side of the bridge, dozens of cruisers, four vans,

412
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 2: two swat humvi's, and a prison bus. It wouldn't have

413
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:14,120
Speaker 2: been enough to handcuff and drag off everyone in town,

414
00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,000
Speaker 2: but it was more than enough to mass arrest those

415
00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:19,280
Speaker 2: of us who remained. Their preparedness to arrest us was

416
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:24,040
Speaker 2: bizarrely comforting. They were stopped in their tracks, though by

417
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,760
Speaker 2: an overturned school bus. You can block a hell of

418
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,280
Speaker 2: a lot of road with fifteen tons of yellow steel,

419
00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:32,399
Speaker 2: And there was something beautiful about watching the military style

420
00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,440
Speaker 2: of police vehicles emasculated by something designed to get kids

421
00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,600
Speaker 2: to school. Brinn helped me get a black t shirt

422
00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:40,600
Speaker 2: oh it tied over my face as a mask, then

423
00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,280
Speaker 2: donned her own. The police had cameras, and it wouldn't

424
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:48,160
Speaker 2: do much good to escape now, only to be arrested later. Still,

425
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,639
Speaker 2: with everything that had happened, I couldn't bring myself to

426
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,840
Speaker 2: believe it mattered. I had no real expectation of surviving

427
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,080
Speaker 2: the coming day. We made it to the bridge just

428
00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:59,600
Speaker 2: as the police rammed the bus. The steel of the

429
00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,119
Speaker 2: humbva struck, the steel of the bus struck the steel

430
00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 2: of the guardrail, and the whole bridge shook from the impact.

431
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,200
Speaker 2: Townspeople lined up to push broken down vehicles up against

432
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,280
Speaker 2: the back of the bus. A band's touring van replete

433
00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,359
Speaker 2: with black metal stickers, joined a DIY ice cream truck

434
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,639
Speaker 2: and a box truck as reinforcements. We set the brakes

435
00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 2: and slashed the tires. The police backed up to ram

436
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:25,800
Speaker 2: again again with each impact. I prayed our side had

437
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,919
Speaker 2: been smart enough to drain the bus's fuel tank. They

438
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 2: gave up ramming, leaving us with a moment's calm, presumably

439
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,639
Speaker 2: while they awaited further orders. We crowded around Doomsday and

440
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,119
Speaker 2: never realized she was so short, not until she was

441
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,240
Speaker 2: masked and hiding. Most people had their attention on the

442
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 2: bus and on the bridge, and the police gathered on

443
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,680
Speaker 2: the far bank. But my friends looked elsewhere. They looked

444
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 2: at the woods, at the street, at the masked figures

445
00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,400
Speaker 2: gathered around. They watched for hands that might reach for waistbands.

446
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,000
Speaker 2: As unpleasant as it was to have the massed power

447
00:24:58,040 --> 00:25:00,760
Speaker 2: of the state waiting to take us into custody, waiting

448
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,720
Speaker 2: for comrades to betray us was worse. The woods were inviting.

449
00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:06,959
Speaker 2: I could make my way over the hill, and by

450
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 2: daylight I might be out of range of police blockades

451
00:25:09,280 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 2: and eulyxes wrath alike travelers. They say, watch out for themselves.

452
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:16,840
Speaker 2: The situation was hopeless, no reason for us to all

453
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:21,160
Speaker 2: go down. Brynn found my hand with hers, and her

454
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:26,120
Speaker 2: strength made its way into me. Collective safety sometimes Trump's

455
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 2: personal safety. Friends who aren't willing to fight alongside one another.

456
00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:36,280
Speaker 2: Aren't friends. Ten long minutes later, a helmeted cop stuck

457
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:38,919
Speaker 2: his head over the top of the bus, then another

458
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:42,960
Speaker 2: Things were about to get worse. A masked figure threw

459
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,960
Speaker 2: the first stone. Her aim was true, and the cop

460
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,760
Speaker 2: dropped down from the edge of the bus. More rocks

461
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,080
Speaker 2: followed a hailstorm to keep them at bay. They were

462
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,160
Speaker 2: too armored for us to hurt, but hurting them wasn't

463
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,400
Speaker 2: the point. The point was to drive them back. Tear

464
00:25:57,400 --> 00:25:59,720
Speaker 2: gas canisters arked through the sky, and people with work

465
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:01,960
Speaker 2: gloves throw them back or tossed them down to the river.

466
00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:07,800
Speaker 2: Then flashbanks. You never get used to flashbanks. It could

467
00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,840
Speaker 2: have been one, or it could have been several, a

468
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,159
Speaker 2: blinding flash of light that stops her vision, like a

469
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,159
Speaker 2: stuttering film that holds too long on a single frame.

470
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,359
Speaker 2: By the time I regained my senses, several cops had

471
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:20,919
Speaker 2: made it to the roof of the bus. Two had

472
00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:23,920
Speaker 2: riot guns aimed at us, one had his pistol drawn.

473
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,520
Speaker 2: More tear gas rained down, and the poisonous smoke was

474
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:31,640
Speaker 2: soon indistinguishable from the morning fog. Visibility dropped to only

475
00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,879
Speaker 2: a dozen yards, only enough to see the bridge and

476
00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 2: the bus. The forest behind us was scarcely a silhouette.

477
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:40,800
Speaker 2: The cars on the far bank were invisible but for

478
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:42,680
Speaker 2: the red and blue light that lit up the air.

479
00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,000
Speaker 2: It wouldn't be long before dawn. If I were Eric,

480
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 2: I told Doomsday, it come now. With the fog and

481
00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,920
Speaker 2: the gas. I know five cops were atop the bus,

482
00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:56,640
Speaker 2: and enough guns were drawn that some of the fight

483
00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,160
Speaker 2: went out of us. Next to me, Thursday was sweating

484
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:03,040
Speaker 2: with fear. Both his hands were in the kangaroo pocket

485
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:06,120
Speaker 2: of his hoodie, holding the gun. He wanted to use it,

486
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:11,439
Speaker 2: he knew he shouldn't. I was living a nightmare. When

487
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,440
Speaker 2: Eulyxie comes, Doomsday said, I need three of you. I'm

488
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:19,240
Speaker 2: standing guard, Thursday said, which left Vulture, Brynn and me.

489
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 2: A public address system on the hum v began an announcement.

490
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,840
Speaker 2: I scarcely registered it, something about being under arrest, something

491
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,399
Speaker 2: about her hands in the air. Eric says, he doesn't

492
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,560
Speaker 2: want to hurt you. I whirled at the voice. A

493
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:37,120
Speaker 2: masked figure stood a few feet from us. He must

494
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:41,520
Speaker 2: have come from the woods. Kestrel. Vulture put his body

495
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 2: between Doomsday and his so recently ex lover, What the

496
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:47,440
Speaker 2: fuck do you want? Look, just drop this, drop all

497
00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 2: of this. Let you lyxe be. I heard Bryn's baton

498
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,440
Speaker 2: flick open, saw a flash through the air. She put

499
00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:55,919
Speaker 2: all of her nod in considerable weight into the blow.

500
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:59,720
Speaker 2: I saw Kestrel's face twist to the side, his body

501
00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 2: soon follow He didn't fall, so she shoved him. He dropped.

502
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,560
Speaker 2: You told the cops about Doomsday. You beat Danielle with

503
00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 2: a crowbar. You think we'll listen to you? Do you

504
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,359
Speaker 2: know who the fuck we are? Do you drop it?

505
00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:18,880
Speaker 2: A policeman atop the bus aimed his handgun directly toward us,

506
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 2: twenty yards through the fog. If he fired, there was

507
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,520
Speaker 2: no telling whom he'd hit. Brynn dropped her baton. It

508
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,359
Speaker 2: clattered to the pavement, not six inches from Kestrel's face,

509
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,200
Speaker 2: and the shiny black steel glittered in the morning light.

510
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,520
Speaker 2: The morning light, the small crew of us met each

511
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,000
Speaker 2: other's eyes, and we waited breathless. Doomsday put her cold

512
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 2: hand in mine. I took Brind's and she took vultures,

513
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 2: and we were a circle. EULIXI crawled out of the

514
00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:50,880
Speaker 2: river to the bank, then leaped thirty feet to the bridge.

515
00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 2: A policeman atop the bus, dropped his riot gun and

516
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 2: it clattered. No one spoke a word, only the sound

517
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:00,760
Speaker 2: of idling police vehicles fought against the subtle of the river.

518
00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:06,080
Speaker 2: Eulixe bounded atop the bus began weaving his way through

519
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,479
Speaker 2: the five cops eyeing them stop. An officer commanded, as

520
00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:13,720
Speaker 2: though he were speaking to a person. Eulixe lowered his

521
00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 2: head three horns, facing the man, he edged forward. The

522
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,840
Speaker 2: cop planted his feet, but the antlers pushed him back

523
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:22,560
Speaker 2: back towards the edge of the bus.

524
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:23,720
Speaker 1: Stop.

525
00:29:23,880 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 2: The officer shouted fired. Time froze, we froze with it,

526
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,880
Speaker 2: but Eulixe kept moving. The officer tipped over, collapsing atop

527
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,680
Speaker 2: the bus, and the demon punctured the man's chest with

528
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:41,080
Speaker 2: his antlers. Time returned. Just as his death cries shattered

529
00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:45,560
Speaker 2: the air. Another officer opened fire. His gun exploded in

530
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,360
Speaker 2: his hand, and his face went up at a flash

531
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:51,400
Speaker 2: of fire, searing his flesh to the bone. He collapsed,

532
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:56,600
Speaker 2: never to rise. I threw up fear revulsion. I don't know,

533
00:29:57,040 --> 00:29:59,200
Speaker 2: but the contents of my stomach were out on the ground.

534
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,840
Speaker 2: I wasn't the only one. Eulyxe turned toward the police

535
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,680
Speaker 2: raised his front hoofs and slammed them down onto the

536
00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,600
Speaker 2: steel of the bus like startled birds. The police scattered

537
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,840
Speaker 2: to the woods, away from the river and away from

538
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:17,400
Speaker 2: our town, leaving their cruisers and compatriots behind more of

539
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,520
Speaker 2: Eulyxes's magic. The wounded officer on the bus continued to

540
00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 2: cry out sobbing. He kept crying until Eulyxe pried open

541
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,480
Speaker 2: his ribs and masticated his organs. I couldn't wish that

542
00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:33,040
Speaker 2: on a soul, no matter how much I despised them.

543
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 2: Doomsday started chanting, too low under her breath for me

544
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:41,360
Speaker 2: to follow. Doomsday. The voice came from town, and it

545
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:47,640
Speaker 2: was angry. Eric approached, unmasked and seemingly unarmed. He strode

546
00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:49,680
Speaker 2: up like he owned the place, like everything was going

547
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,200
Speaker 2: according to plan, never mind the corpses. Thursday turned and

548
00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,760
Speaker 2: his hands started out of his pocket. Don't Doomsday, said,

549
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:03,280
Speaker 2: dropping the ritual. He's goading you Eulxes watching Doomsday, you

550
00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,680
Speaker 2: pretentious fuck. You don't have an ounce of magical power

551
00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:10,520
Speaker 2: in your body. Thursday was twitching. I looked over my shoulder.

552
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 2: Eulixe was staring intently. Whatever we were going to do,

553
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:16,240
Speaker 2: we had to do it soon. We had to do

554
00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,120
Speaker 2: it now. As soon as Eric was done trying to

555
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,960
Speaker 2: wield Eulixe like a weapon, the demon was going to

556
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:25,120
Speaker 2: turn on Doomsday. Who knew what would happen from there.

557
00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,280
Speaker 2: Eric was trying to wield Eulixe like a weapon. It

558
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:33,800
Speaker 2: came over me in a flash. Oh fuck this, I said.

559
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,240
Speaker 2: I dropped out of the circle and went to Thursday.

560
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 2: I reached into his pocket, took out the gun and

561
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,640
Speaker 2: pointed it at Eric. Eulixe bounded down from the bus

562
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:46,960
Speaker 2: and was halfway between us. Eric a grin across his face,

563
00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:50,880
Speaker 2: raised his hands in surrender. Eulixe looked at me, looked

564
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 2: at Eric. Don't hurt me, Danny, Eric said, in a

565
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:59,600
Speaker 2: mocking tone. Eulixe charged Eric. The beast took the young

566
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:02,440
Speaker 2: man by the throat and dragged him thrashing down to

567
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:06,960
Speaker 2: the river. He didn't scream. As soon as his face

568
00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:10,320
Speaker 2: touched the water. He stopped struggling as soon as he

569
00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:12,560
Speaker 2: shot Rebecca. He must have known how he would meet

570
00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,920
Speaker 2: his end. He tried to meet it with dignity. We

571
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:19,280
Speaker 2: watched from the bridge, all of us strangely calm as

572
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:23,520
Speaker 2: Eulxe drowned him in the waters. After Eric was dead,

573
00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,680
Speaker 2: Eulxe let go of his throat, and the body lay

574
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,280
Speaker 2: half in the river and half on the rocks. The

575
00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 2: water's slow current tugged at him, gave him a strange

576
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:37,360
Speaker 2: semblance of life and motion. Eulyxes stepped gingerly over the

577
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:40,600
Speaker 2: corpse to stand knee deep in the water. He cast

578
00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 2: a long look back at us. I can't pretend to

579
00:32:44,120 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 2: read a deer's expressions, and even less so a demon's.

580
00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:51,160
Speaker 2: But for once, the beast's eyes seemed passive. They didn't

581
00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,240
Speaker 2: pry into my soul anymore. They didn't read my thoughts

582
00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:58,720
Speaker 2: and desires. He stepped deeper into the river until the

583
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:01,520
Speaker 2: water was at his neck. He ducked his head under,

584
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,960
Speaker 2: and he was gone. Thursday took the gun out of

585
00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:08,240
Speaker 2: my shaking hand, and everyone turned their gaze from the

586
00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:12,160
Speaker 2: river to me. We thought he was hunting as summoners

587
00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:15,760
Speaker 2: to save his own skin. I said he wasn't. He

588
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:19,360
Speaker 2: was hunting as summoners because his summoners were predators, hands

589
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,200
Speaker 2: that dared seize the fire. He attacked Eric, not me,

590
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:26,440
Speaker 2: because Eric was goading us to attack. Eric was trying

591
00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:29,440
Speaker 2: to use him as a weapon. Eulyxe knew that Anchor,

592
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,880
Speaker 2: Rebecca and Clay used it as a weapon. Clay ran

593
00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:37,120
Speaker 2: when he figured that out. Then he killed himself because

594
00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 2: he knew Eulxe was right to be after him. I

595
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,120
Speaker 2: don't know how many times he and I talked about it.

596
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 2: The revolution is about taking power away from the oppressors,

597
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,440
Speaker 2: not becoming them. Ourselves were in this case, not crowning

598
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,680
Speaker 2: an endless spirit as king. I thought Clay had killed

599
00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:54,800
Speaker 2: himself because he couldn't come back to freedom. That wasn't

600
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:57,400
Speaker 2: it at all. Clay killed himself because he recognized the

601
00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:00,720
Speaker 2: full weight of what he'd done to the world. I

602
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:04,520
Speaker 2: was the innocent summoner, Doomsday said. Eulxe didn't kill me

603
00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,600
Speaker 2: because I was the innocent summoner. And you know it

604
00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,120
Speaker 2: don't need to go out like Clay either. Thursday said,

605
00:34:11,160 --> 00:34:15,560
Speaker 2: is Eulyxe gone? Then? Vulture asked on the twelfth page,

606
00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:20,480
Speaker 2: what hand dare sees the fire? Doomsday said, on Solstice today,

607
00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,399
Speaker 2: Eric tried to use him Today, Solstice thins the veil

608
00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,160
Speaker 2: between worlds being used like a weapon. Today it was

609
00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:31,680
Speaker 2: enough to convince Eulyxey to depart. Since departure was an option,

610
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,520
Speaker 2: I nodded. That's what Clay was trying to tell us.

611
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,200
Speaker 2: The world was quiet there in the morning. As people

612
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,279
Speaker 2: limped to their feet, the sirens still flashed, though no

613
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,680
Speaker 2: cops remained to drive the cars. Bird song came though

614
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,560
Speaker 2: after some time, and the sun began to burn off

615
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:53,880
Speaker 2: the fog. What will you do now, I asked Doomsday.

616
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:56,640
Speaker 2: Five of us were crowded into a booth at a

617
00:34:56,680 --> 00:35:00,800
Speaker 2: diner in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota. Next Hi Brynn

618
00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:04,239
Speaker 2: was cleaning her nails with a folding knife. Across from us,

619
00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:09,240
Speaker 2: Doomsday and Thursday sipped black tea, their faces deadpan. Vulture

620
00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:11,520
Speaker 2: sat with his legs astride a backward chair, and he

621
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,840
Speaker 2: was grinning like the sun had never been brighter. I

622
00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,960
Speaker 2: don't know, Doomsday said, find somewhere else, I suppose you guys,

623
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,000
Speaker 2: You guys. Vulture tilted his chair dangerously forward and to

624
00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:26,240
Speaker 2: lean toward us conspiratorily. I was thinking, Clay and Rebecca

625
00:35:26,239 --> 00:35:28,239
Speaker 2: camp be the only ones who knew magic like that, right,

626
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,319
Speaker 2: Elixie can't be the only endless spirit out there. So

627
00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:33,200
Speaker 2: I was checking my phone in the car right because

628
00:35:33,239 --> 00:35:35,080
Speaker 2: Doomsday told me I wasn't allowed to post any more.

629
00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:36,920
Speaker 2: Pictures that were going to incriminate us to Instagram, so

630
00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,840
Speaker 2: I had to waste my time some other way. And

631
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,160
Speaker 2: there's this forum I found where people track things like

632
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,319
Speaker 2: you Lyxi and most of his bullshit, but like, I

633
00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:46,600
Speaker 2: don't know, some of it's probably not. Like there's this

634
00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:49,000
Speaker 2: private club in Oregon and every couple of years local

635
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,360
Speaker 2: kids try to sneak in, but most of them go missing,

636
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,040
Speaker 2: and some of them just go crazy telling everyone about

637
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:56,760
Speaker 2: a bear without any skin. And there's a coal mine

638
00:35:56,840 --> 00:35:59,960
Speaker 2: in West Virginia where translucent dogs had been attacking active

639
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:03,200
Speaker 2: And there's this bank in Canada that's being guarded by

640
00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:07,920
Speaker 2: a headless man and and he was actually hyperventilating. He

641
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,720
Speaker 2: waved his hands up and down, unable to control his joy.

642
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:15,480
Speaker 2: And we could be demon hunters, I asked, coordinated. The

643
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:19,000
Speaker 2: Days reached down and sipped their tea. Brynn folded, shut

644
00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:22,920
Speaker 2: her knife and put it on the table. Yeah, Brynn said,

645
00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:29,719
Speaker 2: all right, of course, Doomsday said. Thursday nodded. I put

646
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,040
Speaker 2: my hand, still modeled with a lifeless gray though no

647
00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,200
Speaker 2: longer painful, in the center of the table. The rest

648
00:36:36,239 --> 00:36:39,320
Speaker 2: put theirs on mine. Vulture took a picture with his phone.

649
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,880
Speaker 2: You can't be serious, Doomsday said to him. We're wanted.

650
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:45,400
Speaker 2: We shouldn't even be talking about this here, let alone

651
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:50,640
Speaker 2: taking pictures. Yes for Instagram, though she'd glared, buy, I'll

652
00:36:50,680 --> 00:36:54,520
Speaker 2: delete it. Jesus fucking Christ. He was still grinning. The

653
00:36:54,600 --> 00:36:57,000
Speaker 2: server brought her hash browns and refilled my coffee, and

654
00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:59,160
Speaker 2: I swirled the thick black stuff of life around the

655
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:02,680
Speaker 2: mug as I sorted out my thoughts. Looks like we're

656
00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:05,239
Speaker 2: all outlaws now, I said. The police will be back

657
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:07,480
Speaker 2: and they'll be investigating the hell out of Free tom Iowa.

658
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,120
Speaker 2: It's not so bad as you'd think, Doomsday said. She

659
00:37:11,200 --> 00:37:13,279
Speaker 2: pulled her hand off the stack, and the rest of

660
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:17,400
Speaker 2: us followed suit. Oh, no matter who you are, you

661
00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,520
Speaker 2: go through your life every day of your life, sure

662
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,399
Speaker 2: that one day you'll die, One day the light will

663
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 2: be gone from your world and the grave awaits right. Well,

664
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,040
Speaker 2: I don't think about as often as that, I lied.

665
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 2: I looked at each of my new friends in turn.

666
00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,399
Speaker 2: The days stern and serious brin As waled off as

667
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:39,040
Speaker 2: me a slight smile on her lips. Vulture, who clearly

668
00:37:39,120 --> 00:37:41,080
Speaker 2: wasn't happy about being awake while the sun was up

669
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:43,040
Speaker 2: and was just as clearly had as much energy as

670
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,080
Speaker 2: the rest of us combined. It felt good to cast

671
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:48,880
Speaker 2: my lot with them. It felt good even to have

672
00:37:48,920 --> 00:37:52,480
Speaker 2: friends to cast my lot in with. One day you'll die,

673
00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,120
Speaker 2: one day you'll be in prison. Doomsday Face was impassive

674
00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:58,600
Speaker 2: as always, but I was learning to read its warmth.

675
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:07,759
Speaker 2: Today though you're alive, today, you're free. That duh dun

676
00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:12,600
Speaker 2: dunt dunt dun. Oh.

677
00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:15,480
Speaker 1: I am excited for the second one, which I've read,

678
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:18,439
Speaker 1: and I'm excited to force you to write a third one.

679
00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:23,160
Speaker 2: Oh. I started drafting it. Oh, excellent, excellent, So I

680
00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,840
Speaker 2: may not need to actually invite you back here and

681
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:31,400
Speaker 2: trap you and and and some sort of Yeah, the

682
00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 2: book is just about escaping Robert Evans's.

683
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:36,799
Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. It's like a reverse whatever that Stephen King

684
00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:40,640
Speaker 1: novel is. Yeah, it's very you know, I thought a

685
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:42,200
Speaker 1: lot about that line that you had in there about

686
00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:44,640
Speaker 1: how you never get used to flash bangs, because I

687
00:38:44,680 --> 00:38:47,200
Speaker 1: had a slightly I have a slightly different relationship with

688
00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:50,000
Speaker 1: flash banks, where maybe it'll be different now, but I

689
00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:53,680
Speaker 1: got extremely used to flash bangs, but as a consequence,

690
00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:58,000
Speaker 1: got less use to everything else, Like the thing that

691
00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:00,480
Speaker 1: would particularly fuck me up was that the sound of

692
00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:03,680
Speaker 1: the sound of a flash bang grenade landing next to

693
00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:04,960
Speaker 1: you was almost the same as the sound of a

694
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:08,560
Speaker 1: glass bottle hitting the ground without shattering, And anytime that

695
00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:12,160
Speaker 1: would happen, I would just like clinch up and immediately

696
00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:14,839
Speaker 1: be like in hell. And it was the same with

697
00:39:14,920 --> 00:39:18,279
Speaker 1: like little fireworks or poppers or anything like that, Like

698
00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 1: it was it was everything. Everything that was vaguely similar

699
00:39:22,640 --> 00:39:25,120
Speaker 1: to a flashbang fucked me up. But the flash bangs

700
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:26,759
Speaker 1: themselves I was used to.

701
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:30,640
Speaker 2: Honestly, that makes sense to me, Like I've only had

702
00:39:30,680 --> 00:39:33,279
Speaker 2: my vision stuttered by a flashbang once, and actually it

703
00:39:33,280 --> 00:39:37,959
Speaker 2: was in Portland also, and yeah, we're a real flashbang town. Yeah,

704
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:43,000
Speaker 2: two thousand three, March twentieth, two thousand and three, somewhere

705
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:48,600
Speaker 2: in southwest Portland maybe northwest Portland. Before they charged us,

706
00:39:49,280 --> 00:39:54,480
Speaker 2: they flash banged us. And yeah that like that freeze frame.

707
00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:57,680
Speaker 2: I'm never forgetting that freeze frame, like I've forgotten most

708
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:01,319
Speaker 2: things that happened twenty years ago. Yeah, yeah, but no,

709
00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:03,640
Speaker 2: that makes sense. The fireworks have never have not been

710
00:40:03,640 --> 00:40:07,040
Speaker 2: my friend since then, although I slowly, yeah, pulled out

711
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:07,719
Speaker 2: of it a little bit.

712
00:40:08,120 --> 00:40:11,320
Speaker 1: Yeah, I go back and forth on them. But yeah, Margaret, wonderful,

713
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:14,840
Speaker 1: very excited to continue this. But next we will have

714
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:17,439
Speaker 1: a different set of stories for you all.

715
00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:20,720
Speaker 2: So every Sunday we're being at either a different story

716
00:40:20,840 --> 00:40:22,720
Speaker 2: or a new start for a story that will continue

717
00:40:22,719 --> 00:40:26,240
Speaker 2: for a different length of time, or possibly sometimes Robert

718
00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:30,480
Speaker 2: and I will jabber about books, or maybe other people

719
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 2: will jabber about books. Yeah, exactly, it's a miss, So

720
00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:39,600
Speaker 2: look forward to that, everybody, and until next time, stay spooky.

721
00:40:40,440 --> 00:41:04,760
Speaker 2: Yeah bye,