Speaker 1: Epilogue. Manny stumbled out of Ayisha's house at around seven
Speaker 1: p m. It was still bright outside. The scorching boil
Speaker 1: of the day had faded a bit into more of
Speaker 1: a humid simmer. The normal stark, blinding blue of Texan
Speaker 1: September had been replaced by the oily gray white of
Speaker 1: cloud cover. It looked and felt like a storm front
Speaker 1: was moving in. He took a few steps forward just
Speaker 1: to get away from the door. The meeting had gone awfully.
Speaker 1: There had never really been any chance of it going well.
Speaker 1: Of course, Manny had opted to be as blunt and
Speaker 1: honest as possible. He'd told her that Oscar had been
Speaker 1: captured and executed by the Heavenly Kingdom. He left out
Speaker 1: that Rowland had mercy killed him, as he had left
Speaker 1: out his own little stint in the Kingdom's militia. It
Speaker 1: would have taken too long to explain. She'd reacted with rage.
Speaker 1: Ayisha had hit him a few times. She'd screamed at
Speaker 1: him off and on for more than an hour, in
Speaker 1: between bouts of collapsing into his chest and sobbing. If
Speaker 1: who hadn't talked him into this fucking job, he'd still
Speaker 1: be alive, she'd spat at him. Manny hadn't argued in
Speaker 1: his defense. Ayisha had been right. After all, there was
Speaker 1: nothing for him to do but endure her rage, soak
Speaker 1: up her pain, and transfer tens of thousands of am
Speaker 1: fed dollars into her bank account. Before the bodies at
Speaker 1: rock Creak had gone cold, Manny had made up his
Speaker 1: mind to hand Ayisha every penny he'd saved. Schofucker, Mike,
Speaker 1: and Topaz had assured him that the cash would be
Speaker 1: all but useless in his new life on the road
Speaker 1: with rolling fuck, and more than that it was the
Speaker 1: right thing to do. He couldn't bring oscar back, he
Speaker 1: couldn't make anything okay, But the money he'd saved would
Speaker 1: mean Ayisha had one less worry In the immediate wake
Speaker 1: of the tragedy. He stepped off her porch and tried
Speaker 1: not to focus too much on the muffled sounds of
Speaker 1: her howling cries behind him. Ahead, parked across the street
Speaker 1: was an old beat to ship jeep Wrangler. It had
Speaker 1: no doors, no top, and tuley black elk sat in
Speaker 1: the driver's seat, legs propped up on the dash, and
Speaker 1: a Fats Gar bleating smoke into the air around her.
Speaker 1: She glanced up as he approached and favored him with
Speaker 1: a lopsided grin. Hey kid, how'd it go. Tullie had
Speaker 1: seemed less than friendly on their initial meeting. Given the circumstances,
Speaker 1: Manny couldn't blame her. She'd warmed up to him in
Speaker 1: the two days since the battle and had thanked him
Speaker 1: repeatedly for saving her and Rick. Manny had tried to
Speaker 1: brush off her praise, but she'd ignored his every effort.
Speaker 1: When it came time to take his last trip into Austin,
Speaker 1: she'd volunteered to drive. Her mods were all minor enough
Speaker 1: that she was still legal inside the city and went
Speaker 1: the way it went. He replied, she's fucked up about it,
Speaker 1: and she hates me, probably always will. Manny hopped into
Speaker 1: the driver's seat and looked around for a seat belt,
Speaker 1: before remembering that Tullie's jeep had none. He settled back
Speaker 1: into the seat and looked over to her. The woman
Speaker 1: took two more deep puffs of her cigar, then put
Speaker 1: the nub out on the side of her vehicle. She exhaled, belched,
Speaker 1: and then fixed him with a weary smile that it
Speaker 1: then Manny had already visited his father. It hadn't taken long.
Speaker 1: The old man was happy to see him alive, proud
Speaker 1: of what he'd done, and livid that he planned to
Speaker 1: flee Texas to live with a bunch of weirdos and
Speaker 1: a moving city. He hadn't fought Manny on the matter,
Speaker 1: though life in Austin didn't exactly promise a bright future
Speaker 1: for anyone. The city's defense forces had counterattacked the Martyrs
Speaker 1: coming up from Lake Houston at the same time as
Speaker 1: Rolling Fuck and Roland had made their stand. That battle
Speaker 1: hadn't been as one sided, but the Martyrs had been
Speaker 1: pushed back. Rumor had at the SDF forces around Lake
Speaker 1: Houston were sallying out, sending gunboats with pocket artillery into
Speaker 1: the flooded parts of the city to shell Kingdom forces
Speaker 1: in the suburbs. The Heavenly Kingdom had withdrawn from Waco.
Speaker 1: They'd probably pull back from around Houston soon, but they
Speaker 1: still held Dallas, Galveston, and hundreds of miles of territory. Besides.
Speaker 1: Word was the Canadians and Californians were sending in more
Speaker 1: military advisers. The Choctaw and the Navajo were sending in
Speaker 1: special Forces. The u c S had recoiled at all
Speaker 1: this or an intervention. They were threatening to send in
Speaker 1: ground troops to protect the faithful. Texas would not stop
Speaker 1: bleeding anytime soon. Yeah, that's it, he told Tullie. Austin's
Speaker 1: got nothing else for me? Now good. She reached over
Speaker 1: and squeezed his shoulder. One look at her eyes told
Speaker 1: Manny she'd been crying while he'd been inside with Ayesha.
Speaker 1: It was odd, but he appreciated her grief. She hadn't
Speaker 1: said anything about Marigold, but the fact that she was
Speaker 1: clearly racked with pain and guilt too made his own
Speaker 1: burden easier to bear. Tullie popped the jeep and to drive,
Speaker 1: and together they rolled forward and out of the subdivision
Speaker 1: where Oscar had lived and Ayisha still did without really
Speaker 1: thinking about it. Manny opened the glove compartment. His time
Speaker 1: with Rolling Funck had taught him that there had to
Speaker 1: be drugs squirreled away somewhere inside. He was right. A
Speaker 1: full clear plastic hip flask sat next to a ziplock
Speaker 1: bag filled with blunts. Many grabbed the flask and fished
Speaker 1: out one of the blunts. You got a light, he
Speaker 1: asked to Lee snorted in laughter, the kind of fucking
Speaker 1: question is that? Of course, I got a light. She
Speaker 1: handed it over. He lit the blunt, hit it and
Speaker 1: passed it off to her, and then unscrewed the top
Speaker 1: of the flask and pounded back a shot. You're learning,
Speaker 1: Tullie told him as she took a sharp right turn
Speaker 1: onto South Congress Avenue. Learning what Learning that the world's
Speaker 1: too fucked to take on with a clear head. She
Speaker 1: passed the blunt back. Manny took it and handed off
Speaker 1: the flask. When I first came to rolling fuck, she started,
Speaker 1: I didn't get why of room was so damned wasted
Speaker 1: All the time I'd been an activist back in Albuquerque.
Speaker 1: You know, I thought having a clear head would help
Speaker 1: me fight. She laughed, took a deep belt of liquor,
Speaker 1: and then continued. It turned out my clear head and
Speaker 1: my hard work didn't stop home from going to ship.
Speaker 1: After a couple of weeks with Marigold, Topaz and Mike,
Speaker 1: I realized something. What Manny asked already kind of sure
Speaker 1: he knew the answer. The world's gonna be, more or
Speaker 1: less exactly is fucked up. Man. I are serious, I
Speaker 1: take it so I might as well enjoy the ship show.
Speaker 1: Manny nodded. He gulped down more of the liquor, took
Speaker 1: another hit from the blunt, and stared off into the sun,
Speaker 1: which had started to set over the Colorado River. It
Speaker 1: was a beautiful day. He thought. It was fitting that
Speaker 1: this would be his last day in the city of
Speaker 1: his birth. It was like Austin had dressed up to
Speaker 1: say goodbye to him. I never really thought I could
Speaker 1: fix the world, Manny said, But I thought I might
Speaker 1: be able to fix my own life, you know, be
Speaker 1: clever enough, good enough to escape to somewhere better. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Tually grinned. Did you give up on that or did
Speaker 1: you decide Rolling Fuck is somewhere better? I don't know,
Speaker 1: Manny said, but it's definitely somewhere different. I think right now,
Speaker 1: that's enough. Rolling Funck had moved south since the battle
Speaker 1: to Georgetown. Tually pulled onto Highway thirty five, waved her
Speaker 1: way through a handful of checkpoints and to rass until
Speaker 1: they reached the outskirts of the camp. By then, the
Speaker 1: flask was long empty and the blunt burnt down. That
Speaker 1: was mine. Though Manny was a bit of a lightweight,
Speaker 1: and he felt pretty wasted. As they pulled up to
Speaker 1: the Greater Station, Skullfucker, Mike and Topaz were waiting for them.
Speaker 1: Welcome home, pal, Mike told him and wrapped him in
Speaker 1: a rib crushing embrace. Topaz kissed his cheek and smiled
Speaker 1: at him. It didn't reach her eyes. She was still
Speaker 1: fucked up. He knew over Marigold's death and over whatever
Speaker 1: had happened with Roland. So was Manny. For that matter,
Speaker 1: Roland's brain had read it within about an hour of
Speaker 1: his injury. Manny had expected things to go back to
Speaker 1: normal then, or as normal as Roland ever was, But
Speaker 1: the post human had been left with no clear memories
Speaker 1: of Manny, Sasha, or anything that had happened inside the
Speaker 1: Heavenly Kingdom. He remembered Mike's name, and he talked frequently
Speaker 1: about a shack on the top of some mountain in Arizona,
Speaker 1: but that was it. Manny tried not to dwell on it. Together, he, Mike, Topaz,
Speaker 1: and Tulli started to walk towards the enormous modified backer
Speaker 1: at the heart of Rolling Fuck. Mike put a hand
Speaker 1: on Manny's shoulder and squeezed. Got some bad news for you, Bud,
Speaker 1: what Manny asked, hyper vigilance, spiking anxiety into his brain.
Speaker 1: Sasha left, said Topaz, her voice as gentle as it
Speaker 1: ever got what he asked, where back to the mfant
Speaker 1: or No? Mike replied, she went with Jim and that
Speaker 1: stupid aircraft of his. I think he offered her a job.
Speaker 1: Is that bad? Manny asked. He wasn't sure how to feel.
Speaker 1: He'd wanted to get to know her better. He'd also
Speaker 1: gotten the distinct impression she wouldn't be happy in rolling.
Speaker 1: Fuck depends on your perspective. Topaz said, Jim can give
Speaker 1: her a lot of the things she might need right now.
Speaker 1: He's also the worst person on earth. She paused for
Speaker 1: a moment and then reconsidered, Okay, second worst. You're talking
Speaker 1: about Roland, Manny asked, fuck you, She replied, kids got
Speaker 1: a right to talk about him. Topes. Mike said they
Speaker 1: went through a nightmare together, Yeah, Topaz said, looking up
Speaker 1: at Manny, And now he's left you alone with the
Speaker 1: ship you did together while he wanders off into the
Speaker 1: desert to get wrecked, hasn't he? Roland had, in fact
Speaker 1: started his walk to Arizona about a day ago laden
Speaker 1: down with several backpacks full of pain killers. In Silas Syben,
Speaker 1: he hadn't bothered to say goodbye, but then again he
Speaker 1: hadn't remembered Manny at all. He can't help it. Manny
Speaker 1: told her he'd been thinking about this a lot. Roland
Speaker 1: warned me before he went out there. He told me
Speaker 1: he couldn't handle the guilt, the killing. He made it
Speaker 1: clear how much it fucked him up, and I still
Speaker 1: asked him to go anyway. Sure Topez said, her voice
Speaker 1: icy and sharp. And you don't have guilt over anything
Speaker 1: that happened out there. You think Mike and I don't
Speaker 1: have blood on our hands. Schoolfucker, Mike, Mike gently insisted.
Speaker 1: We spent years fighting alongside Rowland. Topaz continued, We shed
Speaker 1: a lot of blood together. He told us he'd always
Speaker 1: be there to help us deal with whatever came after,
Speaker 1: and then one day he was gone. Mike said, in
Speaker 1: a dull, haunted tone. He left us, just like he
Speaker 1: left you. The big man shook his head as if
Speaker 1: to ro out the darkness inside. I don't hold it
Speaker 1: against him, it's just how he is. Fuck that, Topaz
Speaker 1: pat He doesn't get to do that and not be
Speaker 1: a son of a bitch. The rest of us have
Speaker 1: to live with our consciences. He takes a bullet train
Speaker 1: to Forgetsville, and that's fine. It's not fine, Mike said,
Speaker 1: but it is Rowland. We have to take him as
Speaker 1: he is. You do. Maybe I'm happy cutting the fucker
Speaker 1: out of my life. You do well to do the same, Manny,
Speaker 1: when he comes back next time. You think there will
Speaker 1: be a next time, Manny asked, Of course, all right,
Speaker 1: cut the ship, Tulie said, as they reached the lift
Speaker 1: that would lead them up to the main roller. Man
Speaker 1: he's here for good. Now. We've all got plenty to
Speaker 1: sniffle over, but it's time to properly welcome this dumbass
Speaker 1: to the city. What's that look like, Manny asked. Who
Speaker 1: probably takes him? M dum a, Mike said, and I
Speaker 1: got a couple dozen pounds of dynamite. Topaz added, explosives
Speaker 1: are stupid fun when you're rolling. We can toss him
Speaker 1: while we do donuts in the jeep, Tulie said, I'll
Speaker 1: crack open a case of whippets, will make a night
Speaker 1: of it. Schofucker. Mike squeezed Manny into a bear hug
Speaker 1: Topez joined, and after a few seconds, so did Tully.
Speaker 1: This is gonna be the best party of your life,
Speaker 1: he said, at least till whatever we do tomorrow.