WEBVTT - Chapters Three, Four, & Five 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:03.840 Hey, lead the listeners tag here. Last season on Lethal Lit, 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 you might remember I came to Hollow Falls on a 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:11.880 mission clearing my aunt Best's name and making sure justice 0:00:12.000 --> 0:00:15.960 was finally served. But I hadn't counted on a rash 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:19.840 of new murders tearing apart the town. My mission put 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:24.480 myself and my friends in danger. Though it wasn't all bad, 0:00:24.920 --> 0:00:28.920 I'm going to be realty tig I like you, but 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.280 now all signs point to a new serial killer in 0:00:32.320 --> 0:00:36.240 Hollow Falls. If this game is just starting, you better 0:00:36.280 --> 0:00:41.559 believe I'm gonna win. I'm tig Torres, and this is 0:00:41.640 --> 0:00:44.720 Lethal Lit. Catch up on season one of the hit 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:48.280 murder mystery podcast Lethal Lit, a tig Torre's mystery out now, 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:50.840 and then tune in for all new thrills in season two, 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:54.400 dropping weekly starting February nine. Subscribe now to never miss 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.480 an episode. Listen to Leave the Lit on the I 0:00:56.560 --> 0:00:59.840 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 0:01:01.120 --> 0:01:04.560 Here's to the great American settlers. The millions of you 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:08.160 has settled for unsatisfying jobs because they pay the bills. 0:01:08.640 --> 0:01:11.240 Of course, there is something else you could do if 0:01:11.240 --> 0:01:15.319 you've got something to say, startup podcast was Spreaker from 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:18.960 my Heart and unleash your creative freedom, maybe even earn 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.720 enough money to one day tell your old bus hey, 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:26.840 I'm no settler, I'm an explorer. Spreaker dot Com sp 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:31.240 r e a k e r HS salon over today. 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:34.880 When P. T. Barnum's Great American Museum burned to the 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:37.960 ground in eighteen sixty five, what rose from its ashes 0:01:38.040 --> 0:01:41.640 would change the world? Welcome to Grim and Mild Presents, 0:01:41.920 --> 0:01:45.680 an ongoing journey into the strange, the unusual, and the fascinating. 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:48.840 In our inaugural season will give you a backstage tour 0:01:48.920 --> 0:01:52.640 of the complex and unusual artifact that is the American 0:01:52.720 --> 0:01:55.880 side Show. Listen to Grim and Mile Presents now on 0:01:55.920 --> 0:01:59.000 the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:08.880 listen to podcast. Chapter three, Sasha the drone gun rotated 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:11.720 on its axis and brought a new, slightly different chunk 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:14.760 of city escape into view. The world was a dull, 0:02:14.800 --> 0:02:17.520 gray green color through the lens of the weapon's camera. 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:21.120 Once again, there were no humans in sight. That was 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:23.720 the norm, but Sasha still logged in for her scheduled 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:27.080 gun time every day. Her parents would have been mortified 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.040 if they had known how she was spending her few 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.240 hours of free time, but she had a good VPN, 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.320 or at least it was good enough to hide her 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:38.160 activity from her non tech savvy elders. She doubted they'd 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:41.160 ever suspect her of something like this. Sasha was a 0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:44.600 good student. Her grades guaranteed her admission to the American 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:47.239 University in d C. At one point, she'd had a 0:02:47.240 --> 0:02:50.360 shot at being her high school's valedictorian and maybe of 0:02:50.400 --> 0:02:54.160 gaining admission to Stanford. But then she discovered the true 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:58.040 Gospel and given herself to Christ. Her grades were still good, 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:01.000 but probably not good enough to earn her in educational 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.400 visa to the California Republic. The extra time the old 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.120 heir had dedicated to school was now spent glued to 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:10.400 a gun camp, browsing live feeds from various Christian militias, 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:13.200 and reading everything she could from the few pastors brave 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:16.160 enough to preach the word. The new herd didn't want 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:18.760 to go to school near San Francisco, capital of what 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.680 Pastor Mike had called the world's most sinful nation. Sasha 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:25.079 didn't even really want to go to college in d C. 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:29.239 What was the point? Sash her dad called from the kitchen, 0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:33.320 dinners on cheese Enchilada's. There was still nothing in her 0:03:33.360 --> 0:03:35.720 line of sight. For the eleventh month in a row, 0:03:35.800 --> 0:03:38.520 she was spending sixty five am fed dollars for the 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:41.000 privilege of staring through a camera at nothing for a 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:43.760 half hour a day. Sasha had been warned about this 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.520 when she'd signed up to support the Woodlands Martyrs Brigade. 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:49.720 Their drone guns didn't see much action. The front had 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.680 been stable for the last year. Rumors said the number 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:55.040 of backers had even gotten to fire during their turn 0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:57.840 was under a dozen. Sasha had hoped she'd be a 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:01.600 special case. Something moved. Just as she thought about killing 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.680 the app and going downstairs, something moved across her drones 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:07.800 field of vision. It happened again, and Sasha realized that 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:11.520 the somethings were armored soldiers sprinting past her weapon. She 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.160 locked the drone on one and for the first time ever, 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:18.680 selected the fire approval button. A second went by, then another, 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.479 and then a red box replaced her firing redicule. Target 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:26.800 declined friendly fire. Sasha her mother called up in that 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.800 grating voice that mint she was almost frustrated enough to 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.679 start yelling get down here. She stared at the box 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:37.560 for another long moment. Friendly fire. That made sense as 0:04:37.560 --> 0:04:40.159 she belatedly realized the men had been rushing out of 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:43.880 territory occupied by the martyrs. Good thing, they check up 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.760 on us before we pull the trigger. Her heart pounded 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:49.000 a little at the thought of killing the wrong soldier, 0:04:49.400 --> 0:04:52.359 but at the same time she noticed something odd. The 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.400 men were still coming. They rushed past the drone camera 0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:59.240 in waves ten feet apart, ducking low and hefting heavy weapons. 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:01.560 She must to have watched at least a hundred of 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.680 them pass before she realized what this meant. A new offensive. 0:05:05.880 --> 0:05:09.920 Oh God, dial Alexander, she told her deck. A calm 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.600 window popped up about six inches in front of her hand, 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:15.160 to the left of the large drone control screen that 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:17.960 hovered above her. Anyone without a deck would have just 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:20.600 seen a seventeen year old girl lying on her bed 0:05:20.680 --> 0:05:23.560 and poking at the air, but Sasha saw the space 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:26.200 in front of her as a giant screen curved around 0:05:26.200 --> 0:05:29.160 her body. She opened another window and flung it up 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:31.960 on her right side. It was populated with links to 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.520 the camera feeds of all the personalities she followed, most 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:38.080 of them were located somewhere in the Republic of Texas, 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:40.760 and more than half of the feeds were dark. It 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:43.520 was hard to tell just what was happening on the others. 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:46.920 Sasha decided she'd get a faster update on the situation 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:50.240 through her news aggregator. She reduced the other windows and 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.000 shifted them to her periphery. Then she opened a new 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:55.800 window and waited a half second for her curated news 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:59.359 feed to populate. Her deck kept ringing Alexander while she 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:03.440 scanned the lines. Reports of explosions across the Dallas Front, 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:08.960 Texas extremist advance into stf Republic territory. Reports from Dallas 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:12.640 suggested a new offensive by Heavenly Kingdom. A half dozen 0:06:12.720 --> 0:06:17.000 rings later, Alexander picked up Sasha. He asked. His voice 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.760 sounded distant. There was noise on the line. After a 0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:22.200 second or so, Sasha heard a boom and then a 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.880 strange crackling sound that had to be gunfire. It didn't 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:28.000 sound like it did in the movies, or even in 0:06:28.040 --> 0:06:31.240 the few VR shooters she'd played. Sasha's heart had started 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:34.640 to pound by the time she responded, yes, Alexander, I 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:37.040 was just on my drone and it looks like something's happening. 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:40.440 The media saying it's another offensive. They're right for once, 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.400 said Alexander, and they're still wrong at the same time. 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:46.520 This is something new, Sasha. I'm sorry I couldn't tell 0:06:46.520 --> 0:06:49.640 you before, but it'll all be clear soon. Is this 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:54.160 just the martyrs Brigade? He smiled, and Sasha's face went red. No, Sasha, 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.000 something wonderful is Are you near the front? Are you 0:06:57.040 --> 0:07:00.200 part of the fighting? Sasha interrupted. She'd never have done 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:02.839 that normally, but she could hear what sounded like gunfire 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:05.919 over his line, and Sasha was scared. I'm with the 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:08.920 second wave, he said the tracks. I'm moving us into 0:07:08.960 --> 0:07:12.600 position now. I'll probably have to Whatever else he'd been 0:07:12.600 --> 0:07:15.280 about to say was cut short as all of Sasha's 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.640 deck apps closed at once. Her digital world was replaced 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:25.000 by a red box that read parental lockdown. Come to dinner, Sasha, mom. 0:07:25.080 --> 0:07:27.680 She screamed down the stairs as her eyes welled up 0:07:27.680 --> 0:07:30.920 with tears at the unfairness of it all. Alexander, the 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:33.640 man she was pretty sure she loved, was going into 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.520 battle for the first time. He was fighting right now 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.600 to re establish the rule of God on Earth. I 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.920 should have read him a poem, or said something beautiful 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:44.040 and stirring, something about how my love for him was 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.280 as everlasting as God's own love. It should have been 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.200 a powerful moment, but her heretic horror of a mother 0:07:50.280 --> 0:07:55.440 had ruined it for Inchillada's Sasha stormed downstairs, ripe with fury, 0:07:55.520 --> 0:07:58.320 but unable to vent it. Her parents couldn't know she'd 0:07:58.360 --> 0:08:01.120 been giving money to a militant group. They wouldn't have 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:03.280 to drop in on her talking to Alexander to know 0:08:03.360 --> 0:08:06.239 what she had planned. Six kids from her high school 0:08:06.240 --> 0:08:08.440 had already left for the Republic of Texas to fight 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:11.280 in one militia or another. It was a problem across 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:15.680 the American Federation, but here in Virginia, parents were particularly wary. 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:18.600 The border of the United Christian States was just an 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:21.800 hour's drive from her front door. Ratlines in the u 0:08:21.840 --> 0:08:24.680 c S brought thousands of young volunteers yearly from the 0:08:24.720 --> 0:08:27.720 heart of corporate America to the various militia groups that 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:31.720 battled across Texas. Sasha Marian, what did we interrupt that 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:35.160 was so important? You had to yell, I was praying, mother. 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:38.880 It wasn't really a lie. Pastor Mike had said that 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.480 every deed done in support of the heavenly kingdom was 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:45.559 an act of prayer. Gwendolen Marian frowned back at her daughter. 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.800 She was a stern woman with a broad Germanic face 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:51.600 and dirty blonde hair pulled back into a severe bun. 0:08:51.920 --> 0:08:54.600 Faint crow's feet trickled out from her eyes, but those 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:58.760 were from choice rather than times formerly inevitable March. Gwendolen 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:02.000 was the chief of surgery and Annapolis General Hospital. She'd 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:05.160 been taking juven treatment since she was twenty. She'd only 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:07.600 decided to let the crow's feed through once Sasha had 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:11.520 turned seventeen. You can pray as much as you want, honey, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.360 but right now it's dinner time, and this is something 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:19.520 we do as a family. Sasha thought juven was unnatural, heretical. 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.720 God had created each human to age a certain way. 0:09:23.120 --> 0:09:26.240 Using science to disrupt that natural process was an act 0:09:26.280 --> 0:09:30.480 of blasphemy. She yearned to say something cutting, hurtful in response, 0:09:30.760 --> 0:09:33.360 but she fought it down. You don't have to obey 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:35.480 your father and mother if they try to keep you 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.719 out of the Kingdom of Heaven. Words from one of 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.840 Pastor Mike's weekly casts rang in her ears, but the 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:44.120 Lord God still calls on us to respect our parents. 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.079 He'd added that well behaved kids were the ones who 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.480 caused the least suspicion and had the best chance of 0:09:49.520 --> 0:09:53.319 successful escape. Yes, ma'am, was all she said, as the 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:56.680 families settled into their chairs. Her brother Ian was just 0:09:56.840 --> 0:09:59.760 five and unusually quiet for his age. He smiled at 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:02.960 her as their father told him out an enchilada, Sash. 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:06.439 Who's Alexander? He asked, and Sasha felt the blood run 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:10.000 out of her face. Their father, Tony, smiled riley at 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.760 the remark as he spooned a proportionately larger serving onto 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:16.400 his own plate. Alexander, Huh, maybe this means another boyfriend. 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:20.480 It's been what four years. Tony had opted for fewer 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:24.559 cosmetic juven treatments than his wife. Sasha loved her father's 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:28.680 receding hairline, his slight jowls, his graying hair. He was 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:31.600 still a heretic, but at least he wasn't a vain one. 0:10:32.400 --> 0:10:34.760 He's not my boyfriend, dad, just a boy I talk 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:38.880 with sometimes, we pray together. Gwendolen rolled her eyes a little. 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:43.640 Such an exciting adolescence you're having, she said. Sarcasm swelled 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:46.920 every word. Sasha didn't rise to the bait. Her self. 0:10:46.960 --> 0:10:50.160 Control was iron now. She wouldn't give them any cause 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.120 to worry or call the authorities. It was better even 0:10:53.160 --> 0:10:55.760 for them to think Alexander was some boy from school. 0:10:56.120 --> 0:10:58.760 If they thought her principles were thawing, they'd be less 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.040 likely to suspect what he had planned. The merry and 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:06.080 family ate companionably for several minutes. Tony talked about some 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:08.800 cock eyed nut who'd come into his office at Deutsche 0:11:08.800 --> 0:11:13.560 Bank looking for a loan. He wanted three million to 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.560 get this build a blimp to take tourists from the 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:20.960 am Fed to Louisiana without crossing UCS territory. And I'm like, 0:11:21.280 --> 0:11:23.480 first of all, I can name a hundred boat charters 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.880 to do the same thing. And second, Sasha tuned most 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:29.240 of it out and tried to focus on eating. But 0:11:29.320 --> 0:11:32.079 knowing Alexander was out there facing death for his faith 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:35.280 killed any appetite she otherwise might have had. She ate 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:39.160 mechanically without really tasting it until her plate was almost clean. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:42.439 Sasha was planning her exit when her mother spoke up 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:45.640 by the way. The school called today and said, you 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.520 still haven't been by to get sized for your graduation robes. 0:11:48.720 --> 0:11:50.840 They need at least forty eight hours to print them out. 0:11:50.960 --> 0:11:54.760 You're running out of time. Sorry, mom, she said, I 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:56.480 know that's important. I've just had a lot on my 0:11:56.559 --> 0:11:59.000 mind lately. The f s T s were last week, 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:02.160 Sah She had gotten very good at telling her parents 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:05.760 what they needed to hear without actually lying. The Federation 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:09.160 Standardized Test had been last week, and she'd certainly had 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:11.280 a lot on her mind lately, But the f s 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.719 T hadn't been keeping her up at night. It was 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:17.079 little more than a rubber stamp for a student like Sasha. 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.520 That's okay, sweetie, Gwendolen said, I know how important your 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:22.120 school work is to you. I just want you to 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:26.000 have a fun graduation experience. That's important. There's a war 0:12:26.080 --> 0:12:28.400 going on a few hundred miles from your door. Men 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.880 are dying for God's kingdom, and you think school matters 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:33.840 to me. But Sasha just smiled, told her mom she 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:36.240 loved her, and went back upstairs to her room. As 0:12:36.280 --> 0:12:39.600 soon as it was politic to do so. She reactivated 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:42.320 her VPN and popped her deck into stealth mode, which 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:45.200 displayed a curated selection of websites and chat apps for 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.840 her mom and dad in case they came by. She 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:50.240 drew a new private window about two feet in front 0:12:50.280 --> 0:12:52.560 of her face and split it in half between a 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:55.040 face calm with Alexander and a news feed full of 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:59.280 her favorite militia press offices. Her jaw dropped voice of 0:12:59.280 --> 0:13:02.520 the prophets may in headline was Republic of Texas forces 0:13:02.559 --> 0:13:05.880 clashed with martyrs. Judgment day is here, she read in 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:08.200 a social media post from one of her favorite sources 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.680 in the area, a twenty something mechanic who lived on 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:13.520 the fringe of the Republic and supported the Heavenly Kingdom. 0:13:13.600 --> 0:13:16.439 He'd posted a picture of the governor's mansion in Plano. 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.000 It was burnt around several of the windows and riddled 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:22.200 with holes. Gone was the Republic's flag, replaced by a 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:24.880 white banner with a burning black cross in the center. 0:13:25.360 --> 0:13:28.600 Sasha sent out another call request to Alexander and switched 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.120 over to Al Jazeera's feed to learn more. It galled 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:34.560 her to use a new source run by Muslims, but 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:36.960 she had learned from experience that Al Jazeera had the 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.160 best reporters on the ground in the Republic. They negotiated 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.880 coverage deals with several of the militia groups, including Alexander's. 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:46.200 The first thing she noticed was that their last article 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:48.680 had gone up over an hour ago, but the titles 0:13:48.679 --> 0:13:52.440 of the foremost recent articles painted a vivid picture Republic 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:57.000 Capital in Galveston, burning, military coup, Republic media feeds go dark, 0:13:57.320 --> 0:14:01.840 SDF under attack. In Dallas. Pastor Mike Donnegan announces new 0:14:01.840 --> 0:14:05.440 offensive for Heavenly Kingdom. How could there possibly be a 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:08.880 new offensive against the secular forces in Dallas? The Richardson 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.400 line had been locked in a stalemate for the last year. 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.880 Alexander had told her often how outnumbered and outgunned the 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:17.720 martyrs of the Heavenly Kingdom were withhold on our own, 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.640 but only by the grace of God, was his usual refrain. 0:14:20.960 --> 0:14:24.480 The idea of them advancing again on the STF seemed impossible. 0:14:25.080 --> 0:14:28.640 Nothing is impossible with God. She could almost hear Alexander's 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.760 voice echo in her mind's ear. She glanced over at 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:33.880 his chat screen, but it was still just showed the 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:38.400 standard dialing symbol. Frustrated, Sasha brought up her militia news feed. 0:14:38.800 --> 0:14:41.240 This was one of her most cherished possessions. It had 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:43.920 taken months for her to sort out the most influential 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:47.120 Christian militias in the area find their official spokes feeds 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:50.040 and cross index them based on which groups agreed with 0:14:50.080 --> 0:14:54.200 the strict Neo Calvinist doctrine. She Alexander and Pastor Mike 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:56.360 all new to be the one true Word of God, 0:14:57.080 --> 0:14:59.480 and for the first time since she had started the feed, 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:02.520 each in every militia she followed had posted the exact 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:07.920 same message, The first battle of Armageddon has begun. Sasha 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.320 was confused for a minute. She'd done her homework. She 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.440 knew the final battle of the end Times was supposed 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.520 to occur at Mount Meghito in Israel. But she thought 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:18.320 back to Pastor Mike's sermons. He had talked about the 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:21.880 battles of Armageddon many times. The coming end Times and 0:15:21.880 --> 0:15:24.120 the central place of the Heavenly Kingdom in the world's 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.960 last Battles were constant refrains in his sermons. Sasha had 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.160 always believed the battles of Armageddon would come. She just 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:34.680 thought they had more time. Sasha was frustrated and a 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.360 little hurt. Alexander must have known this was in the 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:40.240 offing and kept it from her. She understood, of course, 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:42.640 but she was furious at herself for being so far 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:44.480 away from the action that he had been forced to 0:15:44.560 --> 0:15:47.480 hide this from her. The first battle of Armageddon was 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:50.360 beginning just a few hours south of her bedroom. She 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.360 could either stay here and rot in the American Federation, 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.640 or prove God with her devotion and move there. It 0:15:56.720 --> 0:15:59.520 didn't even seem like a choice. Really. If goodmen were 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:02.200 fighting in dying to restore the Kingdom of God on Earth, 0:16:02.480 --> 0:16:05.200 it fell to her to travel there and support those men. 0:16:05.920 --> 0:16:09.360 She thought of Alexander, his liquid green eyes, his scraggly beard, 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.200 the way his still boyish voice broke in excitement when 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.720 he lost himself in the spirit of the Lord. Her 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:17.960 beloved was out there right now, fighting and maybe bleeding, 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.640 to bring the truth back to the world. The least 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:24.680 she could do was join him. Weeks ago, Alexander had 0:16:24.720 --> 0:16:27.800 given her the contact information for a man named Brother Andrew. 0:16:28.320 --> 0:16:31.240 He called the other man a deliverer. Sasha knew her 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:34.360 parents and the AMFID authorities would have described Brother Andrew 0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:37.240 as a people smuggler. She hadn't reached out to Brother 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.960 Andrew yet. In her fantasy, she had always waited to 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:43.240 graduate before escaping to the heavenly Kingdom. She was still 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:45.440 a few weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday and had 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.520 hoped to at least spin that with her parents before 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.720 setting off. But right now, as she scrolled through articles 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:53.520 about the martyr's breakthrough and immersed herself and snap bits 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:57.320 of cheering soldiers raising cross banners over newly captured neighborhoods, 0:16:57.680 --> 0:17:01.840 Sasha felt a powerful anxiety over take her. She needed 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:05.359 to be there. There was no other option. Sasha flipped 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:07.480 open a window on the left side of her view space, 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:10.560 typed in the address she'd memorized for brother Andrew, and 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:19.600 sent him a message, I am ready to go. What 0:17:19.760 --> 0:17:23.560 grows in the forest trees? Sure? No. What else grows 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:27.280 in the forest, Our imagination, our sense of wonder, and 0:17:27.320 --> 0:17:30.600 our family bonds grow too, because when we disconnect from 0:17:30.640 --> 0:17:37.080 this and connect with this, we reconnect with each other. 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.679 The forest is closer than you think. Find a forest 0:17:40.800 --> 0:17:44.320 near you and start exploring. I discover the Forest dot Org, 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:47.199 brought to you by the United States Forest Service and 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:51.399 the AD Council the Art world. It is essentially a 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:55.240 money laundering business. The best fakes are still hanging off 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:58.680 people's walls. You know they don't even know or suspect 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:02.159 that their faces amount like Baldwin. And this is a 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:06.560 podcast about deception, greed, and forgery in the art world. 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:12.840 You knew the painting was fake. Um Listen to Art 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.840 Fraud starting February one on the I Heart Radio app, 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:28.719 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Conquer your 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:31.840 New year's resolution to be more productive with the Before 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:36.320 Breakfast podcast. In each bite sized daily episode, time management 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.800 and productivity expert Laura vander Caam teaches you how to 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.239 make the most of your time, both at work and 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:45.480 at home. These are the practical suggestions you need to 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:48.480 get more done with your day. Just as lifting weights 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:51.560 keeps our body strong as we age, learning new skills 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.160 is the mental equivalent of pumping iron. Listen to Before 0:18:55.200 --> 0:19:04.120 Breakfast wherever you get your podcasts, Chapter four. Manny Manny 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:06.680 woke up needing to piss and also to the sound 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.600 of explosions. He couldn't quite tell which was more to 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:13.440 blame for his sudden, unwelcome consciousness. His lizard brain woke 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:16.280 up and shouted, get the funk out of their, you asshole. 0:19:16.440 --> 0:19:19.600 A second later, Many got to his feet, grabbed his 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:23.320 gear bag and looked around for the journalist. Reggie still 0:19:23.320 --> 0:19:26.479 seemed asleep, but he stirred just as Manny started towards him, 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:30.639 and another thundering boom shook the world. Christ, who's that, 0:19:31.160 --> 0:19:34.760 Reggie asked, in a slurred voice heavy with sleep. Mortars, 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:38.480 Manny explained, I think I heard rockets too. Shit, The 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:43.080 brit Eck sailed sharply. Is this bad? Manny shrugged. Those 0:19:43.119 --> 0:19:46.680 sound like small mortars, very short range. But we're miles 0:19:46.680 --> 0:19:50.639 behind the line. So a deafening explosion shook the world. 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.080 It was loud enough that Manny didn't even properly hear it. 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:57.960 He felt it hard and hot against his skin. The sheer, 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:00.719 impossible noise of it pulled the air from his lungs 0:20:00.720 --> 0:20:03.159 and the thoughts from his head. The next instant, he 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:05.720 was flat on the ground. His eyes darted left and 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:09.240 right for cover. He spotted something, an artificial cave built 0:20:09.280 --> 0:20:11.679 into a corner of the main room, perhaps a hundred 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:14.600 feet away. It looked like some sort of shrine or temple. 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.360 Many could see. The walls were thick with melted candles, 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:20.719 colorful drawings in a variety of brass cymbals. He grabbed 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:23.639 Reggie by the shoulder and shook hard. The other man jerked, 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:27.240 locked eyes with Manny and mouthed what the fixer pointed 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:29.920 towards the shrine, pulled himself up and sprinted towards it. 0:20:30.240 --> 0:20:32.560 The journalists followed, and soon both men were huddled in 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.360 the little substructure, staring out at the devastation that had 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:39.399 overtaken the Richardson autonomous project. They could see two holes 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:42.080 in the roof the huge circular kitchen bar looked like 0:20:42.119 --> 0:20:45.639 it had taken a direct hit. Beer spurted from shattered taps, 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:48.199 and many could see what looked like blood staining the 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:51.520 white oak of the bar. Counter Flames licked somewhere off 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:54.000 in the distance on the other side of the vast structure. 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:58.080 The air smelled of smoke and burning grass. More blasts 0:20:58.080 --> 0:21:00.439 sounded in the distance, including a few that were just 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:03.400 too loud to be mortar fire. Now that he focused, 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.280 Manny could also hear the chatter of machine guns. It 0:21:06.400 --> 0:21:08.920 was distant, but not nearly as distant as it should 0:21:08.920 --> 0:21:12.000 have been. Many dug into his pocket, found where the 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:15.160 deck was clipped inside, and thumbed the power button. Static 0:21:15.200 --> 0:21:17.240 flashed at the edge of his vision as his implants 0:21:17.240 --> 0:21:20.520 started up. He nearly always ran in minimalist mode, which 0:21:20.520 --> 0:21:23.159 gave him access to his maps and his communications sweet 0:21:23.280 --> 0:21:26.200 and nothing else. He selected his address book and sub 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:33.640 vocalized his cousin's name, Alejandro. It dialed and dialed and dialed. Amen. 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:36.800 Reggie said, his voice oddly, calm. I think we might 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:39.400 need to get the funk out of here. Reggie looked 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:41.600 over at the bridge and then towards the flames. They 0:21:41.600 --> 0:21:44.000 were bigger now and closer. He could see a dozen 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:46.159 or so men and women fighting the fire with hoses 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:49.760 and extinguishers. They didn't seem to be winning. Elsewhere, he 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:52.480 saw small groups breaking cover to run for the exits. 0:21:52.800 --> 0:21:55.440 The sound of alarm bells echoed across the big structure. 0:21:55.760 --> 0:21:59.320 Alejandro hadn't responded, which meant he was fighting or dead. 0:21:59.800 --> 0:22:02.000 I Either way, Manny and Reggie would need to find 0:22:02.040 --> 0:22:04.879