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Speaker 1: Chapter twenty one. Sasha. Alexander hadn't seen it coming. He

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Speaker 1: hadn't expected her at all. The sound of his furious

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Speaker 1: scream was the most beautiful thing Sasha had ever heard.

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Speaker 1: She hit him again and again, and he fell back

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Speaker 1: and then down to the ground. Blood streamed from his

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Speaker 1: nose in a gash above his brow. His eyes looked unfocused,

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Speaker 1: his lip was split. He tried to scream or cry

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Speaker 1: out or beg her, but she didn't give him the

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Speaker 1: time to say one damn word. Instead, she hit him

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Speaker 1: again and again and again. She didn't make the conscious

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Speaker 1: choice to dive down on top of him, and in fact,

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Speaker 1: Sasha was rather surprised to find herself straddling the prone,

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Speaker 1: broken boy soldier. But once she was there, she kept

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Speaker 1: hitting him until she felt his skull give way and

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Speaker 1: the helmet had something soft, squishy and hot that lay beyond.

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Speaker 1: She sat back and for what seemed like a year,

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Speaker 1: just stared at the helmet and bedded in Alexander's ruined face.

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Speaker 1: Blood pulsed out from around the edges where it met

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Speaker 1: the skin. The way the blood bubbled up looked just

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Speaker 1: a bit like the water and one of the fountains

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Speaker 1: outside the hospital, her mother ran. For some reason, that

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Speaker 1: similarity did more to raise her hackles than the act

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Speaker 1: of killing. Her ears still rang, and so it was

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Speaker 1: easy to lose herself. In contemplation of Alexander's body. Her

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Speaker 1: mind turned to the Book of John and the words

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Speaker 1: of her Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Do not be

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Speaker 1: like Cain who belonged to the evil One and murdered

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Speaker 1: his brother? And why did he murder him? Because his

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Speaker 1: own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous? Had

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Speaker 1: Alexander's actions truly been righteous? Sasha knew if she searched

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Speaker 1: the Bible she could find scriptural justifications for everything Alexander

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Speaker 1: had done. That's why she'd come here in the first place,

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Speaker 1: wasn't it The heavenly Kingdom was finally going back to

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Speaker 1: the letter of the Bible, the Word of God. Only

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Speaker 1: now that she'd seen what that looked like, Sasha had

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Speaker 1: found she could not abide it. Am I still a Christian?

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Speaker 1: She couldn't say. Her faith had been such a part

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Speaker 1: of her identity, it had been everything, and now it

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Speaker 1: felt like a lie. What am I if not a

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Speaker 1: righteous servant of the Lord? Where do I go from here?

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Speaker 1: Eizash little problem here. Roland's voice jerked her out of

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Speaker 1: her contemplation. She looked back at the man and her

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Speaker 1: mind recoiled in terror. His skin had been shredded by gunfire.

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Speaker 1: It hung in pale tatters down his face and arms.

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Speaker 1: His clothing had largely been shot away, and the rags

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Speaker 1: that remained were so drenched in blood that they clung

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Speaker 1: to him. He looked almost as if he was clad

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Speaker 1: in a single giant scab one if his eyes was unfocussed, dislocated,

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Speaker 1: and something had happened to his left arm, it looked

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Speaker 1: as if an enormous straight razor had burst out of

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Speaker 1: the forearm. Where did you get that? She asked. Sasha

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Speaker 1: was surprised and a bit disturbed by her curiosity. Roland

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Speaker 1: seemed surprised too this. He looked at the blade. I

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Speaker 1: really no, Ha'd sort of forgotten it was in there.

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Speaker 1: He lifted his arm and its blood soaked blade up

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Speaker 1: and looked at it like a small child opening a

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Speaker 1: prized gift on Christmas morning. Then he flicked his arm

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Speaker 1: down towards the ground, and the blade slid back into

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Speaker 1: the meat of his forearm with a wet thwack. Look,

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Speaker 1: he said, we got more press and shit to deal

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Speaker 1: with right now. You're all those sirens. She actually couldn't.

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Speaker 1: Her hearing had begun to recover from the gunfight, but

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Speaker 1: Roland was just barely audible. Allowed Tenita's hum still rang

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Speaker 1: through her ears. Sasha was pretty sure she'd suffered permanent damage.

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Speaker 1: I can't hear much right now, she said. The gunfire,

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Speaker 1: you know. Oh, he frowned. I forgot that could happen

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Speaker 1: to you folks. Well, ah, there's a shitload of cops

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Speaker 1: or martyrs or militia whatever. A bunch of them are coming,

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Speaker 1: probably two or three hundred. They got tanks and drones

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Speaker 1: and shit, God Almighty, Sasha felt fear rise up in

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Speaker 1: her heart again. Yeah, listen, God's not really the dude

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Speaker 1: to worry about right now. Manny's all fucked up. I

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Speaker 1: stopped his bleeding, but you're gonna need to get him

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Speaker 1: out of here. Manny, she'd forgotten all about him. Sasha

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Speaker 1: realized with a start that she'd blotted the rest of

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Speaker 1: the room from her mind. She looked around and took

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Speaker 1: it all in. Manny was still lying where she'd left him,

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Speaker 1: nursing a gunshot wound to the belly. He was pale, sweaty,

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Speaker 1: and he looked to be in terrible pain. But he

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Speaker 1: was conscious and alive. That was more than she could

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Speaker 1: say for Marigold. The poor woman had been shredded by

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Speaker 1: shotgun fire. Sasha couldn't bring herself to look too closely

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Speaker 1: at the shattered, steaming remains, But Marigold's friends were alive.

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Speaker 1: The young man Rick was unconscious and drenched in blood,

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Speaker 1: but most of that blood didn't seem to be his own.

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Speaker 1: His head was in Tullie's lap. She'd been wounded in

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Speaker 1: the buttocks and bled quite a lot, but the wounds

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Speaker 1: seemed to have clotted. There were tears and a haunted,

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Speaker 1: pained look in her eyes. Oh my god, Sasha said,

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Speaker 1: once her mind started to process the visual stimuli. Lord

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Speaker 1: in Heaven, No, no, no, no, that poor woman, that

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Speaker 1: unborn child. How could this happen? How could this be? Sasha,

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Speaker 1: Roland shouted, This is a very bad time for you

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Speaker 1: to have emotions. Try killing those for a while. How

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Speaker 1: just think about the fact that every one but me

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Speaker 1: will die if you don't get your shit together, and

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Speaker 1: then get your shit together. Her initial action was anger

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Speaker 1: and frustration. Is he that disconnected from humanity? Does he

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Speaker 1: think people can just turn their empathy off? But then

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Speaker 1: she stopped herself listen him and tried. She imagined herself

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Speaker 1: putting on a heavy jacket, something that blocked out pain

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Speaker 1: and horror rather than the cold. It worked, okay, she said,

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Speaker 1: what do I need to do? You need to take

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Speaker 1: Manny and uh, what's her name? And what's his face? Tooley?

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Speaker 1: And Rick? Right, take the non dead people, run down

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Speaker 1: and out the back door, and find me a car.

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Speaker 1: Then you need to a car. He stopped sifting through

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Speaker 1: the dead man's firearms to roll his eyes at her. Yes,

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Speaker 1: a car. I'm not going to carry all you lame

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Speaker 1: bloods out of here on my fucking shoulders. We'll need

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Speaker 1: a getaway vehicle. I can't drive, she said. All the

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Speaker 1: cars in the amphet are autonomous. He shrugged. You'll figure

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Speaker 1: it out. Many moaned just then, almost as if it

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Speaker 1: was in response to Roland's suggestion. Sasha knew it was

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Speaker 1: more likely she'd just been too focused on the big

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Speaker 1: posthuman to notice Manny's pained moans the whole time. Can

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Speaker 1: he drive? Sasha asked, sure, Roland said with sudden cheer

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Speaker 1: He's only lost what two quarts of blood? I gave

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Speaker 1: him a little mine. I'm sure he'll be right his

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Speaker 1: rain soon, Manny moaned again, handed his blood soaked belly.

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Speaker 1: He didn't appear to be bleeding still, but he was

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Speaker 1: pale and his face showed agony too obvious to ignore.

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Speaker 1: Sasha doubted he'd be capable of driving a car in

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Speaker 1: the immediate future. I can drive, Toulli said, in a cracked,

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Speaker 1: broken sounding voice. Right Roland said, well, that's lovely. Get

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Speaker 1: your asses up and get moving. You've got about two

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Speaker 1: minutes before shitting fans start their lovely dance. The posthuman's

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Speaker 1: good humor was incongruous in this blood soaked room. Addressed

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Speaker 1: to two people who'd lost a friend to day. He

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Speaker 1: grabbed one of the guard's pistols, which he'd shoved in

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Speaker 1: his waistband, and handed it to Sasha. Safety's off, he said, cheerily,

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Speaker 1: So once you pull the trigger, stuff'll happen. Sasha took

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Speaker 1: the gun and then went over to help Manny up.

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Speaker 1: Toullie did the same thing with her wounded friend. Neither

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Speaker 1: Manny or Rick were in great shape, but Manny at

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Speaker 1: least seemed capable of standing under his own power. Once

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Speaker 1: Sasha got him to his feet, he stayed there. She

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Speaker 1: looked him in the eye, and while he seemed sort

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Speaker 1: of dazed and glassy, his pupils fixed on hers, and

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Speaker 1: he nodded. We have to go, She said, sitra tempoima.

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Speaker 1: He muttered what Sasha asked said, it's about fuckin' time.

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Speaker 1: Just follow me, she said, with more confidence than she felt.

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Speaker 1: I'll take care of everything. Oh fuck that, Manny said.

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Speaker 1: He put a hand on her shoulder and moved as

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Speaker 1: if to push in front of her and shield her

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Speaker 1: with his body. Then he grabbed a side, groaned, and

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Speaker 1: staggered back. All right, yeah, you lead the way men.

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Speaker 1: Tully was up now. She had an arm around her friend,

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Speaker 1: and together they moved almost as fast as a single

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Speaker 1: elderly person with bad hips. Mannie was not much more mobile.

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Speaker 1: Sasha looked back at Roland. Where should we meet you?

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Speaker 1: The next street behind this building is called Alma. Take

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Speaker 1: it and go left until you hit a road named

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Speaker 1: Cross Bend. I should be there by the time you arrive.

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Speaker 1: What if we can't find a he cut her off.

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Speaker 1: Not finding a car is not an option. Talking more

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Speaker 1: is not an option. I have to go kill people.

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Speaker 1: You find something with wheels and get Tully in the

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Speaker 1: driver's seat. Sasha star to say something, but the sirens

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Speaker 1: had drawn very close. Indeed, she heard several shouts from

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Speaker 1: outside the front of the building. Roland cursed. He'd already

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Speaker 1: gathered up two of the rifles and slung them across

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Speaker 1: his back. He had a large pistol in his left hand.

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Speaker 1: At the sound of the shouting, he brought his right

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Speaker 1: hand up to his belly and dug it deep inside

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Speaker 1: his skin. Sasha watched in horror as he tore a heavy,

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Speaker 1: blood caked weapon out of his gut. Roland walked up

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Speaker 1: to the front window of the room and fired the

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Speaker 1: weapon once, twice, three times. Its report was deep and bassy,

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Speaker 1: like the sound of a heavy drum being struck. There

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Speaker 1: was a brief island of quiet, followed by a trio

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Speaker 1: of explosions that rattled the walls of the jail. Look.

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Speaker 1: Roland said as he glanced back to her, I gotta

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Speaker 1: go be a distraction. Find the car. Get to cross

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Speaker 1: bend in Almah, I'll be therein. He glanced out the

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Speaker 1: window again and shrugged. Ten maybe eleven minutes. Okay should

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Speaker 1: Sasha started to ask talking time is done. Toolie's flat

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Speaker 1: voice interrupted, he moves, We move now. She pulled her

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Speaker 1: friend towards the door. Would have been something almost comical

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Speaker 1: about the agonizing slowness with which they actually moved, but

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Speaker 1: the gesture had its intended effect. Sasha took Manny by

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Speaker 1: the hand. She let Tully lead the way to the door,

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Speaker 1: but once they were in the hallway, the young woman

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Speaker 1: had no idea where to go. Sasha took the lead

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Speaker 1: then and guided her new comrades towards a flashing red

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Speaker 1: exit sign that she knew led to a rear stairwell.

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Speaker 1: For a brief passing second, she'd been worried that they

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Speaker 1: might encounter other guards or jailers during their flight. That

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Speaker 1: concern proved groundless. Gunfire had torn through the walls of

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Speaker 1: the examination room and ripped apart the interior of the jail.

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Speaker 1: She saw a few gouts of blood by the walls,

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Speaker 1: and one sinister looking pool of it beneath a desk.

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Speaker 1: It all drove an important lesson home for Sasha. Bullets

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Speaker 1: don't stop when they miss. The stairwall was as deserted

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Speaker 1: as the rest of the jail. They hobbled down at

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Speaker 1: as quickly as three wounded people could manage. Sasha stayed

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Speaker 1: in the back, under the instinctive assumption that it'd be

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Speaker 1: best for morale if she didn't rush ahead. Their progress

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Speaker 1: down the stairs was painfully slow, almost every step punctuated

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Speaker 1: by the sound of gunfire out on the street below.

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Speaker 1: It sounded like a full scale war had broken out there.

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Speaker 1: There was a lot of screaming, and Sasha tried not

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Speaker 1: to think too much about which of the nice young

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Speaker 1: martyrs she'd met in the square were now dying by

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Speaker 1: Roland's hand. What about Anne? What about Susanna? You're abandoning them?

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Speaker 1: Sasha shook the thoughts clear from her head. There'd be

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Speaker 1: time for self loathing later. Tully and Rick reached the

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Speaker 1: bottom floor first. They leaned back against the wall together

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Speaker 1: and caught their breath. Rick was as white as a

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Speaker 1: sheet and looked like he could still barely stand. Tullie

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Speaker 1: was doing better, but not by a wide margin. When

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Speaker 1: she and Manny hit the bottom floor, he went straight

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Speaker 1: for the exit door. He clearly intended to be the

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Speaker 1: first out in case anyone had a weapon trained on

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Speaker 1: the door. Sasha stopped him. That wasn't hard, because he

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Speaker 1: was only a little more stable than Tully. She pushed

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Speaker 1: him back, put a hand on the door, and then

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00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:51,840
Speaker 1: drew the pistol Roland had given her. She fixed Mannie

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Speaker 1: with what she hoped was a firm, fearless look. You're

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Speaker 1: in no state to be heroic. He looked at her

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Speaker 1: as if he wanted to fight her, but then he

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Speaker 1: looked down at the shaking hand he had pressed into

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00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:04,319
Speaker 1: the sopping wound in his side. Yeah, all right, you

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00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,120
Speaker 1: down to do the hero stuff. Then she nodded, well,

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00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:17,920
Speaker 1: then be my guest. Sasha didn't know how to use

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Speaker 1: a gun. The m FED band almost all private firearm ownership.

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Speaker 1: Her grandfather had owned a couple of bolt action hunting rifles,

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00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:27,679
Speaker 1: and he'd let Sasha hold them a few times. That

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00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:30,640
Speaker 1: was as close as she'd gotten too firearms training. She'd

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00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:33,520
Speaker 1: never actually shot the darned things. Once he'd died, her

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00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:35,560
Speaker 1: father had sold the guns rather than deal with the

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Speaker 1: hassle and expense of a license. So she burst out

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Speaker 1: onto the street with the pistol held high in front

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Speaker 1: of her, like she'd seen in movies. It took her

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00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,840
Speaker 1: a few seconds to realize, sheepishly, that this behavior was

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Speaker 1: more likely to get her gun down than aid in

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00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,520
Speaker 1: her defense. Thankfully, there'd been no martyrs watching the rear exit.

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Speaker 1: Sasha waved for the others to follow her out and

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00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,800
Speaker 1: stashed the pistol under her shirt. For a few minutes,

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00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,600
Speaker 1: they'd ran, or rather hobbled, in what seemed like the

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00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:04,559
Speaker 1: right direction. The city still rang with the sound of sirens, gunfire,

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00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,320
Speaker 1: and the occasional concussive blast, but it seemed to be

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00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,800
Speaker 1: moving away from them. Plino wasn't exactly crowded, but there

244
00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:12,840
Speaker 1: were enough people out on the street to notice the

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00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,160
Speaker 1: fresh wounds on Tulli, Rick, and Manny. No one approached them,

246
00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,080
Speaker 1: though Sasha wasn't sure if they passed unnoticed, but they

247
00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,280
Speaker 1: were able to pass through the city without incident. Fear

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00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:24,440
Speaker 1: and the flight reflex were enough to carry them a

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00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,200
Speaker 1: few blocks in relative haste. Once they were out of

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00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,120
Speaker 1: sight of the jail, Rick put up a hand as

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Speaker 1: he slumped back against the wall. Tully continued to hold

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00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,679
Speaker 1: him up. She was pale, sweaty, and pained looking. Ryan

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00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,240
Speaker 1: shook and shuddered. His eyes were unfocussed, and he was

254
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:43,120
Speaker 1: clearly in shock. He needs to rest, Tulli said. Manny

255
00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:45,800
Speaker 1: stopped next to them and leaned against the wall as well.

256
00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:49,400
Speaker 1: He nodded at Tully and then looked back to Sasha. Yeah, ditto,

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Speaker 1: I might prefer to lay down and die at this point.

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Speaker 1: We need to find a car anyway, Tulli said, as

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Speaker 1: she helped lower Rick down to sit against the wall.

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Speaker 1: If I carry him for much longer, I'm going to drop.

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00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,440
Speaker 1: Sasha realized everyone was looking at her. Is that my job?

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00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,440
Speaker 1: Manny looked mortified, Tullie looked angry. Rick bless him, was

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00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:14,440
Speaker 1: too deep and shocked to react. Yes, Toulli said, in

264
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,840
Speaker 1: a toneless voice that still somehow implied deep disappointment. Okay,

265
00:13:18,840 --> 00:13:21,480
Speaker 1: then Sasha said, when I find the car, I assume

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00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:24,360
Speaker 1: you'll know how to hot wire it. Tully laughed. It

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00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:27,400
Speaker 1: wasn't a nice laugh. If you're hiding a real nice

268
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,520
Speaker 1: deck somewhere and that's silly head of yours, or you

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00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,040
Speaker 1: find a car that's older than my dad. Maybe otherwise

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00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,200
Speaker 1: we're going to need something with keys in it. What

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00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,000
Speaker 1: so I'm just supposed to carjack someone. Tully stared dead

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00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,520
Speaker 1: eyed at her. Manny gave a pained, helpful smile. I

273
00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:47,199
Speaker 1: mean you've got a gun, he said. Sasha felt the

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00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:49,800
Speaker 1: heat rise in her again. Why not, I've given up

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00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:51,920
Speaker 1: every other principle I have to day, I might as

276
00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,200
Speaker 1: well commit armed robbery, the guilt staying her guts, but

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00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,560
Speaker 1: not as badly as it should have. Perhaps she was

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00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:01,080
Speaker 1: still numb from watching Doctor Brandton Marigold. Or maybe it's

279
00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,880
Speaker 1: because I killed Alexander. Maybe I'm evil now and this

280
00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,679
Speaker 1: is what that feels like. There was no time to

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00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:09,600
Speaker 1: mold the possibilities. Sasha left Manny and the others to

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00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:11,880
Speaker 1: catch their breath and darted down an alley towards a

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00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:14,840
Speaker 1: larger street that sounded like it might have traffic. She

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00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:17,679
Speaker 1: passed two parked cars and looked inside with the vain

285
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,720
Speaker 1: hope that, just maybe someone might have left their keys behind.

286
00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:24,000
Speaker 1: It was to no avail. Sasha soon found herself on

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00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:27,000
Speaker 1: the cracked and shell pocked asphalt of Alma Road. The

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00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,240
Speaker 1: buildings on either side of this stretch of street had

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00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:32,880
Speaker 1: taken significant damage during the Heavenly Kingdom's birth panes. There

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00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,200
Speaker 1: were no people out on the sidewalks or visible in

291
00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,520
Speaker 1: the windows. Anyone alive had probably hunkered down to avoid

292
00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:41,240
Speaker 1: the shooting. There was still traffic on the road, though,

293
00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,840
Speaker 1: three trucks and a dentted, fume spewing white sedan shot

294
00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,080
Speaker 1: by her at the speed of wartime traffic. Sasha drew

295
00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:50,600
Speaker 1: her gun, looked at it, and then hurriedly stashed it

296
00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,080
Speaker 1: inside her blouse again when she realized how dumb that

297
00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:57,200
Speaker 1: had been. Godly women do not carry guns. A series

298
00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,360
Speaker 1: of four loud booms sounded in the distance. Sasha didn't

299
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,560
Speaker 1: know enough about weaponry to guess what those had been,

300
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,240
Speaker 1: but she knew they'd had something to do with Rowland.

301
00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:07,840
Speaker 1: People are dying, so I can find us a car

302
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,440
Speaker 1: and get everyone to safety. She started walking down the street,

303
00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:15,080
Speaker 1: face pointed towards oncoming traffic, hands waving above her head

304
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,880
Speaker 1: in the international gesture for oh God, please help me.

305
00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,120
Speaker 1: Two more cars zoomed past without even slowing to check

306
00:15:21,160 --> 00:15:23,520
Speaker 1: on her. It was odd how that shocked her after

307
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:26,360
Speaker 1: everything else she'd seen in the heavenly Kingdom, the faithful

308
00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:29,840
Speaker 1: protect and support each other, pastor Mike had claimed, But not,

309
00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,200
Speaker 1: it seemed, when a half human monster was on a

310
00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,760
Speaker 1: rampage through their city. That helped debate her guilt, at least,

311
00:15:36,040 --> 00:15:38,360
Speaker 1: or it did right up until the moment a familiar

312
00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,000
Speaker 1: jankie brown truck rumbled to a stop next to her.

313
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:44,840
Speaker 1: Squise me, ma'am, do you need She turned around, and

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00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,480
Speaker 1: the man's face lit up in surprise, Miss Sasha. It

315
00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,120
Speaker 1: was Darryll, the kindly old foreman who driven her to

316
00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,400
Speaker 1: the House of Miriam on her first day in the kingdom.

317
00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,640
Speaker 1: Was that really only days ago? Seemed like years? Sasha

318
00:15:57,680 --> 00:15:59,720
Speaker 1: felt like an old woman, even though she was just

319
00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,000
Speaker 1: on the edge of eighteen. You hurt? He slammed the

320
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,320
Speaker 1: car into park and opened his door one sec I

321
00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:07,040
Speaker 1: got a first aid kit in the back. Where'd you

322
00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,360
Speaker 1: get hit? Sasha looked down at her chest and realized

323
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,240
Speaker 1: she looked like she'd been badly injured. The blood wasn't hers,

324
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:15,800
Speaker 1: of course, but Darrell couldn't have known that. He thought

325
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,240
Speaker 1: she was hurt and he was trying to help. Am

326
00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,520
Speaker 1: I really going to rob a good Samaritan? She was?

327
00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:24,840
Speaker 1: Sasha waited until Darrell had closed the door, grabbed his

328
00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,480
Speaker 1: medical kit and turned towards her. Then she drew her

329
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:29,920
Speaker 1: pistol and leveled it at his weathered, grease stained, and

330
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,480
Speaker 1: now thoroughly surprised face. WHOA, I need your truck. I

331
00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,080
Speaker 1: need your truck, she said. Darrell dropped the medical kit

332
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,120
Speaker 1: and put both his palms out. Oh now, girl, all right,

333
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,800
Speaker 1: why don't you just put that gun down. Darrell ain't

334
00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,200
Speaker 1: gonna hurt you. I'll take you anywhere you need to go.

335
00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,840
Speaker 1: Let's just be real, calm, real slow about all this.

336
00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:52,800
Speaker 1: Did somebody hurt you? I need your truck? It was

337
00:16:52,880 --> 00:16:55,040
Speaker 1: so hard to keep her voice, even, so hard to

338
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,000
Speaker 1: do this cruel thing to a man who'd only been

339
00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,880
Speaker 1: kind to her. Sasha could feel white hot tears streamed

340
00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:02,440
Speaker 1: down her face. I must look like a crazy person,

341
00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:06,600
Speaker 1: she thought. Maybe that will help, now, Miss Sasha, Darrell said,

342
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:08,440
Speaker 1: I'm a guess you don't know how to drive a truck.

343
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,160
Speaker 1: Mine ain't autonomous, it's old stick shift. Please, why don't

344
00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:13,760
Speaker 1: you let me take you where you need to go?

345
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:17,720
Speaker 1: Sasha's mind raced. It was the same species of nervousness

346
00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:20,280
Speaker 1: that had always gripped her during major exams in college

347
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,879
Speaker 1: admissions essays. She ran through and discarded a dozen different

348
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:26,160
Speaker 1: courses of action in her head. What if he won't

349
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:28,720
Speaker 1: give me the keys, What if he takes another step forward?

350
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,200
Speaker 1: What if he moved? It started with a single glance,

351
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,320
Speaker 1: Darrell's eyes darted towards the driver's side door of his truck.

352
00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:38,199
Speaker 1: She almost didn't catch it, but for whatever reason, the

353
00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:40,600
Speaker 1: gesture rose goose pimples on the back of her neck

354
00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:46,600
Speaker 1: and forearms. I need your truck. Her voice was cold, strong, firm.

355
00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:50,159
Speaker 1: Darrell nodded at her. His body posture stayed the same,

356
00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,479
Speaker 1: but his eyes changed. There was something hard and haunted

357
00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,000
Speaker 1: in them. Now, all right, miss Sasha, I'm just gonna

358
00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,000
Speaker 1: reach in here for my keys. He took a step

359
00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,760
Speaker 1: back and moved towards the door. The bottom fell out

360
00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,000
Speaker 1: of Sasha's gut and she screamed at him to stop.

361
00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,320
Speaker 1: Don't make another move. He dove for the door, pulled

362
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,800
Speaker 1: it open, and reached a hand down beside the driver's seat.

363
00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:13,159
Speaker 1: Sasha saw a flash of metal in his hand, and

364
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:15,919
Speaker 1: she opened fire. She wasn't sure how many times she

365
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,680
Speaker 1: pulled the trigger, but soon the gun was empty. Sasha

366
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,160
Speaker 1: watched as Darrell stumbled back into the truck and then

367
00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,000
Speaker 1: slid to the ground. Most of her shots had gone wide,

368
00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:26,919
Speaker 1: very wide. She'd chattered two of the truck's windows and

369
00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:29,639
Speaker 1: put four or five rounds into the vehicle's body, but

370
00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,119
Speaker 1: at least one had hit Darrell right in his throat,

371
00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:35,960
Speaker 1: a kill shot. He slumped to the ground, gagged on blood,

372
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,280
Speaker 1: and jerked like an electrified marionette. Part of her wanted

373
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,080
Speaker 1: to run to him, to hold him while he died,

374
00:18:41,119 --> 00:18:43,560
Speaker 1: and say she was sorry. Then she saw the gun

375
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,560
Speaker 1: at his feet. It didn't dissipate her guilt, after all,

376
00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,080
Speaker 1: she'd drawn on him first. But at least she hadn't

377
00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:52,440
Speaker 1: shot and killed an unarmed man. She'd killed an armed man,

378
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:57,040
Speaker 1: an armed man who only ever helped me. Sasha slumped

379
00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:58,960
Speaker 1: against the hood of the truck and lost herself in

380
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:01,919
Speaker 1: a storm of sobs. She didn't realize she dropped her

381
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,080
Speaker 1: gun until it hit the asphalt with a dull clank.

382
00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,199
Speaker 1: She couldn't control her hands or her breathing. Her frantic

383
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,840
Speaker 1: sobbing had robbed all the air from her lungs. Her

384
00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,280
Speaker 1: legs weakened, and she started to stumble to the ground

385
00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:14,719
Speaker 1: when a pair of warm, semi strong arms caught her

386
00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:18,919
Speaker 1: from behind. Hey, Hey, it's all right, it's all right, Manny,

387
00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:22,800
Speaker 1: it's okay. You're gonna be okay. Her world went black

388
00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,320
Speaker 1: for a little while. Sasha felt Mannie lift her up,

389
00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:27,760
Speaker 1: heard the sound of the truck's engine rumble back to life.

390
00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:30,320
Speaker 1: But she couldn't see, and she couldn't move, and she

391
00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:34,200
Speaker 1: couldn't stop crying. Time lost any sort of meaning. When

392
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,240
Speaker 1: she came back to herself, they were in motion. Mannie

393
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:40,480
Speaker 1: sat next to her, and Rick next to him. Tully drove.

394
00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,959
Speaker 1: Sasha's eyes were drawn to Mannie. He held Darrell's pistol

395
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:46,399
Speaker 1: in his left hand. She couldn't help but stare at

396
00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,000
Speaker 1: the four spots of dried blood on the silver slide.

397
00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,160
Speaker 1: You all right, Sasha, Mannie asked. His question passed through

398
00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:56,720
Speaker 1: her ears without hitting her mind. Sasha couldn't stop staring

399
00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,359
Speaker 1: at Darrell's blood. I did that. I ended him. She'd

400
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,560
Speaker 1: ended two men to day. She felt no guilt about Alexander,

401
00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,760
Speaker 1: but that was almost more disturbing. It seemed impossible that

402
00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:09,359
Speaker 1: she'd been a pampered suburban girl less than a month ago.

403
00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:14,000
Speaker 1: Now she was a murderer. Whoever sheds human blood by humans,

404
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,919
Speaker 1: shall their blood be shed? Sasha felt as if a

405
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,159
Speaker 1: thick cloud of doom had fallen on her shoulders. The

406
00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,480
Speaker 1: truck veered off to the right and slammed to a

407
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,399
Speaker 1: sudden stop. Sasha was flung forward into the back of

408
00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,840
Speaker 1: Tullie's seat. A trio of vehicles zoomed past them, speeding

409
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,920
Speaker 1: in the opposite direction, like several bats fleeing the same hell.

410
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,879
Speaker 1: Sasha realized with a moment's focus that there was an

411
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,240
Speaker 1: awful lot of traffic heading away from them as fast

412
00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:41,480
Speaker 1: as possible. Promp Tullie cursed and fought with a stick shift.

413
00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,320
Speaker 1: The truck lurched forward again and made it back onto

414
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 1: the road for a few seconds. Then another speeding car

415
00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,200
Speaker 1: roared into the on coming lane and she was forced

416
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,840
Speaker 1: to veer off to the shoulder again. The sounds of

417
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:55,960
Speaker 1: gunfire grew louder. Sasha heard the thrumb of helicopter blades too,

418
00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:58,919
Speaker 1: a second before one buzzed right over their heads. It

419
00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:02,080
Speaker 1: looked like a military vehicle, painted matt black and laden

420
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,200
Speaker 1: with weapons. Sasha watched as it zoomed ahead and rose

421
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,639
Speaker 1: up over a pair of high rise apartment buildings near

422
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,520
Speaker 1: the horizon line. There was a loud crump sound, and

423
00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,040
Speaker 1: black smoke billowed out from the side of the craft.

424
00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:15,720
Speaker 1: It spun around drunkenly in the air for one very

425
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,040
Speaker 1: long second before slamming into the roof of one of

426
00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:22,000
Speaker 1: the high rises. The resultant blast rocked the truck. Tuleye

427
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:25,840
Speaker 1: veered left and right around a pothole at another speeding truck, respectively.

428
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,200
Speaker 1: Her knuckles were white, her jaw was clenched. Sasha could

429
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,520
Speaker 1: see Tully's eyes in the rear view mirror. She looked

430
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,720
Speaker 1: terrified and angry at the same time. Rick moaned in

431
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,119
Speaker 1: pain with every shaken jostle. Manny closed his eyes, shook

432
00:21:38,119 --> 00:21:41,000
Speaker 1: his head, and muttered something low under his breath. Are

433
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,159
Speaker 1: we close, Sasha asked Manny. He squinted and looked out

434
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:48,359
Speaker 1: at the road for a second. I mean, he shrugged. Eah, probably,

435
00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:51,359
Speaker 1: I'm gonna guess. Rollins close to the explosions and also

436
00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,320
Speaker 1: causing them. Smoke now dominated the horizon, which grew less

437
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:58,639
Speaker 1: horizony and more imminent with each passing second. In spite

438
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:01,159
Speaker 1: of all that, Sasha's eyes kept being drawn back to

439
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,600
Speaker 1: the gun in Manny's hand and the dry red brown

440
00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,639
Speaker 1: stains on the slide that was a good man's blood.

441
00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 1: She thought, how did it come to this? Hey, Jesus girl,

442
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,120
Speaker 1: it was Tulli. Sasha looked up to the rear view

443
00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:16,720
Speaker 1: mirror and locked eyes with the other woman. But the

444
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,040
Speaker 1: fuck up Cheeka, Toulli said. For the first time, Sasha

445
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,960
Speaker 1: heard real anger and not just cold indifference in her voice.

446
00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,440
Speaker 1: The other woman continued, My best friend was just shot

447
00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: to pieces, My lover is bleeding out, and you're all

448
00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:32,080
Speaker 1: fucked up because you'd gunned down some crystal fascist ship.

449
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,639
Speaker 1: Fuck suck your heart into your guts. I don't know

450
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,520
Speaker 1: where you came from, girl, but you're in a hard

451
00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:41,080
Speaker 1: ass part of the world. Now it's time to fortify. Fortify.

452
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,879
Speaker 1: Sasha held on to that word like a life preserver. Fortify, survive,

453
00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:49,480
Speaker 1: then you can lose your head in tears and shame. Okay,

454
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:52,840
Speaker 1: she nodded. She started to apologize, but was interrupted when

455
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,040
Speaker 1: the truck screeched to another's sudden halt and threw everyone forward.

456
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: Sasha's head hit the front seat again, and her world

457
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:03,320
Speaker 1: dissolved into stars. Shit. Toullie cried, something rammed the rear

458
00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:06,800
Speaker 1: of the truck. Sasha lost all orientation to reality. When

459
00:23:06,800 --> 00:23:08,840
Speaker 1: her head and eyes cleared, the first thing she saw

460
00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:12,280
Speaker 1: was Toullie nursing a broken nose. Blood poured down the

461
00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,200
Speaker 1: other woman's face. Manny seemed intact. Sasha looked behind them

462
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:18,639
Speaker 1: and saw a small sedan had dashed itself against the

463
00:23:18,640 --> 00:23:21,399
Speaker 1: bed of their truck and must have been following right behind.

464
00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,320
Speaker 1: When Tullie hit the brakes. Sasha swung her eyes front

465
00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:28,520
Speaker 1: to see why they'd stopped. She saw Rowland. He stood

466
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:30,960
Speaker 1: maybe ten feet in front of the truck's hood. That

467
00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,879
Speaker 1: arm raiser of his was extended again, but the blade

468
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,760
Speaker 1: was cracked and half shattered. His other hand held some

469
00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,479
Speaker 1: sort of large, black assault rifle he hadn't been carrying

470
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,240
Speaker 1: in the jail. The pistol grip grenade launcher he'd been

471
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,440
Speaker 1: carrying was still with him, but he'd holstered it in

472
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,320
Speaker 1: an open hole in his belly. The left side of

473
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:49,640
Speaker 1: his cheek had been ripped away. Most of his hair

474
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,880
Speaker 1: was burnt off, and Sasha made out at least one

475
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,680
Speaker 1: clear bullet hole in his forehead. There might have been more.

476
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:56,960
Speaker 1: All the caked on blood and gore made it hard

477
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,720
Speaker 1: to discern. His clothing had been mostly shot, burned torn away.

478
00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,520
Speaker 1: The dominant colors on his body were black and red,

479
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 1: with a few horrible spots of white where bone shone through.

480
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,440
Speaker 1: In the open air. The city behind him was all

481
00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:13,080
Speaker 1: smoke and fire. Emergency lights from several vehicles blinked madly

482
00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 1: in the measthma, but there were no martyrs or emergency

483
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,840
Speaker 1: workers visible, at least none that were standing. Sasha saw

484
00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:23,000
Speaker 1: several terribly still bodies lying among the piles of rubble.

485
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:26,879
Speaker 1: Roland staggered towards the truck and flung the passenger's side

486
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,639
Speaker 1: door open. He slumped into the seat, bringing with him

487
00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,960
Speaker 1: an overpowering stink of blood and fire. He leaned back

488
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:35,480
Speaker 1: in his seat and took three long breaths, and then

489
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:39,440
Speaker 1: he spoke, Wait, head's pretty clear, but you might want

490
00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:41,439
Speaker 1: to hang a right and then take a left avoid

491
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 1: the traffic. Truly nodded, and the truck jerked forward again.

492
00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:55,800
Speaker 1: The rhinout was so easy it scared Sasha. In fact,

493
00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:59,080
Speaker 1: it seemed to scare everyone, but Roland. Manny's knuckles grew

494
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,320
Speaker 1: whiter and whiter. They navigated their way out of the

495
00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:05,760
Speaker 1: old Metroplex Toolly's expression didn't change, but her body shook

496
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,200
Speaker 1: with nervous energy, and her jaw was set so tight

497
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,439
Speaker 1: that the veins on her neck bulged from the strain.

498
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,639
Speaker 1: It was a mercy that Rick was unconscious by that point.

499
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:18,359
Speaker 1: Convoys of military vehicles rolled past them, sometimes escorting ambulances

500
00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:21,560
Speaker 1: and other emergency vehicles, sometimes bringing more soldiers to the

501
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,960
Speaker 1: chunk of the city. Roland had devastated. Sasha's heart leaped

502
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:27,760
Speaker 1: into her throat every single time, but somehow no one

503
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,800
Speaker 1: stopped their truck. Roland assured them all that it would

504
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,320
Speaker 1: be fine. I kicked their asses so hard it'll take

505
00:25:33,359 --> 00:25:36,320
Speaker 1: him an hour to find their cheeks. His only discomfort

506
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,040
Speaker 1: came once they left the zone of active danger. He

507
00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:42,360
Speaker 1: seemed to deflate. Then, after a half hour on the road,

508
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,240
Speaker 1: his wounds had mostly healed. The new skin that grew

509
00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,480
Speaker 1: back underneath seemed weirdly dark compared to the skin above it.

510
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,160
Speaker 1: Roland scratched at it in irritation, and then as casually

511
00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: as if he'd been tossing an apple corps, he ripped

512
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,040
Speaker 1: off his face in one smooth at motion and tossed

513
00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:01,959
Speaker 1: the bloody skin out the window. Jesus, dude, Manny said, disgusted.

514
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,440
Speaker 1: Couldn't you have waited until we weren't all in the car?

515
00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 1: Sasha stared in shock. Her hands started to tremble, and

516
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:10,560
Speaker 1: she felt the urge to vomit, but she fought it

517
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:14,000
Speaker 1: down and forced her stomach to an uneasy calm. You've

518
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 1: seen worse than this now, and that was true. She

519
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:19,400
Speaker 1: looked back at Roland and forced herself to take in

520
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:22,359
Speaker 1: his new face, which she guessed was really his old face.

521
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:26,520
Speaker 1: Neither iteration of him had been exactly handsome. She watched

522
00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,199
Speaker 1: in queasy fascination as he picked the rest of the

523
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: white skin from his hands and tossed it out the window.

524
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:35,719
Speaker 1: When he'd finished, he glanced up at Sasha. What he asked,

525
00:26:36,040 --> 00:26:38,080
Speaker 1: Please tell me you're not a racist. This would be

526
00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 1: a real bad time for you to be racist. She's

527
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,000
Speaker 1: not racist, dude, Manny said, you just ripped your skin off.

528
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:49,760
Speaker 1: That freaks people out. Oh, said Roland, Right, sorry, it's okay,

529
00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,520
Speaker 1: she said, this is just my first time seeing someone

530
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,600
Speaker 1: rip off their own skin. First Roland grunted, but probably

531
00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,320
Speaker 1: not last. Sasha didn't have the guts to question him,

532
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:02,600
Speaker 1: so she kept quiet for the rest of the ride,

533
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,880
Speaker 1: so did most of the other passengers. For a long time,

534
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,119
Speaker 1: the only sounds inside the truck were Rick's unconscious moans

535
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,560
Speaker 1: and Rowland's occasional directions to Tully. He led them through

536
00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:16,800
Speaker 1: underpopulated neighborhoods and around checkpoints, past blackened buildings and wrecks

537
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 1: of military vehicles destroyed during the Heavenly Kingdom's first great advance.

538
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,680
Speaker 1: Sasha was surprised at the emptiness of most of the city.

539
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,920
Speaker 1: She began to understand why Mannie called this place Sioda

540
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,159
Speaker 1: de Muerta. It took them two hours to escape the

541
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 1: city sprawl and finally make their way out onto the

542
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,359
Speaker 1: open plains. They avoided the main highway that linked Dallas

543
00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:38,919
Speaker 1: to Waco, and instead spider webbed their way across a

544
00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,880
Speaker 1: series of farm roads. Every few minutes, they'd rolled past

545
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,600
Speaker 1: the bones of a rural town. Every town out here

546
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:47,359
Speaker 1: seemed abandoned, as dead and dry as the acres of

547
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,840
Speaker 1: yellow grass that swallowed them up. A little before dark,

548
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,880
Speaker 1: they rolled over a decrepit bridge across a dry river bed.

549
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:58,000
Speaker 1: A bullet riddled sign identified this area as Basqui County.

550
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,280
Speaker 1: Roland put a hand on manny shoulder and pointed towards

551
00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,600
Speaker 1: a big metal barn on the horizon. Take us up there.

552
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,600
Speaker 1: We should probably stop for the night. What Tully spoke up?

553
00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 1: Why we could be at rolling fuck in an hour?

554
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,320
Speaker 1: Roland shook his head. We got two routes back to

555
00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 1: the city. Either we find the main highway and deal

556
00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 1: with Kingdom patrols, or we keep ride in these country roads.

557
00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:21,720
Speaker 1: That'll take at least another two or three hours and

558
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,320
Speaker 1: a lot of time off road in the dark. There's

559
00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,040
Speaker 1: no better recipe for cracking an axle or blowing at tire.

560
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,360
Speaker 1: Tully fumed, but she rolled the truck up and threw

561
00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:32,120
Speaker 1: a gap in what had once been the fence line

562
00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:35,160
Speaker 1: of a farm. There were a lot of farmhouses around them,

563
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,600
Speaker 1: stretched out across acres and acres of fields and pecan orchards.

564
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:43,040
Speaker 1: They all looked abandoned, devoid of light, half reclaimed by vegetation.

565
00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,840
Speaker 1: The barn Roland led them to was just as empty.

566
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: There were large holes in the sheet metal roof, and

567
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,280
Speaker 1: chunks of the metal walls had been peeled away for

568
00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,800
Speaker 1: scrap metal. The underlying structure had been built from metal girders,

569
00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,000
Speaker 1: though it seemed solid. They got out of the truck,

570
00:28:57,280 --> 00:28:59,800
Speaker 1: Roland helped Tully carry her lover across the last few

571
00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,880
Speaker 1: yards of field and into the old barn. The innerds

572
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 1: of the building were dusty. Rusted tools hung from the wall,

573
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,640
Speaker 1: and boxes of assorted goods littered the floor. Some of

574
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 1: them had been ripped open by scavengers, but most looked

575
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,000
Speaker 1: like they'd sat unmolested since the property had been abandoned.

576
00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,880
Speaker 1: Mannie found an old couch inside Roland and Tulli helped

577
00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,560
Speaker 1: Rick on to it. Then Roland walked off into the

578
00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:23,080
Speaker 1: middle of the barn and started to root around in boxes.

579
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:25,400
Speaker 1: He came back a minute later with a load of

580
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:27,400
Speaker 1: canned goods in one arm and a handle of brown

581
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 1: liquor in the other. He sat the whole lot down

582
00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:31,960
Speaker 1: on the ground next to the couch, held up a

583
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,800
Speaker 1: can labeled water in big red letters, and then punched

584
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:37,240
Speaker 1: his finger through the top of the can. He handed

585
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: it to Tully and she helped Rick drink. He was

586
00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,360
Speaker 1: semi conscious now, Sasha thought there might be a little

587
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,920
Speaker 1: more color in his cheeks. Roland opened three more cans,

588
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,160
Speaker 1: one of water and two filled with some sort of

589
00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 1: gloopy beef stew. He ripped the aluminum tops open with

590
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 1: his bare fingers and then passed them around. Sasha was

591
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,440
Speaker 1: still too deep in the throes of depression and adrenaline

592
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,320
Speaker 1: dumpage to have any kind of appetite. The brown gray

593
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,840
Speaker 1: color of the stew didn't help with that, but Mannie

594
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,040
Speaker 1: insisted she take a gulp, and as soon as the

595
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: food hit her tongue, Sasha realized she was starving. She

596
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,000
Speaker 1: took two more deep gulps of the salty, mushy mass

597
00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:14,120
Speaker 1: before passing it along to Tulli. The crew ate and

598
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,200
Speaker 1: rehydrated without conversation, Although not in silence. The sounds of

599
00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:20,880
Speaker 1: gulping and lip smacking filled the barn for a few minutes.

600
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:24,240
Speaker 1: Roland didn't join in the eating. Instead, he popped open

601
00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:26,360
Speaker 1: the liquor bottle and drained it dry over the course

602
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:29,640
Speaker 1: of about ninety seconds. The big man closed his eyes,

603
00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,240
Speaker 1: a smile crept up onto his features, and he gave

604
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,280
Speaker 1: a deep, contented sigh. When the food was almost gone,

605
00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 1: he stood up and staggered back into the piles of

606
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,480
Speaker 1: gear to grab two more bottles. These ones were filled

607
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:43,000
Speaker 1: with an off yellow liquid. He sat one down in

608
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 1: between Mannie and Sasha and immediately began to guzzle the second.

609
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:49,800
Speaker 1: Mannie glanced at Sasha, then at Tulli, then down at

610
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 1: the bottle. He popped the top and took a belt.

611
00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:54,800
Speaker 1: Then he offered it to Sasha. If there was ever

612
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 1: a time to dive into drinking, it's the day I

613
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,840
Speaker 1: killed two people. Sasha took the bottle and stared at

614
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:03,080
Speaker 1: it for a second. The label said Talisker and identified

615
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 1: it as a product of Scotland. The bottle itself was

616
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:10,840
Speaker 1: covered in dust. Hey, Roland, she asked, suddenly curious. Did

617
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,760
Speaker 1: you know this place would have food and water and alcohol?

618
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,560
Speaker 1: Roland paused draining his second bottle and fixed Sasha with

619
00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,760
Speaker 1: his strange blue eyes. He looked tired for the first

620
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,400
Speaker 1: time since she'd met him. Sasha wasn't sure if that

621
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 1: was due to the rampage he'd just carried out or

622
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:30,080
Speaker 1: her question. I've been here before, he half mumbled, years ago,

623
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:31,959
Speaker 1: back before this old chunk of dirt was as much

624
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,880
Speaker 1: of a shithole as it is now. Wait did you

625
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:38,800
Speaker 1: used to live here? Manny asked, I don't know. Roland shrugged.

626
00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:41,520
Speaker 1: What do you mean you don't know? You clearly know

627
00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,560
Speaker 1: this farm. He shrugged and gave a vague wave with

628
00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 1: his free hand. I have memories of this place, bright

629
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:50,480
Speaker 1: lights at night, people dancing, drugs and wine, and people

630
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:52,840
Speaker 1: in songs. I am memories of packing the supplies in

631
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: the boxes, buying ammunition. He nodded towards the still locked

632
00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:59,320
Speaker 1: door of the barn. I remember locking that thing up,

633
00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:01,520
Speaker 1: But I don't remember or why exactly. I might have

634
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 1: lived here, might have belonged to a friend. Either way,

635
00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:06,040
Speaker 1: I feel like the last time I was here was

636
00:32:06,080 --> 00:32:09,760
Speaker 1: back before the revolution. His mind is full of holes,

637
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:12,640
Speaker 1: Mannie explained, something happened to him a few years back.

638
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:14,840
Speaker 1: He remembers pieces of who he is, what he's done,

639
00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:18,640
Speaker 1: but not everything. Tully kicked Sasha gently in the hip.

640
00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:21,400
Speaker 1: She gestured to the bottle of whisky. If you're not

641
00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:24,240
Speaker 1: drinking past the bottle, some of us have grieving to do.

642
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,880
Speaker 1: On impulse, Sasha took a pole from the bottle. She

643
00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:29,840
Speaker 1: started to hand it over to Tulli, but then the

644
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,280
Speaker 1: taste hit her and she gagged. It was like someone

645
00:32:32,320 --> 00:32:34,520
Speaker 1: had lit a fire in her throat, one that tasted

646
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:37,640
Speaker 1: of burning peat. She coughed and hacked for several seconds,

647
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 1: while Tulli and Roland laughed. Once she'd regained her breath,

648
00:32:40,960 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 1: Sasha finally handed off the bottle. You'll get better at it,

649
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 1: the woman said, her lips twisted up into what might

650
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:50,880
Speaker 1: have been a real smile. Whisky's in acquired taste, like

651
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:56,000
Speaker 1: cigars nanarchy. Tully took a very deep pole and sighed

652
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:59,120
Speaker 1: and satisfaction, She handed the bottle off to Manny and

653
00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:02,640
Speaker 1: started gently heading Rick's face. The wounded man was asleep,

654
00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:04,880
Speaker 1: but he seemed much healthier than he had been a

655
00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 1: half hour earlier. How are you doing, Sasha, Manny asked.

656
00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:11,840
Speaker 1: His eyes met hers, and Sasha saw a deep concern

657
00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 1: in his gaze. I'm fine, she said, not really meaning it.

658
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,480
Speaker 1: She's all fucked up over the guy she killed for

659
00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:23,360
Speaker 1: the truck. Toullie grunted, shouldn't be fucker picked the wrong side,

660
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:26,640
Speaker 1: So did I. Sasha tried to keep the anger out

661
00:33:26,640 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 1: of her voice. At first, Darrow was a good man.

662
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,959
Speaker 1: He didn't deserve to die. Neither did Marigold, said Toulli.

663
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,600
Speaker 1: Neither did Major Pirrone. Manny added, in a quiet voice.

664
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,800
Speaker 1: They hung him on the day you and I met.

665
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 1: The whole world's full of good dead people, said Tullie.

666
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,960
Speaker 1: My advice don't cry over someone you shot in self defense.

667
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:51,080
Speaker 1: That's a karmac freebie. The guy had a gun, Manny added,

668
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:53,000
Speaker 1: seems like he just did what she had to do.

669
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,560
Speaker 1: Roland was quiet through all this. He kept drinking, but

670
00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,360
Speaker 1: his pace had slowed. His face took on a dark cast,

671
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,080
Speaker 1: and he slumped down into his chair. He seemed to

672
00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:05,960
Speaker 1: collapse in on himself. A little look Cheeka, Toullie said.

673
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,920
Speaker 1: There was a slight, drunken slurry were words. Now. I

674
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:10,719
Speaker 1: know I gave you a hard time, and it was

675
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,080
Speaker 1: dumb as fucky in a mood of this kingdom, But

676
00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:15,680
Speaker 1: I give you credit for breaking free and for helping

677
00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:18,200
Speaker 1: us escape. You might be a little dumb, but you

678
00:34:18,239 --> 00:34:21,080
Speaker 1: aren't bad people in my book. Don't beat yourself up

679
00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,360
Speaker 1: over doing what you had to do. There was quiet

680
00:34:24,400 --> 00:34:27,160
Speaker 1: for a little while. Manny passed the bottle to Sasha.

681
00:34:27,320 --> 00:34:29,520
Speaker 1: She took another gulp and managed to hold it down.

682
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:32,680
Speaker 1: This time. Toullie nodded an approval. When Sasha passed the

683
00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 1: whiskey on, Sasha found her eyes drawn once more to

684
00:34:36,120 --> 00:34:40,440
Speaker 1: Darrell's gun. It was tucked into Toollie's waistband. Roland cleared

685
00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,239
Speaker 1: his throat and gave a loud, flimmy cough. Sasha looked

686
00:34:43,239 --> 00:34:46,280
Speaker 1: back at him. You didn't ask me for an opinion,

687
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 1: he said, But since everyone else's way in, and I

688
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:51,399
Speaker 1: might as well. There ain't nothing wrong with feeling bad

689
00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,440
Speaker 1: about murder, even justified murder. But personally, I don't think

690
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,760
Speaker 1: that's what's fucking you up. What do you mean, she asked.

691
00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:01,160
Speaker 1: He drained the l asked of the whiskey bottle and

692
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:04,000
Speaker 1: tossed it off into the darkness. It landed with a clank.

693
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:07,439
Speaker 1: I got real good senses, you know, can't turn them off.

694
00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:09,840
Speaker 1: So I heard your heart right. I smelled the narrow

695
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 1: transmitters running through you synapses. I could taste the guilt

696
00:35:13,239 --> 00:35:16,120
Speaker 1: wafting off you. But that's not the only thing I taste.

697
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:19,919
Speaker 1: He locked his unsteady gaze on hers. Sasha stared into

698
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 1: the cold blue of his pupils. A chill ran down

699
00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:24,919
Speaker 1: her spine, Sweat beaded on the back of her neck.

700
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,200
Speaker 1: When he spoke next, his voice was barely above a whisper.

701
00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,360
Speaker 1: Back at the jail, When you crushed that guy's skull

702
00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:35,840
Speaker 1: with a helmet, you enjoyed yourself. You liked it. Sasha

703
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,200
Speaker 1: broke his gaze. She stared down at her lap and

704
00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:40,759
Speaker 1: struggled to find a reply, but there was nothing else

705
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:49,200
Speaker 1: for her to say. Roland was right. Hey, I'm Robert Evans.

706
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:51,319
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you enjoyed

707
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:53,600
Speaker 1: the chapters to come. You can find the free epub

708
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,480
Speaker 1: of every chapter, and eventually the whole book at atrbook

709
00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:00,120
Speaker 1: dot com, complete with illustrations. If you want to support

710
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,560
Speaker 1: me in writing the sequel, you can crowdfund me at

711
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:05,080
Speaker 1: After the Revolution the Sequel at go fund Me. Just

712
00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 1: type and go fund me After the Revolution the Sequel.

713
00:36:08,840 --> 00:36:11,239
Speaker 1: I'd like my books to always be free, so I'm

714
00:36:11,239 --> 00:36:13,600
Speaker 1: just going to try to crowdfund the next one and

715
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:15,960
Speaker 1: see how that works. So After the Revolution the Sequel

716
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,400
Speaker 1: on go fund me. You can also find the community

717
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:23,040
Speaker 1: of fans of this book online at r slash after

718
00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: the Revolution on Reddit. So After the Revolution the Sequel

719
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,600
Speaker 1: on go fund me and r slash after the Revolution

720
00:36:29,719 --> 00:36:32,840
Speaker 1: on Reddit. Atrbook dot com for the whole book. Thanks