WEBVTT - Chapter Twenty One 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:07.720 Chapter twenty one. Sasha. Alexander hadn't seen it coming. He 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.520 hadn't expected her at all. The sound of his furious 0:00:10.560 --> 0:00:13.520 scream was the most beautiful thing Sasha had ever heard. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.240 She hit him again and again, and he fell back 0:00:16.280 --> 0:00:18.959 and then down to the ground. Blood streamed from his 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:22.240 nose in a gash above his brow. His eyes looked unfocused, 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:24.880 his lip was split. He tried to scream or cry 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:26.640 out or beg her, but she didn't give him the 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:29.680 time to say one damn word. Instead, she hit him 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.199 again and again and again. She didn't make the conscious 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:35.560 choice to dive down on top of him, and in fact, 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.720 Sasha was rather surprised to find herself straddling the prone, 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.800 broken boy soldier. But once she was there, she kept 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.360 hitting him until she felt his skull give way and 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:47.400 the helmet had something soft, squishy and hot that lay beyond. 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:50.440 She sat back and for what seemed like a year, 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.640 just stared at the helmet and bedded in Alexander's ruined face. 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:56.600 Blood pulsed out from around the edges where it met 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:59.240 the skin. The way the blood bubbled up looked just 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:01.280 a bit like the water and one of the fountains 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:04.360 outside the hospital, her mother ran. For some reason, that 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:06.959 similarity did more to raise her hackles than the act 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:10.040 of killing. Her ears still rang, and so it was 0:01:10.080 --> 0:01:13.600 easy to lose herself. In contemplation of Alexander's body. Her 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:15.640 mind turned to the Book of John and the words 0:01:15.640 --> 0:01:19.000 of her Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Do not be 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:21.520 like Cain who belonged to the evil One and murdered 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:24.080 his brother? And why did he murder him? Because his 0:01:24.160 --> 0:01:28.240 own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous? Had 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:32.080 Alexander's actions truly been righteous? Sasha knew if she searched 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:36.200 the Bible she could find scriptural justifications for everything Alexander 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.039 had done. That's why she'd come here in the first place, 0:01:39.120 --> 0:01:42.080 wasn't it The heavenly Kingdom was finally going back to 0:01:42.120 --> 0:01:45.080 the letter of the Bible, the Word of God. Only 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:47.520 now that she'd seen what that looked like, Sasha had 0:01:47.520 --> 0:01:50.840 found she could not abide it. Am I still a Christian? 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:53.640 She couldn't say. Her faith had been such a part 0:01:53.640 --> 0:01:56.560 of her identity, it had been everything, and now it 0:01:56.640 --> 0:01:59.080 felt like a lie. What am I if not a 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:02.000 righteous servant of the Lord? Where do I go from here? 0:02:02.920 --> 0:02:06.640 Eizash little problem here. Roland's voice jerked her out of 0:02:06.640 --> 0:02:09.240 her contemplation. She looked back at the man and her 0:02:09.280 --> 0:02:13.200 mind recoiled in terror. His skin had been shredded by gunfire. 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.119 It hung in pale tatters down his face and arms. 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:18.760 His clothing had largely been shot away, and the rags 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.000 that remained were so drenched in blood that they clung 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.400 to him. He looked almost as if he was clad 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:27.840 in a single giant scab one if his eyes was unfocussed, dislocated, 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:30.400 and something had happened to his left arm, it looked 0:02:30.400 --> 0:02:32.639 as if an enormous straight razor had burst out of 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:36.680 the forearm. Where did you get that? She asked. Sasha 0:02:36.760 --> 0:02:40.240 was surprised and a bit disturbed by her curiosity. Roland 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.920 seemed surprised too this. He looked at the blade. I 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:46.280 really no, Ha'd sort of forgotten it was in there. 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.040 He lifted his arm and its blood soaked blade up 0:02:49.160 --> 0:02:51.239 and looked at it like a small child opening a 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.480 prized gift on Christmas morning. Then he flicked his arm 0:02:54.560 --> 0:02:57.079 down towards the ground, and the blade slid back into 0:02:57.120 --> 0:03:00.440 the meat of his forearm with a wet thwack. Look, 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:02.760 he said, we got more press and shit to deal 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.080 with right now. You're all those sirens. She actually couldn't. 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:08.600 Her hearing had begun to recover from the gunfight, but 0:03:08.720 --> 0:03:12.400 Roland was just barely audible. Allowed Tenita's hum still rang 0:03:12.520 --> 0:03:16.440 through her ears. Sasha was pretty sure she'd suffered permanent damage. 0:03:16.760 --> 0:03:19.400 I can't hear much right now, she said. The gunfire, 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:22.560 you know. Oh, he frowned. I forgot that could happen 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:25.560 to you folks. Well, ah, there's a shitload of cops 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.040 or martyrs or militia whatever. A bunch of them are coming, 0:03:28.120 --> 0:03:30.600 probably two or three hundred. They got tanks and drones 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:34.079 and shit, God Almighty, Sasha felt fear rise up in 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.119 her heart again. Yeah, listen, God's not really the dude 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:39.200 to worry about right now. Manny's all fucked up. I 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:41.040 stopped his bleeding, but you're gonna need to get him 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:44.560 out of here. Manny, she'd forgotten all about him. Sasha 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:46.600 realized with a start that she'd blotted the rest of 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.240 the room from her mind. She looked around and took 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.080 it all in. Manny was still lying where she'd left him, 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:55.440 nursing a gunshot wound to the belly. He was pale, sweaty, 0:03:55.480 --> 0:03:57.560 and he looked to be in terrible pain. But he 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:00.240 was conscious and alive. That was more than she could 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:03.320 say for Marigold. The poor woman had been shredded by 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.720 shotgun fire. Sasha couldn't bring herself to look too closely 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.440 at the shattered, steaming remains, But Marigold's friends were alive. 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:14.280 The young man Rick was unconscious and drenched in blood, 0:04:14.520 --> 0:04:16.760 but most of that blood didn't seem to be his own. 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:19.640 His head was in Tullie's lap. She'd been wounded in 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:22.000 the buttocks and bled quite a lot, but the wounds 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:24.760 seemed to have clotted. There were tears and a haunted, 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:27.960 pained look in her eyes. Oh my god, Sasha said, 0:04:28.000 --> 0:04:31.559 once her mind started to process the visual stimuli. Lord 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:34.279 in Heaven, No, no, no, no, that poor woman, that 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:38.240 unborn child. How could this happen? How could this be? Sasha, 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:40.960 Roland shouted, This is a very bad time for you 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:44.200 to have emotions. Try killing those for a while. How 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:46.680 just think about the fact that every one but me 0:04:46.800 --> 0:04:48.760 will die if you don't get your shit together, and 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.039 then get your shit together. Her initial action was anger 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:55.359 and frustration. Is he that disconnected from humanity? Does he 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:58.240 think people can just turn their empathy off? But then 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.440 she stopped herself listen him and tried. She imagined herself 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:05.160 putting on a heavy jacket, something that blocked out pain 0:05:05.240 --> 0:05:09.960 and horror rather than the cold. It worked, okay, she said, 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:12.960 what do I need to do? You need to take 0:05:13.000 --> 0:05:16.440 Manny and uh, what's her name? And what's his face? Tooley? 0:05:16.760 --> 0:05:19.920 And Rick? Right, take the non dead people, run down 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:21.760 and out the back door, and find me a car. 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:24.960 Then you need to a car. He stopped sifting through 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:27.640 the dead man's firearms to roll his eyes at her. Yes, 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:29.840 a car. I'm not going to carry all you lame 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:31.920 bloods out of here on my fucking shoulders. We'll need 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:35.120 a getaway vehicle. I can't drive, she said. All the 0:05:35.160 --> 0:05:38.359 cars in the amphet are autonomous. He shrugged. You'll figure 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:41.320 it out. Many moaned just then, almost as if it 0:05:41.400 --> 0:05:44.320 was in response to Roland's suggestion. Sasha knew it was 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.479 more likely she'd just been too focused on the big 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:50.000 posthuman to notice Manny's pained moans the whole time. Can 0:05:50.040 --> 0:05:53.880 he drive? Sasha asked, sure, Roland said with sudden cheer 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:56.160 He's only lost what two quarts of blood? I gave 0:05:56.200 --> 0:05:57.720 him a little mine. I'm sure he'll be right his 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:01.679 rain soon, Manny moaned again, handed his blood soaked belly. 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:04.080 He didn't appear to be bleeding still, but he was 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:06.960 pale and his face showed agony too obvious to ignore. 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:09.640 Sasha doubted he'd be capable of driving a car in 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:14.680 the immediate future. I can drive, Toulli said, in a cracked, 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:18.720 broken sounding voice. Right Roland said, well, that's lovely. Get 0:06:18.720 --> 0:06:20.800 your asses up and get moving. You've got about two 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.560 minutes before shitting fans start their lovely dance. The posthuman's 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.719 good humor was incongruous in this blood soaked room. Addressed 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:30.159 to two people who'd lost a friend to day. He 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:32.480 grabbed one of the guard's pistols, which he'd shoved in 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.719 his waistband, and handed it to Sasha. Safety's off, he said, cheerily, 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:40.440 So once you pull the trigger, stuff'll happen. Sasha took 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:42.640 the gun and then went over to help Manny up. 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:45.679 Toullie did the same thing with her wounded friend. Neither 0:06:45.720 --> 0:06:48.360 Manny or Rick were in great shape, but Manny at 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:51.680 least seemed capable of standing under his own power. Once 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:54.240 Sasha got him to his feet, he stayed there. She 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.599 looked him in the eye, and while he seemed sort 0:06:56.640 --> 0:06:59.440 of dazed and glassy, his pupils fixed on hers, and 0:06:59.480 --> 0:07:04.440 he nodded. We have to go, She said, sitra tempoima. 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:08.600 He muttered what Sasha asked said, it's about fuckin' time. 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.360 Just follow me, she said, with more confidence than she felt. 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:15.760 I'll take care of everything. Oh fuck that, Manny said. 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:17.680 He put a hand on her shoulder and moved as 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:19.480 if to push in front of her and shield her 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:22.240 with his body. Then he grabbed a side, groaned, and 0:07:22.320 --> 0:07:27.120 staggered back. All right, yeah, you lead the way men. 0:07:27.880 --> 0:07:30.320 Tully was up now. She had an arm around her friend, 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.000 and together they moved almost as fast as a single 0:07:33.040 --> 0:07:36.800 elderly person with bad hips. Mannie was not much more mobile. 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.200 Sasha looked back at Roland. Where should we meet you? 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.480 The next street behind this building is called Alma. Take 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:45.360 it and go left until you hit a road named 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.840 Cross Bend. I should be there by the time you arrive. 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.360 What if we can't find a he cut her off. 0:07:50.720 --> 0:07:53.480 Not finding a car is not an option. Talking more 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:55.840 is not an option. I have to go kill people. 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:57.920 You find something with wheels and get Tully in the 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.640 driver's seat. Sasha star to say something, but the sirens 0:08:01.640 --> 0:08:04.800 had drawn very close. Indeed, she heard several shouts from 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:07.960 outside the front of the building. Roland cursed. He'd already 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:10.200 gathered up two of the rifles and slung them across 0:08:10.200 --> 0:08:12.760 his back. He had a large pistol in his left hand. 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:14.880 At the sound of the shouting, he brought his right 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:17.320 hand up to his belly and dug it deep inside 0:08:17.360 --> 0:08:20.400 his skin. Sasha watched in horror as he tore a heavy, 0:08:20.480 --> 0:08:23.640 blood caked weapon out of his gut. Roland walked up 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:25.360 to the front window of the room and fired the 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:29.320 weapon once, twice, three times. Its report was deep and bassy, 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:31.960 like the sound of a heavy drum being struck. There 0:08:32.000 --> 0:08:34.240 was a brief island of quiet, followed by a trio 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:37.439 of explosions that rattled the walls of the jail. Look. 0:08:37.679 --> 0:08:40.000 Roland said as he glanced back to her, I gotta 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:42.560 go be a distraction. Find the car. Get to cross 0:08:42.600 --> 0:08:45.240 bend in Almah, I'll be therein. He glanced out the 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:49.480 window again and shrugged. Ten maybe eleven minutes. Okay should 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.680 Sasha started to ask talking time is done. Toolie's flat 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:58.400 voice interrupted, he moves, We move now. She pulled her 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.400 friend towards the door. Would have been something almost comical 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:04.600 about the agonizing slowness with which they actually moved, but 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.000 the gesture had its intended effect. Sasha took Manny by 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:10.400 the hand. She let Tully lead the way to the door, 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:12.600 but once they were in the hallway, the young woman 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.360 had no idea where to go. Sasha took the lead 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.080 then and guided her new comrades towards a flashing red 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:20.640 exit sign that she knew led to a rear stairwell. 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:23.360 For a brief passing second, she'd been worried that they 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:26.480 might encounter other guards or jailers during their flight. That 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:30.040 concern proved groundless. Gunfire had torn through the walls of 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.959 the examination room and ripped apart the interior of the jail. 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:35.520 She saw a few gouts of blood by the walls, 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:38.000 and one sinister looking pool of it beneath a desk. 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:41.560 It all drove an important lesson home for Sasha. Bullets 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:45.280 don't stop when they miss. The stairwall was as deserted 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:47.480 as the rest of the jail. They hobbled down at 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:50.760 as quickly as three wounded people could manage. Sasha stayed 0:09:50.800 --> 0:09:53.280 in the back, under the instinctive assumption that it'd be 0:09:53.280 --> 0:09:56.440 best for morale if she didn't rush ahead. Their progress 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:59.960 down the stairs was painfully slow, almost every step punctuated 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.160 by the sound of gunfire out on the street below. 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.120 It sounded like a full scale war had broken out there. 0:10:05.360 --> 0:10:07.400 There was a lot of screaming, and Sasha tried not 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:09.400 to think too much about which of the nice young 0:10:09.440 --> 0:10:11.520 martyrs she'd met in the square were now dying by 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:16.240 Roland's hand. What about Anne? What about Susanna? You're abandoning them? 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.440 Sasha shook the thoughts clear from her head. There'd be 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:22.880 time for self loathing later. Tully and Rick reached the 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:26.000 bottom floor first. They leaned back against the wall together 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:28.440 and caught their breath. Rick was as white as a 0:10:28.440 --> 0:10:31.440 sheet and looked like he could still barely stand. Tullie 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:34.280 was doing better, but not by a wide margin. When 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:36.360 she and Manny hit the bottom floor, he went straight 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.920 for the exit door. He clearly intended to be the 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.280 first out in case anyone had a weapon trained on 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.560 the door. Sasha stopped him. That wasn't hard, because he 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.240 was only a little more stable than Tully. She pushed 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:48.920 him back, put a hand on the door, and then 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:51.840 drew the pistol Roland had given her. She fixed Mannie 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:54.760 with what she hoped was a firm, fearless look. You're 0:10:54.800 --> 0:10:57.520 in no state to be heroic. He looked at her 0:10:57.559 --> 0:10:59.240 as if he wanted to fight her, but then he 0:10:59.280 --> 0:11:01.319 looked down at the shaking hand he had pressed into 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:04.319 the sopping wound in his side. Yeah, all right, you 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.120 down to do the hero stuff. Then she nodded, well, 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:17.920 then be my guest. Sasha didn't know how to use 0:11:17.960 --> 0:11:21.640 a gun. The m FED band almost all private firearm ownership. 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.120 Her grandfather had owned a couple of bolt action hunting rifles, 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:27.679 and he'd let Sasha hold them a few times. That 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.640 was as close as she'd gotten too firearms training. She'd 0:11:30.679 --> 0:11:33.520 never actually shot the darned things. Once he'd died, her 0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:35.560 father had sold the guns rather than deal with the 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.040 hassle and expense of a license. So she burst out 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.200 onto the street with the pistol held high in front 0:11:41.200 --> 0:11:43.760 of her, like she'd seen in movies. It took her 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:46.840 a few seconds to realize, sheepishly, that this behavior was 0:11:46.880 --> 0:11:48.760 more likely to get her gun down than aid in 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:52.520 her defense. Thankfully, there'd been no martyrs watching the rear exit. 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:54.800 Sasha waved for the others to follow her out and 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:57.800 stashed the pistol under her shirt. For a few minutes, 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.600 they'd ran, or rather hobbled, in what seemed like the 0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:04.559 right direction. The city still rang with the sound of sirens, gunfire, 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.320 and the occasional concussive blast, but it seemed to be 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.800 moving away from them. Plino wasn't exactly crowded, but there 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:12.840 were enough people out on the street to notice the 0:12:12.840 --> 0:12:16.160 fresh wounds on Tulli, Rick, and Manny. No one approached them, 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.080 though Sasha wasn't sure if they passed unnoticed, but they 0:12:19.120 --> 0:12:22.280 were able to pass through the city without incident. Fear 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.440 and the flight reflex were enough to carry them a 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.200 few blocks in relative haste. Once they were out of 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:29.120 sight of the jail, Rick put up a hand as 0:12:29.120 --> 0:12:32.280 he slumped back against the wall. Tully continued to hold 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.679 him up. She was pale, sweaty, and pained looking. Ryan 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.240 shook and shuddered. His eyes were unfocussed, and he was 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:43.120 clearly in shock. He needs to rest, Tulli said. Manny 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.800 stopped next to them and leaned against the wall as well. 0:12:46.160 --> 0:12:49.400 He nodded at Tully and then looked back to Sasha. Yeah, ditto, 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:52.319 I might prefer to lay down and die at this point. 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:55.240 We need to find a car anyway, Tulli said, as 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.480 she helped lower Rick down to sit against the wall. 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.600 If I carry him for much longer, I'm going to drop. 0:13:01.440 --> 0:13:05.440 Sasha realized everyone was looking at her. Is that my job? 0:13:06.200 --> 0:13:10.440 Manny looked mortified, Tullie looked angry. Rick bless him, was 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:14.440 too deep and shocked to react. Yes, Toulli said, in 0:13:14.480 --> 0:13:18.840 a toneless voice that still somehow implied deep disappointment. Okay, 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.480 then Sasha said, when I find the car, I assume 0:13:21.520 --> 0:13:24.360 you'll know how to hot wire it. Tully laughed. It 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:27.400 wasn't a nice laugh. If you're hiding a real nice 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:29.520 deck somewhere and that's silly head of yours, or you 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:33.040 find a car that's older than my dad. Maybe otherwise 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.200 we're going to need something with keys in it. What 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:40.000 so I'm just supposed to carjack someone. Tully stared dead 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.520 eyed at her. Manny gave a pained, helpful smile. I 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.199 mean you've got a gun, he said. Sasha felt the 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.800 heat rise in her again. Why not, I've given up 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:51.920 every other principle I have to day, I might as 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:55.200 well commit armed robbery, the guilt staying her guts, but 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.560 not as badly as it should have. Perhaps she was 0:13:57.600 --> 0:14:01.080 still numb from watching Doctor Brandton Marigold. Or maybe it's 0:14:01.120 --> 0:14:03.880 because I killed Alexander. Maybe I'm evil now and this 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:06.679 is what that feels like. There was no time to 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:09.600 mold the possibilities. Sasha left Manny and the others to 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:11.880 catch their breath and darted down an alley towards a 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:14.840 larger street that sounded like it might have traffic. She 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.679 passed two parked cars and looked inside with the vain 0:14:17.760 --> 0:14:20.720 hope that, just maybe someone might have left their keys behind. 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:24.000 It was to no avail. Sasha soon found herself on 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:27.000 the cracked and shell pocked asphalt of Alma Road. The 0:14:27.040 --> 0:14:29.240 buildings on either side of this stretch of street had 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.880 taken significant damage during the Heavenly Kingdom's birth panes. There 0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:35.200 were no people out on the sidewalks or visible in 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:38.520 the windows. Anyone alive had probably hunkered down to avoid 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.240 the shooting. There was still traffic on the road, though, 0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.840 three trucks and a dentted, fume spewing white sedan shot 0:14:44.840 --> 0:14:48.080 by her at the speed of wartime traffic. Sasha drew 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.600 her gun, looked at it, and then hurriedly stashed it 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:53.080 inside her blouse again when she realized how dumb that 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:57.200 had been. Godly women do not carry guns. A series 0:14:57.240 --> 0:15:00.360 of four loud booms sounded in the distance. Sasha didn't 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.560 know enough about weaponry to guess what those had been, 0:15:02.960 --> 0:15:05.240 but she knew they'd had something to do with Rowland. 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:07.840 People are dying, so I can find us a car 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.440 and get everyone to safety. She started walking down the street, 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:15.080 face pointed towards oncoming traffic, hands waving above her head 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.880 in the international gesture for oh God, please help me. 0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:21.120 Two more cars zoomed past without even slowing to check 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:23.520 on her. It was odd how that shocked her after 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:26.360 everything else she'd seen in the heavenly Kingdom, the faithful 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:29.840 protect and support each other, pastor Mike had claimed, But not, 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:32.200 it seemed, when a half human monster was on a 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:35.760 rampage through their city. That helped debate her guilt, at least, 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:38.360 or it did right up until the moment a familiar 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:41.000 jankie brown truck rumbled to a stop next to her. 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:44.840 Squise me, ma'am, do you need She turned around, and 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.480 the man's face lit up in surprise, Miss Sasha. It 0:15:48.520 --> 0:15:51.120 was Darryll, the kindly old foreman who driven her to 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:53.400 the House of Miriam on her first day in the kingdom. 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.640 Was that really only days ago? Seemed like years? Sasha 0:15:57.680 --> 0:15:59.720 felt like an old woman, even though she was just 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.000 on the edge of eighteen. You hurt? He slammed the 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.320 car into park and opened his door one sec I 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:07.040 got a first aid kit in the back. Where'd you 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.360 get hit? Sasha looked down at her chest and realized 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:13.240 she looked like she'd been badly injured. The blood wasn't hers, 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.800 of course, but Darrell couldn't have known that. He thought 0:16:15.800 --> 0:16:18.240 she was hurt and he was trying to help. Am 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:21.520 I really going to rob a good Samaritan? She was? 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:24.840 Sasha waited until Darrell had closed the door, grabbed his 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:27.480 medical kit and turned towards her. Then she drew her 0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:29.920 pistol and leveled it at his weathered, grease stained, and 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:34.480 now thoroughly surprised face. WHOA, I need your truck. I 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.080 need your truck, she said. Darrell dropped the medical kit 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:41.120 and put both his palms out. Oh now, girl, all right, 0:16:41.200 --> 0:16:43.800 why don't you just put that gun down. Darrell ain't 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:46.200 gonna hurt you. I'll take you anywhere you need to go. 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:48.840 Let's just be real, calm, real slow about all this. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.800 Did somebody hurt you? I need your truck? It was 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:55.040 so hard to keep her voice, even, so hard to 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:57.000 do this cruel thing to a man who'd only been 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:59.880 kind to her. Sasha could feel white hot tears streamed 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.440 down her face. I must look like a crazy person, 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:06.600 she thought. Maybe that will help, now, Miss Sasha, Darrell said, 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.440 I'm a guess you don't know how to drive a truck. 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:12.160 Mine ain't autonomous, it's old stick shift. Please, why don't 0:17:12.160 --> 0:17:13.760 you let me take you where you need to go? 0:17:14.440 --> 0:17:17.720 Sasha's mind raced. It was the same species of nervousness 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:20.280 that had always gripped her during major exams in college 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:23.879 admissions essays. She ran through and discarded a dozen different 0:17:23.920 --> 0:17:26.160 courses of action in her head. What if he won't 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:28.720 give me the keys, What if he takes another step forward? 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.200 What if he moved? It started with a single glance, 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.320 Darrell's eyes darted towards the driver's side door of his truck. 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.199 She almost didn't catch it, but for whatever reason, the 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:40.600 gesture rose goose pimples on the back of her neck 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:46.600 and forearms. I need your truck. Her voice was cold, strong, firm. 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:50.159 Darrell nodded at her. His body posture stayed the same, 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:53.479 but his eyes changed. There was something hard and haunted 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:57.000 in them. Now, all right, miss Sasha, I'm just gonna 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.000 reach in here for my keys. He took a step 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.760 back and moved towards the door. The bottom fell out 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.000 of Sasha's gut and she screamed at him to stop. 0:18:05.240 --> 0:18:08.320 Don't make another move. He dove for the door, pulled 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:10.800 it open, and reached a hand down beside the driver's seat. 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:13.159 Sasha saw a flash of metal in his hand, and 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.919 she opened fire. She wasn't sure how many times she 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:18.680 pulled the trigger, but soon the gun was empty. Sasha 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:21.160 watched as Darrell stumbled back into the truck and then 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.000 slid to the ground. Most of her shots had gone wide, 0:18:24.359 --> 0:18:26.919 very wide. She'd chattered two of the truck's windows and 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:29.639 put four or five rounds into the vehicle's body, but 0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:32.119 at least one had hit Darrell right in his throat, 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.960 a kill shot. He slumped to the ground, gagged on blood, 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:39.280 and jerked like an electrified marionette. Part of her wanted 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:41.080 to run to him, to hold him while he died, 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:43.560 and say she was sorry. Then she saw the gun 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:46.560 at his feet. It didn't dissipate her guilt, after all, 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:49.080 she'd drawn on him first. But at least she hadn't 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:52.440 shot and killed an unarmed man. She'd killed an armed man, 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:57.040 an armed man who only ever helped me. Sasha slumped 0:18:57.040 --> 0:18:58.960 against the hood of the truck and lost herself in 0:18:58.960 --> 0:19:01.919 a storm of sobs. She didn't realize she dropped her 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.080 gun until it hit the asphalt with a dull clank. 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:07.199 She couldn't control her hands or her breathing. Her frantic 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:09.840 sobbing had robbed all the air from her lungs. Her 0:19:09.960 --> 0:19:12.280 legs weakened, and she started to stumble to the ground 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:14.719 when a pair of warm, semi strong arms caught her 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:18.919 from behind. Hey, Hey, it's all right, it's all right, Manny, 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.800 it's okay. You're gonna be okay. Her world went black 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:25.320 for a little while. Sasha felt Mannie lift her up, 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:27.760 heard the sound of the truck's engine rumble back to life. 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.320 But she couldn't see, and she couldn't move, and she 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:34.200 couldn't stop crying. Time lost any sort of meaning. When 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:37.240 she came back to herself, they were in motion. Mannie 0:19:37.240 --> 0:19:40.480 sat next to her, and Rick next to him. Tully drove. 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.959 Sasha's eyes were drawn to Mannie. He held Darrell's pistol 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:46.399 in his left hand. She couldn't help but stare at 0:19:46.440 --> 0:19:49.000 the four spots of dried blood on the silver slide. 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.160 You all right, Sasha, Mannie asked. His question passed through 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:56.720 her ears without hitting her mind. Sasha couldn't stop staring 0:19:56.760 --> 0:20:00.359 at Darrell's blood. I did that. I ended him. She'd 0:20:00.440 --> 0:20:03.560 ended two men to day. She felt no guilt about Alexander, 0:20:03.600 --> 0:20:06.760