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SMNTY Fiction: Terminus, Part 3 (Chapter 4) · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. I'm walking to Steffan
0:07
Speaker 1: never told you protection, iHeartRadio. And we are back with
0:20
Speaker 1: our fiction, which is something we do once a month
0:24
Speaker 1: ish kind of. Yeah, we took a break for a minute,
0:28
Speaker 1: but it wants a month ish. This is the third
0:31
Speaker 1: part of the trilogy, Terminus, and we are in the
0:36
Speaker 1: final chapter. Everybody, We have split it into two, so
0:40
Speaker 1: we're gonna go out with a bang. As always, Christina
0:43
Speaker 1: makes you sound amazing with her sound effects. I always
0:47
Speaker 1: love hearing what she does with them, so I'm just
0:50
Speaker 1: excited as you at the point of recording, I haven't
0:53
Speaker 1: heard yet, so it is so exciting. And yeah, this
0:56
Speaker 1: is our big finale. There will still be fiction after
1:01
Speaker 1: we wrap up this series, but we are coming to
1:04
Speaker 1: the end of the series. That being said, as I
1:09
Speaker 1: always say, this was something I did for Nano Raimo,
1:13
Speaker 1: which doesn't exist anymore, National Novel Writing Month. It's what
1:18
Speaker 1: it sounds like. We had to write a novel of
1:21
Speaker 1: fifty thousand warns, just sixty thousand words within the month
1:23
Speaker 1: of November, and all three of these I did for that.
1:28
Speaker 1: This one is clearly I say this with love, but
1:32
Speaker 1: this is clearly the one that I was like stressing
1:35
Speaker 1: the most stuff. Got to get something done for this,
1:38
Speaker 1: and I do really like the ending. We'll talk more
1:42
Speaker 1: about that when we get to the end. Content warning
1:48
Speaker 1: there for guns, violence, child endangerment, lots of guns. I'm
1:53
Speaker 1: just gonna put it in there again. This is like
1:56
Speaker 1: the confrontation that we've been building up to. So there's
2:02
Speaker 1: a lot of conflict. And that being said for the
2:06
Speaker 1: recap so far, we have our heroes, Tilda and Madison,
2:14
Speaker 1: who have grown up in this world where people can't
2:19
Speaker 1: There is a disease called HSB five and people can't
2:22
Speaker 1: get pregnant. If after the first time they have penis
2:27
Speaker 1: and vaginal sex, they don't get pregnant at that time,
2:29
Speaker 1: then it's just not going to happen for you. And
2:31
Speaker 1: so humanity is dying. And in the United States at least,
2:38
Speaker 1: the government has coalesced into what is called the state
2:41
Speaker 1: and they have a ruling religious arm called Armor, and
2:47
Speaker 1: they have taken control of conception, so you're it is
2:52
Speaker 1: illegal to try to conceive outside of a birthing center.
2:58
Speaker 1: So Madison, who is Tilda son, was born illegally and
3:03
Speaker 1: they have been on the run ever since and through
3:08
Speaker 1: this whole thing, they find a resistance has told Tilda
3:14
Speaker 1: that there is a vaccine that ARM destroyed it because
3:19
Speaker 1: they think humanity brought this on themselves and this is
3:22
Speaker 1: the punishment. However, they saved one vaccine, so Tilda and
3:27
Speaker 1: Madison go into the depths of their enemy to the
3:30
Speaker 1: Washington d C to find the vaccine, and it turns
3:33
Speaker 1: out that the leaders of ARM are the paternal grandparents
3:37
Speaker 1: of Madison. The whole thing happens, Madison gets vaccinated with
3:41
Speaker 1: the last vaccine. Tilda enters that she finds their broadcasting
3:46
Speaker 1: system and tells everybody what happened, and then they run
3:51
Speaker 1: off into the night, and then they're on the run again,
3:54
Speaker 1: and the Resistance is trying to find them and stays
3:57
Speaker 1: trying to find them, and ARMS trying to find them.
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Speaker 1: Madison and is wrestling with this idea that he should
4:01
Speaker 1: help because maybe he can help vaccinate other people. Tilda
4:06
Speaker 1: doesn't trust anybody and doesn't want to do anything about it.
4:08
Speaker 1: They get attacked by people on their journey who are
4:12
Speaker 1: just trying to survive but also have kind of become
4:14
Speaker 1: pretty violent in their quest for survival, and then Tilda,
4:20
Speaker 1: who has been struggling with this idea of who is
4:22
Speaker 1: she without Madison. They're attacked by a tank and a
4:27
Speaker 1: group of people and Madison is taken from her and
4:30
Speaker 1: she is badly wounded. They leave her for dead, and
4:35
Speaker 1: she is recovering. At this point, she's trying to come
4:37
Speaker 1: up with plan, but she doesn't know where they are.
4:40
Speaker 1: She doesn't know if she could even take them on
4:43
Speaker 1: all of these things. She is despairing. Then a member
4:48
Speaker 1: of the resistance, because they're trying to find Madison too,
4:52
Speaker 1: finds her and says, basically, yes, I really wish that
4:57
Speaker 1: you would come back to the Resistance, but I'm going
4:59
Speaker 1: to give you this. It is your choice, and I'm
5:01
Speaker 1: going to tell you this is our plan. These are
5:04
Speaker 1: the people you're up against, and I'm going to give
5:08
Speaker 1: you this chance. And so Tilda takes it. She drives
5:12
Speaker 1: off on a motorcycle despite never having driven a motorcycle,
5:15
Speaker 1: and I will talk more about that later, and she
5:18
Speaker 1: went off into the night to confront these people and
5:21
Speaker 1: hopefully find Madison. So that is where we are. So
5:24
Speaker 1: let us get into part one of our big finale.
5:42
Speaker 1: Tilda could add this to the list of things she
5:44
Speaker 1: never enviissioned herself doing, she thought, pulling onto the highway
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Speaker 1: with the sign that read christian Burgh. But she was
5:51
Speaker 1: getting the hang of it, even if she felt at
5:53
Speaker 1: any moment the bike would somehow take off and leave
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Speaker 1: her behind, hanging comically in the air for a moment
5:58
Speaker 1: before she collided painfully with the asphalt. The cold air
6:02
Speaker 1: ate right through her clothes. As the sun disappeared beneath
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Speaker 1: the horizon, the road stretched out before her flat and
6:08
Speaker 1: at the end of it, or at least at the
6:10
Speaker 1: end of what she could make out, the skyline of
6:12
Speaker 1: the city she'd been seeing for days. Purple sky turned
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Speaker 1: darker blue as she passed a sign reading Christenburg twenty
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Speaker 1: eight miles. She gun died it a little harder, looking
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Speaker 1: over her shoulder for any pursuers, and drifting left as
6:26
Speaker 1: she did so. When she straightened, she gasped and dodged
6:29
Speaker 1: an abandoned car on the road just in time, her
6:31
Speaker 1: heart leaping into her throat. I'm coming, Madison, she thought,
6:37
Speaker 1: hoping in some way that he knew. Just hold on.
6:42
Speaker 1: As the darkness encroached, she realized that barreling down a
6:45
Speaker 1: highway on a vehicle she only margally knew how to
6:47
Speaker 1: operate when she could hardly see what lay in front
6:49
Speaker 1: of her. May not have been the best idea of
6:54
Speaker 1: her eyes quickly alternated between the road and the switches
6:57
Speaker 1: and levers on the bike, looking for some indicator or light.
7:00
Speaker 1: She flicked a switch with wines coming off in oval shape,
7:03
Speaker 1: and sure enough, a bright headlight turned on, illuminating the
7:05
Speaker 1: small patch of road in front of her. But it
7:08
Speaker 1: was better than nothing. It would not do her much
7:12
Speaker 1: good in terms of stealthy approach, however, she'd have to
7:15
Speaker 1: turn it off once they got out of Christianburg. For
7:18
Speaker 1: a moment, with the stars spread before her, the wind
7:21
Speaker 1: in her hair and fresh air in her lungs, the
7:23
Speaker 1: dull roar of the motorcycle drowning out the worries in
7:25
Speaker 1: her brain clamoring for her attention, Tilla felt liberated in
7:29
Speaker 1: a way she hadn't in a long time. Who was she?
7:33
Speaker 1: She thought, with something just outside of wonder? Who was she?
7:39
Speaker 1: She had to avoid more and more cars as they
7:41
Speaker 1: clustered outside the city, a menacing line of sharp structures
7:44
Speaker 1: cutting into the sky in the dark. The feeling of
7:47
Speaker 1: exhilaration faded, and in its place came the all too
7:50
Speaker 1: familiar anxiety. Surely these radicals who had taken her son
7:54
Speaker 1: would have lookouts in Christianburg. With that thought, she eased
7:58
Speaker 1: up on the gas, but this only served to heighten
8:01
Speaker 1: her apprehension. She wanted to switch off her light, but
8:04
Speaker 1: it really wasn't an option in the encompassing darkness. Besides,
8:08
Speaker 1: she told herself they to hear her coming. As she
8:12
Speaker 1: entered the city limits, she was shivering, her midsection aching,
8:15
Speaker 1: her thighs were numb. Some of the novelty of her
8:18
Speaker 1: ride had borne off, though every part of her denounced
8:22
Speaker 1: her foolishness. She did not straight from the main highway,
8:25
Speaker 1: wanting to get out of Christianburg and to the other
8:27
Speaker 1: side as quickly as possible. Cars were strewn haphazardly across
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Speaker 1: the roadway, and she moved through them with as much
8:33
Speaker 1: speed as she dared. Her eyes glued to the pavement
8:36
Speaker 1: immediately in front of her by painful necessity. Her head
8:40
Speaker 1: light caught the reflection of broken glass glittering in the
8:42
Speaker 1: light in the road, and she swerved out of the
8:44
Speaker 1: way to avoid it, nearly colliding with a fire truck
8:46
Speaker 1: in her rush to avoid a flat tire. Regaining her breath.
8:50
Speaker 1: She picked up some speed. She gloss glancing around cautiously.
8:53
Speaker 1: The Resistance could be far behind her. The radicals could
8:56
Speaker 1: be watching her right now. She supposed. There was the
8:59
Speaker 1: small advantage that they didn't know if she was alive
9:01
Speaker 1: or dead, and that they most definitely didn't expect for
9:04
Speaker 1: her to show up armed, but it was a small
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Speaker 1: consolation and practically negated since they were prepared. She was
9:10
Speaker 1: sure for some sort of incursion by the Resistance, but
9:15
Speaker 1: she continued on the highway, past abandoned office buildings and restaurants,
9:19
Speaker 1: specialty stores and fashion shops, rugs, suits, so much to buy,
9:24
Speaker 1: and now all of it free and hanging unwanted in
9:27
Speaker 1: the windows. A half moon hovered overhead as she sped
9:31
Speaker 1: through Christenberg, its silver, silky lights solothering up the side
9:34
Speaker 1: of buildings and making her path more navigable. The cold
9:38
Speaker 1: had settled in her bones now, her lips chapped and
9:41
Speaker 1: her teeth chattering, fingers numb from where they rested over
9:45
Speaker 1: the break. She wished she'd thought to put gloves on,
9:48
Speaker 1: but didn't have a mind to stop now again, she
9:51
Speaker 1: looked behind her, and with a jolt, she realized she
9:53
Speaker 1: could make out the high beams coming from several vehicles.
9:57
Speaker 1: They were a good distance away, but she pressed a
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Speaker 1: little harder on the gas, the less, forcing her thoughts
10:01
Speaker 1: away from the fact she still hadn't made up her
10:03
Speaker 1: mind if, despite all odds, she managed to rescue Madison
10:06
Speaker 1: when the resistance did not, whether or not she'd go
10:09
Speaker 1: with them. One thing at a time, she told herself,
10:13
Speaker 1: passing a sign inscribed now leaving Christianburg home of Davy Crockett,
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Speaker 1: thanks for visiting. Now that she was exiting the labyrinth
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Speaker 1: of the city and burreling full speed to a group
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Speaker 1: of people who only days before had left her for dead,
10:28
Speaker 1: she subconsciously eased off the gas and turned off her headlight,
10:31
Speaker 1: counting on the moonlight to illuminate any obstacles in her way.
10:35
Speaker 1: She wished she'd ask Merlin how far west of Christianburg
10:38
Speaker 1: this complex was, so she'd have a general idea of
10:40
Speaker 1: when she should abandon the bike and continue on foot.
10:44
Speaker 1: She steered so that she was on the edge of
10:46
Speaker 1: the road. She doubted she had the skill, nor was
10:49
Speaker 1: it necessarily wise for her to attempt any off roading.
10:51
Speaker 1: As tempting as it was, this had been relatively easy
10:55
Speaker 1: to pick up. Though this motorcycle she marveled easier than
10:58
Speaker 1: the car she'd wreckt with Madison what felt like years ago.
11:03
Speaker 1: Tiny pinpricks of light through the tree line ahead of
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Speaker 1: her kept grabbing her attention. At first, she thought she
11:08
Speaker 1: was seeing things, but the more often she saw them,
11:11
Speaker 1: the more certain she was that what she was seeing
11:13
Speaker 1: was real. A row of orange lights equidistant in a line,
11:17
Speaker 1: definitely man made the complex she was sure of it.
11:22
Speaker 1: She eased her foot off the gas pedal and directed
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Speaker 1: the bike toward the side of the road, towards the structure.
11:27
Speaker 1: The bike slowed even more on its own accord when
11:30
Speaker 1: the tire came into contact with the hard packed dirt
11:32
Speaker 1: and dry grass, their engine revving and back tire kicking
11:35
Speaker 1: up dust. Conceding defeat, Tilda powered off the engine and
11:39
Speaker 1: hopped off the bike, gripping the handlebars and guiding the
11:42
Speaker 1: motorcycle through the brush and away from the road. Once
11:45
Speaker 1: a decent distance away from the road and hidden by
11:47
Speaker 1: a line of evergreens, Tilda laid the motorcycle down at
11:50
Speaker 1: the base of the trees and out of sight. She
11:53
Speaker 1: took in her surroundings, thinking maybe she could return if
11:56
Speaker 1: only she could remember the space. It might be an
11:59
Speaker 1: option for escape. Madison would like riding on a motorcycle,
12:03
Speaker 1: she thought. Her body vibrated with cold, the clouds of
12:08
Speaker 1: her breath catching the light from the moon. Thinking that
12:11
Speaker 1: it was something she should do, she retrieved the handgun
12:13
Speaker 1: from her voice band, holding it loosely in her hand,
12:16
Speaker 1: the metal cold against her skin. Tilda crept poured toward
12:20
Speaker 1: the row of lights through thick knotted tree trunks. Tilda
12:24
Speaker 1: could see pieces of what looked to be a high wall.
12:27
Speaker 1: Along the top of the wall, hanging lights were mounted,
12:29
Speaker 1: emitting cool white light. They must have access to a
12:32
Speaker 1: lot of resources to power a generator for a complex
12:35
Speaker 1: populated with a decent number of people. Why hadn't she asked?
12:39
Speaker 1: How many people they were facing, she thought furiously. A
12:43
Speaker 1: cracking sound made her start so badly she almost choked
12:46
Speaker 1: on her sharp intake of breath and winced at the
12:48
Speaker 1: sudden tensing of sore muscles. She was glad for the
12:51
Speaker 1: evergreen pine and the cover that it provided. Her footsteps
12:55
Speaker 1: muffled by a floor of discarded pine needles instead of
12:58
Speaker 1: crunching over dead leaves. The wall loomed higher and higher,
13:02
Speaker 1: as she approached, tread, pulling in her stomach. At its size,
13:06
Speaker 1: she'd never be able to find Madison and get out quickly.
13:09
Speaker 1: A flashing light behind her caught her attention. Tilda spun
13:13
Speaker 1: and whipped her head around and narrowed her eyes, but
13:15
Speaker 1: couldn't make anything out. She assumed it must be the resistance.
13:19
Speaker 1: She didn't have much time. She crouched and quickened her pace,
13:24
Speaker 1: keeping her gaze trained on the complex. There were not
13:27
Speaker 1: yet any signs of movement, but she was certainly'd have
13:29
Speaker 1: people on watch. Her foot slipped on something, and she
13:32
Speaker 1: just barely refrained, concursing in surprise. Wind Milling with her
13:36
Speaker 1: arms to keep her balance, Tilda looked around at what
13:38
Speaker 1: had almost stripped her up. It was a white piece
13:41
Speaker 1: of thin metal with blocky black letters, a sign she realized.
13:46
Speaker 1: In the moonlight she could read ammunition plant, Staff village,
13:51
Speaker 1: which meant one entrance, most likely, she thought grimly. Reaching
13:56
Speaker 1: the edge of the tree line ringing the dark metal building,
13:58
Speaker 1: she stopped and rested her hand on a large tree trunk,
14:01
Speaker 1: analyzing the front of the building, her breath getting caught
14:04
Speaker 1: in her throat when her eyes landed on the silhouette
14:06
Speaker 1: of a tank parked out front of a large pair
14:09
Speaker 1: of metal doors. A few other cars, most of them
14:12
Speaker 1: large and bulky, lined the outer wall. A distant, low
14:16
Speaker 1: voice grabbed her attention. She froze, eyes wide and searching
14:20
Speaker 1: for the sores, scrutinizing the space around the tank. Crunching
14:25
Speaker 1: footsteps behind her fast approaching sent a spike of nauseating
14:29
Speaker 1: fear through her. Ever so slowly so as not to
14:32
Speaker 1: draw attention to herself. She drew her foot back and
14:34
Speaker 1: rotated to press her back against the trunk of the tree,
14:37
Speaker 1: facing away from the building. Her breath shallow and movement
14:41
Speaker 1: painfully controlled. Tilda waited, every fiber of her being on
14:47
Speaker 1: edge for a hand to reach out and grab her shoulder,
14:49
Speaker 1: or for a shout to break the deadly silence. Edd
14:52
Speaker 1: befallen the woods. There were two of them, Tilda deduced
14:57
Speaker 1: from what she could hear, and they were coming directly
15:00
Speaker 1: towards her. Says he saw some lights coming from the
15:05
Speaker 1: road cars, most likely seeing things I bet or drunk,
15:10
Speaker 1: another voice said, growing louder with proximity. Tilda raised her
15:13
Speaker 1: gun very slowly, her finger trembling on the trigger. She
15:17
Speaker 1: held her breath maybe, or it could be those resistance tools,
15:23
Speaker 1: the other argued. They entered into the forest, passing as
15:27
Speaker 1: shadows between two tree trunks a few down from the
15:29
Speaker 1: one Tilda was pressed against, so that Tilda could see
15:32
Speaker 1: their backs either way. Bos says, to check it out.
15:37
Speaker 1: I hate night watch duty, the second said, his voice
15:41
Speaker 1: fading as they moved further into the woods. It's cold
15:43
Speaker 1: as hell. Tilda exhaled shakily as their backs were cheated,
15:48
Speaker 1: easing her grip on her gun, finding some difficulty in
15:50
Speaker 1: getting her hands to relax. Her heart thundering sickeningly, Tilda
15:55
Speaker 1: looked around the side of the tree she was hiding behind.
15:58
Speaker 1: There was no way she could get to the front door,
16:00
Speaker 1: not without a distraction, which left her with two options,
16:03
Speaker 1: she reasoned with feverish anxiety. She could follow along the
16:06
Speaker 1: edge of the building under the cover of the trees
16:08
Speaker 1: to see if she could find another way in, or
16:10
Speaker 1: she could cause a distraction herself. Or there was a
16:14
Speaker 1: third option, she admitted. Turning slowly to face the tank
16:18
Speaker 1: with something bordering recklessness, she left the relative sanctuary of
16:21
Speaker 1: the trees and darted toward the menacing vehicle at a
16:24
Speaker 1: crouch though she was waiting for it. No voices rang out,
16:28
Speaker 1: no shots came her way. Her focus tunneled only to
16:32
Speaker 1: reaching cover as quickly as possible, and the pain of
16:34
Speaker 1: her injured ankle and side fell away. In her determination.
16:38
Speaker 1: She skidded to a halt behind the front cover of
16:40
Speaker 1: the tank, furthest from the entrance, her back given some
16:43
Speaker 1: cover by the complex wall. Though she was quite winded,
16:46
Speaker 1: having not run since sustaining her injuries, she kept her
16:49
Speaker 1: breath controlled and quiet, very aware that the two men
16:52
Speaker 1: she'd seen heading off into the woods could be back
16:54
Speaker 1: at any minute, till the doubt that they'd miss seen
16:57
Speaker 1: her again. The sounds of shots tearing through the air
17:01
Speaker 1: in the woods almost knocked her off her feet, drawing
17:03
Speaker 1: from her reflexive gasp. Shouting broke out both in the
17:07
Speaker 1: woods and from within the walls. Tilda could hear movement
17:10
Speaker 1: from inside, and the main doors opened, several people spilling out,
17:13
Speaker 1: carrying weapons and running for the woods. In the sounds
17:16
Speaker 1: of skirmish, Tilda wondered if this was part of the plan.
17:21
Speaker 1: Arthur Resistance's cover had been blown. Her eyes latched on
17:24
Speaker 1: the open entrance doors. A few more people ran out
17:28
Speaker 1: and Tilda listened intently for any more coming, but she
17:30
Speaker 1: didn't hear anyone, not close, at least before she'd really
17:33
Speaker 1: decided on what she should do. She rose to a
17:36
Speaker 1: half crouch and ran along the wall, trying to block
17:38
Speaker 1: out the sharp sounds of bullets coming from the darkness,
17:40
Speaker 1: and paused at the edge of the entrance, listening again,
17:42
Speaker 1: her gun ready in her hand. With a fortifying breath,
17:46
Speaker 1: she slid around the door, her eyes darting to every shape,
17:49
Speaker 1: assessing any potential threats. The doors opened to a small
17:53
Speaker 1: courtyard with a cement sidewalk down the center, leading to
17:56
Speaker 1: the main building. Tilda followed along the edge of the wall,
17:59
Speaker 1: dropping instinctly behind some crates. When another handful of people
18:02
Speaker 1: jogged out of the main structure and down the sidewalk
18:05
Speaker 1: out the open doors, leaving the protection of the walls.
18:10
Speaker 1: Tilda waited a few seconds after they'd disappeared before she
18:13
Speaker 1: continued in the direction they'd come from. The sounds of
18:16
Speaker 1: gunshots were growing louder. She reached the building and edged
18:21
Speaker 1: her way along the outside of it, the rough spackled
18:23
Speaker 1: dry wall, snagging her clothes and her backpack. Stopping outside
18:27
Speaker 1: the door, she listened and looked straight down the path
18:29
Speaker 1: of asphalt leading to the gaping mouth of the main
18:32
Speaker 1: entrance and into the woods. Tilda tested the handle and
18:37
Speaker 1: found that it opened easily, so easily that she almost
18:40
Speaker 1: fell back. Her heart hammered against her rib cage as
18:43
Speaker 1: she stepped inside to a starkly lit chamber. The white
18:46
Speaker 1: light absorbed into the dreary gray walls. The room she
18:49
Speaker 1: found herself in branched off in three directions, a wide
18:53
Speaker 1: hallway directly in front of her, and the others perpendicularly
18:56
Speaker 1: left and right. The door closed behind her her. Now
19:01
Speaker 1: that she was inside, she could hear muffled sounds of life.
19:04
Speaker 1: She needed to choose a direction quickly, Madison, where are you?
19:10
Speaker 1: A sound of something slamming down the hall to her
19:12
Speaker 1: right made the decision for her. She went left as
19:15
Speaker 1: quickly as she dared, looking over her shoulder as she proceeded.
19:19
Speaker 1: There were so many doors, one after the other on
19:21
Speaker 1: both sides. She was never going to find him. A
19:26
Speaker 1: door diagonally cracked open, and til De froze, tensing her
19:29
Speaker 1: grip on her weapon, but not bothering to raise it.
19:32
Speaker 1: Knowing the game was up. A woman peeked out between
19:35
Speaker 1: the pain of the door and its frame, wide, timid
19:38
Speaker 1: eyes and scraggly hair. For a moment, they stared at
19:42
Speaker 1: each other. The woman smaller than Tilda looked at the
19:45
Speaker 1: gun in Tilda's hands, her brown eyes shifting to the
19:47
Speaker 1: muffled gunshots coming from outside even closer. Now you're her,
19:53
Speaker 1: the woman whispered, I recognized you. Tilda didn't say anything,
19:59
Speaker 1: waging a fear in her debate about whether or not
20:01
Speaker 1: to run for it or to shoot her before she
20:03
Speaker 1: could raise the alarm. You're looking for him, the woman
20:08
Speaker 1: continued in a hushed voice, glancing up and down the hallway,
20:10
Speaker 1: unaware of Tilda's in her conflict. Madison that brought all
20:16
Speaker 1: of Tilda's thoughts to a screeching halt. You know where
20:18
Speaker 1: he is, she whispered back, urgently, not bothering to deny
20:22
Speaker 1: her claim. The woman hesitated, the silence punctuated by bullets
20:26
Speaker 1: and shouting. The petite woman, her face painted with anxiety,
20:30
Speaker 1: again looked up and down the hall before focusing on Tilda.
20:34
Speaker 1: I'll get in trouble. Tilda, her sole attention on the
20:38
Speaker 1: person in front of her, whispered, please please. Tears collected
20:44
Speaker 1: in the corner of her eyes, but she didn't care.
20:48
Speaker 1: For several tent seconds, the woman observed Tilda, and Tilda
20:51
Speaker 1: held her gaze, silently, pleading with her to relent distantly.
20:55
Speaker 1: Another door slammed. These are barracks, the woman told her,
21:01
Speaker 1: indicating the hallway they were in and the hallway to
21:03
Speaker 1: the right, and Tilda waited every part of her screaming
21:07
Speaker 1: the center hallway. The woman continued, the supplies conference rooms
21:11
Speaker 1: in medical. They're keeping Madison in medical at the very
21:14
Speaker 1: end of the hallway on the right. Tilda was moving
21:17
Speaker 1: before she'd even finish, but she stopped when the woman
21:19
Speaker 1: called softly, wait, there will be people guarding him. They
21:23
Speaker 1: won't let him go easily. Tilda looked at the woman,
21:27
Speaker 1: seeing naked worry on her face, she nodded and said
21:30
Speaker 1: simply thank you. Tilda turned away, catching only the determined
21:35
Speaker 1: nod the woman gave her in response. Cries and sounds
21:39
Speaker 1: of fighting now sounded as though they were right outside,
21:41
Speaker 1: and galvanized Tilda forward. She wasted no time in turning
21:44
Speaker 1: down the main hallway and jogging down it, her gun
21:47
Speaker 1: hanging loosely in her hands. She heard movement behind her,
21:50
Speaker 1: and she jerked around in time to see yet another
21:52
Speaker 1: group of more heavily armed men run into the center
21:54
Speaker 1: room and out the main doors. Tilda had no time
21:58
Speaker 1: to worry that they might see her. Her eyes rode
22:00
Speaker 1: from door to door, reading the signs. The hallway stretched
22:04
Speaker 1: on and on. Though she could see the end, she
22:06
Speaker 1: didn't feel like she was getting any closer. The door
22:09
Speaker 1: opened on her right, and Tilda dropped automatically, drawing her gun,
22:13
Speaker 1: pulling the trigger on reflex, her mouth falling open in
22:15
Speaker 1: horror as the body collapsed in front of her. Her
22:19
Speaker 1: thoughts were fuzzy, but she righted herself and fumbled into
22:23
Speaker 1: her side pocket, pulling out the round plastic globe that
22:25
Speaker 1: had been labeled smoke bomb, not pausing to question her actions.
22:30
Speaker 1: As a door near the end of the hallway opened,
22:32
Speaker 1: she pulled the pin and tossed it, white smoke immediately
22:35
Speaker 1: filling the hallway with a loud, hissing sound, giving her
22:39
Speaker 1: just enough time to make out the angry tattooed face,
22:42
Speaker 1: slacked with surprise but tightening as it transformed into anger.
22:46
Speaker 1: Tilda sprinted into the smoke, keeping her steps as light
22:49
Speaker 1: as possible as the white fox whirled around her. She
22:52
Speaker 1: could hear the heavy footfalls of boots barreling toward her.
22:55
Speaker 1: Tilda ducked down and pressed herself to the wall as
22:58
Speaker 1: the footsteps approached. I'm going to find you, the man
23:02
Speaker 1: shouted in the space just in front of her, swinging
23:04
Speaker 1: his arms out as he looked for her, trying to
23:06
Speaker 1: clear the smoke. Tilda crept by and across the hall,
23:10
Speaker 1: tracing her hands along the wall as she moved forward,
23:12
Speaker 1: breathing in quick pants. The smoke in front of her
23:16
Speaker 1: twisted and mushroomed out. As the door opened again and
23:18
Speaker 1: another body entered the hallway, Tilda froze, pressing herself against
23:23
Speaker 1: the wall as the silhouette of the body stalked past her.
23:27
Speaker 1: Where are you, it whispered, the question, fluttering and the
23:30
Speaker 1: diminishing fog. A lump of tension in Tilda's throat made
23:34
Speaker 1: it hard for her to breathe. There in the courtyard,
23:37
Speaker 1: a voice shouted from the front entrance, and the body
23:39
Speaker 1: ran away from Tilda. She snuck along the wall, squinting
23:42
Speaker 1: in the wake of the smoke, and up the hallway
23:44
Speaker 1: to the entrance. Her fingers came upon a door frame.
23:48
Speaker 1: The same door the two men had emerged from the
23:51
Speaker 1: final door on the right. Tilda adjusted her hold on
23:55
Speaker 1: her handgun and fiddled for the handle, the smoke now
23:58
Speaker 1: only drags. With a deep breath, Tilda pulled the handle
24:02
Speaker 1: downwards and the door swung open, and Tilda crept inward
24:05
Speaker 1: into a white medical room equipped with two rows of cots,
24:08
Speaker 1: all of them empty, the door shutting behind her and
24:11
Speaker 1: casing her in darkness. A fleeting thought that the woman
24:15
Speaker 1: had lied to her was quickly banished when she spotted
24:18
Speaker 1: a wide window on the far end of the long
24:20
Speaker 1: room and another door. Tilda made a bee line for
24:23
Speaker 1: the door, keeping her body low. Her heart almost stopped
24:26
Speaker 1: completely when she saw a wide eyed Madison sitting stiffly
24:30
Speaker 1: on a small cot, his solemn eyes looking through the window,
24:33
Speaker 1: and a large man standing next to him. Her finger
24:36
Speaker 1: found the trigger of its own accord as she stalked
24:39
Speaker 1: towards the doorway, not thinking of anything else but her son.
24:43
Speaker 1: Like a snake, her arm struck out, snapping down the
24:46
Speaker 1: door handle, and Tilda stormed in, rising from her crouch
24:49
Speaker 1: and aiming her gun at the man next to her son,
24:51
Speaker 1: whose face registered a stun surprise. She could see out
24:54
Speaker 1: of the corner of her eye. The man started to
24:58
Speaker 1: raise his own weapon, a shotgun, a f frantic weight
25:01
Speaker 1: escaping from his lips, Tilda fired, hitting him square in
25:04
Speaker 1: the chest. His mouth formed an oh, his eyes almost
25:08
Speaker 1: instantly losing their light as he fell to his knees,
25:11
Speaker 1: revealing Madison behind him, whose huge, childlike eyes were gleaming
25:15
Speaker 1: with tears. Her ears ringing, Tilda tore her gaze away
25:19
Speaker 1: from the body's blade on the floor and fastened it
25:22
Speaker 1: on her son. She stumbled forward, her arms outstretched and tentative,
25:26
Speaker 1: the gun loose in her right hand. You're life, Madison whispered,
25:32
Speaker 1: tears streaming down his cheeks. You came for me, she found.
25:37
Speaker 1: She couldn't say anything in return. Instead, she wrapped her
25:40
Speaker 1: arms around his thin shoulder blades and pressed a kiss
25:42
Speaker 1: to his temple. Though she wanted nothing more than to
25:45
Speaker 1: hold him to cherish this moment, She whispered in his ear.
25:50
Speaker 1: We have to get out of here. Okay. She pulled back,
25:53
Speaker 1: pressing her forehead against his. His eyes strayed to the
25:56
Speaker 1: body prone on the floor. Stick close to me, okay,
26:01
Speaker 1: he whispered back. And that brings us to part one
26:27
Speaker 1: of our big finale. Get ready for part two. It's
26:30
Speaker 1: already recorded. Just Christina is going to put in the
26:34
Speaker 1: magic you know, yes, and I'm very excited to talk
26:37
Speaker 1: about it. But we got our reunion. Tilda has found Madison. However,
26:44
Speaker 1: they are not out of the woods yet. There is
26:46
Speaker 1: a lot of danger left for them, and a lot
26:50
Speaker 1: of things are going to have to overcome to get
26:51
Speaker 1: out of the situation they're currently in. A couple of things.
26:55
Speaker 1: I just want to note when I was looking back
26:58
Speaker 1: over this, it was very purposeful that I chose the
27:01
Speaker 1: town christian Burgh as this final place where they have
27:05
Speaker 1: this confrontation. I can't recall specifically, but I remember I
27:11
Speaker 1: looked up every as I've said, I looked up like distances,
27:14
Speaker 1: I looked up towns, I looked up what the town
27:16
Speaker 1: was known for, what the structures were in the town.
27:20
Speaker 1: So I could be wrong and things could definitely have changed,
27:24
Speaker 1: but I'm pretty sure this is accurate. But I did
27:29
Speaker 1: specifically choose it though for the name, because so much
27:31
Speaker 1: of this is about like escaping these religious ideas, escaping
27:38
Speaker 1: arm who has imposed their belief system on the entire
27:42
Speaker 1: country and in fact, on all of humanity, and has
27:44
Speaker 1: basically killed human They're dying out there is this still
27:52
Speaker 1: there's hope, but they were willing to let humanity die,
27:57
Speaker 1: and so that was very purposeful. We're going to get
28:01
Speaker 1: into this more later, so you see some of it
28:04
Speaker 1: in this first part, but there's definitely some things that
28:07
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, I've internalized what a bad guy looks like.
28:11
Speaker 1: So so, for instance, the tattooed guy like, oh no,
28:16
Speaker 1: which is funny because I wrote this after I got
28:18
Speaker 1: my tattoo. Anyway, I didn't know if anybody from this
28:24
Speaker 1: town can give us. I didn't even know if anybody
28:26
Speaker 1: from this town has actually do you listen. I need
28:29
Speaker 1: to find one person. Is Davy Crockett really from there?
28:33
Speaker 1: Because that's what the sign says. Yeah, please let us know,
28:39
Speaker 1: Please let us know. I am going to talk more
28:41
Speaker 1: about a lot of this in the next chapter. But
28:47
Speaker 1: I did, as mentioned, I had a motorcycle. I also
28:52
Speaker 1: similarly had no experience the first time I wrote it,
28:54
Speaker 1: and I did crash it into a car and I
28:55
Speaker 1: have scar from it. But I think the way the
29:00
Speaker 1: reason I keep getting stuck is I'm pretty sure most
29:02
Speaker 1: motorcycles don't work like the one I had do and
29:06
Speaker 1: I know that, and so it's giving me some dissonance.
29:08
Speaker 1: But mine I had it when I was in China
29:13
Speaker 1: was it had foot pedals and a lot of them
29:16
Speaker 1: I know are up here with your hands, so just
29:20
Speaker 1: be aware, I know, I know. Also the red truck
29:24
Speaker 1: in here, like call out to the red truck is
29:26
Speaker 1: specifically my dad's red truck, and that's because it got
29:31
Speaker 1: two trees fell on top of it when Hurricane I
29:33
Speaker 1: even came through and it was completely destroyed, and I
29:36
Speaker 1: just remember thinking about how crumpled it was and glass everywhere.
29:40
Speaker 1: So it was just an image I had really strongly
29:42
Speaker 1: in my head. Also, I probably don't need to say this,
29:46
Speaker 1: but this is very clearly a video game chapter. This
29:48
Speaker 1: is like your combat, your stealth scene. You've got like
29:54
Speaker 1: smoke bombs, like damn, yeah, this is the finale. This
30:00
Speaker 1: is of a video game final Yeah yeah, but I
30:06
Speaker 1: remember it so clearly, like I can visualize this in
30:09
Speaker 1: my head as I was reading back over it. I
30:11
Speaker 1: remember what this looks like to me, which is interesting.
30:16
Speaker 1: But yes, okay, well you have a one more parts.
30:20
Speaker 1: We're gonna wrap this up, hopefully in the next bit,
30:25
Speaker 1: but until then, I would love to hear any thoughts
30:28
Speaker 1: about it, Christina, thank you so much, always amazing and yeah,
30:34
Speaker 1: any suggestions for things we can do in this kind
30:37
Speaker 1: of fiction sound effects Arena please let us know. You
30:41
Speaker 1: can email us at Hello at Steffannever Told You dot com.
30:43
Speaker 1: You can find us on Blue Sky at Molstuff podcast
30:46
Speaker 1: or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I Never Told
30:48
Speaker 1: You for us on YouTube. We have a book you
30:50
Speaker 1: can get where we get your books. Thanks as always too,
30:53
Speaker 1: our super brig just Christina are excited to produce my
30:55
Speaker 1: aner contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you for
30:58
Speaker 1: listening Stuff I Never Told You should I Heart Radio
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