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SMNTY Fiction: Terminus (Chapter 1) · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Hey, this is any and Samantha and welcome to Stephane
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Speaker 1: Never Told You production of iHeart Radio, And it is
0:19
Speaker 1: time for another installment of Smithy Fiction. I knew you'd
0:24
Speaker 1: come through with the jingle of some I Got, I
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Speaker 1: Got it. It's on my variation of s VU A
0:30
Speaker 1: little upbeat. Okay, so that's both kind of appropriate kind
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Speaker 1: of not, because this is not an upbeat story at all.
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Speaker 1: But so this is a once a month segment where
0:40
Speaker 1: we read some fiction. Christina does some magic. Lots of magic, yeah,
0:45
Speaker 1: because she is a budgetition a wizard. But yes, do
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Speaker 1: not worry it is. If it's not your thing, it's
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Speaker 1: only once a month. And if this story in particular
0:54
Speaker 1: is not your thing, that's cool too. Because this is
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Speaker 1: our first continuing story. This is a mold a chapter
1:01
Speaker 1: podcast extravaganza event. This one is a continuation of what
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Speaker 1: we read on our last segment of spind Fiction, which
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Speaker 1: was the prologue of my story that I wrote in
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Speaker 1: two thousand and ten. Um called Terminus are the Depopulation event.
1:18
Speaker 1: The series is called Terminus. This particular one is called
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Speaker 1: the Demoulation Event. Yeah, yes, yes, yes, it is part
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Speaker 1: of three and maybe we'll get to all three. Uh oh,
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Speaker 1: that'll be quite the adventure. And yes, I did write
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Speaker 1: this in two thousand and ten ish and I haven't
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Speaker 1: edited it much since then. Um, so we're going to
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Speaker 1: go through this together. Uh. And as discussed in the
1:43
Speaker 1: last one, this is like a heavy content warning, okay,
1:46
Speaker 1: because it is about a virus. It is a dystopian world.
1:51
Speaker 1: It is about a government trying to control people's bodies,
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Speaker 1: particularly women's bodies, and this chapter in particular deals with
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Speaker 1: issues of hunger and internalized able is um. Um. So
2:03
Speaker 1: it's heavy, and especially given what's going on right now. Um,
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Speaker 1: this is like the worst timing perhaps to release this.
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Speaker 1: So I understand, I understand. I will say this chapter
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Speaker 1: is a quote lighter chapter. There's a lot of quoty
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Speaker 1: fingers right now. There are the heavy quoty fingers. Um.
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Speaker 1: As I said in the prologue one, I've I've described
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Speaker 1: this as like the Last of Us meets the Road
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Speaker 1: meets hand May's Tail. So it's lighter, is you know,
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Speaker 1: perspective relative, But it's lighter, I would say. And you
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Speaker 1: get to hear my barely there attempted to do a
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Speaker 1: child's voice, so that might give you some joy. I
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Speaker 1: don't know's it might be. Also, this one is a
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Speaker 1: bit longer. It's sort of a setting the stage chapter.
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Speaker 1: So I think I think we'll just dive right in.
3:17
Speaker 1: The leaves were falling, bright oranges, vibrant yellows, warm reds, drifting, swirling, crackling,
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Speaker 1: little pair of sailors caught in a cool, fluttering breeze.
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Speaker 1: So many had detached from aging cypresses and battered maples
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Speaker 1: on either side of the road that it gave the
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Speaker 1: impression of a colorful rain. White fluffy clouds dotted a
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Speaker 1: vivid whose sky. The sun shone, radiant, unchanged, unaware of
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Speaker 1: the chaos on the planet its stained. Across from it
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Speaker 1: hung a full moon, the craters on its face clearly visible,
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Speaker 1: the clarity and brightness of its silver light, giving the
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Speaker 1: illusion of two sons mirroring each other. A tiny smile
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Speaker 1: tugged at Tilda's lips as savored the field, the sun
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Speaker 1: warming her cheeks and the breeze fluttering through her hair.
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Speaker 1: It comforted her that simple beauty such as this still existed,
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Speaker 1: that her child wasn't growing up in a wasteland devoid
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Speaker 1: of all that made life something wondrous to behold and experience,
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Speaker 1: as opposed to something to survive. Because of basic instinct,
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Speaker 1: the seasons marched on. There was something humbling about that,
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Speaker 1: both a comfort and a bitter frustration. The slight chill
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Speaker 1: in the air made her heart beat a little faster, wary,
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Speaker 1: like acid in her stomach. This was once her favorite
4:34
Speaker 1: time of year, but since she'd been on the run,
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Speaker 1: she'd grown to fear it. She'd have to find somewhere
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Speaker 1: warm for her and Madison to stay, and if like
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Speaker 1: was with them, warmer clothes and better shoes, she added
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Speaker 1: to herself, with mount to concern. The souls of her
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Speaker 1: current ones were so worn. Every crunching step of gravel
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Speaker 1: called dull spikes of pain to travel up through the
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Speaker 1: calluses lying her feet. Bird a voice chirped in her ear,
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Speaker 1: any hand flinging out to point at the wound creature,
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Speaker 1: she went up, the volume so close in proximity to
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Speaker 1: her ear, but the grimace transformed quickly into a grin.
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Speaker 1: She squinted up at the soaring bird, it's long shadow
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Speaker 1: passing over them as it glided above. I think it's
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Speaker 1: a hawk, hawk, Madison repeated inquisitively, Tilda nodded, and he
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Speaker 1: said his new words several times, testing different inflections, tasting it,
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Speaker 1: feeling it on his tongue. Tilda hoisted him up a
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Speaker 1: bit on her back where he was writing piggyback skinny
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Speaker 1: arms wrapped around her neck. She could feel him leaning
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Speaker 1: to the left, tracking the hawks movement. The wind buffeted
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Speaker 1: leaves rushing past them, whipping it Tilda's hair. Madison huddled
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Speaker 1: against her back, shielding himself. It was mid afternoon. They
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Speaker 1: were heading west on one of the smaller highways and
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Speaker 1: had been for several weeks. The main highways were not
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Speaker 1: an option. The risk of running into enforcers too high.
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Speaker 1: The back roads weren't an option either, The possibility of
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Speaker 1: getting hurts lost or stranded. It even running into those
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Speaker 1: turned violent by loss of hope all too reel. Sticking
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Speaker 1: to the smaller highways, once avoided because of lower speed
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Speaker 1: limits and higher number of stop flights, was the safest option.
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Speaker 1: They very rarely ran into others these days. Sometimes she
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Speaker 1: could convince herself they were the only two people left
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Speaker 1: in the world. Sometimes the silence of it was deafening.
6:24
Speaker 1: In the beginning, there had been several close calls Tilda
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Speaker 1: had had no direction, no idea. Really, she was sixteen
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Speaker 1: when she escaped the state run hospital in Atlanta. How
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Speaker 1: was she a teenager with no experience surviving in the
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Speaker 1: wild and staying under the radar, supposed to care for
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Speaker 1: a baby while in hiding, supposed to keep him quiet
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Speaker 1: when the enforcers were near. At first, she'd been too
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Speaker 1: afraid to take any kind of risk, sneaking into abandoned
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Speaker 1: convenient stores for food and drink, a bath after a fashion,
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Speaker 1: sleeping in ditches and empty cars. But ness, necessity, and
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Speaker 1: worry for her child had driven her into more populated areas.
7:04
Speaker 1: She hadn't made it far from Atlanta Huntsville, Alabama when
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Speaker 1: she had her first encounter with enforcers. Desperate with both
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Speaker 1: the need for advice and a bomb for her aching heart,
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Speaker 1: Tilda resolved to find a way to contact her parents.
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Speaker 1: She knew this to be a risky undertaking. She dismissed
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Speaker 1: it as such for as long as she could, but
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Speaker 1: something like a barely contained panic overpowered her rationality. Only
7:29
Speaker 1: government officials had working cell phones, and most land lines
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Speaker 1: were out of service. But Tilda, while exploring a large
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Speaker 1: abandoned house near the Sentti Center of Hutsville had found
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Speaker 1: a functioning landline. Fingers trembling, she had carefully dialed the
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Speaker 1: number to her parents home, dragging each digit to the
7:46
Speaker 1: forefront of her mind. Bouncing her baby in one arm,
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Speaker 1: she held the handset against her ear, straining to hear
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Speaker 1: the connection being made. Seconds passed and she'd almost given up,
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Speaker 1: but then a click sounded, the static e connection established.
8:01
Speaker 1: Her heart sped up, with each ring galloping. By the
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Speaker 1: time the answering machine sounded, her eyes had stung at
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Speaker 1: her mother's genteel voice, quiet and refined. Slowly, she lowered
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Speaker 1: the phone back to its cradle, a lump in her
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Speaker 1: throat preventing her from forming any sound. A part of
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Speaker 1: her the part that believed everything would be okay, believed
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Speaker 1: her mother would since it had been her daughter, would
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Speaker 1: know what her child had wanted to tell her. All
8:27
Speaker 1: the things left on said bubbled like acid in the
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Speaker 1: back of her brain, keeping her from sleep that night.
8:33
Speaker 1: Despite the small, comfy bed she had chosen, she'd been
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Speaker 1: too intimidated to sleep in the big one. Madison wrapped
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Speaker 1: in a blanket, peaceful in her arms, she kept telling
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Speaker 1: herself to enjoy sleeping in a bed with blankets, but
8:47
Speaker 1: thoughts of who lived in this house, who had once
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Speaker 1: slept in this bed, invaded her mind. Shadows of the
8:53
Speaker 1: past roaming the rooms and halls like ghosts, twisting and
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Speaker 1: turning and leaning back to the conversation with her there
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Speaker 1: that she had never had and would never have on
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Speaker 1: this night, in this house that should have been a luxury,
9:08
Speaker 1: she longed for a blanket and pillows in the backseat
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Speaker 1: of a car. More scared here than on the night
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Speaker 1: she'd spent outside in the ditches, she kept expecting someone
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Speaker 1: to show up, demanding that she leave. When Tilda's eyes
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Speaker 1: finally started to droop, she heard the creak of a
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Speaker 1: door swinging open. The shot of adrenaline that surged through
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Speaker 1: her veins almost sheolted her upright with the baby slumbering
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Speaker 1: in her arms kept her still. Slowly, she disentangled herself
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Speaker 1: from the sheets, shifting the child carefully as she swung
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Speaker 1: her legs over the side. Low voices sounded from the
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Speaker 1: fourrier as she eased the window open, and kinbed out
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Speaker 1: of it, landing on dewy grass like a cat bouncing
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Speaker 1: madisone in one arm, she reached up and slid the
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Speaker 1: frame back in place, shaking hands slipping, she ducked as
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Speaker 1: a beam of light spilled out of the window she
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Speaker 1: had just shut. A whine of fear escaping her lips,
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Speaker 1: Tilda had stumbled away, knees wobbling, bent almost in half
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Speaker 1: in fear of being seen. Glancing back, she saw the
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Speaker 1: sleek black outline of the enforcers vehicle. She flattened herself
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Speaker 1: against the plastic slabs meant to resemble wood of the
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Speaker 1: house caddy corner to the one she'd just vacated, only
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Speaker 1: for her heart to skip a beat when she saw
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Speaker 1: another enforcer car parked in the driveway of this house
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Speaker 1: as well. Madison whimpered quietly in her ear. Her grip
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Speaker 1: had tightened. She edged along the side of the house,
10:29
Speaker 1: crouching as she passed windows. Once clear of that house,
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Speaker 1: she had darted over to the next, and the next.
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Speaker 1: All the wild conventsd The enforcers were right behind her,
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Speaker 1: closing in, but she had escaped and never tried to
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Speaker 1: call home again. It had been a long night of
10:48
Speaker 1: jumping up every sound, every flash of light, stealing alongside
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Speaker 1: the road, shivering and clutching her bundle to her so
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Speaker 1: angry at herself, bargaining with the gods she no longer
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Speaker 1: believed in her heart thumping painfully in her chest. Pictures
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Speaker 1: had unfolded in her mind's eye of what they'd do
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Speaker 1: to her and to Madison if they were caught, And
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Speaker 1: at the darkest part of the night, hands numb, a
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Speaker 1: small part of her wondered if maybe it would be
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Speaker 1: a good thing. They probably could do a much better
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Speaker 1: job raising a child than she. Certainly they could provide
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Speaker 1: for him better than she could on their run. Healthier food,
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Speaker 1: warmer clothes, a nice place to sleep, stability once he
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Speaker 1: got older. How would she teach him? He'd have no
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Speaker 1: friends save her to talk to. How long could she
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Speaker 1: keep this up? Was she doing what was best for
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Speaker 1: her son? But they've made it out of Huntsville, Her
11:49
Speaker 1: exhausted legs like noodles as the sun rose over the horizon,
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Speaker 1: fiery rested hughes painting the asphalts and leaves. She'd kept
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Speaker 1: walking almost on auto pilot until they had crossed into
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Speaker 1: Tennessee and her legs could carry her no more. How
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Speaker 1: unintelligent and young and naive she'd been. The doubt she
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Speaker 1: had had then still plagued her now, but the decision
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Speaker 1: was made, and she loved Madison too much to imagine
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Speaker 1: life without him selfish or not. The thought of him,
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Speaker 1: his fingers twisting nervously, as was his habit, staring up
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Speaker 1: with his wide eyes at cold enforcers who didn't love him,
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Speaker 1: who would be current with him, not understand his needs
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Speaker 1: like she did. It made her stomach clench painfully. Are
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Speaker 1: hawks nice birds? Madison's question pulled her out of her thoughts.
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Speaker 1: She glanced up, searching the skies. The hawks still soared overhead.
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Speaker 1: They aren't mean birds, Silda answered. The hawk flew over
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Speaker 1: the road in front of them, a vanguard. What do
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Speaker 1: they eat? A small smile twisted at Tilda's lips. M hmm,
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Speaker 1: let's see, she began, mock thoughtfully, snakes, rad Abbitt's baby squirrels.
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Speaker 1: I know there was something else? What was it? Was
13:06
Speaker 1: it mice? Medicine piped up just Tilda new he would
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Speaker 1: could be Tilda said, a playful grin blossoming on her face.
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Speaker 1: It was, Madison, squealed, he eats mice. We better hope
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Speaker 1: he doesn't see you killed advised and the most serious
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Speaker 1: for she could muster or he might decide to have
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Speaker 1: an afternoon snack. Oh, no medicine, giggled in her ear.
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Speaker 1: Mouse was Tilda's nickname from Madison. Don't worry, Tilda reassured him.
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Speaker 1: This hawk looks very friendly, don't you think mass and
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Speaker 1: nodded against her shoulder. Do you think he lives here?
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Speaker 1: I bet he does. Probably has a little family of
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Speaker 1: his own, but he can fly wherever he wants. To guess,
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Speaker 1: family little baby hawks. Excitement shown in Madison's voice. Tilda,
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Speaker 1: her agreement worried growing inside her. As the wind picked up.
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Speaker 1: They needed to find some more to stay soon. Where
14:02
Speaker 1: are we used to Madison's rapid subject changes, she answered promptly, Oklahoma,
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Speaker 1: and she figured they had been for almost two weeks.
14:12
Speaker 1: Oklahoma arrivaled Kansas when it came to sheer, flat, vastness,
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Speaker 1: beyond the horizon and further than the brain could comprehend.
14:19
Speaker 1: While Tilda had no destination in mind other than not
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Speaker 1: the east coast, she generally headed west, where there weren't
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Speaker 1: as many conception facilities and forcers in government presence in general.
14:31
Speaker 1: About a year and a half back, she'd run into
14:33
Speaker 1: an obstacle in the form of roadblocks, she had altered
14:36
Speaker 1: course heading north. A vague memory of her parents praising
14:39
Speaker 1: Canada's handling of the HSV five crisis put the idea
14:43
Speaker 1: in her head that maybe she went far north, passing
14:45
Speaker 1: to what you used to be known as Canada, she
14:47
Speaker 1: would be safe. It was a long shot. She knew
14:51
Speaker 1: borders dissolving and all that arms messages broadcasted across the world,
14:56
Speaker 1: but she didn't have anything else as long as she
14:58
Speaker 1: could avoid Chicago, so she had taken a steady northwestern path.
15:03
Speaker 1: It soon began to realize how dangerous the cold would
15:06
Speaker 1: become during the winter. The further north she strayed. The
15:09
Speaker 1: colder months were difficult enough as it was. She got
15:12
Speaker 1: as far as Missouri before she changed course, heading back south.
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Speaker 1: It had been a dream anyway. There was no where
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Speaker 1: safe for her and her son anymore. Oklahoma Medicine pronounced
15:24
Speaker 1: each syllable carefully, waiting for her approval. Yep, Oklahoma, At
15:29
Speaker 1: least that's what the signs say. Are we going to
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Speaker 1: stop soon? Madisone prodded, Then his voice lowered, I'm kind
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Speaker 1: of hungry. His admission held a hint of shame. Untilda
15:39
Speaker 1: once again felt a cavernous inadequacy that she couldn't provide
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Speaker 1: for him, that he would feel his hunger was something
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Speaker 1: he should keep hidden. The relationship between them until his view,
15:50
Speaker 1: was more of an older sister and younger brother than
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Speaker 1: mother and son. She felt too young to be a
15:56
Speaker 1: mother of a seven year old child. She didn't know
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Speaker 1: what she was doing, or how to be a mother,
16:00
Speaker 1: or even what it really meant. Her own mother was
16:02
Speaker 1: a fine example when she did her best to emulate,
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Speaker 1: but she didn't have the resources or that quiet confidence
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Speaker 1: her mother had. She didn't know what to say like
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Speaker 1: her mother did. Tilda felt she was missing something crucial.
16:17
Speaker 1: Simply put, she didn't feel like a mother, more like
16:20
Speaker 1: a copy of fake masquerading, and Madison was too young
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Speaker 1: to know the difference didn't know any better. As soon
16:28
Speaker 1: as we see a place, Tilda said, the lack of
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Speaker 1: buildings or any type of civilization await in her stomach,
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Speaker 1: and then, in an attempt to ensure he didn't feel
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Speaker 1: like he had to keep his k needs a secret,
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Speaker 1: I'm hungry to mouse. There was silence for a moment,
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Speaker 1: only when in the rustle of leaves, Tilda knew it
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Speaker 1: wouldn't last long or at least she hoped it wouldn't.
16:48
Speaker 1: Madison was a chatty child, something Tilda encouraged. She didn't
16:52
Speaker 1: want his speech to be impeded due to lack of practice.
16:56
Speaker 1: Her mother had spoken about developmental learning problems in children
16:59
Speaker 1: who weren't exposed to speech and didn't get to practice
17:01
Speaker 1: it themselves, so Eager was medisine to learn. It hadn't
17:05
Speaker 1: been difficult to teach him to speak. He regularly called
17:08
Speaker 1: out the names of things he saw as they walked,
17:10
Speaker 1: enthusiastically wanting to put words to what he'd seen only
17:13
Speaker 1: in books. On the occasions when they had stopped for
17:16
Speaker 1: a few weeks in a town or Tilda made it
17:18
Speaker 1: a priority to locate textbooks for Madison. She got him
17:22
Speaker 1: to read her stories and practices. Writing helped him work
17:24
Speaker 1: through math, taught him history. He was extremely intelligent, she thought,
17:29
Speaker 1: and though she imagined most parents believed that about her children,
17:33
Speaker 1: Madison picked up information and concepts so readily that he
17:36
Speaker 1: made it look easy. Interspersed as these sessions were, Tilda
17:39
Speaker 1: implemented a system of teaching him ten new words a day,
17:42
Speaker 1: going over multiplication tables out loud, getting him to tell
17:45
Speaker 1: her a story. Anything she could do to engage him
17:48
Speaker 1: and keep him learning. Once he got a handle on
17:51
Speaker 1: words and strained together basic phrases, she came up with
17:54
Speaker 1: a game, one of many they would come up with
17:56
Speaker 1: during their long checks, where he would point out the
17:59
Speaker 1: wildlife and play it's around them, naming them are learning
18:02
Speaker 1: the name from her. It was a game he loved,
18:04
Speaker 1: excitedly calling out words for everything he saw, halting mid
18:08
Speaker 1: sentence wanting more information on whatever he had labeled game
18:11
Speaker 1: he still played. When Madison kept his silence for a
18:14
Speaker 1: long period of time, it usually indicated a problem. You
18:18
Speaker 1: can put me down now, Tilda hesitated, a tiny fall
18:22
Speaker 1: turner steps. Are you sure? Mm hmm? He nodded, all right.
18:27
Speaker 1: She knelt down and let him slide off her back,
18:30
Speaker 1: then turned to straighten his worn navy blue coat. He
18:33
Speaker 1: held out his hand as she stood. Untilda grasped it,
18:35
Speaker 1: the tiniest grimace of flashing across her features at the
18:38
Speaker 1: coolness of his skin. Together they started forward. Tilda could
18:42
Speaker 1: just make out a sign up ahead and tried not
18:44
Speaker 1: to get too hopeful. Her back throbbed a bit and
18:47
Speaker 1: her feet ate, but there was nothing for it either.
18:50
Speaker 1: They'd find a place before nightfall or not. She wanted
18:54
Speaker 1: a place that could stay for a while, find some
18:56
Speaker 1: new clothes, better food, and new books for Madison. How
18:59
Speaker 1: come the leaves change colors? Tilda watched the leaves swirl
19:03
Speaker 1: in front of them, furring her brow as she dredged
19:05
Speaker 1: the depths of her brain for the answer. You remember
19:09
Speaker 1: what we learned about plants turning sunlight into chlorophyll. At
19:13
Speaker 1: Madison's affirmative nod, Tilda continued, hoping she was recalling correctly.
19:17
Speaker 1: The days get shorter in the fall, so there's less
19:20
Speaker 1: light to make chlorophyll for the trees. Madison listened to
19:24
Speaker 1: her explanation, face open and hazel eyes wide, Tilda swallowed.
19:30
Speaker 1: Chlorophyll is what makes the leaves green. The less they get,
19:33
Speaker 1: the more the other colors and the leaves show up.
19:35
Speaker 1: So those colors were there all along to some extent.
19:42
Speaker 1: I think there's another chemical process that enhances it, makes
19:46
Speaker 1: it stronger, she added, at Madison's confused look the other colors.
19:51
Speaker 1: We'll have to look it up next time we see
19:53
Speaker 1: a school or a library. The leaves always come back.
19:56
Speaker 1: How come trees don't die in the winter, They sort
19:59
Speaker 1: up some water and food during the summer, and they
20:01
Speaker 1: don't need as much because they don't have any leaves.
20:04
Speaker 1: How commonly stay the same color on some trees you're
20:08
Speaker 1: thinking of evergreens, they have needles instead of leaves. The
20:11
Speaker 1: needles fob, but they grow right back and they stay green,
20:14
Speaker 1: Hi told, a smile down at him. That's just how
20:18
Speaker 1: they are. I think they adapted to low nutrition levels
20:21
Speaker 1: or or something like that. Madison looked away for a moment,
20:24
Speaker 1: nibbling his lip. He returned his gaze to her face, solemn.
20:29
Speaker 1: How long did that take for them to adapt? A
20:34
Speaker 1: long time? Told her? Responded how long Madison persisted jiggling
20:40
Speaker 1: her hand with his own. I don't know, millions of years.
20:43
Speaker 1: Maybe she inwardly cursed her old school. And it's woefully
20:47
Speaker 1: inadequate in retrospect coverage on plants. Oh, Madison murmured, a
20:52
Speaker 1: frown marring his face. What is it? Tilda scratched at
20:56
Speaker 1: one of the sores on her face. The wind was
20:59
Speaker 1: dragging them out out, giving her skin a stretched feeling.
21:02
Speaker 1: Madison pulled his hand away, wringing his fingers together. She
21:05
Speaker 1: reached out and grasped them, stilling his movement a sure
21:09
Speaker 1: signal of his anxiety. I was just thinking, maybe we'll
21:13
Speaker 1: adapt to low levels of new nutrition. The word was
21:17
Speaker 1: pulled out, and she nodded at his correct pronunciation, repeating
21:20
Speaker 1: it back to him to help cement the word into
21:22
Speaker 1: that ever growing dictionary inside his brain, so we wouldn't
21:25
Speaker 1: need to eat as much. She felt a pang in
21:28
Speaker 1: her heart at the question. In the innocent way he
21:30
Speaker 1: asked it, not in our lifetime. Mouse. She rifled through
21:35
Speaker 1: the carrier bag at her hip, fishing out a package
21:38
Speaker 1: of granola. Their supplies were dwindling. Ripping the package open
21:42
Speaker 1: with her teeth, she handed it to Madison, who half
21:44
Speaker 1: heartedly protested before accepting this small snack, Munching on it quietly.
21:49
Speaker 1: The sun lowered slowly as evening drew closer. They would
21:52
Speaker 1: need to find somewhere soon the night would be too
21:54
Speaker 1: cold to keep moving. When Madison finished his granola, tilted
21:58
Speaker 1: treated him the plastic wrapper for a while, a bottle
22:00
Speaker 1: that was cool things to the temperature. He slipped at
22:03
Speaker 1: it slowly before handing it back to her. He learned
22:05
Speaker 1: the importance of conservation at an early age. Why don't
22:09
Speaker 1: you tell me a story? Told a prodded, retaking his
22:12
Speaker 1: tiny hand in hers. Madison pursed his lips and thought
22:15
Speaker 1: Ralph furrowed before he bliged, spinning a tale of tree spears,
22:18
Speaker 1: the forbidden love between the sun god and the moon Goddess,
22:21
Speaker 1: and heroic cock befriending a bunny rabbit. The imaginative story
22:26
Speaker 1: drew a half from Tilda more than once and passed
22:28
Speaker 1: the time pleasantly enough, but she couldn't rid herself of
22:31
Speaker 1: the worry constant these days that they wouldn't find a
22:34
Speaker 1: place to stay the night. The chill nipped at them,
22:38
Speaker 1: leaching through thin clothes that had seen too much use.
22:42
Speaker 1: Madison's feet began to drag, and he stumbled over more
22:44
Speaker 1: and more words. Without prompt she lifted the light child
22:48
Speaker 1: into her arms, where he pulled up her jacket and
22:50
Speaker 1: stuggled inside it, his head popping out of her collar
22:52
Speaker 1: so her coat was stretched around him. I'm a joey,
22:55
Speaker 1: he used to cheerfully shout when he was younger, after
22:58
Speaker 1: Tilda taught him the word, telling him he resembled a
23:00
Speaker 1: baby kangaroo. When he snuggled inside her jacket like this,
23:04
Speaker 1: she could see a fenced in area coming up on
23:06
Speaker 1: the right as the sun sunk lower behind the horizon,
23:09
Speaker 1: cool pinks and oranges casting soft light around them. It
23:12
Speaker 1: didn't look promising, but what choice did they have. They
23:15
Speaker 1: were both exhausted and cold, and the light was fading quickly.
23:19
Speaker 1: Dusky twilight had taken over. By the time they reached
23:22
Speaker 1: the fence. It was a junkyard, dusty abandoned cars and
23:27
Speaker 1: scott metal later throughout a smooth lot of dirt. A
23:31
Speaker 1: rusted flock held the chain linked doors closed. Tilda rattle
23:35
Speaker 1: the chains, testing them the gap between the two sections
23:37
Speaker 1: of the fences wide enough for them to shimmy through.
23:40
Speaker 1: She lowered Madison to the ground, strangely cold, without the
23:43
Speaker 1: warmth of his body next to hers. Holding the doors
23:45
Speaker 1: apart as why she could, she urged Madison to pass
23:48
Speaker 1: through them. Careful, she told him as he wriggled between
23:51
Speaker 1: the two bars. The last thing they needed was for
23:53
Speaker 1: him to get an infection. Maybe not the last thing,
23:56
Speaker 1: but it would be a devastating, potentially fatal below for them.
24:00
Speaker 1: Tilta pushed her way in, after the gates clinging shut
24:03
Speaker 1: behind her. The fit had been relatively easy, lack of
24:07
Speaker 1: food had left them both skinny. Instinctively, she held her
24:10
Speaker 1: hand out and Madison immediately took it. Procursory glance around
24:14
Speaker 1: showed a small shack to their left. Pulling the boy
24:17
Speaker 1: behind her, she cautiously approached the building, the door hanging
24:20
Speaker 1: off its hinges and swinging creakily in the wind, thumping
24:23
Speaker 1: against the wood. A fluorescent light glowed dimly from inside,
24:27
Speaker 1: but that didn't necessarily mean someone was in there. There
24:31
Speaker 1: were bulbs that could emanate light for hundreds of years
24:33
Speaker 1: without power of installed properly. All they needed was sunlight,
24:38
Speaker 1: sort of like the leaves. She pressed up against the
24:40
Speaker 1: side of the building next to the door. Madison followed her, silent,
24:44
Speaker 1: almost comically stealthy, giving his hand a comforting squeeze. She
24:48
Speaker 1: pulled free from him, leaning forward, slowly, holding her breath
24:52
Speaker 1: to get a look inside. Her first glance revealed nobody
24:56
Speaker 1: around them. The cicadas crusted and fell, a harmoni cacophony.
25:01
Speaker 1: The air had stilled, only a soft breeze, occasionally picking
25:04
Speaker 1: up and just as quickly fading away. Tilda stepped inside, alert,
25:08
Speaker 1: brown eyes darting all around her, checking for any threats
25:11
Speaker 1: are signs as someone still resided here. Madison peeked around
25:14
Speaker 1: the door frame a sliver of his face, the only
25:16
Speaker 1: visible part of him. Glass crunched underneath her feet and
25:19
Speaker 1: startling her. She drew in a quick breath, freezing the
25:24
Speaker 1: window above her had shattered. Willing herself to calm down,
25:28
Speaker 1: she began to take inventory of their surroundings, gesturing for
25:31
Speaker 1: Madison to follow her inside. He came in, reluctantly, judging
25:36
Speaker 1: every step with a careful calculation. The wood creaked under
25:40
Speaker 1: his feet anyway, and he directed guilty eyes to Tilda,
25:43
Speaker 1: who gave him a wan smile and held out her hand.
25:47
Speaker 1: He rushed forward and grasped it in both of his
25:49
Speaker 1: plashing himself to her side. A wooden table with only
25:53
Speaker 1: three legs stood in the corner, propped up against the wall.
25:56
Speaker 1: Opposite it was a metal bed frame sans mattress, stood
26:00
Speaker 1: springs poking out no longer attached. Closest to her was
26:04
Speaker 1: a shelf of mildewed books, a stack of moldy cards,
26:07
Speaker 1: and odd office supplies pencils, paper clips, staples, pins. Across
26:12
Speaker 1: from that was a mini fridge, and on the right
26:14
Speaker 1: wall it was a small bathroom. Tilda strode over to
26:17
Speaker 1: the fridge, doubting there'd be anything useful inside, but not
26:20
Speaker 1: check would be foolish. The door resisted, a bit red rust,
26:23
Speaker 1: melting it shut for years, but Tilda jerked it open.
26:27
Speaker 1: There was nothing inside but a busted can of soda.
26:31
Speaker 1: Sighing heavily, Tilda shut the door as best she could,
26:33
Speaker 1: and then went to investigate the bathroom, not expecting anything
26:36
Speaker 1: useful from it either. She approached the sink, twisting the
26:40
Speaker 1: cold knob. Dirty waters fluttered out, hissing, and then became
26:43
Speaker 1: a steady drip. Tilda huffed again, shutting the water off.
26:47
Speaker 1: Out of habit, come on, she led madisone out into
26:50
Speaker 1: the junkyard, Apprehension growing at the darkness set in. The
26:54
Speaker 1: cars looked like dormant monsters, creatures that could jump to
26:57
Speaker 1: life and attack at any moment. Amaze of monsters, she thought,
27:01
Speaker 1: as she started to weave her way through the rusty
27:03
Speaker 1: metal husk. Best to seek some cover within the junkyard,
27:06
Speaker 1: she decided, just in case. When she found one that
27:09
Speaker 1: appeared to be in good condition, at least as far
27:12
Speaker 1: as she could tell in the darkness, she tugged the
27:14
Speaker 1: back door open with a metallic croak, motioning Madison inside.
27:18
Speaker 1: His face was somber, resigned, She climbed in after him,
27:22
Speaker 1: shutting the door. The leather seats were cold, but they
27:25
Speaker 1: weren't lumpy like most cars they camped in were. The
27:27
Speaker 1: windows were still intact, rest had yet to eat through
27:30
Speaker 1: the roof or walls. The exterior was black, and it
27:33
Speaker 1: was surrounded by lines of other cars, so it blended in.
27:37
Speaker 1: At least that was the idea. You want something else
27:40
Speaker 1: to eat? Madison hesitated, but Shooka said no, even though
27:44
Speaker 1: they both knew the answer was yes, we'll find something tomorrow, right.
27:49
Speaker 1: She hated herself in that moment. Useless, useless, useless. The
27:54
Speaker 1: word ran in circles around her head, unrelenting and unforgiving
27:58
Speaker 1: mass and nodded against her should, her eyes drooping. Trusting her,
28:02
Speaker 1: believing she knew what she was doing, she rubbed his
28:05
Speaker 1: arms to warm them, pulling her head up to cover
28:07
Speaker 1: his ears and provide some extra warmth, doing the same
28:09
Speaker 1: with her own. They had sped their warm clothes after
28:13
Speaker 1: last winter as the temperatures rose, and in Madison's case,
28:16
Speaker 1: he had outgrown them. She had expected to pick some
28:18
Speaker 1: more up, but towns have been scarce these past few months.
28:21
Speaker 1: They had left one last month where they had stayed
28:24
Speaker 1: for three weeks to celebrate Madison's seventh birthday. Abruptly, when
28:27
Speaker 1: the sound system had blared to life with an announcement
28:30
Speaker 1: from arms leader, the voice of Aaron Delane, although it
28:34
Speaker 1: was widely accepted his wife Dorla used him as a
28:37
Speaker 1: voice box, had put Tilda so on edge she demanded
28:40
Speaker 1: to get out of Enid immediately, her urgency frightening Madisine.
28:44
Speaker 1: He'd grown to fear the broadcast, and she couldn't be
28:47
Speaker 1: sure if this was due to the content or as
28:49
Speaker 1: a consequence of her own reactions. Either way, better to
28:53
Speaker 1: be afraid. Those announcements never voted well. But they've left
28:57
Speaker 1: in such a hurry they'd forgotten their backpacks. There had
29:00
Speaker 1: been much in them anyway, but more than what they
29:02
Speaker 1: had Now. We'll get some warmer clothes too, She said,
29:07
Speaker 1: What a fraud she was. He yawned his ascent. She
29:11
Speaker 1: wrapped her arms around him, laying them down on the
29:14
Speaker 1: cold black leather seats. He curled up in the fetal
29:17
Speaker 1: position against her, shivering a bit. Tilda rested her head
29:20
Speaker 1: atop his massy brown hair. She thought he'd fall asleep immediately,
29:25
Speaker 1: but a sleepy voice murmured can you tell me a story.
29:29
Speaker 1: Her own eyes heavy, she breathed, what would she like
29:31
Speaker 1: to hear? Robin hood? Tilda smiled tiredly, unsurprised it was
29:37
Speaker 1: one of his favorites, although she doubted he'd last long.
29:41
Speaker 1: Sure enough, his breathing evened out around the time of
29:43
Speaker 1: the archery tournament she followed not long after. And that
30:08
Speaker 1: brings us to the ends of this chapter, one of
30:12
Speaker 1: our multi chaptered event. I hope you stuck with it.
30:16
Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed it. I was. I was reading
30:19
Speaker 1: over this and when I read it, it did bring
30:22
Speaker 1: back a lot of memories and that I have. I've
30:23
Speaker 1: always wondered why this story came to mind for me. Um.
30:26
Speaker 1: This chapter was big about like feeling like a failure
30:29
Speaker 1: as a mother, which again I wrote this in I
30:33
Speaker 1: didn't have kids. I don't have kids, so I think
30:35
Speaker 1: that's interesting. But I was thinking about this because I've
30:37
Speaker 1: always sort of wondered why I chose a baby boy
30:40
Speaker 1: instead of a baby girl in the story. And as
30:44
Speaker 1: I've been like reading it and thinking about it and
30:46
Speaker 1: like doing this podcast and digging into trauma Moore Um,
30:51
Speaker 1: and especially this chapter where there's a lot of elements
30:53
Speaker 1: of her of the main character Tilda, feeling like older
30:57
Speaker 1: sisters compared to his mother. I think it's because I
31:00
Speaker 1: was so protective of my little brother and I had
31:02
Speaker 1: to take care of him for for quite a while,
31:05
Speaker 1: so it makes sense. But that has been something that's
31:09
Speaker 1: always been on my mind and even thought like once
31:11
Speaker 1: I started the show, it was like I should go
31:12
Speaker 1: back and make it like a mother daughter team. Um
31:16
Speaker 1: I just never did. But uh, that's something I've always
31:20
Speaker 1: thought about. But yeah, yeah, I'm excited and nervous for
31:25
Speaker 1: you all to go through this um with with us
31:30
Speaker 1: because it's gonna get more intense. But I hope you
31:34
Speaker 1: enjoy it. If you enjoy it um and we'll be
31:38
Speaker 1: back next month with chapter two. Thank you, Thank you,
31:45
Speaker 1: thanks for the support, and if you would like to
31:49
Speaker 1: contact us. If there's any fiction that's in the public
31:52
Speaker 1: domain you would like us to read, that would be great.
31:55
Speaker 1: You can email us the stuff that your mom Stuff
31:57
Speaker 1: at I hurt me a dot com. You can find
31:58
Speaker 1: us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast or Intagram and
32:00
Speaker 1: stuff I Never told you. Thanks. It's always super special.
32:03
Speaker 1: Thanks to the amazing Christina Thank you, who is our
32:07
Speaker 1: super producer in case you didn't know, and thanks to
32:09
Speaker 1: you for listening stuff Wander told you the protection of
32:11
Speaker 1: iHeart Radio. For more podcast on my Heart Radio because
32:13
Speaker 1: if your high radio app, Apple podcast or ever, you
32:15
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows