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SMNTY Fiction: Terminus, Part 2 (Chapter 4.2) · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Smitha. I'm welcome to Stefan
0:07
Speaker 1: I ever told you a production of iHeartRadio, and welcome
0:19
Speaker 1: to another edition of Sminty Fiction. This is a once
0:22
Speaker 1: a month thing that we do. It is ongoing, as
0:26
Speaker 1: in the storyline is continuous. So if you haven't listened
0:29
Speaker 1: to the first for the first edition of Terminus, because
0:32
Speaker 1: we're in the sequel now, maybe do that first. But
0:35
Speaker 1: if you you know, again, I know people who just
0:38
Speaker 1: watch one random episode of a TV show, so I'm
0:41
Speaker 1: not going to tell you what to do. It does
0:44
Speaker 1: have sound effects. I have friends if that is really
0:46
Speaker 1: an optive thing, so I understand if that's not your thing.
0:49
Speaker 1: But that being said, Christina does an amazing job, so
0:53
Speaker 1: all of the shout outs to her. So if you
0:58
Speaker 1: listen to the previous episode that was spenty fiction, it
1:02
Speaker 1: got split in half kind of sudden. Suddenly sounds wrong.
1:08
Speaker 1: It got split in half after we recorded it, which
1:12
Speaker 1: happens sometimes because these are again more work for Christina.
1:16
Speaker 1: It was a longer chapter and as I've mentioned before,
1:20
Speaker 1: in these, I am very bad. My chapter lengths are
1:24
Speaker 1: all over the place. They are all over the place.
1:26
Speaker 1: One will be like twenty five pages, and we'll be
1:29
Speaker 1: like seven pages. So it got split in half. This
1:34
Speaker 1: one is very much a part two of the last chapter.
1:36
Speaker 1: It is picking up right right from there, which I
1:39
Speaker 1: guess is kind of a silly thing to say because obviously,
1:42
Speaker 1: but they were meant to be. One is the ultimate point.
1:47
Speaker 1: I did listeners. I renewed my contract recently, and you
1:52
Speaker 1: would not believe how much I had to have phone
1:56
Speaker 1: conversations about this with people because I don't want a
2:01
Speaker 1: company to own it, even though I don't particularly think
2:05
Speaker 1: they're gonna go anywhere, I just don't want them to
2:08
Speaker 1: own it. Important. Yeah, but I was having phone conversations
2:13
Speaker 1: about this thing I wrote for National Novel Writing Month, like,
2:18
Speaker 1: you can't have it. Hello, there's so many books that
2:21
Speaker 1: have been published because of that specific program. It is.
2:25
Speaker 1: You are completely right, But it is funny. I remember,
2:30
Speaker 1: I think it was a tweet and this was a
2:32
Speaker 1: long time ago, but I remember a tweet where a
2:34
Speaker 1: publisher was like, I can always tell after National Novel
2:38
Speaker 1: Writing Month how many manuscripts get submitted to me. I
2:43
Speaker 1: mean it makes sense. That's kind of the point. Yeah,
2:46
Speaker 1: it's kind of the point. I remember their tone feeling
2:49
Speaker 1: to me very condescending, and it actually prevented me from
2:53
Speaker 1: submitting mine. Rude. Later I submitted it, and I did
2:57
Speaker 1: get with the first one. I got a little down
3:01
Speaker 1: the process and then I never heard from them again.
3:03
Speaker 1: But I got it passed up to like three rings
3:06
Speaker 1: of people. Ooh, three rings, three rungs alas alas so.
3:12
Speaker 1: As I mentioned in the previous episode, this is clearly
3:17
Speaker 1: when I was in my running phase. There's a lot
3:19
Speaker 1: about running in this chapter. I will let you interpret
3:24
Speaker 1: for yourself about the trauma aspects of its content. Warning, disease, illness,
3:32
Speaker 1: end of the world stuff, child endangerment, trauma, death, dead bodies,
3:38
Speaker 1: descriptions of dead bodies. Nothing is too in depth, but
3:42
Speaker 1: it is. There also a note, as I joked in
3:47
Speaker 1: the previous one, I know nothing about horses, so just
3:52
Speaker 1: give me a pass, please, all right in I also
3:58
Speaker 1: don't know about out our phone landlines would work after
4:04
Speaker 1: the apocalypse. I would put that out there too quick recap.
4:09
Speaker 1: So this is the second part of a trilogy that
4:12
Speaker 1: I wrote once a year for Ana Raimo National Novel
4:17
Speaker 1: Writing Month. It's actually called Big Things Start Small, but
4:20
Speaker 1: I figured for simplicity we would stick terminus too, and
4:24
Speaker 1: it is about disease. Family. Our main character, Tilda, is
4:31
Speaker 1: on the run with her son Madison, because she had
4:35
Speaker 1: him illegally and she didn't want him to be taken
4:38
Speaker 1: away from her. She is discovered that the religious ruling
4:49
Speaker 1: sector that works alongside the government, the state that the
4:55
Speaker 1: US has become, they made a vaccine and then they
4:58
Speaker 1: destroyed it because they believe people should be punished and
5:02
Speaker 1: it's sort of God's will. But they saved one vaccine
5:07
Speaker 1: for her son, Madison, who got it because it turns
5:10
Speaker 1: out he is their grandson. But okay, they are on
5:16
Speaker 1: the run from the state. Tilda has made this broadcast
5:20
Speaker 1: announcing to the world, to the country through this broadcast
5:26
Speaker 1: system that they have set up what the state in
5:30
Speaker 1: this religious organization did and then she ran for So
5:33
Speaker 1: now they're on the run. It's winter, things are bad,
5:37
Speaker 1: and there's a man with a horse and they don't
5:39
Speaker 1: know what he's about, Samantha, though you've talked about man
5:44
Speaker 1: of the horse for a while. Now he's a menacing figure,
5:50
Speaker 1: or is he? But yes, they're on the run from him.
5:53
Speaker 1: He seems to be tracking them, and they've they had
5:58
Speaker 1: a brief respite in a cabin. They found a generator.
6:01
Speaker 1: It was great, but now they've had to go back
6:03
Speaker 1: out into the cold, snowy wilderness and try to get
6:08
Speaker 1: away from him. So that's where we are. Let's get
6:11
Speaker 1: into it. As they traveled further south, the snow melted away,
6:27
Speaker 1: revealing pine green grass under a bed of wet leaves.
6:31
Speaker 1: Madison was able to spot a trail uncovered by the snow,
6:34
Speaker 1: overgrown but clearly a path. Tilda guided Scout onto it,
6:39
Speaker 1: which snaked along southwardly winding but in a general direction
6:42
Speaker 1: that they needed to be going. The air warmed as well,
6:46
Speaker 1: still cold, but Tilda gaged it to be just above freezing.
6:50
Speaker 1: The sun set in the sky like a pale, doleful
6:53
Speaker 1: eye holding vigil over their journey. Madison hummed every now
6:57
Speaker 1: and then, pointing out wildlife or interesting rock formations or landmarks.
7:03
Speaker 1: They passed a thin tree, sharp and jagged, but somehow
7:06
Speaker 1: adorned with orange, red, and pink blooms. It felt out
7:10
Speaker 1: of place, dream like, surreal and the otherwise colorless landscape.
7:16
Speaker 1: They stopped before it for a second, the sun shining
7:19
Speaker 1: directly over her head bleachedlike passing through a strange moment
7:23
Speaker 1: in space, and time they continued on, Madison knotted off
7:29
Speaker 1: against her shoulders, snoring softly. Tilda grew tired herself, her
7:33
Speaker 1: eyes heavy as the steady up and down rhythm of
7:36
Speaker 1: scout steps were hypnotizing, but she forced herself awake, concentrating
7:40
Speaker 1: solely on the path. To her left, she could see
7:43
Speaker 1: a range of blue mountains, their crowns wreathed in clouds
7:46
Speaker 1: and capped with snow. To the left, a cavalcade of
7:49
Speaker 1: dead trees, a forest deep without end. As the sun
7:54
Speaker 1: moved further down in the sky, Tilda started looking for
7:56
Speaker 1: places to set up camp. She wondered what she'd do
7:59
Speaker 1: with Skut. Was it human to tie her up for
8:03
Speaker 1: the night. Did she have to worry about the horse
8:05
Speaker 1: running away? The path snaked off in several directions, wooden
8:09
Speaker 1: arrow signs bearing trail names like Razorback and Blood Mountain
8:13
Speaker 1: bypass pointing in all different directions they must be near
8:17
Speaker 1: the southern end of the forest. Madison, awake, once again,
8:21
Speaker 1: read these with interest, pontificating allowed what each name might
8:25
Speaker 1: allude to. Tilda kept south, following a sign that said
8:28
Speaker 1: campgrounds and trailhead entrance six miles. Tilda didn't allow herself
8:34
Speaker 1: to get too excited at the thought of camp sites.
8:37
Speaker 1: It probably just meant swaths of flat dirt with fire
8:39
Speaker 1: pits where people could set up tents, but it did
8:42
Speaker 1: mean that they must be near the National park's end.
8:46
Speaker 1: Then they'd face the same problem that had led them
8:48
Speaker 1: to the solitude of the forest. People people heading Ford
8:53
Speaker 1: d Sea and looking for them. As the sun neared
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Speaker 1: the horizon, they passed rows of rotting canoes, a row
9:00
Speaker 1: of outhouses and bathhouses, all falling apart, then a series
9:05
Speaker 1: of squares separated from each other by lines of small rocks.
9:09
Speaker 1: The trail beneath the scout's hose became gravel, crunching with
9:12
Speaker 1: the horses steps Main Office, A wooden sign read the
9:17
Speaker 1: words carved in whimsical faunt. Tilda followed in the direction indicated.
9:22
Speaker 1: As the light faded, twilight settling in around them. The
9:25
Speaker 1: trees curved around the narrow road. A lake shimmered through
9:28
Speaker 1: the barren trees to their right, dancing the light of
9:31
Speaker 1: the rising moon. A wooden shack came into view, small
9:35
Speaker 1: but in good shape. A sign reading Main Office in
9:37
Speaker 1: the same curly lettering planted out front. Tilda could make
9:41
Speaker 1: out a fenced area in the back, perfect for keeping
9:44
Speaker 1: Scout overnight to given there warn't any weaknesses and the fence,
9:47
Speaker 1: although granted she could probably just jump over it if
9:50
Speaker 1: she really wanted, the temperature had dropped again. Madison shivered
9:55
Speaker 1: against her Clumsily, Tilda slid down from Scout's back, almost
9:58
Speaker 1: losing her footing when her boots made contact with the
10:00
Speaker 1: hard frosted dirt. Once she'd steadied herself, she reached up
10:04
Speaker 1: for Madison and helped him climb down, setting him on
10:07
Speaker 1: the ground and reaching out for Scout's reins. Her legs
10:10
Speaker 1: tingling with numbness, she weaved her way over to the fence,
10:14
Speaker 1: happy to see the gate was located right next to
10:16
Speaker 1: the door of the office, which made sense, but Tilda
10:19
Speaker 1: had learned on her travels that a lot of things
10:21
Speaker 1: didn't make sense in the way they were set up counterintuitive.
10:25
Speaker 1: She fumbled with the latch and then had to use
10:27
Speaker 1: her hip to shove the gate open, a pile of
10:30
Speaker 1: dead black leaves piled up on the other side. She
10:33
Speaker 1: guided a tired Scout in and pulled the gate ship
10:36
Speaker 1: behind her, Searching in the blue light that comes before
10:38
Speaker 1: dark for any gaps in the fence. Her precursory glance
10:42
Speaker 1: found none, but she would give it a more thorough
10:44
Speaker 1: once over when she returned some water of her scout.
10:47
Speaker 1: After she and Madison had set up inside the office,
10:51
Speaker 1: Scout meandered through the fenced area, giving a backwards toss
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Speaker 1: of the head that Tilda took to mean you're welcome.
10:58
Speaker 1: Tilda slid the lock back in place and took Madison
11:01
Speaker 1: by the hand, leaking him along a pathway bordered with
11:04
Speaker 1: curling green ferns on either side to the office's entrance.
11:09
Speaker 1: The blinds were pulled over the windows, blocking their view.
11:13
Speaker 1: When she tested the door, it swung open easily. She
11:16
Speaker 1: supposed there had been no reason to lock it up. Really,
11:19
Speaker 1: people just stopped showing up to work, to parks, to camps.
11:25
Speaker 1: She stepped inside, alert Madison hidden behind her. It was dark.
11:30
Speaker 1: It took several seconds of rapid blinking for Tilda's eyes
11:33
Speaker 1: to adjust. The first thing she noticed was the smell.
11:39
Speaker 1: It was stale and sweet, like something rotting. While not overpowering.
11:44
Speaker 1: It lingered in the nose, in the back of the throat,
11:48
Speaker 1: just enough to be unpleasant to make your stomach uneasy.
11:52
Speaker 1: Tilda hoped they would not discover a corpse here. It
11:56
Speaker 1: had been a long time since she and Madison had
11:58
Speaker 1: stumbled upon a dead body their journey. Occasionally they'd passed
12:02
Speaker 1: one outdoors, almost universally, faced down in the leaves, somehow
12:06
Speaker 1: absent the flies or any other outward draw or sign that, yes,
12:10
Speaker 1: someone died here, someone had their last moments here, and
12:15
Speaker 1: their shells here. The first time they'd seen one, Madison
12:19
Speaker 1: had been too young to understand and had assumed the
12:22
Speaker 1: woman was sleeping. Tilda let him think that, But when
12:27
Speaker 1: Madison was five, they stayed in a small house with
12:30
Speaker 1: a shag carpet and obnoxious green and yellow curtains. As
12:34
Speaker 1: they explored the house, they found a man, wrinkled and
12:37
Speaker 1: pale with gray hair, sitting in a red armchair, eyes
12:40
Speaker 1: open but unseen. Dead so he'd sat down and never
12:46
Speaker 1: gotten up again. Failing to see the point, Madison had
12:51
Speaker 1: scurried behind Tilda, frightened by his garish appearance and the
12:54
Speaker 1: utter finality of his silence and blank stare, and asked
12:58
Speaker 1: why the man wasn't moving, Why wasn't he looking at them.
13:04
Speaker 1: Tilda had backed them out of the room, afraid of
13:06
Speaker 1: the eyes filmed over of the empty husk, sitting in
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Speaker 1: a chair, just as he may have done every night.
13:12
Speaker 1: How long had he been there? What exactly had been
13:17
Speaker 1: the cause of death? Tilda had to explain then about death?
13:23
Speaker 1: Maison watched her stumble through an explanation with wide eyes.
13:27
Speaker 1: She couldn't remember if her parents had this conversation with her.
13:31
Speaker 1: Perhaps she just intuited or picked it up from books.
13:35
Speaker 1: The child didn't seem afraid, but more confused. Madison's lack
13:40
Speaker 1: of understanding made it more difficult. Where did the man go?
13:45
Speaker 1: Why did he have to leave? What happens? After he asked?
13:51
Speaker 1: She had tried to explain that she didn't have the answers.
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Speaker 1: That no one did. Some things, Tilda thought. We never grow,
14:01
Speaker 1: We never completely escape our fear of the unknown, the
14:05
Speaker 1: desire to go home, wherever that may be. Tilda could
14:09
Speaker 1: grow to be an old woman and would crave the
14:12
Speaker 1: safety and advice of her parents. Leaving the door open
14:17
Speaker 1: both for light and in hopes of airing. At the office,
14:20
Speaker 1: Tilda crept further inside, her newly adjusted eyes, tracing over
14:24
Speaker 1: the room's contents. A hogging desk, three of them, small
14:27
Speaker 1: and simple, adorned with the usual desk things, black phones
14:32
Speaker 1: that looked old even to Tilda. Papers, pens, pencils, highlighters,
14:36
Speaker 1: safety pins, scissors, the poster of a cartoon owl and
14:40
Speaker 1: a green hat with a speech bubble that read give
14:43
Speaker 1: a hoot, don't pollute in big, blocky yellow letters. One
14:47
Speaker 1: wall was covered with the map of Virginia and had
14:49
Speaker 1: an inside of the park and with another poster of
14:53
Speaker 1: a bear with the ranger hat, one pole pointing sternly
14:56
Speaker 1: at the viewer reading only you can prevent forest fires.
15:00
Speaker 1: Above the desk, immediately to the left upon entering was
15:03
Speaker 1: a giant whiteboard calendar. The month at the top red
15:07
Speaker 1: August and pretty green cursive. There was no year. Different
15:12
Speaker 1: color markers hung by magnets and chains from the bottom,
15:15
Speaker 1: each color designated for a different type of activity. It
15:19
Speaker 1: had things like Appalachian trail hikers, supply drop bonfire plus
15:23
Speaker 1: ghost stories, white water rafting, camp, start archery practice, horseback riding.
15:31
Speaker 1: The name played on the desk red Maggie Stevens. The
15:35
Speaker 1: floor was a fake wood. Tilda could tell it was
15:38
Speaker 1: faked just by the sound it made with each step
15:41
Speaker 1: and how it felt underfoot. There was a small cot
15:43
Speaker 1: in the back low with sheets that even looked uncomfortable.
15:47
Speaker 1: A flag tail to recognized to be that of the
15:49
Speaker 1: old United States, was mounted on a gold pole in
15:51
Speaker 1: the corner, with another flag dangling just below. Tilda assumed
15:55
Speaker 1: it was Virginia's, or whatever state they might be. In
16:00
Speaker 1: the cot was a wide window that looked out on
16:02
Speaker 1: the fenced area. Behind the office, Tilda could see Scout
16:05
Speaker 1: at the far corner. Grazing to their right was a
16:09
Speaker 1: short hallway with two closed doors. Opening the door closest
16:12
Speaker 1: to the entrance, Tilda found an office supply closet, papers
16:15
Speaker 1: and pens, and envelopes and staplers. The opposite door led
16:19
Speaker 1: to an efficient bathroom. Tilda tested the faucet, flipping the handle,
16:23
Speaker 1: but no water came out. Tilda closed the door behind them,
16:27
Speaker 1: feeling on edge, The smell dissipated somewhat, and Tilda shut
16:31
Speaker 1: the entrance door, locking it. Masson clung to her, scared.
16:37
Speaker 1: He could feel it too. Something heavy hung in the air. Here,
16:42
Speaker 1: this tiny, creoing office felt menacing, haunted. She forgot her
16:48
Speaker 1: resolve to make sure Scout had water and to check
16:50
Speaker 1: the fence for weaknesses. The horse didn't appear to be
16:53
Speaker 1: going anywhere. Tild would take her chances. They didn't have
16:57
Speaker 1: the water despair anyway, Hopefully they'd find another street in
17:00
Speaker 1: the morning. Her Scout was still there. Madison sat uncertainly
17:04
Speaker 1: on the edge of the bed, and Tilda sat next
17:07
Speaker 1: to him, nervous. With her back to the window, she
17:10
Speaker 1: half turned to gaze out of it, and pricks of
17:12
Speaker 1: twinkling light in the blue velvet sky like flecks of diamonds.
17:16
Speaker 1: Scout lowered herself, folding up her legs as she settled
17:19
Speaker 1: down for the night, her dark head turning their way
17:22
Speaker 1: as though she knew they were inside, looking out at her.
17:26
Speaker 1: Tilda removed herself from her backpack, un zipping the front
17:29
Speaker 1: and pulling out a pack of trail mixed for Madison
17:31
Speaker 1: and a granola bar for herself, and too many bottles
17:34
Speaker 1: of water. They ate and drank in silence, looking around
17:38
Speaker 1: as those expecting someone or something to reveal its presence
17:41
Speaker 1: at any moment and leap out at them. The room
17:44
Speaker 1: felt volatile, like it could come alive. Madison finished first,
17:49
Speaker 1: curling into Tilda's side, bright eyes darting around furtively. He
17:53
Speaker 1: buried his head into her jacket, tilt a chewed on
17:56
Speaker 1: her granola, Her throat dry. In spite of the water,
17:59
Speaker 1: she felt very alone at the same time, very much
18:03
Speaker 1: like she was being watched. Tell me a story, Madison
18:08
Speaker 1: bumbled into her side. I always tell you the stories.
18:11
Speaker 1: It's your turn to tell one. That's because you're so
18:14
Speaker 1: good at telling them. Mouse. She ruffled his hair, rifling
18:18
Speaker 1: through the stories her parents used to tell her as
18:19
Speaker 1: a kid in her head, one that she'd never told
18:24
Speaker 1: Madison before. Please tell one. This place feels Tilda's side,
18:31
Speaker 1: stroking his hair. Okay, lay down. She laid back herself,
18:36
Speaker 1: and Madison did the same, resting his head on her stomach.
18:39
Speaker 1: Neither took off their clothes, both silently acknowledging that they
18:42
Speaker 1: may have to flee on short notice. Rooting around, Tilda
18:47
Speaker 1: began telling the story of a boy he grew up
18:49
Speaker 1: feeling lonely, dreaming of flying. Her mother read the story
18:53
Speaker 1: while Tilda was trying to fall asleep as a child,
18:55
Speaker 1: cozy in bed with a golden light. Massen dropped off
19:00
Speaker 1: into slumber, but it took a good portion of the
19:02
Speaker 1: first part of the story before he did. Tilda lay
19:05
Speaker 1: awake a good while longer, and when she finally did
19:08
Speaker 1: doze off, she slept fitfully and starts and stops. She
19:12
Speaker 1: kept imagining shapes and shadows and unformed fear that felt
19:16
Speaker 1: like a presence hovering over them, just behind the corner
19:20
Speaker 1: behind the desk. She dreamt, and they were dark dreams,
19:24
Speaker 1: and she couldn't recall the contents, but only the fear
19:27
Speaker 1: she'd felt trapped within. She woke confused sometime before dawn.
19:34
Speaker 1: Tilda furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of what
19:37
Speaker 1: had woken her. It was a sound, a shrill ringing.
19:42
Speaker 1: At first, she thought she must still be dreaming. There
19:46
Speaker 1: was no way the phone was ringing. Madison sat up hesitantly, fearful,
19:54
Speaker 1: eyes latched the foam like it was a creature about
19:56
Speaker 1: to attack. Tilda inched to the edge of the bed,
19:59
Speaker 1: never took her eyes off the black receiver on the
20:01
Speaker 1: desk near the door. As it rang. She waited for
20:04
Speaker 1: it to stop, but it kept ringing. She glanced out
20:08
Speaker 1: the window. Scout was awake, tail swishing back and forth
20:12
Speaker 1: as she grazed lazily. Cautiously. Tilda stood, approaching the phone
20:17
Speaker 1: with bated breath. She answered it, who would be on
20:21
Speaker 1: the other side? She reached out her hand. Madison hissed,
20:27
Speaker 1: stumped behind her, her hand hesitated over the receiver, her
20:32
Speaker 1: breath smoking in front of her. The ringing stopped. Tilda froze,
20:39
Speaker 1: looked around, half expecting someone to be standing behind her.
20:43
Speaker 1: Everything felt too still. Time felt too still. The phone
20:50
Speaker 1: started ringing again, loud, brazen, insistent. She jumped coming unstuck, unsettled,
20:57
Speaker 1: she strode over to her pack and swung it onto
20:59
Speaker 1: her shoulders, pulling Madison to his feet. Someone knew they
21:04
Speaker 1: were here, someone was trying to contact them. Come on,
21:09
Speaker 1: she whispered, Let's go. She peeked out the doorway into
21:13
Speaker 1: the tree line, but she saw nothing. Tilda turned the
21:16
Speaker 1: corner and opened the gate to the fence. She gestured
21:19
Speaker 1: a scout, but the horse did not seem inclined to obey. Huffing,
21:22
Speaker 1: she made her way for the horse. Madison, trailing behind.
21:26
Speaker 1: Scout snorted as the two approached. Up you go, Tilda muttered,
21:31
Speaker 1: lifting Madison, who climbed into the saddle. Tilda leveraged her
21:34
Speaker 1: boot in the stirb and hoisted herself up behind him.
21:37
Speaker 1: Taking hold of the reins, she gave them a flick
21:39
Speaker 1: and kicked a bit with her boots. Sorry, Scout. The
21:43
Speaker 1: horse grunted but obeyed, breaking into a fast trot. Tilda
21:47
Speaker 1: guided her out of the fence, guiltily, thinking she'd never
21:50
Speaker 1: gotten her water. The phone was still ringing inside the office.
21:54
Speaker 1: It chased them out of the paddock and onto the
21:57
Speaker 1: dirt road leading out of the campsite. The sun peeked
22:00
Speaker 1: out over the horizon to their left, violent pink and purple,
22:03
Speaker 1: emitting from an orange nucleus. Neither Tilda or Madison spoke,
22:08
Speaker 1: the tension palpable in their bodies. The chilly air rose
22:13
Speaker 1: like smoke, a thick fog that swirled around scouts hoofs,
22:16
Speaker 1: but then enveloped them in a damp embrace, making the
22:18
Speaker 1: road it had difficult to see and putting Tilda even
22:21
Speaker 1: more on edge. She pricked her ears, depending now more
22:25
Speaker 1: on sound, but knew that if someone had known they
22:28
Speaker 1: had been in that office and was trying to contact them,
22:31
Speaker 1: then they'd be able to guess which way they were
22:32
Speaker 1: going and could mount an ambush. Tilda turned her head
22:36
Speaker 1: left and right, alert, hunted. With all the fogs, she
22:40
Speaker 1: could not push Scout to go too quickly. The road
22:42
Speaker 1: sloped downward, razor back curves, a combination of loose dust
22:46
Speaker 1: gravel and packed and frozen layers of dirt. Scouts hoofs
22:49
Speaker 1: slid every now and then under the loose top soil,
22:52
Speaker 1: especially on sharp turns and downgrades, making Tilda's heart jolt
22:56
Speaker 1: into her throat every time and Scout huff and what
22:59
Speaker 1: sounded like frustration. It could also be in part due
23:01
Speaker 1: to Madison, who was gripping her mane more tightly than
23:04
Speaker 1: strictly necessary and pushing back into Tilda, doing his best
23:07
Speaker 1: to escape the sense of sliding that the downward gravity
23:09
Speaker 1: gave him, and exorably pulling him forward. So dense was
23:14
Speaker 1: the fog and canopy of dead tree branches overhead, the
23:16
Speaker 1: light from the sun reached them only after much diffusion.
23:20
Speaker 1: Several times Tilda hopped off Scouts back and led her
23:23
Speaker 1: forward on foot on aple to make out the road,
23:25
Speaker 1: staring at each step of her boot, sometimes encountering large
23:29
Speaker 1: shagged rocks that had been exposed only by weathering. At
23:33
Speaker 1: one point they came across an obstacle in the form
23:36
Speaker 1: of a down tree across the road. Tilda and Madison
23:39
Speaker 1: would have climbed it, but it was quite large and
23:41
Speaker 1: the branches jutting out, sharp and unforgiving. To their right
23:44
Speaker 1: was a steep drop off. Peering down, Tilda could not
23:47
Speaker 1: even see the bottom with the amount of smoky air,
23:50
Speaker 1: so they circled around the tree on the left, behind
23:52
Speaker 1: massive narl roots pulled from the ground, strands of smaller
23:55
Speaker 1: roots dangling from them. The powerful smell of earth overtook
23:59
Speaker 1: them as they made their way around, avoiding the gaping
24:01
Speaker 1: maw on the ground left by the tree and stepping
24:04
Speaker 1: over sizeable branches sprouting armies of twig like sticks. They
24:09
Speaker 1: needed to stop, as anxious as it made, Tilda, a
24:13
Speaker 1: thick ropey saliva had started collecting around Scout's mouth dehydration.
24:19
Speaker 1: Keeping an eye out for one of the many potholes,
24:21
Speaker 1: Tilda found one on the side of the road that
24:23
Speaker 1: looked shallow enough to serve their purpose. She helped Madison
24:26
Speaker 1: slide down and shrugged out of her pack. Pulling out
24:28
Speaker 1: two bottles with a heavy heart, she poured them into
24:31
Speaker 1: the shallow hole. Scout immediately began lapping up the liquid.
24:36
Speaker 1: Tilda supposed they could just leave the horse, but they
24:38
Speaker 1: were making such better time, and if they needed to
24:40
Speaker 1: make a quick getaway, they'd want to be riding scout.
24:44
Speaker 1: She replaced the empty bottles and pulled out two more
24:47
Speaker 1: squat ones, one for her and one for Madison, along
24:50
Speaker 1: with two meal replacement bars, which she doubted sincerely were
24:53
Speaker 1: ever truly meant to replace meals, unless you were going
24:56
Speaker 1: for that ridiculous beach body that they read about, because
25:00
Speaker 1: they always left her hungry. One peanut butter, which she
25:03
Speaker 1: gave to Madison, and one apple cinnamon for herself. Both
25:06
Speaker 1: of them looked around as they ate, expecting to see
25:08
Speaker 1: a face in the fog. Hear a voice in the distance.
25:12
Speaker 1: Why is it so foggy, Madison asked between bites. His
25:16
Speaker 1: voice quavered. I don't know, Tilda said, then, hoping to
25:20
Speaker 1: provide him some sort of comfort, added, probably just a
25:23
Speaker 1: change in temperature. Madison nodded, humoring her. Tilda suspected she
25:29
Speaker 1: doubted she'd actually calmed any of his fears with talk
25:31
Speaker 1: of weather. She swiped her palms together to free her
25:34
Speaker 1: gloves of crumbs, taking Madison's empty bottle along with hers
25:37
Speaker 1: and putting them in her backpack, trying to ignore the
25:40
Speaker 1: pang of panic at how light it felt as she
25:42
Speaker 1: replaced it on her shoulders without bidding Madison climbed up
25:46
Speaker 1: onto Scout's back, who was waiting patiently for them next
25:49
Speaker 1: to her improvised water bucket, and then almost fell back down.
25:52
Speaker 1: Tilda hovered behind him, ready to assist, but he pulled
25:55
Speaker 1: himself back up, panting a little at the effort. Tilda
25:58
Speaker 1: stepped up and swung her legs over behind him, once
26:01
Speaker 1: again taking the reins. She made a clicking sound with
26:03
Speaker 1: her tongue pulling sharply on the right ring to direct
26:06
Speaker 1: Scout back to the road. Already she felt more at
26:09
Speaker 1: ease controlling Scout, but she still felt very much like
26:12
Speaker 1: a little girl who could lose that control to a
26:14
Speaker 1: powerful animal at any moment. The fog became less dense,
26:17
Speaker 1: but lingered close to the ground. The dirt road dead
26:20
Speaker 1: ended into a paved one. Tilda studied each direction, there
26:24
Speaker 1: were mirrors of each other. She chose to go west.
26:30
Speaker 1: Scouts hos clip clopped on the asphalt as they fell
26:32
Speaker 1: into a more steady pace of a fast trot. Now
26:35
Speaker 1: that they were on a more even surface, Madison finally
26:39
Speaker 1: breached the silence. I hope the phones were dead if
26:43
Speaker 1: someone trying to contact us, total thought for a moment,
26:47
Speaker 1: could it possibly be just some kind of ghost of
26:49
Speaker 1: the system, a discharge of electricity built up and randomly expelled.
26:54
Speaker 1: Maybe it rang every morning. Maybe it was someone trying
26:57
Speaker 1: to find Maggie Stevens. Or hell, maybe it was Maggie
27:00
Speaker 1: Stevens ghost playing a prank. But Tilda didn't believe in ghost,
27:05
Speaker 1: and something in her gut told her that call had
27:07
Speaker 1: been meant for them. It could have been a surge
27:11
Speaker 1: of electricity somewhere, but I think someone was trying to
27:16
Speaker 1: reach us. Madison digested that for a moment. Who I
27:22
Speaker 1: don't know, Tilda said, thinking it would have to be
27:24
Speaker 1: someone in arm or an enforcer, someone associated with the state.
27:29
Speaker 1: What if it was the man with the horse, But
27:31
Speaker 1: if he's trying to get his horse back? Tilda stopped
27:34
Speaker 1: herself from laughing aloud at Madison's innocent question, more from
27:37
Speaker 1: surprise than anything else. She hadn't considered that, but it
27:41
Speaker 1: was possible. He was the last person that had seen them,
27:44
Speaker 1: and he did have a reason to be looking for them,
27:47
Speaker 1: But so did a lot of people. How'd they know
27:51
Speaker 1: we were there? A cold crept up till the spine
27:54
Speaker 1: that had nothing to do with the chilly air. She
27:57
Speaker 1: couldn't stop herself from looking at the desolate road behind them,
28:00
Speaker 1: but saw nothing. She turned back to Phase FOURD after
28:03
Speaker 1: a long moment, that's a good question, mouse, Almost in answer,
28:08
Speaker 1: the whine of a connection establishing surrounded them. Madison clapped
28:12
Speaker 1: his hands over his ears, and Tilda just stopped herself
28:14
Speaker 1: from doing the same. Scout faltered uneasily. Tilda looked around
28:19
Speaker 1: wildly as something clicked her eyes, landing on a wooden
28:22
Speaker 1: telephone pole. Following it up revealed the speaker box's arm
28:26
Speaker 1: had used to broadcast their messages. Without waiting for the
28:30
Speaker 1: broadcast to begin, Tilda snapped the reins and dug her
28:32
Speaker 1: heels into Scout sides, goading the horse into a steady gallop.
28:36
Speaker 1: A voice said her name, and she almost dropped the
28:38
Speaker 1: reins and shock. It was not the voice she'd been expecting.
28:42
Speaker 1: It was not Aaron or Darla Delaine, but a male voice,
28:45
Speaker 1: one she hadn't heard since escaping the battleground that was
28:48
Speaker 1: the underground lab in Chicago. It was Mark. In all chaos,
28:53
Speaker 1: she didn't know who had survived Chicago. She hadn't stopped
28:56
Speaker 1: to think about the shock of those resistant survivors when
28:58
Speaker 1: they'd heart. Her voice on the air ways, usually reserved
29:01
Speaker 1: for some proclamation from ARM telling the world that there
29:04
Speaker 1: was a vaccine that ARM had created, HSB five and
29:09
Speaker 1: affected the global population.
29:11
Speaker 2: This message is for teld the knowing. Tilda, Knowing needed
29:15
Speaker 2: to come back to GC. The landscape of the stage
29:18
Speaker 2: is changing Arms, all grace. If we were to fight
29:23
Speaker 2: HS five and secure future for our children, you and
29:27
Speaker 2: your son need to return to GC immediately. You will
29:31
Speaker 2: be well taken care of and ordered for your service.
29:35
Speaker 1: This voice, gentle, please Tilda. We can win this, we
29:40
Speaker 1: can change things. He fell silent, the static of the
29:44
Speaker 1: connection buzzing around them. Tilda could picture him at the
29:48
Speaker 1: console she made her desperate broadcast, and had been shot
29:51
Speaker 1: at where Aaron or Darla used to sit and administer judgments,
29:55
Speaker 1: dull up punishments, and call for the capture of criminals,
29:58
Speaker 1: including Tilda. Punched over, wondering if his message was reaching
30:02
Speaker 1: the intended recipient. Scout had stopped without tilt up, pulling
30:06
Speaker 1: on the reins till to hatn't even noticed.
30:11
Speaker 2: We'll be waiting.
30:14
Speaker 1: The connection clicked off, and that brings us to the
30:33
Speaker 1: end of this chapter of Terminus two. As you can
30:38
Speaker 1: tell I am terrified of phones, clearly have been. We'll
30:42
Speaker 1: always be Yes, the man on the horse, we will
30:48
Speaker 1: the mystery remains. I told the story in the last
30:51
Speaker 1: episode about the twenty four seconds, which was this thing
30:55
Speaker 1: that I had back when I was at university where
30:58
Speaker 1: there's twenty four seconds of darkness when I would walk
31:00
Speaker 1: home at night and I saw a black horse on
31:04
Speaker 1: the night of a tornado. And you were right about
31:05
Speaker 1: the date, Samantha that you said yeah, because I was
31:09
Speaker 1: like two thousand and eight. That doesn't it. That feels
31:12
Speaker 1: like I was in high school still. But no, two
31:14
Speaker 1: thousand and eight I would have been. That would have
31:16
Speaker 1: been my freshman year, and that's when it happened. So yes,
31:19
Speaker 1: yes points to you. I'm really excited to share where
31:24
Speaker 1: this is going. I will tease this story has a
31:30
Speaker 1: cliff hanger. Yes it's a great cliffhanger. But I know
31:36
Speaker 1: people who hate cliffhangers. I do hope I have. I
31:40
Speaker 1: hope you stick around even if you don't like, because
31:42
Speaker 1: we'll just go immediately into the third part. But I
31:46
Speaker 1: will tell you I was thinking about it when I
31:48
Speaker 1: was putting this sgether, and it's like, oh yeah, oh, yeah,
31:54
Speaker 1: ou yes, all right, well we love doing these. I
31:57
Speaker 1: love doing them. Christina makes them amazing thing. Thank you again, Christina,
32:01
Speaker 1: So hope hopefully you enjoy them. And if you do
32:05
Speaker 1: have any suggestions for something we could do in the
32:09
Speaker 1: public domain like this, we would love to do it.
32:11
Speaker 1: We did it once in our Women Writing Horror where
32:13
Speaker 1: we did Frankenstein and that was really fun. So just
32:16
Speaker 1: let us know. And yeah, if you got any theories,
32:20
Speaker 1: I love hearing from people about the theories. You can
32:25
Speaker 1: write to us at stuff Media, mom Stuff at iHeartMedia
32:27
Speaker 1: dot com. You can find us on Twitter at momstap podcast,
32:30
Speaker 1: or on TikTok and Instagram at stuff I Never Told You.
32:33
Speaker 1: You have a tea public store, and we have a
32:34
Speaker 1: book you can get wherever you get your books. Things
32:37
Speaker 1: is always to our super produced Christina, our executive producer Maya,
32:40
Speaker 1: and our contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
32:42
Speaker 1: for listening. Stuff I Never Told You is production by
32:44
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, you
32:46
Speaker 1: can check out the heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or
32:48
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.