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SMNTY Fiction: Terminus (Chapter 10.2) · Stuff Mom Never Told You

0:05
Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. I'm welcome to Stephane
0:07
Speaker 1: Never Told You Production ByHeart Radio, and a welcome to
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Speaker 1: another edition of Spinty Fiction, which, as a reminder, is
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Speaker 1: a once a month thing that we do that has
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Speaker 1: some more sound effects. It is ongoing. This is chapter
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Speaker 1: ten point two of Terminus, So if you haven't listened
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Speaker 1: to all those other chapters, you might want to do that,
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Speaker 1: but I can't tell you what to do, so that
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Speaker 1: that's up to you. And always, always, always, always thanks
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Speaker 1: to Christina who makes these amazing. So as I mentioned
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Speaker 1: in the last one, I guess I'm just not good
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Speaker 1: at judging how long chapters will be, so sometimes the
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Speaker 1: chapters will be short, sometimes are really long. So this
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Speaker 1: one got split into two. So this is the second
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Speaker 1: part of chapter ten. This is something I did in
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Speaker 1: twenty ten as part of Nano Raimo. It's not really
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Speaker 1: edited because I kind of just wanted to one not
1:06
Speaker 1: put too much more work on me, but to kind
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Speaker 1: of get a like a sense of what was going
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Speaker 1: on and Annie's mind, and so that's what we're doing.
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Speaker 1: The content warning for this one child endangerment, death, gun violence,
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Speaker 1: disease and pandemic no heights on this one. No heights
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Speaker 1: on this one. That's always I almost didn't even put
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Speaker 1: that in, but I remember for the last of Us,
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Speaker 1: part two, a lot of people say, the scariest scene
1:42
Speaker 1: is the one, you know, the one with the heights,
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Speaker 1: and I get it, like it's you're afraid heights that
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Speaker 1: scene was. It was scary for me, and I'm not
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Speaker 1: afraid of yes, yes, yes, yes, and no heights in
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Speaker 1: this one. Also, yes, disclaimer, I try to be really
2:03
Speaker 1: accurate in a way that was probably not useful for
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Speaker 1: anybody in terms of directions, but I did try to
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Speaker 1: do it. You can yell at me if you want,
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Speaker 1: or I just like gently point out my inaccuracies. Also,
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Speaker 1: I know that especially in the last chapter, not so
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Speaker 1: much in this chapter, but it's not an accurate depiction
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Speaker 1: of a child the child's stamina. But anyway, recap all right,
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Speaker 1: So there's a virus. It's like largely wiping out the population.
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Speaker 1: Babies just aren't really being born. A new government has
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Speaker 1: taken control and they are leading along the side a
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Speaker 1: religious group that is named arm and they just control
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Speaker 1: all all pieces of contraception and if a child is born,
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Speaker 1: then they control where the child goes, and so Tilda
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Speaker 1: ran off with her child legally and is now on
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Speaker 1: the run from the government enforcers. It's been seven years
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Speaker 1: they've been on the road and now like winter is coming.
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Speaker 1: As they say, they have had many encounters with enforcers.
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Speaker 1: Told at was shot by one. They were found by
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Speaker 1: a nice woman named Lynn who helped her recover, and
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Speaker 1: Lynn revealed that there's a resistance group maybe in Kansas City,
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Speaker 1: and that there might be a cure to the whole
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Speaker 1: thing that they're working on, and that is where they're going.
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Speaker 1: So in the last in part one of this chapter,
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Speaker 1: they had to transfer so very risky bridge situation hints
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Speaker 1: heights and just as a reminder, I know the last
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Speaker 1: of us have not come out at this point. Okay,
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Speaker 1: I know it sounds similar, but I just want to
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Speaker 1: be clear. But all right, that's where we are. We've
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Speaker 1: crossed this dangerous bridge and they're moving further towards their goal,
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Speaker 1: further into the city. So let us get into the fiction.
4:18
Speaker 1: They were almost to the end of the ramp when
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Speaker 1: Madison exclaimed softly in her ear dog, twisting her head
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Speaker 1: to the direction Madison faced while still pressing forward unwilling
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Speaker 1: to stay stationary, She at first thought the child was
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Speaker 1: imagining things delirious with sleep deprivation, but a yellowish blur
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Speaker 1: moving at the river bank caught her eye. A large
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Speaker 1: golden retriever trotted along the river bank, coat splotched with mud.
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Speaker 1: It would stop abruptly, sniff something, and continue along, sometimes
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Speaker 1: backtracking or lapping up water. Tilda could have watched the
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Speaker 1: creature until it disappeared. Something about seeing a living thing
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Speaker 1: in such a dead place was mesmerizing, but she forced
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Speaker 1: her eyes away and followed the road as it banked left.
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Speaker 1: What do you think he's doing here? Madison's question was muffled.
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Speaker 1: Maybe he lives here. Til disapplied quietly, more focused on
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Speaker 1: putting one foot in front of the other. Madison didn't comment.
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Speaker 1: Possibly is thrown, as Tilda at the sight of the animal,
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Speaker 1: when everything else around them felt decayed and rotten and lifeless.
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Speaker 1: The road curved again, intersected by a small road that
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Speaker 1: led to what Tilda guests was an industrial complex. She
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Speaker 1: chose instead to keep on twenty third. It was a
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Speaker 1: main road, and a sign up ahead read downtown Kansas City.
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Speaker 1: From her foggy recollection of the maple and had gifted
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Speaker 1: to them. She remembered that the Liberty Memorial was just
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Speaker 1: south of downtown. On the left, they passed a dilapidated
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Speaker 1: and overgrown park. Madison swiveled his head at taking in
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Speaker 1: the jungle around them. Tilda stepped over a felled lamppost,
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Speaker 1: her legs feeling as if they could give out at
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Speaker 1: any moment, but she didn't see anything around them that
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Speaker 1: looked remotely safe for them to take a break in.
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Speaker 1: They reached a main highway I thirty five. A precursory
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Speaker 1: survey of each direction bought up nothing to the north,
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Speaker 1: or more buildings the jagged mob of useless structures. To
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Speaker 1: the south. There was less in the way of skyscrapers
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Speaker 1: and city ruins, and more greenery. But her gut told
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Speaker 1: her to trust her memory. She opted for the southerland route,
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Speaker 1: treading the closest edge. Keep an eye out for anything
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Speaker 1: behind us, yeah, she requested, and Madison nodded his acquiescence.
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Speaker 1: What am I looking for, he asked, sleepily, and forcers
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Speaker 1: for one besides them. Tilda smiled at his all suffering tone.
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Speaker 1: We're looking for something called the Liberty Memorial, Tilda told him.
6:34
Speaker 1: Or a place that looks like people live there. I
6:38
Speaker 1: guess nothing around them looked inhabited now or in the past.
6:43
Speaker 1: No homes or businesses line the highway. The ground was
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Speaker 1: largely paved. To her right, across the way was a
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Speaker 1: large field of green and brown and yellow. Her heart
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Speaker 1: leapt at the next sign, Penn Valley Drive, Liberty Memorial,
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Speaker 1: next exit. Anticipation intertwined with anxiety. She crossed eight lanes
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Speaker 1: at a diagonal, turning to look over her shoulder, the
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Speaker 1: sensation of being watched making her skin crawl. The road
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Speaker 1: branched off to the left, and Tilda took it, her
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Speaker 1: senses ramping up. She saw no indication of anything that
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Speaker 1: might preclude to resistance, but she supposed they wouldn't still
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Speaker 1: be around if they were that simple to find, if
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Speaker 1: they existed at all. But it couldn't only be her,
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Speaker 1: could it. Others must have escaped. There must be some
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Speaker 1: that wanted to fight for their children, and the possibility
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Speaker 1: of a cure had Tilda's blood humming in her veins.
7:35
Speaker 1: A mucky lake appeared to their left as they emerged
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Speaker 1: onto Pin Valley Drive, its surface green with algae. Tilda
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Speaker 1: might have mistaken it for a field of moss, if
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Speaker 1: not for the gleaming surfaces of water beneath tufts of
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Speaker 1: vergent growth catching the sunlight. Opposite it was a red
7:50
Speaker 1: diamond of dirt, alien in its meaning, now a relic
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Speaker 1: of an age long since passed. The Liberty Memorial loomed
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Speaker 1: before them in the distance, and obelis slicing into the sky,
8:01
Speaker 1: surrounded by planes of green with patches of brown. Tilda
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Speaker 1: decided to cut through the grass. In the scheme of things,
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Speaker 1: it wouldn't make much difference in terms of a stealthy approach,
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Speaker 1: but it would shave off time and distance, and since
8:14
Speaker 1: clothes covered her skin, she didn't have to worry about
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Speaker 1: ticks or irritating brush at her ankles. But she did
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Speaker 1: have to lift her feet higher and ruminate on their placement,
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Speaker 1: both of which sapped her already waning strength. Several times,
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Speaker 1: a foot got caught in the undergrowth and almost sent
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Speaker 1: her crashing to the ground. Her arms trembled with the
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Speaker 1: weight of Madison, but she soldiered on the monument in
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Speaker 1: front of her, a beacon of hope, a compass needle
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Speaker 1: for safety. A log snagged her foot and her knee
8:42
Speaker 1: impacted jarringly into the dirt, her slow reaction time preventing
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Speaker 1: her from catching herself. Tired arms never leaving Madison. It
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Speaker 1: took a moment for her to gather her strength, and
8:51
Speaker 1: she struggled to her feet like one fighting invisible restraints,
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Speaker 1: her blonde hair shrieking across her face. Madison held to
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Speaker 1: her more tightly as she regained her footing. She wavered
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Speaker 1: for a moment, but she pushed on her steps as
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Speaker 1: if she treaded on ice instead of the loose gray
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Speaker 1: dirt beneath her boots, dry grass crunching under her soul.
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Speaker 1: She came to a marble pathway, deliberating her first step
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Speaker 1: onto the smooth rock surface, Tilting dangerously at first contact,
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Speaker 1: She reeled onto the white slab, correcting herself after several quick,
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Speaker 1: staggering steps to the side. There was something unearthly about
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Speaker 1: the giant white monument, stretching out to the sky, with
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Speaker 1: ivory pathways like spokes of a wheel, all meeting at
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Speaker 1: the base and around it nothing but unkempt grass. Tilda shivered,
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Speaker 1: tracing the Obelis ascent with brown eyes unsettled, she strode forward,
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Speaker 1: timbering her face tattered flags hung limply from poles faded
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Speaker 1: on either side of the monument. Tilda Madison in her arms,
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Speaker 1: approached the monument, wary. In between the paths she traveled
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Speaker 1: and the one directly across from her, a series of
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Speaker 1: dark marble lines, space evenly apart, formed a conical shape,
10:02
Speaker 1: shortening in length that the spokes of the tower sloped
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Speaker 1: downhill and culminating in from Tilda's vantage point, a great
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Speaker 1: circle of obsidiad in the ground, surrounded by a semicircle
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Speaker 1: of wide stairs. As they approached the circle, Tilda inspected
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Speaker 1: the dark slab, attempting to divine the purpose. The surface,
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Speaker 1: once glossy and smooth, now bore several deep gouges and
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Speaker 1: reflected only dully. If ever any intelligent being came after
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Speaker 1: the human race faded away, what would they make of
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Speaker 1: things like this? The prosperous generation before HSV five were
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Speaker 1: foreigned to Tilda, and she again could not stifle the
10:39
Speaker 1: impression that she had stumbled on the ruins of an
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Speaker 1: alien society. Dog Masson murmured for the second time with
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Speaker 1: the baris traces of incredulity. Sure enough, the Golden Retriever
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Speaker 1: looped behind them about halfway up the path. Panting, Tilda,
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Speaker 1: while grateful the dog wasn't barking, hoped it would not
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Speaker 1: keep following them. The risk involved great. On opposing sides
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Speaker 1: of the crater were two sphinxes of worn stone, their
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Speaker 1: faces eroded and blank. Debating for a moment, Tilda dropped
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Speaker 1: down the first step, wincing at the jostle to her back.
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Speaker 1: She walked to the edge of the next step and
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Speaker 1: hopped down and again and again until she reached the
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Speaker 1: obsidian disk. The clatter of pause told her that the
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Speaker 1: dog was not far behind. He stared over the edge,
11:22
Speaker 1: observing them, but making no attempt to descend after them.
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Speaker 1: Tilda moved to the edge of the disk, the unscathed
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Speaker 1: portions on the surface like a black lake, still as glass,
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Speaker 1: a portal to the night sky. There's a door behind you.
11:37
Speaker 1: Tilda whirled around at the sleepy decoration. Sure enough, there
11:40
Speaker 1: was a square entryway carved into the rock under the monument,
11:43
Speaker 1: with a plain black door in the center. Above the
11:46
Speaker 1: doorway was a rectangular slab of black marble. Most of
11:49
Speaker 1: the letters washed away with time, but enough remained for
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Speaker 1: Tilda to drive up. The phrase returned to dust. Evermore,
11:57
Speaker 1: Underneath the string of letters were carving, still discerniraable, though
12:00
Speaker 1: given a few more years they may not be. They
12:03
Speaker 1: depicted two sets of people coming towards each other, but
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Speaker 1: between them and the center stood a man with massive
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Speaker 1: outspread wings, arms stretched wide in his hands. He held something,
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Speaker 1: but Tilda couldn't decipher it. A chill raised down her spine,
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Speaker 1: and she held Madison more closely to her, not sure
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Speaker 1: she wanted to know what lay beyond the doorway. Tilda noan.
12:24
Speaker 1: Tilda whipped around at her name, shouted in a voice
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Speaker 1: rough with both determination and jubilance. On either side of
12:30
Speaker 1: the craters stood two enforcers, a different pair than the
12:33
Speaker 1: ones they had ditched at the pharmacy. They hovered next
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Speaker 1: to the sphinxes, the statues towering over them like guardians.
12:40
Speaker 1: Their guns were dreamed on. Tilda put the child down now,
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Speaker 1: the one to her right ordered. Tilda wondered if they
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Speaker 1: meant to shoot her once Madison no longer acted as
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Speaker 1: a shield. Inadvertently, her gaze darted to the door. Don't move,
12:56
Speaker 1: the enforcer shouted, his command, fierce. They wouldn't shoe, not.
13:00
Speaker 1: While she held Madison but they were circling around, strafing
13:04
Speaker 1: slowly away from the stone, sphinxes to pin her in
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Speaker 1: the entryway, leaving her nowhere to go except through the
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Speaker 1: door and whatever lay behind it. What if it didn't open,
13:15
Speaker 1: she thought, sick at the mere possibility of it, but
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Speaker 1: she had to make her move soon. She backed slowly
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Speaker 1: under the stone, outcropping, her gaze roving from one forcer
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Speaker 1: to the other. As they stepped down the first stair
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Speaker 1: in tandem, her back touched a cold, flat surface, steel
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Speaker 1: instead of the wood she had expected. She reached a
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Speaker 1: shaking hand behind her, the other arm trembling under the
13:38
Speaker 1: full brunt of Madisine's weight sweat. Sheened her skin. The
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Speaker 1: enforcers descended another two steps, cutting across diagonally, their arms unwavering.
13:48
Speaker 1: Madison breathed with tiny whimpers, trembling like a leaf in
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Speaker 1: her grasp and making him harder to hold. Tilda fumbled
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Speaker 1: behind her, but could find no doorknob, no handle, nothing
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Speaker 1: but metal for jid beneath her fingers. Panic rose inside her,
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Speaker 1: drying her throat, making her dizzy and numb. Her knees
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Speaker 1: threatened to give out. One of the enforcers grinned with
14:09
Speaker 1: cruel anticipation as he advanced down the final step. She
14:14
Speaker 1: jerked badly at the sound of a heavy bolt giving way,
14:17
Speaker 1: reverberating in the steel, and without warning she was shoved
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Speaker 1: to her left, landing heavily on her side as the
14:23
Speaker 1: door swung open. Before she could process this, three ear
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Speaker 1: shattering blams rent the air. Blood sprang from the head
14:31
Speaker 1: of one of the enforcers and onto the marble as
14:33
Speaker 1: he dropped like someone who had just had a vital
14:35
Speaker 1: switch inside them, flipped from on to off, his legs
14:39
Speaker 1: twisting awkwardly beneath him. The other caught the impact in
14:42
Speaker 1: the shoulder and crumpled first to his knees, blood pouring
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Speaker 1: between the fingers of the hand that had instantly gone
14:47
Speaker 1: up to staunch the flow of red, raising the hand
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Speaker 1: that still held the gun, but with a gasp, he
14:52
Speaker 1: colasped went to his side, unmoving. Madison was screaming into
14:57
Speaker 1: Tilda's neck while she stared stunned at the two bodies
15:00
Speaker 1: strewn next to the sunken obsidian disk. She could barely
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Speaker 1: hear him over the ringing in her ears, and then
15:07
Speaker 1: a face was right in front of hers mouth, moving
15:10
Speaker 1: almost choking on her shock, Tilda propelled herself backwards, smacking
15:14
Speaker 1: into stone, transfixed as more people emerged from behind the
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Speaker 1: door she so recently had been desperate to open, producing
15:20
Speaker 1: tarps and dragging the bodies onto them and wrapping them up,
15:24
Speaker 1: leaving dark red streaks on the white rock. A hand
15:27
Speaker 1: jostled to her shoulder, and she tore her eyes away,
15:29
Speaker 1: trying to focus her steadily blurring vision. She offered only
15:33
Speaker 1: a token resistance as hands pulled her to her feet,
15:36
Speaker 1: leading her inside the square of black. A loud clunk
15:39
Speaker 1: behind her, and the patch of light disappeared as the
15:41
Speaker 1: door shut. A heavy scraping of metal on metal signaled
15:45
Speaker 1: that the bolt had slipped back into place. There were
15:48
Speaker 1: stairs almost immediately, and Tilda would have fallen if not
15:50
Speaker 1: for the hands keeping her upright. The stairs opened into
15:53
Speaker 1: a wide space with long rectangular tables in the middle
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Speaker 1: and small rooms made with sectionals along the sidewalls. Hallways
16:00
Speaker 1: branched off to either side the procession. Hurting, Tilda took
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Speaker 1: the one to the right. The cold and stale air
16:07
Speaker 1: only increased her dizziness as she sucked in shallow breasts.
16:11
Speaker 1: Her knee throbbed from the impact of her fall fire,
16:14
Speaker 1: looking at her joint with every step. They were led
16:17
Speaker 1: into the first room on their right, a large rectangular
16:20
Speaker 1: room with dark gray walls and small cots covered in
16:23
Speaker 1: faded white sheets. The hands guided her to the nearest bed,
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Speaker 1: lowering her onto it. Her neck was wet with Madison's tears.
16:31
Speaker 1: Tilda stared blankly ahead, numb until she felt someone trying
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Speaker 1: to remove Madison from her arms. She reacted violently, kicking
16:39
Speaker 1: out and screaming, dropping off the bed and retreating to
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Speaker 1: the furthest wall. Turning to face those who crowded in
16:45
Speaker 1: the room with her, she could make out five people.
16:49
Speaker 1: None of them made any move to advance, but she
16:51
Speaker 1: darted her eyes between them, watching for any sign of movement.
16:54
Speaker 1: One of them spoke, but the buzzing in her ears
16:57
Speaker 1: had yet to fade away. Concentrating on blinking and raining
17:00
Speaker 1: in her breathing, her vision gradually returned to her enough
17:03
Speaker 1: so that she could make out the people in the
17:05
Speaker 1: room with her. Three women, two men, all waiting silently
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Speaker 1: for her to regain some composure. You with us, one
17:13
Speaker 1: of them, asked, A tough looking woman with tan skin, thin,
17:16
Speaker 1: dull brown hair, and dark eyes, forcing herself to take
17:20
Speaker 1: deep breath. Tilda Nod had poised to run, even though
17:23
Speaker 1: there was nowhere for her to go. A broad shouldered
17:26
Speaker 1: man with dark hair and a short beard spoke up.
17:28
Speaker 1: If you were looking for the resistance, you found it.
17:32
Speaker 1: Tilda felt no relief at that, and she had thought
17:35
Speaker 1: she would. In her mind's eye, she saw the blood
17:39
Speaker 1: spray from the enforcer's temple, the awareness in his eyes
17:41
Speaker 1: gone in an instant. One of the men bled from
17:44
Speaker 1: his upper arm, red leaking past the hand clenched over
17:47
Speaker 1: the wound. The third shot must have been for him.
17:50
Speaker 1: She had the sudden horrific epiphany that perhaps Madison had
17:54
Speaker 1: seen those two men murdered. Hugging him closer, Tilda whispered
17:58
Speaker 1: in his ear, did you see At first, she thought
18:01
Speaker 1: he hadn't heard her, but he shook his head into
18:04
Speaker 1: her neck. She sacked with relief. You need to sit down,
18:08
Speaker 1: a dark skinned woman advised, so we can check the
18:11
Speaker 1: both of you out for injuries. I promise you you're safe.
18:15
Speaker 1: Here til to try to remember what safety felt like,
18:20
Speaker 1: but she knew she was on the verge of collapse,
18:23
Speaker 1: like a frightened animal, creeping forward to accept food from
18:25
Speaker 1: an outstretched hand, til to move to the nearest bed.
18:28
Speaker 1: The one furthest from the group of strangers. Who are you?
18:34
Speaker 1: The man with the bleeding arm eased onto a bed, wincing,
18:37
Speaker 1: and the woman who had just spoken began coaxing his
18:39
Speaker 1: fingers from the wound, pulling gauze from a drawer next
18:42
Speaker 1: to the bed, and wrapping the wound with it. Were
18:44
Speaker 1: the resistance, the first man repeated, as if that explained everything.
18:48
Speaker 1: The blonde who had been the first to speak, add
18:50
Speaker 1: it acidly, were the ones who just saved you from
18:53
Speaker 1: the enforcers. The last woman, tan skinned with dark curly
18:57
Speaker 1: hair past her collarbone, chimed in, maybe it's names you want.
19:01
Speaker 1: Her brown eyes were kind. I'm Zulaika. That's Taylor, she indicated.
19:06
Speaker 1: The blonde woman Marcus, the dark haired man, Amelia, the
19:10
Speaker 1: woman finishing wrapping the wounded man's arm, and Adam. Marcus
19:15
Speaker 1: leveled his dark gaze on Tilda. And you are Tilda
19:20
Speaker 1: and Madison? No one, how do you know who we are?
19:24
Speaker 1: You are Priority number one, Marcus replied tonelessly. Arm has
19:29
Speaker 1: been broadcasting about you. They have enforcers scouring the continent
19:33
Speaker 1: for you, and you led them right to us. His
19:37
Speaker 1: cool accusation had Tilda wanting to take a step back,
19:40
Speaker 1: but she stood her ground. Taylor piped up, at least
19:44
Speaker 1: now we have something they badly want. Tilda sat on
19:48
Speaker 1: the edge of the closest bed, leg's unable to sustain
19:50
Speaker 1: her for any longer. Madison showed no signs of wanting
19:53
Speaker 1: to let go of her, huddling in her arms. All
19:56
Speaker 1: of their eyes rested on him. Amelia stepped four tentatively.
20:02
Speaker 1: May I check you over for any injuries. We're fine,
20:05
Speaker 1: Tilda dismissed, gruffly. Your hands are bleeding, Amelia pointed out
20:10
Speaker 1: gently to Tilda, surprised the doctor was right. Her palms
20:15
Speaker 1: caked with crusty red. She must have scraped them when
20:18
Speaker 1: she fell. Clearing her throat, tilt deflected. We just need
20:23
Speaker 1: some rest. For a moment. No one moved, but then
20:26
Speaker 1: Amelia disappeared in a room in the back, returning with
20:28
Speaker 1: two glasses of water. Tilda leaned away as she approached,
20:32
Speaker 1: but she just placed them on the bedside table. We'll
20:35
Speaker 1: leave you rest, we can talk. She shot a meaningful
20:39
Speaker 1: glance at Marcus. Later, she ushered the others out the door,
20:44
Speaker 1: and shut it behind them, flipping off the main switch
20:46
Speaker 1: so the only light emitted was from a lamp. Hands trembling,
20:50
Speaker 1: she reached for the glass of water and took a
20:51
Speaker 1: big gulp, nudging Madison with her shoulder and getting him
20:54
Speaker 1: to do the same. Wide hazel eyes glowed up at her.
20:58
Speaker 1: Are we safe? Couldn't answer, her whole body heavy like lead.
21:02
Speaker 1: Slowly she led them down in the bed, Curling her
21:05
Speaker 1: body one big bruise, Masson pulled himself into a ball,
21:08
Speaker 1: still in the shelter of her holes, and even though
21:11
Speaker 1: they were both terrified, they drifted to sleep. And that
21:29
Speaker 1: brings us to the end of this chapter ten point
21:32
Speaker 1: two section of our fiction, and we are moving into
21:35
Speaker 1: the part I've been kind of hinting out that I'm
21:37
Speaker 1: excited to talk about because I tried to put romance
21:39
Speaker 1: in here, Samantha, and I clearly it was like the
21:44
Speaker 1: last thing I cared about, and I didn't know how
21:46
Speaker 1: to do it like it I like, so I'm excited
21:50
Speaker 1: to talk about it. Also, you and I discussed this recently,
21:53
Speaker 1: so we were introduced to a lot of nude characters
21:55
Speaker 1: in this chapter, and you said, like the way you
21:59
Speaker 1: choose names as you will look up like most popular
22:02
Speaker 1: names of a year. Yeah right, I'll go down that list. Yes, yes,
22:06
Speaker 1: well I mine all means something and it's kind of
22:08
Speaker 1: pretentious and annoying, but all of them have like a meaning.
22:13
Speaker 1: Is it like that iked she who Should not be named?
22:16
Speaker 1: Naming character level? It's it's no, it's like literally you
22:20
Speaker 1: have to look up what that name means. But if
22:22
Speaker 1: you do, then it means like to witness or something, right,
22:26
Speaker 1: I mean literal, So you're you're a little bit more literal. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
22:31
Speaker 1: I've actually been working on I mentioned it recently, but
22:35
Speaker 1: thirteen Days of Halloween, which I know it's just me,
22:38
Speaker 1: but we we work on these very early, and the
22:40
Speaker 1: names in there. I was kind of I was waiting
22:42
Speaker 1: for somebody to be like, why did you choose these names?
22:47
Speaker 1: Like you know why? You know? Yes, I always look
22:51
Speaker 1: at the meaning and then even if it's like brings
22:55
Speaker 1: you out of the moment because you're like, oh, I
22:56
Speaker 1: know what the meaning. I'm really bad about it, but
23:00
Speaker 1: we're gonna have fun talking about it. I can't wait.
23:02
Speaker 1: I can't wait until we get to the next edition.
23:06
Speaker 1: Thanks as always to super producer Christina, who makes these happen,
23:09
Speaker 1: and if you would like to email us about this
23:11
Speaker 1: or anything else, you can. Our email is Stuffanidia mom
23:14
Speaker 1: Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us on
23:17
Speaker 1: Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok
23:21
Speaker 1: at Stuff I've Never Told You. We're also on YouTube
23:23
Speaker 1: and we have a book coming out that you can
23:26
Speaker 1: pre order at stuff you should read Books dot com.
23:30
Speaker 1: Thanks as always, yes to our super producer Christina, our
23:33
Speaker 1: executive producer Maya, and our contributor Joey. Thank y'all, and
23:36
Speaker 1: thanks to you for listening Stuff I Never Told You
23:38
Speaker 1: thes protection of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio,
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Speaker 1: you can check out the heart Radio app Apple Podcasts
23:42
Speaker 1: regular listen to your favorite shows