Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / SMNTY Fiction: Terminus, Part 2 (Chapter 7.1)

Transcript

SMNTY Fiction: Terminus, Part 2 (Chapter 7.1) · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. I'm welcome to stuff
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I never told you a protection of iHeartRadio and welcome
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: once again to Sminty Fiction. As a reminder, this is
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: a once a month thing that we do. It is ongoing.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: This is the second in a trilogy, in the Terminus trilogy.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: It was originally called Big Things Start Small, but I
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: changed the name for ease. You can listen to this
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: without listening to all the other things. It won't make
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: much sense, but I can't tell you what to do.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: You do what you want. Also, as always, Christina is
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: the one that makes these work. She makes He's amazing.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much Christina for all the work you
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: put in. This is something that I wrote for Nana Raimo.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: I believe this one was in twenty eleven and Nano
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Raimo is national novel writing months are you. It's fifty
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: thousand words fifty or sixty in one month. And I
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: did the previous thing, Terminus, this one and then the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: next one for that, and in that spirit, they are
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: lightly edited. I did edit some of this one, but
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: it's very light because I kind of like looking back
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: and seeing what was going on in my brain back then.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: And this was when I was just first starting on SINTI,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: so a lot of I was getting a lot of
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: different ideas. I was changing a lot of high viewed things.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: So it's cool, it's cool to look back. So content
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: warning descriptions of violence, murder, memories of violence, non explicit
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: descriptions of panic and anxiety, dissociation, illness, into the world projection,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I would say, I would say it warn't so warning, honestly.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: So here's where we are. Basically, the population is dying
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: out because of this virus that we learned at the end.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: The first one was manufactured by a religious sect of
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: the government who believed that it was time basically that
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: God like punished people who they viewed had done wrong.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: But of course it got out of hand. They created
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: a vaccine but then destroyed it all but two, and
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: they saved one for their grandson, Madison, who is the
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: main character's son, who she ran away with illegally because
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: in this world the birth of children is highly regulated
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: and controlled, and there was this whole confrontation. She met
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: up with a rebellion and then they weren't quite what
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: she thought they were. Tilda was able to broadcast this
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: message about what had happened through the broken network across
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: the US. And then they're on the run and they've
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: been pursued by people ever since. And in the last
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: chapter they were attacked by two men who basically seem
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: to be running their own town, and Tilda killed them
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: and Madison helped kill them, and so they are dealing
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: with the fallout of that. That is where we are
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: this chapter. Like most chapters, I'm so bad at length.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: It got split up, so this first chapter is very introspective,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and then and the next one if you want to teaser,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of drama and bad acting on my part.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: I think come for that. If nothing else even better. Yeah,
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: but all right, let us get in to the fiction.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Tilda glanced behind them repeatedly, paranoid as they rode out
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: of Lafayette. They navigated through a maze of abandoned cars,
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: some with plants and trees growing out of them. Tilda
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: terrified to slow that she'd looked behind her and there
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: would be an army of righteous Ellis's and Jakes chasing
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: after them, vengeful and hungry for their blood. It took
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: a gust of cold wind for her to realize that
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: tears were silently streaming down her face, icy against her cheeks,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: and Madison was shuddering against her, sobbing wildly. She didn't
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: slow down until Scout's pace faltered. Pushed to her limit,
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Tilda allowed it, unsure how to approach Maddie since harsh
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: weeping when she felt so undone herself like coming unstuck.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: The next town they came upon was in a horrible
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: irony called Ellistown. She pushed Scout as far as she
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: would go until she was down to a trot as
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: they passed through the dilapidated town that shared the name
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: of their attacker, not stopping even though Scout panted and
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Tilda's throats seared with each gasping breath, air whistling as
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: she drug it into her lungs. Once Ellistown was sufficiently
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: behind them, Scout now barely able to muster an amble,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Tilda used the reins to guide her off the road
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: and down a short ditch and into the cover of
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the trees. Coming to a stop next to a small stream,
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Tilda practically fell off Scout's back, one lane crossing in
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: front of the other as she fought to maintain her balance.
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: Madison had his face pressed into Scout's mane. Tilda gave
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: him a moment before intoning his name, holding her hands
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: out for him. He ignored her at first, but then
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: raised tortured eyes to hers, wanting to understand. Needing safety
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: and comfort, he took Tilda's hands and hopped down. If
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: not for Tilda's grip, he would have fallen to his knees. Gingerly.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: She wrapped her arms around his trembling body, and they
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: sunk to the forest floor, both crying quietly. Scout collapsed
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: heavily to her hind legs, drinking thirstily from the stream,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: but all of that fell away until there was just
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: her son in her arms. Her son, hurt and sobbing,
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: she hugged him more tightly, her distress making it even
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: more difficult to breathe. She felt so weak and sore
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: and exposed. She fell back onto the snowy forest floor bonelessly,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: and Madison followed, his face buried in the crook of
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: her neck. Laying half atop her chest. Tilda stared at
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: the gray sky until it filled her vision and became
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: her world, one hand bracing Madison's neck and the other
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: pressed against his back, soaked through her hair. Her skin
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: was painfully dry with the cold and remnants of tears.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: An image flashed in her head, the look in Ellis's
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: eyes as he was choking the life out of her,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: and she bolted upright, gasping and startling Madison. She pressed
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: her hand against her chest, willing the image away until
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: it was dregs at the frayed edges of her mind,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: waiting to reform when she let her guard down. The
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: rifle felt heavy against her back, even though she was cold.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: She was too tired to stand. She slipped off her
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: pack and clumsily unzipped its front pocket and pulled out
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: a bottle of water, desperately twisting at the cap, her
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: muscles screaming in protest, her fingers shaking, but to no avail.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: She could have cried again with frustration. Gently, Madison popped
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: the bottle from her hand and twisted the cap off
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: for her, handing it back to Tilda. Her throat tightened
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: at the look on his face, but she bit her
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: emotions back, taking a careful swig of water, wincing as
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: the cold liquid blaze down her throat. Madison took a
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: bottle of his own sipping at it, his eyes, never
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: leaving Tilda, who shied away from the scrutiny. They sipped
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: their water, each slowly, Tilda grimacing at the contact with
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: the bruised tissue of her throat, contemplating and trying not to.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: She had added a new layer, like a ring of
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: a tree formed by an earthquake. If people dissected her,
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: sliced her in half and could see the rings made
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: by her life, this event would have formed one born
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: of trauma. Or maybe she had lost a lair shed
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: it like skin she'd out groan, leaving her new skin
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: raw and red and painful and itchy, too tight and
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: too thin. But it would harden because she'd lost soft edges,
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: and baby skin coluses would grow in its place. She
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: would never be the same person. She could never go
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: back to what she was only a few hours earlier.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: She mourned that person like a lost sister, someone she
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: so envied. And the fact that her son had seen
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: her murder two men made her feel even more exposed
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: and ugly, like a festering wound you wanted to look
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: away from but couldn't, so disgusting and vivid in its
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: awfulness that even when you found the will to look away,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: acid bubbling in your throat and a sour taste in
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: your mouth. The image lingered, burnt into your retina. When
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: she'd shot the man in Chicago, she and Madison, she believed,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: had been able to convince herself that the man had survived.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: It had happened so quickly, with minimal blood and fuss.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: He hadn't even made a sound. The killing of Ellis
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: and Jake had been a much more brutal and violent act,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: long and messy, bringing to light a part of Tilda
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: that normally lived in the darkness, something hideous and sickening.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: She'd heard them die, choking and gasping for breath, agonized.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: She'd felt Ellis die, the sensation of the blade sliding
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: into his side tingling in her fingers, seeing the blank
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: emptiness left behind in Jake's eyes after he'd gone, and
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Madison had. Madison lost a there too, of course he had.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: He had no choice but to play a role as well,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: jabbing the little pocket knife in Elis's back as he
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: watched the man strangle his mother. This would haunt his dreams.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: He'd look at her and he'd see her stabbing Ellice,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: once in the back and again in the side. He'd
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: always know that side of Tilda it existed, He'd never
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: feel safe with her as he once had. Her water finished,
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: Tilda looked at her gloves, shivering at the dried blood
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: hardening around the fingers. Gingerly, she inspected her throat, hissing
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: at the swollen flesh. She touched her face. It was
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: puffy and swollen, hot, even through her covered fingers. Madison
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: watched her every move, his eyes wide and bright and
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: blue and shining. Tilda felt a surge of rage at
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Ellis and Jake for putting them in this situation, or
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: threatening them, for what they had planned for her, and
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: especially what they had planned her Madison, for ripping the
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: fabric of their already worn lives, but it was quickly
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: devetailed with grief. This world had made monsters of all
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: of them. Tilda knew they needed to talk about the
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: events that had just unfolded, but she had no idea
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: how to broach the topic. She was afraid of the
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: look she'd find in Madison's eyes, of what he'd say,
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: that he'd condemn her, and what could she say in response. Nevertheless,
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: she was an adult and his mother, and if they
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: were each other's anchors, the only other person in this lonely,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: lonely world, she couldn't afford for their relationship to drift
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: apart and disintegrate, but she didn't have an inner to
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: do it right now, she was ground down and immaterial
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: and weak, unformed like smoke, and they were quickly losing
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: the light. Ellis was correct about that they needed to
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: find somewhere as much out of the way as possible
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: to stay for the night. Judging by Scout's countenance, she
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: didn't have much more left in her to get them
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: much farther. Tilda took a moment to gather her thoughts
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: and formulate the rough sketch of a plan. They'd find somewhere,
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: and then they'd talk. She promised herself she would not
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: back out. She would face what she'd done and allow
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Madison to judge her actions as he saw fit. She'd
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: given him the tools, now she'd give him the truth
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: and hopefully the comfort he needed. First, they had to
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: get somewhere. She knew she should be hungry, but the
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: thought of eating made the heavy water curdling in her
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: stomach churn, clearing her throat painfully, she ground out in
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: a raspy voice filled with scratches. You hungry, Madison shook
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: his head, his breath catching. He broke her gaze, hunching
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: his shoulders and hugging himself around the waist. Tilda's heart twisted.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Replacing the empty bottle, She zipped her back and woozily
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: used a tree trunk to stand, going over to Scout
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: and rubbing her neck. You got a little more, any girl,
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: she murmured, rough like sandpaper, Just a little bit further.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Scout's big black eyes did not waver from her face.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: She pushed herself up on her legs. Wearily, Tilda pressed
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: her forehead to the horse's neck, grateful, retrieving some pellets
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: from the stowed away pouch and feeding them to her.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: Come on, Madison, The boy stood and climbed up onto
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Scout's back without Tilda's help. She tried not to feel
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: stung by it, but she'd gone largely numb emotionally anyway.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: She hoisted herself up behind him, her body throbbing like
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: a big, painful bruise, and she guided Scout back onto
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: the asphalt, ignoring the muffled fears screaming to be recognized.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: She felt so alert, her heart pumping far too quickly,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: everything around them in sharp detail, sickeningly in focus. Not
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: too far ahead, they ran into a smaller highway heading
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: west to Seneca Hollow Route six three six. Tilda took it,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: deeming that getting off this road would hopefully throw off
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: any of Ellis and Jake's people that would surely come
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: looking for them, thirsting for revenge. Six three six sloped
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: downward and took a hairpin turn left, running parallel to
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: both the highway that they'd just been on and the
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Roanoke River. The sun sank lower and lower on the horizon,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: indigo rays of light peeking over the edge. As the
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: daylight faded, the road crossed over the river, converting to
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: a one lane road over a muted roar of water,
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: and on the other side was a set of train tracks,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: rusted and warped with time. They were obviously not still
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: in use, like those that originated from DC, like the
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: heads of a hydra. A little while after the railroad,
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Tilda spotted a mailbox reading Echo Hills Farms, an ornate
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: pig on top of it, the wood painted a bright red.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: She took a gamble the night nearly gone, that there
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: would be a secluded farmhouse up the dirt road. Scout
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: was reduced to a slow trot, her neck bent towards
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: the ground as they trekked upward through rows of dead corn,
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: bleached brown and rustling in the quiet, still air. The
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: sun was halfway hidden behind the horizon. When two buildings,
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: both of them large, and a silo, came into view.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Tilda felt a muted relief, but also fear people could
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: still be living here, or perhaps people from Ellis's and
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Jake's crew used this as an outpost. The farmhouse and
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: silo made an odd silhouette against the indigo sky, stars
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: already prickling through the fabric of the night, the crescent
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: moon cutting sharply overhead. Tilda pulled an exhausted Scout to
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: a halt right outside the stairs and slid off the
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: horse to her feet, and Madison followed without asking. Tilda
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: muttered for him to wait with Scout and crept up
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: the stairs, boots heavy and loud against the wood. She
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: was on the landing of a wide porch, complete with
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: what must have once been an ornate rocking chair. The
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: outside wall lined with wind windows. Tilda tried to peek inside,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: but could only see vague outlines and shapes through the thick,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: moldy satin curtains. With bated breath that burned in her throat,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: she took hold of the curled gold blacquered handle and
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: pushed the top button. It didn't budge. Tilda's mind went
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: frighteningly blank. No backup plans other than the two other
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: buildings of this complex that were probably locked as well,
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: breaking in a window and letting in the cold air.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: But then a memory solidified in her mind, fuzzy edges.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: She looked down at the thick, burlapped covered doormat that
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: read home, Sweet Home, and flowery cursive. She bent down
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: and reached beneath it, her hand running against the small
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: plastic rectangle she'd been hoping for but didn't imagine she'd
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: really find. The darkness had increased rapidly, black, overtaking the
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: hues of blue and indigo, making it hard for Tilda's
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: gloved hands to open the black box she'd retrieved, But
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: eventually she found the class on the side and it
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: popped open. A silver metal key glint with the faint
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: light of the moon with the shaky breath, she once
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: again stood, the blood rushing to her head, making her dizzy.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: She fumbled with the key and the lock for a
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: few seconds, at first trying to force it in the
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: wrong way. She flipped it over and splid it home
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: with the satisfying click and crunch of tumblers. Twisting it
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: left and the door cracked open. Nervously, she pushed the
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: stained glass door all the way ajar tensing at the
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: squeaking creek of the hinges. The air inside was stale,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: but relatively free of odor, apart from old wood. She
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: looked back at Madison and Scout, wondering if it was
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: safe for them to come inside before she'd properly checked
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: the place out. The house was huge, so huge that
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: it could take another hour in this darkness, so she
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: gestured for Madison to lead the horse up the stairs
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: and told him to wait next to the doorway after
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: she'd closed the colorful glass door behind them and locked it.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: Listen for me, she instructed, quietly, in case I find something.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: The house was wide open, large rooms and open spaces,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: vaulted ceilings at least ten feet high. It was filled
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: with things that indicated a once wealthy family. There was
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: a black piano in the corner of the room. They
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: first found themselves in a multi tiered chandelier hanging from
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: a gold chain attached to the ceiling. The floors were chestnut,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: still waxy, reflecting the light of the silver moon, nice chairs,
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: stone carvings of horses and pigs, shelves of books. The
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: windows were tall, white framed, and spanned almost the entire
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: north and south facing walls. Thick red satin curtains draped
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: over them. She passed through that room into the next one,
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: a rectangular dining room with a twelve person mahogany table,
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: five chairs along each long end and two at each
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: respective head of the table. The chairs were hand carved,
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: are the very least they appeared to be. The table
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: was draped with a lacy white tablecloth, long scents covered
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: in mold. It was still set forks and knives and
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: plates and glasses. There was a china cabinet in the room,
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: filled with china blue and white fancy plate settings for
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: special occasions that would never be used again. Through the
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: wide doorway next to the cabinet was the kitchen. A
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: mirror of the dining room size and layout wise. A
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: blue speckled marbled slab occupied the island in the middle
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: of the kitchen. The counters stocked with colorful stainless steel appliances,
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: a coffee maker, blender, microwave, bamboo cutting board, three door
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: silver refrigerator, Pictures of a smiling family of eight held
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: by smiley faced magnets, two parents and six kids, and
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: other pictures with different pairings. Thereof at school on horses
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: on the porch, playing in the backyard, and a school
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: concert or play. There were yellow post it notes that
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: had been washed out and crinkled with time, thin curse
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: of black letters, almost lost items to pick up at
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: the grocery store. Kyle's band practiced at five point thirty,
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: Jenna's dance recital at seven. Don't forget to take Purtda
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: on a wa Tilda open the refrigerator just to be
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: sure nothing All three doors nothing. She flipped through the cabinets,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: finding some canned goods, beans, pumpkin vegetables that she stood
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: away in her bag. A side door opened to the outside,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: a view of the barnhouse through glass windows. Tilda check
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: to make sure it was locked over The door was
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: a piece of stitchwork that read home is where you are.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: Tilda scratched at her arm, subconsciously retracing her footsteps. Madison
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: watched her solemn as she passed. His blue eyes bright
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: pinpricks with the moonlight in the darkness of the room.
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: On the other side of the first story was what
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: Tilda supposed would have been called a reading room or
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: sitting room. A large rug muffled her footsteps. The walls
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: that weren't taken up with windows were lined with bookshelves,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: most aligned with books, others lined with trinkets, small figurines,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: ornamental fans, pots that once house plants. Plush armchairs with
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: side tee tables were arranged in an oval. There was
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: a cookbook and a copy of a book called Catch
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: twenty two on one of the tables. Another had a
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: bottle of liquor glass Stoppered in between two of the
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: chairs was a chess table. Tilda returned to the main
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: room and stepped up the wooden stairs, each step clunking
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: loudly in the vacuum of silence. Along the stairwell were
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: portraits of the family, old wedding photos, the children at
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: various ages, babies, young kids with gaps between their teeth,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: soccer ball under the arm, sledding, a Christmas photo with
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: a decked out evergreen tree in the background, hanging with
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: ornaments and sparkling with lights, moments of time preserved behind glass. Upstairs,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: she found a cluster of rooms. The master bedroom for
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: the parents, with an enormous high queen bed in its
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: own private bathroom, and the children's rooms, most of them
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: with either bunk beds or twin beds. The walls painted
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: with giraffes and tall grass are galaxies and stars, a
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: girl's room with butterflies. All the rooms were equipped with
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: toys and books, born games, textbook's deaths, laptops, snapshots of
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: various ages, each personalized and almost living, with all the
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: soul imbued in them. Hall closet overflowing with blankets, pillows, towels,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: a bathroom with a brightly covered fish bath mat and
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: matching toothbrush holder and shower curtain. Tilda shuddered at all
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: that life gone, the bereft energy. She passed a mirror
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: in the hallway and shivered at the sight of herself
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: looking away. Immediately, even though the rooms were brimming with
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: the lives that had played out here. There were no
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: signs of anyone currently residing in this farmhouse. She'd happed
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: to check the silo on the barn later, but for
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: now she was satisfied. No one else was in this
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: house but them. It's clear, She called down to the
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: fretfully waiting Madison, her throat grating. She bent over the
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: wood and iron railing. I'm going to toss down some
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: blankets and pillows for us. We can sleep on that
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: big red couch. Madison nodded, leading Scout into the main
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: room and letting her lay down next to the fireplace.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Can I feed her? He shouted up to her timidly
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: as she filled her arms with the most comfortable and
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: warm looking comforters and pillows. Yes, just a small handful.
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: She returned, dropping what she'd collected over the side. They
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: landed on the floor near Madison with a woof. She
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: went back and pulled out even more, along with a
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: quilt she thought would be good for Scout, and toss
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: them over the side as well. She returned down the stairs,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: doing her best to mask her a fear at the
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: conversation she knew she had to have with Madison. Her
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: stomach had settled somewhat. She didn't feel like she was
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: going to spit up blood from the glass yards she
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: felt like were lodged in her throat anymore. But her
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: heart was still pounding, and she couldn't shake the feeling
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: that they were being stalked. Could you set these blankets up, please?
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: That patch quilt for scout. I'm going to check the
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: barn real quick. It was silly, but Tilda would be
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: foolish not to check it out. As she passed to
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: go out the side door, Madison reached out for her,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: almost of his own volition, but Tilda looked at him,
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: his eyes asking for her to stay. Something in her loosened.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: We come on stuck, She'd dread that somewhere once. I'll
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: be all right. I'll be right back, she whispered. She
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: shrugged one strap of her pack off and swung it
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: up to her front. Digging out a flashlight, she clicked
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: it on a bright blue fluorescent spotlight. Dancing around. She
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: passed it to him a torch to supplement the silver moonlight.
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: Take this, she fetched one for herself as well. Madison
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: took it, clutching it to his chest and swallowed his
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: gaze searching. You're hurt, I'll just be a minute. Reluctantly,
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Madison released his clutch on her jacket, and she just
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: as reluctantly turned away and passed back through the kitchen
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: and out the door. And that brings us to the
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: end of this portion of the fiction. I hope that
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: you enjoyed it. Like I said, it was definitely more introspective.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: I joked in the last one where I was like, oh,
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: I can see where I got these names from. I
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: definitely did look up, as I've said before, maps, and uh,
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: I mean, maybe it's not there anymore, but there really
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: wasn't Ellis Town when I was looking it up, So
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: that is where that came from. And yeah, this was
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: this was a tough ye. I feel like when I
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: was rereading this, when I got a little I was like, oh,
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: I remember exactly where I was when I wrote this.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I remember. But it does have that when you're when
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: you're from the South, a lot of times you've seen
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: this exact place I was describing, like those big you know,
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: those big like habins and they have the second story
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: that's open and as all the bunk beds on it,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: like this is what that is? Yes, I probably went
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: way too much into detail. That is one of the
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: issues I would say with Nano raimo, which you're like,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: let me describe everything in depth, but it is such
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: a specific I know exactly what this is. Also, I
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: apologize to Scout the horse. I don't know how horses work.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: I do know that this was not good for Scout.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: But no, no harm has come from any actual horse, No, no,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I just feel like after what happened, you
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: would have so much to wrestle with and with this
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: because they've gotten this call over the broadcast system, come
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: back to DC. There's a vaccine, like we can make
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: a vaccine, but we need Madison to do it, and
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: wrestling with that, and you're going to see a lot
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: more of that in the next one, which is very
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: dialogue heavy, But that's that's where they are. They're still
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: sort of trying to figure out what they're going to
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: do and being pursued by all these people and not
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: feeling safe anywhere. So if you're like me and you
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: like this, thanks for joining. If you don't like it,
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: thanks for joining. If you have any theories or anything
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: that you would like us to do that's in the
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: public domain in this realm. We love doing it. It's
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: fun for us to kind of try something different. Let
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: us know. You can email us at Stephanie Moms stuff
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: at iHeartMedia dot com. You find us on Twitter at
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: momstof podcast, or on Instagram and TikTok at stuff I've
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: Never Told You Luso on YouTube. We have tea Pulpit
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: store and we have a book you can get wherever
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: you get your books. Thanks as always to our super
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: producer Christina, our executive Christin Maya, and our contributor Joey.
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Thank you and thanks to you for listening. Stuff Never
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: Told You is production of my Heart Radio. For more
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: podcast from my Heart Radio, you can check out the
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever we listen to your
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: favorite shows