Chapter Twenty One

Sasha finds a car for her friends.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Chapter twenty one. Sasha. Alexander hadn't seen it coming. He
hadn't expected her at all. The sound of his furious
scream was the most beautiful thing Sasha had ever heard.
She hit him again and again, and he fell back
and then down to the ground. Blood streamed from his
nose in a gash above his brow. His eyes looked unfocused,

(00:22):
his lip was split. He tried to scream or cry
out or beg her, but she didn't give him the
time to say one damn word. Instead, she hit him
again and again and again. She didn't make the conscious
choice to dive down on top of him, and in fact,
Sasha was rather surprised to find herself straddling the prone,
broken boy soldier. But once she was there, she kept
hitting him until she felt his skull give way and

(00:44):
the helmet had something soft, squishy and hot that lay beyond.
She sat back and for what seemed like a year,
just stared at the helmet and bedded in Alexander's ruined face.
Blood pulsed out from around the edges where it met
the skin. The way the blood bubbled up looked just
a bit like the water and one of the fountains
outside the hospital, her mother ran. For some reason, that

(01:04):
similarity did more to raise her hackles than the act
of killing. Her ears still rang, and so it was
easy to lose herself. In contemplation of Alexander's body. Her
mind turned to the Book of John and the words
of her Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Do not be
like Cain who belonged to the evil One and murdered
his brother? And why did he murder him? Because his
own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous? Had

(01:28):
Alexander's actions truly been righteous? Sasha knew if she searched
the Bible she could find scriptural justifications for everything Alexander
had done. That's why she'd come here in the first place,
wasn't it The heavenly Kingdom was finally going back to
the letter of the Bible, the Word of God. Only
now that she'd seen what that looked like, Sasha had
found she could not abide it. Am I still a Christian?

(01:51):
She couldn't say. Her faith had been such a part
of her identity, it had been everything, and now it
felt like a lie. What am I if not a
righteous servant of the Lord? Where do I go from here?
Eizash little problem here. Roland's voice jerked her out of
her contemplation. She looked back at the man and her
mind recoiled in terror. His skin had been shredded by gunfire.

(02:13):
It hung in pale tatters down his face and arms.
His clothing had largely been shot away, and the rags
that remained were so drenched in blood that they clung
to him. He looked almost as if he was clad
in a single giant scab one if his eyes was unfocussed, dislocated,
and something had happened to his left arm, it looked
as if an enormous straight razor had burst out of
the forearm. Where did you get that? She asked. Sasha

(02:36):
was surprised and a bit disturbed by her curiosity. Roland
seemed surprised too this. He looked at the blade. I
really no, Ha'd sort of forgotten it was in there.
He lifted his arm and its blood soaked blade up
and looked at it like a small child opening a
prized gift on Christmas morning. Then he flicked his arm
down towards the ground, and the blade slid back into

(02:57):
the meat of his forearm with a wet thwack. Look,
he said, we got more press and shit to deal
with right now. You're all those sirens. She actually couldn't.
Her hearing had begun to recover from the gunfight, but
Roland was just barely audible. Allowed Tenita's hum still rang
through her ears. Sasha was pretty sure she'd suffered permanent damage.
I can't hear much right now, she said. The gunfire,

(03:19):
you know. Oh, he frowned. I forgot that could happen
to you folks. Well, ah, there's a shitload of cops
or martyrs or militia whatever. A bunch of them are coming,
probably two or three hundred. They got tanks and drones
and shit, God Almighty, Sasha felt fear rise up in
her heart again. Yeah, listen, God's not really the dude
to worry about right now. Manny's all fucked up. I
stopped his bleeding, but you're gonna need to get him

(03:41):
out of here. Manny, she'd forgotten all about him. Sasha
realized with a start that she'd blotted the rest of
the room from her mind. She looked around and took
it all in. Manny was still lying where she'd left him,
nursing a gunshot wound to the belly. He was pale, sweaty,
and he looked to be in terrible pain. But he
was conscious and alive. That was more than she could
say for Marigold. The poor woman had been shredded by

(04:03):
shotgun fire. Sasha couldn't bring herself to look too closely
at the shattered, steaming remains, But Marigold's friends were alive.
The young man Rick was unconscious and drenched in blood,
but most of that blood didn't seem to be his own.
His head was in Tullie's lap. She'd been wounded in
the buttocks and bled quite a lot, but the wounds
seemed to have clotted. There were tears and a haunted,

(04:24):
pained look in her eyes. Oh my god, Sasha said,
once her mind started to process the visual stimuli. Lord
in Heaven, No, no, no, no, that poor woman, that
unborn child. How could this happen? How could this be? Sasha,
Roland shouted, This is a very bad time for you
to have emotions. Try killing those for a while. How
just think about the fact that every one but me

(04:46):
will die if you don't get your shit together, and
then get your shit together. Her initial action was anger
and frustration. Is he that disconnected from humanity? Does he
think people can just turn their empathy off? But then
she stopped herself listen him and tried. She imagined herself
putting on a heavy jacket, something that blocked out pain
and horror rather than the cold. It worked, okay, she said,

(05:10):
what do I need to do? You need to take
Manny and uh, what's her name? And what's his face? Tooley?
And Rick? Right, take the non dead people, run down
and out the back door, and find me a car.
Then you need to a car. He stopped sifting through
the dead man's firearms to roll his eyes at her. Yes,
a car. I'm not going to carry all you lame
bloods out of here on my fucking shoulders. We'll need

(05:31):
a getaway vehicle. I can't drive, she said. All the
cars in the amphet are autonomous. He shrugged. You'll figure
it out. Many moaned just then, almost as if it
was in response to Roland's suggestion. Sasha knew it was
more likely she'd just been too focused on the big
posthuman to notice Manny's pained moans the whole time. Can
he drive? Sasha asked, sure, Roland said with sudden cheer

(05:53):
He's only lost what two quarts of blood? I gave
him a little mine. I'm sure he'll be right his
rain soon, Manny moaned again, handed his blood soaked belly.
He didn't appear to be bleeding still, but he was
pale and his face showed agony too obvious to ignore.
Sasha doubted he'd be capable of driving a car in
the immediate future. I can drive, Toulli said, in a cracked,

(06:14):
broken sounding voice. Right Roland said, well, that's lovely. Get
your asses up and get moving. You've got about two
minutes before shitting fans start their lovely dance. The posthuman's
good humor was incongruous in this blood soaked room. Addressed
to two people who'd lost a friend to day. He
grabbed one of the guard's pistols, which he'd shoved in
his waistband, and handed it to Sasha. Safety's off, he said, cheerily,

(06:36):
So once you pull the trigger, stuff'll happen. Sasha took
the gun and then went over to help Manny up.
Toullie did the same thing with her wounded friend. Neither
Manny or Rick were in great shape, but Manny at
least seemed capable of standing under his own power. Once
Sasha got him to his feet, he stayed there. She
looked him in the eye, and while he seemed sort
of dazed and glassy, his pupils fixed on hers, and

(06:59):
he nodded. We have to go, She said, sitra tempoima.
He muttered what Sasha asked said, it's about fuckin' time.
Just follow me, she said, with more confidence than she felt.
I'll take care of everything. Oh fuck that, Manny said.
He put a hand on her shoulder and moved as
if to push in front of her and shield her

(07:19):
with his body. Then he grabbed a side, groaned, and
staggered back. All right, yeah, you lead the way men.
Tully was up now. She had an arm around her friend,
and together they moved almost as fast as a single
elderly person with bad hips. Mannie was not much more mobile.
Sasha looked back at Roland. Where should we meet you?

(07:41):
The next street behind this building is called Alma. Take
it and go left until you hit a road named
Cross Bend. I should be there by the time you arrive.
What if we can't find a he cut her off.
Not finding a car is not an option. Talking more
is not an option. I have to go kill people.
You find something with wheels and get Tully in the
driver's seat. Sasha star to say something, but the sirens

(08:01):
had drawn very close. Indeed, she heard several shouts from
outside the front of the building. Roland cursed. He'd already
gathered up two of the rifles and slung them across
his back. He had a large pistol in his left hand.
At the sound of the shouting, he brought his right
hand up to his belly and dug it deep inside
his skin. Sasha watched in horror as he tore a heavy,
blood caked weapon out of his gut. Roland walked up

(08:23):
to the front window of the room and fired the
weapon once, twice, three times. Its report was deep and bassy,
like the sound of a heavy drum being struck. There
was a brief island of quiet, followed by a trio
of explosions that rattled the walls of the jail. Look.
Roland said as he glanced back to her, I gotta
go be a distraction. Find the car. Get to cross
bend in Almah, I'll be therein. He glanced out the

(08:45):
window again and shrugged. Ten maybe eleven minutes. Okay should
Sasha started to ask talking time is done. Toolie's flat
voice interrupted, he moves, We move now. She pulled her
friend towards the door. Would have been something almost comical
about the agonizing slowness with which they actually moved, but
the gesture had its intended effect. Sasha took Manny by

(09:08):
the hand. She let Tully lead the way to the door,
but once they were in the hallway, the young woman
had no idea where to go. Sasha took the lead
then and guided her new comrades towards a flashing red
exit sign that she knew led to a rear stairwell.
For a brief passing second, she'd been worried that they
might encounter other guards or jailers during their flight. That
concern proved groundless. Gunfire had torn through the walls of

(09:30):
the examination room and ripped apart the interior of the jail.
She saw a few gouts of blood by the walls,
and one sinister looking pool of it beneath a desk.
It all drove an important lesson home for Sasha. Bullets
don't stop when they miss. The stairwall was as deserted
as the rest of the jail. They hobbled down at
as quickly as three wounded people could manage. Sasha stayed

(09:50):
in the back, under the instinctive assumption that it'd be
best for morale if she didn't rush ahead. Their progress
down the stairs was painfully slow, almost every step punctuated
by the sound of gunfire out on the street below.
It sounded like a full scale war had broken out there.
There was a lot of screaming, and Sasha tried not
to think too much about which of the nice young
martyrs she'd met in the square were now dying by

(10:11):
Roland's hand. What about Anne? What about Susanna? You're abandoning them?
Sasha shook the thoughts clear from her head. There'd be
time for self loathing later. Tully and Rick reached the
bottom floor first. They leaned back against the wall together
and caught their breath. Rick was as white as a
sheet and looked like he could still barely stand. Tullie
was doing better, but not by a wide margin. When

(10:34):
she and Manny hit the bottom floor, he went straight
for the exit door. He clearly intended to be the
first out in case anyone had a weapon trained on
the door. Sasha stopped him. That wasn't hard, because he
was only a little more stable than Tully. She pushed
him back, put a hand on the door, and then
drew the pistol Roland had given her. She fixed Mannie
with what she hoped was a firm, fearless look. You're

(10:54):
in no state to be heroic. He looked at her
as if he wanted to fight her, but then he
looked down at the shaking hand he had pressed into
the sopping wound in his side. Yeah, all right, you
down to do the hero stuff. Then she nodded, well,
then be my guest. Sasha didn't know how to use

(11:17):
a gun. The m FED band almost all private firearm ownership.
Her grandfather had owned a couple of bolt action hunting rifles,
and he'd let Sasha hold them a few times. That
was as close as she'd gotten too firearms training. She'd
never actually shot the darned things. Once he'd died, her
father had sold the guns rather than deal with the
hassle and expense of a license. So she burst out

(11:39):
onto the street with the pistol held high in front
of her, like she'd seen in movies. It took her
a few seconds to realize, sheepishly, that this behavior was
more likely to get her gun down than aid in
her defense. Thankfully, there'd been no martyrs watching the rear exit.
Sasha waved for the others to follow her out and
stashed the pistol under her shirt. For a few minutes,
they'd ran, or rather hobbled, in what seemed like the

(12:00):
right direction. The city still rang with the sound of sirens, gunfire,
and the occasional concussive blast, but it seemed to be
moving away from them. Plino wasn't exactly crowded, but there
were enough people out on the street to notice the
fresh wounds on Tulli, Rick, and Manny. No one approached them,
though Sasha wasn't sure if they passed unnoticed, but they
were able to pass through the city without incident. Fear

(12:22):
and the flight reflex were enough to carry them a
few blocks in relative haste. Once they were out of
sight of the jail, Rick put up a hand as
he slumped back against the wall. Tully continued to hold
him up. She was pale, sweaty, and pained looking. Ryan
shook and shuddered. His eyes were unfocussed, and he was
clearly in shock. He needs to rest, Tulli said. Manny

(12:43):
stopped next to them and leaned against the wall as well.
He nodded at Tully and then looked back to Sasha. Yeah, ditto,
I might prefer to lay down and die at this point.
We need to find a car anyway, Tulli said, as
she helped lower Rick down to sit against the wall.
If I carry him for much longer, I'm going to drop.
Sasha realized everyone was looking at her. Is that my job?

(13:06):
Manny looked mortified, Tullie looked angry. Rick bless him, was
too deep and shocked to react. Yes, Toulli said, in
a toneless voice that still somehow implied deep disappointment. Okay,
then Sasha said, when I find the car, I assume
you'll know how to hot wire it. Tully laughed. It
wasn't a nice laugh. If you're hiding a real nice

(13:27):
deck somewhere and that's silly head of yours, or you
find a car that's older than my dad. Maybe otherwise
we're going to need something with keys in it. What
so I'm just supposed to carjack someone. Tully stared dead
eyed at her. Manny gave a pained, helpful smile. I
mean you've got a gun, he said. Sasha felt the
heat rise in her again. Why not, I've given up

(13:49):
every other principle I have to day, I might as
well commit armed robbery, the guilt staying her guts, but
not as badly as it should have. Perhaps she was
still numb from watching Doctor Brandton Marigold. Or maybe it's
because I killed Alexander. Maybe I'm evil now and this
is what that feels like. There was no time to
mold the possibilities. Sasha left Manny and the others to
catch their breath and darted down an alley towards a

(14:11):
larger street that sounded like it might have traffic. She
passed two parked cars and looked inside with the vain
hope that, just maybe someone might have left their keys behind.
It was to no avail. Sasha soon found herself on
the cracked and shell pocked asphalt of Alma Road. The
buildings on either side of this stretch of street had
taken significant damage during the Heavenly Kingdom's birth panes. There

(14:32):
were no people out on the sidewalks or visible in
the windows. Anyone alive had probably hunkered down to avoid
the shooting. There was still traffic on the road, though,
three trucks and a dentted, fume spewing white sedan shot
by her at the speed of wartime traffic. Sasha drew
her gun, looked at it, and then hurriedly stashed it
inside her blouse again when she realized how dumb that

(14:53):
had been. Godly women do not carry guns. A series
of four loud booms sounded in the distance. Sasha didn't
know enough about weaponry to guess what those had been,
but she knew they'd had something to do with Rowland.
People are dying, so I can find us a car
and get everyone to safety. She started walking down the street,
face pointed towards oncoming traffic, hands waving above her head

(15:15):
in the international gesture for oh God, please help me.
Two more cars zoomed past without even slowing to check
on her. It was odd how that shocked her after
everything else she'd seen in the heavenly Kingdom, the faithful
protect and support each other, pastor Mike had claimed, But not,
it seemed, when a half human monster was on a
rampage through their city. That helped debate her guilt, at least,

(15:36):
or it did right up until the moment a familiar
jankie brown truck rumbled to a stop next to her.
Squise me, ma'am, do you need She turned around, and
the man's face lit up in surprise, Miss Sasha. It
was Darryll, the kindly old foreman who driven her to
the House of Miriam on her first day in the kingdom.
Was that really only days ago? Seemed like years? Sasha

(15:57):
felt like an old woman, even though she was just
on the edge of eighteen. You hurt? He slammed the
car into park and opened his door one sec I
got a first aid kit in the back. Where'd you
get hit? Sasha looked down at her chest and realized
she looked like she'd been badly injured. The blood wasn't hers,
of course, but Darrell couldn't have known that. He thought
she was hurt and he was trying to help. Am

(16:18):
I really going to rob a good Samaritan? She was?
Sasha waited until Darrell had closed the door, grabbed his
medical kit and turned towards her. Then she drew her
pistol and leveled it at his weathered, grease stained, and
now thoroughly surprised face. WHOA, I need your truck. I
need your truck, she said. Darrell dropped the medical kit
and put both his palms out. Oh now, girl, all right,

(16:41):
why don't you just put that gun down. Darrell ain't
gonna hurt you. I'll take you anywhere you need to go.
Let's just be real, calm, real slow about all this.
Did somebody hurt you? I need your truck? It was
so hard to keep her voice, even, so hard to
do this cruel thing to a man who'd only been
kind to her. Sasha could feel white hot tears streamed
down her face. I must look like a crazy person,

(17:02):
she thought. Maybe that will help, now, Miss Sasha, Darrell said,
I'm a guess you don't know how to drive a truck.
Mine ain't autonomous, it's old stick shift. Please, why don't
you let me take you where you need to go?
Sasha's mind raced. It was the same species of nervousness
that had always gripped her during major exams in college
admissions essays. She ran through and discarded a dozen different

(17:23):
courses of action in her head. What if he won't
give me the keys, What if he takes another step forward?
What if he moved? It started with a single glance,
Darrell's eyes darted towards the driver's side door of his truck.
She almost didn't catch it, but for whatever reason, the
gesture rose goose pimples on the back of her neck
and forearms. I need your truck. Her voice was cold, strong, firm.

(17:47):
Darrell nodded at her. His body posture stayed the same,
but his eyes changed. There was something hard and haunted
in them. Now, all right, miss Sasha, I'm just gonna
reach in here for my keys. He took a step
back and moved towards the door. The bottom fell out
of Sasha's gut and she screamed at him to stop.
Don't make another move. He dove for the door, pulled

(18:08):
it open, and reached a hand down beside the driver's seat.
Sasha saw a flash of metal in his hand, and
she opened fire. She wasn't sure how many times she
pulled the trigger, but soon the gun was empty. Sasha
watched as Darrell stumbled back into the truck and then
slid to the ground. Most of her shots had gone wide,
very wide. She'd chattered two of the truck's windows and
put four or five rounds into the vehicle's body, but

(18:29):
at least one had hit Darrell right in his throat,
a kill shot. He slumped to the ground, gagged on blood,
and jerked like an electrified marionette. Part of her wanted
to run to him, to hold him while he died,
and say she was sorry. Then she saw the gun
at his feet. It didn't dissipate her guilt, after all,
she'd drawn on him first. But at least she hadn't
shot and killed an unarmed man. She'd killed an armed man,

(18:53):
an armed man who only ever helped me. Sasha slumped
against the hood of the truck and lost herself in
a storm of sobs. She didn't realize she dropped her
gun until it hit the asphalt with a dull clank.
She couldn't control her hands or her breathing. Her frantic
sobbing had robbed all the air from her lungs. Her
legs weakened, and she started to stumble to the ground
when a pair of warm, semi strong arms caught her

(19:14):
from behind. Hey, Hey, it's all right, it's all right, Manny,
it's okay. You're gonna be okay. Her world went black
for a little while. Sasha felt Mannie lift her up,
heard the sound of the truck's engine rumble back to life.
But she couldn't see, and she couldn't move, and she
couldn't stop crying. Time lost any sort of meaning. When
she came back to herself, they were in motion. Mannie

(19:37):
sat next to her, and Rick next to him. Tully drove.
Sasha's eyes were drawn to Mannie. He held Darrell's pistol
in his left hand. She couldn't help but stare at
the four spots of dried blood on the silver slide.
You all right, Sasha, Mannie asked. His question passed through
her ears without hitting her mind. Sasha couldn't stop staring
at Darrell's blood. I did that. I ended him. She'd

(20:00):
ended two men to day. She felt no guilt about Alexander,
but that was almost more disturbing. It seemed impossible that
she'd been a pampered suburban girl less than a month ago.
Now she was a murderer. Whoever sheds human blood by humans,
shall their blood be shed? Sasha felt as if a
thick cloud of doom had fallen on her shoulders. The
truck veered off to the right and slammed to a

(20:22):
sudden stop. Sasha was flung forward into the back of
Tullie's seat. A trio of vehicles zoomed past them, speeding
in the opposite direction, like several bats fleeing the same hell.
Sasha realized with a moment's focus that there was an
awful lot of traffic heading away from them as fast
as possible. Promp Tullie cursed and fought with a stick shift.
The truck lurched forward again and made it back onto

(20:44):
the road for a few seconds. Then another speeding car
roared into the on coming lane and she was forced
to veer off to the shoulder again. The sounds of
gunfire grew louder. Sasha heard the thrumb of helicopter blades too,
a second before one buzzed right over their heads. It
looked like a military vehicle, painted matt black and laden
with weapons. Sasha watched as it zoomed ahead and rose

(21:05):
up over a pair of high rise apartment buildings near
the horizon line. There was a loud crump sound, and
black smoke billowed out from the side of the craft.
It spun around drunkenly in the air for one very
long second before slamming into the roof of one of
the high rises. The resultant blast rocked the truck. Tuleye
veered left and right around a pothole at another speeding truck, respectively.

(21:26):
Her knuckles were white, her jaw was clenched. Sasha could
see Tully's eyes in the rear view mirror. She looked
terrified and angry at the same time. Rick moaned in
pain with every shaken jostle. Manny closed his eyes, shook
his head, and muttered something low under his breath. Are
we close, Sasha asked Manny. He squinted and looked out
at the road for a second. I mean, he shrugged. Eah, probably,

(21:48):
I'm gonna guess. Rollins close to the explosions and also
causing them. Smoke now dominated the horizon, which grew less
horizony and more imminent with each passing second. In spite
of all that, Sasha's eyes kept being drawn back to
the gun in Manny's hand and the dry red brown
stains on the slide that was a good man's blood.
She thought, how did it come to this? Hey, Jesus girl,

(22:11):
it was Tulli. Sasha looked up to the rear view
mirror and locked eyes with the other woman. But the
fuck up Cheeka, Toulli said. For the first time, Sasha
heard real anger and not just cold indifference in her voice.
The other woman continued, My best friend was just shot
to pieces, My lover is bleeding out, and you're all
fucked up because you'd gunned down some crystal fascist ship.

(22:32):
Fuck suck your heart into your guts. I don't know
where you came from, girl, but you're in a hard
ass part of the world. Now it's time to fortify. Fortify.
Sasha held on to that word like a life preserver. Fortify, survive,
then you can lose your head in tears and shame. Okay,
she nodded. She started to apologize, but was interrupted when

(22:52):
the truck screeched to another's sudden halt and threw everyone forward.
Sasha's head hit the front seat again, and her world
dissolved into stars. Shit. Toullie cried, something rammed the rear
of the truck. Sasha lost all orientation to reality. When
her head and eyes cleared, the first thing she saw
was Toullie nursing a broken nose. Blood poured down the
other woman's face. Manny seemed intact. Sasha looked behind them

(23:16):
and saw a small sedan had dashed itself against the
bed of their truck and must have been following right behind.
When Tullie hit the brakes. Sasha swung her eyes front
to see why they'd stopped. She saw Rowland. He stood
maybe ten feet in front of the truck's hood. That
arm raiser of his was extended again, but the blade
was cracked and half shattered. His other hand held some

(23:36):
sort of large, black assault rifle he hadn't been carrying
in the jail. The pistol grip grenade launcher he'd been
carrying was still with him, but he'd holstered it in
an open hole in his belly. The left side of
his cheek had been ripped away. Most of his hair
was burnt off, and Sasha made out at least one
clear bullet hole in his forehead. There might have been more.
All the caked on blood and gore made it hard

(23:57):
to discern. His clothing had been mostly shot, burned torn away.
The dominant colors on his body were black and red,
with a few horrible spots of white where bone shone through.
In the open air. The city behind him was all
smoke and fire. Emergency lights from several vehicles blinked madly
in the measthma, but there were no martyrs or emergency
workers visible, at least none that were standing. Sasha saw

(24:19):
several terribly still bodies lying among the piles of rubble.
Roland staggered towards the truck and flung the passenger's side
door open. He slumped into the seat, bringing with him
an overpowering stink of blood and fire. He leaned back
in his seat and took three long breaths, and then
he spoke, Wait, head's pretty clear, but you might want
to hang a right and then take a left avoid

(24:41):
the traffic. Truly nodded, and the truck jerked forward again.
The rhinout was so easy it scared Sasha. In fact,
it seemed to scare everyone, but Roland. Manny's knuckles grew
whiter and whiter. They navigated their way out of the
old Metroplex Toolly's expression didn't change, but her body shook

(25:05):
with nervous energy, and her jaw was set so tight
that the veins on her neck bulged from the strain.
It was a mercy that Rick was unconscious by that point.
Convoys of military vehicles rolled past them, sometimes escorting ambulances
and other emergency vehicles, sometimes bringing more soldiers to the
chunk of the city. Roland had devastated. Sasha's heart leaped
into her throat every single time, but somehow no one

(25:27):
stopped their truck. Roland assured them all that it would
be fine. I kicked their asses so hard it'll take
him an hour to find their cheeks. His only discomfort
came once they left the zone of active danger. He
seemed to deflate. Then, after a half hour on the road,
his wounds had mostly healed. The new skin that grew
back underneath seemed weirdly dark compared to the skin above it.

(25:48):
Roland scratched at it in irritation, and then as casually
as if he'd been tossing an apple corps, he ripped
off his face in one smooth at motion and tossed
the bloody skin out the window. Jesus, dude, Manny said, disgusted.
Couldn't you have waited until we weren't all in the car?
Sasha stared in shock. Her hands started to tremble, and
she felt the urge to vomit, but she fought it

(26:10):
down and forced her stomach to an uneasy calm. You've
seen worse than this now, and that was true. She
looked back at Roland and forced herself to take in
his new face, which she guessed was really his old face.
Neither iteration of him had been exactly handsome. She watched
in queasy fascination as he picked the rest of the
white skin from his hands and tossed it out the window.

(26:32):
When he'd finished, he glanced up at Sasha. What he asked,
Please tell me you're not a racist. This would be
a real bad time for you to be racist. She's
not racist, dude, Manny said, you just ripped your skin off.
That freaks people out. Oh, said Roland, Right, sorry, it's okay,
she said, this is just my first time seeing someone

(26:52):
rip off their own skin. First Roland grunted, but probably
not last. Sasha didn't have the guts to question him,
so she kept quiet for the rest of the ride,
so did most of the other passengers. For a long time,
the only sounds inside the truck were Rick's unconscious moans
and Rowland's occasional directions to Tully. He led them through
underpopulated neighborhoods and around checkpoints, past blackened buildings and wrecks

(27:16):
of military vehicles destroyed during the Heavenly Kingdom's first great advance.
Sasha was surprised at the emptiness of most of the city.
She began to understand why Mannie called this place Sioda
de Muerta. It took them two hours to escape the
city sprawl and finally make their way out onto the
open plains. They avoided the main highway that linked Dallas
to Waco, and instead spider webbed their way across a

(27:38):
series of farm roads. Every few minutes, they'd rolled past
the bones of a rural town. Every town out here
seemed abandoned, as dead and dry as the acres of
yellow grass that swallowed them up. A little before dark,
they rolled over a decrepit bridge across a dry river bed.
A bullet riddled sign identified this area as Basqui County.
Roland put a hand on manny shoulder and pointed towards

(28:01):
a big metal barn on the horizon. Take us up there.
We should probably stop for the night. What Tully spoke up?
Why we could be at rolling fuck in an hour?
Roland shook his head. We got two routes back to
the city. Either we find the main highway and deal
with Kingdom patrols, or we keep ride in these country roads.
That'll take at least another two or three hours and

(28:21):
a lot of time off road in the dark. There's
no better recipe for cracking an axle or blowing at tire.
Tully fumed, but she rolled the truck up and threw
a gap in what had once been the fence line
of a farm. There were a lot of farmhouses around them,
stretched out across acres and acres of fields and pecan orchards.
They all looked abandoned, devoid of light, half reclaimed by vegetation.

(28:43):
The barn Roland led them to was just as empty.
There were large holes in the sheet metal roof, and
chunks of the metal walls had been peeled away for
scrap metal. The underlying structure had been built from metal girders,
though it seemed solid. They got out of the truck,
Roland helped Tully carry her lover across the last few
yards of field and into the old barn. The innerds
of the building were dusty. Rusted tools hung from the wall,

(29:05):
and boxes of assorted goods littered the floor. Some of
them had been ripped open by scavengers, but most looked
like they'd sat unmolested since the property had been abandoned.
Mannie found an old couch inside Roland and Tulli helped
Rick on to it. Then Roland walked off into the
middle of the barn and started to root around in boxes.
He came back a minute later with a load of
canned goods in one arm and a handle of brown

(29:27):
liquor in the other. He sat the whole lot down
on the ground next to the couch, held up a
can labeled water in big red letters, and then punched
his finger through the top of the can. He handed
it to Tully and she helped Rick drink. He was
semi conscious now, Sasha thought there might be a little
more color in his cheeks. Roland opened three more cans,
one of water and two filled with some sort of

(29:48):
gloopy beef stew. He ripped the aluminum tops open with
his bare fingers and then passed them around. Sasha was
still too deep in the throes of depression and adrenaline
dumpage to have any kind of appetite. The brown gray
color of the stew didn't help with that, but Mannie
insisted she take a gulp, and as soon as the
food hit her tongue, Sasha realized she was starving. She

(30:08):
took two more deep gulps of the salty, mushy mass
before passing it along to Tulli. The crew ate and
rehydrated without conversation, Although not in silence. The sounds of
gulping and lip smacking filled the barn for a few minutes.
Roland didn't join in the eating. Instead, he popped open
the liquor bottle and drained it dry over the course
of about ninety seconds. The big man closed his eyes,

(30:29):
a smile crept up onto his features, and he gave
a deep, contented sigh. When the food was almost gone,
he stood up and staggered back into the piles of
gear to grab two more bottles. These ones were filled
with an off yellow liquid. He sat one down in
between Mannie and Sasha and immediately began to guzzle the second.
Mannie glanced at Sasha, then at Tulli, then down at
the bottle. He popped the top and took a belt.

(30:52):
Then he offered it to Sasha. If there was ever
a time to dive into drinking, it's the day I
killed two people. Sasha took the bottle and stared at
it for a second. The label said Talisker and identified
it as a product of Scotland. The bottle itself was
covered in dust. Hey, Roland, she asked, suddenly curious. Did
you know this place would have food and water and alcohol?

(31:14):
Roland paused draining his second bottle and fixed Sasha with
his strange blue eyes. He looked tired for the first
time since she'd met him. Sasha wasn't sure if that
was due to the rampage he'd just carried out or
her question. I've been here before, he half mumbled, years ago,
back before this old chunk of dirt was as much
of a shithole as it is now. Wait did you

(31:35):
used to live here? Manny asked, I don't know. Roland shrugged.
What do you mean you don't know? You clearly know
this farm. He shrugged and gave a vague wave with
his free hand. I have memories of this place, bright
lights at night, people dancing, drugs and wine, and people
in songs. I am memories of packing the supplies in
the boxes, buying ammunition. He nodded towards the still locked

(31:56):
door of the barn. I remember locking that thing up,
But I don't remember or why exactly. I might have
lived here, might have belonged to a friend. Either way,
I feel like the last time I was here was
back before the revolution. His mind is full of holes,
Mannie explained, something happened to him a few years back.
He remembers pieces of who he is, what he's done,
but not everything. Tully kicked Sasha gently in the hip.

(32:18):
She gestured to the bottle of whisky. If you're not
drinking past the bottle, some of us have grieving to do.
On impulse, Sasha took a pole from the bottle. She
started to hand it over to Tulli, but then the
taste hit her and she gagged. It was like someone
had lit a fire in her throat, one that tasted
of burning peat. She coughed and hacked for several seconds,
while Tulli and Roland laughed. Once she'd regained her breath,

(32:40):
Sasha finally handed off the bottle. You'll get better at it,
the woman said, her lips twisted up into what might
have been a real smile. Whisky's in acquired taste, like
cigars nanarchy. Tully took a very deep pole and sighed
and satisfaction, She handed the bottle off to Manny and
started gently heading Rick's face. The wounded man was asleep,

(33:02):
but he seemed much healthier than he had been a
half hour earlier. How are you doing, Sasha, Manny asked.
His eyes met hers, and Sasha saw a deep concern
in his gaze. I'm fine, she said, not really meaning it.
She's all fucked up over the guy she killed for
the truck. Toullie grunted, shouldn't be fucker picked the wrong side,

(33:24):
So did I. Sasha tried to keep the anger out
of her voice. At first, Darrow was a good man.
He didn't deserve to die. Neither did Marigold, said Toulli.
Neither did Major Pirrone. Manny added, in a quiet voice.
They hung him on the day you and I met.
The whole world's full of good dead people, said Tullie.
My advice don't cry over someone you shot in self defense.

(33:47):
That's a karmac freebie. The guy had a gun, Manny added,
seems like he just did what she had to do.
Roland was quiet through all this. He kept drinking, but
his pace had slowed. His face took on a dark cast,
and he slumped down into his chair. He seemed to
collapse in on himself. A little look Cheeka, Toullie said.
There was a slight, drunken slurry were words. Now. I

(34:09):
know I gave you a hard time, and it was
dumb as fucky in a mood of this kingdom, But
I give you credit for breaking free and for helping
us escape. You might be a little dumb, but you
aren't bad people in my book. Don't beat yourself up
over doing what you had to do. There was quiet
for a little while. Manny passed the bottle to Sasha.
She took another gulp and managed to hold it down.

(34:29):
This time. Toullie nodded an approval. When Sasha passed the
whiskey on, Sasha found her eyes drawn once more to
Darrell's gun. It was tucked into Toollie's waistband. Roland cleared
his throat and gave a loud, flimmy cough. Sasha looked
back at him. You didn't ask me for an opinion,
he said, But since everyone else's way in, and I
might as well. There ain't nothing wrong with feeling bad

(34:51):
about murder, even justified murder. But personally, I don't think
that's what's fucking you up. What do you mean, she asked.
He drained the l asked of the whiskey bottle and
tossed it off into the darkness. It landed with a clank.
I got real good senses, you know, can't turn them off.
So I heard your heart right. I smelled the narrow
transmitters running through you synapses. I could taste the guilt

(35:13):
wafting off you. But that's not the only thing I taste.
He locked his unsteady gaze on hers. Sasha stared into
the cold blue of his pupils. A chill ran down
her spine, Sweat beaded on the back of her neck.
When he spoke next, his voice was barely above a whisper.
Back at the jail, When you crushed that guy's skull
with a helmet, you enjoyed yourself. You liked it. Sasha

(35:35):
broke his gaze. She stared down at her lap and
struggled to find a reply, but there was nothing else
for her to say. Roland was right. Hey, I'm Robert Evans.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I hope you enjoyed
the chapters to come. You can find the free epub
of every chapter, and eventually the whole book at atrbook

(35:56):
dot com, complete with illustrations. If you want to support
me in writing the sequel, you can crowdfund me at
After the Revolution the Sequel at go fund Me. Just
type and go fund me After the Revolution the Sequel.
I'd like my books to always be free, so I'm
just going to try to crowdfund the next one and
see how that works. So After the Revolution the Sequel
on go fund me. You can also find the community

(36:19):
of fans of this book online at r slash after
the Revolution on Reddit. So After the Revolution the Sequel
on go fund me and r slash after the Revolution
on Reddit. Atrbook dot com for the whole book. Thanks