0:02

Chapter twenty one. Sasha.

0:05

Alexander hadn't seen it coming. He

0:07

hadn't expected her at all. The sound of

0:09

his furious scream was the most beautiful

0:12

thing Sasha had ever heard. She

0:14

hit him again and again, and he fell back

0:16

and then down to the ground. Blood

0:18

streamed from his nose in a gash above his brow.

0:20

His eyes looked unfocused, his lip was

0:22

split. He tried to scream or cry out

0:25

or beg her, but she didn't give him the time to say

0:27

one damn word. Instead, she hit

0:29

him again and again and again. She

0:32

didn't make the conscious choice to dive down

0:34

on top of him, and in fact, Sasha was rather

0:36

surprised to find herself straddling the prone,

0:38

broken boy soldier. But once

0:40

she was there, she kept hitting him until she felt

0:43

his skull give way and the helmet had

0:45

something soft, squishy and hot that lay

0:47

beyond. She sat back and

0:49

for what seemed like a year, just stared at the

0:51

helmet and bedded in Alexander's ruined

0:53

face. Blood pulsed out from around

0:55

the edges where it met the skin. The way

0:57

the blood bubbled up looked just a bit like the

0:59

water and one of the fountains outside the hospital,

1:02

her mother ran. For some reason, that

1:04

similarity did more to raise her hackles

1:06

than the act of killing. Her

1:08

ears still rang, and so it was easy to lose

1:10

herself. In contemplation of Alexander's body.

1:13

Her mind turned to the Book of John and the words

1:15

of her Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. Do

1:18

not be like Cain who belonged to the evil

1:20

One and murdered his brother? And why did

1:22

he murder him? Because his own actions were

1:24

evil and his brothers were righteous?

1:28

Had Alexander's actions truly been righteous?

1:30

Sasha knew if she searched the Bible she

1:32

could find scriptural justifications

1:34

for everything Alexander had done. That's

1:37

why she'd come here in the first place, wasn't it

1:39

The heavenly Kingdom was finally going back

1:42

to the letter of the Bible, the Word of

1:44

God. Only now that she'd seen what

1:46

that looked like, Sasha had found she could

1:48

not abide it. Am I still a

1:50

Christian? She couldn't say. Her

1:52

faith had been such a part of her identity, it

1:54

had been everything, and now it felt

1:56

like a lie. What am I if not

1:59

a righteous servant of the Lord? Where

2:01

do I go from here? Eizash

2:03

little problem here. Roland's voice

2:05

jerked her out of her contemplation. She looked

2:08

back at the man and her mind recoiled in terror.

2:11

His skin had been shredded by gunfire.

2:13

It hung in pale tatters down his face and arms.

2:16

His clothing had largely been shot away, and

2:18

the rags that remained were so drenched in blood

2:20

that they clung to him. He looked almost

2:22

as if he was clad in a single giant scab

2:25

one if his eyes was unfocussed, dislocated,

2:27

and something had happened to his left arm,

2:30

it looked as if an enormous straight razor had

2:32

burst out of the forearm. Where

2:34

did you get that? She asked. Sasha

2:36

was surprised and a bit disturbed by her curiosity.

2:39

Roland seemed surprised too this. He

2:42

looked at the blade. I really no, Ha'd

2:44

sort of forgotten it was in there. He lifted

2:47

his arm and its blood soaked blade up and

2:49

looked at it like a small child opening a prized

2:51

gift on Christmas morning. Then he

2:53

flicked his arm down towards the ground, and

2:55

the blade slid back into the meat of his forearm

2:58

with a wet thwack. Look,

3:00

he said, we got more press and shit to

3:02

deal with right now. You're all those sirens.

3:05

She actually couldn't. Her hearing had begun

3:07

to recover from the gunfight, but Roland was just

3:09

barely audible. Allowed Tenita's

3:11

hum still rang through her ears. Sasha

3:14

was pretty sure she'd suffered permanent damage.

3:16

I can't hear much right now, she said. The

3:18

gunfire, you know. Oh,

3:20

he frowned. I forgot that could happen to you folks.

3:23

Well, ah, there's a shitload

3:25

of cops or martyrs or militia whatever. A bunch

3:27

of them are coming, probably two or three hundred.

3:29

They got tanks and drones and shit, God

3:31

Almighty, Sasha felt fear rise

3:33

up in her heart again. Yeah, listen,

3:36

God's not really the dude to worry about right now. Manny's

3:38

all fucked up. I stopped his bleeding, but you're gonna

3:40

need to get him out of here. Manny, she'd

3:42

forgotten all about him. Sasha realized

3:45

with a start that she'd blotted the rest of the room from

3:47

her mind. She looked around and took

3:49

it all in. Manny was still lying

3:51

where she'd left him, nursing a gunshot wound

3:53

to the belly. He was pale, sweaty,

3:55

and he looked to be in terrible pain. But he

3:57

was conscious and alive. That was more than

3:59

she could say for Marigold. The poor

4:02

woman had been shredded by shotgun fire.

4:04

Sasha couldn't bring herself to look too closely

4:06

at the shattered, steaming remains, But

4:09

Marigold's friends were alive. The young

4:11

man Rick was unconscious

4:13

and drenched in blood, but most of that blood

4:15

didn't seem to be his own. His head was

4:17

in Tullie's lap. She'd been wounded in the

4:19

buttocks and bled quite a lot, but the wounds

4:22

seemed to have clotted. There were tears

4:24

and a haunted, pained look in her eyes. Oh

4:26

my god, Sasha said, once her mind started

4:29

to process the visual stimuli. Lord

4:31

in Heaven, No, no, no, no, that poor woman,

4:34

that unborn child. How could this happen?

4:36

How could this be? Sasha, Roland

4:39

shouted, This is a very bad time for you to

4:41

have emotions. Try killing those for a while.

4:43

How just think about the fact that

4:45

every one but me will die if you don't get your shit

4:48

together, and then get your shit together. Her

4:50

initial action was anger and frustration.

4:53

Is he that disconnected from humanity? Does

4:55

he think people can just turn their empathy off?

4:57

But then she stopped herself listen him

5:00

and tried. She imagined herself

5:02

putting on a heavy jacket, something that blocked

5:04

out pain and horror rather than the cold. It

5:07

worked, okay, she

5:09

said, what do I need to do? You

5:12

need to take Manny and uh, what's her name?

5:14

And what's his face? Tooley? And

5:17

Rick? Right, take the non dead people,

5:19

run down and out the back door, and find me a

5:21

car. Then you need to a car. He

5:24

stopped sifting through the dead man's firearms

5:26

to roll his eyes at her. Yes, a car.

5:28

I'm not going to carry all you lame bloods out of

5:30

here on my fucking shoulders. We'll need a getaway

5:32

vehicle. I can't drive, she said.

5:34

All the cars in the amphet are autonomous.

5:36

He shrugged. You'll figure it out. Many

5:39

moaned just then, almost as if it was in response

5:42

to Roland's suggestion. Sasha knew

5:44

it was more likely she'd just been too focused on

5:46

the big posthuman to notice Manny's pained

5:48

moans the whole time. Can he drive?

5:50

Sasha asked, sure, Roland

5:52

said with sudden cheer He's only lost what two

5:55

quarts of blood? I gave him a little mine. I'm sure

5:57

he'll be right his rain soon, Manny

5:59

moaned again, handed his blood soaked

6:01

belly. He didn't appear to be bleeding still,

6:03

but he was pale and his face showed agony

6:05

too obvious to ignore. Sasha doubted

6:08

he'd be capable of driving a car in the immediate

6:10

future. I can

6:12

drive, Toulli said, in a cracked,

6:14

broken sounding voice. Right Roland

6:17

said, well, that's lovely. Get your asses up

6:19

and get moving. You've got about two minutes before

6:21

shitting fans start their lovely dance. The

6:23

posthuman's good humor was incongruous

6:25

in this blood soaked room. Addressed to two

6:28

people who'd lost a friend to day. He

6:30

grabbed one of the guard's pistols, which he'd shoved

6:32

in his waistband, and handed it to Sasha.

6:35

Safety's off, he said, cheerily, So once

6:37

you pull the trigger, stuff'll happen. Sasha

6:40

took the gun and then went over to help Manny

6:42

up. Toullie did the same thing with her wounded

6:44

friend. Neither Manny or Rick were

6:46

in great shape, but Manny at least seemed

6:49

capable of standing under his own power. Once

6:51

Sasha got him to his feet, he stayed there.

6:54

She looked him in the eye, and while he seemed

6:56

sort of dazed and glassy, his pupils

6:58

fixed on hers, and he nodded. We

7:01

have to go, She said, sitra

7:03

tempoima. He muttered what Sasha

7:06

asked said, it's about fuckin' time.

7:09

Just follow me, she said, with more confidence

7:11

than she felt. I'll take care of everything. Oh

7:14

fuck that, Manny said. He put a hand

7:16

on her shoulder and moved as if to push in front

7:18

of her and shield her with his body. Then

7:20

he grabbed a side, groaned, and staggered

7:22

back. All right, yeah, you

7:25

lead the way men. Tully

7:28

was up now. She had an arm around her friend, and

7:30

together they moved almost as fast as

7:32

a single elderly person with bad hips.

7:35

Mannie was not much more mobile. Sasha

7:37

looked back at Roland. Where should

7:39

we meet you? The next street

7:41

behind this building is called Alma. Take it and

7:43

go left until you hit a road named Cross Bend.

7:46

I should be there by the time you arrive. What

7:48

if we can't find a he cut her off. Not

7:50

finding a car is not an option. Talking

7:53

more is not an option. I have to go kill

7:55

people. You find something with wheels and get Tully

7:57

in the driver's seat. Sasha star

8:00

to say something, but the sirens had drawn very

8:02

close. Indeed, she heard several shouts

8:04

from outside the front of the building. Roland

8:06

cursed. He'd already gathered up two of the rifles

8:09

and slung them across his back. He had a

8:11

large pistol in his left hand. At the sound

8:13

of the shouting, he brought his right hand up to his belly

8:16

and dug it deep inside his skin. Sasha

8:18

watched in horror as he tore a heavy, blood

8:20

caked weapon out of his gut. Roland

8:23

walked up to the front window of the room and fired

8:25

the weapon once, twice, three times.

8:27

Its report was deep and bassy, like the

8:29

sound of a heavy drum being struck. There

8:32

was a brief island of quiet, followed by a trio

8:34

of explosions that rattled the walls of the jail.

8:37

Look. Roland said as he glanced back to

8:39

her, I gotta go be a distraction. Find

8:41

the car. Get to cross bend in Almah, I'll

8:43

be therein. He glanced out the window

8:45

again and shrugged. Ten maybe eleven

8:47

minutes. Okay should Sasha

8:50

started to ask talking time

8:52

is done. Toolie's flat voice interrupted,

8:54

he moves, We move now.

8:57

She pulled her friend towards the door. Would

9:00

have been something almost comical about the agonizing

9:02

slowness with which they actually moved, but

9:04

the gesture had its intended effect. Sasha

9:07

took Manny by the hand. She let Tully

9:09

lead the way to the door, but once they were in

9:11

the hallway, the young woman had no idea where

9:13

to go. Sasha took the lead then and

9:15

guided her new comrades towards a flashing

9:17

red exit sign that she knew led to a rear

9:20

stairwell. For a brief passing second,

9:22

she'd been worried that they might encounter other guards

9:24

or jailers during their flight. That concern

9:27

proved groundless. Gunfire had

9:29

torn through the walls of the examination room and

9:31

ripped apart the interior of the jail. She

9:33

saw a few gouts of blood by the walls, and

9:35

one sinister looking pool of it beneath a desk.

9:38

It all drove an important lesson home for Sasha.

9:41

Bullets don't stop when they miss. The

9:44

stairwall was as deserted as the rest of the jail.

9:46

They hobbled down at as quickly as three wounded

9:48

people could manage. Sasha stayed in

9:50

the back, under the instinctive assumption that it'd

9:53

be best for morale if she didn't rush ahead.

9:55

Their progress down the stairs was painfully

9:57

slow, almost every step punctuated

10:00

by the sound of gunfire out on the street below.

10:02

It sounded like a full scale war had broken

10:04

out there. There was a lot of screaming, and Sasha

10:07

tried not to think too much about which of the nice

10:09

young martyrs she'd met in the square were now dying

10:11

by Roland's hand. What about Anne?

10:13

What about Susanna? You're abandoning

10:16

them? Sasha shook the thoughts clear

10:18

from her head. There'd be time for self loathing

10:20

later. Tully and Rick reached

10:22

the bottom floor first. They leaned back

10:24

against the wall together and caught their breath.

10:27

Rick was as white as a sheet and looked like he could

10:29

still barely stand. Tullie was doing

10:31

better, but not by a wide margin. When

10:34

she and Manny hit the bottom floor, he went straight

10:36

for the exit door. He clearly intended

10:38

to be the first out in case anyone had a weapon

10:40

trained on the door. Sasha stopped

10:43

him. That wasn't hard, because he was only a little

10:45

more stable than Tully. She pushed him

10:47

back, put a hand on the door, and then drew the pistol

10:49

Roland had given her. She fixed Mannie

10:51

with what she hoped was a firm, fearless look.

10:54

You're in no state to be heroic. He

10:57

looked at her as if he wanted to fight her, but then

10:59

he looked down at the shaking hand he had pressed into

11:01

the sopping wound in his side. Yeah,

11:03

all right, you down to do the hero stuff. Then

11:06

she nodded, well, then be my guest.

11:16

Sasha didn't know how to use a gun. The

11:18

m FED band almost all private firearm

11:21

ownership. Her grandfather had owned

11:23

a couple of bolt action hunting rifles, and

11:25

he'd let Sasha hold them a few times. That

11:27

was as close as she'd gotten too firearms training.

11:30

She'd never actually shot the darned things. Once

11:32

he'd died, her father had sold the guns rather

11:34

than deal with the hassle and expense of a

11:36

license. So she burst out

11:39

onto the street with the pistol held high in front

11:41

of her, like she'd seen in movies. It

11:43

took her a few seconds to realize, sheepishly,

11:45

that this behavior was more likely to get her gun

11:48

down than aid in her defense. Thankfully,

11:50

there'd been no martyrs watching the rear exit.

11:52

Sasha waved for the others to follow her out and

11:54

stashed the pistol under her shirt. For

11:57

a few minutes, they'd ran, or rather hobbled,

11:59

in what seemed like the right direction. The

12:02

city still rang with the sound of sirens,

12:04

gunfire, and the occasional concussive blast,

12:06

but it seemed to be moving away from them. Plino

12:09

wasn't exactly crowded, but there were enough people

12:11

out on the street to notice the fresh wounds on

12:13

Tulli, Rick, and Manny. No one approached

12:16

them, though Sasha wasn't sure if they passed

12:18

unnoticed, but they were able to pass through the city

12:20

without incident. Fear and

12:22

the flight reflex were enough to carry them a few

12:24

blocks in relative haste. Once they

12:26

were out of sight of the jail, Rick put up a hand

12:29

as he slumped back against the wall. Tully

12:31

continued to hold him up. She was pale, sweaty,

12:34

and pained looking. Ryan shook and

12:36

shuddered. His eyes were unfocussed, and he

12:38

was clearly in shock. He needs

12:40

to rest, Tulli said. Manny

12:43

stopped next to them and leaned against the wall

12:45

as well. He nodded at Tully and then looked

12:47

back to Sasha. Yeah, ditto, I

12:49

might prefer to lay down and die at this point.

12:52

We need to find a car anyway, Tulli

12:54

said, as she helped lower Rick down to sit against

12:57

the wall. If I carry him for much

12:59

longer, I'm going to drop. Sasha

13:01

realized everyone was looking at her. Is

13:04

that my job? Manny

13:06

looked mortified, Tullie looked angry.

13:09

Rick bless him, was too deep and shocked

13:11

to react. Yes, Toulli

13:14

said, in a toneless voice that still somehow

13:16

implied deep disappointment. Okay,

13:18

then Sasha said, when I find the car,

13:21

I assume you'll know how to hot wire it. Tully

13:23

laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh. If

13:26

you're hiding a real nice deck somewhere and that's

13:28

silly head of yours, or you find a car that's

13:30

older than my dad. Maybe otherwise

13:33

we're going to need something with keys in it. What

13:36

so I'm just supposed to carjack someone.

13:38

Tully stared dead eyed at her. Manny

13:41

gave a pained, helpful smile. I

13:43

mean you've got a gun, he said.

13:46

Sasha felt the heat rise in her again. Why

13:48

not, I've given up every other principle I have to

13:51

day, I might as well commit armed robbery, the

13:53

guilt staying her guts, but not as badly

13:55

as it should have. Perhaps she was still numb

13:58

from watching Doctor Brandton Marigold. Or

14:00

maybe it's because I killed Alexander. Maybe

14:02

I'm evil now and this is what that feels like.

14:05

There was no time to mold the possibilities. Sasha

14:08

left Manny and the others to catch their breath and darted

14:10

down an alley towards a larger street that sounded

14:13

like it might have traffic. She passed

14:15

two parked cars and looked inside with the

14:17

vain hope that, just maybe someone might have

14:19

left their keys behind. It was to no avail.

14:22

Sasha soon found herself on the cracked and

14:24

shell pocked asphalt of Alma Road. The

14:27

buildings on either side of this stretch of street

14:29

had taken significant damage during the Heavenly

14:31

Kingdom's birth panes. There were no people

14:33

out on the sidewalks or visible in the windows.

14:36

Anyone alive had probably hunkered down to

14:38

avoid the shooting. There was still traffic

14:40

on the road, though, three trucks and a dentted,

14:42

fume spewing white sedan shot by

14:45

her at the speed of wartime traffic. Sasha

14:47

drew her gun, looked at it, and then hurriedly

14:50

stashed it inside her blouse again when she realized

14:52

how dumb that had been. Godly women

14:54

do not carry guns. A series

14:57

of four loud booms sounded in the distance.

14:59

Sasha didn't know enough about weaponry to guess

15:01

what those had been, but she knew they'd

15:03

had something to do with Rowland. People

15:06

are dying, so I can find us a car and get

15:08

everyone to safety. She started

15:10

walking down the street, face pointed towards

15:12

oncoming traffic, hands waving above

15:14

her head in the international gesture for oh

15:16

God, please help me. Two more cars

15:19

zoomed past without even slowing to check on

15:21

her. It was odd how that shocked her

15:23

after everything else she'd seen in the heavenly Kingdom,

15:25

the faithful protect and support each other,

15:28

pastor Mike had claimed, But not, it

15:30

seemed, when a half human monster was on a

15:32

rampage through their city. That helped

15:34

debate her guilt, at least, or it did right

15:36

up until the moment a familiar jankie brown

15:39

truck rumbled to a stop next to her. Squise

15:42

me, ma'am, do you need She turned around,

15:44

and the man's face lit up in surprise, Miss

15:47

Sasha. It was Darryll, the

15:49

kindly old foreman who driven her to the House

15:51

of Miriam on her first day in the kingdom. Was

15:54

that really only days ago? Seemed

15:56

like years? Sasha felt like an

15:58

old woman, even though she was just on the edge

16:00

of eighteen. You hurt? He

16:02

slammed the car into park and opened his door one

16:04

sec I got a first aid kit in the back. Where'd

16:06

you get hit? Sasha looked

16:08

down at her chest and realized she looked like she'd

16:11

been badly injured. The blood wasn't hers,

16:13

of course, but Darrell couldn't have known that. He

16:15

thought she was hurt and he was trying to help.

16:18

Am I really going to rob a good Samaritan?

16:21

She was? Sasha waited until

16:23

Darrell had closed the door, grabbed his medical kit

16:25

and turned towards her. Then she drew her

16:27

pistol and leveled it at his weathered, grease

16:29

stained, and now thoroughly surprised face.

16:32

WHOA, I need your truck. I

16:34

need your truck, she said. Darrell

16:37

dropped the medical kit and put both his palms

16:39

out. Oh now, girl, all right, why

16:41

don't you just put that gun down. Darrell

16:43

ain't gonna hurt you. I'll take you anywhere

16:45

you need to go. Let's just be real, calm,

16:47

real slow about all this. Did somebody

16:49

hurt you? I need your truck? It

16:52

was so hard to keep her voice, even, so hard

16:54

to do this cruel thing to a man who'd only been

16:57

kind to her. Sasha could feel white

16:59

hot tears streamed down her face. I must

17:01

look like a crazy person, she thought. Maybe

17:03

that will help, now, Miss Sasha,

17:06

Darrell said, I'm a guess you don't know how to drive a

17:08

truck. Mine ain't autonomous, it's old

17:10

stick shift. Please, why don't you let me

17:12

take you where you need to go? Sasha's

17:14

mind raced. It was the same species

17:17

of nervousness that had always gripped her during major

17:19

exams in college admissions essays.

17:21

She ran through and discarded a dozen different

17:23

courses of action in her head. What if he

17:25

won't give me the keys, What if he takes another

17:28

step forward? What if he moved?

17:30

It started with a single glance, Darrell's

17:32

eyes darted towards the driver's side door of his

17:35

truck. She almost didn't catch it, but

17:37

for whatever reason, the gesture rose goose

17:39

pimples on the back of her neck and forearms. I

17:42

need your truck. Her

17:44

voice was cold, strong, firm.

17:47

Darrell nodded at her. His body posture

17:49

stayed the same, but his eyes changed.

17:51

There was something hard and haunted in them. Now,

17:55

all right, miss Sasha, I'm just gonna reach

17:57

in here for my keys. He

17:59

took a step back and moved towards the door.

18:01

The bottom fell out of Sasha's gut and she screamed

18:04

at him to stop. Don't make another move.

18:07

He dove for the door, pulled it open, and reached

18:09

a hand down beside the driver's seat. Sasha

18:11

saw a flash of metal in his hand, and she opened

18:13

fire. She wasn't sure how many times

18:15

she pulled the trigger, but soon the gun was empty.

18:18

Sasha watched as Darrell stumbled back into

18:20

the truck and then slid to the ground. Most

18:22

of her shots had gone wide, very wide.

18:25

She'd chattered two of the truck's windows and put

18:27

four or five rounds into the vehicle's body,

18:29

but at least one had hit Darrell right in

18:31

his throat, a kill shot. He

18:33

slumped to the ground, gagged on blood,

18:35

and jerked like an electrified marionette.

18:38

Part of her wanted to run to him, to hold him

18:40

while he died, and say she was sorry. Then

18:42

she saw the gun at his feet. It didn't

18:45

dissipate her guilt, after all, she'd drawn

18:47

on him first. But at least she hadn't

18:49

shot and killed an unarmed man. She'd

18:51

killed an armed man, an

18:53

armed man who only ever helped me. Sasha

18:56

slumped against the hood of the truck and lost herself

18:58

in a storm of sobs. She didn't

19:00

realize she dropped her gun until it hit the asphalt

19:03

with a dull clank. She couldn't control her

19:05

hands or her breathing. Her frantic sobbing

19:07

had robbed all the air from her lungs. Her

19:09

legs weakened, and she started to stumble to the ground

19:12

when a pair of warm, semi strong arms

19:14

caught her from behind. Hey, Hey,

19:16

it's all right, it's all right, Manny,

19:19

it's okay. You're gonna be okay. Her

19:22

world went black for a little while. Sasha

19:24

felt Mannie lift her up, heard the sound of the truck's

19:26

engine rumble back to life. But she couldn't

19:28

see, and she couldn't move, and she couldn't stop

19:31

crying. Time lost any sort

19:33

of meaning. When she came back to herself,

19:35

they were in motion. Mannie sat next

19:37

to her, and Rick next to him. Tully

19:40

drove. Sasha's eyes were drawn to Mannie.

19:42

He held Darrell's pistol in his left hand.

19:45

She couldn't help but stare at the four spots

19:47

of dried blood on the silver slide. You

19:49

all right, Sasha, Mannie asked. His

19:52

question passed through her ears without hitting her

19:54

mind. Sasha couldn't stop

19:56

staring at Darrell's blood. I did

19:58

that. I ended him. She'd ended

20:00

two men to day. She felt no guilt

20:02

about Alexander, but that was almost more disturbing.

20:05

It seemed impossible that she'd been a pampered

20:07

suburban girl less than a month ago. Now

20:10

she was a murderer. Whoever sheds

20:12

human blood by humans, shall their blood

20:14

be shed? Sasha felt as if

20:16

a thick cloud of doom had fallen on her shoulders.

20:20

The truck veered off to the right and slammed

20:22

to a sudden stop. Sasha was flung

20:24

forward into the back of Tullie's seat. A

20:26

trio of vehicles zoomed past them, speeding

20:28

in the opposite direction, like several bats

20:30

fleeing the same hell. Sasha realized

20:33

with a moment's focus that there was an awful lot

20:35

of traffic heading away from them as fast as

20:37

possible. Promp Tullie

20:39

cursed and fought with a stick shift. The truck

20:42

lurched forward again and made it back onto

20:44

the road for a few seconds. Then another

20:46

speeding car roared into the on coming lane

20:48

and she was forced to veer off to the shoulder again.

20:51

The sounds of gunfire grew louder. Sasha

20:54

heard the thrumb of helicopter blades too, a

20:56

second before one buzzed right over their heads.

20:58

It looked like a military vehicle, painted

21:01

matt black and laden with weapons. Sasha

21:03

watched as it zoomed ahead and rose up over

21:05

a pair of high rise apartment buildings near the

21:07

horizon line. There was a loud crump

21:10

sound, and black smoke billowed out from the

21:12

side of the craft. It spun around drunkenly

21:14

in the air for one very long second before

21:16

slamming into the roof of one of the high rises.

21:19

The resultant blast rocked the truck. Tuleye

21:22

veered left and right around a pothole at

21:24

another speeding truck, respectively. Her

21:26

knuckles were white, her jaw was clenched.

21:28

Sasha could see Tully's eyes in the rear view mirror.

21:31

She looked terrified and angry at the same time.

21:34

Rick moaned in pain with every shaken jostle.

21:36

Manny closed his eyes, shook his head, and muttered

21:38

something low under his breath. Are

21:41

we close, Sasha asked Manny. He

21:43

squinted and looked out at the road for a second. I

21:46

mean, he shrugged. Eah, probably,

21:48

I'm gonna guess. Rollins close to the explosions

21:50

and also causing them. Smoke

21:53

now dominated the horizon, which grew less

21:55

horizony and more imminent with each passing second.

21:58

In spite of all that, Sasha's eyes kept

22:00

being drawn back to the gun in Manny's hand

22:02

and the dry red brown stains on the slide

22:05

that was a good man's blood. She thought, how

22:07

did it come to this? Hey, Jesus

22:10

girl, it was Tulli. Sasha

22:13

looked up to the rear view mirror and locked eyes

22:15

with the other woman. But the fuck up

22:17

Cheeka, Toulli said. For the first

22:19

time, Sasha heard real anger and not just

22:21

cold indifference in her voice. The other

22:23

woman continued, My best friend

22:25

was just shot to pieces, My lover is

22:27

bleeding out, and you're all fucked up because

22:30

you'd gunned down some crystal fascist ship.

22:32

Fuck suck your heart into your guts. I

22:34

don't know where you came from, girl, but you're in a hard

22:36

ass part of the world. Now it's time to

22:38

fortify. Fortify.

22:41

Sasha held on to that word like a life preserver.

22:44

Fortify, survive, then you

22:46

can lose your head in tears and shame. Okay,

22:49

she nodded. She started to apologize,

22:51

but was interrupted when the truck screeched to another's

22:54

sudden halt and threw everyone forward. Sasha's

22:56

head hit the front seat again, and her world dissolved

22:59

into stars. Shit. Toullie

23:01

cried, something rammed the rear of the truck.

23:04

Sasha lost all orientation to reality.

23:06

When her head and eyes cleared, the first thing she saw

23:08

was Toullie nursing a broken nose.

23:11

Blood poured down the other woman's face. Manny

23:13

seemed intact. Sasha looked behind

23:16

them and saw a small sedan had dashed itself

23:18

against the bed of their truck and must have been

23:20

following right behind. When Tullie hit the brakes.

23:23

Sasha swung her eyes front to see why they'd

23:25

stopped. She saw Rowland.

23:28

He stood maybe ten feet in front of the truck's

23:30

hood. That arm raiser of his was extended

23:32

again, but the blade was cracked and half

23:34

shattered. His other hand held some sort

23:37

of large, black assault rifle he hadn't been

23:39

carrying in the jail. The pistol grip

23:41

grenade launcher he'd been carrying was still with him,

23:43

but he'd holstered it in an open hole in his belly.

23:46

The left side of his cheek had been ripped away.

23:48

Most of his hair was burnt off, and Sasha

23:50

made out at least one clear bullet hole in his

23:53

forehead. There might have been more. All

23:55

the caked on blood and gore made it hard to discern.

23:58

His clothing had been mostly shot, burned torn

24:00

away. The dominant colors on his body

24:02

were black and red, with a few horrible

24:04

spots of white where bone shone through.

24:06

In the open air. The city behind

24:08

him was all smoke and fire. Emergency

24:11

lights from several vehicles blinked madly in the

24:13

measthma, but there were no martyrs or emergency

24:15

workers visible, at least none

24:17

that were standing. Sasha saw several

24:20

terribly still bodies lying among the piles

24:22

of rubble. Roland staggered

24:24

towards the truck and flung the passenger's side

24:26

door open. He slumped into the seat,

24:29

bringing with him an overpowering stink of blood

24:31

and fire. He leaned back in his seat

24:33

and took three long breaths, and then he

24:35

spoke, Wait, head's

24:37

pretty clear, but you might want to hang a right

24:40

and then take a left avoid the traffic.

24:42

Truly nodded, and the truck jerked forward

24:45

again. The

24:53

rhinout was so easy it scared Sasha.

24:55

In fact, it seemed to scare everyone, but Roland.

24:58

Manny's knuckles grew whiter and whiter. They

25:00

navigated their way out of the old Metroplex

25:03

Toolly's expression didn't change, but her

25:05

body shook with nervous energy, and her jaw

25:07

was set so tight that the veins on her neck

25:09

bulged from the strain. It was a

25:11

mercy that Rick was unconscious by that point.

25:14

Convoys of military vehicles rolled past

25:16

them, sometimes escorting ambulances and other

25:18

emergency vehicles, sometimes bringing

25:20

more soldiers to the chunk of the city. Roland

25:22

had devastated. Sasha's heart leaped

25:24

into her throat every single time, but somehow

25:27

no one stopped their truck. Roland

25:29

assured them all that it would be fine. I kicked

25:32

their asses so hard it'll take him an hour to find

25:34

their cheeks. His only discomfort

25:36

came once they left the zone of active danger.

25:38

He seemed to deflate. Then, after

25:41

a half hour on the road, his wounds had mostly

25:43

healed. The new skin that grew back underneath

25:46

seemed weirdly dark compared to the skin

25:48

above it. Roland scratched at it

25:50

in irritation, and then as casually

25:52

as if he'd been tossing an apple corps, he ripped

25:54

off his face in one smooth at motion and

25:56

tossed the bloody skin out the window. Jesus,

26:00

dude, Manny said, disgusted. Couldn't

26:02

you have waited until we weren't all in the car? Sasha

26:05

stared in shock. Her hands started to

26:07

tremble, and she felt the urge to vomit, but

26:10

she fought it down and forced her stomach to an

26:12

uneasy calm. You've seen

26:14

worse than this now, and that was true.

26:16

She looked back at Roland and forced herself

26:18

to take in his new face, which she guessed

26:21

was really his old face. Neither

26:23

iteration of him had been exactly handsome.

26:25

She watched in queasy fascination as

26:28

he picked the rest of the white skin from his hands

26:30

and tossed it out the window. When he'd

26:32

finished, he glanced up at Sasha. What

26:35

he asked, Please tell me you're not a racist.

26:37

This would be a real bad time for you to be racist.

26:40

She's not racist, dude, Manny said,

26:42

you just ripped your skin off. That freaks people

26:44

out. Oh, said Roland,

26:47

Right, sorry, it's

26:49

okay, she said, this is just my

26:51

first time seeing someone rip off their own skin.

26:54

First Roland grunted, but probably

26:56

not last. Sasha

26:58

didn't have the guts to question him, so she

27:00

kept quiet for the rest of the ride, so

27:03

did most of the other passengers. For

27:05

a long time, the only sounds inside the

27:07

truck were Rick's unconscious moans and Rowland's

27:09

occasional directions to Tully. He

27:12

led them through underpopulated neighborhoods

27:14

and around checkpoints, past blackened buildings

27:16

and wrecks of military vehicles destroyed

27:18

during the Heavenly Kingdom's first great advance.

27:21

Sasha was surprised at the emptiness of most

27:23

of the city. She began to understand

27:25

why Mannie called this place Sioda de Muerta.

27:28

It took them two hours to escape the city

27:30

sprawl and finally make their way out onto

27:32

the open plains. They avoided

27:34

the main highway that linked Dallas to Waco, and

27:37

instead spider webbed their way across a series

27:39

of farm roads. Every few minutes, they'd

27:41

rolled past the bones of a rural town. Every

27:44

town out here seemed abandoned, as dead

27:46

and dry as the acres of yellow grass that

27:48

swallowed them up. A little before

27:50

dark, they rolled over a decrepit bridge across

27:52

a dry river bed. A bullet riddled

27:55

sign identified this area as Basqui

27:57

County. Roland put a hand on manny

28:00

shoulder and pointed towards a big metal barn

28:02

on the horizon. Take us up

28:04

there. We should probably stop for the night. What

28:07

Tully spoke up? Why we could be at rolling

28:10

fuck in an hour? Roland

28:12

shook his head. We got two routes

28:14

back to the city. Either we find the main highway

28:16

and deal with Kingdom patrols, or we keep ride

28:18

in these country roads. That'll take at least

28:20

another two or three hours and a lot of time

28:22

off road in the dark. There's no better

28:24

recipe for cracking an axle or blowing at tire.

28:28

Tully fumed, but she rolled the truck up

28:30

and threw a gap in what had once been the fence line

28:32

of a farm. There were a lot of farmhouses

28:34

around them, stretched out across acres

28:36

and acres of fields and pecan orchards. They

28:39

all looked abandoned, devoid of light, half

28:41

reclaimed by vegetation. The barn

28:44

Roland led them to was just as empty. There

28:46

were large holes in the sheet metal roof, and chunks

28:48

of the metal walls had been peeled away for scrap

28:50

metal. The underlying structure had been

28:52

built from metal girders, though it seemed

28:54

solid. They got out of the truck,

28:57

Roland helped Tully carry her lover across

28:59

the last few yards of field and into the old

29:01

barn. The innerds of the building were dusty.

29:04

Rusted tools hung from the wall, and boxes

29:06

of assorted goods littered the floor. Some

29:08

of them had been ripped open by scavengers, but most

29:10

looked like they'd sat unmolested since the property

29:13

had been abandoned. Mannie found

29:15

an old couch inside Roland and Tulli

29:17

helped Rick on to it. Then Roland

29:19

walked off into the middle of the barn and started to

29:21

root around in boxes. He came

29:23

back a minute later with a load of canned goods

29:26

in one arm and a handle of brown liquor in the

29:28

other. He sat the whole lot down on the

29:30

ground next to the couch, held up a can

29:32

labeled water in big red letters, and

29:34

then punched his finger through the top of the can.

29:36

He handed it to Tully and she helped Rick drink.

29:39

He was semi conscious now, Sasha thought

29:41

there might be a little more color in his cheeks.

29:44

Roland opened three more cans, one of

29:46

water and two filled with some sort of gloopy

29:48

beef stew. He ripped the aluminum

29:50

tops open with his bare fingers and then passed

29:53

them around. Sasha was still

29:55

too deep in the throes of depression and adrenaline

29:57

dumpage to have any kind of appetite. The

29:59

brown gray color of the stew didn't help with

30:01

that, but Mannie insisted she take a

30:03

gulp, and as soon as the food hit her tongue,

30:06

Sasha realized she was starving. She

30:08

took two more deep gulps of the salty, mushy

30:10

mass before passing it along to Tulli. The

30:13

crew ate and rehydrated without conversation,

30:16

Although not in silence. The sounds

30:18

of gulping and lip smacking filled the barn for

30:20

a few minutes. Roland didn't join

30:22

in the eating. Instead, he popped open the

30:24

liquor bottle and drained it dry over the course

30:26

of about ninety seconds. The big

30:28

man closed his eyes, a smile crept

30:30

up onto his features, and he gave a deep, contented

30:33

sigh. When the food was almost gone,

30:35

he stood up and staggered back into the piles

30:37

of gear to grab two more bottles. These

30:39

ones were filled with an off yellow liquid. He

30:42

sat one down in between Mannie and Sasha

30:44

and immediately began to guzzle the second.

30:47

Mannie glanced at Sasha, then at Tulli,

30:49

then down at the bottle. He popped the top

30:51

and took a belt. Then he offered it to Sasha.

30:54

If there was ever a time to dive into drinking,

30:56

it's the day I killed two people. Sasha

30:58

took the bottle and stared at it for a second. The

31:01

label said Talisker and identified

31:03

it as a product of Scotland. The bottle

31:05

itself was covered in dust. Hey,

31:07

Roland, she asked, suddenly curious.

31:10

Did you know this place would have food and water

31:13

and alcohol? Roland paused

31:15

draining his second bottle and fixed Sasha with

31:17

his strange blue eyes. He looked

31:19

tired for the first time since she'd met him.

31:22

Sasha wasn't sure if that was due to the rampage

31:24

he'd just carried out or her question. I've

31:27

been here before, he half mumbled, years

31:29

ago, back before this old chunk of dirt was as much

31:31

of a shithole as it is now. Wait

31:34

did you used to live here? Manny asked,

31:37

I don't know. Roland shrugged. What

31:39

do you mean you don't know? You clearly

31:41

know this farm. He shrugged

31:43

and gave a vague wave with his free hand. I

31:46

have memories of this place, bright lights at night,

31:48

people dancing, drugs and wine, and people

31:50

in songs. I am memories of packing the supplies

31:52

in the boxes, buying ammunition. He

31:55

nodded towards the still locked door of the barn.

31:57

I remember locking that thing up, But I don't remember

32:00

or why exactly. I might have lived here, might

32:02

have belonged to a friend. Either way, I

32:04

feel like the last time I was here was back before

32:06

the revolution. His mind

32:09

is full of holes, Mannie explained, something

32:11

happened to him a few years back. He remembers

32:13

pieces of who he is, what he's done, but not

32:15

everything. Tully kicked

32:17

Sasha gently in the hip. She gestured

32:19

to the bottle of whisky. If you're not drinking

32:21

past the bottle, some of us have grieving to

32:24

do. On impulse, Sasha

32:26

took a pole from the bottle. She started

32:28

to hand it over to Tulli, but then the taste hit

32:30

her and she gagged. It was like someone had

32:32

lit a fire in her throat, one that tasted

32:34

of burning peat. She coughed and hacked

32:36

for several seconds, while Tulli and Roland laughed.

32:39

Once she'd regained her breath, Sasha finally

32:41

handed off the bottle. You'll

32:43

get better at it, the woman said, her lips

32:46

twisted up into what might have been a real smile.

32:48

Whisky's in acquired taste, like

32:51

cigars nanarchy. Tully

32:54

took a very deep pole and sighed and satisfaction,

32:57

She handed the bottle off to Manny and started

32:59

gently heading Rick's face. The wounded

33:01

man was asleep, but he seemed much healthier

33:04

than he had been a half hour earlier. How

33:06

are you doing, Sasha, Manny asked.

33:09

His eyes met hers, and Sasha saw a deep

33:11

concern in his gaze. I'm

33:14

fine, she said, not really meaning

33:16

it. She's all fucked up

33:18

over the guy she killed for the truck. Toullie

33:20

grunted, shouldn't be fucker picked

33:22

the wrong side, So did I. Sasha

33:25

tried to keep the anger out of her voice. At

33:28

first, Darrow was a good man. He

33:30

didn't deserve to die. Neither

33:32

did Marigold, said Toulli. Neither

33:34

did Major Pirrone. Manny added, in a quiet

33:37

voice. They hung him on the day you and

33:39

I met. The whole world's

33:41

full of good dead people, said Tullie.

33:43

My advice don't cry over someone you shot

33:46

in self defense. That's a karmac freebie.

33:49

The guy had a gun, Manny added, seems

33:51

like he just did what she had to do. Roland

33:54

was quiet through all this. He kept drinking,

33:56

but his pace had slowed. His face took

33:58

on a dark cast, and he slumped down into

34:00

his chair. He seemed to collapse in

34:02

on himself. A little look Cheeka,

34:05

Toullie said. There was a slight, drunken slurry

34:07

were words. Now. I know I gave you

34:09

a hard time, and it was dumb as fucky in

34:11

a mood of this kingdom, But I give you credit

34:13

for breaking free and for helping us escape.

34:16

You might be a little dumb, but you aren't bad

34:18

people in my book. Don't beat yourself

34:20

up over doing what you had to do. There

34:23

was quiet for a little while. Manny passed

34:26

the bottle to Sasha. She took another gulp

34:28

and managed to hold it down. This time. Toullie

34:30

nodded an approval. When Sasha passed the whiskey

34:33

on, Sasha found her eyes drawn once

34:35

more to Darrell's gun. It was tucked

34:37

into Toollie's waistband. Roland

34:40

cleared his throat and gave a loud, flimmy cough.

34:42

Sasha looked back at him. You

34:44

didn't ask me for an opinion, he said, But

34:47

since everyone else's way in, and I might as well.

34:49

There ain't nothing wrong with feeling bad about

34:51

murder, even justified murder. But

34:54

personally, I don't think that's what's fucking you

34:56

up. What do you mean, she asked.

34:59

He drained the l asked of the whiskey bottle and tossed

35:01

it off into the darkness. It landed with

35:03

a clank. I got real good

35:05

senses, you know, can't turn them off. So

35:07

I heard your heart right. I smelled the narrow

35:09

transmitters running through you synapses. I

35:12

could taste the guilt wafting off you. But

35:14

that's not the only thing I taste. He

35:16

locked his unsteady gaze on hers. Sasha

35:19

stared into the cold blue of his pupils. A

35:21

chill ran down her spine, Sweat beaded

35:24

on the back of her neck. When he spoke next,

35:26

his voice was barely above a whisper. Back

35:29

at the jail, When you crushed that guy's skull

35:31

with a helmet, you enjoyed yourself.

35:34

You liked it. Sasha broke

35:36

his gaze. She stared down at her lap and

35:38

struggled to find a reply, but there was

35:40

nothing else for her to say. Roland

35:42

was right. Hey,

35:48

I'm Robert Evans. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

35:50

I hope you enjoyed the chapters to come. You can find the

35:52

free epub of every chapter, and eventually

35:54

the whole book at atrbook dot com,

35:57

complete with illustrations. If you

35:59

want to support me in writing the sequel,

36:01

you can crowdfund me at After the Revolution

36:03

the Sequel at go fund Me. Just type and go

36:05

fund me After the Revolution the Sequel.

36:08

I'd like my books to always be free, so

36:11

I'm just going to try to crowdfund the next

36:13

one and see how that works. So After the Revolution

36:15

the Sequel on go fund me. You

36:17

can also find the community of fans

36:19

of this book online at r slash

36:22

after the Revolution on Reddit. So

36:25

After the Revolution the Sequel on go fund

36:27

me and r slash after the Revolution on

36:29

Reddit. Atrbook dot com for the

36:31

whole book. Thanks