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Parting Glass

Parting Glass

Released Thursday, 31st August 2023
 2 people rated this episode
Parting Glass

Parting Glass

Parting Glass

Parting Glass

Thursday, 31st August 2023
 2 people rated this episode
Rate Episode

Episode Transcript

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0:01

We hope you're enjoying Season 2 of

0:03

Impact Winter.

0:05

All episodes of Season 2 are

0:07

now available ad-free in fully

0:10

immersive Dolby Atmos, exclusively

0:13

on Audible. Visit audible.com

0:16

slash wintercontinues and sign

0:19

up for a free trial.

0:32

I've been kneeling here all night since

0:35

they took the body away. The

0:37

wind cools the hot tears on my cheeks.

0:40

The dagger is still in my hand, its

0:43

power still humming softly against

0:45

my palm, like

0:47

it has more to say. I

0:54

hold it to my chest and close my eyes,

0:56

brow furrowed, breath held, like

0:59

a child listening through a thick wall.

1:02

But its secrets feel distant

1:06

and faint. So

1:09

I unzip my jumper to press the

1:11

iron to my skin, tight against

1:13

the stillness of my heart. Light

1:18

falls on my eyelids.

1:23

I begin to feel the wind grow warm

1:25

and coarse around me. I open my eyes.

1:32

I'm kneeling atop

1:33

a sand dune, under

1:36

a sunny cloudless sky. Before

1:38

me, a lone figure trudges towards

1:41

distant mountains. It's

1:44

her, the girl from the marsh. I

1:47

sense the pain of her loss like

1:49

it was my own. Her determination,

1:52

the daunting weight of her purpose.

1:56

And I know.

1:59

Because she knows that

2:02

somewhere ahead of her there

2:05

is a cave

2:07

And in that cave an

2:10

answer What

2:22

should we do with the body we'll decide

2:24

when Darcy gets back Here

2:27

she is Darcy sorry

2:31

don't worry about it

2:32

What's in the pillowcase?

2:36

Is that whispers head? Yes,

2:39

I Went to their

2:41

little camp and got it

2:48

Now she's whole Podrick

2:52

I'll be out. Sorry milady Any

2:56

trouble You

2:59

asking if I killed them no

3:02

one would blame you So

3:04

made myself invisible

3:06

like you taught me Walked

3:09

amongst them close

3:12

enough to count their eyelashes I Could

3:16

have killed them so easily I wanted

3:20

to But

3:23

no I didn't Is

3:27

that wrong Does

3:30

it feel wrong it feels Insufficient

3:36

But I couldn't tell which of them had done

3:39

it they were families with children

3:45

The longer I stayed the more I saw my old self in them Restraint

3:50

isn't weakness Darcy then why do I feel like shit Because your friend

3:52

is gone February

4:11

17th. Her funeral

4:14

was tonight. We'd

4:16

set her body on a pile outside the barracks.

4:20

I didn't want to speak, but

4:22

I was the one who brought her here. I knew

4:26

her better than anyone.

4:30

Whisper was born in 1607

4:32

in Essex.

4:36

She heard the first shots of the English Civil

4:39

War and the last Beatles

4:41

album. She was

4:43

alive when Isaac Newton was young and

4:46

when man set foot on the moon.

4:50

And she's been part of my life from

4:53

the day I awoke in this body. She

4:58

was my rock. Quiet,

5:02

but unshakeable.

5:06

Looking out for me, even when

5:09

I wasn't much worth the trouble. I

5:12

just assumed

5:15

she'd always be there. No,

5:18

she's not. I just feel

5:21

sort of

5:21

lost.

5:27

Not knowing what else to say, I lit my torch

5:30

and touched it to the pile. Sleep

5:38

at last. Sleep

5:40

at last. Goodnight,

5:44

Whisper.

5:51

See the day I had.

5:56

I spent in

5:59

good color. the me

6:01

and the all-under.

6:05

The all-under,

6:08

alas, it was

6:11

too long

6:14

but me. The

6:18

all-under,

6:22

with the memory

6:25

now I can't recall. So

6:31

fill to me

6:34

the parting glass.

6:38

Good night and

6:41

joy be with

6:44

you all. Good

6:48

night and

6:51

joy be with

6:56

you all.

7:06

That was nice. Yeah.

7:12

You spoke well. Thanks.

7:17

She died defending me. She

7:22

liked you. I

7:26

should have seen it. I

7:28

should have looked back, come

7:30

back to help her. If you

7:32

had, I'd be lighting two pyres. Yeah,

7:37

maybe. What's

7:44

this? Don't.

7:47

Don't touch that. That's the dagger,

7:49

is it? Yes.

7:52

That's what you were out getting. It's

7:55

not my fault. I didn't say it was. You

7:58

shouldn't have come looking for me. You shouldn't have left. I

8:00

can't just stand by. Without talking

8:03

to me? I

8:05

left you a note. Darcy.

8:10

I knew what you'd say. What?

8:14

That we're in this together now? It's dangerous

8:17

where I have to go. I'm a vampire too. Not

8:19

like me. Not like the ones

8:21

I'm up against. And I didn't choose this because I was afraid

8:23

to die. I

8:26

chose it to be with you. I was

8:28

afraid, Felix. You

8:31

were bleeding out in my arms. I didn't want

8:33

you to die. You

8:36

forgot that when Jepp shot you, he did it

8:38

to get to me and it worked. We'd

8:41

have both died there if not for my sister. So

8:44

I'm a liability. Is that it?

8:47

Oh, I can't do this right now. Where are

8:49

you going? To

8:51

whispers flat. Someone needs

8:53

to go through her things. We should finish

8:55

this conversation, Darce. We

8:58

will, but not tonight.

9:04

I spent all night there at

9:06

whispers. My emotions

9:08

still roar. It

9:10

hurts to be here. This

9:12

place that once felt so peaceful now

9:14

feels like a weight around my neck. And

9:17

the dagger, it looms

9:20

in my mind, reminding

9:22

me always of the unfinished task

9:24

at hand. I'm

9:29

going to Dubrovnik.

9:33

When? Monday. In

9:35

four days? Yes. Are

9:37

you sure that's wise? Why is it not? You're

9:41

grieving, Darcy. I'm always grieving. I've

9:43

been grieving since the bloody comet hit. Do

9:46

you think your pain gives you clarity? I trust

9:49

my instincts. Darcy. No,

9:51

I have the dagger. I

9:54

passed your pain. No, I

9:56

have the dagger. I passed your test.

9:58

Calm down. I'm just offering

10:01

my advice. Which is what? To

10:03

wait. For what? You

10:07

have the dagger. Yes. But are

10:09

you sure that you know best how to use it? It's a

10:11

knife. It's more than that.

10:14

You know it is. Yes.

10:20

It speaks to you, doesn't it? Sometimes...

10:26

Sometimes it...

10:27

shows me things. Like

10:30

what? Like her.

10:34

The girl from the marsh? Yes. Doing

10:36

what? Crossing

10:41

the desert... on a mission. Wouldn't

10:46

you feel better knowing what it means? I know what it means.

10:50

What? It means it's time for

10:52

me to go.

11:00

February 20th. I've spent the afternoon

11:02

in Whisper's room again. Her belongings are

11:04

in a single garbage bag and a box by the door.

11:06

And I'm in the washroom,

11:08

taking off my clothes to wash the dust and sadness off. And

11:15

when I turn the water off, I hear it. Not

11:18

with my ears. I hear it.

11:21

Not with my ears.

11:21

I hear

11:23

it. I hear

11:25

it. I hear

11:27

it. Not with my ears.

11:28

With my skin.

11:32

Like I'm on the hunt. It

11:37

feels like a mouse hiding in the wall. I

11:42

go to look. It's not

11:45

a mouse.

11:48

It's the dagger. I

11:51

left it on the nightstand. Forgetting

11:56

about my bath, I pick it up. And

11:58

lie on the bare mattress. I

12:02

turn it in my hands, watching

12:05

the light play across the walled grain of the blade.

12:10

After a moment I clutch it to my chest. The

12:13

iron is warm against

12:16

my skin. I

12:18

close my eyes.

12:28

And I'm in a cave, filled

12:30

with clay jars and scrolls

12:33

and dried bundles of leaves hanging from

12:35

the walls.

12:37

This time, I'm not watching.

12:41

I am her. The

12:44

girl from the marsh. I'm

12:48

kneeling on a grass mat. My eyes fixed

12:50

on a weathered idol sitting on a candlelit

12:53

altar. A woman with

12:56

a lion's

12:56

head. My

12:59

head is swimming with drugs or

13:02

fatigue. Words are tumbling

13:05

off my tongue. I've

13:08

been saying these words for hours

13:10

or days. I'm not

13:12

sure anymore, but my throat is like

13:14

sandpaper when at last.

13:19

A wound fills the musty cave.

13:21

The candles flicker. Some go out.

13:25

And in the half light, tears

13:28

fall from the idol's eyes.

13:31

I lean forward and lick the

13:33

wetness of the statue's lion face.

13:36

It's blood, as it used

13:38

to taste, salty and metallic.

13:46

I

13:46

tilt my head back, letting it trickle down my

13:48

parched throat. I close my eyes. And

13:52

I say the words once more.

13:55

Rekkmenkmenkth.

13:59

Then

14:03

I lift the dagger and

14:05

drag the edge slowly across

14:08

my jocular.

14:13

My eyes shoot open. I'm

14:17

me again. Sprawled

14:19

on the floor of Whisper's room.

14:23

Covered in blood.

14:27

Oh fuck. I

14:29

panic. I search for wounds. There

14:32

are none. It's

14:35

not my blood. I

14:38

look down at the dagger laying beside me on

14:40

the floor. I

14:43

know now who the girl is.

15:00

February 21st. I'm

15:03

set to leave tomorrow. I've

15:05

told no one about my last vision. It

15:07

changes nothing.

15:09

If anything, it's another reason to be far away

15:11

from the people I care about. My

15:14

emotions feel raw, close

15:16

to the surface.

15:18

Dangerous.

15:22

Something happened earlier.

15:24

I

15:26

was outside when I saw Sinead

15:28

talking to Felix. She

15:33

touched his arm and he smiled

15:36

awkwardly before backing away.

15:38

Sure. Yeah. Yeah,

15:40

I'll think on that. Thanks. She

15:47

smiled, pleased with herself.

15:50

Then she picked up her laundry basket and continued

15:53

to the parked bus she lives in. I

15:56

followed her as she went behind the bus

15:59

to set down her load.

16:00

Dorsie, you

16:03

startled me. I saw you talking to Felix

16:05

just now. He's a nice lad. He

16:08

is, yes.

16:11

But what's he to you? To

16:14

me. We

16:17

can taste feelings in your blood. Did

16:20

you know that? No.

16:23

It's true. He can tell

16:25

if you're afraid or

16:27

hiding something or aroused,

16:32

even. I

16:34

was just... I

16:37

was offering my condolences about

16:39

Whisper. Whisper, yes. She

16:41

was special. I

16:44

didn't know what loyalty was until I met her.

16:47

She'd have walked through fire for

16:49

me. She'll be missed, my lady.

16:52

Her real name was Wilhelmina.

16:53

Did you know that?

16:56

No, no. You

16:59

didn't. Why

17:03

are you here, Sinead? My lady? Well,

17:08

I know why I'm here,

17:10

why Felix is here, why Whisper was here.

17:13

Why are you

17:16

here? I don't

17:20

know. No? Maybe

17:23

you're here to get off. Maybe we're a kink

17:25

to you. Maybe you found Mum's old copy of Anne Rice

17:28

when you were a little girl and

17:30

touched yourself thinking about pretty boys with sharp teeth.

17:34

I won't talk to Felix anymore if you don't want

17:36

me to.

17:37

No.

17:42

Sorry, I... It's

17:45

been a rough few days. Of

17:48

course. Are

17:51

you all right? Yeah, I've just... I've

17:54

just been feeling not quite myself

17:56

lately. I

17:59

should go. Are you hungry?

18:02

Do you want to fade? I

18:05

stopped and around, her

18:08

soft, big eyes meeting

18:10

mine with a sort of righteous maternal concern

18:13

that made my blood start to boil again.

18:16

Yes, I do. Here.

18:23

No, not from your wrist. From

18:26

your neck. Sorry? I

18:31

want to drink from your neck. My

18:35

neck? Like my jug? Take

18:38

off your coat. She

18:41

swiftly shed her coat, dropping it in the mud.

18:45

Then she stood there as stiff

18:48

as an arrow in the ground, surprised that she'd done it. She'd

18:51

never felt the powers of an anointed one

18:53

before. Show me your

18:55

neck. She

18:59

swept her hair there, taked

19:01

her head and froze like an android,

19:05

her pale neck exposed.

19:07

I

19:09

grabbed her hair, tightened my fist and

19:12

met her frightened eyes. I

19:14

don't move. I

19:17

don't scream. Okay.

19:21

I bit hard

19:24

and the blood came quick.

19:28

She tasted of curry

19:30

and weed and rust. But

19:34

mostly fear. Not concern

19:36

and pity, but fear. Gushing

19:40

and raw, I pulled it into myself

19:43

in long, greedy cuffs until

19:45

her knees buckled under me. I'd

19:48

have finished her if not for Fenno. Darcy!

19:51

It

19:54

wasn't until Fenno ran to her tying her scarf

19:56

tight around the wound that I finally understood

19:59

what I'd done. Hm. Podrick, here,

20:01

now. Yes, my lady. Is

20:05

she all right? Get her to

20:07

the clinic, now. Yes, my lady. Sorry,

20:11

I didn't mean. What

20:13

the fuck was that? I

20:16

don't know. You don't

20:19

know? We have

20:21

rules here, Darcy. She was here

20:23

by choice. Well, maybe she shouldn't be. Darcy,

20:26

they should be scared of us.

20:29

I'm scared of me. Why

20:32

isn't she? Why aren't those

20:35

fuckers who killed Whisper? We

20:38

drink their blood. It's

20:41

what we do. They

20:43

shouldn't be chasing us or

20:46

flirting with us. They

20:50

should be hiding.

20:54

Darcy,

20:57

come with me. You need to sit down. No.

21:02

No, I'm done. I

21:11

returned to my flat and started shoving

21:13

belongings into a pack, wondering

21:15

what Jep might say if he saw me now.

21:17

Hello,

21:20

Spitfire. Don't

21:22

call me that. You don't know me. No?

21:26

You still think I wasn't right about you? You're

21:28

not here. You're dead. Death

21:31

follows you.

21:33

Says the reason I had to stop riding to

21:35

school in an armored car. The world

21:37

was always dangerous. I protected you. Until

21:40

you tried to kill me. I was the only

21:42

one who truly saw what you'd become. Shut up.

21:44

But you see now, don't you? Stop.

21:47

You think you can rise above the darkness? You don't

21:50

know me. You're lying to yourself,

21:52

Spitfire.

21:52

Isaac, don't fucking call me that. Hey.

22:00

Who are you just talking to? No

22:04

one. Are

22:08

you alright? Why

22:11

wouldn't I be? I

22:14

saw them taking Sinead to the clinic.

22:16

It was nothing, it was... It

22:18

was a misunderstanding. Okay.

22:22

Do you want to talk about it? No, I

22:24

need to pack. You're

22:27

still planning to leave tomorrow? Yes. Alright,

22:30

how about two?

22:31

Felix, no. We

22:34

talked about this. We started to. You're

22:37

not coming. Dars, can you

22:40

just stop and look around for one bloody second? You're

22:43

not well. I'm

22:45

fine. Fine? You

22:48

almost killed her, Dars. That's

22:50

not you.

22:51

You can't go charging out there like this. I

22:58

can't be here either. I'm

23:01

a loaded gun, I know that. I'm

23:03

just trying to aim it at the right... I

23:09

can't be here, Felix. Look,

23:16

I'm going to Dubrovnik tomorrow. And

23:19

I'm going alone. If

23:21

you care about me at all. You'll

23:24

stay here. With Fener. Why?

23:28

Because if I have to bring your head home in a pillar

23:30

case, I'll be gone. Not

23:33

unwell. Fucking gone.

23:36

Do you understand?

23:40

Just tell me this. Is

23:44

it a suicide mission? What? No.

23:50

No, no, no. To my face, Dars. Look

23:52

at me. Promise

23:55

me you're planning to come back.

24:02

I'm planning to come back, Felix.

24:06

It's not a suicide mission. All

24:10

right. Okay

24:13

then. I

24:16

trust you.

24:19

It wasn't the first lie I'd ever told him. But

24:24

it was the hardest. I'm going

24:27

to be there. I'm

24:29

going to be there. I'm

24:32

going to be there. I'm

24:37

going to be there. February 22nd. I

24:41

left before dawn. I

24:44

didn't speak to anyone. Not

24:48

for Noah, not Felix. Just

24:50

walked out.

24:51

The

24:54

silence felt suffocating as I came to the

24:56

sign walking the turn off to Loch Nea. I

25:00

paused there and listened, hearing

25:04

only the voices in my head.

25:10

Why

25:10

are you really out here, Spitfire? I

25:13

told you not to call me that. Why

25:15

not? Who are you really?

25:19

I'm the one who will

25:20

end this. The

25:22

Winter Child. Then why have

25:24

you stopped? You

25:27

know where that road goes, don't you? Go

25:30

away. Often

25:32

quiet that way. Maybe

25:35

you could slip into that Malaysia camp while they're

25:37

still asleep. They'd never know what happened.

25:39

There are innocent people

25:41

among them. Come now. Who'd

25:44

miss them? Who'd care? I'd

25:47

care. Would you? Are you

25:49

sure about that? After what

25:51

they've done, would you really care if that

25:53

should snuff them out? Would

25:55

you even remember? Go

25:58

away.

26:04

I stood there for a while, staring

26:08

down the silent murky road to the

26:10

camp as a strange

26:12

disembodied sense of guilt slowly

26:15

engulfed me.

26:32

Darcie, is that you? Yes.

26:36

I called out to you. I

26:39

thought so. I was surprised.

26:44

Surprised that I needed you. Surprised

26:47

that you were still around.

26:48

I thought you'd be

26:50

on your way. I was. Well,

26:57

I'm glad to see you one last time, before

27:00

you go. Out

27:03

here on our little beach. You

27:05

were right. It

27:07

is pretty in the gloom. Yeah.

27:12

It's funny, I always preferred gloomy days.

27:14

Before, I mean.

27:17

Maybe because I burned so easily. Well,

27:20

we both do now. How's Sinead?

27:24

Yeah, she'll be alright.

27:26

I

27:27

wanted to kill her, Felix.

27:31

I was so angry.

27:35

She doesn't belong here. I thought she's not

27:37

one of us. She's one of them.

27:39

Them? Humans.

27:45

You never used to say them? No, it

27:48

didn't come so naturally to me. But

27:51

since I found the knife,

27:55

it belonged to the Queen. What?

28:00

Really? The knife

28:02

you found in the cave? Yeah. You

28:07

sure? How

28:09

do you know? I know.

28:12

I've been seeing her memories. I

28:15

saw her sacrifice herself

28:18

to become what she is. And

28:20

when I woke up, I was

28:23

covered in blood. Actual

28:26

blood. Whose

28:29

blood was it? I didn't know. I didn't want to.

28:31

I just washed myself off.

28:34

Told myself it wasn't real, but... Are

28:37

you alright? No. No, I'm not.

28:39

Dars, Dars,

28:41

you're shaking. What

28:45

happened?

28:45

When I left this morning, I had a bad

28:48

feeling, so I went back

28:50

to the militia camp. Just

28:53

to see. See

28:55

what? They

28:58

were dead. They were all dead.

29:02

And then I found the footprints. Lion

29:06

footprints. Darcy.

29:09

It was me, Felix. I

29:12

killed them. All of them. Men,

29:16

women, children. No, no, no,

29:18

no, no. You didn't. You couldn't.

29:20

I did. I did. The

29:23

blood. It was their

29:25

blood. I was

29:28

covered in their blood. I

29:32

killed them. And

29:34

then blocked it out.

29:39

What's happening to me? You

30:20

We hope you're enjoying season 2 of

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Impact Winter

“They came after the impact and the firestorms. When the sun went dark. Like they’d been there all along. Just waiting.”From executive producers of The Walking Dead and Travis Beacham, the writer of Pacific Rim, comes a heart-stopping Audible Original featuring a brilliant British cast. It’s the near future and seven years since a comet hit the earth and blotted out the sun. The world is a dark, frozen landscape. And then, beastly creatures emerge and take over. Can they really be vampires?In the British countryside, a band of survivors forms a resistance in the fallout shelter of a medieval castle. Darcy is a battle-tested vampire hunter who is at the front line leading the charge to save humanity. Meanwhile, her younger sister Hope wants life to return normal so she can go above ground and know what it’s like to live again. And she just might be willing to risk it all.A story of apocalypse, horror, and adventure, Impact Winter is a wholly original new saga created just for Audible with immersive 3D audio that dares you to pop in your earbuds and listen in the dark. Venture into an eternally sunless world of swords and crossbows; primal hunters and shape-shifters; leaders and lovers. Hear how a brave few fight to survive the impact winter.Starring Liam Cunningham as Jepson Belgrave, Holliday Grainger as Darcy, Esme Creed-Miles as Hope, David Gyasi as Rook, Bella Ramsey as Whisper and Indira Varma as Kallistrata, Himesh Patel as Felix. Written, directed and executive produced by Travis Beacham. Also Executive Produced by Robert Kirkman, David Alpert, Rick Jacobs, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst and Alexandra August of Skybound Entertainment, Bard Dorros and Zack Hayden of Anonymous Content and Cliff Roberts. Executive producer for Audible was Matt Patterson.Associate Producer: Wes MazdaPlease note: This content is for mature audiences only. It contains adult language and themes. Discretion is advised.

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