Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha. I'm not going to
Speaker 1: stuff I've never told you protection iHeart radio and welcome
Speaker 1: to another edition of Smindy Fiction. Yes, yes, yes, yes,
Speaker 1: um as always easier or once a month, so if
Speaker 1: it's not your thing, which I totally get, uh, you
Speaker 1: can skip it. Also, this is ongoing. We're currently in
Speaker 1: a continuing story. We are on a chapter six. I
Speaker 1: believe I do this every time. UM. But yeah, it's
Speaker 1: a continuing story, so you'll definitely want to go back
Speaker 1: and listen to the chapters before this because we're getting
Speaker 1: into some of the action now. I think there's been
Speaker 1: a lot of build up, but now we're getting into that.
Speaker 1: As I said before on these um, this was a
Speaker 1: part of my first time doing National Novel Writing Month. UM,
Speaker 1: so it's not I don't really edit it. Uh. And
Speaker 1: this was in so it's kind of it's just kind
Speaker 1: of interesting to see what I was thinking about writing
Speaker 1: about back then. Um. And we did because we just
Speaker 1: got out of November. I know it's like the end
Speaker 1: of December when you hear this, but our recording schedule
Speaker 1: as bonkers, So we did just get out of November,
Speaker 1: and I've loved hearing. We asked some of you if
Speaker 1: you did Nanaimo right in, and I got some great
Speaker 1: facts because I I had been like, oh, I think
Speaker 1: people might be cheating. Um, but people people wrote in
Speaker 1: and they corrected me and and told me about their stories.
Speaker 1: Keep that up because we love we love hearing about
Speaker 1: that kind of stuff. Um. And I'm just curious. I
Speaker 1: love this idea, Nanta. I'm also interesting because it's kind
Speaker 1: of like some people do plan it. Don't get me wrong,
Speaker 1: but if you're like me and you're just like write something,
Speaker 1: it's just what is going on in your mind. It's
Speaker 1: kind of like a psyche, like a look into your sky.
Speaker 1: It is. But I would love to see like people
Speaker 1: have done, like rom comms or or I don't know,
Speaker 1: I would. I would just very much appreciate you letting
Speaker 1: us know. Also, as always, thanks to the people who
Speaker 1: have already written in two and thanks to Christina who
Speaker 1: makes these happen, and for the people have written in
Speaker 1: and recognized that Christina is the amazing person who makes
Speaker 1: these happen. We do appreciate that as well. But also,
Speaker 1: as I always say in these, this is one of
Speaker 1: those things where I also get if this is totally
Speaker 1: the worst time for this to come out for you
Speaker 1: because the content warning I have here a little bit
Speaker 1: of like aftermath of gun violence in this chapter, illness,
Speaker 1: threat of violence and child separation, hunger, cood language, um,
Speaker 1: child danger, heavy child danger, infertility, stigma around sex and illness,
Speaker 1: stigma around infertility, lack of agency around your body. Uh.
Speaker 1: This chapter has some able is um or internalized able
Speaker 1: ism ideas as well. So if you're hearing that and
Speaker 1: you haven't heard the rest of them, be like, what
Speaker 1: is this? Yeah, here's the quicker recap. So the global
Speaker 1: population has been decimated by this virus that causes infertility. UM.
Speaker 1: The government, along with a religious organization called arm A
Speaker 1: r M. It determines where, like when a child is
Speaker 1: actually born, where that child will go. UM. That's determined
Speaker 1: by the Board of Better Parenting as well. And so
Speaker 1: Tilda has her child and is unwilling to be separated
Speaker 1: from him, her child, Madicine. So she ran away from
Speaker 1: these conception centers and government centers and they've been on
Speaker 1: the run for seven years. Uh. And it's winter, winter
Speaker 1: is coming. Oh, Madison has this cough that is very concerning.
Speaker 1: Their goals aren't good. Their supplies aren't good. Like nothing's
Speaker 1: looking good. Uh. And then they were finally cornered by
Speaker 1: these enforcers who worked for the government, who have been
Speaker 1: searching for what they call Priority number one case, which
Speaker 1: is Tilda and her son. And Tilda and Madison narrowly
Speaker 1: escape the enforcers. Uh. And Tilda is shot in the
Speaker 1: leg as they steal a car. And that is where
Speaker 1: we are. So it's not good. I mean a lot
Speaker 1: of bad things are happening. Or Tilda put her through
Speaker 1: some things. I did put Tilda through some things, And
Speaker 1: to be honest, it's not gonna get a lot better
Speaker 1: very soon. But on that very cheerful note, and let
Speaker 1: us get into the story. Tilda took a moment to
Speaker 1: evaluate the situation. They couldn't stay in this car for long.
Speaker 1: It would draw too much attention. Blood poured from the
Speaker 1: hole in her left calf. It shook uncontrollably, simultaneously hot
Speaker 1: and cold. It hurt, but not nearly as much as
Speaker 1: it should adrenaline network. But it would fade eventually, probably
Speaker 1: sooner rather than later. And then what their whole world
Speaker 1: consisted of walking, of being mobile? How could they carry
Speaker 1: on with her leg injured. She didn't know how to
Speaker 1: properly heal a bullet wound. The damage would most likely
Speaker 1: be permanent. She cut that thought off before it could
Speaker 1: fully form, horrified at the prospect of it and what
Speaker 1: it would mean. Ringing filled her ears. Her uneven gulpen
Speaker 1: gasp muted. Oh, yes, they were in trouble. Tilta took
Speaker 1: her eyes off the road for a moment to study Madison.
Speaker 1: Apart from being pale, shaken and sick, he looked otherwise
Speaker 1: all right. He stared at her, eyes round and gleaming.
Speaker 1: His lip trembled. Directing her eyes back to the asphalt,
Speaker 1: she asked, you are right, baby, no answer. She could
Speaker 1: feel his gaze unwavering and heavy. Did you hear me,
Speaker 1: she prodded. His ears must be buzzing too, He sniffled,
Speaker 1: you're bleeding. An odd tingling was slowly spreading through her,
Speaker 1: leaving in its wake a more disturbing numbness. It's fine,
Speaker 1: she deflected, and if not for the tremor in her voice,
Speaker 1: it might have passed for normal. Madison, intelligent and perceptive,
Speaker 1: saw right through the lie. The tears collected at the
Speaker 1: corners of his eyes spilled over. She took a gasping breath,
Speaker 1: stomach clenching as the first heart wrenching sob broke free.
Speaker 1: It's okay, we'll be fine. We just a wave of
Speaker 1: pain flared up her leg and she broke off for
Speaker 1: a moment. Swallowing, she picked back up, stars in her eyes.
Speaker 1: Just gotta get to town and then get some bandages
Speaker 1: on it and get you use some medicine and we'll
Speaker 1: be fine. Towns don't fix everything, madisone hiccuped Tilda would
Speaker 1: have laughed at the situation. Wasn't so severe. His bawling
Speaker 1: turned into a fit of coughs. No, they don't, she agreed.
Speaker 1: But it's all we've got. And I'm so sorry for that,
Speaker 1: she thought, but didn't say. Just try and on, calm
Speaker 1: down and we'll be there soon. Mass And curled up
Speaker 1: in the seat, watching her as if she disappear, if
Speaker 1: he looked away, and his gaze could pin her. There.
Speaker 1: Outside their window was a tableau of yellow and blue
Speaker 1: smudging into each other like broad brushstrokes. It gave Tilda
Speaker 1: the odd and impression that they were in a painting,
Speaker 1: always moving but going nowhere. Time faded in and out
Speaker 1: every blink seeming disproportionately long. Tilda kept catching herself forgetting
Speaker 1: to breathe, and would suck in a whistling gasp that
Speaker 1: somehow made her feel more oxygen deprived. Blurry road signs
Speaker 1: cropped up more and more frequently, but she couldn't make
Speaker 1: them out. When she started to ask Madisone to read
Speaker 1: them to her, she found her tongue too dry to
Speaker 1: speak properly. Chastising herself for her weakness, she blinked until
Speaker 1: the letters crystallized. Topeka eleven miles. Time to ditch the car,
Speaker 1: she decided grimly. The idea sent a thrill of terror
Speaker 1: up her spine. It would draw too much attention. Possibly
Speaker 1: it was even equipped with a tracking device. They'd have
Speaker 1: to take their chances, and to pick up as much
Speaker 1: as she tried to refuse herself the luxury of the thought,
Speaker 1: she kept wondering what would happen to Madison if she died.
Speaker 1: It might be only a leg wound, but blood loss
Speaker 1: could be deadly, not to mention infection, and there was
Speaker 1: the possibility she would be left unable to walk. What
Speaker 1: would they do then wait for the enforcers to catch
Speaker 1: up with them. They'd have to find a place to
Speaker 1: hide so she could recover, so they could both recover,
Speaker 1: she admitted, as Madison coughed. The longer they stayed, the
Speaker 1: greater the chance the enforcers were discovered them. But there
Speaker 1: was always the chance, however slim, that they'd give up
Speaker 1: move on. She could hope, even though there was only
Speaker 1: the ragged edge she had to keep going. Tilda flipped
Speaker 1: on the turn signal, as ridiculous as it was, taking
Speaker 1: the first exit for Topeka. Rows and rows of houses
Speaker 1: sprung up on either side of them, all of them
Speaker 1: fading and similar and average in every way. Tilda assessed
Speaker 1: their surroundings through billery vision, searching for a place to
Speaker 1: ditch the car. As she weaved slowly and evenly down
Speaker 1: the road, looking for a parking garage or a lot,
Speaker 1: or any air where a car would not draw attention,
Speaker 1: a huge red arrow caught her eye. She fought against
Speaker 1: the haze encroaching upon her, stringing together enormous, dull yellow letters,
Speaker 1: one at a time, car wash. She mouthed the words silently,
Speaker 1: her foggy brain gripping to the car and car wash
Speaker 1: like a lifeboat. Wosily and without conscious decision, she followed
Speaker 1: the arrow of a slight incline and navigated the car
Speaker 1: into what appeared to be a garage. The hanging strips
Speaker 1: of cloth a dark portal that obscured the vehicle from view.
Speaker 1: She powered the car down and pulled the keys out
Speaker 1: of the ignition. They slipped from her fingers and jingled
Speaker 1: to the floor and Tiltal's world tilted dangerously when she'd
Speaker 1: bent over to retrieve them. It took her several sitting
Speaker 1: breasts before she was able to pull herself upright and
Speaker 1: deposit the keys into her carrier bag. Nauseated, she fumbled
Speaker 1: with the handle, falling out of the car and scraping
Speaker 1: her knees on the concrete. Using the side mirror for leverage,
Speaker 1: she heaved herself to her feet, doing her best to
Speaker 1: ignore the red and black stand covering most of her
Speaker 1: left calf, who's slowly a distress cry sliced through her
Speaker 1: blood loss induced apathy. She turned towards it, masson, eyes
Speaker 1: huge and hands clapped over. His mouth gaped at her.
Speaker 1: Clearing her throat, she tested her left legs ability to
Speaker 1: hold her weight. It wobbled warningly, but held Tilda knew
Speaker 1: it wouldn't last for long. She limped over towards medicine,
Speaker 1: dismayed and irrationally stung when he took the tiniest step
Speaker 1: back as she approached with her hand held out for him.
Speaker 1: But then he rushed to her side, crying quietly, wrapping
Speaker 1: an arm around her waist to do what he could
Speaker 1: to help her. He murmured comfortingly to her. Untilda felt
Speaker 1: her love for him swell, a temporary remedy for the pain.
Speaker 1: Her steps became sure as they exited through the back
Speaker 1: of the car rush and started down a residential street.
Speaker 1: They walked for several minutes and unnatural silence pressing against
Speaker 1: Tilda's ear drums. She couldn't tell if there was no
Speaker 1: sound or if her body had diverted all energy from
Speaker 1: hearing to her throbbing leg. She didn't know where they
Speaker 1: were going. All she knew was she had to keep going.
Speaker 1: With every step, she waged a battle, the world increasingly
Speaker 1: small as it was consumed with agony. Her vision tunneled
Speaker 1: and she dropped heavily to her knees. So great was
Speaker 1: the pain in her legs she barely felt the pebbles
Speaker 1: digging and cutting into her skin. Madison sobbed loudly, attempting
Speaker 1: to pull her to her feet. Tilda's body was unresponsive.
Speaker 1: Her effort to stand failed. Miserably. She started to crawl, floored,
Speaker 1: feeling the color drained from her face. Her only thought
Speaker 1: was to keep going, to get Madison to safety before
Speaker 1: she passed out. His crying was distant in her ears.
Speaker 1: She saw a movement at the corner of her eye.
Speaker 1: She turned her head sluggishly to the left of look,
Speaker 1: collapsing on her right side. The world spun sickeningly. Small
Speaker 1: hands tugged at her, trying to pull her up. Tilda
Speaker 1: thought she heard a woman far away as Madisone's weeping
Speaker 1: faded in and out, sharpening and blurring, and everything drifted
Speaker 1: from her, leaving her in darkness. M It was March.
Speaker 1: Madison was four years old. They've been on the run
Speaker 1: for almost three years. Tilda thought it would be easier
Speaker 1: now that Madison could walk on his own and keep
Speaker 1: up with her fairly well, and it was in most ways.
Speaker 1: His natural inquisitive nature made him prone to start and
Speaker 1: stop and wander and pick up things, which Tilda adored
Speaker 1: in him, but it certainly presented some challenges to a
Speaker 1: life on the run. Now it was night, the full
Speaker 1: moon shrouded by clouds, silver rays of light shining through
Speaker 1: and dotting the landscape. Two enforcers had spotted them. They
Speaker 1: always seemed to come in a pair. Tilda, exhausted, saw
Speaker 1: them on the road ahead, too late. They were heading
Speaker 1: towards them. Tilda scooped Madison up, tearing off into the
Speaker 1: woods and tumbling into a ditch in her hurry. She
Speaker 1: shot back up and ran as fast as she could
Speaker 1: lift her legs, dodging trees and jumping over roots, the
Speaker 1: soggy leaves catching at her feet, but she ran, her
Speaker 1: lungs burning and her heart pounding wildly. Soon her legs
Speaker 1: would collapse under the strain. Raised roots snagged her foot,
Speaker 1: sending her crashing into the forest floor, Panting harshly, the
Speaker 1: beginnings of despair starting to take hold. She pulled herself
Speaker 1: up to her knees when she caught sight of an overhang,
Speaker 1: almost completely obscured by leaves, moss, and hanging roots. With
Speaker 1: Madison still in her arms, she crawled over as quietly
Speaker 1: as she could, trying to disturb the leaves as little
Speaker 1: as possible. She could hear the loud footsteps of the
Speaker 1: enforcers getting closer. The space underneath the overhang was small.
Speaker 1: They had to slide underneath it, Tilda curling up to
Speaker 1: keep her feet from view. They lay in the dark,
Speaker 1: damp space, wet leaves clinging to them, doing their best
Speaker 1: to breathe quietly. Madison, too young to understand, wasn't scared.
Speaker 1: It was more of a game to him. He didn't
Speaker 1: have to ask. He knew that they didn't want to caught,
Speaker 1: but he knew it in the way of a game
Speaker 1: of hide and seek, the danger not yet real to him.
Speaker 1: Tilda draped an arm around him, willing him to be
Speaker 1: still and silent. The footsteps of the enforcers slowed just
Speaker 1: outside their hiding space. Please, Tilda beg silently, please. A
Speaker 1: mouse poked his head out of a small hole in
Speaker 1: the dirt near their heads, brown fur lighter than the
Speaker 1: leaves around it, ears swiveling and tiny nose twitching out.
Speaker 1: It crawled, paying no heed to the humans hiding near it.
Speaker 1: Madison opened his mouth. Untilda clapped her hand over it,
Speaker 1: muffling his exclamation. He jumped, startled, but did not react.
Speaker 1: Beyond that, the enforcers, now about ten feet away, paused,
Speaker 1: listening before continuing their search in the area in front
Speaker 1: of the overhanging, but gradually they moved away from it.
Speaker 1: Turning slowly, Madison freed himself from the hand over his mouth,
Speaker 1: I serious, leaning to whisper n Tilda's ear. Mouse. Tilda
Speaker 1: didn't comprehend it, first, watching the enforcers as their footsteps faded,
Speaker 1: but then Madison pointed at the creature working his way
Speaker 1: through the leaves, stopping to dig in the dirt. Incredulous,
Speaker 1: she half grinned, nodding but gesturing for him to be quiet.
Speaker 1: He smiled, focusing his avid attention on the road. They
Speaker 1: remained hidden long after the mouse and the enforcers had gone,
Speaker 1: until Madison fixed her with a gaze of pure boredom.
Speaker 1: Fidgeting carefully, the two emerged out of their nature provided
Speaker 1: hiding space, like two creatures birth from Earth itself. Without thought,
Speaker 1: she pulled Madison to a fierce embrace, laughing and crying
Speaker 1: hysterically into his neck. He allowed it, surprised and confused,
Speaker 1: mouse he'd whispered, she loved him more than anything. Sometimes
Speaker 1: in her worry and doubt she lost track of that.
Speaker 1: She took it for granted, but she do anything to
Speaker 1: protect him and would fight for him as long as
Speaker 1: she could. For that one night in the cold and
Speaker 1: dreary dark of March, she was glory, sleep at peace
Speaker 1: with her decision to take Madison. Tilda lifted the now
Speaker 1: drowsy child and walked away from the enforcers and out
Speaker 1: of the forest. And that brings us to the end
Speaker 1: of this chapter of Terminus, and it's still looking pretty grim.
Speaker 1: I did have I kind of just wanted to mention
Speaker 1: a lot of stuff I write. And I don't think
Speaker 1: this is just me. I think everybody does this, but
Speaker 1: I'm such a huge nerd. I put references in there,
Speaker 1: and they're they're like the most like you know, you
Speaker 1: really have to know deep cut references. So it's not
Speaker 1: like you're reading it like, oh, she's talking about Star Wars.
Speaker 1: I mean that Jimmy World one was pretty on point.
Speaker 1: But other than that, But this chapter I was reading
Speaker 1: and I was like, I know exactly what horror movie
Speaker 1: I'm talking about, even though I haven't seen it in
Speaker 1: quite a long time. But and I know this is
Speaker 1: going to sound like a completely random question. Samantha, what
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on automatic car washes. I like them. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I didn't go through one until I was an adult
Speaker 1: because and when I say adult out of college, because
Speaker 1: we didn't have any of those at n l J.
Speaker 1: We had the self wash and it didn't pop up
Speaker 1: like it has now. And even now, I think they're
Speaker 1: more in the suburban areas and they are like metro
Speaker 1: areas because you can get hand washes and like custom washes,
Speaker 1: but those are expensive. But the automatic car washes, like
Speaker 1: it was rare. So but I'm a fan because I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: five dollars rints off my rints off my car, thank you.
Speaker 1: That's nice. See I am terrified of them. Why I
Speaker 1: bring it up. Yeah, I'm really scared of them. I
Speaker 1: was as a kid too, but they're They're featured in
Speaker 1: a lot of horror movies. Um, it's a big like
Speaker 1: jump scare moment if you don't know what's happening in
Speaker 1: the car wash because it's like everything is moving, it's
Speaker 1: dark and like all that stuff. So that's where the
Speaker 1: car wash thing counture. I haven't. I was just funny
Speaker 1: when I was going back over reading it because I
Speaker 1: haven't read this in a while, I was like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: I remember I'm afraid of car washes. Yes, yeah, well
Speaker 1: hopefully hopefully this has been I come down from that
Speaker 1: pretty tense chapter. It was. It was going back over it.
Speaker 1: I had a lot of moments of like, wow, this
Speaker 1: is really I mean, it's Graham, but also this whole
Speaker 1: idea of like what what would you do if you've
Speaker 1: been shot and you can't walk? And and that's where
Speaker 1: I was like, this kind of able us. Like the
Speaker 1: way I was describing it, like oh, she's she might
Speaker 1: as well be dead, but it is it's such a
Speaker 1: grim like you don't have medicine and the like infection
Speaker 1: sets in and that could be it. But it was
Speaker 1: just something I was kind of like, huh, okay, that's
Speaker 1: it's good to know. I'm glad I've made I've broke
Speaker 1: this's been growth. Recognize that you gotta you gotta note
Speaker 1: the past and then moving on. But yeah, as always,
Speaker 1: we love doing these. We hope that you enjoyed listening
Speaker 1: listening to them. Uh, and it'll be back next month
Speaker 1: and you'll see what happens. Yes, if you have any
Speaker 1: theories or any as we always say, anything in the
Speaker 1: public domain that we could do to take like a
Speaker 1: little mini Breit because we do love doing these. They're
Speaker 1: really fun. Please I'll let us know. You can email
Speaker 1: us a stuff in your mom Stuff at ihart mea
Speaker 1: dot com. You can find us on Twitter at mom
Speaker 1: Stuff podcast or Instagram and Stuff I Ever Told You.
Speaker 1: Thanks as always to our super producer Christina magic Maker Yes,
Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening Stuff I Never Told
Speaker 1: The Protection by heart Radio. For more podcasts from my
Speaker 1: heart Radio, you can check out the heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.