It Could Happen Here - CZM Book Club: The Barrow Will Send What it May, Chapter Four

Episode Date: April 13, 2025

Margaret reads another chapter from the second book in her Danielle Cain series.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless, D***less Me. I'm the old one. I'm the young one.

And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only. Or listen to it with your kid. Could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out.

It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless, D***less Me on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your kid. Could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless S***less Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. You get your podcast. The championship is back in the Bay for the first time in 40 years. On the new limited podcast series, Dub Dynasty, we hear from head coach Steve Kerr on how Steph Curry almost never even joined the Warriors. In fact, I thought we had a draft date deal to end up getting him to Phoenix.

For the entire behind the scenes story of Golden State's incredible 10 year run, listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are your ears bored? Yeah. Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn, and say que? Yeah!

Then tune in to Locatora Radio Season 10 today. Okay! Now that's what I call a podcast. I'm Tioza. I'm Mala. The host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novela. Which is just a very extra way of saying... A podcast.

Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From the producers who brought you Princess of South Beach comes a new podcast, The Set Up. The Set Up follows a lonely museum curator, but when the perfect man walks into his life, Well, I guess I'm saying I like you. You like me?

he actually is too good to be true. This is a con. I'm conning you to get the Delama painting. We can do this together. Listen to The Set Up on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Cool Zone Media. Book club, book club, book club, book club. Hello, and welcome to the Cool Zone Media Book Club, the only book club where you don't have to do the reading because I do it for

you. I'm your host, Margaret Kildray, and this week my guest is nobody. I have no guest. It's just me and you. Me and you, dear listener, as we go into chapter four of my own book, The Barrow Will Send What It May. We had to take a break because for a couple weeks I really wanted to talk about that other thing, but now that break is over. So we're back to reading The Barrel Will Send What It May. If you're just joining us here, well, that's a weird place to start a book. But if you need a reminder about what happened, our protagonists had just broken into a man's workplace slash store office and were like, I wonder if there's magic here.

And then they tried to go through a door and then magical fire came and enveloped Heather. In fact, if you want the last paragraph of what just happened, I'll just do that for you. I'll just go back, just a paragraph or two. I grabbed for you. I'll just go back, just a paragraph or two. I grabbed for her. The fingers of my hand, my goat-bitten hand, went through the doorway and it tingled. My wrist, though, passed through and it hurt like fire. Well, most of the times I've gotten burned. Fire only hurts later, once the nerve endings started growing back or whatever. This time it hurt immediately, like how fire hurts later.

I got a hold of her jacket and yanked back. She fell on top of me. She stopped screaming. If she was breathing, it was too faint to hear. Dun dun dun. That was the end of the chapter three. But now I'm going to read chapter 4, because this episode is chapter 4. Chapter 4.

She was alive. I found her pulse easily enough. What the fuck, Brynn said. What the fuck, I agreed. We dragged Heather back into the office. Brynn ran back into the hallway, and I heard her phone snap a photo. She slammed the cursed door shut. Found her fucking magician, I said, as I worked the office window open.

Brynn shut and locked the office door. Doomsday, Brynn said. She'll know what to do. I climbed out the window, Brynn handed me Heather, and we ran for it. We couldn't lock the window behind us. We couldn't grab our bikes. Brynn put Heather into a fireman's carry, and we made for a side street, just as a 1950s pickup truck roared down the main street and skidded to a halt out in front of the building. I didn't think he saw us.

Don't die, Brynn said as we ran. Don't die, don't die, don't die. Doomsday met us at the front door of the library and we ran up the steps. I was just out of breath as Brynn and I didn't have 100 some extra pounds of friend thrown over my shoulders. I swept dozens of books off the table and Brynn laid Heather down atop it. I told Doomsday the gist of what had happened. You got a hospital in town, I asked as Vasilis came up after us. He shook his head. Nearest one's about an hour east.

We've got a little emergency clinic though. Won't do any good, Doomsday said as she inspected the patient. It's not physical damage. It's metaphysical damage. That green fire, it's called witch's fire. Rebecca mentioned it once. Burns the... not the soul. Imagine you've got a second body, a metaphysical body.

The bones of that second body, that's your soul. Witch's fire burns away that second skin, the membrane that protects the soul. It'll kill you, as sure as being flayed. We've got to try to reverse the damage, Vasilis said. We've got to regenerate that second skin. No, Doomsday said. Too dangerous. Just need to soothe the burn. Keep it from getting infected while it heals itself. That could take years, Vassilis shouted.

I've been studying this for a decade. Half of what you know, you learned here today, reading from my collection. He rose to his full height. Everyone freaks out a little bit differently. Vassilis, apparently, freaks out by trying to dominate people. He wasn't winning me over. And she'll be in a coma the whole time, Doomsday agreed. We have to do this now, Vasilis said. Doomsday looked thoughtful.

I was going to back her, whatever she chose. That was an easy conclusion to reach. She's your friend, Doomsday said at last. She's your friend, Doomsday said at last. She's my everything. The two of them, together, prepared the ritual. Vasilis was the teacher, Doomsday the student. It was sort of bizarrely elaborate, complete with wringing the floor with herb-infused salts and washing Heather's nude body with oils. Brynn and I stayed out of the way watching from a couch in the corner.

Brynn was folded in on herself in worry. I held her. Vasilis chanted in Greek and English. A supernaturally bright red flush moved across Heather's skin in the wake of his hands as he incanted. By the look on his face and the sweat beginning to form on his brow, it wasn't working. After a minute, maybe, Doomsday joined him. She, too, looked desperate. I heard a crack as Vasilis's hands jerked into an unnatural position. He fainted, crumpling down onto himself and the floor. Then Heather screamed.

Then Heather died. Vulture and Thursday came back that evening, before Vasilis came too. Doomsday had briefed them over the phone shortly after it happened, but I imagine it was still quite a shock to walk into the apartment. Heather was laid out on the table, still, with a sheet covering everything but her face. Vasilis was passed out on the floor in a fetal position. Doomsday was pacing. Brynn was sobbing.

I was holding her with my good hand, my wounded hand, the hand that the goat had bitten, the hand that hadn't been burned by the witch's fire. I didn't let it touch her. I was afraid of my own hand. What did you find, Doomsday asked the boys. She put on a kettle for tea. Sometimes it was unclear if that woman was capable of expressing emotion. I guess, Vulture said, I guess that still matters. Matters more than ever, Doomsday said.

She wasn't wrong. We found their car, Thursday said, pushed into a lake close to the trailhead. Vulture found the tread marks in the dirt even six months later. I wouldn't have noticed them. I dove in and found the car. And, Doomsday asked, and it's a sunken car, Thursday said. That's it. That's all. No skeletons.

No backpacks. Just a fucking car. Vasilis stirred. Brynn and I jumped up and helped him to his feet, then to a chair. Doomsday set the tea in front of him. Maybe she hadn't been as callous as I assumed. We are going to talk about this, Doomsday set the tea in front of him. Maybe she hadn't been as callous as I assumed. We are going to talk about this, Doomsday said, kneeling on the floor in front of his chair. Let me be.

If I leave you alone right now, you may never emotionally recover from what's happened. I don't care. Methodically, he pulled on his mangled hands and worked them back into place. I'd never seen anyone injured like that, and I'd never seen anyone heal themselves like that. When a person is dying, you don't stop to wait for their permission to intervene medically.

You know that. You acted on that. The same is true now for you. I never even imagined this side of Doomsday. I assumed she didn't have a nurturing bone in her body. Tough love is still love, though. "'You were right,' Vasilis said. She was too far gone to heal.

We should have soothed her wounds instead of trying to directly reverse the damage. Is that what you want to hear?' "'That's true,' Doomsday said, but it's immaterial. I could have been wrong. You did what you felt like you had to do, which is always ethically better than doing nothing. Then what are we going to talk about? Well, they're going to talk about these ads. Eh? Eh? Find the most emotionally impactful part of the story and then interrupt it with advertisements. That's the way of the world. Here's the ads.

Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless, D***less Me. I'm the old one. I'm the young one.

And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only. Or listen to it with your kid. Could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless **** with Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever. You get your podcast. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty, the story of how the Golden State Warriors

have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. From the building of the core that included Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, to one of the boldest coaching decisions in the history of the sport. I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the players and let the players know we were here to try to help them take the next step, not tear anything down. Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny 6'2 hooper

who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Rushmore for guys that have changed it. Come revisit this magical warrior's ride. This is Dubb Dynasty. The Dubb's dynasty is still very much alive. Listen to Dubb Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

I'm Camila Ramon, Peloton's first Spanish speaking cycling and tread instructor. I'm an athlete, entrepreneur, and almost most importantly, a perreo enthusiast. And I'm Liz Ortiz, former pro soccer player and Olympian and like Cami, a perreo enthusiast. Come on, who is it? Our podcast, Hasta Bajo, is where sports, music, and fitness collide, and we cover it all, de arriba hasta abajo. Sit downs with real game changers in the sports world,

like Miami Dolphins CMO Priscilla Shoemate, who is redefining what it means to be a Latina leader. It all changed when I had this guy come to me. He said to me, you know, you're not Latina. First of all, what does that mean? My mouth is wide open. Yeah. History makers like the Sukar family who became the first Peruvians to win a Grammy.

It was a very special moment for us. It's been 15 years for me in this career. Finally things are starting to shift into a different level. Listen to Asta Wajo on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Do you remember what you said the first night I came over here?

Ow, goes lower. From Blumhouse TV, iHeart podcasts, and Ember 20 comes an all new fictional comedy podcast series. Join the flighty Damien Hirst as he unravels the mystery of his vanished boyfriend. And Santi was gone. I've been spending all my time looking for answers about what happened to Santi. And what's the way to find a missing person? Sleep with everyone he knew, obviously. Hmm, pillow talk. The most unwelcome window into the human psyche. Follow our out-of-his-element hero as he engages in a series of ill-conceived investigative hookups. Hmm, pillow talk. The most unwelcome window into the human psyche.

Follow our out of his element hero as he engages in a series of ill-conceived investigative hookups. Mama always used to say, God gave me gumption in place of a gag reflex. And as I was about to learn, no amount of showering can wash your hands of a bad hookup. Now, take a big whiff my bruh. Listen to the hookup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. And we're back. Then what are we going to talk about? We're going to talk about Barrow. Because I don't know the first thing about emotional support, but I want to get you problem

solving instead. I want you to worry about this later, soon even. Think of problem solving right now as your emotional tourniquet to stop the bleeding before you can get real support. What does this mean? Brynn asked and showed Vasilis a photo of the Greek carving over the door. Vulture on Thursday, who hadn't yet seen it, stood behind him to look as well. None that are living may pass.

Doomsday nodded. That's about what I figured. She steepled her fingers. How long have you known that Sebastian Miller was responsible for the resurrection of Asola and Gertrude? I didn't know. You're not an idiot. It was only a guess. You are lucky I'm not in a blaming people mood, Doomsday said.

Blaming people moods are the opposite of getting shit done moods, and I'm in a getting shit done mood. Vasilis nodded weakly. I had no idea when Asola came back. She wouldn't talk to us. But when Gertrude came back too, yeah, I suspected. Was he ever in here, ever checking out books on magic? All the good stuff is closed to the public.

It's all up here." Thursday nodded. He did check out a book on modern Greek last winter, returned it not a week later. I was disappointed because it would be nice to have people locally I could talk to. That's how he knew the right words for the barrier, Doomsday said. My hand went through the barrier without burning, I said. Let me see it, Vasilis said.

I showed him. He whispered arcane words, throwing them forcefully from his lungs, as though afraid of them, then held his hands above my hands. My left hand, my undamaged hand, glowed red. My right hand was unchanged. This hand, he said, it doesn't have a soul. Cool, I said. Bren laughed a little, then got self-conscious. What does that mean? Practically, almost nothing. Enough wounds like that and you'll die, but I don't think it'll have any effect on you other than that." Okay, Thursday said, this is easy enough.

The barrier won't let anyone through who's living. An undead hand doesn't count as living. I bet Asola and Gertrude don't either. Get one of them to head on through, find out what happened. They won't do it, I said. Think about it. They've got to know more than they're telling us already. If they wanted to help more, they'd have offered.

Gertrude's probably in on it, Thursday said. They're married after all. I get resurrecting your dead wife, I said. But I wonder, why a sola? We resurrect Heather, Vasilis said, to get through the barrier. I looked at Doomsday, expecting her to shoot him down. Yeah, Doomsday said instead. She put her hand to her cheek, scratching and thought.

Yeah, that would work. She'd be able to go through the boundary. Are you fucking kidding? Thursday asked. Thing is, Doomsday said, still thinking it over, I don't think we could do it without the Book of Barrow. I only know a few of his minor rituals, not resurrection. Also, don't you have to end one life to bring one back? Yes, he said. Well, you can bring them back temporarily as long as the ritual is still being cast.

But if you don't give Barrow his due at the end of the ritual, right back to death the person goes. This is really obviously a shit idea, Thursday said. Why, Doomsday asked. Are you telling me that if you could bring Heather back right now, that you wouldn't do it? It's unnatural, Thursday said. It's fucking magic, Doomsday said. None of it's any more or less natural than anything else.

I'm not here just to learn about this stuff in the abstract. I'm here to gain and wield power. Over others, Thursday asked. No, god damn it, not over others. Everything is power. A fucking gun is power. I used one once to end three lives, but it wasn't because I wanted to wield power over them. It's that I needed them to stop wielding power over me. There's a pretty fucking massive power imbalance in this world,

and I don't see why we should be afraid to correct it. Doomsday stood up, bringing her teacup with her, taking a long sip. Are humans supposed to fly? I don't know. We built airplanes, though. Are we supposed to bring back the dead? I don't know. But EMTs do it all the time.

It's not a question of whether or not it's ethical to bring Heather back from the dead. It's whether or not we can, and whether or not it will further our aims." She turned his face to Vasilis. If it's a life for a life, will you do it? Will you die for her? Yes, Vasilis answered, with undoubt clouded his features. I don't know. Moot point, Vulture said. We don't have the book. Maybe he's got it on him, but I bet it's on the other side of that barrier. I say we send a drone. Doomsday laughed.

I wasn't joking, Vulture said. We get a drone to fly down there with a camera. Where the hell would we get a drone, Doomsday asked. Well, if they only looked at our sponsors, they might find that we might be advertising drones. Yeah, I don't know. Maybe. There's only one way to find out. And it's to listen. Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version

of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless D***less Me. I'm the old one. I'm the young one. And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only.

Or, listen to it with your kid. It could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless D***less Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dove Dynasty, the story of how the

Golden State Warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade. The Golden State Warriors once again are NBA champions. From the building of the core that included Clay Thompson and Draymond Green, to one of the boldest coaching decisions in the history of the sport. I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the players and let the players know that we were here to try to help them take the next step,

not tear anything down. Today, the Warriors dynasty remains alive, in large part because of a scrawny six'2 hooper who everyone seems to love. For what Steph has done for the game, he's certainly on that Mount Russmore for guys that have changed it. Come revisit this magical Warriors ride. This is Dubb Dynasty. The Dubb's Dynasty is still very much alive. Listen to Dubb Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Camila Ramon, Peloton's first Spanish-speaking cycling and tread instructor.

I'm an athlete, entrepreneur, and almost most importantly, a perreo enthusiast. And I'm Melissa Ortiz, former pro soccer player and Olympian and like commie, a perreo enthusiast. Come on, who is it? Our podcast, Hasta Abajo, is where sports, music and fitness collide. And we cover it all, de arriba hasta abajo. Sit downs with real game changers in the sports world, like Miami Dolphins CMO Priscilla Schumate, who is redefining what it means to be a Latina leader. It all changed when I had this guy come to me.

He said to me, you know, you're not Latina. First of all, what does that mean? My mouth is wide open. Yeah. History makers like the Sukar family, who became the first Peruvians to win a Grammy. It was a very special moment for us. It's been 15 years for me in this career.

Finally, things are starting to shift into a different level. Listen to Asta Waho on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Do you remember what you said the first night I came over here? Ow, goes lower. From Blumhouse TV, iHeart Podcasts, and Ember 20 comes an all-new fictional comedy podcast series. Join the flighty Damien Hirst as he unravels the mystery of his vanished boyfriend. And Santi was gone.

I've been spending all my time looking for answers about what happened to Santi. And what's the way to find a missing person? Sleep with everyone he knew, obviously. Pillow talk. The most unwelcome window into the human psyche. Follow our out of his element hero as he engages in a series of ill-conceived investigative hookups. Mama always used to say, God gave me gumption in place of a gag reflex. And as I was about to learn, no amount of showering can wash your hands of a bad hookup.

Now, take a big whiff, my brah. Listen to The Hookup on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. And we're back. Oh, like I'm the one with the unrealistic plan. I'm not the one planning human sacrifice and reanimating corpses. Oh, shit. Wait, Doomsday said. What, Thursday asked. Doomsday went to the pile of the books still scattered across the floor next to the table,

and picked one out, flipping through the pages. Yeah, okay. No resurrection for us, she said. Quote, Barrow, an endless spirit who stands at the gate between the living and the dead, waiting to tear it from its hinges. While capable of granting power over many things, he is mostly known for his ability to reverse death by imbuing the body of the dead with a piece of his soul. It is believed that enough of his soul passes from the land of the dead into the land of the living, the gates will open. The distinction

between the living and the dead will be forever destroyed. The living will storm heaven. The dead will storm earth." So, Vulture said, if enough people are resurrected all at once, we get some Bible-style apocalypse. Basically, Doomsday said. Cool, Vulture said. How many resurrections, do you said, looking down at his hands. And you didn't say anything about it because... I want to bring back Heather.

Holy shit, Bryn said. If I really could trade your sorry ass for Heather, I would have done it. I was so sorry, I was so sorry. I was so sorry, I was so sorry. Because I want to bring back Heather. Holy shit, Brin said. If I really could trade your sorry ass for Heather, I would do it in a second. Hey, don't be mean to him, Vulture protested. He's just, well, he's had a rough day.

The odds of one more piece of barrow being the tipping point are so incredibly low, Vesillas said. These rituals have been performed for thousands of years and it hasn't happened yet. We could bring Heather back, and just her, and it would almost certainly be fine." Almost certainly, Thursday mumbled. I would bring Clay back. I realized that all of the sudden. I would go to Denver and I would dig

up the body of my old best friend and I would bring him back to life, because the world needed someone like Clay, because I needed Clay. I don't know that I would kill to do it. I don't know if I'd sacrifice myself to do it, but I might risk the apocalypse for him. it. But I might risk the apocalypse for him." All of this is 100% beside the point, Thursday cut in. We don't have the book. We can't resurrect anyone. We probably can't find a drone in town. Vulture looked sad. We can either try harder to recruit Asola or Gertrude, or we can confront Sebastian head on, Thursday said. Those are our options.

Or we follow Sebastian and figure out how he gets into his basement, I said. He's not resurrected, not that we know of. He's gotta get in there somehow. He can probably bring the barrier up and down at will, Doomsday said, and it will last until he's unconscious or dead. Like asleep, I asked.

No, actually unconscious. How do you summon a barrier like that anyway, Thursday asked. Can we do that and keep ourselves safe? Doomsday looked to Vasilis, implying that she didn't know. It's not Barrow's work specifically. A lot of spirits can grant witches fire. But it's still necromancy. The only ritual I know, it involves inflicting immense pain on an unwilling victim.

That's out then, Vulture said. Thursday still looked thoughtful. Hey, Brin said from where she stood by the window. Is there supposed to be a black SUV parked out front of the library? That a normal thing? No, Vasilis said. Instead of coming to look though, he dropped his head in sorrow. I bet it's the magic feds, Vulture said.

How'd they find us? I asked. I don't know, Vulture said. Probably the tracking devices we all have in our pockets. I keep trying to get you all on burner phones and VPNs, but you never listen." What do we do? Vasilis asked. It was hard to understand him, with his head buried in his hands.

We sit tight, I said. It just drove off, Brynn reported. Problem solved forever, Vulture said. What were the plates, I asked. California. Could be tourists, Vasilis said. He were the plates, I asked. California. Could be tourists, Vassilis said. He still didn't look up. Nah, I bet it's the magic feds, Vulture said.

Doesn't change anything, Thursday said. Just raises the stakes is all. It's never good to get caught with a body. They won't be after us, I said. They'll be after the book. And fuck if they get it. I sure am so glad you came to town, Vassilis said. He tried for biting sarcasm, but halfway through his sentence,

his voice broke and he started to cry. There, there, Vulture said, rubbing our host's shoulders. It's okay. Then Vulture thought for a minute. I mean, it's not actually okay. Silence reigned in the apartment. But I guess you knew that. That night, Vassilis slept in the living room and gave Brynn and me his room.

He said he wanted to keep vigil. I could think of a few reasons it was a bad idea to let him, but I wanted to sleep in a bed, so I didn't say anything. Vulture took off to scope out the town. That was also a bad idea. There were magicians and magic feds about. But I knew my opinion on the matter wouldn't have any bearing on his actions, so I didn't say anything. Thursday, actually sensible, decided to keep watch from inside the library

rather than standing out front with a gun. For a long while, I laid on my back on Vasilis's bed. Brynn was curled up with her head on my shoulder. Racking sobs from the living room filled the air, and I focused my attention on Brynn's breathing. Today fucking sucks, I said at last. Yeah, it does. Being demon hunters is garbage. Brynn laughed a little bit at that, but it wasn't her giggle.

It was too soft, too tenuous, to be her real laugh. I don't say this much, Brynn said, and I don't even know where I mean by it, but I want to go home. God, I said. Me too. I held her tighter. The crying in the living room hit a crescendo, and it sounded like Vasilis was trying to vomit his heart out of his chest.

How do you think we get ourselves thrown in the same prison if we go down for this? I asked. If we're lucky they'll send us to prison, Bryn said. I've got a feeling though that this is some X-Files shit and they just quietly make it so you and I were never born. Who would have figured? Mulder and Scully are the bad guys after all. I thought it over for a while. If we can see them, they're not after us, I said.

Huh? Feds don't show up looking obviously like feds unless they're there to scare you, not arrest you. It's the mortar shell you don't hear that kills you, Bryn asked. Yeah. Hope there aren't more mortar shells around. The crying from the living room faded into silence. "'I like you,' Brynn said.

"'We don't get to choose how we die, only how we live. And I like you, and I'm glad I got to know you. I like you too.'" "'You know what Heather and I talked about last night so late?' Brynn asked. "'What's that? You. Well, me. But me as relates to you.

I told her how I felt about you. How I wasn't sure what to do. She told me, I'm gonna get the exact words wrong, which is gonna drive me fucking crazy because it's one of the last things she ever got to say. She told me that it's okay to let yourself love someone, but that letting yourself love someone is like letting someone have the keys to your control room, so that you can share the responsibility of running yourself with someone else.

It's worth doing, and people will get in there and pull the wrong levers, but that's just the risk you gotta take. I like that, I said. What was with the Ouroboros? New start, Wren said. She choked up a little on her words. She wanted a snake that eats its own tail to remind herself that things go in cycles. That it's never too late for a new start. There wasn't anything to say to that.

There's always time for a new start, until one day there isn't. Holding one another, trying not to think about the world outside that bedroom, we slowly let sleep come for us. Dun dun dun! That's the end of chapter four. What happens in chapter five? Well you're gonna have to wait until probably next Sunday. But that's it for Cool Zone Media Book Club. And if you enjoyed this show then listen to more of it. I don't know.

It's been going for a while. You can listen to the backlog. Oh also the sequel to this book is available for pre-order right now. If you're enjoying this book and you're like, wow, I really want to get the next one, you can order. The Immortal Choir holds every voice, which is coming out from Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness. In June 2025, we finished a successful Kickstarter, but if you order it now, if you pre-order it from, I think it's AK Press Firestorm Books or the publisher Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness.

You'll get a signed copy and it'll continue the adventures. That's what's happening. In the meantime, see you all soon. Bye. It could happen here as a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzzonemedia.com, or check us out on the iHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can find sources for It Could Happen Here, updated monthly, at coolzonemedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. Hey kids, it's me, Kevin Smith. And it's me, Harley Quinn Smith. That's my daughter, man, who my wife has always said is just a beardless, d***less version

of me. And that's the name of our podcast, Beardless D***less Me. I'm the old one. I'm the young one. And every week we try to make each other laugh really hard. Sounds innocent, doesn't it? A lot of cussing, a lot of bad language. It's for adults only.

Or listen to it with your kid. It could be a family show. We're not quite sure. We're still figuring it out. It's a work in progress. Listen to Beardless D***less Me on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. The championship is back in the Bay

for the first time in 40 years. On the new limited podcast series, Dub Dynasty, we hear from head coach Steve Kerr on how Steph Curry almost never even joined the Warriors. In fact, I thought we had a draft date deal to end up getting him to Phoenix. For the entire behind the scenes story of Golden State's incredible 10 year run, listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Are your ears bored? Yeah. Are your ears bored? Yeah?

Are you looking for a new podcast that will make you laugh, learn, and say que? Yeah! Then tune in to Locatora Radio Season 10 today. OKAY! Now that's what I call a podcast. I'm Theosa. I'm Mala. The host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novela.

Which is just a very extra way of saying... A podcast! Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From the producers who brought you Princess of South Beach comes a new podcast, The Set Up. The Set Up follows a lonely museum curator, but when the perfect man walks into his life,

he actually is too good to be true.