Hi, it's Scarlett Estves or CLL from American Afterlife.
Thank you so much for listening to this audio drama.
“It's been wonderful seeing all your positive comments about the series and we really appreciate”
every single one. We actually hit number one in the fiction and drama podcast
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Upgrade your wardrobe today with pair of thieves, go to pairofthieves.com/aap for a special offer. Only for American Afterlife podcast listeners, new customers get 25% off. Use promo code afterlife. Welcome to the podcast, American Afterlife. This audio drama unfolds episode by episode, so to get the full experience, we recommend starting from the beginning. If you haven't caught up yet, now's the perfect time to go back
and listen from the start. Previously, on American Afterlife. After I say to her, she asked some things I can understand. By the time night fell, I knew we had to leave. Listen lady, lady, fuck you! I saved your life!
“Should've just let me drown. Be done with it. Better pray they don't find you. Who?”
Those guys? Those guys are up the river. They've been waiting for this for a long time. Lucas, he's ready for you. Who's there? Yes. Charles, sir, it's Lucas. For someone so good at playing games. You really fucking suck at this, don't you? When I give you a target, I'm not asking for you to hit it tomorrow or later. My orders come before food. They come before sleep. They come before sex. I understand, sir. I don't think you do, son. You get the story of what happened
from here, or we will beat it the fuck out of her and then punt her ass back over the board before she can go crying to the nonprofit orgs. I don't think I don't need you to think. I need you to tell me what happened at the repo camp, or else I can't take care of you. I don't need you to take care of me. I know where I can get you the medicine that you need. What do you mean? She said that they had supplies buried all around their camp. They have everything.
Follow me. That, ah, it was the laugh of someone old. Someone familiar. That's her. Who? My mother. You're listening to American After Life. A podcast series based on the best selling book by Pedro Hofmeister. Episode 5. Trimmers. This is it, Cielo. I was told in no uncertain terms that I've reached my limit.
For me? For good. But just for me, right? It's okay. I brought something for myself too. That's it for you? Protein drink. Gross. This is a sandwich.
“I was the one that brought it, remember? But like a really good sandwich. There's avocado.”
I know. Are you hungry? This shake is fine. Share with me, Lucas. Cielo, that's very kind, but I'm fine. Come on, just one bite. Okay. Fine. A small bite. Only because you asked. Thank you. Take out my sandout. That's too much for me. No, no, keep it for later.
You might need it.
So, you saw your mom at the repost camp. Were you expecting to see her there? Of course not. Really? You know, we have files on her. The way they read, I'm not so surprised. What sets first mean? We found out your mom was active a lot on the dark web.
“She never understood how crazy it was online. Did you know that I know the thing is she'd post?”
I tried not. Was she always so involved on the internet? We became from the internet was always a luxury.
And my mom sure is one luxury. Sometime, long ago, I remember us leaving house. That was, I don't, I don't know. It was small. And we left quietly. No, goodbye. My mom just told me that we are moving. But we had to go on an adventure first. At first, I was fun. To a six-year-old, it felt like an adventure.
“But when we had the desert, I got scared. But I couldn't tell her.”
No, she alone, practically English, like I taught you. We need some. First, we have to beat the heat. Stop that. It's too hot. I want the water. You just had some. We have to save it. When are we going home? Soon. We're headed there now. We just have to cross. You're strong. You can make it. I remember I felt like we walked wherever.
But she was right. I was strong. We did make it. It seemed like we walked for days and days along the way we stayed with lots of people. Lots of families in all different kinds, some of the paths, some of the kids and some were just adults. Food was the weird part. I would tell her that I was hungry and she would say to wait to tell
“we met her next friends. That's what she called them. She told me she had known them for”
a very long time. They didn't always like the food. Sometimes they had usual snacks,
popdarts, candy, cereal, and other times we would get there and there would be nothing. I mean at the time I thought nothing of it. These were her friends. That's what she told me. So it didn't seem weird to me that. But now I think these might have been the people that she went on the internet but they guided us to Oregon. And it wasn't until we got here that she got deeper into it. I never met anyone here. She wouldn't take me to the meetings that she said she
would have. But I'm pretty sure now that these were probably the rape abusers. But that's how we got to work. Mommy, it's gonna get out here. Wait. Well, it was a garage. Now you've got the loft upstairs, the little kitchen look.
These are modern never before used appliances. And over here you have the freedom to do
whatever you want with the space. The washer and dryer, storage, place space for the little one. I see. You're going to take it. And you said you didn't need paperwork. Anything like cash is king, baby.
You said 1500?
It'll be moving out. You know if I knew you had a kid I would have asked for more. It should be quiet. Respectful. I'm the one at risk here. How much more?
The rain never seemed to stop. It was hard on her.
It was weird to feel like I was adapting quicker than she was. My middle school my English was fluent. I was fitting in. Why did you and your mom come to Oregon? The newsmaner believed that America was rich, not just like with money, but spiritually too. Religiously. And why it Oregon? I don't know. The lamp, the lamp, God, Godless me for their
abortions. Hang for their mistake. Social is hotelitarianism. The end of marriage. And of everything. She loved the TV. Radio and eventually her phone helped her save up for it. I wish I never did. [Music] Don't be. Don't be. Mom, we pay this way. No one's there.
You're scanning yourself. It's easy. We need a person. No person working. We have to do it. Man, how may I assist you? Assist? It's like help, mom. He wants it to help.
“If you aren't using the machine, would you mind stepping aside?”
There's a long line of-- Sorry, sir. We're checking out. Is there a person that's good?
Just place your items on the scanner. I pay already. You can't pay until you've scanned it first.
Mom, just let me. Mom, just let me. Mom, just want to heat up my mac and cheese and then I have a workshop tonight. Did you eat? Silo, do you have that 300? What? I don't have anything else. You know, I give you what I make. What's this about 300? I got a letter in the mail today. He's on the counter.
“Why are you going to tell me about the small? Where's all the money that I've been giving you?”
Don't you talk to your mother that way? What does a 16-year-old need to do with money except getting
trouble? Maybe buy some clothes that fit for once? Have some spare cash. I can finally go to the
coffee place after school with everyone. Or, you know, maybe just because I'm trying to save for us for future? I don't like what's happening to you. You're close. You're language. You're here. What? Mom, I'm trying to fit in. You don't have to feed in. I need friends. You have me. Do you why? Because it seems like all you do is watch the news and post on your forum and you don't like what's happening to me? Look at yourself. Do you even
hear the things that they say about people like us? They don't. Oh, Lord. It's okay. We're on a fault. It's just a little tremor. It's normal. You talk like you know better than me. Like your own mother. By when I. Because I'm the one who goes to school. I'm the one who works. Why you said here, watching you're not the only one who works. I should be out having fun. Like all the other kids in my school. Those are white kids. Born here. I'm a kid too. You are a young woman.
You hear that? What are you talking about? I have to go. See, it was to hear. I'm worried.
“I can't be late for my shift. But you're dinner. You must eat. I can't be trapped in here with you anymore.”
I don't want to be stuck in your sad pathetic little wife any longer. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of all of this. I'm sick of you. See ya, Lord. See ya, Lord. We all have voices in our head. The ones that echo over and over again. Lightly when it's quiet, all I can hear is her voice. The last thing she said to me that day.
The funny part is I didn't even go to my job that day.
This cliff where I could sit and look at the whole town.
Me and my mom we could barely ever think about the future. Next week's shift schedule, next month's bills. Sitting and staring out across Eugene at that moment. I wanted to puke. All those people, all those houses, all those lives.
“How did they survive? How are they not all hanging on by a razor's edge?”
How did everyone seem so safe so stable day after day? How could I ever possibly get there, too? What the... Oh my god! From up on the hill, I saw at all building swayed and collapsed. They were nothing. Telefoam poles, trees, tumbling down. The entire city wiped out in seconds.
I just sat there, stunned, frozen. And then like a dream, this big wave of water came rushing in
“from the top of the valley. From the dams, after they failed. It was too far up to see individual”
people, but I knew that they were down there. Crush, drowning, screaming out and pain and fear and frustration. I could see it all even if I couldn't. I'm so sorry. I spent the next month wondering where she was. Whether she was alive,
how I could find her. Now I wish I never did.
You've been listening to American after life. An audio drama by Benstown McVay podcast network production, an association with Aurora Productions, and in partnership with gamut podcast network.
“Based on the best selling book by Pedro Hofmeister, presented by pair of thieves. Be sure to stick”
around after the credits for a post podcast interview with a member of the cast and crew. Produced by Dave touchy Dennis, Mike McVay, and William Stewart. Directed by William Stewart, podcast adaptation, written by Allison Dwyer, based on the best selling book series of American after life by Pedro Hofmeister. Published by Cricket Lane Books, featuring Scarlet Estevez Sielo, Joshua Messnick, as Lucas, and Ted Evans as Charles, additional voices by Estaphania Padilla,
Phil Levitt, Darren Silva, Megan Vaskez, narration by Sean Andre, sound design by Jacob Urbanick, studio engineers, Darren Silva, and Megan Vaskez, production manager and marketing, Susan Exo Majarian, additional marketing, Robbie Gessel, if you enjoyed American afterlife, please consider leaving a review on Apple Podcasts and following us on Spotify. Hi, this is Allison Dwyer, and I am one of the writers for American Afterlife,
along with River Donahe, I'm a writer and more formally a playwright that's more of my focus as theater writing, at the beginning of the pandemic I got into audio writing, I wrote an experimental
full length audio play, I really love dramatic writing, I just always have loved drama,
I would go into these like tight knit chat rooms of people who were really into cartoons, and we had like a wild imagination, I started to appreciate theater for things other than writing, use of space and time, and the collaborative nature of it. Very gratefully River reached out to me
About co-writing with him, the first thing I did was go read the book, and I ...
its tight perspective from CLO, so I tried to keep it that way. You know, there's moments where
“the story does branch out to other characters, I think also her being among this very dramatic”
landscape, I was thinking about it in a very film like way, what meanings could be drawn from
the setting and the thing she did and why she was in the situation she was in. The nature of the
book, there's a lot of episodes in it, and depending on the things you want to focus on with the story, you can kind of zoom in on the things that are thematic or re-enforce the story, the cool thing about American afterlife is it's a simple story told in like a complex way, it translates well from book to audio. I really like CLO a lot. I kind of saw her as I wrote it as the swanjering protagonist, who's just very mature and wise beyond her ears to a point that other people don't understand her,
“and I think she knows other people don't understand her, so she doesn't have high expectations of others.”
Another thing we tried to lead into was kind of this metaphor of earthquake as America, this rift in the country. I think that's something to think about right even like the phrase American afterlife and thinking about like these turbulent times we live in, and then you have
“this young immigrant girl living between the cracks of that. I think it's also a story about what”
people can do for each other. She always chooses to help other people and at the end a choice is made,
even though it's a small choice, and like those small gestures of kindness kind of keeping humanity chugging along. I'm so grateful. Thank you to everyone for listening. I had such a wonderful time writing it. It's honestly one of the most fun things I've gotten to write, so thank you. I hope you enjoy.
