The Cleansed

The end is here. Out of the ashes, the players left standing look towards the road ahead - and it is one fraught with challenges. Can two disparate groups band together to successfully thwart a common enemy? Or is that enemy too powerful - too ruthless - too determined - to be stopped?

Maria makes a stand. Panic strikes the Dwellers. The boys have come down charging from the mountain - horror, horror on the horizon. Fire rains from the sky. And all that stands between the scraps of society and annihilation is one determined young girl behind the sights of an aircraft cannon. Part 4 of 5 of Episode 8: The Revolt. Hear this episode in its entirety by following link to paid download.

This is the big one. Paul and his angels spill into the streets of the Republic, bearing arms and determined to destroy the Citadel - the source of electricity for the city. Meanwhile, Saul, the master of the shadows, has his own designs. The stage is set for a mighty war, and no one will be unscathed in its wake.

Victory is at hand for Richard and the New Republic. The coordinates of Prophet and the Dwellers is known. A ship is deployed, a bottle of scotch is opened, and a rare thing - music - is turned on. But a shadow lurks behind this puppetmaster, and even as Richard watches his greatest plans unfold, our heroes and heroines must unite if they are to survive the Republic's strike.

The stage has been set for an incredible battle. John Prophet is locked up, awaiting his fate at the hands of the Dwellers' justice. Their "BOL" in rural Maine seems far, far away from the troubles afflicting old New York, but this feeling of safety is about to be annihilated. Because in an open field, as a band plays fiddle and Marc and Luke watch the stars, a darker shape looms on the horizon...

While John is pulled off by the Dweller warriors to face his fate, in the Republic, things get interesting. One of John's surviving Rebels comes to Saul, offering a secret. Saul, intrigued, learns a bit more... and protects what needs protecting. The stage is set for a great battle.

Prophet tells his story. We learn of the City of Corinth - of what became of the ashes that were New York City after the Breaking and of... The people that came next. The promise of glory, the promise of a return, and the secret hand dealt by the powerful.

Luke and Maria follow Marc to see a little deeper under the layer of Dweller society - the mushroom logs, the buckskin, the horse sheds that make up daily life. Just as three youths are finding common ground in a strange world, Prophet is dragged out kicking and screaming before an angry mob, who puts him on trial. Men have died and Prophet must account for that. But will the Dwellers listen to his strange tale, and hear the ends which Prophet feels justify his brutal means? Part 2 of 4 of Episode 7: The Trial. Hear this episode in its entirety by following link to paid download.

With horrors behind them and uncertainty ahead of them, Luke and Maria must come to terms -- the road without each other is too frightening. Meanwhile, they have a new friend, one of the Dwellers who shows them beneath the surface of a world that has existed nearby to them their whole lives that they've never seen. While the youths bond, Prophet is dragged before the Dwellers and Refuge alike to confront his actions. Prophet makes one last plea, telling the story of his battles with the Republic and the dangers that confront everyone and makes a poignant case: do these angered tribes unite against a common enemy, or destroy the man who has wronged so many to get this far?

Prophet's men have been lost without their leader. With Saul, they have found a refuge, but... Saul's intentions are grander than anything they imagined. And more terrifying. This week, we learn the nature of the dark man.

Caitlin, healer and matriarch for the Dwellers, has taken the case of John Prophet to heart. The rasping, winded, infected man is at death's door, and Maria and Sam stand outside it, listening. As they wait, the past comes out to haunt them all in a way they never expected.

Ever since the dramatic performance in the Chapel, Lucian's world has been a little inside-out. Amos mysteriously disappeared during the service, and now, the righteous come up to his ear whispering of dark times to come. Will Lucian stand up to serve Jesus - and the man who claims to be his voice - or risk being left behind in the coming holy war?

As quickly as the fury raged, it has passed, leaving only coal and ashes in its place. The Dwellers and the Refuge stand at an impasse - where to go now that blood has spilled? A courageous young girl holds the hope to a new union, as she pleads for the life of a fugitive from Chad, patriarch of the Dwellers.

Rage burns in David's blood, as hot and incendiary as the coals which lit the crops of The Refuge into a blaze that may leave his people hungry as the brutal winter comes on. As David and his buddy Chris careen on the biodiesel powered ATV "Moby," Sam, John and the youths land on shore nearby, and realize that a terrible and preventable tragedy is coming on.

Zeke wears a new uniform, which fits uncomfortably. Richard waxes on the greatness of the world that was - this is an attempt to teach the boy about "The Real Thing." While wheels start grinding towards Saul's next move, Lucian meets a strange group of "Angels" and our party from the Refuge lands at the outskirts of the Dwellers, where a great conflict is coming.