by Lee Wise
“A crazy man grabbed her leg, so now it is sore.” Reginald responded.
“Looks like yours is also.” Angela observed.
“It’s not too bad.” Reginald said.
“Well, it’s a good thing that I’m a nurse and I have heard that line before.” Rose remarked. “Let’s patch you two up. Do you mind if I use that couch?” She asked Angela, pointing to where, I assumed was the living room
“Go for it!” Angela replied.
Megan, Sarah, Nate and Mary immediately started cuddling with the cats who seemed to love the attention. The rest of us unloaded the cars.
“So far they haven’t climbed the fences, but I have had to fend off everyday people from coming in. I think it’s people wanting to steal from houses.” Angela stated.
“Well, thank you for letting us come in.” Cathy said.
“If Sammie trusts you, then so do I. Anyways, I have had the hardest time sleeping last night, worrying about one of those people coming in.” Angela continued. “What are you calling those crazy things?”
“The TV is calling them maniacs.” Ben said. He explained why.
“I guess that fits.” She agreed.
“Wow!” We heard Rose say from the other room.
“What’s up?” A bunch of us went into the living room where Rose was examining Reginald’s leg. “That’s a bad cut.” She stated. “We need to put something on that and he’ll need antibiotics.”
Reginald sighed. “I didn’t want to bother anyone.”
“Well,” Angela began. “Doctor Murphy is still at his house down the road according to Beth Carter. She’s a cop who checked on me yesterday. She is making sure that everything is okay in the neighborhood and checking on all of us. Yesterday…”
“Where does Doctor Murphy live?” Sammie interrupted.
“Oh he lives near the little country store that you like getting your chicken salad from when you come to visit. You know that cute little brick house that you love? That’s where he lives.” Angela replied.
“So he can patch up Reginald’s leg and put some antibiotics on it?” Sammie asked.
“I’m sure he can, he…” Angela began.
“Wait! He’s not a pharmacist.” John said. “How would he have antibiotics?”
“He has a lot of stuff in his office which is right next to his house.” Angela replied.
“So, let’s go and take care of this right away.” Sammie urged.
Reginald sighed. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re one of us now and we take care of one another.” Mrs. Ford insisted.
“That’s right.” John agreed. “Let’s go!”
We helped Reginald to his feet. Molly stood up too, although it was obvious her leg hurt also.
“No girl.” Reginald said gently. “You stay here and let this nice lady take care of you. I’ll be back shortly.”
“That’s right Molly. You’re my next patient.” Rose said. “Jenny, would you like to help?” Jenny nodded her head.
We decided that John, Mike, Sammie and I would go with Reginald. All the other adults would help either patrol the front area, make supper or watch the kids.
His house was nearby. We all got out of the car quietly since we were in the middle of “town”. The main street consisted of the country store, a post office, a small police station and the tiny doctor’s office. John and Mike covered while Sammie and I helped Reginald out of the car and up to the front door. Sammie knocked on the door twice. No one answered so we cautiously went inside. We found Dr. Murphy on the couch, a bullet hole through his head and a gun in his hand.
“Oh wow!” I said out loud. We heard a noise in the other room.
“Everybody, outside quickly!” Mike shouted.
“Going somewhere?” A man probably in his 20s was at the front door.
“You can talk!” Sammie exclaimed.
“What an achievement!” The guy snarled. “So can you. I was here first. Everything here’s mine.”
“That’s fine.” Mike replied. “We just came to get some medicine and then we will be on our way.”
“Medicine huh? Who’s sick?” The guy asked.
We just looked at him. “Just let us by. We don’t want any trouble.” John said. We started walking. Reginald was hobbling.
“I see.” He shot Reginald in the head. “Now he don’t need no medicine.”
I began to scream. Another gunshot rang out and the man fell to the floor.
“Officer Carter?” Sammie said as an officer with her gun drawn appeared at the door.
“Do I know you?” She asked.
“My cousin Angela mentioned to us that you’re patrolling the area. I’m Sammie.”
“I see.” The officer said. “And what are you doing here?”
“We were coming to see Dr. Murphy. Our friend Reginald is… was hurt.”
Officer Carter looked in his direction. “Oh. Yes. I found Gene like that an hour ago. Not sure where that kid came from or how long he’s been here.” She said motioning to the guy she had just shot.
“I don’t understand.” I began. ” I thought the maniacs couldn’t talk or use weapons.”
“Well they can start fires.” Mike said.
“Fires?” Officer Carter asked.
“They burned most of our town down.” John said. “They tried to do it with people inside. I didn’t think they could do that.”
“They can’t. I don’t think that it’s actually them doing that. They can’t talk or use weapons.”
We heard a gunshot down the road. “And there’s my cue.” She announced. “Hurry back to Angela’s. Nowhere is safe, but in a group it might be a little safer.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I’m going to do my job while I can. The key to his office is on a keychain over there if you need some medication. Save some for others who might need some.”
“Thank you.” John said.
She nodded. “Stay safe, don’t just shoot anything. Ask questions first. If they can’t respond, feel free to shoot. Also, be careful for looters and drug seekers like this guy. As you can see, they’re dangerous.”
“Thank you.” We said.
She left. “ Let’s get some medicine and get out of here.” I urged.
John agreed. “We got some basic stuff at the school, but this place is bound to have more than that.”
“I wish we had Rose so we would know what to grab.” I said.
“I know a few things.” Mike explained. “I started out as an EMT.”
“Perfect!” I exclaimed.
We grabbed what we needed and hurried out of there. We walked to our car and heard some shouting coming from down the road and gunshots. We jumped in the car and hurried off to Angela’s house which was luckily in the opposite direction. They opened the gate. We drove up and got out.
“Wow! You guys were flying down that road!” Jacob said.
“Where is Reginald?” Jill asked. We informed the group of everything that had happened.
“Great. So now we have to defend against thieves also.” Cathy complained.
“That’s not surprising!” Gary (the teacher) stated.
We looked at him. “Well, think about it. How many people were thugs anyways before the start of this? It’s not like they’re going to change. Not to mention, people aren’t trusting others right now so a lot of people are going to shoot first and not bother to talk.”
“So Officer Carter is fighting a losing battle.” Jacob said.
“Well she’s doing her job and protecting the public.” Angela shrugged.
“That’s not going to get her far.” Jacob stated and Gary agreed.
“There’s a car coming down the road.” Robert announced over the walkie-talkie.
“Duck down!” Sammie responded to him.
“We did. The car is slowing down someone is coming to the gate.” Robert stated.
The guys loaded into the car and drove down the driveway. A few minutes later the
car came up the driveway. Sammie and Angela had their guns drawn. I stepped behind them feeling stupid for not having a gun on me. Gary and John got out with Officer Carter.
“Well, look who it is!” Angela exclaimed.
“Sorry to come bother you again in such a short time!” The officer said.
“No worries! What’s up?” Angela asked.
“Well, after I left the doctor’s office, I drove down the road to where I heard gunshots. I saw five people hanging from trees with nooses. I next encountered a lady with a gun.”
“What? Was it a maniac with a gun?” Jill asked.
“I don’t think maniacs can use guns, so I started talking to her and she said, ‘Thank God!’ She claimed to me that she had shot a… a maniac I guess you guys are calling them and she pointed him out to me. He had been knocking people out and hanging them while they were still alive!”
“Oh wow! So, the maniac was able to do all that?” John asked.
“Not exactly.”
“What do you mean?” John asked.
“The guy you met at Dr. Murphy’s… he was one of the three people supposedly helping the so called maniac.” She responded.
“What?” Several of us asked.
“Yeah. So, now we have people like us who can still function killing people at random and they aren’t maniacs, just people who want to kill. Then we have maniacs and I think they have leaders. The lady I met said she knew them. She said the two besides the one at the doctor’s office were girlfriend and boyfriend. Carrie Jackson and Miles Weber were their names. There’s a possibility that they were maniacs.”
Angela gasped. We all looked at Angela.” Miles is one of Janet’s brothers.” She said. “Was…
was he one of those who were hung?”
“No.” Officer Carter said. “It was a family. The Donaldson’s. Miles and Carrie were running off
when the lady got there.”
“Oh no!” Angela cried.
“Yes. The lady with a gun was the mother’s sister. She came to check on them and got there right before they hung Bill. Unfortunately, they snapped his neck before she could rescue him. She was unable to get anyone down before I got there.”
“What was the shouting we heard?” I asked.
“Shouting?” Officer Carter thought about it for a second. “Oh that was me. The Donaldson’s dog attacked the lady. I shot the dog, but not before it bit her good. I was going to help her out, but she said that I had done quite enough. I don’t think she was happy that I shot the dog, but I was trying to make sure that it didn’t do anything. You know?” We all understood. “ Anyways, she pretty much told me to stay away from her and since you guys have this side of the town covered pretty well, I think I might move on.”
“You’re welcome to stay here.” Angela said. We all agreed. A police officer would be a pretty good addition to our group.
“Thanks, but I’ll see where I can get with the state police or military. I want to do something, you
know.”
“Can I go with you?” Gary asked. We were pretty surprised by that. “I’m former military. I feel I can be useful elsewhere.”
She shrugged and thought about it. “Sure. I’m sure we could use some military helpers.” They said their goodbyes and left.
“I wish I could go too.” Greg stated.
“Greg! “ Jacob said surprised.
“What? Mom died and we’re doing nothing!”
“We’re surviving.” Jacob insisted.
“That’s not good enough!” Greg growled and stomped off.
“And on that note,” Cathy said walking over to us. “Supper’s ready.”
CHAPTER 5
Supper was quiet among the adults. The kids (except Greg) were joking and giving snacks to the two dogs. The dogs were sitting by the kids with their tails wagging, waiting for the next handout or food to fall on the floor.
I helped clean up when supper was over after both shifts had eaten. I was washing the dishes when Cathy walked over to me. “I just overheard Jacob talking to Greg.” She said. I looked at her waiting for more information but Mrs. Ford had walked in with Mary and was getting her a juice box she smiled at us and walked back out.
“I can’t understand how she’s still smiling.” I mumbled. “What were they talking about?”
“Greg wants to go to Augusta where they have relatives and help out there. Jacob doesn’t think it’s safe.” Cathy told me.
“So what do you think will happen?” I asked.
“Jacob told Greg to go to bed and they would talk about it in the morning.” She responded.
“Go to bed at seven? I wouldn’t leave it at that. He’s a teenager, he’ll leave on his own.” I replied, shaking my head.
“That’s what I was thinking. I have Jenny helping me with a project, so he won’t try taking her with him.” She walked off.
I couldn’t believe it. What happens if Jacob and Greg would leave? What about if Greg takes off with Jenny? Robert and Cathy would definitely go chase them. John and I wouldn’t be able to go. It would be too dangerous to go out there with our kids again. I didn’t know what I would do without my sister. We needed everyone we could have guarding this huge place. Also, if this town, which has a tiny population and is in the middle of nowhere is this dangerous, what was Augusta like?
Jenny walked into the kitchen. “Hi Aunt Aleisha!” She said. “What’s wrong?” I sighed. I didn’t want to tell her about Greg. “Is this about Greg?” She asked. She saw the look on my face and laughed. "You’re just like my mom! Don’t worry Greg is all talk, and even if he were to go to Augusta and try to get me to go also, that’s not going to happen. I don’t know why he thinks he has to act all tough, but I’m fine here helping out with the kids. I don’t want to go back out there.”
“I’m glad.” I said. “Don’t let him talk you into anything, okay?”
“Of course not! I’m an independent woman!” She stated and we both laughed.
“That’s a beautiful sound.” John proclaimed, walking into the kitchen with the girls.
“Mama!” They both shouted. I hugged them both. It felt like ages since I had last seen them. “Come see what we did!”
They led us to a room that was called “The Cat Room.” There were cat bunk beds, tubes running through the walls and cat toys everywhere. “Oh wow!”
“Sit here!” They demanded. We sat on the couch (Jenny, John and I). Soon, Mike and Jill were squishing beside us and Cathy and Robert were standing leaning against the wall.
“We’ll be right back.” They announced and left the room.
I smiled. “I can’t wait!”
Jenny laughed. “Me neither. I wonder what they’re up to.”
Mrs. Ford, Angela, and to all our surprise, Greg walked in the room. Mrs. Ford and Angela were holding cats and Greg had Mr. Doggleton. The animals were in costumes.
“Oh poor boy!” Robert laughed.
“Presenting the animal circus!” Nick shouted, coming into a room with whiskers painted on his face. “Come on girl!” Molly hobbled in to the room.
“Nick!” Mike said.
“It’s okay dad. She asked to be in it.” He said, helping Molly over to a bed. Mike sighed and sat
back down.
Sarah and Megan came in with their faces painted also and quickly took the cats from Mrs. Ford and Angela. They had two of the cats weaving between cat stands and the other two nod their heads to laser pointers while the kids sang a song Mrs. Ford had taught them.
Next, Mary walked in. She had (attempted) to paint her face white and doglike just like Mr. Doggleton. “Presenting Mary, Greg and the caped Crusader!” Greg set Mr. Doggleton down. They tried to get him to do tricks, but he just wanted to lay down instead and eat the snacks. Everyone (including Greg) was laughing. Mary was laughing, but she said, “I don’t understand. He did the tricks when we were practicing.”
The show ended and we applauded loudly. “Time to get ready for bed girls!” I s
aid.
“Aww!” They both responded.
“That goes for you too.” Jill said to her children.
We got the kids to bed. It took a little while because they had to use the bathroom, change into night clothes, brush teeth and then some had to use the bathroom again. After, they kept talking and giggling. I waited until they were calmed down before going downstairs.
When I got downstairs, Robert said to me, “That took a while!”
“You could hear the giggling.” Cathy replied. “They just didn’t want to go to bed!”
“They’ve always been like that.” John agreed. “They take a few minutes to calm down, but finally go to sleep.”
“Not to mention that it’s like a never ending slumber party!” Jill said.
I nodded my head. “Okay, so what’s up?” I asked.
Ben began to explain that we needed to discuss shifts on guarding the perimeters. Greg volunteered himself and Jacob to take the first watch. Ben and Mike also took first watch. Jacob agreed to let Greg help so that Greg could feel like he was contributing. I went to bed shortly after and fell asleep in no time. I was awakened by shouting.
“What’s wrong Mama?” Megan asked.
“I don’t know baby. I’m going to go find out. Lock the door behind me okay?”
“Yes mama.” Sarah responded.
I opened the door to the bedroom. Mrs. Ford was hustling down the hall. “What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure. I just heard yelling and thought I’d find out.” She responded.
Others were coming out of bedrooms. We went downstairs and into the kitchen where we could hear heated voices.
“I said, does anyone want to join me?” Jacob growled.
“What’s going on?” Cathy asked as she entered the kitchen in front of me.
“Greg took off.” Robert announced. Jenny gasped.
“He’s gone to ‘join the fight’ he wrote in a letter.” Jacob said.
“By himself?” Cathy asked.
“Yes. And he took a gun.” Ben sighed.
“Oh my!” Mrs. Ford said.
“So, I’m going after him. Is anyone going with me?” Jacob asked. He looked around. No one responded.
“Fine! No one will slow me down then.” He started to storm off.