Maniacs

by Lee Wise

  “It’s okay.” I said to Sarah. “She is a good leader.” Sarah looked at me wide-eyed.

  “Mama! She just said good morning to me in my mind!” Sarah gasped.

  I looked at Jenny. “I don’t want to scare them, but I also can’t say hi any other way.”

  Jenny/Cathy said.

  “What Aunt Cathy?” Megan said.

  John came into the room. “Morning everyone!” He said. “What’s with the faces? Ah, has Jenny said good morning to all of you?”

  “She talked in my head and then Aunt Cathy talked funny.”

  Cathy laughed. “Jenny can speak through me also. She can’t speak the way we do anymore. She either has to say it in your head or through someone else.”

  Jenny smiled and nodded her head and then had Cathy continue. “And each of us chooses to speak through one person. That’s why those people slept in this morning. We need them rested so they can help us communicate.”

  “So maniacs and leaders can all talk, but through people?” Sarah asked.

  “Most of them.” Jenny/Cathy said. “Some have a harder time figuring things out. Also, some are bad while others are good.”

  “How do we know who is good and who is bad?” Megan asked.

  “Well, that’s what we are here to help with.” Jenny/Cathy explained. “We need to get rid of all the bad guys so we can live in peace with you.”

  “When are you going to be the real Jenny again?” Piper asked.

  Jenny smiled and through Cathy said, “I am me. Just different.”

  “But it’s not the same!” Sarah whined.

  Jenny/Cathy looked at Sarah. “In time, you will get used to the new me.”

  Molly started barking outside. Jenny stood up. “A change is about to happen here. The dog can sense it.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “Who?” John asked.

  “Let’s go outside. I’ll get my group ready. We can surround them when we find out who. We are most dangerous when we first change.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “Kids upstairs!” Mrs. Ford commanded.

  “No! It could be a kid.” Jenny/Cathy announced. “Everyone should come outside.” I looked at John. He nodded. My stomach was in knots. I hate to say it, but I had a mantra running through my mind. I was thinking, “anyone but my family”. I feel horrible that I was thinking that, but I’m sure the other parents there were thinking the same thing. We all went outside.

  Ben walked over to us. “Brandon said that someone is about to change.”

  “That’s what Jenny said also.” I agreed.

  “Aunt Cathy said that.” Megan said.

  I just nodded. I wasn’t about to start explaining it again now. “Is everyone here?” I looked around.

  “Let’s see…” Ben looked around and so did the others. “I don’t see Ethan, Maya or Steve.”

  “Steve is in the outhouse.” Angela said. “And Maya is over there.” She pointed out a spot a little ways away near the garden. “I’m not sure where Ethan is.”

  Maya walked over. She was laughing.

  “What’s so funny?” Angela asked.

  “That little dog keeps going over to the horses and it’s like a little bug. Yap! Yap! Yap! What? What did I miss?” Maya asked seeing our serious faces. At that moment, Steve also walked over.

  “There is about to be a change.” I said.

  “They can tell?” Steve asked.

  “That’s what they say.” Robert said.

  “Wait, so… Ethan is on the side of the house just staring into the woods. I saw him when I came out of the bathroom, but I saw some of you up here so I figured something was up.…” Steve stated.

  “Ethan! It has to be him!” Luis announced.

  Then we noticed that all the maniacs and leaders were staring at the side of the house.

  “Go inside now.” Cathy, Miles, Liz and I said at once. “He is about to change and he is not safe.”

  “Holy cow!” I gasped. We ushered the kids inside. Luis and Ben stood in front of the front door. I sent the kids upstairs with Mrs. Ford, Naomi and Christian. Allison went up also because Dylan decided it was time to soil his diaper. The rest of us crowded around the window.

  The maniacs began to walk to the area that Steve had said Ethan was. We waited 20 minutes. By that time, most of us had given up, realizing we wouldn’t see anything and sat down.

  The door opened up. Stephanie walked in. “He is changing. Soon, he will decide whose side he’s on.” She said through me. “We can’t help them choose, but if he has chosen the dangerous side, we can’t let him go. What would you like us to do with him? He is one of yours and Jenny wants to respect your wishes.”

  “For now, we’ll tie him up like the kids…” Ben sighed.

  “I will tell her.” She walked out.

  “So weird!” I said. Everyone laughed.

  “I want one to talk through me!” Angela said. “That would be so rad!”

  “Did you just say rad?” Maya laughed.

  Angela laughed. “I did. I’m thinking that I’ll bring the word back.”

  “Yeah, that’s probably not going to happen!” Maya laughed.

  “Dad!” Piper yelled from the top the stairs.

  Ben, Luis, John, Steve and Luke all reacted. “What is it honey?” Luke yelled up.

  Then the door opened. Jenny hurried in. “Someone is changing in here!” Jenny/Cathy said. She

  looked upstairs and then looked at the guys who were at the foot of the stairs. “Hurry!” The five guys and Jenny ran upstairs. Soon they came down with Jake who was struggling. We could hear Alyssa crying upstairs. Jake was trying to headbutt the guys. A few maniacs came in to grab him.

  “I’m sorry. We were focused on Ethan outside.” Jenny explained. “When kids change, it’s very different. They take longer and they can’t control their anger. We can’t always tell when they are about to change, but when they do, it’s sudden and very dangerous. We’ll tie him up next to the other kids for now. It will take him a while to choose a side.”

  A lot of us were crying. “I’m going to check on the kids.” I said. Jill and Cathy agreed.

  “Please be quick.” Jenny/Cathy requested. “We need you.” We went upstairs.

  The kids were all shook up. Alyssa was on Naomi’s lap and she was hugging her. All the other kids were quiet.

  When Sarah and Megan saw me, they came running over. The floodgates finally opened up and tears flowed down their little faces. I felt so bad that they were so scared.

  “It was so scary mama!” Megan announced.

  “He just got so mean!” Sarah said.

  “I know girls. I am so sorry that you had to see that.” I replied.

  I looked over and Jill was hugging her kids and Cathy was hugging Brianna. Emma was comforting Alyssa with Mrs. Ford. Naomi and Allison were taking care of Dylan. My mind started up and all I could do was think about what could have happened. Who would be next? What if there was no cure? What if one of us turned dangerous and we had to get rid of them. I just wanted to escape all of this with John and my girls, yet I knew I couldn’t. This was happening everywhere and at least we knew who the good maniacs were here. Things had to get better. We had to get rid of the dangerous ones so that we could finally live without fear. If we only had to deal with one or two people changing every once in a while rather than a big group, that would be much better.

  “I need you girls to be strong. Everyone is done changing for a little while.” I consoled my girls. I wasn’t really sure if this were true, but I had to calm the girls. “We are going to get rid of the dangerous ones and then it won’t be so bad around here.”

  “Okay mama.” The girls replied sadly.

  I didn’t really want to leave them, but we needed to get started. I looked at Mrs. Ford. She nodded at me.

  “Who has made a volcano before?” Mrs. Ford asked.

  Megan and Sarah looked at her. “A volcano?” Sarah asked.

  “Yes.” Mrs. Ford said.

 
; “We are going to make one?” Nick asked leaving his mother and walking over to Mrs. Ford.

  “Yes we are!” Mrs. Ford announced. “I have all the ingredients over there.” She pointed at a table in the corner.

  “Yay!” All the kids exclaimed and ran over to the table. Alyssa was holding Emma’s hand and they walked over also.

  “Love you girls. I’ll be downstairs.” I said to my daughters.

  “Love you!” Sarah replied.

  “One more kiss!” Megan requested and she and Sarah raced over to give me a kiss. They then went back over to the table. Mrs. Ford had their attention.

  Cathy, Jill, Allison and I left the room. “That was hard.” I sighed. Then I blushed, because I thought about Cathy and all that she had been through.

  Cathy saw my face. “Don’t worry about saying that around me.” She said. “It was hard at first, but I’m luckier than a lot of people out there. I still get to see my daughter and interact with her. I know she says she’s not really my daughter anymore, but I believe some of her is still in there. I mean, look she is a good maniac.”

  “That’s true.” I agreed.

  CHAPTER 21

  We went downstairs and into the kitchen. Jeremy was alone in the kitchen mopping the

  floor.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Jacob got sick.” Jeremy announced.

  “Oh no!” Jill exclaimed.

  “Yes. Just what we need around here, a stomach bug.” Jeremy replied.

  “Great!” I said.

  “Where is he?” Cathy asked.

  “He’s laying down upstairs across from the kids’ room, in Bill’s old bed.” Jeremy responded then made a face realizing he was talking about Allison’s dad’s bed.

  “Don’t worry. I’m not that sensitive.” Allison reassured Jeremy. “I’m glad that the bed is getting used. Mom has been sleeping with me in my bed… If only she didn’t snore!” We all laughed.

  “So, what are his other symptoms?” Cathy asked.

  “Just vomiting and diarrhea.” Jeremy sighed.

  “It’s just not an epidemic that we can deal with right now.” He shook his head and sighed again. We all agreed with him. John came into the kitchen. “There you ladies are! Thank you Jeremy for taking care of that. I have never had the stomach for that.”

  Jeremy nodded. “As a doctor, it’s one of the things you get used to – – nasty things. Luckily, this isn’t the nastiest thing that I have had to deal with. I could tell you stories!”

  “Please don’t!” I laughed.

  Jeremy laughed. “I won’t, but there are quite a lot of them!”

  “And on that note. What’s happening outside?” Jill asked.

  “Well, we’re trying to figure out what to do with the maniacs who are tied up. We don’t really want to bring them in the house, because that would risk everyone’s lives inside. We can’t leave them outside. We have wood, but that’s supposed to be for a barn to keep the animals sheltered.”

  “That’s a good question.” Cathy said. “Well, we’ll come out and see what we can do to help.” We agreed and left Jeremy inside while we all joined the others outside.

  Everyone was in a circle talking. We walked over. “Now I can talk without getting in everyone’s heads!” Jenny/Cathy joked.

  “We’re trying to figure how fast we can put up two structures.” Ben said. “Jacob was our carpenter and he’s down for the count. Ethan’s dad was a carpenter so, so Ethan could have helped also, but…”

  “Yeah. So we can do this if we just work together.” Angela proclaimed.

  “Let’s get started then!” I said.

  “Exactly what I have been saying all along!” Maya agreed. “Less talking, more working!”

  “So, what will we build first?” Cathy asked.

  “We should probably get them in a building first I guess.” Luis said gesturing towards the maniacs who were tied.

  “I disagree.” Richard/Miles said. “They will be fine. The animals look like they need more shade and to get out of the elements if it rains. They are your lifeline for food. Start with their barn first. The little area that the one horse is in is just not big enough for all of them.”

  “Okay. Let’s get started!” Maya said.

  Luis shrugged his shoulders. “Let’s do this.”

  “What about lumber for the place to house Ethan, Jake and the others?” I asked.

  “We’ll worry about that after.” Ben said.

  Jenny nodded her head. We heard a commotion where the new maniacs and kid maniacs were tied up. Hannah and Jake were trying to help each other untie. Jenny shook her head and looked at the other maniacs who also saw them. Brandon, Stella and Jenny pulled them apart, tightened the ropes and Brandon stayed to watch over them.

  Working together, we were able to put up the walls and roof of a barn-like structure. It would still need siding, windows, a door and roofing, but it wasn’t too bad. It took the whole day to finish. We were all so exhausted. The maniacs (only a few of them were able to help, others still didn’t know how to function,) didn’t seem tired in the least bit.

  “We will leave it like this for tonight and finish it tomorrow.” Ben declared. “We can pick up lumber for the building for the kid maniacs and Ethan tomorrow.”

  “For now,” Jenny/Cathy said. “Why don’t you all go and have supper. Then take shifts to get sleep.” We all agreed.

  We went inside. Jeremy had made breakfast for dinner. “You just missed the kids.” He said. “They ate and then went upstairs. Emma wasn’t feeling well, so she just had some toast. Alyssa didn’t eat much. She’s still very sad.”

  “Emma isn’t feeling well?” Chase asked.

  “No, she may have the stomach bug, so she has been quarantined to the room with Jacob. Rose and Mrs. Ford are sanitizing everything. Naomi has taken the baby into another room to keep him from getting sick.”

  “I need to check on Emma.” Chase announced.

  “Actually, Emma asked that you don’t. She doesn’t want you to catch it.” Jeremy explained.

  “But…” Chase began.

  “We need you healthy.” Luis said. Chase sighed, but sat down to eat.

  After supper, I helped clean up and then went upstairs. The girls were already in their pajamas and their teeth were brushed. I thanked Mrs. Ford and tucked in my girls. I laid down between them while others got ready for bed around us. I soon fell asleep. It was an uneventful night for me, but I soon found out that I slept through a lot that night.

  Megan woke me at 7:00 the next morning. “Mama! I’m hungry.” She whispered in my face.

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “7:00.” Sarah said quietly. I glanced over and Jill was still sleeping with her kids. Cathy, Piper and Liz were also sleeping still. Mary was curled up beside me.

  “Well at least I’m not the only one still sleeping.” I said quietly.

  I stood up and tried to be as quiet as I could. “Is it morning?” Mary asked out loud. That woke up the others.

  “Why are we always the last ones in bed?” I laughed.

  We all got dressed and went downstairs. No one was in the kitchen. “Hmm.” Cathy said. “I guess everyone must be outside already.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I guess. I can make some food if you guys want.”

  “I’m starving!” Nate announced.

  “Wait!” Jill said. “Everyone be quiet for a minute.” We were all quiet.

  “I don’t hear anything.” I announced.

  “Exactly!” Jill said. “The window is open and I don’t hear any voices, hammering or anything!”

  “Maybe they went to get lumber?” Liz suggested.

  “But everyone?” I asked.

  “Let me go check to see if maybe Jeremy is in with Jacob and Emma. Maybe he knows where

  everyone is.” Cathy said.

  “I’ll go check outside quickly.” Jill announced.

  “Mama!” Mary whined.


  “Stay here with Liz and Aleisha.” Jill demanded.

  They both left the room. I looked at Liz. She looked a little worried. “Ahh…” She began. “How

  about cereal this morning?”

  “Yuck!” Mary said.

  “You don’t like cereal?” Megan asked.

  “No way!” Mary said.

  “I’ll have cereal!” Sarah said.

  “Me too!” Megan and Nate said.

  We made them bowls of cereal and Liz gave Mary some leftover muffins from the day before.

  Cathy came into the kitchen quickly. “Um…” She began.

  “I have them.” Piper said.

  “Thanks.” I said. Cathy motioned for Liz and I to meet her at the doorway of the kitchen. Jill came in at that moment.

  “They aren’t up there.” Cathy announced.

  “There’s no one outside.” Jill said.

  “What?” I exclaimed.

  “Who is not upstairs?” Liz asked.

  “No one.” Cathy said. “Jacob and Emma aren’t up there anymore and I checked the other rooms. No one is there at all! Not even Naomi, Allison or the baby!”

  “What?” I cried.

  “And no one’s outside. I ran all the way to the barn we built yesterday. The cow hasn’t been milked and the chickens are still in the coop.” Jill said.

  “Okay… maybe a bunch of them went to get lumber…” I suggested.

  “They wouldn’t have taken Alyssa or Dylan.” Jill said.

  “Or the sick people.” Liz added.

  “They could be feeling better.” Cathy said.

  I sighed. “Okay, so let’s not panic.” I glanced back to the kids. They were joking with each other. Only Piper knew something serious was going on. “We’ll wait an hour and then figure things out. Meanwhile, why don’t we go out with the kids, get the eggs and milk the cow.”

  “Should we go out there with the kids?” Cathy asked.

  I sighed. “You’re right. We don’t have any protection… how many weapons do we have?”

  “I have a gun.” Jill said.

  “Is that it?” Liz asked. We looked at each other. That was it.