Maniacs

by Lee Wise

  “I’m starving!” Nate whined to Jill. Ryan farted.

  Nate and Caleb laughed. The girls weren’t as amused. “Gross!” Megan exclaimed.

  “Really?” Allison complained.

  “Oh that’s ripe!” Angela groaned.

  “Yeah it is!” Caleb laughed and plugged his nose.

  “Why don’t you go downstairs and tell them to make some food!” Cathy said to Ryan.

  “I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me!” Ryan laughed.

  “That’s because we are!” Piper said. “You stink!”

  Ryan laughed. “Okay, I know when I’m not wanted, I’ll…”

  We heard gunshots downstairs. “In the closet!” I yelled. The kids ran back in.

  Angela went for the door. “No, don’t open it!” Ryan said. “Look at the shadow underneath!”

  My stomach was in knots. If everything was boarded up downstairs, how did more wolves get into the house?

  We heard another gunshot right outside the door. “We check each of the rooms up here that are open and we see if there are any inside!” Luis ordered. We heard some running down the hall. “Maya, guard the bedroom door!” Luis demanded.

  “Can I come out?” Angela asked.

  “Quickly!” Maya exclaimed.

  “What happened?” We heard her ask Maya.

  “A few came down the stairs and we realized that we didn’t get all the ones that ran up here.” Maya explained.

  “Holy shit!” Angela replied.

  “Yeah!” Maya agreed.

  We heard gunshots down the hall. “Okay that room is clear!” Luis shouted.

  “Are we just going to leave it there?” We could hear Luke ask him.

  “For now!” Luis said.

  “This room is clear!” We heard Ben holler from another room.

  “That door’s closed. I’ll check just in case.” Luis opened the door to the spare room. We could hear him speak to Jeremy, but we couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Okay, all the rooms are cleared and the cat managed to have her babies. They all seem healthy!”

  “And they are so cute!” Angela said.

  “The dogs aren’t happy in the pantry.” I heard John say.

  “Oh poor guys!” Angela replied.

  “I’m putting them in the bedroom!” John said. The door opened. He sent the dogs in. “We had them in the pantry so they wouldn’t get hurt, but they were scared. It’s safer for them up here!”

  “Come here baby!” Cathy said. Mr. Doggleton wagged his tail and ran over to Cathy. The kids door opened quickly.

  “Molly!” Miles called to her. She ran over to him. I smiled. Molly and Miles had found a way to fill the void of those they had lost.

  “Now what?” Cathy asked.

  Ryan said, “I think I will go make some food.”

  “That is a great idea!” Allison agreed and we all laughed.

  John shook his head. “I’m not sure what I just missed, but you guys sure missed some craziness down there.”

  Jenny left the closet and joined us in the room. “Now, we have to figure out who sent the wolves.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “Sent the wolves?” I asked.

  “Remember how I did mind control on Alex?” Jenny/Cathy asked.

  “Yes.” We said.

  “It can work on anything. I might be able to figure it out if I can get of one of those wolves.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “There’s plenty downstairs.” John said.

  “We need a live one.” Jenny/Cathy explained.

  “Oh…well they took off.” John said.

  “They’ll be back. We need to set up a trap to catch one.” Jenny/Cathy replied.

  “How will you know who sent them?” I asked.

  “You know how I can sense when someone is around or something is about to happen?” Jenny/Cathy asked.

  We nodded our heads. “So, you just need a wolf to find out who sent them?” John asked. “I’m sure it was the dangerous ones.”

  “That’s right.” Jenny/Cathy agreed. “But hopefully I will also be able to tell why they were sent instead of the dangerous ones themselves coming.”

  “Do you think they may have been sent to get us off guard so the dangerous ones could come attack?” I asked.

  “Maybe, but I don’t think so.” Jenny/Cathy replied. “What I really think is they left, but before they left they wanted to hurt some more people. I don’t know what there is out there that they sent against us, but we need to be ready.”

  John sighed. “When do we ever get to be relaxed?”

  “I second that!” Jill sighed.

  “For now, I’ll stay up here. You guys have Richard and some of our others. Brandon is down there also. Now that it is night time, we definitely need to be alert.”

  “I hate nighttime.” I complained.

  Jenny/Cathy smiled. “I know. It’s your most vulnerable time, that’s why the dangerous ones use that against you.”

  “When will the next change come?” I asked. That thought had been on my mind for a while now.

  “Not for a little while.” Jenny/Cathy replied. “There’s nothing anyone can do to change it, so don’t stress about it.”

  I sighed. “It’s hard not to.”

  “So, what now?” Jill asked.

  “Well, after they eat, the kids can sleep in the closet. It’s big enough. I’m afraid that all the adults that are in there can’t fit for everyone to be able to sleep. We can lock this door…” John began.

  “I don’t need to sleep yet. Stella and Stefanie don’t have to either. Let the kids sleep in there. Allison can stay in with the baby. You guys can sleep here in the room. We will alert you if there are any issues.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “I don’t know if I can sleep!” I announced.

  “You need your sleep.” Jenny/Cathy replied. “In the morning, we will figure out what our next step is going to be.”

  “I agree.” John responded. “I need to get back downstairs. I…”

  The closet door opened. It was Sarah. “I have to go pee!”

  We had set up a makeshift bathroom in the corner of the room for when the kids had to stay up here.

  “Me too!” Megan and Mary agreed.

  John nodded. “I will stay in this room until the kids go back into the closet.”

  “We have to stay in there?” Megan asked.

  “Just for tonight baby. It’s like a slumber party you can sleep in the new sleeping bags that Rose and Emma picked up.” I replied.

  “But I want to sleep with you, mama!” Megan cried.

  “I’m sorry honey. It’s just not safe.” I sighed.

  “It will be fun!” Piper said. “I can tell you about a sleepover I had at Aunt Allison’s when I was younger.”

  “Keep out certain parts!” Allison laughed.

  “Oh no! I’m telling the whole story!” Piper laughed.

  “I want to hear the whole story!” Sarah said.

  Just then, Ryan walked in with supper he had a platter full of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

  “Looks like a delicious gourmet!” Allison teased.

  “I just made something quick for tonight.” Ryan replied.

  “It’s perfect!” I assured him. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. Enjoy your supper!” Ryan said. Angela had followed him with a couple gallons of water. “Here you go. To fill up your cups. Good night everyone.”

  “Good night!” All the kids said. Angela and Ryan left the room.

  “When will we hear the story?” Brianna asked.

  “Soon. First you have to finish supper. Then, we all need to use the bathroom and brush teeth. After we are laying in our sleeping bags, then I will tell the story.”

  “Okay.” Sarah replied. Megan sighed. I hugged her.

  “Tomorrow, we will set some time aside and I can play a board game with you girls.” I said.

  “Can daddy play to?” Sarah asked.

  I looked at John. “I will play to.�
�� He responded. I really hoped that we could keep our promise and that nothing bad would happen to keep us from playing with them.

  “Yay!” Sarah and Megan exclaimed.

  “We’ll take turns playing with our kids.” Jill said to Mary and Nate.

  Caleb and Cathy looked sad. “Well Caleb, if you would like, I love board games!” Cathy said.

  “I love Battleship!” Caleb announced.

  “Me too!” Cathy said. “Jenny and I would play it all the time.”

  “I hope my daddy will play a board game with me.” Brianna sighed.

  “I’m sure he will honey.” I said.

  Cathy commented. “And if he’s too busy, I will play Battleship against you after I play against Caleb.”

  “The sink has something yucky in it.” Megan complained.

  John sighed and walked over. He laughed. “That’s a worm!”

  “That’s mine!” Nate said and ran over.

  “You have a worm?” Jill asked.

  “I rescued him. He needed a bath. Now I’m going to put him back in the bucket of sand.” Nate replied.

  “Why did you wash him if you’re putting him back in the dirt?” Mary asked.

  “Mom makes me wash up and then I go back in the dirt!” Nate responded.

  We all laughed. Mary shook her head. “That’s true.” Jill laughed.

  Finally, the kids finished up with their bathroom break and went back into the closet. We set up their sleeping bags. I gave them kisses and hugs and closed the door. We could hear giggling for a while and then Piper and Emma quieted them down. We heard Piper telling them a story. We couldn’t hear exactly what she was saying, because she was talking quietly but it was finally calm in there.

  “Okay. Good night everyone. If you need anything, use the walkie-talkie or I guess Jenny can reach us her way.” John said.

  “We’ll contact you if we need you. If you guys have any issues downstairs, please don’t hesitate to get our attention.” Jenny/Cathy replied.

  John smiled, gave me a kiss and opened the door. Angela peeked in. “I just gave Rapunzel food, water and a litter box. In the morning, I will bring the kids in one at a time to see the babies.”

  “I want to see them too!” I said.

  “Me too!” Liz agreed.

  “Sounds good.” Angela smiled and left the room.

  “I guess we should get some sleep now.” Cathy commented.

  I sighed. “Yeah.”

  Jenny/Cathy smiled. “You guys definitely should. Morning will be here before you know it and then we will figure some things out.”

  “Should a couple of us take shifts?” Jill asked.

  “No. The three of us can handle it.” Jenny/Cathy said speaking for herself, Stephanie and Stella.

  “I thought that you need four hours of rest.” Liz asked.

  Jenny looked at the others. “Well, we do, but…” Jenny/Cathy began.

  “Then shifts it is.” Jill replied. “Since it seems calm now, Jenny why don’t you get some rest. I’ll stay up with Stephanie and Stella and in four hours, we will get our sleep and Jenny, you can take your shift…”

  “With me!” Cathy exclaimed.

  “You need a full night of rest.” Jill said. “Jenny needs you. So, maybe Allison or Christian can stay up.”

  “I can.” Christian volunteered. “Allison will be taking care of the baby. I’m fine just to keep an ear out for trouble. Anyways, I have a book that needs to be read.”

  Cathy smiled. “Are you sure?”

  “Definitely.” Christian replied.

  “Okay.” Cathy said.

  “Now, go to sleep.” Jill demanded.

  “Alright.” Jenny/Cathy said. “That sounds like a good deal.” She laid down and closed her eyes.

  I laid down, but I didn’t sleep as easily that night. There wasn’t any disturbances, I just didn’t like being away from my girls.

  Stephanie came over to me around midnight. “I saw extra space in the closet. You should go in there. You need to sleep.” She said in my mind.

  I nodded and quietly went into the closet. There was a little space next to Sarah. I laid down and went to sleep quickly. Finally, I was able to sleep.

  CHAPTER 23

  I woke up at six in the morning, because Megan really had to go to the bathroom. I peeked out of the closet. Jenny was sitting with Cathy. They both smiled at me. I brought Megan out. She hurried to go to the bathroom.

  John came in at that moment. “How’s it going downstairs? Did you get any sleep?” He looked tired.

  “Just a little. We took shifts. It was just mostly restless sleep though. You guys can come down when you’re ready. We cleared all the wolves, unboarded the front door and went outside. Everything looks fine out there…” John began.

  “How are my animals?” Miles asked. He was all dressed and ready to go to do his farming. Molly was standing beside him.

  “They were all fine and all the chickens were present. No animals are missing.” John replied.

  “That’s great!” Said Liz.

  Everyone was awake now except for Christian and Jill. Megan came out from using the bathroom. “Daddy!” She exclaimed. That woke the others.

  Sarah came out of the closet. “Do you have to yell Megan?” She complained.

  “Can I come downstairs with you, daddy?” Megan asked.

  “Sure honey!” John replied. He gave Megan a piggyback ride out of the room.

  “Can you wait for me, mama?” Sarah asked.

  “Of course babe. I need to change also.” I replied.

  Miles, Liz, Jenny, Cathy, Allison and Naomi left the room. Allison was carrying Dylan.

  “Where are Stella and Stephanie?” I asked.

  Mrs. Ford pointed to a corner. They were still resting.

  “We will let them rest.” I commented. Mrs. Ford agreed.

  I finished getting dressed and Sarah asked for me to give her a piggyback ride also. She got on. “Oh wow! You’re getting so big!” I said. “Pretty soon you will have to give me a piggyback ride instead!”

  She giggled. “You always say that!” We went downstairs. Mrs. Ford also came down.

  We ate a breakfast that Jeremy had made. It was delicious. It was an egg, bacon and cheese casserole. I don’t actually know if the meat was the bacon that I was used to eating, but I still really enjoyed it.

  “I noticed that we could use some more meat.” Angela said. “I think that I will go hunting today.”

  Allison nodded. “If it’s okay with my mom, I would like to join you. I feel cooped up.”

  “Go for it!” Naomi smiled. “I’m not going to say no to spending some time with my grandkids!”

  “Thanks!” Allison replied.

  “We can start him on baby food soon.” Jeremy said.

  “I was thinking that.” Allison agreed. “We found a lot when we were scavenging. What do you think? A couple more weeks?”

  “Probably about ten days.” Jeremy said.

  “Sounds good to me!” Allison exclaimed. “And I think baby Dylan will love that!”

  We finished eating breakfast. “So, we need to go searching for the wolves.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “I agree.” Luis replied.

  “We need some of you guys to come.” Jenny/Cathy said.

  “I will go.” Cathy said.

  Robert stepped forward. I thought he was going to stop Cathy from going, but instead he put his hands on her shoulder and said, “We will go.” I was surprised, but after thinking for a little bit, if I only had one child and she was like that, I knew that I would do the same thing.

  “Thanks.” Jenny/Cathy said. Her parents smiled.

  “I will go also.” Luis announced. In addition, Maya, Chase, Jacob and Luke agreed to go. They left right after, so as not to burn daylight. The kids went outside to play.

  I stayed inside to clean with Rose. John lingered inside . Rose noticed that he did, “I will be right back.” She announced. “I just have to go use th
e bathroom.” She left the kitchen and went outside.

  John gave me a hug. “How are you doing?” He asked.

  “I’m fine.” I replied. “How are you doing?”

  “Well, I’m just making sure you’re okay with your sister going.” John said.

  “They just went down the street for right now, right?” I was suddenly worried that I should’ve given her a hug just in case something happened and told her how much I loved her.

  “Yes, for now.” John replied.

  “I figure Cathy and Robert will leave with them when they go to find the dangerous ones.” I said.

  “They already told you?” John asked.

  “No, but that’s what I would do, follow my girls wherever they go.” I replied. “Wait a second. Do you know something that I don’t?”

  “Robert and I talked last night and you guessed right. When Jenny leaves, so will they.” John informed me.

  I nodded. Tears were in my eyes. “I understand. It’s so hard on me, but I get it.”

  “Yeah.” John said. “Things change quickly around here. Don’t they?”

  “They definitely do!” I agreed.

  “I have to get outside now. I’m going to use the tractor to expand the garden!” John said excitedly.

  “I’m surprised you guys aren’t fighting over that tractor!” I laughed.

  “Oh, I don’t get to do the whole garden myself. We all have parts.”

  “That sounds like fun.” I said sarcastically.

  “Oh it is.” John laughed. “Alright. Love you. You’re all set with the dishes, right?”

  Rose walked in at that moment. “I highly doubt you’re volunteering to help with the dishes. We’re fine. Go have fun with the tractor!”

  John laughed. “I will.” He went outside.

  “Men and their toys, huh?” Rose laughed. “Ben’s on the tractor right now and he’s all big smiles! It’s so funny to see him that way.”

  I laughed. “If only I got that excited over dishes!”

  “I know. We need something to make things more fun around here for us ladies!” Rose agreed.

  Mike walked into the kitchen at that moment. “Really? You just got a ton of clothes!” He laughed.

  “Now, all I need is someone to do my hair!” Rose said.

  “Have you talked to Jill yet?” Mike asked. “She actually went to school to be a hairdresser. After we had kids, she had to stop doing hair and she got the part-time job as a cashier. She still loves to do hair though.”