Under the Dome

'Make her stop! Make her stop, Rusty!'

If it was petit mal, it would stop on its own.

Please God let it stop on its own, he thought.

He placed his palms on the sides of Jan's trembling, thrumming head and tried to rotate it upward, wanting to make sure her airway remained clear. At first he wasn't able to—the goddam foam pillow was fighting him. He tossed it on the floor. It struck Audrey on the way dbwn, but she didn't so much as flinch, only maintained her rapt gaze.

Rusty was now able to cock Jannie's head back a little, and he could hear her breathing. It wasn't rapid; there was no harsh tearing for oxygen, either.

'Mommy, what's the matter with Jan-Jan?'Judy asked, beginning to cry 'Is she mad? Is she sick?'

'Not mad and only a little sick.' Rusty was astounded at how calm he sounded. 'Why don't you let Mommy take you down to our—'

'No!' they cried together, in perfect two-part harmony.

'Okay,' he said, 'but you have to be quiet. Don't scare her when she wakes up, because she's apt to be scared already.

'A little scared,' he amended. 'Audi, good girl. That's a very very good girl.'

Such compliments usually sent Audrey into paroxysms of joy, but not tonight. She didn't even wag her tail. Then, suddenly, the golden gave a small woof and lay down, dropping her muzzle onto one paw. Seconds later, Jan's trembling ceased and her eyes closed.

'I'll be damned,' Rusty said.

'What?' Linda was now sitting on the edge of Judy's bed with Judy on her lap.' What?'

'It's over,' Rusty said.

But it wasn't. Not quite. When Jannie opened her eyes again, they were back where they belonged, but they weren't seeing him.

'The Great Pumpkin!' Janelle cried. 'It's the Great Pumpkin's fault! You have to stop the Great Pumpkin!'

Rusty gave her a gentle shake. 'You were having a dream, Jannie. A bad one, I guess. But it's over and you're all right.'

In a moment she still wasn't completely there, although her eyes shifted and he knew she was seeing and hearing him now. 'Stop Halloween, Daddy! You have to stop Halloween!'

'Okay, honey, I will. Halloween's off. Completely.'

She blinked, then raised one hand to brush her clumped and sweaty hair off her forehead. 'What? Why? I was going to be Princess Leia! Does everything have to go wrong with my life?' She began to cry.

Linda came over—Judy scurrying behind and holding onto the skirt of her mother's robe—and took Janelle in her arms. 'You can still be Princess Leia, honeylove, I promise.'

Jan was looking at her parents with puzzlement, suspicion, and growing fright. 'What are you doing in here? And why is she up?' Pointing to Judy.

'You peed in your bed,' Judy said smugly, and when Jan realized—realized and started to cry harder—Rusty felt like smacking Judy a good one. He usually felt like a pretty enlightened parent (especially compared to those he sometimes saw creeping into the Health Center with their arm-broke or eye-blackened children), but not tonight.

'It doesn't matter,' Rusty said, hugging Jan close. 'It wasn't your fault. You had a little problem, but it's over now.'

'Does she have to go to the hospital?' Linda asked.

'Only to the Health Center, and not tonight.Tomorrow morning. I'll get her fixed up with the right medicine then.'

'NO SHOTS.!' Jannie screamed, and began to cry harder than ever. Rusty loved the sound of it. It was a healthy sound. Strong.

'No shots, sweetheart. Pills.'

'Are you sure?' Lin asked.

Rusty looked at their dog, now lying peacefully with her snout on her paw, oblivious of all the drama.

'Audrey's sure,' he said. 'But she ought to sleep in here with the girls for tonight.'

'YayFJudy cried. She fell to her knees and hugged Audi extravagantly.

Rusty put an arm around his wife. She laid her head on his shoulder as if too weary to hold it up any longer.

'Why now?' she asked. 'Why now?'

'I don't know. Just be grateful it was only petit mal.'

On that score, his prayer had been answered.

MADNESS, BLINDNESS, ASTONISHMENT OF THE HEART

1

Scarecrow Joe wasn't up early; he was up late. All night, in fact.

This would be Joseph McClatchey, age thirteen, also known as King of the Geeks and Skeietor, residing at 19 Mill Street. Standing six-two and weighing one-fifty, he was indeed skeletal. And he was a bona fide brain. Joe remained in the eighth grade only because his parents were adamantly opposed to the practice of 'skipping forward.'