The Christmas Scene- Chapter 2 ( A Begginers Guidebook: Maxine)

I woke up in a daze. Beside me, Leo, mum, Zack, Alexandra, Rachel, Tamara, Pepper, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the triplets, were lying, still knocked out. We were wearing something that looked like tunics and veils. The last thing I remember, Rachel got a chair, we sat in it, and suddenly we began spinning. Now that I was completely awake, I tried to wake everyone up. Zack was first. It was simple. I just took his shoe off and waved it in front of his face. He immediately began coughing, and asked, “Max, please explain what that was for?” “Good morning to you too. You were knocked out. I woke you up. Now help me with the others. You get Leo and Tyson. I’ll take Alexandra, Millie, and Rebecca.”

Slowly, everyone began to stir. The first thing Tamara did after I woke her up, was check her phone to see how many views that spider picture got. She was in for a huge shock. “What! No cell signal? My life is over,” she screamed. “Where are we,” Rachel asked, getting up and dusting herself off. I looked around. We were in some sort of barn.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. “Tax collector,” a man called out. We opened the door. “Eight chickens and two bags of wheat,” the man said greedily. “Oh, yeah, where the heck do we produce all that stuff from? Lift your skirts, turn around, and get out,” Mrs. Smith yelled at him. “In the Name of the King, give me your tax,” The man persisted. “What King,” Tamara asked walking out. She had cut up her tunic, fashioned it into a backless top and a pair of khakis, and had tossed her veil to a side. I guess she found a needle and thread. “Joe Biden is president right now,” she continued. “What president? You are under the rule of the Great King Herod. Now give me your tax, get back into your clothes, and get into the courtyard to make dinner,” the man commanded. Just then we heard a crash, and out walked Mr. Smith apparently having found the granary. He was coated from head to toe in flour. “Ghost! Spirit! Witchcraft,” the tax collector shrieked, and turned around to run.

 As he left, everything clicked. “Rachel’s fortune. The Miracle of Christmas. Herod the Great.” I turned these few statements in my head and announced my thoughts to the others. “I think we’re in the Biblical period. There’s your proof,” I said pointing to the window. Crossing our house were Joseph and a pregnant Mary. “Sure, thanks Walking Talking Encyclopedia,” Zack said. “Wait, wait, wait. I’ve heard this story. There’s someone out to kill them. We’ve got to protect them,” Pepper cried out. “Wait, you mean like sword fighting. Nope. I could chip a nail,” Tamara said. “Let’s get out of here first. Then we can decide what to do,” Mum suggested.

We took an inventory of what was in the house. We found a cart, two mules, a huge box of rice, some bread, cheese, and a lot of milk. We put it all into a sack, got into the cart, and set off. All this while, Pepper and Zack were busy playing a game on their phones and attracting a lot of attention. It occurred to me that they might consider it some sort of witchcraft. I told Mrs. Smith my assumption and got their phones taken away, along with a threatening stare from Zack.

After an hour or two, we stopped for the night. I never knew Mr. Smith could snore so loudly! At dawn, I noticed something. Mary and Joseph’s cart was gone. I woke the others up (Again!), and told them to continue moving. Tamara had changed into a new design of cut-up tunic. The cloak had been turned into a shirt, the bottom half of the tunic a pair of shorts, and the veil had been used to go from sleeves to bell sleeves. I wonder how she does it!          

                                    

We finally caught up to them. They had stopped for some time. As we were eating, we noticed some people with a bunch of weapons walking towards them. There was no one to defend them and they were oblivious to the army. I understood what we had to do. “Zack, Pepper go stand in front of the army and continue playing your video games. At least one row of them will assume it's witchcraft and will drop their weapons and run for it. Pick up the weapons, and attack them. We’ll join you once you get the weapons, and if there is a disaster, we’ll cover you.” “How,” Pepper asked. “Simple. Just have Percy go in front of them,” Mrs. Smith said, as Mr. Smith came out with bread and cheese stuck to him.

We began implementing our plan. Zack went in front, with Pepper behind him. They turned their phones up to the highest volume and continued using them. Up to an extent, it worked. We got the army away from Mary and Joseph, and towards us. But the army did not drop their weapons or run away. Even when Mr. Smith bumped into them trying to get the cheese off of himself. Pepper hid herself behind Tamara. The leader said something in a different language. Then they took Pepper and Zack! “You are sentenced to hang for witchcraft,” the leader said. “We’ll get out,” Pepper said. “You go on. We’ll meet you at the barn. And whatever you do, DON’T LEAVE THE TIME MACHINE!”

With a heavy heart, we continued. Mr. Smith was still a cheese monster, and Alexandra was eating the bread. Leo was playing with mum’s sleeve. Rachel was following Tamara’s lead and was cutting up a tunic. I wondered how Zack and Pepper were doing, and would they be able to escape.