The 98 Percentile

By G.E. Merritt

The human brain is a powerful thing, but throughout history it has been said that we only use 10% of our brains capacity. What happens when our characters begin to unleash the hidden power in the other 90%. Can they adapt or will it ultimately destroy them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483546032

Book preview

The ninety-eight percentile

G.E. Merritt

Chester Herman, Sheila Maddock, Jimmy Martin... three people born decades apart. Three people who all suffer from the same affliction. The migraine headaches that mysteriously started when they were all the same age. With the pain came a gift, a gift that only two percent of the world’s population possess. Adolph Hitler, Friedrich Nietzsche, Joan of Arc, Ted Kaczynski all had it. Can they adapt as they start to unlock their hidden talents or are there things that are better left hidden in the dark recesses of the human mind.

Chapter One

Mudderfucker!

The stabbing pain was back, slicing through his skull like a knife through hot butter.  It was as if someone had stuck a hot iron rod through his eyeball and prodded around, scrambling his brain like an egg in a hot pan.  He reached into the desk drawer for the bottle of Percocet that he always kept there; popped the cap and downed two.  He started to put the lid back on and thought better of it.  He popped another two and chased them down with a mouthful of bourbon; shook the bottle and made a mental note to go to the drug store and get more.

Chester Herman could not remember a life without migraines.  He was only forty-two years old, but he had suffered with the debilitating problem since he could remember.  Not that they knew what migraines were back in 1960 in Jesuit Alabama.  An undersized pimply faced kid of twelve didn’t get to stay home from school because of a belly ache or a head pain, and his daddy had beat him for goin on so about it.  It was the last time his daddy had beat him, because it was also the day he learned of his "gift

 In truth he had not had a migraine or even a belly-ache that day; he simply did not want to go to school.  He was not a good student; he could never understand the numbers and letters that the teacher would draw on the blackboard everyday.  Mrs Blackburn, his teacher was very patient, too patient perhaps; which only helped to fuel his misery.  Every day while the rest of the class got to go outside for recess, she made him stay while she sat with him and fruitlessly tried to make him understand the x’s and y’s and the square root of the sum; and then every day after school she would make him stay late.  At first he was eager to stay.  Not because he was determined to learn, no, he would never understand.  Charlie Bennett and Champ Olson were why he wanted to stay; Charlie Bennet and Champ Olson, the ones that made his life miserable.  Charlie Bennet and Champ Olson, who would taunt him and bully him and eventually beat him for being the teachers pet.

"Mudderfuckers.

He had learned not to tell anyone about the constant taunting and beatings at the hands of the two much larger boys, no siree bub.  Keep your mouth shut and take it like a man.  That’s what his daddy had said after Mrs. Blackburn had told Charlie and Champ’s parents about it, and their fathers had told his daddy that he raised a tattletale and a snitch; and his daddy had beat him for embarrisin him in front of his buddies.   No siree bub, take it like a man.  But he wasn’t a man, he had just turned twelve.

At first he didn’t mind staying late, but it didn’t take Charlie long to miss his daily workout.  He and Champ were waiting when Chester got out and they were aching to make up for lost time.  They were waiting in the alley by the J- Mart.  Back behind the dumpster they were waiting to have some fun.

Chester Herman, always squirmin they taunted as they pummelled him with their fists.

Chester Herman you can bet … always been the teachers pet as they kicked him and stomped him until he blacked out.

He woke just as it was getting dark.  His hair was matted with blood and his left eye was beginning to swell.  He had a dark spreading purple bruise on his left side and he was pretty sure his rib was broken.  But that wasn’t the worst of it; his head felt like it was splitting in half.  There wasn’t much light left, it was almost dark, but what light there was knifed through his skull until he thought his eyes would bleed.  It was after 7 pm and his momma would be worried and that meant his daddy would beat him.

Take it like a man boy he would say.

But his daddy wouldn’t beat him; nobody would ever beat him again.  That was when the headaches started, and that was when everything changed.

Chapter Two

The pain was bad today; almost blinding, as a little sliver of light found its way between the tightly drawn shades.  A little tiny sliver that sent giant waves of pain through her head and made her throw up into the bucket beside the bed.

’God just make it go away’, she thought. ‘Make it go away.’   

Sheila Maddock was not used to the pain. She would never get used to it.  For eleven years she had suffered the headaches; for eleven years she had lived with the pain and prayed in the dark for it to go away, but her prayers where never answered.

The phone rang then and sent more waves of agony through her.  ‘Damn why hadn’t she thought to shut off the phone?’  She tried to move but she couldn’t.  Three agonizing rings before the answering machine kicked in.  Three more hammer blows to her skull.

Sheila, it’s just me Derrick.  Just wondering if you are feeling better? Since you are not answering I will assume that is a no.  Listen baby, I am really getting worried about you.  Call me when you get this.

Derrick Eider hung up the phone and dialled a new number.  He was worried. The twenty-five year old, 5’2 mousey blonde was the love of his life and he couldn’t stand to see her in so much pain.  He wanted answers and he was not going to stop pestering Neil until he got some.

They had met in the CUB campus parking lot only six months ago.  He was walking towards the admissions building when the petite blonde ran full on into him sending her sprawling to the ground and scattering her tiny briefcase, books and papers everywhere.  Derrick was 6’2 inches of ‘dreamy’ and sent most of the co-eds to giggling and whispering every time he walked by.  Former All American quarterback, prom king, and at thirty-two years old, the youngest Dean of Admissions at Campbell University Birmingham Campus had ever had.  It was no secret that Derrick had been hired primarily for his influence on the female population.  Smart, charismatic, handsome and single it was no wonder that enrolment was up thirty-five per cent since he took over as DOA.  He brought in the young girls and the young girls brought the guys.

The little blonde felt as if she had run into a truck.  Of course she knew it was her fault, she had always been a klutz.  Always tripping or bumping into things; she was not exactly the social butterfly.  Now on her first day at Campbell she was sitting on her butt, skirt up to her waist in the parking lot.  She was horrified and she started to cry.

Derrick looked down at the timid young woman at his feet and saw the tears.  A wave of compassion came over him as he stooped to help her up.  He looked into her eyes with a warm smile and said I am so sorry; I should look where I am going.  Are you ok?

She looked up at him and lost her breath for a moment.

It, it was my fault she stammered trying to wipe the tears away with her hand.

Derrick produced a tissue from his pocket and helped her to her feet.

No, it was my fault he said and he flashed a warm smile.  Sheila’s heart raced and she felt her knees go weak.

’Don’t you dare, don’t you go acting like a gushy school girl’ she thought to herself as she bent to scoop up her books and briefcase, still should could feel her face go flush and her heart skip a tiny beat.

 Derrick stooped to help her as he surveyed her.  She was a tiny thing, blonde hair tied back in a bun.  She wore horn-rimmed glasses, the kind you saw old school teachers wear back in the 50’s.  She was dressed in a grey wool knee high skirt and a matching vest that looked as if they were made for a forty year old spinster, except she couldn’t be more than nineteen he guessed.

I haven’t seen you before, are you new here? he asked.

Yes my first day, she replied shyly.

I know almost all the new students he said warmly, I’m Derrick; Derrick Eider, Dean of Admissions.

Sheila, Sheila Maddock. She shyly offered her hand. And I am not a student.  I need to find the faculty lounge. It’s my first day and I am sorry but I am already late.

Derrick was stunned at this revelation, but before he could say anymore she turned and walked quickly towards the faculty building, the truth was she didn’t want him to see the effect he had had on her and she didn’t want to make him want her. She told herself that she didn’t want it to happen, not again; but she knew she was lying to herself and she knew that he would. She hurried away pushing back a sharp pain behind her eyes.

Chapter Three

Jimmy Martin realized hadn’t had a headache in a week.  It was a good week.  He had felt so good that he and his best friend Rolly had detoured at the old covered bridge to see if the salmon were running up the Bronte River yet.

See anything? Rolly asked

Nope replied Jimmy.

Told you it would probably a couple of weeks yet before they run, water is still too warm.

JEEZ LOUISE PEPPA CHEESE! I ain’t a happy bunny! said Rolly dismally; I was really looking forward to trying out my new rod.  Now I’ll just be home Macaulay Culkin it¹ .

Maybe we can go down to the dam and try for some catfish? replied Jimmy.

Really? Rolly asked excitedly. It had been a few weeks since they had done anything together.

Sure… tomorrow Jimmy promised as he looked at his watch..  Shit gotta go he said See you later masturbator Rolly called to him as he trotted off.

In a while pedophile Jimmy shouted over his shoulder.

He jogged all the way home and picked up his pace to a full sprint when he little red flag was up on the Martins bright green mailbox.  He opened the door and peered inside.      They still got mail delivered to their house in Grimsby North Dakota, most of the larger towns like Bismarck had switched to large community mailboxes but Grimsby still had door to door delivery.  He grinned broadly as he fished out the contents of the box. There was a stack of letters wrapped in a copy of Better Homes and Gardens and secured with elastic.  He pulled off the elastic and sorted through the letters.  They were mostly bills and a few had been red stamped ‘final notice’, there was nothing for him.  Jimmy’s smile turned to a frown.  Things had been tough for his mom since his dad had died.  He tried to help as much as he could, cutting lawns and running errands, but since the headaches had come he couldn’t do as much.  He rewrapped the mail in the magazine and bound it with the elastic; his mom would only worry more if she knew that he knew they had troubles. He pushed open the front door and ran into the house dropping his books and the mail on the bench by the door and ran to the fridge; he was famished.  He poured himself a glass of milk and made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. His mom would be mad of course, It’ll spoil your dinner, but that was ok. He eyed the liver thawing on the counter; he didn’t mind spoiling his dinner, he hated liver. What twelve year boy old in his right mind didn’t?  He grabbed his sandwich and milk and headed toward the TV.  The clock on the wall said it was almost four o’clock, almost time for his favourite show Jeopardy.  Jimmy wasn’t sure why it was his favourite show; just that he liked answering the questions, and he couldn’t understand why the contestants had such a hard time.  Ever since his twelfth birthday Jimmy had just ‘known’ the answers.

He got his first headache two days after his twelfth birthday, two days after he had fallen from the tree in the yard and broke his arm.  His mother had found him unconscious at the bottom of the tree and was hysterical when she rushed him to the hospital. But despite the headaches the doctors said the scans showed nothing wrong, a slight concussion maybe.  The headaches were temporary and would go away in time and his mom was relieved when they finally stopped. But they hadn’t stopped. When they came it was all Jimmy could do to hide them from his mom.  Thank god mostly they would come at night when he would lie in the dark and cry until finally he fell asleep. The first time they came, his mother let him stay home by himself for the first time ever because he was old enough now to take care of himself. Jimmy knew better. The truth was she couldn’t miss another day off work.  He knew Old man Weedle her boss had told her, miss one more day and you are gone. He knew because was listening when she tried to call in sick that day.  So he lied to her and he cried himself to sleep.

But that was when Jimmy started to ‘know’ things. He didn’t know why, he just knew.  The week after his first headache his teacher Miss Bechel kept him after class.; she needed to talk to him about his latest test. Jimmy was a solid C+ student. It wasn’t that he didn’t try, he was just no genius.  This last test he had every answer right. You know that cheating is wrong, don’t you Jimmy?  Mrs. Bechel had asked him. He stayed adamant that he had not cheated and begged and pleaded her not to call his mom, cause old man Weedle will fire her for sure and please just give me another test, right now and I will prove I didn’t cheat.  And so she did, but the test that she had given him purposely contained some questions that he wouldn’t know the answers to.  She watched him closely, she watched him check off the answers one by one almost without thinking.  She watched him solve equations beyond what she had taught so far this year and she knew he was telling the truth.  She knew that for some unexplained reason Jimmy just ‘knew’.

By years end Jimmy had an A+ in every subject.

So he flipped on the TV set and watched Jeopardy.  The guy who had won three days in a row was still on, going for his fourth straight win and he was up against some stiff competition according to Alex Trebek.  Jimmy snorted out loud.  He had answered every question correctly since he had started to watch the show; sure he didn’t have a buzzer but he knew all the answers.  Today the champ was up against a school teacher from Maine and an Engineer from Ohio.  As the show went off Jimmy rhymed off the answers one by one… who is J. Robert Oppenheimer, what is a black hole, who is Neil Young; although he had to think about that one for a half second, music trivia wasn’t really important stuff.

His favourite was final Jeopardy and today’s question was an easy one.

"Dubhe and Merak are the two stars of the big dipper which are known in sky-lore as ‘The Pointers’. Drawing a line between them will point you to this star in the small dipper?"

What is Polaris Jimmy chimed in almost before Alex could finish the sentence.

 In the end the engineer won in final Jeopardy, the old champion second and the school teacher wagered it all and got it wrong.  As he snapped off the TV Jimmy Martin thought that he was glad he didn’t go to school in Maine, who could miss such an easy question?  He went to front hall to get his books and opened them out on the table, just like he did every night.  Mom would be home soon and she was so happy when he studied.  Of course Jimmy didn’t really study, he didn’t have to. Not anymore.  He flipped open the latest issue of Batman he had bought after school and waited for his mom to come home.

Chapter Four

The Percocet hadn’t worked. Chester had finished remaining pills and then the half bottle of bourbon and finally fell into a booze and drug induced sleep. He dreamed of Charlie and Champ and the dumpster behind the J-Mart.

Chester Herman, always squirmin…

  He dreamt of the two boys kicking him in the head, over and over, like a jackhammer pounding away.

Take it like a man boy, stand up and take it like a man. his daddies gin slurred voice cackled away in the background.  Suddenly he was standing at his own back door.  Blood matted hair and black eye, pain screaming from his rib and his head exploding like a pack of Black Cats on the fourth of July.  He tried to sneak in the back door but his daddy was waiting for him. Where you been boy? his fathered bellowed at him.

Your momma been worried about you, cryin and carryin on like a cat a whallerin.

He looked past his father to see his mother cowering on the floor near the kitchen sink. He could see the purple mark on her face mimicking the bruise on his own. He could feel the anger swelling inside him as his father stumbled towards him in a gin soaked stupor. I said where you bin BOY?

He swung at Chester like an animated punch drunk fighter and lost his balance and fell to the floor as Chester easily ducked under his wild punch.  Chester ran to his cowering mother and tried to pull her up.  His daddy was really mad now.  He clawed his way to his feet and picked up the butcher knife from the kitchen table.

Awl skin you alive you little shit! he bellowed. Chester’s head pounded, the words screamed in his head.

’Mudderfucker! You Mudderfucker! Why don’t do us a favour and stick that knife in your own fucking belly. I wish you would die like the pig you are and I pray the fucking devil takes your soul!’

He turned to shield his mother and waited to die.

The lights from the sheriff’s car drew a crowd. He finally went and did it.  He finally killed one of em said one of the neighbours,

Drunkin fool. chimed in another.

Sheriff Dan Waverly walked up to the front porch.  Damn fool is right. he said to one to no-one in particular.  He looked at Deputy Duane Evens and said Send these people home Duane. This ain’t a fuckin matinee. Send em all home and stepped through the torn screen door.

There was a pool of blood on the floor from the kitchen all the way to the hall. One of the neighbour women had heard the screams and called the sheriff.  She had wrapped Becky Herman in a faded wool blanket and was trying