Landing Lightning

0:02 What if someone was holding someone you love hostage and there was nothing you could do about it. In this story, a loving sister attempts to rescue her brother from a shocking ordeal. Her brother suffers from traumatic brain injury and he's easily taken advantage of his injury led to a nightmarish situation, and his sister is the only person willing to help. This is Landing Lightning. My name is Cheryl and I was born in the winter of nineteen fifty four in Missouri. I was a healthy, normal child to everyone except for my mother. The reason my mother felt I was abnormal had to do with the unreliable pregnancy test during those days. Back then, doctors used rabbits, frogs, or mice to determine pregnancy, but for the most part, they used rabbits.

0:56 The pregnancy test involved taking the woman durin an injecting it into a rabbit. If the pregnancy hormone was present, the rabbit's ovaries exhibited a dramatic change, and the woman was told the rabbit died. This meant that someone was pregnant. In my mother's case, the rabbit never died even after multiple tests. The doctor thought I might be a tumor until my mother finally felt me kicking. She was superstitious and thought there must be something wrong with me because of the negative pregnancy test. My mother abused me both physically and mentally during my childhood. Just to describe a couple of examples, she once shoved me violently backwards down the basement steps of our home, and on another occasion, she hit me in the eye with a belt buckle, sending me to the emergency room. She also made up stories and punished me for things I never did.

2:00 My brother, Jake, was three years younger than me, but he endured a different type of abuse. While my mother would physically and emotionally abuse me, she would simply completely neglect my younger brother altogether. She never cared for or discipline Jake whatsoever. As a result, I became like a mother to Jake. I took care of him and kept him out of trouble while we were growing up. When Jake was twenty nine years old, he had an unfortunate experience that would change his life forever. He attempted to help someone who was being beat up and robbed. He intervened, and in the process he was severely beaten with a tire iron, kidnapped, and nearly killed.

2:50 This resulted in Jake's traumatic brain injury TBI, causing him to be disabled and he was never the same again. Fast forward to twenty eleven. I'm living in California with my father and Jake is living in Missouri. My father had been acting strange at the time after he started taking antidepressants and psychotropic drugs. Then one morning I received a shock of my life. My father sadly committed suicide. I decided to have my father's memorial in Missouri near Jake, as it would be difficult for him to travel. I hadn't seen Jake in a couple of years, but my mother informed me that he was doing well and was being taken care of by his landlord, Richard. I flew into Missouri and drove to pick up Jake a day before the memorial. I met with Richard in front of Jake's apartment and he took me inside. I was shocked at what I saw. Jake was living down in a cold basement with a window that had iron bars. He was emaciated and looked scared to death.

4:06 His so called apartment looked like a prison cell. I stood there, astonished. What the hell happened to him? I thought. I gathered Jake and his coat and we left the building. We entered my rental car. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Dad died. What what do you mean Dad died? It just happened a few days ago. Dad's dead. I can't believe it, Cheryl. Dad can't be gone. Yes, I can't believe it either, Jake. I am so sorry. Oh my god, he can't be gone. How did he die? I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth yet about Dad's suicide. He had been sick and on medicine and he died. Poor Dad, I know. I drove us to a restaurant to get Jake some much needed food. I asked the waitress for rolls as soon as we sat down, and Jake started to devour them. Jake, why are you so skinny? Are you sick? No?

5:28 He's starving me. Who's starving you? Richard your landlord? For the last three days, he only gave me a cheese sandwich with no water. He just gives me a ton of vitamins. They make my stomach hert with no food. He's a crook. He keeps me locked in the basement, like I'm in prison. I'd be better off in prison. At least there i'd have someone to talk to. He keeps you locked in the basement. Yes, he never lets me leave, and he gets freezing down there. I have a heater, but it doesn't help much. He can't do that. He's just a landlord. Does Mom know about this? I don't know.

6:10 I write her letters, but she never comes to see me. I beg her to come and see me. She never does. Her apartment isn't even that far away from here. Can you try calling her? There's no phone to call anyone. The phone is upstairs in Richard's house. He can't force you to stay inside. That's kidnapping. Can you have him arrested? I don't know. I can try. How long has this been going on? Almost seven years? Now? What? No way? Hearing this was too much for me. I had to excuse myself to go to the ladies room so I could cry. I was still processing my father's suicide. I wished he was still around to help me deal with Jake's terrible ordeal. I later learned about how Jake had become stuck in this situation with Richard. As a result of Jake's brain injury, it was always difficult for him to take care of himself. He was also vulnerable to other people exploiting him. Before Jake met Richard, he would walk the streets and pick up trash to throw it away. One afternoon, as Jake picked up trash in front of a

7:43 home, a man exited to ask what he was doing. The man, who was Richard, asked if Jake was homeless. Jake explained that he had a place, but the city condemned it, so he was just squatting there. Richard asked Jake if he was on disability and receive money from SSI Supplemental Security Income. Jake confirmed that he did. Richard asked Jake if he wanted to live in the basement of his home. Richard told Jake that he would fix it up for him if he paid rent money from his disability check. Jake naively agreed. The Supplemental Security Income Program, or SSI, provides monthly payments to adults and children with the disability who have income and resources below specific financial limits. Jake was receiving this income each month, along with food stamps.

8:35 Jake began to live in Richard's basement. His only furniture was an old bed, a small dresser, and a tiny space heater. A few weeks after Jake moved in, Richard told him that he wanted to become his representative payee for his Social Security check. Richard wanted to completely control Jake's money. Richard took Jake to the Social Security office to make the request. The office denied the request because Jake could handle his check he always had. Shortly after, Jake was outside of a fast food restaurant. He saw a man who rightly hung out there. Jake asked the man for a ride downtown to cash his social Security check. The man agreed. Jake cashed his check downtown and returned to the man's car. The man suddenly pulled out a gun, pointed at Jake and ordered him to turn over his money. Jake complied. Jake then walked miles back to Richard's home in the freezing weather. He explained to Richard that he was robbed of his rent money, but he knew the thief as a regular at the White Castle. Richard was infuriated. He immediately drove Jake to the Social Security office. And again applied to be his representative Paye.

9:56 This time Richard had the robbery as an excuse. The office accepted the request, and now Richard received Jake's SSI checks in food stamps, controlling Jake's food. After Dad's memorial the following day, I called my mother at her apartment in her retirement community. I told her about Jake's terrible condition and captivity. This turned out to be a huge mistake. She refused to believe me, and she sided with Richard. I argued with her and we went back and forth until she tried to change the subject, but I wouldn't let up.

10:39 I explained that she never actually visited Jake in the seven years he had been in the basement. Did she want him to die down there. She refused to listen or criticize Richard and yelled at me to stay out of it before she hung up on me. I called her back and told her that I was retrend in California, but I would be moving back to Missouri to help Jake. She told me, yeah, there's a reason your dad is dead. There's a reason he committed suicide under your care. That really hurt me, but I just kept reiterating Jake's dire condition. Dad was already gone.

11:20 I wasn't about to lose my brother too. She once again ordered me stay out of it before hanging up again. Even though my mother never visited Jake to see his living situation or his condition, she still served as his legal guardian. She was in control of him. I had no choice but to bring Jake back to Richard while I figure out how I'm going to rescue him. I feared leaving Jake behind, but I felt it would be okay until I returned for him. When I brought Jake back to Richard, I asked Richard to ensure Jake got more food. Richard stated that Jake got plenty to eat. I knew that was a lie. I told Richard that Jake needed food and not just vitamins. Before I traveled back to California, I said goodbye to Jake in his basement prison cell. Jake, I have to leave, but I promise I'll come back to take care of you. When are you coming back, don't worry, it won't be long. I just had to get things settled in California first. I can't stand living here.

12:33 Cheryl, Please don't forget about me. Don't worry, We'll figure out how to get you out of here. Just don't say anything to Richard about me. Returning, I gave Jake a hug and we both started to tear up. I traveled back to California. I packed up everything over a few weeks and quickly sold whatever I could find a buyer for. I found an apartment online in Missouri, not far from Jake. Then I flew back to Missouri to rescue my brother. I contacted Richard and set up days and times that I would pick up Jake to take him out and eat and enjoy the outside world. Richard would never allow me to pick up Jake without an appointment.

13:24 I started to confront Richard about his terrible treatment of Jake, which Richard as always denied. I told Richard that he couldn't legally lock up Jake because that was false imprisonment of a disabled person. Richard said that he locked up Jake so he wouldn't run off and get drunk. But I told Richard that was none of his business, as he was neither a guardian nor a caregiver. Although Richard was his paye, he was just a landlord. I also confronted Richard again about not feeding Jake, but he explained that he gave him vitamins. I told Richard again that Jake needs food and he doesn't need vitamins.

14:05 It was clear that Richard was only interested in the SSI checks and food stamps he was getting from Jake. After a few weeks, I had had enough. It was time. I called Richard and threatened to notify authorities if he didn't allow me to move Jake out of the basement. Richard, fearing the police, agreed to let me move out Jake, but he reached out to my mother first. My mother ordered Richard to keep Jake away from me and to no longer let him go anywhere with me. She told Richard I was a troublemaker. When I arrived to move Jake out, Richard barged out of the house. He was in a rage, yelling get out of here.

14:56 You're not getting your brother. You're not getting him, Get off of my my property. I told him I was going to call the police, but he screamed, go ahead, your brother's not even here. I looked into the small window of Jake's basement room and it was empty. Then Richard threatened if you ever come back on my property, I'll shoot you. I was so frightened that I jumped in my car and drove away. I immediately called the police, and now I was even more worried about my brother. Where was he. I told the police that my brother had been locked in the basement for the past seven years and that he's disabled. They ask if Jake is currently in the basement so they could prove he was being locked inside, but I said no, Jake wasn't there at the moment. Richard had conspired with my mother to make sure Jake wasn't home when I arrived to rescue him.

15:52 This didn't surprise me. The police informed me that if Jake wasn't home to prove that he was being locked in, there was nothing they could do. The police mentioned that I should contact family services and make a report so a formal investigation could be made. Family support services are community based services that assistant support parents in their role as caregivers. Family support programs may address the general population or target particular groups such as ethnic and cultural minorities, adolyst and parents, kinship caregivers, or families facing health, mental health or substance use. Issues. I called Family Services and filed a complaint explaining the entire story.

16:38 Family Services then reached out to Jake's legal guardian, my mother, to confirm the complaint. My mother praised Richard and said he took such great care of Jake when no one else would. Family Services then contacted Richard and he told them that Jake had a key to leave when whatever he wanted. This wasn't true, but Family Services never made a visit to find out that Richard was lying. My mother and Richard colluded to make sure Family Services would never get involved. My mother's cold heart never ceased to amaze me. She used her influence to continue to make Jake's life a living hell with no help from Family Services. I decided I would personally rescue Jake. It was dangerous, but I needed to find out when Jake was locked up at home so I could prove it to the police. I would have to wait for the perfect time when Richard wasn't home while Jake was locked in the basement. I didn't want to get shot if Richard saw me on his property, I would drive by the house to investigate, and one afternoon I noticed that Richard's suv wasn't parked in the drive way. I parked my car on the side of the house and quickly exited. I ran to the back window of the basement, which was covered in iron bars. The window was cracked open slightly, and

18:14 I noticed Jake lying on the bed. He seemed out of it. He was drooling and heavily medicated, staring at the ceiling. Jake. He was too medicated to respond, Jeeke, Jake. Jake slowly turned his head toward the window. Jake, it's Cheryl. Cheryl, yes, Jake, I need to know if Richard is home. Jake slowly sat up on his bed. He slowly walked toward the window. Are you going to get me out of here? I'm going to try is Richard? Let me check. Jake slowly walked to the event near the ceiling. Richard, Richard, Are you there? Richard? Jake looked over at me in the window and shook his head. He's not home. No one is answering, all right? Are you ready to get out of here? Hell? Yes? Please? Okay, and Jake, you don't have a key to leave right? No, I'm going to call the police. Okay, Okay. I ran back to my car, and quickly drove away. I called the police and explained that

19:45 Jake was disabled and Richard had drugged him and was keeping him imprisoned in the basement. I also told the police that Richard had threatened to shoot me if he saw me on the property, so I wasn't near the house. When the police arrived at Richard's home, they saw Jake locked in the basement. The police tracked down Richard and ordered him to return to unlock the basement and free Jake. When Richard arrived, he and the police had to go through three different doors with dead bolts on both sides to reach Jake. Richard had broken numerous fire violations. The police contacted me and asked me to drive to Richard's house to pick up Jake. Upon arriving, there were five police cars lined up in front of the house and the police were scurrying in and out.

20:42 Jake went in to get his clothes and we put them in my car. I spoke to the sergeant and he asked me about Jake. I explained to him that Jake had been locked in the basement for seven years, and I demanded that he arrests Richard and office. Sir approached Richard, who yelled, you can't arrest me. I'm his guardian. I'll sue you. I knew that Richard wasn't his guardian and explain that to the police. Richard kept yelling and yelling now and the police backed off. I'm guessing they didn't want to deal with the lawsuit. The sergeant told me to call the police station if I wanted to try getting an arrest warrant for Richard. So, after finally proving that Richard was keeping Jake locked in the basement, Richard was still not arrested either way, though Jake was ecstatic now that he was free.

21:41 We got into my car to get away from Richard and his house of horrors. I can't believe it. We did it, Jack. I thought I would never get out of here. Don't worry. You'll never have to go back there. I thought i'd died down there. I know it's over. Now you're safe, Cheryl, You're the best sister in the whole world. Thanks. I felt so sorry for Jake after this entire ordeal. He was obviously exhausted. I took him to the emergency room to get him checked out.

22:22 The doctor said he was extremely underweight. His blood work came back and he was very anemic. He was in liver failure from too many vitamins, and his liver was extremely toxic because of an overdose of B vitamins. I signed up Jake for two weeks of physical and cognitive therapy. A couple days later, I contacted the police to get inn a rest warrant for Richard. Strangely, the sergeant wasn't returning my calls. I decided to go to the police station to help get things moving. At the station, an officer informed me that they had spoken with my mother, who sided with Richard. My mother explained to the police that she was Jake's legal guardian and that Richard had done nothing wrong. It was the same lie she told Family Services. My mother refused to hold Richard accountable because she never really cared at all about Jake.

23:25 She was more interested in winning the argument against me that Jake was being treated well. She was infuriated at me for saving Jake from the basement. During Jake's two weeks of therapy, his team learned the terrible details of what had happened to him. His therapy team referred me to social services, where I spoke to an ambudsman. The mbuzman was horrified about what happened to Jake. She said it was imperative that the story gets reported on the news, and she gave me the number of a local news reporter. I contacted the local news and the reporter interviewed Jake and me. When the reporter contacted my mother, she continued to refute the story. The reporter explained to my mother how ill Jake had become and that confining him to the basement was inhumane.

24:22 The reporter asked if she ever visited Jake over the seven years, and she, of course had not. Later on, the reporter contacted me and said he never dealt with anyone as verbally abusive as my mother in his entire life. My mother was now constantly calling the station and threatening anyone she spoke to. The newsroom refused to take any more calls from her. As a result of my mother's interference, I couldn't get help from family services or the police. No charges could be filed against Richard. My mother did everything in her power to destroy any kind of case that we had against Richard. At one point, my mother contacted me and told me that Richard demanded to know where Jake and I were living. I kept our whereabouts a secret, though no one knew where we were and I had a po box for mail. Still, Richard kept calling my mother every day, demanding to know where we lived.

25:26 He was probably trying to figure out how to get Jake's SSI checks in food stamps. Again, I felt like we were being stalked and decided it was time to move. Before we settled on a new location, though, I took Jake on a road trip to celebrate his newfound freedom. We drove to Florida and visited beautiful Fort Lauderdale Beach, then off to New York City for the iconic sites. Next, we traveled to Las Vegas, where Jake was amazed by the hotels and glitz of the Vegas Strip. We completed our trip in sunny California with the Hoover Dam. Jake looked well fed and healthy by the end of our trip. I started researching to find the best program in the country to try to get treatment for Jake for his traumatic brain injury.

26:25 I needed a program to properly evaluate him to see if he could live on his own and take care of himself. I found a great six month program in Texas and entered Jake into it. While Jake was in the program, my mother's birthday came around. I wasn't sure if I should call her, but eventually I decided to yes. I endured years of abuse and heartache, but she was still my mother. It's also tough for abuse victims to leave their tormentors. According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, the victim in a violent relationship knows their abuse her best and fully knows the extent to which they will go to make sure they have and can maintain control over the victim. When I called my mother to wish her a happy birthday, her voice didn't sound right. She was constantly slurring her speech, but blamed it on a sore throat. Afterwards, I contacted the retirement community to let them know that my mother may have had a stroke. The retirement community checked on her and called an ambulance. My mother refused the care, but they took her to the hospital anyway. At the hospital, a doctor explained to my mother that she suffered a major stroke and her right side was paralyzed. I flew out to Missouri the following day to see her. After a couple days in the hospital, my mother suffered a major heart attack. She was near

27:59 death and could no longer speak, but she still had heart and brain activity. The doctor told me that she should be given morphine because she was suffering. After she received the morphine, I said goodbye to her. She passed away the same day. She was gone. Her abuse had ended, but inside of me, the manipulation always lives. I traveled back to Texas to Jake after he finished the six month program. I received the news that I had assumed all along. Jake was unfortunately unable to care for himself independently.

28:45 His brain injury and later trauma from confinement was too severe. Being locked in the basement for seven years, along with poor nutrition, made the damage irreversible and contributed to his dementia. His executive skill functions were on a third grade level. He would be an easy target to be preyed upon again and would risk being exploited. The bottom line, Jake wouldn't know if he was in danger. As time went on, Jake also developed idiosyncrasies from his mental and physical head trauma. I can cool off metal by waving my hand over it.

29:30 What metal I can cool it off by waving my hand over it, and I can make rust disappear too. I don't think that would work, Jake. It works. I can renew objects with the wave of my hand, Okay. I can raise the streets and land lightning. Don't think I can't, Okay, Jake, I'm telling you I can land lightning. Jake's confusion was due to misfiring nerves in his prefrontal cortex our brains recognition and decision making function, and the front part behind the forehead. I wanted to place Jake in another therapy program, but there was a waiting list, so I placed him in a group home. At first, Jake loved the group home.

30:22 Things were going great for a while, but problems began to arise. Two disabled people who were abusive moved into the home. They kicked doors, punched holes on the walls, and yelled out vulgarities. Jake became nervous and agitated. The group home nurse then started increasing his medication dramatically. These meds did not help him calm down. The system often lumps all mentally ill people together, even though some people are much higher functioning than others. This forcing together of indis with completely different mental problems, causes trauma to everyone. The group home's solution, they'll sometimes heavily medicate the individuals who were unable to handle the situation. Some of the group home members started to abuse Jake, so he began to run away. Jake always preferred to freedom to walk the streets, then to be stuck with the violent people in the group home. One day, Jake ran away and was missing for several days. The police found him, and when they did, Jake acted like he was having a heart attack. He asked to be dropped off at the hospital. The police took him to the hospital emergency room, but they didn't stay with him. Jake then, of course, eloped again from the hospital. I called the hospital and discovered that he ran away again, so I contacted the police. The

31:56 police quickly found him in a nearby An officer called me and said Jake lied to him about needing to go to the hospital. I told the officer, yes, Jake knows how to lie and get out of situations, but he's disabled. He wouldn't know if he was in danger. Jake thinks he knows what he's doing, but he really isn't aware of the danger at the end of the day. It's extremely difficult for a grown man to be restricted when he wants to live some kind of life. When I saw Jake, I tried to explain the situation to him. Jake, you can't run away from your group home. It's dangerous. I don't like it, and there people hit me. I understand, but we don't have any other choice right now.

32:44 Some of them don't even know how to use the bathroom. Some of them just scream all day. I know, Jake, it's not fair that you have to deal with that, but it's the best we have right now. Well, Jake would finally leave the group home, but not because he found a better place. COVID struck and all group homes were closed. Jake moved in with me, and I soon found it was difficult to watch him every second. I installed an alarm on the house so I would hear a beep anytime the door or window was open. This would help me to ensure that Jake didn't run away. I also slept on the sofa because I feared he may try to leave in the middle of the night. One afternoon, I was taking a shower and he sneaked away without me hearing the alarm chime.

33:38 After my shower, I noticed that Jake was nowhere in the house. I ran outside and started frantically searching and calling his name. Jake, Jake, where are you? Jake? Oh? No, he must have run off. This was my worst nightmare. It was ninety two degrees outside and Jake had no hat, no water, no money, and no ID. I drove around searching for him. I was in a panic. I called nine to one one. Unfortunately, because Jake ran off from his group home in the past and tricked the police into bringing him to the hospital, the police didn't want to help. This was so wrong. Just because Jake lied to them and the past doesn't mean the police have the right not to look for him. If a child runs away and lies about it, you don't just ignore the child's disappearance in the future. The police told me to go home and wait for Jake to return. They would send an officer to take a report. An officer arrived and took a report. As soon as the officer left, I hopped into my car and continued searching. I left the front door open with a note on it for Jake in case he returned.

34:52 I finally went back home around eleven at night with no success. I designed and pretty missing person flyers. I drove around the city and posted them wherever I could. I spent the entire day every day, from dawn to dusk, searching for Jake. Every day Jake was missing, a little more sadness crept into my soul and a little piece of my heart went out. I didn't want to imagine the terrible situations he might encounter. He could be injured, exposed to numerous street dangers, abducted, or even killed. As a week passed and the police still had not entered Jake until the National Database for Missing Persons. I called the police station and I was assured by the detective that they were looking for him, but I had my doubts. I traveled to where the homeless people were camped out in town due to COVID. There was a huge amount of homeless people. Next to one homeless camp, I saw police officers nearby who were gathered on a corner pulling over a car.

36:01 I walked over and gave them some flyers. I explained that my brother was missing, and none of them were aware of it. It was two weeks At that point, the police told me not to go into the homeless camps alone. The officers wished me luck in finding my brother, but one officer said, ma'am, you're in a city of nearly ten million people. If you don't find him in thirty days, the odds are you're not going to find him. I told myself I would find Jake, come hell or high water. I went to several more homeless camps over the next week. I started handing out flyers to the people there, and this time I offered reward money. It was now three weeks since i'd seen Jake. One morning, I woke up to the sound of lightning hitting the tree in our front yard.

36:54 The lightning nearly split the tree in half. I feared that it was a sign that something was wrong. Jake always said he could land lightning. Maybe this was a sign that something terrible had happened. It was day twenty nine since Jake went missing. It was looking like I wouldn't find Jake before my day thirty deadline, no matter how unlikely it seemed, though, I refused to give up on finding Jake. I thought back to the advice my dad gave me never quit, and never give up, no matter how hard the struggle is. Play the hand that life dealt you. Stay in the game, and eventually you'll draw a winning hand. The morning of day twenty nine, I continued my search and felt God direct me to a different area where I distributed my flyers. I really felt God was leading me that day.

37:51 A voice said go to a different area. I obeyed. I stopped by a gas station at a busy intersection and dropped off the last two flyers. The attendant there said he would keep an eye out for Jake. The next day, on the thirtieth day, I received a call from a private caller on my cell phone and answered it. It was a police officer telling me the best news I could imagine. You have my brother. You found Jake. Oh thank god. I was ecstatic. It was like I'd won the lottery. The attendant at the gas station saw my brother and reported it to the police. I rushed to the gas station and there was Jake.

38:40 He looked completely worn out and had severe sunburn all over his body. Jake, Oh, thank god, you're okay. I got confused, Cheryl, I can't believe I finally found you. I wanted to call you but I couldn't find a pay phone. Those don't exist anymore. Jake, you don't realize the danger you were in. I'm glad to see you. I'm glad to see you too. Jake and I drove back home. I was so happy to have finally found him alive and safe. As we pulled into the house, I pointed out the tree that was struck by lightning. Hey, Jake, you see that tree in our front yard. Yeah, ten days after you went missing, lightning hit it and nearly cut it in half.

39:30 It scared me. I was afraid something terrible happened to you. Wow. Then I realized that it was you because you always said you could land lightning. Oh my god, Cheryl, I did land lightning. Oh you see, I told you. It made me search for you even harder. You can't imagine the pain I went through searching for you every day. I'm so happy you are okay. Yeah, I'm glad too. I would have never found Jake without God's help. I felt like God put a supernatural power inside of me that helped find him. That was a miracle. Jake is currently in another group home, but every day is still a struggle. There is never enough funding from mental health across this country, and we see the results every day on our streets and in the news. I hope the story helps to shed light on the treatment and difficulties of the men and women suffering from mental health issues throughout the nation. So many of the systems we have in place are flawed and contain obvious issues. It doesn't matter what our mental health is, we all deserve to be treated with dignity and care. Allegedly is

41:07 a production of Voyage Media. The series is produced by Natmandel, Robert Midas, and Dan Benemore. This episode, Landing Lightning, was produced, directed, and written by Jason Cheney, based on an upcoming novel by Cheryl Dean. Once the novel is available, we will put a link to it in the show notes. Executive produced by Cheryl Dean, starring Annie Abrams as Cheryl and Ben Van Deepen as Jake. Edited sound designed and mixed by Joel Lippman. Original music by Derlas Gonzales. If you're enjoying the show, please leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts or anywhere you're listening, and subscribe now for future episodes.