Page 4 of Run and Hide

“She seemed terrified when she saw the chainsaw. Her fear made me almost bust in my pants, Kian.” I hold the chainsaw loosely in one hand and adjust myself.

He only shakes his head, walking in the direction where she disappeared.

Mia

I feel like my legs are going to give out on me at any moment. Each scream that echoes through the field makes me jump. My eyes keep scanning everything in front of me, waiting for the next person to jump out.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this scared. I’m twenty-two and alone in a corn maze. Lily is never going to hear the end of this one. Facing my fears was not on this year’s bucket list.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I keep walking forward, trying to keep my eyes down to the ground, hoping to avoid eye contact with anyone, as if that will somehow deter them from acknowledging my presence.Act like a ghost. Maybe they won’t see me, but even I know I’m not that lucky.

All the hair on my body stands as the feeling of eyes on me takes over. Trying to ignore it, I keep walking, but I come face to face with a choice.

The maze breaks into two, making me decide whether to go left or right.

I look down both paths, trying to see which one seems less scary, but both are dark and cold, making me want to be anywhere else. The icy wind hits me and blows my hair right over my face. Pushing the loose strand behind my ear, I take a deep breath and decide to go right. There is only one way out of here. Unfortunately, I don't know which way that is, but standing here isn't going to get me out.

The screaming finally dies down, making me feel like I’m the only one left, and honestly, I wouldn’t doubt it with how slowly I’ve been walking.

A few feet from where I’m standing is yet another direction change—left or right—but this time, something covers my mouth before I can pick. I try to scream as another hand wraps around my waist. I lose my footing, and they begin to drag me backward. All I see before something covers my head are the tall cornstalks and a man with the mesmerizing horned mask.

Kian.

Chapter four

Kian

Cyrus has her facecovered with a burlap sack as he drags her deep into the corn. She screams and fights, but no one will think anything of it, which makes this the perfect place for what we have planned. It’s the ideal cover.

When Cyrus finally lets go of her, she falls back onto her ass, screaming about how she’s never leaving her house again, which makes me grin. Her eyes grow wide with fear when she finally gets the bag off her head.

“W-what…” She seems terrified as Cy crouches down in front of her, and she tries to scramble away, making him laugh. His hand wraps around her ankle as he pulls, the muscles on his arms contracting. The little crow goes down, her head hitting the dirt as he pulls her back toward him.

Her eyes look between us frantically, mouth opening and closing without any words.

Guess we already took her ability to talk.

Cy runs his finger down her cheek, and I see her body stiffen.

“Do you remember us, little crow?” he asks, hushed. She nods her head but doesn’t say anything.

“What’s your name?” Her eyes are locked on his, but she doesn’t answer, not until he risks reaching into his pocket and pulling out his knife. She whimpers once she sees the gleaming metal in the faint light of the festival. Cy brings the tip to her face, and she closes her eyes as her chest heaves.

“Let’s try again,” he says, lightly trailing the tip lower until it sits between her full breasts. “Name. What is it?”

“Mia,” she breathes out. The panic is evident on her face, and I know Cy is seconds away from busting in his pants.

“See, that wasn’t hard, was it, Mia?” he reprimands.

“No.” Her body visibly shakes, exactly what Cy wanted.

“It’s clear you don’t like being scared,” he begins. “But the problem is, I love scaring. It makes me harder than you could imagine, Mia.” The look on her face goes from terror to something that almost looks like lust.

I watch as Cy leans in, cupping the back of her head and pulling her closer to him, whispering in her ear. Mia’s eyes grow wide as she meets mine over his shoulder. A menacing smile takes over my face before I light a cigarette, ready to see where tonight is going to go.

Mia

I went from terrified to turned on in a matter of seconds.

---