We walk silently through the maze. There’s not a soul left in the cornfield, or at least none we can hear. The screams and laughter from before are long gone and our nervous energy permeates the air.
Liam dials Jericho and on the third ring, he picks up. We all audibly sigh in relief.
“Where is everyone? It’s dark as hell out here.” Liam’s voice is sharp and irritated.
Jericho is loud enough that we can all hear him. “The power went out in town; a drunk driver or something hit a powerline. The festival shut down early, so everyone is heading home. Where are you? Who's with you?”
“Yelina, Lanston, and Wynn. We’re all in the cornfield still.”
“Well, find your way out and text me when you get to the café. I’ll wait for you guys.”
Liam ends the call, looks up at us, and shrugs. “Power went out.”
“We heard,” Lanston grumbles.
A cornstalk snaps behind us and the four of us go deathly silent.
Someone steps out from the row and holds up a machete. I hold my phone flashlight up and reveal it’s the guy wearing a Jason costume from earlier. His head still tilted in that creepy, unsettling way.
“The festival is over, buddy. Mind helping us find the way back?” Yelina snaps more bite in her voice than required. Lanston takes a step back and grips my hand tightly. His flesh is cold, and all the blood is drained from his face.
Jason takes a step toward us and swings his machete at the cornstalks, slicing a clean line through five of them easily.
“Stop it! We aren’t participating in the maze anymore—we want to leave.Now,” Liam snaps at the man. He steps forward and tries to take the machete away, but Jason moves his hand back and elbows Liam in the face. He falls and we all gasp in unison.
Liam lifts his head, blood dripping from his brow. Jason leans down close to him and chuckles, a sound so dark and wicked it sends a shudder up my spine.
Jason whispers in a low, distorted voice, “Come on, Liam.Let me play with them.”
Yelina chokes out a fearful sound, a terrified, open-mouthed sound that crawls from your stomach.
The masked man jerks his head toward her and lunges at her, slicing her arm. Screams and panic consume my blood like a narcotic.
“Oh my God,” Liam says so absently that it sends goosebumps up my arms. His eyes are wide and my heart instantly drops to my stomach. “It’sCrosby.”
30
Wynn
Cornhusks shakeviolently as we crash through the field.
Fuck the maze.
We run blindly through the stalks, taking the brunt of the whipping husks.
I don’t know how we got separated so quickly. After Liam said Crosby’s name, everything happened so fast. We all darted instinctively into the corn. Lanston, thankfully, had a death grip on my wrist, but we lost Yelina and Liam.
When your blood is pumping erratically through your veins, you can’t hear anything except the beating drum that tells you to not look back.
We’re going to die. We’re going to die.
I’m unsure if Liam is behind us or Crosby is, but someone is trailing us. Their footsteps are clumsier and louder than ours.
“Keep running,” Lanston orders. He lets go of my wrist and before I can sayno, he stops abruptly. His hazel eyes flash at me, telling me to listen to him.
And I do.
I fucking hate myself for it.