Take Me Home | ✔

Chapter Nine

[ nine ] - life is but a cul-de-sac

            ↠  saturday - six days before graduation   

"So, judging by this map, we're not supposed to take any turns for the next mile and a half," said Elliot, grasping the paper map and stretching it wide in front of him. 

I squinted in the morning sun. "Elliot, the road is nothing but straight." 

"Then I guess we're not going to get lost, are we?" 

So far, the gas station was still in view, even though it felt like an hour had passed while we were walking on the side of the deserted country road. For a while, I clung to Elliot as close as I possibly could without it going past 'awkward', and I refused to walk on the side closest to all the corn. 

"What's your deal, anyway?" he asked as he passed me the map to look at. 

"What'cha mean?" 

"With the corn and everything." 

I didn't have to look at him to already know he was smirking inside. 

I just shook my head and focused on looking straight ahead. "Childhood experience," I mumbled. 

"So you're allergic?" he asked incessantly. 

"Not allergic, just . . .creeped out," I answered. 

"But why?" he kept on. 

I rolled my eyes. "When I was little, I had this goth babysitter that refused to watch anything that wasn't 'Children of the Corn'." 

Elliot turned to watch me. "You mean the horror film?" In response, I nodded sheepishly. 

He chuckled, "That's what you're scared of? Little children crawling out of the corn stalks with axes and murderous grins?" 

"Stop mocking me." 

"I'm not mocking you!" he grinned. 

I rolled my eyes yet again and started walking in front of him, anxious to get to Jeff's car repair place and anxious to get some form of transportation that didn't involve walking five miles. For a while, there was only the sweet bliss of silence between us. Until I heard a faint rustling noise behind me.

Walking slower, I ruffled my eyebrows, curious. I was about to keep ignoring the noise and pretending I heard nothing when the faint scratching of Elliot's shoes against the pavement had suddenly disappeared. 

"Elliot?" I turned around. But he wasn't there. I was staring at the open road and magically, he'd disappeared. 

"Elliot!" I called more forcefully this time. Suddenly, I narrowed my eyes. "Elliot, if this is some sick joke, I swear..." 

But still, he didn't come out. 

"I'm leaving!" I yelled into the corn stalks. "Bye, Elliot!" 

When really, I was just stomping my feet in the same place. Suddenly, I felt my spine shiver and my hands started to get clammy. If Elliot was pulling some sick, twisted practical joke, I would throw all of his precious beef jerky sticks into the road right as a car was coming by. 

"Elliot..." my voice had faltered to a whisper now, and I was getting extremely frustrated. I spun around on my feet to look around for him, the eerie, dreadful silence getting to my nerves, when someone screamed, 

"I'M A CHILD OF THE CORN!" 

I could feel someone's breath on me and before I even turned to find out who the hell it was, I just screamed like a madwoman and belt my voice into the air, shrieking while running away like a psychopath at the same time. I didn't bother to turn around, but as I started to sprint way from my pursuer, still screaming my head off, I could hear someone start to cackle.