Cornfield

The Star

'What's going on?' Isaiah asked.

I took my hand off my mouth. 'It's Griffin. He's dead.'

'He's what?'

'He's fucking dead!' Kaitlyn cried. 'Look at his fucking head on the ground.'

I looked back at the body, so I wouldn't have to see my friend's reactions. I wasn't shaking anymore, but I still wrapped my arms around myself to calm down. There was movement in the field between the stalks of corn. A wide hat started to stick out at the top.

'Guys,' I muttered as I backed up to everyone. 'We should go inside. It's not safe out here.'

Everyone walked back inside. I was the last one to walk inside, as I kept an eye on the field. The hat was still visible, but it never moved. I took a few moments to watch it before walking inside and closing the door behind me. I locked it before turning around to face my friends.

The house was submerged in darkness; the only light was coming from the flashlight in Kaitlyn's hand. She pointed it towards the ceiling. It slightly shook in her hand.

'What should we do?' Natalie asked.

'I don't know!' Kaitlyn cried. 'Our friend is dead! There's no power!'

'Babe,' I said. 'Calm down.'

Kaitlyn looked at me, pointing a finger in my direction. 'Don't tell me to fucking calm down! Not when something happened to my parents and Griffin just died.'

'But panicking about it isn't going to make it better,' Danny stated.

'Just breathe,' I whispered. I grabbed Kaitlyn's hand. I squeezed her hand.

She closed her eyes and took a breath.

'Now we've got two problems: the lights and the body,' I stated. 'So, what are we going to do?'

'Call the police,' Natalie said.

Everyone checked their phones.

'My phone died,' Danny said.

'I don't have service,' I said.

'Neither do I,' Roxanne mentioned.

'And my battery is nonexistent, perfect,' Isaiah whined.

I watched Natalie dial her phone. She put it up to her ear. 'I'm getting a dial tone.'

'Phone lines must be down right now,' Kaitlyn mumbled.

'What are we going to do about the power?' Macey asked.

'We have an indoor generator in the basement,' Kaitlyn said.

'We should go down as a group,' I said. 'Just to be safe.'

'Fine.'

One by one, we followed Kaitlyn to the basement door in the kitchen. She opened the door and shined her flashlight in front of her. She shined it around the perimeter of the basement before stepping down. There was a deep musk smell that got stronger the further down we went. The only sound in the room was all of our feet on the stairs. Kaitlyn walked towards the home theater in the corner of the basement. I followed her, while everyone else stayed on the stairs.

'I think we're fine,' Kaitlyn stated.

'Are you sure?' I asked.

'I said I think.'

I flinched at her tone.

Kaitlyn walked out of the theater. She walked over to the generator in the corner.

Everyone else slowly made their way downstairs. Natalie was cuddled up with Caiden. It looked like she wasn't even letting air pass between them. Isaiah was messing with the peeling paint on the wall near the window. Macey was leaning against the wall, looking around. Roxanne and Danny were near the door, keeping a watch around the room.

Kaitlyn turned on the generator. 'Danny are the lights on?'

Danny walked upstairs and opened the door. 'Yeah!'

There was a crash from the window.

Everyone looked over as a huge crooked scythe appeared through the window. Natalie screamed. I covered my ears to lessen the blow to my ear drums. Caiden pulled Natalie into his chest and shielded her from the sight. The scythe started swinging and cut Isaiah across the chest before he was able to move out the way.

'Shit!' Isaiah cried. He backed away from the window.

The arm that was moving the scythe appeared through the window, as well. There were a few more wild swings before the arm and the scythe retreated. In that moment, I didn't know if I was the only one who noticed the discoloration of the arm and how it seemed to be falling off the body it was connected to. There was also a scent of decay that lingered in the room after the arm left.

Isaiah slowly turned around towards the group, as he placed a hand to his chest where the slash was. His hand came back red. Blood seeped through his white shirt.

'Ahh fuck no,' Isaiah blurted. 'I'm out of here. I can't deal with this.' He walked towards the stairs.

Danny stood in front of him.

'Danny, move,' Isaiah commanded.

'No,' Danny said. 'We need to stay together.'

'So we can die like Griffin?'

Danny pursed his lips and looked off to the corner of the room.

Isaiah pushed past him and walked upstairs.

'Danny!' I cried. 'What are you doing?! You can't let him leave.' I ran up the stairs after Isaiah. Danny followed me up. I heard the front door slam, shaking the decor hanging up.

Together, Danny and I walked out the door. I froze near the doorway.

'Holy shit!' I whispered.

A man that reminded me of a scarecrow stood on the other side of the street. His skin was grayish and green. His body was lacerated, but lazily sewn together in places like his forearm and hand. His shirt was ripped and revealed how scrawny he was in the abdomen. His right leg looked limp. There were nails in his foot and dried blood caked his calf. There were bird skulls around his neck and connected to his right side, while there was a cross connected to his left side. His hat covered the top part of his face, revealing only his lower nose and mouth. There was something off with his face, though. It drooped around like it wasn't a part of him. In his hand was a crooked scythe that he leaned on for support.