Cornfield

The Sun

The only sound in the room was coming from everyone's shallow breaths. I could see Natalie trembling. This made my grip on Kaitlyn's hand tighten.

"Did anyone try calling the police?" Kaitlyn asked. She put the flashlight down on her desk.

No one said anything for a moment.

"No..." Danny said. "It's not like they'll be able to save us."

"Don't say that," Natalie mumbled.

Caiden pulled Natalie tighter to him.

Kaitlyn let go of my hand and pulled out her phone from her back pocket. I watched her dial 9-1-1. She put the phone to her ear. She waited for a moment. 'Hello, two of my friends have been killed tonight. We need help. The killer is still out there. I live at 71 Pilgrim Avenue.' She paused. 'Okay, okay. Please. Get here soon.' Kaitlyn hung up. Kaitlyn sighed and ran a hand over her face. 'The operator said that the police will be here as soon as they can. She also said to hide and lock the doors.'

Danny walked over and locked Kaitlyn's bedroom door. He went back to leaning against the desk.

I sighed and sat down on the floor. I sat under the window and faced the door. 'Looks like we'll be here for a while.'

Kaitlyn walked over and sat down next to me. She laid her head down into my lap. I played with her hair.

Although it was silent, I felt like we were all screaming at each other. There were so many unanswered questions I knew everyone wanted to ask, but were afraid of speaking into existence.

I tried to even out my breath, but I could feel it building up again. The air was slowly strangling me.

'Scar,' Danny called.

I looked up at Danny. 'Yeah?'

'Are you okay? It looks like you're barely hanging on.'

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'I don't know how you're doing fine,' Natalie whispered. 'You're the one that saw them both...' She sighed and clutched onto her cross necklace. 'I can't even imagine...'

'Natalie,' Danny hissed.

'No, it's fine,' I mumbled. I swallowed the lump in my throat. 'It's not like I'm not already thinking about it.'

A moment of silence passed between us.

'How'd...how'd he die?' Natalie stuttered.

'Crows..." I muttered. "Cornfield had crows come and peck his whole body. I don't wanna get into details, but saying it was bad would be an understatement.'

Natalie flinched.

Caiden kissed the top of Natalie's head and rubbed his hand up and down her back. He pulled her tighter to him.

'What does Cornfield even look like?' Kaitlyn mumbled.

I looked up at Danny.

He had his arms crossed across his chest. 'Go ahead. Tell her.'

I hesitated. I didn't want to have to think back to how he looked. It was already bad enough my mind kept replaying the image of Isaiah's body being drug through the grass.

'He reminded me of a scarecrow,' I said, slowly. I took a breath. 'He was tall and skinny, like sickly skinny. He only had one good leg to walk on and he carried this huge scythe with him. He used it like a cane.' I was thinking about Cornfield, but my mind wandered to seeing Isaiah being pecked out. The blood. The gaping holes in his body. The organs being torn from their rightful place. Tears gathered in my eyes. 'He had this huge hat that covered his face, but...his face wasn't really his. It was a mask.' I felt the tears stream down my face. Some of them fell onto Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn turned and looked up at me. She placed a hand on my cheek and wiped away my tears.

'It's okay.' Kaitlyn whispered.

'I know,' I whispered back. I kissed the palm of her hand. 'I'm fine.'

'Guys,' Natalie stammered.

Everyone looked at her. She moved from snuggling Caiden to resting her head on Caiden's shoulder. 'Can you guys pray with me?'

'I think we all need it,' I said, wiping my remaining tears.

The seven of us moved closer to one another, as we held each other's hands. We all bowed our heads and Natalie went into prayer.

'Dear Father God,' Natalie said, 'I come to You asking for protection from the evil one. Lord I ask you to protect our minds from thinking of all the bad that has gone on tonight. Strengthen us in Your power to stand up against this evil and band together in our time of need. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.'

'Amen,' we all mumbled.

'Thanks, guys,' Natalie said. 'It means a lot.'

'We take care of our own,' I said with a small smile.

Natalie smiled back.

'How long do you think it'll take for the police to come?' Roxanne asked.

Kaitlyn held my hand and laced her fingers through mine. 'Hopefully soon.'

'I'd imagine it'd be soon,' Macey said. 'I mean it is the police.'

There was a crash that sounded like glass breaking.

No one moved.

We heard more sounds of glass hitting the floor before everything went silent.

Everyone looked at one another.

Natalie had her hand over her heart. I could see the tears brimming her eyes.

Caiden held her other hand in his. He clenched his jaw, as he focused on the door.

Macey had her eyes fixed on the door.

Roxanne looked down at her lap and played with her hands.

Danny stayed standing with his arms crossed over his chest, but I noticed that he moved a few inches away from the door.

Kaitlyn sat up. She tucked herself behind me and held my hand. She was pressed up against me and focused on the door. I could feel her squeezing my hand tighter and tighter.

'Babe,' I whispered. 'Your grip.'

'Sorry,' Kaitlyn mumbled. She loosened her grip, but still held my hand.

I could feel Kaitlyn's shaky breaths against my back. I ran my hand over the back of Kaitlyn's hand.

'It'll be okay,' I whispered.

I heard a loud booming step. The continuing steps weren't any type of usual rhythm that went with walking up stairs. There was a step, a slide, and then a pound against the stairs.

Kaitlyn rested her head against my back. 'He's coming for us.' Her voice was shaky and filled with tears.

'Sh!' I whispered. 'We'll be okay.'

Natalie was clutching onto her necklace and mumbled to herself. I assumed it was another prayer.