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Stepping over the broken stalks, I focused on where I was walking as I entered a part of the field that hadn’t been transformed into the maze. The lights faded the further I went, but I knew I was on the right path. I could hear shuffling and a muffled sound ahead. When I heard voices, I slowed to listen, creepingly along slowly.
“You moron! You were supposed to wait until they were in the haunted house. You exposed yourself too soon. This is why I can’t trust anyone to do anything for me.”
“Listen, man. I grabbed the kid. Does it matter where?”
“Of course it matters!” Adam roared. “I can’t save him if she thinksItook him, idiot. Just give him to me.”
“When will I get paid?”
“When I get the girl.”
“That wasn’t what we agreed upon.”
Hearing enough, I jumped in, hoping to use their distraction. “Thane, you found him! Oh, thank God.”
My cry surprised them both, my use of his fake name doing as I hoped. They turned to look at me with shock on their faces. Rushing forward, I used their distraction and snatched Noah, pushing him behind me. We slowly began to back away from the crazy dudes, Noah clinging to me.
“Princess,” he finally stated, the shock of me finding him fading. “You see, I’m the hero here.Thisman is the bad guy.” Adam grabbed the man, putting him in a headlock. I watched in slow motion as he lifted a gun, placing it against his head. The hooded guy immediately began to backpedal when he felt the cold steel.
“He’s crazy. He paid me to do it. I’m innocent here.”
I ignored him, keeping my eyes on the real danger as I kept backing away, pushing Noah back with each step.
“Princess, why are you leaving?” His face was twisted up, the once beautiful facade, now a hideous disguise full of lies and betrayal. He took a step forward to come for me, but the guy he was holding took the opportunity to punch him in the gut. The gun fell, and I gasped as a shot went wide, ringing out into the night. I froze in fear at the sound, my eyes locked on the weapon and I debated if it was worth moving forward to grab it or just to run.
Adam bent over, the air knocked out of him as the hooded guy took off, drawing my attention. He was so focused on watching Adam, he hadn’t taken his surroundings into account. The area they’d stopped in had hay bales built around, and a tractor-trailer parked that was packed to the brim. It must’ve been a staging area or storage for them to use.
The rake used to gather the hay from the truck laid on the ground, and the hooded man stepped on it. His foot went right through the spikes, and he cried out in pain. It was soon followed by the handle coming up and smacking him in the forehead. He stumbled back, knocking into a stack of hay. The force had the entire structure moving, and in his attempt to catch his balance, he grabbed onto the bed of the trailer, releasing the lock. The top bale rolled off, now freed from its restraints. Realizing what was happening, I dove, taking Noah with me.
Looking up, my eyes met Adam's blue ones. They’d once been soft, reassuring even, but were filled with nothing but crazy possessiveness now. He’d recovered from the punch, and was moving toward the gun, his focus solely on me. His obsession would be his downfall as the massive bale rolled, landing on the hooded man first, knocking him to the ground. His screams were muffled, which I assumed was why Adam didn’t hear them. That or his fixation had made him blind to anything else.
Locking eyes back with him, I debated what to do, if I should warn him. His eyes held mine, the crazy tangible as he lifted the gun straight at me, a devious grin on his face. There was no doubt in my mind that he would pull the trigger. He’d take the chance to hit me or Noah, whichever allowed him to live out his deluded fantasy.
Decision made, I covered Noah, squeezing my eyes shut as the bale began its trek, crushing everything in its path. The air moved past us as it continued, rolling down its course. The force had been so strong, my hair lifted off my face.
“Physics,” I muttered. “One of these days, people will learn to respect the laws of nature.”
Noah looked at me weirdly. “Can you get off me now?”
“Oh yeah.”
Rolling off, I poked my head up and took in the scene. Hay rained down all around us, causing me to sneeze multiple times. When I could finally take in my surroundings, I quickly covered Noah’s eyes and looked away.
Flashlights began to get brighter as they drew closer, and I could make out shouts.
“Over here!” I yelled, hoping my voice carried. It seemed the gunshot had at least given them the direction to go in.
Standing, I pulled Noah with me, making sure to keep my back to the gruesome scene behind us, not wanting to expose him to it. Within seconds, my dad, Slade, Simon, Zane, and even Bubba descended on us.
“We’re okay. We’re okay.”
We were engulfed in a massive hug as they all tried to check us over at once.
“Isthat?”
“Yep,” I nodded, “not looking, though. Can we maybe move away from the allergy-inducing nightmare scene?”
The men nodded, grimacing as they realized what had happened.
