Photo by Mateusz Raczynski on Unsplash.com
Adam raised his wrist to check the time again. "It's getting dark, Evans."
He could see Evans' scowl as the evening sky darkened. Evans responded, "I'm telling you, I know this road. It leads to my aunt's house. We are almost there. Just a couple of miles more through the cornfield."
Adam sighed. "I promise to never spend my last cash on girls again. I should be home by now!"
Both fifteen-year-old boys were exhausted from walking. They had squandered their pocket money to impress two teenage girls at the trade fair hoping they would get a free ride home. It was a very hot summer afternoon. Only two cars drove past them. None of them stopped.
"Are you sure we have not missed our way again?" Adam asked, clearly anxious.
"Shut up!" Evans gritted his teeth and turned abruptly, forcing Adam to stop walking, their pointed noses touching each other. "Do you have a better idea? 'Cause I'm the only one coming up with the ideas here. Huh?"
"And you are the one who came up with the ridiculous idea to buy those girls trinkets and ice cream!" Adam retorted.
The crickets and nocturnal insects chirping from the bush around the tarred road made the silence jarring.
"Boys! Where y'all headed tonight?"
Adam and Evans were surprised to know they were not alone. A tall man most likely in his sixties but looking slightly older, skin saggy and sallow from high alcohol consumption, strolled towards them. His bulging, red eyes had bags under them. His thick moustache and beard appeared unkempt.
He stank of sweat, bile and alcohol, making the boys step back a little from him. The man staggered closer and smacked his lips together, savouring the lingering taste of beer in his mouth.
"Um, we are headed towards the bayou, sir," Evans said, pulling Adam's forearm so they could walk away from the drunk old man.
"This time of the night? Nah! You cannot pass through that cornfield."
"Why not?" Adam asked.
"Don't know if you're from around here but folks here know the scarecrow moves at night. Seen it myself! The story is the owner of the field spelled the scarecrow to chase away kids that come to steal his corn. The owner's boy went missing one night when he was trying to save a hungry girl who wanted to steal some corn. The girl escaped but the boy was never seen again. Poof!"
Adam and Evans made eye contact and thought, Old man's drunk and crazy. Let's go!
"Um, thank you sir", Evans said before pulling Adam away, leaving the old man rambling behind them but not before they heard his last words.
"…You best watch out for the scythe. Scarecrow uses it to reap the souls of kids!"
Adam's eyes widened as he squeezed Evans' arm. "Do you think he's right?"
"Pff, he's drunk. Don't worry, we are almost at the cornfield. We'll run through, come out on the other side and we are home free!" Evans sounded optimistic.
It was a moonless night with tiny stars in the sky. The boys veered off the tarred road into the cornfield. As they walked briskly, they saw the scarecrow hanging on a tall stick in the middle of the field. Adam was a little relieved it held no scythe.
"We-we don't have to move close to it, right?" Adam asked, out of breath.
"Right. Don't believe what that old drunk said. Let's walk faster that way." Evans pointed at a distance far behind the scarecrow.
Suddenly, a dull and startling thud followed by the sound of heavy footfalls echoed in the field behind the boys.
"What's that?" Adam whispered, shakily. Both boys turned to look back. The scarecrow no longer hung on its stick. It trudged after them through the corn stalks.
The boys broke out in a cold sweat. "It's coming at us!" Adam screamed.
"S-S-S-SAVE ME-E-E," the scarecrow whispered hoarsely.
"Adam, don't look at it! Run!"
As the boys ran, the scarecrow ran after them. There seemed to be no end in sight as the field mysteriously grew wider.
With his lungs screaming for relief, Adam reflexively looked back, only to see another scarecrow appear out of thin air on the stick, holding a scythe above its head like a grim reaper. Its hollow, dark eyes and crooked grin gave it a sinister look. It leaped down and trudged after the first scarecrow.
"Evans! Look! There are two of them!"
"Are you crazy, Adam? Don't look at them!"
Then Adam tripped and fell hard on the ground. Evans stopped abruptly, rushed back to pull him up when the first scarecrow appeared beside them in a blink.
"S-S-S-SAVE ME-E-E," it whispered through its mouth sewed shut with thick thread. The boys stared wide-eyed in shock. Evans, trying to be brave, punched the scarecrow in the stomach area.
"Leave us alone!"
The scarecrow staggered back a little and whispered again, "S-S-S-SAVE ME-E-E." It pointed to its mouth.
Evans was going to hit it again when Adam shouted, "Wait!"
Staring at the scarecrow's face made of grain sack fabric, Adam's hand shook as he gently pulled the end of the thread sticking out from the side of its mouth.
Instantly, the scarecrow collapsed like a piece of clothing. Straw scattered into the air and an ethereal, vaporous form of a lanky teenage boy emerged from the scarecrow and hovered in mid-air.
The boys stared, astonished at the ghost. The old drunk was right.
"NOOOOOO!" The terrifying scarecrow boomed and angrily charged towards them.
The ghost smiled beautifully and whispered, "I-I am-m f-free! T-t-thank y-y-you-u. I-I will h-help you-u. R-run!" Then he vanished.
A tarred road appeared suddenly. The boys ran for their lives and burst out of the cornfield onto the road.
Then the sun began to rise on the horizon ending the boys' ordeal. They looked back. The terrifying scarecrow was back on the stick in the middle of the cornfield.
This is my entry to The Ink Well Summer Contest. Word count is 997 (phew!). You can find my first draft here.
Click HERE for the contest rules.
This story is inspired by one of the Log lines which says - When two boys are walking through a corn field, they see a scarecrow… and realize it is walking ominously toward them.