"You know what guys? We should go on the hay ride," Dashiell suggested, looking at both Zion and Liz, who were sitting next to her.

"Ooh yea!" Liz said.

"What?! Do you remember last time!?" Zion said in a high pitched tone.

"Yea, the corn maze. You said a scarecrow was chasing you, but I swear we didn't hear or see anything." Dashiell said reassuringly. "You still sure you didn't just imagine it?"

"I am 100 perfect positive that I did not imagine a scarecrow chasing me and nearly killing me. I showed you the scratches on my back that it gave me." Zion protested.

"They could have been from corn husks. They are pretty sharp actually," Dashiell said.

"It might be fun." Liz said, not having anything to say about the corn maze Zion and Dashiell went to last year, because she had not gone.

"When is it..." Zion asked reluctantly.

"On Halloween of course!" Dashiell said, a excited glint in her eyes.

  Zion groaned, rubbing his face. "And is this going to be a haunted ride, that have people chasing you?"

"More or less," Dashiell said, rubbing her hands together. "It goes down some back roads then over the creek. One of the back roads has trees like a tunnel and its dark and super cool to go through."

"We should totally go," Liz squealed.

"But-" Zion started to protest.

"Stop being so scared," Liz interrupted. "See, Dashiell isn't even scared."

"That's because she's insane! She likes scary stuff!" Zion protested.

"Well- even if she is or not, that doesn't excuse anything." Liz said.

"Yea," Dashiell smirked. "I'll protect you guys."

"Alright," Zion said, giving her a sideways glance, still not fully convinced.

"I'm glad it's settled then. I'll see you two there." Dashiell said with a grin.

+×+×+×+×+×+×+×+

Halloween day came. Zion awoke with a feeling of unrest, but he laughed at himself for being scared. The rest of the day, the tiny feeling of uneasiness settled right in the corner of his mind, but he barely even registered it, intent on being excited about going on the hay ride. Nothing was going to stop him from having fun with his friends, not even the bad thoughts about what happened last year.

  When the time finally came for him to leave, he grabbed his keys and walked to his car. He got in, sitting for a second while he texted Liz and Dashiell that he was on his way. He had just pressed send on his message, when he saw a blur of something in his window from the corner of his eye. Immediately, he jumped, dropped his phone and looked. He saw nothing except his front porch, and a flag on a pole waving slowly in the breeze. It was just the flag.

  Zion laughed nervously at himself as he leaned over to pick up his phone from off the floor. For a second, a creepy black face flashed onto his windshield. Zion picked up his phone, setting it in the cup holder, then looked out his windshield, which was now clear. He sighed, then began driving to the hay ride.

><><><><><><><><

Dashiell and Liz were already waiting for him when he pulled up. You waited inside of this huge barn, where the tractor pulled into. They piled people on the hay wagon when it was ready, and it was around a 30 minute ride before you came back. In the barn there was some concession stands and a few souvenir booths. To ride, you bought wristbands, and when they called your color, it was your turn to ride.
 
  Zion walked up to Dashiell and Liz, who were standing right outside the large barn doors.

"I got you your wristband," Liz said, handing a dark blue wristband to him, and he saw they both were already wearing them on their wrists.

"We get to be on the wagon when it returns!" Liz said excitedly.

  Suddenly, the loudspeakers inside the barn announced loudly 'the wagon is ready for all blue wristbands'

  They quickly walked inside, and got in line, waiting to get on. They got to the front, and stepped onto the wagon. It was a big flat wagon, with hay bales in a big square in the middle, so you sat facing the outside. They squished on a hay bale near the back.

  When everyone was on, the tractor started up, and off they went, out a large door in the barn, and off down the road. There were no lights except for the headlights on the tractor.

"This is kind of creepy," Dashiell said with a grin.

"Why are you smiling then?" Zion asked.

  Dashiell said nothing, but just grinned back at him, while Liz snickered. They rode for a while, the barn slowly getting farther and farther away, until it couldn't be seen any longer. It was quiet except for the steady hum on the tractor, and the occasional creak from the trailer.

  Zion began to relax. If this was a haunted hayride, then it wasn't so scary. Nothing even had jumped out. He leaned slightly forward and looked over at Dashiell, who was sitting next to Liz. "This isn't so bad-" he started to say, right as his eye caught a scarecrow fall over into the road. It then rolled on its side, craning its head to smile faintly at him. Zion screamed, his hand shooting out to grip the hay bale beside him.

"Ow dude, my ears," Dashiell complained. "What is so scary?" She looked in the direction he had, but didn't react and looked back at him, slight confusion on her face. Zion looked back at the spot where he had seen the scarecrow, but it was gone.

"I saw... a scarecrow," he said shakily.

"I didn't see it," Liz said, turning her head around to look alongside the road. But they were way past the point Zion had seen it.

"It was probably nothing," Zion brushed it off, turning his face to look behind them. He hated how the darkness just seemed to creep behind them, swallowing everything they passed.

  Zion turned and looked when the trailer went slightly uphill, and he saw they were going over a bridge. A creek rushed by underneath them, clearly visible through the leafless bushes.

"Ooh look at how pretty!" Liz exclaimed.

  The wagon was pulled across the bridge, then veered onto a path to the right. The trees were thick, and started to lurk above them. A creepy tune began playing from the woods, and people began emerging from the woods. Zion's heart sped up a bit, but he could tell these people were obviously actors.

  A large man holding a chainsaw walked alongside the trailer for a bit. A tall man in a huge awkwardly draped black cloak was gently tapping people with the tip of his fake plastic scythe. He came to Zion, and he looked him straight in the eyes. His face was covered and shadowed by his hood, but then Zion blinked and immediately it changed to red eyes that pierced from underneath the veil. His cloak seemed to billow round him like he was floating, and the whole area suddenly was quiet, and the whole area was a blur except for the reaper. His scythe now gleamed as if it were real metal, and he swiftly brought it down to tap Zion like all the others. As soon as it touched his leg, it felt like it was real, and he felt the horrible feeling like he was being stabbed in the leg. The scythe dragged down his leg, cutting it as the man laughed in glee. Zion screamed and scooted back in panic, his one hand over his leg and his other hand scrambling at the hay bale. His leg dripped hot blood, seeping through his fingers.

  But in a second the man turned back to normal. A dull plastic scythe, the terrible looking draped black cloak on the tall man. The man just took a step back in surprise, then shook his head slightly and moved on. Zion looked down at his leg, which was now completely fine.

"They're just actors," Liz told him reassuringly, squeezing his shoulder.

"Yea..." Zion said, slightly rubbing his leg, which didn't hurt any more, but the feeling was retained in his mind.

  They rode on, and a horde of lurching zombies raced after the wagon. A werewolf burst out of the woods, jumped on the wagon and howled, then jumped off the other side and ran back into the woods. They drove through a cloud of generated smoke, were hit by a breeze of cold air, then an audio taped laugh sounded. A person dressed as a vampire sprinted quickly around the wagon, and then came to a stop behind the wagon, slowly dissapearing into the darkness as they advanced.

  The wagon turned a corner and then Zion saw the trees acted like a tunnel. Thick trees on either side of them, and branches banding together, creating a roof. The actors seemed to die down, or so Zion thought. Smoke began creeping out of the woods on both sides. The wagon suddenly lurched as the bang of a tire popping disrupted the balance of the wagon. The wagon slowed significantly as the driver realized what happened. Zion turned to look ahead, and saw it. He saw a scarecrow illuminated by the tractors lights, just before the lights went out. The wagon came to a full stop, and everyone started freaking out.

"Stay calm!" The driver yelled, flicking on a flashlight. He climbed off the tractor and walked to the side of the trailer, getting on his knees to inspect the tire.

"Okay, I need everyone to get off the wagon for just a moment while I patch this tire." He announced.

  Zion was shaking as Dashiell nudged him. "We have to get off," she reminded him.

"Yea..." he said, barely registering his words, staying seated.

  Liz grabbed his hand after a moment, yanking him off the trailer. He then snapped to his senses.

"Guys," he steered them away from the rest of the group who had been riding, and turned his back to them.

"Did any of you see the scarecrow?" He asked in a small terrified voice.

"No," Liz said, looking at him. "Are you alright?"

"Wait. Didn't you say a scarecrow was what attacked you in the maze last year?" Dashiell asked.

"Yea, and its back!" Zion exclaimed frantically.

"Well. I believe things like that are possible, so it may be there." Dashiell shrugged.

"Wether it is or not, let's just go back and see if they got the tire fixed." Liz said.

  They all turned, only to stare at an empty road. The wagon was nowhere in sight. Not even tire tracks revealed it had once been here.

"Where did it go?!" Dashiell asked in a shrill voice. She ran up to the road, looking all around, but there was no wagon anywhere. It had just dissapeared.

"I didn't even hear them go." Liz said, a tremble in her voice. Zion just stood next to her, speechless, panic slowly creeping into his body. It was happening again. He knew he shouldn't have come to this.

Dashiell ran up to them. "They must have left. But we can just follow the path to get back."

"R-right..." Zion stuttered.

"Dude. It will be fine," Dashiell told him. "Take a deep breath and let's go."

  Zion nodded, closing his eyes while taking a deep breath. He opened his eyes, only to have his breath again snatched away again. They were now standing in the middle of a very dark forest. He could barely see a few feet in front of him.

"WHAT THE-" Dashiell yelled, stumbling back.

"No no no..." Zion began muttering.

  Smoke began creeping around them, and the wind picked up, blowing leaves and swirling the smoke faster. Something dark flashed by in the corner of Zion's eye. He whipped around to look, as the shadow flew by once more, just in the corner of his eye again.

"What is it..." Zion heard Dashiell mumble. He heard her gasp, and turned just to see the shadow leap from the darkness. It was the reaper, but this one looked very much real. It's cloak billowed around him, his face hidden under the inky blackness of his hood, except his deep red eyes which shone. And his scythe glinted brilliantly in the little moonlight that shone through the branches. It leapt at Dashiell, and Liz cried out as he swung the scythe. Dashiell lurched back, but the tip caught her across the cheek, and she tripped on a branch, falling flat on her back. The reaper dragged the tip of the scythe on the ground as he slowly walked towards her.

  Zion jerked his head to look when Liz screamed. A very real looking werewolf had burst from the woods, and had slapped her aside. She now lay at the base of a tree, rubbing her scratched and bleeding arm.

  Zion took a step towards her to help, but was abruptly stopped by a soft hand on his shoulder. He knew that hand. He froze, then lashed back as hard as he could with his fist. He felt like he hit a wall as the scarecrow moved with lightning speed and caught Zion's fist in his sharp and strong stick hands. The scarecrow grinned in pleasure, as he tightened his grip on Zions hand, cutting his hand with the sharp sticks, and forced Zion down on his knees.

  Zion screamed, pushing himself backwards and out of the scarecrows grip. He quickly jumped to his feet and stumbled back. The scarecrow tilted his head at Zion and grinned as it held up its stick hand and examined the blood on it. Zion clutched his hand, and looked back at its face, shaking with fear. As he looked at the scarecrows face, it almost seemed to be more alive than it had before.

"You won't escape Zion," it spoke, it's voice rattly and hollow. It seemed to have amusement ringing in the back of its voice. 

  Zion took a step back, but the scarecrow stayed still, as if it had all the confidence in the world. Zion turned to glance at his friends. Liz was desperately edging away from the snarling werewolf, and Dashiell had just barely escaped a impaling blow from the reapers scythe as she rolled to the side on the ground.

  Zion gasped as a chorus or howls echoed in the woods. He turned his head, coming face to face with the scarecrow. It had bent down and had placed its face close to Zion.

"Like I said," it rasped, "you won't escape. Neither will your friends." It's face suddenly turned to a snarl as he stood up straight, then lashed it's fist up, scratching Zion's chest and sending him hurling back. He landed hard on the ground, flat on his back. The breath was knocked out of him, and he wheezed slightly, trying to regain his breath. His head was spinning, and he opened his eyes, only to see his vision was spotty.

  Zion forced his head to turn and look at Dashiell when he heard her scream. She was standing in front of a vampire, clutching her wrist, which had blood streaming down it, but then she screamed in fury and punched it in the face, sending it reeling back a few steps.

  Zion didn't keep his attention on her for long, when Liz let out a terrified scream. A man with a chainsaw was rushing her. The man swung it, and Liz ducked just in time, the chainsaw whining against a tree instead.

"We can't win." Zion thought to himself. Ignoring the pain, he dragged himself to his knees, grabbing ahold of a tree to pull himself in a standing position. The scarecrow watched him, then slowly began advancing.

"Guys!" Zion screamed, turning his head to them, hoping he would have time to get their attention before the scarecrow attacked him.

"We need to run! We can't win! We have to get out of here!" He caught Dashiell's attention. She jumped away from the vampire, grabbing a large branch off the ground. She swung it with all her force, catching the vampires shoulder with the end of the stick, sending him stumbling away. Then she kept swinging, and after one rotation, let it go, it launching into the air. Zion saw it was coming right for him and yelled, but it missed him by inches, instead smacking into scarecrow who had almost reached Zion. The branch hit the scarecrow, knocking him down, the branch landing across his torso.

  Zion smiled for a split second to her, but she didn't see it, since she was again busy escaping death from the attacking reaper and vampire. "Dash!" Zion yelled, and pushed himself away from the tree, and ran full sprint towards Liz.

  Dashiell glanced at Zion, and saw him heading for Liz. She turned back, ducking around the reaper and ran at Liz as well. The reaper and vampire quickly followed her.

  Zion screamed, running at the werewolf, who was standing on its hind legs, just about to slash Liz. Zion leapt up, clinging to the werewolves back. It stopped, confused, then scrabbled with its paws, but he couldn't reach Zion. The noise attracted the attention of the reaper, which noiselessly glided up behind Zion. But Zion didn't notice, since he was clinging for dear life on the back of the writhing werewolves back.

"Zion!" Liz screamed, pointing behind him. Zion looked back, seeing the reaper with his scythe just beggining to swing, then quickly released his grip, and fell to the ground. He just missed being severed as the scythe cut the werewolf clean in two. Zion scrambled forward on his hands and knees beside Liz.

"We have to run," he said in a panicked tone. He scrambled up, grabbing her hand and yanking her up.

  Dashiell sprinted over to them. They took off together into the woods, hoping desperately it was the right way.

  The scarecrow saw them go and went after them angrily. The vampire followed suit, and the reaper swung his scythe, allowing the blood to fling off before following. The man with the chainsaw stepped over the werewolf remains and followed in a slow lumbering pace.

  Zion, Liz and Dashiell ran as fast as they could. But it wasn't easy in the near pitch black lighting, and the tree branches grabbing their clothes, as well as roots threatening to trip them at every step. They seemed to be getting no where though. It all seemed the same. The wind whistled through the trees, and the familiar, occasional laugh from the scarecrow fuelled Zion on.

  Dashiell shrieked and they all skidded to a halt as the reaper suddenly appeared out of the woods a few feet in front of them. They wheeled around, preparing to run back, but the scarecrow was standing there. The vampire came to their left.

"Give up." The scarecrow said softly. Dashiell looked at Liz and Zion, nodding her head towards their right. Then she took off running to the right, Liz following and Zion taking the rear.

"You can't run forever!" The scarecrow screamed.

  They kept running, and Zion felt like he had been running for hours. His lungs felt like they were going to explode, but he couldn't stop.

"Wait!" Dashiell yelled out breathlessly, and Zion turned his head to see she had slowed to help Liz, who had fallen back.

He slowed and ran slower beside them."We can't stop!" He said. "They'll catch us!"

  Zion looked ahead and his heart leapt. He saw flickers of light through the trees. It was the barn.

"Guys! It's there!" Zion yelled. A smile broke out on his face as Liz and Dashiell ran ahead of him. He made sure they were good before he sprinted forward himself.

  Suddenly he tripped. He tripped on a root and went down. He tasted blood in his mouth, and tried to scramble up, but felt two sharp hands wrap firmly around his ankles.

"Guys!" He screamed, as he was being rapidly dragged back. He didn't see Liz or Dashiell anywhere. They must have made it out and were waiting for him. Only now... he wouldn't be coming out. His muscles ached to much to run. His head hurt and now he was by himself. He just didn't have any energy or hope left.

  Zion just closed his eyes as he was being dragged backwards and the scarecrow laughed in triumph. Then the scarecrow suddenly stopped and made a horrid hissing sound. Zion ssnapped his eyes open, and he saw Liz and Dashiell standing a ways in front of him. Liz clutched a rock in her hand as Dashiell threw one at the scarecrow. They ran forwards and grabbed his hands, pulling him. Zion took this opportunity and twisted his legs as much and was able to yank them from the scarecrows grasp. He stumbled up, and they ran as fast as they could towards the lights.

  The scarecrow let out a deafening howl of fury. They heard the rustling of his feet running after them. Zion felt the back of his shirt being grazed, and he put on an extra burst of speed.

  The three of them burst out of the treeline. All of a sudden, the footsteps and howling grew silent. They looked back to the woods and just saw the scarecrows two red eyes, then they slowly turned away.

  They all shuddered and forced a laugh as they fell to the ground.

"We're safe." Zion muttered.

"For now." The scarecrow bitterly said to himself.

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I hope you guys enjoyed this! I wrote this story for my friend birthday! So happy birthday The_Story_Nerds I really hope you liked this story.