I was halfway across the farm when it finally registered in my brain that Ron and Daisy were screaming my name behind me. I wasn't quite sure how I even got this far without knowing what I was doing. My hand right hand was tightly clenched into a fist and was throbbing. When I pulled my hand up to face to look at it, there were little splatters of blood on my knuckles.  I wiped my hand on my shirt and was slightly relieved to see it wasn't mine.   I had no idea which one of them I hit and I wasn't in any mood to run back to find out. 

The farm's main attraction, the haunted corn maze, was about fifty feet in front of me. It was blocking my way out. I turned my head to the left and right, looking for a different path to take. My only other option would be to head back towards the entrance, which would put me in too close of proximity to the traitor I wanted desperately to get away from.

There had to be another way to get out of here.

When I glanced back to plan my next move, Cameron was sitting to the ground holding the side of his face and Kelly was leaning over top of him with her boobs shoved in front of his eyes, holding something white against his mouth.

All the pieces were coming together now. Seeing the two of them together like that made his attempts to get me to agree to stay at home tonight make a lot more sense. He didn't want to risk us running into each other if he was sleeping with both of us. I wondered how long he had been going behind my back to be with her. 

"Jessa Miller. Get back over here." Cameron boomed out behind me.

That would be a no.

I couldn't guarantee anyone would survive if I went back over to face him. I was in full-on Tasmanian devil mode. I was a fucking whirling dervish that was going to take out anything in my path.

The rage and hurt had consumed me whole.

Ron was leaning down into Daisy and rubbing her arms, comforting her.  She looked really upset about everything she just witnessed. There went my opportunity to have another friend in town. Ron gave her a quick hug and spun around to start chasing after me.

Shit.

I darted over to the entrance of the corn maze, shaking my stinging hand the whole entire time. It had just started feeling better and I had to go and mess it up again.  I was never going to be able to write music again if I didn't let it heal at some point.

I had to remember to use the other hand the next time I punched someone in the face.

"How many tickets?" The attendant at the entrance asked as I ran up to him.

I didn't say a word. Instead, I reached into my bag and pulled out a fistful of cash. I shoved it in the small opening of the plastic jar on the table next to him.  When I turned around one last time, Ron was still weaving in and out of the bodies blocking his path to get to me.  I sprinted off into the maze, pushing past two chatting couples lined up, waiting to go inside.  

"Jessa, wait!" Ron called out as I disappeared around the first bend.

The first portion of the maze was dark. The only light was from the sliver of moon that would peek out occasionally from behind the clouds.  I hit a split on my path and took the one to the right, trying to stay on the outer edge of the maze, hoping that strategy would help me find my way to the exit quicker.

A droplet of water hit the skin on my aching hand.  Looking up towards the sky, I expected more follow only to realize it wasn't coming from up there. It was coming from me. I was sobbing hysterically. The tears were blinding my vision so much that I almost ran face-first into the first dead-end I reached.  I stood in that same spot for a few minutes, trying to collect myself.

How could Cameron do that to me after what we have been through together? He knows how much I love him. I had been doing everything I could to delay my return back to my music career and touring because I did not want to lose him again.  There was no way I could keep writing songs if it meant the end of us.

"Glad you finally realized why you couldn't write anymore." Good Jessa interrupted.

Bad Jessa was standing behind her with a two by four with a nail in it. She was getting ready to smash her over the head with it so she could take control of the situation.

This was not the time for a brain battle.

I tucked both Jessa's back to the deepest recesses of my mind and started to move back through the path to retrace my steps to find the way to the exit. I went around the corner again and went left where I had gone right before. 

I think it was the same spot. This place was so confusing.

About twenty feet ahead of me, I saw strobe light flashing and some fake fog from a machine rolling in.  I was fairly confident I was headed in the right direction once I heard a few girls screaming up ahead.  

I rounded the next corner and fell back on my ass when a black shape jumped out from the top of the maze and hung over me.

"What the fuck?" I screamed as loud as I could.

The adrenaline was pumping hard through my veins. My fight or flight response was confused on how to react, which meant I was frozen in place.  This was a terrible place to be shutting down in.

Once I gathered myself and got my bearings back a bit, I realized the black shape was just a way too realistic-looking skeleton animatronic wearing a black robe. Cameron wasn't lying about the place being terrifying.

It was probably the only honest thing that came out of his mouth tonight.

My back was nudged and I heard childlike giggling behind me.  When I raised my head to see where the sound came from, there were two identical-looking pigtailed zombies in ragdoll dresses standing behind me. They both were holding knives in their hands as they glowered down at me silently.  I sat there having a staring contest with them. I couldn't even force my eyes to blink. I was afraid they would come after me if I did.

A loud thunderous roar came from somewhere above me and the strobe light went completely dark.  Two little cackles rang out in the darkness, surrounding me. It was so dark that I couldn't see my hand right in front of my face. When the strobe light cut back on again, both zombie girls had their arms raised over their heads, bringing down the knives to slash at me. 

I bolted and began running in a blind panic.  I didn't have the slightest clue where I was going. 

Strobe lights were going off and knives were slashing at me from every side. My body bounced off people as I ran by them, even knocking a few of them down.  The scar on my neck was throbbing and burning. I couldn't breathe any longer.

This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here. I had to find my way out.

I ran for as long as I could until I couldn't run anymore; every corner brought some new horror that jumped out from the shadows. I was in a fear-induced daze, disoriented and massively confused.  

"Someone, please help me." I whimpered out, looking around for a lifeline.

I went around another corner and ran into a figure clad in all black. Hard, large hands were on me quickly and picked me up to carry me away from all this madness. I closed my eyes to hide away from the terrors and buried my head into the chest of the warm body rescuing me. 

I felt the scratchy dried leaves scrape against my skin as the person pushed us through a section of the maze that I assume we weren't supposed to be in. I could tell this was not a planned pathway from the uneven stumbling of the man holding onto me. It didn't matter to me where he was taking me. All I cared about was getting out of there.

Once we were a few minutes away, I felt the strong hands let go of my legs and gently place my feet on the ground. I leaned into his hard chest and buried my head against him as he rubbed my back to comfort me.

"Did you get a little scared in there?" The smooth voice whispered into my ear as the warmth pulled me in and surrounded me.

I nodded my head and wept, holding on tightly to my savior.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I have you now. None of those monsters can get you."