Maze.

Amy turned around a sharp corner in the corn maze and ran into Rick's back.

Rick turned around and laughed. "It's déjà vu all over again."

"Wh... What?" Amy blinked. Something was wrong, and she could see it now.

"Déjà vu. You know... same thing happening again," he chuckled. "You know because—"

John yelled back, "Because we passed that damn scarecrow again!"

"Yeah, that's what I was saying," Rick finished. He brushed corn husk from his shirt. "No matter how many times I brush this crap off, it keeps coming back."

Amy gripped her chest and dropped to her knees. "We need to go now," she gasped. "We need to get out of here."

"Are you okay, sis?" Rick went to his knees and pulled her close. She pushed him away.

"We need to get the fuck out of here!" She screamed back.

"Jesus, Amy, settle down. We already pulled the signal flag. I'm sure one of your cousins will be here any minute."

"I told you we shouldn't go in the corn maze. I knew we'd be in here all day." Sara said.

"If we're lucky." John replied, "It never takes them this long to pull anyone out."

Everyone in Silver Springs knew that entering the maze was rolling the dice.

The O'Connell family farm sat next to the fairgrounds, and every year they planted corn in a winding pattern so a maze would grow for the county fair.

They charged two dollars to enter, and you'd get a dollar back if you made it out without one of the O'Connells having to guide you back through to the start of the maze.

Mary O'Connell, Amy and Rick’s grandmother and the family matriarch, designed them herself, never repeating one. Some years were easier than others, but the maze changed size and shape every year, so you never knew whether it would take five minutes or five hours. This year, the path seemed to keep folding back on itself, tighter than anyone remembered.

Before the O'Connells settled the land, the Kaw tribe lived there. They were marched off shortly before, or, depending on who you asked, shortly after Richard O'Connell put in his claim at the land office more than one hundred and fifty years ago.

One elder spoke to the newspaper as they were marched out and said 'One day the great spirit will return to our land and make these people who forced us out walk in circles. Never will you rest or taste the sweet freedom of death.'

The authorities of the day made sure that the elder did not make it to the reservation. However, his words were published. Amy found the clipping with some of her grandfather's papers in his desk when she was little, and now it felt less like history and more like a warning.

"Oh no", Sara called out.

"What?" John asked.

"It's a little black bird", Sara replied

"A crow?" Rick asked.

"Raven", Amy replied, her voice cracked. "It's a raven."

"Is it okay?" Sara asked.

"No… It's dead," Amy replied.

"You can tell from over there?" Sara asked.

"A dead raven. That's a bad omen." Rick said.

"We have to get out of here," Amy said, barely a whisper. She was shaking now.

"It's not like we aren't trying," John started. "I've pulled the signal flag like—"

"No, we need to get out of here now!" Amy screamed.

"Jesus Christ, Amy, settle down. Rick, can you... I don't know... talk to her. Calm her a little."

"Yeah, sure," Rick replied. He turned to Amy and stroked her hair, like their dad used to when they were kids. "Hey, Amz. You're freaking out right now. I know we've been here a while, but you—"

"There's something in the corn!" She cut him off. "It's in there, and it's going to fucking kill us!"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Amz?" Rick asked.

"There's no fucking time to explain! Just run now!"

"Rick, shut your sister up. She's scaring Sara," John called back.

"Fuck you, Johnny. I'm not scared," Sara replied. "But it looks like Amy isn't having the best time right now, so maybe you should pull that signal flag again."

John rolled his eyes. "Sure, eighth time's the charm, I guess." He walked to a pole and pulled the rope tied off to the side. The rope connected to a red pillowcase meant to signal one of Amy’s cousins to guide whoever pulled it out of the maze. John gave it one good tug, then a second. The third snapped the mechanism loose, and the rope and red fabric pooled at his feet.

"Way to go, Hercules. Now what are we going to do?" Sara asked.

"Pull the rope! Pull the rope! Why did you pull the rope!" John mocked. "Fuck it, I'm walking straight through the fucking thing."

"No!" Amy screamed, "Don't touch the corn! It’ll come out!"

"Oh. My. God. Stop screaming for fuck’s sake. I'm getting a fucking headache."

Amy turned to Rick. "Okay, fuck them. Just come with me. I'll explain later."

"Amy, you are starting to freak me out here. What's wrong?" Rick asked.

"I told you there's something in the corn, and it's going to kill us. We need to go now."

Rick looked into her eyes, and she could see that although he didn't believe her, he knew she knew what was happening. He nodded. "Okay, let's go then."

"Really?" John asked, "You're going to believe this psychotic bullshit?"

"Shut your face, Johnny. She's clearly not having a good time, so let's get her out of here," Sara said, walking towards Rick and Amy.

"Shut my face? She's been screaming for like five minutes about something in the corn." John walked to the long green stalks and plucked one. "Ooo scary yellow boogeyman."

"Dude, it's not funny anymore," Rick said.

"It was never funny, actually," Sara corrected. "It's gross. She's clearly having some sort of—"

Sara fell to the ground, her face planting in the dirt. Something yanked her backward into the corn, hard and fast.

John screamed, "Sara!" and chased after her.

Sara disappeared into the wall of corn, and John stopped short of running in. He turned back to Amy and screamed, "What the fuck is that thing? Where did it take—"

Black smoke leaked out of the wall of corn. John stepped back and tried to scream, to no avail, as the fog pouring from the corn took the appearance of a tentacle, wrapped itself around John's neck, and dragged him in before anyone could react.

Rick pulled Amy up. "Okay, running now, we're running now!"

Amy got to her feet, and she and Rick headed deeper into the maze. They turned left, then right, then left again before they hit a dead end.

"Shit!" Rick said. "Okay, let's double back and try another way."

"Rick, it's going to kill us," Amy started to cry. "I'm sorry. I tried. I really did."

Rick hugged her. "It's okay. We're still alive. Let's keep going."

Amy nodded and dried her tears on his shirt.

They started walking back, then Rick turned to Amy and said, "Let me go first. I'll see if it's clear and I'll call back. Okay?"

Amy nodded. Rick walked forward, went to turn left, hesitated, and turned right. “Okay. I think it’s—” Rick was pulled off his feet, and he screamed, “Run, Amy! Run!” as he was dragged into the corn maze wall.

Amy took off in the opposite direction as fast as she could. The maze narrowed, and the leaves brushed her as she passed. She realized she had been running with her eyes shut tight for a long time. She opened them just in time to see the path end, and behind the corn, two black tentacles reaching out from the greenery.

She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and ran faster than she ever thought possible. She went left down one path, then right down the next. Then she turned around and doubled back the way she came, hoping the maze had fooled whatever was in it. It had—for a moment.

Amy turned around a sharp corner in the corn maze and ran into Rick's back.

Rick turned around and laughed. "It's déjà vu all over again."

"Wh... What?" Amy blinked. Something was wrong, and she could see it now.

"Déjà vu. You know... same thing happening again," he chuckled. "You know because—"

John yelled back, "Because we passed that damn scarecrow again!"

"Yeah, that's what I was saying," Rick finished. He brushed corn husk from his shirt. "No matter how many times I brush this crap off, it keeps coming back."

Amy gripped her chest and dropped to her knees. "We need to go now," she gasped. "We need to get out of here."

"Are you okay, sis?" Rick went to his knees and pulled her close. She pushed him away.

"We need to get the fuck out of here!" She screamed back.

"Jesus, Amy, settle down. We already pulled the signal flag. I'm sure one of your cousins will be here any minute."

"I told you we shouldn't go in the corn maze. I knew we'd be in here all day," Sara said.

"If we're lucky," John replied. "It never takes them this long to pull anyone out."

"Oh no," Sara called out.

"What?" John asked.

"It's a little black bird", Sara replied

"A crow?" Rick asked.

"Raven", Amy replied, her voice cracked. "It's a raven."

"Is it okay?" Sara asked.

"No... It's dead," Amy replied.

"You can tell from over there?" Sara asked.

"A dead raven. That's a bad omen." Rick said.