Page 35 of Hunter’s Harvest

I found myself pulled out of the room and down the hallway so I could be torn from my black clothing and stuffed into my costume for the festivities. Today was the first day of the Halloween Harvest Haunt, which was a two-day affair.

Tomorrow was Halloween, and the trick-or-treating. Today was more focused on the whole harvest aspect of things, but that did not stop everyone, especially the kids, from dressing up for both days.

It wasn’t long before I was in my costume. The tail was tight to just above my knee, where there was a hole for my legs behind the tail.

I pasted on a smile and joined in the festivities, but I couldn’t help but look into the sky every so often, as if expecting a shuttle to land with Var’n on board even though I knew he didn’t have a shuttle.

“Let’s do the corn maze,” Mari said, pulling me toward the field. She was dressed in a black and white striped shirt and had a sack tossed over her back. Spilling from the sack was a variety of stuffed cats.

“Um, Mari,” Kim started looking confused. “What exactly is your costume?”

“I’m a cat burglar.” Mari winked.

Kim groaned. “Of course, duh.”

Lanterns hung from posts all around town, even though it was still light out. The kids were darting between booths with games and activities set up. The smell of roasting nuts and popcorn filled the air. And for a moment, it felt… normal. Like the apocalypse had never happened and this was just another harvest festival. That was until you realized some of the kids had purple complexions and horns.

We passed by several badly carved jack-o’-lanterns on our way to the corn maze. These must not have made the list to decorate the paths closer to the building. There were signs warning us to stay under the covered areas. Technically it wasn’t evening yet, which meant the flyers could still be out looking for us. I was pretty sure they had set scourge lures in strategic places away from the settlement to attract flyers away from the festivities.

We soon found ourselves at the entrance of the maze and stepped inside.

The cornstalks loomed over our heads, blocking out some of the light. They’d worked hard on the maze, and it was the biggest one I’d seen. The paths twisted and turned this way and that.

“You know, they already had to go up in the shuttle to find a kid who got lost in here earlier,” Kim said. “I tried to tell them they made it too complicated for the younger ones.”

“Nah, this is perfect,” Mari said. “Last one to the end is a rotten egg.”

Mari darted ahead, laughing as she disappeared around a corner.

Kim sighed. “She’s worse than you ever were,” she grumbled, then darted after her.

I hesitated a moment before following them farther into the maze.

Then I felt something prickle at the nape of my neck, like there were eyes on me. I turned around but saw nothing but corn.

Shaking it off, I hurried after them. But my sense of direction had never been great, and I soon realized I’d made a wrong turn. I doubled back until I recognized the bat decoration tied to the stalks.

I frowned. Wasn’t that bat tied higher before? Was this another bat?

Huh. Now that I thought of it, I was pretty certain the bat was black before, and this one was purple.

I turned around again and went down the side path. Okay. This looked better. And I could hear Mari’s laughter. I continued following it, turning the corner… right into a dead end.

Damn it! Maybe Kim was right after all. I imagined the embarrassment if they had to bring out a shuttle to guide me out.

A rustling behind me had me whirling around. But again, there was nothing. The feeling didn’t go away, and it still felt like I was being watched.

I hurried back the way I came, taking another turn I hadn’t chosen. I knew it was a big maze, but this seemed endless, and the paths all looked the same. I spotted another paper bat, this one with a green tinge. Now that I knew what to look for, there were bats everywhere. I wish I’d taken better note of the first one I saw. Was it this one? Or was it pure black? I wasn’t sure.

An arm suddenly snatched me from around the waist, and I was lifted off my feet. I screamed, but a hand came to clamp over my mouth. Then a familiar purring rumbled against my back.

Var’n!

“I have caught my sea maiden, and you are now mine.”

I spun in his arms. “Var’n! You jerk!” But I was already laughing, relief at seeing him flooding me so quickly that it made my knees weak. I threw my arms around him. “You scared the living daylights outta me!”

He scowled. “Light is not alive.”