The Scarecrow

He ran through the fields of corn in one of the largest games of hide and seek that he had ever played. His hiding place was perfect, not that no one would find him, but that it was a place where no one would go. The Humphrey Family's Barn. To get there, he had to cross the creek and run through the cornfield, find the old cross, and then he just needed to make a left and then he was there. So, he ran a little faster to get there.

As the husks of the corn brushed by him as he ran, he began to have a feeling of uneasiness. He stopped for a moment to listen. He looked around him, though it was futile since the corn, by this time in the season, had already grown to be taller than him. He didn't hear anything, nor did he see anything. Not even a bird was stirring in the air. He ran a few more yards and came to a clearing. Before him stood the old farm’s scarecrow. It scared him for a moment and could not move an inch. He was shocked to see the cross that used to signal the church was now a beacon of fear that hosted a man-like creature on its branches. Years before he remembered that this cross was the signal to the town that church was just a few yards away, but now its only purpose was to scare away birds. And perhaps people too. He couldn’t help but to look at the things face that seemed eerily alive. It had a smile that didn't budge, skin that was of leather dried for years in the sun, a cheesy straw farmers’ hat on top of his head, and hands of the most unnatural claws like that of an eagle’s talons. He shuddered at the sight and brushed it off as fast as he could so that he, Peter, could win the game.

Once Peter shrugged off the initial scare he ran towards the barn. As he approached the front, he noticed that the large doors now contained a chain that locked them together preventing anyone from opening them. He remembered from when he was much younger that there was a side door that he used to run out of after church services, so he proceeded towards that one. To his relief it was unlocked. It was a regular sized door that hadn't been opened in ages, so when he pushed on it to open, it barely moved. Using the full might of his body, he was able to make the rusted hinges move inward to allow him enough room to enter. Once inside he once again used his might to close the door behind him, preventing his friends who were brave enough to come this way to struggle with the entry into this haunted-looking barn. As he looked around, he saw that Mr. Humphrey had turned the barn from a place of worship to a place of storage, with farming equipment on one side and piles of hay on the other. He noticed that the mountain created by the hay allowed him easy access to the rafters. He slowly approached the hay, looking around at the sights of this old barn, and to take in the smell that had changed so much since the time he was there. The air was stale and dusty, with the stench of rotting wood, old hay, and rusted equipment tickling his nostrils with every breath.

The climb up into the rafters was an easy one. He traversed the beams and made it to a spot that allowed him to see the door if it were to open but kept him hidden enough so that if his friends were to enter then he would be able to slide behind them to make a run for the corn field. The thoughts of all his escape plans raced through his head and all sense of time went away from his mind. So, he waited with anticipation.

Hours went by and the sun was beginning to get low, he was starting to think that he had won the game of hide and seek. He was starting to shift his body into position to hop down from the upper level of the barn when he heard the door that he entered from swing open and then shut with a loud bang. He stayed as still as he could, not daring to move a muscle. He figured that his friend Danny must have found him and wanted to scare him with this entry, until he saw the shadow of a man moving slowly from the entry, along the wall, and towards the mountain of hay.

He though to himself, "Oh no, this isn't Danny. This is Mr. Humphrey and he is mad…mom is going to kill me if he doesn't do that first."

Peter began to execute his plan of escape. Slowly crawling over one beam, then another, then another, until he reached the spot where he could drop down and make his way towards the door. He was trying his hardest to control his breathing, but he was deafened by the beating of his heart. He looked around to try to find Mr. Humphrey but he was nowhere to be seen. He dropped from the rafters and ran for it. As he reached the door to pull it open, he felt a hand land on his shoulder and spin him around. As this happened, he was able to pull the door open as well, but at that moment he stood face to face with not Mr. Humphrey but the scarecrow that was nailed to the cross outside. The smile that didn't move, the skin of the dried and cracked leather, and its slender figure towered over him in the partially lit doorway illuminated one thing: evil.

Peter screamed and tore away from the grasped that was on his shoulder and was able to slip through the opening of the doorway that he had just made just moments before. The sun was setting in the east over the corn field and Peter ran towards it with every fiber of his body working in overtime. He ran past the cross, that was now empty, and made his way towards home. As he came to the edge of the corn field, he heard some voices in the distance yelling, he was safe, or so he thought. He tried to muster up even more strength to yell "help me!" But to no avail.

He suddenly crashed into something hard, very hard. He was somewhat dazed but was able to make out the straw hat and claws standing above him in the field of corn. Peter thought to himself, "so this is it, a monster is taking me and going to eat me alive." At that moment he heard a voice nearby yell, "Peter! Is that you?" He scarecrow looked and stepped away into the corn and out of sight.

"Peter! Thank God I found you!" As a young boy leans down to pull his friend up.

"Danny…" replied Peter. "You have no idea how happy I am that I found you."

"Find me? I'm the one who's supposed to find you! Not very good at this game, are you?" Snarked Danny.

"Can we go home?" responded Peter in a dry, forced tone.

"Dear God! What happened to you?" As Danny touched the bleeding shoulder of Peter.

"I don't know."

"You really got hurt there. You might need a doctor to look at that. Your mom will be really mad too. She's good at sowing but you really tore up that shirt of yours. Where were you?

"Where I shouldn't have. At the old Pastor Humpheys’ place, its nothing like we remember."

"Tell me what happened."

"I will, but on our way home." Said Peter as he grabbed the hand of Danny to leave the cornfield and to rush home.

They walked quickly from the cornfield in silence, and when enough distance separated them, and the field Peter vomited the story of what had happened. It was so quickly spoken that Danny hadn’t had the opportunity to fully comprehend what his friend was telling him. The scarecrow on the cross, the barn, the talons, the leathery skinned man. It seemed ridiculous to him.

“Could this have been all in your head? Maybe Mr. Humphrey just wanted to give you a scare.”

At this point, both boys had stopped about 200 yards from the cornfield and looked back in the direction that they had come from. In the distance they could make out the figure of a man wearing a hat, but nothing more.

“He is a creepy, and cruel, old man, that pastor Humphrey. Can’t believe that he used to be a man of God.” Said Danny as he gave a very inappropriate hand gesture towards the figure in the distance.

“Let’s get out of here.” As Peter pulled on the hand of Danny and walked home.