The Mask, Chapter 15
15.
Blinding fear propelled Scott through walls of cornstalks, as something - the figure wearing the mask, the one which might or might not be Jasper - thrashed behind him. Breath roared in his ears and his heart pounded against his chest. He wanted to scream for help, for someone, anyone, but for some reason he couldn't gather enough breath to make anything more than weak, mewling rasps.
The thing behind him pursued silently, past its fighting through the cornstalks. It said nothing, didn't even grunt or breath hard. It just kept coming.
Scott burst free from the corntalks into an abandoned stretch of maze. He turned to head right, but his foot caught on a rut and he tumbled face-first into the ground.
The figure was on him in an instant. It reached for him, the mask on its face melting, pulsing, and oozing. It loomed over him, and Scott felt he only moments before all he was disappeared forever.
Now, a voice whispered in his head.
He pulled his cross out of his pocket and slammed it against the thing's mask. His fingers touched the slick, gray rubber, and revulsion pulsed through him. It didn't feel like rubber; at all. It felt like the hide of a reptile, but it pulsed with a sick warmth that made him want to throw up.
The thing reacted instantly. It's black mouth opened much wider than it should, and Scott had to forced down his gorge at the tongue which writhed deep in that throat. Its eyes bulged to the point of popping out, and - like in his dream - Scott more felt the thing's scream of pain, rather than heard it.
The smell of burnt rubber and flesh filled his nostrils. Smoke rose from where he pressed the cross into its mask, and the rubber (skin?) blackened, bubbled, and cracked in an outline around the cross.
Scott heaved a knee into its stomach and threw it off. Rolled onto his hands and knees, set to propel himself forward...
It grabbed his ankle.
He looked over his shoulder as it yanked him backward. Desperate fear giving him strength, he flipped onto his back and swung his other foot as hard as he could. His sneaker connected at the thing's temple with a wet thud, and rubber or flesh or something splattered like an over-ripe pumpkin under a sledgehammer.
He rolled back over onto his hands and knees, not sparing another glance, and dove into the corn, running as fast as he could. He didn't stop, until he plunged into another corridor, tripped, and fell at the feet off two women not as old his mother, but much older than high school seniors.
He sat up, barely registering that both the girls - one with long blond hair, the other with short brown hair cut in a bob - were what he or Jasper would've labeled "fuckin hot." All he worried about was the hole in the corn he'd plunged through, and if anything was following him.
*
The boy - probably a junior high student, Julie thought - sat and stared at where he'd come through the corn, panting, face white and sweating. His eyes were wide with terror, and his free hand grabbed at the soil, clenching and unclenching in fear.
For some reason, Julie didn't think he'd gotten spooked by the Halloween corn maze, or that he'd been running from bullies. His terror seemed too large, too awesome in nature to have come from upperclassmen thugs. For some reason, she thought instantly of the weirdos in masks, though she didn't know why.
"Hey," she crouched next to him, checking him over for any obvious injuries, and finding none. "You okay?"
He panted, eyes flicking from the hole in the corn, to her, back to the corn. "I...uh...some...something...uh, someone was chasing me, and...and..."
"Julie, look at this." Cassie muttered. Julie turned and saw her friend bending over to a smartphone lying in the dirt, which the boy had obviously dropped.
As Cassie picked it up, an image - a picture the boy had taken - resolved into clearer view. It was a figure standing in corn maze, and its face...
"What..." Julie swallowed, then rasped, "What's on its face? Is that...."
She looked at the boy. "Was that...was that chasing you?"
The boy offered her a spare glance, nodded, his gaze darting right back to the corn.
"Jules."
Julie turned back to the phone Cassie held. She'd enlarged the picture, so they could see the figure's face clearly. It was wearing a mask, the same exact mask the weirdos had been wearing when they'd tried to get into The Golden Kitty several nights ago.
"Holy shit," she breathed.
Blinding fear propelled Scott through walls of cornstalks, as something - the figure wearing the mask, the one which might or might not be Jasper - thrashed behind him. Breath roared in his ears and his heart pounded against his chest. He wanted to scream for help, for someone, anyone, but for some reason he couldn't gather enough breath to make anything more than weak, mewling rasps.
The thing behind him pursued silently, past its fighting through the cornstalks. It said nothing, didn't even grunt or breath hard. It just kept coming.
Scott burst free from the corntalks into an abandoned stretch of maze. He turned to head right, but his foot caught on a rut and he tumbled face-first into the ground.
The figure was on him in an instant. It reached for him, the mask on its face melting, pulsing, and oozing. It loomed over him, and Scott felt he only moments before all he was disappeared forever.
Now, a voice whispered in his head.
He pulled his cross out of his pocket and slammed it against the thing's mask. His fingers touched the slick, gray rubber, and revulsion pulsed through him. It didn't feel like rubber; at all. It felt like the hide of a reptile, but it pulsed with a sick warmth that made him want to throw up.
The thing reacted instantly. It's black mouth opened much wider than it should, and Scott had to forced down his gorge at the tongue which writhed deep in that throat. Its eyes bulged to the point of popping out, and - like in his dream - Scott more felt the thing's scream of pain, rather than heard it.
The smell of burnt rubber and flesh filled his nostrils. Smoke rose from where he pressed the cross into its mask, and the rubber (skin?) blackened, bubbled, and cracked in an outline around the cross.
Scott heaved a knee into its stomach and threw it off. Rolled onto his hands and knees, set to propel himself forward...
It grabbed his ankle.
He looked over his shoulder as it yanked him backward. Desperate fear giving him strength, he flipped onto his back and swung his other foot as hard as he could. His sneaker connected at the thing's temple with a wet thud, and rubber or flesh or something splattered like an over-ripe pumpkin under a sledgehammer.
He rolled back over onto his hands and knees, not sparing another glance, and dove into the corn, running as fast as he could. He didn't stop, until he plunged into another corridor, tripped, and fell at the feet off two women not as old his mother, but much older than high school seniors.
He sat up, barely registering that both the girls - one with long blond hair, the other with short brown hair cut in a bob - were what he or Jasper would've labeled "fuckin hot." All he worried about was the hole in the corn he'd plunged through, and if anything was following him.
*
The boy - probably a junior high student, Julie thought - sat and stared at where he'd come through the corn, panting, face white and sweating. His eyes were wide with terror, and his free hand grabbed at the soil, clenching and unclenching in fear.
For some reason, Julie didn't think he'd gotten spooked by the Halloween corn maze, or that he'd been running from bullies. His terror seemed too large, too awesome in nature to have come from upperclassmen thugs. For some reason, she thought instantly of the weirdos in masks, though she didn't know why.
"Hey," she crouched next to him, checking him over for any obvious injuries, and finding none. "You okay?"
He panted, eyes flicking from the hole in the corn, to her, back to the corn. "I...uh...some...something...uh, someone was chasing me, and...and..."
"Julie, look at this." Cassie muttered. Julie turned and saw her friend bending over to a smartphone lying in the dirt, which the boy had obviously dropped.
As Cassie picked it up, an image - a picture the boy had taken - resolved into clearer view. It was a figure standing in corn maze, and its face...
"What..." Julie swallowed, then rasped, "What's on its face? Is that...."
She looked at the boy. "Was that...was that chasing you?"
The boy offered her a spare glance, nodded, his gaze darting right back to the corn.
"Jules."
Julie turned back to the phone Cassie held. She'd enlarged the picture, so they could see the figure's face clearly. It was wearing a mask, the same exact mask the weirdos had been wearing when they'd tried to get into The Golden Kitty several nights ago.
"Holy shit," she breathed.
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