Liam didn’t remember letting go of his mother’s hand. One moment, he was reaching for a candy apple at the harvest fair—the next, the crowd had swallowed him whole. The laughter and music faded, replaced by the sound of his own panicked breaths. Then, the whispering started.
“Liiiiam”
It came from the cornfield at the edge of the fair, stalks rustling though there was no wind. Something moved between them—small, quick, just out of sight. His name again, this time in his own voice. His feet carried him forward before he could think. The corn swallowed him, the golden stalks pressing too close, too tight. The air smelled wrong—like wet earth and something spoiled. A clearing. A single scarecrow stood in the center, its burlap face stitched into a smile.
“You’re lost”
It said, its mouth not moving. Liam tried to scream, but his throat closed. The scarecrow’s head tilted, its straw-filled body twitching. Then, the stitching on its face split with a wet rip, and beneath the burlap was his face. His own wide, terrified eyes stared back at him.
“Don’t worry,"
The thing wearing his skin whispered, stepping down from its post.
“I’ll go back for you."
Liam tried to run, but the corn held him fast. The last thing he saw before the stalks swallowed him whole was the himself, skipping back toward the fair, humming his mother’s lullaby. That night, Liam’s mother tucked him into bed, relief washing over her. He seemed quieter than usual, his skin oddly cool—but when she kissed his forehead, his smile was just as it always had been. Outside, the cornfield rustled. And deep in the dark, something new swayed on a post, its burlap face still screaming.
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