We Hid in the Corn… They Were Hunting Us

 We Hid in the Corn… They Were Hunting Us VIDEO

I stay still among the corn stalks. The car’s headlights light up the road behind us. White light seeps through the dry stems.

Emma holds Sam against her chest. The boy has stopped crying. I only hear his fast breathing and the pounding of my own heart.

“Don’t move,” I whisper.

The car is stopped. The engine is still running. A door opens. I hear footsteps on the asphalt. A man’s voice says something I can’t make out.

Another voice answers. Closer.

They walk toward the edge of the road, right where the cornfield begins.

I crouch. Emma does the same. Sam buries his face in his mother’s shoulder.

“Give me the boy,” I say quietly.

“No.”

“Emma, give him to me. If we have to run, you need your hands free.”

She hesitates. Then she hands Sam to me. He’s heavy. I adjust him against my chest. He’s trembling.

“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper. “Just don’t make a sound.”

The footsteps stop. I hear the men talking.

“You sure they came this way?”

“The tracks lead into the field. I saw them from the road.”

“It’s night. We can’t see shit in there.”

“Then we wait for the others. With the dogs, they’ll find them in five minutes.”

I look at Emma. Her eyes are wide, fixed in the direction of the voices. Her hands grip the edge of her jacket.

“We have to move,” I say.

“Where?”

I nod toward the far side of the field. In the distance, beyond the corn, there’s a darker line. Trees. Another forest.

“There.”

“And if we get lost?”

“I’d rather get lost than be found.”

I start walking. The corn bends as I pass. Dry leaves scrape against my jacket. Sam breathes against my neck. His body is tense.

I hear a radio behind us. Metallic voices. Orders.

“Let’s go,” Emma says.

I move quickly, crouched, pushing plants aside with one arm. The ground is soft. My shoes sink slightly. Behind me, Emma follows. Her breathing is uneven.

Sam lifts his head.

“Mom…”

“Shh, my love,” Emma says from behind. “Don’t talk.”

The boy rests his head on my shoulder again.

I keep moving. The corn grows thicker. It’s dry, almost dead. The leaves crackle with every step. We can’t avoid the noise.

“Faster,” Emma says.

I pick up the pace. Sweat runs down my forehead. After a while, the corn ends. I step into a narrow clearing. Ahead, the forest rises, dark and dense.

I turn. Emma comes out behind me. There are twigs in her hair and a smear of dirt on her cheek.

“Keep going,” I say.

I enter the forest. The trees are old, with thick trunks. The ground is covered in dry leaves and pine needles. I move quickly, avoiding low branches. Moonlight barely filters through.

Behind us, I hear something. Metal. Then a voice amplified through a loudspeaker.

“Come out with your hands up! You’re surrounded!”

Emma stops.

“Keep going,” I say.

“We can’t. They have dogs.”

“We can.”

“Jack…”

I grab her arm.

“Listen to me. We keep going until we find somewhere to hide. A river, a road, anything. We’re not giving up now.”

She looks at me. Her eyes shine in the dark.

“Sam is scared.”

“I know. So am I.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Survive.”

I let go of her arm. I turn and keep walking faster. For a while, I only hear my footsteps and hers behind me. Branches hit my face. I don’t push them away. I don’t care.

Sam has fallen asleep. His weight is heavy against my chest, but I don’t stop.

The forest grows denser. The trees close in around us. The light almost disappears. I move by feel, touching trunks so I don’t run into them.

Emma slips. I hear her curse under her breath.

“You okay?” I ask.

“I twisted my ankle. But I can keep going.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

We keep moving. Ten minutes. Twenty. I don’t know how long passes. I just know my legs start to ache and Sam feels heavier with every step.

Then I hear something.

Water.

I stop. Emma stops behind me.

“You hear that?” I ask.

“Water.”

“A river.”

I walk toward the sound. The trees begin to thin. The ground turns rocky. I reach the edge of a slope. Below, a wide, slow river reflects the moonlight.

“We can follow it,” Emma says. “Water erases tracks.”

“Yeah.”

I look for a way down. I find a less steep path. I descend carefully, holding Sam with one arm. The rocks shift under my feet. Emma follows me.

We reach the bank. The water is cold. It reaches my knees.

“We have to cross,” I say.

“You sure?”

“If they’re on the other side, they won’t expect us to cross. It’s our best shot.”

Emma nods.

I step into the water. The cold climbs up my legs. Sam wakes up and starts crying.

“Shh, my love,” Emma says behind me. “Almost there.”

I move slowly. The riverbed is uneven. Slippery stones. The water rises to my waist. Sam cries louder. I lift him higher, trying to keep him dry.

Emma steps into the water. I hear her breath catch from the cold.

We reach the other side. I climb out, unsteady. My pants are soaked. Sam is still crying. I feel him trembling.

Emma climbs out behind me. She’s soaked to the waist. Her teeth are clenched.

“Now what?” she asks.

I look around. The forest continues ahead. But I see a light. Small. Yellow. Flickering.

“A house,” I say.

“What if it’s theirs?”

“If it is, we’re dead anyway.”

I start walking toward the light.