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He walks away in the direction of the petting zoo, and Rachel and I both turn to Jack with our lips parted.

Rachel is the first to ask. “Are you saying you actually understood all that?”

“More like how is Kimmie the singularity?” I add.

“She’s very small, and she has no interest in the laws of science.”

Rachel blinks at her brother-in-law, and I slide my hand into the crook of his arm. “I never knew you were such a nerd.”

“We’re going to have to hustle to catch up with the others.” Zane walks up to slide his arm around Rachel’s waist, glancing down at her breasts. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Y’all go on ahead. We’ll catch up.” Jack takes my hand again, and warmth slips through my veins.

“Oh, come on !” Rachel grabs my hand, pulling me. “There’s plenty of time to make out at scary movie night. Anyway, the kids will see you if you do it here.”

My eyes widen at Jack, and he grins, making me heat up even more. Rachel almost pulls me out of his grip, but he holds my hand tightly, never letting me go.

“What the hell took y’all so long?” Garrett booms as we meet up with them around the first turn. “We’ve got to stay together in here—this thing is hard!”

“That’s what she said!” Liv cries from where she’s still on his back .

Dylan snorts a laugh. “Did Allie sneak some purple drink into the maze?”

“Not me!” I hold up a hand. “I’m a rule-following librarian.”

“That’s not what I heard.” Liv wiggles her eyebrows, and I tilt my head coyly.

“Garrett!” Dylan quips. “You sneaked a flask, didn’t you?”

“How dare you?” Garrett’s tone is mock-offense. “I’m the sheriff in this town, little lady… er, pepper.”

“Whatever, let’s go!” Logan pulls his wife’s hand, and the two peppers march ahead of us into the darkness.

My skin prickles as we pass a television with the scene of Jack Nicholson frozen at the end of The Shining on it.

“I hate hay mazes,” I mutter, wishing I could snuggle with Jack again.

The music grows louder, and ghostly howls float through the air. We pass a sheet strung over an entrance that reads You’ll never get out alive in brownish-red paint.

“They really went all out,” Zane chuckles.

I’m just calming down when Rachel lets out a scream so loud it makes Liv scream, and I grab Jack’s arm and jump behind him.

Then Rachel explodes with laughter. “I thought that corn stalk was a person!”

“RACHEL!” Dylan yells. “I almost peed my pants!”

“You’re not that pregnant, Dee.” Liv groans, and we continue walking.

The path is wide, but the way the overhead lights are arranged creates shadowy patches and pitch-black corners.

We walk until the path opens to another straight line. Looking left to right, we’re trying to decide which way to go when a low-pitched growl comes running up behind us.

All the girls scream and everyone moves fast. I reach for Jack, but warmth swirls at my side.

The growling and hissing of an animal is close by my ear, and my heart jumps to my throat. I scream, running as hard as I can from the monster, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

I’m breathless, pumping my legs, but I can’t get away from him. The growls are right on my heels, gaining on me fast. I take another quick turn to try and lose him.

My heart thunders in my chest, and a high-pitched witch cackle erupts from the corner where I’ve just stopped to catch my breath.

Another scream, and I try to run back the way I came, but I’m confused when I reach what I thought was our starting point.

Two possible routes come together from the left and the right, and I can’t remember which way I came.

Turning my head and my body quickly, I look all around, but I don’t see Jack or Dylan or any of our group. I decide to stand still and listen for their voices.

Creeping closer to the hay wall, I pinch my nose to quiet my breathing. Voices are all around, and I’m certain I hear Rachel’s laughter from what sounds like a hay wall over.

Jumping back, I put both hands on the wall, looking up at the purple twinkle lights hanging from the top of the maze.

“Rachel?” I yell as loud as I can. “Where are you?”

The music is too loud, but I keep my hand on the prickly bale as I walk in the direction I came, looking up and straining my ears for more voices.

My breath is tight in my chest, and I don’t like this at all. I don’t like being alone, and I hate hay mazes.

“Allie?” Jack’s deep voice echoes from what seems like just ahead, and my heart jumps.

“Jack?” My yell is a panicked cry, and I pull up my skirt to run in the direction of his voice. “I’m here! Jack?”

I’m shouting when a gorilla jumps out with a loud roar from a dark corner, and I scream.

I know it’s only a guy dressed up in a costume, but it’s so sudden and unexpected, I turn and run away in the opposite direction .

His breath huffs loudly from inside the mask, and I run harder, turning and turning to get away from him. It’s my worst nightmare happening. It’s that part in The Shining where evil Jack is chasing the little boy.

I run as hard as I can, but I can’t breathe. And even though I’m running so fast, I can’t seem to get away from the sound of this gorilla-man chasing me.

Every time I stop, I hear the swish of feet in the hay, the Darth-Vadar scraping of his breath in the mask as he chases me. Grabbing my skirt higher, I force myself to keep going.

I take another turn and another, and suddenly, I’m face to face with a dead end.

“No!” I scream, ready to collapse.

I’m shaking all over. Tears are in my eyes, and I try to go back the way I came. But the person in the gorilla costume is there, blocking the only way out.

He tilts his head to the side, like he’s trying to understand something he’s never seen before. It’s dark, but I can see his white-blue eyes through the holes in the mask. They’re eerily fixed on me.

I know it’s all an act, but I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.

Still, I have to get control. It’s just a kid, Allie. It’s just a game.

But all the fear I’ve been holding back since that first alert that Rip was out of prison is breaking loose and crashing down on my head.

“D-do I know you?” I try to calm my shaking voice, to dry the tears on my cheeks with my gloved hands as I force a smile. “Are you one of my students?”

The person shakes his head no, slowly like the monster in the Halloween movie, and I hiccup a breath.

“I know it’s fun to scare people, but I really need to get back to my friends, to Coach Jack.” I hold my hand out, doing my best to maintain distance as I try to circle around him to the only exit. “They’re all looking for me. ”

The gorilla doesn’t speak, and he doesn’t move. He only stands, watching me.

“I’m going to pass you now.” I’m as close as I want to get, and my words are for me as much as for him. “You’re not supposed to touch us, remember? Those are the rules.”

His eyes narrow, almost as if he’s grinning at me.“You know me better than that, Allie.”

Ice filters through my veins. Yes, I’d know that scratchy voice anywhere. It hasn’t changed in eight years.

“Rip?” His name slips out on a cracked whisper. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I’d be back.” He spreads his arms wide. “Here’s Johnny!”

“No!” I grab my dress again, breaking into a run, doing my best to dodge him as I try to get out of this dead end.

“Nope!” He grabs me around the waist, lifting me off my feet with ease. “You’re not going anywhere. Not without me.”

His arm is tight around me, pinning my arms to my sides so I can’t escape.

“You can’t do this.” I struggle against him. “You’re not supposed to leave the state!”

“Don’t fight me, Allie.” His voice is a sing-song like something I’ve heard in a scary movie. “This’ll be so much easier if you don’t fight me.”

I lean my head back, opening my mouth to scream as hard as I can when my nose and mouth are covered tightly with a soft cloth. I’m breathing fast, and it only takes two inhales for everything to go dark.