Thank you for the reviews and I am so glad to see familiar faces - and new ones too. Here is the next chapter - if you look close you may notice it's got a few different things in it. Anyway, I'm super excited to write more of this.

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!


The week after went extremely slow. Austin and Dez were both eighteen and out of school, so Ally didn't get to see them all week long. She thought about her kiss with the attractive boy and how wonderful it made her feel. If she thought back hard enough, she could still feel his lips on hers and the smell of his hair when it tickled her nose. He smelled earthy.

"Daydreaming about your boyfriend?" Trish teased from over her desk.

Ally shot her a look, "Are you daydreaming about yours?"

The girl smirked, "Oh yeah. Who would have thought?"

"Not me," she agreed. "I didn't even think I would make it through opening night."

"And now we have a four day weekend of scares coming up because of Columbus Day."

"I'm excited." Ally knew she would probably be back in the house for the majority of it, but she knew at least one of those nights her stand in would have her chance to be the scarer. And that meant she was in the corn maze. This meant she could go searching for anyone who could have hidden behind trees. Maybe even a ghost.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Her sudden question caught Trish off guard.

"I don't know. I've never seen one, but I've never seen California, either. Does that mean an entire state doesn't exist?"

Her friend had a good point.

"Why? You think you saw a ghost?"

"No," she said, too quickly and causing her friend to give her another look. "No. Oh my God. If I saw a ghost, I'd be on the floor, Trish!" She had a good cover, at least. "I'm just asking. You have to wonder if events like these cause others to come about."

"Let's hope not. I wouldn't know who was who when we're all covered in fake blood and guts."

Only he wasn't covered in blood and guts, she thought. He looked just like everyone else.

She couldn't shake seeing him; it stayed on her mind all day long, especially when she arrived later that day at the haunt, and ran into the boy she'd been thinking about all day long. He was with a few of the other actors, including Joe, who was his set-buddy, and the same guy that Luna had been flirting with a couple days back. He smiled at her, all brooding and sad eyes gone, coming forward to squeeze her side.

"Hey, I missed you."

That made her feel really good, but she couldn't stop thinking about that night. He sensed she was a little out of it.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"You're sweet," she told him, kissing his cheek. "But no, that's okay."

"Listen," he said, pulling her away from the other actors, his eyes serious. She noticed immediately a change in posture and all around body language. "I need to talk to you. I … I uh, have been thinking during the last week, about what I said to you that night at dinner. You've been really good to me, and I know you're curious about what happened here. I was wondering if you wanted to take a walk, and I'll tell you."

Allly nodded, probably a little too enthusiastically. Maybe she'd get the answers to the questions she'd been wondering for days. Maybe he even knew his brother was around still. It had to be his brother, didn't it? Who else could she have seen?

"I'll tell you the story, but you have to promise you don't think I'm insane. My parents don't know I'm here. They think I'm with friends. I'd be in so much trouble if they knew. I'm banned from haunted houses in their eyes forever."

Her eyes softened, "I promise."

"Thanks."

When he didn't say anything, she prompted, "What happened?"

Austin smiled, "My brother and I always loved scary stuff growing up. Horror movies, haunted houses… Halloween was our favorite time of year. We lived for it. The best costumes and all we could get from it we did. A few years ago, Mitch discovered our little haunt here. He was all for it. He was only a couple years older than me, eighteen when worked for the haunt. Luna was twenty then, it happened three years ago. Jim wanted a really scary scene in the maze. The house was doing great, but the maze was new, and they wanted to sell tickets. A few of the guys came up with the Texas Chainsaw theme, and my brother was all for it. He'd been volunteering since he was sixteen and was a natural, so Luna got him it.

Now, I know it looks real, but it's actually really safe. There is no chance at actually being hung. Back then, it wasn't as good. They thought it was, but it wasn't. They had a great opening night. Luna was the second victim of the group, she came at the fans and screamed that he was coming. She was bloody, she scared everyone. Then, you came to Mitch. He hung from the tree, screaming for mercy and much like you saw me do. Chainsaw man, or as we know him right now as Joe, was to 'kill' him, but…" he paused and his voice wavered. "There was a malfunction."

Ally gasped in horror.

"The fans had no idea. They thought it was part of the act, and so did Luna. Mitch was crazy. He was more into it than me, he'd do anything for a scare. She thought he'd figured out a way to not actually choke himself, but hang naturally so that it looked more real. It wasn't like that. The thing he was secretly leaning on had fallen over and he suffocated as fans watched. The fans left, and Luna went to set up for the next group until she realized that she didn't hear Mitch getting ready. She turned around and noticed that he was just hanging limply then. By the time they were able to get him down and get the fans out, he was gone. They couldn't revive him. My parents didn't press charges because it wasn't the haunt's fault, but they never wanted me here again. They claim stuff like this is bound to happen and it's only a matter of time until it happens again.

I don't think of it that way. I know Mitch would want someone to continue the scene. I know it's probably mental to do it, since its the same ropes that killed my brother, but it's my tribute to him. It's my reminder that I'm doing what we both loved and that he lives on. You can't see it because we cover it with our bodies in the scene, but the tree has his initials carved into it and we carved his favorite quote from his favorite horror movie in the tree too. There are all kinds of markings from everyone who has ever worked with him. They shut the scene down for several years following his death. No one would do it, and Luna couldn't even look at it. She won't come into the maze. She refuses to, but she knew I wanted to do something to pay homage to him, so she offered it to me this year. I love doing it, I feel close to him when I'm here. I can't explain it, but please don't think I'm crazy."

Ally didn't know what to say. It was a twisted story for sure, something she never expected to hear, but she felt for the boy and his fallen brother. She knew in a way what he meant though, so she couldn't judge. "I don't think you're crazy. And I understand, so don't feel bad."

"Thank you." Austin smiled, clearing his throat. "No one but the actors who were here when it happened know about it. Everyone thinks he died in a car crash leaving the haunt protected from damage, so please don't tell anyone else."

"I won't."

"Thanks."

"Thank you for telling me. I'm sorry that you lost your brother, too."

"It's okay," Austin smiled. "I know he's still here somehow. I feel him sometimes. Do you believe in ghosts?"

Ally froze. How could she answer that question without lying? Maybe she was crazy, and she was just seeing things, right? They were all tired, so she had to let it go.

Right?

Ally sighed, knowing there wasn't much for her to do now, anyway. They had to get into costume and prepare for the night ahead.

The night went smoothly, from what she could tell from inside the house. People who went into the maze first buzzed about it from their scream-included conversations, but that was as close to the maze she got that night. When the haunt was over for the night, Austin was already gone.

She couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

The next day, she woke up with new determination. She had a dream the night before about the maze, and in the dream, she saw the same boy she did the night she saw Austin. A part of her couldn't let it go. She had to make sure she wasn't crazy. So, she made a plan. She got to the haunt almost three hours earlier than needed. They weren't set for make up for another two hours, but she wanted to head into the maze and see what she could find. Austin had already texted her that he would not be doing the stunt that night because it was too windy and Jim had banned him from it. So, he would be a jump scarer being chased by Joe instead. Still, she knew he often headed out here early himself, probably to be close to his brother before all the teenagers and such came through.

It was creepy. You wouldn't think it was in the daylight, but the sets alone put shivers down her spine. And she was also alone, in a corn maze, where she had thought she could've seen a ghost last weekend. Ally might be getting better at the whole not being terrified of the world thing, but it didn't mean that she was okay with this. Her heart pounded in it's chest.

She made her way through the shifting corn, the wind blowing them toward and away from her. Some of the sets, which were activated by noise, alarmed her but she continued until she reached the one she was looking for. Without the lights and the actors, it just looked like a tree with a rope hanging from it.

But then she saw markings that Austin mentioned: his initials. Beyond that, she could see a small flower garden that you'd never notice at night. She climbed over the small fence and headed that way, studying the markings closer.

Her heart hammered in her chest, filling with sadness. "I'm so sorry," she murmured quietly to herself.

"I made that choice."

Ally fell face first into the tree, screaming when someone touched her shoulder.

She finally regained her bearings and glanced around, seeing no one. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't. She heard a voice. Ally got up and looked up and down the corn maze, looking for anyone who could have been goofing off in such a horrible way.

"Don't be scared."

She whirled around a few times, finding no one.

A chuckle made her scream again.

"I'm sorry!" the voice said. "I'm new at this. Please don't be scared."

Ally tried to relax, but considering the voice she heard seemed to be coming out of thin air, it was a bit hard.

"You're him, aren't you?" she whispered. "You're Austin's brother."

The voice didn't answer her at first, then quietly said, "Yes."

"Why can't I see you? I saw you the other night!"

"I don't know," the voice answered her. "I've never had anyone see me before."

Ally just stood there. "This isn't real. I must have hit my head or something. I'm dreaming. I'm unconscious! Oh my God. They're going to find me laying somewhere in this corn maze and think I did something stupid. Probably assume I fainted from one of the sets! Luna has worked so hard for me not to do that!"

The voice chuckled again, "He's so right."

"Excuse me?" She scolded herself immediately, "Great, I'm answering the voice now."

"I said he's so right. You are quite dramatic. Just as pretty as he said, too."

"Thanks creepy voice guy." She paused. "Wait… he said I was pretty?"

"My name is Mitch."

Her shivers returned. "I know that."

"I can feel your sadness, you know." The corn maze shifted. "I feel emotions well. I think that's what keeps me here. Usually it's the fear. But the excitement, too. I've never felt this kind of sadness though. Don't feel sorry for me."

"Don't feel sorry for you?" she stated. "You're kidding, right?"

"You don't have to feel sorry for me," he stated again, more seriously.

"So, you can talk to Austin?"

The voice sighed, "No. But he talks to me."

"It must suck. Hearing people, talking to them but no one answers. You're alone."

"Yeah, there is that. But am I really alone? I'm with a thousand other people a night who love what I love."

"And rest of the year?" she demanded. "When no one is around and the corn is gone until next summer?"

The voice chuckled, "You're quite direct."

"I have a best friend who makes me that way."

"The winter and spring is lonely. But Austin breaks in from time to time."

"He really misses you." She could tell when he spoke about his brother, the little that he did. He loved the hell out of the guy.

"I know that."

Ally sat down on the table that had fake body parts on it. "So, here we are. I'm having a conversation with a dead guy I can't see."

"Jeez. You could be a little nicer about it."

Ally smiled slightly, "Would you be?"

"Maybe not."

"I have to go soon. Austin is here early, as I'm sure you know. But I can come back! I'm not really sure how this works, and I still think I'm going to get checked out by Luna for head injuries… but this has been… nice. You know?"

The voice laughed, "You're good for him, Ally."

Ally smiled sheepishly, looking around her. "Thanks. I hope he will realize that soon."

"He's just guarded. And please, don't tell him about this? I don't know if I can only talk to you, or what. I've never had this happen and while I know he feels me when he's here, I don't think he's ready to know that his brother is still around and that you can hear him."

"Okay," she said quietly. "Well… this has been… fun? I guess… until next time? I'll come early tomorrow, if you want."

Mitch was quiet for a moment, "Yeah. That'd be nice."

Ally Dawson got up, waving at the wind and then paused when she toward the exit. She just made plans with a ghost.

Everyone arrived not long after that, and Ally busied herself with their make up artists, getting into character for the night. She found out she'd be in the house Monday, but in the field that night and the night after. She didn't mind, and now that she knew that she was not only with Austin, but had Mitch watching over her too, she was even more interested in what was to come. They painted her face and worked on her costume. She would be playing a jump scarer, but this time, she got to follow people. According to Luna, people were reacting to her well. They wanted to see what she could do.

"I don't think I'm that good." Ally glanced in the mirror at her costume, shivering when Luna grinned at her. The Queen of the House as others called her, she always had some of the best costumes and make up. That was what happened when you were a haunt mainstay, having spend the last seven fall's with them. The make up varied a bit depending on the night and who was available, but their resident scream queen rocked it all.

"You're doing fantastic. I heard some people talking about you when they got to my room last week!"

"Really?"

Luna nodded. Her phone went off as she stuck her hand in some fake blood, causing her to groan. "That happens every time! Ally, could you see who that is?"

Ally laughed at her annoyance and picked up the girl's phone. "It's Austin. Says he's running a little late. Oh… he says he couldn't get past his parents." She quieted momentarily, "Before you say anything, I know. He told me."

"Did he?" she mused. "Well, that's okay. He's usually early anyway. Just text him back for me and tell him it's fine." The girl smiled. "He's always so worried about not being here on time."

"He's always the first one here!"

"I know."

Ally texted him and then went to exit out of the screen, only to almost drop the phone in alarm. Luna's background was a picture of her and Mitch. Her eyes widened.

"That's Mitchie," she giggled, coming over to look at the boy. She stiffened after a moment, looking sadly in the direction of the corn maze. "He was such a good guy. I miss him so much every day. I'd do anything to have one more deranged conversation with that freak." Ally glanced at her. "Don't take that the wrong way. I'm a freak too. It's why we got a long so great."

If only she knew how close he truly was. "We you together?"

"No," she murmured. "I think he liked me, but he never had the nerve to ask me out. I always wonder what would have happened if... you know."

"Tell me about him." Ally sat on the nearest chair as one of the make up artists continued to work on her face. "I'd love to know more about him."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"He loved all things horror. He really was a freak of nature. I'd met my match. I loved coming to work every day and hearing about some weird horror movie he'd watched over the weekend, or the haunt from a few states over he wanted to road trip to. He loved doing this, so much. He loved to get people to scream in fear. He was part of my set before he did the maze and we freaked people out so bad together. We worked well as a team. He also loved Austin. He treated him like an equal and a partner in crime. It's been really hard on Austin… he misses him so much. I know he goes out into the maze sometimes and just sits there. I don't know what he expects to find. I went in their once since the accident. I felt like throwing up the moment I got to the tree. I haven't gone back in sense. I should have done something. I should have known. The problem was that he was so good at it."

"He died doing what he loved," she told her, speaking from what the boy had told her, but in her eyes speaking in what was hopes to make her feel better. "He'd want you to think of it that way."

"They wanted to tear the set down," she admitted, looking toward the maze herself. "As much as I don't want to be anywhere near it, I couldn't let them. Mitch would have been pissed. Sometimes I wonder if he's still out there, waiting for someone to scare."

"Oh, I bet he is," Ally laughed nervously. "Would fit, wouldn't it? The horror freak being able to truly haunt people."

Luna grinned, "He would. He'd do it if he could."

"Ally!" Sometime later, Austin came running up to her, fully in costume but not his usual one. He looked downright creepy and had she not known the voice, she might have went running. He paused as he came up to her, grinning ear to ear. He stopped just before he'd crash into her and then shook her shoulders. "We're working together tonight!"

"What?"

Her response only seemed to fuel his excitement. "In the maze! Remember how I said I can't do my set tonight because of the wind? Well, Joe is going to chase us. We're going to jump out, you're going to try to drag me—hence all the blood—and Joe is going to run up to us and drag me away through the corn! I begged Jim for hours to let me work with you. I really wanted to."

Her cheeks burned at this. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I heard your scream the other night. It rocks." He paused. "Mitch would have loved it."

She thought back to his chuckle in the corn earlier that day. "I'm sure he would have, too. So, should we practice? Or?"

"Practice? I don't know. I mean, do you think you need to? I'm good at pulling stuff out of my ass." His grin made her laugh again and she swatted him. "But if you want to, I'm all for it."

Ally followed him toward the maze, a little nervous to head back in there. She still was somewhat convinced she was insane and that hearing Mitch talk to her was all in her head. But at the same time, she knew she really was talking to him. Would he see her? Could he always see her? Her hand was in Austin's and her heart was hammering in both dread and excitement. His hand was warm; she felt as if they fit together perfectly.

She couldn't tell if the wind was just picking up, or if that was his brother's way of alerting her to his presence. She didn't think so, as last time she could feel the hairs on her neck stand up when he was close. Still, she glanced around her and made faces into the corn, as if to say she was enjoying herself. Austin, much like Luna and Mitch, was quite twisted. He spoke about the Texas Chainsaw movies and how he always wanted to do something like this.

"What's your favorite scary movie?"

Ally laughed, shaking her head, "I don't have one, remember? You wouldn't have even gotten me through the door a month ago."

"Right. You need to come over my house and we need to have a marathon." He looked around him. "We need a real first date. What do you say?"

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck shoot up and shivered. "Yeah. Yeah… I'd like that."

A voice tickled her ear, "You're blushing."

"Of course I am!"

Austin looked confused, "What?"

"Nothing," she laughed. "I'd love to. Whenever you want, but don't be surprised if I'm hiding in my shirt all night long."

By the time Ally was satisfied with the practice, it was almost time for the fans to be let in. Austin went to find Joe, leaving her alone in the corn maze for a moment. She glanced around her, looking for any sign of his brother. "I don't know how this works, but I definitely felt you before."

Nothing happened.

Ally sighed, thinking about checking herself into a hospital when the night was all said and done, and leaned against the tree. She found herself getting bored and a little scared as she waited for everyone to enter, and the rope that hung above her sent chills down her spine. Luckily, even if Mitch was watching, he could only sense her fear. He couldn't know what she was thinking and despite what he'd said and what she was supposed to believe, she wondered how he truly felt in those last few seconds.

Did he like Luna? Did he want to make a move on her? What did he think now that she wouldn't enter the maze?

"Ally!"

Joe came running up to her, the chainsaw bobbing on his side. "Austin will be right in. He wanted to make sure you were good with being chased by one of these."

"I am," she assured him. "Not a big deal."

"Great. I'm going to be in there," he pointed to the break in the corn, and will come after Austin first since he'll be on the ground and all. We should be good. They're getting fans tickets now, it shouldn't be too long before they're on line. If you have any problems tonight, let me know. I know you're still new at this."

She thanked him and watched as he stalked into the corn, waiting from a distance. Austin returned and she felt her excitement rise. She was going to be working with the guy she liked, in a scene that she knew meant a lot to him. And they were going to be scaring people who wanted this. All in all, she felt pretty happy.

The first few groups that went through enjoyed the act. Ally dragged Austin through the corn, pulling her 'injured' friend so that he wouldn't get murdered. She screamed when Joe came through the opening, grabbing hold of Austin and disappearing with him into the dark. His screams were so loud and she even had to shudder. She followed the group pleading for them to help her. Their finale was when Austin was 'thrown' into the middle of the path, practically torn to shreds, one last attempt to scare them before Joe tossed him back into their little personal game.

The fans screamed their asses off. Ally smiled when they left, slapping hands with her bloodied friend. "You look disgusting," she told him, as he poured more blood all over him. He splashed some on her and she squealed, pushing him into the corn.

He was covered in corn dust and looked a bit worse for wear, but it didn't seem to faze him. By the time Joe was back, they were ready for the next group and the night went on. When the last group went through, all three of them were laughing and smiling, knowing the night had been a success. "We're a good team," Austin told her, pulling her close which made her blush. "I wish I could keep you out here."

The wind picked up again, and something giggled into her ear. She glanced at Austin, wondering if he heard it too. He just looked back at her lovingly. Ally smiled back, but couldn't help but think she was lying to the boy she was falling hard for.