Thank you for the reviews! I'm sorry it didn't get posted on Halloween... sometimes things just don't go as you planned. I had a great time at my haunt though, for those who care. We skipped the lines and got to head in the back way, learn a little bit about the background of the haunt from the employee who was nice enough to offer it to me. I wish I could've asked more about the corn maze, because it is everything to me... but oh well. I had an actor break character and tell me if I wanted to do this next year, I should when he overheard me telling my friend I wish I could do this. He said he loved it, and I would too. Then, he proceeded to chase me to the next section. Jerk! Lol. It was a really good night. He's the last full chapter, and then there is an epilogue! I might have a surprise in that for you guys. :)

Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

The rain seemed to worsen as the girls stumbled away from the lifeless body. Trish was shaking and crying, completely unaware of what was actually going on around them. She took this time to fill her in, quickly, and hopefully making sense as well, on what she had missed leaving the part about Mitch out for the moment. It was too much to cover, and they didn't have the time. This was no longer a joke, not even violent threat. Someone had been murdered.

"This is insane," Trish cried. "What do we do? Where is Austin? Do you think whoever did this has him? I'm scared, Ally!"

The irony in her statement should've made her laugh. Two months ago, she would've been shouting that she was terrified to her friend. Okay, so she was terrified. But this was a completely different situation, one that she never could have thought up, never expected. The old Ally would've been on the ground, sobbing. She was forming a plan. It might be a disaster, but it was better than nothing at this point.

"We need to get back to Luna and Dez," she finally decided. "We need to stick together. Figure a way out of this."

"We can't leave Austin behind," Trish said.

"I don't plan on it. But being apart is a bad plan," she added. "Come on."

Just as she was about to grab the girl's hand, a sound resonated from somewhere deeper in the maze. She'd recognize it anywhere now: the sound of chainsaws. Then, there was an ear-splitting scream, which stopped her firmly in place. She recognized the person's voice, but she couldn't place who it was. Her heart hammered as the voice screamed again, slowly turning into a whimper as the chainsaw temporarily silenced.

"We have to help them," Trish murmured.

She was about to agree, "Wait! What if it's a trap?"

"What if it's Austin?" she was asked.

Ally swallowed hard. It was not Austin's scream, she was sure of that. But what if it was someone like Joe, or Dez, or anyone else who she'd gotten to know so well over the last few weeks? Could she live with herself if someone else died in the hands of someone so torturous? A normal person would've called the police, and left the area. Ally was starting to understand the girls in horror movies. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to do that.

"Come on," she called over the rain. It was so hard to see.

"This is bad," Trish commented. "So bad."

We have no other option, she thought and hurried through the dark maze. She knew her way through it without a second thought. She wondered as they neared their set, if Mitch could see what was going on, or if he'd appear when she got close enough. Ally wondered if Trish would even believe her if she told her the truth. It didn't matter anymore, she knew deep down, because he was real, and this all stemmed from three years ago.

Which was why she was sure Ben was behind it all. He had the means, motive, and the knowledge of the set. Who would've thought someone that Mitch cared for was behind something so terrible?

"Where did the scream come from?"

Ally took a minute to think. It all came back down to Mitch, and that event, so she figured if they headed toward the set, they'd come into contact with whoever it was. So, she hoped. Not that she wanted to deal with a murderer who was out to get her, and her friends, but saving lives was something she needed to do. They ran through the muddy area until they reached the tree. No one was around. Ally swirled in motion, looking for a sign of her haunting friend, or a human who was in distress.

All she saw was blood. Everywhere.

"There is too much of it," Trish commented, her voice low.

"Mitch!" she finally shrieked, on top of her lungs. It was clear whoever was doing this knew she was in contact with him, and probably wasn't far. She needed his help. She needed the guidance of someone she knew she could trust… Mitch was one of the few people right then. "Are you here? Can you hear me? I need you. I need your help. Please, please help me."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Trish yelled. "Isn't he dead? Ally, I know this is scary, but you're freaking me out now."

"Trish, there was more to the story than I told you," she answered, keeping her voice calm. "And I can either figure a way out of this right now, or you can just trust me."

"You're talking ghosts, Ally."

"I know that," she answered again. "Believe me, I didn't want to think what I was experiencing is real, but it is."

"Then where is he?"

Ally glanced around her. There was definite emotion around them. She was right… where was he? Before she could answer that herself, another scream rang out, this time close. It was desperate and terrified, a last attempt at probably saving itself from whatever was about to happen. Ally grabbed her friend's hand and ran toward it. What they came to she never would've expected. Her entire being was in shock to see Ben on the floor of the corn, holding his stomach which was bleeding profusely, begging with a masked individual who was holding a knife.

She recognized the mask from the night she was chased.

"Oh my God," she moaned.

"Ally!" Ben called. "Get out of here!"

"Who is it?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Who is it?"

"I don't know—"

"Ally?" the voice behind the mask spoke. The mask slowly came off, and her heart stopped. There was no way. There was absolutely no way. She felt betrayed, destroyed and alone in the matter of seconds.

Austin stood before her, still holding the knife, and now the mask in his hands. "Austin?" she cried. "How could you?"

"What?" he asked, shaking his head. "Where did he go?"

"What are you talking about? Did Ben attack you?" she realized.

"No, not me!" he said. He looked around frantically, searching for something that she couldn't see. He took the mask and threw it across the maze, as if he understood why she was scared. "Something is wrong. Very wrong." He looked at Ben, studying him with such a severity Ally felt another round of chills creep down her spine. "There is something… off. I don't know who to believe."

"Dude, you stabbed me!" Ben shouted, too weak to do much else. "With that damn mask!"

"I did not! He said you attacked him!"

"Who? I was looking for my name tag. I haven't seen it in days! I thought I'd try to find it before the rain destroyed it!"

"Likely story! You know what? I know! We all know! So give it up! Just admit you killed my brother!"

"What?!" Ben snapped.

"Stop fighting!" Ally added, giving both of them a look. "One at a time."

Before anyone else could say a word, someone came forward with force, grabbing Austin by the side, hitting him hard enough that it knocked him to the ground. Before she could even fathom what was happening, he was dragging him directly through the corn, while he screamed in protest. Masked and in complete costume, the identity remained a mystery to everyone. Ally went to go after him, but found that somehow, she couldn't catch up. In the matter of seconds, she was lost in the interior of the corn, only distantly hearing Austin scream and plead with the masked figure that grabbed him.

Trish's voice resonated in the vicinity, "Ally! Ally! Are you there? Austin?! ALLY?!"

She sniffled, scared and alone, while she tried to stumble her way back to where Trish, and Ben were. She found Trish crying in the rain, trying to help Ben who looked too pale for his body tone. The blood was pooling around him. Maybe the rain made it look worse. Upon close inspection, she noticed how deep the wound on his stomach really was.

"I'm not behind this," he said weakly, looking at her. "I swear. Is that what you thought?"

She didn't want to admit that she did. Now she had no suspects, and a missing boyfriend in danger. And where the hell was Mitch? "It doesn't matter now," she reasoned. "We need to get you out of here, find Austin, and call for help."

"We need to find Luna and Dez," Trish added, trying to figure out a way to staunch the bleeding from Ben's stomach with her jacket. He groaned in pain anytime she placed pressure there. "We also need to move him. It's not safe here."

"We can't move him," Ally murmured, knowing well that if they tried, it would not only exhaust them, but probably make him bleed out faster. The way he was lying, and the pressure on his stomach was his best shot. She looked beyond him. There was a slight break in the corn. If they brought him back far enough, they could probably camouflage him until it was safe. Somehow, as she looked into his pain-riddled eyes, she knew he understood this. He nodded weakly, "Do it, Ally."

"I'm sorry," she told him softly, as she explained to Trish her plan. "I know we're making you a sitting duck."

"Just… do me a favor, okay?"

Ally looked at his drooping eyes—even if they were able to call for help… how long would he survive? "What?"

"If… if I don't make it, tell Luna I loved her," he pleaded. "I should've said more… I need her to know that. I can't be like… like him… I need her to know that I cared for her."

"I will," she promised, squeezing his hand. "Though, I think she knows it already."

He closed his eyes, and leaned against a tree. "Thank you."

"We'll be back for—"

Another scream rang out, and this time, it sent her to the floor.

It was Austin.

"AUSTIN!" she shrieked, and for a second, she panicked. She had no idea where he was, or what to do anymore. People were hurt, people were missing, and she was pretty sure someone was going to die. There was a part of her that wanted to give up in those seconds. Give in to whoever hated them that much and cut her losses. Then she thought about Mitch, about how much he loved his brother, the haunt, and those around him. And she couldn't do it… she had to push forward. With a new determination, she grabbed Trish's hand and ran toward the sound of the screams.

They made it back to the tree set and almost ran into Luna and Dez. She was so relieved to see them that she almost forgot why she ran, until she heard a noise behind her. As if on cue, the lights in that section of the maze lit up, to show Austin on display, kicking and clawing for the tree, tied so that he couldn't move from where he was positioned. The rope was around his neck, but he wasn't quite hanging yet.

Luna shrieked, closing her eyes. She wondered if it was like déjà vu all over for her. The fact that she was in the maze alone testified for whatever was going on. Hearing Austin scream must've brought her in here—her love for the Moons meant more than her own fear.

"We have to help him!" she cried, dissolving into who seemed like a different person. Ally never saw her that afraid before.

"Let's see you try!" A voice cut in, making all of them stop. A figure appeared from behind the set. Another mask was on this person's face, and their body was in some sort of haunt suit. She couldn't make out anything else, as it was raining harder and harder by the second—odd. And where was Mitch? Was he afraid to out himself in front of Austin? She could hear him, he didn't have to do anything else. He would be the only one who could answer questions at this point.

The person, now edging toward Austin came to a stop, still clapping their hands.

"Very good," came the muffled voice, blocking their mouth with their hand. "Very, very good."

"Who are you?"

The voice chuckled, "So naïve, Ally."

She recognized it almost immediately once the person took their hand from their mouth. No one else seemed to, except for Luna. "You son of a bitch! I trusted you."

Austin soon understood too trying to speak from where he was positioned, "You tricked me! You were going to have me kill him!"

"One less person in the way," the voice continued. "You'll be gone, soon too. But I can't have every death on my hands. The cops will be pretty leery of my story if it seems I killed everyone. I plan on having you kill Ally, and those other two kids before I take your life." He pointed toward Dez's direction, "Then figure somehow Ben got to you. And then… there's Austin. I mean, I'm going to make yours look like a mistake, too. Seems fitting, doesn't it?"

"I can't believe you," Austin sneered. "I cannot understand why you would do this to me—to my family."

"You moron," he laughed. "It's not about you—well not directly. It's never been about you. It's about her."

"Who?"

He chuckled, "Luna."

The voice took off the mask, revealing themselves. He smiled directly at her. "Sweetheart, it's always been about you."

Joe did not look anything like she remembered him, Ally thought. He seemed like a completely different person in the rain, smiling like that.

Luna choked back a sob. "You son of a bitch. Rot in hell. You did this! You killed Mitch! It wasn't an accident!"

"Of course it wasn't." He snorted. "You know how easy it was to do once he showed me the trick? God, so fucking dumb. He practically signed his own death."

Austin paled.

Luna did too.

"You killed him… for what?"

"For you," he said, tilting his head as it made sense. "He didn't deserve you."

"What?!" she shrieked. "Oh my God."

"You don't understand, do you?" he reasoned calmly. His entire body seemed to relax, and he leaned against the tree—still blocking it from them getting to Austin. "He didn't deserve you—he didn't know as much as I did. But you were always after him—even though he never seemed to give a damn! He never asked you out… never did anything! He didn't deserve you."

"So, you killed him?" she asked again, her voice horrified.

""It got your attention, didn't it?" he asked, looking proud. "I mean, for the first time, you weren't running to him anymore! It wasn't about Mitch. It was about ME! I was the one you were coming to, crying on the shoulder of. We were finally happy, together! I was the only one you were happy with—remember that? Those few weeks where it was just you and me? Then he came back. You were all over Ben like he was something, too. I figured it would stop, you'd get bored. We all drifted because of the haunt being over—and then Ben didn't come back! Everything was great. Don't you remember? Don't you remember the good times, Luna?"

Luna just stood there stiff. She looked like she might throw up. She finally just closed her eyes, covering her mouth with her hand, "You killed him for me…"

"Why is that so hard to comprehend?" he asked, his voice rising just a little. "I'd do anything for you, Luna. I'm going to marry you!"

"And the rest of it?" Ally asked. "Why now? Why are you doing this?"

"Ben's back," he said simply. "And then there was this shit." He pointed to the set, glaring behind him at it. "You know we haven't used this set in the last couple of years. Instead of people being here, we put a few sound recorders and just let the kids run past it. Then, this one," he snapped, glaring up at Austin, "Decided that he had to come work here, bring it back. Thought he was something else. Fucking Moons are always in the way." He shrugged, shaking his head. "I wasn't going to worry too much about it, to be honest. I would find a way to get rid of Ben… it would be easy. Then, one day I walked into the corn maze before work, and I saw you talking to someone. They sat down right next to you, and they were smiling—happy! You got too close—you were going to expose me eventually! I had to protect myself. How would I get Luna if people kept getting in my way?"

"Ally, what is he talking about? Who were you talking to?"

"I'm so sorry, Luna," she whispered. "I should've told you. I should've told Austin…"

Ally bit down on her lip. Joe could see Mitch? Why couldn't she? A part of her wondered if he was attached to him somehow because he murdered him.

"You had to make it difficult! All of you. So, here we are."

He pulled on the rope beyond him, releasing it so that Austin would hang. It swung wildly, and Ally just said a prayer that it didn't immediately snap his neck. Instead, he held onto the ropes and she felt an odd sense of déjà vu from a few weeks previous watching him suffer in front of her. Joe blocked the way, and despite Dez's attempt to rush forward in those seconds and try to stop him, it only ended with him getting hit onto the floor. The girls just stood there. Joe was at least a foot taller than them and at least 100 pounds heavier.

They couldn't do a thing.

Ally's eyes welled. She was going to watch her boyfriend die. Luna was going to watch someone else she cared about die the same way the love of her life did.

Until, something unbelievable happened.

She didn't see it at first—she was too focused on Austin and his choking sounds to see what formed behind Joe. Luna did and Ally watched as she went through a range of emotions, from shock, to fear, to awe, and just a mix of the three. She covered her hand with her mouth, biting back another sob. Joe seemed confused, but he couldn't see him.

Beyond him, a haze had formed. It just seemed like a light at first, but then it took shape.

He always did say emotions were a power charge for him.

It grew colder by the second, the rain pouring down on them.

He looked right past Ally to the girl next to her, and gave her a smile. It seemed in those few seconds, all was right with the world.

Luna and Mitch were staring at each other.

Then, he tilted his head, gaping at his brother, who because of the angle could not see him, and glared daggers at the back of Joe's head. He came forward, with more force than anything she'd ever seen or felt before, and tackled Joe to the ground. He was solid, like a real person and not some sort of other kind of being, his hands closing around the large man's neck. He did not seem like the happy-go-lucky voice she'd gotten to know in the next few seconds when she heard him whisper, "How does it feel to lose the ability to breathe, Joe? To feel the world slipping from your grasp with nothing you can do to stop it." He smiled, twisted and creepy. "What, you look like you've seen a ghost?"

Joe sputtered, unable to breathe.

She felt a sick sense of happiness from that. Then, she remembered Austin and ran past the two of them, as they struggled and went to the rope. She couldn't figure out how to release it, it was stuck in some sort of tight not that she couldn't break.

"I can't get him down!"

This broke the look and focus that Mitch had on the man below him. He called to the girls, still not calling the one he loved by name, demanding that they hold him down. With the power of two, they did, and she watched in shock as Mitch easily climbed the tree and began to work on something she couldn't exactly see. In seconds, he was slowly lowering him to the ground.

In the chaos, she hadn't realized Austin had stopped moving until she came around the corner and saw him lifelessly lying on the ground. A sob quickly escaped her throat, and she looked wildly at Mitch who looked horrified at the sight.

"We're not letting this happen," she said, her voice level and severely serious. "Not again. Never again."

She ran over to him, flipping him over to see him still not breathing. She felt for a pulse, feeling nothing. Ally wanted to panic, retreat to what she once was, but then she saw Mitch. She finally saw him in those moments, the person that not only loved haunts, horror, and the beautiful blonde a few feet away, but the boy who loved his brother tirelessly and endlessly. If it wasn't enough before to try to fight to save his life, she felt an even bigger pull to know this could not be the end. Not now.

History would not repeat itself.

She didn't know CPR. She had no idea how it really worked—she only saw it on TV.

She did it anyway. She prayed it was right, prayed it would be enough.

Luna was on the phone with the police while she attempted to restrain Joe. She worked for nearly five minutes before she felt something give back when she put her lips on his. A tickle of a breath, if only for a second. So, she did it again. And again, until she saw his chest rising up and down, slowly and then a bit more strong.

Ally relaxed, leaning against the tree.

A sound came beyond the corn and Ben stumbled forward. Ally, too tired and shocked to deal with much else did not move when he demanded the girls get off of Joe and plunged a knife into his stomach, not once, not twice, but more times than she could count, before collapsing next to him in a heap. Joe did not move. He never made a sound.

His eyes remained open until she heard a voice beside her, "Is he dead?"

"I think so," she said automatically, then realized who spoke. "Austin!"

He tried to sit up, but she forced him back down. "It's okay. It's okay. Don't move."

As if Ben's sudden attack woke her up too, Luna ran over to Austin, putting his head onto her lap. Only then did she seem to remember something else. She looked around her, at the boy who was near the tree. Both of them stared at him in shock, Austin literally trembling beneath them at the sight. It didn't seem real.

"I must've hit my head," Luna mumbled.

Mitch smiled, "Ally said that too the first time I spoke to her."

She closed her eyes, "Is it really you?"

"It's really me," he whispered, coming toward them. "Sorry it had to be like this."

"I can't believe it," she whispered. She gently took her hands off Austin's head, trying to touch him. Mitch froze, unsure how it would work, and Ally too was shocked when she was able to gently caress his face. "I miss you so much." Ally felt as if she was interrupting something private. The girl before her broke down another time, something she never would've thought she'd see. "You were everything to me," she whispered. "I should've told you. I shouldn't have made you think I wasn't that into you. I should've done something. I should've told you."

"Shh," he whispered. "It's okay. I know. Believe me, I know. I'm at fault too."

There was a silence.

"I love you, Luna," he added. "I've loved you from the day I met you."

"I love you, too."

He glanced down at Austin, who was hazily looking at him, too. His voice was weak when he said, "All I wanted to do was do your life justice."

"Baby bro, you did all that and more," he whispered back. "I'm so proud of you."

He smiled and closed his eyes, falling unconscious. Ally stared worriedly, but was brought back to the love affair in front of her. It was like she couldn't look away.

"I know." He stood up, looking at all of them. "You're going to be okay."

She didn't know who he was speaking to, if anyone directly.

He continued to smile, seemingly the most at peace he'd been probably in a long time. He might not have remembered it, but his murder was what kept him there. With the murderer out in the open, and dead now too, he had nothing but lightness left around him.

"We figured it out after all," he grinned, nodding at Ally. "You and me make a good team. I would've been honored to be in a set with you. You are the kind of person that everyone needs in their life. A light in a dark world."

She smiled sadly at him. She realized what this meant. "I'm thankful for all you've taught me."

"And me, too." He glanced around again. Ally noticed he was starting to not show as well, similar to how he looked the first night she saw him. Before she could say anything else, Luna ran up to him, grabbing him by the shoulders. In a second's time, she had pressed her lips to his and his arms were around her. It glowed in the haunted maze for a few seconds, the scare zone filled with something a little more bright.

"I always wanted you to do that," he murmured, as they broke apart.

"I just hope it was worth the wait," she joked sadly.

"I'd make a lame joke like I used to, but I feel like my humor's kind of dead," he grinned.

Luna choked back a laugh or a sob… Ally wasn't sure which. Maybe both. "I love you," she said again. "I always will."

"Here's to hoping the real afterlife is everything we always said it would be," he murmured. "And if I'm in hell, that there is at least TV."

She snorted. "Asshole."

"You love me."

The girl froze, clearly brought back a few years in those seconds.

Mitch just shrugged, eyes gleaming with trickery. It was what he lived for, after all.

He came up beside her and bravely pressed a kiss on her cheek. "You love me."

She turned around, giving him a weak smile. "Unfortunately."

Sirens sounded in the distance, alerting them it was all over. In those few seconds, no one said a word, not a single sound seemed to be heard. Then, she watched as he flickered like a candle, time seemingly running out. He didn't look distraught by it, and just stood back from the group.

Luna was the one to break the silence, alerting him, and everyone around her that everything would be okay with just one word, "Always