Chapter 105: Children of the Corn Maze


Jake and Nick return to a corn maze.


It was night and the wind was spookily rustling through the dried corn stalks which lined each side of the dirt pathway, overhead the moon shone down upon the tan-colored stalks and cast eerie dark shadows upon the ground. All around them there were joyful shouts and laughing while shadowy figures shot past in the distance as if they were wraiths haunting the Autumn night. As his pale yellow eyes darted around, the male raccoon in a black wool jacket knew that although he had been here before and it seemed that things hadn't changed much, he was still lost. His ears perked up when he heard the not so distant sounds of small chainsaws and knew that the two beavers in overalls, who they passed when they entered into the maze, were back at work on the massive pumpkin which they were carving into a grotesquely scary face. He sniffed the air around him and could smell the mouthwatering scents of hot cider, grilled corn, funnel cakes, and popcorn. It seemed like it had been hours upon hours since the large tractor had pulled the hay strew wagon full of adventurers to the maze's entrance, but he knew it had been less than one long agonizing hour.

"It was the one thing I promised Marie that I would do," the raccoon named Jake said as he searched around in desperation for a way out of the cornfield. "I told her I wouldn't let the boys and their friends wander off and they did!"

"It wasn't your fault, they just took off like little rockets and we couldn't keep up," a lanky fox in the worn olive drab military jacket, who was standing next to the raccoon, sighed out in frustration. "I hate these corn mazes, we should have remembered the last time we did this and just said NO!"

"Nick, those two sons of mine have you twisted around their little digits. You didn't stand a chance."

"Well, since Judy is working again tonight and Marie is shopping with Fru Fru, we can't expect them to rescue us like they did the last time."

"That was at least a dozen years ago!" the raccoon replied as he peeked around another corner and down a yet another long row which seemed to lead only into more darkness.

"Yes and until tonight, I haven't wandered near a cornfield since that night."

"Well you used to be with the K-9 Unit, so why don't you just sniff our way out of here?"

"This place is so full of scents, there is no way I can do that," the fox answered with a huff. "This is silly, we are two grown adults and …"

Jake gave out a cute little "eep!" when two laughing bobcat kittens suddenly emerged from the darkness and ran past them. He then realized that he had run over and into the surprised fox's arms like he was a little kit.

"Did they scare the big old rough and tough raccoon?" Nick laughed as Jake quickly let go of his arms and blushed from embarrassment.

"Shut up Wilde!" the raccoon snapped. They continued to wander aimlessly around for a few minutes more. "I'd swear that I've seen those to kittens before?" Jake finally commented.

"Yeah, they look just like that same pair who kept running past us last time we were here and lost," Nick replied as he nervously looked around. "But as you said, that was twelve years ago!"

"Kittens of the corn," Jake called out in an eerie tone. "They are the ghosts of two children who are lost in this maze forever, seeking a way out of here but never finding one. Spooky!"

"You should know that they do cut the field down every year and regrow it?"

"Oh yeah, that makes sense."

"You really are a city coon aren't you?" Nick laughed as he pulled out his phone.

"Are you calling 911 to tell them we are lost?" Jake chuckled as he watched. "I can see the headlines now, a veteran cop and a handsome raccoon were rescued from a field of corn," the raccoon added as he waved his paw in front of him. "News at eleven."

"Nope, I'm going to text Finn to tell him what a wimp you are being."

"Ha…ha…ha, not funny, fox!"

"No signal," the fox sighed out in agitation. "How is it we found the only spot in the Meadowlands which does not have cell service?"

"Well, I just happened to remember that I may have downloaded an aerial of the maze on my phone last week," Jake said as he pulled his own phone out of his pocket. "All we have to do is determine where we currently are and then we can use the aerial as a map to figure our way out of here!" Nick stood next to him and looked down at the cell phone and the image which was brightly illuminated on it.

"Hey Pop, can I have some cash for food and drink?" a voice asked from behind them.

"Sure," Jake absentmindedly replied as he reached into his pocket and handed the young raccoon behind him twenty bucks. Looking back at his phone, he continued to explain, "So I think we are here and if we go up…" the raccoon blinked for a moment before he went silent and looked up from the phone in surprise.

"What?" Nick asked.

"NICKY!" the older raccoon yelled as he whirled around. "NICKY!"

"Where?"

"He was just here! I gave him some money!"

"Quick, maybe we can catch him?" the fox called out as he ran down the row. "NICKY!"

A few frantic moments later they were standing alone in the middle of the trail, the fox stared down at his best friend. "Your son was right behind you and you didn't ask him the way out of here?"

"I was busy with the aerial picture," Jake answered as he pulled his phone back out of his pocket. "Ah, shoot!"

"Now what?"

"I forgot to charge the phone and now it is dead!"

"Like you are going to be if we don't get out of here anytime soon."

"Aw come on you're the detective, use those detectiveish skills to figure our way out of here."

"Detectiveish?" Nick scoffed. "That isn't even a word. Besides, you are the corn expert."

"Why, because I grow a few stalks of sweet corn in my garden every summer?" Jake replied as he rolled his eyes in amusement. "How is that supposed to help?"

"Well lean over and I will crawl up onto your shoulders, then maybe I can see over the stalks?"

"You're a good foot taller than me and you weigh more, let me crawl up onto your shoulders."

"If I throw my back out, I'll kill you coon!" the fox huffed out as he leaned over for the raccoon to crawl onto his back. "Oww! Oww!

"Hey Poppa, what are you and Uncle Nick doing?" a young voice asked from behind them.

"Your Uncle Nick is going to lift me up so I can see…" Jake began answering and then he punched Nick in the arm to let him down. Freddie stood there with Cheri looking at the two adults as if they were crazy. "Freddie, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Yes, just walk back that way and then take a right and then another right," the young raccoon replied as he pointed down the trail. "You can't miss the exit."

The fox and older raccoon followed the young raccoon and coyfox down one row and then another before they stumbled out into the grassy field and to their freedom.


During the Fall of 2011, a family was lost in a commercial corn maze in Danvers, Massachusetts. They panicked and called the police to rescue them. The police officers and maze workers found the frantic couple and their child just 25 feet away from the exit.

Nick and Jake's previous misadventure can be found in Chapter 43: Corn Maze Madness.

It is a good thing our fox and raccoon are not lost at Cool Patch Pumpkins in Dixon, Illinois. In 2014, they set a world record with a 60-acre maze!