I stared up at the shingled planks of the attic. I had woken up in the middle of the night, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about the terrible things that had happened on the farm. They had been too busy cleaning up around the farm to yell at me, but I could tell they blamed me for what happened. Of course, they didn't believe the scarecrow was alive. I wasn't sure I believed it, even if I had felt the straw scratching against my ankle. Even Louisa had yelled at me. I had left the scarecrow in the middle of the cornfield while following them back to the farm. But I had a feeling it wasn't lying there anymore. It seemed to be changing position a lot lately.
I tossed and turned in bed for a while. Then I slowly got out and quietly left the attic. I wasn't trying to run away again, but I couldn't get to sleep up there. I headed to the kitchen, now dimly lit only by the fireplace, and poured myself a glass of water. Then I almost dropped it as I heard footsteps behind me. I knew I'd be in trouble if they knew I was up at night. I froze, tightly clutching the glass as the footsteps grew nearer. Then I heard a soft voice calling my name.
"Fern?"
I turned around to see my sister staring at me in her pajamas. "Louisa?" I let out a sigh of relief.
Louisa jumped out of her skin, before turning to me. "Oh, it's just you, Fern. I thought it was Mom or Dad."
"So did I," I admitted. "What are you doing up?"
"Well, what are you?" Louisa retorted.
"I couldn't sleep," I admitted, drinking the last of the water. "It's hard getting to sleep in the attic, you know."
"Really? It didn't seem that hard for you in the loft," Louisa reminded.
"I keep thinking about… you know, what happened here," I explained.
"You mean, all the things that happened?" Louisa asked.
"Uh, yeah," I agreed. "It seems only bad things happen since I came. I wish I had never come here."
"I know how you feel," Louisa assured. "I can't stop thinking about it, either. And I know someone has to be doing these things."
"You don't really think it was me, do you?" I asked. "I would never do anything like that. I can't believe your parents thought it was me."
Louisa hesitated. "No, I suppose not," she assured. "I don't think even you would be that stupid. But somebody had to have driven the tractor. And you were the only one who could've. That's why they blamed you. Besides, they don't know you that well."
"I guess you're right," I muttered. "But it has to be someone, doesn't it?"
"If it's no one here, it could be someone from the town," Louisa suggested. "There are a few people there who don't like Dad. They could be sneaking here and trying to ruin things for us."
I hadn't thought of that. "But they'd have to be really dedicated," I pointed out. "If they snuck into the tractor. I didn't see anyone inside… well, aside from the scarecrow, but…"
"Maybe they took the tractor to the cornfield and then ran off," Louisa suggested. "It would explain why they drove the tractor there, since it's close to the end of the farm."
"I don't know," I admitted. "I didn't hear anyone running off. I only saw the scarecrow."
"Oh, don't go on about that!" Louisa groaned. "Did you really think it was alive? I guess you're going to say it started the tractor and drove into the cornfield."
"No, of course not," I assured. "But it has been acting weirdly, don't you think? It keeps showing up in different places."
"Maybe whoever keeps coming has been doing that too," Louisa suggested. "Maybe they want us to think something weird is going on. And it looks like it's working, for you at least."
"Maybe you're right," I agreed. I hadn't considered that either. I wanted to believe she was right. "But they had to be really careful if we didn't notice. They must've snuck in at night the other times."
Louisa nodded. "It would be good if we caught them, didn't I? I'm sure we could handle them if they did come again."
"Is that why you're up?" I demanded.
Louisa hesitated. "Well, yes," she admitted. "I was just about to head out. I thought I could catch who was doing it. But I guess it was a pretty dumb idea."
"Maybe," I agreed. "But I'd like to go out as well. I usually take a walk at night when I can't sleep." I was also secretly hoping I could catch who it was as well. I didn't want to think it had anything to do with the scarecrow.
"I'll come with you," Louisa suggested eagerly. I followed her to the front door. "But won't you be scared, after everything that's happened?"
"I feel more scared in the farmhouse," I admitted. "Thinking about what happened here…"
"You mean, the fire?" Louisa asked.
"I keep remembering it whenever I look around," I said. "No offense, but the place is kind of…"
"Ruined? Yeah, it is," Louisa agreed. "Sometimes I get freaked out as well. But it's in pretty good state, considering what happened. I mean, at the time of the fire, they must've thought there was no way anyone could live in here afterwards."
"Well, it freaks me out being in here," I insisted. "Let's just go for a quick walk."
Louisa opened the door. I followed her into the cold night air. Like before, I felt a sense of peace as I walked through the farm.
"Were you really planning to run away?" Louisa asked.
"I think so," I replied. "I'm not sure what I was thinking now. But at the time, I was so desperate to get away, I wasn't thinking clearly. That's why I took the jack-o-lantern for light as well. Now, I wish I never had."
"Never run away, or never taken the jack-o-lantern?" Louisa asked.
"Both, I guess," I said. "You were right. It was a mistake."
"I know how you feel," Louisa admitted. "I love being on the farm, but it can be a lot of work sometimes. Even without all those things happening. Sometimes, I wish I could escape. You know, like where you live."
"Maybe you could come to visit us," I suggested.
Louisa shrugged. "Maybe. But then I'd miss the farm and try to run away as well."
I laughed. "Yeah, probably."
I followed Louisa to the edge of the farm. She stared out at the wide, glistening expanse of cornfields. "It would be easy to get lost in there," she remarked.
I stared out at the cornfield, watching the stalks shifting in the breeze. Suddenly, Louisa cried out. "Dad! Dad, what are you doing out there?"
I glanced over in surprise. The scarecrow was standing in the middle of the field, the wide-brimmed hat drooping over its head. I could've sworn it had one of its arms raised and pointed in our direction, though it was too dark to tell.
"What are you talking about, Louisa?" I asked. "That's just the scarecrow."
"Huh?" Louisa stared at the field. "Oh, you're right, Fern." She lowered her head, embarrassed. "How stupid of me. I can't believe I thought it was Dad."
As I peered at the scarecrow, I could see why she did. It did look a lot like him late at night, especially with that hat over his head. Then I remembered something.
"But it can't be," I muttered. "It was lying in the middle of the field earlier."
"Dad must've put it back up," Louisa suggested dismissively.
"But did it have a hat before?" I asked.
"You're right. He didn't," Louisa agreed. "He's dressed in Dad's old clothes. Maybe he put the hat on him as well. It's no wonder I thought it was him."
I peered closer at the scarecrow. I could've sworn I saw it raising its arms and bobbing its head.
"Have you heard the legend of the scarecrow?" Louisa asked. "No, I shouldn't tell you. It'll just scare you more. But I know this one is fake. Dad just made it up."
"Huh?" I stared at her.
"Come on, Fern, let's get back inside," Louisa insisted.
I turned to follow Louisa, but then I froze. I could hear rustling noises behind me, breaking through the stillness of the night. They were faint and distant at first, but quickly got closer. I stood there listening for a moment, until I could hear the scratchy footsteps right behind me, shuffling over the ground. I began to leap forward, but then I felt something brush against my shoulder. I screamed in panic.
Louisa turned to me. I watched as she froze as well. Her mouth dropped open as she stared past me, her eyes widening. I was too afraid to look back. I could feel something brushing against my back, something rough and dry. I realized it was straw. It barely touched me, but it still froze me in place. I focused on Louisa, staring at the terror on her face.
"Fern!" Louisa cried, rushing towards me.
I jumped as I felt something land on my head. It fell off, landing on the ground. As I glanced down, I realized it was the wide-brimmed straw hat. The same one the scarecrow had.
I slowly raised my head. My jaw dropped as I caught sight of the scarecrow. The long sleeves were stretched out at the sides, flapping in the breeze. I couldn't stop staring up into the grinning face that stared down at me. The burlap bag bobbed up and down, as if nodding. Then it began rotating, as if turning its head. I watched in terror as the painted grin slowly disappeared from sight. I realized the scarecrow wasn't held up by the poles anymore. It was standing by itself.
I let out a scream and stumbled back, tripping over the hat. I scrambled backwards as I fell to the ground, staring up at the grinning scarecrow. It raised one of the tattered legs and came closer. I screamed again, but there was nobody in the clothes. The scarecrow was alive.
Just then, something hit the scarecrow's plaid shirt. A small rock. It stumbled slightly, momentarily disoriented. It lowered the burlap head, as if trying to see what had hit it. I turned my head to see Louisa.
"Get away from her!" she called. "Leave my sister alone!"
I stared at her in shock. I couldn't believe she had the nerve to do that. But it got the scarecrow's attention as well. It began to move forward, its arms and legs shifting without anyone inside. I lay there on the ground in shock, until Louisa ran forward and grabbed me.
"Come on, Fern!" Louisa pulled me up and began running. I was quick to follow her, running as far away from the scarecrow as I could.
Louisa ran to the barn, pulling open the door. I ran in after her and fell to the ground, breathing heavily. I could smell the musty, old hay filling the barn. Louisa slammed the door shut, and the barn was filled with darkness.
Louisa glanced down at me. "Are you okay, Fern?"
I didn't reply. I couldn't believe what I had seen. We hadn't been close enough to the farmhouse, but I was relieved to be away from the scarecrow at all. Louisa crouched down and wrapped her arms around me. I could barely see her in the darkness, but I clung tightly to her.
"Don't worry, Fernie. That thing can't get us here," she assured.
"But what was it?" I cried. "Why was it after us?"
"I'm sure it wasn't," Louisa assured. "I mean, it's a scarecrow. It can't move."
"But it did!" I insisted. "It was in the field, and then it was right behind me. I could hear it following me. And it was in the wrong place the other times too. Do you believe me now?"
"Yeah, I guess I do," Louisa shrugged. "But I still can't believe the scarecrow is alive."
"But it is," I insisted. "It has been ever since that day when we dropped the jack-o-lantern. Remember? That's when all the bad things started happening."
"Oh, really?" Louisa asked. "They started happening even before that."
"You know what I mean," I insisted. "The horses going missing, the tractor ending up in the middle of the cornfield… none of us could've done all that. It had to be something else."
"You don't really mean the scarecrow, do you?" Louisa demanded.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it had to be moving," I insisted. "Ever since that jack-o-lantern…"
"With the farmer's spirit inside," Louisa muttered, her eyes widening. "It went into the scarecrow…"
"And now it's alive!" I exclaimed. "Not just that, the farmer's inside it. And he's causing havoc."
"Maybe you're right," Louisa agreed. "I didn't want to believe it, but it has to be true. John must be angry about being trapped inside the jack-o-lantern for so long. Now he's trying to ruin everything on the farm, just like he did in his life."
I was relieved she believed me. She stood up and walked over to one of the wide windows. It cast a dim light across the barn.
"What if he finds us?" I demanded, standing up as well.
Louisa stared out the window. "Don't worry. John's having a hard time walking." I walked next to Louisa and stared out as well. I could see the scarecrow stumbling and tripping, struggling to remain upright. "That's good. He won't get here easily. He probably won't be able to open the door."
"But he'll cause more chaos out in the farm," I reminded. "And we'll get blamed for it tomorrow."
"It's too bad we couldn't make it to the farmhouse," Louisa remarked. "Then we could've told my parents. But at the same time, I know they'd be mad at us."
"What about the farmhands?" I suggested. "Are they here?"
"Good idea, Fern! Let's try waking them," Louisa agreed. Then she paused. "No, we can't. They're not here. They're on break in the town."
"Well, that's great," I muttered.
"Don't worry," Louisa assured, gesturing to the scarecrow. "It's made of straw and old clothes. I'm sure we can handle it."
"Handle it?" I demanded. "Shouldn't we wait until it leaves?"
Louisa reached down and picked up something on the ground. It was a long pitchfork. She swept the hay on the ground for a moment, before raising the pitchfork into the air, the sharp ends pointing up.
"Don't we have more important things to focus on than cleaning the barn?" I groaned.
"They use this to sweep the straw and stuff," Louisa explained, pointing the pitchfork at me. I jumped backwards. "And what is the scarecrow made of?"
"Straw," I replied uncertainly. "But what are you planning?"
"Just look at that thing." Louisa gestured to the scarecrow outside. He had gotten stuck in something, struggling to pull his leg free. "We could tear it apart easily. It's just a bunch of straw."
"But it caused all that trouble," I reminded. "Don't you remember?"
"You're right," Louisa admitted, watching as the scarecrow pulled out the clump of weeds and threw them on the ground. "We'll have to be careful. But if we could take care of it, it wouldn't cause any more trouble, and my parents wouldn't even need to know about it."
"What?" I exclaimed. "You mean, you're seriously considering leaving?"
"Look, he's heading to the vegetable patches." I watched as the scarecrow ambled past the barn. "If I left now, I might be able to stop him."
"How can you stop him?" I demanded.
Louisa thrust the pitchfork out at me. I winced as one of the tines (that's what Louisa said the ends were called) dug into my arm. "Sorry, Fern. But the scarecrow should be easy to take apart. I can just stick this into his body, like a sword." Louisa headed to the door of the barn, holding the pitchfork out in front of her like a weapon. "If I waited any longer, he'd cause even more havoc."
"Are you sure?" I asked, following her.
"It shouldn't be hard." Louisa hesitated outside the door. "You don't have to come. You can stay behind. Just hide in here. I'll take care of it."
I hesitated. "I don't know. What if something terrible happens to you?"
Louisa put her arm around me. "Don't worry, Fernie. That scarecrow won't get to me. I deal with way worse things on the farm."
I could tell I couldn't change her mind. I was secretly relieved that I wouldn't have to go out. I stepped back as Louisa opened the door.
"Wait!" I called as she was about to step outside.
Louisa turned to me. "What?"
"If anything happens, you'll come back, won't you?" I asked. I was afraid of being in here all by myself.
"Of course I will," Louisa assured. "But I know I'll get rid of that thing. Don't worry. I won't let it get to you."
She squeezed my arm before grasping the pitchfork with both hands. I watched as she left, shutting the door.
I stepped back into the darkened barn. I knew I probably shouldn't have let my sister leave, but she seemed confident about what she was doing. I just hoped she'd return soon. I almost tripped over another pitchfork on the ground. Then I navigated my way over to the stables at the end. I jumped in shock. They all seemed to be empty. Then I realized the horses were probably sleeping.
I jumped as I heard a low, sad whinny from the end of the stables. One of the horses was awake. Usually, I was afraid of them, but now I was glad to have any company. As I walked over, I realized it was Sandy, the horse Louisa had ridden. He stared at me with his big eyes. Even though I knew it wasn't likely, I had a feeling he knew Louisa had left.
I reached out and gently stroked the side of his head. He leaned into my palm. He was surprisingly gentle, despite how wild he had been the other day. Actually, that was Louisa's fault. I couldn't stop thinking about what could happen to her.
"Can't you sleep?" I whispered. I felt better talking to anyone. "I couldn't either, I guess. That's why I came down. Louisa did as well. Now she's gone out to catch the… well, culprit, I guess."
Sandy moved his head to the side. "I guess you have trouble sleeping, after you went missing." I felt stupid talking to a horse, but also slightly better. It distracted me from what Louisa was doing out there. "We can't figure out how. I mean, even if somebody did break in, they couldn't have just let you and the other horse out without waking everyone up. You'd panic when you saw a stranger here, wouldn't you?" Sandy didn't reply, as I expected. "Louisa told me her dad is really gentle with you. I can't really believe that, but I guess she'd know. She said he's the only one who could sneak you out of here. But he'd never do something like that."
Just then, I froze as a thought came to mind. I lowered my hand and backed away, my heart racing. "Or somebody who looked just like him," I muttered.
I remembered how much the scarecrow resembled Peter when dressed in his old clothes. In the darkness of the night, Louisa had even thought it was him. And he would definitely seem that way to the horses if the scarecrow broke into the darkened barn.
I couldn't believe it, but it seemed like the only explanation. The farmer had to have some intelligence if he could sneak into the barn and let the horses out. And it seemed the horses didn't, though I supposed I couldn't blame them. He would seem like their master in the dark night, and by the time they realized he wasn't, it would be too late.
I thought of all the other strange things that had happened on the farm. I couldn't believe the scarecrow had been responsible for them. He wasn't as harmless as Louisa thought, if he was stealthy enough to pull it off.
I jumped out of my skin as I heard banging on the barn door. I ran further into the barn, shaking all over as the bangs seemed to echo through the barn. Then I let out a shriek as the door burst open.
