They talked for a couple of more minutes until Candace was nearly home.
“Call me tomorrow,” Tamara said.
“I will,” Candace promised.
She made it home. She staggered into her room and fell on her bed still in her clothes. She hugged Mr. Huggles, thought about putting on her pajamas, and fell asleep.
Slowly Candace began to wake up. Her throat felt scratchy, and her eyes were burning. Her body felt sore all over. It took her a minute to realize that she was probably suffering from the aftereffects of Scare. She started coughing and could swear she tasted the fake fog from the night before.
She rolled over and looked at her clock. It was eleven in the morning. At least she had gotten some sleep. She vaguely remembered falling asleep around four.
She staggered out of bed and, after a quick trip to the bathroom, changed into jeans and a T-shirt. She headed downstairs and was surprised to find her parents smiling at her from the kitchen table where a variety of food was waiting. She coughed for a moment and finally asked, “What’s all this?”
“We call it brunch,” her dad said, a twinkle in his eye.
“You guys should have woken me,” she said and then promptly yawned.
“We figured you needed your rest. It was a big night last night. How did it go?” her mom asked.
“Good,” Candace said, sliding into her chair. “I’m tired though. I never knew running and screaming could be so much work.”
Both her parents laughed. “Well, when that’s all you’re doing for hours at a time, I imagine it would be exhausting,” her dad said.
“Did you recognize anyone from youth group?” her mom asked.
Candace nodded. “I recognized everyone from youth group. I don’t think anyone didn’t come last night. Plus I saw at least fifty kids from school and dozens of kids I didn’t know but I’m sure were part of the group. They all came through in a big group. Tamara said there were almost four buses full. They had to borrow a bus from the church next door.”
“Well, that’s wonderful! What a great outreach. I’m sure Pastor Bobby was pleased,” her mom said.
Candace laughed. “Tamara said at one point Pastor Bobby started screaming so loud in one of the mazes that it scared everyone else and they stampeded for the exit.”
Her father started laughing really hard at that. “That would have been something worth seeing.”
Candace started laughing too. “Since I’m not one of the monsters, my job isn’t to scare people, but I accidentally scared several.”
“Tell us,” her mom urged.
“I ran around a corner and right into this one guy. He was wearing gang colors, and he was there with six other guys.”
“Were you hurt?” her father asked, instantly concerned.
“No, but I scared him so badly that he fell down on the ground and started screaming like a little girl. All his friends started laughing so hard at him that they were crying. I was laughing too, but I had to keep running. I was laughing and screaming at the same time, and it was so hard!”
As they ate brunch, Candace told her parents about the other funny things that had happened. She ran out of stories at the same time she ran out of appetite. Her mother got up to start clearing dishes, and her father leaned close.
“We are very proud of you, Candace.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“It is good to see you really put your heart into something. I think The Zone has been very good for you.”
“Thanks,” she said, blushing slightly. It pleased her to hear him say that, but it also shamed her slightly when she thought about how much she complained about her work.
Her mom returned to the table. “We’re planning on coming to Scare tonight to see you,” she said.
“Really? That would be great!” Candace said, standing up to give her mom a quick hug.
“We figured there was already enough pressure on you last night and it would be better if we waited until tonight,” her dad explained.
“This will be great. Now I have someone to perform for tonight too,” she said with a laugh.
It was funny to think that just a day earlier that thought would have terrified her. She started coughing again and grimaced. It turned out the only bad thing about working Scare was breathing in all the fake chemical fog.
8
It was Saturday night, and Candace was waiting in the alcove for the first people to come through the maze. “Are you as tired as I am?” she asked Reggie.
“I was until about twenty minutes ago. I think they pump caffeine into the fog.”
Just thinking about the fog made Candace cough. She saw movement at the entrance.
“I think we’re about to get our first visitors,” she said.
Sure enough, several people were moving slowly down the hallway. Candace waited, having gotten really good at timing things just right, and then jumped out right in front of the first people who stopped suddenly.
She recognized her parents and smiled at them but ran through like she should, Reggie on her heels. During the finale she saw that they had managed to work their way to the back of the group, and they paused in front of her and Ray and snapped a picture before exiting the maze.
“My parents,” Candace explained before running back to the start. I just hope they don’t give that picture to Tamara. Who knows what she’d do with it!
Impossible as it seemed, there were even more people than the night before. Halfway through the night Candace was sure she was going to collapse from exhaustion, but somehow she made it through.
When she finally got home, she found a note on the kitchen table from her parents.
We had a great time! You were amazing. We’ll talk in the morning. Love, Mom and Dad.
Candace smiled and took the note up to her room where she safely stowed it in her box of special keepsakes. She couldn’t wait to talk to them in the morning.
The morning came, and Candace realized almost immediately that she wouldn’t be talking to her parents. Her throat hurt terribly, and she quickly discovered she had lost her voice. The constant screaming for two nights had caught up to her.
When she went downstairs, she received enthusiastic praise from her parents while her mom made her some tea with lemon and honey for her throat.
“I haven’t had that much fun in years!” her dad said. “They’ve really done something special with that Scare event.”
“We made it to all the mazes and most of the haunted rides,” her mom explained.
“And I know you’re going to think we’re biased, but your maze was definitely the best.”
Candace smiled.
“And you were amazing,” her mom chimed in.
Her dad pushed the picture he had taken of her across the table. “I printed it this morning. You look great, and I think I framed that picture pretty well, even if I do say so myself,” he bragged.
She got up and gave him a quick hug.
“Now try not to say anything for the next two days so your voice can heal,” her mom said, handing her the tea.
Candace drank it gratefully. It felt soothing to her raw throat. Her parents continued to tell her all about their adventures through the park until she was envious. She was going to have to find a way to work it so that she got a chance to go through some of the mazes herself. She figured as long as she steered clear of the Mummy’s Curse, she couldn’t get lost and so hopefully she wouldn’t panic. That was the only maze that was a maze in the true sense of the word. The others had only one path and players could get out by continuing to move forward.
She spent the day doing some homework and resting. By the time she got to The Zone she could speak a little. Candy wasn’t going to be screaming through the maze but at least she could still run. She was never really sure anyway how well the players could hear her screaming above the pounding music.
She got into position in her maze and found herself daydreaming about going home and getting some more sleep. At least
she had made it this far. She could make it through the first weekend of Scare, and it should be all coasting downhill from there. Kurt had promised her that it would get easier.
The fog and music started up, the cue that players could only be about ten minutes behind. Candace braced herself for the onslaught.
The first group was a bunch of younger girls who screamed hysterically and clutched at each other when Candace jumped out in front of them. The sight brought her joy, and she fought the urge to laugh. Each time she jumped out in front of the group, they were more hysterical than the last.
Finally when Ray grabbed Candace, one of the girls at the back of the group screamed and bolted for the exit. The entire group of girls fell on the floor screaming and flailing about.
Candace just pretended to struggle harder while Ray cackled like a maniac. “I’ll be coming for you next,” he said, bending close to one of the girls. They screamed louder and scooted on all fours all the way to the exit.
“Oh, that was good,” Ray laughed as he let Candace go. She nodded and gave him a huge smile before returning to the start.
As the night wore on she grew more tired, but she kept putting all she had into it. She mistimed one group when she did her initial run and nearly ran into the leader. She made it to the curtained-off section and moved quickly to her next position. She stared intently at the mirror, determined not to get a late jump again.
She saw a flash of something that seemed out of place. It looked like someone in costume, but not one of the psychos. She shook her head and got ready to make her next run. She saw the group move into position. She jumped out and ran. Suddenly a board gave way beneath her foot and the other end snapped up and hit her in the head. Just like in the cartoons, she thought dazedly.
She fell backward, and the players ran around her screaming. They probably think that’s supposed to happen. Candace struggled to a sitting position. She needed an umpire.
“Help!” she tried to shout, but it came out as little more than a whisper. No one will ever hear me.
She managed to stand up and it made her dizzy. She coughed, choking on the fog, and moved along the maze, her left hand on the wall guiding and supporting her. It seemed like it took forever but she finally found an umpire.
“What happened?” the man in black asked, putting an arm around her.
“A board came loose, hit me in the head,” she said pointing behind her.
He pulled his walkie-talkie off his belt. “This is Cameron in Candy Craze. There’s been an accident. Don’t let any more players in until we can check it out. There’s a loose board that hit Candy in the head. I’m taking her to the nurse.”
There was a bunch of return chatter, but Candace couldn’t hear what they were saying. She leaned on Cameron, and he guided her to a part of the maze she hadn’t been in and then through a back door into a building. From there they took an elevator down to a hallway under the park that Candace had never known was there. In five minutes they were back up at street level and at the nurse’s.
“Thank you,” Candace said. “I can take it from here.”
She walked toward the back where they had the examination tables. She remembered it well from when she had been injured over the summer.
Candace came to an abrupt stop. There on one of the tables a mummy lay perfectly still. She stared for a moment. It looked so perfect she thought it might be a prop. Logic, however, told her that only a real person would be lying down on a table in the nurse’s station.
Suddenly the mummy rose at the waist, and Candace jumped and let out a little shriek. She backed toward the door.
“Candace, is that you?” the mummy asked suddenly.
Candace stopped and stared for a moment. “Yes. Who are you?” she asked.
“It’s Sue.”
“Sue?” Candace asked, moving over to stand beside her. “That’s you?”
“It’s not the mummy,” Sue said sarcastically.
Candace blushed. “Sorry, I’m just a bit jumpy.”
“It’s okay. What are you doing here?”
“I got hit in the head,” Candace said.
“Ouch. You okay?”
“I’m hoping the nurse can tell me,” Candace said. “Why are you here?”
“I got too hot, and apparently I fainted.”
“Seriously?”
Sue nodded. It looked weird. Candace could see just her eyes and her mouth, but the rest of her face was tightly wrapped in the bandages.
“That makes me the second,” Sue said. “At least I wasn’t the first.”
“Josh told me that mummies often fainted from the heat. I guess it’s true,” Candace said.
“Yeah, there is just no air. My skin can’t breathe, and it gets so hot in the maze. I started to get dizzy. I tried to head for an exit, but I guess I didn’t make it.”
“Wow. At least I’m still conscious,” Candace said.
“Nothing like a little perspective, huh?” Sue asked. Her laugh sounded weak, and she was slumping a little.
“Maybe you should lie back down,” Candace suggested. “You want me to help you get some of your costume off?”
“I’ll help her do that,” the nurse said, bustling in. “The only thing I want you doing is finding your own cot,” she said to Candace.
Candace nodded. Fortunately the one next to Sue was vacant, and she eased herself down onto it. She sat for a moment, not really wanting to lie down in the short skirt.
“If you don’t want to lie down, at least sit still until I can take a look at you,” the nurse said, noticing her discomfort.
“Thank you,” Candace said. As soon as she sat, she realized just how tired she was. She watched as the nurse unwound the bandages from Sue’s head and Sue’s face appeared bit by bit.
At last Sue’s head was completely free, and she sighed in relief. Her face was really pale. The nurse got her some water, and then Sue drank it and lay back down.
“Are you doing this on top of the janitorial job?” Candace asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Extra money,” Sue said.
“Isn’t it really hard to do both with your college classes?” Candace asked.
“You have no idea,” Sue said, sounding like she might cry.
“What’s wrong?” Candace asked.
“Nothing. I still don’t feel well,” Sue said.
Candace got the distinct impression that there was something Sue wasn’t telling her. Before she could press her, though, the nurse bustled over.
“Okay, missy, it’s your turn. What happened to you?”
“I got hit in the head,” Candace explained.
The nurse pulled a small flashlight out of one of her smock pockets and shined it in Candace’s eyes.
“Where did you get hit?” she asked.
Candace pointed, and the nurse pulled apart her hair and examined the skin. It still hurt, and Candace could tell there was a slight bump. The nurse made tsking sounds as she looked it over.
“How bad is she?” Sue asked.
“Well, she has a mild concussion. Doesn’t look like anything to write home about. However, no sleeping for you for at least eight hours,” the nurse said, directing the last at Candace.
“But all I want is to go home and go to bed,” Candace protested.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t run that risk with a concussion. If you go to sleep and your brain swells too much, you might slip into a coma and never wake up.”
“That would be bad,” Candace said.
“Very bad,” the nurse agreed.
“How on earth am I going to stay awake that long?” she croaked. “I’m already exhausted.”
“You’ll have to get someone to stay up with you.”
“Who?”
“I think I can help there,” Josh said, appearing as if by magic.
“My hero,” Candace said. She stared at his fangs and cape. “Is it wrong to call a vampire my hero?” she asked.
&
nbsp; “Wow, you’re really out of it,” he said. “Do you want me to take you home or to a hospital?”
“Home,” she said.
He looked at the nurse, who nodded. “That should be fine as long as you keep her awake until morning.”
“I think I can handle that,” he said. “Come on, let me take you home.”
She was grateful Josh was there. With how tired she was and how much her head hurt, she wasn’t up to figuring out how to get there by herself. She was definitely getting a little more fuzzy-headed.
9
“Thanks for bringing me home, Josh,” Candace said as she climbed the steps to her door.
“That’s what friends do.”
“You don’t have to stay and keep me up all night.”
“I beg to differ. I promised the nurse I would.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She unlocked the door, and they went inside. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she knew that she couldn’t.
“I better let my parents know what happened,” she said.
“That would probably be a good idea. I wouldn’t want your dad to be surprised in the morning when he sees me on the couch.”
Candace nodded. Her head was still throbbing, and she wished she didn’t have to wait a couple more hours before taking more aspirin. She climbed the stairs and knocked lightly on her parents’ door.
She heard rustling inside, and then her father said, “Come in.”
She opened the door and moved inside, leaving it open so the light from the hallway lit her way. Her mom sat up and switched on the lamp next to the bed. She yawned and glanced at the clock. “Aren’t you home early?”
“Yeah. I got hit in the head by a loose board. The nurse at The Zone said I have a mild concussion, nothing bad.”
“What happened?” her dad asked.
Candace told them briefly. Her mom started to get up. “Well, I better make you some cocoa. You can’t go to sleep with a concussion.”
“It’s okay,” Candace said. “Josh brought me home. He’s downstairs, and he’s volunteered to stay up with me.”
The Fall of Candy Corn Page 7