Angel of Fire - the Breath of Immortality - Book One #Wattys2014

Transformation

Chapter 15 - Transformation

I ended up apologizing to my mom later that day. Not only for being so hateful, but also for destroying her wall. Instead of going off on me like I expected, she seemed strangely calm about the whole thing.

As it turned out she thought my hand had just slipped or something. I was thunderstruck when she flipped the switch and actually thanked me for causing the damage. Otherwise, she'd explained, she never would have found the nest of termites in the wall.

Which explained the exterminator patrolling the house when I waked in.

I expected Carmen to show up any minute so we could start transforming the maze. Mom had left to buy all the supplies we needed and Thomas promised to stay out of my way. However, he made zero attempt to hide his irritation. He even refused to humor me and pretend for one small second that I wasn't putting myself in extreme danger. In the end, I gave up trying to convince him that everything was going to be fine, and then told him he could sulk all he wanted as long as I didn't have to watch him do it.

When Halloween was all over and I was still safe, we'd see which one of us had overreacted. Clearly, it sure as hell wasn't going to be me.

Thankfully by the time Carmen arrived, pest control had left - saving me from complete and utter embarrassment. It was bad enough having a beat-up white utility van parked outside all morning long with a ginormous cockroach mounted on the roof. Nothing screamed redneck louder than a middle-aged guy with a beer-belly wearing a pair of dumpy denim overalls, cracked goggles, and an orange helmet with a flashlight duck taped to the top walking around saying, "Show me the bugs."

"Was that an exterminator I just saw leaving your house?" Carmen asked when I opened the front door.

I shook my head, mind racing. "No, I mean yes...he was just lost." I shoved on my shoes and pointed outside. "Come on, I'll show you around the farm."

We toured each of the seven green houses that offered everything from fruits and vegetables, to every plant and flower imaginable - including trees, shrubs, and special items for yards and gardens.

From there we went to the new barn and toured the gift center, cider mill and bakery. A fresh batch of pumpkin donuts had just come off the conveyor belt after being fried to golden perfection. We each grabbed a handful to eat while we finished the tour.

On the way to the corn maze I pointed out the U-pick pumpkin patch, the apple orchard, and Apple Lane, which featured lots of fun family activities like Straw Mountain, obstacle courses, tube slides, and pumpkin bowling - to name a few.

Carmen walked around with wide eyes. "I never knew how big this place was. Have you always lived here?"

"Yup, born and raised," I groaned. "I've never lived any place else. This farm has been in my family for generations."

She nodded. "It's afreakinamazing."

We made it to the entrance of the maze just as my mom pulled up behind us in her favorite green pickup. I cringed inwardly at the rust bucket that looked like it belonged on the bottom of a swamp.

"You must be Carmen," she said, hopping out of the fugly truck I called the Grocery Gator. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Killbourne. Chaos was just showing me around."

Mom couldn't stop staring at Carmen. "You look so much like your mother," she finally admitted, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "The resemblance is uncanny."

For the first time ever Carmen was speechless.

"Well," mom beamed, clapping her hands together. "You girls are just in time to help me unload."

"Lucky us," I mumbled. My slackassedness was officially over. Time to get down to work.

Carmen helped me haul and unpack box after box of decorations, fluorescent paint, and tons of equipment like mini speakers, smoke machines and strobe lights to add special effects to the maze. When the truck was finally unloaded, we started decorating by hanging up fake cobwebs on row after row of cornstalks, up and down the endless pathways, and then covered them with fake black spiders in assorted shapes and sizes until our arms wanted to fall off.

After that we set up plastic skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, stuffed scarecrows, and made sure there were lots of places all over the maze to hide so we could jump out and scare people.

Last but not least, we strung wires and speakers throughout the entire maze, hooking them up to the stereo in the barn to play scary haunted house noises. By the time we finished, light cast from the silvery moon made the maze look hauntingly spooktacular.

Tomorrow when we officially opened for business, the wild ride of creature lurking, corn stalking, chainsaw carrying madmen was sure to cause tons of chaos and mayhem. At just over one mile long, it took an hour to complete the adrenaline rushing, thrill seeking, heart racing haunted corn maze attraction that Carmen and I affectionately called the Creepshow.