Sophia and Ashley caught up with Sean and Toby, and the four of them got in line to be seated on the hayride. Sophia was feeling better after her conversation with Ashley, and walked over to Sean. She noticed that his cell phone was pressed against his ear, and he was facing away from Toby and the rest of the crowd. Sean quickly shoved his phone in his pocket once he noticed Sophia approaching him.

“Hey, who was that on the phone?” she asked.

“Oh, nobody,” Sean replied, his voice a little shaky. Two chimes came from his pocket, signaling text messages. He ignored them.

“Whatever you say,” Sophia said, not amused. She was so ready to get this night over with.

The four of them boarded the hayride – Toby first, then Ashley, followed by Sophia and Sean. It was a packed ride, with not a free bail of hay for anyone else to sit on. Sophia looked ahead to the tractor, and saw a burly looking man with a straw hat climb into the driver’s seat and grasp the wheel. For a moment, she thought the man look familiar, until it dawned on her. “Wait a second, isn’t that Josh’s dad?” she asked, to no one in particular.

Ashley squinted her eyes to try to see clearly in the dark. “Josh did tell us once that his dad worked on a farm outside of Greenwich. It would make total sense if it were him. If his dad is working here all night, that’s definitely how Josh is pulling off his huge Halloween party later,” she reasoned.

“Wow, you’re right! That’s so funny,” Sophia laughed. “You would think Josh and the other guys would be here, right? I mean, free drunken hayrides all night, and seeing people get the crap scared out of them… Sounds like something they’d get a kick out of.” She smiled and nudged Sean, but he didn’t comment. He almost seemed nervous.

After a few hiccups and the strong scent of gasoline, the tractor was finally moving. The hayride was uneventful at first, slowing moving through the wooded area. There were sporadic pillow case ghosts hanging from trees, a radio on the back of the tractor played eerie noises to set the scene, and muffled conversations could be heard between other people on the ride. Sophia rolled her eyes to herself, thankful that this dinky hayride didn’t cost much. Toby, on the other hand, was in his glory. He sat wide-eyed on the bail of hay, taking in the scarecrows, stuffed black cats, and jack-o-lanterns that they passed.

Finally, the tractor took a turn and began making its way toward a dark tunnel. Sophia remembered this part. She had come to this hayride a few times when she was younger, and employees of the farm always hid in the tunnel dressed as zombies and vampires and creatures with chainsaws to scare the riders.

Right before entering the tunnel, a woman wearing an orange tee shirt and a hat that looked like a candy corn tossed Halloween candy over their heads and into the middle of the tractor. Toby lunged for it of course, and to Sophia’s surprise, so did Sean. As he leaned forward, Sean’s cell phone fell out of his pocket and hit Sophia in the leg. Without even thinking, she swiped it up.

Sophia turned to her left to show Ashley the phone in her hands. Ashley’s eyes lit up.

“Shush!” Sophia warned. She quickly entered Sean’s passcode to unlock the phone while Ashley kept watch. The boys were still busy collecting their candy.

Trying to hurry, Sophia scrolled through Sean’s calls and text messages. She came across a conversation between Sean and Josh. Adrenaline took over, and she opened it.

Josh: How u holing up?

Sean: Bored. This is so lame. Be at ur house asap

Josh: Sit tight. We r coming 2 u

Sean: What?

Josh: The plan

Sean: Thought that was a joke…

Josh: Trick or treat ;)

Those messages were from about a half hour earlier, giving Josh and his friends just enough time to be showing up at any minute. Since his dad worked at the farm, who knew what this “plan” could be? Josh would probably be able to pull anything off without being questioned. What the hell was going on?

Before Sean noticed it was gone, Sophia put his cell phone down on some hay next to where he was sitting. When he and Toby finally came up for air from their candy brothel, Sean reached into his empty pocket to find his phone missing. He felt around and located it, quickly checked for any new messages, then stashed it away again. Sophia shot Ashley a concerned look. If Josh was involved, something bad was definitely about to happen.

The hayride entered the tunnel, and dressed up farm employees started their scaring. Sophia definitely was freaked out, but not exactly from the monsters.

Suddenly, a guy with a gorilla mask hopped onto the tractor and grabbed Sean by the arm. The gorilla imposter lifted his mask. It was Josh. “Found ya! Dude, let’s go. My car is parked out front."

Sean opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked at Josh, then looked at Sophia, and back again. Ashley slapped Sophia on the arm, prompting her to say something.

After what felt like an eternity, Sophia finally snapped. “You can’t be serious. Sean! What the hell is going on?”

“Soph, I didn’t think he was.. I.. I just-“

She cut him off. “And Josh, what is wrong with you? You couldn’t wait another hour? I was going to drop Sean off at your stupid party after the hayride. We’re here with my little brother, Josh. You know what, I can’t look at either of you. Sean, you might as well go with him.”

Josh barely even looked in Sophia’s direction. “Alright, get up! The guys are waiting in the car,” Josh yanked Sean by the arm. Sean wasn’t budging. He felt like his legs were made of stone, and that someone ripped his vocal cords from his throat. He couldn’t look at Sophia or Josh. He was mortified.

Josh was really starting to raise his voice, and other people on the hayride were noticing the scene he was making. His dad, who was driving the tractor, even turned around. Noticing his son, he was completely thrown off guard. He accidentally swerved and clipped the wall of the tunnel they were in, jerking the whole ride. Josh was still standing, trying to pull Sean up, and he lost his footing. Josh flew over the side of the hayride, and hit the ground with a thud. He landed with half his body under the tractor, and before he could move, the wheel of the moving hayride crushed his left leg. He let out a screaming cry that no one on that farm that night would ever forget.

To this day, Sophia still can’t quite explain every detail of what happened that Halloween night. Some say that Sean pushed Josh over the edge. Some say that Josh was so drunk that he fell over on his own, and his dad never even crash into the wall of the tunnel. All Sophia can remember is the stomach turning feeling she had from the very beginning of the night until the end, and how it was the hayride from complete hell.