The Fall of Candy Corn (19 page)

On Saturday night it felt weird to show up at the park as a player instead of a referee. Candace's excitement was tempered by the realization that there was likely going to be another accident soon. She hadn't heard of anything happening the previous two nights, which only made her worry more.

Still, her fears slipped into the background as she and Tamara stepped into the fog-shrouded world of Scare. Candace realized that she must have finally become acclimated to the fog, because it no longer made her cough.

As they walked through the park, monsters charged them from out of the dark, seeing how close they could get without actually touching. Tamara jumped every time, but Candace found herself too busy with trying to figure out who was who under the masks to let herself get really scared.

“Which maze should we start with?” Candace asked Tamara.

“Screen Screams was really good,” Tamara said reluctantly.

Candace appreciated the fact that Tam was putting herself through this to keep her company. Apparently her first Scare hadn't anesthetized her at all; she still jumped at every sound or flicker of movement. Fortunately there was only a five-minute line for Screen Screams.

While they waited, they talked.

“You're asking Kurt to the Winter Formal, right?” Tamara asked.

“That's the plan,” Candace said. “How about you?”

“I don't know who I'm going to go with. I might wait for someone to ask me.”

“Or you could ask someone that doesn't go to our school, like Josh maybe.”

Tamara rolled her eyes. “Lay off already. I've told you, I like Josh. It's just not right though. We're not going to get together no matter how much you like the idea of setting us up.”

“Can't blame a girl for trying,” Candace said with a sigh.

“I guess not.”

“Okay, no more trying to set up you and Josh.”

“Thank you.”

“How about Roger?”

Tamara hit her playfully in the arm.

Candace grinned. “Okay, no setting you up with anyone. I get it.”

“Good.”

“The pirates are loose!” a referee ran by yelling.

“What on earth?” Candace wondered.

A second referee was on his heels. “What's happening?” Candace called.

The man slowed up for a moment. “The pirates have taken over the Haunted Village.”

“Are you kidding me?” Candace asked.

“No. They descended like a horde and overran the maze. They raised their flag, and they have a ship in the lighthouse lagoon.”

The man looked genuinely freaked out. She recognized him as one of the characters from the Haunted Village maze. “Why would they do that?” she asked.

“Because they're pirates!” he said, as though it was the dumbest question he had ever heard. He continued running.

“Okay, I think we have to go see that next,” Tamara said. “That just sounds cool.”

“It sounds bizarre,” Candace said.

They reached the front of the Screen Screams line and were soon let inside. The entire maze was themed after horror movies, both classic and modern. Everything from Hitchcock to Michael Myers was represented. Candace hadn't seen a lot of horror films but was still able to recognize what most of them were.

Tamara kept screaming and digging her fingernails into Candace's arm and shoulder. She was certain her friend had drawn blood. Candace yelped as a guy in a Scream mask jumped out at them. Some high-tech optical illusions and rubber props made it look like the next room was crawling with rats.

Tamara came to an abrupt stop, practically pulling Candace's arm from its socket.

“You've already been through here. They're fake!” Candace said.

Tamara whimpered and shook her head.

Candace saw something move out of the corner of her eye. It looked like one of the mummies, but she couldn't be sure. A chill slid up her spine, and she turned back to look at the room in front of them. It was then that she realized that some of the rats were real.

Candace screamed and backed up, pushing Tamara behind her. The guy in the Scream mask hesitated, unsure what was happening. Candace seized him. “Get an umpire now! There are real rats in the next room.”

The guy took off, and a minute later umpires were clearing the maze. Security guards showed up, and once again Candace found herself explaining what had happened. As soon as they were finished, Candace put her arm around Tamara, who was still shaking, and dragged her over to the castle.

She sent a message into the Dracula maze, and a minute later Josh appeared. He and Tamara followed her down the side of the castle, and she let them all in through the secret door and upstairs to the Comfort Zone. If anyone needed comforting, it was her and Tamara. Besides, she couldn't think of a better place for a private conversation.

She got them sodas from the vending machine, and they sat on the couches. Candace quickly filled Josh in on what had just happened.

“You're right,” he said grimly when she had finished her story. “There's no way something like that is an accident.”

“And I'm just betting Will and Brandon are behind this. They put a live mouse on me in the costume area a couple of weeks ago.”

“I think they're after you,” Tamara said quietly.

“What?”

“I think they've been spying on you.”

“It does make sense. These things seem to happen when you're around,” Josh said.

“But, how did they know I would go into that maze tonight?”

“They probably knew you were going to be here as a player and were hoping you would. They watched, and when you did — instant rat attack.”

Candace shivered. “But I haven't been present for all the attacks, and they haven't all been directed toward me.”

“The only one you weren't present for was in Kurt's maze. That wall could have seriously hurt him when it fell,” Josh said. “I'd say someone wanted to send a warning to your boyfriend.”

“I don't believe this.”

“Why?” Tamara asked. “You are the ultimate symbol of this year's Scare.”

“But I haven't even been in that maze since the first weekend!”

“No, but the urban legend started with you,” Josh said.

“If this is true, how can we stop it?” she asked.

“They're going to want to strike again soon. They need something big to make sure Scare closes before next weekend.”

“Great, so how do we know what they're going to do?” Candace asked. “I mean, the thing with the hook was pretty major, and it didn't do the trick. What more could they have in mind that would be bigger?”

“Until now no one's really gotten hurt. At least, not badly,” Tamara said.

“I don't think we can count on it to stay that way,” Josh said grimly.

Candace's head was spinning. What they were talking about was insane, but deep down she knew it was true. She had never bought the whole “ghost” thing, and too many of the incidents seemed to have happened when she was around. She was just grateful that people weren't pointing a finger in her direction.

“So, what do we do?” Candace asked.

“I think it's time to call in a supervisor,” Josh said.

“Then it looks like I'm right on time,” Martha said from the doorway.

All three of them jumped. They had been so intent on their conversation they hadn't heard her come in.

“How long have you been there?” Candace asked.

“Long enough,” Martha said grimly. “I think all of you are right, but we're going to have to catch them in the act.”

“How?” Josh queried.

“We set our own trap. I'll spread the word that Lisa sprained her ankle tonight, and tomorrow night our famed Candy reprises her role.”

“You'd use Candace as bait?” Tamara asked.

Martha nodded. “I'll have security standing by. When they try to sabotage the maze, we'll catch them.”

“No way!” Josh said, jumping up. “We can't risk Candace like that.”

“Martha's right,” Candace said. A frightened, miserable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. “If they have this weird obsession with doing things while I'm around, the best way to catch them is to make sure that I'm right back where I started when things first went wrong.”

“It makes a lot of sense,” Tamara admitted.

“The fewer people who know about this the better. Candace, come tomorrow night prepared to get back in the role,” Martha said.

Josh looked frustrated, but Candace could tell that he didn't have a better solution.

“Okay,” Candace said. “Let's catch some bad guys.”

16

“Let's catch some bad guys” has to be the worst final words ever, Candace thought. As she once again donned the Candy costume, she wasn't just nervous, she was terrified. God, please protect me and all of us. Please help us to catch the people responsible for this and help no one get hurt, she prayed. There was so much else that she wanted to say, but she just didn't have the words.

They needed to catch the saboteurs, but she wished they could have found some other way. Tamara was right, though, they did seem to have a particular interest in performing for Candace.

Tamara had tried to insist on being there, but Candace had convinced her to stay home, because the saboteurs would probably recognize her from the other night. Since she didn't work for The Zone, there was no way for her to blend into the background.

As Candace walked to the maze, she tried hard to calm herself down. It wasn't easy. All around her other referees waved and congratulated her on her return to the mazes. When she reached Candy Craze, both Ray and Reggie welcomed her back and assured her that no matter what anybody said, there was only one Candy, and she was it.

She appreciated their support and words of encouragement. She wished she could tell them what was happening, but the fewer people who knew what was going on the better.

The music and fog started up. She and Reggie took their starting positions. When the first players came through, Candace jumped in front of them and then ran. She made it all the way through the different parts of the maze and returned to the beginning, marveling at how it felt like she had never left.

On her second run through she had the satisfaction of seeing a couple of grown men screaming like five-year-olds. She began to loosen up. Reggie and Ray were both in fine form too, really giving a hundred percent each time.

“Did you hear about the pirates marauding last night?” Reggie asked at one point.

“Only a little. Tell me about it,” Candace said before jumping out and running.

When she returned to the starting place, Reggie continued. “They kicked all the maze characters out of the Haunted Village and claimed it as their own.”

“You're kidding,” Candace said on her return. It was a strange way to hold a conversation, but it was kind of fun.

“Nope. They've taken over the entire Splash Zone, and word is that's just the beginning of their plans.”

“That I've gotta see,” Candace said before starting to run again.

“How do they get away with that?” she asked when she returned.

“It's a special thing. Each year a different group is selected to do special things. They get a lot more freedom than the rest of us.”

“Cool! How do they pick the team?” Candace just had time to ask.

“It's based on performance throughout the year,” Reggie explained a couple minutes later. “The winning team sits down with the owner of the park and picks their theme.”

Candace jumped out and had to start running again before she had a chance to ask anything else. As she ran through the maze, she imagined how cool that would be. She also wondered just what the pirates' limits were. It seemed strange, but it fit in with everything else she knew about The Zone.

The group that was following on her heels was a particularly noisy one made up of all different ages. She swore she recognized some of them from earlier performances. She had heard that some players came to every single night of Scare. She was starting to believe it.