{"id":29715,"date":"2023-10-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/?p=29715"},"modified":"2023-10-29T00:17:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-29T04:17:08","slug":"turning-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/turning-point\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Point"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The pumpkin foretold the event\u2014the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o\u2019-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd\u2019s carved incisors. He\u2019d laughed when he spotted it. So Julian<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Photo by Burst<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

But then Breslin stood in the doorway, with her beestung lips, the look in her eyes that invited him\u2014demanded <\/em>that <\/em>he come into the cabin without delay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re late,\u201d she said, pulling him inside. \u201cWe\u2019ve started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She joined the three others at the wood-planked table: Julian, Monty, and Claire. One chair sat empty, and Gregg claimed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The windows were draped with dark fabric, and the only light came from candles that flickered on the mantle and the stained kitchen counter. In their dim glow, Gregg glanced at the quartet. The room smelled of unwashed bodies and beer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDrink up,\u201d Julian said, pushing a bottle of IPA toward Gregg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still on?\u201d Gregg opened the bottle and hesitated before raising it to his lips. If what they\u2019d planned was still a go, he wanted to be alert, fully sober.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFuck, yes.\u201d Monty wrapped a scythe with tape, winding the sticky strand round and round the handle. \u201cYou\u2019re not backing out, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregg shook his head. He was there and he would stay, even though his better sense urged him not to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian pushed back from the table. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d He stared for several moments at Gregg. \u201cWhat happens tonight stays with us. Anyone who talks is dead. Anyone who runs, we\u2019ll find you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five walked up the wooded Poconos hillside to the large expanse of open field at the top. Monty carried the scythe, Claire held an unlit torch, Breslin grasped a dagger, and Julian led the way with a backpack on his shoulders. Gregg, empty-handed, trailed behind\u2014not far enough to invite Julian\u2019s wrath but a good ten feet behind Breslin. Had she ever really liked him? Gregg wasn\u2019t sure. What she did love, he knew, was the rush of the dare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian\u2019s challenge that evening: They would brave the hilltop corn maze, cut to resemble a spider\u2019s web. Once through the maze and if they survived its gallery of obstacles, they would destroy it by fire. The cabin they would torch on their way out. No one would be able to pin the destruction on them. So Julian said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How had Gregg gotten himself mixed up in all this? It was Breslin who\u2019d invited him. Julian was chilly to the idea of Gregg\u2019s presence, but they\u2019d all hung together in high school, and why not continue the friendship circle? Gang<\/em>, Gregg corrected himself. He remembered the hazing. And Breslin was a looker. He would follow her anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the entrance to the maze, Julian looked at his phone. \u201cOne hour,\u201d he announced. \u201cIf you\u2019re not out by seven, we light the field anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monty held up a hand as though to put Julian on pause. \u201cWait. Send up a flare if we\u2019re not out in time. We can whack our way through to you before you burn it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian laughed. \u201cI\u2019ll think about it.\u201d He looked up at the sky. \u201cClear and calm. This is your last chance to say no.\u201d He smirked. \u201cOf course, if you do, you may not see tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then he was through the entrance and around a corner before anyone else could react.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMotherfucker,\u201d Monty muttered, and he, too, was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breslin and Claire put their heads together for a beat, then set off into the maze at a sprint, but not before Breslin looked over her shoulder at Gregg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe she just wanted to make sure she wasn\u2019t the last one in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twelve minutes to seven, with the October daylight fading, and Gregg stood at the junction of two paths, absolutely lost. He had not seen or heard any of the others\u2014had they made it out? A slight breeze made the dried corn stalks scratch against one another, and he heard the distant cawing of a murder of crows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His palms were slippery with sweat even in the coolness of sunset. Somehow he had a machete in his left hand. He didn\u2019t recall picking it up, but the last fifty minutes had passed in a blur. Out, out, get out<\/em>, his mind urged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFuck it,\u201d he said aloud. He would never finish by Julian\u2019s deadline, not unless he borrowed Monty\u2019s idea of hacking his own path. But which way? With the corn stalks a good foot above his head, he couldn\u2019t see the tree line or anything but the sky. His phone was no help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A series of loud pops and a scream straight ahead made the decision for him. He dashed up the righthand path toward the cry, holding the machete in front of him as a kind of shield. When the path turned, he nearly hit Breslin. She stood frozen, silent, staring at the ground, where Julian lay, the dagger Breslin had carried buried in his chest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregg moved Breslin to one side and knelt to feel for Julian\u2019s pulse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe\u2019s . . .\u201d Breslin whispered the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregg nodded and closed Julian\u2019s blank eyes. \u201cWhat did you do? Where\u2019re the others?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her face cycled through conflicting emotions. \u201cHe\u2019s . . . a monster.\u201d She crumpled to the ground. \u201cI had to . . . stop him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregg wanted to comfort her but wasn\u2019t sure he believed her. The evening was skewing far off course, and the main objective now was to get out of the maze before it was too dark to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll chop our way out,\u201d he said, standing. He could do nothing more for Julian. Swinging the machete, foot by foot he cut a path that he guessed would lead him out. If he stood on his toes, he could see the top of a bare tree in the distance. That would be his landmark\u2014until it was dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGregg.\u201d Breslin was behind him, and he whirled to make sure she wasn\u2019t about to stab him, too. Her face was pale in the dimness, and he could see her shaking. \u201cIt was self-defense,\u201d she breathed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again he nodded. \u201cWe need to get out of here, now.\u201d He returned to his task of clearing a path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She touched his shoulder. \u201cDo you smell it?\u201d she said. \u201cThe smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He caught the scent and battled his impulse to freeze in panic. \u201cJesus,\u201d he said. \u201cThe field\u2019s on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His chopping became a frenzy. Whenever he glanced over his shoulder, the light of the flames danced against the roiling smoke above the maze. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At last, the stalks thinned, and they were standing in the shorter field grasses. Gregg\u2019s shoulders ached from the effort of swinging the machete. Breslin moaned and sucked in a gasp: The maze fire was advancing rapidly toward them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBreslin? Gregg?\u201d Monty emerged from the darkness, Claire a few steps back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregg squared off to face them, the machete still in his hand, the flames glinting the blade. Someone had started the fire\u2014someone who hadn\u2019t checked to see if he and Breslin were still inside. \u201cWe\u2019re safe. And you?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monty held up his hands; he no longer held the scythe. \u201cWe didn\u2019t start it. Julian must have planted some igniters ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo we\u2019d all die,\u201d Gregg said. \u201cGood of him.\u201d He raised his voice above the crackle of the flames. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get off this hill. The fire\u2019s going to overtake us if we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire stepped forward to hug Breslin. \u201cWhat a fucking nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breslin pushed her away, shaking her head. \u201cHe\u2019s dead,\u201d she said. \u201cI killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause you had to,\u201d Gregg said. He believed her now, but still he shivered. If they\u2019d been a few minutes longer in the maze . . . \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he said, echoing Julian\u2019s earlier command. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He jogged off to reach the graveled path back to the cabin, and the rest of them followed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The pumpkin foretold the event\u2014the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o\u2019-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd\u2019s carved incisors. He\u2019d laughed when he spotted it. So Julian. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":490,"featured_media":29724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2572,1375],"tags":[4110,2946,25],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?resize=70%2C70&ssl=1",70,70,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=300%2C150&ssl=1",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=768%2C384&ssl=1",768,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"mbt_book_image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1",800,400,true],"mbt_endorsement_image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1",800,400,true],"theme-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"theme-half":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=571%2C286&ssl=1",571,286,true],"theme-third":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=371%2C186&ssl=1",371,186,true],"theme-fourth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=271%2C136&ssl=1",271,136,true],"theme-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1",200,200,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable":"

The pumpkin foretold the event\u2014the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o\u2019-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd\u2019s carved incisors. He\u2019d laughed when he spotted it. So Julian. <\/p>\n","category_list":"Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic<\/a>, Writing<\/a>","author_info":{"name":"Dianna Sinovic","url":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/author\/dianna-sinovic\/"},"comments_num":"0 comments","featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?resize=70%2C70&ssl=1",70,70,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=300%2C150&ssl=1",300,150,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=768%2C384&ssl=1",768,384,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"mbt_book_image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1",800,400,true],"mbt_endorsement_image":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1",800,400,true],"theme-large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=1024%2C512&ssl=1",1024,512,true],"theme-half":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=571%2C286&ssl=1",571,286,true],"theme-third":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=371%2C186&ssl=1",371,186,true],"theme-fourth":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?fit=271%2C136&ssl=1",271,136,true],"theme-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.asliceoforange.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Turning-point-October-2023.jpg?resize=200%2C200&ssl=1",200,200,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"

The pumpkin foretold the event\u2014the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o\u2019-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd\u2019s carved incisors. He\u2019d laughed when he spotted it. So Julian. <\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic<\/a>, Writing<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Dianna Sinovic","url":"https:\/\/www.asliceoforange.net\/author\/dianna-sinovic\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"\nTurning Point<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The pumpkin foretold the event\u2014the dare, the maze, the fire, all of it. If only Gregg had known to heed the warning of that orange jack-o\u2019-lantern on the porch: The flickering slits for eyes, the leering mouth with mold grown over the gourd\u2019s carved incisors. He\u2019d laughed when he spotted it. 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