Chapter 14

chapter fourteen NINETEEN MISERABLE MINUTES LATER... we're lost. GalaMelon, Carol. The more they walk, the more lost they become. And the longer they're lost, the more frustrated they grow. "You know, if there are five hundred wrong paths through this maze and just one correct path, then the

odds of us getting out of here are five hundred to one," says Quint. "Simple math." "I got a math question for ya, Quint," Dirk says, nodding at the ground. "What's big enough to leave a track like that?" Quint sees that the path beneath their feet is sunken and curved, like a giant bowling lane gutter, and the grass is flattened. "I'd rather not know," he replies. Skaelka, who has been mostly stoic and silent during their trek, suddenly snaps. "An afternoon family fun maze is no match for me," she declares. "Skaelka refuses to abide the many lanes of this labyrinth! Stand aside, as I hack our way to escape!" Skaelka swings the Limb Cleaver into the overgrown wall of corn, and— SCHLURP! Strands of some strange, gum-like ectoplasm suddenly grab hold of her Limb Cleaver. "WHAT MADNESS?" Skaelka barks as she's ripped forward and yanked into the maze wall!

SCHLLLOP The maze is eating Skalka "Quint, gimme a hand!" Dirk shouts, immediately grabbing hold of her. But she's being pulled deeper and deeper into the maze wall. In seconds, only her legs can be seen, kicking wildly. "Let go of your limb-cleaver thing, Skaelka!" Dirk cries as he tugs on her booted ankle. Quint's hands wrap around her other leg. "On three," he says, nodding at Dirk. "One, two—"

SCHLOOP Hero Quest, That's Vicious Thief stall Stoler's newfound limb cleaver Skaelka hits the ground with a wet flop, then instantly rises, shaking a gummy fist at the corn. She tries wiping off the substance, but there's just too much: her whole body is coated in the sticky, gloopy gel. Quint shakes his head. "Thanks to that ecto-gum goop running through the hedges, we cannot simply climb or hack our way out of—" GGGGRRRRRRW! A thundering roar reverberates through the maze's endless pathways, sending a shiver through the corn husks.

"What was that??" Dirk asks, spinning. "Feels and sounds like... rolling..." The sound grows deafening as some unseen terror closes in. The ground ripples like the earth itself might simply implode at any moment. "It's a Squancher!" Kimmy shouts, hardly able to hear herself over the snapping and cracking of cornstalks. "You know what it is??" Dirk asks. "Nope! I just enjoy giving things fun names. I call potatoes 'spud lumps' and I so hope I get to meet one, someday! But not as much as I hope I get to meet a Squancher!" And at that moment, she gets her wish. The shadow of a rolling tank of a creature falls over them. Its ball-shaped body is massive, rising above even the tallest of the cornstalks. But they only glimpse the creature for an instant. "Lucky us—it's not traveling down our path," Quint whispers. "It's one lane over." The thundering sound fades as the monster barrels past, continuing through the maze. "Nice of it not to hop over here and crush us or anything," Kimmy says. "Neato petito." "Let's make haste," Quint says, marching ahead. "Avoid any carved-out paths—I'd like to make it out

of here without meeting one of those Squanchers face to-face." But as they take the next corner, they discover their path is blocked. Blocked by one of the very creatures they hoped to never see up close... DUN DUN-DUNNN