Ryan and Melissa found themselves inside of a crop circle in the middle of old man Yoder’s field. Their jaws hung open. Their hands trembled. Their legs froze and rooted themselves into the ground as if they were tuning into cornstalks. Ryan was entranced, Melissa was puzzled; they were both petrified.

Finally, the silence was broken when they both turned and said at the same time, “You did this!”

“You did this as a prank with your other friends to try and scare me,” Melissa said furiously. She punched him hard in the arm.

“Ouch! No I didn’t. I swear to God,” Ryan said, rubbing his arm. 

“I thought you did it to prank me,” he whispered loudly. 

“You know, I’ve about had it—,” Melissa started but stopped abruptly when she heard something rustle in the field around them. Their heads snapped back looking for the source of the noise. Expecting to see an alien, they walked quietly and carefully through the field. 

Conscious of every step, they tried not to make a sound. They explored the crop circle even more; it was rather intricate and professionally done. It had to have been from another planet, they were sure of it. Moments passed with no sign of an alien (other than the one they were standing in). Then suddenly, there was a sound again, something rustling in the field. It was louder this time. There was something else in the field with them. 

“I’m ready to get the hell out of here,” Ryan whispered nervously. 

“Yep, me too,” Melissa agreed. 

The two went back down the maize row at a quick pace but careful not to trip on any cornstalks. They were almost to the end of the row when they heard the sound again. Something rustled in the corn field even closer this time. Ryan dropped the boards that he brought and ran down the row. Melissa almost pushed him over while running past him. Finally, they made it out of the corn field, but they didn’t stop running. They ran through backyards afraid to look back. They sprinted through an old woman’s garden. Five petunias were crushed under Melissa’s feet. A happy little gnome cracked and crunched when Ryan’s foot landed on it. A stray cat watched the two from the shadows.

In the distance, the big red letters beamed like a beacon of hope: GIANT EAGLE. They knew they were safe when they reached the parking lot. They stopped and stood with their hands on their knees, wheezing, and in awe of what they witnessed. Once the two finally caught their breath, they each lit a cigarette. Heads spinning, toes curling, lungs dying, they couldn’t believe what had just happened. Back in Ryan’s car, they discussed the possibilities.

“I’m telling you it’s aliens!” Ryan shouted.

“No, it has to be a coincidence,” Melissa disputed. “Who else did you tell about our plans tonight?”

“No one, I swear to God,” Ryan whined, cracking open another energy drink.

“Well then someone must have heard us talking about it and decided to prank us,” Melissa said, lighting another cigarette. “That’s the only other explanation.” 

“We are going to be abducted,” Ryan squealed. “We were the first ones to witness their work, and now they are going to take us!” 

Paranoid he looked out his window up at the sky. Melissa’s eyes burned a hole through Ryan’s head.

“It was a coincidence,” she said confidently. 

“But how can you be sure? I mean that’s what they would want us to think. Don’t you think?” Ryan had just finished his fourth energy drink of the night. 

“Alright, I think I’m done for tonight,” Melissa said. “Will you take me home?”

“OK. I just hope my car doesn’t get sucked up by a UFO while we’re driving home,” Ryan said cautiously. “Will you text me if you get abducted by an alien later tonight?”

“Yes Ryan, I will make sure to text you if I get abducted by an alien,” Melissa said, getting annoyed. “But I don’t know if I’ll have cell service from space, so we’ll see.”,

Ryan took one more nervous look out his window and then started the car. 

“Hey you know what?” Melissa said. “On our way, let’s drive past old man Yoder’s farm really quick and see if we can’t see the crop circle.”

“Are you flippin’ nuts?” Ryan asked.

“Just do it!” Melissa commanded. 

“Fine.”

They could see the farm in the distance. The moon’s blue light shined brilliantly on the harvest field, like a stage light. As he drove closer to the field Ryan slowed the car down. Finally, he stopped the car where the edge of the field met the road. He killed the engine and turned off the lights — he was afraid aliens in the field would know they were back. Ryan and Melissa got out of the car and climbed on the hood to try to get a better view. There was a chill in the air. 

“There’s part of it,” Melissa whispered, pointing to part of the field. They squinted and studied the field intently, when they noticed something moving in the field. The cornstalks swayed as something maneuvered through them. They could see it moving away from the crop circle and toward the road, toward them. The creature in the maize drew closer and closer until they could hear it rustling in the field. 

Finally, just up away from where Ryan and Melissa had parked, they saw it burst out of the field. Ryan and Melissa gasped in horror. They were disgusted; they were horrified; they were amazed beyond belief. They both began to wonder if what they witnessed was real.

Stumbling out of the corn field was old man Miller and three of his older grandsons. Each grandson was carrying a wooden board and some other unrecognizable tool used to make crop circles. Old man Miller, however, carried a metal flask. He took a giant swig and handed it to one of his grandsons. The grandsons passed it around each taking a big gulp. The four men giggled hysterically, unaware of Ryan and Melissa’s presence. 

Ryan and Melissa slowly got back in the car and drove back the way they came, avoiding the Millers. 

“So, is that what farmers do to prank each other?” Ryan asked.

“Either that, or old man Miller is a greedy old man and he wanted to destroy old man Yoder’s crops so that everyone would buy his.”

They drove the rest of the way back to Melissa’s house in silence, still digesting what they witnessed. Ryan smoked a cigarette while he drove, and Melissa peered out her window at the sky. It was a beautiful night with a full moon and shining stars. Gravel crunched as they pulled into Melissa’s driveway. She opened the door to get out but then paused. She couldn’t believe what old man Miller had done.

“Maybe it really was aliens,” she said.

Contact Cody Moss at [email protected].