Summary
Highlights
After a hasty escape from creatures in a cornfield, the narrator and a young boy find themselves stranded on a large rock, the boy injured. The creatures won't leave the corn, but the duo is stuck, with their stolen car out of gas and little hope for rescue. The boy's grandmother, whom he was searching for, is presumed dead in the corn.
Jet planes pass overhead, offering a transient sense of hope to the narrator that someone might see them. However, the reality of their isolation and the unlikelihood of rescue quickly sets in, leaving them to their grim predicament on the rock.
The next morning, another car approaches, bringing a new victim. The narrator tries to warn him, but the man, mistaking them for rebellious kids, dismisses their pleas and is quickly taken by the creatures in the cornfield after a brief struggle and gunshots.
As their water dwindles, the narrator and the boy bond over movies and music. The boy shares the local legend of 'The Devil's Rock,' explaining that the field used to be trees until a rock fell, and the land became fertile but also a magnet for strange occurrences every 17 years. The creatures' inability to leave the corn intrigues them.
With the boy weakened, the narrator confesses her past—escaping a camp, a Q-Mart robbery, an accidental shooting, and her subsequent flight. She omits stealing money. Inspired by the creatures' calls, she devises a plan for the boy to escape using the phone recording of the creature's howl as a diversion.
The narrator gives the boy her phone with the recording and promises to stall the creatures. He drives off in the man's truck as the narrator, replaying the creature's howl, confronts the monsters for a final stand, giving the boy the chance to escape.
The boy manages to flee in the truck, but the narrator is caught. She appears in the passenger seat of the car, having seemingly made an arrangement with the creatures, as the truck is stopped and its gas tank punctured. As the creatures converge on the truck, the narrator reflects on her journey, concluding she is done running and ready for whatever comes next.
Laura, the narrator's accomplice, is heard crying in the cornfield, drawing the narrator's attention. The boy warns against intervention, citing the creatures' speed. Laura's cries eventually cease, leaving the narrator in despair. With no phone service and a criminal past, they realize help isn't coming.
Despite initial mistrust, the narrator tends to the boy's wound using her water and a piece of her shirt. They share a cigarette, and the boy reveals his rabbit's foot belonged to his deceased father, mirroring the narrator's own loss. As night falls, distant howls echo from the corn, a constant reminder of the unseen threat.