Into The Unknown (Karl Jacobs)

~episode two~

It seems as though we've been walking for ages. My legs are giving up. When we started it was pitch black and now the sun is starting to rise, providing a beautiful golden hue on the fallen  leaves. As they continue to crunch under our feet, Karl continues to complain. "Y/n I'm tireddd" "I am too" I whine back. We're both ready to be home, but it seems as though we're just getting even more lost.

We continue on our path and a sign nailed to a tree catches my attention, ''Pottsfield One Mile" I mumble as I read it. "Huh?" Karl asks skipping over to me to read the sign. "Oh." "Cmon let's go!" I exclaim and drag him along. "Maybe we'll fine society! Maybe they'll have a phone!" These ideas make Karl as excited as I am. We run forward, and reach a town incredibly soon. "Oh no! I've stepped on a pumpkin!" I say in surprise. "It's fine, I've stepped on two! Their like shoes!" Karl exclaims. The town is all wooden houses and they all look the same, but I refuse to let this phase me. "Karl cmon! Maybe they'll have a phone!" I say. I knock on the door of the first house. "Hello?" No response. Karl decides to try. "Hey anyone home?" Still nothing. The next time I knock the door opens itself. A greasy looking turkey is in the center of the room, only with a table. What the fuck. "Oh uh- we're sorry for bothering you-" I stammer and shut the door as it's head plops back down onto the table.

I turn around and see Karl trying to contain his laughter. "What's so funny?" And that makes him absolutely lose it. I start laughing too, and we're both just messes. "Hey wait do you hear that?" Karl says mid trying to compose himself. "Hear what?" "I hear music! From the barn!" I still hear nothing but my ears are shit so I trust him. I don't really have a choice seeing as he's already running towards it. He runs a lot. I follow, walking out of laziness, and hear the music as we approach. "Cmon let's go in!" I push the doors open and we squeeze in. The door shuts behind us as I look around at the dimly lit area. "Woah! They all have pumpkins on their heads!" Karl exclaims. "Karl! We can't just say that!" "Why not?" "I don't know it might be disrespectful," "it's just the truth," we bicker. "I don't think I've seen you two here before." One of the pumpkin-people tell us. "Oh we're just passing through!" I tell them. "Folks don't tend to, 'pass though', Pottsfield," she tells us.

"Well-uh- we're just looking to pass through- we're trying to get home-," "Are you saying you want to leave?" "Yes!" I reply glad they get it. "Who wants to leave Pottsfield?" An old man voice exclaims. Everyone goes quite before all mumbling and looking worried at us. Before I can process what's going on their all getting closer. "Well well now, settle down everyone." I hear a deep voice say. It's deep, but not as deep as one of my friends back home. "So you wanna leave Pottsfield?" The voice asks. "Yea we're really just looking to, you know, find our way out of here?" Karl suggests. "Ok so let me get this straight- you come into our town, trample our crops, ruin our gathering, and now you wanna go home?" "Well I suppose when you put it that way-" I start. "Yes!" Karl quickly exclaims interrupting me. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can let that happen." My heart sinks. "I think I'll have to punish you- with a few hours of digging and community service." "Wait really?" I ask now confused. "Mhm. It's what I would give to a citizen, it's what I will give to you." He says. My heart lifts back up as I nod, and Karl seems to surprised to respond.

Next thing I know Karl and I are in a random field. I'm not sure if it's corn or pumpkins honestly, but either way this is pretty easy. The other set back is our ankles have shins so we don't run, but I can live with that. I start to dig. They didn't really say what or how much they needed, so I'm just kinda guessing. This is gonna be a long and boring process. It's all rocky, very little good or plantable soil. Now that I think about it what are they putting here? "Hey y/n! I found treasure!" Karl exclaims. "Oh really? See this isn't all that bad! What did you find?" I ask, sitting down my shovel and looking over. "I don't know, I need to dig more!" He says. Only a second after more digging I hear a gasp. "Y/n... it's a skeleton." "It's a what." "Y/n we need to go" "I know Karl but we can't run with these on our ankles - I didn't know we were digging our own graves-"

Right as we're about to continue, the deep voice rings again. "So are you done digging?" It asks, as I turn around to see the entire town gathered around anxiously. "Well you see- there were lots of rocks- and well- you guys don't like rocks right?" I stutter with in the spot. They mumble for a second. "No- I suppose we don't." The deep voice replies again. Before I can respond with the rest of my point Karl does one of those scream-moan things. "Karl what's wrong?" I ask before looking over. There's a skeleton crawling out of his 'grave'!

I jump as I feel the ground move underneath me. Oh no. I hop up and before I know it a skeleton is coming out of my grave as well! The entire town bustles with greeting, hanging each one of them a pumpkin that they place onto their heads. "Thank you guys for digging up the life of the party." Excuse me? They weren't our graves? We were just revealing new - uh - citizens? "You sure you guys don't wanna stay in Pottsfield?" The huge pumpkin man asks. "Nope we do not, we'll be leaving now if that's okay." I say. "Yes of course, you'll be back. Everyone always comes back to Pottsfield." He says ominously as a villager undoes me and Karl's leg-chain thing. "We'll see you again soon." He ends. The sun is setting in the sky, making a calming atmosphere. I grab Karl's wrist and run out of there as fast as possible as he waves goodbye to the yelling villagers.