The Pumpkining

Part 3

The first few days after the summoning were fine, borderline peaceful. I could still feel the powers within me. I was still oven warm and smelled spicy but overall I was still the same old me. There was a small part of me that was hopeful that the spell had  actually worked. Perhaps there was really going to be peace and harmony in the pumpkin world. Upon returning to work, I would find out that wasn't entirely true.

"Ew, Jeanette. Is this your pumpkin coffee," my manager, Fred asks me pointing to the styrofoam cup on the desk.

"Yes, Fred, you know it is."

"Please get this abomination off of my desk before it infects my work."

"Fred, I have never spilled coffee in the office before so what are you worried about now?"

"I'm worried that you'll leak pumpkin spice in here. It's already stinking up the office."

"It's an improvement from what it usually smells like in here. My coffee isn't bothering you."

"It's very existence is bothering me."

"Okay, Fred, fine. I'll move it. Just beware of the pumpkining," I say to him laughing as I leave the office.

One of the cool things about being connected to the Pumpkin King is that whatever he can see, I can see. That night after his shift, Fred drove his usual hour home to his wife. Usually, he would be going to home to his wife and two daughters but tonight his girls were at a sleepover.

"I figured since the girls are gone we could have a nice steak dinner. I made roasted potatoes too," his wife Alyssa says to him when he walks through the door.

"That sounds good. Do we have to get them early tomorrow?"

"Nope. They're being dropped off. I picked up a few beers for us to try. Yes, one of them is pumpkin but this could be the lucky one."

"I'll try it but in 14 years we have yet to find one I like."

"I only got one. I did a mixed pack today. I'll split it between the two of us. That way if you hate it, we're not wasting a whole beer. I got a few of our favorites too. "

Fred and Alyssa sat down at their dining room table to enjoy their dinner. Like she said, Alyssa poured one bottle of pumpkin ale between the two of them.

"This actually isn't too bad," Alyssa says after taking a sip. "I can barely taste any pumpkin at all."

Taking her word for it, Fred brought the glass to his lips and took a long sip. What he was greeted with was a mouth full of pumpkin.

"What do you mean it isn't too bad," he exclaimed barely swallowing the beer. "It's like I've been kicked in the face with pumpkin spice. I feel like I just licked a pumpkin."

"That's really weird. It really doesn't seem that bad. Maybe you're just extra sensitive to pumpkin."

"It's not a sensitivity. That was a mouthful of pumpkin. I can't believe you can't taste that."

"Just eat your dinner," Alyssa laughs cutting into her steak.

The steak and potatoes looked really good and Fred was eager to get the taste of pumpkin out of his mouth. Cutting into his steak, his mouth was practically watering. Bringing a piece to his mouth he was greeted again with a mouthful of pumpkin. He immediately stops chewing and gets up.

"What's wrong," Alyssa asks him looking confused. Fred shakes his head and goes into the kitchen. He needed to get the taste of pumpkin out of his mouth. He goes to the fridge to look for a different beer. Finding one, he cracks it open and takes a sip to wash down the steak. Again, his mouth is assaulted by pumpkin.

Fred couldn't believe it. It was if everything he ate was tainted by the pumpkin beer he drank. Going through the fridge, he grabbed a chunk of cheese. Biting into it, all he could taste was still pumpkin. Frantically, he rummaged through the cabinets looking for something, anything that could wipe out the taste of pumpkin. Everything he tried failed.

"Fred, what are you doing in here," Alyssa asks him appearing in the kitchen.

"All I taste is pumpkin. Everything I put in my mouth tastes like pumpkin. That beer is ruining me."

"You are being absolutely ridiculous. That beer barely has any pumpkin flavoring at all. If it's bothering you that bad, go upstairs and brush your teeth. Honestly, though, I think it's all in your head," she laughs at him patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be on the couch waiting to start our show when you're done."

Shaking his head, Fred heads up the stairs to his bathroom. Alyssa could quite possibly be right but he knew what he tasted. Maybe brushing his teeth would just reset it. Turning on the cold water, Fred splashes some on his face before he wets his toothbrush. Then he squirts toothpaste on the brush and sticks it into his mouth. Just like everything else he had put into his mouth tonight, he once again was greeted by pumpkin. This time, the pumpkin was stronger than before. 

"No," he whispers, dropping the toothbrush into the sink. "No, no, no. It can't be."

"Fred," a deep ominous voice calls to him.

"Alyssa," Fred calls back.

"Fred," the voice calls again.

"Alyssa," Fred once again calls back.

"You know this isn't Alyssa, Fred."

"What do you want?"

The voice just laughs. The laughter starts off low and then grows louder. 

"Did you enjoy your pumpkin, Fred? Was it everything you wanted it to be, Fred? Doesn't everything taste better with pumpkin, Fred?"

Fred stares into his reflection in the mirror, horrified.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

The voice laughs again.

"Beware. Beware. Beware of the Pumpkining, Fred."

Coming out of the darkness, the Pumpkin King appears and then drags Fred screaming into the shadows.