The Pumpkining

Part 7

As the eve of the equinox draws near, I could feel the army growing stronger. It wasn't necessarily something I needed to see because I could feel it. All of my friends seemed very eager to do the bidding of the Pumpkin King. By eager, I mean, there is no fight in them.

After my shift, instead of venturing home, I decided to walk through the pumpkin patch. The Pumpkin King said everything needed to be in place for the equinox, but he didn't say what would be happening. As I trudged deeper into the pumpkin patch, I could feel his presence more and more. She felt it but she just couldn't find him.

"Jeanette," a familiar voice calls in the wind.

"Keegan?"

"Jeanette," a different voice calls a little closer.

"Gen?"

"Help us, Jeanette. Help us before it's too late."

"Fred? Where are you guys?"

I spin around looking for my friends but there's no one there. What have I done? What have I done to my friends?

"You've done well, Jeanette," the Pumpkin King says appearing in front of me.

"What have I done? What happens next?"

"We take the next step. On the autumnal equinox, you will let me possess your body."

"I'm sorry what?"

"The work we've done is good but it's not enough. We have only begun to scratch the surface with the pumpkin haters. The only way for me to truly do my job is to have a human vessel."

"I don't remember agreeing to that."

"You said you would submit to your king. This is the ultimate submission."

"The idea of giving up control of my entire body sounds so scary."

"But you love pumpkin, Jeanette. What better way to love pumpkin that to become pumpkin?"

I couldn't bring myself to move. This was crazy but I didn't know any other way out. I had to think quickly on my feet.

"Do you have enough subordinates, my king?"

"Follow me," he says. Deeper into the pumpkin patch, the pumpkins grow significantly larger. In my life I had never seen pumpkins so large and I definitely never had seen so many.

"Each of these pumpkins," he says running his hand over the pumpkins, "represents one of your pumpkin loathing friends. I put their souls into these pumpkins and their human vessels are already possessed by pumpkins.

Kassie had said Fred, Gen, and Keegan seemed like zombies. Now I at least knew why.

"The possession is only temporary until the equinox. Once the equinox happens all of the possessions become permanent. Your possession has to happen in order to seal all the other ones."

"So, in other words, if I don't go through with this, the whole pumpkin war will be off."

"Correct. We've already worked so hard."

"What is our end result, my king? What are we hoping to gain from this?"

"World domination is of course our main objective. It's not enough that pumpkin can be enjoyed in the fall It should be enjoyed always. Pumpkin is a way of life. You knew this already. This is what you signed up for."

"Pumpkin domination? Yes. I'm on board for pumpkin domination. I never knew it would heavily involve me, so it feels crazy. So, what do I have to do to complete this process?"

"Tomorrow you just show up here and we'll complete the spell you started."

"I started a spell?"

"You summoned me. That's a spell. Once you summon me, there has to be somewhere for me to go. You either finish the spell to complete a possession or you send me back. Your summoning spell just needs to be complete so I may take possession of your human vessel."

"I am at your service, my king. I shall prepare my vessel for you.

"Good. Until tomorrow, Jeanette."

I walked away from the pumpkin patch thoroughly confused. Had I made a mistake? Had I summoned the wrong being? Had I forsaken my friends for the wrong cause? Was there a way I could fix this, or would I let the Pumpkin King possess me? How deep truly is my pumpkin devotion?