Monsters in NYC - Night of the Mutant Pumpkins

Chapter 3

"Three, two, one! Power!" Max declared, flipping the switch. In one second, the house lit up with its wide variety of Halloween decorations. Ghosts 'floated' around the trees, an animatronic scarecrow moved its arms about and the fountain spurted out milk chocolate. The whole house, in a sense, had come to life. Wrapping her arms around her husband, Gidget kissed him on the cheek and praised him, "Good job honey. It's beautiful."

"I'll say! That there dragon in the back is so lifelike!" Pops exclaimed, rolling his wheelchair out onto the porch. On his lap was the barn cat Hu, who had insisted on coming along so he wouldn't be left behind at the farm. Now the poor creature was downright terrified thanks to said dragon. Scratching the white cat with black stripes behind the ear, Gidget replied, "Oh, I can't wait for this party to begin! I just wish Daisy could come."

"Your wish is granted!" a voice called out. The three humans lifted their heads to find a group of monsters walking over to the house. The one who spoke was the most familiar to them. Gasping in delight, Gidget ran down the porch steps as she cried, "Daisy! Oh my god you're actually here!" Helping Pops down the porch, Max smiled and remarked, "I guess miracles do come true."

"How are you doing, youngster? Ya know, with this whole saving the world thing?" Pops asked, rolling up to his granddaughter. Hu jumped down from his lamp while Daisy scooped up all three humans. Giving them a hug, she answered, "It's going great. We actually got a break from work."

"We did?" Snowball asked, confused. Whacking him on the back of the head, Chloe growled, "We did."

"Oh, hey Rhonda. How's it going?" Pops asked, noticing the cat monster. Her ears pinned against her head, Chloe groaned. She really didn't need to deal with him right now. She was about to climb up on Norman when the three hundred fifty foot tall guinea pig opened his wings and flew away, leaving the group to do their mission. Another groan.

"Daisy! You're here!" a voice cried out. Gasping in surprise, Daisy looked down to find her little brother Tiny running over. He was already dressed up for trick or treating as a pirate. Scooping up her brother, the young woman hugged him as she murmured, "I thought you were traveling with Mom and Dad!"

"Not anymore! They thought I should stay with Pops and live the life of a normal ten year old!" Tiny replied, happy to see his big sister. Placing him back on the ground, she gestured to her friends as she began the introductions, "Guys, this is my little brother Tiny. Tiny, this is Chloe, Snowball, Dr. Ozone and... wait, where's Tiberius?"

"Trying to get your cat," Gidget answered, pointing at the screen door. Sure enough, Tiberius was pacing back and forth in front of it, growling. Safe inside the house after running for his life, Hu whimpered and mewed. He was obviously terrified by the sight of the large bird-like creature. At last, Ozone and Chloe successfully dragged him off the porch just as Duke arrived. Waving his phone in the air, he cried, "I got proof! They are giving away pumpkins for free!"

"Guys, how about you wander around with Tiny. You know, kinda just check out the neighborhood," Daisy remarked, winking one eyebrow. Getting the message, Chloe and Ozone walked away with Tiny. Snowball, on the other hand, did not get the message. Chloe had to come back for him. Kneeling down, she turned to Duke and asked, "What do you mean by free pumpkins?"

"Farmer Shep's giving away free pumpkins. Here, I got pictures," Duke answered. He held his phone out towards Daisy so she could see. Squinting her brown eyes, the young woman could make out the signs and the people walking away with their pumpkins. The bearded man wasn't kidding when he said that they were free, which was odd though since Shep would never sell anything for cheap, let alone for free. Climbing up on her hand, Tiberius muttered, "What's the plan?"

"You stay here and keep an eye out for anything strange," Daisy whispered so her friends and family couldn't hear. Setting Tiberius down on the ground, she continued, "I'll go to Farmer Shep's, see what's going on. If you or any of the others see anything, call me immediately." Standing up, she was about to walk away when she added, "And don't eat Hu."

"What?! Come on!"

"I'm being serious right now."

"He's a big cat! Breakfast, lunch and dinner in one!"

"You're not eating my cat!"