Wake Up

Everything was ready for the ritual. From what I can hear, the materials are ready, and the people have already prepared themselves for the attack.

“Here they come!” People shouted. I looked out of the window. They’re here. Thousands of pumpkin heads floated outside our barrier of defense, which is only a few meters of iron wall. I knew that I would die there, so I looked to the site of the ritual: several evisolpxes are gathered at the center of the circle, while they are prepared to be lightened with the sacred burn. The evisolpxes glitters with an almost unreal layer of colloid, and the sacred path to the magic center is bright black with chalk-like patterns.

They’re here. The metal wall could only hold them for minutes, as our magician pours liquid metal onto the incoming pumpkin army.

People have gathered around the tent. It seems that an old fortuneteller is telling stories about their ultimate fate: to join the army of pumpkins and roam the earth forever. It is said that these pumpkins are poisonous to the touch and would transform any dead body into its own kind. They also have another way of attacking: they could summon poisonous rain from above, killing everyone in the rain. They have already destroyed several other gatherings with this tactic.

        “Don’t use these evisolpxes unless it is required!” The leader shouted, “we will try to stay alive!”

        “We’ll just die, like other gatherings.” People muttered.

        “I say we should use the evisolpxes from the start! At least we can protect others from being destroyed. We should put an end to this!” One suggested.

        “Let’s use the evisolpxes as baits to hold them behind, so that we could escape!”

        “Yes! The pumpkins go towards heat!”

        The pumpkins approached. They had moving faces carved into them magically, chanting the phrase “halloween”. They seem to all have different voices, perhaps inherited from their original body. That doesn’t make sense because they have no body, only a pumpkin floating in midair.

        People ran for shelter. A troop of guards guarded the warehouse containing all the evisolpxes. An evisolpxe was put at the entrance, the sacred path of destruction alit.

        A pumpkin head appeared at the near side of the metal wall. It slithered its way between every atom of the wall, arranging and rearranging every inch it moves.

        Boom! The evisolpxe blew into pieces. The first pumpkin head dissipated into ashed, only to be rearranged back to form seconds later.

        “Again!” The leader commanded. Another evisolpxe lit, thrown into the edge of the wall. The pumpkins slowed their pace, though forever marching on.

        I hid back. I ran. The ground was flat, distinctly the feel of cement. I ran for the underground shelter. Not many people know about it since I had only uncovered it a few days ago. I was working on this for the last few weeks, and managed to make it a small room. It seems satisfactory for escaping the pumpkin heads, but I can’t be in there for too long.

        I arrived. The place looked just like ordinary ground, but its edge can be opened, allowing a small entrance to appear. I reached for the door. Suddenly, I felt a cold touch behind me, like a slurry liquid gliding on my back. I looked back, but nothing was there. I ignored it and opened the door, slid in, and quickly shut it behind me. I turned on the flashlight and looked behind. There was a person in there, looking terrified. I didn’t know why he was so scared, after all he found this shelter. I went to pat him on the back, but the moment I touched him, he disappeared. I didn’t know what happened.

        The following evenings, I never got hungry. I brought the food supplies for nothing. A week later, I decided to leave the shelter.

        It was quiet outside. I opened a crack in the trapdoor and peeked outside. It was quiet. Nothing was around, nothing seems to have happened. I got outside and walked on. I headed for the nearest settlement.

        It rained. The rain felt cold. I walked on. I walked ahead, ahead, and finally encountered a small village. Its metal walls have already been broken, so it must have been taken by the pumpkins. I wanted to find shelter in there, so I look in the village, and made sure there was no more pumpkins. Then, I spent the night at that village. It was a warm night.

        The next morning, I saw another peculiar thing. Another person, just like me, seems to be looking for shelter. He looked concerned and acted in a very silent way. He was really close to me, almost 16 feet away. Then, he vanished. Like nothing was there.

        I left the village immediately. I headed east, walked, and walked for days. I wanted to find a settlement, at least for me to survive. I knew there was something wrong with me. I hope there would be someone to save me. I’m not normal. I haven’t eaten for a month now, and I hardly feel tired. I only felt cold, very cold.

        I encountered some people behind a tree, they were around a fire. I went toward them and one of them saw me. “Damn,” he cursed, “another one!” He took out a small evisolpxe, lighted it, and threw it far away. “Go that way,” he shouted, “it’s warm there!”

        Why would he do that? I thought. Of course, the fire is better, and it can keep me warm longer. Why would I go to the evisolpxe?

        One of them kicked the ashes on to the fire, putting it out. I was angry. Why does he have to do that? I heard they say “don’t come here, go away! Go!” And ran away.

        What did I do? Why would they run away, and put out the fire? I ran towards them, as I really wanted to hit them very badly. Curiously, they disappeared the moment I touched them. Like they’ve never been there.

        “What happened then?”

        “Then you guys found me, and made me eat that pill. Now I see pumpkin heads all around!” I feel my stomach rolling around.

        “The pill’s only something that allows you to see your own kind. It’s harmless.”

        “My own kind?” I’m confused right now.

        “Take a look at you.” One of them brings the mirror in front of me.

        “Oh, I’m orange!”