lWater droplets dripped their way down from the leaves of a large oak tree onto a small, sleeping boy, causing him to wake up , brain full of fog.
He blinked slowly, ushering away tears. He didn't know why they were there, but they didn't feel foreign.
As he sat up, the boy looks around, observing his surroundings. As he looks around, his head stops in the direction of a stranger. A girl. He didn't know why she was here, but it wasn't his problem. If anything, he's intruding in this forest. He should leave.
He shook his head, choosing to look at her a bit more. She had on jean overall shorts, a long sleeved violet shirt, and unlaced red high top shoes. Her eyes were somewhat golden, and she had brown hair that was tied up in a side ponytail. As he observed her more, he picked up a key detail.
Glass. The girls brown skin was pumped full of glass shards, all up and down. She even had one in her left eye. The boy wondered why she hadn't taken them out yet.
She looked to be around his age, which he'd guess was around 12 years old.
As he observed her, she observed him. She watched him from behind a tree, eyes full of curiosity. She tilted her head slowly, curiously, waiting to see his next move.
The boy copies, doing the exact same, almost in a mocking fashion. He waits to see how she responds.
The girl slowly raises her arm, the boy following suit shortly after. As she gives a little wave, he does the same. She steps out some more, raising her leg and watching him do the same, before she stomps down onto the earth, hearing the soft thump as he copies.
She then steps all the way out and starts walking towards him. The boy does not copy. When she reaches him, the boy only looks up at her, waiting.
She hums softly and puts her hand out. "Hi, I'm Georgia! Your name is Pumpkin Head."
The boy did not speak, only holding his hand out for her to pull him up. Georgia did so, hoisting him up and walking off, still holding his hand. Pumpkin Head let Georgia lead him around. He had nowhere else to go, and felt no sense of urgency, no voice telling him to 'get away'.
Nothing was said for the entire trip. The two children let themselves travel in comfortable silence, only listening to the sounds of the forest and their own thoughts for entertainment.
Soon, they saw a clearing. A light at the end of the woods. Just beyond it was a town. A town filled with monsters. People were living on the streets, children were playing with knives and guns and all sorts of dangerous things, not counting the occasional half dead baby.
Pumpkin Head remembered this place. This is the town in which Pumpkin Head had lived. The town that had never taken care of it's people. No one here cared about anyone else but themselves. They couldn't afford to. If they cared, they ran the risk of having the one thing they care about taken away, and no one wanted that.
"Remember this place? We had bad times here. But don't worry! We'll find home real soon! I just need to show you something really quick," Georgia said before going and walking down the hill, still holding Pumpkin Head's hand.Pumpkin Head was confused. Of course he remembered that town. He lived there, how could he not? But he didn't have it in him to ask any questions. Questions were bad. Questions were not allowed. It would better if he just went along with Georgia and let her show him everything. After all, what did he know? He was just a dumb child. Yeah, a dumb kid. That's all he was. He couldn't let himself forget.
Georgia could tell that her new friend was thinking something negative. She smiled.
'It'll all be over soon, new friend...'
Georgia walked through the town at a somewhat slow pace. She let Pumpkin take in everything about the town he had been living in. The starving children, dead bodies, people fighting, drug addicts, feces and bodily fluids everywhere. He wondered why the town was like this. Sure it was normal, but what happened? What caused people to act the way they did and let this happen?
As they were walking, they saw two children, one boy and one girl, shivering and holding each other tight. They were crying, quaking in fear with expressions of terror on their face. They were small, probably five years old at most. Malnourished wasn't even the word to describe them. They looked as if they had never had a meal in their life.
There were three raggedy, slimy men surrounding them, smiling. They said a few words that Pumpkin couldn't understand, but their tone was condescending and disgusting. The next thing that happened made Pumpkin's heart stop.
One of the men unbuckled his belt and pulled his pants down. Pumpkin had seen this before. Sometimes, he snuck outside and saw things that no child should ever see.
Pumpkin stopped dead in his tracks, making Georgia stop too. She had anticipated this.
"Do you want to save them?" She turned back to him, already knowing his answer.
Pumpkin only stared at her, letting his silence answer for him. Georgia understood him just fine. She walked him over to the kids and the men before handing him a random knife that she had found on the ground and letting go of his hand.
"Go ahead."
And with that, Pumpkin let loose. He cut the first mans dick off, watching the blood spurt out like a fountain as the organ fell to the ground. He then stabbed the same man in stomach, over and over and over again until he was a bloody mess of organs and flesh. After he was satisfied with his work, he slit the mans throat and Achilles tendon so that he could never walk again, even after death.
He then turned to the next two men. He charged the first one, burrying the knife in his head and pulling it out as he watches the asshole drop dead before stabbing both of the third ones eyes out and stabbing him in the throat.
Once he was sure they were all dead, he turned to the kids. They all watched each other for about 20 seconds before the kids scrambled and started to eat the first mans insides.
Pumpkin stared for a second before turning to Georgia and handing her the knife. She took it with a smile and they both stood waiting for the children to stop eating.
Once the kids, presumably twins, finished their meal, they looked up at the older kids who were looking down at them patiently. Pumpkin took this time to fully observe the kids. They both had dirty blonde hair, with big, beautiful brown eyes and they each had on a ripped pair of khaki shorts and a tank top. He picked them both up and put one on his right shoulder while the other held onto his left leg, sitting on his foot.
"Guess they're ours now, huh?" Georgia chuckled, eyeing the happy look on both of the twins faces. The shoulder baby was biting Pumpkin's head as the foot baby started to dig his nails into Pumpkin's leg. Pumpkin just stood there blankly and took it all, even exuding a small air of fondness for these he had just found barely more than five minutes ago.
Georgia cackled at the image in front of her. "They're like little gremlins! Oh gosh they're so cute!"
Pumpkin lit up at the new inspiration for a name that he thought of. He grabbed her arm with his left hand and held the other one out palm up, as if expecting something.
As always, Georgia was already clued in on what he wanted. She handed him the knife and watched him put it in the pocket of his long trench coat. She already knew that he was clearly smart enough to recognize where they were headed by now.
"Shall we go then?" Georgia0 smiled and held her hand out, her smile broadening when he grabbed it softly but firmly.
They both walked on, the twins still grabbing and biting at Pumpkin. Pumpkin didn't mind, it kept them happy. Pumpkin would do anything to see his kids happy. He had decided to keep them, adopting them as his brother and sister. The moment he saw them, he felt a purpose, and decided he was going to fulfill whatever duty awaited him as they got older.
As Pumpkin kept mulling over all of the lengths that he would go to to keep the twins safe, Georgia was leading him closer and closer to their destination.
After 5 minutes of pure silence, the small family reached the place they were looking for.
It was Pumpkin's old house. The one he had when he was alive. They all looked through one of the busted windows (Pumpkin had lifted his brother up) at his now dead body on the floor. The head was nowhere to be found, but Pumpkin knew exactly where it would be. His body was oddly mangled, arms bent sideways awkwardly as one of his legs was twisted at the kneecap and stuck in the air. Pumpkin took his sister off of his head and handed her and her brother to Georgia before climbing into the house through the window.
He walked up the stairs, spotting his father's room and walking in without hesitation. He first saw shoes in front of him, then a body when he looked up. His father's body. He shrugged it off and walked over to his father's dresser, finding his head right on top, with a sewing kit in the drawer.
Pumpkin took some te to sew everything back together, having stolen some of his father's surgery books when he was younger and remembering where everything goes. (Book logic it doesn't matter.)
After he was done, he took his dad's wallet and a picture of his mom. He hated her, but he loved the way she looked. She had the most beautiful eyes, a shade that no color could ever copy. They started out as a nice purple, but it wasn't a solid purple. No, it was more of universe purple, as if she held the galaxy in her eyes. The purple then slowly fades to blue, an ocean blue that began with a faint brownish yellow, like the sand you find on the beach. She had pure, natural pink hair with white highlights, and his dad had orange hair with black highlights, which lead Pumpkin to have a mop of pink fading to orange highlights that faded from white to black. He loved his looks, and loved that he didn't just look like his father. It made him happy.
He knew that his mother abandoned him and his father when he was born. He knew that she left because of how abusive his father was. He knew this, and he knew that she did the right thing to leave. But he also knew that she could have taken him. Even if she wasn't ready for a child, she could have taken him to an orphanage. Maybe then he wouldn't have to suffer for his entire life before dying at the age of 12.
He violently shook the thoughts of his mother and his death from his head and put the picture of his mother in his pocket, along with a small black chest looking box and the key that went with it, before grabbing the pumpkin that previously replaced his head and carrying it under his arm.
Pumpkin walked downstairs, heading to the front door. Of course, he didn't stop without admiring his now more human features first. He stopped by the mirror on the wall right beside the door and stared at his reflection. His expression was bare, almost dead (what a pun), but it somehow had an odd spark of life. He shrugged it off, thinking that it might just be that he is technically dead but also alive at the same time, so his face reflects that.
Pumpkin lifted his chin up and gently ran his fingers over the stitches, admiring how well he did them. He loved the way they just fit his entire persona. He didn't know what his persona was but the stitches fit him just right. Maybe he would figure out the reason for that later, but for now, he was more focused on his new little family.
And with that thought, Pumpkin put on his pumpkin head, opened the door, and walked out.