Horror Town 2

Pumpkin Patch

     The Iron Kettle Pumpkin Farm was a favorite destination for the gang since grade school. They would spend the entire day eating candy apples, trampling through the Corn Maze, braving the Haunted House, and nodding off on the Hay Ride. The ultimate staple of the trip was picking out the perfect pumpkin for them to take home and carve. Coincidentally, it's also where Raven discovered his hobby of pumpkin carving.
      On this day, the car ride was fairly lively as the gang idly chatted amongst each other. Charlie sat in the back of Gwen's mother's van, quietly thinking to himself. He decided to tell the gang about the nightmare when the woman wasn't in earshot. He stared out the window, watching the multicolored trees and farms roll by; growing more and more anxious as the previous night's images flashed in his mind.
       After a thirty three minute drive, they pulled into the parking lot and filed out of the van.
"Ok, kids. Go do your thing. We'll meet back here in a couple of hours". Gwen's mom said as she waved at them and went off to do her own stops.
      The teens moved further into the various activities. They agreed to tackle the Corn Maze first before they went on to the more entertaining festivities. Surprisingly, they were the only ones in the maze at the current moment. 'Guess this'll work', Charlie thought to himself. Gwen giddily led the way into the husked labyrinth. The smell of old corn and fallen leaves filled their noses. Jake took in a big breath. "I love the smell of moldy leaves in the mornin'"! He exclaimed dramatically.
"You always know how to get us into the spirit of things, don't ya"? Tawny teased.
"You know it, baby". Jake winked at her, earning a light punch in the arm as the others laughed.
     Charlie sauntered behind them, preparing what he would say and how he should say it. He sighed and scanned his friends.
"Hey, guys". They all turned and their friend. By the look on his face and closed off posture, he had something unpleasant to share. They watched him expectantly and slowly came to stop. Charlie took another breath
"So, you know how I've been having nightmares"? Everyone nodded. "Well, this one was way different. At first I thought I was awake, but no one else was in the house. My parents, Jen, Jake, Raven; no one was there. So, I went downstairs to look there and I saw the front door was wide open and the kitchen light was on. I thought that's where everyone was. They weren't. Then.....". He paused. His hands shook to the point that had to shove them into his hoodie pocket.
      The rest took notice of this and grew concerned. Usually when Charlie shared his nightmares to them it was always about the night Asher attacked him. He never liked having that dream, but after a while he got accustomed to it. This time was different. This time he was too shaken to even continue.
"Take your time. Just breathe". Jesse squeezed Charlie's shoulder lightly. Charlie nodded and shook away the tears in his eyes.
     Finally, he managed to calm enough to continue.
"Then, I heard tapping coming from the window. I looked and.... Asher was standing on the other side of it. He was bloody and had that same crazy look in his eyes that he had at G.E Railcar. He even had that friggin knife he used on my leg. If that wasn't bad enough, he walked through the wall and turned into that Chandler guy from yesterday".
     The rest of the group exchanged looks of bewilderment. All except for Jesse, who had a stunned look on his face. Gwen noticed it.
"You know who he's talking about"? She asked.
"Yeah. He's a kid in our class. Charlie got really freaked out when he saw him. I told him  there must have been something about him that reminded him of Asher and that's why he was put off by him".
    Tawny looked at Charlie. "Was there"?
"Well, his eyes were the same intense blue as his, but a lot of people in the school do as-well, and they don't get a reaction out of me. Until last night".
"Well... what else happened"? Raven questioned.
"I was... pulled out of the house by someone invisible. They threw a chair at him and practically carried me out. When we went through the door, I ended up back at the G.E Railcar Warehouse. So, I hid and, I swear to God, Allen and Sandy Jessop appeared and told me Asher's possessing Chandler. That he'll resume his old habits".
"You mean the twins he murdered eight years ago"?! Jake interjected.
"Yeah".
"Shit. Ok, well.... what else did they tell you"? Gwen interrogated.
"I asked them how to get rid of him for good and they said that we had to destroy all the secrets he has in his house. That's the only way he would disappear for good. That's not all".
     The gang looked at him with anticipation.
"They said.... they said he might come for us".
     Now the group was scared. They stared at Charlie for a few beats, then at each other. None of them knew what to say that would counter that piece of terrifying news. Should they ask more questions or assure each other things would work out? Jesse broke the silence.
"Then if he does come after us; we'll be ready for him. We'll send him to hell before he has a chance to do anything".
     His friends looked around at one another with expressions of surprise and agreement. They knew Asher coming for them was a big risk last year when they were practically stalking him around the attraction. Yet, they still did it. Now, however, he was a spirit who could go wherever and do whatever he pleased.
     If destroying whatever awaited in his house really would banish Asher for good, how the hell would they go about it? As if reading everyone's minds, Tawny spoke up next.
"We can talk more about it later. For now we should try and enjoy the rest of the day or Gwen's mom is gonna get suspicious".
     The rest nodded and picked their way out of the maze. Gwen looped her her arm around Charlie's and gave him an assuring smile. He weakly smiled back and batted the back of her hand.
     Once they were out, they dispersed into smaller groups. Jake and Jesse went to play a few games, Tawny and Gwen went to get cider and donuts, Charlie and Raven went to the pumpkins and began to fill a couple of wagons. While they looked over the orange vegetables, raven paused and looked at Charlie.
"Hey, Charlie". Charlie looked over at the spectacled boy. "Why didn't you wake me and Jake up after you had that nightmare"?
Charlie shrugged. "I didn't want to wake you up just to yell you to freak you out and tell you to go back to sleep. Seemed kinda stupid".
    Raven nodded and set a tall pumpkin in the wagon. "Still, I feel bad that you just laid there scared until you passed out".
"That was my decision to do that. At least you didn't do the Exorcist head swivel on me".
     The friends chuckled and continued to pack the wagons with pumpkins while they waited for  their fiends to return.