Pumpkins, blood, and deadly games. | Liam
Pumpkins, blood, and deadly games.
Liam
“Run, little slut!” Mike’s voice echoes through the empty pumpkin patch as he follows the woman on his motorcycle. She tries to escape him, running up the hill and dodging as many pumpkins as she can.
“Mike, you fucking asshole, she is mine to kill!” Jessica yells behind him, speeding up and almost catching up to him.
The woman looks back at them, then bolts once more, trying her best to reach the top of the hill where the scarecrow is.
Silly girl. She truly believes this will save her.
It’s funny how none of them figure it out until it’s too late.
The only woman who ever survived us is now on a motorcycle of her own, playing the game beside us.
“Maybe the annual hunt was a bad idea,” Nathan calls behind me. You think? Those two idiots will kill each other in the process of chasing this woman.
“Shut up and catch up with them before they kill each other!” I shout, speeding on my bike to catch up before Jessica tries to throw Mike off his motorcycle again.
Instead, my front wheel finds an obstacle, and there I go—flying over the handlebars and landing straight in the fucking pumpkins.
Orange pieces cover my black clothes and hair as I try to get up and fail.
I am stuck. This is pathetic. Who kidnaps a woman and throws her into a pumpkin patch to be hunted for her life, only to end up stuck between the damn pumpkins himself?
Jessica approaches on her motorcycle and slows down just enough to help me. She offers me a hand without getting down from her bike. “Come on, my love,” she says in a sweet voice. “We have a woman to catch.”
I get up with her help and dust off the pumpkin pieces and juice from my clothes before reaching for my bike, only to realize the damn thing is definitely not working anymore. Fuck.
Jessica has already sped off. Nathan is long gone ahead, and as I’m considering my options, Mike appears out of nowhere and extends his hand without slowing down. He grabs me, pulling me up as I climb onto the back of his motorcycle.
“Come on, brother, you didn’t really think I would let you cheat your way out of the game, did you?” He says with a chuckle.
I tighten my grip on Mike’s shoulders as the engine roars, the vibrations rattling my teeth. The smell of gasoline and crushed gourds fills the air, mixing with the metallic tang of adrenaline. The thrill of the chase fills my body, reminding me exactly why I used to love it so much.
“Fuck. The chaos twins joined forces,” Nathan says, looking back at us as he attempts to catch the woman.
His hand extends to grab her hair, but looking back at us is enough of a distraction, and she escapes.
“Shit,” he curses, trying to keep his balance while looking straight ahead at the woman’s disappearing figure.
“Come on, dude,” Mike yells at his boyfriend. “You lost an opportunity there.”
“He really did,” Jessica agrees as she passes Nathan’s bike and flips him off.
“Boys, it seems like the game is a woman’s business now,” she announces, chasing after the poor girl, who is still trying to escape.
Jessica's laugh echoes across the pumpkin patch as she disappears over the hill.
“Fucking women,” Mike mutters as he speeds up to catch her.
I hold onto him, trying to stay on the fucking bike as my brother tries to chase our girlfriend up the hill.
“You say that like you aren't dating one,” I remind him. We all are. Sharing a woman sometimes seems like a great idea; other times, it makes me want to push my head through a wall.
“I know exactly what I signed up for.” We all do. Jessica is a handful, but I don’t think any of us regret having her with us. Leaving her behind was a mistake we only made once, and none of us is eager to repeat it. Besides, she might actually try to murder us if we tried.
“And yet you still complain,” I joke, because that’s all he’s been doing lately.
“Because she tried to kill me last week.” And it’s true. She did try to kill him, but he started it.
“You tried to kill her first,” I point out. If I don’t provoke him, who will? It’s a brother’s job to be a dickhead sometimes.
“That is completely different,” he defends himself. The difference is that he got caught by Nathan during his attempt, while Jessica managed to get very close before she was stopped.
“How?” I entertain the conversation as the motorcycle continues up the hill. Jessica is already at the top, chasing the woman in circles. It’s kind of ridiculous to see. The woman keeps dodging her, and Jessica keeps trying.
“I had a reason,” he responds.
“Mike, stealing your hoodie isn’t a good reason to kill your girlfriend,” I say, trying my best to keep myself from laughing.
“Yes, it is. It’s my favorite one.” Not going to lie, this is a valid reason in Mike’s book.
Jessica's voice suddenly cuts through the night. “Boys!”
All four of us freeze. Mike slows down and Nathan catches up with us. “What the hell just happened?” he asks frantically, looking for both Jessica and the woman. Neither of them is anywhere to be found.
“Don’t ask me. I was too busy debating if murder is the right price for hoodie theft,” I complain.
“Don’t look at me either. I was defending my right to protect my hoodie.” Mike throws his hand in the air as a peace offering, and the motorcycle wobbles out of control.
“Dude, hands on the fucking handlebars! We are going to crash!” I shout.
“My bad.” He chuckles and steers the motorcycle back onto the path.
A woman’s scream echoes through the night. It creeps the fuck out of me, but then it abruptly stops. Silence falls, and it’s even worse than the scream.
I look at Nathan, who’s directly behind us. Nathan looks at me.
“Where the fuck did they go?” I ask.
“I don't know,” he admits.
“You had a clear view of them!” Mike shouts back at him.
“I was trying not to crash into you idiots!”
Mike laughs. “Sounds like a you problem.”
“What’s your excuse?” Nathan pushes back. In the meantime, Jessica is still nowhere to be found. Fuck.
“I was trying to keep us from crashing into the pumpkins!” Mike tries to defend the indefensible.
“So we are both idiots.” Nathan’s laugh is delightful. The guys are having fun, and for once, the game doesn’t feel so dreadful. It feels more like a family activity—if you ignore the fact that the prey is a human, not some wild animal.
“I agree, you are both idiots,” I say, interrupting their banter. “Now, do either of you see our damn girlfriend?”
I notice both men trying to locate Jessica as we finally reach the top of the hill.
The scarecrow stands tall, its crooked wooden arms casting shadows onto the ground.
The moonlight shines directly behind it, making it look like a scene out of a Hitchcock movie.
Still, there is no sign of Jessica—until another scream sounds from behind us.
All three of us hop off our motorcycles. We rush toward the edge of the fence surrounding the pumpkin patch where the sound came from.
“Something's wrong,” I say.
Mike's laughter dies. We all know that silence. The kind that doesn't belong in a game like this. Did the woman escape?
“Where the fuck is Jessica?” Nathan shouts as he runs ahead. All three of us are losing our minds, thinking the worst, when Jessica appears, dragging the woman by her hair.
The woman stays completely still. Blood oozes from her throat, painting her white dress red.
“Told you I would win.” Jessica smiles at me as she approaches.
I run faster, meeting her halfway. She hops into my arms, her legs wrapping around my waist as I claim her lips.
“Good girl,” I praise her, and her laugh fills the pumpkin patch.
Another game has come to an end... until next year.