“Hey, Jack!” Round, orange…evil. I stared out from my place upon the porch steps and tried my best to grab the interest of the other lantern. Smoke issued from the openings that were at least ostensibly his eyes.

“Did you see those kids?” I began with small-talk, but he continued to ignore me. “That pirate one was chewing something sticky, and he dropped a bit on my stem.” The other jack-o-lantern simply grinned with an impassive expression— without answering my need for attention.

The wind howled plaintively through the trees blowing a few brightly colored leaves against my painted smile. I watched through the shadows as something moved toward our house. The candles near my head sputtered and went out, leaving me and the other pumpkin in darkness.

Footsteps on the path resounded in the chill night air. “Teens! We gotta run!” I shouted, but the truth was I knew that we weren’t going anywhere…

Everyone knows what they like to do with Halloween pumpkins…

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