Page 23 of Fixing the Grumpy Pumpkin King
“Pip, Russet, Bramble contain them,” Jack commanded, and his three familiars shimmered into visibility.
“On it, boss!” Pip zipped toward the animated Jason figure.
“Why do we always get the weird jobs?” Bramble grumbled.
“This is a hassle,” Russet added, but they were already working to contain the chaos.
“Hey! Ghost kid! You need to stop!”
“Psyche!” The kid zoomed toward the door, phasing right through it.
“He’s leaving!”
“Go after him. I’ll handle this.”
Locke burst out of the Briar House to find the ghost kid floating down the street, laughing maniacally. There were kids playing nearby and the ghost was heading right for them.
“Wait! Come back!”
The ghost knocked the ball out of one kid’s hands, sending it rolling into the street.
“My ball!”
The kid who’d been holding it started running after it. Into the street just as a car was coming around the corner.
“No! Kid, stop!”
The kid didn’t stop. Locke’s heart seized. He couldn’t reach the kid in time. The car was coming too fast.
“Ghosty!”
The name came out without thinking. The ghost turned, looked at him.
“Save him! Now!”
The ghost zoomed across the space faster than Locke could blink, slamming into the kid and pushing him back onto the sidewalk just as the car drove through the ghost’s translucent form.
The car passed. The kid was safe, sitting on the sidewalk looking startled. And the ghost was standing in the middle of the street, alone.
Then he started sniffling.
“I... I don’t wanna be here anymore...”
Oh no. Locke rushed over, his legs wobbly from the near-miss. “Oh no. Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.”
“Did... did I die like that? Getting hit by a car?”
Locke knelt in the street, wanting to cradle that translucent child in his arms and tell him it’ll be okay. He couldn’t imagine the nightmare it would be to remember how you died and have to relive it in some way. “I’m so sorry.”
“Are you gonna make me go away now?”
“What? No. No, I—“
“You’re gonna send me back, aren’t you? My parents used to send me away.”
“I won’t send you away. I promise. You can be my familiar, okay? Would you like that?”
The ghost sniffled. “Really?”
