Bumpy Ride

Flash Fiction Theme – Pumpkins – Given by Cara Gordon

A truck rolls over the bumpy road, dirt billowing up behind it. The truck driver takes a swig of his iced coffee. He turns into the driveway of a farm to collect his load of pumpkins. This time always makes him happy because he loves pumpkins. He doesn’t like the taste of pumpkin spice drinks or anything like that, but he loves the smell of pumpkins when he is carving into them.

He parks the truck, hops out, and heads for the house. He knocks on the door of the house. He looks around while he waits for the farmer to answer the door. Stanly reads the paperwork again to make sure he knows how many cases of pumpkins he’d be picking up today.

Thunder sounds in the distance as dark clouds slowly march together. Stanly grumbles as he stares up at the sky. There wasn’t supposed to be any rain or anything. He turns back to the door and knocks again. He can’t hear any movement inside. Maybe they are out back getting the pumpkins ready.

Heading around the house, Stanly looks around to see if maybe he can spot the farmer or someone who can help him. He heads to the barn and pushes the door open, glancing around inside.

“Hello?”

His voice echoes but there is no one inside expect of a few horses, pigs, and goats. Growing concerned, he hurries back to the house. He bangs on the house and calls for the farmer.

No one answers.

Stanly pats his pocket, but he must have forgotten his phone in his truck. He has to call someone, but not sure who he should call.

A bang on his truck catches his attention and he hurries to it. He skids to a stop to see the back of his truck is open. He runs around the truck, wondering what is going on. He looks in the back to find it filled with the pumpkins he’s supposed to take, plus an extra one sitting on the edge.

There’s no note with the extra pumpkin, so Stanly assumes it’s a present from the farmer. He picks it up and carries it to the front, where he sets it down in the passenger seat.

Stanly heads to the back, closes the back of the truck and locks it tight. He glances around to see if maybe the farmer is coming back to talk to him, but the place is eerily quiet. Not wanting to stay any longer, Stanly hurries to the front. He climbs into his truck, starts it up, and drives away.

Behind him, hidden from view under a pile of pumpkins, lay the farmer and his family. Stanly bounces along the road, hoping the bumpy ride won’t harm the pumpkins. Whoever made the driveway to the house did a horrible job.

He looks at the pumpkin next to him and watches it shift from side to side, nearly rolling off the seat. He slows down around a corner and hears something in the back.

Cursing, Stanly pulls over to the side, parks the truck, and hops out. He leaves the truck running so he can just hop in and go after checking the load in the back. He opens the back and sees everything is fine. Closing the back and locking it again, he looks around to figure out what made the sound. He walks around the truck, checking his tires and looking underneath.

But there is nothing.

He stops in front of the truck, scratching his head. He knows he heard something, but there is nothing there. Shrugging, he heads back to the door when another sound stops him.

An evil sound.

He stops, still in front of the truck, and watches in horror as the truck moves into drive.

Stanly puts his hands up and screams as his own truck runs him down. The weight of the truck crushes him. The truck stops after its bumpy ride over Stanly’s body. The door opens, and the pumpkin jumps out of the truck. It rolls to the back, jumps up and hits the lock, the back popping open. The pumpkins inside giggle and hope out of their crates.

They roll away, leaving Stanly dead under his truck.