Chapter Text
Sherlock woke up to hissing. He sat up and looked around, but couldn't find the source of the noise. Shrugging, he clambered out of bed and shrugged on his dressing gown.
"John!" he called as he wandered into the kitchen. "John. Make me tea."
"Make your own tea." John replied from behind this morning’s paper.
Sherlock watched him for a few seconds before drifting over to the kettle, grumbling under his breath.
As the kettle was coming to boil, he heard the hissing noise again. He stopped moving, straining to hear. "John, did you hear that?"
"Hmm? Hear what?"
"That hissing?"
"Hissing?"
"Yes, John, hissing. Why do you need to keep repeating what I say? Did you hear it? It sounded like a word."
John shot him a glare over the newspaper. "No, I didn't. It was probably just the kettle." he finally replied.
Sherlock took a suspicious glance around the kitchen. "I'm not so sure."
The rest of their morning went much the same, Sherlock sure that he could hear a hissing noise and John telling him that he must be hearing things.
That all changed when they went out for lunch.
"John, wait. Over there. On that wall to the left of us. Do you see it?"
"I- Is that a pumpkin?"
"Yes, I also believe it is the source of the hissing. Do you hear it now?"
John tilted his head in a typical 'listening' pose. "Yes... yes, I can hear it."
Sherlock tugged John's sleeve, pulling him slightly behind him as he slowly made his way past the pumpkin. John followed closely behind him.
They both watched, shocked as the pumpkin seemed to slowly turn and follow them as they walked past.
"Is it just me or is that pumpkin moving?" John asked nervously.
"No, it is definitely moving." Sherlock paused, so did the pumpkin "Interesting." The moved away quickly, not wanting to be near it for too long.
"Sssherkin... Pumpsson..." it hissed at their retreating backs.
After that, every time they turned around, there was always a pumpkin there, watching them, hissing the same two words that they never seemed to be able to hear clearly.
"Is this some kind of prank?" John asked him after he came face to face with another pumpkin.
"No," Sherlock replied. "Haven't you noticed?"
"Noticed? Noticed what, exactly? I can't seem to notice anything but a load of pumpkins that appear where ever we are and follow us as we move!"
"Ten."
"What?"
"Not 'a load', ten. Ten specific pumpkins. All of which, I spent yesterday carving. This is no coincidence, this is personal. They want something from us, and I'm sure they will follow us until they get it." Sherlock told him.
"Want something from us? Sherlock, they're pumpkins!"
"Yes, I am aware of that, thank you John."
"But, you destroyed them- How can they-? How can a pumpkin want something from someone?" John asked, glancing around himself nervously.
"I don't know, yet, but I will find out."
For the rest of the day, they saw no more pumpkins directly, only catching glimpses out of the corners of their eyes, but when they turned to look, there would be nothing there. Even though they couldn't see them, they had proof that they were still being followed because they continued to hear the ominous hissing noise.
Back at the flat, they sat in the living room in a nervous silence. The atmosphere set them both on edge and when it was finally a decent time to go to sleep, they both felt relieved.
As Sherlock got ready for bed that night, he had a very uneasy feeling that went right to his core. After tossing and turning for a few hours, he eventually managed to fall into an unsettled sleep.
John and Sherlock stared at the pumpkin in front of them, one apprehensive, the other, over eager.
Sherlock studied the pumpkin with interest. "Fascinating! What are you?"
"Sherlock! Don't talk to it." John edged away from the pumpkin, trying to urge Sherlock away from it too, without getting too close himself. He watched it warily.
"I am what you made me. Ghosst, deformed, mutated." John started suddenly when he heard the slow, hair-raising voice. It spoke with a cold hiss. John immediately recognises it as the noise they had been hearing.
"Mutated? How?" asks Sherlock, seemingly unsurprised.
"Anger. Hate. They create thingss you don't exsspect, don't believe posssible. Thingss that you don't undersstand. They create nightmaressss..." John felt a shiver run down his spine. That really didn't sound good.
"What do you want?" he asked, he was scared, but also desperate for the answer.
"Revenge. You." Not good at all. John looked at Sherlock, trying to gauge his reaction. Shelock's face was blank. "Sssherkin... Pumpsson... Perfect ssspecssimenss to add to the collectssion. The converssion will ssoon begin. Sssss..."
The sinister hiss made the hairs on the back of John's neck stand on end. He shivered again and stepped back a few paces to put more space between him and the pumpkin.
Slowly, it swivelled to face him. "Yesss. We will sstart with you." Abruptly all ten pumpkins appeared.
"What?" John stared at them all cautiously.
"Why us?" Sherlock demanded.
"Becausse you were the oness who made uss what we are. Punisshment must be recssieved by the guilty. You created uss, you desstroyed uss. You desserve our fate!"
"Wha- Your fate? Punishment?"
"John?"
"Sherlock?"
"I think we should run. Now!" They took off; the pumpkins close behind, hissing angrily.
"Pumpsson... You will be ourss." The slow hiss reached Sherlock's ears, but he refused to look back. They had to keep running; he could see no other way, no other option.
"Hurry up, John!" he called. They had to stay safe, John had to stay safe. Conversion. John could not be turned into a nightmare. John didn't even have anything to do with it. He'd only be caught up because of Sherlock. Why? Why did John have to become involved? All because of that last pumpkin. He'd sat on it by accident, he hadn't meant to destroy it, so why were they involving John?
A pumpkin appeared unexpectedly and caught between John's feet. John fell with a yell. It seemed as if it was almost in slow motion as Sherlock spun around, his own momentum causing him to stumble.
"No! John!" He ran towards him hopelessly, he was too far away, he wouldn't make it. "John!" he called again, but it was too late, the pumpkins had reached him.
'To punish me.' he realised as he watched, helpless as John was surrounded. 'He is always only ever involved to hurt and harm me.'
There was a flash of blinding light. Everything went dark.
Sherlock woke up with a start, taking deep, hurried breaths, he sat up, eyes wide in the dark.
"It was a dream, just a dream." he repeated to himself, trying to calm down. He looked around for something to distract himself with, when his eyes fell on the pumpkin that had appeared right in front of him. He froze.
"Sssherkin, come to uss..." Suddenly more pumpkins leapt into the air from nowhere, all of them heading straight towards Sherlock. Sherlock yelped, trying to scramble away. He paused in shock, unable to help himself as one pumpkin had caught his attention. He would recognise that expression anywhere.
"John!" he called desperately.
"No, I am Pumpsson now. Join uss, Sssherkin. Join. Usss!" With that, all of the pumpkins surrounded Sherlock, moving in tighter until they were all pressed against him. He struggled desperately, but it was no use. With a pop a new pumpkin appeared in his place.
"Sssherkin, welcome..." The many hissing voices trailed off into silence, their revenge was complete, now they could do anything they wanted...
Pumpson and Sherkin, London's only consulting pumpkins. The city was theirs. Theirs to convert. Theirs to take over. Theirs to control.
Beware of the pumpkins with faces. Know, they are always watching.
