Chapter Text
Blasts of chilled wind swept through the corn fields of the farm as Carrot Topp ran through them, focusing on making it back to the barn at the end.
He focused on putting all of his energy into his legs, keeping his arms up by his chest in case he did need to fight his way out of this.
He heard a shrill squawk ring from the distance, followed by an almost blinding blast of lightning in the clouds facing his direction.
He didn’t have time to guess how far the storm was, and he determined that it was pretty damn close considering the roar of thunder proceeding it.
He huffed as he ran, clearly running out of breath and strength, but fought to keep running as he finally reached the end of the field and the entrance to the barn….only to notice it was not his home.
The creature that was terrorizing him had chased him all the way through the corn fields to a different barn.
Shit.
Carrot Topp turned around in a panic, bathed in the bright light of the full moon exposed to him by a hole in the roof of the barn, and a strange gap in the dark storm clouds.
Behind him, stood the creature, shrouded in the darkness, its bright red eyes seemingly glowing in the little light.
The carrot didn’t falter, narrowing his eyebrows and throwing up his fists, ready to fight it off.
The creature seemingly chuckled at this display, inching closer and closer to him with the same menacing demeanor.
In a flash of a moment, Carrot threw a punch and the creature dodged. The creature quickly swept its leg under his, knocking him to the stone floor of the barn.
Carrot groaned, clutching his head in pain as the creature stood above him. In his blurred vision, he could almost see a wicked smile upon the creature’s face before it began to peck his face and body quickly and agonizingly.
Carrot screamed in pain, the tip of the creature’s beak going in and out of his skin, some deep enough to cause some of his radiated blood to start to leak out of the wounds.
The creature finished with its final blow, burrowing its beak deep into Carrot Topp’s arm, making a deep, open wound. He let out a horrid mixture of a scream and groan as his body ached in pain.
With grasp on consciousness waning, Carrot was only able to get one last look at the creature, seeing a giant chicken-like beast with deep red blood splashed on its white feathers and the same wicked smile he envisioned before.
Inching his head upwards, the last sight he saw was the full moon in the sky, hearing another roar of thunder in the distance before he blacked out.
The soft noises of rain hitting the roof was the first thing Carrot could hear when he awoke, feeling the comfort of his mattress underneath him.
Sitting on the other side of the room was Pastafarian, seemingly zoned out as it took him a moment to see that Carrot was awake.
The chicken jumped up, his dreads flying around as he turned to the door and exclaimed “Dudes, he’s up!”
With that, a flurry of his chicken friends and companions entered through the door of his bedroom, including his clearly worried wife, Rockin’ Robin.
Carrot Topp sat up, groaning a bit. His body ached, and looking down he could see that his body was sprinkled in bandaids and bandages, a majority of them wrapped around his right arm.
Robin sat beside him, taking his hand into hers, seeing her clearly worried expression. Before she could say anything, Carrot pulled her into a close hug.
A bit surprised, but relieved, she returned it, humming a bit as she hugged him. Nuzzling into her neck in a sign of affection, Carrot said: “I’m so glad you’re alright.”
“I’m glad you’re alright. You scared the cluck out of me by shoving me into that van and telling me to drive. I thought I’d never see you again.” Robin said, squeezing her eyes shut as she held onto him tightly, taking a moment before letting go.
Nuke Boy made his way over to the bed, as Carrot Topp looked at the group and asked: “How long was I out?”
Nuke cleared his throat, looking to Sgt. Psyclops.
The helmeted cyclops bird sat up, and cleared his throat as well.
“We immediately set out on a recon mission once Lady Robin returned and gave us the report! After I gave the order to split up and do a sweep of the area, Ms. Punky and Nuke Boy found you at an abandoned barn at the end of the cornfield surrounding the property. You were already unconscious and wounded when we found you, sir!” He reported, his military training clearly showing as always, standing at salute.
Carrot groaned a bit as he shifted his body and tried to remember what exactly happened the night before, as bits and pieces of it were blurry. He remembered the first part of the evening pretty well.
He and Robin took the night off for a dinner date as the band watched over the barn they lived in, Wiccan Chicken specifically warning them both of a pretty rough storm passing through the area that night and telling them to be careful.
He remembered coming home from the dinner date when the van got a flat tire not too far from home, and they both got out to grab the spare in the back.
That’s when something jumped out of the bushes and immediately began to attack them, but Carrot noticed it was specifically trying to single one of them out.
That’s why he pushed Robin in the van and told her to drive. He thought he could fight the creature off, but was easily overwhelmed and began to run into the cornfield.
He couldn’t remember anything after that.
His mind was brought back to reality as he heard Frankenchicken’s voice boom as he said: “FRANK MAKE SOUP! FOR CARROT!”
Wiccan Chicken huffed, crossing her arms and looking annoyed. “That was my idea, you big jerk. You probably don’t even know how to turn on the stove!”
Frankenchicken turned back towards the stairs as he said “FRANK TRY HIS BEST! FRANK HAD IDEA FIRST!”
Carrot sat up to protest, but Wiccan and Frank were already going down the stairs, arguing with each other.
“I think Frank and Wiccan have the right idea.” Bird Brain chimed in, turning towards the stairs as well. “We should give Carrot time to rest. We’ll see you later, buddy!”
With that, all of the chickens began to leave the room, Greasy giving Carrot a light pat on his shoulder before heading out.
It was then that Carrot noticed El Pollo Diablo standing at the back of his room, staring at him with an emotion he couldn’t exactly pin down. Carrot shifted a bit defensively, before Diablo simply just nodded and headed down the stairs.
Robin scooted up next to him, taking extra care not to hit any sore spots or his bandaged arm. She laid next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. Carrot sighed, and leaned into the affectionate gesture, closing his eyes.
There was a small moment before Carrot had a thought pop into his head. He spoke:
“Didn’t we bring leftovers from the restaurant home?”
Wiccan Chicken stirred the boiling water, taking great care to watch Frank as he cut the meat and such for the meal. She had extra care to put out anything but carrots.
She didn’t even notice El Pollo Diablo’s dark presence in the doorway, jumping when he finally spoke.
“Tenemos que hablar de un asunto urgente, señorita.”
Wiccan got flustered, before grabbing an onion and tossing it at him, exclaiming: “Don’t scare me like that!”
Diablo didn’t even flinch as it hit him, muttering out:
“Mis disculpas.”
Wiccan sighed, going back to preparing the soup. “I’m a bit busy, Diablo. Can’t this wait until later?”
Diablo narrowed his eyes, stepping a bit closer.
“Se trata de Carrot Topp.”
Wiccan paused, turning back to Diablo. “What about him, is he alright?”
“No quiero sembrar el pánico, pero nuestro querido amigo está maldito.” Diablo said, twisting his mustache in what Wiccan thought was either a nervous tick or a playful gesture.
Wiccan shook her head, returning to her work. “That’s ridiculous Diablo, I would know if Carrot was.”
Diablo let out a deep laugh, leaning in the door frame.
“Llevas poco tiempo practicando las artes oscuras, pollita. Yo nací bajo su influencia, créeme cuando hablo de maldiciones.”
Wiccan simply shook her head, trying not to let Diablo’s teasing get to her. She turned her head back to him.
“I’ll consider taking it seriously as long as you don’t be all cryptic about it.”
With that, Diablo chuckled again, picking up a clove of garlic and walking back to the doorway as Wiccan scoffed and reached for it.
“Cuando la luna llena vuelva a brillar, Carrot Topp se convertirá en una criatura de la noche. No podemos impedirlo, sólo prepararnos para ello.”
Wiccan took a moment to think. She began to lose her temper as she stood, stomping her foot and looking at the smug devilish chicken.
“What do you mean we can’t stop it? If you’re not joking, at least tell me what spells I can use to fix it!”
With that, Diablo chuckled and took a bite out of the garlic clove.
“Todo a su debido tiempo, pollita. Todo a su debido tiempo.”
With that, Diablo was gone in a flash of red smoke, making Wiccan roll her eyes as she turned back to Frankenchicken.
He was covered in the mushed-up remains of various meats and vegetables, making Wiccan groan and slump a bit in annoyance.
“DID FRANK DO GOOD?” Frank asked, as Wiccan only shook her head and opened her cookbook for something easier to prepare now that the ingredients were spoiled.