Oak, Gaia, and Winter all yelled upon being launched up into the air unexpectedly. They did not have any idea where they were as soon as they landed on the hard ground. It was very scary from their perspective.

"AHHHH!!" Oak, Gaia, and Winter screamed.

"Ugh!"

The car did an instant U-turn and sped off. The farmer was definitely in a rush to get back to the farm, as it was getting close to opening time for visitors and the third day of the pumpkin patch. A big cloud of dust and mud appeared from the wheels grinding off into the dirt road. A nasty smell of exhaust from the exhaust pipes of the truck was left behind.

The brown sack was shuffling about on the wet, rainy ground, the rain started up again, and nothing by raindrops could be heard by the little pumpkins. Oak insisted that they needed to push harder to escape the bag they were in. All three of them started pushing and pushing to the outer surface of the bag from inside, hoping they could poke a hole in it or rip it entirely.

"Push harder!" Gaia shouted.

Oak rapidly started scraping at the outer surface of the bag from inside. There was some visible light now coming from the outside, as they weren't in the truck anymore. Winter stumbled about after the bag forcefully tore wide open from both Oak and Gaia, tearing into it. She landed in a puddle on her bum when she had slipped and fallen backwards. Nothing but worsening confusion started to take place as the three instantly looked around their surroundings. 

Everything was new...

This environment had a weird smell; it was rainy, wet, dirty, with no lively colors or signs of life. "Where are we?" Oak's eyes were big, her breathing slowed down as she took in the environment through her eyes. They all shared the same facial expression, which was shock, and it turned into sadness. Winter's mouth started quivering, and she started to sniffle and cry. It was complete despair upon finding out where they had landed. Gaia themself were more upset upon the reveal, as she couldn't believe where they were. She crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Wha...what...happened to..." Winter's voice was now shaky and vulnerable-sounding.

"Hey! Hey..." Oak tried to reassure her, but she was also sad and heartbroken.

"..."

Oak ran to hug helpless Winter after witnessing them starting to cry. This was so cruel, the three little pumpkins didn't even get the chance to have a full closure with the sweet middle-aged woman who had made them feel safe at the farmhouse. But now they felt like she betrayed them from their perspective, as they didn't understand why they weren't still at the farmhouse. The two cuddle with each other in the brown, now soggy sack, while Gaia feels nothing but complete anger.

"Oh, great!" Gaia sarcastically yelled up towards the rainy sky.

"Wh-Where is the f-farmhouse?" Winter sniffled and rubbed her eyes. Oak continued hugging her. A few tears fell from her eyes upon coming to the realization that they were probably lost and long gone from their home.

"I can't believe we're in this place!" Gaia complained, as she ended up accidentally drawing unknown attention to her and the others. What they didn't know was that the same flying bird that Oak had eyed earlier yesterday was able to find them.

The crow landed on a far-off tree branch on the outskirts of the junkyard, watching the little pumpkins from above. It had really great eyesight to be able to spot the three little helpless pumpkins among the junk that lay below. Things were pretty much bleak for the three now, as they didn't know what to do or escape to; it was like child abandonment. Despite being sentient now, they still didn't know anything about this world they awakened in or how to survive it at a very, very young age. 

Still eyeing the three little pumpkins, they made the effort to go somewhat introduce themselves, or at least get their attention for now. They weren't exactly comfortable with revealing their true identity yet, hence why they wore a cloak. They jumped off the wet tree branch and flew down closer and closer to the junkyard entrance. It was clear that this crow showed worry and concern for the little ones; they saw them as baby strays in the wild. 

The eerie silence went away as the crow landed onto the ground right in front of them. Winter and Oak's sobbing instantly stopped the moment they looked up from the ground towards the crow. Gaia, however, was instantly scared upon seeing a huge animal land at high speed right in front of them. Her eyes grew big, her mouth dropped wide in shock, and she stumbled a bit back upon seeing the crow. 

"AHHHH!" Gaia screamed.

"..."

"..."

The crow continued standing and bent down a bit to match the little pumpkin's height. They wanted a closer look at the little pumpkins' faces. It felt uncomfortable to Gaia and Winter, as they didn't know who this was or what it was, but Oak recognized them from yesterday.

"Uhm.."

"STAY BACK!" Gaia shouted while looking angry. She went into protective mode over the other two by trying to make herself look hostile. Oak stepped a bit forward and kept eye contact with the bird. There was nothing but silence for a few seconds, until the crow started walking forward past the three pumpkins. It came to a stop, turning its head back, while standing in place. 

"Follow me." The crow spoke with authority and softness.

"Oh, uhm okay," Oak answered in a nervous tone. She wasn't sure enough to follow this stranger, but she knew it was better than staying here. Both Gaia and Winter followed behind, trusting Oak's decision.

"..."

"..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This hooded crow, who was experienced with exploring the wild, knew of a great place for the pumpkins to temporarily settle in. The three were very naive, as they didn't know exactly who to trust, but they trusted this bird enough. It was unknown if this bird was being nice to them or not, as they didn't know where they were going at this point.

Oak, who seemed to remember this crow, insisted on listening, as she felt maybe this crow was gonna take them somewhere safer and not worn down. It was a low point in their just-started lives. Oak just tried her best to stay optimistic, despite their current circumstances. 

Luckily, they made the right choice! 

The crow had empathy and felt sympathetic for the little pumpkins. The way they acted was similar to having helpless, vulnerable offspring or naive young kids. Of course, this crow didn't have any of their own, but they understood the circumstances and couldn't leave them behind at the junkyard. They continued leading the way through a long, big forest, as the rain still dropped from the grey sky to the ground. 

The trees were monstrously huge in the perspective of the little pumpkins, they all silently followed by looked at the beautiful forest that surrounded them. The ground also changed in consistency, feel, and variation. The rough dirt road was now gone, as they were now walking through grassy areas with mushrooms, broken tree branches, rocks, and nuts all over the ground. It was a whole new experience, sensory-wise, for the three. 

Oak didn't want to admit to Winter that it wasn't possible that they could return to the farmhouse, as they didn't know the exact location. It would be hard if they didn't carry around a map. Gaia continued walking with a disappointed expression on her face. She was still disappointed and angry by the whole ordeal, but now it was time to drop it. The crow was gonna offer them a better place to stay and sleep, but it wasn't gonna be luxurious or perfect.

They finally came across a perfect hollow space under a big elevated hill with bushes and trees on it. This was a spacious cave underneath that still allowed some sunlight through, but it was sorta dark in the back. The crow trusted their gut that this cave was not inhabited by any other wild animals that could pose a threat to the little pumpkins. 

The three looked inside to see it was sorta comfy to settle down in, completely nice and dry with a few rocks and moss. Oak ended up wondering who the crow was, and wanted to ask why they were being suspiciously nice to them. But she was interrupted by the crow's response. "I'll be back, stay put until then," The crow announced, and then it flew off instantly into the sky with no warning. 

"Ok," Oak nodded, trusting the crow would come back and check up on them. Both Winter and Gaia eyed the flying crow in silence, they didn't know how to feel exactly about this new place. But it was much better than the junkyard. 

It was already a long, miserable day, and Oak, Gaia, and Winter settled down into the cave and cuddled close together for a long nap. The long walk and journey made them even more exhausted, it could have been many, many miles from where they left the junkyard, now upon arriving at this cave. They slept safely and soundly while resting their eyes. 

Hopefully, things get much better for this pumpkin trio.