The Curse of Allergies

It was a Sunday morning and all of the McGees plus one ghost had just gotten up. The family was looking forward to having pancakes for breakfast. Pete went to get everything needed to make pancakes, but when he opened the fridge, There was almost nothing left in it. He checked the freezer as well as the cupboards, but they had the same result.

"Scratch!" he shouted. "You ate us out of house and home again!"

"You still have some left." Scratch said with a burp.

"That's it! Dead or alive, you need to go on a diet." Sharon said. "We're not made of money."

"What!? A diet!? No way!" Scratch refused. "My appetite's too big! I gotta eat!"

"Dude, you're a ghost." Darryl said. "You don't need food. We do."

"I'm not going on a diet!"

"Scratch, this could cause money problems for us." Molly said. "Don't you remember what almost happened last time?"

The look on scratch's face was a definite yes. Last time they had financial problems, he almost never saw them again. Other than starvation, there's no telling what could happen this time.

"Fine. I'll cut down on the eating." Scratch grumpily said.

"Oh no. That's not gonna be enough." Pete said.

"He's right. There's only one way to keep you away from our food." Sharon said. "You need to curse yourself."

"WHAT!? Curse myself from the things I love!? That is not going to happen!"

"I'll handle this." Molly said. "Scratch. If you do, we'll reward you after the curse ends with a buffet from El Tacotopia."

"You got a deal!" Scratch quickly agreed. "Now I just need to figure out what kind of curse."

"I think I know just the one." Molly suggested. "We know you're allergic to carob. So if you were allergic to all food and drinks, you wouldn't be able to starve us at all."

"That'll work." the others said.

"Okay, fine." Scratch reluctantly said.

After a little stretching, Scratch and the kitchen became warped and horrifying.

"I SCRATCH THE GHOST CURSE MYSELF! ANY FOOD OR BEVERAGE THAT I CONSUME WILL TRIGGER MY ALLERGIES UNTIL THE MCGEE FAMILY DECLARES MY DIET OVER!"

Scratch and the kitchen were then back to normal.

"It's a good thing I'm grocery shopping today." Sharon said.

"At least we have a box of cereal left." Pete said.

"Do you think you'll be okay, Scratch?" Molly asked.

"After the big meal I had, I should be good for a while." Scratch said, earning a couple of glares.

Later, Molly was at the table in her room, making some cute crafts when...

"Molly, I can't take it anymore!" Scratch cried out. "I'm starving to whatever comes after death! I gotta eat something! Please!"

"Really, Scratch?" Molly commented. "It hasn't even been ten minutes."

"I know, but I can't help it! Food is my thing! Wait a minute." *sniff sniff* "I smell something."

Scratch sniffed around the room until he stopped at the front window and saw something outside.

"I knew it! FOOD!"

Molly went over to see what Scratch was looking at. Outside on the sidewalk was Libby taking a walk and eating from a bag of shrimp treats.

"Scratch, no." Molly said.

"Scratch, yes. COME TO PAPA!" Scratch flew through the window and aimed for that bag.

Molly opened the window and shouted "Libby, look out!"

"Huh?" Libby looked at the McGee house and saw Scratch coming at her. "AHHH!"

Scratch quickly swiped the bag and ate the whole thing.

"Nomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom! Hahahaha!"

As expected, his victory was short lived when he inflated into a puffy fat giant. Molly then walked out of the house and shook her head at her ghostly friend.

"You really need some self control, Scratch." she said.

"Molly, what's going on?" Libby asked.

"Come on. I'll explain inside."

Three days later, Scratch sat in his little house with crossed arms and a grumpy face. Each day of this diet made him more miserable than the last. Then there was a big knock.

"Hey, Scratch? Are you feeling better?" Molly asked.

"Amhmblgrmbldumblrmblfum." Scratch grumbled.

"That's a no. Well at least I don't have to tell you to keep quiet." Molly then left her room.

After a short while, Scratch started getting very curious about something.

"Why would Molly tell me to keep quiet?" he said.

Scratch left his doll house, returned to his normal size, and went downstairs to find out what's going on. He checked the living room. Pete was reading the newspaper. He checked the kitchen. Nobody was there. He checked the master bedroom. Sharon was fast asleep.

"Oh. That's why." Scratch whispered. "I forgot she was doing a lot of gigs lately including last night."

Suddenly an idea struck him, causing an evil smile to appear. He took advantage of the situation and possessed Sharon's sleeping body. Then he got up and left the room. As with any possessed body, Scratch moved Sharon's around very clumsily. He made it to the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"I can't trigger any allergies if I myself don't eat." Scratch whispered.

He bit into a banana and was very satisfied. But then...

"Hic." Sharon's body froze.

Scratch left her body by rapidly swelling, filling up the whole entire house.

"Scraaaaatch." the other McGees said while squashed.

All scratch had to say was "Okay, maybe I can."

Four days later, Libby came to visit the McGees. She said her hellos and hugged her best friend Molly.

"So, how's Scratch doing on his diet?" she asked.

"See for yourself." Molly pointed at the couch.

There Scratch lied looking like a blue prune with arms.

"Must... eat." he wheezed. "Need... food."

"No you don't." Molly said. "Libby and I are gonna talk about some scary stories she wrote. You wanna join us?"

"No." Scratch responded like a little kid.

"Okay. Let us know if you change your mind." Molly and Libby went upstairs.

Scratch just continued to look so pathetic even when the other McGees came in to watch some TV.

"You really need to get over it, Scratch." Sharon said.

"Hmph!" Scratch replied.

While the McGees were watching a gameshow, Scratch stared at an empty chair until a new idea came to him. He phased down into the floor and came back up behind the chair. Then while everyone was too focused on the show, Scratch made it float and went to the next room. But halfway there, Molly and Libby came back down and saw him.

"Scratch, what are you doing?" Molly asked, getting the family's attention.

"Taking advantage of a loophole!" Scratch answered before swallowing the chair whole.

Libby and all of the McGees ran out of the house just in time to avoid Scratch's swelling.

"Oh come on! I didn't even eat any actual food this time!"

"You forgot about the occasional crumbs." Molly said.

Scratch did not like realizing that blunder.

Five days later, the McGees were having dinner together with one obvious exception.

"I know it's nice for all of us to eat without any problems again, but I still feel sorry for Scratch." Molly said.

"We all do, Molly." Pete said. "But don't worry. It's not forever."

"Why don't we all go cheer him up?" Sharon suggested.

"I'll bring my obnoxitron!" Darryl said.

The family went upstairs to Molly's room and found Scratch sitting on the bed. However, the way he was shaking and the look on his face made him look insane and unsettling which worried all of them.

"Uh, Scratch? Are you okay?" Molly asked.

"Scratch hungry. Need food. Must eat anything." Scratch had completely lost it.

The moment he looked at the McGees, they started to get scared again. For once even Molly actually felt afraid.

"If I can't have any food..." Scratch slowly turned green and horrifying. "THEN I'LL JUST EAT YOU!"

The McGees all ran out of the room as quickly as possible. Scratch stretched his arm through the open doorway and pulled Darryl back in. He opened his mouth wide and swallowed him whole. With a bigger body now, he then went after the other three who tried to use the front door. Just as Sharon touched the doorknob, Scratch grabbed her next and swallowed her whole too. While the even bigger ghost rubbed himself, Pete and Molly ran for the back door. However, Scratch was still fast enough to grab Pete and swallow him as well. Now only one McGee was left. Molly made it outside and kept running. Then for some reason, she stopped.

"Wait a minute." she said.

The big fat Scratch caught up and picked Molly up by the back. He opened his mouth wide again, anxious to finish his meal.

"Oh Scraaaaatch." said a musically smug Molly.

"HUH? WHAT?" Scratch was confused by the sound of his dessert.

"Do you know where meat comes from?" Molly asked.

"WELL DUH! EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT! IT COMES FROM COWS, PIGS, CHICKENS, PRACTICALLY ANY LIVING THING THAT WALKS AROUND OR..." Scratch suddenly realized what Molly was getting at. "Uh-oh."

POOF! Scratch swelled up again and was completely immobile.

Due to him being a ghost, the McGees were able to walk right out of him. However, they were very angry at Scratch.

"We are very disappointed in you, Scratch!" Sharon scolded.

"Of all the things you've done, this is the worst!" Pete shouted.

"In my defense, ghosts can't actually digest living things." Scratch said.

"That's not the point!" Sharon yelled.

"Yeah, family members don't eat each other!" Darryl said.

"Since you're too big to go back inside, you can spend the night out here and think about your behavior!" Pete said.

"Wait. I-I'm sorry." Scratch tried to apologize.

Most of the McGees immediately went inside without a single response. Molly stayed a little longer and gave Scratch a sympathetic look before going in too. Scratch felt terrible for a couple of hours while swelling down. When he was at least halfway, Molly came out in her pajamas with a sleeping bag and a pillow.

"Molly? What are you doing?" Scratch asked.

"Sleeping outside with my best friend." Molly said as she rolled out her sleeping bag and added her pillow.

"Even after what I did?"

"Of course. Good night." Molly got in her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

Now Scratch felt even worse than he ever did before. Only hours ago he tried to eat the family that accepted him, and yet Molly still sees him as a
best friend. Now filled with so much guilt, there was only one thing he could do. Once he was back to normal and sure that Molly was fast asleep, he levitated her to the upper part of the house, opened the window, and put her in her bed.

"Goodbye, Molly." he said before closing the window and leaving his home.

The next morning, Molly sat up and yawned before realizing she was back in her room.

"Hey! How'd I get back here?" she asked before instantly knowing the answer. "Scratch."

She got out of bed and checked the doll house.

"Scratch? Scratch!? SCRATCH!?" she shook the doll house in hope that her bestie snuck back in, but got nothing. "Scraaatch!? Where are you!?"

Molly searched the entire house and both yards to no avail. The rest of the family already had breakfast and noticed her fearful behavior.

"Molly, what's wrong?" Sharon asked.

"I can't find Scratch anywhere!" Molly cried out.

"What!?" all three of them said.

"I know Scratch messed up more than ever, but..."

"There's no need." Pete said. "Of course we're going to find him. Scratch may do a lot of selfish things, but he's still family."

Later in the day, Scratch was sitting in a random alleyway and wondering what he should do now.

"Well I can't stay in the ghost world. I'm still a nobody there. Maybe there's another empty house I can haunt. Or..."

"Scratch?" came Libby unexpectedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Scratch said.

"I sometimes come to places like this for horror inspirations." Libby said. "Your turn."

Scratch did and didn't want to tell anyone at the same time. For some reason though, he chose to answer.

*Sigh* "I screwed up big time. Now I'm not part of the family anymore."

"What did you do?" Libby sat down next to him.

"I got so hungry that... I tried to eat them all. My allergy curse stopped me, but the damage was done."

"You what!?" Libby was so shocked that she hid half her head in her sweater. "Y-you're not still hungry, are you?"

"Relax. I'm done with food and still cursed. Besides, ghosts can't digest the living."

Libby calmed down and thought about what she was just told.

"It's beyond obvious that what you did was easily wrong, but I think the McGees will forgive you."

"Didn't you hear a word I said!? How could they all possibly forgive me for that!?"

"I heard about this true story where a plane full of rugby players and other people crashed in the Andes Mountains. Some of them survived and were eventually saved, but only because they ate the others who were already dead. As horrible as cannibalism is, they only did it because they were desperate to survive. I know there's a big difference, but I think you were just desperate too and couldn't think straight."

"That... somehow makes a whole lot of sense."

"If you go check on them, I bet they'll be looking for you."

"I will. Thanks, Libby." Scratch flew off with new found hope.

As soon as his home was in sight, he saw the McGees driving back from somewhere. Scratch hid over the roof of the house to listen in on them after they all get out.

"Scratch wasn't at the park, the cemetery, or anywhere that sells food." Molly said. "Where could he be?"

"Calm down, Molly." Sharon said. "We all want to find Scratch, but we can't just panic and expect problems to solve themselves."

"You're mother's right." Pete said. "We just have to think outside the box to find him."

"Maybe he's in the ghost world." Darryl suggested.

"Good idea." Molly said. "We can get Geoff to help us."

"That won't be necessary." Scratch said as he floated down to his family.

"Scratch!" Molly quickly embraced him in a tight adorable hug. "We were so worried about you!"

The other McGees joined in on the hug, bringing a tear to Scratch's eye.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" he asked.

"Everyone should have a family." Molly answered. "Welcome home, Scratch."

That night, Scratch, Molly, and Darryl were all watching monster movies on a DVD player in Molly's room.

"Ah, gotta love the classics." Scratch said.

"Should we watch 'Dracula' or 'The Wolfman' next?" Molly asked.

"How about 'The Blob'?" Darryl suggested.

"Dinner time!" Pete called.

Molly closed the DVD player and they all went downstairs. Scratch was only going to watch the McGees do what he still can't, but then he saw what was on the table.

"It's all tacos!?" he said with awe and confusion.

"We had a deal, didn't we?" Molly replied.

"Speaking of which, today makes two weeks since the start of your curse." Sharon said. "And we've gotten plenty of food and money during that time. So..."

All four McGees then said "Your diet is over!"

Scratch pulled out his curse paper and watched it fade away.

"Finally I can eat again!" he praised. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused. I promise I'll cut back on my eating."

He then jumped into the buffet and started chowing down.

"Starting tomorrow."

The McGees couldn't help laughing at his appetite.

Author's Note: I know what some of you might be thinking. "An allergy curse? Really?" Well I was going for variety and this one was one of my more random ideas. At first I didn't know who to give this curse to, but I eventually realized that choosing Scratch makes a lot of sense. This was originally going to be all humor, but as I planned out the story, I found a way to add a little more than that. I just hope I executed this correctly. For all I know, this could be setting a bad example. If I messed up at all, please be honest. Next time, Molly will be cuter than ever.