The team leader, Corporal Allen Coonrad, walked quickly through the snow-covered mountains of Scotland. The other members of the team, Corporal Kim Parker and Private Eugene Davis, followed closely behind him. Kim was the youngest member at 17, while Eugene was a former high school camper with a fixed robot named Gabby. The team had arrived in Scotland during the night. Since then they had been on a mission to rid the local population of what they believed to be something evil.
The alien plant had sprouted from a huge hole in the ground. A giant, bloody tumor had grown from this hole, smothering the town of Kilmartin, the closest village to the site. The town had been attacked by the locals, but since the thing emerged from the ground, the carnage had been uncontrollable.
They had arrived in Scotland around midday, using their new vehicles to follow the command from their commanding officers. The larger alien form had been growing rapidly since its creation. The team leader was worried that it had enough mass to consume the village, and could be growing large enough to envelop the world.
However, their technology was failing. They only had enough time for one more command when their radio quit working. They drove on in the driving snow, trying to find warmth and shelter for the night.
Allen had grabbed an empty electrical transformer and joked that they were living in a jungle tale. Eugene had snickered and tossed a snowball at him. As if in response to this, a pile of snow fell from the nearest tree. It landed in the transformer with a loud thud. The snow melted and disappeared into the ground.
''Well, look at that,'' Eugene said. ''The snow is disappearing` into the ground
It was a good thing they were in the countryside, or they might have become part of the bloody snow themselves.
Now the team leader had a serious mission. He heard the machine in his hands, and it was offline. It's on e-screen was black, blue, and humming in an unnatural way.
''It's dead,'' Kim said. ''We can`t even use this thing for firewood.''
Allen looked closely at the machine. ''I think that it just got hotter, Kim.''
The steam began to slow, and a piece of metal fell from the top of the machine and landed in the snow. The metal emitted a bright, bright red light. A loud, high pitch violin played, and the snow melted away as if someone had doused it in acid. It looked like a brightly colored kiln.
''What happened?'' Kim asked.
''Somebody put a firecracker in our transformer,'' Eugene said. ''I guess they were following commands.''
''Well that's something,'' Kim said. He looked at the team leader. ''Should we check out the village?''
''That's a good idea,'' Allen said. ``I think we'd better.''
The four of them set foot in the village. No one had ever called it that before, but now it was the name everyone used to refer to their home.
Despite the cold, their spirits were higher than ever. Kim told them to keep their rifles at the ready as he walked with the team leader through the village. They found the mayor, who was screaming into the sky.
''Mayor?'' Allen asked.
Gerry Gertz was standing in front of his house, screaming words that Allen did not recognize. But the other team members seemed to understand.
''What is she saying?'' Kim asked.
Gerry was screaming something about aliens. Then something that sounded like, ''This is our town' or 'This is our home.''
Allen took a step back to hide behind Kim. He asked him, ''What's she saying?''
Kim said, ''I don't know. But I think it was an insult
''Lay down your weapons,'' Kim said.
Sheriff John Prefore looked at Kim. He looked at Allen and shook his head, saying, ''Nope. I think that would be unwise.''
Allen nervously took out his sidearm. ''Corporal Kim. We're going to need to disarm the locals.''
Kim remained silent, but nodded his head.
Allen said, ''You're going to have to disarm me, too.''
''I can do that.''
John relaxed and took a step back.
Eugene walked into the village, talking to his robot. The communication device attached to his helmet was having a hard time staying connected, but he was still able to hear some of what she said. Eugene's face was frozen in a look of shock.
''This is our home,'' Eugene said. ''You people killed us, and now we're all part of you...''
He stopped.
Gabby looked down at him. ''We are not part of you. We are innocent. At least, I am innocent.''
Eugene nodded at the robot and continued walking through the village. Gabby looked down at Eugene and followed him.
Allen looked up at the sky. The snow had gone. The sky was clear, despite the fact that the sun was still on its way down. He looked at the entrance to the church and saw a bright, red light. He ran toward the light.
The team arrived at the church. The red light was an old furnace that had been lit by and old woman with a stack of burning cardboard. The only people that could be seen around it were the small group of townspeople who had come to the village to ask for shelter.
Allen looked up and saw a robot in the belfry. The robot held out its hand, and Allen's radio came back to life.
''I'm in the tower of the church,'' the robot said in a very adult tone. ''We're not at full power here, but I can get you through to someone with more power. Just turn on your radio.''
Allen opened his communicator and said, ''Commander? Can you hear me?''
''The communicator will work,'' the robot said. ''Let me see if he can hear you.''
Allen could hear the robot communication. It was still having some issues, so it sounded like, ''Oocum yu eecre if I tsee if If yahoo?''
The robot handed Allen's radio to a woman. He took it. ''What have you found out?''
The woman said, ''I'm not a bot, I'm a human being. This kid gave me a set of headphones to speak into. We tried to fix the radio, but I think it's too big. I mean, the bot is looking for a part.''
Allen looked up. ''I see the bot.''
''I do too,'' the woman said. She began to examine the radio. ''We have limited knowledge of this piece of equipment, but I think I can get you through to somebody. Wait a moment.''
A moment later, Allen heard a recording. ''The radio messages are being relayed through the bot in the belfry of the church. We're looking at you through our cameras as you speak. We will be delivering support to you in a minute. I assume that you don't need any medical attention, but if you do, should say something now.''
''No,'' Allen said. ``I don't need any medical attention.''
''A massive transport ship will be there in a few minutes. It is being charged for an energy that we have never seen before. Unfortunately, it will take a few minutes for us to make sense of it. Do you have any injured?''
The team leader quickly looked around. There were no serious injuries, but there was one body. ''There is one body. Is it safe to send someone up to retrieve it?''
''Yes,'' the voice on the radio said.
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