The setting is Perfection, the time is 12:30. It's a beautiful, starry, and quiet night. Far from the lonely town's residents, the moon is the only source of light. A coyote's howl is heard in the distance; the canine is safe, it appears El Blanco not stirring tonight.
...Hey, wait, what's that? Zoom in on that stone for a second... Oh! Two guys.. They're gonna get killed out here! Someone tell them where they are! Someone tell them they're in PERFECTION!
"Hey," One spoke. "When's this worm supposed to come up?"
"We need vibrations, remember? Go stomp around over there." The other man pointed to a faraway spot.
"No way! I don't wanna die!"
"But It dosen't hear you if you're on the rock!" He explained, loading a thick gun.
Before the first one could retort, a loud rumble echoed through the valley.
"The Hell - ?"
"It's the graboid!" The second man readied his large weapon, mounting it on his shoulder.
Scrambling for the other gun, he joined his cohort and quickly loaded. The graboid suddenly burst out to the surface. The men watched in awe as it majestically flew out - and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
They waited a few seconds, but the graboid just lay still, moaning.
"What's wrong with it?" The first whispered to his friend.
"I don't know!" The other hissed. "I was never told about it doing THIS!"
"Probably some worm trick," The first declared assuredly. "Let's just get this over with."
He fired two shots into the creature's stomach, making it's moaning even louder.
"Okay, now hit it with the blaster!" The first man coaxed the other, adrenaline apparently seeping in.
"Wait..." The second man held back. "What's that green stuff?"
He followed the second man's eyes to the two fresh holes in the giant carcass. They were flooding with a thick green liquid.
"This just keeps getting weirder..." The second man muttered.
Suddenly, the graboid took its final breath and recoiled on the ground, dead. They stared at each other for a while, perplexed at the lack of a fight it had put up... That is, until a high - pitched shriek won the their attention. They glanced to the graboid, which seemed to be the source of the sound.
Three biped, chickenesque creatures emerged, standing on the dead animal. They seemed to be covered in the green slime; the men watched with a mixture of confusion and fear as flaps on the mounts of their heads came up, then lowered. The middle creature made a shriek similar to the first, and they charged the men.
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Theme song! Nanananana Nananananana Nananananana Naaaaaaa!
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"Hello? Helllooooo..." The girl trilled, banging persistently on the wooden door.
A sleepy Tyler Reed answered it. He took a single glance down at her blonde mane and sighed. "Kid, I don't do the rides at this time a' night..."
Ignoring him, she began: "Hey, you got a phone in there? Might need to call the cops or something... You've got a dead guy out here."
Her calmness on the subject had rubbed off on him. "Kid, you just woke me up at one in the morning for - " His eyes snapped wide open. "Oh, damn!" He turned around and rushed back into the depths of his living space. She waited patiently at the entrance until he returned, a walkie - talkie in hand.
"So, whatcha gonna do?" She inquired. "Go on a high - speed desert chase? Tackle an Alcatraz escapee to the ground? 'You have the right to remain silent, killer scumbag' ?"
"One, Alcatraz isn't a real jail anymore," He explained, focusing on setting the device. "Two, I'm no cop. No idea where you got that..."
The voice of Burt Gummer suddenly exploded from the device. Tyler, wincing slightly, put it against his ear.
"Reed! What could you possibly have to tell me at ONE THRITY AM?!"
"Sorry to disrupt your sleep, Burt, but.."
"Sleep? I was monitoring seismic movements! Some graboid's been straying around over here... And it's NOT El Blanco!"
"That's gotta be it! We've got a reported body!"
"Where?!"
"I dunno... Some kid just woke me up and told me..."
"Dammit, Reed! I keep telling you - GET DETAILS, lest Nevada become overrun with WORMS!"
"You never tell me that."
"Yes, I do! Is the child in question availible?"
"Yeah... She's right in front of me."
"Injured?"
"No..."
"I'll be right over. Now find the coordinates of those remains! ...Out!"
Sighing, Tyler pocketed the machine and looked over to the girl. "Kid, I need to know where you saw that body."
She stared upward pensively, index finger on her chin. A sudden burst of inspiration; she grinned.
---------------
"I'm SORRY, Burt! She wouldn't tell us otherwise!" Tyler explained. He, the girl, and a very ornery Burt Gummer were presently bounding across the dark Perfection desert in a Jeep.
"Reed, if she get's hurt, her parents'll sue, and - "
"Left at that rock there, then keep going straight." The girl interrupted.
"You told me to get DETAILS. We're getting them right now, aren't we?"
"While putting a child in danger!" Burt stared ahead, a stony look on his face. "Why couldn't you force it out of her? Was she holding an HK - 91 to your HEAD?"
"She just wouldn't talk, Burt! I tried - "
"'Tried' won't get us out of trouble when she gets eaten!"
"Eaten?" The girl broke into the conversation, an interested grin on her face. "By what? Coyotes?"
"Graboids." Burt declared bluntly, as if the ill - described word would make her want to have stayed at home.
She looked to Tyler, one eyebrow arched.
"Big old mutant worms." He explained, spreading his arms in a size estimation. "Go after vibrations. Real fast, but their snake tongues'll getcha even before they do."
She nodded, looking back out on the valley. Reed was suddenly elated, feeling as if he had another guy around, but more understanding than Gummer. Someone to talk to, with which even the vaguest explanantion would suffice.
It was a nice feeling.
"Go right! No... MY right!"
---------------
"There was more of it when I first saw it!"
The trio looked down at the heap of carnage that lay at their feet. It was swarming with flies; The pieces were unrecognizable. It looked like a lump of vomit. And Tyler had crouched down and was poking it with a stick. Just thought you'd like to know.
"Could have been another burro, for all we know," Burt grunted, setting the butt of his gun on the ground.
"It WAS human!" The girl insisted. "The feet were right here, and the arms were right there... I don't know where the had was... There was this green stuff..."
Tyler looked up. "Green stuff?"
"Yeah. It was some kind of mold or something. Just.. Yuck." She shrugged.
"Whatever it was, there's no trace of it now," Declared Burt.
"Hey, I found somethin'!" Reed exclaimed. The two leaned foward to watch him dig something out of the pile.
The girl drew back. "Eew."
Before them was a hand... And it was harboring a kind of thick, bubbling slime.
"TYLER!" Burt scolded as the man turned around and vomited.
...Hey, wait, what's that? Zoom in on that stone for a second... Oh! Two guys.. They're gonna get killed out here! Someone tell them where they are! Someone tell them they're in PERFECTION!
"Hey," One spoke. "When's this worm supposed to come up?"
"We need vibrations, remember? Go stomp around over there." The other man pointed to a faraway spot.
"No way! I don't wanna die!"
"But It dosen't hear you if you're on the rock!" He explained, loading a thick gun.
Before the first one could retort, a loud rumble echoed through the valley.
"The Hell - ?"
"It's the graboid!" The second man readied his large weapon, mounting it on his shoulder.
Scrambling for the other gun, he joined his cohort and quickly loaded. The graboid suddenly burst out to the surface. The men watched in awe as it majestically flew out - and fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.
They waited a few seconds, but the graboid just lay still, moaning.
"What's wrong with it?" The first whispered to his friend.
"I don't know!" The other hissed. "I was never told about it doing THIS!"
"Probably some worm trick," The first declared assuredly. "Let's just get this over with."
He fired two shots into the creature's stomach, making it's moaning even louder.
"Okay, now hit it with the blaster!" The first man coaxed the other, adrenaline apparently seeping in.
"Wait..." The second man held back. "What's that green stuff?"
He followed the second man's eyes to the two fresh holes in the giant carcass. They were flooding with a thick green liquid.
"This just keeps getting weirder..." The second man muttered.
Suddenly, the graboid took its final breath and recoiled on the ground, dead. They stared at each other for a while, perplexed at the lack of a fight it had put up... That is, until a high - pitched shriek won the their attention. They glanced to the graboid, which seemed to be the source of the sound.
Three biped, chickenesque creatures emerged, standing on the dead animal. They seemed to be covered in the green slime; the men watched with a mixture of confusion and fear as flaps on the mounts of their heads came up, then lowered. The middle creature made a shriek similar to the first, and they charged the men.
-------------------------------------------
Theme song! Nanananana Nananananana Nananananana Naaaaaaa!
-------------------------------------------
"Hello? Helllooooo..." The girl trilled, banging persistently on the wooden door.
A sleepy Tyler Reed answered it. He took a single glance down at her blonde mane and sighed. "Kid, I don't do the rides at this time a' night..."
Ignoring him, she began: "Hey, you got a phone in there? Might need to call the cops or something... You've got a dead guy out here."
Her calmness on the subject had rubbed off on him. "Kid, you just woke me up at one in the morning for - " His eyes snapped wide open. "Oh, damn!" He turned around and rushed back into the depths of his living space. She waited patiently at the entrance until he returned, a walkie - talkie in hand.
"So, whatcha gonna do?" She inquired. "Go on a high - speed desert chase? Tackle an Alcatraz escapee to the ground? 'You have the right to remain silent, killer scumbag' ?"
"One, Alcatraz isn't a real jail anymore," He explained, focusing on setting the device. "Two, I'm no cop. No idea where you got that..."
The voice of Burt Gummer suddenly exploded from the device. Tyler, wincing slightly, put it against his ear.
"Reed! What could you possibly have to tell me at ONE THRITY AM?!"
"Sorry to disrupt your sleep, Burt, but.."
"Sleep? I was monitoring seismic movements! Some graboid's been straying around over here... And it's NOT El Blanco!"
"That's gotta be it! We've got a reported body!"
"Where?!"
"I dunno... Some kid just woke me up and told me..."
"Dammit, Reed! I keep telling you - GET DETAILS, lest Nevada become overrun with WORMS!"
"You never tell me that."
"Yes, I do! Is the child in question availible?"
"Yeah... She's right in front of me."
"Injured?"
"No..."
"I'll be right over. Now find the coordinates of those remains! ...Out!"
Sighing, Tyler pocketed the machine and looked over to the girl. "Kid, I need to know where you saw that body."
She stared upward pensively, index finger on her chin. A sudden burst of inspiration; she grinned.
---------------
"I'm SORRY, Burt! She wouldn't tell us otherwise!" Tyler explained. He, the girl, and a very ornery Burt Gummer were presently bounding across the dark Perfection desert in a Jeep.
"Reed, if she get's hurt, her parents'll sue, and - "
"Left at that rock there, then keep going straight." The girl interrupted.
"You told me to get DETAILS. We're getting them right now, aren't we?"
"While putting a child in danger!" Burt stared ahead, a stony look on his face. "Why couldn't you force it out of her? Was she holding an HK - 91 to your HEAD?"
"She just wouldn't talk, Burt! I tried - "
"'Tried' won't get us out of trouble when she gets eaten!"
"Eaten?" The girl broke into the conversation, an interested grin on her face. "By what? Coyotes?"
"Graboids." Burt declared bluntly, as if the ill - described word would make her want to have stayed at home.
She looked to Tyler, one eyebrow arched.
"Big old mutant worms." He explained, spreading his arms in a size estimation. "Go after vibrations. Real fast, but their snake tongues'll getcha even before they do."
She nodded, looking back out on the valley. Reed was suddenly elated, feeling as if he had another guy around, but more understanding than Gummer. Someone to talk to, with which even the vaguest explanantion would suffice.
It was a nice feeling.
"Go right! No... MY right!"
---------------
"There was more of it when I first saw it!"
The trio looked down at the heap of carnage that lay at their feet. It was swarming with flies; The pieces were unrecognizable. It looked like a lump of vomit. And Tyler had crouched down and was poking it with a stick. Just thought you'd like to know.
"Could have been another burro, for all we know," Burt grunted, setting the butt of his gun on the ground.
"It WAS human!" The girl insisted. "The feet were right here, and the arms were right there... I don't know where the had was... There was this green stuff..."
Tyler looked up. "Green stuff?"
"Yeah. It was some kind of mold or something. Just.. Yuck." She shrugged.
"Whatever it was, there's no trace of it now," Declared Burt.
"Hey, I found somethin'!" Reed exclaimed. The two leaned foward to watch him dig something out of the pile.
The girl drew back. "Eew."
Before them was a hand... And it was harboring a kind of thick, bubbling slime.
"TYLER!" Burt scolded as the man turned around and vomited.