The Fertilizer

There were five men in the truck. They were driving as fast as they possibly could through the dense cover of green near the base. Three of them tried to keep watch. Two of them were holding the fertilizer, tentatively at first, as they sensed the taint of the alien. The driver looked back at the other three and nodded slightly. The two holding the fertilizer simultaneously moved it to the center of the bed and emptied it, as if it were the arm pit of some huge monster.

There was a slight pause as the two holding the fertilizer looked around nervously, then dumped the remaining contents onto the ground. One of them slammed the truck's brake pedal, causing a cloud of dust to erupt from around their feet, obscuring the view of their potential prey.

The driver saw the dust and nodded, then hit the accelerator. He looked back at the other three in the truck, who were coughing and wiping their eyes. The one who was holding the fertilizer sighed with relief, releasing a cloud of dust himself. The already-distorted face of the driver crinkled in annoyance, and he shook his head with pursed lips, then continued.

As the truck neared the truck turned off the ignition, and the dust settled. The truck idled, and the men looked around nervously. They waited, listening to the shrill crickets and the distant rumbles of the city dumpsters.

The driver's eyes fell on the owner of the fertilizer. The owner watched the driver's eyes while he kept examining his purchase. "I got the cheapest jug I could find."

The driver looked down and shrugged. "Still, it's a six dollar jug of fertilizer," He glanced down. He laughed quietly, but the rest of the men were too tense to join him.

Suddenly one of the men in the back yelled, "Let's get out of here!"

"Why?" asked another.

"Because it's on our way out, and it's coming!"

The response was unanimous, and the men piled out of the truck, running towards the edge of the woods. They ran as fast as they could while still keeping an eye out for the alien.

"Do you have a handkerchief?" the owner of the fertilizer asked his friend, "I just wiped my eyes of that dust."

"I do," his friend answered, handing the potion over. "Wipe your nose, too."

The man did as he was told. They had stopped in the middle of the street, out of the way of the oncoming car and the cops. The man coughed. "Is it nearby?"

The other man shook his head. "I don't hear anything." He paused, then added. "But there is something approaching."

The man looked back behind him and saw the top of the alien. It looked like a giant, curled red stalk. The ground was covered with more of the red matter. "I trust you," the man said. He turned back to the alien, intent on running away. But the alien was already too close to ignore.

The man turned back. He buried his head in the handkerchief and started coughing all over again.

The other man felt a sudden fear, and started coughing too. The larger man looked over at him, his face a mask of fear as well.

They simultaneously dropped the last of the fertilizer and ran, not paying attention to the road anymore. The other man crashed into a tree and fell to his knees. The man running dog-trotted while the other crawled behind a tree. The running man broke his speed on the final stretch, cursing to himself as he collided with the alien.

The truck barreled into the driveway they had cleared. The men were standing near the back of the truck, a long distance away from the red alien. Their eyes were scanning for the alien, their hands at the ready. The driver's eyes flitted from side to side, nervously.

Suddenly the driver yelled for the others to look up. The three other men looked around wildly, as one of them pointed to the sky.

The men turned their gaze to the sky behind them. There, in the sky, was a red and black vortex. It looked exactly like a tornado, only it lacked clouds and air, and it was in the middle of the day.

The men looked at each other, then at the trees around them, and then at the truck. They exchanged glances for a few moments, and then suddenly started hurling rocks at the truck, as if for pillboxes.

The men began throwing rocks at it and were soon joined by citizens of the close by town. The truck began to shake and register hits, jerking uncontrollably. The men watched it, but kept their assault on the alien up.

All was silent on that day. The skies were black. The wind blew the trees and rattled the windows of the town. But, nothing else seemed to be happening in the world except the alien-infested truck in the center of it all. The truck swayed from side to side, but never moving.

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