"I AM SICK TO DEATH OF THESE GODDAMN VINES!"
"David, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm OK, Cornelius...we've got more vines in the kitchen sink. I'm telling you they're growing out of the sinks, the shower and even the John with more frequency."
"I've been asking around the town and it seems the entire Strangerville plumbing system has been compromised."
"I don't know how you remain so calm about all this, Cornelius. Things are getting worse around here!"
"What's the point of getting over emotional about it? It clouds my judgement."
"Yeah..." said David, resignedly. "Well, time to clear this crap out...again!"
David cleared out the kitchen vines and Cornelius dealt with the ones in the bathroom. The vine infestation of the plumbing was now a daily occurrence and as this affected the whole town the locals were becoming increasingly despondent. Many blamed the army for not dealing with the problem, others blamed the local scientific community for causing it whilst a handful blamed Cornelius and David...the so-called experts and 'top men', for not solving it.
After they had cleared out the vines they reconvened to discuss plans.
"The next phase of our operation is to gather as many of these flying spores as possible from a variety of locations" said Cornelius.
"There's enough in this house to fill the collectors!" David replied.
"I need to know if these spores are attracted to one location or many, what concentrations levels are there around Strangerville. Do they thrive more in the indoors or the outdoors? Are they more prevalent when there are humans around or not? Questions, David, that all need answering so let's divide our efforts: I will scan the local area outdoors, you scan the library and the bar."
"Make way, coming through!" Said David as he entered the library and started waving the scanner around. Lauren was there, sitting at the chess table, her peace and concentration shattered by David's loud entrance.
"David, what are you doing here and what is that thing you're brandishing?" she said, turning around to face him.
"Just something that will help us beat this contagion...well, we hope it will." he replied.
"Really" said Lauren, looking keenly at the scanner. "So how does it work?"
"It gathers up those spores that are floating around. In high enough concentrations this little beauty gathers them up and stores them in the handle. We then take it back to the lab to examine them in detail."
"And have you found what they are in the lab?" she asked.
"The lab is Cornelius' department, I'm a field agent...actually chemistry isn't my area of expertise so he tells me how to use this device and I do the detective work whilst he does all the thinking."
"Don't sell yourself short...you are a smart cookie yourself" said Lauren.
"The spores are highly concentrated in the lab up on the mesa. We can't get through them without suffering the effects that have blighted your friends so we need to build some special equipment to deal with them...but in order to do that we need to know everything there is to know about the spores. Well, look at that...I got a decent sample here. I'll bag it up and send it to the DPR."
"And when you've developed this equipment, will it be you going back up there on the mesa to deal with the spores and whatever causes them?" she asked, sombrely.
"Yes it will be, Lauren. This is what I do for a job. The strange, the unexplained and the alien...my department deals with them and I am the guy they send."
"Like your friend, Holden?" she said.
David took a deep breath before answering her and thought about how his colleague, who was more experienced than him, had succumbed to the sickness. "Yes, like him, but this time I'll be better prepared."
"Oh David, be careful...I can't bear to lose another friend to this disease!"
Come the night time the local citizens locked themselves in their homes and the infected roamed the streets...
Meanwhile Cornelius couldn't ignore the increasing problem of the vines...
He convened with David to compare notes on how the spore collecting was going.
"We're almost there, Cornelius, but we've tapped out this area, the library and the bar. Since yesterday I haven't been able to collect a damn thing!"
"Hmmm, the same with me. We need to cast the net a bit wider"
"Where do you have in mind?"
"Where the infection is strongest...I suggest visiting the homes of those with the Strangerville Sickness. Why not start with the Roswell mansion?" said Cornelius, smiling slightly as a plan started to formulate.
When they arrived at the Roswell residence they noticed the large alien plant growing in their front lawn, right near the door. Tiny purple spores floated on the air.
"I think your hunch may prove right, Cornelius" said David, looking intensely at the plant as it throbbed and wavered in the breeze.
"You doubted it would?" replied Cornelius, almost taken aback by David describing Cornelius' plan as 'a hunch'.
They knocked on the door and Ted Roswell's voice yelled "Who is it?", gruffly.
"Cornelius" came the reply.
"Oh...you, well come on in; it ain't locked" said Roswell, sounding less than happy that Cornelius was visiting him.
Once he stepped inside he could see purple spores floating around the house, with many gathered around the ceiling. "Just as I thought!" muttered Cornelius to himself.
"So, what brings you here this time?" growled Ted Roswell.
"These spores, Mr Mayor. I notice there's rather a lot of them floating around your property."
"Doesn't take a genius from England to tell me that!" Roswell huffed in reply.
"No...however I'd like to gather up some of these spores so my partners at DPR labs can examine them."
"Hurumph....alright, do what you have to do but don't touch anything precious in here!"
"Doctor Cornelius, this is a pleasant surprise" said Mrs Roswell, her manner in sharp contrast to that of her husband's.
"And it's good to see you too. I trust there have been no ill effects with you"
"None whatsoever...oh, my, you have company!" she said with glee as soon as she saw David.
"Oh my apologies, I am remiss with my manners: Mr and Mrs Roswell, this is my assistant and right hand man, David Wright."
"Welcome to our home, Mr Wright. Make yourself comfortable...has anyone told you that you look like Robert Redford?" said Mrs Roswell, with a warm smile.
"No, ma'am, they haven't but thank you" replied David, bashfully.
"Call me Meredith..." she said, warmly.
"Well, you'd better get on with whatever it is you have to do...EEK! ARGH!"
Roswell started to twitch and double up in pain but soon he straightened himself up.
"Ted! Darling, are you having another one of those turns?" said Mrs Roswell, her face turning from playful flirtiness to concerned.
"I don't have 'turns', Meredith! I'm fine! I've always been fine! AARRRGGHHH!" He said again but with a small spasm at the end of his sentence.
"I'll just start scanning then..." said Cornelius, producing the spore scanner from his jacket.
"I think you're wasting your time" said Roswell as Cornelius scanned the room. "It's getting mighty warm in here...Meredith, can you open a window or two? URRRRUURRRRHHHH....GNAK!"
"Cornelius! He's transforming again!" said Mrs Meredith, suddenly springing into action. Without hesitation and with foresight he pointed the scanner at Roswell and found the levels of spore saturation was suddenly concentrated in him.
Just as in previous times, Roswell's limbs became bent at strange, unnatural angles, his head tilted to one side and one eye suddenly grew to twice its normal size. The Strangerville Sickness had taken over this man once again. But then, something even more extraordinary happened.
A thick cloud of dust enveloped Roswell and swirled around the room, like a miniature indoor tornado. The others in the room were pushed back from getting near him and the dust began to choke them so they retreated. After a minute of this dust tornado it suddenly stopped and Cornelius noticed that Roswell had been lifted up off of the ground and was now gently returning to it.
"tImE tO eMbRaCe MoThEr!" said Roswell, in a voice that was clearly not his own.
"There are many things I would like to do with 'Mother', embracing is not one of them" said Cornelius, drolly.
Roswell then made a grab for the scanner but Cornelius quickly pulled it out of his way. David then grabbed Roswell from behind and restrained him whilst Cornelius ushered Mrs Roswell out of the room. David then pushed Roswell forwards and ran out of the room himself.
"Mrs Roswell...lock him in this room until he's returned to normal!" said Cornelius, sharply. She nodded and did what she was asked.
"Doctor...it seemed like he knew what that device did and was frightened by it" she said.
"Not him, Mrs Roswell...but the thing that controls him when he's like that" Cornelius replied.
"What thing?" she asked incredulously.
"I believe that what's infected him and the other townsfolk actually possesses their minds and bodies. It's this thing he calls 'Mother': An otherworldly organism, intelligent, that works through people like your husband in order to further its aims"
"And what are those aims?" she asked.
"Mrs Roswell, what is the prime function of all life?" asked Cornelius.
"I think...survival..." she said, guessing the answer.
"...and reproduction" chimed in David.
"Yes, David's correct. The pods, the spores, the infection...this species' prime aim is to use aggressive means to live and reproduce....AT THE EXPENSE OF EXISTING LIFE ON EARTH!"
"You can't help being dramatic, can you?" said David afterwards.
"No more than you can't help turning the heads of every attractive woman in this town" Cornelius replied. "Robert Redford, sheesh!"
They had gone upstairs to complete the scanning and collecting of spore samples. Once their scanners were full, they said goodbye to Mrs Roswell and headed back home.
The samples were all catalogued, stored and then sent off to DPR laboratories for analysis. Whilst David remained in the field, making more observations, Cornelius returned to headquarters where he and Peggy analysed the findings. Two days later, the three of them reconvened at Cornelius' house in Strangerville to discuss the latest developments and consider their next actions.
"You weren't joking about these spores floating around...they're everywhere!" said Peggy.
"You get used to them after a while" David replied.
"We mustn't get complacent though. Peggy, now we need to get into the core of the laboratory but we need protective garments that can get us past the spore cloud that's down there. What did your computer analysis say we need?"
Peggy stood up and paced around the room as she looked at her notes. "The computer says we need Level A protection: Fully enclosed airtight suits with their own breathing apparatus. 2 hours of oxygen supply for normal work...but only 20 minutes if you're going to do strenuous activities down there. That doesn't give you much time."
"Hmmm, and how quickly can you get us these suits?" asked Cornelius.
"A few days...they have two on standby but the rebreather system needs adjusting for that level of spore density."
"It sounds like you're on top of the situation, Peggy. Alright, stay on that and keep running those computer tests. Right, I am famished, anyone care to join me for dinner?"
Cornelius casually went to the fridge, got out some ingredients and then strolled on into the garden with Peggy following right behind him.
"I can't believe you're thinking of food at a time like this!" she said.
"We can't think properly on empty stomachs...I hope you like chicken" he replied.
"Yeah, I love chicken but that's besides the point. We need to plan for that deep level exploration" she said with urgency in her voice.
"You've got the hazard suits being prepared, David and I are examining the biological data...beyond that we can't plan much further than going through that spore cloud. None of us know what is on the other side without going through it. Now pass me the lemon juice..."
After dinner David enthusiastically congratulated Cornelius on his culinary skills. "Even by your lofty standards, Cornelius, that was a superb meal."
"When we have more time you must try my Vermicelli a la Jon Cornelius"
But the bonhomie was interrupted by Peggy, who had gone into the kitchen with the dirty dishes.
"Erm, guys, did you know you have a purple vine growing out of your sink and that it's moving on its own power?"
Both men looked at one another and sighed simultaneously "we know..." they said together in a resigned tone of voice.
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