Murdillo vs. The World

By Andrew Salcman and Luke Walker

Chapter One

Hello, my name is Jæk, and I work for State Farm as a cameraman. Or at least, I used to… It was just two months ago when Murdillo attacked Texas to be on the  Dallas Cowboys football team so he could fulfill his childhood dreams. Here's how it happened, and how I became a spy for the military. 

Murdillo, a billion-year-old leader of the Armordillo army, is a supernatural being, born before the creation of the world, born from the collision of three black holes. With a heart of fire and veins of ice, he had only one goal from the moment he existed. He has ears powerful enough to sense an ant eating a biscuit 5,000 miles away. His back is made of titanium. Murdillo’s tail is made of diamond, emerald, and ruby. More billions of years later, the Big Bang occurred, causing the creation of the universe. With the quick development of the human planet, Earth, he decides to create an army and become a world-famous American football player. 

He and his million-soldier army of armadillos started migrating toward Texas on the first of July. From Miami, Florida, their home habitat, a mass migration took place. On the morning of July 5, a Monday, Murdillo himself arrived on location, armed to the teeth, prepared to the bone, for the invasion to begin. His army was already located in groups all over Texas. After word of this got out, I was recruited by the military to record and spy on the armadillos and get secret information.

  You may ask how the armadillos got to Texas, and for that, I will say something you might not believe. The answer is flight. When the armadillos become soldiers, they grow wings and can also fly by spinning their legs when they sleep and make tiny tornadoes to propel them at approximately ten times the speed of the McDonald's drive-through.

 Anyway, Murdillo started by flying to the biggest base in Dallas, Texas. That is where he met his twin brother, after not seeing each other for eons. I snuck into the burrow as they started talking.

“Brother!” Paul exclaims as Murdillo climbs into his burrow. “How are you?” 

“I’m doing well, Paul,” Murdillo says as they dab each other up. 

“My army has been very motivated recently with the promise of having their football stadium.” He paced around, stretching his legs. “The forces have been training more than normal. I have formed an elite troop of the best members. I have also invested in new weapon technologies to help the invasion. I was wondering if I could get a tour of your base?”

“Sure,” Paul said, walking towards the door. “Let’s go!” The twins proceed to walk out the door and fly away. I activated my jetpack, put on my goggles, and followed them. After many miles, they stopped at a large metal porthole on the ground. The massive door rotated after Paul scanned it with his foot. With an impressive pneumatic hiss, I watched, amazed, as smoke poured out dramatically before they descended into the bright tunnel. The bright fog looked like a morning in San Francisco.

I once again followed them, and I got through just before the door closed. I activated my invisibility to avoid getting noticed and flew further in. They were almost disappearing behind a corner so I sped up and stayed on their tails. Finally, after a long journey through what seemed like infinite corridors, they stopped again. They stepped through a portal-like surface and I followed.

 It felt like we had teleported, and when the warping sensation ended, I saw the green canopy of a forest and the most insane, chaotic, and rugged training facility I had ever seen. The massive clearing was split into four sections: one where they researched, one for training to be fit, and the last for building technology, like tanks and armored vehicles. The last was for testing of technology. Every five or so seconds, I would hear a turret go off, and occasionally the fire of smaller firearms and energy weapons. Armadillos occasionally traveled to and from each section, carrying blueprints, test material, etcetera. I stared around at the bizarre scene. 

“So what do you think of the facility?” Paul asked.

“I think you did a great job on this one! I like how organized you are. I guess some things never change.”

“Hahahaha! Alright, come on, let's eat!”

“You'll never catch me saying no to that one! Let's go!”

They took off again, and I traveled with them back through the portal. So far, so good. I’ve gotten some useful information about their resources and their base location. I got my mind focused back on catching up to the two flying armadillos. I was trying to memorize what turns we were taking to get a feel for the layout, but everywhere looked the same, and I didn't understand how to get anywhere without following them. After a stressful flight through the never-ending hallways, we arrived at the third location: the dining hall. 

“I prepared a massive welcome feast for you, Murdillo! Enjoy!” said Paul.

“Wow, this is pretty magnificent! Let’s dig in!” 

They ran through the buffet line together, grabbing an ungodly amount of food before sitting down, ants roaming about on their plates, their antenna spinning as they looked for an escape. I could almost feel the insects crawling on my skin as I watched them munch the tiny creatures. All around I could hear the ear-splitting screeches of cockroaches, a sound I would never wish on anybody. The twins then went on to devour the food, gobbling up every last bit, making sure not to waste a morsel. I hovered there as I watched them go for seconds. They clearly did love to eat. At last, they wrapped up, grabbed some crickets for the road, and left the table. I stayed closer this time, making sure not to let them out of my sight. They stopped finally at the hatch where we started and exited into the sunlight. It was genuinely bright after spending so long underground, but I wouldn’t let that slow me. 

“Now, let's go attack Austin and get us our team! My army waits outside the city's border. Send your troops to the other side, and we’ll attack at the same time. Organize your troops and send them. The attack begins at three tomorrow morning, so don’t be late and I’ll see you soon.” Murdillo announced.

“Oh, this is brilliant! They won’t even see it coming until it’s too late!” Paul smiled lightly before the brothers parted ways, and I rocketed back to base to report my findings. I was definitely getting a raise.

Chapter Two

“Terry, I’ve got a great story for you! I have been  gone for a little while to record data and capture information about the twins, here’s what I found!” I said, and handed him a small memory chip, about an inch in size and as thin as cardboard, with copper connections sticking out on one edge. He accepted the chip and put it in his pocket. Terry is my manager.

“Great job, Jæk. I’ll look at this with the executives soon.”

“No, Terry, you don’t understand. This is urgent! They are planning to attack Austin, Texas, tomorrow at three in the morning! I heard of a million-unit army. You need to call the army, homeland security, police, everything! We need to evacuate Austin!”

“This is insane! I will review it at once and notify the executives. This will prepare us enormously!”

“I am glad to help, sir. Do you think I could record the battle?” I asked.

“Sure, but be careful. We can’t lose such a fine cameraman.” I blushed lightly at that.

“Yes! I’ll go talk to Mr. Edison about it! Thanks!” I said, excited, before hurrying to see the head of the attack and defense department. I rushed down the hallway and almost missed the elevator. I quickly pressed floor three and arrived in a fraction of a second on the top-of-the-line, military-grade super elevator. It was totally unnecessary, but experiencing G-forces was somehow proven to increase energy for a short time. I sprinted to Mr. Edison’s office where I found him polishing his old Smith & Wesson M&P 12. 

“Sir, I have collected information about the armadillos and I went into their base and I followed the twins and I know about their military and Terry said I could join the forces so can I-” As I was explaining, he cut me off mid-sentence.

“Woah whoah woah, slow down there buckaroo. You are going a thousand miles per hour, and I have NO idea what you just said. Can you say that again S-L-O-W-L-Y?”

“Sorry sir,” I said. “I have spied on the armadillos and gathered lots of information.”

“Ok,” he said.

“And I asked Terry, and he said I can join the forces and record the battle,”

“Ok,” he said again.

I almost laughed at his thick Texan accent. He raised both his eyebrows at me disapprovingly.

“All right, kid. Follow me,” he said and walked out of the room. I followed behind, a small smile playing on my face.

He opened up his closet to reveal a long and dark hallway. They walk down the hallway and at the end is a stone pillar with a VERY nice camera on top of it.

“As soon as you pick that up, you join the ranks,” He said as I reached my hands towards the beautiful, titanium-plated, Go-Pro Hero 12 max, the best in the hobby. I carefully lifted it up from the podium and placed it in my chest rig.

“Welcome aboard,” he said. “Here’s your uniform. You can find anything else you would want down the hallway to the left.”

I walked down a different hallway towards a lit-up wall holding different types of armadillo defense devices (ADDs), just in case an armadillo started attacking me. The devices included a protective shell for me that wraps around my body when I pull a cord. On the wall was also an insanely protective Go-Pro case, in case It needed to survive a bomb explosion. I kept walking around the room, seeing more and more interesting gadgets for all occasions. I ended up grabbing a tactical utility belt with meds, bandages, and other emergency tools. I would definitely visit this place again.

I looked back to say goodbye to Mr. Edison, but he disappeared. Oh well, I thought to myself. I walked back to the elevator and took it down to the main floor. 

“Let’s do this!” I shout in the lobby. My co-workers cheer as I head to the garage, ready to get things done. I grab a dirt bike from the rack, suit up, put on my helmet, and prepare for the sweetest ride of my life. I plant my feet on the pedal, kick up the stand, and floor it. Dirt and gravel fly from my wheels as I speed towards the soon-to-be battlefield. All around I hear sirens warning the troops that it is go-time. I felt the wind slice into my neck, a light pain I hadn’t felt for years. I whistled, because man, did this new bike pack a punch! I was speeding at about 80 mph. I hit a massive jump out of the forest and onto the road of the city. Then, I take highways I-35 East and I-35 South down to Austin where I find Murdillo and Paul in a run-down garage containing a massive armadillo mech. I set down my bike quietly before walking closer. Thanks to my new combat boots, each step made zero sound. I activated my invisibility and snuck behind a rack of parts. They were right in the middle of a conversation about the massive armadillo.

“I think we can run it for a while, but it will need to be refilled with grade A diesel fuel, oil changed, and restocked with batteries for the silly-string cannons. It is just one of many that I have stationed around, but this one is specially equipped for you and an elite squad to pilot.” Murdillo handed Paul the keys and he climbed inside. On the sides of the machine, engraved and painted yellow, were the name ‘Hamburg I’.

“See you soon, bro!”Murdillo says.

I sneak under the belly of the tank and activate my magnetic gloves so I can stick to the metal underside. The tank rumbles and black smoke pours from its exhaust as it blows through the garage door towards the town center. I hang on for dear life as the machine moves at an astonishing speed. I quickly look for the engine block. 

“Found it!” I locate it and pull a sticky grenade from my tool belt. I gently plant it to the side of the engine and drop myself from the mech’s belly onto the ground. I try not to make a sound as a sharp rock digs into my back and I hold back a yell. I roll away and run back to my bike. I rev it up and drive in the opposite direction for a little before pressing a button on the center console. The bike immediately transformed into a tiny pocket-sized cube. I put it in my vest and climbed a ladder to get a vantage point as the machine moved through the street. I checked my watch. 

“2:55! The troops should be here any second now…” I waited until it struck three in the morning and heard helicopters in the distance. I smiled grimly, knowing that my squad had my back. I took the detonator out of my pocket and put in my earplugs before pushing the button. A defining explosion shook the ground, followed by a strong gust of wind that almost knocked me over. The smoke cleared and was replaced by a small fire as the tank was destroyed. The second half of the grenade then went off, extinguishing the fire, and all that was left was charred metal. My job was almost done, and it was going smoothly. Then, I heard a shriek. I looked back down from the rooftop. Murdillo was standing over the wreckage, tearing through the layers of metal. At last, he got to Paul. His lifeless body flopped as Murdillo hopelessly prodded it. Mudillo leaned down to it and absorbed the body. It faded into blue dust, and Murdillo raised up into the air. Then, he exploded and his whole body burst into flames. But instead of falling back down, he seemed to have been enlightened and was more powerful than before. With a second shriek of rage, flames spit from his mouth as he sprouted wings and flew away.

“Oh shoot,” I heard on my radio. Things just got really complicated.

Chapter Three

I climbed back down the ladder and radioed my squad. “Everyone okay?”

My squad radios back, “All good.”

I take my cubed motorcycle out of my pocket and press the button. The cube instantly transforms back into my motorcycle, and I ride to a nearby helipad where a helicopter rests. The helicopter is here so I can get aerial footage of the battle. I quickly hop into the helicopter and tell the pilot that I need to get above the remains of the armadillo-mech, where Murdillo and his army are swinging their tails to take down soldiers left and right. The soldiers fire back with their confetti cannons and silly string but are no match for the armadillo’s thick shell. Both sides are fighting heavily with tanks and fighter jets in the air and on the land. 

“Take me higher,” I say to the pilot. He hits the throttle and we start gaining altitude. I look out the window and zoom in on the action. Armadillos and soldiers were fighting everywhere. We seemed to be just barely winning, and it was intense as the armadillos moved toward the Austin city hall. I knew what I had to do to stop their progress.

“Sir, I’m going in!” I said to the pilot. I got on a hoverbike and jumped out into the air. The quad had four rotors, one in each corner where the wheels used to be. The engineers really did a great job with the design. I did a barrel roll to see where I needed to go before nose-diving towards the First Street Bridge over the Colorado River. I got close to the water and grabbed some sticky remote explosives from my toolbelt. I quickly attached one to the concrete support columns holding the bridge over the water. It was going to be bad to destroy the bridge, but I knew it was the right thing to do for the good of Austin. I rechecked all the explosives and flew back to the chopper… 

“Where is he? I swear he was hovering here a minute ago,” I said to myself. 

I hear a big BOOM on my left. I quickly turn my head and see the helicopter spinning out of control while airborne armadillos rip tails and wings off of fighter jets and helicopters. I quickly fly to the top of W Austin Hotel with my quadcopter.

 “Here we go,” I say. I rest my thumb on the detonator, waiting for the prime time.

“Now!” I pushed the button as Murdillo and his army were crossing the bridge when I detonated the sticky bombs. KA-BOOM! Suddenly, armadillos are flying left and right and falling into the Colorado River. Then, all is silent. For some reason, armadillo heads pop out of the water. Five, a dozen, then the entire army rises from the water and starts swimming towards the side of the river. Shoot! I should have done more research. Armadillos are amphibious, and are actually terrific swimmers! I panic for a second and decide to mount back onto my quadcopter. I fly towards the swimming armadillos and grab a smoke grenade from my back pocket. I pull the pin and throw it at the armadillos. Blue dust explodes in the air, showering down on the aquatic creatures. I then grab a stink bomb, load it into my quad’s release chamber, and fly around as my vehicle dumps stinky fog on the army. Now disgusted and blind, they struggle to move forward to land, and I call a squadron to my location to help defend the city hall and W hotel. Five helicopters fly to my flanks and drop down closer to the water. Agents jumped out into the water to fight close combat, and I stayed up in the air to command and record. I zoom in on the armadillos surrounding Murdillo. He was still glowing orange and red, the flames somehow unaffected by the icy water. I aimed a tranquilizer dart at him and fired, but a wall of fire appeared out of nowhere to block my shot. 

“Shoot,” I said. “How are we gonna pull this off?” I then came up with an idea. It's a wild one, but it might work. I pull a warp ball out of my pocket. ‘Teleports whatever you want, wherever you want!’ it read on the side. I threw it hard and crossed my fingers as it sailed through the air. I really hope this works.

Chapter Four

In a heavily armored hovercraft were Jerry Jones, manager of the Dallas Cowboys, and  Mike McCarthy, the coach. Murdillo was teleported there thanks to my aim, and I was on my way, too. When I got there, there was already quite a ruckus. Murdillo was behind a superglass wall so the former football players wouldn’t get hurt by his powerful attacks and spicy flames. I landed my quad on the helipad and walked inside the cabin. I tried to tell what was going on, but Mudrdillo just kept interrupting and getting madder.

 The sound was almost unbearable, and if he continued like this the glass might shatter. That was probably the armadillo’s plan. Then, I realized what might shut him up. I searched my backpack for a telicube, a device I picked up from the armory. It was a small cube with a screen and some buttons that folded out from the side. I pulled out the keypad and turned it on. I used the menu to select bugs and found a nice selection of insects for Murdillo to eat. I then pressed the finalize button and put my finger on the trigger. Then I pointed it through the porthole at Murdillo and, after I pushed the trigger, a steady stream of bugs began pouring infinitely from the cube. 

As soon as Murdillo noticed, he tried to resist the urge to dig in, but after a couple of minutes a cricket crawled over to him, and he couldn't resist. He picked it up and ate it in a fraction of a second. As soon as he finished the one, he just wanted more. ‘Come and get it,’ I thought to myself. Then, Jerry Jones started talking to Murdillo.

“Now Murdillo, we understand how you wanted to join the Cowboys a long time ago, and we denied you, but back then things were different. We had a different coach, different rules, and at the time we didn't want an armadillo on our team.” Murdillo didn’t respond, he just kept snacking on the insects. I hope the point was getting across. 

“We are proposing a truce and surrender. You can have the team and the stadium, and anything else you want, just please don’t hurt our city or our people.” That seemed to get Murdillo interested.  He stopped eating for a second to think about his options before continuing. Jerry sighed. 

“Here’s our white flag, Murdillo,” he said and held up a white piece of cloth to symbolize our surrender.

 “Do what you want, just don’t hurt our people or our city. Understand?” Murdillo started to talk but then closed his mouth again.

“You killed my brother,” he said, and the flames on his shell leaped up, singing the metal roof.

 “I will never forgive you for that. The team is not enough. I want whoever killed my brother. Bring them to me, and there may be peace.” Jerry hesitated, not knowing what to do. I nodded to him, not knowing what the armadillo would do, but I realized that the whole of Texas was a whole lot more important than myself.

“He’s already in this room,” Jerry said. I slowly stepped forward to the glass and looked him right in the eyes. I tried not to flinch as he approached me.

“You killed my brother. Prepare to die!” he shouted, and the glass shattered. I  tried to run, but Murdillo flew behind me and seized me with a psychic force. 

“You,” he whispered in my ear. I was unable to move and would be destroyed for sure. He grabbed me and threw me into the river. I plummeted hundreds of feet through the air before splashing into the water. I desperately tried to claw my way back to the surface, but Murdillo came flying after me and forced me into the riverbed. I tried to move away, but he had me pinned. I kept struggling and wasting oxygen. Surely it would be the end. The massive armadillo pressed deep into my chest with his front legs, piercing my skin. Blood polluted the water around us, and I wanted to scream because of the immense pain, but I knew that would only make it worse. I watched, my vision poor from the murky water, as the flaming monster tried to drown me to death, eyes level and focused, with again one goal. 

“Goodbye, Jæk. better luck in your next life.” It was like he sent a message into my skull because his mouth did not move. More than a minute had passed since I had gone under the water and I was beginning to lose consciousness, my soul slipping away. Then, Out of nowhere, a shark-shaped object came rocketing through the murky water, ramming into Murdillo’s side. Caught off guard, he let go, allowing me to swim back to the surface with seconds to spare. I activated my cubed bike and it transformed into a raft. I climbed aboard and checked my Go-Pro. It was in perfect condition and I looked back under the water. The submarine and Murdillo were brawling. 

I had no idea where the sub came from, or who was controlling it, but I was thankful, because they had for sure saved my life. Murdillo whipped his tail at the sub. THWAK! His tail created a vortex in the water, sending an air pocket spinning to the surface. The impact somehow made no difference to the shark-shaped vehicle. A strange mechanical claw then came out of the side of the submersible. It had a small syringe on the end. With almost inhuman accuracy, it jabbed into Murdillo’s soft underbelly. Murdillo then started moving super slow. It appeared he was super fatigued. A second arm snuck something else into Murdillo's mouth. It was small and silver with blue liquid inside. After a minute or two of waiting and Murdillo slowly moving around, the device lit up from inside, casting a shadow on the riverbed. Then, after three bright flashes, a ghostly figure appears beside Murdillo, looking like his shadow. Wait. Is that… 

“Paul?” Murdillo said. The flames had disappeared from his shell and his eyes returned to the normal icy blue. The second armadillo then began moving, and it seemed like Paul had been reincarnated by the silver device from Paul’s Consciousness inside Murdillo. The two brothers embraced and flew out of the water together. Murdillo then said to the pilot of the sub,

“All that really matters to me Is that I can play with the team and that Paul is ok. Surrender accepted.” Murdillo then continued to fly towards the stadium.

“Looks like we have a game to organize,” said Mike McCarthy. He was the one in the submarine! Jerry climbed out from the back seat and called a heli. They got on the chopper and I did the same. Once we all loaded onboard, it took off, taking us to the Cowboys stadium. Everything was going to be fine, Texas was saved, and Sunday night football was guaranteed!