Dec 2020 Community Event Part 4 (Patreon)

Holiday break is upon us, so I thought it would be fun to a short story/community event. I'll post a setup, you pick what happens next, and I'll do an illustration. Then we repeat!

Our next part:

The reporter turned around to see four of the town farmers make their way into the alien room. The one in the lead looked towards the confused outsider and cocked his head.

“We got 'nuther one in here. Send 'er over to the Thompson farm this time. They ain't had one yet.”

The reporter looked around. With effort he was able to open his mouth, the gel around it shifting and vibrating as he tested speaking. “Wh- Whu- What's going... on?”. The words sounded strange speaking through the coating. Muffled, but they hummed and quivered around his whole form.

The farmer looked surprised at the creature speaking. “Not quite dun yet, boys. Ah, since you'll be overtaken soon, guess there's no harm in explainin'.”

Another of the farmers stepped forward and motioned around the room. “Since those pretty goo ladies showed up, things have been real good for us out these ways. Whatever those aliens give off has been real fine for the crops and business has been picking up. Higher sales for lower effort and costs, don't you know. Saw that goo there transform one of the townspeople and make a new creature. Us good folk figured we'd do a bit of cultivating of our own. More aliens to help out more farms. Keep this country's backbone running real nice. Don't get many visitors around here, so it's nice when you people show up and keep the supply fresh.”

The farmers moved ahead but the reporter recoiled. A larger one stepped forward. “Now's time for you to come along. Don't worry that pretty goo head of yours. You ladies get treated quite nice. Happy alien makes better crops, so don't fret. Order you up a whole nice setup so you can live fancy.”

The farmer reached forward and grabbed the reporter's arm. He yelped, the vibrations causing his gel coating to shimmer, and the farmer's grip slipped loose from the goo. The reporter fled through another door and it whirred shut behind him. The ship beckoned him forward, calling him to its core.

He couldn't explain it, but the reporter knew some repairs had been completed and the aliens were preparing to leave. He could... feel the ship. There was a thrumming asking him to follow.

The reporter's head felt light, spinning with a million questions and unsure of what to do next. He could turn around and return to the town, living in luxury as some hybrid creature. But there was also time to cast off the shell, free himself from the aliens and the town, and run away to save himself. Or he could venture deeper into the ship, accept the alien boons, and have the greatest scoop of any reporter in history.

***

We went with DarkZamiel's prompt from the last post, probing into the dark secrets of the farming community...

Post what follows next in the comments and I'll pick the one that's the most fun. This will be the final round!

Final deadline is the 31st, Thursday night!