The sun was setting, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple as Cadet Kiara Mendez maneuvered the ROTC RV behind a yellow school bus. Both vehicles now sported hastily attached magnetic signs declaring them "MILITARY TRANSPORT" in bold, black lettering. The irony wasn't lost on her. They'd come to fight, fueled by months of training and anticipation, only to find themselves part of a slow-moving evacuation convoy.

"At least we get to stick together," Cadet John Reynolds offered from the passenger seat, trying to find a positive spin on the situation.

"Yeah," Mendez replied, her voice tinged with a hint of disappointment, "though I didn't recognize most of the cadets back there. There are a lot more ROTC programs in the area than I thought."

"I overheard Master Sergeant Jeffords mention he was responsible for six different colleges last year," Chen chimed in from the back. "Probably hasn't changed much."

"And now he's being sent to the front lines. No more training," Mendez remarked, a hint of concern creeping into her voice.

"They're shutting down the ROTC programs," Reynolds said, his voice low. "He's got no choice. If we make it through this mess, they'll probably just promote us to second lieutenants on the spot."

"I was hoping Sergeant Lister knew more about how the rest of the country was doing," Chen said.

"You mean New York," Mendez said, "where your sister is?"

"That's right," Chen said. "I'm sure a lot of us have family in the northeast."

"Or DC," Reynolds added.

"Do you know someone in DC?" Mendez asked Reynolds.

"Family friends in Berwyn, Maryland," he said. "It's near the University of Maryland."

"DC got hit way harder than they thought it would," Chen said before realizing that wasn't what Reynolds wanted to hear. Everyone knew DC was pretty much lost.

"Let's hope they got out okay," Mendez said. Chen could see her eyes in the rearview mirror as she drove. She was giving him the look that said, "Dude, what the hell?"

Turning away from the scrutiny, Chen hunched over his modified multitool, the soft glow of the oscilloscope screen illuminating his face in an eerie green light. He meticulously flipped through pages in a notepad, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was searching for a specific repeating pattern—the enemy's signature territorial marker. He'd already triggered a false alarm earlier, and he didn't want to cause any unnecessary panic among his teammates.

Wait. What was that?

Suddenly, a wave of excitement surged through him. "Guys, I'm getting some strange readings here," he announced, his voice barely above a whisper.

Mendez glanced back at him through the rearview mirror. "Define 'strange,' Chen," she said with a wry smile. "Because everything about this situation is pretty damn strange already."

"This is different," Chen insisted, his voice laced with urgency. "It's way more complex than the enemy signature. It's almost… organized, like a coded message."

Intrigued, Mendez pulled the RV over to a slow crawl on the side of the highway. Reynolds swiveled in his seat, his gaze flicking between Chen and the bus pulling away from them.

"Let's see it, then," Mendez said, her earlier amusement replaced by a spark of curiosity.

Chen checked the readings again. "Uh, can we make a U-turn, maybe?" he asked.

"They are sure to see that," Reynolds said with a shake of his head. "Just pull over here and we can say we had engine issues."

"We can walk," Mendez insisted, "but this needs to be quick, Chen. You don't find something in ten minutes are we're turning back to the RV"

Chen adjusted some dials, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It's like... there are pockets of something. Not quite matching the enemy signatures we've seen reported, but definitely not normal either."

Reynolds turned to look back at Chen. "Could it be civvies hiding out? Or maybe some of our guys behind enemy lines?"

"I don't think so," Chen replied, shaking his head. "The signal's too consistent, too... artificial."

Mendez pulled off the road and they piled out of the RV.

Chen stepped forward taking the lead. First they had to dart across the highway, following the anomaly. The signal was leading them onto private property. Chen's eyes darted between his oscilloscope and the NO TRESPASSING signs.

"Hey, Chen," Reynolds said, "we should probably head back, this is someone's land."

"This area is being evacuated," he said, shrugging off the danger.

Mendez reached out a hand and stopped him. "How close, Chen?"

"Within a hundred feet, give or take," he replied, pointing over a ridgeline. "Just over there."

As they moved away, Chen felt a knot of guilt in his stomach. The civilians needed help, but if his readings indicated an imminent threat, investigating could save more lives in the long run. He tried to push the image of panicked faces from his mind.

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They crested the ridge, and Chen's device emitted a soft beep. "We're close," he whispered, his pulse quickening.

Ahead, the air seemed to shimmer, like heat waves on a summer day, but it was still a chilly February evening. The shimmer was confined to a specific area, a rough circle about ten feet in diameter. The sight defied everything Chen thought he knew about physics.

"What the hell?" Reynolds breathed, his voice barely audible.

Chen took a step forward, transfixed by the anomaly. "It's... it's like a localized distortion field. But that's impossible with our current tech." His scientific curiosity warred with his sense of caution.

Mendez put a hand on his shoulder. "Chen, careful. We don't know what that is."

Chen hesitated, his hand hovering near the shimmering air. Every instinct told him to back away, but the potential discovery was too important. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

"Chen, don't—" Reynolds started, reaching out to pull him back.

But it was too late. Chen's fingers breached the barrier, a strange tingling sensation racing up his arm. He heard Mendez gasp beside him as the world around them blurred. When it came back into focus, everything had changed.

The rural landscape was gone, replaced by a nondescript room, maybe the inside of a tent? It was hard to tell with the hazy barrier still surrounding them. Reynolds had vanished from view. And there, perched impossibly on Chen's shoulder, was a creature that defied explanation.

Chen startled, his breath catching in his throat. It was a tiny creature, no larger than a house cat. It resembled a skinny koala, but with unsettlingly human-like eyes that radiated intelligence. Chen's mind reeled, trying to process what he was seeing.

"Very clever," the creature said, its voice a mix of chirps and clicks that somehow formed words in their minds. It pulled out a device from a tiny jacket pocket and pressed a button, emitting a musical beep.

Chen exchanged a shocked glance with Mendez, both of them frozen in disbelief. Whatever they had stumbled into, it was clear their mission had just taken an unexpected and profound turn.

Chen looked around for Reynolds or the others but they were inside some sort of hazy field.

"What—" Chen tried to say something.

"I see," it continued, "the humans are more capable than the system predicted."

"What's that, dear?" Another voice chimed in, and they noticed a second creature nearby.

"I said the humans are more clever than we anticipated, honey," the first one replied.

"Well, that won't do," the second creature said, sounding concerned. "We can't interact until they clear the first—"

"Never mind that," the first creature interrupted hastily.

Mendez and Chen exchanged glances, sensing that some crucial information had nearly been revealed.

"This needs to be reported," the creature on Chen's shoulder said.

"I'm already generating it, Drix," the other replied. "I have accessed your scan."

"Hold on," Mendez interjected, finding her voice at last.

The creature named Drix seemed to ignore her. "We can make a small exception, I think," it said to its partner. "A reward for being so clever, don't you think, Cheeluu?"

Cheeluu pondered for a moment. "I suppose we could give them a field tool and some schematics?"

Drix nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes. The basics? Hub and all that?"

"A fine start," Cheeluu agreed. "And if they are as clever as you say, they can figure out the rest."

"Now, you humans, remember, we were not here," Drix said.

"Probably won't listen to you dear," Cheeluu said.

"I see," Drix said.

"No," Mendez said, "we won't say a word, we promise."

"Sector one, honey?" Drix said, ignoring Mendez.

"A bit harsh, they look young," Cheeluu said.

"You did read the monograph on the humans," Drix said. "Sector two then?"

"That should be fine," Cheeluu said.

"What... what's happening?" Chen asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I told you learning this language would be useful, Cheeluu," the creature named Drix muttered.

Chen stood frozen, his hand outstretched as Drix used the tiny device to scan his fingers. Mendez watched, fascinated and slightly unnerved.

Chen didn't even remember putting his hand out.

"Five? They have five on each appendage, honey," Drix muttered, sounding both surprised and intrigued.

"That's interesting," Cheeluu replied distractedly from the controls of their miniature vehicle.

"You should have the data now," Drix called out to Cheeluu.

"What's sector two?" Mendez asked but the creatures were paying them no attention.

Cheeluu nodded, "Finally. Let's go, dear. We need to find a new spot and remodulate the shields."

Before Chen or Mendez could react, the scanning tool in Drix's hand increased in size until it was perfectly proportioned for Chen's hand.

Drix placed the now-larger device in Chen's palm. "This will scan the enemy and extract the basic materials and components you will need for the hub and other accessories," the tiny creature explained. And with that, the creature tapped Chen's multimeter-oscilloscope, shrinking it down to fit in its hand. It looked up at him.

"Tell me, where might I find a dog?" Drix asked suddenly.

"Uh. Everywhere. Probably half the homes here have a dog," Chen said.

"Wonderful. Where can I find a giraffi. Am I saying that right?" Drix looked at the screen of its device. "Giraffi? Tall. Well, taller than you humans. Long neck. Giraffi?"

"Oh. A giraffe," Mendez said.

"Giraffe? No, that can't be right. Look, it says right here, giraffi."

Chen looked at the display. "I can't read that."

"Oh no, you couldn't," Drix said. "It's giraffe, write that down, honey. Giraffe. Who knew?"

Mendez and Chen watched in amazement as Cheeluu climbed a tiny ladder to sit at the controls of what appeared to be a miniature vehicle. It began to rumble.

"Good luck, humans!" the creatures called out.

"Wait!" Mendez called out, finding her voice. "What do you mean by 'hub'? And how do we use this?"

But it was too late. With a shimmer in the air, Drix and Cheeluu vanished along with their vehicle, leaving Chen and Mendez alone with their new, mysterious acquisitions.

Mendez turned to Chen, a mix of excitement and fear in her eyes. "What do we do now?"

Chen looked at the device in his hand, then back at Mendez. "We figure this out. And fast. We didn't even tell them about zoos."

Mendez blew into her hands, rubbing them together. "How did it get so cold?" she wondered aloud. "Wait, zoos?"

Chen could see his own breath. The temperature had dropped significantly as soon as the creatures disappeared. "Where you can find giraffes," he looked around, "The hell is going on?" he said.

The hazy field still surrounded them. It hadn't faded when the creatures had left.

"Should we just go back the way we came in?" Mendez suggested.

"No telling what's on the other side," Chen replied.

"Reynolds has probably run back to the sergeant while we were gone. We can't stay here forever," Mendez said, determination in her voice. "Come on. Let's walk through together."

They stepped through the barrier, and Chen's foot landed on some gravel that hadn't been there before. He looked down. It wasn't gravel. It was snow.

Chen turned around. The hazy barrier was gone. They had just stepped out of an alleyway and onto a snow-covered sidewalk. The street was also covered in snow. Everything was covered in snow. There were no footprints or tire tracks anywhere.

"Am I tripping," Mendez said, "or are you seeing this too?"

"If you're seeing a snow-covered city," Chen said.

Chen felt at his pockets and pulled out the tool that the alien, for it must have been an alien, had given him.

"Not just any city," Mendez said. "I think this is—no, I'm certain this is Philadelphia."

"But they evacuated Philadelphia," Chen said. "The Army and the Marines are fighting in that sector."

"We're not on the lines," Mendez said, looking around with a mix of awe and fear. "We're inside the enemy territory."