"Mom, Mom come here!" Young Antony Cutter called his mother into the livingroom.

"Antony, how many times have i told you to shut that t.v. off??

"But Mom, the Queen is on, I think it's something important"

"Good Afternoon; My fellow colonists a time of great urgency is upon us, Our humble country of Parkhill, may soon be under attack. We find ourselves in the midst of a dangerous time for our world. I have been given word that our neighbours to the east, the Treemounder's, have been invaded and destroyed by an unknown enemy. Furthermore a number of enemies have been reported moving in this direction. We are prepared to take any steps necessary to stop the enemy. That is all."

After the announcement ended Antony wondered if it had been a good idea to call his mother in. She had a way of overreacting to the slightest thing. He considered how she might respond to an actual emergency.

"Ahh!, We have to leave, we gotta get out of here." Ms. Cutter reacted the way she always does, she lost her head.

"Mom, calm down, the Armies will protect us, they always have", Antony said what he knew his mother wanted to hear. But the honest truth was that he wasn't so sure this time. He had heard the urgency and fear in the Queens voice. Maybe tomorrow he would check it out for himself.

Neither mother nor son slept much that night, as was the case for most of the citizens of Parkhill- especially the soldiers.

--

They had been training for days, for the time that they knew would soon come; sharpening their weapons, and perfecting their chemical defense mechanisms. The army had members for every theatre of war; air, land, and sea. Together they were A.N.T.T.'s (Aerial, Nautical, and Terrain Team) Only the ANTT's and the Queen knew about the war before it came, they were informed that it always happened during the warm season, which only came about every six generations. It was that time now, and those living in Parkhill had only just been enlightened that night. Some of them fled, trying to reach other nations, but most of them wouldn't get there. Others simply accepted their own peril and stayed behind. But regardless of their decisions, one thing was always the same, all the members of Parkhill depended on one another for safety and comfort. For all those abiding within, this day had come to be known as "Dependance Day".

--

The next morning, Antony Cutter snuck slyly past his mother's room, and up to the surface.His mother had forbidden him from ever going to the surface. It was sweltering hot compared to the constant 77 degrees of his home, and towering plants grew to tremendous heights, half concealing the bright cyan sky.

"this isn't that scary" Antony reassured himself.

But just then he heard a rumbling, like the ground beneath his legs was quivering in fear. His senses noticed a drastic darkening of the sky, and all at once, his world went black.

When Antony came around he was back in his own room, his mother huddled over him weeping.

"Mom?"

"Antony Red Cutter!, How dare you do this to me? Ive been worried sick for over an hour"

"Mom i saw it, it was red, white and checkered; I saw them-I...I saw the-the "Picnickers", Antony struggled to say the curse word.

"What? What did you say? Now you take that back! The soldiers brought you back to me, they said they found you at the surface." Ms. Cutter responed in anger, but all she felt was fear, and relief that her son was safe

"Mom, I was only..."

"Now Now, I'm not mad anymore- Just rest sweetie."

--

Hours passed without food, or water, or even sunlight. The temperature had been dropping steadily ever since the seige had begun. The colonists hid in fear, while the Armies fought against the many weapons that the giant Picnickers weilded. They had set sweet smelling traps, as well as hot pools of liquid and enormous weapons, that could roll, and squish many soldiers in a single attack...the colonists were outnumbered. As the last soldiers gaved themselves for a final retaliation, another rumble came, one that shook the whole nation. Then a bright flash cut through the sky, knifing its way down and nearly cleaving the red and white battleground in two.

This sudden act of nature, sent the picnickers scrambling. They pulled the ground right out from underneath the ANTT's, sending the remaining survivors tumbling to there death. Then came the rain...

--

After the storm, the sun shone back on the colony of Parkhill; the citizens didn't know how, but they did know that they had been saved. They celebrated a new day of freedom from fear of the Picnackers. They wouldn't see another war like this one for the rest of their lives. No longer would fear an invasion. They celebrated a day of independance.