Ah, Tremors. An American classic.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V65b70nPU7k&ab_channel=Movieclips[/url]

Tremors is one of my all-time favorite movies, and the inspiration for this week's prompt. If you've never seen it, it goes like this: Val and Earl are two blue-collar buddies stuck doing gruntwork in Perfection, Nevada; a real nowhere's town in the middle of the desert. One day people start disappearing, getting sucked underground. There's a monster on the loose, and it's up to our boys and their rag-tag community to come together and save the day.

The conceit here is simple: a group of likable weirdos in an isolated location are charged with solving an unusual problem. That's it. That's the prompt.

For your part, I'll allow you up to 1,000 words, with a couple left over in exchange for flash rules. When you sign up, you may request a stipend of likable weirdos, an isolated location, or an unusual problem, or any combination thereof. Each additional rider nets you 200 extra words. Aside from that, you know the rules: no fan-fiction, screeds, or amateur erotica. That said, I have a request. These have been tough times for all of us, and I for one like a happy ending. Don't do me wrong.