Major Larkin walked the dirt path, lost in thought, ignoring the setting sun. Germany had invaded Austria, then Poland. Then France, even France fell in just a few days. Blitzkrieg. He'd been, they'd all been, training for the last war. Now Germany, the home of all the best scientists for the last few decades, was exploding across the world.
What did America have? Beggars, tramps. Too many iron railroads. Isolationist instincts ... burying its head in the sand again. What he wanted, what they NEEDED, was to somehow reach into the future and leapfrog the Krauts. But all he had was ... dirt. Where could America get what it needed, and fast?
A bright light flashed in his eyes. In front of him was a huge metal contraption. Sleek. Electric lights? Purple? No. Wavering air? What was this? A six-limbed creature stood before him. "You," it said in perfect English. "I am taking you on board for examination. Will you come willingly?"
He noticed the metal contraption wasn't actually touching the ground. It was just hovering there, silently.
"Oh hell yeah."
This was in response to a prompt on reddit.com r/WritingPrompts, "After studying the humans for months, you decide to collect a few to study them more closely. To your suprise, they are very willing to come aboard your ship. Almost TOO willing."