The Artillery Man And The Fighting Machine
Journalist: The hammering from the pit and the pounding of guns grew louder My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house Then I saw it was a young artilleryman, weary, streaked with blood and dirt
Artilleryman: Anyone here?
Journalist: Come in Here – drink this
Artilleryman: Thank you
Journalist: What's happened?
Artilleryman: They wiped us out Hundreds dead – maybe thousands
Journalist: The heat ray?
Artilleryman: The Martians! They were inside the hoods of machines they'd made – massive metal things on legs! Giant machines that walked – they attacked us! They wiped us out!
Journalist: Machines?
Artilleryman: Fighting machines! Picking up men and bashing ‘em against trees Just hunks of metal, but they knew exactly what they were doing
Journalist: Mmm There was another cylinder came last night
Artilleryman: Yes It looked bound for London
Journalist: London! Carrie! I hadn't dreamed there could be danger to Carrie and her father, so many miles away I must go to London at once
Artilleryman: And me Got to report to headquarters – if there's anything left of it
Journalist: At Byfleet we came upon an inn, but it was deserted
Artilleryman: Is everybody dead?
Journalist: Not everybody Look! Six cannons with gunners standing by
Artilleryman: It's bows and arrows against the lightning They haven't seen the heat ray yet
Journalist: We hurried along the road to Weybridge Suddenly, there was a heavy explosion The ground heaved, windows shattered and gusts of smoke erupted into the air
Artilleryman: Look! There they are! What did I tell you?
Journalist: Quickly, one after the other, four of the fighting machines appeared Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over pine trees and smashing them Walking engines of glistening metal Each carried a huge funnel and I realised with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before
A fifth machine appeared on the far bank It raised itself to full height, flourished the funnel high in the air – and the ghostly terrible heat ray struck the town As it struck, all five fighting machines exulted, emitting deafening howls that roared like thunder
Ulla! Ulla!
Journalist: The six guns we had seen now fired simultaneously, decapitating a fighting machine The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the four winds, and the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal, went whirling to destruction As the other monsters advanced, people ran away blindly, the artillery man among them, but I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe Now the guns spoke again, but this time the heat ray sent them to oblivion
Ulla!
Journalist: With a white flash, the heat ray swept across the river Scalded, half-blinded and agonized, I staggered through leaping, hissing water towards the shore, I fell helplessly, in full view of the Martians, expecting nothing but death The foot of a Martian came down close to my head, then lifted again, as the four Martians carried away the debris of their fallen comrade…and I realized that by a miracle I had escaped