chapter-1

Chapter 1 In the last years of the nineteenth century,

no one believed that this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than ours,

or that as we went about our days, we were being studied almost as carefully as a scientist with a

microscope studies the little creatures in a drop of water. With endless confidence,

we went back and forth around the world, doing our little tasks, believing that we had power

over everything. Perhaps the little creatures under the microscope believed the same.

No one gave a thought to other planets of space as possible threats to us.

We were very ignorant at the time. At most, we believed there might be other living things on

Mars, perhaps less developed than us, and ready to welcome visitors. However, across the emptiness

of space, minds that were more intelligent and more evil than ours watched this Earth with greedy eyes,

and slowly and surely made plans against us. And early in the twentieth century came the great

shock. The planet Mars revolves around the Sun at an average distance of 225 ,000 kilometers,

and it receives from the Sun half of the light and heat received by the Earth.

If the nebula hypothesis is true, it must be older than our world. Life on it must have begun

long before the Earth cooled down. Because it is one -seventh of the size of the Earth,

it must have cooled down faster so that life could begin earlier. It has air and water and all

that is necessary for the support of living things. However, we humans are so blind that no

writer until the end of the nineteenth century suggested that far more intelligent life might

have developed on Mars. Also, no one really understood that because Mars is older and smaller than our

Earth and further from the Sun, it is further from times beginning and nearer its end. In the

same way as our Earth is cooling down, Mars is getting colder and colder too. Its physical

condition is still largely unknown. But now we know that even in its warmest parts,

the midday temperature is lower than that of our coldest winter. Its air is much thinner than ours.

Its oceans are so small that they cover only a third of its surface. And as the ice melts in the

north and south poles, it floods the mild areas. Having to deal with all these problems has led

its inhabitants to become more intelligent, more powerful and more heartless.

And looking across space with tools and intelligences that we could not dream of,

they see that there is a star of hope at a distance of only 56 ,000 kilometers, our own warmer planet,

with its green lands and grey waters. And we, the humans on this Earth, must seem to them as

underdeveloped as monkeys are to us. Their world is ruined, but this world is still full of life.

To fight us is their only escape from their destruction. And before we judge them,

we must remember how cruelly we have treated not only other species, but also other people on

this planet. We have no right to complain if the Martians treated us in the same way.

It seems that the Martians planned their arrival very carefully, their mathematical

knowledge is far ahead of ours. If we had had more developed instruments back in the 19th century,

we might have seen the approaching trouble. In 1894, a great light was seen on the planet

by astronomers at the Lick Observatory in California and the Nice Observatory in France.

I believe that this was a fire built for making the big gun that the Martians later used to fire

shots at us. The attack came six years ago. Towards midnight of 12th August, an astronomer

noticed a huge cloud of flaming gas, mainly hydrogen, moving with an enormous speed towards

this Earth. It had become invisible about a quarter past 12. The next day there was no

report of this in the newspapers, except a little note in the daily telegraph.

The world was ignorant of one of the greatest dangers that ever threatened humanity.

I might not have heard of it if I had not met Ogilvy, the well -known astronomer.

He was very excited at the news and invited me to the observatory to watch the Red Planet with him.

I still remember that night very clearly. Looking through the telescope,

I saw a circle of deep blue and the little round planet in the middle. It looked so small, so bright

and still. It was 65 million kilometers away from us. Because it was so small and so far away,

I did not see the thing they were sending us, flying towards us across that distance,

coming nearer every minute, the thing that was going to bring war, disaster, and death to the Earth.

I never dreamed of it as I watched that day. No one on Earth dreamed of it.

That night there was another cloud of flaming gas as another invisible missile was sent from Mars,

just under twenty -four hours after the first one. I saw it. I remember sitting there in the

blackness, not thinking about the meaning of the tiny light I had seen and all that it would soon

bring me. I told Ogilvy about it, and he took my place. I went to stretch my legs and get some water.

Ogilvy watched till one o 'clock, and then we lit the lamp and walked over to his house.

Ogilvy told me several theories about Mars that night, and he laughed at the idea that its inhabitants

were signaling us. He said it was a heavy meteorite shower, or a huge volcanic explosion.

He did not believe that there was life on the planet. Hundreds of observers saw the flame that

night, and the following night, and again the night after that. For ten nights, a flame was

observed every night. No one could explain why the shots stopped after the tenth night.

It may be because the gases of the firing caused problems for the Martians. Even the daily newspapers

realized the seriousness of the events at last. But no one could guess that the Martians were

sending missiles, flying at a speed of many kilometers a second through the emptiness of space.

When I look back at that time, I think it is wonderful the way we continued our day -to -day life,

I went for a walk with my wife and pointed out Mars to her. The night was warm.

Walking back home, we saw a group of people singing and playing music. There were lights in the upper

windows of the houses as people went to bed. From the railway station in the distance came the

sound of trains. The world seemed so safe and peaceful. Several nights later, the first falling

star was seen going eastward. Hundreds must have seen it and thought it was an ordinary meteor.

Albin wrote that it had a greenish glowing tail.

Denning, our greatest expert on meteorites, said that the height of its first appearance

was about 150 kilometers. He thought that it fell to earth about 100 kilometers east of him.

I was at home writing in my study at the time. Although my windows faced eastward and my blind

was up, I did not see it. Some of those who saw it say it traveled with a hissing sound.

I did not hear it. Many people in Berkshire, Surrey, and Middlesex must have seen it fall

and must have thought that it was just another meteorite. No one went looking for the fallen star

that night. But poor Ogilvy had seen it and thinking that it was a meteorite,

he got up very early in the morning and decided to find it. And he did find it soon after dawn

on the common between Horssell, Ottershoe, and Joaquin. An enormous hole had been made by the

crash, and there was sand and gravel thrown violently in every direction over the land,

visible two kilometers away. The bushes to the east were on fire, and a thin blue smoke rose.

The thing lay almost completely buried in sand. The uncovered part looked like a huge

cylinder with a diameter of about 30 meters. It was covered in a thick grey layer of burnt skin.

Ogilvy approached it, surprised not only at its size but also at its shape,

because most meteorites are round. It was still very hot, so he could not get closer.

He heard movement from inside and thought that it was the sound of it cooling down.

Ogilvy stood at the edge of the pit, staring at the strange thing, amazed at its unusual shape and

colour. The early morning was quiet, and the sun was just coming up. He was all alone.

Then suddenly he noticed that some of the grey burnt skin was falling off the round edge of the

end. It was dropping off in patches and raining down on the sand. Suddenly a large piece came off

and fell with a sharp noise that brought his heart to his mouth. He did not understand what was happening.

Although the heat was extreme, he climbed down into the pit to see the cylinder more clearly.

And slowly he realized that the round top of the cylinder was turning.

It was moving very slowly. He only realized it because he noticed that a black mark that was near

him five minutes ago was now at the other side of the cylinder's top. He still did not understand

what was going on. Then he heard another sound and saw the black mark move forward a little.

He finally understood. The cylinder was hollow with an end that screwed out.

Something inside the cylinder was unscrewing the top.

Good heavens, said Ogilvy. There's a man in it, men in it, half burnt to death, trying to escape.

Thinking quickly, he connected the thing with the flash on Mars. The thought of the creature inside

was so terrible to him that he forgot the heat and went forwards to the cylinder to help.

But luckily, the heat stopped him before he could burn his hands on the metal. He was uncertain for

a moment, then turned, climbed out of the pit and set off running wildly back to woking.

It was around six o 'clock. He met a waggoner and tried to make him understand, but his story and his

appearance was so wild that the man simply drove on. Then he ran into an innkeeper who thought

he was a man escaping the hospital. Then he saw Henderson, the London journalist, in his garden.

Henderson, he said. Did you see that shooting star last night?

Well, said Henderson. It's out on Horsell Common now.

Fallen meteorite, said Henderson. That's good.

But it's something more than a meteorite. It's a cylinder, and there's something inside.

What did you say? Said Henderson.

He was deaf in one ear. Ogilvy told him all that he had seen.

Henderson dropped his spade, picked up his jacket and came out into the road.

The two men hurried back to the common and found the cylinder still lying in the same position,

but now the sounds inside had stopped and a thin circle of bright metal showed between the top

and the body of the cylinder. They listened, knocked on the burnt metal with a stick and

concluded the man or men inside must be dead. Of course, they were not able to do anything.

They went back to the town to get help. Henderson went into the railway station to

telegraph the news to London. By eight o 'clock, several boys and unemployed men had already

gone to the common to see the dead men from Mars. I heard of it first from my newspaper boy

about a quarter to nine when I went out to get my daily chronicle. I went to the common immediately.

I found a little crowd of people surrounding the huge hole in which the cylinder lay.

Henderson and Ogilvy were not there. I think they thought that nothing could be done yet,

and had gone away to have breakfast at Henderson's house.

There were four or five boys sitting on the edge of the pit, throwing stones at the cylinder.

I told them to stop. There were some other bystanders, two cyclists, a gardener,

a girl carrying a baby, the butcher and his son, and two or three others. Most of them

were staring quietly at the cylinder. Some went away while I was there and other people came.

Then I climbed into the pit and thought I heard a faint movement under my feet.

The top had stopped turning. When I got close to the object, I realized how strange it was.

At first glance it looked like any ordinary object. One needed scientific education to

see that the gray skin on the thing was not common oxide and that the metal had a strange yellow

white color. It was now quite clear in my mind that the thing had come from the planet Mars.

I wanted to see it opened. At 11, as nothing seemed to be happening,

I walked back to my home in Mayberry. In the afternoon the appearance of the common changed very

much. The early editions of the evening papers had shocked London with enormous headlines like

a message received from Mars, amazing story from Woking. There was a large crowd of people

standing in the road by the pit. Many had come by carriage or bicycle, and others had walked

in spite of the heat from Woking and Chirtsy. Going to the edge of the pit, I found a group of

about half a dozen men, Henderson, Ogilvy, and a tall fair -haired man that I afterwards learned

was Stent, the astronomer royal. With several workmen holding spaders, Stent was giving directions.

He was standing on the cylinder, which was now much cooler. His face was red and sweaty,

and something seemed to have made him angry. A large part of the cylinder had been uncovered,

although its lower end was still buried. As soon as Ogilvy saw me, he called to me to come down

and asked me if I would go to see Lord Hilton, the owner of the land. He said that the growing

crowd was becoming a serious problem, especially the boys. They wanted a fence put up to keep them

back. He told me that a faint movement was still heard within the cylinder, but that the workmen

had failed to unscrew the top. I did not find Lord Hilton at his house, but I was told he was

five, so I went home, had some tea, and walked up to the station to meet him.

When I returned to the common, the sun was setting. Groups of people were hurrying from the direction

of woking. The crowd around the pit had increased. A couple of hundred people, perhaps. There were

raised voices, and there was some sort of struggle around the pit. As I came nearer, I heard Stent's

voice. Keep back, keep back. A boy came running towards me. It's moving, he said to me as he passed.

Unscrewing, I don't like it. I'm going home. I went into the crowd. There were two or three

hundred people pushing one another. He's fallen in the pit, cried someone.

Keep back, said someone else. I pushed my way through. Everyone seemed greatly excited.

I heard a strange humming sound from the pit.

Keep these fools back, said Ogilvy. We don't know what's in the thing.

I saw a young man standing on the cylinder, trying to climb out of the pit. The crowd had

pushed him in. The end of the cylinder was being screwed out from the inside.

Nearly fifty centimetres of shining screw came out. Somebody pushed against me, and I almost

fell onto the top of the screw. I turned, and as I did so, the screw must have come out because

the lid of the cylinder fell out with a ringing sound. I turned my head towards the thing. I had

the sunset in my eyes, and for a moment that round hole seemed black. I think everyone thought a man

would appear. Possibly something a little unlike us, but basically a man. I know I did.

But looking, I saw something grey moving in the shadow, and then two shiny discs, like eyes.

Then something that looked like a little grey snake, about as thick as a walking stick,

came out of the middle and moved in the air towards me. And then another.

A sudden terror came over me. There was a loud scream from a woman behind. I half turned,

keeping my eyes on the cylinder. Other tentacles were now coming out from it.

I began pushing my way back from the side of the pit. On the faces of the people around me,

I saw shock turn into horror. There was a general movement backwards. I saw the young man still

trying to climb out of the pit. I found myself alone and saw the people on the other side of the

pit running away. I looked at the cylinder and felt uncontrollable terror.

A big, greyish, round creature, the size of a bear was rising slowly out of the cylinder.

As it came up and caught the light, it shone like wet leather.

Two large, dark -colored eyes were looking at me. The head of the thing was round and had

something like a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, shaky and wet. The whole creature was breathing

heavily. A thin tentacle held onto the cylinder, another waved in the air. The Martian had a

horrifying appearance. The strange, V -shaped mouth with its pointed upper lip that was shaking.

The snake -like tentacles, the breathing of the lungs, the slow and heavy movement,

the oily brown skin, and above all, the enormous eyes were inhuman and monstrous.

I felt hatred and fear. Suddenly the monster disappeared. It had fallen over the edge of the

cylinder and into the pit. I heard it give a strange cry, and another of these creatures

appeared in the deep shadow of the cylinder. I turned and ran madly towards the trees a hundred

meters away. I fell a few times because I could not take my eyes off the creatures.

The common was now full of people, standing in fascination and terror, staring at the creatures.

And then I saw something moving up and down on the edge of the pit. It was the young man who had

fallen in, looking like a little black object against the hot sun. Suddenly he disappeared,

and I heard a faint scream. I had an urge to go back and help him, but my fear was stronger.

I stood there, staring at the pit. I was unable to move.

Fear and curiosity were fighting inside me. I could not go back towards the pit,

but I felt a strong urge to look into it. Most of the people had gathered in groups.

One man approached. He was a neighbor of mine.

What ugly monsters, he said. What ugly monsters.

Did you see a man in the pit? I asked. He did not answer. We became silent and stood watching.

The sunset turned to darkness before anything else happened. The crowd seemed to grow and this

seemed to give people confidence, and a slight movement began on the common. Black figures in

twos and threes moved forward, stopped, watched, and moved towards the pit.

And then, within 30 metres of the pit, coming from the direction of Horssell,

I noticed a little black group of men. The one at the front was waving a white flag.

This was the committee. There had been a quick discussion, and since the Martians were clearly

too far from me to see their faces. But afterwards I learned that Ogilvy, Stent, and Henderson

were among them in this attempt at communicating with the Martians. As the little black group

moved towards the pit, some people followed it. Suddenly there was a flash of light,

and some bright greenish smoke came out of the pit three times, going up and straight into the

still air, one after the other. This smoke, or flame perhaps, would be the better word for it,

was so bright that the deep blue sky and the brown common seemed to darken as these green clouds

went up. At the same time, a faint hissing sound was heard. The little group of people with the

white flag stopped. Slowly the hissing turned into a long, loud humming noise, and a dark shape rose

out of the pit, and a beam of light seemed to flash out from it. Then flashes of bright green

flame came from the men. It was as if some invisible ray was used on them, and each man was suddenly

turned into fire. As the men fell one by one, the people following them turned to run.

I stood staring, not realizing that this was death jumping from man to man in that little crowd.

It was something very strange, an almost noiseless, blinding flash of light,

and each man fell and lay still, and as the unseen ray of heat passed over them,

the trees and the bushes burst into fire. And far away towards Knapil, I saw the flashes of

trees, bushes, and wooden buildings suddenly set on fire. This flaming death, this invisible

sort of heat, was sweeping round quickly and steadily. I saw it coming towards me,

but I was too shocked to move. It was as if an invisible fiery finger moved over the bushes

between me and the Martians. Then the humming stopped, and the black object slowly went back

into the pit. All this had happened so quickly that I stood frozen. If that death had made a full

circle it would have killed me, but it passed me and suddenly left the night dark and strange.

The common was now dark and empty. Overhead, the stars were appearing, and in the west,

the sky was still a pale, bright, almost greenish blue. The tops of the trees and the roofs of

Horsell came out sharp and black against the western sky. Some bushes and trees here and there

smoked still, and the houses towards Woking Station were sending up flame into the stillness

of the evening air. I realized that I was in this dark, common, helpless, unprotected,

and alone. Suddenly I was filled with fear. With an effort I turned and began running through

the bushes. The fear I felt was panic, terror not only of the Martians but also of the dark and

stillness around me. I ran crying silently like a child. I ran without looking back.

That night nearly forty people were killed on the common. The news had probably reached

Chobham Woking and Dottashore at about the same time. In Woking the shops had closed,

and some people had started walking over the Horsell Bridge towards the common.

There were now three hundred people gathered there. Three policemen on horseback were doing

their best to keep the people back and stop them from approaching the cylinder.

Poor Henderson had sent a messenger on a bicycle to the post office to telegraph the evening paper,

and Stent and Ogilvy had telegraphed the army to send soldiers against any possible violence

from the Martians. After that, they had come back to the pit to face their death. The people near the

pit were saved from the ray of heat by a small hill of sand. They saw the green flashes and the

men falling as the bushes caught fire. Then, with a whistling noise, the flash of light

swung over their heads, burning the tops of the trees, smashing windows and destroying a house.

The burning branches and leaves fell into the road. Hats and dresses caught fire.

Then people started screaming and shouting.

They're coming, a woman screamed. Everyone was turning and pushing at those behind in

order to make their way back to Woking. At least three people died there.

I ran to the road until I reached the crossroads. I could go no further because I was too exhausted.

I was near the bridge by the gasworks. I fell and lay still.

After some time, I sat up, confused. For a moment, I could not clearly understand how I'd come there.

My terror had disappeared. A few minutes before there had only been three things on my mind.

The power of the night and space and nature, my own weakness and pain and the nearness of death.

Now something had changed. I was my normal self. An ordinary citizen. The common, my escape.

And the flames belonged in a dream. Had these things really happened?

I could not believe it. I got up and walked up the steep slope to the bridge.

My mind was blank and my body had lost its strength. A workman carrying a basket appeared.

Beside him ran a little boy. He passed me, wishing me good night.

I thought about speaking to him but did not. I answered his greeting and went on over the bridge.

Over the Mayberry Arch, a train went south, leaving a white firelit cloud of smoke.

Two men and a woman were talking at the gate of one of the houses. It was all so normal.

Any news from the common? I asked. A said one of the men turning.

Any news from the common? I repeated. Haven't you just been there? Ask the men.

People seem quite crazy about the common, said the woman. What's that all about?

Haven't you heard of the men from Mars? I asked. The creatures from Mars.

We've heard quite enough, said the woman. Thanks. And all three of them laughed.

I felt foolish and angry. I could not tell them what I'd seen. They laughed again at my broken

sentences. You'll hear more soon, I said, and went on to my home.

When my wife saw me at the doorway, she was shocked at the way I looked.

I went into the dining room, sat down, and told her the things I had seen.

There is one thing, I said, to calm her down. They are the slowest things I have ever seen.

They may stay in the pit and kill people who come near them, but they cannot get out of it.

But they are so horrible.

Don't, dear, said my wife, putting her hand on mine.

Porugilvi, I said. He may be lying did there.

At least my wife believed me. When I saw how white her face was, I stopped talking.

I began to comfort her and myself by repeating all that Ogilvi had told me

about the impossibility of the Martians attacking the earth.

On the surface of the earth, the force of gravity is three times as great as on the

surface of Mars. A Martian, therefore, would weigh three times more than on Mars,

although his strength would be the same. That was the general opinion.

Both the times and the daily telegraph wrote about it the next morning, but both forgot,

just as I did, two obvious facts.

First, the atmosphere of the earth, we now know, contains far more oxygen than the atmosphere of Mars.

The extra oxygen gave the Martians much more strength.

And second, the Martians had so much mechanical intelligence that they did not really need bodily

strength. But I did not think about these points at the time, so I believed that the Martians did

not have a chance. As I had dinner at my own table and talked with my wife, I became

braver and braver. I remember that dinner table very clearly even now.

My dear wife's sweet, anxious face looking at me from under the pink lampshade and the white cloth

with the silverware and glasses. I did not know it, but that was the last proper dinner I would

have for many strange and terrible days. To me the most extraordinary thing that Friday was,

that life went on as normal for almost everyone. If you had drawn a circle with a radius of

ten kilometers around the common, you would not have found one human being outside it who was

affected by the events of the day. Many people had heard of the cylinder, of course, and talked

about it, but it did not make big news. Even in woking, a lot of people were not affected.

People were having dinner, men were gardening, children were being put to bed, young people were

taking walks and students were studying. Maybe there was some talk in the village streets,

a new topic in the restaurants, some excitement caused by an eyewitness. But for the most part,

the daily routine of working, eating, drinking and sleeping went on as it had done for years.

In the common, people came and went. One or two adventurous people went into the darkness

and moved quite near the Martians, but they never returned.

Now and again a light ray swept the common and the heat ray followed.

All night long, the sound of hammering was heard. The Martians were working on the machines they

were building about eleven, a company of soldiers came through Horssell and formed a circle around

the common. Several officers had been on the common earlier in the day, and one was reported

missing. A senior officer came to the Chopin Bridge and was busy questioning the crowd at midnight.

The army was certainly aware of the seriousness of the problem. A few seconds after midnight,

the crowd in the Churtsi Road woking saw a star fall from the sky into the woods to the northwest.

This was the second cylinder.

I remember Saturday as a day of uncertainty. It was a very hot and stuffy day. I had slept

little and got up early. I went into my garden before breakfast and stood listening, but towards

the common there was nothing moving. The milkman came as usual. I asked him the latest news,

and he told me that during the night the Martians had been surrounded by the soldiers.

We mustn't kill them, said the milkman, if we can avoid it.

I saw my neighbour gardening and chatted with him for some time. He believed that the soldiers

would be able to catch or destroy the Martians during the day. It's sad they are so unfriendly,

he said. It would be interesting to know how they live on another planet. We might learn a thing or two.

After breakfast, instead of working, I decided to walk down towards the common.

Under the railway bridge, I found a group of soldiers. They told me no one was allowed over

the bridge. I told them I had seen the Martians on the previous evening. None of them had seen any,

so they asked me many questions. I described the heat -ray to them, and they began to argue among

themselves. I left them, and went to the railway station to get as many morning papers as I could.

They had incorrect descriptions of the killing of Stent, Henderson, Ogilvy, and the others.

I did not get a chance to see the common, because the area was controlled by the army. The soldiers

had made the people on the outskirts of Horssell leave their houses. I got back home for lunch

about two. Very tired, because, as I have said, the day was very hot. I took a cold bath in the

afternoon. About half past four, I went up to the railway station to get an evening paper,

but I did not learn much. The Martians did not show themselves. They were busy in the pit,

and there was a sound of hammering and smoke coming out continuously. New attempts have been

made to communicate, but without success. Wrote the papers. A soldier told me this was done by

a man with a flag on a long pole. The Martians paid as much attention as we would to a cow.

About three o 'clock. The sound of gunfire began from Chirtsy or Adelstone. I learned that the

army was shooting the wood where the second cylinder had fallen. At five, a field gun arrived for use

against the first cylinder. About six in the evening. As I sat at tea with my wife in the

summer house, I heard an explosion from the common, followed by the sound of gunfire.

Then came a violent crash, quite close to us, that shook the ground. I ran outside and saw the

tops of the trees around the Oriental College, burst into smoky red flame, and the tower of the

little church beside it full. The roof of the college was destroyed. One of our chimneys cracked,

and broken pieces of brick fell onto the flower bed by my study window.

My wife and I stood shocked. I realized that the Martians had cleared the college out of the way,

so they could hit Mayberry Hill next. Realizing that, I took my wife's arm and pulled her out

into the road. I went back to the house and found the servant.

We can't stay here, I said, as I spoke, the firing on the common started again.

But where can we go? said my wife in terror. I thought, confused. Then I remembered her cousins

at Leatherhead. Leatherhead, I shouted above the sudden noise. She looked away from me down hill.

People were coming out of their houses.

How are we to get to Leatherhead? She said.

Down the hill, I saw a group of soldiers on horseback hurrying under the railway bridge.

Three of them went through the open gates of the Oriental College. Two got off their horses and

started running from house to house. The sun, shining through the smoke on the tops of the trees,

seemed blood red.

Wait here, I said to my wife. You are safe here.

I ran towards the inn because I knew the innkeeper had a horse and cart. I found him there,

quite unaware of what was going on. I explained quickly that I had to leave my home and needed

to borrow his cart. I paid him two pounds and promised to bring the cart back by midnight.

At the time I did not think that he should also leave his house. I drove the cart down the road

and leaving it with my wife and servant, ran into my house and packed a few valuables.

The trees below the house were burning while I did this.

As I came out of my front door, I saw a soldier running past. He was going from house to house,

warning people to leave. I shouted after him, what news? He turned and shouted something about,

appearing from a thing like a dish cover and ran on to the gate of the next house.

I went in again to get my servants box, carried it out, placed it beside her on the cart,

and then jumped up into the driver's seat beside my wife. In another moment we were clear of the smoke

and noise, moving down the opposite side of Mayberry Hill. At the bottom of the hill,

I turned around to look back. Thick black smoke and red fire were going up into the air.

Through the hot, quiet air, we could hear the faint sound of a machine gun.

The Martians were setting fire to everything.