The Artilleryman and the Fighting Machine

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

Anyone here?

Come in. Here, drink this

Thank you

What's happened?

They wiped us out. Hundreds dead, maybe thousands

The Heat Ray?

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!

Machines?

Fighting Machines! Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees. Just hunks of metal

But they knew exactly what they were doing

There was another cylinder came last night

Yes. It looked bound for London

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

And me. Got to report to Headquarters, if there's anything left of it

At Byfleet we came upon an Inn, but it was deserted

Is everybody dead?

Not everybody. Look!

Six cannons with gunners standing by

Bows and arrows against the lightning

They haven't seen the heat ray yet

We hurried along the road to Weybridge

Suddenly, there was a heavy explosion

The ground heaved, windows shattered, gusts of smoke erupted into the air

Look! There they are! What did I tell you?

Quickly, one after the other, four of the Fighting Machines appeared

Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over the pine trees and smashing them

Walking engines of glittering metal

Each carried a huge funnel and I realized 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 which roared like thunder

Ulla! Ulla!

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 Artilleryman 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!

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 sight of the Martians, expecting nothing but death

The foot of a Fighting Machine 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

Ulla! Ulla!

Ulla! Ulla!

Ulla!