I closed the door between the kitchen and the scullery (a small room for washing dishes). Then I went into the pantry (a small room for food). The pantry was empty. The Martian took all the food on the day before. I felt very sad and hopeless. I did not eat on the eleventh day. I did not eat on the twelfth day.
My mouth and throat were very dry. I became very weak. I sat in the dark scullery. I thought about food all the time. The Martian pit was very quiet. I thought I was deaf. I was too weak to crawl to the peephole (a small hole to look through).
My throat hurt a lot on the twelfth day. I went to the sink and used the water pump. The pump made a loud noise. The water was black and dirty. I drank two glasses of the water. I felt better after I drank. No Martian tentacles (long, thin arms of the Martian) came to find me.
During those days, I thought about the curate (a man who works in a church). I thought about how the curate died. My thoughts were not clear. I felt very confused.
On the thirteenth day, I drank more water. I slept for a short time. I thought about ways to escape. I had bad dreams about the death of the curate. I also dreamed about big dinners. The light in the room changed from grey to red. It looked like the color of blood.
On the fourteenth day, I went into the kitchen. Red fronds (long, thin leaves of a plant) were everywhere. The red weed (a red plant from Mars) grew across the hole in the wall. The kitchen was very dark and red.
It was early on the fifteenth day. I heard a sound in the kitchen. It was the sound of a dog. The dog was scratching and smelling the air. I saw the dog’s nose through the red weed. I was very surprised. The dog smelled me and barked.
I wanted to catch the dog. I thought about killing the dog for food. I also did not want the dog to make noise. The noise might bring the Martians.
I moved forward very slowly. I said "Good dog" very softly. But the dog moved its head away. Then the dog disappeared.
I listened very carefully. The Martian pit was very quiet. I was not deaf. I heard a sound like a bird’s wings. I heard a loud, strange noise from a bird.
I stayed near the peephole for a long time. I was afraid to move the red plants. I heard the dog’s feet on the sand below. I heard more bird sounds. Finally, the area was very silent. I looked out of the hole.
There were many crows (large, black birds) in the pit. The crows were on the ground. They were eating the skeletons (the bones of dead people). The Martians killed those people. Nothing else was alive in the pit.
I looked around the pit. I did not believe my eyes. All the Martian machines were gone. There was some grey powder and some metal. The pit was just a big, empty circle in the sand.
I moved slowly through the red weed. I stood on a pile of broken stones. I looked to the north. I did not see any Martians. The pit was very deep. But I saw a way to climb up. I could escape now. I began to shake.
I waited for a short time. Then I decided to be brave. My heart beat very fast. I climbed to the top of the pile of stones. I was in that hole for a long time.
I looked around again. I looked to the north. There were still no Martians.
Before, this place was a street with nice houses. There were many green trees. Now, I stood on broken bricks and dirt. The red weed was everywhere. The plants looked like a cactus (a plant with sharp points). All the trees near me were dead and brown.
The houses near me were broken. The walls were still there. But the windows were broken. The red weed grew inside the rooms. I saw the crows in the pit. Other birds moved around the ruins. I saw a thin cat on a wall. I did not see any people.
The day was very bright. The sky was a beautiful blue. A soft wind moved the red weed. The air smelled very sweet. I was finally free.