I stood on the pile of stones for a long time. I did not think about my safety. Inside the dark hole, I only thought about staying alive. I did not know what was happening to the world. I expected to see the town in ruins. But the land looked strange and scary. It looked like a different planet.
I felt a very strong emotion. It is a feeling that animals know well. I felt like a rabbit. The rabbit returns to its hole, but a worker is digging there to build a house. I began to understand something very clearly. I was no longer the master of the world. I was just an animal among other animals. The Martians were the new masters. Humans had to run and hide now. Our power was gone.
Soon, I only thought about my hunger. I did not eat for many days. I saw a garden behind a red wall. I walked through the red weed (a red plant from Mars). The plant was very thick and tall. Sometimes it reached my neck. I felt safe because I could hide in the plants.
The wall was two meters high. I was too weak to climb it. I walked along the wall to a corner. I found some rocks and climbed over them. I dropped into the garden. I found some small onions and some bulbs (the round parts of a flower that grow under the ground). I also found some small carrots. I took all the food. Then I climbed over another broken wall.
I walked through red trees toward a place called Kew. The trees looked like they were covered in big drops of blood. I had two ideas in my mind. I wanted to find more food. I also wanted to walk far away from the Martian pit.
Later, I found some mushrooms (a type of fungus you can eat) in the grass. I ate them quickly. Then I came to a lot of brown water. The water covered the green fields. I was surprised to see a flood in the dry summer. Later, I understood why the water was there. The red weed grew very fast in the water.
The seeds of the red weed fell into the rivers. The plants grew very large and blocked the water. The water could not flow in the river. So, the water moved onto the land.
At Putney, the bridge was covered by the plants. At Richmond, the river water flowed over the fields. The houses were lost in a red swamp (very wet, soft land). The red weed covered everything. It hid the destruction that the Martians caused.
In the end, the red weed died very quickly. A disease killed the plants. This disease was caused by bacteria (very small living things that can cause disease). Plants from Earth can fight these diseases. They have a natural power to stay healthy. But the red weed could not fight the disease.
The red weed rotted like a dead thing. The leaves became white and dry. They broke very easily when I touched them. The river water carried the dead plants away to the sea.
I was very thirsty when I reached the water. I drank a lot of it. Then I tried to eat some of the red weed. It was very wet and tasted like metal. The water was not deep, so I walked through it. But the water became deeper near the river. I turned back and walked toward the town of Mortlake.
I found the road again. I saw the ruins of houses and street lamps. I walked out of the water and up a hill. Finally, I reached a wide, open area called Putney Common.
The scenery changed here. Some places looked like a cyclone (a very strong, circular wind) hit them. Other places looked very normal. I saw houses with closed doors and windows. They looked like the owners were just away for the day. Or maybe the people were sleeping inside. There was less red weed here.
The tall trees did not have the red plants on them. I looked for food among the trees, but I found nothing. I went into two quiet houses. Other people were already there before me. They took all the food. I was very tired and weak. I rested in some bushes for the rest of the day.
I did not see any people. I did not see any Martians. I saw two hungry dogs, but they ran away from me. I found two human skeletons (the bones of a dead body). The bones were very clean. I also found the bones of cats and rabbits in the woods. I even found the head of a sheep. I tried to eat the bones, but there was no food on them.
The sun went down. I walked along the road toward Putney. The Martians used the Heat-Ray (a beam of fire) there. In a garden, I found some small potatoes. I ate them to stop my hunger.
I looked down at the town of Putney and the river. The place looked very sad in the dark. I saw black trees and ruined houses. The river water was red because of the weed. Everything was silent. I was very afraid. I thought about how fast the world changed.
For a short time, I believed that all humans were dead. I thought I was the last man alive on Earth. Near the top of a hill, I found another skeleton. Its arms were far away from its body. I was sure that the Martians killed everyone in this part of the world.
I thought the Martians were gone. Maybe they were looking for food in other places. Perhaps they were destroying the cities of Paris or Berlin. Or maybe they went to the north of the country.