In the last chapters, I told the story of my brother. Now, I will tell my own story again. The Curate (a man who works in a church) and I were in an empty house in Halliford. We were hiding from the Black Smoke (the dangerous black gas from the Martians). We stayed there all Sunday and all Monday. We could only wait.
I was very worried about my wife. She was in Leatherhead. I thought she was afraid and in danger. I walked around the rooms and cried. I wanted to see her. My cousin was with her, but he did not always see danger quickly. I hoped the Martians were far away from her.
The Curate made me angry. He cried a lot and only thought about himself. I went to a different room to be alone. I went to a room with books for children. Later, I went to a small room at the top of the house. I locked the door so I could be alone with my sadness.
The Black Smoke was everywhere. On Sunday night, we saw lights in the house next door. But we did not see the people. On Monday, the smoke moved toward the river. Around midday, a Martian came near the house.
The Martian used a jet of hot steam to wash away the smoke. The steam was very hot and it broke the windows. The hot steam burned the hand of the Curate. Later, we looked out of the window. The ground was black like a black snowstorm. We saw a strange red color near the river.
The Black Smoke was gone now. We could leave the house. I wanted to move, but the Curate was slow. He wanted to stay in the house because he was afraid. I decided to leave the Curate. I looked for food and water.
I found some oil and cloth for my burns. I also found a clean shirt and a hat. When the Curate saw that I was leaving, he decided to come with me. We started our journey at five o’clock in the afternoon. We walked along the black road to Sunbury.
The road was black with dust. We saw many dead bodies of men and horses. The black dust covered everything. It looked like the stories of the old city of Pompeii (an Italian city that was buried by a volcano). We reached Hampton Court and saw some green grass.
We saw some deer in the park and a few people. These were the first people we saw. The trees across the road were on fire. The town of Twickenham was not destroyed. We saw more people there. They were also trying to find a safe place.
We saw three broken bicycles on the road. At eight o’clock, we crossed Richmond Bridge. I saw red things floating in the river. I did not know what they were. I was very afraid of them. On the other side of the river, there was more black dust.
We saw three people running toward the river. The town of Richmond was on fire. We hurried toward Kew. Suddenly, we saw a Martian fighting-machine. It was very close to the houses. We were very afraid.
We did not want the Martian to see us. We ran into a garden and hid in a small shed. The Curate sat on the floor and cried. The Curate did not want to move again. But I wanted to reach my wife, so I went out again.
The Curate followed me. We saw a Martian in a field. Four or five people were running away. The Martian was very fast. It did not kill the people with the Heat-Ray. It picked up the people with its metal hands.
The Martian put the people into a large metal basket on its back. I was very shocked. The Martians were catching humans. We ran into a garden and hid in a ditch (a long, narrow hole in the ground). We stayed there until the stars came out.
At eleven o’clock, we started to walk again. We did not use the roads. We stayed near the trees and bushes. We saw more dead bodies and broken guns on the ground. We reached the town of Sheen. It was very quiet.
The Curate was very hungry and thirsty. We decided to enter a house to find food. We entered a small house. I found some old cheese and some water. I also found a hatchet (a small tool for cutting wood).
Then we went to a big white house with a wall. In the kitchen, we found bread, a steak, and a ham. There were also beans and some bottles of wine. We sat in the dark kitchen. We ate the bread and ham and drank some beer.
The Curate wanted to leave, but I wanted to eat. Suddenly, there was a very bright green light. Then there was a loud noise and a big explosion. The glass broke and the ceiling fell on us. A piece of the house hit my head.
I fell to the floor and I was unconscious. I woke up a long time later. It was dark. My head hurt. The Curate was putting water on my face. The Curate told me to be quiet.
The Curate said the Martians were outside. The floor was covered with broken plates. We sat very still and listened. We heard a metallic noise outside the house. We stayed there for three or four hours.
When the sun came up, light came through a hole in the wall. The house was destroyed. Dirt and mud covered the kitchen table. We looked through the hole in the wall. We saw a Martian outside.
Then I understood everything. The fifth Martian cylinder (a large metal object from space) hit this house. We were buried under the house. The Martians were right outside our door. We were now prisoners.
The Curate began to cry quietly. We stayed very still in the dark room. I watched the kitchen door. Outside, we heard the sounds of machines. The ground moved and the house shook.
We stayed there for many hours. I was very tired and I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was very hungry. I told the Curate that I wanted food. I walked toward the kitchen. The Curate followed me.