by Jerry
The Professor was not a man to bite off more than he could chew—and he had laid out an circular area a thousand miles in diameter as the scene of our first attempts to save those miserable survivors who were left struggling about us, sinking further every day into barbarism.
It was my good fortune to be among those who drew lots deciding that they were to be flyers in the expedition. Two voyagers were to fly in each plane—to relieve each other at the controls—to provide an observer during flight—and a machine gun operator and bomb thrower, if necessary.
Each of us received simple, concise instructions. We were to cover a triangular sector of the circle allotted to us; searching carefully for the habitations of men. We were also to keep an open eye for any stores that might prove valuable—such as tanks of gasoline, warehouses, arsenals, etc. We had large maps of the country round about and a definite sector marked the field of our operations. Crosses in red ink, and other symbols, marked the locations of arsenals, hardware, ammunition, arms, and other kinds of stores and warehouses which had once been in the locations indicated, and which might possibly still contain munitions which were of value.
We loaded many days’ food supply for, although the journey on which we were starting was a short one for our plane, yet the way was fraught with danger and we knew not what awaited us before we returned. We mounted machine guns, packed rifles and bombs—for, although as yet we had found them of little avail against our great enemies, we yet hoped that by a lucky fluke, they might save lives. Furthermore, we were not sure of a friendly reception from those to whom we were travelling; and we meant to teach them, if necessary, that the men of our settlement were not to be trifled with. To this end also, we took gas bombs and, when our eyes alighted upon the first of those to whom we had been sent, were glad of our equipment; for they were a hard and sorry-looking lot.
I should like to describe all the voyages that were made by the intrepid souls who went on that first crusade into the wild places of the North American Continent. Women as well as men played their parts—for the challenging conditions of that time had broken down the age-old superstitions of woman’s unfitness for the high adventures of life.
Adventure With Nana
THE telling of all those tales would be but secondhand, however; and so I will tell you of the one I know, the one on which I was fortunate enough to go.
It so happened, and I suspect that the Professor had more than a little to do with it, that the charming and lovely Nana was assigned to the machine with me. It often happened that men and women who loved or were friends, worked together in those days. We—who had seen the manners and customs of a civilization crumble in less than a year—we, under the leadership of the Professor, had worked out a new and saner relationship between men and women. In our new way of life, woman was man’s full equal—no longer bound and restricted by idiotic laws and customs.
To go upon this expedition was thrilling enough—but to be accompanied by Nana—that was heaven itself. As I contemplated the adventures before me and my beloved, I thought, perhaps absurdly, of Gareth with Lynette, and of all the other Arthurian heroes who had sought high adventure and good deeds, in company with the damsels of their hearts.
The day of our departure arrived. About the great level area beyond our western wall was stationed our fleet of tanks and armored cars—fifty in all—in which we went forth to hunt and kill the giant land-abiding monsters. They had been sent to their present positions to protect the aviators as they went to their planes.
We had used these tanks to such good advantage, that the country round about us was nearly freed of the curse of giant crawlers which burdened the rest of the world. But the insolent winged insects, those horrible dragons of the air, had as yet little to fear from us. They came and went as they would; and only our strong walls and steel-barred roof kept us safe from their lust for blood. Some indeed were brought down by shrapnel and anti-aircraft guns; but the success of this kind of attack was small and, in the end, of little avail against the myriads of wasps, beetles, dragon-flies, flying ants, and other winged horrors, whose very names we did not know.
Hasty good-byes were said within our safe enclosures, and then we hurried swiftly to our planes and, one by one, rose up and winged our separate ways to the destinations allotted us. No firing from the tanks or the wall batteries was necessary; perhaps the great noise occasioned by the assembled fleet of tanks made the insects cautious. At any rate, for some reason our flight from the city started auspiciously, without a disheartening attack from the monsters who ruled the sky.
As we rose heavenward, I gave one glance behind, and saw man’s only citadel in the world, growing smaller and smaller. A wave of nostalgia swept over me, and a feeling of awe gripped me as I became acutely aware that security and peace lay behind—and that uncertainty and perhaps death lay before. Nana and I were sailing over a world that had been swept nearly clean of human life by pitiless forces; how could we, by any chance, stand to win?
Then I heard the steady beat and swing of my motor—and the throbbing voice of my machine seemed to say, “Win, of course we will! Beings who could make me are bound to win. And there shall be greater than I who will one day sweep the dragons of the sky before them in utter defeat! By my very aid now, you and the woman you have chosen are sailing over the earth at the rate of over three hundred miles an hour. In any other age, you would have been helpless. But men have given me life. And I, in turn, will give them life.” How I loved these planes, and particularly this, my own! It was as friendly and as knowing as a good dog, and a thousand times more helpful.
Although the danger of doing so was very great—it was best to fly as low as possible, lest we miss some village or squatting-place of mankind, or fail to see some important store of supplies. Giant moths, with a wing spread far greater than any plane of ours, fluttered below us and about us. In the fields below we saw great caterpillars, over one hundred feet long and ten feet wide, humping along over the uneven ground. We saw one of them attacked by a giant creature half as long, but armored, and equipped with horrible jaws. The caterpillar pulled and writhed, knocking down great trees in its struggles to get away. But its adversary hung grimly on, gripping and biting until the scene of the struggle was covered with green and yellow slimy matter as the life of the great caterpillar oozed out. Centipedes of gigantic size ran with incredible speed over the earth; and on that trip I saw one fully one hundred and fifty feet in length—an incredibly horrible monster! I wondered fleetingly what bloody battles had been fought between lions, tigers, elephants and other great mammals, and these monsters, in the tropic jungles. There could have been but one outcome to such struggles—for these horrors were armored and armed like battleships.
In some places the roads seemed good beneath us, but for the most part they had fallen badly into disrepair. Floods had washed them away, bridges were fallen down, and great trees, abandoned vehicles and other wreckage blocked the way. The railroads seemed to be in better shape, although we were not dose enough to make a detailed inspection. Once we passed a long train of cars stopped at a wayside station, for all the world as if about to take on passengers. Out of curiosity, I circled about it—and rose quickly as the snout of a great hunting wasp was pushed through the door of the rear car.
Survivors
NEAR this spot we came upon a good-sized town; this we explored but found no men there. Something else, however we found. As we stood in the street, a hideous form came hurtling from a dark old ruinous house that faced the road. Whether it was a spider, a scorpion or a giant ant, we shall never know; for as it rushed toward us, both Nana and I hurled high explosive-bombs into its slavering jaws and ran as if pursued by worse than a thousand devils—as indeed we were. With shaking hands, I twisted the propeller and, with equally shaking hands, Nana worked the controls. In a moment two badly-scared mortals were sailing over the town which nearly had claimed them as permanent inhabitants. It was appalling to think of what would have occurred, ha
d our bombs not blown our attacker to pieces.
We flew on in silence for a long while my nervous eye raked the heavens for another assailant. It was well that I did so, for with a roar that filled the heavens and drowned out our motor, a great hunting wasp came shooting across the sky. I seized another bomb, in the vain hope of making an effective throw before our new enemy should land. A second glance showed me that he was not heading for our plane. Nana pointed and I saw, unmistakably, a man running for his life across the fields below. The great wasp dropped like a shot upon his prey—and I was violently sick as I saw him carrying the man away with him, like a fly writhing in his jaws.
Nana sent the plane climbing upward until we were higher than any of the monsters ever flew—and circled about until we had recovered our equanimity. Then she brought the plane down again in wide spirals. We both felt sure that the man we had seen was no isolated individual, living a solitary life away from his fellows. On the contrary we felt sure that we had at last reached a settlement of men.
As the plane glided to earth I felt, more keenly than ever before, how dangerous our mission was. The great insects lurked in wait at every turn, and we were only two weak human beings, far from help or assistance. By the time Nana had brought the plane safely to the land, there were fifty air monsters swooping down upon us. But all our planes were entirely enclosed in strong metal, and the danger of being seized was slight. The real danger had been averted when Nana had eluded the attack in the air. I let the machine gun rip away at them, but with no effect. Then, opening a port hole, I threw bombs, but these caused no deaths among the dragons who attacked us. Finally, however, the great detonations sent the monsters scurrying skyward, and in that respite we gripped our packs and weapons and hastened out of our plane.
We walked warily, in the center of the street, when we reached it (for this was the outskirts of a great city), our nerves a-tingle and alert for the slightest sound or sight that indicated danger. As we walked on, however, our confidence increased; for we met no enemies. Evidently the human prey of this place had been exhausted. We gazed with interest at the deserted houses, the lifeless shops, and the advertisements. On one hoarding there was advertised a moving picture entitled, “Metropolis, A Tale of Tomorrow;” and I wondered if the inhabitants, seeing the tale, had felt the slightest premonition of the amazing things, the horrible things in store for them “tomorrow”. We walked like visitors from another planet—or archeologists of another age—through the streets of this town, through which we might well have motored in days gone by.
We saw a furtive figure slink behind an old red brick church—and a second later a wailing cry quavered upon the still afternoon air. A chill ran over me, making my flesh creep; but this was no time to be fearful of strange sights and sounds, and we continued on. We turned the corner, past the old church, down a long street filled with great houses. Bounding this street at one end was another, filled with great shops, and office buildings. A double car-track ran along this thoroughfare, and it was easy to see that in other days it had been a busy street. We followed it for a short way, and came upon a great wide park, at the end of which was situated a large yellow brick building, built in. Gothic style. It looked for all the world like an old English castle—but its original purpose was made clear by the inscription over its doors, “State Armory”.
CHAPTER IV
The Settlement
IN FRONT of this building was a group of the dirtiest ragamuffins I had ever seen. Old dirty garments were worn by some; others less fortunate seemed to be clad in sacking, and others still more unfortunate were nearly naked. Thin, hungry, furtive, and suspicious, they regarded us sullenly as we moved toward them. To this, then, men had fallen. A hunted, furtive beast!
I noticed that all the men were armed. Some carried swords, many had rifles; but I noticed that these all had fixed bayonets, and I concluded that the rifles were used as spears and clubs, there being no ammunition.
We walked resolutely across the park until we were within hailing distance of them. I am frank to confess that I gripped my repeating rifle tightly—and made ready to use it if it should prove necessary.
“Who are you—what do you want?” came the gruff question as we neared the group.
“We are friends,” I cried: “We have come to bring you help.”
“Where do you come from?”
“We are messengers from a settlement three hundred miles from here where there are fifty thousand people. We have food, clothes, and safety to offer you—and a way of living that is human and brave.”
The big questioner, who seemed to be the leader, conferred with his men a moment, and then said simply “Come in.”
He ushered us through the door way of the great armory, into the great drill hall within which now served as the assembling place of these poor wretches. There were settees and chairs, arranged in a semicircular fashion, probably for such powwows as now took place. The men shambled into their places, the leader sat in a large arm-chair in front of them. These chairs were on a platform at one end of the hall; while we were directed to sit in chairs arranged below on the floor of the hall. Around the great place ran a large balcony, and we saw the heads of women peering over it—and heard the prattle of children, the poor little children whose lot it had been to be born here.
“You came three hundred miles, you say,” began the leader: “That is a long way in these days—and the earth is full of terrible monsters. How is it that you were able to come? There are no good roads—no safe ways, and yet you look as fresh as if you had undergone no hardships in coming here. Do you wonder that we find it hard to believe you? If it were not for your fine weapons, and splendid clothing, we should call you liars or fools.
“How is it also, that in this day when all men’s hands are red with blood of those they have robbed, you come with offers of help and food and safety? Can you wonder that we are not quick to answer you? We have seen terrible things done to man by the insects; but they are not so terrible as the things I have seen done by the cruel and ruthless bands who have from time to time attacked us. We have tried to live here with some decency, to keep what we could of civilization. But there are other bands who rape and kill and take from others by force the things they need to keep life within them.”
Rapidly, I began to tell him the story of our settlement and, aided by Nana, I made them believe. They were a hard and bitter crew; but, as I painted for them pictures of our life at Endurance and contrasted it with the mean fear-ridden life of poverty that they and their children lived here, tears shone in the eyes of some of them.
They called in their women and discussed the matter.
“I will come with you,” said the leader at length; “You have made us believe. I heard what was going on over there at your city, just before the world broke down; but I had forgotten it until you told me again of the things that had been done.”
“Come now then,” I urged: “It is but a short hour away!” And I could not but laugh at the look of incredulous amazement on his face. “I told you that we had airplanes, did I not?” I said. “We came in one. How else could the journey have been made?” This decided him. If we had an airplane, then indeed all our story was true; and we clinched the matter by taking ten men with us and loading them down with the food supplies that we had taken with us. This concrete evidence of good will overwhelmed the poor hungry creatures and they sent us away with their blessings following us.
The leader gave instructions to his subordinates, and went with us back to the plane.
The sky Was filled with the great monsters, and it was only after the most heart-freezing dangers and narrow escapes that we reached our plane in safety. We ducked, stooped, crawled and finally made the end of the journey in a burst of speed, safe and sound.
As the plane roared up into the high heavens, the new friend with us shouted to me, “I was an army officer in the old days. Airplanes are not new to me, but I never thought to see one again!”
The
myriads of winged monsters who were awakened to flight by our rise into the air amazed me. I had been used to flocks of them; but the sky was literally black with them now. We climbed up and up in an erratic course and, finally reached the upper layers of the atmosphere where the cold and thin air made going difficult for our enemies.
Below, the air was filled with roaring, diving, winging baffled forms.
Civilization Spreads
NOW being safe, I set my course with all possible speed for Endurance. It was dusk when we arrived, and I thanked my stars that we had not been longer delayed—for we did not show beacons at night at Endurance, to avoid drawing the giant insects. As we came circling down, an horrible form came speeding out of nowhere—its jaws agape and its eyes aflame with insane rage. I opened wide my throttle and shot my plane upwards again. The hellish monster seemed to know just what was in my mind. He was not ten yards behind me, when something struck him. He swelled, and then exploded in a million fragments. One of the anti-aircraft guns on the walls had seen the monster, and had made a perfect hit. I landed safely.
Nana and I were the heroes of the hour, for ours was the first plane to bring back news of the other survivors of the catastrophe.
As a result of a long conference between the professor and the leader of the people we had found, ten planes went back the next morning loaded with the food, clothes, and other things these hapless bodies needed. This was the beginning of a constant going to and fro between the two groups. Out of the abundance of our storehouses, we sent load after load of material and supplies to our new friends; not in simple, silly free-heartedness, but in wise, good-fellowship. For each service we rendered, the recipient group pledged us a definite service of labor in return, and the pledges were faithfully kept. The men of our new town, long the hunted prey of the giant insects, took with joy and fervor to the task of hunting their former hunters. Their arduous labors in this direction, soon rid the country near them of the great terrors who had once held sway there. They worked like Trojans too, at the building of a walled and roofed town, smaller but similar to ours; and in a few short years were living a comfortable and civilized life such as we had founded and maintained.