CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

My Escape from the Pit

When I finally came out, I found that the Martian had emptied the storage area of all its food and drink. So I was forced to go without anything for two more days. I sat in the storage area, quite upset about my current situation. For a moment, I thought I had lost my ability to hear, for the sounds of the pit that I had gotten so used to could no longer be heard.

I eventually gained enough courage to use the rainwater tap, which was quite noisy, to get a drink. I feared that the Martians would hear me turn the nozzle, but nothing happened.

Day number twelve and thirteen, I spent going back and forth between dreams about the horrible death of the curate and wonderfully large dinners. I felt guilt and then I felt nothing.

On the fifteenth day, I heard the sound of a dog moving just outside of the hole in the kitchen wall, which had recently been covered by a strange, thick, red plant that had quickly spread throughout most of the pit. My first idea was to quietly get the dog to come inside so that I could kill it for food, but it ran away as soon as it knew of my presence.

Outside, there was no sound except for the occasional song of a bird. I looked very carefully through the leaves of the red plant and found that the entire pit was now empty of machines. The only thing left behind were the bodies of the humans they had drained of blood.

It had finally come, my opportunity to escape! I quickly worked my way out of the hole and began to climb up the side of the deep pit. When I got to the top, I looked around for any signs of Martians in the area. There were none. The once beautiful neighborhood of houses was now reduced to nothing. None of the houses had been burned. They were all simply blown over. The red vegetation covered the ground as far as I could see. It even grew in some of the few houses that still stood, their windows completely blown out. I wondered if the Martians had planted it or if it had accidentally come along. In any case, it was spreading very rapidly.

Above me, the sky was beautifully clear and blue. And the air smelled wonderfully fresh.

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