Brood of the Dark Moon: (A Sequel to "Dark Moon") — John Shaqi
Brood of the Dark Moon: (A Sequel to "Dark Moon")Diffin, Charles Willard
Science
Brood of the Dark Moon: (A Sequel to "Dark Moon")
Diffin, Charles Willard
Science fiction
There was a ship ... he held the controls ... they were flying low....
One hand reached fumblingly beneath the soft coverlet to search for a
triple star that should be upon his jacket. A triple star: the insignia
of a Master Pilot of the World!--and with the movement there came
clearly a realization of himself.
Chet Bullard, Master Pilot; he was Chet Bullard ... and a wall of water
was sweeping under him from the ocean to wipe out the great Harkness
Terminal buildings.... It was Harkness--Walt Harkness--from whom he had
snatched the controls.... To fly to the Dark Moon, of course--
What nonsense was that?... No, it was true: the Dark Moon had raised the
devil with things on Earth.... How slowly the thoughts came! Why
couldn't he remember?...
Dark Moon!--and they were flying through space.... They had conquered
space; they were landing on the Dark Moon that was brilliantly alight.
Walt Harkness had set the ship down beautifully--
* * * * *
Then, crowding upon one another in breath-taking haste, came clear
recollection of past adventures:
They were upon the Dark Moon--and there was the girl, Diane. They must
save Diane. Harkness had gone for the ship. A savage, half-human shape
was raising a hairy arm to drive a spear toward Diane, and he, Chet, was
leaping before her. He felt again the lancet-pain of that blade....
And now he was dying--yes, he remembered it now--dying in the night on a
great, sweeping surface of frozen lava.... It was only a moment before
that he had opened his eyes to see Harkness' strained face and the
agonized look of Diane as the two leaned above him.... But now he felt
stronger. He must see them again....
He opened his eyes for another look at his companions--and, instead of
black, star-pricked night on a distant globe, there was dazzling
sunlight. No desolate lava-flow, this; no thousand fires that flared and
smoked from their fumeroles in the dark. And, instead of Harkness and
the girl, Diane, leaning over him there was a nurse who laid one cool
hand upon his blond head and who spoke soothingly to him of keeping
quiet. He was to take it easy--he would understand later--and everything
was all right.... And with this assurance Chet Bullard drifted again
into sleep....
* * * * *
The blurring memories had lost their distortions a week later, as he sat
before a broad window in his room and looked out over the housetops of
Vienna. Again he was himself, Chet Bullard, with a Master Pilot's
rating; and he let his eyes follow understandingly the moving picture of
the world outside. It was good to be part of a world whose every
movement he understood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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