She screamed and picked up a small weighing machine. With
uncontrollable anger, she smashed the machine against the medicine
cabinet.
With an equal but emotionless anger, the house squirted soap into her
eyes and sprayed her naked body with alternate jets of hot and cold
water.
The house won the battle.
The woman groped blindly for the jewel box and staggered from the
bathroom. The house turned its attention to the man again.
He had searched the kitchen without incident, but as he walked toward
the door a nearby food-dispenser opened. Prunes, waffles, bacon, eggs
and toast left the machine with abnormal speed and struck him.
He turned just in time to receive cherry pie, spaghetti and meat balls,
butter, vegetable soup, and ice cream in his face.
He shouted something unprintable at the house, wiped the mess from his
face and took another step toward the door.
Half of a watermelon hurtled from the food-dispenser and squashed
against his skull. He stumbled, fell and slid.
He heard the woman cry, "I found it!" He pulled himself to his feet. He
ran into the hall and froze when he saw the naked, hairless apparition
that stumbled from the bathroom.
* * * * *
For a moment, he forgot the money and gasped, "What happened?"
"Depilatory," she explained. "The house did it." She wiped soap from
blood-shot eyes with the back of a hand. "When we get out, give me your
gun. I want to give this house something to remember!"
The man seized the metal box and examined the contents. "Over twenty
thousand, hon. With that, you can buy plenty of wigs." He attempted a
smile but did succeed when he got a close look at her bald head. He
grabbed her arm. "Let's go! You can put on my coat in the helicar."
The woman allowed herself to be dragged through the house, all the
while shaking a fist at the house's walls and threatening, "You hear
me, house? When I get outside, I'm going to burn you! You'll make a
nice little bonfire!"
Too bad, the house reflected. Too bad I am two miles from the nearest
neighbor. If it were not for that, I could use my amplifiers and call
for help. I do not want them to escape with my owners' possessions. I
can repair most of the damage but I could never recover the money and--
The man stepped off the small front porch with the jewel box in one
hand, dragging the woman behind him with the other.
It was dark outside.
That was why he didn't notice: The house had risen two hundred feet on
its antigravity rays.
The ground below was very hard.
The house sang softly and waited for the return of its masters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account