Psychological fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
The man's eyes turned up toward the window for the briefest instant,
then returned steadfastly to the street. Oh, they were sly! You could
never spot them looking at you, never for _sure_, but they were always
there, always nearby. And there was no one he could trust any longer, no
one to whom he could turn.
Not even George Webber.
Swiftly his mind reconsidered that possibility as he watched the figure
move down the street. True, Dr. Webber had started him out on this
search in the first place. But even Webber would never believe what he
had found. Webber was a scientist, a researcher.
What could he do--go to Webber and tell him that there were men alive in
the world who were _not_ men, who were somehow men and something more?
Could he walk into Dr. Webber's office in the Hoffman Medical Center,
walk through the gleaming bright corridors, past the shining metallic
doors, and tell Dr. Webber that he had found people alive in the world
who could actually see in four dimensions, live in four dimensions,
_think_ in four dimensions?
Could he explain to Dr. Webber that he knew this simply because in some
way he had sensed them, and traced them, and discovered them; that he
had not one iota of proof, except that he was being followed by them,
hunted by them, even now, in a room in the Old City, waiting for them to
strike him down?
He shook his head, almost sobbing. That was what was so horrible. He
couldn't tell Webber, because Webber would be certain that he had gone
mad, just like the rest. He couldn't tell anyone, he couldn't do
anything. He could just wait, and run, and wait--
It was almost dark now and the creaking of the old board house
intensified the fear that tore at Harry Scott's mind. Tonight was the
night; he was sure of it. Maybe he had been foolish in coming here to
the slum area, where the buildings were relatively unguarded, where
anybody could come and go as he pleased. But the New City had hardly
been safer, even in the swankiest private chamber in the highest
building. They had had agents there, too, hunting him, driving home the
bitter lesson of fear they had to teach him. Now he was afraid enough;
now they were ready to kill him.
Down below he heard a door bang, and he froze, his back against the
wall. There were footsteps, quiet voices, barely audible. His whole body
shook and his eyes slid around to the window. The figure in the doorway
still waited--but the other figure was not visible. He heard the steps
on the stair, ascending slowly, steadily, a tread that paced itself with
the powerful throbbing of his own pulse.
Then the telephone screamed out--
Harry gasped. The footsteps were on the floor below, moving steadily
upward. The telephone rang again and again; the shrill jangling filled
the room insistently. He waited until he couldn't wait any longer. His
hand fumbled in a pocket and leveled a tiny, dull-gray metal object at
the door. With the other hand, he took the receiver from the hook.
"Harry! Is that you?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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