The newscast said that Zeke had blundered into someone's estate near
the UN grounds and had had a couple of big dogs sent after him. In
protecting himself, Zeke had killed the dogs. It would seem that
killing the two dogs was worse in some ways than if Zeke had killed two
more human beings.
No one, of course, even remembered ever having laughed at Zeke. He had
become the typical alien Martian menace, a Welles and Wells character.
A monster from another world, a bogey Martian, a menace, a stalking
terror, an inhuman monster.
"They'll kill him," Johnson whispered. He got up and got Hatcher's
topcoat out of the closet and put on Hatcher's hat. "They'll kill him
and he won't have any idea what's happened or why." That's the worst
part of it, he thought. Somewhere in the rainy dark was Zeke, feeling
terribly the hostility of his human surroundings. Confused, desperate,
panic-stricken. Not understanding any of it.
Johnson went out into the hall of the apartment-hotel. Empty. The
police would be guarding the front entrance certainly, maybe the back.
But there was another exit out of the basement into the vacant lot, and
maybe they wouldn't know about that.
He went down into the basement, went out that entrance and into
the vacant lot among the dripping trees. He stood there, listening,
watching. He put his hands in Hatcher's topcoat pocket and felt the
small snub-nosed revolver there. He jerked his hand out.
He heard nothing but the rain on the palm fronds and the tires humming
on wet pavement. Above him, the gray night's hand cupped over the city,
reflecting its neon life through misty rain.
He went cautiously through the trees, through a pit being excavated
for building, and emerged onto the street a block and a half away. And
still no one.
He walked faster, signaled a cab. He sat there stiffly and numb with
tension as the cab took him with casual speed to the park.
* * * * *
He walked slowly along past the high dense brush of the park next to
the wall, his shoes squeeshing on the wet turf. Beyond the wall he
could see a tall bulky building with little yellow window eyes that
blinked in the rain. Absently, he remembered it was the big Community
Hospital.
"Zeke," he called as he walked past the high dense brush. "Zeke."
He went the length of the park's West end, started back, continuing to
call Zeke's name. The strange alien whisper sent a chill down his arms.
"Mr. Johnson--"
The brush shivered. Zeke had heard the message all right. "Mr. Johnson.
I am ill. I am cold and I am tired. I do not have any idea what to do."
Johnson said. "Come out here, Zeke. You have to turn yourself in to the
proper authorities here that maintain law and order. I've explained
something about that. I promise you it will be all right. You've got to
trust me, Zeke."
"People are afraid of me. They throw stones at me and run away when I
approach them. I cannot understand--"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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