That scene was altogether too much for me to stand. I strained and
strained to tear myself away from the stone-like immovability that
gripped me. Finally I managed to emit a terrible scream and seemed to
faint away.
When I opened my eyes once again, I was still in the Red World. Out
of the jungle raced a wedge formation of upright creatures, like the
slain, with ray instruments, pointed at the devouring insects. With
incredible speed they came into the clearing. Instantly the space was
aglow with the red and yellow beams.
The insects clambering over the torn and mangled body of the fallen
creature lined themselves to meet this new enemy. With an abrupt rush,
as though by some signal they advanced toward the oncoming wedge. But
before they could cover any amount of space the fatal rays wilted them
in their tracks.
Harsh roars echoed through the growths. The features of the upright
creatures were even more hideous with rage and they set upon the
dying insects to gorge! One insect just to my right seemed to have
been untouched. It rose suddenly and attempted to escape. An upright
creature detached himself from the gorging mass and gave chase,
bringing into play as he ran, his death-dealing ray instrument.
On they came, directly toward me. As they neared I could almost feel
the terrific heat of the creatures' bodies. Ghastly features stood in
front of my eyes. It seemed to me that hardly a foot of space separated
us! I screamed insanely again. Then I saw the upright being lift his
ray-gun. The reddish yellow ray seemed to bite into the depths of my
eyes. I heard as from far away a deep-throated groan.
I seemed to be flying through space and suddenly, with a jerk, I found
myself seated in the chair of the laboratory. I tore frenziedly at the
helmet on my head and managed to take it off. Then a dizziness overcame
me and a black void....
At any rate, I lay stunned and senseless for what seemed hours. When I
finally regained consciousness I opened my eyes to see Dr. Korsakoff
sitting stiff in his chair, his helmet still intact. I reached out and
grasped his shoulder and shook him. He was cold, his body rigid.
Terrified, I leaped from my chair and swung him around. Oh, God, that I
may never witness such a sight again!
The front portion of his helmet seemed to have been cloven with an axe!
The vision cylinders hung in shreds and clotted with dried, cracking
blood! The lower half of his face seemed to have been beaten into a
mass with a blunt instrument!
I screamed like one insane as I removed his helmet. Across his eyes
and frontal arch, his skull was cloven in twain! The rays of the Red
World had cut a deep gash through which had drifted the life of my dear
friend and benefactor.
How I managed to escape a similar fate I do not know unless from my mad
movements to remove the helmet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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