To: 999 (all members)
From: E2K (J.W.Smith)
Subject:
Chapter one: The Begining of the end
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I was woken by the loudest noise that
I had ever heard. If I had not known
any better, I would have thought that
a jet plane was about to land in my
bedroom. How was I supposed to know
that I was not that far from the
truth?
In my haste to get to the window I
grabbed my robe and flung back the
curtains. What I saw when I looked
was something that I'll never forget.
The sky was almost totally obscured
so that what would have been a bright
February morning, was dull and
overcast. This did not play long on
my mind as I looked up into the sky
to see what could only have been
described as a huge floating dinner
plate.
It was almost featurless execpt for
a section in the middle that formed
a huge ring with what appeared to
be a dome in the centre of that. It
did not appear to have any engines
yet it moved steadily on over the
tops of houses slowly turning all
the time, rumbling as if there were
a volcano inside waiting to erupt.
I fell to the floor numb with shock,
and it was only then that I realised
that the whole house was vibrating
as if it were at the epicentre of
an earthquake. As I looked round the
room things danced across tables
and shelves, the glass which I kept
by the bed crashed to the floor and
a patch of dark spread into the
carpet as water rushed from the
broken remains.
then there was silence!
I hauled myself back up to the
window sill and peered out in
nervous anticipation. London, only
twelve miles away and quite visible
from here, was shrouded in gloom. I
was taken aback, not just by the fact
that this thing had travelled such a
distance in a matter of minutes, but
that the thing was hovering exactly
over London, casting a shadow that
almost darkened out the city
completely.
So there it was, hung over the city
casting a shadow over London like
a monstrous harbinger of all the
untold horrors that were to follow.
The sight of it gave me a feeling
of dread that reached down into the
pit of my stomach and, as I watched
unable to move, it started to spin
increasing speed. Slowly at first
but rising in speed at an alarming
rate. The dome in the centre started
to glow, and it was at this point
that it started to hum. Quiet at
first, just barely audible. This
did not last long as the hum grew
in volume, becoming alarmingly
loud, even from this distance in a
frighteningly short period of time.
I clasped my hands to my ears to try
to block out the pain that was now
searing through my ears as the hum
was now piercingly loud.
I became aware that I was losing
consciousness. The glass in the
corner of the pane cracked, as I
watched it spread. Then the window
started to ripple as the hum grew
louder still. With what must have
been a tremendous crash the glass
erupted, showering me with razor
sharp pieces of double glazing.
I tripped and fell, over what is a
blurred memory that I can't quite
recall. As I hit the floor my
vision went dim and the last
conscious thoughts were a jumble
of nonsense as I slipped into the
darkness of my own mind.
At about half past two that after-
noon I woke, shivering among the
shattered remains of glass and
other debris. The light had faded
to a dull grey/blue, and there were
long shadows stretched across the
ceiling. I regarded these as I lay
there, my breath condensing in the
sharp biting cold air.
When the notion to move actually
struck me I lifted my head, only to
be met with the most sickening pain
throughout my head that nauseated
me to the point of almost blacking
out again. I laid back to let the
pain subside, moving only when it
had reduced to a constant thump.
I lifted myself to my feet and
slowly went and sat on the bed. I
regarded the mess that surrounded
me for a moment before reaching for
my trousers and a jumper. Pulling
them on and reaching for my shoes,
I played a mental tug of war with
my own mind. One half telling me
this was a dream, not real at all
but some vivid nightmare that I would
soon wake from. The other that it was
all too real, and that we were all
in dire trouble.
I looked across to the window as I
tied my shoes, wanting to look but
not quite having the courage.
As I stood, morbid curiosity made
me look,and I went across the room
to the jagged hole that was once my
window. What I saw took me completly
aback. London, the place that had
always been framed perfectly in this
window like a real life photo was a
In the misty distance I could see
fires raging, illuminating the sky
orange-red, half-demolished buildings
and every now and then a violent
explosion would errupt sending clouds
of red flame followed by black smoke
up into the air.
Slowly I turned away from the window
and I hid my face in my hands as I
just stood there and sobbed.
more to come...................