THE ARTILLERY MAN AND THE FIGHTING MACHINE



Journalist:

The hammering from the pit and the 

pouding of guns grew louder

My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house

Then I saw it was a young artillery man 

weary , streaked with blood and durt



Artillery man:

Anyone here ?



Journalist:

Come in , here drink this



Artillery man:

Thank you



Journalist:

What's happened ?



Artillery man:

They wiped out.

Hundreds dead - maybe thousands



Journalist: 

The Heat Ray ?



Artillery man:

The Martians !

They were inside the hoods of the machines they'd made 

Massive metal things on legs !

Giants machines that walked

They attact us !

They wiped us out !



Journalist:

Machines ?



Artillery man:

Fighting machines !

Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees

Just hunks of metal

but they knew exactly what they are doing



Journalist:

Hmmm there was another cylinder came last night



Artillery man:

Yes it looked bound for London



Journalist:

London !

Carie !

I had'nt dreamed there could be danger to Carrie

and her father so many miles away

I must go to London at once



Artillery man:

And me

Got to report to my headquarters

If there's anything left of it



Journalist:

At Byfleet we came upon a Inn 

but it was deserted



Artillery man 

Is everybody dead ?



Journalist:

Not everybody

Look !

Six cannons with gunners standing by



Artillery man: 

It's bows and arrows against the lightning

They haven'd seen the Heat Ray yet



Journalist:

We hurried along the road to Weybridge

Suddely there was a heavy explosion

The Ground heaved 

Windows shatterd

And guts of smoke erupted into the air



Artillery man:

LOOK !

THERE THEY ARE !

WHAT DID I TELL YOU ?



Journalist:

Quickly 

One after the other four fighting machines appeared

Monstous tripots higher than the highest steeple

striding over the pine trees and smashing them

Walking engines of glittering metal

Each carried a huge funnel and I realized with horror

that i've seen this awful thing before



A fifth machine appeared on the far bank

It raised itself to full hight

flourished the funnel high in the air

And the ghostly terrible heat Ray 

struck the town



Journalist:

As it struck all five fighting machines exulted

emitting deafening howls which roared like thunder



Martians:

ULLA ! 

ULLA !



Journalist:

The six guns we have seen now fired simultaneously

decapitating a fighting machine

The Martion inside the hood was slain

splashed to the four winds 

and the body nothing now but an intricate device of metal 

went whirling to distruction

As the other monsters advanced people ran away blindly

the artillery man among them

But I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to breathe

Now the guns spoke again 

but this time the Heat Ray sent them to oblivion 



Martians:

ULLA !



Journalist:

Whit a white flash the Heat Ray swept across the river

Scalded half blinded and agonized 

I staggered through leaping hissing water towards the shore

I fell helplessly in full side of the Martians

exepting nothing but death

The foot of a Fighting Machine came down close to my head 

then lifted again as the four Martians carried away the debris

of there fallen comrade....

And I realized that by a miracle I had escaped



FOREVER AUTUMN AND THE THUNDERCHILD



Journalist:

For three days I fought my way along roads packed with refugees

the homeless , burdened with boxes and bundles containing there 

valuables

All that was of value to me was in London

but by the time I reached there little red brick house

Carrie and her father were gone



#The summer sun is fading as the year grows old

and darker days are drawing near

The winter winds will be mutch colder 

Now your not here



#I wached the birds fly south across the autumn sky

And one by one they disappear

I wish that I could flying with them

Now your not here

Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away



#Trough autumn's golden gown we used to kick away

You always loved this time of year

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here



Journalist:

Fire suddely leaped from house to house 

The population panicked and ran

And I was swept along with them 

Aimless and lost without Carrie

Finally I headed for the ocean

and my only hope of survival , a boat out of England



#Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away

A gentle rain falles softly on my weary eyes

As if to hide a lonely tear

My lift will be forever autumn

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here



Journalist:

As I hasted trough Covent Garden , Blackfrairs and Billingsgate

more and more people joined the painful exodus

Sad , weary woman  

their children stumbling and streaked with tears 

their men bitter and angry

the rich rubbing shoulders with baggers and outcasts

Dogs snarled and whined the horses bits were covered with foam

and here and there were wounded soldiers as helpless as the rest

We saw tripods wading up the Thames cutting trough bridges

as though they were paper Waterloo bridge , Westminister bridge

one appeared above Big Ben



Martians:

ULLA !!



Journalist: 

Never before in the history of the world 

had such mass of human beings moved and sufferd together

This was no disiplined march it was a stampede

without order and without a goal six million people

unarmed and unprovisioned driving headlong

It was the beginning of the road to civilazation

of the massacre of mankind

A vast crowd buffeted me towards the already packed steamer

I looked up enviously at those safe on board

straight into the eyes of my beloved Carrie

At sight of me she began to fight her way along the packed deck

to the gangplank- at that very moment it was raised

and I caughed the last glimpse of her despairing face

as the crowd swept me away from her



#Like the sun trough the trees you came to love me

Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away

Trough autumn's golden gow we used to kick our way  

You always loved this time of year 

Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here

'Cause you're not here



Martians:

ULLA !!



Journalist:

The steamer began to move slowly away

but on the horizon appeared the silhouette of a fighting machine

Another came and another striding over hills and trees

pulling far out to sea and blocking the exit of the steamer

Between them lay the silent gray ironclad "Thunderchild"

Slowly it moved towards shore 

Then with a deafening roar and whoosh of spray

it swung about and drove at full speed towards the waiting Martians



People:

#There were ships of shapes and sizes

Scattered out along the bay

And I thought I heard her calling

As the steamer pulled away

the invaders must have seen them 

As across the coast they filed 

Standing firm between them

There lay "Thunder Child"



#Moving swiftly through the waters

Cannons blazing as she came

Brought a mighty metal warlord

Crashing down in sheets of flame

Sesing victory was nearing

Thinking fortune must have smilled

Poeple started cheering

'Come on "Thunder Child"

'Come on "Thunder Child"



Journalist:

The Martians releast their black smoke 

But the ship sped on

Cutting down one of the tripod figures

Instantly the others raised there Heat Rays

and melted the Thunder Child's valiant heart



People:

# Lashing ropes and smashing timbers

Flashing Heat Ray hits the deck 

Dashing hopes for our deliverance

As we watched the sinking wreck

with the smoke of battle clearing

Over graves in waves defiled

Slowly disappearing

Farewell "Thunder Child"

Slowly disappearing

Farewell "Thunder Child"

Farewell "Thunder Child"

Farewell "Thunder Child"



Journalist:

When the smoke cleared the little steamer  

had reached the misty horizon and Carrie was safe 

But the "Thunder Child" had vanised forever 

taking with her mans last hope of victory

The leaden sky was lit by green flashes

cylinder folowing cylinder and no one and nothing 

was left now to fight them

The Earth belonged to the Martians



Martians: 

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaa !!!!!