The Invaders | Page 8

behind, the other was bending down, scrabbling
frantically in the dust.
"I dropped it!" he shouted. "I can't find it!"
Jerry tried to reach him, but the other thing was quicker. A whirlpool of
blackness engulfed Carver, blotted him out. Then Jerry was confronted
by an unbelievable sight--a great, savage head, towering over him, its
eyes glowing redly and foam creaming over gigantic, open jaws.
* * * * *
Desperately, he shoved his cross straight at it. The thing spat and roared
deafeningly. The thud of its paws shook the ground. It lashed out with
monstrous claws that sliced his skin. Half-stunned, Jerry kept lunging
toward it, till finally his cross touched its coarse hide. There was a
crackle of blue flame, a shriek that split the night, and the thing
disintegrated in roiling clouds of bitter smoke.
Jerry swayed. The hand that held the cross was numb and tingling. Like
an automaton, he turned, went back, and knelt beside the crumpled
shape that had been Mike Carver. Then he rose, still carrying the feebly
flickering torch, and plodded on....
They met him as he was coming back--Watson, Henderson, Caruso,
Miller, Hammond and the rest. They had flashlights and guns and tear
gas, and their faces were grim and desperate.

"We found your car," they said. "We could see the flames from Wide
Bend. What in hell has been going on?"
Jerry stared at them. He dropped the dead torch. One hand tried to put
the cross back into his pocket. His face was black, his hair singed, his
side wet with blood.
"It's all over," he croaked. "They're gone. Dark Valley is free again."
Big Joe Merklos was the first of them. He appeared at the Rocky
Mountain Trust Company one day, cash in hand. The charm of him, his
flashing smile, the easy strength in his big body, were persuasive
recommendations. But the Company's appraisal scarcely got that far.
Wasn't he the first buyer they had ever had for that suburban
real-estate fiasco, Hidden Acres...?

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Invaders, by Benjamin
Ferris
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
INVADERS ***
***** This file should be named 23535.txt or 23535.zip ***** This
and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/2/3/5/3/23535/
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be
renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set
forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying

and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the
PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge
for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not
charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is
very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as
creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They
may be modified and printed and given away--you may do practically
ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to
the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ
THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or
any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
http://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the
terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all
copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. If
you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be used
on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree