The War of the Worlds

The narrator returns to Sunday and his own story. That night, he and the curate remain in the abandoned house. Both men are distraught, but the narrator cannot stomach the curate’s complaints and so locks himself into a bedroom.

The next day, a Martian passes nearby and clears the Black Smoke away, enabling the men to leave the house. At first, the curate shows no interest in departing, confident they are safer there, but he joins the narrator once he realizes he is serious. Their journey is filled with horrifying and confusing sights, including a red substance floating down the river and a Martian who picks up fleeing people and deposits them in a “great metallic carrier” that hangs off his back (130). Narrowly escaping death and growing hungry and thirsty, they take refuge in a house in Sheen. Suddenly, there is a great crash, and both men are injured. They find they are trapped in the house, which is fortunately well-provisioned, by the landing of the fifth cylinder overhead. The narrator will remain there for two weeks.