From the Land of Fear
Page 20
KAGAN (fervently): Dear God, I hope not…if that’s all we have to look forward to, then the future is lost!
At that moment Macbeth yowllls and jumps up on the chair, hair stiffly erect on his back, eyes turned toward the blank wall of the dining room facing onto the street; the wall to which Qarlo sits. Qarlo leaps erect at once.
QARLO: C.O.?
The wall suddenly begins to blacken, as though great heat were being applied on it from the other side. Qarlo throws back his chair. The family jumps up, and Loren moves next to Qarlo.
103 ANOTHER SHOT—THE SCENE
as the wall suddenly vaporizes, a gigantic hole appearing as though by magic. And through the hole we see the dark, rainswept, lightning-filled night. Thunder rolls. As Abby and Toni scream, the Enemy leaps through the hole in the wall, his hideous face alert, his teeth bared, the rifle starting to tilt up. Loren is directly in front of the line of attack. Qarlo bodily hurls him to the side, moves a step toward the Enemy. We hear the soft beep beep beep of The Enemy’s tracking machine and the helmet voice saying “Kill! Kill! Kill!”…as he advances a step.
As the Enemy begins to level the rifle, the cat, Macbeth, yowllls again, louder. The Enemy’s glance is diverted. He looks at the cat. He seems about to speak to the cat, as…Qarlo launches himself at the Enemy. The Enemy brings up the rifle just as Qarlo plunges into him, clutching him tightly around the chest with both arms, so that the rifle is imprisoned between them. There is a sharp crackling zzzzzing sound, a flash of light as the rifle fires between them, and in the burst of light…they are gone.
The room is empty at that end. Just a dark burned smudge on the rug. The family stands wide-eyed in horror at the death of the two men, they can’t move. But as camera comes in for closeup of the sooty smudge on the rug. Macbeth leaps down off the chair, and begins sniffing at the spot. Camera pulls back, up and up and up as narration over:
NARRATOR: From the darkest of all pits, the soul of Man, come the darkest questions: in the end, did the soldier kill to protect those he had come to care for…or did he revert to his instincts. (beat) Questions from the dark pit. But no answers. For answers lie in the future. Is it a future in which men are machines born to kill, or is there time for us. (beat) Time. All the time in the world…but is that enough…? CAMERA PULLS BACK UP AND UP as the family stands huddled silently together, as the cat sniffs the spot of death and we
FADE OUT.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © Foreword: “In Praise of His Spirits Noble and Otherwise” by Roger Zelazny. Copyright © 1967 by Roger Zelazny.
Introduction: “Where the Stray Dreams Go,” copyright © 1967 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1995 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“The Sky Is Burning,” copyright © 1958 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1986 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“My Brother Paulie,” copyright © 1958 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1986 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“The Time of the Eye,” copyright © 1959 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Life Hutch,” copyright © 1956 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1984 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Battle Without Banners,” copyright © 1964 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1992 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Back to the Drawing Boards,” copyright © 1958 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1986 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“A Friend to Man,” copyright © 1959 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1987 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“We Mourn for Anyone …” (under the title “Mourners For Hire” by “Ellis Hart”), copyright © 1957 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1985 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“The Voice in the Garden,” copyright © 1967 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1995 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Soldier” (under the title “Soldier From Tomorrow”), copyright © 1957 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1985 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
“Soldier” (television script version), copyright © 1964 by Harlan Ellison. Renewed, 1992 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation.
Copyright © 1967 by Harlan Ellison
Renewed © 1995 by The Kilimanjaro Corporation
Cover design by Open Road Integrated Media
ISBN 978-1-4976-0468-1
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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