День триффидов
A Light in the Night
AndnowIhadasimilarfeeling.Butthiswassomethingworse.Muchmorethananyonecouldhavehopedforhadsurvivedthatwar—butthiswasanenemytheywouldnotsurvive,itwasnotwantonsmashingandwillfulburningthattheywaitedforthistime:itwassimplythelong,slow,inevitablecourseofdecayandcollapse.
Standingthere,andatthattime,myheartstillresistedwhatmyheadwastellingme.StillIhadthefeelingthatitwasallsomethingtoobig,toounnaturalreallytohappen.YetIknewthatitwasbynomeansthefirsttimethatithadhappened.ThecorpsesofothergreatcitiesarelyingburiedindesertsandobliteratedbythejunglesofAsia.Someofthemfellsolongagothateventheirnameshavegonewiththem.Buttothosewholivedtheretheirdissolutioncanhaveseemednomoreprobableorpossiblethanthenecrosisofagreatmodemcityseemedtome...
Itmustbe,Ithought,oneoftherace’smostpersistentandcomfortinghallucinationstotrustthat"itcan’thappenhere"-thatone’sownlittletimeandplaceisbeyondcataclysms.
Andnowitwashappeninghere.Unlessthereshouldbesomemiracle,IwaslookingonthebeginningoftheendofLondon—andverylikely,itseemed,therewereothermen,notunlikeme,whowerelookingatthebeginningoftheendofNewYork,Paris,SanFrancisco,BuenosAires,Bombay,andalltherestofthecitiesthatweredestinedtogothewayofthoseothersunderthejungles.
Iwasstilllookingoutwhenasoundofmovementcamefrombehindme.
