Africar by Martin Price
Author:Martin Price
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, horror, short story, science fiction, rust, weird creatures
*****
Still, water. Water seemed to be the key here. If the fire brigade could contain those things within the house, saturating them, cooling them down, flushing the destructive heat out of them, then perhaps the outlook wouldn't look quite so bleak.
The fire brigade were here now, or close at least, very close. The old KO left Shirley where she was, telling her to stay well away from the house, should something explode in there. He went down the driveway just as the fire engine was pulling up outside, all red, silver, and with lights flashing. It pulled up just behind the old KO's Vauxhall.
Four men and one woman got out. A fire-woman, the old KO thought, not because he was surprised to see a woman. He was simply struck by her beauty, even though she was dressed in a black jacket with luminous strips across it, and clutching a yellow, protective helmet under one arm.
She was the one who stepped forward, too, her skin silky-smooth, her eyes as dark as a night of mystery. 'Mr Oliphant?'
'Yes,' the old KO said.
'Fire Chief Sutton,' the woman said. 'We got the call from your wife, but it was unclear as to what the situation was. We understand there's no fire as such.'
'No, no fire.' The old KO turned towards the house. 'But you can hear it in there, can't you, a sound like a thousand mini-chainsaws buzzing?'
It seemed she couldn't, not at first, but then she could. She took a step towards the house, and said, 'What is it?'
'Metal balls,' the old KO said. 'They were underneath a car I bought. A Rolls. Only it's no longer a Rolls. Just a pile of dust and crap.'
She gave him an impatient look. 'Are you trifling with me?'
'I wish I was,' the old KO said. 'But it's the truth. There are thousands of them. They destroyed the Rolls, all the gear in my workshop, even my grandchildren's swing. Now they're in my house. In me and Shirley's house, tearing all the metal out of there. That's what they go for, you see, anything made of metal.' He grinned falsely. 'They have teeth.'
'Teeth,' Fire Chief Sutton said. Not a question. She just repeated the word teeth.
'And they're hot,' the old KO went on. 'The more metal they eat, the hotter they get. They multiply, too. But I put a hose on them. It seems to stop them, or at least suppress them. They cut the tap, though.' He made a hand into a mouth and snapped it through the air. 'Just cut it clean off.'
She watched his hand doing that. While she did, the old KO saw people appearing: men, women and children, some in their day clothes, others in dressing gowns, pyjamas, or onesies. Just curious, mostly, although a few - those with an acute sense of impending doom, the old KO assumed - were already wearing faces that were long and pale with shock.
Fire Chief Sutton suddenly went into overdrive. It may have been
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