Andy McBean and the War of the Worlds by Dale Kutzera

Author:Dale Kutzera
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-09-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Reunion

Andy searched the fleeing crowd for his dad and spotted him down the street, standing in front of Annie’s Craft Emporium.

“Dad!” he screamed.

His dad looked right at him and waved. Andy was so relieved at the sight that he barely flinched when the tripod stepped over the Rialto Theater, knocking its neon sign to the sidewalk. Hector yelped. Charlie pulled him to hide behind the sign as the alien machine straddled Main Street. She yelled for Andy to follow, but a cannon shell thundered into the tripod, drowning out her voice.

A blast of hot air knocked Andy to the pavement. Metal groaned and squealed as the tripod staggered like an old man, one leg tearing in a burst of sparks. It fell upon its severed knee, the two remaining legs clutching at the pavement, trying to compensate. The effort was futile and the tripod teetered, falling right toward Andy.

He was frozen with fear, unable to move as sparks rained all around him. The din of battle and screaming voices faded. All he could see and hear was the flaming body of the alien machine falling at him.

Someone pulled him out of the way at the last moment. Everything went black as he was thrown to the hard pavement. He heard a deafening crash and felt the earth ripple. The impact threw everything—people, cars, trash, everything—into the air.

Then silence.

Andy couldn’t hear anything but a steady ringing. He opened his eyes and shook his head, but the sound would not stop. Straight ahead, the alien machine lay on its side forming a wall from one side of Main Street to the other. Andy knew his dad was on the other side of the broken machine, but saw no way around or over the mass of twisted legs and limp tentacles.

Someone grabbed him and rolled him onto his back. He stared up at a furry face with three large eyes. It was the alien from the flower shop. Flower petals still littered its fur. Andy gasped and tried to crawl away, but the creature held him tight. Its lips moved, and though Andy couldn’t hear what it said, there was something disarming about its expression.

The alien pulled him to his feet and dragged him toward the movie theater. They ducked behind the fallen neon sign. The alien pointed to the tripod where a hatch burst open in a blast of sparks. Figures stumbled out, the Thug alien first, followed by three others, all carrying weapons. The Thug fired green bolts, setting a storefront ablaze. The others opened fire with their own weapons, blasting windows and turning abandoned cars into a melting blobs.

Andy gasped at the sight.

The Thug turned to the sound.

The small alien beside Andy pulled him into the theater as the neon sign behind them glowed and slumped into a molten mass. Andy searched the dark lobby for his friends. He knew the candy counter was off to the right and hurried in that direction, the alien right behind him. Ducking

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