[PART 73]
PLANET EARTH ATTACKS THE MARTIANS!
FIRST CAME THE INSECTS
In London we saw insects of every imaginable type coming out of the ground, out of trees and out of just about every area one could think of. At first terror came to our minds that the Martians had been responsible, but it soon passed as it was clear these insects were moving away from people. They were actually moving around people. I stood by with many others watching a thick matt of crawling insects move around my feet never touching me. They were moving by untold millions directly at the Martians! Those close enough to witness this amazing situation as I did were astounded to see these insects swarming over and completely covering the Martians and their machines even as they completely ignored humans standing right next to the Martians. Somehow these tiny creatures seemed to understand the difference – but how?
The screaming Martians soon abandoned their weapons and ran in every direction as they were stung, bitten and smothered by uncounted millions of insects. Insects which would normally have done battle against each other ignored their natural insect enemies. In every area of Lower-London insects were attacking the Martians. I had to get to the surface to see what was happening. When I made it to the surface an hour later I could see tens of thousands of birds of every description flying in dense flocks attacking the Martians and their machines. On the ground thousands of Martians were being covered by insects or birds or attacked by dogs and cats of all kinds. Every conceivable animal was on the attack including wave after wave of rats of all sizes covering the ground as far as I could see. Amazed I saw these rats ‘flow’ around and away from terrified people who had not known which way to run. Before long the people began to cheer these humble creatures as they devoured the invaders. The Martians were being ripped to pieces.
We soon got our radios operational again. Reports began to come in from world forces fighting desperate land battles with the Martians. Brazil was the first to be received. The jungle and plains fighting had been furious on both sides with Earth forces in the position of a fighting retreat deeper into the jungle areas at the time. Loses had been very heavy as units were being consolidated for a last ditch effort.
Radio operators then began to send clipped reports, not at all clear, of large swarms of bees in and around the battle lines, which seemed to be forming large masses of bees moving as one. Later messages expanded on these early reports indicating that “blankets of bees were now moving as one towards the Martian sickle line” of fighting machines. Not long after it was reported that several of the front line Martian machines were completely covered with bees to a point where very little metal could be seen. It was clear that the bees and wasps were attacking en-mass and the Martians were beginning to falter and fall back. As what had become standard for them they made no effort to retrieve their fallen comrades. Time and time again their lines were reformed with fresh machines. As they were formed the bees and other related flying insects massed upon their new front lines. Bees and wasps with stingers attacked the Martians. Bees without stingers went for the machine and any exposed entry point.
As the Martian machines dropped and the Martians attempted to crawl away their bodies were covered and consciously stung long after they were clearly dead. It almost seemed as if the angry bees were feeding off of the Martian flesh. In that regard the people closest to the bees quickly put together a series of sugar water drums in an effort to feed the bees and were soon in radio contact with individuals who had studied bees seeking ways to aid these insects. Time and time again swarms took on the energizing sugar and continued the attacks on the Martians. For the first time in all of our history man and insect were working as one! It was a fantastic sight.
Dead Martian hybrids after an insect attack in the South Pacific
Before long Earth forces in Brazil were reporting that they were advancing towards the Martian lines just behind the “waves of attacking bees.” Later investigations would show a remarkable fact that these swarms consisted of many different types of bees, some of which are known to be natural enemies of one another. Wasps were soon part of the insect attacks as well. It was almost as if the insects had set aside their natural animosities to unite in defense of their planet! Incredibly, as recalled above none of the bees or wasps attacked any human formations and seemed to know exactly where to go and who, or what to attack. How and why they attacked at this time has yet to be determined and will no doubt become a point of much examination and discussion for many years to come. It is generally thought that the constant hum of the Martian machines somehow irritated the bees, but this has not been confirmed. And it seems to be too simple an explanation. Some fanciful reports stated that the bees of Earth had somehow sensed a foe to their world and attacked a common enemy of themselves and mankind. It is left to the reader to decide which is the proper explanation.
Within days new reports came in almost exactly like the early reports from Brazil from areas as wide spread as Central America, Texas, South Africa, China, India and as far north as Alaska and northern Russia. In all of these areas, and indeed wherever Martians had invasion forces except for the far north and far south Polar Regions, masses of bees were killing Martians and felling their war machines. It was really becoming hard not to believe that all of the many species of bees and wasps found on Earth had indeed united to fight a common foe of this planet. The Martians had no defense against the sting of a bee or wasp. We would later learn that it took only a few (less than a dozen) stings from a bee to kill any Martian and yet they were hit by hundreds and at times thousands per Martian. It seemed to all who witnessed these incredible attacks that the bees particularly really wanted to kill the Martians. It had been well-known for years that some species of bees were known as killer bees, but even those were nowhere near as aggressive as the bees which attacked the Martians. The bees gave no quarter and never stopped attacking.
As radio reports were able to get through other reports of animals around the world attacking Martians continued to pour in. In the jungles of Africa lions and tigers had swarmed even as a battle front with other predators against the Martians. Across the plains of the United States massed herds of buffalo, wild horses, as well as domesticated cattle sent themselves headlong into Martian formations backed by millions of locus and tens of thousands of birds of all kinds. Those who witnesses these ‘coordinated attacks’ simply could not believe their eyes. It was not long before United States, Canadian and Committee military forces formed up behind these waves of animal attacks and joined them in pushing back the Martians.
Later we would receive reports of many sea creatures attacking the Martian ships even as the bloody battle around North New Zealand waged. Massive squids backed by every type of whale imaginable were ramming and attacking the Martians. However, clearly one of the most incredible attacks by sea creatures came on this day when the Martians began to land combat troops at New Zealand. Before the eyes of our astonished human forces, untold numbers of small whales, porpoises and dolphins began to overwhelm and overturn the Martian landing craft. As the Martians spilled into the waters off of New Zealand they were instantly attacked by thousands of sharks who literally tore them to pieces. To be clear sharks and dolphins, natural enemies fought a coordinated battle to devastate the Martians. Those few who somehow made their way to the bloody shore were immediately swarmed and completely covered by insects. None, none survived this attack.
Within hours across the entire planet Martian attacks ended. What we had witnesses had taken the measure of our, and by that I mean our entire planet, had taken the measure of our enemies from Mars and had defeated them on land, sea and in the air. Small groups of surviving Martians were soon taking off in their few remaining flying machines as surviving radars showed that those who could were heading back to Mars.
It had not been the efforts of mankind who had defeated the Martians, even thought we had done all that we as humans could to defeat these bloody invaders. We could be proud that we had not stood down to become slaves but had fought almost to the death of humanity. But it was fully understood by all that the fatal blows inflicted on the Martians had, once again, not come from the hand of man, but by humble creatures that had, for whatever reason or cause, fought together as one against an enemy who had tried by force to take THEIR planet. As before when word came that the Martians had been defeated church bells rang out across the globe. Horns rang out from every corner where humans still held sway.
It was not long before we were receiving numerous reports of ‘others’ hovering over these areas where attacking insects and animals swarmed. In every case the unidentified craft glowed red! These ‘others’ seemed to have finally taken sides, but no one could ever state that they had come into personal contact with whoever or whatever was operating these craft.
Mankind had been shown that we are not alone on this planet and needed to keep that in mind as we went about the work of once again recovering from the Aftermath of a War of the Worlds.
Central European city after the Second Martian War
[END PART 73]
Copyright © R. Michael Gordon, 2020
[NEXT WEEK: PART 74: ANOTHER AFTERMATH.]
