“Why, it's good old type Earth air! Perfectly breathable.”
They went out, and it was Keller's turn for amazement. “Why, it's just like spring on earth! Every-thing's lush and green and beautiful. Why ...it's Paradise!”
They ran out. The fruits were exotic and delicious, the temperature perfect. When night fell, they slept outside.
“I'm going to call it the Garden of Eden,” said Keller enthusiastically.
Bullford stared into the fire. “I don't like this place, Jimmy. It feels all wrong. There's something
...evil about it.”
“You're space happy.” Keller scoffed. “Sleep it off.”
The next morning James Keller was dead.
There was a look of horror on his face that Bullford never hoped to see again.
After the burial, Bullford called Earth. He got no reply. The radio was dead. Bullford took it apart and put it together. There was nothing wrong with it, but the fact remained: it didn't work.
Bullford's worry doubled itself. He ran outside. The landscape was the same pleasant and happy.
But Bullford could see the evil in it.
“You killed him!” he cried. “I know it!”
Suddenly the ground opened up and it slithered toward him. In near panic, he ran back to the ship. But not before he got a piece of soil..
He analyzed the soil and then panic took him. Venus was alive.
Suddenly the space ship tilted and went over. Bullford screamed. But the soil closed over it and almost seemed to lick its lips.
Then it reset itself, waiting for the next victim...
ТВАРЬ НА ДНЕ КОЛОДЦА
THE THING AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL
1960
Стивен КИНГ
Люди, места и вещи, том 1 (People, Places & Things vol.1), 1960
Oglethorpe Crater was an ugly, mean little wretch. He dearly loved plaguing the dog and cat, pulling the wings from flies and watching worms squirm as he slowly pulled them apart. (This lost its fun when he heard worms feel no pain).
But his mother, fool as she was, was blind to his faults and sadistic traits. One day the cook threw open the door in near hysterics and Oglethorpe and Mommy came home from a movie.
“That awful little boy tied a rope across the cellar stairs so when I went down to get potatoes, I fell and almost killed myself!” she screamed.
“Don't believe her! Don't believe her! She hates me!” cried Oglethorpe, tears springing into his eyes. And poor little Oglethorpe began sobbing as if his little heart would break.
Mommy fired the cook and Oglethorpe, dear little Oglethorpe, went up to his room where he poked pins in his dog, Spotty. When mommy asked why Spotty was crying, Oglethorpe said he got some glass in his foot. He said he would pull it out. Mommy thought dear little Oglethorpe a Good Samaritan.
Then one day, while Oglethorpe was in the field looking for more things to torture, he spied a deep, dark well. He called down, thinking he'd hear an echo.
“Hello!”
But a soft voice called up, “Hello, Oglethorpe”
Oglethorpe looked down, but he could see nothing. “Who are you” Oglethorpe asked.
“Come on down,” said the voice, “And we'll have jolly fun.”
So Oglethorpe went down.
The day passed and Oglethorpe didn't come back. Mommy called the police and a manhunt was formed. For over a month they hunted for dear little Oglethorpe. Just when they were about to give up, they found Oglethorpe in a well, dead as a door-nail.
But how he must have died!
His arms were pulled out, like people pull flies' wings. Pins had been stuck in his eyes and there were other tortures too horrible to mention.
As they covered his body (what was left of it), and trouped away, it actually seemed that they heard laughter coming from the bottom of the well.
I’VE GOT TO GET AWAY
I’VE GOT TO GET AWAY
'What am I doing here?' Suddenly I wondered. I was terribly frightened. I could remember nothing, but here I was, working in an atomic factory assembly line. All I knew was that I was Denny Phillips. It was as if I had just awakened from a slumber. The place was guarded and the guards had guns. They looked like they meant business. There were others working and they looked like zombies. They looked like they were prisoners.
But it didn’t matter. I had to find out who I was … what I was was doing.
