# ■ 3 Monsters

There was a door at the other end of the tunnel．I went through and…

I was dreaming！I saw big things that grew out of the ground．They were much taller than me with long brown arms covered with green leaves．

I was very frightened as I remembered something in the Book of Remembering：'In those days there were trees…'

Trees！

I never thought a living thing could be so big．I covered my eyes with my hands．I was afraid to look…but I was afraid not to look．

After a time I took my hands away from my eyes．The trees were still there．They weren't moving．

I suddenly understood that the trees couldn't move．They were plants，like potatoes or rice．I was safe standing under them．

But I didn't feel safe．

The computer inside my spacesuit was checking the air for me．After a few seconds the red lights on my suit turned to green．The air here was safe for humans．So I took off my spacesuit．

Now I could touch and smell things．There was a soft wind．It was cool．I smelt…strange new smells．I smelt living things．Was I smelling the trees…or something else？

I heard a sound of crying．Then I thought I heard something moving in the trees—just behind one big tree．

Was something hiding behind the tree？I was frightened but I wanted to see，so I walked slowly towards the tree．

There was light in this place but there were shadows in the trees．I looked round the tree…

I was frightened almost out of my mind．I fell down and my body started shaking．

A grey thing came out from behind the tree and came towards me． It was big but it wasn't tall because it walked on four feet．It had no hands．

But the thing had teeth．Yes，it had a mouth full of teeth，yellow， shiny teeth． It had yellow eyes and grey hair all over its body．I could smell it…

Its mouth came towards my face．I closed my eyes and waited to die．

There was hot air on my face．I wanted to scream and scream but I was too frightened．I couldn't scream．

My mind exploded．I went crazy．I suddenly hit the grey thing and it fell back against the tree．I hit it again，as hard as I could．

I wanted to destroy the grey thing and I was screaming．Suddenly it was gone．

Then I saw another monster．This one was very small with grey fur all over its body． It was holding on to the tree but I pulled it off．I could destroy this one！

I pulled its short legs hard．The small monster bit me．Its teeth went right into my finger．The pain was terrible．

But my mind was exploding．I wanted to destroy it and I didn't care about the pain．I just wanted to kill it．

Then the big grey monster ran back through the trees，jumped at me and knocked me down．As I fell，I dropped the little monster and it escaped．

My head banged on a rock and everything went black．

■ 3 怪物

隧道的盡頭有一個門。我進去了……

我在做夢吧！我看見地上長出的很大的東西。它們比我高許多，長著長長的棕色臂膀，上面有綠色的葉子蓋著。

我怕極了，我想起《往事追憶》中說的：“那時候有樹……”

樹！

我從沒想過生物會長得這麼大。我用手捂住眼睛。我不敢看……可不看我也害怕。

過了一會兒，我把手從眼前拿開。樹還在那兒，它們一動不動。

我馬上明白了，樹不會動。它們是植物，象土豆和水稻一樣。我站在樹下是安全的。

可我感到並不安全。

我太空服裡的電腦正在替我檢查空氣狀況。幾秒鐘後，我太空服裡的紅燈變成了綠燈。這兒的空氣對人類是安全的。於是我脫下了太空服。

這樣我就可以觸摸和聞東西了。微風襲來，有些涼意。我聞到了什麼氣味，一種怪怪的、從沒聞到過的氣味。是生物的氣味。我聞到的是樹麼，還是其他什麼東西？

我聽到一陣叫聲。然後我想我聽見樹後有東西在動——就在一棵大樹後面。

有東西藏在樹後面麼？我很害怕，可我又想看看，於是我慢慢地朝樹走了過去。

這地方有光亮，但樹叢裡卻有些黑影。我繞過樹一看……

我幾乎嚇暈過去。我倒在地上，身體顫抖起來。

一個灰色的東西從樹後閃出來，朝我而來。它很大，但不高，因為它是四條腿走路的。它沒有手。

那東西長著牙齒。對，長著滿口黃色、閃亮的牙齒。它還長著黃色的眼睛，渾身上下都是灰色的毛。我能聞到它的氣味。

它的嘴巴湊到我臉上。我閉上眼睛，等死。

我感覺到臉上有熱乎乎的氣息。我想放聲大叫，可我被嚇呆了。我叫不出聲來。

我腦子嚇懵了，變得狂亂。我猛擊那個灰不溜秋的東西，它退後撞到樹上。我又打了一下，使出了全身的力氣。

我想打死那個灰色傢伙，我尖叫著。突然，它不見了。

然後我又看到另外一隻怪物。這東西很小，全身都是灰色的皮毛。它伏在樹上。我把它拉了下來。這一個我能消滅！

我使勁兒拽著它的短腿。這小怪物咬了我一口。它的牙齒咬進了我的手指。疼死了。

但我瘋狂了。我一心想除掉它，顧不上疼痛。我就是想弄死它。

接著，那隻大怪物從樹叢裡跑出來，撲向我，把我打倒了。這一摔，我放走了那小怪物，讓它逃開了。

我的頭撞在了一塊石頭上，眼前的一切都變黑了。