He drove his car swiftly through the outskirts of the city and into the main part of town. Then he pulled up before the offices of the _Tucson Star_ and left his car at the curb.
He entered the building, took the elevator to his floor and walked into the city room. The clatter of typewriters met his ears and the sound was sweet to him in that moment.
He crossed swiftly to his desk and sat dawn. Then he motioned to a copy boy. The boy came up to his desk.
"Jerry, tell the chief to hold up the form on page one. I"ve got a special--an accident out at the Proving Grounds. Headline copy."
The youth hurried away toward the office of the City Editor, and Fred picked up his phone and dialed a number. He waited a moment and then the voice of Joan Drake came across the wire.
"Dr. Fenwick"s office."
"Joan, this is Fred."
The girl"s voice laughed across the wire. "Don"t tell me you"re planning to break our date? Just when I get all dressed up."
A smile crossed Trent"s lips. "You"re almost psychic, honey. Fact is, I was calling to tell you I"ll be a little late."
There was a pause and when the girl spoke again there was an injured note in her voice.
"Well, that"s a fine thing. I wait here deliberately after hours for you to pick me up and now you tell me you"ll be late! Just what"s so more important than me right now?"
"I haven"t got time to tell you now, Joan, but believe me, I"ve got the break of the year. A story that will rock the front pages across the country. I"ll tell you all about it later. You can wait at Fenwick"s place. He won"t mind, will he?"
He could hear the girl sniff on the other end of the wire.
"I don"t suppose he will, but I don"t think I can say the same for myself."
"That"s a good girl," Trent laughed. "Just wait for me. It may be an hour or so--"
"An _hour_ or so! What are you writing, the great American novel?"
He looked up and saw the frowning face of the City Editor approaching his desk. He spoke hurriedly.
"I"ve got to sign off now. The boss is coming up. I"ll see you later.
Give my regards to Brutus."
He replaced the phone as the editor reached his desk.
"What"s all this about a remake on the front page, Trent?"
Fred nodded. "That"s right, chief. The biggest story since the atom bomb. Listen!"
He gave a short account of what had happened, and then added the personal details of his talk with Gaddon. He saw the eyes of the editor widen as he went on, and by the time he had finished, there was a look of excitement on the editor"s face.
"Get to that story, Trent. Write it hot, and write it fast. I"ll hold the first form and tear down the front page. Stress the human interest angle. Play it up big. We"ll hit the news wires with it after we go to press."
Then a smile crossed the editor"s face. "And you"ll get a by-line on this, Trent, that ought to put you in for some big money. Nice work."
Then he turned on his heel and was hurrying across the city room toward his gla.s.sed-in office, hollering for a copy boy as he went.
Trent turned back to his desk and slipped a sheet of paper into his typewriter. There was a tenseness around his eyes as he brought his fingers down on the keys. For a moment the old questions rose again in his mind. _Was Gaddon right? Could it be possible that ..._
Then he forgot everything but the story. And his fingers clicked against the keys, putting it down on paper.
The rocket chamber swayed gently through the night air, whistling its way slowly downward, moving more slowly as the great parachute above it caught in the rapidly thickening density of the cabin"s atmosphere.
Inside it, the thing that had been Gaddon, the thing that was no longer a man, sat on the floor of the chamber, idly toying with the dead body of the cat.
Strange thoughts coursed through the mind inside its head. Half of the mind that belonged to Gaddon, and half of the mind that was an alien thing, a creature unnamed.
There was a thought of killing and the thought was good. The claw-like hands played with the cat"s dead body, fondling it idly, wishing it were still alive so that it might die again.
And the other part of its mind, the part that still knew it was Gaddon, rebelled against the thought. Tried to drive it away. Tried to move that alien intelligence into the rear of his consciousness.
A growl left his lips as he struggled with it. And then a whimpering sound.
For now the alien thought of killing and the joy it had experienced as the cat died scant moments before, was replaced by another thought. A thought of loneliness.
It was a weird feeling, an utter loneliness that came from the great void beyond man"s planet. It cried out in silent protest for it knew it was alone in this world of men.
And it knew it would remain alone, friendless. For what manner of men such as the other part of its mind showed would react in a friendly fashion? Where would be their common meeting ground? There could only be one, it knew. And that one was fear. Fear and the hate that went with it.
A growl left its lips again, and Gaddon"s thoughts tried to force their way through. Tried and failed again.
But was it necessary to want companionship? It thought about that for a moment. And then the alien beast thoughts grew sharper, clearer. It knew suddenly that it did not want man"s compa.s.sion. It knew that there was only one driving thought in it. Hate. Hate that would inspire fear. Fear that would freeze its victim into terror. And terror that would be replaced by death. And then it would be happy again. Happy to sit and fondle the thing that had been alive. And it knew something else. It knew that a hunger would have to be satisfied. A hunger that called for flesh.
Deep, primeval thoughts raced through it then. Thoughts that were sp.a.w.ned in the ancient jungles of a new and steaming world. A world where great cats roamed, where screams of cat-rage split the air as tawny bodies arced in lightning leaps to land on the trembling bodies of their victims. It was a satisfying thought. A thought that spanned the ages of Earth, a sense that was inherent in all cat minds through the ages.
And as the thought raced through that portion of its mind, the part that was Gaddon struggled to fight it back. For it realized with a sickness that spread horror through it that the thought was part of the animal existence that had been created in him. Part of the monster that lay by instinct in all feline creatures. And Gaddon knew that the dead creature at his feet, the limp and twisted body of the cat, had died long before his hands had crushed it in their mighty grip. For the essence of that life, that animal existence, had been merged with him, fused by a mighty source from outer s.p.a.ce.
And as he struggled with the thought, fought to regain the balance of control of the strange body that was now his, the rocket chamber swayed in a gust of wind from without. And as he clutched the sides of the chamber with his strong claw-like hands, the chamber gave a bounding lurch as it struck the ground a glancing blow.
There was a grating sound as the metal chamber gouged into the earth, sank its weight upon the Arizona soil. And the thing was thrown violently against the side of the chamber.
Then there was quiet again.
Gaddon"s mind fought to the fore, took control of that feline man-shape that was his, struggled to its feet and moved in a lithe bound to the opposite side of the chamber. A clawed hand reached up where Gaddon knew the release mechanism of the door lay, and pressed it.
The door slid back with a sliding sound and the cool night air rushed in upon it.
Gaddon moved his cat-body through the opening and bounded to the ground in a lithe, powerful movement. He felt new muscles react as he landed on the ground, and knew that there was a great strength in them. Strength that was waiting to be used.