The Hogarth Experiment Part 2

The fire raged out of control and into the night. Its glow coloured the sky. Chemicals exploded as they warmed to boiling point. Hogarth’s assistant Adam Wright pulled Hogarth from the flames and across the lawn. The clanging of bells from the Fire Brigade and Ambulance were soon to be heard. Hogarth was rushed to hospital where he would stay for just over a month. His makeshift laboratory laid a charred skeleton on his return. All his work was gone, destroyed in the fire. He was a broken man. He became a recluse in his home. His hair turned white overnight. He just sat everyday in his chair and looked out the window from dawn to dusk. No one could reach him; it was as if his will to live was gone. Three years later and Hogarth hadn’t changed. He would get up every morning and in his chair would sit. The war in Europe was over and celebrations now had begun. The mighty Germany had fallen; its leader Hitler was now dead. Soon the troops would be coming home. The VE day celebrations were getting well into swing. While on a farm not far from the valley something strange was happening. Ernest Rotherham went out to bring in his cattle from grazing for milking time. The sight that greeted his eyes made him cry. There spread across the field his cattle lay dead everywhere. He ran back to his farm and telephoned for the Vet. The Vet was on call at the moment, but on his return, they would send him out. About twenty miles away Joe Harper the local Vet was driving down a county lane. Bushes grew tall on either side and from behind them; he could hear a loud hum. He stopped the car, but left the engine running. He opened the door, got out and peered through the bushes. A sharp pain like a knife pierced his back. To be continued…