Now, I truly felt I was in a worse situation than before. Until now, I always had a strong hope that I would finally escape. I thought my only problems were the childish little people and some unknown forces that I just needed to understand. But the Morlocks were something completely different. There was something inhuman and evil about them. I naturally hated them. Before, I felt like a man who had fallen into a deep hole; my only thought was how to get out of it. Now I felt like an animal in a trap, waiting for the hunter to arrive.
The enemy I feared was the dark. Weena had put this idea into my head when she talked about the "Dark Nights." It was easy to guess what the coming Dark Nights meant. The moon was getting smaller, so each night the darkness lasted longer. Now I understood why the little Upperworld people were so afraid of the night. I wondered what terrible things the Morlocks did when there was no moon. I finally understood the relationship between the two species. A long time ago, the Upperworld people were the rich masters, and the Morlocks were their underground workers. But that time had passed long ago.
The Morlocks still made clothes for the Eloi and took care of them, perhaps just out of an old habit. But the old rules had changed. Thousands of years ago, man had pushed his brother out of the sunshine. Now, that brother was coming back—changed and hungry! The Eloi were learning to feel fear again. Suddenly, I remembered the red meat I had seen in the Underworld. A terrible thought came into my mind. I had a feeling I knew what it was, but I could not be sure yet.
I was very different from the frightened little people. I came from our time, and I was ready to fight. I decided to make weapons and find a safe building where I could sleep. I felt I could never close my eyes again until my bed was safe from those white creatures. I shivered with horror when I thought about how they had touched me in the dark.
That afternoon, I walked along the valley, but I found no place that seemed completely safe. The Morlocks were excellent climbers, so normal buildings were useless. Then, I remembered the tall walls of the Palace of Green Porcelain. In the evening, I put little Weena on my shoulder, and we started walking toward the south-west. The palace was much further away than I thought. Also, a nail inside my shoe was hurting my foot, so I could only walk slowly. By the time we saw the black shape of the palace against the pale yellow sky, the sun was already going down.
Weena had been very happy when I began to carry her. After a while, she wanted to walk and ran beside me. She often stopped to pick flowers and put them in my pockets. My pockets always confused Weena, but she decided they were a kind of vase for flowers. And that reminds me! When I changed my jacket, I found...
The Time Traveller stopped speaking. He put his hand into his pocket and silently placed two dry, white flowers on the little table. Then he went on with his story.
As the quiet evening fell over the world, Weena grew tired and wanted to go back to the house of grey stone. But I pointed to the distant Palace of Green Porcelain. I managed to make her understand that we were looking for a safe place there. The sky was clear and empty. In that quiet dusk, my senses were very sharp. I even felt that the ground under my feet was hollow. I could almost imagine the Morlocks moving around down there, waiting for the dark.
We went on in the quiet, and the evening turned into night. One star after another came out. The ground became dim, and the trees looked black. Weena became more tired and afraid. I took her in my arms, talked to her, and held her close. As the darkness grew deeper, she put her arms around my neck and tightly closed her eyes. We walked down a long hill and crossed a small river. So far, I had seen no Morlocks, but it was still early in the night.
Soon, we came to a thick, black wood. I stopped and hesitated. I could see no end to it. My feet were very sore, so I carefully put Weena down on the grass. I looked into the dark wood and thought about the dangers it might hide. Under those thick branches, we would not be able to see the stars. I was too tired to face it, so I decided to spend the night outside on the open hill.
I was glad to see that Weena was fast asleep. I carefully wrapped her in my jacket and sat down beside her to wait for the moon. The hillside was quiet, but from the black wood, I could hear living things moving around. The night was very clear, and the stars shone brightly. Looking at the stars made my own troubles seem small. I thought about their huge distance and how slowly they moved. During that long time, all of human history—our languages, books, and nations—had disappeared. Now, there were only these weak creatures who had forgotten their past, and the white monsters I feared.
Then I thought again of the Great Fear between the two species. For the first time, I finally understood what the meat in the Underworld was. It was too horrible! I looked at little Weena sleeping beside me under the stars, and I quickly pushed the thought away.
Through that long night, I tried not to think about the Morlocks. The sky stayed very clear. Finally, the old moon rose, thin and white, and soon after, the warm pink dawn arrived. No Morlocks had come near us. In the bright morning light, I felt safe again. I stood up and found my ankle was very swollen, so I took off my shoes and threw them away.
I woke Weena up, and we walked down into the wood. In the sunlight, it was green and pleasant. We found some fruit for breakfast. Soon, we met other Eloi, laughing and dancing in the sun as if the dangerous night did not exist. Then I thought once more about the meat I had seen. Now I was completely sure of what it was, and I felt so sorry for these poor people.
A long time ago, the Morlocks probably ran out of food. They might have eaten rats for a while. But eventually, they turned to a darker food source. The Eloi were just like fat cattle to them. The Morlocks protected them and let them play, only to hunt them when they were hungry. And here was Weena, dancing happily at my side!
I tried to think about it logically. Maybe this was a terrible punishment for human selfishness. In the past, rich humans lived comfortable lives while others worked hard for them in the dark. Now, nature had changed everything. But I could not accept this thought. The Eloi still looked human, and they needed my help.
I had a clear plan now. First, I needed to find a safe hiding place and make some weapons out of metal or stone. Next, I hoped to find a way to make fire. A burning torch was the best weapon against the Morlocks. After that, I wanted to build something heavy to break open the bronze doors under the White Sphinx. I believed that if I could get inside with a bright fire, I would find my Time Machine. And I was determined to bring Weena back to my own time with me. Thinking about these plans, we continued our journey towards the Palace of Green Porcelain.