The Time Traveller felt worse than before. Before this, the Time Traveller felt hope. He wanted to escape this time. But now, the Time Traveller felt a new fear. Before, the Time Traveller thought the little people were only simple like children. He thought he only needed to understand them. Now, he knew about the Morlocks (monsters who live underground). The Morlocks were not human. They were evil.
The Time Traveller hated them. Before, the Time Traveller felt like a man in a deep hole. He wanted to climb out. Now, the Time Traveller felt like an animal in a trap. He knew his enemy would come for him soon.
This enemy was the darkness. Weena told the Time Traveller about the Dark Nights (the time when the moon is not in the sky). The moon became smaller every night. Soon, the nights would be very dark. The Eloi (the small, beautiful people of the future) were very afraid of the dark. Now, the Time Traveller understood why. He wondered what the Morlocks did during the dark nights.
The Time Traveller had a new idea about these people. Long ago, the Eloi were perhaps the rich leaders. The Morlocks were perhaps their workers. But that changed a long time ago. Now, the Eloi were weak and useless. The Morlocks lived underground (below the surface of the earth) for many years. They could not stand the bright sun.
The Morlocks still made clothes for the Eloi. They did this because it was an old habit. But the world changed. Long ago, men pushed other men into the dark. Now, those men were coming back. They were different. The Eloi were learning to feel fear again.
The Time Traveller remembered the meat in the underworld. He thought about the shape of that meat. It looked familiar. He felt a sudden, terrible fear. But the Time Traveller was from the past. He was strong. He would defend himself. The Time Traveller decided to find a safe place to sleep. He needed a weapon. He could not sleep until he was safe from the Morlocks.
The Time Traveller walked along the river in the afternoon. He did not find a safe building. The Morlocks were good at climbing. They could climb trees and walls easily. Then, the Time Traveller remembered the Palace of Green Porcelain. It had tall points and hard walls.
In the evening, the Time Traveller put Weena on his shoulder. He walked toward the hills. The walk was very long. The Palace was about eighteen miles away. The Time Traveller had a problem with his shoes. A nail was pushing through the bottom of one shoe. It hurt his foot. The sun went down before he reached the Palace.
Weena liked it when the Time Traveller carried her. Then, she wanted to walk. She ran next to the Time Traveller. She picked flowers and put them in his pockets. Weena thought his pockets were vases (jars used to hold flowers). She used them for her flowers.
The Time Traveller stopped his story. He put his hand in his pocket. He placed two dead white flowers on the table. Then, he continued his story.
The evening was very quiet. Weena was tired. She wanted to go back to the gray stone house. But the Time Traveller pointed to the Palace of Green Porcelain. He told Weena they would be safe there. The sky was clear and the wind stopped. The Time Traveller felt very nervous. He felt like the Morlocks were waiting under his feet. He thought they took his Time Machine (a machine used to travel through time).
The night became dark. The stars came out. Weena was very afraid. She put her arms around the Time Traveller's neck. They walked down into a valley. The Time Traveller walked into a small river. He crossed the water. He passed a broken statue (a person made of stone) without a head. He did not see any Morlocks yet.
They reached a big, black forest. The Time Traveller stopped. He was very tired and his feet were sore. He could not see the Palace of Green Porcelain. He was afraid of the dark forest. There were many tree roots on the ground. He decided to stay on the hill for the night.
Weena was fast asleep. The Time Traveller put his jacket around her. He sat down and waited for the moon. The stars were very bright. He looked at the constellations (groups of stars that make a shape). The shapes were different now. The stars moved over thousands of years. He saw a very bright red star. He saw a steady, kind planet.
The stars made his troubles feel small. He thought about the long history of the world. All the old nations and languages were gone. Now, there were only the weak Eloi and the white monsters. Then, the Time Traveller thought about the meat again. He realized the truth. The Morlocks ate the Eloi! It was too horrible. He looked at Weena and tried to forget the thought.
The night was long. The Time Traveller watched the sky. He slept for a short time. Then, the sun began to rise in the east. The sky became pink and warm. No Morlocks came near them. The Time Traveller felt better in the daylight. He stood up, but his foot was very painful. He took off his shoes and threw them away.
He woke Weena. They went into the forest. It looked green and beautiful in the sun. They found some fruit and ate it. They saw other Eloi dancing in the sunlight. The Eloi did not think about the night. The Time Traveller felt sorry for them. He knew the Morlocks kept the Eloi like farm animals.
The Time Traveller tried to think like a scientist. Long ago, the Morlocks had no food. They began to eat the Eloi. It was a punishment for the past. The rich people in the past were selfish. Now, their children were being eaten. But the Time Traveller still felt sorry for the Eloi. They still looked like humans.
The Time Traveller had a plan. First, he needed a safe home. Second, he needed fire. Fire was a good weapon against the Morlocks. He also wanted to break the bronze (a strong, brown metal) doors under the Sphinx. He believed his Time Machine was inside. He wanted to take Weena to his own time. They walked toward the big green building.