It was two days before I could follow my new clue. I felt a terrible fear of those pale, cold bodies. They looked like dead worms preserved in a bottle at a museum, and they were horribly cold to touch. Now I understood why the little Eloi hated the Morlocks so much.
The next night, I did not sleep well. I woke up with a feeling of deep fear. The moon was getting smaller, and soon the nights would be completely dark. Then, more of these terrible creatures would come up from below. I knew I had to go underground to find my Time Machine, but the idea terrified me. If only I had a friend with me, it would be different. But I was horribly alone.
Because I was so nervous, I went for long walks to avoid the well. Far away, I saw a huge green building. It looked like it was made of shiny green glass or porcelain. I wanted to explore it, but it was late, so I returned to little Weena. However, the next morning, I realized the truth. I was only looking for excuses to delay my journey underground. I finally decided to face my fear and go down into the well immediately.
Little Weena ran with me. She danced happily beside me. But when she saw me look down into the deep, dark hole, she became very frightened.
"Good-bye, little Weena," I said. I kissed her and looked for the metal hooks to climb down. At first, she watched me in surprise. Then, she gave a terrible, sad cry. She ran to me and tried to pull me back with her little hands. I gently pushed her away and climbed into the well. I looked up, smiled at her worried face, and began to climb down.
I had to climb down a very deep hole. There were metal bars on the sides, but they were made for much smaller, lighter creatures. Very soon, my arms and back hurt badly. Suddenly, one of the bars bent under my weight! I almost fell into the blackness below. After that, I did not dare to rest. I went on climbing down as fast as possible. When I looked up, the opening was just a small blue circle, and I could see Weena’s head. Below me, the noise of a great machine grew louder and louder.
I was in terrible pain and thought about going back up. But in the end, I kept going. Finally, I found a narrow tunnel in the side of the wall. I climbed inside and lay down to rest. It was completely dark, and the air was full of the heavy noise of machines.
I do not know how long I slept. Suddenly, a soft hand touched my face. I jumped up in the dark and quickly lit a match. By the sudden light, I saw three white creatures. They had huge, strange eyes. Because they lived in the dark, the light hurt their eyes, and they ran away into the shadows.
I decided to find out more. I slowly moved along the tunnel until it opened into a huge cave. I struck another match and looked around. I could see the shapes of giant machines. The air felt heavy, and there was a strong smell of fresh blood. In the middle of the room, there was a metal table with a large piece of red meat on it. The Morlocks ate meat! I wondered what large animal they could possibly hunt. Then the match burned my fingers and went out.
I suddenly realized how foolish I was. I had come to the future with no weapons and no medicine. I did not even have enough matches because I had wasted most of them to entertain the Eloi. Now, I only had four left!
While I stood in the dark, a cold hand touched mine. Long fingers felt my face. I could hear the breathing of many creatures around me, and I smelled a terrible, sick odor. I felt them gently take the matchbox from my hand. Other hands pulled at my clothes. I shouted at them as loudly as I could. They moved back for a second, but then they came towards me again. They touched me more boldly and made a strange laughing noise.
I was absolutely terrified. I lit my second match and ran back to the narrow tunnel. But as soon as I entered it, the wind blew my light out. In the blackness, I heard the Morlocks running after me like rain falling on leaves.
Suddenly, many hands grabbed me. They were trying to pull me back into the cave! I quickly lit my third match and waved it in their faces. In the light, I saw their ugly, pale faces and huge, pinkish-grey eyes. They looked completely inhuman. They stepped back, confused by the light.
I did not wait. I ran to the shaft. Just as my match went out, I reached the opening. I grabbed the climbing hooks. Suddenly, cold hands caught my feet and pulled me hard. I lit my last match, but it went out almost immediately. I kicked violently, freed myself from the Morlocks, and began to climb up the dark well.
That climb felt like it would never end. I was sick and tired. My head hurt, and I felt like I was going to fall. But finally, I climbed out of the well and fell onto the grass in the bright sunlight. The sweet, clean air filled my lungs. I remember little Weena kissing my hands, and I heard the friendly voices of the Eloi. Then, everything went black, and I fainted.