The Time Traveller and Weena left the Palace of Green Porcelain. The sun was still in the sky. The Time Traveller wanted to reach the White Sphinx the next morning. He planned to walk through the woods that night. He gathered sticks and dry grass to make a fire.
The Time Traveller carried a lot of wood in his arms. This made the walk very slow. Weena was also very tired. The Time Traveller was very sleepy because he did not sleep for two days. It was dark when they reached the edge of the woods.
Weena was afraid of the dark forest. The Time Traveller saw three Morlocks in the bushes behind them. He did not feel safe in the long grass. He thought the forest was about one mile wide. He wanted to cross the forest to reach a safe hill.
The Time Traveller put his wood on the ground. He decided to light a fire to surprise the Morlocks. Fire was a very rare thing in this world. People forgot how to make it. The red flames were new and strange to Weena.
Weena wanted to play with the fire. She did not know it was dangerous. The Time Traveller picked Weena up and ran into the woods. Behind them, the fire started to spread to the trees. The Time Traveller held Weena with his left arm and his iron bar with his right hand.
The woods were very dark and quiet. Then, the Time Traveller heard feet behind him. He heard the strange voices of the Morlocks. The Morlocks were very close now. One Morlock pulled the Time Traveller’s coat.
The Time Traveller needed a match. He put Weena down on the ground. The Morlocks touched his clothes and his neck. The Time Traveller lit a match, and the Morlocks ran away. He looked at Weena. She was not moving.
Weena fainted (lost consciousness and fell down). The Time Traveller was very worried. He moved around a lot to light his matches. Now, the Time Traveller was lost. He did not know which way to go. He felt very afraid.
The Time Traveller decided to build a new fire. He saw many Morlock eyes in the dark. One Morlock ran toward the Time Traveller. The Time Traveller hit the Morlock with his fist. Then, he gathered more branches for a big fire.
The smoke from the fire made the Time Traveller very sleepy. He sat down to rest. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he woke up, everything was dark. The fire was out. The Morlocks were holding his arms and his hair.
The Time Traveller looked for his matches. The matches were gone! The Morlocks pulled the Time Traveller down. He felt their teeth on his neck. Then, his hand touched the iron bar. He used the bar to hit the Morlocks.
The Time Traveller stood against a tree and fought. Suddenly, he saw a red light. The air smelled like smoke. He heard a loud noise like a wind. The first fire he started was now a big forest fire (a large fire that burns many trees).
The Time Traveller looked for Weena, but she was gone. The fire was coming fast. The Time Traveller had to run. He followed the path of the Morlocks. He reached a small open space without trees.
The open space was very bright because of the fire. There were many Morlocks there. The bright light hurt their eyes. The Morlocks were blind (not able to see). They walked into each other and made sad noises.
The Time Traveller sat on a hill and watched the fire. He wanted to wake up from this bad dream. He saw some Morlocks run into the flames. Finally, the sun came up. The night was over.
The Time Traveller looked for Weena again. He did not find her. He felt very sad and lonely. He looked at the smoke and saw the Palace of Green Porcelain far away. Now, he knew the way to the White Sphinx.
The Time Traveller walked over the gray ashes. His feet were very sore. He felt terrible about the death of Weena. Then, he put his hand in his pocket. He found some loose matches. He felt a little hope again.