Chapter 13 The Forest at Night With the daylight disappearing, we headed back.
As we walked, Weena and I gathered firewood.
We were both tired, and carrying the wood slowed us down, so we didn't get as far as I'd hoped.
By the time we reached the forest, it was already night.
Weena didn't want to go through the woods in the dark.
If I had been thinking straight, we would have stopped and built a fire, but I was very tired because I had not slept the night before, so I decided to carry on.
I thought the forest was less than a mile wide and I was anxious to make it through to the other side as soon as possible.
I was sure the matches and camphor would get us through the forest safely and I felt it would be better to make camp on the hill on the other side.
I had also seen three dark figures hiding in the shadows nearby, and I wanted to get away from them.
But now I was faced with a problem.
I knew I would need to light matches to keep the Morlocks away in the darkness of the forest, but that would be difficult if I was carrying the firewood in my metal lever.
So
I decided to leave behind the sticks and branches I had collected.
I dropped my firewood and turned to go.
That was when I had an idea.
I thought if I lit a fire it would keep the Morlocks from following us.
To be honest, I think I also wanted to frighten them because I had grown to hate the creatures.
I lit the pile of wood and soon a large blaze lit up the trees and bushes around us.
Weena was thrilled by the flames.
She put her firewood on the ground and danced around with wide-eyed delight.
She moved so close to the flames that she would have been burned herself if I hadn't grabbed her.
I gestured to her to pick up her firewood again.
Then I took her hand and together we walked into the forest.
For a little while the light from the blaze lit our way.
I looked back and saw that the fire was spreading.
Some bushes were now burning and flames were creeping up the hill.
I laughed at the thought of the Morlocks running away in fear.
Weena and I turned and headed deeper into the gloom of the forest.
The glow from the fire became dimmer until the only light came from dim patches of sky overhead.
There was barely enough light to see the trail.
I would have struck a match to light our way, but Weena had become too tired.
She dropped the wood she was holding, and I had to carry her.
I held her in one arm and the metal lever in the other.
For a while, the only sounds were the cracking of twigs under our feet and the whisper of our breathing, but then I heard rustling noises behind us.
Slowly, I began to hear the animal noises of the warlocks.
I felt a tug at my jacket, then something pulled at my arm.
Weena gave out a small cry.
I could feel her shaking with fear.
I needed to light a match, so I put Weena down and reached into my pocket.
As I was fumbling for a match, I heard the sound of a struggle beside me in the darkness.
The Morlocks were trying to drag Weena away.
Small hands clutched at my jacket and at my back and neck.
I finally struck a match.
It burst into flame and in the light I saw the white, hairy backs of the Morlocks as they scrambled away.
I quickly took the camphor from my pocket.
I picked off a small piece, lit it, and threw it on the ground.
It sparked and burned, driving the creatures even further into the shadows.
The rustle of the bushes and the glimmer of eyes in the darkness told me the Morlocks were all around us.
I looked down and saw poor Weena.
She was curled up on the ground, covering her head with her arms.
I bent down and picked her up.
I turned to go and suddenly realized I didn't know which direction to take.
In my struggle with the Morlocks, the creatures had turned me around.
In the darkness, I didn't have any idea which way led back to the statue.
For all I knew, I was facing back toward the green building.
I began to sweat and tried to decide what to do.
I quickly realized we would have to camp here for the night.
If we tried to go on, we could get hopelessly lost.
The camphor was flickering out, so I began to gather wood for a fire.
The Morlocks watched me from a distance.
Their eyes shone like the eyes of wild animals in the blackness.
The camphor went out and everything went dark.
I quickly lit a match and saw two of the white creatures already creeping toward Weena.
The light of the match blinded them and they scurried away in a panic.
One bolted with its eyes closed and ran right into me.
It gave a yell and scrambled into the bushes.
I rapidly lit another piece of camphor and gathered more firewood.
Soon we were safely in a circle of light from the fire.
I needed to be ready if the Morlocks came again, so I placed the lever, the camphor and the matches on the ground next to me.
I dumped the matches out of their box so I could light them at a moment's notice.
I was already exhausted from the day, and the crackle of the burning wood made me even sleepier.
I thought the fire would burn for another hour, and so, with Weena lying beside me, I closed my eyes to rest.
When I opened them again, I was in complete darkness and in the grips of the Morlocks.
Their hands pawed me everywhere, grabbing my neck, hair, and arms.
I tried to get up, but they pulled me down and held me to the ground.
I felt teeth nipping at my body.
I knew I must have slept too long.
The fire had gone out and the creatures had returned.
It was horrible to feel them on me.
I felt like a fly trapped in a giant spider web, but I fought back and rolled over to knock them off me.
I managed to free myself and scrambled to my feet.
Now that I was standing, I could keep the Morlocks from grabbing me.
They tried to jump on me, but I fought back and pushed them away.
I stood with my back to a tree, which made it easier to defend myself.
Then I noticed a faint glow creeping into the woods from behind me.
As it grew brighter, the Morlocks stopped attacking and crept away.
Then more of the creatures appeared from the direction of the light.
Their white backs shone a dull red as they fled.
As I watched them hurry away, a glowing spark drifted by on the breeze.
I heard a muffled roar behind me and took a deep breath.
The air was filled with the smell of burning wood.
I stepped away from the tree and looked back.
The dark forest had turned into a wall of flame.
The small blaze that I had started had turned into a huge forest fire.
It lit up the trees and ground around me.
I looked for Weena, but she was gone.
The flames marched closer, filling the air with hissing and crackling sounds.
Tree after tree burst into flame with a roar.
There was nothing to do but follow the Morlocks.
I quickly grabbed the metal lever, camphor, and matches and ran.
The fire raced through the forest almost as fast as I could run, but I stayed ahead of it until, at last, I came out into an open field.
The field was lit by the flames behind me.
The fire reached the field, and soon trees, shrubs, and grass burned all around.
At the top of a nearby hill a bush was alive with flame.
Caught in the light, the Morlocks ran frantically from one side of the field to the other.
They must have been running with their eyes closed, because they sometimes ran into one another or into trees.
A few times the creatures darted right at me and I had to jump aside.
I wasn't in any danger from the Morlocks while the fire burned, so I walked around looking for Weena.
I covered every foot of the field, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, I gave up and fell to my knees on the hill.
I felt as if I were in a nightmare.
The flames and the ghostly figures of the frantic Morlocks surrounded me.
I had lost my dear friend, and I had barely survived the attack in the forest.
I looked up.
Through the billowing smoke, I saw that the sky was getting brighter, the stars were disappearing, the red glow of the fire was slowly being replaced by the pink light of dawn.
When the sun finally rose above the blackened trees, I searched for Weena again, but she was still nowhere to be seen.
And so I left the hill and headed toward the white building in the distance.
I was tired from the horrible night, but it wouldn't take me long to reach the statue.
Without Weena at my side, I felt more alone than ever.
