Chapter 18 - A Battle and a Love Confession

The morlocks approached the party with angry and fierce eyes that were glowing red. All Becca could do was scream; that made one of the morlocks roar a loud roar! Poor Weena helplessly pointed out the creatures while making noises that sounded just as frightened as Becca was. "Stand back!" Sci Fi told her friends as she ran forward, "At my place, I'm an alien exterminator. I know what to do with these punks!"
"Be careful, Sci Fi!" said Becca with fear in her voice. The marten didn't listen; instead, she just darted right in front of the morlocks, and began to fight with them!

Back on the hilltop, the other book animals and Sheila watched with cringes and amazement. "What is she doing?" wondered Fantasy.
"It looks like she's tryin' to beat those things like a wave does to a navy ship," said Adventure.
"I think she may need help," said Mystery, "Because, well, I… love her."
Everyone looked at the fisher with awe. "You what?" said Fantasy.
"Ever since I first saw her beautiful brown eyes and raven hair," said Mystery, "I admired her. Even if she seems tough and serious, I think she's the kind of girl for me. That's why I'm going to help her!" And with that, Mystery ran down the hill to help Sci Fi confront the morlocks.
Down below, Sci Fi bit one morlock hard on the leg, making it scream in pain; just then, another morlock grabbed the marten by the tail and threw her towards the hill's slope! After she fell, Sci Fi struggled to get up, but two morlocks surrounded her. That didn't stop her, though, because she regained composure and jumped into one of the creatures' face and clawed and bit around its cheeks! Becca, the Time Traveler, and Weena cringed as they watched the sight. Suddenly, Mystery appeared and jumped onto one of the morlocks, biting it on the neck! The morlock turned around and growled at the fisher.
Sci Fi became distracted, and gasped when she saw Mystery fighting the morlocks, too. "Mystery?" she said softly. Unfortunately, one of the morlocks she was fighting subdued her by grabbing her by the waist, roaring a monstrous roar at her, and throwing her to the ground. Meanwhile, Mystery fought with all his might to defeat the morlocks, but the creatures were all too much for him, too!

While watching her friends fight the morlocks, Becca began to think a bit. She remembered the horrific day when she lost Nicole, and couldn't do anything to save her. This made her not only afraid, but also gave her a deep and terrible fury. Almost immediately, Becca screamed and charged towards the morlocks! She grabbed one of them by the neck, and pushed it to the ground. Next, she kicked another morlock in the rear with her foot, making it wince in pain. Finally, Becca picked up a large stick that was nearby, and whacked two more morlocks on the heads with the stick. "YOU LEAVE MY FRIENDS ALONE, YOU MONSTROUS APES!" the girl screamed while she beat the creatures. Eventually, the morlocks whimpered and ran away, because they knew that Becca was too much for them.
When the morlocks disappeared, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror and Sheila ran down the hill to check to see if anyone was hurt. Becca didn't have any cuts or bruises, Mystery only had one scrape on his back, and Sci Fi – well, she was hurt pretty badly. "Is your friend okay, Miss?" the Time Traveler asked Becca.
"I don't know," replied the auburn-haired girl, running to her friend.
Sci Fi moaned and looked up at Becca, saying, "You and Mystery just saved my life."
"Of course," said Mystery, "I care about you, Sci Fi." He then blushed red and stammered, "In fact, I-I… love you."
Sci Fi's eyes lit up and she asked, "You do?"
Becca smiled and said, "He's your friend, and he would do anything to help you, Sci Fi. In the meantime, I think I should help you."

The Time Traveler and Weena saw Sci Fi's plight and they both walked up to her. Weena reached into her tunic pocket and pulled out a small, transparent bag containing herbs. The Eloi girl gave the bag to Becca, who sniffed it and said, "Willow bark! That's perfect for helping with pain." The Time Traveler then reached into his coat pocket and got a small pouch with first aid items. He gave the pouch to Becca, who opened it and found a canteen of wine to disinfect Sci Fi's gash on her back, along with some bandages to dress her wound.
After Becca tended the marten's wound, Sci Fi said, "Thank you, sweetheart. You know, you showed a lot of courage battling those morlocks."
"I did," said the auburn-haired girl proudly, "Watching those meanies beat you up reminded me of a bear attack, and I had to help." Her smile turned upside-down when she thought of the terrible day when Nicole died.
"What's wrong?" Sci Fi asked before chewing on some willow bark.
Becca shook her head and said, "Nothing." Weena made a sympathetic noise and gave Becca a little hug.
"It looks like my new friend thanks you, too," said the Time Traveler, "I know that I thank you, too. Now I'd better keep exploring this futuristic world with Weena if you don't mind."
Becca began to smile and said, "Not at all. In fact, I think my friends and I should get going. I have to save this book kingdom from a curse until a lost princess comes!"
"She's right," said Adventure, "I think I know where to go next!"
After waving goodbye to the Time Traveler and Weena, Becca and the animals kept on travelling through the Science Fiction section until they could smell an ocean nearby. "Ahhhh," said Adventure, "Breathe in the salty air, for the Isle of Adventure is near!" Becca smiled a big smile as she hugged Sheila and Sci Fi in her arms, because she knew that she was another step closer to finishing her quest!