Chapter 19. Warped Minds


"When did you figure this out Katie?" Jones sat wide-eyed and breathless in front of his friend's little daughter. "Don't you remember anything that I taught you about that?"

"We just felt like it and-"

"Who's the father?"

Katie mumbled in her sleep, wrapping her delicate arms around her waist and squirmed. Shandow was sitting next to her. His lifeless eyes directed on her with a meager amount of curiosity. He picked up a stick and poked her side before it was slapped from his hands.

"Stop it you!" She popped her eyes at him and rubbed the sweat from her face. "Oh why did I have to run away?"

Shandow leaned forward and touched the salty droplets with the tips of his fingers. Her clothing felt damp to the touch and her hair oily. She stood up and went back inside to find the female. She felt strangely drawn to the gentle female who had sweet grumbles instead of the harsh screeching the rest of them would utter whenever they spotted an Eloi.

Fere picked her up and rubbed her back, noticing that she was looking off. After a good hot soak in a bucket of hot water she felt her spirits lift. Perhaps life wouldn't be so bad. Not much was known about this new Eloi female, Fere thought. Not only did she not know the Eloi was really a half-bred descended from the well-known White Sphinx livestock but also the Traveler himself. Not only her bloodlines but the fact that the young Eloi was a sick mother.

Her father, George, had become more hostile towards his dark-dwelling descendents ever since he found his loving daughter never came back to him. Instead she had left one precious gift behind. A gift he had a hard time growing close to for certain reasons. Still never less this was his grandson that needed caring for. He cradled his grandson and bottle-fed him squeezed Bimbleberry and Mango juice.

He would have never thought his own future grand-progeny would be part of those ugly beasts.

The little odd-ball was called Billie and was the result of a too close union between Shadow and Katie. It was spontaneous and more out of instinctive lust to fulfill their newfound feelings rather then any form of deep love. It happened right before Shadow decided to make a break for his own life to the wild. Katie didn't find out till weeks later that her body was not all to herself anymore. It was more then she could handle to explain to her father that it was no romantic union with some handsome and perfect Eloi stag.

Katie did not abandon her child of course but rather went to search for Shadow to bring him back, sadly the tables turned on her for the worst and now she was a breeding Eloi. She longed to be with her son. She waited till he was fully weaned from her milk before setting out to bring back his father. Now her son was close to ten months old and growing into a heavy little scamp that kept both men and Weena busy.

There was no escaping from her new home now. The Morlocks were everywhere and blocking the paths out. Fere also kept a close eye on her on her valuable stock to make sure none drifted off or get stolen. The little female soon became a favorite to her. She had this sense of being that her other Eloi did not have.

"Do you like your new girlfriend Shandow?" Fere was sitting on the ground with Fown across from her. He had come for a visit to spent some of his spare time with his new mate. They both were nibbling on jerky strips made from dried out Eloi skin. Shandow was busy bouncing off the wall by lunging in circles around the two Morlocks. Fown never had a liking for that annoying little male. Shandow let his pestering be known by using Fown's back as a boulder to leap on and off of. The old Morlock's claws just missed him by a hair's length and Shandow landed neatly behind Fere. His head popped up behind her and he barked out his meaningless words.

"Stupid Eloi. If he wasn't your pet I'd baste him in his own blood." Fown drew out a loud snort and bowed his head down at Fere, remembering she hated such talk about her pet. Shandow sat on her shoulders and folded his hands on top of her head.

Katie poked her head around to watch them. The ugly and horribly mutilated Fown sent tremors down her spine whenever his gaze met hers. Unlike Shadow's eyes his were like those of some cannibalistic pig that even the farmer wouldn't touch with a thirty foot pole. What the female found in him she would never understand.

She slowly approached the group after Shandow made her presence known. She hid behind Fere to avoid the old male.

"Shandow's got himself a cute follower." Fere grasped Katie's hand and pulled her around to her lap. Being so weak compared to them she didn't resist her master's tugging.

Fown looked upon her with a studious expression and wrinkled his nose.

"Her figure reminds me of those White Sphinx stock we had. I am not surprised is she came from that way since they are nearby."

"I don't know why one Eloi would drift from that. They are herd creatures." Fere brushed her hair between her long nails. Katie blinked, having her face smashed into the breast of the smelly creature. She felt lucky she was used to their smell.

Another creature walked into the cave interior. She held Katie's eyes with deep interest. An Eloi carrying a baby Morlock. It couldn't be though as it's eyes were a vibrant blue that seem to glow from within the shadows of it's fuzzy hair. She leaned over from Fere's lap to get a good look.

"How's little Favul doing?" Fere crooned at the fidgeting baby.

The Eloi let the baby down on the ground to crawl. "She's doing great and growing to be a big baby."

"Somebody else holds an interest as well. Like babies?" Fere acknowledged the attentive Katie to Shikha.

"She looks just like my baby." Katie murmured in the Eloi language. This caught Shikha's attention as nobody else would have such a baby.

"How would your baby look like this? She's part Morlock." She answered.

"So is mine." Katie smiled, glad to see somebody else in the same boat as she.

The room seemed to grow cold and silent around her. Only Fown seemed to be confused about the silence as his eyes wandered around the room to see why the reason. Fere, also being able to understand her livestock's language caught these words.

"Part Morlock as well? How? Only I have one. Where is your mate then if you have one? Where is your baby?" Shikha questioned, she was pleased to hear that she too wasn't the only one but wished there was proof.

"The father ran away when my father the Time Trav-" Katie realized she had said too much and zipped her mouth shut. Her throat seemed to tighten up. How stupid was she to reveal her relations about their most hated enemy.

"You are related to the Traveler?" Shikha's eyes widened and she pulled Katie close. "How? You are an Eloi!"

"Half Eloi." Katie might as well tell them.

"I never could tell." Fere shook her head and shared the same aghast expression as Shikha while Fown was still trying to figure out what the silence was about in the first place.

For the rest of the afternoon Katie spent time with them explaining how she got here and only a few about her father. She didn't want to reveal too much so she held herself silent through some of the questions.

At the dark colony of Shadow…

The male bore fresh new gashes over his shoulders and backside. He flinched off to one side and collapsed wearily in a heap in the usual spot he took to sleep. Blunt, his faithful companion that often chatted with him didn't move from his spot but only with his fading eyes.

"Had a good fight you stupid?" He cleared his voice and coughed up a hard loogie.

Shadow didn't answer but only glared out at the passing Morlocks with warning. Ever since he stepped foot here he had found it a living hell. Pain was dealt out everyday and he expected it too. Scars crisscrossed his body while fresh ones overlain them. His muscling had hardened so that his arms and legs were like thick tree trunks. He was becoming well known for his fatal blows that he would administer with his powerful arms. He had cracked a few faces, broke a few necks and even side-swiped a male's face so hard that his eyes had popped from his head and splattered against the wall.

Despite the fact it was hell, this life just seemed far more filling then he had at home. Here he could work to his heart's content and here he wasn't looked down upon for being the hideous creature that he was. All the fighting took the edge off from his growing hormone levels and his bloodlust. Right now he was a puppet to his own male instincts. He, like everybody else of his gender, fought blindly for one and one thing only. That was to gain a mate.

The beginning life for a Morlock male was beyond tough. It was constant stress and beatings till one had risen himself up among the rest of his rival brethren and grinded them beneath his foot. Quite a large number of males didn't make it past the first few years of their adulthood. Too many weak bodies and hearts broken down. Only the most tough and nasty males would make it through. Just about every one of them carried their own assortment of battle scars and missing body parts to showcase to their future mates.

One had to find himself a secure hold on a cave, after he did successfully he would be able display himself up that he is ready for a mate. The females were lucky as both sexes never fought against each other. No male ever has the desire to harm a female. Usually the males try to avoid the female's wrath as it is looked down upon as childish to fuss with a female unless she's your own mate. Besides no bachelor male wanted to chase away any good opportunities. Females on the other hand had no problems with smacking a male away if he was becoming a pest. This instinctive tactic proved useful as males were much stronger then their counterparts. The male's needed Mother Nature's restraint on them otherwise they would have nobody to breed with.

Poor Shadow, not being used to this way of life till so recently, suffered the worst of it. His once long and wavy silvery hair now was in greasy shambles. He now sported the normal ragged clothing his kind often wore. Many scars marked the unlucky blows and most of all his temperament warped. The only reminder of his past was the abused translating collar that he still sported around his neck. It was fastened shut in such a way that he couldn't remove it.

The constant abusive he received warped his unready mind into a dangerous adversary to the other males of his age. He didn't give any warnings or displays to his future attacks. He simply dove in unsuspected and ripped out the throat or the guts of his opponent. He also never laid up or rested to give chances for the other males to regain their strength. He was gaining a repetition that echoed across the caverns that would pretty soon insure that he would gain a cave.

Now nothing seemed to stand in his way except a single male who was more the willing to commit suicide against this ravage beast. For some males they would rather die in a fight then live crippled for the rest of their lives without somebody to love.

In the end that was all that it came down to, love. For this was something that burned fierce in any mated Morlock's heart. All the male children could feel it and only when it burned a bright longing later on did they fight to earn it. The females only had to wait for their badly torn lovers to give the call.

For Shadow it tortured him like some lowly animal that was tossed into a fiery pit of flames for the amusement of it's sick owners. He stood back up from his sleeping spot when his challenger came at him. He charged full on and gave the male a hard blow in the stomach and careened down the steep corridor. The two bodies hit another Morlock that was carrying food over his backside all the way down to the bottom. He laid lifeless with his head twisted at a very unnatural angle. It was then a female's head popped out from one of the many small cave openings to screech at the sight.

"My mate! Look what you've done to him!" She cried loudly, barely able to touch his stiffening body.

The shrieks of the mourning female was enough to put off both the males. Shadow's battling partner slunkered off to leave him to the female's rage. Shadow lowered his head in shame. When he gazed back at the female he was caught off guard to find her already pounding her fists at his chest. For what he just went through he found the female's punches laughable. Still he stood his ground, neither submissive or aggressive towards her. She spun around and hid herself back in her cave to finish crying. Not only had she lost her own mate but now many other dark happenings will unfold in the future for her and her toddler.

Shadow didn't feel like fighting anymore. Stiffly he limped back to his sleeping place next to Blunt to snooze the rest of the day off.

"You just went too far." Blunt shook his head and grumbled.

"Shut up old man." Shadow bristled, not wanting to be scolded after such an awful scene.

"You are becoming well known for just being a rogue. I am glad to see that you are strong enough to stand up for yourself but you need to learn your limits."

Shadow rolled over and scrunched his knees together. The female's cries still rang inside his eardrums over and over again.

"I just need sleep Blunt." Shadow answered weakly, just now feeling the deep gashes over his back.

"Just listen to me even this once." Blunt frowned. "I am a failure myself. I was never able to gain a cave so I never had a mate. I lost my chance because I was too confident in myself. Now I am crippled and useless. Watch yourself before it's too late."