Lizzie couldn't believe it. Her whole family–minus her grandmother–had been to that Underland place, all except for her. Of course, she wasn't complaining much, she didn't exactly wish to go to a place where there was a war between pale-skinned humans and giant rats. She hated most pests of the miniature size, and couldn't even imagine them on a larger scale. That was enough to get her to recite Pi. (Reciting things helped a lot, when she was alone. It was hard to do math without someone, and even harder to answer a written logic puzzle when you were hyperventilating.)
To make matters worse, her mother was sick, there, and she couldn't even see her. Lizzie had to go to school like always, be the loser there like always, pretend nothing was wrong. Like always. Except it wasn't like always, because her mom was gone, and Gregor and Boots were gone half the time as well. Probably more than half the time. In fact, if Lizzie were to count the number of days since Gregor, Boots, and their mom first went down, and then took the amount of days they were gone, turned it into a percentage, she'd get–But it wasn't about that. It wasn't about how long they were gone or if they were even alive.
Their family needed Gregor and their mom. Their family needed someone to support them, especially since the weak were the ones left here. Her dad was incapable of the journey down. She couldn't take care of grandma herself, whilst still going to school and doing regular everyday chores. But she was strong enough to go down there–strong enough, at least–and her dad could take care of grandma himself.
So she finished her dinner, ignoring that it might be her last, said goodbye to her grandma, and told her father she was going. He asked her if she wanted to bring anything–a puzzle book, a paper bag, just in case. She brought a backpack of flashlights, some food, and a book of puzzles, along with a paper bag.
Now she was standing before the grate to the Underland, steeling herself for what she might encounter. Gregor often tried to keep everything PG when talking about his adventures, and Boots didn't quite understand everything that was even happening, but Lizzie wasn't stupid. From what Boots blabbered on about and what Gregor was unable to hide, Lizzie knew she was in for large, talking beasts, some good, some bad.
She couldn't wait any longer. She needed to go down, convince Gregor to go up–or if not Gregor, their mom–and then come straight back up. The sooner, the better.
And so, Lizzie, the weakest and yet probably smartest of her siblings, jumped into the Underland.
Super short, could be a one-shot, but I could also continue it… I dunno, I'm not too keen on writing things in other people's POV when the author already gives us one… Kinda like I'm ruining it. Sorry if I got some facts wrong, I don't have the last book for reference
