It had been five years sense Gregor had last been in the Underland, a war-torn place inhabited with giant rats, bats, cockroaches and many other assortments of animals. Not to mention the pale skinned, violet eyed people that lived there.
Gregor was their warrior who was supposed to protect them from danger. And he had on a number of occasions. There was the Prophecy of Gray, the Prophecy of Bane, the Curse of the Warmbloods and a couple others. But he hadn't been there since he completed the Prophecy of Time. His mom was the one who had packed them up and moved them to Virginia.
So Gregor, his mom, dad, grandma, and two sisters left his home in New York and moved to their uncle's farm. At first all he could think about was his friends he had lost in the Overland and the Underland. Especially Luxa. She was the same age as him. The last time he was in the Underland he had told her how he felt about her and found out she felt the same way. This was complicated by the fact that not only was he and Overlander and the warrior, she was the queen of Regalia, the capital human city.
"Grief" Gregor's mom had said when he wasn't acting like himself. Gregor had wanted to say "No, no your wrong" but she was right.
Then Gregor started saying, "it was a dream". Gregor wasn't sure when it had started but he was at least able to concentrate on other things. "Only a dream," he told himself. He knew it wasn't true but he needed to do something.
Whenever anyone in his family mentioned the Underland or anyone in it Gregor would say, "Oh, you had that dream too?" At first they looked at him like he was a freak. But slowly they caught on and stopped talking about the Underland entirely.
All except Boots, who would wake up in the morning saying she a strange dream. About giant bugs, or bats, or mice. Strangely though she never cried. Only once when she dreamt about the rats.
So the years went on, Gregor was 17, Lizzie 13, and Boots 8. Scarcely a word was said about the Underland. It was now a place that had drifted to the very back of their minds. Not forgotten just buried beneath birthdays, school, and work.
Things were not great but Gregor and his family got along. Until his grandma died.
"You okay Grandma?" asked Gregor one night. The old woman was sitting up in bed looking thoughtfully at her well-worn book of prophecies.
"You look a little distracted," he said as he kissed her on the cheek. Gregor was going over to a friend's house for a while and his parents were out to dinner. Lizzie and Boots were working on homework in the front room.
"Yes," she said sheepishly, clutching the book to her chest as if afraid it would fly away. "Just thinking about a certain prophecy about a certain boy," and with that she drifted a sleep.
The funeral was the next week, and it left everyone tired. No one did anything unless they had to. Only washing dishes when there was one left. Not making their beds or waking up on time. They only did what they wanted to do, which was nothing.
It was a Saturday afternoon when Gregor's mom called Lizzie, Boots, and Gregor into the living room. "Your father and I have been talking and we've decided we need a change," she started. "I called up Mrs. Cormaci …"
"Who's that?" Boots interrupted.
"Our old neighbor, now hush," Whispered Gregor in her ear.
"And, I asked her if our old apartment was available, she said yes, and your father and I decided to move back there," Gregor's mom spilled out. Gregor's mouth fell open. His reaction was mirrored on Lizzie's face. Boots just looked from person to person expectantly. They had moved when she was three so she didn't really remember living there.
"Now it's not that bad Maybe some of your old friends are still there," stated Gregor's dad nervously. "Boots, what do you think?"
"I don't care. There's no people around here, maybe there's more there," she stated simply.
"Liz?" asked their dad.
"It doesn't matter what I want. So don't bother asking!" she burst out. Lizzie got up off the couch and stormed off into her room.
"Gregor?" asked his mom timed but hopeful.
"Whatever." He got off the couch and left.