Gregor and the Prophecy of Darkness
Gregor slowly opened his eyes and stared plaintively at his bedroom ceiling. He looked out the window and into the horizon, which was stained with a yellowish glow, suggesting sunrise. He couldn't stop his mind from drifting to the Underland, a strange place hidden under New York City. He thought of all the friends he had down there-Mareth, Vikus, Aurora, Ripred, Howard, Nike, Temp, Luxa- and thought of all the good times he had had.. Well, if you could consider being in constant danger of dying a good time.
He rose out of bed, plodded into the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator door. A carton of milk and, thankfully, a dish of spaghetti he had received for helping Mrs. Cormaci. In the cupboard- two boxes of cereal. Since his final trip to the Underland, his family's poverty hadn't improved much. His father was still to ill to return to teaching, so they were technically living off the small amount of money his mom earned being a receptionist and the money he got from helping Mrs. Cormaci. He walked over to the room that his sisters' Boots and Lizzie shared. The two were still asleep. Gregor looked over at Lizzie and felt sorry for her. Even though she still had nightmares about the Underland and the terrors it held, she missed Ripred so much. Ripred was kind of like a second father to her.
Then he looked at the space of room where his Grandma usually sat, which was vacant. She was still in intensive care. Not having anything better to do, he went and sat on the couch and turned the TV on to a low volume, not wanting to wake anybody. There was nothing on, so he just punched out a random channel and tried to watch it. And, even though he tried his best not to, he dozed off…
He could feel the rats right behind him. He had to get away from the rats, but he had no idea where to go. He was surrounded by darkness. He tried out his echolocation, but to no avail. He hadn't practiced in such a long time.
Right when he thought the rats were going to rip his throat out, he was transported to a cliff. He couldn't see the bottom. Suddenly, the cliff crumbled and he was falling down into the abyss.
"ARES!" he screamed, and the black bat appeared, but it was more like a mirage or a hologram than the real thing. "ARES, HELP ME!" he said, but the bat simply replied "Do not worry, Overlander, do not worry." He was about to shout at the bat again when he hit bottom.
He felt pain. Real pain. This was different from his other dreams. Usually he woke before he hit the bottom. Oh, it hurt! It felt like he had broken all the bones in his body. Were dreams usually this real? He slowly felt the life leaving his body. He saw Ares fluttering innocently above, apparently not caring that his bond was dying on the ground below him. "…Ares" he choked out, and that was the last word he spoke. He was dead…dead…
Gregor sat bolt upright, suppressing a scream. Rivulets of sweat were cascading down his face. He was in the living room. The living room of his apartment. He was safe. He was alive! He felt his face just to make sure that what he thought was true. So it had just been a dream after all. A very real dream. What did it mean? He had been having weird dreams lately, but this was the strangest of all.
Ares, he suddenly remembered. Ares had been in his dream. What if the dream hadn't been a dream at all? What if it was some kind of vision? What if Ares was visiting him in his dreams, trying to tell him something? But all the bat had said was Do not worry, Overlander, do not worry. That didn't sound like much. Gregor shook his head, trying to knock some sense into him. Ares visiting him in his dreams? No. It had just been another one of his crazy nightmares. That was it. End of discussion.
He could hear his parents and his sisters waking. He stood up and stretched, preparing himself for another day in the life of Gregor.