Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'd like to take this time to remind you that, no, I do not own the rights to Gregor the Overlander and its sequels, and, yes, those right belong to Suzanne Collins, and, yes, this chapter is very short, and, yes, I had a busy week. That is all.
VIII
"Hey, watch out!"
Gregor, lying on his back with his eyes closed, barely heard the warning, until a more insistent, "Dude on the ground, heads up!" caused his eyes to fly open. He blinked once, then his mind quickly registered a red Frisbee careening towards his head. He rolled to the side on instinct, and the disc landed with a thunk where his head was not a second ago.
Gregor picked up the Frisbee, and looked around. The park was full of kids and adults alike, enjoying their long weekend. Dogs yapped at birds, teenagers lolled around, listening to music and playing Frisbee golf, and young kids ran about in a wild game of tag.
"Hey, man!" A boy was waving to get Gregor's attention. "My bad!"
Gregor grinned to show it wasn't a problem, and flicked the disc towards him.
The boy caught it, and gave Gregor a thumbs-up, then hurried back towards his group.
Gregor sat back down with a sigh. He wished he was hanging out with Larry and Angelina instead of waiting for noon so he could talk to a rat about problems he really did not want to deal with. He leaned against a tree (it was unseasonably hot in the sun) and drew his knees up to his chest.
Earlier that morning they had received a very formal call requesting Lizzie from her friend Jedidiah, or whatever the hell his name was. Gregor didn't particularly care for Jed's style or personality, but then again, he wasn't Gregor's friend. Lizzie had been picked up, then Gregor's mom took Boots off to go shopping for school supplies (School started tomorrow? How was he supposed to handle school and all this Underland drama?) and Gregor's father had offered to take him to a science store, but Gregor had declined, saying he was supposed to meet a friend at the park. Gregor's dad had laughed, tousled Gregor's hair and told him that he was a great kid to adjust back so quickly. Adjust back. Haha.
Gregor glanced at his cell phone. 11:50. Finally. He picked his phone up off the grass and slid it into his pocket. He then stood and stretched. He had been waiting for nearly two hours. Way to bring a book to plan ahead, Gregor, he thought bitterly to himself.
Getting through the secret passage was more difficult than Gregor thought. The rock was reasonably secluded, but people still wandered by every so often. Then there was the fact that while he was in the Underland, the passage would be open and all too visible. It was a risk he would have to take thought, as there was no way to hide it. He moved the boulder as slightly as possible and sucking in his stomach, managed to squeeze in the narrow gap. He then did his best to roll the rock back into place.
Pleased with his work, Gregor made his way down the now-familiar path to the Underland.
As opposed to strangely the sunny and warm Overland, the Underland was oddly cold and wet. Gregor shivered slightly as he descended, wishing he had a jacket. But he would look like an idiot with a jacket on in this weather at Central Park, he argued with himself. Better to look like an idiot than catch a pneumonia in the Underland, he countered.
Gregor suddenly became aware he was arguing very intensely with himself, and shook his head. He was going to end up crazy, he just knew it. He sighed, and made a conscious effort to not think about anything the rest of the trip.
Gregor reached the appointed meeting place about five minutes past noon. A quick echolocation scan proved that nobody else was present. Rolling his eyes, Gregor sat down. A few minutes passed, then he stood and tried to warm up. He paced around, rubbing his arms and wondered where on earth Ripred could be.
This was not the first time Ripred had failed to show up for a meeting. Not too long ago, the rat had gone off the chase down his little runaway, but the Bane (the runaway in question), had Ripred trapped in an obsidian pit. Gregor and his friends had arrived to find Ripred, and from there it was a blur of memories until what Gregor thought would be his final time in the Underland.
Gregor willed his mind to go blank again, and resumed his arm-rubbing. Why was it so cold down here? It usually pleasant enough, except for the God-forsaken jungle. . . That place was not only humid, but everything was freaking trying to eat you or dismember you. Gregor scowled at the memory.
About five minutes later, Gregor was about through with waiting. He clicked to get a feel for where he was using echolocation, when he 'saw' something move. He hesitated, then clicked again. There was definitely something moving towards him. With no weapons, Gregor shrank against the wall, hoping that whatever it was barreling at him was friendly.
