Author's Note: Hey, just a warning. Some of Gregor's experiences in the Middle East come out. They aren't pretty. They also probably never happened in real life. I never served in any branch of the military, I have never been to the Middle East. I have heard people who were there tell stories like them, but I never pushed for details. Because war does things to people and I am ok with a little ignorance so I can look family and friends in the eye. So be warned, it's not pretty. It also my not be true.
Chapter 4
Luxa
Her eyes flew open. "Gre... Gregor! Wh...what are...you...ah...AHHHH!" Suddenly the world was filled with pain.
A voice. "Luxa!" It was Aurora. "Try to stay calm, I will get a doctor."
Luxa couldn't even nod. She merely tried to suppress the moans, clenching her fists and staring at the ceiling.
It wasn't long before Aurora came back followed closely by Howard.
He was smiling as he looked down at her. "Good to see you awake. Give me just a moment and you'll feel better." He was so quick she never felt the needle.
"Wh...what happened?"
He sighed. "We almost lost the city. And according to Ripred, they weren't even here in force."
"How did I get here?"
Howard glanced at Aurora before he spoke. "How much do you remember?" She shook her head and he sighed again. "I don't know how he knew but he did. He knew right where you would go but he was slow. Gregor told me he watched you fall trying to hold the wall."
She nodded. "I remember him. The last thing. How did he get me back?"
"A flier has taken a liking to him. They are off together now."
"Which flier? There are few enough here I should know them."
Aurora answered. "Aries little sister, Ananke. Though I don't think he knows yet."
She painfully shook her head. "Of course she would notice and like him. What happened next, Howard?"
He shrugged. "He got you back here, managed to help me save your life, and then helped Ripred lead the soldiers in clearing the cutters."
She gave a confused look. "Helped save me? Other than pulling me from the cutters?"
"I...he" Howard gave her a strained look, "the Overlander has grown wise cousin. In more than ways of war."
"Howard…"
"You were dying. I'd closed your wounds but you had lost so much blood…"
She felt a start of pain grab her heart. "I was dying? Then how…"
"Gregor's blood flows in your veins, Luxa. I don't know how to do it and keep both patients alive, not yet. I haven't had the time to research what he told me. But he was able to guide my hands, while his own were frozen with fear."
"His...blood…" she was stunned as she looked at her arms, trying to understand what Howard was telling her.
"He said he learned as a way to atone. Atone for the lives he has taken here and in the Overland." She managed to look at him. "There is a pain in him, Luxa. I don't know where it came from, or why. But it is deep and, I feel, as much a part of him as the physical scars he bares."
"Where is he?"
Howard stared at her, eyes guarded. "He left 4 days ago. To hunt Cutter queens with Ripred."
She tried to rise. "I...he...I didn't order...why?"
Howard put a hand on her chest, stopping her. "A fighting man cares for few things. And Ripred knew which was most important."
She looked up at him, tears starting to prickle her eyes, knowing the answer even as she asked "What?"
Howard looked down at her, eyes full of sympathy for the pain that was coming. "You, cousin. He leveraged you. And Gregor went, without one more word of opposition."
The tears blocked her vision as she held back the small sobs trying to break free. She felt Howard's hand grip hers tight, felt Aurora lean close. Because he had saved her, because he had literally given a part of himself to her, and now was going to his death. Because he wasn't a gnawer, he had no massive strength, no vast stamina. He was a man, and they had already lost 1000s.
Gregor
2 days earlier
"Did Ripred tell you how far he wanted to go today?"
"No," Ananke growled back. "I was just going to follow him until he stopped like last night." Gregor nodded and made a similar motion on the flier's neck so he didn't have to speak. "Rest if you want. I will wake you if something changes."
Gregor shook his head. "I can still see her fall when I close my eyes. And other things."
Ananke nodded. "I heard...last night." The silence that followed was heavy.
A part of him, so small he thought it lost, warmed to know she wanted, or at least was willing, to listen. But no, he thought, some things are better left unsaid. Especially now, with this task. So he let it grow heavier until it finally stopped, and he became used to it. Like the years of practice had taught.
He ran for maybe 4 or 5 hours before stopping. Ripred stared at him when they landed, muzzle dripping water from the stream. "Tomorrow we will be in Cutter territory. Are you ready?"
Gregor nodded. "How many are you going to try for before we head back?"
He shrugged. "As many as I can. That all depends on how well we fight together. So are you ready? Anything to tell me?"
Gregor stared the large rat in the eyes. "No." He rolled himself in his blanket, back against a wall, and tried to sleep.
Their first stop was a nest Ripred had cleared. He led him deep into the central chamber. "Do you see? They are all mostly the same so if we get separated we should be able to get out on our own."
"How many nests have you been in?"
"In my life, more than a dozen. We fought a few wars against them when I was just older than a pup. You grow up fast, fighting cutters."
Gregor looked around at the chitinous remains that filled the chamber. "A lot of bodies for just a strike team."
Ripred barked out a laugh. "That's the beauty of the hive mind. The Queen is the source, so when she dies they lose all control and lash out at whatever is near them. So if you can take out the Queen and then get back out alive, the rest of the nest will take care of itself."
Gregor nodded, understanding. "So that's why you wanted me. Two Ragers are fast enough to reach the Queen and strong enough to fight their way back out again."
Ripred barked his teeth. "Indeed. If I had had another competent Rager, this war would have been over 6 months ago. But Ragers who live that long are almost as rare as a white rat." Gregor gripped his sword tight as the image jumped into his vision. The Bane, jaws locked around Aries neck.
He shook his head and saw Ripred staring at him. With concern in his eyes. "Are you ok Gregor?"
Gregor nodded. "Fine. No different from yesterday and life will be the same tomorrow." The big rat let him go without a word.
It took them almost a month to find the first active nest. All day Gregor and Ananke would scout from the skies and Ripred would hunt on the ground, in places under ledges and just inside tunnels. But find it they did, and they dispatched it as Ripred said.
He was near to jumping when they made camp. "Ha ha ha. Boy, if you had come back 2 years ago this war would have never got started."
Gregor looked into the torch light, seeing the images from there again. "Ripred…you always seemed to know about what goes on in the Overland. What do you know of war in Afghanistan?"
Instantly Ripred calmed down. "Not as much as I would like. Why?"
"I was there. For almost 2 whole years. They kept extending our deployment. I thought war in the Underland was hard, brutal. But the things I saw over there…"
Even Ripred was silent for a while. "You can tell me, if you want."
"We would throw candy for children. You never knew where an explosive was buried. And sometimes...but we didn't stop. Better them than us we reasoned. I cleaned more than one off of my face. I killed a man I knew. Ran the local store. He charged me when we were stopped on a convoy. I stared him in the eye as I killed him. I didn't know he hated us, we got along."
"Gregor…"
Tears started to flow down his face. "There was so much hate. From both sides. We did...horrible things. And we justified it...by saying they hated us. I didn't...even realize...it was wrong...until I got discharged. I couldn't...make the change...to civilian life. The last 6 months…were torture. Anyone could have a gun...or a knife...or an explosive vest. I couldn't trust...anyone. Not even...my family. It disgusts me...I couldn't. It disgusts me...I feel better here...a place that tried...to kill me...than the thought...of my family…" the words stopped coming.
Ripred stood and walked toward him. "Gregor…"
He recoiled from the rat. "Don't touch me! Don't...touch...me…"
The big rat didn't stop until he was right in front of him. And waited until Gregor looked at him. "Remember Hamnet. He thought he had no one, and he ran. You've tried that too, but even here there are people who care. Remember that." He walked to the far side of camp and curled up to sleep.
That night the nightmares were bad, and he woke up screaming more than once, but neither Ripred or Ananke mentioned it in the morning
The next month they managed to take out another nest.
"That's 4 nests boy! So long as they haven't managed to recruit more Queens we are a third of the way done."
"Good. I can't wait to get back to Regalia."
Ripred bared his fangs. "To get back to the Queen? She should be up and moving by now."
He shook his head. "No. To learn how to be human again. To get a job, to contribute to society. To fill the ground with seed and water, maybe, instead of blood."
"Really?"
Gregor nodded. "Yes. Something honest. Besides, the Queen has her fiance. I know how most of the Underland views Overlanders, they are confused I've managed to survive this long. Mark my words they will be surprised if we make it back from this alive."
Ripred gave a chuckle. "You may find things different when we return. Another 8 months at this rate and things are sure to change."
They were making their way into the third nest and Gregor could feel something was wrong. Sure there were signs the nest was inhabited, and there was a cutter here and there, but far less than normal. But it wasn't until they entered the main chamber that they learned what.
As they slipped down a steep tunnel into the central chamber, they thought it made their blood run cold. The chamber was full of nothing but warriors. Both the small and the large ones. With the exception of 6 massive cutter queens.
"SHIT!" Was all Ripred managed to before those at the rear of the chamber made their way up the small ledge the 2 stood on.
As the rear, now front, line reached them they started to spin. They were both racking their minds for something, anything, to get them out of this. Before they were killed.
It was Gregor who thought of it first. "Go Ripred!"
"LIKE HELL! I Won't Leave You To Be Killed! You Go!"
"I Don't Have Claws! I'd Never Make It Up The Tunnel Fast Enough! I Also Can't Run As Fast As You And Ananke Won't Be Back For Hours!"
"Why Does That Matter?!"
"Someone Has To Tell The Queen And You're The Better Choice!" He heard Ripred growl softly. "You're the Peacemaker, Ripred. And you have a spot on the war council."
"What Is There To Even Tell? WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
"Well They Are Clearly Planning Something! And She Needs To Know That, At Least!"
"The Queen will never forgive me…"
"One Of Us Is Going To Die Here! And It...Makes the most...sense for it to be me."
There was silence for a time, then he grunted. "...fine…"
"Try to let my parents know. Not why but…"
"I understand. On your word."
Gregor took a moment to steady his breath, a moment of companionship before the end. "NOW!"
Instantly Ripred turned and clawed his way up the tunnel as Gregor fell back to an easier place to hold them back, the narrowness of the tunnel funneling them to him.
He didn't know how long he stood there, spinning. Long enough for time to lose meaning. He vaguely remembered Ripred saying something about 400 to one. Based on the quick look there must have been almost 10,000 cutters in the chamber. So why was he still alive.
The dead bodies littered the floor of the tunnel, reaching a depth of waist high in places. So he backed up, little by little, until he could feel he had reached where the floor sloped steeply up toward the surface.
Surface. What an odd word to say down here. Here he was, miles below the land of sun, yet just a few hundred feet of downward tunnels counted as down.
Soon he realized the floor was covered and he had a choice. To stop spinning and allow himself to be killed. Or fight a bitter, unsteady, fight back to the central chamber and keep spinning.
So he went forward, his innate spirit unable to just let him lay down and die. He fought his way into the chamber...and kept moving forward. He jumped down to the main floor...and kept moving forward. He guessed he would keep going forward until he got the far wall or was killed.
He started to feel blows as he was able to fully be surrounded. But still it was nothing more than glancing blows off his armor. So still he moved forward.
Suddenly he stopped. It was as if he had hit a wall. So he drew himself out of the resigned daze he was in. And saw he had almost reached the Queens, the tide horde of ants in front of him growing thick. So he spun faster.
And the faster he spun, the more control he surrendered. Faster and faster he spun, no longer attacking individual ants but anything that moved. A little part of his mind told him the head he cut in 2 he had severed on the last rotation. But he didn't care. His blood was now surging, the urge to break, to kill, upon him.
And then, suddenly, he broke through the mass of warriors and watched in an almost out of body sight as his blades tore into the closest, massive Queen.
Like a pin ball off a bumper he seemed to bounce from one Queen to another, the faint smile on his lips growing. First one, then a second, and a third. As he spun away from the minced carcass of the fourth the smile had turned into a laugh.
His mind screamed at him Get out. Get Out! GET OUT! He laughed as he fully surrendered control, the euphoric feelings of the rage and the joy smothering the remains of his mind like a blanket, as the first of his blades hit the fifth Queen.
He came to in a sticky puddle, his back against something. He slowly raised his hand to look at it, and had to stare for just a second to realize what he was seeing. His hand was covered in slowly congealing blood.
He forced himself to look down and saw the numerous rends in his armor and small bleeding cuts, there was a massive gash across his stomach slowly oozing blood. Maybe a hand and a half long and half a hand wide. And he thought he could see something...pale inside. He gave a shudder as adrenaline coursed through his body, numbing the growing pain.
" Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What am I...need to...focus…"
He wiped his hands on his armor and slowly, oh so slowly, stuck his hand inside his stomach. He pulled it out with a sigh of relief. "No guts...were punctured… need to...stitch it closed...so they don't fall...out."
He unbuckled the breastplate and slowly pulled it over his head, wincing as the metal caught on fresh wounds. From a bag he carried inside he pulled a thick line of suture and a needle, and proceeded to pull the sides of the gash together to keep his intestines from falling out. Then took some wound glue he had taken from the Overland and smeared it on all the broke and cut skin surrounding it before using large pieces of gauze and wrap to cover it.
He didn't know why he bothered. Without cleaning it he'd die of infection in a week, maybe 10 days. If he even managed to make it that long with no supplies, without knowing where he was, not even considering the amount of blood he must have lost. Blood he must still be losing from the gash, in addition to dozens of other cuts across his body...saline.
He reached his hand back into the bag and let out a sigh of relief. His bag of saline he had stole from work was still whole. Moving with a speed that seemed slow, he rigged an IV, the emotionless state of near death overcoming his previous hesitation to plunge a needle into his flesh. He did it quick, in the style of a cattleman, no slow drip but a rapid influx of liquid to keep his blood pressure up. Still a lost cause but...
...but a death fighting the inevitable was better than a slow death waiting. And so he started to work on the cuts on his arms and legs.
However, adrenaline fades with time. And as it started to leave his system, he started to scream.
Luxa
Two months. It had been two months since the Battle for Regalia. And she had heard no news from Gregor and Ripred. Actually, she thought, closer to 3.
She was still sore all the time, which she couldn't complain about since she had almost died. And she still had a slight limp, the damage to her left leg being more severe than Howard initially thought.
But it was getting better, and with the physical therapy she was regaining the strength lost during bed rest. And that is what she was doing when the signal horns started to blow.
She hurried to Aurora and climbed on and instantly they were off. From the pattern of the horns she knew it was from one of the few tunnels Ripred had left unsealed before he had left, beyond the walls. Her heart was beating hard and fast as they flew.
They flew over the wall and toward the tunnel. And her heart stopped. For there was only a lone rat staggering across the open field. A rat that soon dropped. Ripred.
Aurora dove fast and Luxa kept off as soon as she dared. "Ripred! Are you ok! What happened?" She looked around, expecting something. "Wh... where's Gregor?"
She looked back at him, and from the look in his eyes she knew he wanted to hide his head. He spoke in a voice almost inaudible. "We need...a council... meeting. Quickly."
"Ri...Ripred?"
"We faced...a choice. I didn't...want to. But one...of us...had to. I tried to...but he made...too much..sense."
She sat there, stunned. He'd never died. Not after all he went through. The Underland had tried to kill him, time and time again. He had left for 9 years, and the boy had changed into a man. He should have been invincible, not...not…
The tears flowed from her eyes and she buried her face in Ripred's fur. He curled around her in a way he hadn't done in years. "We will...mourn him... together. But now... Regalia needs...a strong face."
"I can't…"
"You can. Your grandfather... allowed his wife to die….to defeat the Bane. You can put forth...a strong face...to save us all."
She stood, face and eyes wet with tears. "Aurora, summon the council. And we will see if we win, or die." She tugged Ripred to his feet and they walked to the castle together.
They were gathered around the council table and Luxa could tell all Ripred wanted to do was sleep after his run. But he had demanded the meeting, so here they were.
"5 days ago, me and... Gregor discovered 6 of the remaining Cutter Queens allied against us were having some kind of meeting. I don't understand cutter but I would assume that they are preparing an attack."
"An attack?!" A council woman cried. "We are in no way prepared!"
"We must call forth the remaining soldiers from the Fount. As well as those of our allies. All of them." Luxa said. "And prepare for every single one to die. We may well lose the fields as well. Maruth, have your field workers harvest anything remotely ready. I would rather lose hold time than the whole crop."
A tall, thin man nodded. "Of course, your Highness."
Luxa turned a powerfully built woman. "Belvet, we will need new trenches. Have your people work at that. And talk with some of the scientists from the hospital, anything rapidly lethal with help." The large woman nodded.
She looked around and saw the new leader of the scouts. Recently promoted by Perdita, she had yet to learn his name. "Scout Master. Work with Ripred and Belvet to determine which tunnels will be most effective in funneling them where we want them. Fill the rest." He nodded, mustache bobbing.
Luxa looked around the table. "All of you, prepare your districts for immediate evacuation to the castle. Focus on children but make sure you bring some adults and elders in case the worst happens. Craftsmen too. I do not know if they can breach the castle if the walls and city fall. And I hope I don't have to."
She sighed and pushed up from the table. "I will be blunt, I don't see us surviving. So I don't blame you from counting yourselves among the refugee numbers. I myself…"
Horns started to blare and Ripred translated almost as fast as herself. "Flier...from Cutter lands... intercepted... hospital." She was running before the last word was out.
She ran, hard. Her lungs burned from the unused exertion. Her legs were on fire, months of little use having weakened them. But still she ran, ran as if her own life depended on it.
She rounded a corner and ran at full speed across the brief opening to the hospital, toward a dark form on the ground.
Ananke was laying there, wings quivering, chest heaving. "Where...is he?!"
The big head slowly turned toward her. The voice like a death gasp. "I tried. He stopped screaming...3 days ago. I didn't…even know if...he was alive...until a doctor…"
"Who!"
"... Howard…" she ran.
She ran through the hospital, alternately screaming for Gregor and Howard. She ran, hallway after hallway, floor after floor, until…
"He's getting gangrenous! We Need To Amputate! Right Leg, Most Of The Left, Left Arm, Right One To The Elbow!"
"No! If We Do That We May As Well Kill Him! Cut The Dead Flesh, Then Cauterize! Easier To Heal Burns!"
"What If He Already Has Blood Poisoning? He Will Die As Soon As It Hits His Heart!"
"THEN WE WILL BLEED HIM! And Replenish With Fresh Milk!"
"That Kills More Than It Saves! And What Of The Body Cavity? It Needs To Be Flushed, And We Can't Cut Much Flesh Off That Gash Or We Will Never Stitch It Closed! He'll Bleed To Death!"
"NOOOO!" She screamed. She ran forward "It's In Here! In Me! Give It Back! GIVE IT BACK!" She started beating on them, she alternated between hitting them with her fists and showing them her forearms, screaming "GIVE IT BACK! ALL OF IT! GIVE IT ALL BACK!"
Suddenly hands covered in blood grabbed her arms. "ENOUGH COUSIN! I Can't! I Don't Know How It Works! It Might Kill Him Faster Than The Milk Could!"
"GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK!" Her voice kept rising in pitch. A beaker shattered.
"His eyes! They're Opening! Howard, YOU NEED TO SILENCE HER!"
A hand let go of her arm and suddenly a voice shot out "No Howard! I'll take her." Ripred.
"Then Get Her Out Of Here!" He turned, "SEDATIVE! Enough To Slow His Heartbeat! He Doesn't Wake Until We Have Done All We Can!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Another beaker shattered as she was dragged backwards, and then another, seeming to shiver apart.
"Enough Luxa. There is nothing you can do. You have to let them work...and hope. We both do." Suddenly she stopped screaming. Not because she wanted to, but because her vocal cords had had enough.
But not before the hospital had heard. Not before Dulcet had heard, on bed rest a floor above. And not before Gaxen had heard, on the same floor, 2 hallways over.
Author's Note:So, the milk thing. That is a horrifying thing learn learned in doing research for the transfusion in the last chapter. Because apparently, in the 1600s, they would sometimes use milk for it. And not everyone died. And so I figured I could use that horrifying knowledge. And I did. And I can get away with it because Suzanne Collins had a very convoluted flow of technological progress. Also, this is longer than I hoped, and slightly disjointed. But , I managed to hit everything I wanted to get done this chapter. And then added more to hit my minimum word count, which I ended up far exceeding. I don't know when the next chapter will be ready. I feel things are moving too fast so I might have to make some slower chapters which are a bit of a challenge for me. Or, I wrap thing up quick, cover 7 years in 3 chapters, and wrap things up nice with a bow in under 50,000 words. Choices, choices. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see you again in less than a year!