The wind whipped his face as they soared through the air. Gregor sat there in horror. Angelina was dead! And it was all his fault...
It didn't take long for them to reach Regalia again. The bat gently coasted down to the ground. Gregor hopped of a walked quickly away. He wanted to be alone. To try and comprehend this devastating loss.
He felt an arm on the back of his. He brushed it away angrily. Gregor wanted to scream! How could he have let this happen? Gregor started to walk away. A moment later, he broke into a run.
Gregor ran, on and on, pushing himself to go faster. He dashed through the hallway, down the stairs, and through an archway. He turned the corner.
Gregor slowed to a walk, breathing heavily. He tried to hold them in, but tears started pouring down his face—hot and wet. They blurred his vision, turning the hallway into a great, blurry blob.
Small droplets of water dripped down from the ceiling, splashing Gregor on the head. He jumped, startled by the sudden sensation of coolness.
Gregor walked into a small room he vaguely recognized. He threw himself onto the small spider web bed in a fit of tears. Somehow he hadn't noticed he was shaking until now. This observation made his hands shake harder, and he pressed them against the bed to try and control the tremors.
The next few days passed as a blur for Gregor. Days faded into weeks, and Gregor lay in his room. This wasn't real, thought Gregor, angrily. This couldn't happen to him. Angelina would come back, she would be fine. Maybe she had... what? Wondered Gregor. Accept it, he told himself, she's dead. Gregor felt confused and extremely angry. He wasn't even sure why. He wanted to rage and storm, to scream. Gregor kicked at a small, scuffed gray cup lying on the ground. It skittered across the floor, making a surprisingly loud sound, considering its size. It bumped against the wall and lay still.
Gregor slumped back against the wall. His shirt was sticking uncomfortably against his skin.
How would he tell Angelina's parents? That would be horrific for him to have to tell them. They would be crushed.
"No," Gregor thought. He wouldn't tell them. He'd stay here. Forever...
Gregor sank in and out of fitful sleep, filled with rats and ants, blood, so much blood...and Angelina. Dying. Dead. Just like Ares had died.
How long had he been in this room...? Gregor couldn't remember. Maybe he was going crazy. He'd read books where people had gone crazy from being locked up. Maybe this was happening to him. Gregor rolled over and fell back to sleep. Some hours later Gregor was abruptly awoken by someone hitting him with...a tail. Ripred.
"Dang!" thought Gregor. Ripred was the last person he wanted to talk to.
"The council has requested a meeting," said Ripred, continuing to hit Gregor with his tale.
"Stop it!" snapped Gregor, angrily.
"Why do I need to go?" asked Gregor, his irritation growing.
"It's beyond me why they think you would be useful." said the rat with contempt. "But you know the council—they're completely senile."
"Fine!" said Gregor, more to stop Ripred from talking than anything else.
"I might change if I were you," said Ripred. "You're beginning to smell like a pile of dead crawlers."
"Whatever," muttered Gregor. This was not what he needed.
Gregor quickly changed into a pair of fresh Underland garments. The cool fabric felt smooth against his skin.
"All right, let's go," said Gregor, somewhat grudgingly. At least he would have a chance to talk to Vikus. He should tell him about what he had seen and what he suspected surrounding the mysterious man and the ropes leading to the underland.
Gregor and Ripred walked down through the hall, and down several flights of stairs. They were in the hallway that led to the prophecy room. Gregor thought the prophecies were complete nonsense. The most recent prophecy had called for his death. And well..." I'm still here," thought Gregor. "Not dead yet."
"Ah, Overlander," said a quavering voice. Gregor jumped. Nerissa, Luxa's cousin, was standing alone in the hall. A worn blanket on her shoulders was stirring gently as she stood quivering. She looked, if possible, even frailer than the last time Gregor had seen her. "How fair you?" asked Nerissa. "How was he? thought Gregor. Angelina dead, his dad missing, a mysterious man attacking them, and, of course, the looming threat of the cutters. What exactly were the underlanders expecting of him? Was he supposed to fight again? Yes. Of course, he was, that's always what they wanted. They were always dragging him into their issues.
"I'm fine," said Gregor shortly. "How about you?" She gave a spooky, shivering laugh. It made the hairs on Gregor's neck stand on end.
"I'm as well as I could hope for," she said. Gregor had just noticed a small metal chisel in her hands.
"What's that for?" he asked. Nerissa, following his gaze, looked down at her hands. It might have been Gregor's imagination, but he rather thought he saw a look pass between Ripred and Nerissa. For a second Nerissa looked guiltily around, and then quickly pulled herself together.
"Some of the carvings have lost their definition; I have been going over them with this." Gregor nodded. He could tell she was lying to him, but why should he care? His eyes were absentmindedly scanning the wall behind her. Out of nowhere, something caught his attention. Gregor's heart seemed to freeze in his chest as he gazed at it. Carved into the wall above Nerissa, was a brand new prophecy.
When Gregor's heart started up again, it was beating so hard, he thought it might break through his ribs.
"W-Where did you find that?" asked Gregor.
"Find what?" said Nerissa. And whether she was acting or not, she seemed genuinely confused.
"That!" said Gregor, pointing at the wall. "The Prophecy!"
"Oh!" Nerissa made a noise as if she was mildly surprised by something, then slumped over. Gregor managed to catch her before she hit the ground. He had almost been expecting it. She often passed out. None of the underlanders had ever been able to figure out an exact reason. Maybe it was her incredibly thin build, her constant lack of sleep, or some sort of condition. But whatever the reason, she regularly collapsed around the palace.
"Nerissa!" he said, slapping her across the face. "Is she okay, Ripred?" he asked the rat. Ripred shrugged his big rat shoulders.
"How should I know, " he said. Gregor slapped her face again. She gave no response. He bent down and put his arms around her body. "Take her to the hospital," said Ripred, "I'll see you in the council room in a few minutes."
Gregor nodded. Then, with a grunt, he hoisted her onto his shoulders and set off down the corridor. Her thin silver-blonde hair kept drifting into his eyes, making it difficult to see. Gregor walked quickly towards the hospital. He had gotten quite good at navigating the palace's twists and turns. The halls had now completely emptied, so Gregor figured it must be night-time. Although that was rather irrelevant since it was always completely dark.
Gregor had reached the entrance to the hospital and hurried through the door, staggering slightly under Nerissa's weight. Gregor and Nerissa were whisked into the hospital by a team of doctors, including Howard. Gregor had met Howard some years previous on his second trip to the underland. Since then, Gregor and Howard had completed many prophecies together and fought in a war. Gregor was beginning to think of Howard like an older brother.
"Overlander!" Howard had jumped so badly at Gregor's appearance, he dropped the small glass receptacle he was carrying. It shattered on impact with the floor. This didn't seem to phase Howard, who reached over and pulled Gregor into a hug.
"Hey Howard!" said Gregor, happy to see his friend again. "How've you been," said Gregor. "Well, now that you return," said Howard. "And how fair you?"
"I'm fine," said Gregor. "Have you seen Vikus?"
"No," said Howard. "But he most likely is in the war room with the council." Ah, the council. How Gregor loathed them. "If you like, I can escort you, my shift ends in five minutes," said Howard. "Sounds good," said Gregor, sinking into a nearby chair.
Howard made his way about his duties for the next thirteen and a half minutes, according to Gregor's watch, during which Gregor sat in a corner, watching the flurry of activity in and out of the hospital.
"All right, let us proceed," said Howard, walking over to Gregor. Gregor and Howard walked back through the corridors to a large room filled with people. As they entered, they were immediately greeted by a wash of noise. The entire council was clearly in the middle of a heated debate. Gregor spotted Vikus sitting behind a small table with a few members of the council. He appeared to be in the middle of a lively debate with an old man with a thick, curved nose and vivid purple eyes. His eyes met Gregor's from across the room. The old man raised his eyebrows at Gregor as if to say 'what's up?'. Gregor gestured for Vikus to come to him. Gregor watched Vikus excuse himself and make his way over to him.
"Ah, Gregor," Vikus greeted him. "Let me catch you up on our proceeds. It had come apparent that the Underland is under some unknown threat. An overland human, not unlike yourself, was spotted near the city of Regalia." said Vikus solemnly.
"Yeah," said Gregor. "My dad and I ran into a man near the entrance," said Gregor. "I thought he might be a sewage worker."
"What is this 'sewage'?" broke in Luxa from behind Ripred.
"It's—" began Gregor, but Ripred cut him off.
"If you and your girlfriend want to sit and discuss sewage, feel free," said the rat with annoyance. "But we have better things to do."
Gregor imagined him and Luxa sitting down to dinner sometime. He could just picture himself talking about sewage. Gregor felt ridiculous. Of course, this was Ripred's specialty.
"Whatever," said Gregor
"What is to be done about the other overlander?" asked Vikus, trying to steer the conversation back to something productive.
"Listen Vikus, we have bigger fish to fry," said Gregor.
"Fish? How is this relevant to the conversation, Gregor," asked Luxa, looking nonplussed.
"It's an expression," said Gregor, "It means..." but suddenly he was blanking on how best to explain it. "Never mind," he muttered.
"Gregor? Is something the matter?" asked Vikus, kindly.
"Vikus," said Gregor. "There's a new Prophecy with me in it," blurted out Gregor.
"What?" asked Vikus, gravely. "I have studied the room of prophecies for decades, there aren't more prophecies surrounding you Gregor."
"Not Sandwich," said Gregor. "Nerissa!"