Gregor saw the balls as if in slow motion. He knew he would never be able to block all of them. Poseidon flipped over, avoiding the first twenty or so balls.
Gregor managed to deflect most of them, but some soared through the hoops he was supposed to be defending. Gregor wrenched his helmet off. The thing was completely useless. Sure maybe it stopped his head from getting hit. But what about the rest of him?
He used the helmet to block as many balls as possible before Poseidon had to flip again.
He had managed to block over a hundred balls, but still, thirty-some more had made it through the goals, scoring points for the other team.
Gregor felt himself slipping and reached for something to hold onto. But to no avail. He felt himself free-falling, wildly flipping as he neared the ground. His heart was pounding fit to burst and his stomach was churning as though he had eaten something very wiggly for breakfast.
There was a wild flapping of wings as half the bats in the arena dived for him. An incredibly fast, small brown bat dove beneath him, brushing the ground as she pulled out of her dive. Luxa was swooping back toward him, she hovered on Aurora, and shouted to him.
"So, Gregor, what think you of this?" said Luxa, clearly trying not to laugh.
"To be honest," said Gregor. "I think I prefer Basketball."
"What's that?" asked Luxa with curiosity.
"Its—" started Gregor. But before he could begin to explain, he was interrupted by one of his teammates.
"We have no time for this!" said a tall man, "We have a match to win! We are currently losing by forty-three points. The game is not over yet but it will be if we don't score fast! So let's get out there and show them who the better team is!"
Everyone rose into the air, inspired by his speech. Poseidon and Gregor flew back up to the goal-post, and the game continued.
Gregor needed to ask Poseidon something, so he leaned over into the bat's ear. But as he did such, one of the opposing team's players came swooping past and managed to score a goal. Cursing himself, he backed up on the bat, back into position.
It seemed as if they could do no wrong. Again and again, they scored, and again and again, at the other end of the arena, Gregor saved countless goals, some at the tips of his fingers. After a particularly good save, Gregor noticed that the arena was filled with people, cheering them on. He had been completely oblivious to the fact that several hundred people were screaming themselves hoarse. What else could he have missed?
Suddenly, his stomach seemed to drop out of the sky. Poseidon had suddenly dived toward the ground. Gregor was confused. Nobody was even near the scoring area. Just as they were about to smash into the ground, Poseidon pulled abruptly out of his dive. And Gregor understood. The ball that the underlanders scored with was soaring toward the ground. He stretched out his hand, willing himself to catch it. He closed his hand, trapping the ball inside.
"Gregor, here!" Luxa went sailing over his head on Aurora. Gregor threw the ball. It went sailing into the air, straight into her open hands. But the motion made him slip, and he found himself sliding down Poseidon's back. The bat leaned in the opposite direction and Gregor straightened back up.
Luxa flew straight at the opposing team's goals and threw it hard, straight threw the goal. Their team was up by one point. At least by Gregor's count anyway.
Gregor had been so busy watching this latest goal that he hadn't noticed a young girl, about his age, maybe a little older, sneak up behind him. She brought back her arm just as a whistle sounded, signaling the end of the match.
"Yes!" shouted Gregor, pumping his fist in the air. Poseidon did a celebratory loop-the-loop to express his feelings. Then he dove to the ground, depositing Gregor onto the arena floor, before diving back up toward the ceiling to continue his flipping.
"We won!"
Luxa was rushing toward him. Gregor hugged her tight, lifting her feet off the ground. Gregor was the happiest he had been in a long time.
"Come, Gregor, there is to be a celebration for our win," said Luxa.
"Sounds great!" said Gregor enthusiastically. Why was he so happy? Shouldn't he be miserable? His friend had just died and his dad was missing in some part of the underland.
"Gregor, it is urgent that I speak with you." Vikus had suddenly appeared before them.
He looked worried. As he spoke, it seemed to Gregor that all his senses except his hearing were blocked out. The arena seemed to get dark and his extremities suddenly became fuzzy.
"What's the matter?" said Gregor, his smile fading.
"We..." said Vikus, hesitating.
"What happened?" asked Gregor. He wanted to get this over with.
"We found your father..."
"M-my father?" stuttered Gregor. Questions raced through his mind, as Vikus gazed at him, his face etched with worry. "What wrong?" asked Gregor, dreading the answer. "Is he—" he started, but then had to stop because his mouth was completely void of all liquid. He tried again. "Is he alive?" Vikus nodded.
"He is alive—a little worse for wear, but okay," said Vikus.
"That's great!" exclaimed Gregor joyfully. His dad was okay! Some of the weight that had seemed to be pressing on him was suddenly lifted in one glorious wave of euphoria.
"However," Vikus pressed on after leaving Gregor a few seconds to process the latest update. "we have more pressing matters at hand; more men have been spotted outside the city of Regalia—we must act soon. I came to tell you of your father's safe return, and also to ask your opinion of what should happen with the other overlanders." said Vikus, looking expectantly at Gregor. Gregor felt positively alarmed at being asked to come up with a solution so quickly.
"We—maybe we could—do you have any idea on what we are going to do about the other overlander?" asked Gregor, trying to buy himself some time. "What should we do?" he asked. Vikus opened his mouth to respond when he stopped himself in surprise.
"Yes," broke in a familiar voice. A voice that made Gregor crumble to his knees. "What to do?"
Gregor's dad slowly stepped out from behind them. He looked tired and strained. Something was wrong with the way he was walking. Both his arms were cut and bruised almost beyond recognition. His left eye was black and blue, with small red scars surrounding it. His skin had an ugly grayish tinge to it, and he was clearly having trouble breathing. He tenderly limped over to them, wincing with each step.
"Dad!" gasped Gregor, horrified at his condition. "What happened to you? Did the man attack you again?" His dad didn't respond. He seemed strangely interested in his left hand.
"Should not you be in the hospital?" asked Vikus with concern. His dad brushed away Vikus's worries.
"I'm fine. A good night's sleep and I should be back to normal." But Gregor could tell this was far from true. All around them, the arena was still packed with cheering, celebrating people. Gregor wished they would be quiet. He was getting a headache and all the noise was making it worse.
"Gregor," spoke his father, reaching out his hand to touch him. His eyes were dilated, and he seemed not to know what was happening. He stood there, his hand out, gently swaying. Before tumbling to the floor in a heap. The impact of his fall vibrated through the floor. Dust from the arena floor puffed into the air.
"Dad!" cried Gregor in shock.
"We need a doctor!" shouted Vikus. It took only a few seconds before underland doctors were rushing toward them, carrying a stretcher.
A few minutes later his dad had been loaded onto a stretcher. Gregor made to take after the underlanders, but Vikus held his arm back. Gregor shook his arm off and set off after the stretcher.
Gregor sprinted down the halls after the underlander carrying the stretcher. He reached the entrance to the hospital a few seconds after them.
He rushed through the entrance. He thought he heard a doctor shouted at him but he ignored it.
His dad was being rushed into an emergency room of sorts. A doctor appeared at the entrance to the room.
"What's wrong with him?" shouted Gregor at once.
"There is nothing you can do. Leave immediately," said the doctor fiercely.
"What's wrong?" Gregor asked desperately.
"You are putting him at a higher risk by being here," continued the doctor.
"Will he be all right?" asked Gregor.
"He should recover. But his body is weak. He needs immediate treatment. Leave! I will send news when there is such." Gregor knew he was right. That there was nothing he could do. But he still didn't want to leave.
Gregor lingered in the entrance for a moment, before reluctantly walking away. He was so worried for his dad, the muscles in his neck had tensed up so much they hurt. A lot!
He stretched, trying to relieve the tense feeling in his neck. Gregor heard a slight popping sound as his neck slowly loosened. Out of nowhere, a faint noise startled Gregor. It sounded like... but it couldn't be, could it? Cautiously, he made his way down the stairs.
The sound grew louder, as he neared the source of the noise. He turned the corner to see a small form huddled in a ball on the floor, sobbing hysterically. Gregor almost fainted from shock. Lying on the ground was, as he had suspected since he had first heard the sound, his baby sister, Boots.