Gregor the Overlander and the Ghost of War

Chapter 8

Gregor instantly leapt out of the bath. Where had the blood come from?!

It's not real, he told himself, heart pounding. It's just a hallucination. He held up his shaking hands, only to see that they, too, were dyed red from the sticky red liquid. He sank to his knees, eyed closed and trembling, and thought of Lizzie's soothing voice.

Take deep breaths. It's not real. In, out. In, out.

Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. He opened his eyes and saw that the bath was once again filled with steaming water. "See?" he said shakily to no-one in particular. "Not real."

After towelling himself off, he pulled on the silky Underland garments and trudged back to his room. Throwing his Overland clothes on the ground, and blowing out the lantern on the bedside table, he climbed into bed. Exhausted from the overwhelming day, Gregor quickly fell asleep.

Then the nightmare began.

Gregor was running in a field he recognized from his family's farm in Virginia. A warm breeze blew over him, and his hands and face brushed tall, leafy stalks of corn. Dappled sunlight warmed his face, and he could hear his mom calling him to dinner. He ran towards her voice, a happy smile spreading across his face.

Suddenly, he tripped and tumbled through a gaping hole in the ground. The surface disappeared, the hole closing up above him, and he was falling through chilling darkness. He yelled for Ares, but when the big black bat didn't come to his aid he began to panic. "Ares!" he shouted again to no response. He clicked his tongue, trying to see – why wasn't his echolocation working? Suddenly he smacked into stone, the hard surface knocking the wind out of him.

After regaining his breath Gregor stood, and suddenly hundreds of torches were alight, illuminating the massive cavern with a harsh, red light. He began to walk, but something crunched under his sneakers. He looked down and screamed when he saw it was a human skull. He looked around, terrified, and recognized the decomposing bodies of dead animals and humans alike. Tears streamed down his face as he recognized Ares, Twitchtip, Hamnet, Frill, Thalia, Pandora, Cartesian—

"Gregor?" Someone said weakly, and he turned to see Luxa, her face ghostly white. Blood dripped from her mouth, and she and Gregor looked down to see a sword embedded in her abdomen. "Luxa!" Gregor screamed as she collapsed, revealing a shadowed figure leaning down to pull their sword from Luxa's body. The figure rose and looked at Gregor. It was Henry, Luxa's evil and supposedly dead cousin, who had betrayed Regalia by siding with the rats. Gregor had watched Henry die; how was he alive?

Henry smiled cruelly. King Gorger, the former rat king, appeared at Henry's side. The Bane, a terrifying massive white rat, towered over the two and lunged for Gregor. Gregor turned and began to sprint for Regalia, which was miles away. He'd never make it. He sobbed as he ran past Mareth, Perdita, Hazard, Vikus, Ripred, Boots, Lizzie, and his mom and dad. They were dead, all of them dead, blank eyes staring ahead with no light to give them life...

He tried to outrun the Bane, but he needed Ares to even match the giant rat's speed. The Bane quickly overtook him and pounced on a spot in front of Gregor. "No..." Gregor's whimpered as the rat inched closer. He bared his teeth and snarled evilly. "No..." Gregor said again, shaking his head in terror.

"Gregor..." The Bane growled as the boy shrank to the ground, shaking in fear. His white muzzle was drenched in blood and now inches from Gregor's face. Gregor could feel the monster's hot breath on his face, and he squeezed his eyes shut, whimpering like a child. He had failed them all, he had killed them all...

"Gregor..." The oversized rat opened his jaws and leaned forward quickly to rip Gregor's head from his neck. Gregor could feel the sharp teeth breaking into his skull, the roar reverberating in his mind—

"Gregor!" Gregor's eyes shot open, and he tumbled out of bed. He was tangled in the sheets and sweating like crazy, and he could feel tear tracks on his cheeks. He was still shaking and hyperventilating. Disoriented, he looked around frantically before seeing Luxa, who was in a silk robe and climbing off the bed to embrace Gregor. Gregor whimpered and collapsed in her arms, terrified. "Shhh..." she said softly. "It is alright. It was just a nightmare." Gregor clung to her arms and sobbed.

"Gregor?" Hazard stood in the doorway, looking frightened. "Is he ok, Luxa?" Luxa nodded as she ran a hand through Gregor's curls to calm him down, sending Hazard a small reassuring smile. "He is fine, Hazard, just a nightmare. Like when I wake up sometimes. Go back to sleep." Hazard nodded, still looking worriedly at Gregor, and headed back to his room. Luxa rubbed Gregor's back before standing. Gregor clutched her arms, suddenly terrified that she would leave him. "Please don't go!" he said shakily. She took his arms and gently pulled him to his feet, untangling the sheets from him. "Don't worry, I am only putting you back into bed. Come lie down." He obediently lay on the mattress as she blew out the lantern – she had probably lit it when she had heard him screaming - and lay down next to him, pulling the blanket over the both of them. She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back soothingly. "I get nightmares sometimes too, Gregor. Howard gives me medicine to help me sleep – I can see if he can give you some as well." Gregor nodded as he hugged her tightly, terrified to let go.

"I'm s-sorry," he said shakily, suddenly guilty. "I shouldn't have woken you up, you're the queen, after all. I shouldn't be—" He felt Luxa shake her head as she continued to rub his back. "It is of no consequence. Anyway, we both know I am opposed to the hundreds of meaningless tasks." Gregor looked up at her with a watery smile. "Yeah? Mareth told me you were doing an alright job." She rolled her eyes. "This does not mean I enjoy it, Gregor." They laughed quietly. "Go back to sleep," she whispered. "Now that the nightmares know I am here, they will not bother you any more tonight." Gregor's eyes closed as her soothing voice, and soon the two were asleep in each other's arms.