Gregor And The Prophecy Of Doom (Book VI)

Part 1 The Return -- Chapter One

He was walking, slowly, towards the end of the tunnel, which was completely in blackness. Suddenly, he could hear their voices behind him, their panting and excited words, coming closer and closer. He ran, but as he ran, the ground beneath him began to crumble, the rocks shattering into sand, and then he was falling, falling down into the abyss, all the jagged rocks coming straight up to meet him. He closed his eyes, ready for the collision...

Gregor awoke with a start. His bedroom smelled faintly of soap and dust, which was probably his own scent mixing with the old room. These recuring nightmares, he had been through hundreds of them now, kept coming back to visit him for the last 2 years. Exactly 2 years, 7 months and twelve days. Just like when the time his father had gone missing, he'd somehow kept track of all the days that had past, he did the same, since... But thinking of that brought back horrifying memories, memories of giant rats hunting him down, memories of purple bumps oozing blood, memories of... memories of Aries. Aries was a giant bat, one of the most powerful bats in the whole of the Underland. He was also Gregor's bond, but he had died at the jaws of the Bain, the giant white rat 12 feet tall who wanted Gregor dead. It had killed Aries and would've done the same to Gregor as well if the fireflies Photos Glow-Glow and Zap hadn't found and rescued him. Come to think of it, he had actually never really expressed his gratitude to the fireflies for saving his life. Well, no chance now anyway.

He climbed out of bed. The alarm clock read 7:20 AM but the light outside was dim and shallow due to the smog... not that it mattered to Gregor though, he could navigate in pitch black with his echolocation skills. It had strengthened over time, and even if he knew it was night time, it made no difference to him, outlines and blurry details of objects were still completely clear for him.

He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wipe his face. He slept with his shirt off because it was so hot in the summer, and the scars on his body were easily discernable in the dim light. Even after two years, it still was a gruesome sight. Dark grey scaring was clearly visible on the 5 gashes, and the muscle texture around it was still fiber like and uneven. The pain had all gone though, in fact, those scars felt numb compared to the other parts of Gregor's body. The squid marks on his left arm were still there, but you would have to look very closely on a sunny summer's day to see the faint reddish tinge on the skin.

The reason the family hadn't moved to a farm in Verginia was mainly because of Lizie. Ironically, the main reason they had originally decided to move was because of Lizie as well. She had been scared sick of the Underland with its foreboding gathering of creatures and mysterious attraction to her family members who had one after the other fallen to the depth. But after Lizzie finally plucked up the courage to go to the Underland, she had struck up a close emotional relationship with the least likely figure, Ripred the Gnawer. Ripred had become obsessed with Lizzie, and had assumed a fatherly figure. This was the reason why Lizzie had refused point blank to move to Virginia. Their mother had given in, but had given strict orders not to use the laundry room downstairs and never to go to central park again.

Ripred. Gregor wondered what the scared, tough, powerful and annoying rat was doing now, as the Peace Maker and the bond of... Luxa. When he thought of her, it was as if someone had sliced the wounds on his chest open. He comforted himself by thinking how when he left, the rats and humans had struck up a blood bond that can't be broken, peace was for sure to last. But how long? It is common knowledge that the humans and rats despised each other. Will they go back to war? Gregor had no idea. Both sides had lost great numbers to the war, but the hatred between both species could result in a new conflict starting up.

"Gregor!" Came a shout from the other room, jerking Gregor out of his daze. He went out the door, and saw his dad standing there, grinning at him. Gregor couldn't help smiling back. The medicine from the Underland seemed to have done him good, and in the three years since his rescue, He had gradually recovered from the deeply traumatizing experience of being the rats' slave for nearly the same period of time. When he came back up from the Underland, he had been riddled with diseases, his body weaker than a 3-year-old, and often times he was delusional. But now, his face practically glowed with health, though his strength was far from being the same as 6 years ago, but it was strong enough to stop his trembling and give him the power to act as a normal adult. His delusions had altogether stopped, though he was still sometimes caught by Gregor with his eyes staring into the distance. Since his recovery, he had transitioned from a burden of the house to a major financial income, since he had resumed teaching science. There family had cleared up a lot, Gregor's mother no longer had to work full week at the local food store, and they still managed to offer Gregor pocket money on a monthly basis. Though not much, it did provide Gregor with some ideas on how to rearrange his life and even buy his family members presents. Now though, Gregor was just happy to see his father with a big grin on his face. He had gotten up much earlier than Gregor's mother, who was still fast asleep.

"What's up dad?" He said, as he put his towel back on the shelf.

"Nothing much, "His dad answered, "I took the privilege to ready your breakfast, bacon and eggs, the usual."

"Thanks dad, but I'm afraid my alarm didn't go off, so I'll have to rush it a bit and eat it on the bus." Gregor said, moving to the kitchen.

"No problem, "his dad nodded as he checked his wrist watch, "I'll be taking your sisters out to play in the new water park, they say its quite fun. "Gregor's semester had started 2 weeks before his younger sister Lizzie's, so she cherished that time and wanted to spend it at the water park with his dad and Gregor's even younger sister, Boots.

As if on cue, one of the other bedroom doors opened, and there stood his younger sisters, Lizzie and Boots. Lizzie was still sleepy, rubbing her eyes in a delirious manner, but it was obvious who had woken up first, as Boots, her face brimming with happiness, jumped up and down in excitement. "Water park, water park!" She chanted.

Gregor and his dad laughed. They couldn't help it. Boots, who was now 5, had grown out of her shirts, had grown out of her dippers, and had grown into her new shoes, but she had still not grown out of that manner of being so happy all the time.

"You guys have yourselves a good time. "Gregor said as he walked out the door. "Bye dad!"