Underland Chronicles: 1 - The Border's Edge (A Gregor the Overlander FanFic)

Chapter 13

Pandora needed to climb to higher ground. She didn't really know why, although she felt a certain urgency to do so. Putting more weight on her right foot, she let go of the rock wall with her right hand and reached for another stone. Her new handhold began to crumble as she put her weight on it, almost causing her to fall. She was slowly making progress toward a nearby ledge, where Pandora planned to rest for a moment before continuing her ascent.

"Pandora!" She heard an unmistakable voice shriek.

Pandora looked over her shoulder at the ground and saw Rose clawing at the side of a pit. Pandora knew her attempts to climb were futile, for the sheer sides of the pit were far too tall and didn't have any handholds. "Rose!"

"Pandora!" Came another two voices.

Pandora realized that Rose was not the only one inside the pit; Howard and Nerissa were with her as well. They reached out their arms towards her, begging her to come to their aid. "Hang on! I'm coming!"

Descending the rock wall was even more of a challenge than climbing up. Pandora had to pay extra attention, so as to not move down too quickly and fall. She would be of no help if she was dead. She had not gotten down two feet of stone when she heard gasps and sounds of struggle coming from the pit. She peered over her shoulder again to look at her friends and family.

Eyes bulging, all three of them had their hands on their throats. They were being choked by an unseen force. Rose collapsed to the floor of the pit, unconscious. Nerissa also fell to the ground, although she was still desperately trying to breathe. Howard sunk to his knees, his face a ghastly shade of purple.

Her eyes darted to a nearby mountain, the top of which was glowing bright red. A cloud of ash erupted, slightly concealing Rose, Nerissa, and Howard from Pandora's view. "No!" she screamed, unable to tell if her loved ones were still alive.

A deep rumbling from inside the earth made loose stones on the wall around Pandora start to vibrate. Rocks from above started to crumble away, striking Pandora with increasingly painful blows. Pandora could barely hold on... and then, she didn't need to hold on any longer.

The rocks Pandora was using for handholds shook loose from the slope, and as Pandora fell to the ground, so did the rocks above her.

Pandora awoke with a start, heart pounding and palms sweating. The nightmare was much more terrifying than the last one, and the stress of the sudden onset of fright caused Pandora to seize. Luckily, she was lying on her side. After her uncontrollable shaking and erratic eye movement, Pandora sat up and quietly went to her backpack to retrieve her pocketknife. She settled back down in her spot by the now burnt-out torch.

The ground in the nibbler colony was soft dirt, not rock, and Pandora found it easier to write words in it. She used the smallest of the knife blades as a writing utensil, wiping the sweat off her palms on her jeans so the handle wouldn't slip in her grasp.

Pandora didn't understand what she was writing and didn't take any time to read it. The words just seemed to flow out of her like water from a pitcher. She couldn't stem the flow of words, continuing to write even after her hand had cramped up. When the space in front of Pandora filled-up with words, she would rotate slightly for a new blank canvas.

After a final sentence, the last words scrawled near her left shoe, Pandora could release the pocketknife. She stretched out her palm and cracked her fingers. Seeing a few nibblers running about, conducting daily business she supposed, Pandora knew it was about time for the others to wake up. She had barely slept, and her eyes were very dry. She rubbed them, but the motion didn't help much.