Gregor the Overlander and the Return of The Warrior

Dreams

Falling. Wind whistled in his ears as he saw the walls of the cavern rush past me and the ground quickly approached. He could hear the squealing of rats from the cliffs and caves around him. Gregor expected his big black bat Ares to swoop under him before he hit the rocky floor of the dark cavern. Ares never came. As he hit the floor, he saw his bond's empty black eyes staring back at him.

Gregor awoke with a start. He sat bolt upright in my bed grabbing for his sword; when he realized that it wasn't there the panic built up in his chest. He surveyed my surroundings, and the panic subsided. His breath was loud enough for his echolocation to allow him to see his empty room around him in immaculate detail. Even after 4 years of living in Virginia, he still hadn't gotten used to my room. It was a real room, with a desk, dresser, bed, and clothes strewn about the empty floor space. But, in all honesty, he would have traded it in a heartbeat for the closet of a bedroom he left behind in New York. 

New York. Just thinking about the city he had spent most of his life in brought up so many memories. Gregor remembered falling into the Underland for the first time like it was yesterday. He remembered all the friends he had down there; Mareth, Howard, Nerissa, and Hazard. Most of all, he remembered Luxa. He could still see her silky silver hair and mesmerizing purple eyes. Gregor missed her more than anything. They were 12 the last time they had seen each other, the last time Gregor was in the Underland. Thoughts of what had happened to her ran rampant through his mind now. She would be of age to take her place as Queen of Regalia now; although she had really been the queen of the city ever since the war. Whenever he thought back to his time in Regalia he couldn't keep the carnage of the war from entering his mind. With all the memories of his friends, a torrent of the death and destruction also flooded his mind. The image of his bond, Ares, laying lifeless on the ground was plastered in his mind. He saw his cold lifeless eyes, the blood spilling out of his ravaged throat. Along with this ghastly image came the Bane, the 12 foot tall rat that he had killed at the expense of Ares life, laying with Gregor's sword sticking out of his chest. He knew the things he saw in his time in the Underland would stay with him forever.

Gregor could never sleep after one of these nightmares; so like most nights, he hopped out of his bed and got dressed. As he slipped on his shoes he creeped downstairs trying not to wake his parents or sisters. When he got to the main floor, he picked his mom's car keys out of the dish that she always left them in. Gregor had gotten his driver's license a couple months ago and used it as much as possible. He pulled the car out of the garage and out onto the road. Until this point he had neglected to look at the time. 2:32. Ever since his adventures in the Underland he had gotten used to running on very little sleep. His nightmares woke him almost every night at this point and he could rarely fall asleep after. Whenever he couldn't he would go out and drive around. While Gregor frequented a couple of local roads and parks, he never drove anywhere in particular. He was always to wrapped up in thoughts. Tonight, his thoughts were solely on Luxa. His feelings for Luxa had grown in his last trip to the stone city. While Gregor didn't know what their relationship status really was, he knew he loved Luxa. The picture the two of them took while in the museum before they went off to battle never left him. While he always had it, he could never bring himself to look at it. He knew he would never be able to see her again so he didn't torture himself more by looking at it. Besides, the image of Luxa was burned into his mind. For years he fought to go back but one of the few certainties in his life was his mom would never let him go back. Whenever he built up the courage to look at it he would see their scared faces, two kids who were mature beyond their years smiling through all the pain. Whenever he saw her he couldn't help but let his mind wonder. What if she had found someone else? What if she hated him for leaving? What if he wasn't good enough for her anymore? Gregor tried his hardest to not let these thoughts in but they inevitably came. This was when he decided to head home. 4:57. He had been driving for over two hours. By the time he got home, he had pushed all the thoughts of his real home out of his mind and snuck back up to his room and promptly fell into a shallow sleep.