Underland Chronicles: 2 - The Reaper's Gate (A Gregor the Overlander FanFic)

Chapter 13

~ GREGOR

"Ah, it does branch off to the right!" Howard said excitedly.

"We'll be out soon," Pandora said confidently.

Clearing his voice before taking a sip of water, Gregor concentrated hard on his echolocation. It didn't look as promising ahead as Pandora made it seem. The tunnel snaked this way and that. It wouldn't be long until they reached another branch.

He took a deep breath and tried his best to visualize what the tunnel may look like on a map. Where did he think Regalia was? In which direction would they be heading after the next few turns? After walking in a straight direction for so long, Gregor knew Regalia was no longer to their right; it was behind them.

Gregor wondered what Luxa was doing. Was she worried why they were gone for so long? She was so busy... had she even noticed? Yes, Gregor thought. Of course she noticed.

He didn't voice anything out loud, for fear of getting Howard worked up prematurely. Who knew? Maybe Gregor would have a "Eureka" moment, or maybe Pandora would have a vision that showed the way back.

"My, this certainly is a... change of pace, isn't it?" Howard commented after a few minutes of twisting and turning.

"I'm not quite sure which direction we're headed in now," Pandora said.

"I'm pretty sure," Gregor answered. "I've been trying to map it in my head. I can't see too far in the distance with the echolocation, but every little bit of extra insight helps make the bigger picture clearer."

Pandora had put her flashlight back in Gregor's backpack a while ago, after Howard had woken up and they started moving again. As they continued to walk, Gregor noticed that the bulb on Howard's light was growing weaker and weaker. It wouldn't be long before the batteries gave out.

He almost mentioned his observation when it happened. With a wink, the flashlight died. Pandora and Howard stopped moving. Knowing they were both plunged in darkness, Gregor took the initiative to take the second flashlight out of his pack, turned it on, and swapped it for the dead one in Howard's hand.

It was like wrenching an object out of a corpse's grasp.

"Howard," Pandora asked once she saw his face in the light of the new flashlight. "Are you alright?"

"I... I'm ok now," he said tersely. "Thank you, Gregor."

He started to walk forwards as if nothing happened, but Gregor knew at once that Pandora was concerned about him. Heck, he was concerned about him, too! Did he seem paler than usual? His movements seemed robotic. Gregor took a couple large steps so he was in front of the two, trying not to impede the flashlight's beam but far enough away from them to give them at least a hint of privacy. He cleared his throat again to try to get a clearer picture of the tunnel ahead. Oh great, another branch.

"Are you sure?" Pandora pressed. "You're acting strange."

"What if... what if the earthquake has shifted the tunnel? Maybe we are walking away from Regalia instead of towards it." As he kept talking, he sounded less and less like himself. "We will be lost for a long time. Perhaps forever. Scouts might never even find our bodies."

"Howard..." Pandora tried to stop his spiraling.

"Our corpses will rot on the cold rock floor. We might not even decompose. We will be poised with the very last emotions we had while still alive etched into our leathery faces for all eternity."

"Howard, stop this. You don't know that!" Pandora said. She sounded extremely upset, her voice breaking towards the end. Gregor tried to erase the disturbing picture Howard conjured from his mind by giving his head a little shake. How could he say something like that?