Gregor and the Prophecy of Destruction - a Gregor the Overlander fanfiction

Chapter 8

"Gregor."

Gregor rolled over and groaned in response.

"Gregor, wake up."

"I'm asleep," Gregor muttered, shifting to a more comfortable position.

"You literally just spoke to me. I know you're awake," Lizzie said, shaking him.

"What is it?" Gregor asked, sitting up in his bed.

"Ripred wants to see you for training," Lizzie replied.

Gregor sighed and flopped back down again. "Nope."

"Come on, Gregor, this is important," Lizzie encouraged him. "Get up."

"Nooooo," Gregor groaned, covering his face with a pillow.

"If you don't get out of bed, I'll call Ripred in here. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you get up," Lizzie said with a smirk.

Gregor jumped out of bed. "I'm up, I'm up." Lizzie laughed.

He yawned. "Have you talked to Ripred?"

Lizzie laughed. "Uh, yeah, of course!"

"Why does he think I need training?" Gregor wanted to know.

"He says if you haven't raged in a while, it can be difficult to get back into it."

Gregor rolled his eyes. "Yeah? And how would he know that? He's been fighting his whole life."

Lizzie looked down. "Gregor..."

"I'm sorry."

Lizzie nodded. "You should get going. He said to meet him on the training field."

Suddenly feeling sentimental, Gregor pulled Lizzie into a hug. "Thanks, Liz. For everything."

Lizzie embraced him, her head resting on his shoulder. "No problem." She patted him on the back before pulling away. "Go. Ripred doesn't like tardiness."

"Yeah, you think?" Gregor asked with a laugh. Lizzie giggled and walked away, shutting the door behind her. Gregor got dressed, brushed his teeth, and briefly combed his hair before hurrying to the training field to meet Ripred.

When he got there, the big rat was waiting for him. Gregor looked at Ripred and grabbed his sword without a word.

"Put that away, boy," Ripred commanded. "You're not here to train."

Gregor tilted his head. "Uh, what do you mean? Lizzie and Mareth told me..."

"I know," Ripred said. "I lied to them."

Gregor gaped at him. "You lied to Lizzie?"

Ripred shrugged. "A white lie. Look, I couldn't tell them the real reason that you're here."

"Which is... what?" Gregor wanted to know.

"The rats are making an attack again," Ripred told him. Gregor opened his mouth to speak, but Ripred kept talking. "This time, they're being smart about it. They're allying with the other creatures."

"Like who?" Gregor asked.

"Like the cutters... even some of the spinners," Ripred said. "But that's not all. Gregor, something horrible is going to happen. Even the prophecy predicts it." He sighed. "You have to promise me you won't freak out."

"Just tell me, Ripred," Gregor replied, stepping closer to the rat.

"The crawlers," Ripred responded. "The crawlers have always been neutral. That is, until your little baby sister came down here."