Gregor and the Prophecy of the Overland (Book VI)

Remembering

     When I awoke again, Luxa sent Nerissa down to talk to me. I told her about my 'visions', as she called them, and the ones that came true versus the ones that haven't yet. She seemed pretty amazed, but there wasn't much she could do except tell me to try and remember every detail.
     Luxa wouldn't have left my side, but as Queen, she has too many responsibilities to ignore. Howard has been pretty good company though, administering meds, bringing meals, and checking on my rapidly healing bullet wound.
     I haven't seen Kel or Osiris since the prophecy meeting.
     Eris made his way in here one day and we played chess together. So far every Underlander has beat me at the game, and he was no exception.
     I wrote a letter to my family and asked Vikus to send it up to the grate. I told them that I'm staying down here. I don't feel at home in the Overland anymore, and don't really want to go back. I told them I missed them and that they could visit me sometime later (hopefully not while this prophecy is still rolling) but that they couldn't convince me to come back.
     I've been allowed to stand and walk several times now, and apparently I've made a brilliant recovery in the three days since I first awoke. I may even be able to get my stitches out tomorrow.
     Mareth has also come in to see how I'm doing, although he's pretty busy training young Underlanders and attending meetings with Luxa.
     Joseph and Marc haven't set foot in the hospital wing to make sure their 'Life Saver' is okay, despite the fact that they're free to go wherever they want.
     Henry, however, is in here now.
     "Hello." Henry awkwardly stands in the doorway, unsure whether he's welcome to come in or not. Now that I actually get a clear look at him for the first time, I realize he's a lot younger than I thought. He looks like he just graduated from college, or maybe is still taking classes. So no older than twenty-five.
     "Hi." I answer cautiously, wondering what he could possibly want.
     "Can I--" Henry flinches as his escort guard takes a step closer. "Can I come in? I want to talk to you."
     I hesitate for a moment, wary of another attack. But something about Henry's expression tells me he doesn't want to hurt me. That he never would have done anything even if he was the Overlander on the bat with me instead of Joseph.
     "Sure." I reply, trying to sound as casual as possible. Henry's bulky Underland guard follows closely behind, and I can see that Henry is terrified of him. "Hey, you don't need to come in too." I tell the soldier. "We'll be fine in here. Can you just stand outside the door or something?"
     "Are you sure, Warrior?"
     "Quite sure." There I go again, talking like an Underlander. The guard nods respectfully to me and exits the room.
     Henry relaxes the moment the man is around the corner. "Thanks." He says, acting like he's my age rather than an adult. "That guy was freaking me out."
     "No problem." Henry moves toward the seat that Luxa usually sits in, and sinks into it gratefully. "So what did you want to talk about?"
     Henry wrings his hands in his lap before replying. "Well, I just wanted to say thank you. For saving my life, I mean. I--I kind of knew that Joseph would try to hurt you, or kill you. Marc probably would have done the same to the other guy if he hadn't been the same size as him."
     "Marc would have tried to kill Howard?"
     "Yeah, probably. They--they really want those diamonds."
     "And you don't?"
     Henry looks at his lap uncomfortably. "I do need the money... It's just that... Well, I wouldn't kill for it. I can't do that."
     "Well that's good to hear. Seeing as we're alone in the same room." I grin at him and he smiles back wryly. "But was that all you wanted to talk about? I don't think saying 'thank you' requires sitting down."
     "No. That's not all... I just wondered, what were the lines that girl recited at the meeting? About brutality and morality? Everyone seemed to listen to you after she said them."
     I don't answer at first, trying to think of the best way to describe it. Most Overlanders, me included, don't believe in prophecies, predicting the future, or visions until they witness them come true first-hand. And even then, some refuse to believe it. Ripred is included in that group, as he thinks Sandwich's prophecies are stupid and only come true because we think they have to.
     I have to answer this delicately if I want Henry to understand.
     "Hello? You still there?" He asks.
     "Yeah, sorry." I glance back up at his face: pale blonde hair framing green eyes, a small nose, and a down-turned mouth. "You have to promise me that if I answer you, you'll consider what I'm saying before disregarding it completely. Alright?"
     "Deal." Henry says without hesitation.
     I take a deep breath. "So, several hundred years ago there was this guy named Bartholomew of Sandwich. He believed that the world was going to end soon, so he packed up a whole bunch of people and moved them down here, underground. And once they were settled, with shelter, sustenance, and safety, Sandwich locked himself in a room to carve prophecies into the walls.
     "See, he was prophetic. Or at least we think so, since a lot of his prophecies have come true. The people down her call themselves the Underlanders, and they believe everything that Sandwich wrote is a prophecy.
     "Before I came here, several of the prophecies already happened. One of them predicted that the parents of Luxa, the Queen, would die. And they did. Then I fell through the grate in my laundry room and landed here with my sister. There was a prophecy that called me the Warrior, and I fulfilled it."
     "So that's why they call you Warrior." Henry interrupts.
     "Yeah, it is. But basically I went through four more prophecies after that. They were all right, down to the last word. The Prophecy of Grey, the Prophecy of Bane, then Blood, then the nursery rhyme, and the Prophecy of Time. And Nerissa, the girl who recited the lines, also can sometimes see the future and the past. And she foresaw a new prophecy. It's called the Prophecy of the Overland. What you heard is the fourth stanza."
     "Can you recite it for me?" Henry asks, surprising me. I don't know how he's taking this so well, but he seems to be believing it. And he wants to know more. "The whole thing I mean. I want to hear it."
     "I--" At that moment, Nerissa walks in the door.
     "I thought I heard my name from in here." She smiles at me, not yet noticing Henry. Her steps are unsteady and she looks just as frail as always, but her expression says otherwise. "Are you speaking of me, Gregor?"
     "Yeah, Nerissa." I smile. "Actually this is perfect timing. Henry here was asking about the prophecy. Could you recite it for him?"
     "Henry?" A confused expression crosses Nerissa's face. Then she catches sight of the Overlander in the corner and her bearing completely changes. She stands a little straighter and smooths her dress before tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ears. "It is good to meet you, Henry. Vikus told me the names of you and your friends, but I believe he forgot which you were. He hasn't been quite the same since his stroke. You must forgive him."
     "No, he--he didn't do anything wrong." Henry stutters a little. "He was--kind to me actually. Gregor and you are the only other ones who haven't treated me like a criminal."
     "Gregor is an exceptionally kind person, as is Vikus. They both have lost much, and I believe that has something to do with it."
     "I guess so." Henry examines her closely and I feel like I shouldn't be hearing this conversation. "Have you lost things then, too?"
     "What I have lost is more than mere things. My brother fell over a year ago."
     Henry looks taken aback at this. "Oh, I'm sorry... What--what was his name?"
     Nerissa jerks around to face me, pretending the question wasn't asked and turning away from the man who bears her brother's name. "You said you needed the prophecy recited, Gregor? I should think you would have it memorized by now."
     "Yes, but I don't want to make a mistake. Sometimes switching two words will change the meaning completely."
     "Right you are." Nerissa turns to Henry, acting like nothing strange just happened, much to his confusion. "Very well, then. This is the Prophecy of the Overland as it came to me:

"The Overland creeps into the Under
The Warrior shall return from the grave
Hiding people cower under a web
From it, they must be saved

Greed comes with picks and axes
For stone and pale stone faces
Eleven shouters descend below
On breaking spider strings and laces

Besieged by the diamond will
Beset by a flimsy, green wish
Careful or stones will come raining
And gasping will come the fish

But in the face of sickening brutality
The Under must not lose morality
And forget their own mortality
Or it's own will be fatality

The Warrior must hold them together
In the face of the oncoming flood
The peace of the Under has forgotten
It's past memories of blood

Two can be saved from the dark
But nine are lost at heart
The killing greed must be undone
It will split the Under apart."

There's silence for several seconds before Henry speaks. "Well that was...interesting...and very deep. Are all the prophecies you have that bad? Aren't there any happy ones?"
"Not many, no." I laugh. "Usually the prophecies help us through tough times. They don't tell us when to look forward to stuff."
"You said 'us'." Henry notes. "But you're not one of them. Why are you even down here anyway? What is the Underland to you?"
Nerissa glances between me and Henry nervously. The question wasn't really that bad, but if Henry knew what I've been through in this place, then he never would have asked. He basically just reminded me of every horrible thing I've experienced down here and played it off as nothing important. And he must realize this by the look on my face because he immediately tries to backtrack.
"I didn't mean--sorry, I'm prying. I probably should go now." He stands to leave but I stop him, wanting him to know what it's like down here.
"Wait." I say, and he turns. "You should know. The prophecies I told you about, they call me the Warrior because I've had to fight. I've killed hundreds of gnawers to help save these people. I've fought twisters as well, and cutters. I've lost more friends than I can count. The Underland isn't very peaceful, and that's why you were put on trial for execution so easily. The Underlanders don't trust you until you prove yourself, and I proved myself the hard way. The Underland is my home. I lost my bond here, and I almost lost Luxa. I'm not leaving this place because I've given too much of myself to make sure it survived. And I won't give up on it now."
Henry stares at his Overland shoes, contemplating everything I said. Finally he speaks. "Thank you again. For saving my life." Then he turns and walks out the door. A moment later, Nerissa follows him.
And I'm left alone with my blood memories.