Gregor and the New Race

Chapter 6

The class arrived at the museum roughly at 11:00 and stayed for three hours. After the trip ended, the class went back to the hotel. Harry's dad invited Dr. Nyles to accompany the four on their sight seeing. Harry's dad had become friends with the doctor. They had talked through the whole car ride there, and had pretty much done the same throughout the museum trip. Gregor guessed that he would probably accompany them for the rest of the trip too.

The group had some time to kill, so they decided it would be Abigail's turn first to choose where they would go. To Gregor's surprise, Abigail chose Central Park. Gregor's parents had said he was not allowed to go there because there was an entrance at the park. Gregor was hesitant to day something, because he didn't want to be a party pooper. Abigail had been very excited to go, and Gregor didn't want to spoil it for her. But he also couldn't go anywhere alone, so he couldn't go back to the hotel and let them go by themselves. He dicided that it would be okay, because he was with two adults. One of them happened to be a teacher, so he definitely wouldn't let Gregor try to slip under some rock. Gregor didn't intend to, but he felt like maybe he might not have a choice.
They all piled in the car and headed off to Central Park.
"Have you been to Central Park a lot of times?" Abigail asked Gregor. Gregor chuckled.
"More than a few." He replied. It was true. When Gregor's family lived there, it had been Maggie's (then Boots) favorite place. Gregor would often take her there to play on the playground, or, in the winter, to sled on the hills.
"Great! Then you can show me your favorite places there." She said cheerfully. She was obviously excited. However, Gregor knew exactly where his favorite place was, under it.

The group walked around for a while, occasionally stopping at a bench. Gregor could see that Harry was bored out of his mind, but Abby was having a ball. She loved all the green trees and grass, and all the tiny squirrels and birds bustling about. She pet every dog they passed, and she giggled as most of them licked her back. She was like Snow White. All the animals loved her. Gregor guessed that her second pick would've been to the pet store.
Harry's dad had packed a picnic basket and they stopped for an early dinner at a picnic table near the playground that Maggie had loved so much. They ate and talked as it began to get cold. It wasn't dark yet, but it would soon be. Abigail said she was cold and ran off to get her jacket. They were not very far from the car, so she went alone. After about three minutes the four of them started to pack up. It was almost dark by now and Abigail had not returned. Gregor began to feel a knot in his stomach, but he didn't panic and suggested that they walked back to the car and they'd meet her on the way there. They did, but as soon as they saw the car, with no Abigail in sight, they started to panic. Gregor's mind went immediately to the time when Maggie had been taken by giant cockroaches in the exact same area. Gregor tried to push the idea far from his mind. He looked around frantically for any signs of her disappearance. He spotted the slab that covered the hole to the underland, and saw that the dirt beside it had been torn from someone or something pushing it aside. His heart sank as he saw a small rat squeeze itself into the hole.

Gregor turned and sprinted as fast as he could toward the slab. The others couldn't stop him, because he had gotten too big of a head start, but he saw them start running after him. It only took him a few moments before he got to the entrance, and as soon as he did, he pushed the slab aside and quickly dropped inside. He clicked a few times and started down a tunnel that he remembered led to the Waterway. As he ran, he heard footsteps behind him. He heard Harry's voice behind him, calling his name, but it only made him run faster. He passed the rat that had seen earlier and knew he was going the right way. Gregor clicked and "saw" the hole he had dropped down on one of his previous trips to the underland, and slowed down. He had to act fast. The others were catching up, and he knew they wouldn't be okay with him jumping down a hole into darkness. A familiar voice purred from below.
"Jump, Overlander!" Nike said.
"Nike! Oh good. Do you think you can carry three more?" He said with urgency.
"No. But Ioke can carry some." She replied.
"Okay, hold on." Gregor knew there was no way to convince them to jump. He quickly thought of what he was going to say as the other three approached. Gregor didn't want the others to come, but he knew they would try to follow him if he dropped down. And he didn't know if Ioke, whoever it was, would've been able to catch all three. Harry's father had the flashlight on his phone pointing at him as they arrived.
"What are you doing? Why did you run down here? And where are we?" Dr. Nyles asked him.
"There's no time for questions. I found Abigail and I need you to trust me. You need to jump down this hole." He said quickly.
"Not unless we get some answers." Dr. Nyles replied firmly.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but if you want to see Harry again, you'll have to jump." In a matter of seconds, Gregor had grabbed Harry in his arms and fell down the hole. The two fell for a brief moment before landing on a soft back. Nike had caught them, and Harry clung onto Gregor's chest like a monkey. But in front of him, he could feel another person. Abigail was shaking furiously in front of him. Nike didn't mention that she had Abigail with her. Thankfully, Harry had been clutching so tightly, because if they had dropped separately, Gregor didn't know if Nike would've been able to catch both of them. Behind Gregor, he could see a light drop as Loke caught the two adults that fell separately. Gregor knew that Harry's dad may never forgive him, but it had been the only way Gregor could think of to save them all. He placed his hands on Abby's shoulders.
"You're okay. It's Gregor. Just relax." It was probably the last thing she wanted to hear, to relax, though Gregor could feel her arms relax just a bit."if you release your grip on your legs, it's easier to hang on."
"Are...you...crazy?!" She sputtered. "That doesn't make any sense! What am I even flying on anyway?" She asked, still terrified.
"You're on a bat. Her name is Nike." He said, but realized that probably didn't help her relax.
"A what!?" A voice behind him asked. Gregor forgot that Harry was behind him.
"We're on a—never mind, you'll see when we get to Regalia." As he spoke, Gregor could see the lights of Regalia nearing.