Page 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3

Gregor turned on his heel and ran "Oh, geez!" he gasped "What are they doing here?" Cockroaches had taken Boots He'd seen one of their legs But ere Underland rats doing so close to the surface of the earth?

Well, that was soer issues at theon hi came to mind He couldn't outrun theht them with their six-inch teeth and razor-sharp claws and --

"Ugh!" He ran sht hi the wind out of hiht, but as it fell into e that Ares had squeezed through to bring them home Somewhere far, far below lay a massive Underland ocean The Waterway

Without thinking, Gregor swung his leg over the side of the circle and lowered his swung free "Maybe the rats won't see ht, and immediately the stupidity of what he'd done hit hiated by their incredible sense of s place if you were being chased by people was utterly worthless if you were trying to lose rats

Yep, and here they were He could hear their claws screeching to a halt on the stone, then their panting, and then their confusion

"What's he doing?" growled one

"No idea," said the second

For a fewof his own heart Then the second voice sputtered, "Oh, oh, you don't suppose he's hiding, do you?" And that's when they started laughing It was a nasty, raspy laugh

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" said the first voice, and the rats cracked up again Gregor couldn't see theround

He had two choices Climb back out and face the rats in pitch blackness, or drop into the darkness below and hope against hope that some Underlander scout found hi's dinner

He was trying to weigh the odds of surviving Either way they were very low Either way the likelihood of finding Boots and bringing her home was --

"Drop, Overlander," purred a voice For a second he thought it was the rats, but it couldn't be because they were still laughing and, anyway, it didn't sound like them It sounded like --

"Drop, Overlander," said the voice again, and this ti to their feet

"Kill him!" snarled the first, and as its hot, ratty breath hit his fingers, Gregor stopped weighing his odds and let go He could hear the scrape of claws on the stone ledge he had been clinging to e rat curses

Then the sickening sense of free-falling through space consumed hione down the grate in his laundry rooe void when he was trying to save his dad and sister and friends "This," he thought, "is soet used to"

Where was Ares? That was Ares's voice he'd heard, wasn't it? For a second Gregor thought he'd i the bat, but then he remembered the rats had reacted to the sound, too

"Ares!" he called out The darkness absorbed his voice like a towel "Ares!"

"Ooph!" Gregor said, , because suddenly the bat was under hih the darkness

"Man, a to the thick fur on Ares's neck

"I alad you are here also, Overlander," said Ares "I am sorry you had to fall this far I know this causes you discoht stick"

"My light stick?" said Gregor

"Behind you," said Ares

Gregor turned around and saw a faint glow behind hi into the fur on Ares's back "Thanks!" The light caluess what happened! Those cockroaches caht out froor was really ? Did they think I wouldn't notice?"

Ares veered off to the right and began to fly over a ridge along one side of the Waterway "No, Overlander, they --"

"Well, did they think I wouldn't care? Like it would be okay just to grab her and run and I'd be, like, 'Oh, well, guess I won't be seeing Boots around'"