Suzanne Collins - Gregor and the Marks of Secret

Someone landed behind him. Gregor almost went limp with relief. Then he remembered he was not the one being rescued and reinforced his grip on Ares's wings. Gregor leaned his head against the bat, shut his eyes, and just kept talking, kept talking until somehow they were lying on the floor of the cave.

Gregor released his stiff limbs and turned his head. Both Howard and Luxa were behind him on Ares.

"It took both of us to bring in Nike," said Howard. "We thought you might need a hand."

"I did. Thanks," said Gregor. He looked at Luxa. Remembered that he had been about to tell her something when the currents had knocked him into the tunnel ceiling.

Ripred's nose pushed him off Ares. "Off. Off. Let him breathe."

Gregor rolled off on to his side and wobbled to his feet. All four bats were lying on the floor, too traumatized to get up.

"Well, there goes our ride," said Ripred in frustration. "It will take hours for them to recover."

"It would help if they could hang," said Howard, running his hands over Nike.

"There's a ledge in the back," said Hazard.

"Good, Hazard. Excellent," said Howard. "Let us see if we can get Thalia on it."

Gregor was not sure exactly what they were doing, but he helped Howard carry Thalia back to a rock ledge and flip her upside down. Her claws immediately fastened on the rim, and her body seemed to relax. On trips the bats usually slept huddled together on their feet, but of course, this was their most natural resting position.

One by one, Gregor and Howard moved the bats to the back of the cave and hung them from the ledge. They shifted their claws only enough to move into a tight line. None of them spoke, but they seemed calmer.

"Rest," Howard said to them. "All is well. Rest."

Everyone gathered near the bats, as far away from the howling winds as possible. Temp discovered some mushrooms that were edible. They broke the mushrooms off the cave wall and ate them straightaway, ravenous from the workout. Then they passed around a water bag.

"To sleep, go you all, to sleep," said Temp. "Watch, will I, watch."

Since there seemed little danger of anything getting into the cave, everyone took him up on his offer.

Sometime later, Gregor awoke to the sound of the others breathing. The wind noise was gone. He could see the outline of Temp, sitting patiently at the front of the cave. As Gregor rolled over, his ear pressed against the stone and he heard another sound. A faint scratching intermingled with a sort of tapping. He sat up and found Ripred awake beside him in the dark.

"I can hear something. Scratching around," said Gregor.

"I know. It's nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep," said Ripred.

Feeling secure under the rat's guard, Gregor did as he said.

Hours must have passed when Gregor felt Howard shaking his shoulder. "Gregor, the currents come and go. We need to move on while they are still." Gregor was so stiff and bruised, he had trouble getting to his feet. He could only imagine how bad the bats must feel. They were on the ground now, nibbling some mushrooms. Gregor crossed to Ares. "Hey. Are you all right?"

"Yes," said Ares, but his voice was weak.

"We must never be in those currents again," said Nike.

"It is madness," said Aurora.

And Thalia began to cry just at the memory of it. She huddled in Nike's wings miserably.

"Hey, Thalia, I've got a special one for you," said Gregor gently. "What did one wall say to the other wall?"

"I do not know," sobbed the bat.

" 'Meet you at the corner,'" said Gregor.

It took a few moments for the joke to sink in, and then Thalia's sobs were interwoven with giggles and finally she was just laughing. A little more shrilly than usual, but laughing all the same. The other bats laughed, too, happy to see Thalia distracted.

They had to move on. Somewhere the nibblers were in peril. Precious time was running out. The bats were still in need of recovery, but it couldn't be helped.

"Do we have any idea where the rats have the mice?" asked Gregor.

"I believe if we follow this cavern we will intersect the path the rats were driving them along," said Ripred.

"Do not fly out into open space. Stick close to the walls. Always keep a cave or two in sight that we may take cover there if the currents resume," said Luxa.

"Now that is a good plan, Your Highness. And how refreshing that you have one," said Ripred. But Luxa was too tired to do more than shoot him a look.

They took off, flying close to the walls. Gregor kept expecting the cavern to end or dwindle into a series of tunnels. Instead it went on and on. It was by far the largest open space he had seen in the Underland, except for the Waterway. He saw his first volcano after about an hour. It was quiet, except for the plumes of smoke that wafted out of its top. They passed others. Some rumbled threateningly. One had a few steady streams of lava leaking from it. None of them were really exploding, but they made the air hot and fetid.

Occasionally the currents picked up and they would quickly dive into nearby caves until the winds died down enough for safe flying. On the good side, after a windstorm the air was usually somewhat more breathable. About the fifth time they headed in for a landing, Gregor thought the bats were overreacting. The currents were barely more than a breeze. Then he realized the stop had nothing to do with the wind.

Ripred ordered them all to flatten out on the floor before he remembered he wasn't in charge. "Sorry," he said to Luxa. "Old habit."

"Do as he says," said Luxa. She was already on the floor, peering out from behind a small pile of rocks. Gregor got on his stomach and then scooted up beside her.

At first, he didn't know what he was looking at. There was a volcano. A golden glow issued from the top. That wasn't a reason for pulling over, though.

Then he heard Cartesian's voice behind him as it whispered, "The others."

Gregor squinted into the ashy gray light and finally made out the nibblers. They were walking single file down a long curved path that began at what looked like the mouth of a tunnel high in the rocks and that led to a pit at the base of the volcano. On one side the path ran along the edge of a sheer cliff with sharp rocks at the base. A stone wall ran along the other side of the path, blocking the view of the pit from their sight. It wasn't until the nibblers were almost at the bottom that they realized where the rats were sending them.

The nibblers who had reached the pit began to squeal out warnings to those following them. Gregor could see the alarm spreading up the path. Mice turned and tried to force their way back up, some literally crawling over the backs of the others to try to reach the tunnel at the top. A handful made it only to be driven back by rats. Then the mice began to shriek as a large boulder was rolled into place, sealing the mouth of the tunnel. They threw themselves against the boulder but could not budge it.

"Let us go!" cried Luxa, jumping to her feet.

"And do what?" asked Ripred, stepping in front of her. "You, all of you, you've got to stop running into dangerous situations without using your heads! There is no faster way to get killed!"

"We can carry them out of the pit to safety!" said Luxa.

"Yes, a handful of them. But there are hundreds trapped down there. Do you not think the rats might notice an airlift going on? And then what? We lose the one element we have in our favor. Surprise," said Ripred.

"Then what do you want us to do?" demanded Luxa. "Wait for the volcano to smother them in lava?"

"I want you to think about it a moment!" snapped Ripred.

"Vis for volcano," Boots reminded everyone. "And valentine." She poked Ripred on the haunch with her scepter. "Valentine!" Ripred sighed. "Why are you here?"