My dream starts so slowly that I hardly notice it's begun.
Silence is everywhere. Then a deep rumbling comes from somewhere in the distance, steadily increasing in volume until its ear-splitting. It sounds like the earthquake I experienced in the Swag, during the ill-fated picnic a few years ago.
Then the noise stops. Minutes pass before there's any change.
So far there's only been darkness. Then my surroundings start to ripple and flashes of blue-tinted light flicker in and out. In an instant I realize that I'm underwater. The waves churn and crash above me and the light is getting further and further away as I sink downward.
And I can't breathe.
I claw my way upward, panicking and terrified that I'll drown. The current keeps whisking me along and my vision is darkening before my head finally breaks the surface.
Then everything is blurred.
A pale bat swoops overhead, followed by a one with glinting fur. A few other fliers careen around, ducking toward the water before swooping back up again. Several of them carry creatures in their claws, and several creatures float in the water around me, lifeless. I catch sight of a gnawer, belly up in the water, a nasty gash on his head. Humans alternately swim and float around me, more of them dead than alive.
There's even a flier in the water. It's fur a dusty orange, it's body as small as an Overland eagle.
The air is filled with screams and cries for help, overlapped by moaning and keening from the fliers who have lost their bonds.
Then the bats overhead blur even more until they fade into the black around them. I'm alone in the dark. And everyone is dead.
With a gasp, I wake up in the hospital bed. My left thigh is wrapped in spider silk bandages, and Luxa is asleep in the chair next to me. I take a deep, shaky breath of air that smells like disinfectant. My body is drenched in sweat, either from the nightmare or my wound, I can't tell.
I lean forward and prop myself up on my elbows. There's no one around except the sleeping Regalian Queen, and it seems the hospital is deserted.
I try to sit up the rest of the way, and while doing so move my left leg. There's an immediate stab of pain sharp enough to make me cry out. I slide back onto the covers, now dizzy as the effects from the bullet wound sink in.
Luxa jerks awake at my yell. Her purple eyes are underlined with violet rings of skin, and I know she hasn't been sleeping well. I wonder how long I've been out.
"Gregor." Luxa gasps when she sees I'm awake. Relief washes over her face and she throws her arms around me. I stifle a groan as the bed jostles my leg, but don't really mind as Luxa's here and we're both okay.
"Hey." I croak, and immediately start coughing. Luxa pushes a glass of water into my hand and I carefully take a sip. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until now, but my throat feels raw and swollen.
Luxa watches me closely while I drain the cup, then takes it from me and sets it on a nearby table. She slides carefully onto the edge of my bed. "How do you feel?"
"Alright, I guess." I say. "Considering I was shot."
"Shot?" Luxa asks. "What do you mean? Is that what you call the metal that was in your leg? A shot?"
I laugh weakly. "Yeah, sort of. The metal is called a bullet, and it's shot from a gun. And it's called a gunshot wound."
"Oh." Luxa ruffles her brow in her cute little way. She never makes that expression around anyone else, because around others she has to appear cool and composed. She has to act like a Queen, and a Queen has to know what she's doing. But when she's alone with me, it doesn't matter how she looks.
"But how did the bullet thing get inside you? Did the man push it in?"
"No, he--" I stop mid-sentence. "Joseph! Where is he? What are you doing to him?" Panic grips me as I remember the Underlander's court system and their methods of punishment, banishment, and execution. It's like something inside my head is telling me to stop the Overlander from behind killed. I know that if the Underlanders drop Joseph or Henry or Marc off a cliff, then bad things will happen.
I can't let them kill the Overlanders.
"They are on trial as we speak." Luxa looks at me like I'm a strange insect she doesn't understand. "One of them nearly killed you, Gregor. You have been unconscious for two days. And the other Overlanders were undoubtedly in agreement to his plan. The council will declare they be executed."
"No." I groan and press my hands to my temples, squeezing my eyes shut and drawing my legs up to my chest despite the pain. "No, no, they can't. We have to stop them. Luxa, go tell the council to let them go. We can't--you aren't--they have to live!"
"Gregor, do you remember what happened?" Luxa looks worried now. "Those men nearly killed you! You must be hallucinating or something. I'll go get a doctor." She slides off the edge of the bed.
"No!" I shout, then take a deep breath. Luxa pauses in the doorway to glance back at me. "I'm not hallucinating. I remember exactly what happened! But we can't kill them. I don't have time to explain, I just know that executing the Overlanders is WRONG!"
"But how could you know that, Gregor? You aren't yourself. I'm getting a doctor." Luxa hurries out of the room and down the hall. I swear once under my breath. I know without a doubt that the three men should not be killed.
My head feels like it's about to explode. My body knows where it has to go and what is has to do, but can it do that with the bullet hole in my leg? I have to try.
I carefully lift my right leg over the edge of the bed, then my left even more slowly. My feet dangle a little off the ground and I gently rest my weight on my right side. Then I put a little weight on the left. I can feel the stitches stretching underneath the bandages, and it feels like the bullet is once again tearing through me. But my brain numbs the pain to a dull burning.
I have to save those men.
My breathing is ragged and my steps are uneven as I limp my way to the door. Peaking my head out I check to see that the coast is clear before moving quickly down the hall that leads out of the hospital.
I hear footsteps behind me and duck into an unoccupied room. A moment later I hear Luxa yell incredulously when she finds my bed empty. "He's trying to get to the council!" She says to the doctor who's probably with her. "He can't have gone far. Come!" Then two sets of footsteps hurry past me and out the door.
I wait a few seconds before limping out after them. I decide to still take the most direct route to the courtroom since I don't think my leg can bear anymore than it has to. Besides, Luxa thinks I'm ahead if her, not behind, and will probably send guards to search the other halls.
I painfully make my way through the palace until I'm just outside the room where the three Overlanders are standing trial. I stop for a moment and lean against the wall, trying to catch my breath before I go in and explain myself. My stomach is roiling and the hall is spinning around me.
Then a voice calls out from the courtroom. "The defendant has produced no evidence against his crime! Are there any here who would argue in the Overlander's favor?"
I swallow my queasiness and push off the wall and into the room. "I would!" I call hoarsely, and every eye in the room turns to me. I'm an Overlander dressed in a hospital gown, hardly thirteen years old, with a bandage on my leg, and my face is probably drained of blood from the exertion of merely getting to this room. So it makes sense that everyone is staring at me weirdly.
The room is full of killers, fliers, gnawers, and crawlers. The lone white spinner from our prophecy discussion still crouches in the corner. And the members of the other species are in their separate groups, except for the humans and bats of course.
Joseph is the first to stand trial. His wrists are tied behind his back and he glances back at me when I yell. Shock and confusion cross his blood-stained face. No one took the time to take care of his broken nose. Henry and Marc stand off to the side, bound the same as Joseph.
Finally my dizziness takes over and I tip sideways, but someone thankfully catches me. "Are you alright, Overlander?" A voice asks.
"No." I mutter. I lean against the person as I continue to speak. "We cannot execute these men!"
Muttered exclamations float around the room until I continue in an even louder voice. "They are Overlanders! They cannot be sentenced based on Underland laws! It's not right!"
The center judge doesn't seem to agree, however, as he asks, "Then what is your price for attempted murder, Overlander? Do you suggest they go freely back to their homes? So they can bring more Overlanders down after them who will slay every last one of us?"
"No." I pant. "But you can't--"
"And they were not in the Overland when they committed these crimes. They were in the Under, among our own people. They must be tried according to our laws."
Cries of assent roll through the room as every present Regalian, flier, and rat cries for payment and punishment. The crawlers and spinner stay silent, not wanting to join in with the rambunctious crowd. I rack my brain, trying to think of how to explain to the Underlanders exactly how I feel. But then my mouth starts moving on its own.
"Nerissa!" I yell, over the cacophony, and everyone falls silent. "Remember you, the fourth stanza?"
It's so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Every eye turns to Nerissa, who incidentally is standing next to a very annoyed Luxa and a very confused Vikus.

"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."

Then the eyes all turn back to me, their Warrior, the one who will save them once again. "We can NOT kill them! We can't lose our morality, no matter what brutal things they've done. We have to let them live. There has to be another way to spare them. And if you don't think this is right to let them walk free, then think of what will happen if these men don't return to the Overland! I don't think they're the only ones who know about the diamonds, and people will start looking for their bodies in the Waterway. They'll FIND Regalia. And then they WILL kill you."
Silence falls once again, and Luxa steps forward.
"The Warrior is right. These Overlanders must be spared. They will be moved to guest rooms and guards will be placed at their doors to escort them where they may choose. We must treat them as guests, and not as criminals. The attack on our Warrior shall be considered a misunderstanding until we know more about them.
"But be warned." At these words she strides toward Joseph, Marc, and Henry. She stops and looks each of them in the eyes until they look away. "If you attempt to harm any more of our people, then you shall die. Your crime shall cost you your time. This meeting is adjourned." At this declaration the Regalians start muttering discontentedly to themselves as they file out of the room.
I sigh with relief and finally look up to see who exactly I'm leaning against. A small smile spreads across my face as I realize it's Ade. Next to us is his black bat, Flite. They're the two who caught me in the Waterway. And Flite is the one who looks like a smaller version of Ares. I push away the thought.
"Sorry." I say apologetically. I lean away from him and nearly collapse as I put weight on my leg. Now that the need to hurry is gone, I can't even stand on it, much less walk or run.
"Slow down." Ade says in a fatherly tone. He takes my shoulder and carefully starts helping me out of the courtroom. "We best get you to the hospital wing. We do not want our Life Saver to die from exertion."
"Life Saver?" I laugh at the term. Although I think I'd much rather be called that than the Warrior.
"What? Does the name not please you?"
"No, it's fine. It's just that Life Savers are the name of a candy in the Overland."
"What is a candy?"
"It's something really sugary and sweet that you have as a snack."
A confused look crosses Ade's face. "So a candy saves your life for fun?"
"No... It's just--oh never mind." I shake my head. Some things just can't be explained unless you see them for yourself, or in this case, taste them.
Luxa chooses that moment to stop next to us. "Thank you." She says formally to Ade. "For helping the Warrior. But I think we shall be alright from here."
"My Queen." Ade nods his head and helps me drape my arm across Luxa's shoulders. From there we continue our slow way toward my hospital room.
After we're out of earshot of anyone else, Luxa glances sideways at me. "That was thoughtless of you."
"What?" I grimace, trying to focus on both my steps and the conversation. "I had to keep them from being killed! It isn't right, Luxa and the prophecy said--"
"That is not what I meant." Luxa smiles slyly at me. "It was careless of you to walk by yourself this whole way when you could have taken the crutch from beside your bed."
"I could have--" I stop, and stare at her as her smile widens. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny. But you think I enjoyed walking down there?"
"No." Luxa's smile transforms into a worried expression. "But really, Gregor. That was a dangerous thing for you to do. You lost so much blood before Howard managed to remove the bullet, and then you slept for two days without moving an inch. We thought--I thought--"
"It's alright." I squeeze her hand with my own. "I'm fine now."
Something whacks me in the back of the head. At first I panic, thinking we're being attacked, but then I realize it's just Ripred's tail. Dropping in when he's unwanted, as usual,
"No, you are most definitely not fine." He says. "You nearly collapsed at least ten times while you were trying to save the Overlanders' lives. And you can barely talk, you're so out of breath. You should get your throat looked at too, you know.
"Why do you keep--" I start, and then break into a fit of coughing. My throat is still raw from the vines, swallowing a ton of river water, and not drinking for two days straight. Now it feels like I can barely breathe through it.
"My point is once again proven, Warrior." Ripred smirks when I stop coughing. "When are you going to learn that I'm always right?"
"Probably when you learn that I don't like being whacked upside the head with a rat tail."
"Oh, I already know you don't like it. That's why I keep doing it. Call it continuous Rager training if you like. Although it's actually just fun to see you tense up like you're about to be attacked. It gets you every time."
"Fine, then." I groan, just trying to make him stop. "You win."
"I know I do." Ripred stops outside the hospital doorway as we continue inside. "That's why I'm still alive."
Luxa leads me back into my room and gets me settled onto the bed as comfortably as possible. Howard comes in a moment later with a tray of food.
"Resting well, I see?" He smiles. "You haven't tried to get up yet, have you? Any weight on your leg might pull the stitches out."
I exchange a look with Luxa before we both burst out laughing, me rather hoarsely. When we finally calm down, Luxa explains the trial to Howard and I start on the tray of food in front of me. When Howard finds out I walked all the way to the council room by myself, he nearly has a heart attack and insists on looking at my injury right away.
After eating part of my food I feel like I can't stay awake much longer. But there's something I need to do.
"Luxa?" I ask, and she glances up at me questioningly. "I...keep having these dreams." I start, but my eyes are already drooping and I feel sleep closing in. "They keep coming true. Everything...I see...it happens later. I think...Nerissa..." Before I can finish the sentence, I'm asleep.
And I have the most horrific dream yet.
Everything is blurred. Blurred and so out of focus that I can hardly tell what's happening around me.
There are forms of people everywhere, and they all carry something in their hands. The items are mostly stick-shaped and not quite a foot long. And they're so blurred that all I can make out is their silver color, while the people holding them are much clearer: dark-skinned Overlanders move around me, pointing the sticks in front of them wherever they go. There are at least ten of them, and they all look the same in their blurriness.
Then the air around me darkens, shadows creep around and suddenly dead bodies surround the Overlanders. These bodies are clearer than the living, and I can tell that the majority of them are rats, although humans and fliers are mingled with them. Beneath the carpet of corpses is a standing pool of blood so large, it stretches out of sight and into the darkness.
I gag on the air, smelling rotting flesh and coppery blood.
Then the scene is gone. I stand at the edge of a cliff, my surroundings clear once again. Someone approaches from behind and I say something to them. An instant later I'm in a chokehold, unable to move or breath.
Words are muttered in my ear, and I notice that the arm around my neck is pale and lined with purple veins. Then I am thrown forward off the edge of the cliff.
I tumble toward the ground, but I'm not afraid. There's something I know that keeps me from being scared of hitting the rocks below, although I can't quite remember what it is.
The stones rush toward me until at the last second they turn the color of silver coins.