"Oh," said Gregor, feeling a little foolish. "I guess we should rinse off before we go home, then."
"It is not so simple. But I will let Vikus explain," said Luxa. "You have had rare luck today, being found so quickly."
"How do you know we were found quickly?" asked Gregor.
"Our lookouts noted you shortly after you landed. As you were the crawlers' find, we let them present you," she said.
"I see," said Gregor. Where had the lookouts been? Concealed in the gloom of the tunnels? Hidden somewhere in the mist he'd fallen through? Until the stadium, he hadn't seen anyone but the roaches.
"These were headed here, in any case," she said, gesturing to the roaches. "See, they carry torches. They would not bother if they were not visiting us."
"Why's that?" said Gregor.
"Crawlers do not need light. But they show themselves to us to let us know they come peacefully. Did you not wonder at how easily you arrived here?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer, she turned to the group of cockroaches who had been standing patiently off to the side. "Crawlers, what take you for the Overlanders?"
The head roach scurried forward. "Give you five baskets, give you?" he hissed.
"We will give three grain baskets," said Luxa.
"Rats give many fish," said the roach, cleaning its antennas casually.
"Take them to the rats, then. It will give you no time," said Luxa.
Gregor didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but he had the uneasy sense he was for sale.
The insect considered Luxa's last offer. "Give you four baskets, give you?" it said.
"We will give four baskets, and one for thanks," said a voice behind Gregor. He turned and saw a pale, bearded man approaching them on foot. His close-cropped hair really was silver, not just the silvery blond.
Luxa glared at the old man but didn't contradict him.
The cockroach painstakingly added up four and one on its legs. "Give you five baskets, give you?" it asked, as if the whole idea was a new one.
"We will give five baskets," said Luxa less than graciously, giving the roach a terse bow. It bowed back and scampered off with the other bugs out of the stadium.
Chapter 4
It was as if someone had splashed water in Gregor's face and brought reality rushing back. Ever since he'd fallen through the hole in the wall, things had been happening so fast, it was all he could do to keep up with them. Now, in this momentary calm, the words "New York City" came as a shock.
Yes! He was a kid who lived in New York City and had to do the laundry and get back upstairs with his little sister before his mother -- his mother!
"I have to get home now!" Gregor blurted out.
His mom worked as a receptionist at a dentist's office. She usually got off right at five and was home by five-thirty. She'd be worried sick if she came in and found that he and Boots had disappeared. Especially after what had happened to his dad. He tried to figure out how much time had passed since he was in the laundry room. "We probably fell for, let's say, five minutes and then we must have run for about twenty with the roaches and we've been here maybe ten," he thought. Thirty-five minutes.
"Okay, so the clothes should be about dry!" he said aloud. "If we get back up there in the next twenty minutes it should be okay." No one would think to look for them before that, and he could just take the laundry up and fold it in the apartment.
"Really, I need to go back up right now," he said to Vikus.
The old man was still examining him closely. "It is simple to fall down, but the going up requires much giving."
"What do you mean?" asked Gregor, his throat tightening.
"He means you cannot go home," said Luxa flatly. "You must stay with us in the Underland."
"Uh, no! No, thank you!" said Gregor. "I mean, you're all great, but I've got stuff to do ... upstairs!" he said. "Thanks again! Nice meeting you! Come on, Boots!"