For a minute, he was completely absorbed by his newfound talent. This was nothing like riding the bats, where he was merely a passenger. This was just Gregor zooming around in the sky — well, not the sky — but zooming around in the air like a superhero. The freedom, the sense of power, was amazing. If he could always have wings, Gregor didn't think he would ever be afraid of any creature the Underland could dish out. He gave out a wild whoop and rode smack into Ripred. Gregor slid down the rat's body but managed to grab hold of his tail and hang on.
"Having a good time, are we?" called Ripred over the wind. "Checked up on your friends lately?"
Instantly ashamed that he was enjoying himself, Gregor shot his flashlight beam around. He spotted Luxa above him, and it was clear she had mastered the trick of riding the winds. She had one-upped him, actually, because she seemed able to move from current to current without losing control. When Luxa rolled sideways to catch another wave, Gregor saw Boots was on her back. The little girl had her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Luxa's body. Temp coasted by with Hazard clinging to his shell. Cartesian was having no difficulty, as the mouse was asleep and riding easily around. Howard was still getting tossed around quite a bit, as he was trying to make his way to the bats. But the bats! They were the ones having the most trouble of all.
Those long, beautiful bat wings were not an asset in this situation. They picked up several competing currents at once. Having ridden milder currents all their lives, the bats could not suppress the instinct to try to navigate these. But every time their wings opened even a foot or two, they'd get spun around like a top. Ares, who was the largest and had the greatest wingspan, was in the worst trouble.
"Ares!" Gregor cried out. He let go of Ripred's tail only to find the rat had reached out and snagged his backpack with his back claws.
"What's your plan?" called the rat.
Gregor had no plan. He was merely following an impulse to help his bat. "I don't know! I don't know!"
"We have to land!" shouted Ripred. "Form a base!"
"Okay!" said Gregor, although he really had no idea what Ripred was talking about. The rat began to maneuver from one current to another, moving them farther away from the center of the windstorm with each shift. Gregor, who was still being dragged around by his backpack, twisted his head around to see where they were going and realized they were headed straight for one of the stone walls of the cavern. "No!" he cried out, thrashing around to get free before they crashed. But at the last minute Ripred caught another current and Gregor found himself being dragged along the floor of a cave.
"A little trust, please," said the rat in disgust.
"Sorry," said Gregor. He sat up, rubbing his elbow that had been scraped on the floor. Outside the cave, he could see his friends flying around. "Now what?"
"We have to find some way to bring them in. You don't have anything handy like a rope in there, do you?" said Ripred, nudging Gregor's backpack.
"No," said Gregor.
"No," sighed Ripred. "Well, then, I suppose it will have to be my tail."
Ripred positioned himself backward at the edge of the cave, gripping the floor with his claws and letting his long rat tail blow out into the currents.
"Now what do we do?" asked Gregor.
"Wait," said Ripred. "Don't worry, they'll catch on."
Gregor moved his flashlight in a figure eight at the cave mouth to attract attention. Ripred was right. In a few minutes Luxa had made her way through the currents and grabbed hold of his tail. The rat pulled her into the cave and Gregor scooped Boots up off her back.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked Boots.
"Luxa is a bat," said Boots. "I ride. I fly, too."
"You did a good job," said Gregor. "Now we have to get the others in."
"I can help!" said Boots, and ran for the cave mouth.
As she launched into the air, Gregor barely caught her by the ankle and pulled her back in. "Whoa! No, Boots. I've got a special job for you."
"For me?" said Boots, immediately interested.
He didn't. Gregor considered having her sing again, but that probably wouldn't hold her attention if nobody was falling asleep. He dug in his backpack looking for an idea and came upon the binoculars. "Here," he said. "You're our scout. You look through these and tell us when you see somebody fly by."
It was a pointless task. Between the light the currents put off and his flashlight beam, they weren't having trouble spotting the others. But it gave Boots something to do. "Temp is big. Temp is small. Temp is big. Temp is small," she said importantly as she raised and lowered the binoculars.
"Heads up, here comes the crawler," said Ripred.
Temp sailed in and clamped on to Ripred's tail. The rat hauled him in and Hazard slid off his shell.
"Hazard, are you well?" asked Luxa, hugging him.
"Yes, I am fine. But the fliers are not," said Hazard.
Things looked bad for the bats. They were still being hopelessly tossed around, unable to manage the currents.
Howard made his way in next, dragging in Cartesian by the tail. "I do not know how to get the fliers in," Howard said. "I tried to ride Nike, to help her, but I only added to her difficulties. They are tiring quickly."
"We must do something!" said Luxa.
"We could form a human chain maybe," said Gregor.
"All holding on to my poor tail, I suppose?" asked Ripred. "I'll never be able to manage the lot of you with that wind force."
"We cannot just leave them there!" said Luxa. "I am going back in!" She was about to dive back into the winds when Ripred blocked her with his tail. "What's your plan?"
"I... I do not have a plan," said Luxa.
"Oh, that's too bad," said Ripred. He dropped his tail, but she didn't jump.
"Do you have one?" demanded Luxa.
"I might, if someone asks nicely," said the rat.
"Will you tell me your plan?" asked Luxa stiffly.
"Pleeeease," instructed Ripred.
"Please," said Luxa through gritted teeth.
"All right. Get to the fliers. Start with the little one. Pin her wings down with your legs; you'll have to fight her. I doubt they can help trying to fly any more than you can help breathing. Ride her in," said Ripred. "Don't let her open her wings. Understand?"
"Yes," said Luxa, and dove into the currents.
"Yes, thank you!" R ipred called after her.
It didn't take Luxa long to get to Thalia. It took not only Luxa's legs but also her arms to hold down the bat's wings. Then Luxa was able to guide Thalia to the cave. When Thalia came in reach of Ripred's tail, she caught it the only way she could, with her teeth.
"Ouch!" said Ripred, dragging them in. "All right, all right, let go, you little viper." Thalia unclenched her teeth and lay exhausted on the cave floor.
"I think I can bring Aurora in. I do not know about the others," said Luxa, panting with exertion.
"Do you want me to take Ares, Gregor?" asked Howard. He was a lot bigger and stronger than Gregor. It would make sense for him to have the biggest bat.
"No, he's my bond. I'll do it," said Gregor. He had no idea what he was in for. He made his way out to his bat without too much trouble, switching from one current to the next until he was only a few feet away. Only at that distance did he realize how much Ares was suffering. The bat's body was contorting violently as he tried to break free of the currents. It was as if he was trapped in some horrible force field that would allow him to move only a few feet in any direction before it yanked him back to its center. The thing that unnerved Gregor the most was the sound Ares was making. Not words or the clear, high bat squeaks Gregor could sometimes hear. It was like a scream. A continuous, tormented sound of pain. Being caught in the currents seemed to be literally driving Ares insane.