Arly's Army

After an hour of listening to Harry’s anthology of horror stories, I came to understand that the dark realm was ruled by a single, villainous entity. Her name was Arly and she was once one half of Derrick’s most prized pair of socks. She was an Arlington Catholic Cougars crew sock which Derrick received as a gift from the high school, along with a fancy leather Letterman jacket, for winning the state football championship.

My arrival came years after Arly’s disappearance but I still knew the rumors and heard all of the stories surrounding her tremendous reign as top sock during my time growing up in the sock drawer. The elder socks both praised and feared her and would always scare the newcomers with a bone-rattling story, which they swore was true, about Arly consuming her twin partner because she couldn’t cope with sharing Derrick. It was a choice that ultimately destroyed her reign as top sock because she no longer had a perfect match. Then one day, Derrick’s laundry was piled high in a small mountain beside the hamper forcing him to mix and match Arly with an old Boston Red Sox sock. It was also the same day she disappeared.

“Fueled by jealousy,” Harry said, “Arly ended up lost to the dark space. As years passed, more and more socks started to go missing. It wasn’t soon after your arrival that I too was lost to the dark space. I was stolen from the laundry pile by the four-legged beast and was tossed beneath the couch. During my imprisonment, I’ve come to learn that all of the other socks which are stuck here have been bewitched by Arly. Together, Arly and her army of dark socks thickened the barriers of the dark space with illusion. A lonely trick created by years of jealous grief from being cast out. There’s no escaping it.”

Considering my options, I was able to recognize a common denominator in the disappearances of the socks. The four-legged beast, “There might be one way. But it’s crazy and is far more likely to fail than succeed. But we have to try. You’ve been down here too long and I can’t stay here. Not like this. Not now. I’m top sock. Derrick needs me.”

Harry paced across the amber throne room and foraged a piece of sticky adhesive from a small chest and tended to a small tear in his lower abdomen, “I was once top sock too, Lucky. Long before your arrival to the drawer. Being stuck down here has taught me something. Life for socks should never be about fame, hierarchy or claiming the title of top sock. Our purpose is far greater and more meaningful. We bring comfort to Derrick. We bring him warmth when it’s cold. We bring him a sense of completeness every time he leaves the apartment. Save for when he wears those hideous sandals. We fill his heart with hope for the day and cozyness at night. Once a sock is worn for the first time, an everlasting bond is formed. A bond that will warp and twist the mind into darkness if a sock becomes lost. That is what happened to Arly and all of the other dark socks. Their bonds have been broken.”

“And what about your bond? How do I know that you’re not a dark sock in disguise. Stalling to give Arly enough time to arrive.”

Harry grinned, giggled softly, then paced towards an opening in the throne room’s wall. “Mine is weak,” he said, staring down onto the lost tribe of misfits, “And I am certainly not a dark sock in disguise. If I were, we wouldn;t be having this conversation,” He gestured for me to join him by the window, “I haven’t been down here as long as the others, but I can feel the shift in my heart. It won’t be long until I am consumed by the darkness. Which is why I need you to forget about saving me. I am already lost. But those who dwell within this sanctuary need your help.”

“If my idea works, everyone is getting out of here.”

“The four-legged beast?”

“Yes,” I said, “Ellie. She loves socks and cannot resist gathering them. If we can get far enough through the veil, enough for Ellie to sniff us out, she will see us and pull us free.”

“Ellie, is the reason most of us are stuck here,” Harry said, “She can’t be trusted.”

“All we need to do is get her to see us. I will take care of the rest.”

Harry looked at me with a sense of despair. His eyes were heavy with fear and lacked hope. I knew that there wasn’t much more I could say to sway his mind in favor of my plan. I needed to prove it to him with action. I needed to save everyone.

A loud, muffled commotion from beyond the throne room’s door stole our attention. The penny suddenly swung open and two terrified blue buttons stood in the threshold, speaking together as one,“They’re here, my prince. They’ve penetrated the wall and they’re rounding everyone up.”

“How many have come?” Harry asked.

Again, together as one, the buttons spoke, “All of them. Arly has brought her army.”

“Find whoever you can within the castle and hide in the cellars. It is too dangerous to return outside. Go, now. I will come for you once this is over.”

The two buttons rolled from the door and began their search. Harry wiggled over to his throne where he donned himself with armored coveralls weaved from thick strands of hair.

“You must get to the veil before it's too late. I will distract Arly and her dark army for as long as I can. But we are not soldiers, lucky. We are not fighters. Arly and the dark socks will eventually capture us all. You can still save yourself. Please, Lucky. Allow me the chance to help you.”

I didn’t want to agree to the plan but a large black spider with eight bright blue eyes suddenly crawled through the throne room’s window. It was followed by a severely torn, and unidentifiable, blue eyed sock that appeared to be controlling the arachnid with a glowing sapphire whip.