Family Matters

Arly stomped her blackened feet into the mud and pounded her fists against a mangled tree trunk. Nhid hissed at the air as he sniffed the new scent lingering beneath the low-hanging fog while the rest of the army searched the perimeter for footprints.

“Murphy has been freed from the swamp,” Nhid whined while snarling with splattering saliva, “I can smell his foul stench.”

Arly prodded her nose into the air and twitched at the rancid recognition. She remained quiet and stepped to the water’s blackened edge. Whatever she was thinking wasn’t good.

Remaining still and silent, I watched from a safe distance as Arly contemplated her next move. I internally gawked at the lingering number of spiders, socks, and now ants which were awaiting their ruler’s orders. Derrick really needed to clean the apartment. The spiders were one thing, but the ants were too much. Although it was the city, and the building was old. Which meant the Dark Space was equally as old. there was no telling what else lurked behind the shadows.

A faint crack of a stick echoed behind me. I quickly looked back down at the buzzing army, and breathed a small sigh of relief once I could conclude that the sound passed unnoticed.

“What are you doing? You should be leading the group to Arly’s lair.”

Polk’s red glow was muted thanks to Murphy’s idea of painting him with some of the excess mud. His glow was too bright for these parts of the Dark Space. He was a beacon to all. The mud helped keep him, and all of us safe from enemy eyes.

“I did. It’s not far from here. Murphy and Chester scouted the entire lair once we arrived and only found three guards. One stoic Bob Ross crew sock and two feisty spiders. With the lair clear of all immediate threats, we quickly discovered Arly’s dungeon. That’s where we left the guards. Everyone is safe. I came back to make sure you didn’t do anything foolish.”

The sentiment was heavy to hear. So I said what I could knowing that if Polk knew my true intentions, he would indeed call them foolish and urge me to change my mind. But to me, my intentions were far from foolish. It was something that needed to be done, “You’re a good friend, Polk. Now go back and check in on the others. They’re going to need you.”

“Absolutely. Just as soon as you’re ready to get out of that tree. We’ll head back.”

The look on my face must have said it all because Polk’s excited expression quickly depressed into fear, “You’re not coming. Are you?”

“I need to find out what happened to Arly. Socks have no instinctual nature of being evil. I have to try and understand the change that has consumed her heart. If there’s a chance I can save her, I need to try. The first and only rule of the sock drawer: Socks are family. Treat those as such at all times.”

“You can’t save her,” Polk said firmly.

“Why not?”

“Because you can’t save those who wish to remain lost. Such a massive sense of loss and regret is what ultimately grants her power over the Dark Space realm.”

I didn’t want to believe that something so tragic was actually possible. But after meticulously studying Arly and seeing her vileness up close, everything Polk said made sense. But she was a sock. She was family.

“I have to try, Polk.”

“Fine,” Polk responded, sighing as began climbing up his own tree.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Staying with you. You saved me. Twice. I owe you my life and my service.”

I jumped from my perch and stopped Polk from climbing any higher.

“This is something I must do on my own. Please, do not pledge yourself to me. There are others who desperately need and depend on you to get them home and out of this realm. I saved you, Polk, so you could save them. Our paths may have been connected, but our endings are not. If I am to have any chance of saving Arly, it is only because you have had the opportunity to save the others. I know it’s heard to hear. It’s just as hard to say. But it’s what my heart is telling me is true. If we all stop believing in our hearts, especially down here, we are all certainly doomed.”

“She’ll kill you. Or worse.”

“You forget who you’re talking to, Polk. I’m Lucky.”

A slimy hiss cut through the silence and two scout spiders relayed our position back to Arly and the rest of the army, “They’re here, Queen mother. We’ve found them!”

“You need to go, now,” I said frantically as I pushed Polk away from me, “Keep yourself covered in the mud and get back to the others. Find a way home. I will be right behind you.”

Polk was frozen in fear so I turned away from my friend and charged the approaching spiders. Without looking back, I leaped out of the black forest and tumbled into the faint sliver of blue light illuminating the murky bank. I was immediately surrounded by snarling spiders, pincer snapping red ants, and blue whip wielding dark socks. Yet my eyes never left the ridge line. Polk was still lingering behind the trees, too scared to move. But when Arly stomped her way towards me, I watched as he made the hardest choice he ever had to make.

Smiling as Polk slipped back into the darkness, I turned to focus my attention on Queen Arly, Mother of the Dark Space realm.

The wave of soldiers parted as their ruler approached the center of the circle. Mimicking the white sharks on Derrick’s favorite National Geographic program, she slowly revolved around me. Studying and plotting with every ominous step, I stood my ground and matched her hunting tactics with my own. I was not going to be intimidated, and I needed her to know that. To save her, Arly needed to experience the strength of hope. She was a victim of loss, for that there is always only one antidote.

“You were wrong to abandon your friends,” Arly said, still circling.

“If you truly believe that I have abandoned my friends, then you are the one who is wrong. Your prisoners are now safe and will soon be free of this dark space which you seek to control. They occupy your lair and with the help of a courageous mouse and a fearless red ball, they will have enough strength to break through the light barrier. It’s over, Arly. It’s just you and me now.”

Her high-pitched laugh and lack of interest in my threats sent ice throughout my fibers. I had hoped my words would have caught her off guard, but they seemed to do the exact opposite. They made her happy.

“You overestimate your cleverness. Your arrogance and your tether to hope has made you blind to your true reality. There is no escaping the Dark Space. Especially now that I have you. My power here will soon be complete and I will have enough energy to expand my realm throughout the entire apartment. All socks, spiders, ants, mice, dog toys, and all other objects will be under my control. Even Derrick will be mine. He’s never once tried to locate or free me. It’s now his turn to feel how I’ve felt for so long.”

“Do not Blame Derrick. He is human. The life of humans is fast and chaotic. He did not lose you, or any of us on purpose. It was Ellie. Her canine instincts, innocent and unapologetic, are the reasons we are all here. Save for the spiders and ants. You must understand, Arly, Derrick never gave up on you, none of us did. He was distraught when you became lost. He just didn’t know where or how to find you. But I do. That’s why I came back. To help get you home. To where you belong.”

“You still can’t see it,” Arly said, as she stroked the prickly hairs on one of the arachnid’s twitching spine, “I do not want to be saved. I want to be free.”

With a quick flick of her wrist and an ominous gesture with both hands, I was immediately trampled and restrained by strands of sticky saliva and burning blue whips. Instead of being brought to my feet, I was dragged face down as Arly’s voice invaded my ears.

“The poorly defended lair was by design. Did you truly believe I would leave such a place undefended? A battalion of lint ants are always stationed within the surrounding tree canopies. If any intruders linger too close, their orders are to capture and secure. If resistance is met, they will not hesitate to eliminate the threat. I do hope your friends are submissive. If they are not, then I believe you better start planning for the worst.”