Murphy The Swamp Monster

“Run!” I screamed, as the ground shifted and erupted around us.

Still half stuck in the muck, I watched as the rest of our group, led by the glowing button, fled deeper into the forest. I held no blame for them because there was nothing they could do to save me. Large chunks of dense mud and sticks fell all around my position, completely cutting me off.

The vine I was holding onto snapped from the force of the explosion, and I immediately sank down to my eyes until I was forcefully lifted free by a slimy hand. I remember being shaken, yet not in a violent manner. It was to remove most of the mud from my body. Secured in a formidable grip, I was gently placed on the low bank beside a familiar red face and took in the creature which saved us both.

At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. The dark shadows and thick layers of crusted mud made the features nearly impossible to make out. But as the creature shook its bulk, a looming sliver of light reflecting through the dark space’s veil illuminated our savior’s true identity.

It was a sock. A very old and damaged sock. It had long arms which were unusual for a sock and its eyes were large and bulging. Another abnormal feature for a sock. Generally a sock’s arms are short as they grow from the excess fibers, and our eyes are small and pinpointed. The features on the swamp sock were extremely exaggerated. I had never seen a sock like this before and I felt more frightened in that moment than I was dealing with Arly. Until the sock spoke.

“Thank you, my friend. You do not know how long I’ve been stuck in there. I was beginning to think I’d never be free.”

Confused, bewildered and extremely anxious, I turned to Polk to try to understand what was happening. “I thought we lost you, Polk.”

Polk smiled and placed his small red hand on my shriveled shoulder, “I thought I was lost too. but then a stick from above pushed me deep enough to find him. A mangled, and well angled stick was wedged into a collection of rocks. He was pinned. I quickly shifted the rocks and yanked the stick free. Before I knew it, I was rapidly ascending and safely placed back on solid ground.

I looked back and forth from Polk and the swamp sock, assessing the situation and the true nature of the newcomer.

Polk rose to his feet and spoke with a firm tone of explanation, “I saved him, and he saved us.”

The swamp sock’s eye’s rose with exhilaration as his arms peeled away pieces of encrusted mud, “And I am forever in your debt, my little red friend.”

“Who are you?” I asked, “Because it seems I owe you a thank you as well.”

“I was once called Murphy. but I’ve been lost for so long I came to believe it no longer mattered who I was.

“It always matters who you are,” Polk said with enthusiasm, “Besides, you are no longer lost. You have been found, which means it matters to us, and to Derrick, who you are.”

The mention of Derrick physically shifted the sock’s demeanor and a visible dark mass seeped through his fibers, blending him into the shadows around us. He stepped backwards towards the bubbling water and spoke of a lost love.

“I’ve been with Derrick since high school. I was his lucky pair he would wear every time he had to take a test during his junior and senior year. The luck worked because Derrick got accepted at each college he applied to. Arlington, where he attended, was his top choice,” His tone dropped to a low baritone as his heels grazed the splashing water’s edge, “That’s when he got Arly.”

Trying to distract his brain from convincing his legs to step into the quicksand, I asked questions to give Poll enough time to pull Murphy away.

“How did you become lost, Murphy? How did you end up stuck in the mud?”

“This isn’t my first dark space. I’ve been lost once before back when Derrick was a senior in high school. But that was by pure accident. This time was different. This time was intentional. When Derrick brought Arly and her mated pair home, her ego from becoming Derrick’s new favorite pair of socks rivaled my previous reign. Derrick changed in college and he no longer needed a lucky pair of testing socks. Which made it easy for the elders within the sock drawer to vote on revoking the crown from my head, and bestowing it on top of Arly’s. As the next year passed, we moved out of the college dorm and into this apartment. Soon after settling in, I was blindfolded and smuggled out of the sock drawer in the middle of the night. My mate was given to Derrick’s new puppy as a teething toy, and I was shoved beyond the veil of the Dark Space. I tried and failed numerous times to escape, but my efforts were never successful. Then, after months of struggling to survive the hungry spiders and helping collect pennies for the castle, I saw Arly wandering the darkness. I tried to confront her, but she had spiders at her command, as well as a few brainwashed socks. I had spent so much time hiding, I had become ignorant to what was happening within the Dark Space. It was only a matter of time until she found me, which she eventually did, and in her and her mad Army’s pursuit I stumbled into this bog and both fortunately and unfortunately became trapped. I lost track of time during my imprisonment, as well as my grip on hope. I thought I was lost forever.”

“No one is lost forever,” I said, “As long as someone remembers them. Plus considering us socks are impervious to time, there will always be socks to remember us by if we ever stray too far.”

Polk continued to approach Murphy, who was keeping his large eyes facing down at the black mud slowly consuming his ankles.

“The elders remember you, Murphy,” I continued as the rest of our group slowly reemerged from behind the shadowy trees of the surrounding forest, “I have heard them mention your name in stories and legends. You were, and are, still loved among the folk of the sock drawer. And you have never been forgotten. Yes, we may be physically lost, but we are not lost in spirit. If we work together, we can all find a way out of the Dark Space.”

Murphy’s head slowly rose and took in the group of misfits who were all standing together in unison behind me. Polk stood next to Murphy, holding out a hand as an anchor to keep Murphy from drowning. It took a few long, hard moments, but Murphy finally took Polk’s arm and stepped away from the mud.

“You will see Derrick again. I promise.” The words left my mouth with devotion because I believed in them. I needed Murphy to believe in them too.

“How did you all get here?” Murphy asked.

“Same as you,” Polk said, “Fleeing from Arly and her army of spiders and dark socks.”

Murphy scanned the crowd of strange faces, “Where is Harry? Is he okay? Was he able to finish construction of the castle?”

Polk and I shared a look of sorrow which Murphy noticed immediately.

“The castle was built,” Polk said, “And it was a haven for many lost souls. But during Arly’s raid on the castle, Harry was captured and was turned into a dark servant. He sacrificed himself for our escape which was miraculously assisted and made possible by Chester’s timely diversion.”

“We escaped through a long tunnel beneath the castle and began traversing the forest. That’s when we stumbled onto you,” I said.

“Literally,” Polk added, trying to lighten the situation.

“Where are you headed?” Murphy asked.

“To Arly’s lair,” I answered.

Murphy stepped back hard, “Why would you want to go there?”

“Because Arly and her army attacked us at Copper castle. We figured her lair would be the safest place considering it would most likely be empty, save for a few possible patrol sentries. We could barricade ourselves and finally devise a plan of escape,” Polk said.

“It’s bold, and dangerous. Trust me, I know. But it’s not impossible,” I said, trying to muster as much strength and hope as I could, “If we all work together, we can do anything.”

“We need you, Murphy,” Polk said, “We all do.”

The creeping darkness within his fibers slowly began to dissipate as he followed the light within his heart back to us.

Loud footfalls from the path we just came down trampled our spirits as we all thought the worst. To all of our surprise, Chester came barreling out of the darkness with a horrible look on his friendly face.

“What are you all still doing here?,” He asked frantically, “They’re coming.”