Queen Mother

Large fangs snapped at the stale air around us, intensifying with every slap of the blue whip against its hairy hide. The dark sock moaned and growled inaudible commands at the spider, aggravating the beast until it lunged for my throat with its eight legs.

Frozen in fear, the spider seemed to fly through the air in slow motion. At the final moment before its white fangs sank into my stitching, Harry barreled into me. I was knocked to the side wall, tumbling over a small pile of half-polished pennies. As I looked up to understand what just happened, I watched the spider bite down onto Harry’s abdomen, lodging the old sock between its salivating fangs. The dark sock cracked its blue whip twice against the arachnid’s hind legs, driving it back out of the window.

I scrambled my bearings and tried to save Harry, but the dark sock lassoed his whip around me, constricting my movements. Two more dark socks suddenly appeared in the throne room’s doorway and they too lassoed me with their blue whips. Together, the trio of dark socks escorted me from the copper castle and out into the chaotic courtyard.

Cries, growls, and salivating hissing echoed in a cacophony of nightmarish harmonies. The whip driven spiders were keeping the misfits from escaping the courtyard while the army of dark socks extracted sapphire strands from their whips which they used to bind the misfits together as prisoners.

Two of the dark socks released their hold on me to round up a pair of scurrying yellow buttons, but one kept its whip tightly secured to my waist. Once everyone was rounded up, the spiders all stood at attention while Arly came stalking out from the copper castle. Behind her, Nhid crept with insidious pride as he made sure to show off Harry’s cotton body fastened to his fangs.

“So, you must be the new sock I have heard so much about. Nhid informed me that there was a rebellious green sock wandering around my realm. Two of my most skilled scouts nearly lost their lives to your protective barrier of hair,” Arly said, walking over to Harry who was squirming between Nhid’s fangs, “Fortunately, my army was able to break through. Amazing things do tend to happen when you work together.”

Arly stroked the black bristles of hair on Nhid’s skull with a thick strand of loose fibers, then barked a single command. The giant spider opened its mouth, releasing Harry.

“You were a fool to believe in your friend, “Arly said, “He’s weak. Afraid. He lacks ambition, which is why he’s cowered here in the shadows. Gathering other lost souls to selfishly accommodate his loneliness. You see, the dark space is my realm. I am the queen. I am the law. I am the justice. I am the mother. All those who wander into the dark space become my children. Harry, has been keeping my children from me.”

“You may be a queen,” I said, trying to think straight, “But you are no mother. Your scouts tried to eat me once they discovered my existence down here, and if this attack on Harry’s sanctuary is an example of how you treat your so-called children, it is clear to me what you truly are.”

“And what is that?”

“Evil.”

Arly laughed the most awful cackle I have ever heard. It rippled through my tiny fibers as each one of the spiders hissed and roared with love and unyielding allegiance to their queen, “I don’t even know your name, and yet you insult me with such passion. I admire your ire. Another trait in which the pathetic king of this copper castle lacks.”

Needing to change my tactics, I decided to take a different approach, “Do you forget your oath? You, like Harry and myself, took an oath the moment you entered the drawer. You cannot harm any sock dwelling within. We are family. We are one.”

Before I could finish the creed, Arly cut me off with a mocking humming rendition and the cruel order to tear fiber from fiber. Which Nhid did without thought or remorse. Harry screamed, but it was quickly absorbed by the pooling fog of Arly’s onyx aura. There was nothing I could do for him.

I tried to plead with Arly, but I knew it was futile. I needed to think. I refused to believe that I was truly useless, “Why are you doing this? Why have you turned on your own kind and aligned yourself with such hideous creatures which dwell in shadow? You were once Derick’s favorite -”

“Do not speak that name in my realm!” Arly’s voice boomed with force, sending harrowing vibrations through every object in the dark space. The spiders even cowered for a moment before rallying to their queen.

“Make sure he watches what happens next.”

Upon Arly’s command, the dark sock which was holding me captive forced me to the ground and used its blue whip to keep me facing Harry’s slumped wool body. I thought that they were going to rip him apart, or maybe that the spiders were going to eat him. But what happened was far worse than both of those outcomes.

Arly stepped forward, unsheathing her blue and black saber, and stabbed Harry with it. His body convulsed and Nhid allowed him to drop to the ground. Keeping the blade inserted, Arly muttered something horrendous and blue sparks began to flow and melt into Harry’s body. His convulsions intensified before ultimately falling still. Arly removed the blade and Harry’s now mangled blue and dark gray form slowly sprouted back to life. His once soft and welcoming eyes were now a harrowing blend of sapphire and pitch, and Harry, the sock I had come to know and admire, was gone.

“Nothing escapes my realm,” Arly said with a hint of sadness, “You will learn that soon enough.”

Arly made a gesture with her saber and I was immediately forced to the cold ground. The grip of the blue whip tightened with every passing second, and I watched as Arly slithered her away across the battleground with the worst smile I have ever seen. All of the other captives closed their eyes and tried to turn away, but like me, they were being forced to watch.

Arly’s shadow consumed all of the light around me, and I knew that I was about to suffer the same fate as Harry. I tried to break free of my restraints, but it only made the fiery burn from the whip worsen. I tried to prepare myself for losing my mind to darkness, so I thought of Derrick. I thought of his silly dog, Ellie. I thought of my fellow socks. I thought of my paired mate. I would never see them again., and even if I did somehow manage to make it out of the dark realm, would I ever truly be the same again?

With only inches to spare, Arly’s saber rose high into the air above her dark crown. Hisses, snarls, cackles, gasps and muffled whimpers echoed off of the copper castle, enveloping me in an orchestra of transformation. Arly’s arm suddenly twitched, and the glowing saber fell towards my chest.

I could feel the change in air pressure as the vibrating blade cut through the low hanging fog. I could also hear the snapping and cracking of debris coming from the barrier surrounding Copper Castle which thankfully made Arly’s swing miss its mark.

Caught off guard, the dark sock that was keeping me held down received the full blow of Arly’s attack. The blue whip ensnaring me was loosened and I was finally able to break free. I rolled to my right to reposition myself to take on Arly face-to-face, when a large dark figure on all fours exploded through what remained of the protective boundary.

Nhid writhed with fury at the uninvited enemy and rallied the rest of the spiders to attack. A few of the smaller spiders which had rounded up the other misfits fled into the shadows. Nhid, hissed at the deserters and commanded Arac to lead the rest of the spiders to corner and capture the new enemy. Arly, as well as Harry, and her battalion of dark socks also faced the newcomer and prepared for their assault. I was momentarily left alone and used the seconds to scurry towards the rounded up group of misfits.

I pleaded with them for any ideas on how to escape and a pair of faded yellow buttons informed me of a secret passageway beneath Copper Castle. It was now or never. We all agreed on taking our chances in the tunnel, so we quietly, yet quickly fled to safety. Taking command of the situation, I made sure every last misfit made it inside before I did. As I counted the final soul in my company, I made one last glance behind me.

Arly and I made immediate eye-contact and she roared with incredible anger at the sight of our escape. She was about to split her army into two flanks when the four-legged beast pounced towards her.

As Chester battled on in the darkness, alone, I made the hard decision to save the misfits. I didn’t know Chester well, but I could sense that what he was doing had the intention of giving us the chance to escape. I could not risk ruining his sacrifice. I stepped inside the tunnel, and shut the heavy door behind me.

Screeches and high-pitched howls reverberated off the outer walls but I was focused on the shuffling of panicked feet in front of me trying to navigate the dark and damp passageway. They were now in my care. I needed to become a leader, and fast. It was a duty I was unfamiliar with, yet I was forced to quickly figure it out.