Arnie woke up but kept his eyes firmly closed and tried to keep his breathing calm and regular. He lay, listening. He was listening for a clue as to what was happening around him. He was surrounded by silence. He strained his ears, and after feeling very certain there was nothing, he opened his eyes just a crack. He opened them wider. Something was very wrong. With his eyes open there was no change in his vision.
Pure, pressing blackness. He could almost feel the weight of it, as though it was pushing down on him. He wiggled his fingers and found that they were free. He moved his arm and legs. All free. He flexed various parts of his body, testing and checking that they all worked.
Satisfied with this, he took a deep, shuddering breath and lifted his arms to feel what was around him. His hands connected at both sides with something solid. It felt smooth and hard, like wood. He reached up and felt the same feeling. He pushed, but there was no moving whatever closed him in. He lifted his legs and tried to push with his feet. There was no budging.
A feeling of claustrophobia crept in on him and he started pushing with more force. The feeling gradually built with each passing moment and alongside that he pushed with ever increasing franticness.
"Hello!" he called as he banged on the ceiling above him. The darkness remained constant, his eyes unadjusting.
"Help!" the panic in his voice growing stronger. "Let me out!"
He kept it up until his energy was spent. He slumped back and felt sweat pouring down his forehead, he could taste the salty liquid as it dripped onto his tongue.
As he closed his eyes in resignation, he heard a creaking noise. He opened his eyes slightly, already feeling defeated. A slither of light appeared around him in a rectangular shape. He opened his eyes more fully as, with one almighty creak, what turned out to be the lid to a coffin like box, was hoisted off and he was struck with a bright, blinding light. As the light smacked his face, he felt a sense of relief while at the same time, the brightness hurt like hell.
A pencil man appeared on the edge of the box. Arnie squinted up at it and it spoke.
"Any rash moves, or failure to follow instructions and you shall be dealt with forcibly."
He spoke with the same kind of high-pitched, squeaky voice as the others. "I am Flimgog and I am taking you to our leader. I command a squadron of the finest pencil warriors in this land. Follow my orders exactly"
Arnie nodded, his mouth feeling too dry to speak. He decided to save any questions for the leader.
"Get out slowly."
Following his instructions, he took a grip on the edges of the box, careful to keep them as far from Flimgog as possible and pulled himself up. His arms felt a little weak and he noticed that his stomach ached for food. How long have I been in here? he thought glumly.
He looked around - they were in a large, outside clearing admist what seemed to be a forest. (When I say it only seemed to be a forest, that's mainly because what he took to be trees had gleaming gold trunks, the leaves were sparkling and transparent, somewhat like diamonds and they stood only slightly higher than Arnie himself. Trees was the closest thing he could think of to describe them.) In the clearing was purple grass and row upon row of pencil-men. They surrounded him, standing in straight lines, looking straight ahead. He had no plans to try and escape these guys.
The sky was covered by thick clouds which, remarkably, were the same greyish, white of normal clouds. He stood up and stepped out of the box. His legs felt stiff, and he felt a bit dizzy from standing. He took a moment to steady himself.
"Follow group A and group B will follow behind." Flimgog said. Despite the squeak in his voice, Arnie felt controlled. Flimgog called in a louder voice, "Group A on!"
Half of the pencil men, all of those to the left of the box, turned a full turn and began to march. They moved fast for small creatures. Arnie shuffled along behind them as they headed towards a break in the trees. He looked behind him as he heard Flimgog give another order. The remaining creatures were following several feet behind him. He looked at his feet as he stepped through the purple grass following the group ahead. They broke into the forrest from the clearing and began a slight ascent. Had he not felt so glum and longed so much for home, he would have been astounded by the surroundings.
There were plants of so many strange colours and shapes, including a colour one would swear couldn't exist. It would be best decribed as "rue", a mixture of red and blue - but with a yellowish shine that was impossible to create, kind of glowing. Birds chirped, breaking through the otherwise silent forest. Birds which, if he had looked, he would have noticed were made from rolls of thread with needles for beaks. He even passed a snake - a green snake that was actually one of those bendy plastic rulers that you get sometimes.
But Arnie didn't notice, he looked down and marched on, silently following the creatures as they led him onwards.
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