They Call Him Insidious

      The early morning silence inside of the toy factory was deafening. The metallic machines that stitched together each piece of fabric for the toys sat dormant. Darkness cloaked the room in a black blanket of nothingness. Large wooden shelves lined the interior walls of the large room. Upon the shelves sat thousands of soft plushies in every pet style imaginable. In the light, a rainbow of color would burst forth from these shelves, making the factory bright and lighthearted. However, when the lights were off, things were not so pleasant. Hidden in the shadows among the cheerful toys was a malevolent presence. This presence had been haunting the factory for many years. No one had actually seen the sinister being, but evidence of its existence was apparent each morning when the factory began its daily operation. Fluffy white stuffing from the belly of hundreds of plushies littered the concrete floor. Plastic eyes were ripped from the faces of the ever smiling toys, and crushed into obliteration. The cold floor of this immense room had threatening grafitti spray painted on it, with ominous sayings like, "Soon you will meet your doom", and "I'm going to get you". Several staff members were so frightened by these evil words they ended up quitting their job. This amused the wicked presence to no end. This was exactly what the presence wanted.

      Little do the workers know, this being they are so frightened by is of their own making. It had been 5 years since the night of the long forgotten storm had taken place. Tired workers were at the factory that night, working a double shift to catch up on a massive order when it was created. From a box of mismatched plushie parts came a plushie that was not like the others. As the storm raged outside, one of the workers saw the decimated pieces of the useless plushies, and decided to create a special toy. The employee had no idea how special this plushie would be. At the exact moment the machine stitched the last thread of the patchwork plushie, lightening struck the factory. The lights immediately went out, and the factory was enveloped in an inky blackness. Some of the workers groaned deeply in the frustration, but had there been silence, they would have heard a malicious giggle. When the lights finally came back on, the unique plushie had vanished from the machine, never to be seen, again.

      Alone in a dusty corner he sat. Frustration coursed through his fabric covered body, as he scanned the lifeless room. He had been here too entirely long, and was literally going mad. He didn't understand why he was here, all he knew was he had to escape the confines of this place. The severed arm of a red shoyru plushie lay at his feet. His pink and white polka dotted ears raised and a wicked smile emerged, showing his 2 inch long razor sharp teeth. Blood-curdling shrieks erupted from the forgotten plushie as he kicked the mangled part away from him. He looked away in disgust. A Lenny Bat that a careless employee left behind lay across his haphazardly stitched lap, and he reached down to pick it up. Rising from his position, he nonchalantly walked across the room to a shelf filled with empty cardboard boxes. Swinging the bat high, he forcefully brought it down and destroyed the shipping materials. Cardboard exploded from the shelves and rained down upon him. The factory room filled with a shimmery light as a hidden window was exposed. The curious creature looked up at the window, and wondered why he had never saw it before. Shoving the mountain of boxes away, he climbed up from the rubble. Standing in the moonlight, the creature inspected his body to be sure he had no tears. He ran his hand over the yellow material and saw nothing out of sorts. The blue and green polka dotted cloth that covered his right leg was fine, too. He noticed the star shaped spot on his left hip, but didn't pay it any mind. The being the other workers referred to as "Insidious" seemed to be in perfect condition. Well, as perfect as a lunatic such as himself could be.

      He was some sort of poogle plushie. This much Insidious knew. He wasn't the standard poogle, though. Unsure why he was different, Insidious resented the other plush toys the factory created. They sat upon the shelves without a care in the world, while he was alive and miserable in this pathetic place. Gripping the bat tightly in his hand, the beastly plushie knocked the rest of the boxes away from the tall shelves. An idea began to form in his twisted mind, but he was unsure if he could make it work. The window was high above and he was short, but...maybe..just maybe..he had finally found the answer to his plight.

      Insidious was annoyed by the wide-eye stares coming from the inert toys as he began his long descent up the shelving unit. Tucked under his left arm was the wooden Lenny Bat. Time ticked away as he slowly climbed from shelf to shelf, grunting from exhaustion. He stopped for a minute or two on each shelf, to allow his puffy body to rest. He didn't want to become too weak before he made his way to the top. There were a total of 6 levels in all, and each one left the malevolent plushie tired. The energy he had left came from the sheer bitterness he had from being a prisoner here, and his obsession with escaping his confines. Nothing was going to stop him. No matter what he had to do to make it happen. NOTHING.

      At long last, the sentient creature made it to the top. The wooden shelves wobbled a bit beneath his feet, but remained intact. Insidious raised his hand to the cool glass of the window, and ran his fingers across the surface. For the first time since his creation, the poogle felt a foreign emotion. Excitement. He looked out of the window, and saw the dark, velvety sky, and the tiny pinpoints of lights scattered across it. The moon was full, and hung low over the vast land. Bathed in the soft glow, the land below was completely visible. Tall trees were scattered across the surface, and well manicured grass surrounded the austere building. Far off in the distance were warm glowing lights coming from the citizens houses. For the briefest moment, the images of loving families residing in those homes made the plushie's heart happy, then the moment was gone. The anger of his existence returned, and washed it all away. The time had come. He was going to be free.

      Insidious grasped the bat rigidly, and smashed the translucent glass. The window shattered into hundreds of sharp shards and hit his cushiony body, but he barely noticed. All that he could think of was exiting this place, and never returning. He hoisted his body up to to the edge of the gaping hole that was his to be his escape route. Turning around to look back at his jail one last time, the impish poogle smiled. Never again would he be trapped in a place he despised. He looked back to the glorious land below, and jumped.

      The End.