Dan awoke, ears ringing mildly. It was nice to be back in his own bed, warm and snug. What an odd dream he’d been having, with talking animals and magic meadows, and falling. He noticed a gentle tingling sensation in his back and rolled to his side. The bed rushed to support him as he rolled.

With a start Dan’s eyes shot open. He was not lying in his bed, in his room. He was in a cave, dimly lit by flecks of a phosphorous substance spattered on the walls. As his eyes adjusted, Dan noticed motion a short distance off and sat up quickly. He experienced a sensation of vertigo, unable to make out the distance to the walls, the green illumination throbbing gently.

As he sat, the blanket that he’d been clutching disintegrated. A torch was lit to his left, providing enough light for Dan to see the his blanket, his pillow, his sheet, all of it was alive. Furry and alive. They appeared to be hairy spiders. He saw blanket spiders scurry to the bed, and merge themselves into it, rolling tight. Dan stood.