Urchin from Underneath

Chapter 1

Wispy clouds painted the ceaseless sky when I emerged from the depths of oblivion. Cognisance hit me like a bullet. Words and numbers flew through my head  as I collapsed to the cold, hard ground. What just happened?  Where was I? What am I? Innumerous questions swarmed through my head. Why am I here? How did I get here?  Am I here for a reason? What is 'here? In a state of panic, I threw myself onto the floor of the strange chasm I resided in. The questions were beginning to clog up my mind. Taking a deep breath, I mollified my perturbation. I angled my aching head up at multitudinous holes placed consecutively across the ravine. Large, DNA-like machines with spidery, attenuated legs were also scattered randomly around the fissure. Crystals as red as blood were adhered to the top of the bizarre machines. Hesitantly, I crawled further away from my hole and looked back into it. I didn't know what to feel. More and more questions arose from the depths of my mind. I looked up. More holes were strewn across the rocky walls. Everywhere I looked the inexplicable holes were there; they were seemingly ubiquitous. After a while of just lying, lost in thought, I decided to explore this unfathomable ravine.

The diaphanous clouds were being devoured by crepuscular darkness. There was a foreboding sense of malaise in the air. Trudging slowly, I heard the crunching of gravel from the corner of my ear.
'Who's there?!' I vocalised rapidly. The sound of my croaky intonations shocked me.
I scrutinised every nook and cranny, trying to locate where the mysterious noise came from.
'I know someone's there!'
Another crunch sounded from the same place. Slowly, I crept towards it, shaking in fear. As I peered over a cold rock, I saw a ball of orange trembling on the other side. I gasped.

So I wasn't alone here...