The Reluctant Adventures of Pigglebottom Broadsword

Chapter Seven

It was around midday when Pigglebottom eventually found his way out of the Stiff Wood. With his belly full of food and a new-found sense of almost-confidence, he skipped along the dirt road through the trees and out onto the grasslands. The sunlight warmed his body once more and he stood motionless for a few moments, soaking up the rays of light shining down from the heavens above. His body felt renewed, as though it had been dry cleaned with the flowery-smelling fabric softener that he was especially fond of. Upon leaving the wood, Pigglebottom turned back one last time to look at the mammoth trees, only now realising just how tall they actually were. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking, however, his momentum came to a sudden halt after a rustling sound was heard behind him. He turned back to see a shrub jiggling from left to right and suddenly fear crept back into him. 'Please don't let it be the dead woman' he thought to himself. The shrub rustled for a few moments more until a small hedgehog walked out of it. 'Oh thank goodness' he thought 'just an animal, and one that can't eat me, thank god!'. The hedgehog shuffled a few steps forward and, just as Pigglebottom had breathed a sigh of relief, the hedgehog's legs seemed to extend, further and further until it was a foot-taller than Pigglebottom himself. It stared at him dead in the eyes and its long gangly thin legs began to flop in succession, bringing itself closer and closer towards Pigglebottom. 'Oh you've got to be joking' he thought as the hedgehog approached him somewhat unsteadily. Frozen with confusion, Pigglebottom stared at the strange creature which was gradually getting closer and closer to him, it stopped a few centimeters away from him and a smile seemed to grace the hedgehog's lips as its eyes widened and lowered itself down to Pigglebottom's height.

"Shhhhnnuich! Shhhhnuich!" the hedgehog squealed in a high pitch tone.

"I'm sorry but I don't speak Hedgehog, now if you'll excuse me I must be on my way, many things to do, good day" Pigglebottom turned and walked away from the hedgehog, but not before noticing a look somewhat akin to disappointment on its face. He walked a few yards before the hedgehog began to follow him, not particularly quickly but at a pace matching Pigglebottom's. Pigglebottom chose to ignore it in the hopes it would eventually get bored and disappear, which didn't happen. After a while the hedgehog began to whistle a soft sweet tune, almost resembling a group of birds calling to each other in the early hours of the morning. As the wind whipped through the trees Pigglebottom began to hear a quiet sound, at first inaudible, but as he slowed his pace the sound began to form sentences.

"You there... boy" the voice said with an otherworldly feeling.

"Who said that?" Pigglebottom turned around, spinning on the spot in an attempt to locate the noise.

"Listen to me now, boy!" the voice spoke again, this time in a more irritable fashion. It was the second sentence that allowed Pigglebottom to come to the realisation that the sound wasn't actually being experienced by his ears, but somewhere else.

"Are... you... in my brain?" Pigglebottom enquired to the voice which was seemingly nowhere and everywhere simultaneously.

"I am not in your brain, I am my own form, as you are unfortunately not as advanced as me the only way we can communicate is via telepathy" the voice stated firmly before Pigglebottom looked to the hedgehog that was still following him, who currently had a rather long drip of green fluid hanging precariously from its left nostril.

"Is it you? You're the one that is talking to me?" Pigglebottom enquired to the hedgehog.

"Don't sound so surprised", the hedgehog said furiously, "I have been in this area for longer than your lineage has been a blight on this land".

"I see, I didn't mean to cause any offense, it's just that your form is rather... peculiar?" Pigglebottom offered, trying his best to not sound insulting.