Alice Returns

Chapter Two ♠ Rabbit Hole

The girl, with dark rabbit ears, was a doll. Alice backed away, and slumped to the ground, unable to move.

Black- or, what was Black anyways, had it's face cracked, from forehead to chin, it's red eyes with malice twitching, and it's dark rabbit ears were shattered.

"We-We . . . w-were going to have so . . . much fun!" The deranged and shatter voice bit out from Black. "You . . . ruin - everything!"

And it dropped to utter silence.

Alice hissed, and finally noticed the shearing pain in her wrist, it was obvious that she had strained it. "Am I really mad?" She asked herself, before stumbling to her feet, clutching onto her wrist. Am I mad? Have I lost it?

I don't want to go the asylum. She thought. She hated the idea of it. Of being locked away. Of having those pitiful eyes stare at you, as if you were lower than them. She didn't want to be clustered with the lot of them; she wasn't mad.

 She turned around, in hopes that neither Quinn or Dr. Harest had saw the event, of the broken rabbit doll, and a panicked Alice, with a strained wrist. But thankfully, no one had saw her.

 And there was no one to see her run.

♠♠♠♠♠♠

 "Alice, do you even know what you're drinking?" An amused voice asked, and made way towards Alice, who was staring at the tiny bottle in her palm with a bemused expression.

 "Go away, you stupid cat." Alice muttered, but there was teasing in her tone. He wouldn't take her seriously. "I'm trying to read this tiny print! How on earth could someone write so small for others to read?"

 "I'm deeply offended, my dear Alice, that you see me as a stupid cat!" He feign shocked and pain. "And here along, I thought we were friends!" He had such light hair, it was nearly a light shade of purple. His cat-like eyes always held mischief. And he had a thing for wearing bright colors, orange, blue, pink, and purple, his favorite. Unlike someone Alice knew, who always wore dark colors.  "Give me that." He pluck the tiny bottle away from Alice. 

 "Oh blast it, I was in the middle of reading that!" Alice protested, trying to grab the bottle. 

 The playfulness in his eyes disappeared, and disgust replaced it. "Alice . . . don't drink that." He toss the small bottle to the ground, and smashed it with the sole of his shoe. "Someone, obviously, is out for your life, my darling."  And he stood up, his purple cloak swirled around Alice, and he grabbed Alice's forearm, and pulled her close to him, pressed against his chest under the protection of his cloak.

 He bent down, and whispered in her ear, while Alice remained still. "Alice . . . don't trust anyone. No one at all."  Alice looked up, and even if she couldn't see him, the smile, that he usually had, the cheeriness and joy that was presented in his presence naturally, was gone, and replaced with concern and grim.

 Alice knew, the two voices, one from the memory of the ribbon, and one from the memory of poison, were two completely different people. The one, in the memory of poison, had a light-hearted aura around him, also kind and had a smile on his face. Always had a smile, despite the situation. While the one . . . in the ribbon memory, would always be quiet, dark, but Alice knew, he was someone important to her.

 She had stopped running when she reached a park where no children or adults came by. It was overgrown, overlooked by the city as nothing by a patch of old land, overgrown grass and trees that left untrimmed. Alice remembered, there used to be a pond, where she and Quinn as children would go over, and find small snails to scare their mother. And that there was a few benches, where only three people could sit, leaving Quinn running around. 

 But now, her parents were deceased. And Quinn could sit on that bench any time of the day of hour, if she planned to go back.

 And there was a tree, oak and stocky, it's leaves gone by years ago, and patches of grass grew tall and slender. Her parents had always told Alice to never go near the tree, saying it had most likely poison ivy. And in conclusion, Alice had stayed far from the tree. Never had she question the old, tall tree, after all, it was such a plain thing, wasn't it?

 Alice collapsed on the patch of dead grass, her breathing slim and tight. She buried her strained wrist into her skirt, not as if it was to do anything, but to keep pressure on it. Her tangled, gold locks of hair covered her face, and she was left wincing and cringing in the park, for no one to see her or bother her.

 She was alone.

 Still wincing, Alice looked up, and jumped, to see the big, old tree in front of her. She was never this close to the tree, feared that her deceased mother was right; that there was poison ivy here to last you years.

 But it wasn't the poison ivy that startled her. The tree was so tall, it towered over her, creating a pesky shadow over Alice. It's dead bark was nearly white, and the carving in it, was like a child's- trying to carve sticks into words with a little pocket knife.

 Curiosity took an immediate blow to her, as she slowly advance towards the tree, attempting to read the words on the tree. She ignored her mother's voice in her head.

 'Alice, don't go near that tree!'

 'Oh, Alice, I told you, there's just poison ivy.'

 'If you go near that tree again, you'll have poison ivy all over your skin to last you weeks.'

 'Alice, that tree is old, it's bound to collapse. Now come back here.'

 'Don't go near . . .'

 'Don't . . .'

 Alice squinted her eyes, trying to make out the marks. "Wonder . . . Wonderla-" She didn't have the time to finish reading. As two stiff arms slipped over her neck, and pulled her back violently, cutting off her breath. 

 Gasping, she raised her arms to struggle off her attacker, trying to scream, but a velvet gloved hand covered her cries. 

 She turned around, with all her strength, and stared into the broken red eyes, that were empty and soulless. Cracks were blossoming across her face, and her rabbit ears drooped down to her eyes.  Her monocle was shattered, a piece of glass from the monocle, was lodged in her eye. 

 She froze.

 "That wasn't very . . . nice, Alice. You-you left me all alone back there . . . not nice - nice A-Alice." The deranged voice said, and Alice could see that one of the velvet glove hung loosely, because earlier, Alice had shattered one. "He'll be very disappointed in me . . . we were going to have so much fun!" The grip on Alice's neck tighten. "There was going to be a party for your arrival, Alice, after twenty-seven years- you stupid, stupid girl."

 "Let . . . go!" Alice puffed out those words with strength and force.

 "W-why Alice . . . there was going to be dances, dresses, games . . . you were going to stay there until you die!" Black, the Rabbit Girl Doll screeched, and pulled tighter at Alice's neck. Alice was sure she was going to die here, die in this abandon park, strangled by a doll. "You'll just have to go there . . . without any games and fun!" There was malice and venom in the doll's tone.

 "I rather die, you stupid, stupid - doll!" Alice managed to wheezed out, before the doll's grip loosen, and Alice found herself tumbling down, the Black Rabbit Doll followed her, leaving a trail of shattered laughs and giggles from Black, and a trailing scream from Alice.