Far Ago and Long Away

Karma had always been a rather curious girl; whether it was further exploring something she'd learned in school, picking up a random book and reading it cover to cover (just 'cause she could, of course) or experimenting with drugs, she was always doing something new. Her father often tossed the old "Curiosity killed the cat" adage at her, but she would merely smile her famous grin and trot off to her newest adventure. The way she saw it, you had to live your life to the absolute fullest, never passing up an opportunity, or else you would die with regrets; and if there was one thing Karma didn't want to have, it was regrets.

After it was all over with, she decided that it was a strange day from the get go. She had slept through her alarm and was late for her first class (very nearly missing a deadline because of it), she'd left her wallet in her dorm, and she found herself considerably less coordinated than usual (as was evident in the fact that she managed to lose control of her skateboard – it was almost as if it suddenly had a mind of its own). But none of that could compare what happened on her way to lunch.

Karma sat on the brick wall surrounding one of the schools small gardens, iPod earbuds secure in her ears, singing quietly to herself when she saw something dart by her. She wondered briefly what it was, but shrugged and made her mind up that it was just light reflecting off a door and shining in her eyes.

Someone was standing in front of her. "Skankface, what's up?" A tall, dark girl in a tight red tee shirt and nearly-black jeans asked, tossing her thick curls out of her face. Karma shrugged, squinting up at her and removing the earbuds.

"Not a fuckin' thing, Kat," she sighed, shielding her eyes with her hand as she looked around and stood. Then she sighed, somewhat annoyed. "You seen Benji, by any chance? Fucker's been avoiding me for a week."

"I haven't seen him. Maybe he's sick?"

That flash of light passed by her again, distracting her. Despite telling herself that it was just a trick of the sun, Karma knew that it was something more. "Hey, you don't mind if we push this lunch date to another time, do you? I think I'm gonna go look for him myself. I really need to talk to him about what happened. And I have class in a half hour."

Kat nodded sympathetically, patting her shoulder. "Remember, if he decides to be a douche about it, I'll gladly take him out."

"I think I can handle him," she smirked, throwing her board down and taking off in the direction she'd seen the light go. She eventually reached the edge of the woods that surrounded the campus, and picked her board up a little warily. Maybe that was just Benji, yunno, running around… fucker is pretty fast, after all…and pale as hell, too.

"Benji?" She called, gingerly stepping past the line of trees. No answer, so she went in further. "Benjamin Jade Banks, you better fuckin' answer me, or else-"

She stopped; standing in front of her was a young man, who was most certainly not Benji. He looked like an albino; his skin was chalky white, his hair looked like the palest gold, and was spiked up into a fauxhawk. His clothes were as pale as the rest of him; fitted white slacks, an off-white v-neck tee shirt and a eggshell colored vest, white sneakers on his feet. She could feel adrenaline pumping through her as her fight-or-flight instinct took over, and she stepped back a bit. "Who the fuck are you?" She asked, hopefully masking the fear in her voice. He smirked, his red eyes laughing at her as he took a step closer.

"You sure have a mouth, don't you?" he chuckled, his voice silky, but giving Karma the sensation of a snake crawling over her skin. She shivered, but held her ground. "If you ask nicely, maybe I'll tell you."

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and pushing her hot-pink bangs out of her face, "Ok, fine; who the hell are you. That better?" He snickered, crossing his arms and mimicking her position.

"Not really," he pulled out a silver pocket watch and glanced at it before stashing it away again, "I'd love to continue this conversation, but I'm running very late. Another time, perhaps, Oyster." With that, he turned and sprinted away, leaving a very confused Karma behind.

What the smeggin' hell? She wondered for a moment before chasing after him. A distant part of her was reminded of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but that voice was drowned out by her overwhelming curiosity; who was this douche? And why the fuck did he call her an Oyster? It was while she contemplated these questions that she tripped, and found herself falling down and down and d

o

w

n …

Twisting and turning, trying to grab onto something, finding nothing but a strange, shimmering mist around her, Karma wondered if she was about to die. She landed solidly on her back, air escaping her lungs without her permission, and blacked out. When she came to, she found herself in the middle of the woods, sunlight streaming in through the leaves. I'm either dead, or that was a momentary lapse of madness, she decided, sitting up and rubbing the back of her head. It hurt like utter hell, and she wondered how much more time she had to get to her next class. "Assuming I'm not already late," she mumbled, attempting to stand up. Dusting herself off, she looked around, her stomach dropping.

These were not the woods by her school. Those woods were quiet and rather tame, having more than likely been manmade, in an attempt to give the college some atmosphere. But the woods she was in now, they were anything but; there was life all around her, and a primal feel in the air. Shivering, she asked quietly, "Where am I?"

Something jabbed her back, and she instinctively raised her arms, turning around. Standing before her was an old man in armor, with a fuckin' bizarre beard and a sword; behind him, at least ten men in suits, with guns pointed straight at her.

"By Order of the King, you, Oyster, are under arrest." He seemed to not want to say it, but Karma merely rolled her eyes and held her wrists out to be cuffed. They led her away, and once again, she was left to wonder why she kept being called a Oyster, not to mention, just where in the Hell she was.

They took her to a large stone castle and threw her into a room (the Knight dude had left them at the gate, which made her feel even more uneasy; these guys in suits gave her the creeps). She rubbed her wrists where the cuffs had been, and looked around. The room was a dark red; red walls, carpet, furniture and lamps. Even the desk was cherry wood, as were the massive bookshelves that occupied two walls. At the end opposite Karma was a fire place, and in front of it, two (red) wingback chairs and a small coffee table.

"You must be the Oyster," a man mused, standing from one of the fireplace chairs and coming towards her. He was tall and pale; he could've been Benji's twin if not for his blue-green eyes. He wore a red suit, and seemed just a little full of himself.

"I guess I am, since that's all I've been called since I got here." That reminded her, "Where is 'here,' anyway?"

He looked mildly amused, stopping right in front of her. "This, dear Karma, is the Kingdom of Wonderland." When her mouth opened to contradict him (there was no way in hell it was true; that was a drug-induced kids' story), he waved his hand. "I know you think I'm lying, but it's true."

"Ok, one, how the fuck do you know my name? Two, you're off your fuckin' rocker, dude." She shook her head and looked around, trying to figure out if she'd be able to escape somehow. A smirk fell on his lips, and he patted her head.

"You can't get out of here on your own, I'm sorry." He laughed a little at her expression, then clasped his hands behind his back. "And my men searched your belongings when you arrived here."

"Who're you?" She asked, taking a step back from this guy; he was starting to give her the heebie-jeebies, big time.

"I am Jack Heart, the King of Wonderland." He said, bowing slightly. She scoffed, but chose not to make her comment.

"Why was I arrested?"

"Oysters, rather, people from your world are not legally allowed in Wonderland any longer. You see, women from your world seem to cause a bit of trouble here, so I've decided it's just better if you stay out." He pointedly ignored the niggling voice that reminded him it was thanks to such a woman that he was now in power, his mother's tyrannical rule all but a distant memory. "How did you find your way here, anyhow?"

"I fell, I think." She rubbed the back of her head again, and he raised an eyebrow. "Yunno, if you really wanna stop people from my world from coming here, you might wanna patch up your damn hole."

"A Rabbit Hole?" He asked, looking somewhere between confused and alarmed.

"I guess. And, yunno, you're damn lucky I wasn't killed when I fell! I think I got a concussion, or something," she huffed, and he went back to his desk, muttering to himself. "Hey, you fuckin' listening to me? I said-"

"I heard you. This is impossible, though. All the Rabbit Holes were closed long ago..." he began sifting through some of the papers on his desk, apparently forgetting she was there. She approached his desk and laid her hands on it, standing over him for a moment.

"Obviously not, because I damn near broke my Goddamn back-"

"You have quite a mouth, don't you?" He asked, glancing up. She shook her head in annoyance, and then he stood, now towering over her (though, most did anyway, given that she was only 5'2). "This is a disturbing development. I'm going to place you under the supervision of one of my men; he'll take you to a room here in the castle. I'll need you to help us figure this out."

Karma turned as one of the men in suits entered, and she grimaced, looking back to Jack. "Why me?"

He met her eyes, "Because you caused it to open; we just need to figure out why."