Chapter One:
A/N: Another attempt at an Edward Scissorhands sequel. I only own Alice and my plot and other assorted characters my mind came up with. Everything else belongs solely to Tim Burton. Hope you enjoy!
There was no difference between the burning of her lungs and the frigid sting of the hazy dusk air, at least not to the willowy girl bounding over the slanted earth, climbing higher and higher up the winding hillside. The altitude wore down upon her shoulders as her arms ached, pumping up and down animatedly, urging herself forward, up and around, up and around. Dense verdure grew thick, the vegetation creeping along the mere dirt trail she sprinted fervently. The fading sunlight cast an eerie glow over the world around her, and through her tousled gold curls she watched a twittering thrush* flitter towards the sinking sunlight. Alice felt her chest heave and mist clouded her shining eyes. What she would give to have such wings at her disposal!
It had all begun with the drop of a hat, she thought wryly to herself whilst urging her feet to carry her faster, in all honesty. She recalled the day like it were playing before her eyes at that very moment. Michael had taken her to the movies that day, they saw some children's movie that Alice was sure had bored him to death, but he never made a single protest. Michael was sweet like that, taking Alice in when his sister was taken in a terrible car crash. The young man had barely been an adult at the time, hardly ready to take in his mewling baby niece, but more than willing.
He even took her out to their favorite ice cream after the movie that particular day. They were celebrating something, Alice was sure of it as she recalled, not that it mattered what. What did matter, however, was that moment when, while listening to the pleasant bustle of the sundrenched San Francisco streets on that little sidewalk café a bright peach hat swept past in a rush of taffeta and silk.
Everything was a blur of cherry lipstick and sharp amber eyes after that. Oh- she thought to herself- Alice had been turning ten that very day, when Portia blew into their lives.
Gracefully snatching the hat by the brim, Michael swept into a deep bow before the lithe woman, giving his lopsided grin. "Your hat, my Lady."
"Why thank you, my liege." Portia had held her fingers in front of her lips to muffle her giggles.
Sitting alone then at their abandoned table, Alice watched between her melting ice cream and the scene unfolding before her.
Panting heavily, Alice felt her heart race in her chest as the howls of the ruffians just turning the corner behind her. Biting her tongue, she fought back her tears. No use showing fear, she thought, it's never done much good for her anyhow. Why did Michael chose to move here? This black hole of cheap pastel and leering eyes.
Wracking her brains, she remembered the big church wedding and the blur of peach and flowing champagne. It was five years later when Portia was finally ready to settle down with Michael. It had been a troublesome few years of strenuous perusing, on Michaels part, and much miscommunication and heartbreak. Alice had been away in boarding school up north while the happy couple began their new life. But when Michael got a promotion when his company expanded, he found a sunny yellow house tucked away in a little piece of real estate heaven called Suburbia.
Alice forced her bleary eyes to look ahead at the looming structure that she ran towards. The dark stone matched her steadily gloomier future as the rough hollers rang in her ears from behind her. They were smashed of course, those boys. That's what teenagers in this town did when it was Saturday night and there were painfully vulnerable girls wandering the streets.
The light was flickering away fast and Alice bit her lip until she tasted metallic blood. But there was no time for that.
There was never time, not anymore. Not for movies or ice cream or anything of the sort for Michael anymore. As soon as they had moved here, not three days ago, he had been flying to this state and that to different branches to interview the managers and asses the premises' and things of that nature. Michael had longed to be a carpenter and create things, like the beautiful grandfather clock that now resided in Alice's room because Portia wanted to throw the 'old thing' out. Now he traveled across the country to hardware stores, a craftsman, a Michelangelo, as Alice liked to call him in secret, always amongst the tools of his passion, but never a moment to tarry, to sculpt, to carve or create. He used to build things, such marvelous things, in Alice's opinion, but nevermore.
"You can't run forever, little mouse!" One of them slurred, practically at her heels, as Alice could smell the beer, the rum and cokes upon their breath. What was his name again, she thought whilst winding up the ever sloping mountain. Brian? Brandon? No- it was Bart. Him and his gang of empty-headed goons.
He was always causing trouble for Alice, she thought, grinding and gnashing her teeth in blind fury. She had never done a single thing to him!
She started school as any other new student would, showed up to each class, stood before her unwilling audience, before the blank stares and cruel smirks, struggling valiantly to recite her name and a few simple truths about herself.
"Hello." She forced a small, sheepish smile, tucking some loose strands of golden hair behind her ear and growing weary of this routine by the sixth period. "My name is Alice Dodgson. I was named after Alice from Alice in Wonderland. I come from San Francisco and I moved here last Saturday."
Sinking back into her chair, she would wait for the rush of murmurs to fade away before the lessons began.
"Psst. Hey, new girl!" With a sharp poke at her slender shoulders, a deep, masculine voice prodded at her.
"Um, hi." She gazed uneasily at the boy, trailing her green apple eyes up his strong jaw line, over his glinting copper stubble and handsomely curled lips.
She found herself stuttering while admiring his gelled back locks of penny colored hair, his ocean blue eyes and pearly white teeth. He began to speak but she could only focus on the perfect way his lips moved, two gentle waves dancing in the sea of cream colored skin of his face. She would laugh, a tinkling bells sort of noise, whenever he would grin at something witty he said. Alice was a hopeless glob of mold in his skilled hands.
"See you 'round." He shrugged as Alice jumped, startled at the sound of the bell.
Alice swallowed hard, trying not to look too embarrassed. "'Kay."
Bart, that was his name. The only piece of information she had managed to retain was his name.
How stupid she had been, Alice now thought, the black iron gate approaching fast. It seemed a sinister coil of dark prongs to poor Alice, who simply wanted to flee home. That wouldn't do her any good anyhow; her sensible mind contradicted her, seeing as Portia forgot to give me the new spare key, and how she and Michael were long gone on another excursion. He at more board meetings about the battery operated screwdrivers, while Portia enjoyed her weekend at the spa.
"Wha- oh!" She stumbled over a stray rock and fell victim to a terrible tumult, tearing the cotton hem of her spring green dress on a thorn bush upon scrambling to her feet once more.
She was always a klutz, she had thought to herself the second day of her new school, having dropped all her books just before sixth period. It was a Friday and she was more than eager to run home and forget this awful place, if only for a few days. Groaning, she quickly stood up, books in hand, but was met with the stare of two brutish looking young men.
"Hey there." One of them greeted, giving a lopsided grin, and rather giving Alice the creeps. "Are you lost? A pretty little mouse like you shouldn't be walking all alone in a school like this."
They advanced slowly, as so not to frighten her, but it was too late, as Alice swiftly sidestepped them and felt her face flush.
"Yes." She nodded, trying to sound bolder than she felt. "I might run into two lunatics."
Their wolfish laughter made her heart sink, they had her cornered, she found to her dismay, both of them having backed her into the space between the stairs and the adjacent wall. Despite her fear, she tried to squash past them, only to end up with their faces pressed close to hers.
"Hey, don't be like that." The other, harrier one sneered. "We just wanna help."
Alice peered around them, but to her great disdain, the only potential help came from those throngs of girls from her gym period that hadn't taken too kindly to someone who creamed them at volleyball. They tossed their hair and sniffed, vanishing in groups of leering faces, leaving Alice to fend for herself.
"I-I really have to get to class." Alice squeaked when one of them tried to touch her hair. "The bell's gonna ring any moment."
Just when she was sure no one would save her, out of the mist came her savior. Over the heads of the two gorillas's Alice spotted a head of copper hair.
"Hey guys." Bart grinned, pulling the two away as if they were made of tissue paper. "Leave the mouse alone. Can't you see she's scared?"
Alice knew then, as she wrapped her shaking hands around the gate's bars and pulled with all her might, that she should have known. She should have seen Bart not as her savior from the wolves but as their pack leader. Spellbound, she listened to him that day, speaking about a rager he and his crew were throwing on Saturday, how much fun it would be… if she would come.
The morning of Saturday had come and Alice was up with the dawn, fixing her makeup and rifling through her boxes of clothing, as she had not yet unpacked everything into her new closet. No, this dress was too summery, no, that one was too long, too short, too pink, too plain, too bright, too see-through, too casual, and that one too dressy. Finally, with one fell swoop, her hands fished out a thin cotton summer dress that was a cross between mint and green apple, matching her eyes exactly. It had thin spaghetti straps and the top tied around her waist, bringing just enough attention to her well budding breasts, but also fanning out modestly at the hips to show her slim but curved figure. The length fell to just above her knees, her slender legs peaking out splendidly and a pair of gold ballet flats below to match as well.
Michael and Portia had left the after Alice left for the strip mall in town for some simple jewelry, locking the door securely in their wake. Blissfully unaware that Portia had forgotten to give Alice the spare key, she walked to town, too excited to take the bus, and shopped around with her small supply of money. She found a stunning gold colored necklace with a heart locket that was right within her price range. She was even delighted to find that the heart was made up of a curling, twisting pattern of metal that shaped into a golden rose at the center.
Still too early to start towards Bart's house back in the neighborhood, Alice sat in the town's diner, sipping cokes and watching the clock. When, at last, it was quarter to four, she paid the check and skipped to the other side of town, towards their houses. Alice could hardly stand the unsettling pallid colors of her town, but even such an eyesore as that could be adjusted to in time, she supposed.
"Alice!" Bart had exclaimed with excitement when she had rung the doorbell.
She was swept into the chaos of the party, mobs of teens thrashing to the pounding music and tipping back neon colored drinks. Bart offered her some relentlessly, a good host she ascribed it to, but each time she declined politely. Despite the safety she felt sitting in a circle of teens on the countertops in the kitchen, with Bart's hand on her knee, she also felt the uneasiness rise like bile to her throat. But this was easily quashed.
"So, mouse," One rather tipsy redheaded girl slurred towards Alice, "Have you heard of the haunted house yet?"
"Leave her alone, Deirdre." Bart scoffed. "Don't need to scare her, now, do we?"
"Aww… c'mon, Barty, nobody tells the story like you do!" One of the original goons whined.
Alice squirmed noticeably.
"It's okay." Bart grinned, eliciting a fleeting smile from her. "I'll tell it. Y'know that house up on the hill there?"
He paused to nurse his rum and coke. Of course Alice knew the house on the hill. How could she not miss the stain of dreary black and grey looming above the pastel town? In fact, Alice felt rather akin to the old mansion, seeing as she and it were seemingly the only two things that didn't seem to belong there. But she nodded anyways.
"Well," Bart went on, throwing an arm around her waist, "There was once this old man up there that always watched the town below and longed to see it. He was fed up with watching young men and women living in peace while he had to live up on that hill all alone and all. No one would visit him, y'see, 'cause he had no hands and all. Lost 'em in an accident or somethin'. So he fashioned himself a new set of hands, made… entirely… of… blades. Anyways, one day it finally drove him insane, so insane he began to feel…"
Bart paused dramatically. "The blood thirst…"
Everyone laughed maniacally, except for Alice, who was tense as stone, her ears listening to each and every word he spoke.
"And one day, when a young girl wandered up to the top of his hill, he enticed her with a sweet, innocent voice, beckoning her closer… and closer… and closer to the shadows of his lair…"
Turning away slightly, Bart's free hand disappeared from view.
"The foolish girl did not realize his madness and when she treaded upon his home, but, with one… fell… swoop-!" With a loud 'zing!' Bart sliced the air with a butcher's knife he snatched from the cutting board.
Everyone screamed, even the boys, but none as loudly as Alice, who leaped from the counter entirely. Soon smug grins turned on her and laughter, vile and spiteful, was targeted at her. Rushing from the room, Alice felt hot tears sting her cheeks. Fighting her way through the crowd, she made it to the sliding backdoors and stepped out for some fresh air.
The cool spring breeze hit her face, and besides the two lovers swapping spit in the bushes to her right, it felt pretty refreshing.
"Hey, mouse," Bart called softly, sliding the door open behind her, "What happened back there?"
Sniffing, Alice tried to wipe the stray tears away, and found herself blushing bright red, with indignation as well as shyness.
"Sorry, I-" She tried to begin, but the words seemed to escape her.
"Shhh…" He pressed a finger to her lips, coming closer, so close she could smell the heavy alcohol on his breath.
Shifting away, she felt his hands grasp her forearms and he would not let go.
"Don't be scared." He grinned, his words uncouth and slurred. "We were just having a little fun… that's all."
His face dipped in closer, lips limp and seeking hers, but she turned away in disgust.
"Don't!" Alice whispered desperately, trying to fidget her way out of his grasp. "Let go. Let go!"
"Stop that!" He ordered, shaking her into submission. "Just shut up."
But before he could come any closer with his foul breath and rough manner, Alice found the instinct to stomp as hard as she could upon his left foot.
Howling in pain, Bart staggered back as Alice rushed back inside. She heard him holler something to his 'buddies' and her heart fell to the floor. Through the impenetrable throngs she pushed and shoved her way to the front door, lost several times in the currents of elbows and hips and rumps moving all around her. Finally she stumbled out the front door, hearing a terrible crash of glass and a piercing cry of "Get the mouse!"
And that's how it all started, Alice recalled while racing to yank open the iron gate. She tried to run home, but to no avail, as she had no key. Panicking, Alice broke out into a run, up the street, not caring where she was headed. Dipping past unkempt shrubs of her neighbors' yards, she lunged over thick, green lawns and found herself trotting to a stop once the harsh voices behind her began to quiet.
It was twilight and the sun cast a specter of light over the land, momentarily blinding poor Alice. As she regained her composer, she sighed and groaned audibly as she found herself staring at the dead end cul-de-sac that led to the collapsed iron gate- the road that led to the creepy old mansion on the hill.
'No way,' She thought, 'I'll just hide in some bushes until they leave, then I can sneak in through my windo-'
"There she is!"
Biting her lip, Alice quashed a scream that rose to her throat. Before she could think, there she was at the top of the hill, the raucous voices approaching quickly while she wrenched the gate at the top of the hill open just enough to ease through. Gasping, she felt the sting of the rusted metal as it tore a gash just below her right kneecap. But there was no time; she thought grimly, she needed to find something to hide behind or under.
Faced with a thick veil of vines, Alice whimpered at the throbbing in her leg as she fought her way through. The thick foliage enveloped her, encasing her in a cocoon of heavy vines and ivy leaves. Hushing her breath into a laggard, even pace, she held it as the voices closed in.
"She's gone." A gruff voice belted out.
Another, Bart's, scoffed as well as one could while intensely inebriated. "No shit, Sherlock. Anything else y'wanna point out there Cap'n Obvious?"
"How're we gonna get her now?"
"Easy, stupid, we're gonna go in there and drag 'er out!"
"I-I'm not goin' in there!"
"Why the hell… not?" Bart paused to hiccup.
Alice heard the crunch of a beer can and the scrape as it skidded across gravel and dry dirt.
"We'll it's getting late… and looks' like it might rain an…"
"Aww… look who's afraid of the big bad monster!" Bart snorted and Alice cringed.
"C'mon man! All those chicks back at the party!"
"Yeah," The other crony whined. "Forget the mouse!"
There was a long pause, Alice chewing her lip raw all the while, before the scuffle of feet began once more.
"You stupid sunsabitches." Bart slurred. "That's the best idea I've heard all night!"
Once the shuffle of shoes was long since echoed, Alice let out an excruciatingly long breath. Gathering her arms to herself, she found, to her dismay, she could not move. Thrashing against the tangle of vines, she began to sob as they felt like vile hands upon her. Then, with no warning, she fell out of them completely, falling to the earth in a heap of tears.
Wiping her face with dirt crusted hands; she lifted herself up and froze.
A/N: Oh how I love love love a good cliffhanger! I know it's been slow up to here but it will pick up in the next chapter, I promise. Please do a girl a favor and leave a review! Edward might cry if you don't…