CHAPTER ONE
"Dean, we have a problem." Sam's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard while staring somewhere above his brother's shoulder.
Dean didn't turn around. His green eyes widened and jerked to the side with the aborted urge to glance over his shoulder. "Sam?"
"There's a rabbit." Sam's voice was barely above a whisper.
"A rabbit?" Dean repeated with disbelief. "Sammy, we're not those kind of hunters."
"Shut up, it's not that kind of rabbit. This is a giant rabbit and it's looking over here." Sam's eyes darted from the animal to Dean and back again.
Dean narrowed his gaze. "Dude, what is up with you right now? Why are you so freaked out over Bugs Bunny?" His whole body jerked. "It's not really Bugs is it?"
"Well...no. He has a pocket watch."
"Like the one in the Disney movie? Is he late for a very important date?" Dean grinned at his own joke and then punched Sam in the shoulder.
"Dammit, Dean. This is serious." Sam rubbed the sore spot on his shoulder, his focus never moving from behind Dean.
"You're not joking. Shit. Do we gank it? Is it even evil?" Dean's hand moved to the back of his pants where his gun was secured.
Sam shook his head. "I don't know. I thought it was a stupid novel."
Dean held up a hand. "Wait, that trippy ass movie was based on a book? The fuck was that guy smoking?"
Sam's expression morphed into one of concern. "Seriously? You didn't know that? I know you went to high school. I was there."
"Some of us were having sex in high school, bro."
"And look where that got you." Sam shot back.
Dean opened his mouth to retaliate when Sam cursed and reached for his own weapon.
"It's running away," Sam shouted as he took off across the parking lot.
Dean didn't hesitate to follow his brother into potential danger. The two of them sprinted to a nearby field lined with trees. Dean still hadn't laid eyes on the watch-carrying-fuzzball but he trusted Sam's judgment in the situation.
Sam skidded to a stop once they reached the edge of the grass. Both men were breathing hard, their breath fogging the air in front of their faces with each exhale.
Sam pointed at a spot a few yards in. "That way. It disappeared over there."
Dean nodded and clicked the safety off on his gun. "Let's go."
"Dean, wait." Sam's hand smacked against Dean's chest with an audible thwack. "What if it's a trap?"
Dean gave him a blank expression in response. "Why would you say that?"
"The other option is fucking Wonderland, Dean. Which is more likely?" Sam threw up his hands as frustration leaked into his voice.
"So we, what, go ask the other hotel patrons if they've seen a giant rabbit strolling by the ice machine lately? Start looking for police reports of carrots going missing? I don't know what the protocol here is, Sam. I'm trained to hunt monsters, not read fairy tales."
Sam sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The flashlight app lit up the immediate area. "We can go check it out, but don't do anything stupid."
Their footfalls crunched through the underbrush as they made their way to where Sam saw the creature last. Walking together, they circled the tree, using the light to check for any hidden holes or switches.
"I don't see anything out of the ordinary." Sam pursed his lips in thought as he scanned the light over the base of the tree once more.
"Doesn't Alice fall down a rabbit hole? Is it the same in the book?" Dean squatted down to push dead leaves out of the way, checking for inconsistencies in the trunk.
"Yeah, she follows the rabbit into the hole and falls through to Wonderland." Sam knelt down to give his brother more light.
"So where's the hole? It had to go somewhere." In all their years of hunting, the boys had learned that things rarely poof out of existence. "You're sure you saw it?"
Sam stood up, offended. "Of course I'm sure."
Dean pulled his own phone out and scanned the ground around the tree. "Okay, if it was really here we'd find tracks. Giant...rabbit...tracks..." his voice trailed off as he stalled the light over a spot in the mud.
Low and behold, smashed into the soft earth was the imprint of a large rabbit's foot.
"Holy shit, dude. There's a giant bunny out here," Dean said in a hushed voice.
Sam groaned. "I'm pretty sure that's what I said."
"So where did it go?" Dean clicked his phone off and shoved it back in his pocket with a huff.
Sam ran his hand over the bark on the tree gently. He'd nearly reached the bottom when he jerked his hand back. "There."
"There? What's there?" Dean barked, moving closer.
"It's...vibrating." Sam passed his hand over the spot again.
Dean batted Sam's arm out of the way and pressed his own hand to the spot. He made a noise of surprise when his hand disappeared into the tree up to his wrist. "Uh, Sammy?"
"Pull it out," Sam said.
Dean smirked and for a second Sam expected a witty quip. The smirk quickly turned to a grimace as Dean's arm muscles tightened with effort. "I can't."
Sam grabbed his brother around the elbow and tugged. Sure enough, Dean's hand was stuck fast in the trunk of the tree.
"Uh..." Sam stammered as he stepped back. "Press forward? Maybe it'll come out the other side."
"Because that sounds like a great idea," Dean muttered as he did as instructed.
He stopped just before the bark reached his armpit. Sam circled to the other side of the tree where his brother's hand should have been visible but...nothing.
"Huh," he said, making his way back around to the trapped hunter.
"What the hell does that mean? Did it work?" Dean asked, his voice deepening to a growl.
Sam shook his head. "No, can you feel anything on the inside?"
"No, it's like I'm reaching into empty space."
Sam ran a hand through his hair. "So what do we do?"
"I go in," Dean said firmly.
"What? No. Dean."
"I can't stand here like this. I can't get out. It's my only option." Dean shrugged the best he could.
"Just let me do some research. Make some calls. Ask Cas. Something..." Sam pleaded.
"And what? Bring me food. Spray me with the hose when I need a shower? Be reasonable, Sam."
"I am being reasonable. You're the one suggesting jumping into an unknown abyss," Sam barked.
Dean shifted his weight, obviously already uncomfortable from standing in one spot for too long. "Cas?" he called out. "We could use some angel mojo."
"Dean." Castiel's gravelly voice came from over Dean's shoulder. "Why are you stuck in the tree?"
"It seemed like fun at the time," Dean drawled out.
Castiel tilted his head. "Do you require assistance?"
"It'd be nice," Dean said, gritting his teeth.
Castiel placed one hand near Dean's trapped arm before pulling back with a thoughtful expression. "I cannot interfere."
"What?" the hunters exploded in unison.
"I cannot remove Dean from the vortex. It appears to be related to a quest of some kind. He is required to complete it." Castiel narrowed his eyes. "I haven't seen this in some time."
"Wait, you've seen this before?" Sam asked.
Castiel nodded. "It was not my charge, but yes. I remember a young girl..."
"Alice is real? You're shitting me." Dean exclaimed.
"I guess we're going in." Sam shrugged and pressed his hand next to Dean's, grimacing as it began to disappear into the wood.
"On three," Dean said with a nod.
"One." Sam pressed forward to his elbow.
"Two." Dean checked to ensure his gun was back in his pants.
"Three," the two said in unison as they jumped forward, disappearing from Castiel's sight.