Chapter Two
The pair was drenched, cold and sore –the trifecta of misery.
After pulling themselves onto the concrete dock, Alice and Randy did their best to dry. In truth, they could do little more than wring out their clothes and hair.
"Let me see that." Randy said as she reached for Alice's arm.
Alice handed it over without question. Randy's eye fell immediately to the green mark. It'd be pretty if it wasn't so obviously a way to mark prey.
"What do you think it is?" Alice asked as they both examined it.
"Probably a brand." She replied. "Some way to mark Oysters."
"What the hell are oysters?" Alice snatched her arm back and stared almost angrily at her friend.
"What the guy in white called us." She said a bit sarcastically.
It seemed to calm Alice down a little. She was so on edge, she viewed everything as some kind of attack, even when there wasn't one. Mumbling her apology, Alice finally noticed something she hadn't before.
"Where's yours?"
Randy looked down at her arms and noticed they were without paisley. "Hm," she mumbled. "I guess I was too far under the awning." She shrugged and met Alice's gaze. "Come on. We should keep moving."
Nodding, Alice joined Randy's side and together they left the water's edge. They didn't make it far, however. Barely turning the corner, the two were suddenly presented with a man in fisherman's gear and a knife. He looked shifty, dirty and smelled. Worse yet, he was armed.
"Drop it," Randy said with a growl.
But he didn't hear her. In fact, the only thing that got his attention at all was the mark on Alice's arm.
"You're an Oyster." He said in a shaky voice. He quickly stowed the knife. "I don't need no trouble." He mumbled. "I make an honest livin'."
Alice and Randy eyed one another while the ratty stranger gathered up a trap –still muttering to himself- and began to scuttle away. It was his retreat that seemed to snap Alice out of her thoughts.
"Wait!" she called as she jogged after him. Thankfully, Alice only went a few short yards before the guy turned to face her once more, saving Randy from a trek she wasn't entirely prepared for. At least not yet. She just didn't have the strength to chase Alice again so soon.
While Alice propositioned the guy for help in finding Jack, Randy's eyes traveled outward. She couldn't help but stare at the city. It looked so… sad. There was no other way to say it, really. The entire city looked depressed, like the life had been drained from it.
Giant buildings that put any skyscrapers she'd seen in Other World to shame were left to rot. Concrete was being consumed as nature did its best to reclaim the city. And everything was empty. Aside from the guys in suits and the one wearing the fisherman's gear, Randy hadn't seen a single soul. In a city so large, shouldn't there be people?
A pit grew in her stomach the longer she stared at the rotting world around her. It was painful for her, to see something that was once clearly beautiful, die.
"Randy," Alice's voice was soft when she brought Randy out of her thoughts. The blonde turned to her. "Come on," she said. "This guy's going to take us somewhere to find Jack."
"Yeah," she nodded lightly and whether she trusted the man encased in rubber or not, Randy followed. There was no way she was about to leave Alice alone in this topsy-turvy world of crazy.
The guy in rubber scuttled about in front of them. He was hunched and old, rickety in his steps and obviously nervous. He moved like a man who thought the world was out to get him and even though the pair doubted it was true, that didn't mean it wasn't.
They followed the fisherman (or rat catcher?) until coming to an opening. A pathway stretched across the gaping hole between buildings and it sent fear straight through Alice. She groaned, closed her eyes and clung to a phone booth.
"Wait here," Ratty muttered as he wrapped a handkerchief around Alice's mark, "Count to ten, follow."
Alice mumbled something about not understanding, but her head swam. She thought she was going to be sick. Ratty once again scuttled off and disappeared into the building up ahead, but Alice couldn't muster the ability to speak. Every time she opened her eyes, she was confronted with the fact that she was stories above the ground.
"Hey," Randy said softly. Alice pried open her eyes and met Randy's concerned gaze. "I got you. You're fine."
"I… hate… heights." She grumbled.
"I know," Randy's smirked lightly. "But I'm here, okay?"
Alice nodded. Randy took her friend's hand –struggled to keep from wincing with the strength of Alice's grasp- and together they walked across the land-bridge. Randy took charge since it was clear Alice was a little dazed and opened the door to the tea shop.
The interior of the building was the same as the outside –exposed, crumbling structure and greenery. But inside was filled with people. A dozen or more stood around, barking at each other and waving papers in the air. Honestly, Randy thought they were in a massive ghost town until now. Until this moment, she assumed everyone was dead or gone. Evidently, a few natives remained.
The air was full of shouting voices. Men were writing on chalkboards, other relaying information of some kind. Neither young woman knew exactly what was happening, but to them it looked like a betting station from the thirties. The clothing was era appropriate, too.
A sudden bang drew their attention to a squat little man with a balding head hidden behind a podium a fair bit bigger than himself. He jolted awake and immediately launched into a schpeel about feeling guilty.
"What is this place?" Randy mumbled under her breath.
"I don't know," Alice admitted. "It's…"
"Clear conscious!" the squat man declared. "The newest and best from the Hart Casino!"
Alice and Randy's eyes went wide as the little man held up a bottle of clear liquid.
"Is…" Randy stammered briefly, "Is he trying to sell a concept?"
"I think so."
Their confusion deepened the moment the little man passed out again and the room erupted. Everyone began betting all at once, bidding on the bottle of what they assumed was water. Something was seriously wrong with this world…
As they watched, Ratty re-emerged and grasped Alice, dragging her away. But their hands were still clasped together and whether he wanted it or not, Randy came along, too.
Through winding halls and beyond more dying brush, Ratty brought the two into another room. Randy's brows climbed. While the trio stood on dirt and grim, a patch of pristine green grass was spread across the floor in the distance. Atop it was modern furniture made of glass, metal and white leather. In the corner was a rack of clothing –hats, boots and coats- a CD player, couches and chairs. It was like the inside of someone's apartment and whether she wanted to or not, Randy kind of liked it.
"Would you like a cup o' tea?"
The voice drew their eyes to the back of a large, white chair. Just visible above the white was the top of a hat. Instinctively, Randy pulled Alice just a bit closer. Even though she knew Alice was more than capable of taking care of herself, Randy was still a bit protective.
"No, thank you." Alice answered despite herself. Being cold, nervous and uncomfortable, her polite attitude came out regardless. "Who are you?"
The white chair spun revealing the young man sitting within it. He stared up at them with a sweet, borderline innocent stare.
"A friend," he replied with an English lilt, "I hope." His chocolate eyes drifted to Randy. "And you?"
She didn't answer at first, but eventually a subdued, "No," left her lips.
He gave her a soft nod and turned his gaze back to Alice, "I run the Tea Shop."
Randy found herself examine the stranger while Ratty removed Alice's handkerchief. He was narrow in build with a round, relatively innocent face. Stubble touched his jaw and his eyes were deep brown. Coffee-colored hair jutted out from his head in sporadic, chaotic directions while an ochre-colored top hat rested gently on top.
When he saw Alice's mark, he rose and approached a desk, reaching for something unseen. He looked like he belonged in the seventies with his yellowed-tan leather jacket, brown trousers and busily designed shirt, and yet, it somehow suited the young man well.
"How did you break out of Scarab?" he asked.
"That beetle thing?"
"Eh," he spoke the sound as though it was meant to be some kind of agreement.
"I used my hairpin and…"
"Fell," he said as he leaned against a desk.
"As you can see, we're drenched." Alice replied.
His eyes danced between the two, from the brunette in the blue dress, to the blonde in the jeans and white shirt. A small smile touched his lips whether he bothered trying to hide it or not.
"What about you?" he motioned to Randy. "Same cage?"
"Yes," she mumbled. Randy's voice hadn't hit full volume yet. She was still trying to assess the situation.
"Look," Alice snapped impatiently. The stranger tore his eye from Randy and looked to Alice once again. "Where… what is this place?"
"Oh," he chimed, "Wonderland."
Alice felt a smirk form as she scoffed disbelievingly. "That's a story in a kid's book."
The stranger's face suddenly fell and seriousness took over. It was a little unsettling.
"Does this look like a kid's story to you?" his voice was a bit terse.
Alice fidgeted, "No," she admitted.
"It's changed a lot since then." he pushed himself away from the desk and approached the pair with a magnifying glass in hand, "And you Oysters don't know how to find us." He finally reached them and took her arm, examining it with the glass. "So ya tell yourselves we don't exist, and we'd like to keep it that way."
"Why am I an Oyster?" she snapped as she snatched her arm away. "Because of this?"
"That's not gonna come off," he said before a nervous smile took his lips. "Sorry." He glanced to Randy. "Where's yours then, hm?"
"I…" her words seemed stuck, lodged temporarily in her throat. Randy was never tongue-tied and yet, she couldn't make herself speak. The stranger arched a curious brow the longer she went without speaking and another small smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as a result. It seemed as though he felt he'd struck her dumb with his charms. Maybe he had –she didn't know- but Alice's elbow to her side brought Randy back quickly. "It didn't get me," she finally said. "I guess I was too far under the awning."
"Eh," he nodded. "Well you're lucky. Only people from your world turn green when burnt by the light. It's the Suits way of branding their catch." He looked at Alice, "And they call you Oysters because of the little pearls you all keep hidden inside you."
"She's Alice," Ratty said excitedly, seemingly from nowhere. "Tell him who you are."
"Really?" the stranger perked. "The Alice, hm?"
"Who?" she asked, genuinely confused.
"Ratty here," the stranger threaded his arm around the man in rubber, "Thinks your Alice, of Legend. You see, the last time a girl called Alice came here from your world, she brought down the whole house of cards. Of course, that was a hundred and fifty years ago," he shot Ratty an annoyed stare, "It can't be the same girl. Oysters don't even live that long."
"I still want the same price."
"Hey!" Alice snapped. "I am not for s-"
The stranger held up a finger and silenced her immediately. Randy glowered at him while Alice shifted on her feet.
Without a word to the pair, though he gave them each a sarcastic smile in passing, the stranger headed towards the back wall of his office. He began to sift through glass bottles of liquid, all with varying shades of brilliant color before finally deciding on one with bright pink water. It had to be water, right? There was no way the bottle held actual emotions.
"Here it is!" he declared as he approached them once again. "Pink nectar. A bottle filled with genuine human excitement. Fifty Oysters were drained of every drop of hullabaloo so that you, Ratty, could feel what it's like to win, just once."
His sales pitch was enticing, but unsettling to the two young women.
"Warning," he chastised when Ratty reached for the bottle, "Don't take it on an empty stomach and only one drop at a time otherwise the experience will burst your shriveled up lil' heart. Got it?" Ratty nodded emphatically, "Good. Go."
Snatching away the bottle, Ratty scampered off. Alice and Randy watched him waddle away and disappear before shifting their gaze to the stranger. Scowling, he sniffed his hand.
"He really smells." He grumbled.
As he headed back to his seat, Randy found her voice again.
"Oysters were drained?" she didn't hide the accusatory tone. "What do you mean drained?"
He said nothing for a moment and simply looked from one woman to the other. Randy couldn't tell if he was trying to come up with an answer or not, but after a moment, it was clear he had no intentions of doing so.
"Ratty tells me the two o' you are lookin' for someone?" he said as he returned to his seat.
"His name's Jack Chase." Alice immediately leapt into the conversation. "A man with a white rabbit on his lapel took him."
The stranger instantly froze. He shifted uncomfortably from the declaration and the action didn't go unnoticed.
"The uh… The White Rabbit is an organization that bounces back and forth through the Looking Glass and vanishes people from your world and brings them here to use in the casino."
"Use?"
He choked on his tea. "Did I say use?" his voice was a bit higher than normal. "Slip o' the tongue. They keep 'em alive and… moderately happy…"
"How do I get to the casino?" Alice asked.
"That's the thing!" he chimed almost happily before his voice dropped. "You don't. Too dangerous."
He continued on with his banter, all the while Randy kept her eyes narrowed cautiously. She didn't know if Alice believed the stranger or not, but something about him bothered Randy and she couldn't figure out what. She felt like she was supposed to know, but she didn't, so instead she was left with a nagging feeling.
"Ta-dah!" his loud declaration brought Randy back into the moment. The stranger was standing at his wardrobe and in the process of retrieving a pair of coats. "This will protect you from the glow," he pointed at Randy, "and hide yours. Not to mention, it'll keep the two o' ya from catchin' cold."
"Why are you helping us?" Randy asked.
"Do I need a reason to help a pair of pre'y girls in very wet clothing?"
Randy and Alice shot one another a sideways, skeptical glance and he saw it. Immediately, he broke into a tirade about being offended. It rang disingenuous to Randy's ear. When he was done spouting whatever it was he'd been saying, Randy turned her back to him and focused solely on Alice.
"What do you think?" she asked in French.
"I don't know," Alice replied in the same language.
In high school, it was the language the two young women chose to learn because of its romantic undertones and they liked it so much, they kept with it. They weren't completely fluent, but knew more than enough to carry a conversation amongst themselves and if this place really was Wonderland, they highly doubted the guy claiming to be the Mad Hatter knew it.
When he heard the shift, Hatter perked. He tilted his head marginally to the side and narrowed his eyes on the pair. He was ignorant to their words, but he had to admit, he liked the way it sounded.
"Do you trust him?" Alice asked her oldest friend.
Randy glanced over her shoulder at the young man still watching them. Her eyes danced over him briefly.
"I don't know." She replied before meeting Alice's gaze. "Are you determined to find Jack?" Alice scowled slightly, dropped her weight to one leg and crossed her arms over her chest –silently telling Randy that there was no way she was going to leave Jack in this world. "Fine," she sighed. "Then let's get this over with."
As they pulled on their respective coats, Hatter grinned to himself.
"Wait," Alice said when Randy took a step onto the grass. "Uh, Hatter?"
"Yeah?" he tried to keep his annoyance from his voice.
"Can she have a pair of those shoes?"
Collectively, everyone's eyes fell to Randy's bare feet. For some reason, she'd all but forgotten she lost her shoes in the lake. Evidently, her feet were half-numb the whole time from the frigid water.
Hatter came forward and stood within arm's reach of her, staring at her feet before meeting her eye. Randy was a little surprised by his closeness and leaned back as he stared almost judgingly at her.
"Where're your shoes?"
"They fell off in the lake." She replied.
With an exaggerated sigh, Hatter returned to his wardrobe and retrieved one of the many pairs of boots stashed there. He dropped them at her feet and Randy grumbled as a result. They were huge, but she didn't have much choice. She needed something.
Sliding her feet into the boots, the trio soon made their way to the door Hatter had previously opened. He went down the fire-escape ladder first, Randy second and Alice third. The poor girl clung desperately to the ladder, partially fearing she may fall if she didn't.
When he reached the walkway below, Hatter turned and waited. As Randy approached the bottom, he took hold of her waist and helped her the rest of the way. She mumbled her thanks as he repeated the action with Alice. When the pair were at his side again, Hatter set off, but Alice all but refused. They were too high this time, on too narrow a ledge. She couldn't even see the bottom of the buildings anymore. Instead, they disappeared into shadow -that's how high they were.
"What's wrong?" he asked plainly when he noticed they hadn't joined him.
"She's afraid of heights." Randy replied simply. "Alice," her friend pried her eyes open. "Come on," she offered her hand. "You're fine, okay? I've got you."
Alice nodded repeatedly and shaking slightly, reached for Randy's hand. Her best friend smiled warmly and nodded reassuringly, hopefully taking some of Alice's fear away. After a moment or two, Alice began to move.
Hatter watched the pair curiously as he lead the way. It was clear they were close and Alice was afraid, but he saw something else. It was almost as though Randy took on the role of mother, like she was some kind of guardian over little Alice versus a friend. He thought it was odd.
"Hatter?" Randy said. He glanced briefly over his shoulder, silently telling her he heard her, but he didn't speak. "Where are all the people?" his walk began to slow. "These buildings are mile-high, and we've seen twenty people since we got here. So, where are they?"
Hatter's pace began to slow further until he finally stopped whether he wanted to or not. The weight of her question pulled at him and reluctantly, he answered.
"Gone, mostly." He replied. "Wonderland used to be gorgeous, but… after the Queen…" his words hesitated. Randy watched the side of his face and she saw it. She saw the way he dipped into his thoughts, how he disappeared into the memory before suddenly jolting out of it and forcing a fake smile. "But, it's not your worry. Let's just focus on gettin' the two o' you your little friend and back to your world, huh?"
She nodded weakly. Something happened in Wonderland, something horrible and she could tell. But for some reason, she couldn't help herself from speaking again.
"Wasn't there anyone to help you guys?" her voice was softer than before, sadder, because she somehow knew how painful the subject was. "Soldiers, or something?"
Without warning, Hatter spun on his heel and forced Randy to stop quickly. His face was blank and his eyes sad, but cold.
"Gone," he replied shortly. "All gone. Dead, actually. Hart's wiped 'em all out, killed everyone that wouldn't join 'er –the knights, the healers and mystics…" his stance began to waver and the anger vanished from his eyes, leaving behind a supreme sadness, "Most of Wonderland." His jaw clenched and relaxed repeatedly before he cleared his throat. "Come on."
Randy's brows pulled together. Everyone was gone… how could everyone be gone? How could they all be dead?
Deep, resounding loneliness took her chest and refused to let go. It felt like someone had taken hold of her heart and was squeezing it.
She was all alone now…
