The Hatter's Winter

by The Hatter Who's Mad

This follows a boy, known simply as The Hatter, in 1890's London. He uncovers a plot to gain power, and gains the powers for himself. Follow his decent into madness, his first blood, and his untimely, but inevitable, death. Reviews are welcome and encouraged, I would like to know how I could get better at writing! :)

2. The Hatter's First Blood

December 11th, 1897.

The Hatter had been sitting alone, in his small shack, in front of the fire, for three days. No one knew he was here, and that was how he liked it. He chuckled lightly, then a bit louder, then he cackled at the thought that no one would ever find him. He didn't understand what the liquid was, but he knew what it had done. It'd given him powers, beyond his wildest dreams. He fiddled with his cards, suspending them in mid-air, then allowing them to fall to the floor, then making them float up in front of him again. Suddenly, a loud slamming on his door awoke him from his trance, as he looked over his shoulder. He slowly stood up, cautiously walking over to the door, and gently pulling on the handle. Outside the door, stood the fat man, and another fat man. The stout man had a twin, and they were both standing outside the small shack of The Hatter. One of them stepped forward, barely squeezing through the door, a vicious grin on his face,

"You've upset our… proprietor" he said, choosing his words slowly and carefully. The other man, equally as fat, wedged himself through the door, blocking it off,

"That's not a good idea, Hatter" he said, spitting the last word. Behind his back, the Hatter was waving his hand, trying to pick up the cards, but to no avail. He thought quickly, and asked,

"Who would that be, then? And who are you?"

"I'm Tweedle-Dee" the first fat man said,

"And I'm Tweedle-Dum" The second added,

"And who we work for is none of your concern" They both said, synchronised. As the Hatter struggled to think of a way out, he studied the two twins carefully. They wore plain, clean white shirts, with a red tie on Dee, and a bowtie on Dum. They were both fitted with a deep, scarlet suit jacket, and black trousers, with smart black shoes, polished well. On their left hand, on their middle finger, each of them had a single, heart-shaped ring. They both had a short mop of greasy black hair and brown eyes. "All you need to know, is that she wants you dead" Dee said, lunging forward suddenly, and reaching out to grab The Hatter. The Hatter fell back, over the chair, and out of the reach of the Twins. He grabbed his cards, placed them in one hand and threw the first in the pack. It struck Dum in the chest, as blood started trickling out of the hole made by the card. Dum fell to the floor, and Dee gasped, and looked towards The Hatter,

"I'll get you one day, Hatter!" he roared, tears in his eyes, "I'll make you wish you were never born!"

Dee ran out of the house, past his dead brother, lying on the floor, a Queen of Hearts, embedded in his chest.

The Hatter sat, wide-eyed at what he'd just done. He'd murdered a man, in cold-blood, with a playing card! After recuperating, he picked up the fat man, struggling against his weight, and hid him in a side alley far away from his house. However, instead of leaving the bloodied card, he picked it out of Dum's chest. These two weren't the last people he'd be seeing, and he needed to be ready to kill, and to remind him of this, he placed his first card on his hat, still covered in blood.