The two girls were soon pulling into a gravel drive way, the car shaking and bouncing as the tires hit small pot holes. Once at the old crooked house they slammed the doors and let their presence be known. A face appeared in the top floor window, blonde hair and bright blue eyes were gazing down.
"They're here!" A shout rang through the house, muffled to the girls as they waited, somewhat impatiently, on the front stoop.
The door creaked open and a boy with dirty blonde short curly hair and a width that could threaten or amuse anyone stood in the doorway. His eyes were flecked of silvers and grays and gold and blue and mild greens, soft and inviting but reflecting scars.
"Hey." He said grinning, and looking tired in the light of the early morning.
"Hi there!" Al greeting happily, throwing her arms around the boy's stomach and nuzzling her nose into his side.
"Move fatty!" Liddy greeting with false harshness and a small smirk, her bright blue eyes sparkling with glints and specks of white and sliver and shades of sky.
The boy grinned and stepped aside, "Anything for you."
Al released him and pranced into the room, eyeing everyone before announcing, "I lost the game!"
Everyone reeled and cried out curses and threw her false looks of hatred and spite before laughing and shaking their heads, returning to their previous occupations. It was early Saturday and the sky was dark still. But in this place, full of broken souls Al found a peace with her friends, who she claimed, excluding one, as her siblings.
In the first floor there was Celeste, who had wide hips, wide eyes, and thin framed glasses, naturally brown and dyed red hair. Her eyes a tone of silver and blue. Her hands were twined with Al's closest brother's, with wild red curly hair that fell to his shoulders and had a tendency to mat to his head if he was too lazy to comb it, which was often. His eyes were green and gray and golden, diamonds forming shades and falls of color in his eyes, hidden behind glasses. Then there was Priscilla, with beautiful brown eyes, hips that every boy watched move when she walked, and highlighted brown hair that was cut around her face perfectly.
Al and Liddy moved through the first floor living room where these three were and Ralus followed them, the boy who'd greeted them at the door. In the kitchen there was Grace, that they all called Gracie because she was too kind and funny for such a "fragile" name as Grace. She had chestnut brown hair and perfect brown eyes. Beside Grace was a boy with a round face, dark blue eyes, and short blonde hair. Al smiled at seeing this boy and moved forward to hug him. She was level with his shoulder and rested her head on his chest listening to the light pump of his heart as he laced his arms around her.
"Hey, you stupid emo," Liddy bubbled, "Hi Gracie."
"Hi, Liddy!" Gracie replied rolling onto her toes and letting her arms float out from her sides.
"Hey Liddy," The blonde boy, named Xavier, replied smiling.
Alice nuzzled her head into his chest, "I lost the game you guys."
Liddy giggled as Gracie and Xavier cursed.
Al pulled her boyfriend out of the kitchen and to the staircase. Xavier followed without argument.
"How did you sleep last night?" He asked as they made their way up to the second floor.
Al frowned, "I had a weird dream. Nightmares like always, but there were these weird creatures."
She trailed off having an unsettling feeling that somewhere far away a few weird creatures were tearing into something new under a sun that was just rising.
Kat grinned at her companion, "So we took down how many?"
"Seven I believe." The man replied, his hair a dark velvety purple, his eyes were burning a bright orange and his head was topped with a short, crushed in, navy top hat with a silver edge.
"Excellent!" The girl grinned; her hair was striped horizontally bright blue and steely gray and her eyes were a light shimmering violet, her pupils were slanted slits.
The man in the turquoise waist coat and gray pinstriped suit jacket and slacks smiled back at the girl. The cuff links that he was fastening on the cuffs of his clean white button down shirt were bright vivid lavender. He removed his crumpled hat carefully and ran his forefinger and thumb, pinched together, along the shining sliver edge of his hat before replacing it on his head, then removing a clean white handkerchief and wiping his bloody fingertips on the cloth.
The girl's ears flicked down atop her head, pointed and covered in purple fur, the blue streaks of her hair being dyed in. She grinned her sharp teeth at the man in a mischievous manner, then threw her arms straight up and spun in a circle and letting her loose tattered skirts fly around her knees. The dress she wore was merely strips of tattered clothe that she'd sewn to the original dress she'd had when she'd arrived there. The skirt was orange, grey, purple, blue, red, and yellow and the fabric didn't repeat. The top of the dress that covered her breast to her stomach was white, and anything but clean. Her pale shoulders were covered by a thin strip of violently green strip of silk she had sewn into a cardigan.
The man was rumpled head to toe, every inch of his clothing was crumpled, but somehow he still looked clean cut, not a spot of dirt on him. His shoes were bright and shiny black and even though the pair tread through the grasses and dirt in the middle of the wilderness there wasn't a spot on his shoes. He smiled at the child that skipped and spun through the woods.
"Kat, tell me again, why must we kill them?" He asked suddenly.
"Well, Hatta, we kill them so they don't kill us. They weren't too happy when we killed their mother were they?" She laughed.
The Hatter smiled wider his eyes searching the jubilant girl's face, "Kat, can you remember the story I told you of how the Jabberwocky was ended?"
"`Twas brillig and the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
and the mome raths outgrabe." Kat sang out, giving a false bravado voice.
The Hatter laughed, ""Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
the frumious Bandersnatch!""
"He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought," Kat thrust an invisible sword into the air and ran a ways,
"So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought." She then feigned fatigue and placed a hand to her forehead.
Hatter made to recite the next stanza but Kat leapt in, "And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!"
The Hatter laughed aloud and continued, "One, two! One, two! And through and through
the vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back."
The young girl jumped into the air as if she'd just beaten some foe and then continued in an elderly man's voice, ""And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy."
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
and the mome raths outgrabe." The two finished together, Kat laughing and The Hatter shaking his head at his ward.
Kat laughed and dancing in circles, her hands out at her sides and her skirts flying up and out to make her look like a dancing fairy. The Hatter shook his head again and laughed allowed.
"Come here, kitten," The Hatter said softly, crouching and placing the fingertips of his right hand against the forest floor.
Kat approached him and collapsed onto his back, lacing her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder. The Hatter hooked his arms under her knees and stood, letting her sleep as he trekked back home.