Alice had been wandering around the dense forest, searching for the trail which would lead her to the Caterpillar, when she heard something tromping around a little ahead of her. She carefully crept toward the unknown being when she heard it start murmuring to itself. Thump "stupid…idiots..." Thump. Thump. Thump. "I just want to go back!" Thump. Thump. SPLASH! "I hate them! Argh! I hate this place! I want to go back…I just want to go back…"

The girl stepped out of the forest into a small clearing. A couple yards away from where Alice stood there was a small pond in which a young boy was standing. "Excuse me-" her words didn't stop his ramblings.

"Take me back; I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go! But they won't let me go! I hate them! Tell them I have to go back. Make them take me back!" He turned his pleading gaze to Alice.

"What on earth are you talking about? Go back where? Who won't let you go back? How did you even get here?"

His eyes flashed, the insanity, the madness in those identical amber orbs was frightening. The fifteen year old gasped and stepped back.

"Don't waste your time talking to him. It's no use. All he'll do is babble."

Alice turned to see a thin boy emerging through the dense wall of trees, hauling a large sack filled with sticks and hay behind him. He looked to be around the age of 18, and stood tall at six feet. Small bits of twigs and leaves were caught in his soft blonde hair, and a small scratch ran along his smooth, pale skin, stopping just before ocean blue eyes. He was apparently unhappy; thin lips were slightly pursed, eyes narrowed. Dropping his load, he strolled over to where Alice stood before splashing into the crisp, cold water to retrieve the eight-year-old.

"Stop it! Let go! I like it here! Let go! I'm gonna tell on you!" The boy's protests continued as the blonde dragged the filthy child onto the neatly trimmed grass. "I wanna go back. I hurt, let me go back!" he squealed, pounding his small fists on the ground.

"What is he-"

"Why did you leave the camp?" the 18 year old demanded.

"I hate you, let me go back! I want to go-"

"Quiet," the elder boy spat, holding such abhorrence that the child fell to a sharp silence. "Now why did you leave the camp?"

The boy finally seemed to register that he was in trouble, and began shaking violently. Dark eyes darted back and forth between the two teens before resting on Alice's butcher knife. "I'm sorry! I just want to go back! Please let me go back! I just want to go home. No more adventures. I've had enough…"

"You disobeyed the rules. Why! This was your last chance and you blew it!" he exclaimed, voice steadily rising. "I've had it with you. You don't want to cooperate? Fine then! I have no use for you, you can go now."

A sparkle of hope flashed in the boy's eyes. "Can I go right now?"

"Right now. Close your eyes and don't move. Understand?"

The boy quickly obeyed orders. He understood. Or so he thought.

Alice stood motionlessly, observing the two with interest. Tucking a long strand of hair behind her ear, she continued to watch the blonde retrieved a long piece of hard rope and a leather bag from his sack. With a frustrated sigh, he began untying several thick knots in the rough rope as he sat back down beside the boy, who was patiently waiting. Glancing at Alice, he pointed at her knife, mouthing a 'can I borrow that?'

She looked suspiciously at him, uncertain about what he was up to. However, figuring that no harm would come to her if Wonderland needed her and the Cheshire was watching out for her, she handed over her only weapon.

Giving a short nod of thanks, he placed the blade beside him before picking up the leather bag. "Breath out," he commanded.

While in the middle of exhaling, the 18-year-old suddenly shoved the leather bag over the young child's head, and tied the rope around in a strangling knot.

"My god, what are you doing!" Alice suddenly shrieked, springing to the bank of the pond as she tried to pry the frantic child free from the blonde's grip. "You're killing him! Stop it!"

It was to no avail however; the 18-year-old was too strong.

"Stop it, your only making it worse," he barked, giving Alice a hard kick in the shins.

"/I'm/ making it worse? I'm not the one murdering a little-" her sentence was cut short. "You monster!"

"I'd hold my tongue if I were you," the blonde grunted, shoving the lifeless body of the 8 year old onto the girl's lap.

Staring down in horror at the small corpse, she realized there was something different about this child. She didn't feel that comforting satisfaction that she had previously felt when she had eliminated Wilbur… Cold, delicate fingers ran along the rugged, weathered piece of leather that was wrapped around the child's head. He was only a child…Her fingers froze as they bumped into the sharp blade of butcher's knife, which had pierced through the back of the boy's neck. "How could you have done such a horrid thing…"

"Let's not be quick to judge. You've just come here and have much to learn about this place," the teen reminded as he drew Alice's blade out for her. Fresh blood slipped down the smooth metal, and streamed past the wooden handle, dripping onto the 15-year-old's tattered dress. With a sickening feeling in her stomach, Alice felt the head detach itself from its body and roll onto her lap. Watching as the brown bag turn a shade darker, she couldn't help but feel thankful that the bag was concealing the revolting scene.

"Just so you know, my name's Damian. That there was Shane," he informed her as he scooted next to the water to wash the blood-drenched weapon. "He had been a friend of mine…well, until he had become one of the Lost."

Emerald eyes slowly set themselves on Damian, hatred stored within them. As curious as she was to ask, she would not speak to him. "What are the lost?" Her mind asked, speaking against her will.

"The Lost are the kids who tried to save Wonderland but failed in completing the task. They are to be punished and are compelled to live her until the day Wonderland perishes. They have no other option but to pledge their eternal servitude to Wonderland. Some can't stand it and go mad. Some try to escape. Others have problem conforming to the rules, such as with Shane. None are tolerated however, and so many of them are slaughtered, to fulfill some of Wonderland's other necessities." Cerulean eyes met Alice's own. "When you refused to come, Wonderland tried to find other children who could possibly save it."

"And this is how you repay them? If they can't do it, you kill them? Is that really fair? Honestly, what good are they to Wonderland dead? Why do you even have to punish them for trying?" She cried out, bombarding him with the questions that were running around in her mind.

"They were warned. Yet they accepted the challenge, and now must face the consequences. And killing some of them off does become necessary. Too many of them are here and they tend to get in the way of the new child who is trying to bring peace to Wonderland. They make things ridiculously difficult. Anyways, when dead, they also provide this starving world with food. So you see; we have reasons for our actions."

"But these are children! You can't just kill them! They're not like cattle or-"

"What makes children so special? Why is it ok for cattle to be slain for children, but not the other way around? Is it because they are considered smarter? More useful? Perhaps it's because they have more power?"

"You spend a lot of time talking to that cat, don't you?" Alice asked, cutting him off. Glaring angrily at the 18-year-old, she snatched her blade back before rolling the lifeless mound of flesh off her lap. The blood had evidently seeped through the bag, for the blue dress took on a brownish hue. "First off, cattle don't eat people-"

"But the creatures of Wonderland do. They're deprived of food, and fresh flesh of the youth becomes quite appealing."

"-And children…they are indeed smarter. They…they can tell the difference between what's right and wrong-"

"Yet they tend choose the wrong over right."

"-But they do experience guilt when they do…they repent, and seek forgiveness…they're innocent beings-"

"Who have the potential to become evil, destructive beings. It's only a matter of time before that happens. So wouldn't it be wise to prevent that from happening and get rid of them in the first place?"

"No! No, no. Not all become evil, some remain good-"

"Like you?"

"This isn't about me!"

"Is that really so?"

"You were a child too, how can you say such things!"

"I've come to learn of the truth and justice. And because of this, Wonderland has opened opportunities to me that no other child may ever be granted.

"Yeah? Like what, I'd like to know."

"I was one of those who failed saving Wonderland, but I evaded punishment. I was granted another job instead. I am now in charge of watching the Lost, and am to see to it that justice is served."

"In my word, this- this justice is nonsense!"

"To you perhaps,"

"If this is my Wonderland, why on earth are other children trying to save it? How can they even get here?"

Damian let out a soft sigh, apparently tired of all the questions. "I think you've learned enough for now. Let's save the rest for some other time," He said, slowly rising to his feet. "You've been here for a while now, I suggest you take a break and return to reality. The people there are getting worried. Come on, I'll show you the way out," he offered, beckoning towards the thick wall of trees.

With everything she had been through so far, Alice had almost completely forgotten about her life back at the asylum. Realizing just how long it had been since she had last eaten or rested, she suddenly felt her head droop as a tired wave of exhaustion washed over her. "I suppose your right," she resentfully agreed. With a great heave, she lifted her delicate doll-like self to her feet, and with slow, aching steps followed after her blue-eyed companion.

Just before exiting into the forest, however, Alice heard a soft snap of a twig behind her. Glancing back, she saw the faint image of the Cheshire cat crouching down to devour its freshly killed prey. Shuddering, she disappeared into the forest.