Seventh Installment

Disclaimer: Why do I even put this here anymore????

Minor Swearing


"White Rabbit? Like, the same one from the book?" I ask pulling Hatter back by his sleeve.

"It's owned by White Rabbit and the guy is like a billion years old, so it could be the same guy." shrugged Hatter.

I saw a group of men in business suits come out of the building. There were three of them, two were the same height and looked like the sleazy assholes who pick up prostitutes on the streets. The other man was familiar, he was quiet tall and had his hands in his pockets. It was Hare! "Hey, Hatter, isn't that Hare?" I ask pointing at the group who had now come to a stop with their back facing us. Hatter looked up at them and then pulled me into a clump of trees.

"What is he doing here?" I whisper to Hatter.

"I don't know, but the men are the prince's advisers. Keep quiet, their coming."

I could have kept quiet just fine if there weren't something stabbing me in the leg. I tried shifting to see if I could get it out of my leg, but it was no use, Hatter just held his arm tight around my back. The men had stopped again, this time they were just on the other side of our clump of trees.

"So you're sure they would come this way?" said one of them men, for name sake let's call him One and the other Two.

"Positive." said Hare in a tone so low only a dog could hear it. I now understood why he had to yell in regular conversation.

"Then we will wait in the inn. Thank you for you're cooperation Sir DeLuca." said Two, how he could have heard him I would never know.

We heard the two men walk back to the inn. I was about to get up when Hatter tightened his grasp. "Wait." The screen door of the inn slammed shut and Hatter stood up. "They aren't stupid like Cards, Alice. The knew someone was listening, so they waited before going into the building."

"Now what do we do? The inn is where the mirror is, isn't it?" I ask, still crouched in the trees.

"I have some business with Harold." Hatter said following the road while still in the trees.

"You can't just leave me here!"

"Come with then, but if you don't want to see a shredded bloody body, then stay here." said Hatter taking the shotgun off his back and cocking it.

"Why are you so mad about this?" I ask catching up to him and holding the pistol in my pocket.

"This isn't the first time he's betrayed me." scowled Hatter as he looked out of the trees and at the road. I could see Hare ahead, near the opening of the tree path.

"What happened before?"

"Not important, don't ask."

"Hatter, come on, what happened before?" I ask stepping in front of him.

"I said don't ask!" Hatter yelled pushing me out of the way. I was prepared for the push and so I landed against a tree.

"Asshole." I murmur to myself as I tail him at a distance.


We followed Hare off of the road and into a whole other forest. It had been nearly half an hour, or so I guessed, and Hatter still hadn't made a move on Hare. "This is pointless." I say sitting again a tree.

"I'm waiting for the right moment." said Hatter leaning against a tree a few feet ahead of mine.

"I'm going to die of old age before that happens."

I looked up where Hare had stopped to rest, quiet aways in front of us. Did he know we were following him? Suddenly he dropped to the ground, his knees buckling under him as if he'd been kicked from behind. Hatter slipped behind his tree and I did the same. Both of us peeked out and saw blood oozing from Hare's head, it covered his face and flowed out on to the ground. A clean shot.

"Sniper Rifle" I mouthed to Hatter and he nodded in return.

We both searched the trees above us for the shooter. I saw nothing, but Hatter had spotted something to his left. I crept around my tree so that I could see better. I didn't see anything at all, just trees and leaves.

"Snake! Are you there?!" Hatter yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes still deadlocked on the non-existent object.

A voice in the distance called, "I read you Otter! This is Snake!"

A man came running from the trees in the distance. He arrived between our trees in a few moments. He was taller than Hatter by about and inch or two, but I paid no real thought to that. What caught me, was the fact that this man was the spitting image of Hatter himself. He wore skinny jeans with old and tattered Converse high tops that were partially untied at the tops and the loose laces were wrapped around his ankles. He had on a gray t-shirt with a brown light jacket. His hair was considerably longer, and was set in a low pony tail that went down his back and stopped at his tail bone. He wore a hat just like Hatter's old one.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask after undressing him with my eyes.

"Matthew James Hatter." he said holding his hand out to me.

I ignored his hand and turned to Hatter. "Who?"

"He's my twin brother." said Hatter quietly.

"Matt Hatter. Seems like you two should have switched names. He's called the Mad Hatter, and your name is Matt Hatter. Just seems like it Mad Hatter should be your name." I said to Matthew, I hoped it was okay to call him Matt.

"He's the one who's bat-shit crazy. I agree, he should be called the Mad Hatter." said Hatter laughing quietly to himself.

Matt rolled his eyes and turned towards his brother. "I have a few questions for you. First, why are you chasing Harold DeLuca? Second, why are you traveling with this girl, and finally, why are there Jokers after you?"

"Well...This is Alice."

I wave quickly and then look back to Hatter.

"Harold has double crossed me for the second time, and it was about time he died." said Hatter glaring at his brother. "I'd like to know why you just sniped him."

"You still have one more question to answer Theophilus. Why are there Jokers after you?"

"They're trying to kill me, and kidnap her." said Hatter jabbing his thumb in my general direction.

"I killed Harold because he stole something very important to me and I think he's pawned it off." said Matt looking around the area quickly, as if he was expecting a person to jump out of the thin air.

"You killed him before getting the location of your item?" I ask scratching my head.

"He told me he pawned it off, I'd spoke with him about it before."

Hatter looked at the ground. "What was it Matt?" he asked quietly.

"The Queen of Hearts' door to Wonderland."

"The handle! Hatter the handle!" I yell and lunge for his pocket to dig it out. I grab it and hand it to Matt who looks it over, a devilish grin crept across his face.

"Good work little brother." he said, that grin plastered to his face.

I knew that grin, it was the one that was on the face of the Cheshire Cat in the book. I took a few steps back from Matt and pushed myself against a tree. "H-Hatter."

"That's not my brother Alice. Run!" yelled Hatter.

I looked for only a split second at the sheer terror on Hatter's face before I hit the ground running.


END CHAPTER

Review!!!!!!