ALICE AFTER WONDERLAND: CHASING THE DRAGON
*This story follows the events of Burton's film many years later.
CHAPTER 10
Alice woke to the large, pink stinking, wet, slobbering tongue of the Bandersnatch. She coughed and gagged as she pushed the Bandersnatch away. Slowly Alice got to her feet; her legs were surprisingly weak and she soon found the ground coming up to meet her as she fell back down with a bump. Alice lay for a few moments on the ground, the craving was worse than ever and her situation felt even direr; Alice watched the Bandersnatch as she managed to sit up, she did her best to clean her face with her hand to clear away the Bandersnatche's saliva; accidentally Alice brushed some of the creature's saliva into her mouth, she wretched and spit to clear her mouth and then realised a familiar scent and taste. Alice slowly licked her lips and concentrated. It couldn't be.
Alice crawled over to the Bandersnatch which was gorging itself on the innards of the fallen burrowing creature. Alice must have been out quite some time for the Bandersnatch to have eaten as much of the corpse as it had, however the sun was still in the sky, if it was the same day Alice hadn't lost too much time. Slowly Alice submerged her fingertips in the bodily fluids of the burrowing creature's corpse. Alice thought to herself that she really needed a name for this thing but for now it wasn't important. Alice pulled her hand out from the Corpse of the creature and tentatively licked the strange purple fluid from her fingertips. The taste flooded Alice's mouth; it tasted just like Lord Ascot's medicine. Over the years Alice had found new ways to take the medicine in China; Lord Ascot had preferred to smoke it keeping at least his arm active but the doctors were keen to inject it and sometimes Lord Ascot had drank vials of the medicine when he was having a particularly bad day. Alice licked her fingers clean and went back for more; soon she was eating as voraciously as the Bandersnatch until her body began to lose feeling.
The burrowing creature's pink and blue coloured skin and its deep purple coloured innards began to swirl and merge in front of Alice as the lights from the corners of her eyes added the missing colours to her vision. Alice saw the world move and fall around her, she lay looking up at the sky, her body unfeeling and motionless, her eyes glazed over and unblinking. The colours in front of her became the dragon's tail. The dragon that had brought her to Underland; Alice had a chance to return home. It was like the blood of the Jabberwocky and how its blood was able to transport her home. All Alice had to do was reach out for the dragon's tail and grab it, not letting go until she arrived back in China. Alice knew she could escape all of the stress; she could pit the Hatter and the tragic White Queen's predicament out of her mind and live in peace in China. As Alice watched the dragon fly close to her waving its tail in front of her Alice almost raised her hand to reach out for it.
Alice let her hand fall to the ground and watched the dragon as it flew away into the darkness beyond the tunnel of light. The colours and lights in the corners of Alice's eyes faded away and brought Underland back into focus. Alice lay still even though the feeling had returned to her body; she closed her eyes feeling the breeze wash over her body. She felt refreshed but knew that she would need more of the burrowing creature's blood later. Slowly Alice sat up again. The Bandersnatch hadn't left much of the burrowing creature's corpse. Alice stood and walked over to the creature's corpse before the Bandersnatch had finished it entirely.
Alice tried to think how she could carry the creature's blood with her; she had no pockets, not that that would work and nothing to carry it in, like a vial or a jar. After a few moments she could only see one option. Alice began to unsheathe her daggers, knives and short swords and then scooped up the blood with the empty sheathes. It was hardly elegant but it was the only way to take any of it with her. Carefully she re-sheathed the daggers, knives and short swords covering the blades in the blood. Alice worried if the blood would dry and make the blades stick but this was no ordinary blood, it was almost like oil and for now it made the blades easier sheathe and unsheathe.
Once she was set Alice picked up the Hatter's top hat, which had fallen off of her head when she had fallen from the Bandersnatch, and placed it back on her head. Alice looked around for a plan of action. The mountains weren't far away. Alice wondered how difficult it would be the go over them rather than through them since the small opening at the foot of the mountains looked ominous. Alice knew she wouldn't be able to take the Bandersnatch through the cave yet one misplaced step while climbing the mountain with the Bandersnatch would probably cost them their lives. Eventually Alice chose the ominous looking cave. Alice sighed at her choice and straightened the Hatter's top hat on her head, clutched the Vorpal sword and made her way into the cave ahead; leaving the Bandersnatch to gorge on what was left of the fallen burrowing creature. Churnworm… that's what she'd call it.