Sorry, I know this chapter's a bit short. Oh well. SO! Any guesses, advice, questions, etc? I eagerly await more reviews! Only one excellently grand person has reviewed so far, and I very much appreciate it. But authoresses cannot live on... single... reviews... alone. Whatever.
Ok, so I haven't been putting much heart and soul into posting this story, at least not as much as my Transformer ones- which I've been posting sporadically but for a very long time. You want chapters more quickly, then Review! Please. It encourages/forces me to do better at updating. Also... maybe if I get enough reviews, then in every chapter I will mention one or two crazy things you'd only hear at my family's home. And believe me, they are crazy things. SO REVIEW PLEASE!
The creature leapt at the assembled army, tossing two rows of Pawns to the side with a swipe of its claws. At the same time the Jabberwocky unleashed a blazing torrent of lightning-fire into the air, swinging its powerful head back and forth. Everyone still standing had to duck or flatten to the ground to avoid getting burnt.
Alice, standing to the right of her army, crouched down just as the fire swept by- singing her hair. The instant the scorching blast stopped, she leaped forward with the Vorpal sword held straight out, aiming for the monster's lowered left wing.
A couple Pawns ran after her, but something dropped from the sky and swooped between them, sending Alice and a third of the others diving for cover again. Clambering to her feet again, Alice turned around to stare in shock at the thing which had attacked. It was the Jub Jub Bird!
The black-and-white avian swept itself into the sky and dove again, its speckled wings tucked in close to its body. Its pointed beak was wide open and shrieking as it descended, flipping its claws forward in one swift motion and yanking a soldier off the ground.
Something swept past Alice from behind, hitting her legs below the knee. She fell to the ground with a startled gasp at the heavy blow, quickly losing that breath as she hit the ground and all the air was forced from her lungs.
Wheezing for air, she raised her head as fast as she could, causing dark spots to flicker through her sight. The thing that'd swept her legs from under her- the Jabberwocky's tail- swept back again, this time from the front. It collided with her head and left shoulder, shoving her backwards.
Her armor clattered and scraped against the rocky terrain, though she barely noticed, stunned by the blow to her head. After maybe a fraction of a second or maybe several minutes the motion stopped, the blackness receding from her vision.
The girl dragged her hands out in front of herself, and pushed herself up onto her knees. Tarrant was racing toward her from the main group of soldiers, and Alice felt a hopeful smile lift her face.
It vanished as the Jub Jub Bird swooped past again, throwing the Hatter to the ground. Baira leaped up to snap at the bird's tail feathers as it swept past, but Alice didn't see if she caught it. The Jabberwocky shoved her away from the others again, this time with a swipe of its claws.
Alice fell over onto her back, but struggled up again. Miraculously, she hadn't let go of the sword before, but it was now missing from her hands. Oh- there it was! Just a few feet away, lying on the ground.
She staggered forward, but before she could get more than a couple steps, the Jabberwocky stepped in front of her. It snatched the weapon between two of the fingers on its wing.
"No-!" Alice started to say, but the creature had already flung the sword away, flung it like someone would fling a twig they'd found in their hair.
Then, almost in slow motion, the monster turned its head back towards her. Alice backed up, eyes darting frantically in search of something to keep the monster at bay so she could retrieve the sword.
Picking its way slowly across the rock, the Jabberwocky's scarlet eyes were widened enormously, glowing as it stared unwaveringly at girl. Said-girl glanced behind her at a huge, rough boulder, then picked up a rock in one hand and hurled it at the monster.
The rock completely missed the Jabberwocky's head; the creature simply snaked to one side and the stone sailed harmlessly past. It glanced in the rock's direction, then whipped its head back to stare at her, eyes glowing in triumph.
Alice was certain the monster was grinning at her now, and the wicked, wide-eyed smile was terrifying to behold. Shaking and slowly backing up, Alice glanced to her left and then made a break for it. Instantly the Jabberwocky swept one wing across the distance separating them, the pointed wing-tip blocking her way.
The girl dashed to her right, almost scraping her right arm against the huge boulder that blocked any other route. With a swish of wind the Jabberwocky's tail slammed into the ground in front of her, raising a small cloud of dust.
Alice kept going, trying to leap over it, but the tail lifted and smacked into her chest, sending her crashing backwards. She leaned against the large boulder for support and dragged herself upright, then gaped in fear at the sight of the Jabberwocky's face- just inches away.
The others- Tarrant, Baira, the Pawns, the Cards, the White Queen- were all too far away, too busy fighting off the relentless Jub Jub Bird to help her. Several of them were either dead or unconscious already. There was no one to save her.
'You're all alone now,' those horrible crimson eyes seemed to mock, staring hungrily into Alice's own eyes, 'You are defenseless, and now I have you. You are mine.' Alice noticed the Jabberwocky said the last part out loud.
After a long moment of staring, which was really only a second or two, Alice ducked, hoping she might have a chance to escape, dodge between its claws- But no. The Jabberwocky's hand had slowly drawn closer, unnoticed till now, and immediately struck, wrapping around her before she could move any farther.
The claws wrapped around her stomach, back, chest, and left arm. No chance of wriggling free. The Jabberwocky's grip was far too strong. It would kill her now. Hopeless.
Expecting to be blasted or crushed or eaten at any second, Alice was shocked when the creature instead spread its wings, and leapt into the air, taking her along with it.
Relieved to not be dead yet, but also terrified of what sort of fate now awaited her, Alice could hardly breathe- a condition not helped by the tight grip around her ribs and stomach. The Jabberwocky flapped higher, each wing-beat sending a powerful ripple along its body.
Looking down, the girl couldn't tell which one would be worse- remaining trapped between the monster's claws, or falling to her death. Maybe that's what it planned to do: drop her. She clung tightly to the huge reptilian fingers, suddenly light-headed.
The Jabberwocky chuckled and let out a roar, this one distinctly triumphant, and Alice glimpsed the Jub Jub Bird halting its attack. 'The Jabberwocky sent it here,' she realized, 'It signaled it, so we'd be distracted...'
Another high-pitched roar was directed at the huge avian, which shrieked back at the Jabberwocky and then flew away. A few spears soared up into the air, but lost momentum and fell before they could get anywhere near either of the creatures.
Down on the ground came the sound of pained shouting, and Alice risked a glance downwards as the Jabberwocky tilted its wings and began flying away. Far below and apart from the battered army was the Hatter, staring up at them with an expression of horror and helpless misery, visible even from so far away.
"Hatter," Alice called miserably, her voice coming out as a hoarse whisper. The Jabberwocky's grip tightened around her, and it hissed harshly. Alice struggled to pull the huge fingers apart but couldn't, then tried kicking at the creature's arm- missing completely.
She dropped her head, exhausted, and demanded harshly, "If you're going to kill me then just get it ov-"
"Of course not," the Jabberwocky snarled impatiently, "Not yet, at least." Alice gave a tired, exasperated huff, "Well then why are you doing this?!"
The creature growled, reaching its other hand over to wrap tightly around her, "None of your concern. Be quiet." "No," the girl panted, already exhausted and now having difficulty breathing, "What are you... going to do?"
"Be quiet!" the Jabberwocky boomed again, glaring at her before turning its head back to face forward, "It is not something a mere human would understand." "Why... not..." the girl wheezed faintly. If the Jabberwocky replied, she didn't hear it; she was already unconscious.
MEEOW! MEOW! MEOW! MEOOW! REVIEW! See what you non-reviewers have reduced me to? Meowing! There's a reason I call myself 'Crazy Cat Girl' you know.