Chapter 27: The key
Walking quietly as they could, the two made their way thru the mines. While they did this, Alice took the opportunity to examine the knife she had been given. It was a rather long knife, too long and too odd a shape to be of much cooking use.
"About this knife," she asked casually, "is it for..." The gnome turned to her and made a gesture for her to be silent with a stern look in his eyes. Alice did take some offence at this, but said nothing more. Soon enough they were out of the tunnels and back into the village. The old gnome pointed to the ground to show her some railway tracks and made the motion to follow them. Following the old tracks for about ten minutes, eventually reaching an entrance to what appeared to be a loading dock. The old gnome stopped and motioned her to come closer. She did and he whispered into her ear:
"This is as far as I can go with you. Follow the tracks and they will lead you to the Card Compound. As soon as you get the key, go in there; I'll wait for you there." he said pointing to a door in the village. He turned to walk away, but Alice grabbed his arm.
"Why can't you go with me? I don't even know what the key or the compound looks like."
"You'll know when you see it. I have to prepare things for our journey, but you must hurry. I'm certain that they know of your presence and very soon the queen will know, and your life will always be in danger." The gnome walked away a couple of feet, then turned back to her.
"One last bit of advice, and the most important one," he said to her, "you should learn to keep your mouth shut, it will get you into trouble." and with that, he left. She scowled at where he had been standing and turned to follow the tracks. She followed the tracks in the old tunnel, uphill all the way, thinking about what she had to do and how. Eventually she reached an old mine cart and beyond it was a wall. She looked up the shaft and couldn't see much. She looked around and saw a lever to operate the lift. She tried to pull out the cart but it wouldn't budge, so she climbed into it and with her knife flipped the switch. As if the old lift didn't want to move, it slowly and loudly lifted the mine cart and her up.
The lift reached the top with a clank and Alice was about to climb out when the lift quickly jarred up again locking into place, knocking her back into the cart. The final jolt of the lift was enough to loosen the cart from its place and it slowly inched its way forward. Alice looked out from the cart and could see that she just couldn't jump out and walk, because there wasn't anywhere for her to walk on. She looked below and could see far down the poisoned river. She looked forward and could see lights ahead and wondered if she should duck or not. She lowered herself into the cart only just enough to be hidden but look out as well. As the cart zoomed around, she could see other gnomes working in the mines, but no guards. She looked forward and looked if she could find a spot to jump out, as the cart was gaining speed. Soon a doorway came into view and she could see sturdy ground where she could safely jump onto, and she had to do it fast for the track ended just beyond that spot. She stood up, risking losing her head at the doorway and readied herself for the jump and when the time came, she leapt and landed in anything but a graceful way.
If anyone had happened upon her right at this time, they would have sworn she was either dead, or severely injured. However, besides from being jarred from her fall, she was fine. The cat, casually appeared near her as she slowly picked herself up, rubbing her right cheek. She looked at the cat as it sat down and continued to stare at her with a smirk.
"Aren't you going to ask if I'm alright?" she finally said as she sat up, now rubbing her skinned elbow.
"If I was," said the cat "I would have already."
"Some friend you are," she said looking away from him, "not even caring if I'm hurt or not. Look," she said pointing to her elbow where specks of blood began to form, "my arm's cut." The cat looked at her arm and said nothing, but she still could hear a scoffing sigh in its breath.
"In the near future, and especially if you're not careful, there will be more of that sort." he said looking at her. She glared at him but said nothing.
"Think of this as nothing more than a learning step," said the cat walking away from her and fading away, "much like when you learned to walk. Don't dwell on it; get up and continue on, or you'll not get very far, or live long for that matter." Alone again, Alice took the liberty to look around and ponder on where would the compound would be. She stood up and dusted herself off and walked toward the edge of where the mine cart had flown off. Looking down, she could clearly see the bubbles of where the cart had settled to the bottom of the small lake, and could only guess on what would eventually become of it. She turned away and decided that since there was only one direction she could safely go, that would be the sensible way to proceed.
For one who was currently being hunted by angry guards, she walked around the halls as if she owned the place. However, half remembering what the gnome and the cat had told her, she decided that it probably would be wise to use more caution. After some time, she came upon a clearing of a large wooden platform connecting to a large building, guarded by two guards.
'This must be the place,' thought Alice, hiding as best as she could, 'now the question is: how do I get inside?' She looked around, hoping to find a window out of sight or another door but it was plain to see that the only way in was past the large door and the guards. She sighed and quietly turned away back toward where she had come from.
"You seem to be turned around," said the quiet voice of the cat, "for you are headed in the wrong direction."
"I know where I'm going," she hissed under her breath, vainly looking for the cat, "it's just I can't get past the guards. I'm sure that they would let me past if I just politely asked." she said with thick sarcasm.
"It's possible," said the cat, who was still not visible, "if you tried...one way."
"No," she said loudly, "I won't do that, not unless..."
"In self-defense," said the cat, whose mouth glistened faintly in the darkness, "then you won't have any problems for that."
"Who's there?!" called out a guard, coming toward her hiding spot. Alice looked up and could see that the cards were coming toward her. She looked toward where the cat's smile was and to her dismay it was gone. She pressed herself tightly against the wall, trying to use the shadows as cover. The cards passed her and stopped about ten feet away from her.
"You're sure you heard something?" said the other guard looking around.
"I'm sure I did," said the other, "it sounded like a girl, that much I'm sure." The cards continued to look around for her while she stayed in the dark. However, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would be seen when they would return to their posts. With shaking hands, she readied her knife in her right hand and as silently as she could, crept closer and closer to one of the cards. As she got closer and closer, her breath quickened and her heart pounded in her chest and head and she felt hot, trying her best to mentally prepare herself on what she was going to do. The closer she got, the more she wanted to stop and just run away, but soon she was close enough to strike. It only lasted for a second, but to her, time seemed to stop as she looked at the back of the card and raised her knife high in the air. Her arms and knees started shaking; her mouth filled with a sour taste. It was time to react, and she shut her eyes tightly and bared her teeth and....nothing. Her mind went blank and she felt a sense of peace. At first, she figured she did nothing, but then she could feel a thump near her feet and her eyes opened wide and where the card had been standing was now empty. She looked down and could see the two halves of the card, cut diagonally; blood pooling around the body parts.
Alice would have reacted to a greater degree to the murder she had just caused but the sound of running made her look up and see the second card rushing up to her. She had not time to think on what to do, (and even if she did, nothing of great use would probably pop up) and she reacted to the card charging toward her by throwing her knife directly at the card. The knife tumbled in the air with the grace of a seasoned knife thrower and impaled itself directly into the cards neck; killing him instantly. The card tumbled forward and came to rest just feet away from Alice. She stood there, numb to what just happened, not half believing it. She looked first to the sliced up card at one side, then looked toward the other where he had fallen where her knife stuck out of it. As she stood there, she could feel herself shake and could feel her shaking breath quicken. She tried to step away from the sight, but it seemed that her legs were stuck in place. She found herself hugging herself with her quivering arms and tried her best to stop thinking on what she had just done. She heard a soft sound and with great effort looked over to her right and could see the cat sitting near the second body with a soft smile and small eyes. She went to say something, anything, but it seemed that nothing would come out ever again. However, the cat seemed to understand her not saying anything for a moment.
"Your knife is necessary but not efficient," finally said the cat very seriously, "always collect what's useful. Reject only your ignorance, and you may survive." She looked at the cat and with great effort, walked over to the card, bent down and picked up the bloody knife and looked at it. As she looked at it, the cat seemed to know what she was thinking and said:
"Keep your knife clean and carry your battles as badges to show your opponents what will soon happen to them." She looked at the cat, not knowing what he meant at the last part, but figured that the only way to clean the knife was to use her apron. She took the apron and the knife and ran both together and soon the knife was gleaming as brightly as ever and her apron now had a large blood stain. She took one last shallow, shaky sigh and turned around, walked up to the door and pushed it open.
Poking her head inside, she saw a curving hallway with no one inside. She cautiously walked inside and quietly walked closely to the wall. She quietly wondered on whether her blindly charging into a possibly well guarded facility was really such a good idea. Eventually she could hear voices ahead talking to each other; she pressed herself closer to the wall and quietly edged herself closer to them. She peeked around the corner and saw at least three guards down the hall. One leaning on the wall looking at the two sitting at a table playing a game of cards. 'Ironic', she thought to herself. She looked around to see if there was anyway she could possibly sneak around, but there wasn't anyplace to hide herself properly. However, she wasn't in too much of a hurry. She was still fairly shaken up from earlier. She looked around to see what would be the best way to approach them, but nothing came to mind. She backed away from the corner and leaned into the wall, closing her eyes and preparing herself. Sighing once more, she peeked once more around the corner; seeing that the two guards at the table arguing over the last game while the third looked on.
She gripped the knife's handle tightly and jogged up to the first card. She was half way across the hall when the card noticed her charging. He quickly reached for his weapon but only managed to raise it half way before he was cut out of the deck. (ha-ha-ha....sorry)
The two guards at the table looked up and saw their companion fall at the hands of the girl that they were told to look out for. One card readied his spear while the other ran toward a hanging rope and pulled on it, sounding the alarm. Alice threw her knife at the approaching card like before, but she did not factor in the fact that now she was disarmed. She looked up at the guard card as he raised his weapon to attack. She ducked down and tried to sidestep the card, but he was quick to change his swing and managed to cut her side. She made a small yelp at that, but kept her wits with her and went after her knife. She pulled it out of the dead card, but only had enough time to use it to block a blow. The card raised his spear again to stab her while she lay on the ground, but she used the pause to roll out of the way and take a swipe at his leg; severing it. The card fell while screaming in pain, but still tried to attack. Alice kneeled near the card after dodging the last attack and started to stab him until he fell silent.
After killing the last card, she stood up and while trying to catch her breath, looked around the table for the key. The key was conveniently on it, as well as the scattered playing cards that the guards were using, however there was a neat stack of another set of cards on the table, much larger that the playing ones. She walked up to the table, only now truly feeling the pain of the gash in her side and while gently holding it with one hand, reached over to the stacked cards and picked them up.
"Fifty-two pickup is a staple of juvenile humor," said the cat appearing behind her, while in the process making her jump, "But when the deck slices and dices, it's no laughing matter." Normally she would have asked what he had meant by that, but shook her head and sat in the empty chair and after setting the cards back down, held her forehead in her hand with her arm propped on the table. The cat looked at her, shifting his weight a little. He looked at the bodies on the ground. Death was not a new sight for him, nor her for that matter, but perhaps the girl was disturbed by the manner that they had died.
"Tell yourself, I've seen worse at Rutledge's. Prevarication, in this instance, may help." The girl said nothing, nor moved. The cat sauntered up to her and with a slight growl in his voice said:
"That guard did not toll that bell for Sunday mass, now is not the time to reflect. Now is the time to withdrawal." She looked at the cat; gathering what little nerve she had left, she grabbed the cards and the key without really looking at it and put both in her apron pockets. She looked up and could see another door at the top of some stairs. Hoping that it didn't lead to more cards, she ran up the stairs and ran thru the door. She ran thru the halls of the compound, almost not caring if someone would hear or see her. Eventually she came to a door that lead back outside and in the village. She looked around to see if she recognized anything, happily she did, being only about two blocks away from where the gnome told her to meet him. She went to walk to the door, but something imbedded itself into the wall near her face. She fell back and looked from where the thing came from and could see a diamond card pointing his spear at her. This confused her on what he had thrown at her, but then she could see that the projectile came from the spear itself. Trying to force her curiosity aside, she scrambled to the door; catching more cards charging her out of the corner of her eyes. She opened the door and ran inside closing it behind her and out of blind desperation, grabbed the key and tried to see if it would lock the door.
Much to her delight, it did and she started to run up some stairs when she could hear the cards trying to break down the door. She reached the top of the stairs and opened another door to find herself on what appeared to be a large wooden balcony and at the end of it was an odd sight. The old gnome was sitting on what looked like a makeshift airship. She had seen in the papers that Paul would always read. He would go around to everyone saying that soon people would fly in the airships. The gnomes' airship however, was a humble, if not homely in appearance, with the gnome near the back holding onto ropes that she assumed would steer the thing. In front of the gnome was a large basket, and what she assumed she would be riding in. She turned to the door and used the key again to lock the door behind her to block the cards further.
"You have the key," said the gnome, "very resourceful. Rabbit's confidence is not misplaced. He is no fool."
"I certainly hope he is not." she said getting in the basket and sitting down. The cards were in the process of breaking down the door, but by the time they opened it, the gnome and the girl were far out of reach. All were silent, for they knew that their lives had ended, for the queen would not take well to this loss at all.
Sooo....I'm sure that you all want to know why I haven't updated in like...forever! Almost a YEAR!!! Well, here's what happened:
So there I was, mild-mannerly sitting at my desk, working on this opus of a story when suddenly the ninja-pirates attacked! Unbeknownst to the ninja-pirates, I was found and raised by Buddhist monks in the Himalayas who practiced jujitsu. I fought them off with little effort, but then the fiends whipped out ninja throwing kittens and hurled them at me and their little claws stuck in. Soon I was smothered in the little things and I was captured. For months I was held hostage in a bamboo bird cage forced to watch Uwe Boll movies. All seemed lost until Adam West and Burt Ward and Felix the cat attacked and came to my rescue! With their aid, we soon made our way deep within the bowels of my nemesis's lair who was...Donald Trumps Hair. Donald Trumps Hair had been building a device that would allow it to make everyone's hair look like it, but we weren't going to let that happen. The battle was long and hard, but we made the hair retreat to lick its wounds; making the world once again a safe place.
....
You don't believe me...do you?
Ok, I've been fairly busy because:
1) Working hard at my classes and work.
2) My grandmother fell and broke her leg, and I had to help out with that.
3) I got laid-off! NO! I'M A STATISTIC! D:
4) I have been working on my animation and getting ready to possibly work ON A MOVIE LATER ON! WEEE, I'M SO EXCITED! I'll find out either at the end of this month or the start of next on whether I do or not, so cross your fingers!
5) ...I really hated this and the last chapter. Seriously, I had the hardest time writing them, and I do apologize for the suckatude grammar and spelling, I was really sick and wrote it at 4:00 a.m because I couldn't sleep. But know that these chapters are behind me, I can now get going again!
I want to thank all of my new readers and my old ones that have patiently waited for me and stuck around. Read and Review if you wish!
