Alice was gathered around her friends the Cheshire cat and the Caterpillar in a place which only the imagination could have any meaning. Her mind was up in the clouds whilst her body remained on the floor of the engine room lounge suffering from a temporary overdose of Bandershock. However in her "away" state she could talk to her friends who were many miles away behind her as she travelled to the mysterious Bandersnatch Isle. However what she was about to be told, she wished she'd never heard.
The Caterpillar took one large inhalation from his opium and breathed out with an expression of deep thought whilst Cat next to him changed his expression to one of distaste. Smoking was a filthy habit in his opinion but he knew the Caterpillar was using his heightened awareness to try and predict what came next.
"Well Alice." began Cat "Whilst our friend Caterpillar is browsing what he can see you can tell more about these Bandersnatch creatures, if you wouldn't mind."
"Well, their quite short and they've got green skin." She began
"Most unusual" replied cat but paused for a moment to look at Caterpillar. He had greenish skin so he was not one to complain anymore and allowed Alice to finish her description as he felt he would not see one in his travels.
"They are quite strong and they're very hard working. They built the huge ship I'm sailing on right now and I've seen the engine room. It's like the steam vents beneath the Queens palace and the Hatters asylum. That's what worries me a little"
"I don't think they have anything to do with your old foes or you would have encountered them earlier during you previous adventures." Reassured Cat
"True, but it is still creepy." Alice shuddered " I didn't like those steam vents, they burnt quite badly."
She was about to go on with her story but was halted abruptly by the cat raising his paw suddenly and turning his head towards caterpillar who was now encircled by a fine yet psychedelic swirl or his own smoke, his eyes glowing white. This was normal for him but his expression was one of discomfort and extreme pain like he was being forced into watching something he didn't want to view.
His eyes faded and he returned to normal, but he was visibly shaken. He turned to Alice and started to speak in a somewhat exhausted tone.
"Alice, I have seen something terrible." He began
"What can you see?" said Alice not really wanting to know out of fear.
"I saw you shivering in a cold corner somewhere and your garments were very tattered and you looked in awful condition. I fear for your safety as I cannot see you when you are so far away.
"But I suppose we can help her in someway?" suggested the cat in his deep tone. He was interrupted by a slight rumbling all around them as the blue skies started to turn more and more greyer with every passing second. Alice started to look about frantically and drew her knife expectantley but there was no target to be found. She began to worry.
"What's happening?" she asked frantically
"Your body is regaining consciousness Alice, and your mind is slipping away from us back to the ship you are on. I wont be able to tell you much more before you return to normality." Shouted caterpillar as the rumbling became louder all around them.
"Suffice to say Alice I can see something terrible happening to you in the near future, you must be prepared for it my dear!"
"What am I to prepare for?" as she felt herself slipping away from the clouds and her eyes beginning to sleepily close.
"Just take this," shouted cat calmly "and watch your back!"
Alice jumped up from her slumber and found herself back in the engine room lounge of the Bandersnatch vessel with a surprised Captain and Chief standing around her looking even more surprised than she did.
"Are you alright my dear?" asked the captain with a puzzled expression. "You fainted for a moment when you drank that drink."
"If I were you I'd stick to water from now on!" gruffed the engineer and sat back in a comfortable chair with a glass of banderscotch in his hand, taking a large swig.
She felt slightly embarrassed as she lay there looking at the lights on the roof of the lounge.
"How long have I been out?" she asked.
"Just a couple of minutes, you seemed to be somewhere else!" replied the captain
Alice was confused as she got up from the floor with his help but something was interfering with her back and it was very uncomfortable. It was almost like she had landed on something when she went down and it had stuck to her back. She tried to reach behind her but she looked more like a writhing tortoise trying to right itself than anything else, when her hand gripped some solid and thin object just below her neck in between her shoulder-blades. It felt familiar somewhat and she pulled it in front of her.
The Cheshire cats last words echoed in the back of her mind; "watch your back!"
Alice was astonished to see that her old croquet mallet had been placed in the knot of her dress while she lay unconscious on the floor and judging by the expression on the faces of both bandersnatch, they didn't put it there. The cat must have don't it whilst she was up in the clouds.
"What in the name of the ordermaker is that!?" shouted the engineer as he poured himself another glass of banderscotch.
"It looks like an ostrich?" said the captain as he analysed it from all angles, neither one he looked from yielding any new insight from the last one. Alice thought to herself that if she revealed in the slightest fashion that it was a weapon, the captain would be duty bound to confiscate it so a little bending of the truth was necessary.
"It's my croquet mallet." She said. (that seemed to be reasonable enough for them as they gazed enthusiastically at the mallet) "I found it upon my travels and I think that someone crafted it for me to find. I didn't want to disappoint them so I took it with me."
This seemed to make perfect sense to the captain who shook her hand for being a nice girl and so considerate of others.
"Now do hurry along and return it to your cabin Miss Alice." began the captain "and then I'll see you on the bridge." He looked at both Alice and the Chief, "Don't forget both of you that there is a formal dinner in the officers mess tonight and I expect to see you both there!"
The chief nodded in acknowledgement and Alice gave a small curtsey and moved off with him back through the engine room (which had cooled down somewhat after the reduced speed, but it was still quite warm) back up though the decks and was escorted back to her cabin. Outside of course stood Bricks guarding the entrance to her room as if it contained riches unimaginable, and this was odd because she wasn't in the room. Also he said he had been getting some sleep before his next watch, so he must have had about 1 and a half hours sleep and went back to work.
"Strange people the bandersnatch" thought Alice to herself as she approached her room.
The captain began to move off towards the bridge as she stood outside her room, Bricks loming over her like the very wall he was named after.
"Are you ready to come to the officers mess tonight bricks?" She asked
"Yes miss Alice." he replied "I'm all ready and I'm waiting for you now." He nodded his head in a somewhat stupid way and his eyes met the mallet she had in her hands. He took it from her and marvelled at it like it was made of pure gold.
"That's quite a hammer Miss!" he said, open mouthed; "Where did you get it?"
If she had told him the truth that she had been up in the clouds and it had been given to her by a grinning cat, he probably would have got a headache from trying to grasp the concept to once again, Alice had to scale down the truth.
"A friend gave it to me, Will you hold it while I get ready for the dinner please?" she asked and he started to smile almost to the reach of her feline friend. His curious obsession with hammers that was indignant to all bandersnatch had attracted him to the mallet (as it did with quite a few other crewmen she had passed on the way back here) and to keep it safe for her was in his eyes, an extreme privilege. He felt slightly disheartened that he wasn't allowed to go anywhere with it so he could show it off to his friends but stood firmly outside her door while she tidied herself up for the banquet.
Yet all the while the caterpillar's words had stuck in her head as she sat on the bed brushing her hair, pulling it into a straighter version of itself.
"I will face some danger soon" she thought as she preened herself. "At least I have the mallet now, that should help, And bricks seems to be a good friend, I'm glad I met him. He may come in handy!"
The Caterpillar took one large inhalation from his opium and breathed out with an expression of deep thought whilst Cat next to him changed his expression to one of distaste. Smoking was a filthy habit in his opinion but he knew the Caterpillar was using his heightened awareness to try and predict what came next.
"Well Alice." began Cat "Whilst our friend Caterpillar is browsing what he can see you can tell more about these Bandersnatch creatures, if you wouldn't mind."
"Well, their quite short and they've got green skin." She began
"Most unusual" replied cat but paused for a moment to look at Caterpillar. He had greenish skin so he was not one to complain anymore and allowed Alice to finish her description as he felt he would not see one in his travels.
"They are quite strong and they're very hard working. They built the huge ship I'm sailing on right now and I've seen the engine room. It's like the steam vents beneath the Queens palace and the Hatters asylum. That's what worries me a little"
"I don't think they have anything to do with your old foes or you would have encountered them earlier during you previous adventures." Reassured Cat
"True, but it is still creepy." Alice shuddered " I didn't like those steam vents, they burnt quite badly."
She was about to go on with her story but was halted abruptly by the cat raising his paw suddenly and turning his head towards caterpillar who was now encircled by a fine yet psychedelic swirl or his own smoke, his eyes glowing white. This was normal for him but his expression was one of discomfort and extreme pain like he was being forced into watching something he didn't want to view.
His eyes faded and he returned to normal, but he was visibly shaken. He turned to Alice and started to speak in a somewhat exhausted tone.
"Alice, I have seen something terrible." He began
"What can you see?" said Alice not really wanting to know out of fear.
"I saw you shivering in a cold corner somewhere and your garments were very tattered and you looked in awful condition. I fear for your safety as I cannot see you when you are so far away.
"But I suppose we can help her in someway?" suggested the cat in his deep tone. He was interrupted by a slight rumbling all around them as the blue skies started to turn more and more greyer with every passing second. Alice started to look about frantically and drew her knife expectantley but there was no target to be found. She began to worry.
"What's happening?" she asked frantically
"Your body is regaining consciousness Alice, and your mind is slipping away from us back to the ship you are on. I wont be able to tell you much more before you return to normality." Shouted caterpillar as the rumbling became louder all around them.
"Suffice to say Alice I can see something terrible happening to you in the near future, you must be prepared for it my dear!"
"What am I to prepare for?" as she felt herself slipping away from the clouds and her eyes beginning to sleepily close.
"Just take this," shouted cat calmly "and watch your back!"
Alice jumped up from her slumber and found herself back in the engine room lounge of the Bandersnatch vessel with a surprised Captain and Chief standing around her looking even more surprised than she did.
"Are you alright my dear?" asked the captain with a puzzled expression. "You fainted for a moment when you drank that drink."
"If I were you I'd stick to water from now on!" gruffed the engineer and sat back in a comfortable chair with a glass of banderscotch in his hand, taking a large swig.
She felt slightly embarrassed as she lay there looking at the lights on the roof of the lounge.
"How long have I been out?" she asked.
"Just a couple of minutes, you seemed to be somewhere else!" replied the captain
Alice was confused as she got up from the floor with his help but something was interfering with her back and it was very uncomfortable. It was almost like she had landed on something when she went down and it had stuck to her back. She tried to reach behind her but she looked more like a writhing tortoise trying to right itself than anything else, when her hand gripped some solid and thin object just below her neck in between her shoulder-blades. It felt familiar somewhat and she pulled it in front of her.
The Cheshire cats last words echoed in the back of her mind; "watch your back!"
Alice was astonished to see that her old croquet mallet had been placed in the knot of her dress while she lay unconscious on the floor and judging by the expression on the faces of both bandersnatch, they didn't put it there. The cat must have don't it whilst she was up in the clouds.
"What in the name of the ordermaker is that!?" shouted the engineer as he poured himself another glass of banderscotch.
"It looks like an ostrich?" said the captain as he analysed it from all angles, neither one he looked from yielding any new insight from the last one. Alice thought to herself that if she revealed in the slightest fashion that it was a weapon, the captain would be duty bound to confiscate it so a little bending of the truth was necessary.
"It's my croquet mallet." She said. (that seemed to be reasonable enough for them as they gazed enthusiastically at the mallet) "I found it upon my travels and I think that someone crafted it for me to find. I didn't want to disappoint them so I took it with me."
This seemed to make perfect sense to the captain who shook her hand for being a nice girl and so considerate of others.
"Now do hurry along and return it to your cabin Miss Alice." began the captain "and then I'll see you on the bridge." He looked at both Alice and the Chief, "Don't forget both of you that there is a formal dinner in the officers mess tonight and I expect to see you both there!"
The chief nodded in acknowledgement and Alice gave a small curtsey and moved off with him back through the engine room (which had cooled down somewhat after the reduced speed, but it was still quite warm) back up though the decks and was escorted back to her cabin. Outside of course stood Bricks guarding the entrance to her room as if it contained riches unimaginable, and this was odd because she wasn't in the room. Also he said he had been getting some sleep before his next watch, so he must have had about 1 and a half hours sleep and went back to work.
"Strange people the bandersnatch" thought Alice to herself as she approached her room.
The captain began to move off towards the bridge as she stood outside her room, Bricks loming over her like the very wall he was named after.
"Are you ready to come to the officers mess tonight bricks?" She asked
"Yes miss Alice." he replied "I'm all ready and I'm waiting for you now." He nodded his head in a somewhat stupid way and his eyes met the mallet she had in her hands. He took it from her and marvelled at it like it was made of pure gold.
"That's quite a hammer Miss!" he said, open mouthed; "Where did you get it?"
If she had told him the truth that she had been up in the clouds and it had been given to her by a grinning cat, he probably would have got a headache from trying to grasp the concept to once again, Alice had to scale down the truth.
"A friend gave it to me, Will you hold it while I get ready for the dinner please?" she asked and he started to smile almost to the reach of her feline friend. His curious obsession with hammers that was indignant to all bandersnatch had attracted him to the mallet (as it did with quite a few other crewmen she had passed on the way back here) and to keep it safe for her was in his eyes, an extreme privilege. He felt slightly disheartened that he wasn't allowed to go anywhere with it so he could show it off to his friends but stood firmly outside her door while she tidied herself up for the banquet.
Yet all the while the caterpillar's words had stuck in her head as she sat on the bed brushing her hair, pulling it into a straighter version of itself.
"I will face some danger soon" she thought as she preened herself. "At least I have the mallet now, that should help, And bricks seems to be a good friend, I'm glad I met him. He may come in handy!"