Writer's Comment: I don't own anything. Please do not hurt me.





When Alice opened her eyes again, she seemed buried in a deep fog. No noises seemed familiar. As she slid off the bed into what looked like a solid wall of grey cloud she felt the ground with her bare feet. This was not the floor she remembered in the ward. It felt damp, like soil. She took a few more steps into the fog. Where was she? A cool breeze ran across her face. "I must be outside." she thought. "Maybe I'm in the garden. But why would my bed be out in the garden? How curious it all seems." She stumbled towards what she thought was the sound of water running. "If it's a river or such, I can follow it and find someone."

~*~

Dr. Wilson wheeled the wheelchair carrying the now unconscious Alice down the laboratory wing. He passed a group of patients gasping, drooling, resembling dogs gone mad and reaching out to him with long pale fingers. "Results of insulin shock I presume." he said, pitying them. He reached over and grabbed Alice's arm that dangled lifelessly over the armrest and placed it in her lap. When Dr. Wilson returned to the familiar pediatric ward, Nurse D was waiting for Alice and the Doctor. "How's my favorite patient?" Nurse D asked. She frowned when Alice failed to answer and Dr. Wilson replied for her, saying that "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

"You talk nonsense." said the older nurse. With that she grabbed the wheelchair from the doctor and wheeled Alice to her room. "All you need is a good rest.." she said softly and laid Alice down next to her white rabbit.

~*~

Alice's eyes adjusted to being outside. She hadn't been outside of the ward in the longest time and walking about freely seemed strange to her. She called out into the open space ahead of her and waited for an answer. Nothing.

"Excuse me." said a tiny voice next to Alice, "But your doing it all wrong."

Alice looked for the source of the voice. A field mouse sat beside her.

"You have to do it like this." started the mouse. He walked to a far cliff hanging over the valley and yelled.

"Hello!" screeched his little mouse voice."Hello!" a voice screeched back. "That's how it's done." said the mouse triumphantly.

Alice grinned. "Oh silly mouse, that's an echo!"

The mouse agreed. "I know, queer creatures aren't they? They only say what you say to them."

Alice shook her head and laughed. "Mouse, do you know where I am? You see, first I was in Rutledge's, going in for a treatment. Then..." Her voice trailed off. "I forget what happened next." The mouse suddenly looked very frightened, and started to run off.

"But mouse! I haven't told you the rest. Wait!", Alice yelled.

But the field mouse head already ran into a small burrow nearby.

"What was he so afraid of?" Alice wondered. She turned around to go back to the river and saw a familiar grin out of the corner of her eye. She studied the slinky cat as it walked toward her. He was still a bit bony, but not mangy as before.

Alice clasped her hands together. "Cheshire Cat! It's felt like forever! But you're here, I'm here... again!"

The cat looked at Alice with empty eyes. "Yes Alice." he purred in his mysterious voice. "You're here, in Wonderland again, but I don't think you'll be here long."





*Wow, so I hope this chapter doesn't confuse you the way it weaves through the two different stories. I hope you all 'got it' that the Wonderland part is in her head while the Asylum is reality. I'm sure you did.

Anyway, I love all my reviews so far. I take criticism well so, keep them coming!*