Title: Alice the Second

Date Started: September 24, 2004

Author name: Final Rose

Author email:

Category: Books

Sub Category: Alice in Wonderland

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Alice used to think that the stories her grandfather told her weren't true. After all, he lived in a mental institution. But one day, things start happening that make her question her own insanity.

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations not belonging to the author. The author is making no money, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter One: Insanity

She sat on granpapa's knee, him bouncing her as he told her stories. It was Saturday. She always got to see him on Saturday, where he lived in the place of cold metal and cleanliness.

Alice was seven. Her parents hadn't taught her the word "suicide," or told her that her grandpapa was "mad as mad can be." She just thought that his stories were good.

He told her one story in particular, about a girl who had the same name as her. The girl was poor, and famished, but still very happy. And one day, she saw a rabbit leap into the woods. Being hungry as she was, she leapt after it so she could cook it and eat it. Alice always scrunched up her nose at this part. Who would want to eat a rabbit? But grandpapa assured her that Alice- the story Alice- wouldn't eat the rabbit in the end.

So Alice followed the rabbit down the hole, and discovered Wonderland...

"I don't want to go!"

Alice's mother crossed her arms and glared at her teenage daughter sternly. "You will go. Your grandfather expects you to come, every Saturday, like clockwork. You can't be late, now!"

Alice pouted. "But he's crazy, Mom!" She threw her hands up in the air exasperatedly. "He's- he's-"

"As mad as a hatter?"

"Yes!" Alice thew her arms down to her side, sighing dramatically. "He always tells those same old stories, and goes on and on about fairy tales and things. But he believes them! He actually believes in the nonsense that comes out of his mouth!"

Alice's mom ran a hand through her hair. "Fine. I'll go without you. But you should feel ashamed of yourself. As mad as he is, he's family, and you're the only person he has left after his son died." She stared off into the distance, looking suddenly weary and tired. But Alice didn't care- she hated going to see the old man, now that she was older and he was too senile to even wipe the spit from his mouth. And she hated the place that smelled like death, no matter how much people tried to cover the smell up with cleaning supplies.

Alice stayed home when her mother left that afternoon. She felt guilty for a moment, then flicked the guilt away. It wasn't a big deal if she missed one Saturday with her grandpapa.

So somehow, in the midst of boredom and an odd guilt, not to mention a weird feeling- she had never stayed home on a Saturday, she was always at grandpapa's- somehow, she found herself wandering out into her backyard. And then past the gate. Down into the woods, through the trees, all the way to the brook and across the other side.

It was exhilarating, being outside and to places she had never been. Absolutely spontaneous. Crazy. And dangerous. She had never felt so alive, though. A part of her shouted at her insane part that she really should go back- but she shoved that part away. It felt good to get the cold mountain air into her lungs.

Alice only stopped when she reached a small clearing. Light filtered from the trees, making polka dots on the grassy forest floor. The smell of pines wafted through the air, and she had to sit with her back again a tree in order to get her breath back.

A sound alerted her to a small creature intruding on her peace. A fluff of white, pure and blinding, hopped into the clearing. Alice watched the bunny with growing nausea. An instinct told her that something was wrong.

She heard the sound of a canine growl as the bunny stopped in panic. Its red eyes looked at her deploringly, its skin twitching with nervousness and panic. Two yellow eyes looked out from the darkness as the hunter prepared to pounce-

"Run," Alice whispered, like an audience member too far into a horror flick to realize that she was talking out loud. The bunny ran, and Alice saw the wolf barely miss it as it streaked past her.

The wolf turned, going for another try, when Alice's heart leapt to her throat and she had to take action. She ran past the wolf, barely noticing her own danger, and scooped the bunny up in her arms. It shook against her like a leaf as she darted through the forest, howls of anger following her path.

Alice knew where to go. There was somewhere safe, her instinct told her, and she ran in a straight path. The bunny's shivering increased as the howls of anger grew louder. Alice had to get to the safe place as fast as possible, because if the wolf got them it would get her too.

A tree appeared in her line of sight, a tree like no other around it. It was a giant in a sea of dwarfs. Alice knew instantly that it was the safe place, and she crouched near it with the bunny in arms. She could hear the growls of the wolf now, and it was only a matter of time.

The bunny leapt into the bushes surrounding the tree, then disappeared. Alice hesitated, then went diving in after it in a mad sort of last dash. Something caught on her ankle- something grabbed her ankle, a canine something and it struck her that bushes were no protection from teeth and she was a fool-

But another something grabbed her hair and dragged her forcibly into the tree dragged her until her ankle was hers again. Before she knew it, she felt safe and protected. The growls were far away, muffled by something thick and protective.

Alice looked up, shaking, through the hair covering her face. What she saw made her think that perhaps the crazy gene skipped a generation, and she had caught a bit of her grandpapa's curse.