ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND

-15-

"Oh, my God," I thought to myself, but on the outside, no emotion whatsoever showed.

I looked up at them, all standing in a row like that, and suddenly I remembered some time, long ago, when they had last stood like that before me, although... Last time they weren't glaring at me. They were...

"ALiCE?"

Zione brought me back to reality. "What?"

"Let's go."

The others had already walked away. We trailed after them.

After a moment, Zione spoke to me again. "Like I was saying..."

"I'm not taking you seriously."

"I get the feeling you don't believe."

"Whatever gives you that idea?" I asked, sarcastically.

"Look, ALiCE. When it comes down to it, we're going to need you, and we can't count on you if we're not 100% sure that you're on our side."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know, you're... a *magic* person."

I was confused. "A what?"

"You use magic. Or at least, you used to. We... use technology." He paused. "Actually, you use a little bit of both, but your weapons are really primitive. Knives, blades, cards..."

I interrupted. "Cards?"

The urgency in my voice must have scared him. "Not big, evil Queen of Hearts cards. Little possessed cards, that you throw at people." He shook his head. "But that's not the point, ALiCE."

"The point is that you don't trust me."

"Right."

"So what can I do to prove to you that I'm trustworthy?"

Zione shrugged as he went to catch up with the others. "I don't know. Not kill us?"

***