ALiCE in WoNDeRLaND
-19-
"Hang on," I started. "Never walked there before? How do you know you even know where you're going? I thought we had some sort of plan here."
"Have a little faith, ALiCE," was Namdhari's only reply.
I was abashed. "Faith? Faith?"
"Here we go again," Miyka'el sighed.
"Again?" I lost my train of thought. "What do you mean, 'again'?"
"Look, ALiCE," Miyka'el began. "It's not going to be like Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt or something. We know what we're doing. That's why we have our associates. It's all been fully prepared before hand, and we have everything under control."
He sounded so sure of himself that I had to concede. "Fine."
"Rather concerned for someone who doesn't even know what she's fighting for," Miyka'el added.
"If some one would care to fill me in on the rest of my memory..." I gestured at the landscape before us. "After all, it's not like we're going to be doing anything else for awhile."
I stopped for a moment to see the landscape I had just passed with my hand and gasped. "Where... are we?"
When the rabbit and I had fallen from the sky, I had never stopped to look beyond the massive glass house. Once I had, however... I was totally and utterly amazed.
"There's nothing," I continued, but the guys had just kept going without me. I ran up to Zione and pulled him aside.
"What?" he asked, as if he hadn't even heard my last few remarks.
"What happened to WoNDeRLaND?" I whispered.
He kept walking, motioning for me to follow him. "You're asking me?" he wondered.
I couldn't tell if he was surprised or being sarcastic. "Yeah. What happened?"
"Magic," he replied. He nodded to himself. "All magic, and technology, of course, but it wasn't this bad back when we only had one of them... being used by the Queen."
The place was a wasteland. No trees, no grass, no signs of life of any kind. There was nothing but plain concrete as far as I could possibly (and possibly even beyond that) see.
I suddenly realized it was going to be a very far walk.
Zione glanced over at me. "Are you okay?"
"There isn't even any... sand, or dirt." I stared at the ground as I stepped over it. "Why is this all concrete?"
Zione shrugged. "Something about the earth and how magical people get energy from it. The Queen must have decided to pave over everyone's land but her own... which is why you haven't used your magic yet."
"My magic?" I whispered.
"Yeah. It's really cool, but also a little freaky. You do this one thing where you..." He suddenly realized how quickly he was talking and paused. "Sorry, it's just... really cool that you can do all that."
"Thanks, I think," I replied with a laugh.
Up in front of us, Zale silently watched me and Zione out of the corner of his eye.
"So what's up with the rest of the group?" I asked casually.
"You know," Zione said with a face. "It's like a betrayal or something, the fact that you can't remember them. They thought they were important. I mean, they are. It's just..."
I kind of understood. After all, my memory of them had already started coming back.
"So how much do you remember?" Zione asked all of a sudden, catching me off guard.
It was the first time anyone had asked me that. "I don't know," I muttered to the ground. "If I knew what I had forgotten, I wouldn't really have forgotten it then, would I?"
"You know what I mean," he replied quietly.
I shrugged. He seemed hurt by my sarcasm.
"Alright," he said, and with that left me alone in the back of the group.
***
-19-
"Hang on," I started. "Never walked there before? How do you know you even know where you're going? I thought we had some sort of plan here."
"Have a little faith, ALiCE," was Namdhari's only reply.
I was abashed. "Faith? Faith?"
"Here we go again," Miyka'el sighed.
"Again?" I lost my train of thought. "What do you mean, 'again'?"
"Look, ALiCE," Miyka'el began. "It's not going to be like Moses leading the Jews out of Egypt or something. We know what we're doing. That's why we have our associates. It's all been fully prepared before hand, and we have everything under control."
He sounded so sure of himself that I had to concede. "Fine."
"Rather concerned for someone who doesn't even know what she's fighting for," Miyka'el added.
"If some one would care to fill me in on the rest of my memory..." I gestured at the landscape before us. "After all, it's not like we're going to be doing anything else for awhile."
I stopped for a moment to see the landscape I had just passed with my hand and gasped. "Where... are we?"
When the rabbit and I had fallen from the sky, I had never stopped to look beyond the massive glass house. Once I had, however... I was totally and utterly amazed.
"There's nothing," I continued, but the guys had just kept going without me. I ran up to Zione and pulled him aside.
"What?" he asked, as if he hadn't even heard my last few remarks.
"What happened to WoNDeRLaND?" I whispered.
He kept walking, motioning for me to follow him. "You're asking me?" he wondered.
I couldn't tell if he was surprised or being sarcastic. "Yeah. What happened?"
"Magic," he replied. He nodded to himself. "All magic, and technology, of course, but it wasn't this bad back when we only had one of them... being used by the Queen."
The place was a wasteland. No trees, no grass, no signs of life of any kind. There was nothing but plain concrete as far as I could possibly (and possibly even beyond that) see.
I suddenly realized it was going to be a very far walk.
Zione glanced over at me. "Are you okay?"
"There isn't even any... sand, or dirt." I stared at the ground as I stepped over it. "Why is this all concrete?"
Zione shrugged. "Something about the earth and how magical people get energy from it. The Queen must have decided to pave over everyone's land but her own... which is why you haven't used your magic yet."
"My magic?" I whispered.
"Yeah. It's really cool, but also a little freaky. You do this one thing where you..." He suddenly realized how quickly he was talking and paused. "Sorry, it's just... really cool that you can do all that."
"Thanks, I think," I replied with a laugh.
Up in front of us, Zale silently watched me and Zione out of the corner of his eye.
"So what's up with the rest of the group?" I asked casually.
"You know," Zione said with a face. "It's like a betrayal or something, the fact that you can't remember them. They thought they were important. I mean, they are. It's just..."
I kind of understood. After all, my memory of them had already started coming back.
"So how much do you remember?" Zione asked all of a sudden, catching me off guard.
It was the first time anyone had asked me that. "I don't know," I muttered to the ground. "If I knew what I had forgotten, I wouldn't really have forgotten it then, would I?"
"You know what I mean," he replied quietly.
I shrugged. He seemed hurt by my sarcasm.
"Alright," he said, and with that left me alone in the back of the group.
***