AN: Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Chapter IV

Alice was furious.

Randy couldn't blame her, truthfully. The high-tension environment where she was clearly the one in the center of it would make anyone crazy. Randy chose to stay back while she and Hatter argued. In truth, she didn't have much in the fight. She didn't take either side because it wasn't her place to, but it wasn't the only reason. The fact was, Miranda's mind was heavily divided.

Nothing about Wonderland felt right. It made her skin crawl for a multitude of reasons.

"Will ya talk some sense into her?"

Hatter was speaking directly to her and it brought her back to reality. "What?"

He sighed heavily and eyed her like she was either getting on his nerves, or he couldn't believe she wasn't readily agreeing with him.

"She's tryin' to bargain with the Queen."

Randy's eyes went wide as she looked at her friend. "Are you kidding me?" She walked closer to Alice. "She's insane."

"How would you know?" Alice shot back.

"We've read the stories." She said before she paused. "Wait, was it the Red Queen or the Queen of Hearts that was crazy?"

"It doesn't matter." Hatter snapped.

"No, yeah, he's right. You can't try to make a deal with her." Randy said to Alice.

"Look, I'm doing this, okay? You guys can't stop me."

Alice turned and charged away from them as strongly as she could. If they weren't a thousand feet in the air, it might have worked.

"Hey," Randy grabbed her arm and forced Alice to stop. "Look around. Does this post-Apocalyptic world scream level-headed ruler?"

Alice's brows pulled together and her tense stature relaxed just a bit. "I can't just leave him here." She said sadly. "You just don't get it. You never had a boyfriend that actually loved y-" Alice immediately snapped her mouth shut. Randy's head dipped a little, but she did her best to appear less affected than she felt. She cleared her throat and pushed beyond the ache the simple phrase brought up within her. "Oh, Miranda, I'm sorry. I didn't…" Her words fell away.

"It's fine," Randy forced a smile that lasted only a moment. "The point is, you can't go to the Queen. If she was rational, there wouldn't be refugees hidden in a library. There wouldn't be a resistance." Alice tried to look away, but Randy wouldn't let her. She spoke again when she had her friend's full attention. "She wouldn't be kidnapping people and holding them hostage."

The sadness in Alice's eyes slowly faded, but was soon replaced with desperation. Randy hadn't meant to take away Alice's only hope, but honestly. A quick glance around could tell anyone that the Queen of Hearts wasn't a viable option.

"Look," Hatter stepped up behind Randy. She felt him close the distance and did her best to keep from rolling her shoulders. She didn't like how it felt to have him so close. "We'll find somethin' else, alright?"

Reluctantly, Alice nodded. She even tried to smile briefly. Hatter gave her a sharp nod of his own before stepping around them and leading the way once more.

The moment he was more than a few yards ahead, Randy finally let herself shake. She shuddered and let the odd sensation roll off her shoulders.

Randy hadn't been comfortable around Hatter from the moment she saw him. She couldn't explain why, necessarily, but when he spun around in that high-backed white chair, she felt something cold trickle down her spine. It was both terrifying and rejuvenating at the same time. Regardless, it was something she'd never felt before, so it left her unsettled around him.

Her gaze drifted from the back of Hatter to the back of Alice. A quick flash of anger touched her, albeit briefly. It was still there, however. She was angry for what Alice had said.

Relationships were never Randy's strong suit. The truth was, she never cared. She'd been on dates only a small handful of times (less than she had fingers on one hand) and never had a relationship longer than a couple weeks. The fact of the matter was, she didn't care. She could appreciate a guy for being attractive, maybe being kind or interesting, but she felt nothing toward them. Because of that, she saw no point in continuing a relationship of any kind.

Carol had, in the most awkward way possible, inquired as to whether or not Randy was gay. She said she had a friend from work whose daughter was rather nice, pretty, and looking for someone to date. Miranda had begun laughing. She didn't meant to, but it was the way Carol went about it that made her laugh. There's something undeniably funny about a parent of any kind trying to talk about a relationship with a kid they practically helped raise.

Randy politely declined. She wasn't gay. Women did nothing for her either.

Through Alice, Miranda saw what being in a relationship was like. She saw the exhilaration, the fluttering anxiety, and the inevitable heartache that eventually bookended the whole ordeal. It was the first two she was interested in, the first two emotions that Randy wanted to feel, but never did.

She felt something close, she assumed, when she saw Hatter for the first time, but honestly, there was fear in there, too. Fear, as far as Miranda knew, wasn't supposed to be part of it.

When they emerged from around a building, Hatter forced Alice and Randy to stop behind the same phone box Alice had clung to only a few hours ago. The Tea Shop was being raided. There were Suits everywhere, and a man with a white, what looked like porcelain, rabbit's head.

Ratty was speaking to someone, a man in a bowler hat.

"Works with rats long enough," Hatter growled.

And then they were spotted. Miranda saw the white rabbit's head snap in their direction. Somehow, she knew he saw them. The creature had no eyes, and yet Randy could have sworn they bore straight through her. She didn't like it, and was grateful she wasn't the only one.

"Go, run!" Hatter said, shoving at the pair and getting them to flee.

The boots he'd given her felt heavy on her feet. They were a size too big and she'd had trouble running in them already, but that didn't stop her from doing it.

Hatter, as before, led the way. He wove through the buildings, along the walkways and past brush. Alice was directly behind him. Randy was sure to bring up the rear. She wasn't going to let Alice fall behind.

They finally broke free of the towering structures and emerged near a dock. Hatter ushered them onto it. Randy's heart thundered. She could see the posse in the distance. They might have been walking, but they were closing in fast, and Hatter couldn't start the motor.

"This has a bit of a knack to it," He continued to pull the chord, and the motor continued to remain idol. "Which I apparently never learned."

The posse had somehow closed at least half the distance. Randy couldn't stand it anymore.

"Oh, for the love of God." She snapped. Randy pushed him out of the way and brought her fist down hard on the outboard. It roared to life.

Hatter shot her a confused, yet surprised glance before he raced for the steering wheel. He immediately pulled away and drove them out into the lake where, only a few hours ago, Alice and Miranda had fallen.

They were roughly halfway across the lake and Randy still hadn't sat. She stood staring at the lake behind them, her eyes trained on the horizon. Any moment she expected to see another boat emerge.

"My tea shop's been raided," Hatter said. "I got the Suits and the Resistance out for me now. I got no choice but to come back with ya."

Miranda's brows furrowed curiously as she looked at the man behind her. He believed what he said, and that was perhaps what bothered her the most. He'd hate it in Other World. He'd hate it more than she did.

A low hum brought her back to her post. Overhead flew another Scarab. It was close.

"First," Hatter said, "We need to lose our shadow."

Another fifteen minutes later, Hatter drove the boat onto the shoreline. With Alice and Miranda's help, it was properly beached. He proceeded to cover it in brush and branches. It would help hide it from prying eyes.

As he did, Randy and Alice stood a bit further up the bank. They were hidden beneath the canopy safely. In the distance, they could hear the roars of something. She should have been afraid. She should have been worried at least. But she wasn't. Randy felt completely at ease –at home, even. She liked the woods.

"What was that?" Alice asked with a hint of fear.

"There are things in these woods that defy imagination." Randy replied in an airy tone. When she turned around, she noticed both Hatter and Alice eying her curiously. "What?"

"Come on," Hatter said in a tone that let her know he would rather move on than dwell on the strangeness of her. Randy was a bit grateful. "We need to set a trap."

"A trap?" Alice asked as she followed him reluctantly.

"Yeah," He nodded.

When Hatter glanced at her, he hesitated. Alice either wouldn't or couldn't hide her worry, and he saw it. Miranda saw his expression soften. It filled with a gentleness that she hadn't seen him use before. It caused her to narrow her eyes. There was something there, something that was beginning to bubble beneath the surface. Whether he was aware of it or not was up for debate, but she could see it just the same.

"Look, we can't outrun the posse, and we can't fight 'em, either. Best we can do is set a trap." He told them. "So, come on."

He waved his hand for them to follow, so they did.

They climbed the steep bank and finally found level ground. The trees towered high overhead. They were wrapped in thick, soft green moss. Ferns littered every single surface. It was like a green sanctuary. As before, Miranda felt her heart swell. She'd always felt better surrounded by the vast expanse of nature. The smaller the space became, the more panicked. The bigger the skies, the more at ease.

The trio had made their way roughly fifty yards into the forest before another roar flooded the area. It was louder than before, enough that it forced them all to stop immediately. Alice instantly reached for Hatter, clutching his arm firmly. Miranda couldn't help herself. She took a few steps further, her eyes trained on the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Alice asked with a panicked whisper.

The word fell from her lips before she could stop it. "Jabberwock," Miranda muttered.

Hatter's head snapped in her direction. "What'd ya say?"

She looked back at him with her brows raised. "What?" She tried for innocence, but wasn't entirely certain she'd succeeded.

There was another long, loud roar that was even closer than before.

"Right," Hatter's voice trembled just a bit. "You two need to find a tree you can climb."

"What, why?" Alice demanded.

"Uh, ya know that trap? Well, this is it." He turned a slightly worried eye to her. "And I'm the bait."

"What?" Randy snapped. She stormed toward him and stood on his other side.

"For that Jabberwock thing?" Alice sounded a bit angry, too.

"Are you mental?" Miranda demanded.

"Is it dangerous?" Alice asked.

"That thing will kill you."

"Oh my god!"

"Enough!" Hatter shouted.

His head had been snapping from one irate young woman to the other, bouncing back and forth between them as they berated his idea.

"Seriously," He said sternly, "Ya need to-"

A crunch forced the words to catch in his throat. Slowly, their attention shifted. Randy almost didn't want to look, but she did. Her heart instantly stopped.

"Yup," She squeaked. "That's a Jabberwock."

The beast towered over them, a body filled with rolls of solid muscle. It stalked toward them on two legs. Gnarled claws jutted out from each finger and toe. A round, alien-like head rested at the end of a long, slender neck. Dangerous spikes jutted out in random directions down the length of its spine. Inept wings swayed with each step.

Large, beady eyes stared down at them while it gnashed its teeth. It saw them and roared again.

"Run," Hatter barely said the word before the trio sped off in opposite directions.

Randy didn't know how far she ran, only that she managed it relatively quickly. She was prepared to keep going until she heard Hatter scream from somewhere behind. She immediately dug her heels into the soft, black earth and stopped.

"Alice!" He shouted.

It was then, and only then, that Miranda realized she was alone. Neither Hatter nor Alice had run with her. A bolt of fear struck her hard.

Without hesitation, Miranda spun and quickly ran in the other direction. She used Hatter's screams as her guide. They told her where to go, and soon she spotted both him and the Jabberwock. It was an odd scene, the giant creature running with Hatter chasing behind, but she had no time to enjoy it.

Randy pressed herself to run as hard as she could. The boots jostled on her feet, slid and shifted. She hated them because they wouldn't stop moving. After a few yards, Miranda finally knew she couldn't wear them any longer. As quickly as possible, she stopped, yanked them off, then ran once more. Without them holding her back, Randy sailed over the uneven landscape.

She passed Hatter. It was at an angle, which meant she saw the surprise on his face when she pulled ahead. Maybe later she'll explain that she has always been better without shoes, but it's such a trivial thing that she doubted it would matter.

The Jabberwock came into her sight and then faded quickly enough. Soon, she was only a few dozen feet behind Alice. She fell into line behind her best friend, once again putting herself between the monster and the girl.

Alice dove between a pair of trees that split at the base of the trunk, and promptly fell. Miranda followed suit, leapt over the felled tree that tripped up her friend and landed a few feet from her. Her momentum forced her to roll to a stop. When she had, Randy shot up and scuttled to Alice's side.

"Oh my God," Alice clung to Miranda's arm while the monster snapped and bit at the air in a desperate attempt to get them. It was caught by the trees. "What is that thing?!"

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son." Randy said with a heavy breath.

"Stop quoting that stupid book!" Alice snapped. She was rattled, so Randy didn't take the words to heart. When they were kids, Alice in Wonderland had been one of their favorite stories.

Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda noticed Hatter.

"Alice!" He shouted as he ran for them. "Miranda!"

He made it to their side as the Jabberwock began to bend the trees. He slid to a stop and stumbled. His hat was nearly blown off by the power of the creature's roars. And yet, for whatever reason, Hatter actually drew back and landed a sharp blow to the monster's face. It seemed to genuinely hurt the beast.

"Go, go, go. Run!" Hatter said. He and Randy helped Alice to her feet and proceeded to help her run again.

From somewhere behind they heard the trees finally give. The ground shook and the roars drew nearer. It was on their tail. It was closing in. It was-

The ground suddenly gave way beneath her feet and Miranda, alongside Hatter and Alice, tumbled into a hole. The air was knocked from her lungs and her head ached, but when her vision cleared, she saw how lucky she truly was. Large, slender, and angry-looking spikes jutted out feet from the ground. It was more than enough to completely skewer a person –a person standing upright. They were terrifying.

"Ya alright?" Hatter asked.

"Yeah," Alice groaned.

"Miranda?" He asked. She rolled her head to the side and noticed he was nearby, a look of concern on his face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded and let her head fall back against the cold ground. "I'm fine."

No sooner than she let out a breath of relief did the monster appear. She instantly froze.

"Don't move." Hatter whispered.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't as though she planned to stand up and dance for it.

The Jabberwock sniffed and huffed as it tried to get them, but they were safe within the spikes. It didn't relent until it managed to stab itself in the mouth on one, however. They were no longer worth the effort and the beast strolled away.

Miranda was finally able to let the rest of that breath out. Her eyes even drifted shut.

The sudden sound of jangling metal forced her to open them once more. A man with white, fancifully-designed facial hair stood on the edge of the hole. His armor was old, bent and scratched, but still glittered in the light. It was the cause of the jangle.

"Vermin!" He shouted at them. "Saboteurs! Anarchists! I was this close to catching him." He held his hands roughly six inches apart, then seemed to rethink his assessment. He parted them further. "This close." He dropped his hands to his sides in a huff. "Degenerate bagheads."

They fell into an odd silence. The old man continued to stare down his nose at them before muttering some more incoherent insults as he wandered out of sight.

"Who the hell was that?" Miranda asked.