A/N: No lyric for this one unfortunately :/

(4)

Hatter stirred uncomfortably in his sleep, not because of his bedding; he was used to sleeping in odd places…but because of his back…

There was something on his back that stung horribly. Hissing in a breath, he sat up, reaching down his collar to feel a burning hot scab just starting to form on his shoulder blade.

Another scar to add to his "collection" so to speak…but this one was different. This one had not come from a human. He couldn't tell whether it was the shadow creatures talons or fangs that had struck him the previous night whilst trying to protect the fallen Alice…he only hoped the wound wasn't as deep or as long as it felt...

Curious he stood up, carefully removing his shirt as to not hurt the wound further, and approached a long mirror in the corner. He looked away almost instantly as the severity of the wound was made clear to him…

The gash extended from his left shoulder blade to the very center of his back. There were a couple other scratches around it, but he could not feel those for the skin around the largest gash was black and bruised and quite numb. The darkness of the bruise that surrounded it contrasted all too well against his skin…

"Hatter?"

The voice caught him by surprise and he hurried to put his shirt back on, slipping his arms into the sleeves and buttoning it up as quick as he could without messing it up. "Ah, Alice! You're awake! Good morning to ya!" He said cheerfully with a nervous smile on his face, "I trust you slept well?" "Fine, yes, thank you." She said. She cocked an eyebrow at him, "what were you doing?" "hmm? Oh, nothing. Just woke up meself," He said as he finished buttoning his shirt, "Its dreadfully cold out there. You may want to wear a thicker jacket than that gimpy looking thing you were wearing yesterday…hold on." He ran over to a small closet, digging through the seemingly endless array of clothing he had before emerging at last with two long coats, both black, and handed one to her. "Here ya go," he said, "It'll keep you warm and safe…somewhat." "What do you mean?" She asked him, taking the coat. "Those creatures you saw last night? We call them Shadows…They are easily attracted to color…so wearing black gives them less of a chance of picking you out." Hatter responded.

Alice thought back to the frightening creature that had attacked her the night before…she could almost see its fire red eyes and silver teeth. "What are they?" She couldn't help but ask. Hatter sighed sadly and looked down for a brief moment, "They are…what we become once the darkness has reached us…those creatures are former wonderlanders…The curse can be broken, if you catch it on time, but for most of them, its too late. They've been consumed, and the only way to save them is to kill them…"

"oh…" was all Alice managed to say. She diddnt know how to respond…It was obvious by the look in Hatters eyes that he had lost many friends and loved ones and, she assumed, he had to kill many of them…

Suddenly, he smiled and perked up, "Well enough of this gloomy talk. We have things to do. Come on, then!" Alice smiled and shook her head as she followed him. Never in her life had she met a man with so many quirks…

Hatter led her up a ladder and through a round door at the top. As the door opened, a large rush of cold air nearly froze Alice in place. He sure wasn't kidding when he said it was dreadfully cold! "Christ!" She said, flipping up the hood of the coat over her head. "Keep moving! Don't want your hands freezing to the ladder now do we?" Hatter called to her as he climbed out of the narrow hole, reaching one hand down to help her up. She took his offered hand, shivering violently, "You never told me it was THIS cold. I would have worn my other jacket along with this one."

"Yeah, Winters can get pretty violent here." He said, shutting the door to his underground home, "That's why we cant-"

"Hatter! Look out!" Alice cut him off, pointing behind him and the black creature grinning fiercely at them from its perch on a nearby tree. Hatter spun around towards the creature just as it started to leap away, cackling as it did so.

Hatters eyes widened, "They know where we are…Quick! Help me! We have to get our things and get out of here while we can!" He rushed over to where his horse was tied up. "How fast do they travel?" Alice asked him, rushing over to help attach the saddle bags. "The shadows? They can travel pretty fast…They travel in clans, but they don't do anything unless their leader tells them otherwise. Once their leader hears that you're here, he's going to have almost his entire army on our tails…which is why we best be making tracks."

"Those things have a leader?!"

"Aye. He was born the same way the Stag was, only hes made from something entirely different. He's a creature of Nightmares, not dreams…and hes fueled by the very thing that weakens the Stag. He is the reason wonderlanders are becoming…those creatures…all it takes is one touch…" He was silent for a few seconds, his mind wandering to the painful scar on his back. He had to stop himself from reaching back to touch it. "But we do have an advantage!" He said suddenly, perking up, "They are slow by day, So we can gain some pretty decent ground ahead of them during the day and catch sleep when we can." He tied the last bag to the saddle of the horse and double checked to make sure the other bags were tied securely.

"Where exactly is it that were going?" Alices voice was full of curiosity and confusion. He diddnt blame her. He was confused himself…

"The temple." He said, dark eyes meeting hers, "a shrine built by the very first people here in honor of the Stag…it's a few days from here on horseback, way out on the farthest side of Wonderland. Its the only way we can receive answers from him." Hatter swung himself onto the stallion, holding a hand down to Alice, "Come on now. Unless you'd rather walk." Alice took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up onto the horse. She was seated infront of him again. It was obvious he would not allow her to sit behind him where she was easy prey to any silent creature attacking from behind. She could protect herself, and she knew that very well. Normally, she wouldn't accept protection, but for some reason, she accepted it from this man, whom shes only known for less than a day…

She diddnt mind, really…she was a lot warmer where she was sitting, and she did feel safer.

Hatter whipped the reins once and the horse started forward.

"Where are they!" The voice was loud, much like a roar…

"In a hole at the edge of the woods…they have a den there, but it seemed as if they were leaving elsewhere."

The great black creature tossed its massive head, "Sniff them out…before they get too far. They must not reach Makatok."