Fit the Eighth: The Storm
Most everyone but Alice and Margaret had returned to the ship for the night. The clouds were darkening with the dark blue of dusk, and it smelled like rain. The Hatter stood at the prow of the boat, looking at the plank they'd set up between ship and shore in the safe-ish harbor they had found on the far side of the island. He was becoming concerned with Time.
That's when Margaret came reeling through the twilight, half flying in her haste to reach the boat.
The other hunters came out on deck as they heard her shriek.
Mag ran impossibly fast up the plank, then collapsed on the deck, panting so hard she couldn't breathe.
"Bring her water!"
Pepper brought her a flask of water. Mag sipped at it carefully. In a minute, her panting had subsided somewhat.
She looked at Tarrant. "I'm sorry," she breathed.
"What happened? Where is Alice?"
"It was a Boojum."
She fell silent as everyone took in her words.
"Tell me what happened, Margaret."
"We were in the foothills when Alice saw a snark. She was so excited she threw caution to the wind and went to tempt it to her with soap. 'It's a Snark!' said she. 'It's a Snark!' Then I heard her shout...'It's a Boo.' And she was gone. I looked and looked for any sign of her, but she had softly and suddenly vanished away."
Tarrant stood and took several steps away from the others. He stared out at the island, where billowous clouds were piling up against the crags.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum walked up behind him. Tweedledum looked as if he would reach for him, but Tweedledee grasped his arm and shook his head. "Miss Alice is gone, and there ain't nothing can be said that makes that less sad."
After a minute, Pepper walked up next to Tarrant. "We'll make a full search in the morning. Nothing can be done now."
The Hatter shook his head. Slightly at first, so slightly he scarcely seemed to move, then more fervently. "No. I am going to look for her tonight. She canna h've vanished away. Not like that. Not without me..." His words choked off, and he closed his eyes. "I'm going to look for her."
"No you won't. If she has vanished, there will be no finding her. And even if she has, we must continue the Snark hunt."
Tarrant didn't look at the captain. He turned and walked away, heading for the sleeping quarters.
Mag was beginning to revive, and was sitting up drinking some gooseberry cordial Ellieita had helpfully provided.
Pepper turned to them. "Well, at least I talked sense into him."
But at that instant, the door to the cabins burst open and the Bandersnatch bounded out, Tarrant on its back.
"I'm off to find Alice!" He shouted. "Don't look for me before morning!"
The Bandersnatch leaped down the narrow plank, and in moments it and the Hatter had disappeared into the gathering darkness.
All of the lookers-on had expressions of worry on their faces. They were all worried the Bandersnatch and Hatter would never return at all.
Except for Mag. Hers was worry that they would.
Alice had made very little progress on carving handholds out of the pit's walls before near pitch darkness overcame the overcast evening. The threatened rain had not yet begun, but thunder growled ominously from the distance.
And then another sound intruded.
She stopped her movements and held her breath. There was something nearby, something large. She heard its breathing, she heard the thump of footfalls, the occasional scrape of claws against stone.
This was, she somehow knew, a Snark.
But was it a Boojum?
Snarks, authorities agreed, were generally harmless. If she could lure it into the pit with her, they would have what they were looking for.
Not that it would be much help if she couldn't find a way out to get it back to the boat.
And if it was a Boojum, then alerting it to her presence was the last thing she wanted to do.
Before she could decide, the rain started. It poured down, pounded down. She heard the creature scamper away.
In minutes, the rain was running down the walls of the pit, pooling up her shins. She looked up, wet face framed by wet hair, to the wet sky. If the rain kept coming, she could swim out. If she didn't freeze first.
The Hatter on the back of the Bandersnatch bounded through the rain-soaked swamps of Snark Island. The Bandersnatch sniffed, searching by scent for its beloved mistress.
"Where are ye, my Alice?" Tarrant asked the night air. "You mustn't have disappeared, or I have lost Hope. I have lost my Hope and must find her."
The Bandersnatch caught the scent again and galumphed off toward the mountain.
The trail led to a canyon where a new-formed river was spilling out. The Bandersnatch splashed through the cold water, Tarrant still clinging to its back.
"Alice!" he called. "Jabberwock-Slayer, where are yeh?"
From the pit at the mouth of the low cave, Alice thought she heard her favorite voice calling. "Tarrant? Hatter! I'm here!"
The long arm of the Bandersnatch snatched her from the drowning pit and pulled her out. With a leap, they were in a moment in the dark, dry depth of the cave.
"Alice," Tarrant breathed. He reached for her. It was too dark to see, but his hand found her hair.
"You came for me." Her hand took his, and held it like she was afraid he'd be swept away. "You found me."
"Alice..." He pulled her hand to his lips. Her fingers were shivering cold. He wrapped his arms around her, and she reciprocated.
"I'm so glad you came."
"Mag told us you disappeared."
"Mag..." She drew back. Her hand slid up Tarrant's arm to cup his face, to make sure she was facing him when she spoke. "She trapped me here. She led me to the pit."
He was shocked into silence for a beat. "Why would she do that?"
"I don't know. I have no idea."
"Well it didn't work. You're alive."
"And I'm so glad I am." Her thumb rubbed his cheek. "Tarrant..."
And then she couldn't speak for the lips pressed against hers.
He drew back in a second, but kept his arms around her. The kiss had been a simple delivery, a message. Its existence conveyed everything he wanted to tell her but had been too afraid to.
She kissed him back, just as briefly and just as simply: a reply.
That was all.