"That cat and his ridiculous gibberish. What fun is there in this? Wonderland is suffering and he's out looking for /fun/." Alice had been talking to herself for hours now, walking along the same never-ending path to nowhere. The scenery had remained the same throughout her trek, lifeless and depressing. Without any sign of help, or hope for that matter, the dark haired femmora couldn't help but feel that the situation was beyond repair. Wonderland was destroyed and there was nothing she could do about it.
"If that over-grown, good for nothing feline won't help me, then I'm leaving," she finally concluded. "I'm not wasting my time here," she muttered, turning around to follow the winding path back. Before she began her hike back however, something of interest caught her eye.
"Wilbur? Is that you?" her thoughts asked aloud.
"…Yes." The words formed slowly in her mind, as if the tree was writing the letters in her head with a great deal of strength.
"Oh my, just look at you. Torn and chopped all over," she examined, stepping off of the winding path to take a better look. The giant willow tree stood alone, broken branches swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze, its giant, hairy toe-like roots digging deep into the soft ground. Standing right in front of the tree, the young female began to read aloud the various names engraved in its smooth bark.
"Charles Fletcher." She paused at that name. Tilting her head slightly, green optics running over the name several times over, she repeated the name. "My father's name was Charles," she said slowly, placing a delicate hand over the mark. "Oh how I do miss him so…my mother as well…" her voice trailed off as she ran her hand over the rugged surface.
Suddenly with a shuddering sigh, the tentacle-like branches shot out and wrapped themselves tightly around her tiny wrist. She could feel the tree's battered flesh cutting into her own. "What's this?" she cried, clearly surprised she tried to tug her hand free. It was no use however, as more branches latched onto her in a crushing grip.
"I demand you stop this right now! Let go I say!" she shrieked, trying desperately to escape. The rustling of Wilbur's creaking branches drowned her yells out however. As several lashed out at her the scrolling words in her mind appeared again.
"Look at what you've done to me," the letters began to form. "Merely watching me…you saw the pain I was in, yet you did nothing!" The words were scribbled across her mind, forming more rapidly as the willow's anger rose. "Let me show you just how much it hurt." Those words lingered in her head as several more whipping branches twisted around her arms and legs, one reaching hold of her small neck.
"Wilbur, please let me go!" she pleaded, "Let me go!" But it was of no use. Tighter the branches curled around her body…Her head was pounding, her heart racing as she struggled for breath. Her lungs burned, crushed inside her body by the relentless tree. "Oh god, I'm going to die right here!" she thought frantically as her arms and legs grew numb.
She saw no means of escaping, barely able to move at all by now. The rough bark dug deep into her skin, refusing to ever let go. All she could do was hope to pull free, but her pathetic struggles did her no good. The tree suddenly slammed her into the ground and she felt herself loose consciousness for a brief moment. It was hopeless…closing her eyes she waited for the crushing pain to end…
There was a soft clank as something hit the floor and slid beside Alice's hand. Without a second's thought, her hand shot out and grabbed it. Shifting the entity in her hand, the cool metal that she had first grabbed was replaced by smooth wood. She didn't have time to ponder what it was however, and somehow managed to gain the strength to thrust it at the tree before falling limp.
There was a moment when time seemed to freeze; everything was deathly still. Yet after what seemed like several long moments, the still picture flickered, and time moved on. With a shuddering cry, the branches suddenly freed the girl from their firm grasp. Instead the tree's extremities moved to pull the object that was lodged deep in its trunk out. It was unsuccessful in removing the item however, despite its frantic attempts.
"Why?" The words slowly appeared.
The tentacle-like branches were flailing wildly about, desperately trying to tug the object free.
"Why have you done this to me?" The branches were slowly losing energy and it was becoming increasingly difficult to move.
"Murderer…" It no longer had the strength to pull out the object…the branches merely swayed lifelessly in the breeze. All it wanted was for the pain to stop now…
Alice staggered to her feet. Her breaths were coming in short pants as she tried desperately to get air to her oxygen-deprived lungs. "How did you expect me to help you? I'm just a girl! You seem perfectly able to defend yourself" Alice spat.
The last message the willow sent out, before falling silent, waiting for its inevitable death to take hold was "Go back from where you came, Wonderland doesn't need you."