Alice and What Came After: Between the Glass
Disclaimer: I don't own anything rights related to Alice—it belongs to those fine folks at SyFy and Nick Willing. Rex, Sid, Nancy, Helen and other things/people of that nature belong to ITV/Impossible Pictures and I'm just borrowing. Sarah, Connor, and Chase are my own creations.
Chapter Two: Anomalies
"What are the Predators? Like the movie?" Sarah asked, still confused by this mystery woman and the world she was trapped in.
"No, not at all. These Predators are more deadly than any movie has portrayed. They're fast, cunning, ruthless killers. Some people, like your parents, call them 'Future Predators'."
"My parents?"
"You are Sarah Temple, are you not? It seems you've developed quite a habit of traveling through anomalies. I suspect your father duplicated my technology?"
"Sarah Temple? I have no idea who you're talking about…"
The woman stared at her like she was a specimen. "Really? That's strange. You look just like your father…"
"So?"
"You are Sarah Temple. What are you doing here in the future? Where's your device?"
"Device?"
The woman ripped Sarah's cell phone out of the side pocket of her backpack. She examined it. "This… wait… this is a cell phone…"
"What did you think it was?" Sarah demanded, snatching the mangled phone back.
She waved a handheld device, similar to a cell phone, in front of Sarah's face. "One of these. What else would it be?"
"I think you've got the wrong person. Who are you, anyways?"
The dark-haired woman slipped the device back into a pocket. "Helen Cutter, of course. You should know that, Sarah."
"How do you know my name?"
"I know your parents."
"Really? What's my dad's name then?"
"Connor, Connor Temple. Did you hit your head back there? The little dark-haired computer geek? Remember?"
"No… the only Connor I know of is my brother."
"You don't have a brother."
"Yeah, I do. I don't know this… Temple person you're talking about."
"That's impossible. You look just like him. Just like his daughter too. Well, before the Predators took over."
"Where am I?"
"The future," Helen Cutter said with a wide grin.
"That's not possible. The mirror doesn't go to the future."
"Mirror?"
"Yeah, mirror. How else do you think I got here?" Sarah said, annoyed.
"Through an anomaly."
"What the bloody 'ell is an anomaly?"
Helen pulled out her device again. She pressed a few buttons and a shimmering spot appeared in the air. It shone, much like the mirror, except it was fragmented.
Sarah stared at the surface. She reached out to touch it.
Helen Cutter shoved the younger girl through the shimmering hole.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"After you," Hatter said, gesturing to the small hole in the ground.
"That's the rabbit hole?" Chase didn't seem at all impressed.
Alice smiled at him. "It works a lot like the mirror does. I don't know how, but it does."
Chase nodded, falling down the rabbit hole with a slight push from Hatter. He tumbled down, down, down and then out into an empty patch of grass. He grunted, rolling over.
Moments later he was joined by Alice and Hatter.
"I think I prefer the mirror," Chase admitted, sitting up.
Hatter laughed. "Just about any form of travel is better than the rabbit hole, even the Looking Glass. The landing's a bit rough."
Alice got to her feet with ease. "Now, the hard part."
Chase stood up slowly, surveying Wonderland. It had been over a year since he'd been back to his home. His mother still ruled in place of Alice, or at least she had on his last visit. They'd never been able to work out the time difference between the worlds.
"This doesn't look right."
Hatter cleared his throat. "This is not a good sign."
Below them, on the downward slope of a hill were the burned out ruins of a small town.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Pull yourself together," Connor urged himself, trying to calm down.
Yes, he was probably stuck in Wonderland. Yes, he couldn't reach his sister. Yes, he didn't know if she was still in New York or dead. Yes, this was deep shit. But there wasn't a whole hell of a lot he could do.
Connor slipped his backpack back on. He had to get to the main Looking Glass. Perhaps that was still functioning. If not, maybe he could find out why the mirror broke.
He walked through the tea shop, noting that the grass was higher than usual, the windows dirty, and the shop in general disrepair.
The chairs that were usually occupied by Ratty and Dormouse, two of his father's old companions, were conspicuously empty. Connor frowned at the layer of dust.
What the bloody hell is going on? Where is everyone?
*~*~*~*~*~*
Sarah landed face-first in the dirt.
She coughed. A boot to her ribs, told her to roll over. She hissed, looking up to see the face of Helen Cutter, the stranger who insisted she was someone else—someone named Sarah Temple—and that this was the future and anomalies existed like portable Looking Glasses.
"Get up!"
Helen yanked Sarah to her feet.
"What is going on?"
"We're going to the ARC. For a little negotiation."
"Where? What?" Sarah was lost.
"You'll see," the mysterious woman insisted, dragging the younger girl by her arm toward a waiting vehicle.
*~*~*~*~*~*
"There's never been a fire in Wonderland before," Chase said, mesmerized by the ruins. He ran his hand along the burned wood.
"This is old," Hatter decided, his fingers covered in ash. "It's long since burnt out."
"Was it natural? Or arson?" Alice asked her husband.
Hatter sniffed his fingertips. "Gasoline. Arson. Someone wanted this place to burn."
"What about the people?"
Hatter and Chase shared a look. They'd both seen the charred bones. Whoever set this fire wanted the people in this small village dead. Why a town on the outskirts of the old city would be a target was a mystery to both men.
"They're dead, aren't they?" Alice said quietly.
"Yeah…"
She nodded. "Now what? We look for more burned homes?"
"No. We find the Looking Glass," Hatter insisted, standing back up. He brushed his hands against his pants. "If that's still functioning, then it's possible our mirror just broke. Like the portal I smashed."
"But we didn't touch it."
Hatter shrugged. "I didn't say I was a miracle worker, did I? It's just a suggestion."
"What about the tea shop?" Chase asked. "Shouldn't we check that mirror? Maybe Connor and Sarah are there."
"No. They won't stay there long. They're going to be heading for the Looking Glass or the castle. They won't stay put."
Alice sighed. "Are you sure?"
"I have to believe they're alive, Alice. But I can't… I can't go to the shop right now. I can't face that yet. We need to check the Looking Glass first."
"Hatter—"
"You know what? You and Chase go to the tea shop. I'll go to the Looking Glass."
Alice stared at him. "Hatter, please—"
"No. You do that. I'm gonna find a way home for us. I'm gonna figure this out."
Chase stood next to the distraught woman. "Let's just go, huh? Maybe they're at the tea shop… waiting for us."
Alice watched as Hatter walked away. She could sense he was upset. More upset than he let on. Hatter had a hard time dealing with emotions and when he got worked up like this, there was nothing she could do to help. She couldn't comfort him or calm him.
It was the Madness. She'd been warned about it before. Once that took over, he wasn't really Hatter anymore. At least, not the Hatter she knew.
"Okay," she said quietly, saying a silent prayer for the safety of her children and husband.
Just like that, they split up, Hatter going one direction while his wife and Chase went the other. Unbeknownst to any of them, Connor had already set out from the tea shop.
Author's Notes:
These chapters are going to be shorter than in A&WCA given the suspenseful nature and multiple POVs of this particular story.
Anyways, please, please comment. I will probably change this to a Primeval crossover in future chapters, but I'm unsure. I've already hinted to a few reviewers that the idea of doubles, or doppelgangers, are going to play an important role in this story. Imagine having a double somewhere else in the world… and then imagine running into them… Interesting, huh?
Also, the mirrors/Looking Glass are going to be explained. And yes, this is more SciFi/fantasy than A&WCA is. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming! Happy Easter in case I don't get another chapter out this weekend.
