WELCOME BACK! (OR SHOULD YOU BE WELCOMING ME BACK?) YET ANOTHER CHAPTER AND SOME REALLY WEIRD CRAP HAPPENING TO POOR C.J. BUT NOW ADAYS, WHAT HAPPENS TO C.J THAT ISN'T WEIRD? PLEASE READ, REVIEW! AND VOTE! (Whites ahead in the polls by a mile, so to those who don't like him, you may vote thrice!)

Ch.26: Hallucinations and Near Death Experiences…Yay!

P.O.V: Alice

I pressed myself against Julius as the creature emerged from the darkness. I couldn't keep it in anymore; I screamed and hugged Julius. We were going to die horribly in this cursed world, and I never even got to- "Hey! It's Alice and Julius!"

I peeked out from behind Julius to see that the 'horrid creature' was actually Gray and Nightmare. Julius turned his head to me and cleared his throat, a dark blush dusting his face. I then realized I was still hugging him tightly. "Eepp! Sorry! I guess I over reacted a little!" I mumbled as I hopped away. He shrugged and turned away quickly. Gray and Nightmare came up to us, relief in Gray's face. "Thank the Dealer! We've been going in circles this whole time!" Julius sighed, "Any sign of Alister?" "Not a thing. It's like he upped and vanished halfway down the trail."

P.O.V Change: C.J (Who found SOMETHING)

I half-stepped forward, "Alister? Hello?...Anybody?" GRRRRRRRRRR. Yuri tapped my shoulder, his ears pinned against his head. "I've a mind to believe that's no friend of ours C.J." "No kidding." GRRRRRRRR! The steps cracked on the ground loudly, the noise far too loud to be just snapping twigs, oh no, that was the sound of shattering twigs.

I took a wide step back, only to have a disembodied tree limb miss me by a hairs breath! I jumped back at least two feet, stopping when my back hit Yuri. The tree limbs now empty space now revealed one, huge glowering crimson reptile eye! My breath caught in my throat, "I know that eye!" I dropped my stick, grabbed Yuri's hand, and bolted from the area. Yuri didn't even need to be told to run once, because he kept pace with me from the first step. The dreaded Jabberwocky let out a frustrated cry, then tore through the trees in pursuit of us. Yuri yelled to be heard over the crashing of limbs, "What in hell's fire is this?" "The Jabberwocky, genius!" "I know that! But why is it HERE? I thought it never left the Badlands!" "Then we're on the same d***** page!"

I looked around me, frantic to find some kind of hiding place, or even a weapon. Braches whipped at my hands and face. The flashlights jumped to and fro wildly as we pumped our arms, foiling any opportunity of illuminating our salvation. The Jabberwocky's angry roar followed on our heels as we ran for our lives. I yelled, "We can't just run like this forever!" "Pray tell you have another idea?" My mind scraped at the bottom of the barrel, franticly trying to find an escape.

We were in the forest, Lord knew where, no weapons, and with a giant blood thirsty monster on our heels. To quote my favorite cartoon character, 'We're boned.'*

Just as I had scraped the last of the barrel gunk, my mind went blank as an unused marker board. As if by adrenaline, time seemed to slow. Everything, in one second, became crystal clear to my eyes. I could feel the birds flap franticly as they made their escape. I could see the insects and beetles scramble as our feet hit the ground. I could even sense the veins in the individual leaves all around us. And as suddenly as it was here, that moment of clarity was gone, only for me to almost run into someone!

…

I back pedaled, narrowly missing a young faceless couple who were on a leisurely stroll through the woods. I regained my balance and wind milled my arms in panic, "RUN IF YOU WANT TO LIVE! ROUGE JABBERWOCKY ON THE LOOSE!" The couple just kept on staring at each other and making googly 'eyes' at each other like I wasn't even there. I persisted, "Hello! Are you two deaf? I said-" I reached out to grab the man's shoulder, but my hand passed through him as though he were nothing more than air!

Shocked, I gasped and stumbled back. I tripped and fell down to the dirt. I looked down at my hand and touched it with my other to ensure it was real. Feeling solid, I picked myself up and looked around. I was no longer in the forest, being chased by the Jabberwocky, but in an old timey park. Not that the park was old, oh no, it was brand new. It was the fashion and design that were old-fashioned, as were the people. I carefully caught up with the couple, over hearing their conversation. It wasn't the lovey dovey mushy talk that put the ringing in my ears, but the accent it was said in. An accent exactly like Alister and Yuri's.

I gulped and tried my voice. Weak but audible, "Umm…where am I?"I tried to ask the couple, but to no anvil. The couple, as before, could not hear me. I stopped walking and let them go ahead, frozen by disbelief. Am I dead? Am I a ghost? No. That doesn't explain why I seem to have gone back in time! Wait, Yuri…accent…back in time….! I turned around, "Yuri!" Only to realize that Yuri was not here. I stared, and then turned around franticly, "Yuri! Come on dude, this isn't funny!" Yuri didn't answer. No one did. No one even noticed.

I started to hyperventilate, only to have my panic cut by a child's scream. I turned towards the noise and ran around the corner, to the source. I was greeted by the lovely sight of 5 young boys kicking the crap out of a smaller, lone boy. Lovely. I yelled, "Hey, knock that off, you little creeps!" I ran over to the fight and swung my outstretched palm, only to have the air catch it. I regained my balance and rubbed my palm, frustrated, "Oh, right."

"Leave him alone!" A stone came flying to the head bully, conking him in the shin. He screamed and looked up, the others following suite. I looked up to, to see four other young kids, two girls and two boys, no more than ten or eleven, all holding rocks. One of the girls, her hair a dusky brown, pointed and shouted, "You best be shoving off Benson, or I'll see to it that you and your friends spend the night in the infirmary!" 'Benson' stood up, "What are you rejects going to do?"

One of the boys, with thick jet black hair, stepped boldly forth, "How about this?" And lobbed an egg sized stone at the bully. The bully went down with a cry, the stone catching him in the ribs. The other boy and the girl that spoke before all held up more rocks. The mini-jerks all growled and muttered angrily. The head bully Benson looked up, "You have wax in your ears? Get them!"

Something flashed out of the corner of my eye. I turned to see a little boy, covered in bruises, slipping right behind the creeps! I blinked, and then looked back to the very center of the bullies group. I grinned widely, "What a sneaky little devil." The victim from the group was now rushing into the open, away from the fight that had just kicked off. I looked back at the grapple, feeling sorry about not being able to help. Then again, it was kinda fun watching the bullies get their a**** handed to them! Man, look at that kid go!

"Hey! Break it up you scraps!" I looked back to see what must have been an officer running up to stop the fight. And right behind him, the little kid with silvery hair. The two ran right pass me as they ran. I don't know why, but I reached out to touch the boy, something seeming strange about him. The two reached the group, now standing at attention. He straightened up and crossed his arms, "Now children, must I have a word with your folks?" Benson looked horrified, "No! My Pa will tan my hide!" The officer chuffed, "As he very well should! Now stop with this foolishness and push off, the lot of you! We have enough difficulty keeping the young alive, so don't you go making it worse for yourself!" The four kids nodded, "Yes sir." The bullies just grumbled and walked away.

The officer made one last inquiry about the kids' wellbeing, then turned around and walked right past me again on his way to his post. The silver headed kid, instead, ran up to the group and smiled widely, "I thank you for your assistance! I was in quite a fix!" The black haired boy waved his hand, "the pleasures ours!" The blonde girl that had been quiet until now leaned forward a bit, "What put you in that mess anyway?"

The silver-et looked at his shoes, a blush rising, "That lot all ways gives me trouble. They say my name is girly." A boy who had also been quiet until now spoke up, "It couldn't be bad enough for all that nonsense." The victims blush deepened. "…ri." The brown haired girl leaned forward and put her hand to her head, "What was that friend? You were mumbling?" He lifted his chin a little, "My name is…Yuri Petrov."

My face must have looked like something from a horror movie.

…

Despite my temporary state of shock, the scene in front of me continued. The blonde girl smiled and walked up to little Yuri, "that's not at all bad! No need to be shy!" The raven head grinned, "That's right! Besides, we're all a bit…mismatched, should you say." The brunet in the background made a dramatic head toss, probably how the faceless conveyed eye rolling. The blonde ignored the raven-et and smiled warmly at Yuri, "I'm Charlotte Raine, but feel free to call me Charlie!" The raven grabbed threw his arm around the brunet boy's neck and dragged him forward, "My name is Alistair Kraze, the humorous one!" The brunet squirmed, "Release me now you fool!" Alistair only laughed, "And the tight-lipped solitary one here is Alister Demos, not to be confused with myself, the stick nine inches too deep in the mud!"

Black clouds danced across my vision as tried to wrap my mind around this. So Alister and Yuri did know each other? Or am I hallucinating all of this? Then, probably the biggest shocker of my life, the little brunet girl stepped up, "I'm Elda! And together, we are the Rejects! You seem a nice enough boy, so how's about joining us?" I stared at the little girl for a moment, and then covered my mouth in a gasp, the Gypsy camp elder! She's wrapped up in this to? I looked around for a moment; this is all way too real to be some hallucination! But that means that Elda knew Alister and Yuri! What the hell does it all mean?

Instead of answering me, the scene continued on its path. Yuri smiled, "I think I'd like to very much." Alistair grinned widely and held out his hand, "Then let's teach you the secret hand shake! Use it with the greatest of pride." Alister face palmed, "We haven't got a secret hand shake you fool." "Really? Well we need one! Yuri, have you any suggestions?" "Umm…I….."

…

My eyes widened as everything seemed to slow down once more. The area around me started to blur and shift out of focus, as my heart rate increased dramatically. The pleasant smell of the parks flowers faded away and my breathing became hard and heavy. I blinked once, and upon opening my eyes, the park and the children had all vanished.

I stumbled, only to have a hand clamp down on my arm, yanking me back into balance. "What are you doing? Keep your eyes ahead of you!" I looked beside me to see an adult Yuri, tailed, fox eared and faced, running next to me, just as he had been before my major space out. ROOOOAAAAARRRRR! Oh yeah, that guy. I shoved down my confusion; it could wait. I looked around franticly once more for a place to hide and again came up blank.

I reached in my bag, there's got to be SOMETHING in here that can save us! I rummaged around as I ran, dodging trees and brambles as the Jabberwocky continued his chase. Knife, too small. Handcuffs, I don't think he'd take kindly to being arrested. If only I'd brought my splat gun when I went on that d***** walk! Wait! My hand had closed on a package in the bottom of my bag. I yanked it out. "Hell yeah!" Yuri looked over at me, his breathing heavy. "What?" I shoved my flashlight back into my bag and held the box in my free hand and rummaged in my bag again with the other. "The plan that's going to save our sorry butts, that's what!"

I grinned as my hand closed around the item that I sought. I pulled out probably the most wonderful item in the world, a lighter. I held it in my teeth as I tore the lid off the box, revealing eight fuses tying into one thick one. Yuri's light bounced off the box, illuminating the label for a moment; Old Tom's Old Fashioned Popper Packs: the best little addition to any fourth of July celebration!* I looked back at the Jabberwocky, actually pleased to find he was snapping at our heels. I wanted him to get a good look at this.

I've got to time this just right…. I took my lighter in hand and light the fireworks, the blaze going bright neon of eight different colors and shades. Yuri's eyebrows hit his hairline, "What in the name of the Dealer is that?" I grinned at him, "The most glorious thing that was ever invented!" I turned back, still running, and chucked the package just at the right time. The fireworks pin wheeled in the air for a moment, then blew up in all their colorful, sparkly glory right in the beasts huge red eye! The Jabberwocky screamed in agony and reared back, apparently having forgotten his chase. Apparently having lodged itself in his eye, the bright display of chemical reactions followed the eye as the beast thrashed his head about in an attempt to free himself of the terrible pain.

I'm not normally one to commend animal abuse, but this time I fist pumped the air, "F*** yeah! Chew on it you ***********!" Yuri gapped open mouthed at the scene, his eyes wide in a medley of emotions. I grabbed his wrist, "Time to go!" I yanked him a little, and then he recovered from the shock and chased after me. We somehow made it to a river bank, the dark water churning calmly downstream. I plowed in, biting back a gasp as the icy water hit me in just the wrong place. Yuri stood on the banks, "What in blue blazes are you doing? That water is as cold as death!" I looked back at him, trying to keep my teeth from chattering, "Who do you think he'll look for when he get those fireworks out of his eye? We've got to throw him off our trail, and I'm not going to assume he can't track a scent!" Yuri stared at me, and then sighed. "I'll say, you know how to run as well as fight." I gave him a shivery smile, "As much as I hate it, you have to know when to run to stay alive."

Yuri crossed his arms in preparation, removed his jacket, and then plunged into the river. I took a deep breath and dunked myself all the way under, the horrid cold nipping at my bones and doing a tap dance in cleats* on my spinal cord. I came up, gasping from the sheer cold. I located Yuri and the two of us crossed the river. (Thank God it wasn't very wide) I pulled myself on the bank and looked around. "There! There's a tree we can hide in!" I ran up to a huge, sturdy looking tree and started climbing. The tree was thick and wide, with broad leaves and low, thick limbs. I clambered up on the lowest branch nodding. "This'll do. Come on up!"

I continued up as Yuri clambered up after me. Finally, I settled on a thick limb, covered densely by the foliage on all sides but down. Yuri joined me, his tail sopping wet, his ear tips dripping water droplet onto his equally wet shoulders. All around, he looked like a wet puppy. He shivered, "We're going to catch our deaths out here." I chuffed, "Yeah, if we're so lucky that the Jabberwocky doesn't hand it to us." He chuckled a little, wringing out his tail, "You hit it with the aim of gamesmen. Perhaps you killed it?" I cocked an eyebrow, "I'll take that as a complement." A very p****** off sounding roar echoed not very far away, "And I'm guessing he's fine." "But you certainly put his eye out of commission."

We sat for a moment, and then I got a grasp on a topic. "Yuri, are you sure you don't remember anything?" "Not a thing. Is something troubling you?" "Well…." I pulled my knees up to my chest, savoring the small warmth that gave me. "You'll think I'm cracking up." "I'll assume that's another term for losing a few bolts?" "Pretty much." He smiled, "I feel like that a lot recently. I'll accept whatever it is with open arms. After all, this is Wonderland. Insanity is a sign of sanity here." I smiled a little, "Well, you see, while we were running-" Suddenly, I heard the snapping of what might have been trees and a huge whooshing sound. I carefully stood, balancing on the branch, and bent a few twigs out of my way for a view.

Above the forest, the Jabberwocky rose to silhouette the moon, shrieking in anger and frustration. The beast swooped into a scan of the forest, scouring the surface and all the moving objects on it for a sign of the prey that had stolen its eye. It followed our trail, all the way to the river, the hovered. It cried in anger, then whipped its wings and took off, having apparently lost our trail. We sat frozen for a little while, and then relaxed as the sound of its beating wings faded.

Yuri sighed in relief. I eased back against the tree trunk, and then realized we hadn't even found trace of the very thing that had forced us out here in the first place. Fearing the worst, I looked at Yuri, "Umm…do you think Alister…." Yuri stared at me, and then paled. "Now that I try, I recall that the beast was covered in Alisters scent! You not implying….?" My eyes widened as I stared at him, "We've got to find the others, fast!"

I clambered down the tree, Yuri hot on my heels. I jumped down to the ground, soon joined by him. "Which way is back?" He looked up, and then sniffed the air deeply. He pointed, "We'll have to cross the river again, but that's the way." I stared at him in disbelief, "You can tell?" He rubbed the back of his head, "I am a fox, mind you. I have a better nose than most." I grinned, "Awesome! Now I won't get as lost! You lead!" He nodded and took my wrist, then pulled me in the direction he had indicated.

After crossing the river, navigating through the dense brush, and almost breaking my ankle in a d***** rabbit burrow, we finally emerged from the trees. There, against the darkness of the night, the Clover Towers lights were each like individual beacons from heaven. I fist pumped, "We made it back alive!" Yuri nodded, "Let us just hope the others made it back just fine."

And as if on cue in a really bad cartoon, the sun popped up in blinding brightness. I jerked my hands over my eyes, shielding them from the new brightness. I blinked, my eyes adjusting. I glared at the comically beautiful afternoon and yelled, pissed that the stupid a** time patterns only JUST now decided to turn bright, just AFTER I went through hell. "Are you f****** kidding me?"

OH C.J, YOU NEVER CHANGE. WILL SHE EVER GET A BREAK? WILL THEY EVER KNOW WHAT BECAME OF POOR ALISTER? WILL THESE D*** TIME PATTERNS EVER PROVE CONVINYENT TO C.J? FIND OUT LATER! PLEASE PRESS THE PRETTY BUTTON BELOW! I BEG OF YOU!