ALICE: BLOODY WONDERLAND

CHAPTER THREE: This Pill Makes You Bigger

As I wandered back to the beach, alone, I made sure to keep an eye out for anyone who decided that they might approach me. I couldn't stand the paranoia. It made me feel…insane. I looked up at the moon, stumbling backwards and reeling in the pure white sand. The moon was full tonight, fronted by a mountain-top that spewed flames. I tried to steady my breathing. It didn't look like the candle from my dream…It didn't…

Someone moved silently around in the forest. I held my breath and stared curiously. It was probably just Maurice, coming to check on me or insist that he watch me for a while. But, much to my amazement, it wasn't. A boy about my height darted from the tree line and made a mad dash for the camp across the beach. I'd never seen him before. At least he might throw Maurice off my trail. For now.

I didn't fall asleep again that night. Instead, I sat in the waves and closed my eyes, just listening to the waves. Sobs racked my frame, though I didn't really realize it. It's like I wasn't actually experiences it…like I was watching someone else from above. The sun was beginning to rise atop the waves. When it was finally level with the horizon, I had calmed down enough to look normal. I sighed. What a first day in paradise, huh?!

I pushed myself to my feet tiredly and walked back along the beach to the boys' camp. My toes sunk between the sand, rubbing off all the dirt from the woods before. Each step sent tiny jolts up my spine, made my legs ache even more. At this rate, I figured I'd never heal them. The cuts had sealed up with my own blood, the bruises had begun to yellow. It looked absolutely terrifying, yes, but I'd certainly seen much worse. In addition, my legs had started to twist together and bend when I walked, giving me an almost zombie-like gait. I blinked.

At the camp, Maurice, two identical boys, and the leader of our rag-tag troupe, Ralph, were already up and at 'em. Maurice waved while frowning up at me. I waved back.

"Good morning, Alice." He greeted, "Nice to see you again. Are you…ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine thank you." I answered, looking at the beach in the distance. Maurice sighed and turned his attention back on the other boys.

"So, Samneric, are you taking first fire watch, or should Roger and I do it?" He asked the identical ones. I turned my head at them, curiosity peaked. They were most certainly twins.

"We don't really know." One said.

"Jack never told us." The other finished. I looked them over, picking each detail apart. Their differences were abundant, upon close examination by a trained eye. Yet, they got along so well…I turned my head. How did they do it? How could one stand the other?

They noticed my staring pretty quickly. Maurice kept on talking.

"I suppose then Roger and I can watch it today, and you two can take it tonight. Is that ok with you?" He suggested. The twins nodded in unison.

"Sounds-"

"-good."

"Alright then." Maurice leaned back and rolled to his feet. He sounded slightly resigned and peeved about something, specifically when he shot me a glance from the corner of his eye. "I'll go wake Roger then. See you later, Alice."

"See you." I said politely back. He walked off. The twins, meanwhile, stayed put by Ralph. Out of courtesy I suppose, they didn't mention my blatant staring from before. Ralph took up the banter from there, unused to the strange silence brought on by the twins and me.

"So, I think today we're just going to take it easy." The blonde laughed, out of place, "Jack's gone off hunting with some others, so he won't be tying us down none!" He joked last. I stiffened up at the sound of Jack's name. I wondered if he ever found who was calling him last night. I'd certainly never heard the voice…

…but…I had…Somewhere…

My revelation came back to me.

The voice belonged to the person on the plane. The one who spoke to me then…

Who rescued me from that wreck?

I needed to think.

"Excuse me." I smiled something fake and went on my way. I decided against the woods, since Jack was in there somewhere. Instead, I wandered along the beach next to where I slept until I couldn't bear to walk anymore. My legs shook and my breathing came too hard. My heart beat with the speed of a train. Weak from wounds and lack of sleep, I struggled into a small cove of fruit trees right outside what I designated as the forest and collapsed into one. One of the over-ripe fruits fell from the tree and bounced off my head, rolling somewhere off to the side. There was a slight rustling sound.

"Hi there." A voice said, "I think you dropped this."

I turned just barely to see who spoke. It was the boy from last night, the one who ran from the woods. He was smaller than the rest, less threatening than even Maurice. His eyes sparkled bright green, covered just slightly by almost black hair that appeared to be a rusty brown. I continued to just breath, still trying to recover from my long walk. A littlun ran past me, playing among the fruit. Others milled about, some sitting, some standing. I pushed myself fully to my feet with shaking arms, trying to appear capable.

"Hello." I said back to the boy. He smiled warmly.

"You must be Alice, huh?" He asked, "I wasn't expecting you to be American. I'm Simon."

He didn't hold out his hand as an offering of friendliness, so I didn't take it. Instead, his smile was enough for me to take to him immediately. I decided, just for the moment, that I could trust this Simon character.

"Yes." I whimpered, still weak, "I had to move in with my aunt in England when I was three because of…family issues."

"Oh. How old are you now?"

"Twelve. I would've turned thirteen…the day of the fires in the sky. So, I guess I'm thirteen now." I answered honestly.

"Fires in the sky?" He questioned curiously, "You mean the bombing?"

"Is that what that was?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh. I've only ever read about those." I replied. At least I had learned something new today. So London had been bombed after all. I hope my aunt made it out alright. Remembering the plane suddenly, I also remembered what I'd come there for in the first place, the reason I'd started my trek for epiphanies.

"I have to go." I dismissed myself with a bow and walked back towards the beach. I think I could manage a few more miles of walking now. "It was nice to talk."

"Right." Simon called after me, turning back to the woods like a doe, "Same here."

Now that my head had been cleared, I started to think.

So, the voice from last night, the one that saved me from…I swallowed just thinking about it…had been the same one from on the plane. It made sense, if I thought hard about it. Obviously, someone was watching out for me, whether I liked it or not. There was some other place I'd heard the voice too, but they weren't bubbling up at the moment. I'd just have to be content with what information I could muster. I stopped walking for a moment.

Wait.

I was missing something important here.

Suddenly it occurred to me, hit me like a bomb. I had been missing something. There had been two voices on the plane that I'd heard.

The first one, the one who tried to rescue me, wasn't the one that I had to be puzzled over. I was pretty sure that voice had been Ralph's, now that I'd heard him speak first hand. I'd have to ask him later about it.

The second one had said my name.

So the owner of the voice had known my name before I'd told anybody on the island here. Problem was I didn't know anybody on the island. I had seen everyone that had survived the crash, and there was absolutely nobody I knew, not a soul. Unless they were…no.

Obviously, they were trying to protect me from something. So, until I found logical proof for my misgivings, I was able to push them entirely out of my head and continue walking down the beach.

"Ah…there you are, Alice."

…

Dude, I'm typing these out so fast it's ridicousouosnessness. That is a horrible misspelling. Please forgive me and note that you should be reading this in a super-fast voice because I feel so incredibly energetic right now it's not even funny. Seriously, I could run a mile and not die which, for your information, HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. EVER. IN THE HISTORY OF HISTORIES.

Anyway, thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW. Thank you to cocolada and that person who favorite/followed my story…*looks up name so we can do this properly without being rude* Pockey Lover. I love Pockey too, but I love you even more for following my story. Seriously, you're awesome. AND THANK YOU MELONKATZE FOR READING AND REVIEWING ALL OF MY STORIES WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES, YOU MAKE ME WANT TO PUKE RAINBOWS WHILE RIDING A NYAN CAT WHILE HUGGING A BUTTERFLY. I've had to rewrite this comments section like forty times because of how tired I am. I think my energy comes from my slap-happiness now.

Oh, and have any of you watched the movie Sucker Punch? I heard it was good and the soundtrack was pure awesome sauce so I was thinking of checking it out.

THANKS FOR READING PLEASE REVIEW HOPE YOU LIEKED I LOVE YOU ALL IN A NON AWKWARD WAY