ALICE: BLOODY WONDERLAND

CHAPTER SIX: Cheshire Fur

I doubt anything could be as calm as a rest in the sun. The waves sang a lullaby, beckoning me to the sleep I hadn't taken the night before. Suddenly a splash of water hit me across the cheek and roused me from my fantasies. The boy named Piggy next to me scolded them for it.

"Stop hurling water out of the pool." He said, "You're getting us all wet."

"My bad." Simon apologized with a smile, climbing out of the shallow rock basin the boys had been swimming in. Luckily, they all had the sense to keep their shorts on in the presence of a lady.

"Don't be a suck-up Simon!" Maurice laughed, "They should both get in the water too!"

"They don't have to." Simon retorted, shaking out his hair like a dog. The rock was showered in darker colored blotches where the water had fell upon it. I shielded my face from the drops. Simon began to put the rest of his uniform back on, as if he could sense our uncomfortableness, at least mine and Piggy's.

"I don't know how to swim." I stated plainly, closing my eyes again and resting my scraped chin on my knees.

"You really should learn how then." Ralph suggested, "Maybe not now, but certainly sometime. For your own safety."

"Mm…maybe later." As of now, I didn't have the strength to do much of anything. I sighed wistfully between my teeth, letting out a keen, low whistle.

"Suit yourself." Maurice snorted, "But the water's perfect."

I ignored them for the moment. Simon and Piggy were on either side of me now, chatting idly about clouds and the weather. They were the masters of small talk. Eventually, even Ralph hauled himself from the water, dripping wet, and joined in on the conversation. Maurice was the only one left. He huffed a gusty sigh and blew bubbles in the water.

Suddenly, Ralph jolted up. I opened my eyes at the movement. He was standing by the edge of the rock face, looking out at the vast blue horizon, holding his shirt. I frowned.

"What do you see, Ralph?" Piggy asked.

"There's a ship." He whispered, just barely audible. But I caught it. Maurice shot a horrified glance at me, but said nothing. I buried my face in my dress and tried to hide the fact that I looked utterly mortified. What were the chances, really? Substantial, considering it was me who put the fire out. I scuffled my feet along the ground. Some of the boys started cheering, and I heard Maurice get out of the water. I stayed utterly still. If I didn't move, maybe they would forget about me.

"Is there any smoke?!" Piggy shouted, "Ralph?!"

"Damnit…Damnit!" I heard Ralph say. He brushed past me as he blundered into the jungle in search of the fire. Everyone else started after him. Once sure everyone was gone, I started after him as well. My progression through the forest was slow and meandering, but I made it through alright. I only managed to sustain minor cuts from thorns.

"There was a ship and you let the bloody fire go out!" I heard Ralph shout once near enough to the top. I shrunk back, peering over the edge of the cliff face. Ralph faced off against Jack and his hunters, with only Simon in-between them, bearing a horrified expression. I shook at the sight of Jack, face painted and grimly disguised for his hunt. My hands gripped the side of the mountain tighter.

"I'm sorry." Jack said when I started paying attention to the conversation again. The hunters, at least some of them, clapped. I saw that Roger had joined Jack's group somewhere along the way, and was muttering something to Maurice. Barely perceptible, I thought for just a moment that their eyes flickered to me. But, it couldn't be. They didn't know I was here.

"Sorry doesn't bring the ship back! And meat won't bring the ship back either!" Ralph shouted, getting closer to Jack in a menacing way.

Simon tried to intervene at this point. "Now, there's no need for fighting, you two!" He warned. Ralph backed up a bit with a nod towards Simon.

"Fine. Meeting. Now." Ralph ordered. A cold tone had crept into his voice when nobody had noticed, and I shivered at it. Sensing that this confrontation was over, I dropped back down onto the ledge below. Unfortunately, I misjudged the drop and fell onto my ankle, twisting it at an awkward angle. I cupped my hands over my mouth, fighting the urge to scream out. What didn't come from my lips forced its way out of my eyes.

"I can't believe this." I heard a menacing voice sneer, "He honestly thinks that stupid fire is my fault…what the hell…what the hell!" It sounded angry.

"Just forget about it Jack." Maurice's voice said, shaking, "I'm sure it's nothing big."

"Mm." Roger sighed. He really didn't say much around Jack, did he?

"I just can't believe…Hey, aren't you two coming to the meeting?!" Jack yelled. There was a slight rustling in the trees near me. I froze.

"Yeah, in a minute. We just have to check on something real quick." Maurice laughed, "We found…er…a dead bird. Earlier, when we were on watch. We wanted to check if it's decomposed or anything."

"Cool." Jack commented drily. "Well, see ya."

"Yeah." Maurice breathed, "See you later."

As they pushed through the undergrowth, I jumped. My heart couldn't take much more of this. One of these days, I was going to die of a heart attack. I sighed in relief as I realized that it was just Roger and Maurice.

"Hey there, darling." Roger mocked, "Find any sharks yet?"

"Shut up, Roger. This is serious." Maurice scolded, holding out his hand for me to get up. I refused it and instead found holds in the rock to pull myself to my feet. They looked at me in disbelief.

"Alice, are you ok? I mean…you've been acting pretty strange since we got here." Maurice worriedly asked. I fixed him with a soft gaze.

"You never knew me before." I smiled weakly.

"No…but…"

"Leave her be, Maurice." Roger warned gently, "She'll come around on her own time."

Maurice frowned and started to walk back into the jungle trees. Roger watched him go solemnly, breathing in deep, then turning back to me. I gripped the rock as tight as I could. After my first encounter with the mysterious boy, I'd always been leery of being alone with him. His unpredictable nature made me nervous. Right now…he looked okay. I guess. I wasn't a very good judge of character though.

"You do realize," He said, straight-faced and serious for once, "That there are people here trying to hurt you. There are people who would kill to have you all for themselves. And then there are others…like Maurice…that just want to see you happy."

"Which category do you fall under?" I said, scrunching up my face a bit. The breaths still hitched in my chest, and I hadn't quite caught them back yet. My heart just wouldn't stop running. Roger smiled in thought at my question, making sure to examine every inch of me with meticulous speculation.

"I'm not quite sure yet myself." He answered honestly, shrugging, "I'll do whatever benefits me most, Alice. And, at least at the moment, helping Maurice won't kill anyone."

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't like you." I said aloud.

"You shouldn't." He smirked, "That's a common thing with being me, not many people like being around me, especially not alone. That's why helping Maurice capture your heart is of benefit to me. I get to build relationships that will benefit me even further in the future."

"So you're just pretending to be his friend?" I accused. Well, not really accused. Nothing I said ever sounded menacing, so I was really rather stating the facts.

"Not pretending. Just over doing things for a while. Maurice and I have always been friends." Roger answered back.

"So…I can trust you then?"

"…For now." Roger smiled, offering his arm, "Now, milady, I do believe you have a meeting to get to." Cautiously, I wrapped one of my arms around his. He pulled me the rest of the way up and acted as my crutch for the rest of the trip to the meeting place. I noticed, however, that he wouldn't stop to rest, even when I was clearly hurting and out of breath. It was as if…he enjoyed seeing me in pain. From the corner of my eye, I even saw him smile crookedly. His hair covered his eyes though, so I couldn't judge what he was really thinking.

I wondered briefly what he meant about Maurice.

Did he really like me that much?

I wasn't ready for that kind of commitment.

When finally we made it back to the beachfront, I detached myself from Roger, bowed in thanks, and picked my own way onto the sand. He laughed without humor and followed. I saw Maurice sitting in the grass near the stone we deemed as the meeting place, and decided against sitting next to him. Instead, I sat farthest away from the group. Maurice shot Roger and I a strange look, but said nothing.

The meeting started, and as usual I didn't pay attention. It went by almost seamlessly and silently, with only small quarrels between Jack and Ralph and everyone else. And, also per the usual, it ended with Jack marching off in a storm. I reminded myself not to get in his way as a chill ran up my spine.

Simon, Piggy, Ralph and I were the only ones left. I stayed on the platform, limping over and sitting a bit closer. There was a littlun whimpering at their feet.

"You got to be chief, Ralph!" Simon urged, "If you're not…If Jack becomes chief, everything will go to chaos!"

"Yeah!" Piggy broke in, "What about us and Alice, Ralph? You know he's never liked us…and he's been gossiping around the whole island about what he tried to do to her."

"He…talks about that…" I whispered, stroking the crying boy's hair. Simon looked down suddenly.

"So, I assume it was more than a rumor then?" He asked quietly.

"…yes." I answered. It felt good to get it off my chest. Yet…somehow…I felt as if I should have told Maurice first. Roger certainly would already know. He was getting closer to Jack by the day. Although, with my new information about the mysterious fellow, it was probably only because Roger benefitted from the relationship; it was really…curious.

"Sorry." Piggy apologized. Ralph remained uncomfortably silent.

"It's not your fault. I should have known better." I brushed it off. It was all was all water under the bridge now.

"You should try to stay near to camp from now on." Ralph warned me with a dark glance. "Don't go off on your own anymore, Alice. You never do know who…or what…is out there."

I really wasn't listening to his words.

Thinking back on my past mistakes, I probably should have.

…

End of chapter six!

BTW…school is starting up again after my brief thanksgiving break, so I'll be updating only one fanfiction once a day from now on.

REVIEW RESPONSE TIME! (That's right. I'm bringing this back. Deal with it.)

Cocomelonkatzelada

Cocolada, thanks for reviewing again! I love your dedication! And, as you have suggested, I posted the second part! :D

Daspartanreviewer

No, Alice is not gay. Keep in mind, she just turned thirteen, and it's been said many times that she's extremely dense and zones out a lot. She's also hopelessly silent at the most important times~~ C: Your comment made me laugh for quite a bit of time though. Thanks for taking the time to read and review!

Alright, THANKS FOR READING EVERYBODY! PLS REVIEW! LUVS~~CUDDLES~~~

Shout out to Fangakat, my best friend who just turned sixteen today! CONGRATZ, YOU'RE OLD NOW! Haha, but seriously, fang, it sucks being 16. XD don't listen to the movies and books. It's definitely not as glamorous as they make it out to be!

Or maybe that's just my introvert self.

Anyway, bye!