ALICE: BLOODY WONDERLAND

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Pool of Tears

I woke up the next morning with the sun practically burning a hole in my forehead. The skin was peeling and dry; red. Groaning, I looked up, then, startled, jumping to my feet and taking off through the jungle. It was nearly sun-high! I'd slept in too late, and now Roger was going to kill me! As I ran through the brush, the leaves slapped against my burned skin, ripped into my tattered white dress. They shook loose their dew, cooling the pain they inflicted. I couldn't help but feel that this was their little way of apologizing; they were trying to make it up to me. Their words, or lack thereof, were taken to mind heartily as I continued down the well-worn jungle path. My feet found their places as I ran. I'd come this way often enough for them to know their marks. Soon enough, they brought me to the hollow in the shrubs near castle rock. As expected, Roger was already there, methodically tapping a handful of sticks on a tree trunk. I crashed to my knees in front of him and he snapped up, taken for once by surprise.

"Sorry!" I gasped, still winded, "I…slept in!"

"I can tell." He smirked, glancing over my cut-up arms. I self-consciously rubbed them with my muddy hands. "What exactly went on between Maurice and you last night?"

"We talked." I responded quickly, sparing him of the part where I cried pettily in his arms for nearly an hour. He'd probably just make fun of me anyway. In an answer, Roger chuckled darkly.

"Oh, I bet you did." He brushed off, "Talked into his mouth."

"Ew, no!" I grimaced. Eager to change the subject, I glanced hurriedly to the switch Roger still tapped against the tree. "Why are you doing that?"

"What?" He plainly asked.

"Tapping." I muttered, "Are you…OCD?"

Roger went pale white, making the scarlet, green and yellow paint on his face jump from the surface. He dropped the switch and the sticks clattered to the stony ground. I re-adjusted myself in the dirt, trying to make sure my legs wouldn't bruise over again. They had just healed, after all. There was no use in hurting myself any more than I had to be.

"I…uh…picked up the habit a while ago." He grinned uneasily, "I haven't been able to lose it since."

"Oh." I replied, trying to think it over. Suddenly, I remembered something my aunt had told me once, and offered it. "My aunt used to teach me about different disorders." I started, reaching over and taking a stick off the ground. I sort-of half-fell onto Roger's knee though, which made us both more uncomfortable than we had been. In an attempt to right my error, I scrabbled back to my knees, stick in hand. "She said that if chew on something instead of tapping, it helps you stop." To give an example, I ripped off the end of the stick and crunched it between my teeth. It flooded my mouth with an earthy, dirt taste. I grimaced, but kept chewing. If I spit it out, he'd never try it.

"I think I'm good, thanks." He declined, laughing. Sagging, I spit out the bark. "You seriously need to stop worrying about me, Alice. I'm just fine."

"Why shouldn't I worry about you?" I glowered, twisting my fingers together, "You and I are a lot alike."

"What are you talking about?" He accused, "I'm a sadist, and you're the most innocent, 'get-any-guy' sort of girl I've ever met. Ever heard of a Mary-Sue?"

"No."

"Well, I'd go as far as calling you one, not that it means anything." He threw his arms in the air and stretched out against the length of the tree he'd been tapping on. I raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"There's a lot that you don't know about me." I chanced. It was a mistake. Roger peered at me through one reddish eye and turned as still as a statue.

"Like what?" He smirked, "The fact that you're dangerous to yourself? I know that already, Alice. Look at you, you're talking to me. That should tell you something, too."

"I've killed somebody before." I spat.

"…What." He shot up, astonished. I blushed and looked down. I shouldn't have said that, I really shouldn't have said that! I've never told anyone that before, not even Simon, not even Maurice! Why'd I tell him that?! I started to beat myself up mentally. There, that should put you in your place, Alice, Charisma's sweet voice drifted in my mind, you idiot. "Who!?"

"Ah…uh…" I panicked. What now? Should I keep going?

No. I had someplace to be.

So I bolted up and ran. I didn't listen for him behind me, because I knew that Roger would be there. I just ran and ran and ran until I was sure I would pass out from exhaustion or be thrown into some violent seizure. My heart skipped beats. My vision melted into a fondue fountain of blurring colors, so beautiful yet so deadly at the same time. I had to stop and stare. Blues and greens and yellows and oranges all melded into one, poisonous cocktail. I took slow breaths. It was calming. I could hear the ocean waves crashing against the rocks and the sand. Was I back at the beach already?

"Alice, you okay?" Roger's voice came to me in my dream-like state. Then, a distorted laugh. It was Charisma's. Why was she here?

"Alice, Alice!" She plaintively mocked, "I'm so worried about you! Can't you tell? I'm giving up everything just to follow you out here, you little brat!"

"Sh-shut…up…" I moaned. My knees buckled beneath me and collided with rock, sending waves of pain up my spine. "No…"

"Alice?" Roger asked, worried. His outline became nearly visible, and I could just make out his colors and shades as they mixed together, breaking their rightful boundaries. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, you know who she's talking to, you sick bastard!" Charisma scolded, "Stop playing dumb with her!"

"Ch-chari-" I tried to get out. I wanted to tell her to stop. I wanted to tell her to leave, and not bother him like that. He didn't deserve it. He wasn't hers to bother...I'd come here to see her, not him. She needed to talk to me. Somebody gripped my shoulders and started shaking me.

"Alice! Alice!" A faded voice called, "Can you hear me?"

"N…nnn…" I tried. My tongue forgot the motions for the proper words. My mind couldn't connect the dots. I felt like I was in a million places at once.

"Alice…I'm going to lay you down now…dammit…I don't know what to do…" Roger furiously said. I heard a cackle.

"Throw her in the ocean." Charisma laughed.

"Oh, fuck off!" Roger screamed, "Just leave! You're the reason this is happening, you shit! What did those damn flowers do anyway?!"

"You should know." Charisma taunted, "You tried them yourself before, Roger."

My vision darkened. I couldn't feel my limbs. I was truly nothing now, floating in a sea of words I couldn't make sense of or extract from the crashing waves. I could hear the waves too, the faint, demonic whispers in my ear.

Alice…Alice…give up, Alice!

We want you here.

Can you hear them?

Alice…we love you, Alice!

I gritted my teeth and felt blood gush into my mouth. Tears poured all around me, drowning me. I was drifting away, being carried by them. My eyes were opened, but I could see nothing but the blackness and the spots where the sun got in. Somehow, voices came through.

"—No, that was a long time ago…"

"...Alice is just a burden. Put her where she belongs…"

"…motherfucker, just leave before I kill you…"

"…girl? Monster…"

"…know, but I'll make…special…you…"

"…really? Are you strong enough for…"

"…drugging her…nightmares?! Seriously…"

"…haha…yes, I know…future."

The light started to pierce the fogginess of my head. I blinked too fast, breathed too rapidly. Then, without warning, I gasped in a big gulp of air and sat up in a rush of wind. The real world was back in an instant, overwhelming me with its suddenness. Roger had his hands around my wrists, and looked like he'd seen a ghost. Experimentally, I touched my fingers to my lips. Sure enough, blood flowed down my chin. I had bitten my tongue.

"It was a seizure, wasn't it?" I breathed, still shaking just slightly. I twisted my hands away from Roger's cold fingers and held them to my chest, trying to steady my breathing.

"I think so." He muttered, looking away. Quickly, I plucked a dew and ocean-soaked leaf from the ground and smothered my face into it, wiping clean the mess. I had forgotten for a moment about Roger's…problem. I didn't want to trigger anything this far away from anybody else. Carefully, I looked around. This wasn't the beach I was used to…I must've run all the way to the opposite end of the island. This beach was steep and rocky, pouring pebbles into a long drop which fell to a sandy enclave by the ocean water. Where I was right now, tickling plants grew on a flat over-looking plateau. Thank goodness Roger had followed me after all. If hadn't been there when I seized, I could've fallen right over the edge and onto the rocks.

"…Were you…talking to somebody?" I asked him tentatively. What I heard didn't sound artificial enough to be a dream.

"…No." He responded quietly, "You must've been hearing things, Alice."

"Oh," I sighed, "But it sounded so real…"

"I know." He reassured, still not meeting my gaze, "But, it was nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it." A different voice picked up. I froze in place. Roger went wide-eyes and didn't move either.

"Charisma." I gasped silently to myself, "You're…no…"

"Yes." She responded, stepping out from the shrubs opposite me. She was my exact copy, with my exact hair, only a little messier, and nearly my same dress. "That's right, Alice. It's nice to see you again, at last." I stood up slowly, and Roger helped a little. We stared each other down, me gripping the thin trunk of a tree I'd managed to find for support, her confidently standing alone. The wind ruffled out our clothes slightly, sending the scent of a familiar flower flowing to my nose.

She was my exact copy; except for her red eyes. She had gotten those from my father.

Because Charisma was my sister…my twin sister.

She had always wanted me dead.

And now, we were on a deserted island together.

She would get her wish at last, it seemed.

"I knew you would be here." I accused, "That's why I came. So, let's get this over with."

…

Dewd, this chapter sucks. It was kind of hasty, if you can't already tell.

So, how have you been?
….

…

OKAY, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A REALLY LONG TIME, BUT I'M SORRY! DON'T BLAME ME! BLAME THE BLOCK! WRITERS BLOCK FOR FANFICTIONS THINGS:C

So…uh…yeah.

If you haven't noticed, my accounts been kind of off and on lately. I had Faux up, but it sucked some major ass so I took it down and then there's Radioactive, which I really enjoy writing but nobody else seemed to take any interest in it, and then there's Barton Hollow, which is one of my second favs, but it's a very narrow reader base…and then…Kingdom Come…Geez, I love that one. But, enough shameless plugging. The point is, I have A lot of irons in my metaphorical oven-fire-thing. Including my own original work, The Clocktower Trilogy, which I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO delved into right now, it's not even funny. I love writing guys, and I'm going to keep writing all my stories until they're done…but…I have a lot of other things to do that take priority. So, sorry if you were looking for updates and didn't see none. :P

I'm working on a very long oneshot to make up for it :PP

So, hope you enjoyed.

Also, big shout out to LUSTFORTHELETTERS (did I get that right?). You, my friend, are awesome. More awesome than you think I am.

Telling me I'm one of the best writers you've encountered with LotF…that's going a bit too far, I think…But, I appreciate your review nonetheless! It makes me very happy to know people love my writing like you do! Actually, IT MAKES ME FEEL AMAZING :D

I LUV YOU. YOU R AWESOME.

UR COMPLIMENTS MAKE MEH SMILE…:DDDDD

Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I love all of you as well, even if you don't review!

THANKS FOR READING!

WRITE YOU LATER!