Author's Note: We're back to Alfred again. This one started off as a bit of a struggle. Then I read a prompt on Tumblr and it showed me which direction to take. I wonder what's going to happen to Alfred and Regina later on. I already know what I am doing next week. Let's just say, there's going to be a 2P!character for us to explore. I am excited to post Dark Side of Wonderland on Wednesday. For now, enjoy this week's match.
Match Six: White Milkwood:
Now, Alfred can't ignore it anymore. He can tell that something isn't right with the other countries. What was Kiku doing in the mirror? And what was up with his double? The American man shook his head.
"This is crazy," he said. That meeting was awkward with those men in Kiku's house. Everyone except him spoke Japanese. Alfred could barely keep up. He just had to force himself to smile and nod along. What the hell were they talking about? Kuro kept his eyes on him. Was he… smirking at him?
Alfred sat alone at his kitchen table. He had just put Baby Florence down for the night. Lydia had just gone home too. She didn't seem to believe him at first.
"And you say that Kiku was in the mirror while the other guy, Kuro, is living as him?" Lydia asked. Alfred slowly nodded.
"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" she asked.
"But it's true," he said. "I'm not lying."
"I didn't say you were," she said. The American man sat back, pouting.
"Look, what do you want me to say?" Lydia asked. "It just doesn't make sense. You can see that, right?"
"I know, I know," Alfred said. "But I'm telling the truth!" Lydia stared at him.
"So what are planning to do?" she asked. Alfred stared at her.
"I… I don't know," he said. His words came out uneasily. When did he feel so helpless? This wasn't like him. Lydia noticed the look on his face.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"When did I get to be so alone?" Alfred asked. Lydia looked confused.
"What are you talking about?" she asked. The American man paused for a moment before he shook his head.
"Forget it," he said. "I don't even know what I am talking about either." The American man got up and walked out of the room. Lydia was left at the table looking confused.
"What the hell?" she asked herself.
In truth, Alfred didn't know how to explain anything to her. He still didn't know what was going on. The American man didn't think to ask anyone what was happening. Why? Well, he couldn't understand it himself. Maybe he should talk to someone.
He came back to reality when his phone rang.
"Hello?" he asked. At first, he couldn't hear anything on the other line.
"What?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Wrong number," a small voice said. Alfred stared at his phone as they hung up.
"Huh? What was that about?" he asked. He shrugged and got up from the table.
There's something else that has caught his attention lately. More and more houses in the neighborhood were becoming empty. Alfred didn't know where the people went. It's been so quiet on the street. He hadn't noticed it until he came home from Japan. At first, he didn't know what to make of this.
"Hey, Lydia," he said as he looked out the window.
"What?" she asked.
"Haven't you noticed that the neighborhood's gotten quiet lately?" Alfred asked.
"Hm…" the young woman said. She had her hand to her stomach. The American man had a sense of dread wash over him. He turned and walked to the front door.
"Al?" Lydia asked. Alfred had already gone out the door.
There weren't even any birds singing. The silence gave Alfred the creeps. He shivered as he walked down the street. If knew better, he would think that he was in an apocalypse movie. The American man pinched himself in the cheek. Nope, this was real.
Alfred shivered. But he just had to keep going. There wasn't much to look at on this street anyway. However, there was still one house that still had someone there. Alfred power walked across the street. He knocked on Regina's door.
"Regina! Are you in? There's something wrong with this neighborhood! Regina! Regina!" he shouted as he pouted on the door. He backed up when the door opened. His neighbor stuck her head out the door.
"What?" she asked. The woman looked like she hadn't slept in days. The bags under her eyes looked so bad.
"Are you okay?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah," she said. "I've been up all night working. What's going on?"
"Um…. Where did everybody go?" he asked. Regina gave him a confused look.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"Come out and look with me," Alfred said. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her outside with him.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Regina shouted.
"Just come out and look," the American man said. His neighbor stepped out and looked around.
"Okay, what am I looking at?" she asked.
"Shhh," Alfred whispered. "Listen!" The two took a listen.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered.
"Hear what?" she asked. "What am I listening for? I don't hear anything."
"Exactly!" Alfred said. "There's nothing out here." Regina paused as that sank in. That's when she noticed it too. There were no birds, insects, animals, or children.
"What's going on here?" she asked. The American man shrugged as he shook his head. Suddenly, his phone rang.
"Excuse me," he said. Alfred pulled out his phone from his pocket.
"Hello?" he asked. At first, he could hear low whistling on the other line.
"Hello? Hello?" Alfred asked. "Speak up! I can barely hear you! Hello? Hello?" All he heard was static on the other line. Only one sentence came through over the phone.
"You shouldn't have left your house," a small voice said. The American man froze as they hung up. Regina saw the color drain from his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Alfred didn't answer. Instead, he turned and walked into his house.
"Alfred?" Regina asked. The woman ran after him as he walked up to his head in an uncomfortable daze. She would've had the door slammed in her face if she hadn't pushed her way in.
"Alfred, talk to me," she said. "What's going on? What's wrong?" The American man turned around, still looking pale. He didn't have an answer. Despite that, he started to get a clue as to what was happening in Asia and Europe.