Andy was not a bit hurt, and he jumped up on to his feet in a moment: he looked up, but it was all dark overhead: before him was a long passage, and a girl was in sight, hurrying down it. Too dark to follow he stood not knowing what to do. The ground was all rocky and slippery but he was very scared and wanted to get out of the hole. Why didn't she wait?
"Wait." he whispered.
In the distance a dim light flickered. Carefully he followed it, making sure not to lose his footing. As he got closer he realized it was the girl holding a candle. When he came close he saw the girl was small, maybe she was his age. She was wearing a yellow dress and had rosy cheeks and blonde hair with a blue ribbon.
"Andrew Morgan! It ca'n't be anybody else!" she shouted, "I'm certain of it, as if his name were written all over his face."
Andy stopped. He didn't know the girl. He was sure of that.
"I'm sorry…you haven't read that one have you?" she smiled, adding, "What are you going to do with me now you've caught me?"
This was more puzzling than the thing she had said before.
"I want to go back." he said.
"To the woods? Where the fat man was chasing you?"
"I don't know…"
"You'll be much safer down here in my rabbit hole."
"Rabbit hole?"
"You're not very good at this game." she scolded.
"Who are you?"
"I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know who I was when I woke up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.."
"I don't understand."
"You're not playing the game at all…"
"What's your name then?" he tried.
"I'm Alice." she sighed.
"How do I go back?"
"You can't go back." hissed Alice angrily.
"I don't want to stay in here." mumbled Andy, starting to get scared again. Candle wax was running down Alice's hands, but she didn't even flinch.
"I know about you Andy Morgan. I know all your secrets." she smiled.
"How? What secrets?" he answered, thinking that he certainly didn't have any secrets.
"I know where your father is."
"That's not my secret." frowned Andy, "That's his secret. I don't know where he is."
"Not quite right, I'm afraid."
"It is! I haven't seen him for years. Don't want to."
"We know it to be true"
"You believe me then?"
"If she were to push it further…"
"Push what?"
"What would become of you?"
"Just show me the way back!" he shouted.
"You saw it. When your mom had enough of your dad. You saw what happened."
His stomach felt like ice. No one knew what happened to his dad…"Stop it."
Alice was growing taller, her face paler, hair dark.
"She walked up behind him, she was carrying something, wasn't she Andy?" Her voice was changing. She was angry. He shrank away from her. "You hid. You're good at hiding. Under the bed. There was a noise in the garden. You went to the window. You saw what your mom was doing."
She wasn't a little girl anymore. She was older. He couldn't look.
"Please stop it!" he cried.
"You saw! Where is your daddy?!" grinned Alice. Not Alice. Not anymore. The candle flickered. His dad was behind her grinning like her. He looked like Fat Pat. Andy screamed. The fat man vanished quite slowly, ending with the grin, which remained some time after the rest of him had gone.
"I want to go back!"
"You can't go back." she thundered, "Not to them. Not ever!"
"I don't want to be here! I'm so scared! I don't want to see him, I just want to go outside!" shrieked Andy. The candle went out. Nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Just the sound of Andy catching his breath.
"Where do I go from here?" he said, rather timidly.
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." said Alice, and it was Alice again, much to Andy's relief.
"I don't much care where-"
"By the lake?" she suggested.
"-so long as we go somewhere else." added Andy. Something was pushed into his hands. It was soft, made of cloth, like a rag doll.
"Oh, you're sure to do that."
There was a great rumbling and cracking. The earth shook and moved around them. Andy was pleased he couldn't see what was going on, it sounded frightening. But then he could see. It was very dark, but he could make out the lake. The doll he was holding was a nice one. A bit old though.
He looked around him. There was no sign of the cave and Alice was gone.
He could see something glowing in between the trees behind him. It looked warm. He wanted to be warm. He headed toward it.