• A Mad Man's Wish


    "Now what do we have here, Cheshire?" asked the Hatter, a broad smile on his face. The young girl looked up with crystal blue eyes eyes, locks of blonde hair trailing down her back. The young man kneeled down on front of her and held out his hand. "Hello there. What is your name my lovely?" he asked, his crimson orbs sparkling.

    "My name is Alice," she replied, cautiously eyeing the hand before taking it.

    "Well now, Alice, you've seem to have impeccable timing. We were just about to settle down for tea. Care to join us my dear?" he asked polietly. The young girl looked up at the man and smiled heartily, nodding in agreement. The young man smiled and led her to the long, decorated table beside the lovely cottage for a tea party.

    BANG!

    Alice's eyes shot open as the sound of a gunshot went off. "Thank goodness you're awake! Hurry, we must get to Hatter!" panicked the White Rabbit, desperately hoisting the young woman from the ground by the arm. The black haired woman looked around her. Another gunshot went off behind them. There was a heavy layer of gary clouds surrounding them as they dashed away from the scene.

    Alice looked around a bit more. The trees were half dead, their trunks bending over so badly tat some had bent all the way in half. There were flowers coughing and hacking while others were already dead. The grass was no longer it's various hues of colors. It was dead like everything else. Multiple gunshots reached her eardrums, nearly splitting them in half. This was not the Wonderland that Alice remembered.

    "Hatter will explain everything when we get there, but we must hurry! We can't let them catch us," Rabbit whispered, keeping his grip tight on Alice's arm. The young woman began to wake up a little more and kept up with Rabbit's pace as they both dashed through the winding woods and down the crooked pathway to the Hatter's domain.

    The sounds of the gunshots soon ceased as the woods became more alive, the further they traveled into the dark forest. They both slowed to a walking pace as the sounds faded out. Alice placed her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. A hand came down on her back, patting it softly. "We're almost there Alice, hang in there," he encouraged. She glanced up at him with her sapphire eyes. He smiled sadly at her.

    "This better be one hell of an explanation," she chuckled softly. They traveled further down the path. Soon enough, the old picket fence came into sight. A small smile crossed her face as she quickly sprinted up to it. The paint had chipped and some of the planks of wood were broken at the top and sides. Alice ran her fingers delicately across them. The memories of the tea party came back to her mind.

    She looked beyond the fence. Her smile dropped as she saw the cottage. There was a vast hole in the roof, lazily patched with a tarp. The door had been broken in, the paint was peeling from it, the window shutters were decaying. The garden in front and side had died and dried out and the long table out front was nothing more than a pile of broken wood and shattered tea cups.

    "W-What happened here?" she asked softly, kneeling down beside one of the in-tact cups that had been laying in the pile of memories. Rabbit looked down, the painful memories of the Shatter-glass day flashing past his eyes. He set a hand on Alice's shoulder.

    "Come along now Alice. Hatter will explain everything to you," he said, helping the young woman to her feet. She looked up at Rabbit, his eyes were drenched in sorrow. She looked back at the cottage and headed inside. She gasped. It was much worse on the inside, almost like a horror movie. Pieces of furniture were scattered about, broken glass and ceramics were shattered against the floor, curtains were torn and the floor had holes in them as well. It was a disaster.

    "Alice!" screamed a voice. The young woman whipped around. Suddenly, a pair of purple striped arms wrapped around her. "Alice you're back! Finally, now we can play together again!' cheered the familiar voice of the Cheshire Cat. Alice giggled as she was swung around by the old friend. He smiled at her and set her back on her feet.

    "Forgive me, Cheshire, but you know that Alice can't play now," interrupted the voice. Alice looked up at the balcony. There stood the ebony haired man, the old, crimson top hat resting peacefully on his head. He smiled softly as he gazed at the beloved Alice he had wished to see for so long. He carefully made his way to the staircase, the long cane in his left hand.

    "Hatter." The name rolled off of Alice's tongue like velvet. As the young man made his way down the staircase, Alice noticed his hand placed firmly against his side. 'A wound?' she thought as she walked up to him. He stood before her, a smile across his face as she embraced him tightly. He winced, grunting in pain.

    "Careful now my dear. It's been quite a long time since you've been in Wonderland." Alice looked down at his side. A dark red spot began to soak through his clothes.

    "Hatter! You're-"

    "I'm well aware my dear. It's as I said. Much had changed since you've been gone."