DESCENDING INTO MADNESS

by Brown, Stacey Marie

“CHRISTMAS WREATHS?” The roar of the tree vibrated off the mountain range, shaking the snow. I went down, covering my ears. “You want to use bits of us to hang on your door like trophies? Our body parts are nothing but decorations to you? How about we hang you up for our decorations?”

  “Wrong thing to say, Ms. Liddell.”

  “Oh no. Oh no.” Penguin squawked, peering at me around Scrooge’s arm. “Though, Ms. Alice, I have to say you would make a lovely ornament. I’m not sure you’d enjoy being one, but it may not be as fabulous as it sounds.”

  “It doesn’t sound fabulous at all,” I yelled back at Pen.

  “Really?” Pen tapped a fin to his beak as if this was seriously an idea to mull over. “I might enjoy being a sparkly, beautiful ornament for all those to admire. Make people smile.”

  “Think we can make it happen,” Hare shot back, darting away from a branch.

  “You pathetically limbed creature.” A branch tangled in my long hair, yanking my head back, making me yelp. “You are going to become my trimmings now.”

  Pain pierced through me as the pine tugged me up by my hair, my feet lifting off the ground.

  “Let her go!” Scrooge yelled, moving toward me. With a whoosh, another limb knocked into Scrooge, tossing him back on the ground with a thud, flakes of ice drifting up in a swollen cloud. Penguin tumbled out of his arms into a snowbank.

  Dee, Dum, and Hare moved and yelled around me, but I couldn’t make anything out. The sting of every nerve clouted my brain, rushing blood through my ears. My mouth parted in a scream.

  Glowing golden eyes stared at me as he brought me to him. My feet tapped onto a branch below, lightening the weight coming from my strands. Relief caused my eyes to water.

  “I can tell you will be tasty, little sapling.”

  “So I’ve been told,” I derisively retorted, my eyebrows lifting with meaning. My gaze darted below, seeing how far down the ground was. Burnt cookies! Either way I might die. “Too bad you won’t get to find out.”

  “I beg to differ, seedling.” He screwed up his mouth, getting ready to spit his sap on me.

  “You forget this little sapling has fingers and a thumb.” I wiggled my hand. The tree paused, not understanding where I was going. “Quite useful things. They can do things like this.” I took a branch between my fingers and snapped it.

  Crack!

  The pop of wood breaking resounded in the forest. A piercing howl stabbed my eardrums, shooting down my spine, but my I forced my fingers to keep working. I grabbed every branch I could reach and snapped them. With another painful shriek, his hold on me fell away.

  And so did my body. Down. Down. I descended.

  “Alice!” My name wrapped around me, Scrooge’s voice feeling like some strange blanket as I hit the ground. Snow furled up around me. I couldn’t say it felt good, but it didn’t really hurt as the drop should have. Falling more than eight stories should have killed me.

  “Alice.” Scrooge scrambled to me, his hands on my face, his blue eyes full of worry. “Are you all right?”

  “I-I think so.” I adjusted my bones and muscles trying to see if everything was working. The shirt I borrowed from him was completely open.

  “Don’t scare me like that, Ms. Liddell. I’ve seen you almost die enough.” His hands slid farther up my cheeks, his attention on me intense, skewering every inch of my skin as his gaze moved down it, stealing my breath away.

  “Seriously, Scrooge?” Hare bawled, leaping for a branch heading for us, knocking it away. “You pick the worst time to want your twiddle-diddle to be played with.”

  Scrooge scowled, dropping his hands to my wrists and tugging me up.

  “Pen!” He darted over to the bird still stuck in the snowbank; only Pen’s wiggling webbed feet could be seen.

  The pine above me still howled in pain but was ordering the other trees to attack.

  “Kill them! Turn them into liquid.”

  “Run! Now!” Scrooge ordered.

  Dee and Dum didn’t hesitate, taking off, their tiny frames zipping down the path, knocking into each other with painful sounds, but the trees never touched them.

  A ball of sticky substance skated by my arm, burning through the shirt, assaulting the skin like acid.

  “Ahhhhhh!” I clutched my arm, pain rolling my stomach.

  “Alice! Move!” Scrooge yelled as Hare shoved at my legs, thrusting me forward. I started to sprint, zigzagging around the branches swiping for us.

  “Attack!” the first tree commanded.

  An onslaught of sap came down on us like bombs, but if I thought that was the worst, I was sorely mistaken.

  A whizzing noise skimmed by my ear while stinging pain danced up the back of my bare leg. It reminded me of the time I fell into a bush covered in red ants—burning and tingling.

  “Ow!” I hopped and scrubbed at my leg. “Shit! Ow!”

  “Keep going!” Scrooge waved me forward. He cringed as tiny objects embedded themselves into his outstretched arm.

  “What the hell are those?” I yelped, my eyes widening when I saw a hundred or more hit the ground in front of me.

  Holy Christmas bells.

  Nettles. Razor-sharp, long nettles sprayed out at us like arrows, stabbing into my skin. My body reacted as if a hundred bee stings infected my flesh.

  Boom!

  Snow flew up in the air, and goo hit the trail, incinerating the ice.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Scrooge clutched my arm, Penguin in his other, jerking us forward. More sap hit the ground near us, causing us to change our route. With a cry, I covered my head as debris rained down on us.

  “Look, the edge of the forest,” he hissed, ducking out of the way of another sap bomb.

  I glanced toward the break in the trees, appearing so close, but yet so far away. My skin tingled with numbness, and other parts burned from the tree’s poison darts.

  Resembling a war zone, we wove through the discharging of flesh-melting sap bombs and their version of bullets. A few cries around me from Hare and Scrooge suggested we weren’t getting out totally unscathed. Or at all.

  Scrooge picked up our pace, shoving me before him. My feet crossed the final pine tree. Its multi-armed reach grabbed out to me while branches scratched my legs. Adrenaline pushed through my legs as I sprinted past it, snapping the little hold it had on me.

  Hare, Dee, and Dum were already slowing down in front of me, knowing they were far enough away from the immediate danger. Covered in blood, burn marks, and so many nettles they looked like porcupines.

  “Ms. Alice!” Dee waved for me to hurry.

  I looked back at Scrooge, happy he was only a few yards behind me, clearing the reach of the forest, Pen waving his arms in victory at me.

  Good. I did not want a repeat of the holly debacle.

  “We did it. We survived.” The words barely past my lips when once again I felt myself plummet, a scream barely clipping my lips.

  Down. Down. Except this time, it wasn’t into darkness.

  Blinding whiteness enveloped me. Suffocating light. Gasping for air, ice particles tore at my throat, filling my lungs, dragging me even farther down. Panic worked my lungs. I sucked in more snow as throbbing sharp pain shot through my lungs and temple. My brain clouded, ripping coherent thoughts from my head.

  Alice, save yourself. You know how. I swore I could hear Rudy’s voice in my head, but I sank farther downward until the lightness became the comforting arms of darkness.

  Chapter 19

  “Alice?” A deep voice reached into my nothingness, dragging me back.

  Pinks, purples, blues, and greens swirled and clashed, looking like the aurora borealis, alleviating the darkness that wrapped around me.

  “Wake up, Alice… You do not get to die now.”

  “Let me try. I wanna try that.” Another voice spoke eagerly.

  I wanted to go, but part of me also wanted to stay in the nothingness, continuing the best nap in the world. But similar to a slide, once you start down, t
here is no stopping gravity from pulling you all the way.

  “Dum, get the hell back. That’s not what I was doing. Stop trying to kiss her.”

  My lids lifted, blurry images forcing me to blink several times to understand the object in my face.

  Puckered lips were only centimeters from mine.

  “Ahhhhh!” I cried, my voice croaked with pain, my heart leaping as my body scrambled back from Dum’s nearness. He bent over me, his eyes closed, mouth pursed, as though he was about to kiss a sleeping princess awake.

  “Dum!” Scrooge grabbed the back of Dum’s jacket, yanking him back with a vicious snarl. “You put your lips near her again, I will turn you into figgy pudding.”

  “You did it.” He pointed at Scrooge with confusion.

  “I was saving her life, Dum-Puck.” He stressed Dum’s name, suggesting he also got the funny but unfortunate irony of his name.

  “My kiss could have saved her life.” Dum huffed, his lips curling down in a pout.

  “No. It really wouldn’t have.” Scrooge brushed a hand over his hair, as if he were still searching for his long-lost hat.

  “I wanted to kiss her too,” Dum mumbled, walking away, kicking at the ground.

  My gaze shot to Scrooge where he squatted next to me. I couldn’t help my eyes dropping, tracing his delicious lips, knowing they had been on mine and I had no recollection. Dammit. That was not fair. It was probably the only chance I might get, and I wasn’t even awake for it.

  Alice, he wasn’t kissing you, you idiot. He was saving your life.

  I shook my head, clearing my throat, looking away from him. My lungs still burned and struggled to take in full gulps of air.

  “What happened?” I glanced around at everyone. Dee stood next to Scrooge, Hare on the other side, slouched into a snowbank. Penguin sat at my feet, once again lost in his own world, singing “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” while throwing snow in the air and letting it rain down on him.

  “An LSS.” Scrooge scrubbed his neck, his eyes darting everywhere but mine. “A Liquefied Snow Sink.”

  “A snow trap.” Hare picked at the nettles still in his fur.

  “A what?” I folded the threads of the shirt still hanging on for life around me as I sat up.

  “It’s similar to quicksand.” Scrooge stared at his beat-up black boots. “They are all over this mountain, and most likely you won’t realize you found one until it’s too late.”

  “Again.” I chomped my teeth together. “Something you should have told me.”

  Scrooge’s bright blue irises locked on mine. “If I told you half of what was up here, you would never have come.”

  “Don’t really have a choice, do I? Kind of stuck with you guys whether I want to be or not.” His stare was so intense it hitched up my heart. I licked my lips, not able to break away. “Don’t leave me vulnerable. From now on, tell me everything.”

  “Or what, Ms. Liddell?” A smirk flicked over his mouth. “As you said, you are stuck with us whether you like it or not.”

  Crap. He really did have me there. I had nowhere to go. Without even realizing, I hitched my wagon to them the moment I met them.

  “Because somewhere in that cold, black heart, you know it’s better to have me a contributing part of the team than a liability.”

  “Part of the team?” Scrooge’s eyebrow hitched up, his lips rubbing together. His mouth was a serious distraction. He had to know and used it as a weapon against women like me. “I don’t think you are ready for that.”

  “You are stuck with me as much as I am with you.” I leaned closer, his Adam’s apple bobbing at my sudden intrusion on his space. “And you underestimate what I am ready for or capable of.”

  “I said nothing about what you are capable of,” he said seductively, pushing back into my space, both of us in a game of chess for dominance.

  “Fuck! Just load her stocking already,” Hare exclaimed, throwing his arms out at us. “Ride his sleigh, will you? Put the rest of us out of our misery.”

  Flames colored my cheeks, and I tightened the hold on the shirt.

  Scrooge bolted up, glaring at Hare, muttering something under his breath before clearing his throat. “Let’s move out.”

  Hare jumped up on his one foot, bounding over to where Dum was taking the lead, Scrooge right on their trail.

  Dee’s hand reached for mine. She had a soft smile on her face as she helped me up.

  “What?”

  “Oh, nothing.” She shook her head, not letting go of my hand as we followed after our group. “He’s never acted this way. Well, at least since I’ve known him.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like he’s been flattened by Santa’s sleigh, boiled in pudding, and stuck with a candy cane.”

  “Uh.” I paused. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  She giggled, not answering me.

  “How long have you known him?”

  “Since he captured us.” Dee swung my arm back and forth, not unlike how a little girl would.

  “What?” My head jerked down to her.

  “He was still working for the Queen. He oversaw rounding all of us up still loyal to him.” She avoided saying Santa. Out of heartbreak, or inherent terror now, I didn’t know. “He was awfully good at being her knave. He and Blitzen were ruthless. They were feared everywhere. But he told me later he hated every second of it. He shut down inside.”

  Scrooge and Blitzen were partners? Tracking and hunting down people?

  “They caught me and Dum. Blitzen knew who I was and tortured us… extensively.” Her hand squeezed mine unconsciously, as if she were fighting back the memories flooding her, her eyes glistening with tears. “Scrooge didn’t like it. Told him to stop. They got into a fight, but Scrooge had more power than Blitzen and forced him to end his torture on us before he killed us. Blitzen was furious. That night, Scrooge broke a group of us out, including Hare. He knew everything would change afterward. That he would be hunted down like us, but he couldn’t be her general anymore.”

  “His wife and kid?” I asked quietly.

  “He tried to hide them, tried to keep all of us safe from her.” She motioned to the group in front of us. “But Blitzen eventually found us. Took us back to the Queen.”

  Where his wife and child were murdered in front of him, his friends tortured. Holy Dickens novel… what he’s been through. What they had all endured.

  “Belle, his wife, was so loving and sweet, but always sad. Quiet. Timid. Didn’t want to face anything bad or uncomfortable. Nothing like you.” Dee smiled softly up at me, making me snort. Yeah, I was none of those things. “Probably because of little Timmy. What a sweet boy. Born so sickly and tiny… he never grew much. Scrooge thought working for the Queen would save Timmy’s life by giving him access to doctors and magic.”

  “Timmy?” My feet stopped dead as I let go of her hand, a cold chill zipping over my body. No. No, it couldn’t possibly be…

  Scrooge. Tiny Tim… Belle. I was pretty sure that was the name of the woman in the book he never ended up marrying.

  But here he did. Tiny Tim was his son. And they both died in this story.

  “You okay?” The scarred side of Dee’s face looked frightening in the shadowy moonlight.

  “Yeah.” I nodded with a gulp, grabbing her hand again, moving behind the guys. “I’m so sorry for you guys. You’re story.”

  She shrugged, staring down at her worn elf shoes. “What Scrooge went through, I can’t imagine. He still blames himself… even lost the will to live. All I can do is go forward, live in the present, not the past. And they are my family. They are everything to me. I feel lucky to have them.”

  “You are an amazing elf, Dee-Puck.” I gripped her hand tighter, staring down at her. “I am honored to know you.”

  Like I turned on Christmas lights, her face beamed with pride. “I hope you stay. I love having another girl around. And you are amazing.” She nestled even closer to my side. “I’ll tell you a secret: I thi
nk you are perfect for him. As I said, you bring life out of him even over Belle.”

  “You mean anger.” I chuckled.

  “Sugar and spice. And everything nice.” She winked. “Tell me you’ll stay? You’re one of us now, Ms. Alice.”

  A knot grew in my throat. I stared forward, not sure how to respond. My world, my life, my family was in another realm. This was not my home. I couldn’t stay here, but the idea of leaving this group, even if I technically hadn’t known them long, felt as if I were ripping my heart out. They had become such a part of me. Embedded inside my soul like family.

  Over Scrooge’s shoulder, Pen curled into his neck, the song he sang finally registering with me.

  “I’ll be home for Christmas.” Pen’s black eyes met mine as he sang. “If only… in my dreams…”

  Stuffed turkey. It was as if he knew my inner turmoil. I just didn’t know in which home I would actually be in and which one would be in my dreams.

  “Christmas tarts, sugar cookies, hot chocolate, gingerbread, Christmas cake—”

  “Dum! Close your trap before I decide to make you into one of those,” Hare barked at his friend.

  My stomach howled, wanting just one of those on his list. We had been walking for hours, and the top of the mountain still hadn’t come into view.

  “I’m sorry… I’m hungry.” Dum and Dee now walked together. Every other step, they whacked into each other, as if it comforted them.

  “Yeah, we all are. And you’re not helping,” Hare snapped. Tempers were rising, and each time I asked if we were stopping for the night, I was met with a scoff.

  “Out here? In this place?” Scrooge peered at me like I was an idiot. “Against popular belief, I no longer have a death wish. We keep going.”

  We hadn’t run into any more pine trees, and Scrooge with a dead branch in the lead was poking at the ground to find any LSS. So far staying on the trail kept us safe against finding traps unwillingly.

  Another thing I had noticed was as much as this place was covered in snow, not once since I’d been here had it actually snowed. Was this how it always was, or was it another thing the Queen had changed?