by Dani Hoots
Chase butted in. “You mean I had to act quickly?”
Malcolm gave him a look and turned back to me. “Either way, here you are.”
“Here I am? Where the hell am I? What is this place? Why are you all wearing weird clothes? And what do you mean telling me of a war? What war?”
He smiled. “So many questions, so curious. But let’s start off with your first one. Alice, this is Wonderland. You are in Wonderland.”
I wrinkled my nose, thinking that he was just making fun of me. I glanced over at the others but they didn’t seem to be laughing. “You mean... like in the kids book?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“But that is just a story. That isn’t real. There’s no way.”
“It’s real Alice,” Chase repeated. “It’s all real.”
I shook my head. It had to be some elaborate prank. Everyone liked pulling pranks on me since I was so gullible. I wouldn’t let them have the pleasure this time. “No, this is just some weird dream. I will wake up and it will all be over.”
“No, Alice, this isn’t a dream. Alice Liddell was a real person. She told everything to a certain Lewis Carroll and he wrote the story down. He warped quite a few things but this place is real. This is Wonderland.”
I shoved him away and stood up. I didn’t like people that tried and pranked me. I was pretty gullible at times but not this gullible. “This is just some trick. You are lying. Tell me the truth!”
“We aren’t lying,” Melvin added. “And we need your help.”
“My help?” That seemed strange. I was just some random girl they grabbed from school. How could they say such a thing? “What would you need my help for?”
Malcolm held out his hand. “It’s hard to understand. We have to take you to someone who can explain all of this.”
I stomped my foot on the ground. It seemed childish, I knew, but I wanted my answers given to me. This was all just so confusing. “I’m not going anywhere until I understand what’s going on.”
“Come on Alice, don’t you want an adventure? Don’t you dream of such things? I see you reading all those fantasy and sci-fi novels and manga. Now you can live this one out.” Chase smiled widely.
I stared at him and that is when I remembered. “Your eyes! What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“Can’t you tell?” He disappeared from where he was standing and appeared next to me. “I’m the Cheshire Cat.”
I jumped away from him. “What the hell? How did you do that?”
“Chase, did you really have to tell her that?” Melvin looked annoyed. “You could have scared her out the door.”
“Well she’s going to wonder why I look like a cat anyway. Might as well tell her now.”
I examined Melvin a little closer. That was when I noticed part of his orange hair seemed off. “Melvin, are those… Bunny ears?”
He sighed. “They are rabbit ears. Not bunny ears.”
Not able to help myself, I reached over and squeezed them.
Melvin jumped back, out of my reach and rubbed them. “Ouch! Every time a human comes here they do that! Why? It’s annoying! You don’t see me touching your ears all the time.”
“But you are human.” I kept staring at him, feeling a little bad that I had violated him like that. I just couldn’t help myself.
“Nothing is what it is in Wonderland, Alice.” Chase motioned around him. “Nothing is what it is and everything is what it isn’t.”
I looked at all four of them with their suits and at the rest of the room. Old wooden desks, leather chairs and couches, bookcases, it was like something straight out of a storybook. It couldn’t be possible, someone had to have been pulling a trick on me. “You’re all crazy.”
“Well, he is.” Malcolm nodded to Chase. “The rest of us are quite sane.”
“Ha!” Chase belted. “There is a reason they call you the Mad Hatter, is there not?”
Malcolm sighed and rubbed his temple. “No one has called me that in a long time. They just call me The Hatter.”
“The what?” There was no way he could be the Mad Hatter, Malcolm was way too young and not to mention sane.
“Have you not read the story?” Chase asked. “Because you seem surprised by a lot of this.”
“I have, but that was written over a century ago. You can’t be them. Not to mention it is a work of fiction”
“Oh, but we are.” Chase disappeared and reappeared on the bookcase. “Time means nothing here. We still play our parts one way or another.”
I turned to Davis and Melvin. “Then who are these two?” I looked a little closer at Davis. “And Davis has some weird ears… like a mouse.”
“The March Hare and the Dormouse of course,” Chase answered, appearing next to Dormouse, and leaned against him. “Can’t you tell a pathetic mouse when you see one?”
Davis’ eyes narrowed. “Watch it, Cat.”
Chase stepped back. “Oh, I’m so scared. What are you going to do? Throw cheese at me?”
“You two need to knock it off. Alice here is confused and you two are just making fun of each other,” Melvin exclaimed.
Davis turned to Melvin and pointed at Chase. “I’m not the problem here, he is! I haven’t done anything wrong so don’t blame me.”
Chase wrapped his arm around Davis’ shoulder. “Oh, stop being such a baby.”
They started arguing again, and Malcolm stepped forward, away from the cat-mouse fight, holding out his hand. “Let’s go, we will take you to someone who can explain everything more clearly.”
I looked down at his hand and back to his eyes. Malcolm had honest eyes, I could tell he was someone I could trust, along with everyone else here. I had nothing to lose, really, as I was stuck in this place anyway at least. If I left them I would be completely lost.
“Okay, I will go with you. But first can I get a change of clothes?” I looked down at my pajamas. “I don’t want to venture around in pajamas if that is okay with you.”
“Yeah, pipsqueak here should have something in your size.” Chase placed his hand on Davis’ shoulder.
“Hey!”
Chase shrugged. “It’s true.”
Dodging Davis’ punch, Chase laughed as he grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.
CHAPTER 7
Davis’ clothes actually did fit me perfectly. He was a smaller size than me, but I guess it would make sense since he was the Dormouse. It was weird to wear a boy who I hardly knew’s clothes, especially when he seemed like something out of the 1800s. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the era, it was just weird seeing everyone wear such things, except at a con of course.
I wore a dark pink suit, with brown pants and a purple vest and bowtie. I felt a bit ridiculous in it, as it definitely wasn’t something I would ever wear in the real world. It was too fancy for me, I was used to getting paint everywhere so there was no way I could ever wear this at home. But that didn’t matter right now as I wouldn’t be painting any time soon.
Adding the purple hat, I just laughed. This was one strange dream indeed. At least, I hoped it was a dream. If this was real, it wasn’t quite hitting me yet.
I came down the stairs to find all the boys staring up at me. I hated being the center of everyone’s attention, especially when everyone looking at me was male. I took a deep breath and smiled.
“Fits perfectly.”
“Told ya it would fit.” Chase nudged Davis. Davis frowned and crossed his arms, not saying a word in response.
“Well, all in all, you look fabulous, m’lady.” Malcolm placed his hand out for mine at the end of the stairs. I grabbed it, blushing, and took the final step. This was like a dream come true, though I had dreamt I was going to prom with him and was wearing a dress instead of a suit. And we weren’t in Wonderland. “We should be heading to Howard’s hideout now, since you’re already here.”
“Who’s Howard?” I asked as he lead me and the others outside. It was still silent down this passageway and I began to wonder if anyon
e else could travel down here; it was Wonderland after all, maybe they couldn’t see it. Perhaps, only some could see Wonderland.
“He is the one who knew to bring you here. He is the one who can really explain more fully about everything that is going on,” Malcolm explained.
It wasn’t the answer I wanted to hear but it would do. The promise that someone would explain was good enough for me. Besides, this had to be some kind of dream, there was no way that it could be possible that Wonderland really existed. I probably hit my head while closing my window, and right now, I probably lay in my room, my face in a plate full of paint.
We walked through the grassy streets. I followed beside Malcolm and Chase. Malcolm had a sort of regal stature about him, honest and true. He seemed like a man who had a high ranking job, which seemed weird since he looked like a teenage boy. He seemed to be calm and collected, which was strange given that he is the influence for the Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I wondered what happened and what changed him to be more calm and not just recklessly indulging in tea all the time.
Chase, on the other hand, was always a troublemaker at school and I could tell he was one here as well. I have heard of him starting riots in classes and getting sent to the principal’s office time and time again. But his troublemaking saved my life, so I knew I could trust him. I would be stupid not to, he had only been kind to me this entire time. But yeah, he was definitely the Cheshire Cat.
Glancing around, I realized that I still couldn’t see the other’s faces. Everyone around me had a dark cloud over their face, like a mask. It was disturbing to say the least.
“Why can’t I see their faces?” I asked as we walked past a group of people.
“That’s the problem that has encased the whole Kingdom. It was why we started looking for you,” Malcolm explained.
“Kingdom? You mean the Heart Kingdom?”
Malcolm shook his head. “No, they were destroyed by Alice long ago. The Red and White Kingdom also fought and destroyed each other. This is the new authority, the Kingdom of Dreams.”
I shook my head. “I have never heard of it.”
“You wouldn’t,” Malcolm went on. “It came after the original Alice left. This Kingdom is a place where human’s dreams reside. Each person here is a person’s dream in your world. This is where they prosper and escape to.”
“So then what is the problem? What is the war you mentioned?” Because it sure didn’t look like a war was going on. This place seemed perfect other than the weird shadow faces.
“The problem is that the Cirque de Rêves came out of nowhere and started entertaining the citizens, the dreams. We didn’t know it at the time, but there is a dark presence controlling the circus, causing the people to become dark and pretty much wither away, destroying the dreams of people in the human world.”
Definitely sounded like a fantasy. What was this, Sailor Moon? Would I be getting Sailor Scout powers? Because that would be cool. I wanted to ask but knew I would sound like a complete otaku if I did.
“That doesn’t make sense. So people’s dreams in the real world are being destroyed here?”
He nodded. “Yes, human dreams have always resided here. The more your world grew, the more this world grew as well. Those who keep their dreams at heart stay here and those who have given up on their dreams vanish from this world and just go on suffering, feeling empty in your world. But it is their own choice to let the dreams escape and crumble. That isn’t what is happening now, now the circus is causing the dreams to wither from the inside out. Humans have no control over it on the outside. The repercussions on your world will be tremendous if it isn’t stopped.”
None of it sounded real. How could that even be possible? I still debated if this was some dream, a dream I would love to express through dance or art. However, there was always the off chance that this was real, that some miracle has occurred and I was indeed trapped in Wonderland. “How is the Circus doing this?”
“They are creating darkness that captures the soul of the dream,” Malcolm explained with a bit of a sigh. “We didn’t know it until it was too late. It has taken both our Queen and King and turned them against those who still have dreams. Only a few of us got out and are trying to stop it before it goes too far.”
“Like you all?” I glanced at the others. Each one of them nodded.
Chase winked. “Yes, like us, Alice.”
I turned back to Malcolm. “Have you been to this Circus?”
A bit of remorse was apparent in his eyes. “Yes.”
“Then why aren’t you affected?” It seemed like a good question, as these were the few people who didn’t have dark shadows across their faces. I wondered what made them so special, other than being in the original story.
He smiled. “The Cirque de Rêves uses fear to get to the soul of dreams. It’s how it clouds everyone’s mind. He makes you see your darkest fear and lets you live it. It kills the dreams and they become living nightmares. It didn’t work on me though, as I have learned long ago not to live in fear.”
I wondered what he meant by that. How could one learn to not live in fear? Even I was afraid of the future, but I tried my hardest not to let go of my dreams. “What about the rest of you?”
Chase raised his hand. “I’m too free-spirited for anything to hold me down. Fear is nothing to a cat like me.”
“I have been at the Hatter’s side since the beginning,” Melvin explained. “So like him, I have learned to live with my fears.”
“And as for this mouse here.” Chase wrapped his arm around Davis. “He is always afraid so he doesn’t know the difference between fake fear and real fear.”
Davis’ face turned red. Chase apparently always knew what buttons to push. “Shut up, cat! It’s because I am stronger than most other people around. Only strong people can live in fear and endure it every day.”
“Sure it is.”
Davis tried to hit Chase but Chase disappeared and reappeared in front of us, laughing. Davis started chasing him around the group, which was odd to think about how a mouse could chase a cat. It was hopeless, though, as Davis could never catch up to him.
I turned my attention back to the buildings around us. I noticed that the people, or I guess they were dreams, didn’t pay attention to us like they had before when I first came to this place. Was it because of my clothes and how I actually blended in now?
There was still a lot I didn’t know and a lot I still wanted to understand. I either wished I could be told everything that was going on and why I was needed or just wake up from this very strange dream.
“Why am I here?”
Malcolm let out a brief sigh. “That is very complicated. Howard is really the best man to ask that question, he was the one who sent us to find you. Honestly, we aren’t even quite sure why we need you.”
“Is he like some kind of mentor or something?”
Chase opened his arms wide. “He is so much more than that! He is like a father to us. He has taught us so much over the years and has brought us together to save the kingdom, which honestly I didn’t think was possible, am I right Mad Hatter?”
I turned to Malcolm but he didn’t say a word. His eyes darted in Chase’s direction, scowling.
“Geez,” Chase said. “Didn’t mean to hit a sore spot.”
“But yes,” Malcolm went on. “He is like our mentor. Even when something seems impossible, or everyone has turned their backs on us, he has been there with open arms. We owe a lot to him, each and every one of us.”
I nodded as if I understood, but honestly I didn’t. Most adults that I knew didn’t think that I knew what was good for myself, that art wasn’t a suitable career path for any human. The only adult that did support me was Mrs. B., but other than just a few supportive words here and there, it wasn’t like I felt I could talk to her about everything. I found these boys to be lucky, but then again I didn’t know the whole story. I learned to never be jealous of someone who appeared to have what you w
anted on the outside, because you just never knew what their story was.
“So who is behind this Circus?” I asked as the quiet was starting to freak me out a bit. I always got nervous when it was quiet, which is why people thought I was more social than I really was. Truthfully I just hated awkward silence. I was usually the one who started making a turtle with my hands.
“A man who calls himself Morpheus,” Melvin answered. He looked a bit annoyed at just the thought of him.
I let out a brief laugh. “As in the God of Dreams?”
“You know your Greek mythology well,” Malcolm commented.
And the Matrix. “I like stories,” I explained, a little excited at the thought of the connection between mythology and this place. “Whether they be ancient or not. Anyways, to call himself a god, he must be a little full of himself then.”
“Is he full of himself? He has converted many citizens as you have seen.” Malcolm waved his hand to gesture towards those who stood near us.
I took a look around. He was right, there were a lot of people and I couldn’t see any of their faces. I wondered if it was like that everywhere or in just this part of the kingdom. Either way, it was still a lot of people. He had to be strong to be able to convert so many people. It was hard to think that the people around me were the personifications of people’s dreams in the real world. I wondered how many people around me I actually knew.
“How big is this kingdom?” I asked.
Chase opened up his arms. “It’s huge! This is just one section called the Garden District.”
“How many districts are there?”
“Within this kingdom? About two dozen,” Chase answered. “Most people stay within the kingdom but there are others who are from outside the kingdom, which is where the ruins of Heart, Red, and White Kingdoms are.”
“Two dozen? Wow. Where is the Circus?” As I didn’t see any tents around this area, and this place seemed too strange to have a Circus going on, which was odd to think, really.