by Cameron Jace
Mr. Tick let out a long sigh, took another brownie bite, then combed his hairies. “I guess that’s it, then. Alice dies and we get the keys from Jack.”
“I believe so, too.”
“I’m just really unhappy with the passengers on the bus staying alive,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen someone capable of changing the past so dramatically. It’s always been a few small changes, but not enough to change the course of the future.”
“I agree, Mr. Tick. We all know those on the bus must die.” Then an idea hit her. She rested a forefinger on her lips as if she’d discovered time itself. “Don’t you think time won’t let her change the past?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the future always finds a way to stay on course. Rule number 47 in the Wonderlastic Guide to Time Travels.”
“I read the rule, Mrs. Tock. But every rule has an exception.”
“Maybe.” She shrugged. “Maybe not.”
Chapter 82
THE PAST: BUS STATION, OXFORD
Instead of slowly withering away, the terrible Alice inside me surfaces again. I guess it’s because of my weakness that I can’t oppose her now.
With blood trickling down my cheeks, I stand up and push my future husband away, about to catch up to the bus I am supposed to kill everyone on.
Talk about schizophrenic.
The boy holds me back for some reason. “You’re still bleeding,” he says. “You need a doctor.”
I push him off me, realizing I still have enough strength to get the mission done. He falls back. “I really have no idea why I will marry you in the future,” I say, standing up.
“Wow, hold your horses, girl,” the boy says. “Not so fast. We were just fooling around.”
I don’t pay attention to him and run after the bus. All around me, Black Chess are still watching me, waiting for me to make it happen. Although I’m in evil mode, I wonder again and again why I have to kill those on the bus.
I run after the bus, realizing that I’m limping. Why not? I’m dying. Slower, I limp like a mad girl with blood on her face.
People make way for me. They don’t want to have anything to do with me.
The last girl gets on the bus as I cling to the rail on the back. I’m going to get on it. It’s the only meaning in the Bad Alice’s life. It’s the only way that I can live and return to the present, I suddenly realize. If I have no Wonder as a Good Alice then I bet it’s the Bad Alice with the Wonder of killing her classmates.
The bus starts up and I cling harder to the rail, my legs scraping against the asphalt.
My knees hurt like hell. I should be dead already. I am trying to gather the strength to climb up. The girls in the back window stare at me as if I am terrorist. Well, I am. A Wonderland Monster.
I manage to pull myself up, bending my knees, and begin to climb up toward the top of the bus, like a poisonous spider who’s come to finish the job.
“Let me in!” I pound on the glass. I must look like a demon now. “Let me in!”
The bus is full of girls. Why girls? Why do they have to die? Who are they?
One of the girls is so scared she submits to my threats and actually tries to open the back window. I smile wickedly at her, encourage her to speed it up.
Here she goes. Just a little wider, and I can set my foot inside.
But I don’t.
Someone pulls me by my legs. I slip back, dropping on that someone behind me in the middle of the street, watching the bus fly away.
“No!” I scream, reaching out.
“It’s all right.” The Pillar holds me tight, both of us lying on our backs. “Let it go, Alice. Just let it go.”
When he calls my name, I don’t know which Alice he is talking to. It’s worse than not knowing whether I’m mad or not.
The Pillar’s grip is strong. He is more embracing me than keeping me away.
“The bus is gone,” the nerdy Pillar says. “Whatever the reason you feel you need to catch it, there’ll always be another.”
“No, there isn’t,” I say, knowing it’s too late. I possess no more strength to go after it. I don’t really know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t know who I am or what I want.
“The girls on the bus will live,” I mumble.
“They will,” the Pillar says. “Now just calm down. It will all be okay.”
And it should, the Good Alice reminds me. Like the Pillar said, I just need to let go. I did all I could, saved a boy, a bus, and resisted a great evil inside me—although I am not sure which part of me surfaces most of the time.
But it’s all right. The bus is about to disappear over the horizon.
It’s okay. No harm will be done.
“I think I changed so many things in the future,” I tell the Pillar, standing up.
“You think so?” He tilts his head. “I once read the future can never be changed.”
And he is right, because far in the distance, looking over his shoulder, I see the bus veering off the road and crashed into a building.
Chapter 83
THE PRESENT: INSIDE THE INKLINGS, OXFORD
“What happened?” Fabiola said.
Now that she had no means of using the Muhsroomers to kill Alice, she had come back, wanting to make sure the evil girl wouldn’t return.
“The strangest thing.” Even Mrs. Tock was surprised by the incident in the past.
“What do you mean? Speak up.”
“I think…” Mr. Tick squinted. “I think Alice didn’t kill her classmates on the bus.”
“That’s great news,” Fabiola said. “It means she hasn’t found her Wonder. It means she will not wake up again.”
“It’s not quite that simple,” Mr. Tick said. “I also think that everyone on the bus died anyway.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You see,” Mrs. Tock began, “Alice didn’t get on the bus, so she didn’t kill her classmates, but even so, the bus crashed and exploded.”
“That’s impossible. It doesn’t make any sense.” Fabiola gripped her sword tighter, staring at the dying Alice on the bed. This was so hard for her. Her past, and the secrets she knew, obliged her to kill Alice now. But she just couldn’t.
“Sense has nothing to do with time,” Mr. Tick explained. “Time does what it likes.”
“When it likes,” Mrs. Tock added.
“Not a tick too soon.”
“Not a tock too late.”
“I need real answers,” Fabiola said. “Something that I understand. If Alice wasn’t on the bus, why did it veer off the road?”
“Why?” Mrs. Tock shook her shoulders. “I have no answer to that.”
“But we know who did this,” Mr. Tick said.
“Who, then?” Fabiola had to know.
“You won’t believe it,” Mr. Tick said.
“Carolus Loduvicus, although he jumped off the bus and didn’t die himself,” Mrs. Tock said. “He had always been the other Wonderlander on the bus with Alice.”
“And I’ve always wondered why Carolus got on that bus, Mrs. Tock,” Mr. Tick said.
“Me too. His presence on the bus is a mystery.”
“But it does have a meaning,” Mr. Tick said.
“It does?”
“Time is so slick it put Carolus on the bus so that if any of us, time travelers, ever wanted to change the past, it would always have a backup plan. Carolus. Time is so devious, Mrs. Tock.”
“That’s why we love working for it.” Mrs. Tock snickered. “Time is never on your side. It’s only on its own side. The future always finds a way to stay the same.”
“I don’t care about any of this,” Fabiola said. “I need you to answer me this: did Alice find her Wonder?”
“Of course not,” Mr. Tick said. “Her classmates died, but she didn’t do it. Alice is pretty much dead. Evil or good. No Wonder. I’d be writing her obituary if I were you.”
Hearing this, Fabiola collapsed on the chair. She finally had the results she
’d sought. But she didn’t know whether to love or hate the situation. She ran her hands over Alice’s wide-open eyes and brushed them to a close. “Good night, Alice Wonder. I’ll always hate myself for wanting you dead, but it’s the right thing to do.”
Chapter 84
THE PRESENT: MARGARET’S OFFICE, PARLIAMENT
“What do you mean she died?” Margaret yelled at Carolus on the phone.
Carolus explained what Mr. Tick and Mrs. Tock had told him. He didn’t tell her it was him who’d crashed the bus, though — and lived. He didn’t see the point, and he didn’t even remember doing it.
Margaret took a moment to assess the situation. She hardly cared about Black Chess or Alice. She cared to have good enough results so she could get back what was hers from the Queen. “And the key?” she asked.
“The keys are with Jack. We don’t know what he’s done with them. But the Cheshire will fix that.”
“So my plan worked.”
“I’d say it did. You promised the keys to the Queen. And now we know where they are.”
Margaret let out a long sigh. “Okay, Carolus. Take a break now. I have an important meeting with the Queen.”
Chapter 85
THE PRESENT: BUCKINGHAM PALACE
The Queen cried herself to death in her room. Her tears were piercing bubbles, splashing against every wall in her chamber. Her dogs eagerly waited for the salty tears to slide down the walls, so they could lick them. They hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for a while.
“Such a loss,” the Queen told herself, dialing Mr. Jay’s number. “I wonder how he will take the news.”
“Yes?” Mr. Jay answered.
The Queen told him about Alice’s death. The man’s silence extended for a few uncomfortable breaths on the line. “Is that confirmed?”
“She is dead. I’m sorry,” the Queen said. “I wished she wasn’t.”
“A shameful loss for Black Chess.”
“I know. Winning the war will be much harder now.”
“Alice has always been my favorite. The things she has done for us after the circus. I will always remember her. I wish there was someone to blame for her death.”
“The Pillar,” the Queen said. “He’s the one who turned her mind, almost converted her to one of the Inklings.”
“That’s not quite true,” Mr. Jay said. “Alice had once been an Inkling before she joined Black Chess. She didn’t become one of us until the incident after the circus. You could say she had good and evil in her all the time.”
The Queen nodded silently.
“Also, we may have never found her if it weren’t for the Pillar,” Mr. Jay said. “None of us was sure it was her.”
“That damn Lullaby pill, and Lewis’ curse to make us forget. I wonder how the Pillar knew she was the Real Alice.”
“Maybe he didn’t. It could be a stroke of luck.”
“I doubt that. So are we going to do something about him now?”
“Something like what?”
“If you allow me to chop off his head, it’d be most Jub Jub.”
“No.” Mr. Jay’s voice was firm. “Don’t ever underestimate the Pillar. He didn’t get into this to only convert Alice. The war is just starting. He is full of secrets. So tell me, do we have the keys?”
“The Cheshire is working on it. He says Jack’s mind is a bit tricky.”
“Don’t trust the Cheshire either.”
“I understand. I have my eyes on him.” The Queen hesitated. “However, I have a request.”
“Listening.”
“I want to organize a respectable funeral for Alice.”
“I understand, but it would expose us to the Inklings’ forces. Who knows if they have other plans for us?”
“No one will notice. Kids and families will think it’s a memorial for Alice in Wonderland from the book. To us, Black Chess, we’ll be honoring our Real Alice.”
“I don’t mind. When are you planning on it?”
“Right away. It’s going to be an exceptional Alice Day in the whole world next week.”
Chapter 86
THE PRESENT: SOMEWHERE IN THE STREETS OF LONDON
The Cheshire sat alone on a bank. His head was still spinning from all the emotions and love in Jack’s head. He’d heard about Alice’s death and her sacrifice to make Jack hate her. But he hadn’t witnessed any changes yet.
Mr. Tick and Mrs. Tock had told him changes in the future took some time. They didn’t happen right away like in movies. Now the Cheshire cherished every last moment of Jack still loving Alice, knowing that soon this love would turn to hate.
He closed his eyes, still searching the corridors of Jack’s mind. Searching for whatever made him come back from the dead.
And here it was. The Cheshire listened to Jack’s mind.
I forgive you for killing me, Jack’s voice said. But was that all? I came to tell you where I kept the keys.
The Cheshire’s mind brightened with knowledge. He listened to the whereabouts of the keys and what they were for. The Cheshire was in awe. He couldn’t believe it.
His eyes flew open. Would he tell Black Chess or the Inklings about it? Or would he take the power for himself?
Slowly, the Cheshire’s body was hurting. He knew what was going on. The changes Alice had made in the past were starting to manifest in this world. And since Jack never died in this new version of life, he never came back for Alice, and the Cheshire never possessed him.
Mind bending stuff, even for the sneaky cat.
The Cheshire fell to his knees, knowing he had to posses another soul as soon as possible. Or he would simply die.
Clasping his face, the Cheshire realized he’d been tricked by the greatest murderer of all. He’d been tricked by time. Never a tick too soon. Never a tock too late.
Chapter 87
Mrs. Tock and Mr. Tick watched the Cheshire fall to his knees, wondering if they should help him.
“It’s a shame that the evil cat was that much of a fool,” Mr. Tick said.
“Time befriends no one,” Mrs. Tock said. “But I really had so much fun today, Mr. Tick. It was a timely adventure.”
“Me too, Mrs. Tock.” He held her hand. “We should do this again some time.”
“Really?” Mrs. Tock’s eyes brightened. “When?”
“A couple of hundred years from now,” he said.
“Why not? We have all the time in the world.”
“Which is pretty boring,” he said. “But not as long as we’re together. Ticking and tocking all the time.”
Mrs. Tock laid her head on his chest and sighed. “Since you’ve finally admitted I make your life better, I have a confession, Mr. Tick.”
“After all this time?” he mocked her lovingly.
“I know why you can’t grow hair anymore.”
Mr. Tick grimaced. “You know?”
“I have to confess it’s because of me. I didn’t want you flirting with younger girls. So I —”
“So you did what?”
“It’s the tea you drink all night and day. It has a substance that causes baldness.”
Mr. Tick was shocked. Even upset. He pulled his arm away and paced away from her.
“Mr. Tick!” she called after him. “I can make it grow back. Black pepper and olive oil will fix it!”
She ran after him. The Cheshire was still choking to death behind her.
Chapter 88
THE PRESENT: ALICE’S FUNERAL, THE RIVER THAMES, A WEEK LATER.
The Queen had just finished her speech about Alice. The crowd and kids clapped, thinking she was talking about the stubborn seven-year-old Alice in the books. Every news reporter in the world wondered why the Queen wept.
“I will always miss Alice,” the Queen said, flashing cameras surrounding her. “She will be always a part of my past, present, and future.”
“Do you plan to build a statue of her?” a reporter asked.
The Queen thought it over for a moment. It seemed like a good
idea, but hell no. She wouldn’t make the people of England think there was someone as important as her in this life. She suddenly realized she didn’t care about Alice. What was she doing?
Her face twitched and she yelled out, “Off with their heads.”
The kids began to laugh. “Why is the Queen of England acting as if she were the Queen of Hearts?”
“She is mad,” a child began to cheer. His friends liked the idea. Why couldn’t be they were all mad in this world? They began singing. “We’re all mad here.
***
Fabiola stood next to the March Hare. He had woken up after Mr Tick and Mrs Tock got what they wanted.
“I can’t believe she is the Real Bad Alice,” the March Hare said. “I thought she was a sweet girl who believed she was Alice. I liked the idea a lot.”
“You’re naïve, Jittery. That’s all. I will need you to grow up into a man.” Fabiola said. “Now that Alice is dead, the Wonderland Wars have just begun. Us against Black Chess.”
The March’s ears stood erect again. Fighting Black Chess without Alice scared him. “I wonder who this Mr. Jay really is.”
“I think I have an idea,” Fabiola said. “I won’t sleep well until I know who he is. So far he is the man behind Black Chess. We need to find him, or we will never win the war.”
“Things got a lot complicated,” The March said. “What are we going to do, White Queen? We’re almost powerless.”
“It’s a shame you’d say that knowing who I am.”
The March Hare shrugged. Of course he knew. The past was shadowing the future again. Clashes were unavoidable. Masks had been taken off, and there was no going back. “I know.” He nodded, about to cry. “I just can’t believe this sweet girl was Alice.”
Chapter 89
THE PRESENT: TOM TOWER, OXFORD