Doomsday Wonderland c1-855

by N. Heller

  "Emma! Are you alive?"

  Emma was stunned. Though she was slightly confused by the question, she quickly regained her composure and yelled out, "Link, I’m here." Then, she went to open the door.

  She had barely opened the door when a person pulled the door from outside and shut it again. Emma’s hand hung in mid-air as she stared at the wooden door. Her expression turned dark.

  "Is this some sort of prank?" She inhaled sharply before she shouted at the door, "My little red riding hood is here today! You’re scaring her. Bring those dogs away!"

  The men stopped talking when they heard her words. The dogs continued barking madly as if they could bark the house down. After a few seconds, a man finally spoke, "Are there only two of you in the house?"

  Lin Sanjiu was shocked and slowly turned to look at Emma. "I have another guest." Emma looked out from the window stiffly, "Why did you ask me that question?"

  Lin Sanjiu could see that Emma’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the edge of the window.

  "Ive! Richard! Bring the dogs to the garden!"

  The man called Link called out to two other men before he turned to the wooden cottage again. "I realized that something was amiss, so I quickly called Ive and Richard to help..."

  "Despite the heavy rain, our hunting dogs are still behaving so erratically, my assumption must be right."

  "In your house, there must be a werewolf amongst you."

  Chapter 136 - Cinderella's Crystal Shoes

  At that critical moment, Lin Sanjiu felt herself waking up from a bed of prickly straws. Faint light entered her eyes and before she could react to the changes, she jumped up, and dried straw fell off her body noisily. Cinderella was startled by her sudden action.

  "What’s wrong?" Cinderella asked kindly. The maiden’s face and hands were covered with black soot, "You had a nightmare?"

  "Me… Ah, yes." Lin Sanjiu blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to bring her senses back from the old cottage with the heavy rain and the barking dogs. It took her a few seconds to recover before looking out of the window. It was still dark outside and a crescent moon was in the sky. There wasn’t even a hint of impending rain.

  "What time is it now?" Lin Sanjiu calmed her breathing and looked at Cinderella, a little confused, "Why are you still working at this time?"

  Cinderella sighed, "I always wake up at this time to do my chores. It will be dawn soon. I will need to prepare breakfast." After she said that, she paused and watched the stove in front of her in a daze. Lin Sanjiu could guess what she was thinking about. From the information she gathered, it had already been a month since the ball. Based on the normal chronological order, Cinderella would have already lost one of her shoes. Yet, even after almost a month, the prince wasn’t looking for her...

  To Cinderella, the bejewelled dress, the dazzling lights and the dance with the prince had all become but a dream. The dream had ended and she had to go back to her chores, kneeling in a dirty kitchen with dirt all over her hands.

  [Is Cinderella’s story reaching a climax just like the Little Red Riding Hood storyline?] Lin Sanjiu pondered as she excused herself saying she wanted to clean up. She walked outside and took stock of her cards. She handed Cinderella’s stepmother some scented candles and some torchlights. Though the woman accepted the ‘payment’ without making any comment, she did not hide her disappointment that Lin Sanjiu did not present her any pieces of jewelry. This also explained why she only arranged for Lin Sanjiu to sleep on straw.

  After Lin Sanjiu finished taking stock of her cards, she placed her hand under her chin and began wondering about the two people in the little cottage. [Neither Red Riding Hood nor Emma look like werewolves… There was nothing unusual about their behavior. But then again, what is a werewolf like anyway?]

  As Lin Sanjiu was deep in thought, the sky gradually grew brighter. After a busy morning, Cinderella made and brought the sets of breakfast to her stepmother and stepsisters. She made a simple meal of potatoes and peas for herself and shared some of it with Lin Sanjiu.

  The taste wasn’t fantastic but Lin Sanjiu was very grateful just to have something to eat. Cinderella giggled when she saw how Lin Sanjiu gobbled her food hungrily, "You must have had a difficult time traveling."

  Her words struck a chord with Lin Sanjiu. If going through multiple New Worlds was her journey, she really didn’t know where her destination was. Normally, Lin Sanjiu would curb herself from thinking about the countless New Worlds out there. She also tried her best to avoid thinking about her friends who had died or her companions she had lost contact with. But these feelings were like shifting silt under the water surface. Just a single sentence from Cinderella stirred these emotions she had been suppressing.

  "Yeah, it is hard. I rarely get to eat a meal," she regained her composure and replied with a smile.

  Cinderella hesitated when she saw Lin Sanjiu’s expression. She wanted to say something but was interrupted by the noise outside. They heard a male servant shouting, "Madame, Madame! Where are you? Come out now to welcome the palace head steward!"

  [Here it comes…] Lin Sanjiu’s heart pounded as she placed her bowl down and pulled Cinderella, who was still in a daze, through the mansion’s back door. The large family mansion did not look as imposing as it usually was. The stepmother rushed out, holding the corners of her dress. It was clear that she just tidied her hair as there was still a sheen of oil over her hair. Cinderella’s two stepsisters stood behind their mother. They had clearly put on makeup and adorned themselves with many jewelry. "Why is the head steward here?" Cinderella’s stepmother asked after she caught her breath.

  The head steward was a silver-haired middle-aged man with a stoic face. He had such a serious face that it would evoke the same expression in anyone who saw him.

  "According to the prince’s order, I have traveled the entire kingdom looking for a lady who can wear this shoe." After he explained himself in a business-like manner, he waved his arm and the servant behind him revealed a crystal slipper in a box. "Anyone who could wear this shoe would earn the privilege to be by the prince's side."

  The crystal slipper shone clearly under the sun. Once it was revealed, Lin Sanjiu heard Cinderella soft gasp. Luckily, everyone was focused on the head steward and the slipper so no one else noticed.

  The next series of events were quite similar to the fairytale. Even though it wasn’t as gruesome as the fairytale where the stepsisters cut off their heels and toes to fit their feet into the slipper, it took them a lot of effort. They bound their feet with strips of clothes, forcing their toes under their feet, creating a sort of western foot binding. Despite the pain, they were unable to squeeze their feet into the slipper as the crystal slipper did not provide any extra space. It only fit its true owner perfectly. The head steward even wanted Lin Sanjiu to try but when he saw her pair of timberland boots, he immediately rejected that idea.

  In the end, Cinderella was a little nervous when she slipped her dainty, small feet into the crystal slipper. Lin Sanjiu was startled when the people around her let out cries of shock and exclamation. "That’s great!" the head steward said with the same stoic face, showing no hint of happiness. "We finally found you. I am sure the prince would be pleased."

  Cinderella blushed and allowed the female servants from the palace to pull her up. After she bathed and wore makeup, she finally showed her beautiful appearance like in the ball. Being in a fairytale and witnessing the main character go through various events was a wonderful experience for Lin Sanjiu. As there were too many people in the main hall, Lin Sanjiu had to watch from the window of the second floor as the head steward brought Cinderella away cordially, towards a specially-crafted carriage.

  From Lin Sanjiu’s memory, the prince should appear at this point and would give the order to punish Cinderella’s stepmother and the stepsisters.

  [Is the prince sitting in that carriage?] The events which unfolded seemed to prove that she was right. The head steward said something to the person in
the carriage and invited Cinderella to step into it. Cinderella looked into the carriage and turned to speak with the head steward. Then, she waved her hands anxiously…

  [Huh?] Lin Sanjiu squinted. Cinderella’s expression looked weird. Her face was a little pale as she shook her head violently. As Lin Sanjiu was too far away, she couldn’t really hear what they were saying. Cinderella looked like she didn’t say much and quickly turned to walked away. However, she was suddenly stopped by two tall soldiers. They grabbed Cinderella and stuffed her into the carriage forcefully.

  [This is a critical difference!] Lin Sanjiu gritted her teeth and leaped out of the window when nobody was noticing. The impact of her landing numbed her legs but before the dust settled on the ground, she had already covered a significant distance and was sprinting behind the carriage. As she did not know what had happened, she did not use her maximum speed to chase after the carriage. Instead, she just observed while she allowed some distance between herself and the carriage.

  Thankfully, the kingdom wasn’t that big and they reached the palace in less than 20 minutes. After all, those people managed to get all the girls in the kingdom to try that slipper. As the palace was quite small, it was very easy for Lin Sanjiu to search the entire place, as if there were no security at all. It took her only 20 minutes to find Cinderella in an elegantly decorated room. Cinderella’s face was pale and covered with streaks of tears. However, she did not seem shocked to see Lin Sanjiu.

  "The prince who danced with me isn’t that man." She sobbed.

  Chapter 137 - Neapolitan Cake (3)

  [If the person who took Cinderella wasn’t the prince, who could it be?] This was the question in Lin Sanjiu's mind when she stepped back and hit Emma’s dining table.

  It took a few milliseconds before she processed the sound of rain and of barking dogs. She quickly looked around, realizing where she was. The cottage was dimly lit but Lin Sanjiu could see Red Riding Hood hiding behind Emma. The scared girl clutched her grandmother’s clothes with both hands and peeked at Lin Sanjiu.

  The interior of the cottage was lit with a bright light every time a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, at that same time, the knife in Emma’s hand was revealed.

  Lin Sanjiu knew it was useless but she couldn’t help defending herself, "I am not a werewolf…"

  However, Emma did not even look at her. Instead, she held her knife tightly with her trembling hands and shouted to the men outside, "It’s here! She must be the werewolf. Please think of a way to save us!"

  Lin Sanjiu sighed. She didn’t even know what a werewolf should look like, and she had no way of judging who was lying. It wasn’t even that hard for her to incapacitate or kill everyone, ironically, that was the reason why Lin Sanjiu did not dare to act rashly. Besides, she didn’t know what the consequences in the pocket dimension were if the characters of the story died...

  Through the pouring rain, Lin Sanjiu understood from the shouts of the hunters outside that their plan was to rush into the house. If they came in, the situation would become even more complicated. Lin Sanjiu walked towards the side of the door and showed a bitter smile at the cautious-looking Emma and Red Riding Hood.

  "I am not a werewolf and I don’t know who is the real werewolf. But I won’t be far. If you are in danger, just call for help." She didn’t know who exactly she should direct these words to but she pulled open the door right after she said that. One of the hunters who was leaning against the door tumbled into the cottage once Lin Sanjiu opened the door. Before the men could take out their weapons, she threw the hunter aside and dashed outside like a leopard. She knocked the men and dogs coming at her and disappeared into the rain in a few seconds.

  The hunter who got up from the ground wanted to continue chasing her, but was it even possible?

  The hunters ran after Lin Sanjiu, refusing to just give up. However, they couldn’t even see much in a forest at night, let alone with the heavy downpour. They had no choice but to return to Emma’s cottage after chasing for a short distance.

  When Emma saw the hunters, she dropped the knife in her hands. The knife fell with a clunk as Emma hugged Red Riding Hood tightly. With more people around, Emma and Red Riding Hood became less frightened. After she calmed down, Emma lit the candles and quickly served the men water. She brought towels for them to dry themselves and thanked them profusely. At this point, however, the dogs were still barking. "I guess they won’t calm down anytime soon," Ive muttered and then he went out to pacify the hunting dogs. While the dogs still barked every now and then, the group of people had already agreed through their discussion that the woman in the weird outfit was the werewolf.

  Red Riding Hood bit her lips while she watched each of the people around her carefully. Noticing that it was really late, Link stood up first, "We will leave now. Please be careful."

  "Yes," Emma dodged his eyes and sent the men out, "I am really grateful for your help today."

  Ive’s dog was still restless but it kept quiet after he pulled on its leash. The hunters left with their dogs and soon their figures disappeared into the rain as if a few strokes of watercolor on a painting.

  Emma watched as they left and closed the door. When she turned, she saw Red Riding Hood’s bright black eyes looking at her. In an instant, she felt her hair stand on end.

  "Granny," Red Riding Hood called her softly. In the cottage, which had returned to its previous silence and darkness, Emma could not see her granddaughter’s expression.

  "What... what is wrong, dear?" Emma wasn’t sure why her voice was shaking. Under the darkness, Red Riding Hood took a step toward Emma. Emma unconsciously stepped backward towards the window.

  "I want to ask you something." Red Riding Hood’s voice sounded a little weird.

  Emma threw a quick glance at the knife on the floor as she remembered how the dogs were still barking.

  "Dearie, come over here to talk to me. Granny wants to see your face." Emma gathered her courage and smiled at the girl.

  Unexpectedly, Red Riding Hood agreed obediently and walked toward the window. The light from the flashes of lightning revealed Red Riding Hood’s normal face. Though it was a little pale, that definitely wasn’t the face of a werewolf. Emma let out a sigh of relief as she silently blamed herself for suspecting her granddaughter.

  Before she could calm herself, Red Riding Hood asked her a question which froze her brain. "Granny, how many hunters came to help us just now?"

  Emma thought about it, she felt that her cold must have clouded her judgment, "There were three, three men!" When she said that, she suddenly realized that there was something wrong about that. It wasn’t a large number but she didn’t know why she was hesitating.

  "Link, Ive and Richard… right?" Red Riding Hood continued.

  "Yes, yes…" Emma couldn’t remember anyone else, "What’s the problem?"

  "But four people left our house." Red Riding Hood pressed her white finger against the cold window.

  "Huh… Who is that?"

  The same question which surfaced in Emma’s mind was spat out by Link a few moments later.

  As they all wanted to return to their homes quickly to dry the wet clothes on their body, the bold and experienced hunters decided to walk through the forest, like what Lin Sanjiu did. The shortcut they took was just a small narrow trail that naturally formed over the years. The dense forest and the rain made it very hard to see, and they walked for some time in silence. The poor visibility was also the reason why the hunters failed to spot immediately what was amiss. Link turned to look behind him casually and suddenly realized that something was wrong.

  Ive wasn’t that tall…

  But there were only three of them in the forest, including that tall figure. Being a hunter with 20 years of experience, Link quickly pulled Richard to his side and drew his sword nimbly, "Who are you? Where is Ive?"

  [Is that person the female werewolf?]

  The tall figure paused and answered, "Huh? I am Richard. Isn’t Ive by your side?
"

  [Yeah, Richard is tall too.] Before he felt relieved, Link’s callus covered hand felt a rough, prickly, needle-like sensation.

  Following which, his memory became hazy…

  Link lost conscious for some time until the heavy cold shower of rain woke him again. By then, he only had a vague memory of what had just happened. He saw Richard’s corpse nearby. Despite the heavy rain, there was still a heavy scent of blood in the air. The corpse was intact and it did not look like the werewolf fed on him. [But if the werewolf’s goal isn’t to eat us, why did it attack us?] Link didn’t have the energy to think of a reason. With his body’s primitive instinct to survive, he crawled slowly toward the path just outside the forest. It was a main route to the city so people would come by every now and then. If he could reach it, his chance of surviving would improve. As he crawled on the ground, the fallen leaves on the forest ground, the pebbles, and the mud contaminated his wound and dug into his flesh. Just when Link was about to faint, a sudden scream from a child pierced through the rainy night.

  Lin Sanjiu was at the top of a tree on the other side of the forest when she heard the scream. Her body tensed up. It was Red Riding Hood’s voice. Lin Sanjiu slid down the tree and sprinted toward Emma’s cottage.

  As she didn’t dare to harm any of the characters and didn’t dare to get too close, she found herself crouching in a tree. She had been listening carefully for any movements for the cottage, but ever since the noisy men and dogs left, the cottage was silent. All she could hear was the sound of the heavy rain.

  The distance from where she was to the cottage was nothing to Lin Sanjiu. She saw the cottage in a matter of ten seconds. The cottage was totally dark and the door was wide open. Red Riding Hood cried out again, "Granny!"

  [Damn it. The werewolf must be hiding inside the cottage.] Lin Sanjiu cursed inwardly. She was reaching the cottage when her vision blurred. The raindrops which lashed against her skin all this while suddenly stopped.