Alex's Wonderland

Chapter 2

The Dark Waterfall

When they reached the first cavern, Cheshire was still tightly holding onto Alex's hand, refusing to let go. The rest stop was just a large cave with a few wooden benches and three tunnels at one end leading off to different parts of an intricate cave system that anyone who didn't know where they were going would get lost in. Hatter was shaken up pretty badly, so March lead him to the far bench while Alex, along with the terrified Cheshire who was now holding Alex's arm close to his chest, went to the bench closest to the tunnel from which they came from. When they sat down, Cheshire was starting to shake, whether it was from fear or cold, they didn't know, they only knew that Cheshire was in worse condition than Hatter, and that that wasn't normal.

"Cheshire, you're shaking like a leaf." Alex said, grabbing his shoulders. "What's going on here? I arrive to this weird world, suddenly its all sunny and happy. After finding you and going to a duke's house everyone starts to freak out after this loud noise goes off. Now we're in this damp, dark cave, with some unknown risk out there. Will someone please explain what in the world is going on here!?"

Cheshire's eyes were starting to brim with tears, clearly hurt that Alex wasn't being kind, like before the shriek, and was starting to get edgy and irritated about the entire situation in the freak show of a dimension. The tears started to flow down his cheeks and he was suddenly sobbing into Alex's shoulder, shocking them all. Cheshire had always been the cheerful, happy one who was always smiling. Whether with some devious plan, or with pure joy and happiness about still being alive in the rejecting reality he was living in. He had endured and suffered for as long as he could remember. He had always held back his tears and looked at the good in the world, like being alive while others were killed off. But now he had had it. He couldn't hold them back any longer. An entire year of pain and suffering in silence with no one to cry to about it would get to anyone.

"I-I've had it..." He sobbed into Alex's chest. "I can't hold them back any longer. I've been holding myself back from crying for as long as I can remember. Always faking smiles and laughs, while inside I was dying inside. The thing is..." He paused to gasp for a shaking breath. "I thought someone, anyone, would notice the sadness pouring from me... but no one ever did. A-and th-that's probably the worst thing... I never noticed... how you... took my retorts and threw them back... making me... truly happy for the... first time... since I've arrived in this place that rejects my very existence." Even though to March and Hatter, everything he said made absolutely no sense whatsoever, Alex understood every word of it.

At this point the only sound in the cave was Cheshire's sobbing and Alex's calming whispers. It took about fifteen minutes, but Alex eventually managed to calm Cheshire down enough for them to continue on their path. Cheshire still refused to let go of Alex's hand, but this time, Alex didn't question it. He now knew just how bad things were there. That the situation there was slowly killing everybody that populated it, whether emotionally, mentally or physically, every single person was in the shadow of death and it was starting to strangle them a little bit at a time.

"Which path did Sixth say to take?" Hatter asked, slowly standing up with help from March. "My memory never has served me well."

"Middle, then continue until we reach an underground waterfall." Alex said, petting Cheshire who was burying his face into Alex's chest still. "Should be easy enough, but keep your guard up. We don't know if this is supposed to be an ambush attack, or if it's genuine help. And when did the swords appear there?" Alex looked over to the side of the caves at a set of swords placed carefully against the wall. There was a katana, a broadsword, a pair of daggers in sheathes, and a reverse-blade katana. "Whatever, go chose one and wait at the entrance to the middle tunnel."