Faded

《Chapter 4》

____________________
________________

I couldn't help but notice how tall the trees were.
________________
____________________

Digging into the wall, I tried to grab onto anything possible, but a thick layer of dirt piled up underneath my fingernails.

A bright light came from underneath my feet, and I was soon welcomed by the ground.

I hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Shit!" I screamed, holding my ankle close.

"Are you okay?" I heard an unfamiliar voice from behind the tree.

"I'm not sure. My ankle really hurts." There was a sudden silence, and I wondered where the high pitched voice went. "Hello?" A woman about my age appeared from behind the tree. The sun shone behind her, and I could only make out her sandy colored hair, and baby blue colored dress.

"Here, let me help you." She used all her might to lift me up, and put my back against a tree. "I'll call for help."

"No it's fine, really I-"

"Caterpillar, Cheshire cat! Come quick!" A rumbling noise shook this new world, and I soon found a caterpillar as long as an oak tree come crawling our way.

"What the hell is that?" The large creature stopped in front of us, and Alice replied for it.

"It's okay, this is my friend. He won't hurt you. He's here to get you back to the White Queen's castle."

"Who's castle? What are you talking about? Where am I?" I had a million questions to ask, but I couldn't find the words for all of them.

"You're down the rabbit hole, silly. I'll answer all of your questions soon, but we have to get you somewhere safe before the Red Queen's guards find you. Come on." I was lifted up on the fuzzy insect, and was on my way to a crazy place. As I was on his back, I couldn't help but notice how tall the trees were, and how the grass stretched as high as the caterpillar. Everything was off, just like Dr. Seuss's place.

Night fell quick, and I was given a bed to sleep in. As I fell into it, I felt like I would never stop. I seeped into the fluffy foam and dozed off to the thought of Quinn.

When morning rose, I was greeted by a familiar face standing in the room.

"It's about time you woke up." I scanned the bright room, looking at everything white. White walls, white bedding, white floors, white chairs. The only colors I could spot were the ones on Israel's jacket. It was filled with patterns in bright reds, vibrant greens, yellows, and light blues.

"Oh great, you again." I huffed.

"You know you love me. It's time for another riddle! I throughly think you'll enjoy this one. You just have to find it.

I frantically searched the room for any sort of paper.

"Stop, stop. You're looking too hard. Take a breather."

"No! I have to find the riddle. The faster I find it, the faster I get home to Quinn." I blocked out everything he had to say, and continued to look around.

I stopped as soon as I heard footsteps thumping down the hallway. Without any warning, my door swung open, and Alice was there with the most concerned look on her face.

"We have to go." She stated. "The Red Queen's guards are invading. Come on!" She yanked me by the arm and pulled me out of the room.

"Where are we going?" I shouted above all the chaos.

"We're going to a friend nearby." Running through the forest, a little white rabbit appeared next to us, joining in on the escape. Alice followed the small creature as he took numerous turns, moving faster than we could keep up. We ran for a solid fifteen minutes until we reached a large weeping willow that slouched to the ground. The sound of muffled voices came from the other side as we continued to travel through the large tree. Flashes of Israel appeared between the purple flowers. Bursting through the flowers, the sound of tumult grew louder as I saw the batch of people scurrying like ants. Blurs of colors whizzed past me as she led me to a crazy, orange haired man.

"Alice, you made it. Are you alright? Were you hurt?" He felt her face to make sure she had no cuts or bruises.

"I'm fine, but we need to get him to safety." She exclaimed.

"Why am I so important?"

"Because she knows you can portal jump." I was shocked at what the man said. How does he know?

"How on earth do you know that?" I questioned.

"I know Israel. We go way back." All I could see was worry on Alice's face, but this man had the happiest expression. "I'm the Mad Hatter, just thought I'd let you know." He winked and had us follow him to a safe place.