Escaping Wonderland

Welcome To Wonderland

"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then."

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

 Her head throbbed in time with her pounding heart as she slowly peeled her eyes open. Everything was painfully white; the walls, the ceiling, the sheets of the bed she was laying in. Blinking against the bright lights, she pushed herself up onto her elbows, taking in the small room she found herself in. The room had four blank walls, a toilet, a sink, and a white changing curtain that was pushed into a far corner. The only window was on the door on the other side of the room. Wincing as she worked her stiff muscles, she pulled off the thin covers and threw her legs over the edge of bed. A chill ran over her when her bare feet touched the cold, white floor.

She looked down at herself, becoming more and more confused by the second. She was wearing a white tank top and pale blue sweatpants; the only color in sight. A hospital band around her wrist simply read:

WONDERLAND INSANE ASYLUM

SUBJECT: AL1C3

Surprise, surprise. That was white too. Sensory deprivation. She thought suddenly to herself, although she couldn't remember where she had heard those words before. In fact, the longer she thought, the less she could remember. Every time she felt close to grasping onto a memory, it slipped through her fingers like smoke. She realized with horror that she couldn't even remember her own name, let alone where she was. She jumped to her feet and ran to the door, panicking when she saw there was no doorknob.

She slammed her fists against the door, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Hello! Is there anyone there? Let me out! Open the door!"

"Save your breath, love. You can scream all you like but nobody's listening." a voice sang from some where in the room. She spun on her heel, her crystal blue eyes darting around the space in search of the voice.

"Who said that?" she called out, creeping back toward the bed. "Who's there?"

"Nobody, technically." the voice cackled, obviously getting a kick out of her discomfort. She scowled, her fists clenching by her side.

"Where are you?" she barked out, feeling like she was losing her mind.

"Well, I'm not in your room if that's what you mean." the voice teased. "However, I might be in the room above you." The girl looked up at the ceiling as the voice continued, "Or, I might be in the room below you." She looked down at her feet, unable to tell. The voice echoed throughout the room, making it impossible to determine its source. Her skin burned with irritation when the voice chuckled, "But who the hell knows?"

"Stop playing games." she growled, pacing the room. The voice gasped at her ferocity and then giggled some more.

"This isn't a game, love. I wish it was, though. I haven't played a game in God knows how long." the voice, definitely male, pouted. The girl shook her head, still unable to find the source of the voice.

"Who are you?" she asked once again, growing tired of this nuisance. The voice chortled as if this was all one big joke.

"They call me Chester, although I'm not too fond of that name." the boy, Chester, sighed. "The better question, love, is who are you?"

"I-I don't know." she muttered, giving up in her search. She plopped back onto the bed, her head spinning.

"Don't fret your pretty little mind, love. We're all in the same boat as you." Chester told her, becoming serious for the first time. Her head snapped in the direction his voice came from. Tilting her head to the side, she spotted a small air vent below the sink. She jumped from the bed and knelt in front of the basin, squinting through the vent. She could see a room similar to hers on the other side.

"And what boat is this, exactly?" she queried. She got no response. "Chester?"

A smiling face suddenly appeared on the other side of the vent and the girl jumped back, clutching her chest with a gasp. She quickly regained her composure and leaned back forward, getting her first good look at Chester. He was a young Asian man with purple and golden streaks dyed in his spiky black hair. His eyes were a startling gold color and his pupils were slits like a cat's. He teeth shined like pearls as he grinned widely at her. "We're in Wonderland."

Chester then proceed to laugh hysterically, creeping away from the vent until he was out of sight. The girl stared after him in horror, more confused and scared than ever. Her voice was a ghostly whisper as she mumbled, "You're crazy."

"Oh no, no. Not just me." Chester corrected, his voice suddenly smoky and dark. "We're all mad here, love."

I hope you liked this first chapter! This is an idea I've been toying with for a while. Alice in Wonderland has always been a favorite story of mine and I've always wanted to do a modern version of it. I'm considering writing more modern versions of the fairy tales I've grown up on. Anyways, please leave your thoughts in the comments, vote, follow me, and check out some of my other books if you liked this!