Oh Alice!

Chapter 7

"I hate nature! I have trees! These fucking flowers!" Scott screamed as he kicked his way through another patch of bouncing singing flowers, he didn't know the names of. He didn't even know if they were flowers, maybe he took something? "I swear if that bitch gave me something! I'm going to kill her and him! All of them! Making me chase them down like this."

He shoved his way through a half dead bush, branches scratching his face. He stepped out into a wide-open field, not a flower in sight. He breathed a sigh of relief, taking in the mountains and fall colored trees. To him, it looked like home, Cleardale. The mountains, bare of snow, the gold, red and green trees losing their leaves. The lowering sun turning the clouds cotton candy colors.

He wandered on, following a trail that had appeared in the grass. He kept looking at the clouds, thinking that he was seeing things, when a twig snapping in the nearby tree line made his stop. He scanned the area the sound had come from, looking for movement or any shapes that didn't look natural. When he didn't see any and was satisfied with his search he continued on the path. As he neared the tree line, another twig snapped. Instinctively he reached for his knife, but it was gone. Panic started as he slowly and angrily realized he left it at the look-out a couple days ago. It was not in his father's evidence vault. Damn it, he thought as he crept towards the sound, hoping to surprise whoever or whatever the cause of the sound was.

Trying to explain what had happened had been interesting. His father had to formally investigate, but his father was an idiot. Chief Walker was a good cop but when it came to Scott, he tried to look the other way. With all the Brooks missing, he was the prime suspect, only because the detective actually did his job. After hours and hours of interrogation and a lie detector test, they didn't have enough evidence to charge him. He had driven back to the look out and hiked into where the Brooks had disappeared. But he hadn't thought ahead enough to bring supplies or a weapon.

He crept around the tree, but the cold blade to his neck said he was too late. He put his hands up and was led back into the field. The once empty field was now filled with a mass of soldiers, armed with swords, bows with arrows drawn and a few with spears. Where the hell did they come from, he thought as he tried to count how many soldiers there were. The soldiers were dressed in black, a red star in the middle of a crescent moon embroidered into the center of their tunics. The blade against his neck encouraged him to walk forward, through the crowd of soldiers, to the center, where a large red tent with black swirls designed into the fabric. The tent opened, and he was shoved in, rubbing his tender neck.

"Hey, listen! I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I will not be treated this way. You are going to regret this so much. You better have a damn good reason for doing this." His shouting caused one of the guards to peak his head into the tent, weapon ready.

"Out. Now. I told you not to disturb us." A voice shouted from somewhere in the darkness, Scott couldn't figure out where. The guard gave Scott one last glare and backed out, letting the curtain fall behind him. "So, Mr. Walker. You're looking for someone, huh?" A woman walked out from behind a wood fold up curtain, a beautiful woman Scott couldn't help but admire.

She looked slightly like Alice, the same oval face with a slightly bigger nose, and fuller lips with red lipstick. Her eyes were a beautiful bright green, they really stood out against her pale skin. Her hair was long and deep red, similar to the tent. His eyes started to trail down her body, and they stopped above her full cleavage where a black stone hung on her chest. The mystery woman cleared her throat after a minute but had a smile on her face. She seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Right. Who the hell are you? How do you know my name? And how do you know I'm looking for Alice?" His face flushed red, heart racing. He didn't really care who this woman was, he just wanted to know why she was making him feel this way. Waiting for her to respond, he observed the rest of her. As she walked over to a black couch in the center of the tent, he noticed she was wearing a thin black dress, her underwear and bra were black and slightly visible. The dress was fitted at the top and flowed out at her hips, all the way to the ground. It was mesmerizing to watch her walk. Graceful and sexy, he thought as he stared more.