Alice In Wonderland-Return To Madness Chapter 5- The Mad Hatter and March Hare Rabbit set Alice down gently and handed her a yellow jelly bean, which was half the size of her height. "Here, eat this and get back to your normal size." he said with a slight chuckle. "How am I supposed to know how much to eat? I don't want to keep growing and shrinking over and over until I get to my original height." she said with a puzzled look. "I'd start off by taking a small nibble and see how much u grow from that amount. It'll be easier to take more bites and keep growing little by little rather than taking a big bite and you take the chance on your head going through the ceiling." She stared at the jelly bean for a second, then took a little nibble. They both waited for what seemed like minutes, then she looked at her hands which started doing a ripple-like movement. The ripples started to spread all over her body, then she started growing. She grew until she reached rabbit's height. "Well, a small nibble goes a long way doesn't it!" "It sure does. Take one more and I'm guessing you should be your original height again." said the rabbit happily. She took one more nibble and the ripples started up again, then she shot up to her normal height. "Oh thank goodness! I thought I'd never be back to my old self again. Ok rabbit, let's carry on and pray we don't run into anymore calamities on our way." Alice said while she and the rabbit faced the door. "You're right Alice....umm, after you." he said while changing his mind about opening the door and retracted his hand back down to his side. She reached for the doorknob and gave it a slow turn and opened it just a crack. Alice turned to her rabbit and said with a giggle,"Well well, this time was a lot easier going through a door than the first time I tried going through one chasing you." The rabbit just stood there not really worrying about what she was saying for fear of what might be lurking behind the door. She pushed the door slowly open the rest of the way and said in awe,"Wonderland ceases to amaze me!" Behind the door was a little pathway surrounded by forest, which was dark and eerie looking. They could hear crow calls somewhere in the distance as well as other creepy animal noises of both familiar and unfamiliarity. "Here we go then, it's not going to get any better just standing here that's for sure." Alice said glumly. She took rabbit's hand, and they crossed the threshold. As they continued to walk through the woods, rabbit was getting more and more uneasy with every passing minute. "Did you hear that!" he said trembling and clinging close to Alice. "Don't say that, remember what happened last time you said that same line in the corridor. It was just something in the woods that happened to step on a twig or something on the ground." "Exactly!" he shouted. "Oh calm down and look, the trees are thinning out now and I can see sunlight." As they came to the end of their path, they saw a long narrow table all laid out with cakes, crumpets, cookies, tea, tea pots, cups and saucers as well as silverware. It also had a beautiful white tablecloth outlined in gold on the edges with intricate gold designs on it. Expensive looking comfortable chairs surrounded the whole table, and it seemed to be laid out for a lot of guests. "This sure looks familiar, but where's the Hatter and March Hare?" she said suspiciously. "Alice maybe we shouldn't linger around here any longer and continue?" he questioned anxiously while tugging on her dress. Just then, the Hatter and March Hare came out of the woods on the other side and headed towards the table. "Well well Marchie, look who it is! It's our dear little Alice all grown up, and once again she's snooping around our table." "Such a disgrace! Touching our things with her grubby little hands. She should be taught a lesson since she never learnt the first time!" Marchie yelled evilly as he spat everywhere with every word. "I didn't touch a thing. We were only passing through is all, so we'll leave you to your tea party and be on our way." said Alice as she picked up her trembling rabbit and started walking passed the table. "Now wait, what's the rush? Stay and join us, I'm sure we can find you both somewhere to sit." said the Hatter in a friendly but mischievous way. Alice thought to herself that this probably wasn't the best of ideas, but also didn't want to anger or upset them and make the situation worse. "You seriously aren't going to sit and dine with these two kooks are you?" the rabbit whispered to Alice in a rather scolding tone. "I don't trust them, but I'll keep my eyes on them for sure. We can't take the chance and anger them for they might harm us. I won't let anything happen to you my dear rabbit, so don't worry." she whispered back soothingly while lightly stroking his head. "Come sit over here to the right of me." Hatter said smiling as he pulled a chair out for Alice to sit. She walked over towards Hatter and sat her rabbit in the chair next to hers, then she took her seat. "Would you like a crumpet?" Marchie asked Alice. "Yes please, that would be lovely." "Sorry, we're fresh out!" he replied as he popped the last one into his mouth and licked his fingers. "How rude! If I didn't have to be so cautious I'd give that nasty rabbit a piece of my mind!" she thought to herself while glaring at Marchie. "Now Marchie, let's not be rude to our guest. Come here with me to the end of the table, and we'll get you something to eat." The Hatter took her by the hand and they walked to where the cakes sat. Meanwhile, her rabbit was left alone with Marchie who was eyeballing him from across the table. The Hare poured a cup of tea for Alice, and slipped in a poisonous powder while stirring it quickly as the white rabbit watched her with the Hatter. He looked back to where Marchie had been sitting, but saw he was no longer there and started panicking with whiskers quivering full speed. He looked to the left, then turned to his right and saw Marchie right in his face with crazy looking eyes and an evil grin as he threw a burlap sack over him and tied it up. Marchie then took up a knife and poked at the sack as he whispered,"Just make one sound, and I'll be eating rabbit stew for supper." He was so petrified that he fainted and laid still in the sack. Marchie shoved him under the table and sat back down in his chair like nothing happened. Far down the table, the dormouse had seen everything from the empty teapot he was sleeping in. Alice came back carrying a dish with a big slab of cake on it, and the Hatter was close behind her as they made their way back to their seats. She picked her fork up and was about to get a bite when she noticed in the corner of her eye her friend was missing. "I'd better not question them or even let on like I've noticed anything, therefore I can buy me a bit more time to figure out what they've done with my rabbit." Alice thought to herself. Marchie nudged Hatter to let him know the tea was poisoned and ready to be served to her. The dormouse quietly slipped out of his teapot and quickly made his way towards Alice,weaving in and out between cups, dishes and pots. "You must be thirsty my dear. Here you go, drink up." Hatter said as he pushed the cup towards her. Right as she picked the cup up to drink, she spotted the dormouse who was getting her attention as covertly as he could and signaling not to drink the tea. She thought fast and said politely,"Actually, I'm not at all that thirsty just yet, but thank you for your hospitality." She put her cup down and looked at the Hatter. His face changed from friendly to a boiling red color with a look of absolute rage. The March Hare gave another one of his evil smiles, and rubbed his paws together as if he knew that some horrible plan was about to be carried out. As Alice started to get out of her chair, the Hatter shot up out of his and shoved her back into hers. "What have you done with my rabbit?!" she screamed with anger. "Oh, don't you worry about him, he'll never be late again." Marchie growled. She struggle to get up from her chair, but Marchie was behind it and holding her still. "Since you don't want to die willingly, we'll assist you ourselves! Marchie, open this swine's mouth nice and wide!" As the Hare stuck his fingers in her mouth and started to pry it open, Alice shook her head loose from his grip and bit one of his fingers clean off. "AHHHHH!" he screamed, and let go of her as he grasped his hand in agony. "You fool!" shouted Hatter while trying to grab Alice as she pushed herself from the chair and grabbed the big kitchen knife Marchie had used before. The Hare was infuriated and rushed towards Alice frothing at the mouth. She spun back around, lopped off his head with one clean stroke and sent it sailing through the air. The Hatter grew even more furious and made his way towards her. "Oh, the ideas I have for you to make you scream! You should of just drank the tea when you had the chance!" he growled through clenched teeth. The dormouse made his way to the edge of the table and hopped off. He then made his way to the Hatter's foot, stuck his head under his pant leg and made his way up. A bit startled, Hatter looked down and felt a sharp pain. "AHH!" he yelled while swatting at his leg, knocking the dormouse unconscious and he fell back to the ground. Alice grabbed a big cake plate and broke it over the top of the Hatter's head. He stood there stunned, and she pushed him back into the chair. Alice once again took up the knife and cut a long strip out of the tablecloth, and then started tying his arms to the chair's arms as well as his torso to the back. She made sure her tying job was secure and left Hatter in his daze as she ran over to the dormouse to check on him. In both hands she picked him up gently and brought him back over to the table and laid him down. "Dormouse....dormouse, please wake up." she said worriedly while lightly tapping him. Alice started to cry, not only for the dormouse, but also for not knowing what had become of her friend. The dormouse's eyes slowly opened, and his whiskers started quivering. "What happened?" he asked rather confused. "You're alive! I was so worried about you!" Alice said while wiping the tears from her eyes. "Alice, I saw what happened to your friend. Luckily, Marchie only made it as far as shoving him under the table. He's just under there in a sack." dormouse said while pointing. Alice pulled the rabbit out of the sack and saw he was still unconscious. "Rabbit! Wake up my little friend, it's ok now!" she said anxiously while tapping on his face. Rabbit awoke and latched onto her remembering what had happened. "It was horrible! He was going to turn me into stew Alice!" "It's ok it's over now. I told you I'd protect you, and I have." she said calmly and gave him a hug. "Rabbit, this is dormouse. He saved me and I'm eternally grateful to him." Rabbit and the dormouse shook hands and talked for a little bit getting to know one another better. "Alice, if it wouldn't be too much trouble I'd really like to tag along with you. I've always been badly mistreated by those two and that's why I'd always keep to myself, quiet and out of site in my teapot. So that's why I helped you, I'm not like those two and I would like to be around ones who treat me with kindness." said the dormouse rather sadly. "Why of course you can come with us." she said happily and put the dormouse into her apron pocket. Alice turned back towards Hatter an saw he was still dazed looking from the impact he just encountered. She shook him a bit and said firmly,"Hatter, wake up!", but he was still out of it. She turned, grabbed a glass of ice water and splashed it in his face as she yelled out his name again. The moment the cold water touched his face he snapped right out of it. "Untie me at once you wretched girl if you know what's good for you!" he growled through clenched teeth while trying to shake loose. "Hatter....," she said in a sarcastic way as she turned towards the table an rolled her eyes,"haven't you figured out by now you can't do anything to me, and I'm certainly not scared of you." Alice took her knife and sliced off a long thin piece of tablecloth. She then hiked her leg up on a nearby chair as she tied her knife to her thigh to keep it concealed beneath her dress. "I've overpowered you once, and I definitely will have no problem doing it again. Now, what can you tell me about what's going on here?" Hatter just stared at her with a grin on his face that seemed to say he might or might not know something, but he wasn't going to share any details willingly. "Well, if you're not going to talk now we'll just be on our way and leave you here. I'll find a way to save Wonderland and everyone here." she said bravely. Alice then turned with her head down and whispered sadly to herself,"I hope I can save Wonderland.....and myself." With dormouse sill in her pocket and rabbit following her closely holding her hand, they all headed off towards the path that the Hatter and Marchie originally came out of. "I don't know a whole lot about what's happened Alice, but I'm almost certain the root of the problem lies in the Red Queen's castle." "I'm not too sure either, but that was my first guess as well dormouse." said Alice while petting his head gently. "Call me Dormie." he said to Alice with a little smile on his face. "Ok Dormie, I will." she said happily, and thinking to herself that there was a little hope left since goodness still existed in this hellish nightmare.

Alice In Wonderland-Return To Madness Chapter 4- The Corridor "Oooph!" Alice said while rubbing her backside,"well that wasn't much if a graceful landing was it rabbit?" "Not hardly," he said while swatting at the leaves that were falling back down in his face, "I'm just glad to be done free falling...it always seems to make me queezy." Alice was quiet for a moment and was plucking a few leaves from her hair. "Now would be a good time as any if you could elaborate on everything that's happened." The rabbit sat there shivering with ears flopped down to the sides of his face. "Well for starters, you remember your friends the card guards?" He said sarcastically,"well, they're monstrous looking now! Their faces are nothing but skulls, and instead of using spears they now carry battle axes. The Tweedles have also become grotesque, and on top of that they're cannibals! The Hatter and Hare are running around madder than ever, and I believe they've even been torturing some of the last few good creatures left and trying to turn them to the dark side like all the others. The Red Queen is still the most rotten of them all. She always has been cruel as you know, but now instead of just simply shouting out her normal 'off with his or her head' she now will make her prisoners wish for a simple beheading." Alice looked horrified as she soaked in every word the rabbit said and shouted,"Oh gosh! What about the Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat, Duchess, flowers..." "Alice stop!" the rabbit quickly interrupted, "all the friends you once knew have turned. The few I mentioned that are still good are just a few other creature you never met." She said in a puzzled tone,"Well how did you not turn into something absolutely horrible if the majority did?" "Because I live in the real world with you, and only the days when you're out of the house I'd go to visit Wonderland and come back before you returned to your room. Luckily I was in your world when the fire started and you were traumatized." "Oh my dear dear rabbit this is terrible! How in the world am I suppose to fix all this? I don't even know what I'm suppose to do or where to start." "It's only been rumored, but I've heard that when your incident happened you must have been thinking about Wonderland at some point during all of that, and the happenings of that night and Wonderland clashed resulting in one messed up place." "Well rabbit, I guess we had better get a move on and figure out how to fix things before it gets worse." Alice and the rabbit started walking down the long checker-floored hallway towards the door at the very end which seemed to keep getting farther and farther away with each step they took. "Do you hear that?" said the rabbit with a trembly voice. "I hear it, but I also see it....the checkered tiles are shaking!" Alice and the rabbit started running towards the door as fast as they could. Each of the tiles they had just ran across were shaking loose and falling out from beneath them. Both of them kept looking over their shoulder to see how close the falling tiles were getting. Alice looked back in front of her and also noticed the tiles five feet in front of the door ahead were also breaking loose and falling down into the black nowhere, which now made a huge gap between them and the door. "Oh my gosh Alice what are we suppose to do now?!" Without time to speak, Alice grabbed her friend's hand tightly and with all her might, she pushed off the last tile and jumped across the huge gap. She barely made it and fell short, but grabbed onto the ledge of the tiles on the other side and hung like an ornament on a christmas tree while still holding onto the rabbit in her other hand. "I don't know how much longer I can hold on!" she said with eyes squeezed tight and sweat pouring down her face from the mixture of fear and all the running they just did. He climbed up Alice's body and was able to get onto the platform she was still hanging from while trying to tug on her to help her up. "I can't pull you up!" he said frantically. "I'll toss you up the satchel and we'll take a chance in eating something. If you choose right and I shrink, then you'll be able to pull me up, but if I grow bigger....let's just hope there's a landing somewhere down there close." Alice said sarcastically. She threw up the satchel to her friend and he started searching through it. "I found a jar of jelly beans! But I'm not sure which to give you...there's red and yellow ones." "Just pick one and we'll deal with whatever happens, just hurry!" Alice said frantically as her hand started slipping. Rabbit picked a red one and tossed it into her mouth. She started feeling all funny, and before he knew it she started shrinking! He reached down and picked his little friend up and hugged her tight. "For once I can hold you now. I'm so happy you're safe."

Alice In Wonderland-Return To Madness Chapter 3-The Rabbit Hole She closed her eyes, which only seemed like a moment or two when she heard a "psssst" sound behind a few shrubs. She opened her eyes and noticed her beloved rabbit was no longer by her side. Forgetting about the noise she franticly started looking around for it thinking one of those crazy patients took it. Then she heard it again, "Pssssst!" She looked and saw a glimpse of white behind the shrub. "Oh no, this can't be happening again!" She thought to herself worriedly as she made her way over to the shrubs. There was a small hole like clearing which she figured that is where the person or creature must be hiding. On her hands and knees she started crawling into the shrubs when she felt something or someone shove her from behind. Alice was startled and let out a shriek as she found herself falling down a long black hole......again. "Oh no, this can't be happening! I can't go back to that place in my condition!" "Why do you think I shoved you in dearie? You would never have gone in if you had a choice to, knowing that your mind is broken." She looked around and saw her beloved white rabbit falling right next to her. "Yes, I am the one who pushed you. Wonderland is in terrible danger! It's full of monstrosities you couldn't imagine, only things you would see in your nightmares! Alice your mind is the thing that did this, you need to fix your mind and help save Wonderland!" "But rabbit I am in NO condition to fight off evil demonic creatures or whatever it is you are describing to me! I am still trying to figure out how I'm going to escape from that dreadful nut barn." "Well it's too late now anyways, you are down here in your very own world and to get out of your nightmare you must fix it." "Oh rabbit I'm in such a mess, if it's not one thing is another." Alice said as she started to cry. "Don't cry, I shall be with you and we'll fix this craziness together." Said the rabbit while giving her a smile and a reassuring squeeze of the paw. They continued to fall and fall while trying their best to dodge things and keep from getting hit. "Alice, we really should keep our eyes open for things that might be useful to us later." "You're absolutely right, that's a wonderful idea!" As they continued to fall, she spotted a satchel getting ready to pass right beside her. "Got it! Now rabbit, let's fill this satchel up. I'll watch the left side and you watch he right." It was as if Alice and the rabbit were at a grocery store plucking items off the shelf. They grabbed odds and ends,gadgets and gizmos and even some yummy looking cakes as well as other items to eat and drink. Finally they came to the end of their free fall and crashed into a pile of leaves.

Alice In Wonderland-Return To Madness Chapter 2- Briar Ridge Alice awoke, slowly opening her eyes to find herself strapped to a bed with white sheets and blankets. She looked around the room; walls dressed in white and to her right side was a barred window. She was glad to still at least have her rabbit with her though, the only comfort left that she knew. Alice could hear slight mumbling and footsteps every once in a while outside her door and would try to make out what it was they were saying. She was so frightened and didn't know what was to become of her and wondered why she was being treated like this. Thought and thought she did until she finally fell back asleep. Dawn crept over the bottom of her window sill and shone its warmth on her sleeping face. She opened her eyes and for a brief moment had forgotten all that had happened the night before. Her eyes filled with tears as she recalled it all, recalled the screams of her beloved parents and hearing that horrible crashing sound which finished them off. With her hand she squeezed onto her rabbit for comfort and a feeling of safety. Then a knock on the door sounded and a tall thin man entered the room, "Alice...Alice...my dear are you awake?" She turned her head towards the man but didn't answer, only watched him pull up a chair next to her bedside and sit with his long spider like legs crossed and his lengthy fingers entwined together. "I'm sure you are wondering where you are and what is going on." She just stared at him with her tear filled eyes as he spoke. "Well for starters I am Dr. Winston, and you are in the Briar Ridge Mental Hospital. You see, when the Fire Dept. came to your house it was too late and somehow you were outside while the rest of your family was still inside. I trust you already know they are expired, I'm sorry Ms. Liddell." Alice looked in horror at Dr. Winston, took a deep breath and composed herself, "Doctor, are you accusing me of setting the house on fire with my family in it!? How DARE you make such false accusations about me! Let me out of this bed and this place I'M NOT CRAZY!" "Ms. Liddell I'm afraid that is not an alternative for you at this very moment. I want to have a talk with you and see for myself, and in due time I will make an assumption about your mental state of mind." She felt a feeling of absolute rage, pure hatred; it coursed through her very veins like blood. Alice turned her head slowly towards the window and stared off into the distance, and then she slowly looked at the doctor with her tears completely dried up as if she hadn't been crying at all. "What is it you want to know?" "Ah I see we are making progress already my dear, you see, during the night you kept mumbling about a place called Wonderland as you slept, I would like to elaborate on that some." She sighed and said whilst exhaling a deep breath, "Huuhh that place......that place was so amazing, but I am grown up now and I don't want to talk about it. I want to remember it as it used to be...I can't go back now." The doctor looked puzzled," What do you mean you can't go back? Why don't you want to remember?" She was silent for a moment and said slowly, almost in a robotic way," My mind......it's...........shattered." Dr. Winston just looked at Alice with a confused look. "That's ok Ms. Liddell, we will continue on that subject another time, but for now, would you like to go outside today and get some fresh air?" Still looking out the window she answered in a melancholy tone, "Yes Dr. Winston, I'd like that very much so." Dr. Winston unbuckled her bed straps and Alice slid off the bed. She grabbed the rabbit and held it close as she followed the doctor to the doorway. "This way my dear, don't be afraid." They walked down the hall which seemed never ending until they came to a door with the words "COURTYARD" on a sign above it. The doctor opened the door and Alice saw other patients walking around, stone benches with detailed designs on them, flowers, trees and a little fountain. She got a slight feeling of peacefulness as she watched the wind blow through a weeping willow. "Will you be ok if I leave you to yourself for an hour unless you would like for me to come get you sooner?" "No Dr. Winston an hour would be perfect. I don't want to go back inside that wretched place." He looked at her sadly but also wondered if she would need supervision as well. "Ok Ms. Liddell, I'll be back for you after a while. You behave yourself now; we have cameras watching out here." As he shut the door she closed her eyes and breathed in the air deeply as if she would never get to smell the freshness of the freedom she was experiencing ever again. As she looked around she spotted a beautiful big willow tree and knew that was the one she wanted to sit by. Still holding onto her rabbit she made her way over to the tree and sat down and placed the rabbit next to her. The wind was blowing wonderfully in the warm sunlight and she enjoyed the smell of the lilies that were around her along with other beautiful flowers to which she didn't know the names of.

Alice In Wonderland-Return To Madness Chapter 1- Inferno She laid there all snug in her bed and drifted off to sleep holding onto her white stuffed rabbit in the crook of her left elbow. The#moonwas full, and shone ever so brightly through her window onto the book she was reading which was still opened to the page she last read. On the nightstand beside her, the oil lantern was still glowing dimly with its peaceful flame dancing on the wick of which it was born. Her beloved cat, Dinah, Laid next to her head on her fluffy pillow all curled up in sleep as well. In the room next to hers, her parents slept peacefully as her mother lay wrapped in the arms of her father. About an hour passed and out her window where the#moonhad once shown full and bright was now starting to disappear behind a blanket of darkness until it had vanished completely and wore its mask of black velvet. Lightning struck the earth, and with it came the crackling thunder and pouring rain. The loud crash of thunder frightened Dinah and with instinct leaped into the air without knowing what had happened or a planned place to land and he slung his body right into the oil lantern. It crashed on the hardwood floor and oil spilled everywhere and leaked underneath her bedroom door and flowed to the entrance of her parent's room. The once tiny little dancing flame had ignited the stream and caught fire. The fire grew rapidly and multiplied second by second. She awoke to the cries of her parents, "ALICE GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!" She ran to her bedroom door attempting to get out to help her parents, but the door knob was scalding hot and unable to grasp whilst the flames were growing along her wall towards the door. Her father yelled to her with panic in his voice, "Alice I can't see a thing, save yourself and get out of the house.....me and your mother love you with all of our hearts darling, NOW RUN!" A loud crash came from her parent's side of the door and Alice screamed out to her parents for some sign of hope, but deep down she knew they were gone. "DADDY! MUMMY! ANSWER ME!" The tears poured down her cheeks and she grabbed Dinah and her white rabbit, which was a birthday present from her parents two years ago. Alice ran over to the window and raised it up. She started to crawl out of it and got one leg out and placed her foot onto the cold wet roof. She turned her head and looked back at the door which was now fully engulfed along with over half of her room and yelled out, "I LOVE YOU BOTH WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL!" She turned back and brought her other leg out and tried to hurry towards the rain gutter so she could do her best to climb down. The rain continued to pour down and she lost her footing and slipped. She rolled down the side of the roof still clutching onto Dinah and the rabbit whilst the shingles tattered her little night gown and skin with their rough surfaces. She came to the edge, rolled off the roof and crashed onto the wet soggy grass. Alice laid on the ground half unconscious watching her #life and home be swallowed up by flames. The rabbit lay close to her in a puddle of muddy water slightly torn from the roof. Dinah had run off into the darkness with fear. The rain kept pouring unforgivingly onto Alice as she slowly drifted off and shut her eyes out of exhaustion.