| 3: Alice In Wonderland She woke up in an unfamiliar land. The pink shirt she wore stood in contrast to the bleak landscape. Her jet-black hair lay sprawled like the rest of her across the rock. "Where am I?" she mouthed. "Dad?" She looked down and saw that she was wearing everything that she remembered wearing last night. The smell of sulfur and cinnamon was spread across her body, though, and she couldn't remember why. Wait-the cellphone! She could call somebody. Let's see... this didn't look like Florida or Pennsylvania. She had heard once that there were grey rocky plains in the Dakotas, but she didn't imagine they'd be this CLOUDY. She felt the rock and noticed it was wet, and then noticed that she, too, was wet. "Dammit-I don't have any other clothes. So I'm in what... North Dakota? South Dakota? Let's see... Tami said she was visiting family in Montana, so maybe she can pick me up... but how did I get here?" She pulled a cellphone out of her pocket and dialed a number. Instead of a signal, though, she was greeted with static. She tried again, and again, and again. Static. Then, the panic set in. Frantically she dialed her mother, but again the crackle of static was her only response. Then, in desperation, she called her father. There was no static. "Hello? Hi, Dad?" she breathed as she heard something pick up. "I TOLD you not to call me about the gateway circle until FRIDAY!" came back her dad's voice. "And what the HELL are you doing sounding like my daughter this time?" "What... the hell, Daddy? It's me, Alice!" "Stop mocking me! I'l have your Four-damned portal soon enough! Good day!" She couldn't understand any of it, and she broke down and cried. *** She woke up again, once more on the rocky plain, once more wet. Her dry tears parched her eyes like so many desert suns, and she noticed something licking... licking. She turned to her side and saw a rabbit licking her face. "Hello, Alice," it said. "What the hell?!" she demanded. "Okay, this has GOT to be some kind of dream. Wake up, me!" "I wouldn't really call it a dream," answered the rabbit. "The designation 'nightmare' doesn't even do it justice, be it closer to the truth." "Then... what? Is this Hell? Have I died and fvcking gone to Hell?" She was livid now. "It's because of that damn SPELL! I knew I shouldn't have been messing with that spellcraft crap!" "This... is an echo world spawned by the thoughts of those in the Prime Material plane," answered the rabbit. "Assuming you're a human from Earth, the Prime Material is where you're from." "What is this... echo world called?" Alice asked. "We call it the Secondary Ethereal. This particular land is ruled by the city of Columnia." "How can I get back? Why did my dad answer but nobody else could? And why, in the name of God, am I holding a conversation with a RABBIT!?" The rabbit licked its paws and smoothed his fur. "One thing at a time. First off, I'm the scion of a man named Chronos, and I was sent here because a massive tear in the fabric of magic was detected." "Scion?" "Yes." "Do you have a name?" The rabbit thought for a moment. "No, Chronos never named me." "You need a name." At this suggestion, the rabbit's floppy ears perked up. "What would you name me?" "Hmm..." she pondered. "Did the rabbit in Wonderland have a name?" "I never read that book. I AM a rabbit, after all." She nodded, and thought. "What was the name of the guy in Dante's Inferno that Princeps was telling me about in the chat?" "Princeps?" pondered the rabbit. "You wouldn't know him. He's this guy on the Pillar boards... but then, you've probably never heard of MESSAGE BOARDS, either..." she sighed. "My master was talking about that book not too long ago; he mentioned a guide named Virgil." "VIRGIL!" she shouted. "That's it. Your name is Virgil." "How so?" "According to Stu, when Dante went to Hell a guy named Virgil was his guide." "Ah. It works, I suppose, even though this is not Hell. Where shall I guide you?" "Well, if this Chronos has heard of Dante, then he may know how to get me home. Take me to him." "He's currently in Columnia, residing in a motel," reported Virgil the rabbit. "I will lead you to him on one condition." "Sure, what?" "You let me ride on your shoulder and you scratch behind my ears when I ask." Alice laughed then, truly laughed for the first time in this strange world, and nodded. "Sure thing, Virgil." And they walked towards the road to Columnia. |