Down the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 9 Alice

I woke up slowly as I smelt burning coffee and burnt toast filling my apartment. I quietly laughed to myself as I realized that Jack was probably trying to cook. I love my brother, but he never quite got the difference between cooking and burning. I look over at my alarm clock. 6:24 am. Why was he up so early? Marmalade probably woke him up demanding her breakfast. I rub my face and attempt to wake up a bit more.
I hear Jack cursing from the kitchen. I roll my eyes before I drag myself to the kitchen and I see Jack scraping at some black toast.
"I don't know Marmalade, do you think this is salvageable?" I laugh as I see my cat on the opposite counter with that judgmental stare I know all too well.
"She won't answer until you give her breakfast. Till you do, she's going to sit there and judge you." He looks at her empty dish and realizes he forgot her breakfast.
"Oh. So that's why she's been yelling at me." He chuckles and throws away the toast, giving up trying to salvage the piece, I move to fill up Marmalade's dish.
"I hope her sleeping on you last night didn't make your allergies flare up." He just shrugs as he starts to press the buttons on my old coffee maker.
"My allergies have improved since we were kids. I hardly notice them anymore. And how do I work your coffee pot? Damn thing doesn't wanna work properly. I've burnt two pots already."
"Yeah. It's been busted for about 6 months. Besides, I prefer cold brew anyway. I've mainly been using it as another clock." I pull out the jug of coffee from the fridge and pour him a cup. He shakes his head as he pours the burnt coffee down the sink.
"Please tell me you have some decent creamer at least. Also throw the stupid thing away if it's broken. Or at least throw away the carafe so it can't be used." He throws the carafe in the trash bin before he looks in the fridge for my coffee creamer.
"Maybe I should throw you in there too since you can't even make toast without burning it." He rolls his eyes at me as he pours creamer in his cup. I reset my toaster back to the proper setting.
We sip our coffee in silence for a few minutes before Jack says.
"We should leave soon. It's gonna be a long ride. I'll drive first since I woke you up so early. And don't worry I'll pay for breakfast." He drains the rest of his coffee before he rinses the cup and heads to grab my suitcase by my bedroom door.
"Finish getting ready and maybe grab a quick shower. I'm gonna load my car up and pull it to the front of the building." He doesn't wait for me to respond before he's out the front door with my bags. I glance at Marmalade as she continues to eat her breakfast. I sigh as I head to my room. I know I don't want to shower, I hate leaving wet clothes for that long without washing them. I change into something more comfortable for the long car ride ahead.
After ten minutes I have everything cleaned up and put away in my apartment. I give Marmalade a few last scratches before I grab my purse and head out my door.

I stop by the neighbors to let her know I'm leaving. Mrs Jones is a single woman in her 50's. She usually kept to herself, but we've always been on good terms since she asked if I could dog sit while she had an emergency about 7 months ago. Since then I'd watch her beagle, Roxy, on occasions, usually on the days she had to work late or when she wanted a long weekend away. Roxy was a good dog and thankfully always got along with Marmalade. They became fast friends after a few visits.
After knocking on her door it only takes a moment for her to open up and greet me.
"Hello Alice. Leaving rather early, huh?" She laughs. She's still dressed in her bathrobe and pajamas with a cup of coffee in her hand. I chuckle, she's like me, we don't do early mornings unless we have to.
"Hey Mrs. Jones.  Yeah, Jack wanted to get an early start on the road. So I'm dropping off the cash and instructions for Marmalade for the next 2 weeks. She shouldn't be any trouble, but call me at any time if something comes up." She takes the envelope and nods at me.
"I know Roxy will enjoy the visits with her. She's been missing her friend lately."
"Well, I'll have to steal her more often when I get back." We laugh and I see Roxy walk past and go to her breakfast no doubt.
"Well, have a good trip. And text me when you get back. I have your number in case of any emergency. Have a good trip." She shuts her door and I make my way out of the building.

Once outside I see Jack sitting in his lifted red Jeep. By the look of the Jeep he'd gone either mudding or off roading recently. It was caked in mud and god only knows what. I open the passenger door and start to climb in.
"Have you ever heard of a car wash? This poor thing needs a good bath and scrub down." He laughs out loud as I struggle to get in the seat.
"Don't insult my car. Especially when you can't even get in here without a step stool." He offers me his hand and helps me up into the seat.
"It's not my fault I'm short. Blame out genetics. It could have easily been reversed, I could've been the tall one."
He smirks at me as he reaches behind the seats and passes me his spare blanket.
"Yeah, but you're not. You're the short angry lobster. May as well accept it." He waits for me to buckle up and cover up with the blanket before he starts our journey.
"Take a nap, Alice. We'll eat after you wake up." I nod and close my eyes.

~~~ Jack ~~~~

It's been half an hour since Alice fell asleep. I stopped and grabbed a coffee before we reached the highway. I don't know how I could bring up that I heard her talking in her sleep again.
It's been years since I heard her talking in her sleep. She seemed to be getting better after she moved out of Mom and Dads place. I thought she had outgrown those dreams. Most of our childhood I remember her talking in her sleep and occasionally sleepwalking around the farm. Mom and Dad said it was due to her head injury that her mind had to cope with the trauma somehow.
I had a different theory from our parents. They don't know this, but a few days before she fell from that tree, I saw her napping in the roots with a strange cat on her. I swear I heard it say something to her before it disappeared into the tree. I always told myself it was my imagination, that I was remembering it wrong. These last few years though, I was starting to wonder if I was wrong.
Her stories never changed and the characters were always the same. So many of her sketches were filled with those three characters. The table and the house by it never changed.
Once we were back to the farm I was going to do some research into our family history. We both needed some questions answered.
Another hour into the drive and I hear her soft whisper.
"Hatter." 
Hatter. The man that seemed to be haunting her since she hit puberty. I know she dreamed of him more often than the others. The others seemed to be more like friends in her dreams while the Hatter seems to have stolen her heart.
This trip to the farm I was determined to finally get some solid answers. For both our sakes.