Alice in Red (ON HOLD)

Two

Alice was falling.

The ground whipped past her in a blur. She couldn't remember how or when she had started her downward descent, only that it was dark and smelt of her grandma's homemade dusty orange meringues.

The only thing keeping her from screaming was the fact that Alice knew that she was still moving. Her only indication to that was, no, not the feeling of falling, or the feeling of the wind rushing up against her, she felt none of those. No, Alice's only clue that she was indeed plummeting towards the ends of nothing was a tiny sliver of light just above her that grew bigger with every passing second. Since the light was above her head and not below her feet, she knew that she was falling headfirst, and that she was falling fast. It felt as if she was racing towards some final destination, perhaps even the center of the earth.

She looked around, trying to peer through the unending darkness that surrounded her. To her dismay, there was nothing that she could see. Everywhere she looked she saw pitch black nothingness, from left to right, it made her wonder where she was headed. Still, with every inch that she fell, the air somehow got the tiniest bit brighter, she could see the tiniest bit better.

The shrill caw of a raven pierced the silence. Alice flinched, twisting backwards in the air, hand braced by instinct, trying to grab hold of something. But instead of grabbing air, her hand found something, and when it brushed across something extremely soft, she let out a small scream, not actually expecting to find something in this utter darkness.

Alice gripped the the furry coat, holding on for dear life, it's silkiness comforting, reminding her of the cat that lived back in the estate. She squinted in the now dim light, trying to discern what it was that she had grabbed onto.

A pair of slanted green eyes peered back at her.

"Oh hello kitty kitty," she breathed out timidly, stroking its tail, the part she had grabbed onto. The creature was a cute looking thing, like something out of a child's picture book. It's body was round and plump in the middle with four stubby legs poking out from beneath its long, downy pink fur. Darker rose coloured patches dotted down its sides, like two set of footprints in snow. It's snout was long and thin, much like a fox, yet it seemed just a tiny bit off. Its small pointed ears stood straight up out of its head, all four of them. A single, long silky tail flowed out from behind its body, curling through the air to rest between her hands.

The thing narrowed its eyes, scanning its glowing jade eyes over her body. Suddenly, without warning, it gave a low growl and abruptly contorted its body in a wide arc, whipping its tail, along with Alice, straight into its wide gaping jaw.

A deafening scream pierced through the air.

Alice's eyes were glued wide open, gaping with undiluted horror at the thing in front of her. Rows upon rows of dozens of tiny pointed teeth lay before her. The creature's breath scalded her face, the gas reeked of her aunt's leftover putrid egg salad sandwiches, burning her eyes and nose.

This was it, Alice thought, this was the end for her. She squeezed her eyes closed, letting her thoughts go to little bunnies and mice, distracting herself from the inevitable, excruciating pain the onslaught of piercing teeth would bring.

She felt the first fangs bite through her skin. It was as if her whole body had been set on fire. Everywhere she touched burned with the feeling of tiny needles being shoved deep into her flesh. The pain was excruciating.

Alice laughed, a bubbly, half hysterical noise that erupted from the base of her throat. All reason left her. This most definitely would not be the end for her.