It was a swarm of shadows and cries. "No! No! Go away!" Voices rang in her head and around her. Voices of girls and boys rang out to her. Let me free! They wailed, Save us, Alice! Alice tossed in the abyss. Why had she come here again? Alice thought of Dimitri and the other Alice. Although they were not from her world, she needed their help. She couldn't die yet, at least not now. Alice tried to block out the voices, but instead small hands tried to grab out to her. Shivers crawled all over her and she let out a scream of her own. For a second, she felt like she was dying again. Why were they after her? "Why do you want me", she called out.
Suddenly there was a hush in the darkness. Small whispers were heard. They were discussing the matter. "We want to live again", a small girl's voice answered. Alice tried to see through the pitch black. She wanted to see the faces of the children. Slowly, gray faces shown through the dark. One by one, they floated out, until a horde of them surrounded her.
With a shakey voice, Alice asked, "How can I help you?" All at once they stuck out their hands to her. Alice touched their hands, and the answer came to her. "I see. . ." and with closed eyes Alice understood why she had died and how she can save these souls. Alice nods her head and opens her eyes to see only a light blue.
Across the empty space of sea is Dimitri, crying. Alice's heart becomes lodged in her throat as she floats acroos to him. "Dimitri!" she called out. She came next to him and tried to hold him close. He looked at her and smiled. The tears seemed to stop in their tracks.
"Alice", he whispered, "you came back." He stroked her hair and for a second Alice felt human again. She inched her lips towards him and thy touched. His arms wrapped around her and she let her hands roam his body. Alice parted away from his lips and looked in him, dead in the eyes. "Dimitri, we have to go into the dark." He looked at her with a confusing look. "What do you mean?"
Alice replied, "We need to save the others."
He loosened his hold on her, "What others?"
Alice looked down and replied, "The other children that died. They want to live again. And only we save them."
Dimitri looked her with such a sad stare," Alice, don't. We can't I. .I can't. . I won't let you. . I don't want to lose you. "
"Dimitri, I know, I have already died and this is what I -"
"Alice, I love you and I can't lose you after all this."
