Wonderland

That Still Small Voice

"Torch's fire catches an eye

Shiver of night lights up the sky

Frozen silence fills the air

Holding our devotion and fear"

As the Bandersnatch roared, the animals scattered. Alice stared at the creature in both fear and awe. It was as if the creature had the body of an oversized bear with a squashed muzzle like a flat-faced cat. Drool passed through its sharp and broken teeth. They were red with blood, in rows like that of a shark, and its white fur was stained with grime. Under the filth were black spots like that of a Dalmatian and Alice stumbled back at the horrid stench the beast was emanating. This "Bandersnatch" was a foul creature.

As they all attempted to flee, Alice included, the group was intercepted by the strangest group of knights Alice had ever seen, not that she had seen any outside of storybooks. They were shaped like metal cards, all red with different numbers of hearts, each carrying a spear with a wicked sharp heart on the end. Her adrenaline pumping, she had no desire to stop and ask questions.

So Alice fled, gathering her skirts and running as fast as she could. As she ran down the long path, her skirts tangled beneath her feet. Hurriedly, the girl tied them and continued running, fear coursing through her veins. Turning back to look, she faltered as the Bandersnatch chased her down. But this was all a dream? Wasn't it?

Alice stood firm, staring down at the creature as it halted in front of her.

"Run!" She could hear the Dormouse yell, but she refused to move.

"This is a dream. It can't hurt me," She said aloud, trying to both steady her beating heart and convince herself of that fact.

The Bandersnatch loomed overhead, its muzzle down to face Alice. The trembling girl held herself high, it was a dream. Just a dream. The beast roared in her face and Alice closed her eyes, bracing herself against the wind of foul breath. It bent its head, mouth agape, but before it could eat the girl, she heard a small battle cry.

The Dormouse had made its way atop the beast and with a cry, stabbed it with the tiny sword. The Bandersnatch bellowed in agony as the sword went directly into its eye, pulling it clean out. It was a sight Alice wished she had never seen. In its pain, the animal whipped its paws around. One of them catching on Alice's arm, cutting deep rivets in her skin. The pain of the attack frightened the girl enough to send her back on the run, beginning to realize that this dream might not have been a dream after all.

~**~

"I'm okay, Gold," Piper said kindly, looking up at the worried man from her seat at the kitchen table, "My fever broke, I'm not sick anymore."

"But your immune system will still be weak," He said, and she simply shook her head and gave Coconut a scratch on the chin, "Just take one more day to rest."

"Come on,"Piper said with a smile, looking up at him, "Fresh air will do me good, besides," she stood up and placed both of their dishes in the sink, "What could go wrong?"

"More than you could think of," He replied darkly, but it was missed by the girl who was carefully washing their used dinner plates.

"Gold?" Piper asked, pulling on her light brown jacket and walking to the door, "I had the strangest dream when I was ill, and it's been bothering me a bit."