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“I really do have to run and inform the White Queen while there’s still time.”
He looked over at me, and I saw the seriousness of his expression.
“Will you help us, Alice? Without you, the Red Queen's power can’t be checked, and Wonderland will fall deeper into darkness. She wouldn’t hesitate to kill the White Queen.”
“It’s true,” Callister admitted as he lit yet another cigarette. This time, soft swirls of pink cherry-scented smoke spiraled around him. “Wonderland needs you more than ever.”
“What if I say no?” I asked. “Could I go home? Is that even an option, or am I stuck here?”
“There’s a way home,” Chess said softly. “You’re not a prisoner here, Alice. You are more important to us than any treasure.”
“You’re so fucking important that if you don’t help us, you’re essentially condemning us to this endless suffering forever,” Callister growled, malice glittering in his eyes. “And forever is a very,verylong time.”
By this point I was pretty sure Callister was a sadist. There was no need for him to twist the knife in me like that, but he’d just gone and done it anyway. The pressure I felt weighed on me like a ton of bricks.
For being in the middle of a lucid dream, this one felt surprisingly real. Even my heart was thumping in my chest so hard that I could feel it.
"I'm not sure I can handle this level of responsibility," I stammered, wringing my hands together nervously. "You really expect me to find a magic sword, kill some monster called Jabberwocky, defeat the Red Queen, and save this...this hellish Wonderland? Just like that? It sounds impossible!”
“We don’t expect you to get this all done in a single day,” said Chess.
“It would be lot more impressive if youdid,” Callister jabbed, his voice dripping with disdain.
“That’s enough out of you!” Winston snapped, his jaw twitching with irritation. "She’s only just arrived, and already she's shown more courage than any of us were expecting! I thought surely by now she’d run away screaming.”
“Oh, I thought about it,” I confessed, shaking my head in disbelief. “But it’s not like there’s a door anywhere around here.”
“There’s a way out of here, although Callister’s not wrong,” Chess explained to me. His warmth and captivating presence drew in my attention. “Without your help, the Red Queen will kill her sister and destroy what’s left of Wonderland. But if you stay...” Chess’s green eyes were gleaming with hope.
“If you stay, the impossible can become possible. I know you have the power to restore balance to our realm. We can’t do it for you, but we can help you unlock that power. I will walk beside you every step of the way, should you choose to stay.”
I nodded as I processed everything that they’d told me. I glanced from Chess’s reassuring smile to the twisted, rotting world around me, knowing I stood at a crossroads.
One path would lead me back to Los Angeles, where I was a failure at starting my own business, a failure at relationships, and a failure at knowing who to trust.
The other path led into the darkness...into the unknown.
But at least here I might be able to make a difference.
The grotesque landscape of Wonderland stretched out before me like a sickly, nightmarish painting. Rotting flowers drooped around my feet, their petals oozing a viscous black ichor that seemed to burn the very air with its foul stench.
The trees twisted and gnarled overhead, blocking out any semblance of sunshine, casting an eerie half-light over the black mountains in the distance. Acidic lakes bubbled ominously nearby, warning me to watch my step.
As I stared into the trio’s pleading eyes, I felt a spark of something inside me—a flicker of courage that refused to be extinguished. It was small, fragile, and barely perceptible, but it was there, waiting to be nurtured.
I bit my lip, my eyes darting between my strange new companions: Winston, desperate and urgent; Callister, cold and disbelieving; and Chess, warm and encouraging.
I took in the horror and decay that surrounded us, the overwhelming odds stacked against me, and finally made my choice.
“Fuck it,” I said, my voice holding a newfound determination. "I'll do it. I'll stay and help save Wonderland. What have I got to lose?”
Callister let out a sinister laugh that intrigued me just as much as it concerned me.
“That depends on who you meet while you’re here,” he said with a wicked grin. “You might lose your mind or your heart...but I’d be most worried about losing your head.”
* * *
ChapterThree
