Alice Games

by Michelle R. Reid

  That sounded awful. “The snow and the snow monsters?” Was it still snowing outside? The fire in the corner made it warm in here, and bright light shone through the hole in the ceiling. “Was that the White Wizard, too?”

  Ace nodded to the side. “Fun, huh? Brainless, giant brutes.” His nose wrinkled in disdain. “White Wizard likes to make sure that people can’t tell him no. He’s a black and white kind of guy.”

  His reaction made me pause. He seemed just as familiar with White Wizard as with Red Queen. His tone lacked the warmth, but I could tell he knew White Wizard. Well.

  What was with this guy? I wracked my mind to place the name Ace somewhere in the Wonderland and Oz stories, but nothing rang a bell. Red Queen, Hareson, and Lional were easy. I even understood White Wizard. But Ace? How did he fit in?

  “You’re staring at me,” he said with a sly smile.

  I blinked. My cheeks went up in flames, burning beyond control. “Oh, sorry. I was ... thinking.” I cleared my throat and looked down at my skirt. It was done. Standing up, I turned this way and that, examining the knee-length hack job. It was as straight as I could get it without a ruler. As long as I could move, it was fine.

  “Good enough.” I walked over to Ace. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.” I held out the knife.

  A part of me wanted to keep it. Hide it somewhere in my skirt, make a makeshift tie, strap it to my thigh and hope I didn’t cut myself with it. If I was being hunted by a tiger, having something to defend myself would be helpful. But it’s not like I knew how to use it, anyway. I was just as likely to hurt myself as I was the Cheshire Cat.

  Ace was slow to take it. “You are an odd Alice.” His dark brown eyes bored into mine. “You seem very logical and smart, but you’re giving back a form of protection. For that matter, you’re stuck in a room with me and even asking my opinion on a serious subject.”

  I shrugged. “What other choice do I have? It’s not my knife, it’s yours. You’d get it back from me if you wanted it. And I’ll have to ask everyone’s opinion on the rulers. It’s important to know all the facts before making a judgment.”

  I walked over to the dress on the floor and picked it up. It was then I noticed a wide-necked, sleeveless shirt underneath it. It was plain white except for a three-inch-wide gray band that went across the chest. Given the size, it could only belong to Ace. Did he protect the dress from the dirt because he knew it belonged to Red Queen?

  Carefully folding the dress and leaving the shirt where it was, I turned back to him. “It’s Ali, by the way. My name is Ali.”

  His brows rose. “Ali, huh?”

  His reaction was the same as everyone else’s. I waved a hand. “Really, my name isn’t that odd. It’s actually a rather common name where I’m from. What’s odd to me is hearing Alice used in plural form. You’re not the first person to mention multiple Alices. Why is that?”

  Ace’s brows rose high on his forehead as he smiled in amusement. “This is called the Alice Games, right?”

  I sighed. “You know, this doesn’t feel like a game to me. What part of it is a game?”

  “I know that you showed up late, but they really didn’t explain anything to you, did they?” He stretched his arms up and arched his back in a full body stretch. “The game is if Red Queen can get the Alice to the Emerald Castle or not. White Wizard doesn’t need you to pick him at the Emerald Castle, but that’s the only way Red Queen can win.”

  “What happens to me if I don’t make it to the Emerald Castle by False Dawn?” Could I just stay here until that time then go home?

  He was quiet for a second. “There’s only ever been one Alice that didn’t make it in time. No one knows what happened to her. She was just whisked out of Oz. If she survived, I don’t know what state she’s in. For all I know, she could still be stuck in In-Between.” His tone was grave.

  “What’s In-Between?” I shifted, uneasy.

  He took a breath and reverted back to a playful air, hiding whatever he was thinking behind a smile. “The space between your world and Oz. Oz created the Emerald Castle to bring the Alices through safely. But outside that building ...” He left the negative experience hanging.

  So I couldn’t just hang around. The only way home was to play the game and get to the Emerald Castle on time. I didn’t want to get whisked into a space void any more than I wanted to be found by the Cheshire Cat.

  I could try to find the Emerald Castle alone—I had the Yellow Path. I’d done things alone so far, though not by choice. Having the help of Red Queen, however that played out, would be a benefit. It sounded like she wanted me to make it as much as I want to. She even mentioned an escort to take me to the Emerald Castle. That sounded a thousand times better than walking the whole way, since it seemed like a sizable distance.

  Still, there was one more thing I wanted Ace to verify. Okay, there were a lot of things, but I really needed to get back to Red Queen. “So a girl named Alice comes here and the games start? How many Alices have there been?”

  Ace scratched his chin. “You’re number twenty-seven.”

  My eyes widened. Twenty-seven? Twenty-six other girls from my world had come to Oz? How long had it been like this? “Did they come back-to-back?” When he shook his head, I gaped at him. “How many years has it been since the Alice Games first started?”

  This time he looked at the fire crackling in the fire place. For a second, the light hit just right to reflect off his eyes. “Too long.” His voice was soft, barely audible. “So very long.”

  For a moment, I stared at him. There was something about the way his head was tilted and the gleam in his eyes that made him look dangerous. Not threatening, but he seemed like someone you don’t want to cross. I shook my head, trying to understand what he meant. “That’s crazy. That many girls, and none of them have been able to fix the problem?”

  It was his turn to pause. He blinked quickly out of his stupor and focused back on me. “Problem? Why do you call it that?”

  “Well, isn’t it?” It really was time to go. I’d stalled long enough. Should I bring the hoop skirt and corset too? I picked up the hoop skirt and frowned. It would be really cumbersome to carry, and there was no way I was getting back into that corset. “If there wasn’t a problem that needed to be fixed, all those Alices wouldn’t have been brought here. The question is, what’s the real problem and how do you permanently fix it?” The hoop skirt would definitely stay here. I set it down and faced Ace.

  He still lounged against the door, examining me.

  I took a couple steps toward the door and motioned for him to get out of the way. He didn’t budge. “Are you going to move or not?” It was time to figure out what his play was.

  His eyes lit up with mischief. “Why?”

  “I need to get out. I can’t spend the whole day here, no matter how nice this chat has been.”

  “All right, all right,” he laughed. “At least you said I was nice to talk to. However, you’re forgetting something.”

  “What’s that?”

  He rose and closed the gap between us in one smooth step. “You haven’t paid me yet.” He was tall enough that his orange hair brushed the ceiling of the shack even though his back was slightly bent.

  My heart leapt and danced at his sudden nearness. What was wrong with me? I still hadn’t decided if I could trust him. “Pay?”

  His ears twitched toward the door again, but his calm manner didn’t change. “Of course. I saved your life, so you owe me. Pay up.”

  His logic wasn’t all that farfetched, but there was one problem. “Uh, I don’t have anything to pay with. Unless you want the dress. But it’s not mine, so I don’t think I should give it away.” I rolled the wad of material in my hands. It must be worth a fortune, since it was covered in gems. Red Queen already admitted they weren’t scientifically advanced, so they most likely didn’t have the technology to manufacture stones.

  Ace rocked back on his heels and tucked his thumbs into the waistband of his
pants. “No, I don’t want that. It has to be something of yours.”

  Something of mine? What did I have that was mine still? I had a kiss, a sneaky voice in my mind whispered. My whole body froze as my cheeks warmed a little. That was absurd! Even if he was downright sexy. I took a breath and shoved that thought aside. They had thoroughly stripped me earlier, so what did I have?

  “Ah.” I frowned. I did have something that was mine still. I glanced at him, then turned my back. Face redder than ever, I reached into my bra and pulled out the necklace I’d hidden there. It was warm. My hand clenched over the last piece of sanity I had left. But if it was the only way to get out of this room, I didn’t have a choice.

  “Um, I have this,” I mumbled, then turned and offered him the necklace. I could tell I was failing miserably at controlling my blush. Honestly. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough.

  Ace’s grin was instant. “A necklace, huh? That will do.” His fingers lingered on my hand as he took it from me.

  His touch was like liquid fire, melting into my skin and shooting through my veins, making my blood run hot and my heart pump harder. What was so attractive about him? He was just a cat-guy. He shouldn’t be so appealing, he should be weird.

  I cleared my throat and tried to take control of the situation. “So my debt is paid? I can go now?”

  For a second he looked like a cat watching a mouse run away, then he nodded and stepped back, revealing the door with a gentlemanly wave of his hand. “Follow your Yellow Path through the flowers. Red Queen should be waiting on the other side.”

  I tore my gaze away from the door and back to him. “How would she know where to find me?” I thought I’d have to spend all day looking for her.

  “All Role Players know where you are.” He reached out and casually opened the door. Blinding light exploded into the small, dark room.

  I blinked rapidly as my eyes tried to adjust.

  Ace slid an arm around my waist and walked me out the door. My eyes were still watering like crazy as he ushered me through.

  A sudden sneeze attack assaulted me and I stepped away from him, trying not to sound like an elephant trumpeting. “Excuse me,” I mumbled and wiped my wet eyes. “Ace, what’s a Role Player—” I blinked and looked around.

  He was gone.

  Chapter Six

  From the doorway of the Munchkin shack, I could see that Ace’s shirt was gone. The fire in the fireplace was out, with little wisps of smoke rising up. If it weren’t for my shorter slip with its jagged edges, I would have thought I’d dreamed the whole thing. Still confused, I turned and looked around.

  I was in the middle of a tropical forest—the Cheshire Forest, according to Ace. A light mist hung in the air, melting between trees as thick as cars. Beams of light broke through the thick canopy, casting spotlights on smaller plants that bloomed in vibrant colors.

  The smell of the damp, rich soil was like a balm to my soul, relaxing and invigorating at the same time. With a big sigh, I dug my toes into the spongy dirt and breathed in the humid air. This was my dream. To stand in a jungle, surrounded by plants and dirt, and know that I could discover a new plant form. Find some mystery in the world that no one else has ever discovered before. Cornell University was simply a stepping stone—the biggest one I needed to take to get there.

  Yet, here I was. In a jungle that Earth knows nothing about. Everything was a new discovery.

  The Yellow Path might lead to the left, but it could wait a short moment. I couldn’t resist letting out a tiny squeak of excitement as I practically danced over to the closest tree and examined the giant leaves. They were bigger than a sheet of paper. Fascinated, I noted the multicolored veins that ribbed the leaves. The effect was subtle, but where one leaf overlapped another, the rainbow veins glowed. Feeling like a kid at Christmas, I moved the waxy leaf around carefully, just to make the colors of the lower leaf pop more.

  “Phosphorescent lights on a tree this big?” I squealed and ran my fingers over the veins. “What kind of protein creates these colors? Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a microscope and a notebook and camera right now,” I said aloud. “I need a whole lab.”

  A voice—or two?—whispered from somewhere low to my right. It was so soft, the sounds jumbled together obscurely.

  The hair prickled on the back of my neck. “Hello?”

  There was no response. The dark foliage was beautiful but silent. Aside from myself, I couldn’t hear another living thing. No birds, bugs, nothing. Eerie.

  I didn’t imagine the whispers, did I?

  Something white gleamed on the ground. The bright stark shade seemed off from the natural colors around me. I walked over to it, stepping over high roots and around leafy bushes. Whatever it was just lay there, shining between the thick blades of a patch of green grass. Perplexed, I parted the foliage and crouched over it. The object, roughly twelve inches long, gleamed like white crystal, and was shaped like ...

  “A footprint?”

  Bursting with curiosity, I brushed it with my fingertips. Icy shots of pain went from my fingers all the way to my toes, numbing my hand for a second and covering my whole body in goosebumps. Gasping in pain, I stumbled back and landed on my butt.

  I rubbed my fingers against the material on my stomach and stared at the footprint. It was ice, dry and biting. And it wasn’t alone. From this angle, I could see more of them spaced evenly apart, leading off into the forest. Only I’d never seen footprints that were raised pieces of ice. Biting my lip, I followed their direction with my eyes. My fingers still hurt from the ice burn. When I touched the ice, it was like I could feel the owner’s emotions. I don’t know how I knew, but this person was full of hatred, as cold as the dry ice. Did the prints belong to the Cheshire Cat?

  I scrambled to my feet and turned to hurry the other way—the way the Yellow Path was leading me. I couldn’t help but pause to look around. I was dying to stay and study everything about this place. Only the burn on my fingers was a sharp reminder that I shouldn’t. Not only did I not have the time, I might not exactly be safe here. The safest place, and most time effective travel method, was with Red Queen—after all, nothing bad had happened till she disappeared. Ace said she was on the other side of the flowers. I didn’t know what that meant, but I bet the Yellow Path did.

  I followed the arrow past the Munchkin shack and the building quickly disappeared behind thick forest. The Yellow Path glowed brightly over the moss and dirt. The forest was so thick, I had to push aside huge leaf after huge leaf just to walk forward. Sometimes I swore a tree shifted just to stick its leaves in my face and catch at the wadded dress with its branches. I normally didn’t believe in disturbing nature, but after a while I would have given anything for a machete.

  All at once, the leaves and trees were gone. I stumbled to a stop and stared, open mouthed. So this is what Ace meant when he mentioned the flowers. A huge field covered in flowers stretched to the right and left as far as the eye could see. They looked like chest-high sunflowers, except with white petals instead of yellow.

  Another forest lined the other side of the wide field, but the trees looked to be temperate, not tropical. Odd. How could there be jungle on one side of a flower field and deciduous trees on the other? It shouldn’t be physically possible. Mountains, oceans, and wind patterns decided if forests became tropical or temperate, and the change was never this drastic. There was no wind, and I couldn’t see a mountain or ocean around. Just a lot of white flowers, like a dividing barrier.

  It screamed wrong, but there wasn’t time to consider the physical problems with this picture. I mean, in Oz people also turned into animals and hot guys with cat ears that could disappear into thin air.

  The Yellow Path didn’t point directly ahead, but angled to the side. Following it with my eyes, I saw a small path through the flowers. A sigh of relief escaped me. The path was narrow, only about two feet wide, but it seemed to go all the way across.

  I was twenty feet in when I heard, somewhere off to
the right, something that sounded like water hitting the ground. I paused. When there wasn’t another sound, I moved forward again, slowly. With everything that had happened to me since I came to this world, my heart started to race in anticipation.

  Another splash of water hit the ground on my left.

  This time I stopped completely and stood up on my toes. There was nothing but flowers for as far as I could see. Warily, I continued walking.

  My hand brushed against a flower on my right. A geyser of water exploded out of the black center and smacked the side of my face. Gasping with shock, I stumbled off the path and into the flowers. They went off all around me. Jets of water hit other flowers, and they detonated in a domino effect.

  Unsure what else to do, I hugged the dress to my chest to protect it and shielded my face as the flowers pelted me over and over with water. Blindly, I stumbled toward the path.

  Something grabbed my wrist and I screamed. Puffing, I looked up through the water dripping over my face.

  Ace stood in front of me, ears perked up in attention and his laughter barely contained. A huge grin split his face and his brown eyes danced. “Not that way! This way!” he yelled over the sound of water slapping the ground. “Run!”

  He tugged on my wrist, his hold gentle but insistent, and I followed. He flinched away from a water spout, laughing, and began to run. He kept his pace slow enough that I didn’t fall behind. Water exploded around us as we ran, showering us and soaking the path. I didn’t know if he was doing it on purpose, but Ace’s tail brushed the flowers as we ran, causing more to erupt. Ace kept glancing over his shoulder at me, his smile playful and eyes alive with the fire of an exciting game.

  It wasn’t long before I was grinning with enjoyment as much as he was. We stumbled down the path, laughing and slipping on the wet ground. Ace’s hold on my wrist slipped down until we were hand in hand. The warmth in his grasp and his long, strong fingers were as distracting as the water hitting me in the face, and it made my heart race as much as the running did.