The Madness

[AngelFish]

Anna was quite used to falling. She fell all the time; she was a clutz like that. but usually when she fell, Anna hit something. The floor; the table; a wall. But this time, she didn't hit anything. It was like she'd fallen off of a cliff instead of off a curb. There was just the sickinging, stomach dropping feeling of falling. There was no sound of swerving cars and blaring horns, which was strange even when someone wasn't falling into the street.

When she'd fallen, Anna had closed her eyes, as most did when they're startled. Now she slowly opened them. She was falling all right, tumbling through darkness smeared with bright colors and shapes. Like someone had splattered bright photographs throughout the darkness and she was barely seeing them as she dropped like a stone in water. A strangely colored animal in a tree; faces and figures. Then, for one terrifying moment, she was engulfed in darkness. Frigid, choking, silent darkness. Then, Anna finally hit something.

Pain resounded through her and she decended into a new kind of darkness, a far more welcoming darkness that promised respite from the pain of hitting something.

When Anna woke, it was to pain. Her head, her back, her ribs. Everything hurt like she'd been hit by a truck. That's how she knew she wasn't dead. She slowly opened her eyes, and the blinding light above her made her head scream; like it was splitting in two. After an agonizing moment the pain faded to an ach and she could make out a blurry green shape swaying lazily above her.

She squinted her eyes as she tried to make sense of it, and her vision slowly sharpened. She was on her back, staring up a leaves dancing lazily as the sunlight filtered through it. It was such a lovely site, it took her a moment to realize the problem. She wasn't in the city anymore.

She slowly pulled herself to her feet, bracing herself against a tree. Between her head and her ribs, when she finally got to a standing position she counted herself lucky she didn't vomit. When she was fairly sure she wasn't going to be sick, she looked around her. There were no paths, no buildings, and no noise. The city was gone and replaced by thick forestry.

For some reason, even thought she knew she should be panicking, she found herself thinking about Alice in Wonderland. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice would say. Anna half expected to see a white rabbit. But that was noncense of course; Anna was a very sensible person. Alice in Wonderland was just a story, nothing more.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there before she realized she should move. She had to find someone. She needed help.

The first step was agonizing, but it slowly got better after that. Each limping step hurt still, but she consoled herself by thinking of the good food she'd eat when she got home. As she crested a hill she was daydreaming about chocolate ice cream, and she almost missed the house. It was a tiny thing, looking almost magical in the green around it. The little yellow house with white trim was pristine, and the white fence was perfect. It looked like a fairy tale, but all Anna cared about was a phone.

She pounded on the door for a long while. A house this well taken care of, someone must live here! She reached for the handle, then hesitated. It would be rude just to walk in, but she was desperate. Finally she pushed the door open.

The exact oppisite of the outside; the inside of the house was decrepit and dust covered. The furniture was falling apart and the floor was full of holes. But that's not what Anna saw. Thats not what made her scream. There, in the middle of of the floor, was a rotting corpse. The half eaten remains of a gigantic white rabbit in a torn up waist coat stared up at her with dead eyes.

I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date, no time to say hello, goodbye! I'm late I'm late I'm late!

 

[MiraiNikki021209]

Cheshire use to be the type of cat who often stayed in the shadows. He would be watching, observing every little detail that crossed his path. And every time he stumbled upon a secret it was his ticket to get things he wanted be it food or items. Oh sure, he engaged in conversations but he wasn't all too polite about it. He joked and made things confusing and if he ever found himself bored he would simply disappear.

Other than his rude social skills and tendency to use people, he was known or his height, grace and beautiful coat of fur which he so cherished. You see, Cheshire was not a normal cat, he was a huge cat standing over 6 feet tall and who had beautiful fur and often walked with a certain bounce in his step which was admired. He was so carefree, so happy. He was certainly a beautiful and well known creature throughout the land.

That was, until The Fall. When everything just went south, things turned from bad to worse. Cheshire lost his happy glow and became something respected to something feared. Peoples secrets were revealed without Cheshire saying a word about them, which cause fingers to point to him anyway since he was the only one who kept the secrets. People hated him, loathed him. And a cat as hungry as him did what any cat could do. He hunted. He hunted anything he could get be it people or animals, which was when the fear in him set on. But he couldn't help it, he needed the food.

And with the hunting and isolation brought the madness. He heard things, saw things that weren't there. They were things that persuaded him to do what he did. And once he finished getting his revenge on those who held him accountable for his actions, he became bored and hunted for the sport more than the food.

So now, that's how he got to where he is now, a bored thin cat laying around on the beams of his house looking at his unfinished food. The white rabbit. He flicked his tail as his wide, wicked grin spread across his face. "Oh Rabbit.. If only you were on time maybe you wouldn't have become my meal.." His low, metallic like voice echoed through the walls.

He paused, his nose twitching as he caught sent of something. An outsider.. Female.. Not too old.. Human..? He stood from his perch on the beams of the ceiling, walking across them with silent steps. He watched the girl come in and scream. The scream brought back his wicked grin.

Cheshire leapt down with a quiet "thud" behind the girl, blocking her from the door. With a flick of his tail, Cheshire closed the door. With his head hung low, he let out a low chuckle. "Why hello there girl.. I've seen lots of people throughout my years but I don't believe I've ever seen you.. How odd, we haven't had many visitors.. Who are you, girl? Why have you trespassed into my home?"

Cheshire Cat

 

[AngelFish]

Anna jumped a mile high when the door thudded closed behind her, and she spun to face the most terrifying looking cat she'd ever seen. She started to sigh in relief when she realized it was just a cat; then it started to talk. "Why hello there girl.. I've seen lots of people throughout my years but I don't believe I've ever seen you.. How odd, we haven't had many visitors.. Who are you, girl? Why have you trespassed into my home?" She stared at the cat for a long moment. "That's it, I've lost my mind. Finally fell too far and went completely mad." She ran a hand through her dark hair and winced as she touched a tender spot. Her blue eyes were frightened as she watched the cat. "Let me guess, 'We're all mad here'?" Her eyes moved back to the white rabbit, and a hysterical giggle burst through her lips. "At least I know I'm just dreaming all of this."

She eyed the cat again before trying to step towards the door. "Well, I don't want to intrude on your home, so I'll just go be mad somewhere else." She was hesitant to go near the wicked looking cat, but it shouldn't hurt. It was all in her head after all. Maybe she was as crazy as Alice was after all.