"Good, his fever's down a lot" Said Oz as he laid another layer of wet cloth onto Alic's forehead. The teen had been asleep for at least ten days now, and during that time his wounds were bandaged up and cleaned.
It was pretty scary to Oz since the boy looked more like a corpse than asleep, like a story he heard from a long time ago although he couldn't remember it anymore.
"Are you truly Alice?" Asked Oz softly in his chair by Alic's bedside, cigarette in his mouth as frustration crept up to him.
"ALICE!"
Hearing the voice, Alic opened his eyes to come face to face with a beautiful blonde haired girl who looked very much like him. She was wearing a lacy gingham dress, the one grandma made.
"Alice, mother said to come up for tea." Said the girl, pulling Alic up.
"Big sister." Said Alic, rising from the ground. He was ten again when his family were still living in the country before his father had gotten a job transfer and they all had to move to the city.
"Alice, don't be such a lazy bum. Look at you, you're a mess!" Scolded Alic's sister as she crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks. She was right, Alic's shirt and shorts were marred with grass stains, and his shoes were caked in mud.
"At least, I'm not going barefoot." Retorted Alic, his eyes darting down to his sister's own muddy feet. They were surely going to get an earful from their mother. A sheepish smile formed on his sister's face as she linked her arms with his, a soft laugh gracing her lips.
That's right, his sister was beautiful. Her long honey blonde hair was braided into a bun and her blue eyes were like diamonds. Many would compliment her on her looks and she would proudly show them, something Alic could never understand.
They walked up the steep steps that led to their house, a ranch. It was near a salt mine and a harsh swamp but the two children knew better than to go there, having been warned numerous times never to go near there as it was dangerous. There was also a ranch that was attached to the main house where their grandpa would raise his cattle and horses. Alic remembered how the two would always enjoy countless afternoons playing with the horses. Especially the little ones, like Marigold, a pony so energetic that even their father couldn't keep up with it.
"Hey sis, I had a really weird dream." Said Alic, one foot up the cobblestone steps. Moss growing on the wooden handrails their grandfather made for their safety.
"Really, what was it about?" Asked his sister
"A weird town that has weeks for years."
"What a strange dream." Was all his sister said as they hurriedly ran up.
In no time short, the siblings returned home.
Entering through the back door in hopes of not getting caught in filth, the two quickly settled into the dining table. An assortment of treats were already at the table.
"Mum really went all out huh." Said Alic as he took a bite out of a cream puff.
Alic's sister nodded, taking a sip of the chilled lemonade.
"You know sis, in my dream there were also very weird sweets. Well not that weird. There were treats like jelly beans inside jelly squares and cakes that changed colours." Exclaimed Alic in excitement.
She giggled, "That sounds like something out of a Harry Potter book."
"Mhmm."
Alic eyed his cup of lemonade, for some reason he felt something was wrong.
"Is something the matter?" Asked his sister
"Just…have you felt that something was amiss in your life?" Asked Alic, tapping anxiously at his plate. Looking out of the window, he squinted to see what was beyond the garden.
Nothing, just a thick layer of mist.
At that moment, like a gun had been triggered, Alic suddenly realised something was definitely strange.
"Where are they?"
Alic's sister only looked back perplexed. Wiping some cream off his mouth, she smiled.
"What are you talking about silly? Nothings wrong, just same old same old." She replied with a laugh. One that Alic wished he could hear again. Steeling himself, he looked at her in the eye. Opening his mouth, he tried his best not to break down.
" Mum and dad, gran and gramps. They're not here…they should be here. They would never leave us alone in the house for this long and even then, this isn't real is it. So just who are you?" Asked Alic, his eyes dull.
His sister's face was blank, setting down her napkin. A small smile appeared as she replied, "It's me, Alice."
Alic balled his fist tight, no way she…
"My sister died years ago! WHO ARE YOU!" Losing his patience, Alic slammed his hands onto the table. The plates and cups shook as he made contact. The person that was his sister didn't stop smiling instead laughing. Leaning forward, she wrapped her arms around Alic. Ignoring his squirms.
"Let me go! Let me go! You imposter!" Yelled Alic as he continued to struggle.
"There, there little bro. After all, isn't this what you wished for? Now,could you please-" she was cut mid sentence, a knife was dug into her neck. Pushing her away, Alic could only stare in anger at it.
Again, the imposter didn't look perturbed. Calmly, she pulled the knife out. The blade was soaked in red, chuckling lightly. She slowly walked towards Alic, cornering him into the wall.
"Say, Alic could you give it back?" She asked, her voice sickeningly sweet.
"NO!"
"Woah, what the heck ya' okay?!" Exclaimed Oz in shock, rushing to Alic's side. Alic didn't brush him away, only burying his heads into the blanket. Trying his hardest to understand the dream.
It was…."Ludicrous."
"Huh?"
'Shit, did I say it out' thought Alic as he laughed it off. Reminding himself to shut up the next time. Waving Oz off, Alic sighed as the door finally closed. A small ache in his heart, something he never thought he would feel again.
♥️
Meanwhile, in a tall and menacing palace at the very border of Wonderland sat a regal figure. Their long red hair cascaded onto the floor, blending into the crimson carpet. Rose petals littered the floor beneath them as they waited for the fish-man before them to finish.
"Now onto the next order, this one is a request for a visa. The askers are one Mr. Ozge for a Mr…..Alice-I mean sorry, Alic." As the fish-man relayed these words, the red figure immediately perked up. Straightening against their chair a little, eyebrows raised beckoning the fish to elaborate and so it did, stating whatever nonsense that came which the figure ultimately thought was overrated. Finishing up, it quickly flipped away, leaving the ruler in the chair.
"What do you think of this Jack?" asked the figure, putting a hand on his face.
From behind a column of black marble, a man walked out from the shadows. He was tall and athletically built, his face was slightly pale but fair. His white hair was unkempt, fraying at the ends. He wore a black uniform with a red ribbon tied around his waist, holding the gleaming silver sword in place. A eyepatch covered one of his eyes, the other only revealing a beautiful aqua iris.
The man, Jack, had no expression on his face nor did he speak a word. The crimson light illuminated from the stain glass windows only shadowing his sullen look.
Annoyed, the figure gave a small tch before turning their head from Jack. Tapping a finger on their bottom lip, the man known as Jack couldn't help but feel a small shiver down his spine as he watched his master.
'I pray for whoever is there, that they will be safe'
At that moment Alic and Oz sneezed.
"Is there dust around?" questioned them as they looked around.