With a small grunt, Alice violently tears through another root which tries to drag her back down into the darkness of the rabbit hole. However before she can pull herself free from the gloom, several vines latch onto her, holding her back from the freedom she so desperately craves. So, with one more determined tug, she wrenches herself free from the vines, and pulls herself out of the hole by digging her fingers deeply into the soil for leverage.
After crawling far away from the rabbit hole, she rolls onto her back, closing her eyes and takes slow, ragged breaths as if she hasn’t taken a full breath in years. For a few quiet moments, she just lies there, keeping her eyes closed, and hopes that she won’t open her eyes and just see a blank gray sky overhead.
Softly, she speaks aloud, a silent prayer, “Please don’t let this be some kind of cruel dream. Oh God, please let me be free from that place if you have any mercy.”
After a small anxious pause, she slowly opens her eyes and stares at the sky–and finds herself utterly transfixed by the sight before her. Has there always been this many stars? She can’t rightly remember, but at this moment, she’s never seen anything more beautiful in her entire life. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes, and the whole world seems to disappear for a few moments except for those pinpoints of light shining through the dark trees even as her vision starts to blur from the tears. How had she been so blind to the beauty of the world all around her?
It takes her a few moments to realize just how quiet it is: No screaming flowers, no incessant chattering of leaves, and no monsters– Just silence, the sound of her own soft breathing and the wind rustling the leaves of the restless trees overhead. How had she taken so much for granted?
Gingerly, she gets up, wincing as she puts pressure on the cuts on her hands. She takes a few limping steps into the woods, frowning as she feels a trickle of blood run down her leg. Glancing down, she sees deep and angry looking gashes on her scarred and muddy legs.
After this thought occurs to her, she hears strange noises coming from far away, and from what she can gather, the source is the roar of some sort of machinery. She staggers out of the forest and into the light, but has to throw up a hand to shield her eyes at the sudden brightness.
When her eyes adjust to the light, she is rather bewildered at the appearance of the street, with its bright electric lighting everywhere, and large carriages that seem to be powered by a motor of some sort. How very curious.
She is about to take a closer look at one of these strange carriages, but then she spots a young woman walking towards her. After taking a few unsteady steps towards her, Alice pauses, unsure if she really should ask for help.
I really shouldn’t put the extra burden on this young woman, and how on earth will I ever explain how I look the way that I do, in this tattered chemise, and being completely covered in blood, mud, and heaven knows what else?
Oh goodness. What if the beings from Wonderland have caught up to me, and take this poor girl too?
She turns her head to look behind her to make certain that nothing is following her, but she moves far too quickly, and as a result, her whole body sways. She has to grab the nearest light post to keep herself upright, and stares at the other young woman for a moment, hoping– no, nearly praying at this point that the other woman won’t be frightened away.