Page 63 of Madness

“Hi!” he smiles at me, his missing teeth a lot more noticeable now he’s closer, and I wonder how he lost them since the others seem to be perfectly fine.

“Hi,” I reply, allowing the comfort of touch from another human to soak in.

Life with Alice wasn’t very comforting, and she rarely offered me human contact, even as a baby.

“You cried entirely far too much for her to like you, let alone love you, Alice.”

“Cry baby, cry baby, cry baby!” Queenie shrieks.

I don’t reply. Instead, I continue to walk through the shadows that seem to dissipate as we walk closer now Hare is by my side.

Solitary looms just ahead, and I hope that we find Red inside, though it seems she is nowhere that we seem to look.

“What room is Bander’s?” I ask as we sneak through the door.

Patients in Wonderland aren’t allowed to go between wards, especially not solitary, where they keep the patients they don’t want to socialise. Hare is the exception since everyone in Wonderland seems to have a soft spot for him.

“Bander!” Hare takes off down the hallway to a door at the end and flings it open, revealing a terrifying-looking man who seems only to have one eye.

I expect my delusions to warp him, too, the way the corridors warp into twisted mazes that seem to rotate clockwise in a spiral illusion, but he’s untouched, and my brow furrows as I wonder why.

“Because of the legacy.”

“There is no legacy,” I hiss back, “No legacy at all. It’s a curse, and I wish to be rid of it and you forever.”

“Don’t be like that, Alice. You need me.”

“Why are you here?” the man, who I’m assuming is Bander, asks.

“Red is missing,” Harry steps forward from behind us and glances through the door to Hare, who is playing on the floor with some toy cars.

Bander’s single eye narrows as he scrutinises us, “Red is not lost. She is here in solitary.”

Hare, oblivious to the tension, continues to push his toy cars around, making soft engine noises.

Harry shifts uncomfortably beside me, “Can yi tell us wit room? A want ti make sure she’s ok.”

“She’s fine, and I’m not sure right now is the best time to interrupt her,” he smirks knowingly, but Desmond shakes his head.

“She missed therapy, and we’re all worried. Can you go check on her for us?”

Bander hesitates, glancing between us all, and then sighs, “Fine, but you have to hide in my room while I do. The guards down here are ruthless and have no mercy for people breaking the rules unless you are Hare.”

Hare’s head lifts at the mention of his name and smiles widely at Bander, “Red?”

“I’m going to get her, buddy. You going to look after our friends here while I go check on her?” he smiles back at Hare, and his face softens in response.

Hare nods his head vigorously, “Friends! Cars, play cars!”

“You heard him,” Bander chuckles, “Go play cards, I’ll be back in a moment… or not.”

Harry rolls his eyes, but we all do as we are told and shuffle into his room as he exits, the large, heavy door closing behind him.

It seems like the deeper we get into Wonderland and the longer I’m here, the darker and more twisted it becomes.

Why on earth would Red be placed in solitary, and why would the guards be so horrible when the whole point of Wonderland is to get better?

“Nobody gets better in Wonderland, Alice. It’s for those to tumble further down the rabbit hole until they don’t know what way is up or what way is down.”

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