She landed hard...wherever she was. It was cold. Bitter, biting cold. And windy. The fierce gales blew up her gown and played with her dark brown-gray curls. Her elbows scraped against the rocky soil under her.
When she finally got on her black and blue elbows, she gazed around the most desolate place she ever saw. Nothing but gray rocks, gray pebbles, gray cliffs, and a few scraggly trees stretched on for miles. Even the sky overhead was slate gray and looked like it would unleash its fury any minute.
“And me without an umbrella,” she muttered as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Dusting off her dress revealed holes in her stockings and bloody knees, but nothing broken. She tore off strips of petticoat to stop the bleeding until she could find real Band-Aids.
That was when she heard the screech. “What on Earth...” She looked around. “Or not on Earth, or anywhere else I know of...was that?”
As she squinted into the sky, she caught sight of an enormous winged...thing...carrying a squirming figure. It had sharp claws, but also feathers, and was that a hint of scales flashing on its underside? And was it her, or did that figure wear glasses?
“What in the...” She watched the creature soaring in the gray sky before gliding onto the top of the cliff. “What's going on? Poor guy. Bet whomever that was, they didn't want to be bird food!”
There was only one way up that cliff. It was steep, but she suspected she didn't have a choice. She couldn't fly, and she had to get up there and help that poor person. There were rocks she could grab and that would hopefully give her a firm foothold. Hopefully, anyway.
Halfway up, and she wasn't nearly as sure. She'd grab a rock, only for it to crumble or skid down the cliff, making her skid down, too. Her arms and knees were skinned raw, her blue gown was torn and tattered from shimmying up solid rock, and her arms and legs screamed pain in muscles she didn't know existed.
The further she went, the louder that human voice became...and the more familiar it was. “Charles?” she yelled. “Charles, I'm coming! I just...” Her fingers grasped a jagged edge. “Just wait a minute...I'll get myself up here...”
It must have taken her ten minutes to haul her skinny corseted rear up on the plateau. The moment all of her was at the top, she flopped back, breathing heavily and glad for the sharp, cool mountain air. “Now...” she puffed “I remember...why I didn't...want to go...rock climbing...with Adam and his school buddies...”
“BRETT!”
She sighed. “Duty calls. Can't relax for five minutes with that man.”
As she slowly pushed her way on her feet, noticing every creak and groan in her joints, something scratchy caught in the sleeve of her dress and ripped it wide open. “Damn it,” she grumbled. “Wish wandering around Wonderland wasn't so rough on my clothes. What grabbed me, anyway...”
Her eyes widened when they caught sight of a long, dry stick...attached to more sticks...which were formed into the widest bird's nest she ever saw. The creature that landed in it was almost wider. She barely dodged its spiked feathers and sharp, toothy beak. The claws alone were as long as her leg.
“Hey!” Charles wailed, scrambling back from the creature. “What are you doing? Do I look like food? No, I do not!” He grabbed his hat, trying to scramble out of the nest, but the bird yanked his tattered coat back. “I told you,” Charles grumbled, “I am not going to let you feed me to your babies! I'm too full of butter and jam and tea to be good for birds.”
Brett looked around for something to distract the bird, but there was nothing on the rocks but smaller rocks and sticks. “Maybe...” She closed her eyes, grabbed a stick, and poked the bird with it. “Hey you...whatever you are!” She reached into her pocket, hoping there was something she could use to distract the creature. Then, she saw Charles pull another slice of bread and butter out of his pocket. “Bird!” She yanked the tea and scone from his hands and waved it in front of the bird. “Want some lunch?”
The bird-monster nudged her, nearly knocking her flat on her back. It sniffed at the tea and took a lick, then tried to take another one. She quickly held it away. “Oh no, bird. If you want it...” she threw the teacup and scone over the edge of the cliff, “you'll have to go get it!”
“Susan?” Charles made a face. “Thanks for saving me, but did you have to give it my afternoon tea?”
“It was the only thing I could find that I thought would distract it!” She helped him out of the nest, his legs more wobbly than a newborn colt's. “How did you end up being a toy for a giant bird anyway? How long have you been here?”
“I don't know. Time is banned from Limbo. He doesn't come here.” Charles' face was pale and drawn, with dark shadows hugging his sky blue eyes. “I wandered around with my tea for the longest time, trying to avoid the Jabberwock...”
Brett made a face. “I've heard other people mention that. What is that thing, anyway?”
Charles gulped. “A monster. Lizard-like, with long scales, sharp teeth...” He shuddered. “I don't even want to talk about it. How about we get out of here first?”
“How?” Brett made a face, looking over the side. “We'd be sitting ducks on that mountain, and I'm not climbing down again.”
He took off his hat and held it over his head. “Susan, grab my waist and hold on. We're going down!”
What?” She grabbed him to stop him from jumping. That only pushed them harder over the edge!
She expected them to rush through the air. To go splat, like Dickie did. They did none of those things. After a few minutes, she realized they were floating through the air with the grace of a bird. When she looked up, Charles' hat was somehow acting as a parachute, keeping them both aloft.
“How are you doing that?”
He managed to shrug in mid-air. “It's the way my hats are constructed. They're silk, like what you find in parachutes. Silk floats.”
They landed easily on the ground, with barely a bobble. “Now Susan,” he said as he dusted off his patchwork jacket and bright paisley scarf, “why don't we move along and see if we can find our way out of here?”
She took stock of the tattered remains of her blue gown. “I thought there was no way out of here.”
“I hope there is.” He flipped out that strange watch again. “It's past the day for high tea. Come on. We need to find the Vorpal Sword.”
“The what?” Brett stopped short. “What in the hell is that?”
Charles shrugged and made another cup of tea appear. “What it sounds like. A very long knife. Can slice through anything it touches and deflect every kind of magic.”
“So,” Brett called as she followed him, “where is this Vorpal Sword?”
Charles somehow managed to walk and finish his tea at the same time. “Rumored to be held by the Jabberwock in his den.” He gulped and shuddered as Brett's eyes widened. “Susan, I don't like the idea of going near that thing, either. It breathes fire. It's been known to eat six people in one gulp! But we have to do it.”
She glared at him. “Ok, if we're going to commit suicide, where does this...thing...live?”
Charles looked up as puffs of white smoke could be seen in the distance. “Off hand, I'd say pretty close by. Susan,” he shoved her down hard on the stony ground, “duck!”
“Charles!” She yelped as her knees barked against rough stone, “what in the hell are you...”
It wasn't until a wall of flame shot over their heads that she realized what the smoke meant. All she got was a view of green and gold scales and claws like barbed wire. “Charles,” she gasped when the thing finally soared over their heads and into the gloomy sky. “What in the hell is that?”
“That, Susan, is the Jabberwock.” He pulled her back on her feet. “It's the scariest creature in all of the kingdoms, but we don't have a choice. We have to follow it.”
“Well, ok,” Brett muttered. “I didn't feel like living in this gloomy place anyway. I have to get back to my boys.”
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