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In the Realm of Evil




Lvangellne Poward



apLer 1
ln llfe lL ls generally acknowledged LaL lf you wanL Lo
succeed Len you work for lL ln Le case of Allce Wood now
a sLudenL aL klngs ollege London se wasLed er clldood
revlslng for exams and puslng erself Lo succeed ln every
aspecL of er llfe excepL soclallslng now aL Le age of
LwenLyone Allce lacks Le general skllls of meeLlng new
people of LrusLlng oLers and mosL lmporLanLly of learnlng
ow Lo feel emoLlon l suppose one could say se was almosL
roboLlc lL was noL wlL greaL lndlfference LaL ln one blLLerly
cold uecember evenlng Allce was uddled by an elecLrlc
eaLer ln Le local llbrary Per nose was burled flrmly ln er
baLLered copy of Lewls arroll's 'Allce ln Wonderland' Cne
would assume LaL a unlverslLy sLudenL would be readlng
books relaLed Lo Lelr course buL ln Le case of frall Allce
Wood se ad already read annoLaLed and eld personal
oplnlons on all Le books on Lelr requlred readlng llsL
lL ls qulLe clear LaL Mlss Wood ad no companlons Per only
source of lnLeracLlon was er lod and a blog LaL none of
er peers knew belonged Lo er ?ou see Allce ad waL one
would call an overacLlve lmaglnaLlon Se may lack ln overL
emoLlons buL on Le lnslde Allce Wood was seelng falryLales
rlgL ln fronL of er eyes lnslde se was a clld sLlll er
exLerlor may be LaL of a sullen almosL dlsagreeable young
woman buL lnslde se was free Lo express any emoLlon se
wanLed ?ou can call lL a suppressed clldood ?ou can even
say LaL Lls represslon ls due Lo some unexplalned Lrauma
from wen se was younger buL all Allce Wood knew was
LaL Le ouLslde world was bad and LaL Le world lnslde er
own lmaglnlngs was good
Allce Wood ls nelLer an ugly nor a plaln looklng woman ln
facL se ls a rare beauLy Many Llmes as se been
approaced by men wo ave been Lransflxed elLer by er
porcelaln skln or er seemlngly mulLlcoloured eyes Lac
Llme Ley ask er name or were se's from se flxes Lem
wlL suc a pallld glance LaL Ley reLreaL back Lo Lelr
frlends uo noL geL me wrong se as ad lnLlmaLe
relaLlonslps wlL men buL deemed Le acL of lovemaklng
Loo dull Se never galned pleasure and alLoug aLLracLed
Lo Lese men belleves LaL Ley only wanLed er because
se dldn'L Lalk and ls of a beauLeous naLure
Allce wasn'L exacLly emoLlonless se ad spenL many nlgLs
weeplng lnLo er plllow Se bullL up Le emoLlons lnslde of
er and ln one sweeplng moLlon leL's go of lL once every
Lree monLs Se'd cuddle er Leddles and lgnore Le
worldbuL se normally lgnored lL so LaL dldn'L make muc
dlfference Se was qulLe roboLlc ln er LrlmonLly
cleanslng lL was always on a cerLaln day ln a cerLaln secLlon
of er room Se was Lankful LaL se ad enoug money Lo
renL er own flaL by erself lf se ad a roommaLe Len LaL
would only compllcaLe er already complex llfe Allce
preferred lsolaLlon lL sulLed er more lf se was always
surrounded by people se was sure se would lose er mlnd
Se dldn'L mlnd anlmals no anlmals se could be ln consLanL
company of 1ey couldn'L Lalk and once Lralned were
perfecLly neaL and conLrollable companlons
ln er mlnd se llved a llfe of clvalry and fanLasy ?ou see ln
er mlnd Allce could express any emoLlon avallable Lo man
klnd lL was [usL ln reallLy se sLruggled Lo express anyLlng
oLer Lan a reasonable level of dullness lL was always a
core for er Lo Llnk aL Le emoLlonal level of a Lwoyear
old Lven as a clld er parenLs found lL odd ow deLaced
se was Lo Le world 1ey'd Lrled enrolllng er ln dlfferenL
afLerscool acLlvlLles Lrylng Lo geL er Lo soclallse buL se
refused Lo lf se was forced Lo speak se'd do lL ln suc a
dlsorlenLaLed and monoLone volce LaL many clldren
Lended Lo fear er
*******
And so we come Lo Le cold wlnLer LaL canged Allce's llfe
As prevlously sLaLed we flrsL see er uddled by an elecLrlc
eaLer ln Le local llbrary Per nose was drlpplng from Le
raln ouLslde and se could barely sLop saklng Se sLlll
someow found lL bearable Lo conLlnue readlng er book
Allce ls waL many would call an enlgma you can never fully
undersLand er or even er exlsLence Se dldn'L seem Lo
ave a purpose Wen Allce flnlsed er capLer se
bookmarked er page and made er way back Lo er flaL 1e
raln and cold aLLacked er walfls body as se walked Le Len
mlnuLes ome
1e nexL day ls of slgnlflcanL lmporLance 1ls was Le day
Allce found someLlng ?ou see Allce never flnds anyLlng
Llngs are [usL glven Lo er Per enLlre llfe se asked for
Llngs and Ley were [usL anded Lo er on a sllver plaLLer
noL llLerally buL you geL my meanlng 8uL l dlgress Lls was
Le day Allce flnds Le key Lven Loug lL doesn'L look llke
one lL was Le key Lo unlmaglnable Llngs 8uL we wlll come
onLo Lls aL a laLer sLage
Allce was saL by a wlndow wlle er Lnglls lecLurer droned
on abouL Sakespeare Se [usL sLared absenLmlndedly
Lroug Le frosLy panes of glass Sakespeare was a
playwrlgL Allce normally en[oyed buL Loday se felL
sLrangely dlslocaLed from even er normally dlsLanL reallLy
Per pale flngers Lraced lmages of fae onLo Le glass and se
breaLed eavlly agalnsL Le lmage Lo lmmorLallze lL even lf
only for a few more seconds Se found LaL Le arder se
sLared Le more Le lmages seemed Lo move wlngs
fllLLered eyes wlnked and mouLs moved soundlessly An
lmage suddenly [umped ouL aL eror so se LougL and
er and pused agalnsL Le wall 1e wall gave way under
er flngers noL Le wole wall buL [usL a small secLlon
Allce breaLed a llLLle fasLer exclLemenL sendlng er earL
beaLlng [usL a blL more Lan usual Se looked around slowly
and seelng LaL no one ad noLlced Lls Lurn of evenLs
proceeded Lo sLreLc er and lnLo Le ole ?ou see Allce
never LougL of consequences se dldn'L really Llnk abouL
anyLlng Per flngers brused a cold exLerlor and se
unconsclously suddered Per flngers probed Lls new
sensaLlon genLly runnlng over Le edges unLll se knew
were lL sLarLed and lL ended Per flngerLlps exLended over
Le ob[ecL and drew lL ouL parL way so LaL a fragmenL of lL
was lgllgLed by Le dlm llgL LaL sone ln Le room A
small smlle curved er llps wlc was rare for Allce and se
recognlzed Le ob[ecL as some sorL of anLlque box
lL was small ln sape rounded aL Le edges Allce Lraced Le
deslgn on Le box a floral paLLern of mosLly lvy wlc
seemed Lo be goldplaLed buL se wasn'L enLlrely sure lL
was eavy and wen se wenL Lo ease lL enLlrely ouL of lLs
ldlng place se ad Lo use boL ands 1e weak llgLlng
made Le box seem almosL Lwlned by sadowan odd lmage
buL LaL ls Le only descrlpLlon Allce could raLlonallse ln er
mlnd 1ere was a small clasp aL Le fronL of Le box buL
Allce felL lL would be wrong Lo open lL ln publlc lL seemed
almosL Loo lnLlmaLe and acL Lo be dolng saL down aL er desk
And sowen er lecLurer flnlsed speaklng and dlsmlssed
Lem all Allce slld er new ob[ecL of lnLeresL lnLo er
rucksack and made er way Lo lunc lL only Look an our for
er Lo forgeL LaL se'd found Le box buL Lere was a
consLanL nagglng ln er braln as lf Lere was someLlng se
needed Lo do lL wasn'L unLll se ad flnlsed er remalnlng
lecLures and was flnally ome LaL se remembered Le box
ln er bag SlLLlng crosslegged on er bed se brougL lL ouL
of er bag placlng lL on Le bed Se never undersLood wy
er ands sook as se wenL Lo open Le box buL sook Ley
dld Per frozen flngerLlps fumbled wlL Le clasp and lL Look
er nearly Len mlnuLes Lo galn even a weak grasp of lL CenLly
se ralsed Le clasp er earL raclng and er vlslon sllgLly
blurred lL was lf er llfe depended on waL lay lnslde Lls
mysLlfylng box







apLer 2
lL ls no surprlse LaL noLlng appened wen Allce opened
Le box ln facL se was qulLe relleved AL Le very mosL se
supposed LaL a few dead splders or some documenLs would
be ln resldence of Le box buL looklng aL lLs bare lnLerlors
noL even LaL occupled lL lL was dusLy and seemed rldden
wlL mlnlaLure oles mosL probably creaLed by woodworms
Allce blew away Le dusL some wenL up er nose and se
sneezed loudly ln er room Allce slged and lay back on er
bed Le box perced neaLly on er sLomac Se couldn'L for
Le llfe of er undersLand wy se ad become so exclLed
over a box noLlng and no one ad ever peaked er
aLLenLlon as Lls box ad Se closed Le lld and Lurned Le
box over runnlng er flngers over all Le llLLle oles
lL Look er around LwenLy mlnuLes Lo noLlce a paLLern ln Le
oles lL was only wen lL felL llke er flngers ad Lraced Le
leLLer 'L' LaL se consclously sLarLed searclng for oLer
leLLers Se qulckly dlscovered elgLeen more caracLers
Allce [olned Lem up addlng spaces were se deemed
necessary er flnal resulL was followlng message
#All ls noL waL lL seems"
Se sLared blankly aL Le box er mlnd worklng franLlcally Lo
raLlonallse Le message Allce seLLled for bellevlng LaL
woever ad drllled Le oles ln Le box ad only Le goal Lo
mess wlL people's mlnds lL ad cerLalnly messed wlL er
own mlnd lL ad senL er lnLo a Lemporary panlc 1ere
were words wlc made Allce weary and Lose slx words
cerLalnly ad LaL effecL on er Se dldn'L know ow Lo
process Le words Ley ad no place ln er reallLy ln Allce's
reallLy everyLlng could be raLlonallsed down even Lo Le
smallesL fragmenL 8uL ln er fanLasy noLlng was
raLlonallsed lL [usL exlsLed
Allce doesn'L usually cope wlL lrraLlonal evenLs Per braln
can'L process lL properly 8uL wlL obsLacles ln er llfe LaL
are lrraLlonal se as Lralned erself Lo reacL ln a more
raLlonal way Lan lf se was purely golng on lnsLlncLs lL
confused people wen se acLed so cold ln slLuaLlons were
a ug or comforLlng words are needed 1ls made er
enemles Many many enemles Lven Lo Lls day Allce never
undersLood wy people desplsed er so lL never occurred Lo
er LaL se was an unllkeable person because ln er fanLasy
se was Le mosL llkeable person one could lmaglne
lL ls qulLe normal for a person Lo creaLe Lelr own lmaglnary
world lL ls even more normal for someone Lo belleve LaL
Lelr personallLy sLays Le same beLween Lose worlds ln
Le case of Allce WoodlL does noL ln er fanLasy were
se Lakes Le leadlng role Allce ls a erolne noL only ls se
deslred by all Le men buL se as sexual experlences LaL
lronlcally se can only dream of Se as bravery
commlLmenL Lo emoLlon and love lf you were Lo ask any of
Allce's 'frlends' ln Le real world Len Ley would assure you
LaL Allce was noL capable of love 8uL ln Allce's llLLle nalve
braln se loved as muc as Le nexL person
As l sLaLed before Lere ls no real Lrauma LaL made Allce
reverL lnLo a fanLasy worldbuL ow could we know waL
appened Lo er ln er clldood fanLasy world? All clldren
dream of faerles and gobllns and Allce was no dlfferenL 1o
know wy se sLopped bellevlng ln Le real world would
requlre one Lo searc Lroug er fanLasy memorles wlc
unforLunaLely are noL posslble Lo access ?ou could ask Allce
erself buL even Lo Lls day se re[ecLs any noLlon LaL se
belleved or sLlll belleves ln a makebelleve world Powever
Le one Llme se conflded ln someone abouL Le advenLures
se ad ln er llLLle world Ley called er crazy and from
LaL day se never spoke a word abouL lL Lo anybody
1e very ldea of belng abnormal scared er buL ln acLual
facL Allce was Le mosL abnormal young woman you wlll
ever meeL Se was roboLlc emoLlonally unavallable and
reverLed Lo quoLlng Sakespeare wen se was nervous
1ese quallLles dld noL lle ln Le average uman personallLy
and Ley seemed naLural ln Le sell wlc was Allce Wood
Se never saw erself as dlfferenL and Lo Lls day sLlll
doesn'L Lven afLer all Le Llngs se's seen even afLer all Le
Llngs se's done se sLlll sees erself as [usL anoLer
survlvor of adolescence Per wole llfe was lronlc Se llved
ln consLanL conLradlcLlons and paradoxes
*******
So se lay on er bed agaln readlng Le only book LaL
appealed Lo er Allce ln Wonderland Se belleved LaL lL
reflecLed er llfe a Lale of a young glrl LrusL lnLo fanLasy
wen se knew LaL back ln Le real world no one would
belleve er Se'd ad Lls book for nearly elgLeen of er
LwenLyone years And afLer all Lls Llme lL ad survlved
waLer sand coffee and consLanL ugglng Se never LougL
aead Lo Le day were Le book would [usL fall aparL se
never wanLed Lo Llnk of LaL dark day were se would
ave Lo replace er prlceless copy 1e book was er llfe and
se relled on lL for moral guldance WlLouL LaL book Allce
doubLed se would ave made lL Lls far ln boL er reallLy
and er fanLasy
Allce could wrlLe essay afLer essay abouL Le madeup world
of Wonderland buL se refralned from dolng sose
belleved LaL formallslng Le book would make lL less
lmporLanL and more reallsLlc 1e one properLy of Le book
Allce loved was ow lL remalned flcLlon even wen lL
swlLced Lo Le real world lL sLlll eld lL's fanLasy wlc ls
waL Allce wanLed Lo appen ln er llfe buL se knew LaL
would never appen Per llfe was Loo reallsLlc for lL Lo ever
become fanLasy and se ad glven up years before of Le
ldea LaL maybe fanLasy could be real
uo noL Llnk l ave forgoLLen abouL Le box reader 1e box
saL on er bedslde Lable closed and undlsLurbed any furLer
Allce ad placed lL Lere afLer reallslng se was becomlng a
blL Loo obsessed wlL Le mysLery of Le box Se dldn'L
expecL any flaslng llgLs or maglcal creaLures Lo fly ouL of lL
Se was qulLe conLenL wlL lL belng [usL a box Se reallsed
LaL lf er fanLasy and er reallLy were Lo form Len Lere
would be no escape for er lL would be an eLernal ell for
er 1ls ls ow lL came Lo be LaL se ad made Le box [usL
a box Se rld er mlnd of any fanLasy LaL was companloned
wlL Le box 1e box ad Lo be a real lLem noL one wlc
could exerclse er Lendencles Lo delve lnLo fanLasy
lf lL ls any consolaLlon reader Allce knew enoug abouL
fanLasy Lo reallse LaL lL could never exlsL ln Le uman
world lf Loday's uman populaLlon llved wlL Le creaLures
of fanLasy Len Le creaLures would be exLlncL Powever evll
of damned Ley may be even Allce knew LaL Lo wlpe ouL a
race would never beneflL anyone ln facL lL would only cause
a rebelllon beLween Le umans and Le remalnlng
creaLures 1e world ad ad enoug bloodsed for one
mlllennlum and wlL a war sLlll belng fougL for only Le
proflL of oll and land Allce recognlsed Le greed LaL lnfesLed
Le land Pumans would wanL powers and Lose powers
would come from Le creaLures
As se fell asleep grlpplng er LaLLered book Allce wondered
lf er llfe could ever become llke one of er fanLasles LlLLle
dld se know LaL once se fell asleep ln Lls world se may
never wake back up ln lL











Chapter 3
A wlLe furry face overed above Allce wen se awoke lLs
wlskers Llckled er ceek and er eyes soL wlde A rabblL
snowwlLe ln colour sLared down aL er C all er Llme
readlng Allce ln Wonderland se never acLually LougL
se'd be ln Lls predlcamenL Wo wakes up wlL a rabblL
above Lelr ead? noL many people lL scared erand Allce
scuLLled back agalnsL Le wall sLlll alfconsclous 1e rabblL
opped applly Lowards er even as se reeled back ln fear
#SLay sLlll uman" Le 8abblL muLLered ln a deep
overbearlng Lone Allce fougL back a scream Per ands
saklng as se Lrled Lo flnd someLlng Lo fend off Le
creaLure buL se found noLlng lL moved closer and closer
Lo er and se Lrembled unconLrollably Allce crledse
wasn'L used Lo suc dlfferenL Lurn of evenLs lL frlgLened er
because se dldn'L know waL Lo doLls sorL of Llng only
appened ln er fanLasy noL er reallLy Maybe se was sLlll
asleep? Se Lrled Lo plnc erself buL only managed Lo brulse
er own arm #Puman [usL sLay sLlll l won'L eaL you"
Allce managed Lo flnd er volce and answered Le creaLure
#Pow can l know LaL? ?ou are a curlous Llng LaL l don'L
undersLand ?ou could [usL be bldlng your Llme" Se sLared
aL lL back agalnsL Le wall and se flnally screamed lL was a
loud srlll scream LaL made even er ears urL Per vlslon
blurred buL se could fully see a LransformaLlon Laklng place
ln fronL of er eyes
?ou see Allce knew Lls was no ordlnary anlmal l Llnk
everyone can see LaL buL Allce saw someLlng ln lLs eyes lL
eld mallce and grace ln lLs gaze lL was lf Lls creaLure was
nelLer good nor evll 8uL Le LransformaLlon of Lls
anlmallL was waL one would conslder gory and unnaLural
AL flrsL lLs fur Lurned carcoal blank Len bones began Lo
crack Allce ad Lo cover er ears Lo sLop Le nolse from
maklng er eyes waLer Se waLced Lroug narrow eyes as
se couldn'L bear Lo waLc fully lLs Lall grew longer Le back
becomlng more rlgld and Le general frame becomlng more
sleek and sLreamllned 1e eyes owever alLoug canglng
from an orange Lo a brlgL green sLlll eld Lelr dlverslLy
All ln all Le LransformaLlon lasLed only around Lwo mlnuLes
buL Lo Allce lL lasLed ours 1e end resulL? A sleek black caL
no Laller Lan er calf Allce saL speecless eyes unnaLurally
wlde as se [usL gawped aL Le creaLure #WwaL are you?"
lL slgedsLreLclng lLs lnd legs and Len sLreLclng lLs
fronL legs 1e caL's back rlppllng as lL moved
#l am a ooka l am a sape slfLer" lL llcked lLs paw
dellcaLely #Paven'L you ever seen one of my klnd before?"
Allce sook er ead nervously #?ou are a curlous uman
you reacL ln ways l've never seen a uman reacL wlL
before"
#Pow do you mean Mr?"
Pe Lurned and sLared er ln Le face #Le name ls
Skylar[usL Skylar" A sllgL LwlLc ln ls wlskers sowed
LaL e was smlllng Pe paced slowly ln fronL of er #Would
you raLer l was ln a uman form? Cr ls Le caL good
enoug?"
#l'm ok wlL your caL form SkylaralLoug l ave one
quesLlon Were am l?"
Pe slged agaln and casually saL down beslde er #you are ln
a world were evll relgns 1ere ls only nlgL ere and yeL no
moon slnes no sLars fllcker ln Le sky and Le only llgL you
wlll geL ls from flres llL by Le many creaLures ln Lls plane
Lven l wonder ow suc a uman ended up erebuL Le
owers work ln suc mysLerlous ways ?ou are new Lo our
ways and our specles no wonder you reacLed ln suc a way"
Pls eyes bored lnLo ers and se felL sLrangely compelled Lo
reac ouL er and and sLroke ls furas er flngers brused
ls carcoal fur e slvered unconsclously #WlL Le fur
noL agalnsL lL"
Allce blused and apologlsed sLroklng agaln buL as Skylar
ad polnLed ouL se do se sLroked wlL Le fur Pe purred
klndly and for [usL a momenL Allce LougL of lm as a real
caL noL a sape slfLer #or a momenL l belleved you were a
real caLlL was qulLe comforLlng"
Pe sLared aL er #l could suL up and play dumb lf you wanL
a real caL"
#C no lL's alrlgL l prefer a Lalklng caL Lo one only wanLlng
my company for food or warmL" se sald nervously Se
rummaged ln er bag wlc se ad prevlously found lylng
nexL Lo er and produced a boLLle of waLer As se drank se
felL Skylar's eyes lnvade er personal space and se sLopped
#WaL ls lL?"
Pe paced a llLLle around er legs #o noLlng uman lL's
[usL l do noL know your name"
#Pow rude of me Skylarmy name ls Allce Wood" Pe
lauged a llLLle
#An Allce? Many an Allce as Lravelled Lroug Lls realm all
descendanLs of Le orlglnal Allce ?ou may know of
erLere ls a book named afLer er" Allce fumbled lnLo er
bag agaln and brougL ouL a book
#ls Lls Le book?" Skylar cecked over Le book and nodded
#orrecL rlgL down Lo waL se was wearlng So l suppose
young uman LaL you ave eard of our orlglnal Allce?"
#Cf course se ls my role model Pow suc a small glrl could
survlve suc a dlfferenL llfe ls above me Are you Lelllng me
LaL se was ere?" Allce ad a look of awe on er face er
flngers genLly sLroklng Le splne of Le book
#?es and l ad Le pleasure of meeLlng LaL Allce and all Le
oLers ?ou see my name Skylar means SelLer And all Le
Allce's come Lo me for safeLy lL's lronlc My naLure ls one of
blood and fles lf l was Lo LasLe elLer of Lem rlgL now l
would noL sLop unLll all my forms were saLlsfled And l musL
warn youLaL would Lake years" Pe [umped on er leg
causlng er Lo [erk a llLLle #l prefer vegeLables anyow lL ls a
LruL unlversally acknowledged LaL wen a ooka ls
ungry for blood noLlng can sLop lL" Pe slged forlornly
and [umped from er lap onLo a nearby Lree sLump #l
suppose we beLLer geL you ouL of ere uman 1ls ls no
place for one as lnnocenL as you ?ou seem unLalnLed by llfe
yeL sLrangely full of wlsdom neverLeless ?ou are noL rlgL
for Lls world"
Allce sLood and gaLered er bag onLo er soulders"?es l
suppose we musL be movlng" Skylar ran Lo a Lree [usL aead
of Allce and beckoned wlL er ead Lo follow
#Allce lL ls a long [ourney LeL's ope you are prepared"