Kenny ran over and stood in front of Malcolm, making him stop. “What did you say?”
“Howard’s dead. Bill attacked the Red and White Kingdom and they killed him,” Malcolm explained.
Kenny shook his head. “No, that can’t be possible.”
Malcolm shoved past him. “Well, it is.”
“Then he finally woke up as a butterfly. His dream has come true.” Kenny stood there for a long moment, staring at us as we walked into the woods. I didn’t particularly want to go, especially if Kenny, of all people, feared going inside, but what choice did I have? It wasn’t like I could simply join Kenny without worrying about Morpheus finding us. Hell, this place had to be better than that Circus, nothing could be worse than one’s own fears right? As I thought about that, I heard a screeching sound come from deep within the forest. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I agreed with Kenny and wanted to get the hell away from here.
As we kept walking, I could hear Kenny pacing back and forth, the leaves crunching under his shoes. At least, I hoped they were leaves, couldn’t really tell with all the mist that seemed to swallow our feet whole.
All of a sudden Kenny appeared next to us. “Fine, I will help, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Everyone became quiet as we pressed further into the Dark Forest. I didn’t realize that we hadn’t quite entered the forest until now. It had already been so eerie that I couldn't believe it could get worse. It was like a haunted mansion except all outdoors. First off, cobwebs everywhere, the size of yarn. I did not want to see what those spiders looked like. Moss blanketed practically everything in the area, and trees, although thick and blocked out the sun, were practically leafless and I swore some of them were glaring at me.
The ground was slippery and I really wished I could see where I was walking. I felt as if at any moment I could step into quick sand like in Princess Bride. This place was horrible, and quite quiet now that we had gone deeper and deeper. I couldn’t stand the silence.
“Have any of you heard of Princess Bride?” I asked. “I mean, I just really hope that there’s no R.O.U.S.’, you know, rodents of unusual size?”
Davis gave me the most horrified look I had ever seen. At first, I had no idea why he was looking at me like that, then it hit me.
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean… Davis I’m sorry…”
He put his head down, as if ashamed he was a dormouse. I felt like such an ass. He was a rodent in Wonderland and was probably picked on about it and I had just made matters worse. Chase simply laughed.
“Now that was funny, Alice! I didn’t know you had it in you.”
I really didn’t, I wasn’t even thinking about it when I said it. I decided to keep my mouth shut for a while and just hope that Davis would forgive me.
As we kept walking, the fog started to clear. I was thankful that I finally could see the ground. This area was covered in grass and flowers were spread out all around. It was quite gorgeous, in a very creepy sort of way.
Out of nowhere, I started to hear voices, of children to be exact, singing. It echoed around me, bouncing off all of the trees, making it so I could’t figure out the direction it came from. I glanced at the others, wondering if they could hear it or if it was just in my head. None of them seemed to be bothered by it. I tried to ignore it, blaming my mind for making things up. But it kept persisting, the strange lullaby echoing through the forest. I could even see the tall grass and flowers sway to the rhythm.
“What’s that singing?” I finally asked, persuaded that I couldn’t be the only one hearing it.
“Ignore it, just ignore it. Don’t let the words form in your mind,” Malcolm warned. “Cover your ears if you need to, but it might not help, you just need to let your mind ignore it.”
I nodded, trying my best to ignore the singing, but it was nearly impossible. With every step I took, it got louder and louder, even when I covered my ears with my hands I could still hear it. It was that persistent. My mind couldn’t do it any longer and before I knew it, the voices had gained formation in my head.
“Listen to our song, most majestic one, it’s just a little tune, to make anyone swoon. A lullaby just for you, help you sleep most precious Sue,” whatever it was sang in an innocent, child-like voice.
My body became tired, weak, as if my energy was being sucked dry. I couldn’t think straight, everything started to turn into a blur. How could I become so sleepy at a time like this, it made no sense. But the thought of a soft, comfy bed was to die for. All I wanted to do was curl up with a blanket next to the fire, snow falling outside gently as the smell of cocoa came from the kitchen. It was perfect, something I just wanted to dream about and the more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself that if I fell asleep right now, I could enjoy it. I started to collapse on the ground when someone grabbed me.
“Up we go.” Kenny pulled me up on his back to carry me. I didn’t resist but simply rested my head on his shoulder. “Don’t fall asleep, never fall asleep with that disastrous tune in your head. Bloody
