Chapter 07 Run Quick: Chased by Forest Guardians

The Lost One in Alice's Garden

ARC 2 Clover Forest

Chapter 07 Run Quick: Chased by Forest Guardians

Without doing so much as to rest, the girl without memories left the still bickering couple and laughing maniac, continuing her journey to search for her companion. Despite Cheshire's claim that Shiro might be actually planning on offering her to the Man-Eating Tiger, she still worried for the lad. Things between them are still not clear, so being left behind and hanging, the girl just chose to at least meet up with him; and whatever the truth she would accept it and the rest will be up to her future self.

'Strange...' she thought noticing her surrounding—okay let's rephrase that—some things were following her.

Definitely not Cheshire, the fella is quiet on his steps, unlike these fellas that are too obvious.

Not Elise either, that girl has an ability to disappear in thin air, and she doubted that the said girl would have heavy footsteps, considering her small built.

Hatter and his friends were also out of option. There's no merit for them to follow her, although she couldn't able to pay Hatter's help last time, but since they are bickering like a old married couple she couldn't help but to excused herself and give them some privacy.

That being said, then just what are those things that tailing her?

Are there possibilities of huge animals here? The conclusion? Possible. Knowing there is a man-eating tiger, plants that can talk and has faces of human and the animals that can also talk, treats that flying and running around the table and people with animal features.

Huge—probably gigantic animals has possibility to exist in this world.

She didn't stop in walking or take a look at those, as far as she can tell they are not chasing her and just like her they also walking; but she's sure that those things are following her.

She can tell, after all she already tried taking detours just to check their behaviour; and yes, as creepy as its sound they are really after her.

She fasten her pace, hoping this time she'll lost these bunch.

She fasten her pace but they didn't—good, she can lost them in no time—or so she thought, half a hour have passed and yet they're still tailing her.

Her fast pace turns into full sprint as she tries to escape from them but as soon as she dash away the things were started to chase her in their own heavy pace.

They have very long stone bodies, arms and legs, an eye on their stone heads.

Golems. Why are they chasing her is the question, but for now she will forget that and continue on running away from them.

The chasing went on until they arrived at a river; quickly she search for a way to escape from them permanently.

She turns to both sides of the streaming water, and if she's lucky these rocks won't cross it just to catch her.

Without hesitation she soak her foot on the streaming water and went to the middle, she turns to the Golems trying to see if they would follow. The maiden blinks her eyes seeing they finally stop and stayed at the shore, making her sighs in relief.

What a stupid idea she come across with; she's really poor at judging people. 'That really earlier to be feel relief. I'm so stupid! Just because they just stop for a minute I immediately thought that water is their weakness!'

Nightmare slowly creeping on her system seeing the Golems starting to merged themselves to the river; but the black cloud of nightmare halted and been push back by some light when she witness how they becoming lumpy at the very touch of water, the lumpiness turns into crumble until they finally broken into huge portions and permanently stop moving.

Smile supposedly cross to her face but the light once got push back by darkness when the remaining Golems use their death comrades as their path towards her.

Fear succumbs her.

She doesn't have any idea why they are chasing her; she doesn't know what they will do to her, if they going to hurt her. The very thought makes her weak, to the point her legs tremble and couldn't move.

Soon she found herself completely surrounded by the remaining Golems that were still standing atop of the dead comrades.

'What should I do…? I have no where to escape! Wait—'

She stare at the river then to them then back to the river. It may sound ridiculous but its probably the best solution and maybe the only way to survive.

One of the Golem stretches its arms towards her ready to grab but splats of water had quickly kill it. Using her hoodie that she undressed, she soak it and threw water on the other Golems, not forgetting to soak her hoodie into water every chance she could get.

She didn't know how long has she been throwing water to the golems, or how many does she defeated, nor even the number that remains but she already feel exhaustion as her legs, and her arms were starting to fall and failing her orders.

With one last strike she fell to the water, taking heavy breathes, soak with water and no longer can stand.

'This is bad... am I going to die?'

A Golem's hand grabs her neck and pull her up until her feet has no longer touching the river. She's out of breath already and now slowly and surely she losing more, it is just a matter of time before she lost her consciousness and soon, her life.

Her ash-colour orbs stares at the dull grey clouds, her body stop moving and her brain no longer giving orders; only staring at the sky as her life slowly chipping away.

Cheers and applause from huge crowd has ring to her ears.

A man slaps a young child on her cheeks, have flashes onto her very own eyes.

Next is a woman holding the same child on it's hair tightly, speaking an inaudible words.

As if she knew what are those words are, tears started to leaked out from her eyes. She's stopped struggling ultimately, finally giving up.

'It might much better... I guess...'

Just as the last drop of her tears joins the river's water, someone's loud voice wakes her up from dead.

"OI DON'T SLEEP!!!" Her eyes opens and attempts to see who is that person that interrupting her entering the eternal slumber; her eyes didn't fail on their search as they found "him" standing at the river's bank, with proud smirk on his face. "AND YOU SHOULDN'T LEAVE WITHOUT A WORD!!!" he shouted.

He doesn't need any response from her seeing what terrible predicament she currently in. Hatter started to flew in the air along with some huge rocks behind him.

She no longer witness the next events as she lost consciousness due to fatigue.

Clank* clank* clank*

Along with muffled crying, the noise from hammer hitting a metal is echoing throughout the dark small cold cell. The source of crying has turn out to be a young boy, hands were chained to the wall while his toe is being nailed to the floor.

He keep repeating words of pleads to the older man that holding the hammer, but the man ignore his cries as he deepening the nail on the flesh and his blood colouring the cold cemented floor.