Death of the Mad Hatter (31 page)

C
HAPTER
F
IFTY-
E
IGHT

(
Ryley: Present Time in Wonderland)

The Red Court’s dungeon wasn’t the stereotypical dungeon. It wasn’t concrete or made of stone. Water didn’t drip from cracks in the ceiling. Chains didn’t dangle from the walls—scratch that. They did. I just spotted one across the room next to the bird cages. One was big enough for me to fit in. I thanked my luck
y stars that I wasn’t occupying it. My hands were tied behind my back and my legs were shackled. Given that my body was burned and my clothes were tattered, I looked the part of a common criminal. 

The underground room
 looked more like a demented children’s room rather than a place to keep prisoners. A painting of a circus scene was drawn on the floor, but it was difficult to make out the picture entirely due to the fact that it was covered with large piles of sand. Three bases and a home plate were laid out, making it appear like a baseball field. The bases and home plate were nailed down with railroad spikes that jutted up from the floor. Toys lay on the floor. I counted eleven different size balls, including a bowling ball, a yo-yo, countless cards, jacks, toy soldiers, and a bungee cord that hung from the ceiling. The bungee cord hung close to a red fire pole that dropped down from a circular hole in the ceiling. Other than that hole, I saw no other way out of the room.

On one side of the room was a theatrical stage. The black curtains were drawn.
A bouncy-castle holding hundreds of red balls was next to it. Spider webs made up nets that extended to the ceiling. The entire ball pit was crawling with spiders. It was my nightmare: trapped in a hole surrounded by spiders. Sitting in a rocking chair next to it was an old hag knitting a blue scarf. I had to blink several times to make out what she was using for thread—spider’s silk.

“
Miss, can you free me?” I asked, raising my feet in the air so she could see the shackles.

The hag set her knitting down and walked over to me
, dragging a ball and chain behind her. “His locks are impervious to everyone unless he teaches them how to break it, Mad Hatter.”

“Name’s Ryley.”

“But you are known by many other names, boy with the girl’s name,” she said, coming closer. “The Heir. The,
second
, Mad Hatter. Nicknames and aliases are just as important as true names, maybe even more important.”

“What’s your name?”

“Genevine. I’m the infamous seamstress.”

H
er clothes were stained; they had some resemblance of what Alice Mae would wear. The cloth appeared expensive, minus the stains. Spiders crawled from her hair and crept over her clothes. I shuddered in disgust, but managed to keep the repulsed thoughts from being expressed on my face.

“
After the beheading of M.H, Hearts decided she wanted to keep a closer watch on me. I’ve been living in this place ever since.” Her wild hair hid much of her face, but a glimpse of sorrow showed in her eyes. “You would have liked your uncle, Eddie. It’s a pity Hearts killed him before you were born. But, I suppose if you ever want to see him, all you have to do is look in the mirror.”

“You knew my uncle?”

“He’s about as bright as that girl,” said a spider riding on her shoulder.

“Oh hush, Alfred
. He knows nothing about the love Eddie and I had before the queen killed him,” Genevine said to the spider.

“You are the reason that the king lost his head?” I asked.

“See, I told you that Robby told him nothing about Wonderland,” Genevine said. “Any information he knows is only because Al told him.”

“Where is Alice Mae?” I asked, hoping she fended better than I had. At least she had the bat for protection. Hopefully, it did her a little bit of good.

A clang drove my attention to the floor below the circular hole in the ceiling. My bat, “slightly” altered, lay on the floor. Rusty nails had been hammered through the bat, sticking out in all directions. Only a narrow spot at the end was nail-free.

“No point in wondering where Al is at now,” Genevine whispered. “You have a date with destiny.”

“I’m not going to die in this madhouse,” I said.

“That will be a true tragedy then,”
Alfred said. “Because then the madness will never stop.”

“Bottom’s up!”
The Joker yelled from the ceiling.

Genevine looked up at the ceiling and cursed. I liked her a little more because of that. “Do you love Al—really love her?”

“Enough to come to this hell-hole and keep her from dancing to her death,” I replied.

“The Hare convinced you then, that the impossible was possible—like stopping time or that love was worth a beheading?” Genevine asked, watching the Joker slid down the pole.

I rolled my eyes. Why did everyone insist on talking in riddles? “I swear that loving Alice Mae is impossible.”

“Yet
, you do?” Alfred said, looking at me with all his eyes.

“Yes.”

“Then I shall tell the others.”

“
Tell the others what?”

“
That the impossible has been done,” Genevine said and hurried away to her place by the bouncy castle.

When
the Joker reached the floor, he raised his hands in the air as if to say
ta-da
. He pranced around in a baseball uniform that could have been on exhibit at a museum.

“That was a nifty trick you did, flipping the bat in the air, care to show me?” the Joker asked.
 

“I would
, but my hands are in shackles.”

“Oh, I can fix that,” he said, pulling a bobby pin from his sleeve.
 

As he picked the lock, I contemplated climbing the pole to escape, which didn’t sound enjoyable since my hands were burned. I glanced over at the chair where Genevine had been sitting. She was gone, as
was every single spider from the bouncy castle. Where had they gone?

The Joker leaned in close and whispered in my ear. “I can practically hear you
r screaming thoughts of escape. It’s been quite some time since I had such an enthusiastic playmate. Genevine refuses to play with me. She’d rather hide in the castle I made for her. So
 
please,
 
try to escape. I have so many neglected toys I’ve been dying to play with.”

“Why did you make her a bouncy castle?” I asked, hoping to distract him.

“Well, she wanted to be queen, after all. Bump Hearts off the throne and marry Eddie. So, I thought it only fitting she should have a castle to live in when she’s not making exquisite dresses for Hearts.”

“She makes dresses for Hearts?”

“Well, she is the most talented seamstress since M.H. choked on a blade.”

The lock clicked. My hands were free. Before standing up, I weighed my options. The madman clearly wanted someone to torture, and I had no intention of being said person.
I pointed to the shackles around my feet. 

“Think you could work your magic on these?”

“I could,” he said. His smile lost its charm when he snarled. “But I won’t. Odds won’t be in my favor.”

He walked over to the
staged area and pulled back the curtain. It revealed a large collection of knives, swords, and disfigured blades.
The Wall of Weapons
was written across the top. He unveiled an object the size of a piano. Underneath it was a large chopping blade—the guillotine.

I shuffled over to my deformed bat. I p
icked it up, testing the weight.

“Do you like the modifications?” the Joker asked
, watching me with curiosity.

“I don’
t think a ball will recoil quite as nice when hit,” I said.

“Shall we test it out?” the Joker asked and th
rew a pink bouncy ball. 

Instinctually
, I got into batting stance and swung at the ball. Pink gel burst from the ball, covering me in jelly. It burned upon contact. It ate through my clothes, but I was more concerned about the gel melting my skin. Swearing under my breath, I charged the Joker. The madman laughed and wiggled his finger at me, encouraging me to strike him.

When he was an arm’s reach away, I swung. He chucked a smoke bomb by his feet and disappeared. My bat hi
t nothing. He reappeared on the third base and waved.

Even though I didn’t know where Alice Mae was, she still managed to crawl into my mind. I couldn’t imag
ine her playing in this demented place with the Joker. I recalled that he kept her here long enough that she couldn’t return home without having to rely on candies to function. He tortured her! Ruined her life! Wrecked her childhood! He manipulated her!

I never thought myself to be a killer, but I promised that I would end this madman’s life. I could do that for Alice Mae
… if it was the last thing I’d do.

“You’re going to have to be much faster than that if you’re going to catch me, Mad Hatter.”

“I AM NOT THE MAD HATTER!”

“Then you should return his hat,” the Joker said, nodding to the purple hat still on my head. “It’s not very polite
to wear the clothing of a deadman.”

I pointed the bat at the Joker. “
You
are the deadman.”

“It’s not in the cards,” he
said, revealing a tarot card from his sleeve and flinging it at me.

As it spun in the air, it grew bigger. The paper transformed
into metal. The damn thing was a blade, and it was spinning head height.

I ducked, throwing the bat at the Joker as I fell. It stuck in
his shoulder. He laughed wildly and jerked it out. Then, he flipped it in the air and grabbed the non-pointy end. He threw another smoke bomb on the floor. He disappeared and reappeared above me.

I had a second to react before he swung the bat down on me. I grabbed the sand and threw it in his face as I kicked my feet up to stop the bat. The nails drove into my feet. Yelling out in pain, I shoved my feet into the Joker’s chest.

“You’re never going to sit on the throne!” the Joker yelled, scrambling to get away from me. “Hearts never wanted you there. It was all a ploy
to kill you once you were of age. Your death will torture your father, no matter where he calls home.”

“Yeah, I figured that one out myself,” I said, jerking the bat from my feet. It burned like a mother
!

“Have you
figured out the best part yet? Al is banished from Wonderland. And, she thinks you’re dead! She will live out her life thinking she’s responsible for your demise when in fact you get to be my play toy for all eternity! Isn’t it grand! She will be tortured with that thought!” he exclaimed giddily. “It is notable to mention that if she steps foot in this realm, for even a second, I have permission to kill her, so even if you manage to send word that you are still alive and she tries to rescue you, I have Hearts’ blessing to kill her! Anyone who sees her, or aides her in any way, will be tortured to the full extent of the law. And down here, there are no laws, Mad Hatter.”

The Joker
just made my hit list. But, I could breathe a little easier knowing that Alice Mae was safe in the Otherworld. At least I didn’t have to search this entire castle looking for her.

“Where is Hearts,
anyway?”

“
Probably bossing her cats around, but don’t worry about her. She cannot help you here,” he said. “Hearts may Reign the Red Court, but it is I who specializes in Terror. However, I assure you that she’ll hear about our first play date.”

“Lovely,” I said, sarcastically. “It’s a rather fine date we are having, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t measure up to the dates I had with Al as a young girl,” the Joker said, circling me. “She tried so hard not to shed a tear, but that made it all the more satisfying when she did finally break down. Do you know what was the most rewarding?”

“Enlighten me,” I said, and stood on my feet. Stabbing pains shot through me.
Blood pooled around me. My body was weak. My head was throbbing. But, my mind was raging.

The Joker grabbed a
yo-yo from the ground. He tested out the recoil once before bothering to look up at me. “That she’s exactly like me even though she fights her manipulative nature. She’s like a daughter.”

I charged
him again, swinging the bat like a lunatic. The Joker walked backwards, light on his toes as he anticipated my moves. We edged closer and closer to the Wall of Weapons. On the follow-through I released the bat—this time at his feet. It hit his ankles, tripping him. Just as he collided into the weapons, he released the yo-yo. The string wrapped around my neck. Falling to my knees, I grabbed at the string, but it kept sinking deeper and deeper into my skin. 

My body went li
mp. The world felt weightless as my head teetered on my shoulders. The last person I saw before darkness clouded my vision was the Joker, dead against the wall looking much like a pin-cushion.