MISC: The Great Alice, Chapter 5: The Next Encounter

[James Mason]

                             The Great Alice
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                      Chapter 5: The Next Encounter

   After getting to the top of the stairs again, Alice walked through the
doorway there. On the other side was an empty room, with only a door on
the opposite wall.

   Huh, thought Alice. I was expecting that... person? To be here. Eh, I
don't feel like talking to them now anyway.

   Alice opened the door and beyond it was a sunny playground. I don't
know what I was expecting, she thought.

   Alice walked towards the playground but stopped when she reached a
tree. She'd noticed something odd about it. She was already there,
sitting under it with a friend of hers. This was my elementary school,
she thought.

   "Alice?" her friend Lucy asked.

   "Yeah?" responded the younger Alice that was under the tree.

   "I don't want to go home."

   "Why is that?" asked Alice.

   "I want to stay here with you," Lucy said.

   "I want to stay with you too!" said the younger Alice. "Can I come
over to your house?"

   "...you can't," Lucy choked.

   "Why?"

   "You just can't, okay!" Lucy shouted.

   "Lucy - are you okay?"

   "...no," Lucy said.

   "What's wrong?"

   "I'm moving." Lucy said.

   "Oh! Where are you moving to?"

   "Somewhere in Virginia," Lucy said, getting closer to the Alice under
the tree.

   "I--"

   Alice couldn't say anything before Lucy interrupted. "I want to move
in with you!"

   "Um--"

   "Alice!"

   "I, I don't know if I can! When are you moving?"

   "In two weeks! Please!"

   "Okay! ...okay. I'll tell my parents," the younger Alice said.

   "Thank you, Alice!" Lucy said tearfully.

   They both got up and walked past the school.

   I wasn't able to do anything, thought the older Alice. I told my
parents, but they said "Even if we wanted to, we can't provide for her."
Lucy really wanted to be with me. I'm sure that wherever she is now and
whoever's she's with now she's probably happy, but still.

   Just then, a shadowy figure stood up from the shade of the tree. It
leaped out and attempted to thrust its hand into Alice's chest. Alice
jumped out of the way, thinking, Dang these things are tricky. Did it
set up this whole thing just to get me? I would say sorry but no.

   The shadowy figure's attacks were quick and relentless, constantly
aiming for the chest. Alice barely had time to dodge. She was able to
grab and hold its arms for a while, but it took a lot of strength to
struggle with it and the figure didn't seem like it was getting tired.

   Have to do something! Wait, the school walls! Alice pushed its arms
away and dashed across the playground and around the side of the school,
the figure barely a step behind.

   With expert grace and agility, Alice jumped on the wall and ran along
it. The figure attempted to hit her but its arm crashed into the wall
and got stuck halfway. Alice leaped from the wall and gave it a hard
left hook, then a right, then a left again. She kept beating up the
figure until it managed to break free.

   It leaped into the air, aiming a powerful kick at Alice, but she just
barely managed to get out of the way. The figure crashed into the
ground, getting stuck even worse this time, unable to get out of its
hole.

   "Ya know, I kind of feel bad. Why are you even attacking me?" asked
Alice. "What did I do to you?"

   The figure looked up at her, its eyes full of sorrow, then looked at
the tree. It began to dissolve, fading away until only two glowing orbs
remained.

   Alice was understandably shocked and confused by this, but then she
started to think. Are those--

   Then the orbs shot into her. Knowledge that the orbs were the energy
balls she wished for rushed into her head. She lifted one of her feet
and concentrated, and an orb appeared under her feet.

   Alice got excited! She almost did a victory dance to celebrate.
However, she forgot that she had summoned one of the energy orbs under
her foot, so she slipped and fell over. She didn't feel bad though, she
felt like she was too cheery to be let down.