Page 55 of Blaze of Our Lives

My stomach sank. My mind immediately raced back to the conversation at my bungalow in LA where I’d mentioned Alice in Wonderland. I certainly knew how to screw myself over. If I had to live in that world after I’d experienced a warped version of The Wizard of Oz, I didn’t know if we were ever going to leave the dream state.

“You’ve gotten awfully quiet,” Pandora commented with concern. “I don’t take that as a good sign. You’re making me nervous. When I get nervous, I destroy property, objects and occasionally people. No one wants that to happen.”

No. We didn’t want that to happen. I was her condo right now, and if she blew me up, I’d be furious.

“Not sure if this is good or bad, but apparently, we’re supposed to eat a pot gummy. The sign says, ‘Eat Me’.”

“Very Alice in Wonderland,” she said.

“Word,” I replied.

The other iffy thing was that behind the table was a rabbit hole—a rabbit hole big enough for a human, or, Demon in my case. I was beginning to suspect that all my dreams were nightmares.

“Hell help us all,” my ride-or-die lamented. “I’m not sure that being stoned is to our advantage.”

I eyed the gummy. It was orange, and there was only one. From what I could recall, the light orange ones were the energizing strain, and the bright green ones were the put-you-to-bed kind. I’d taken the green one to come here. Maybe the orange would help us get home… or maybe not. However, I was wildly relieved that it was the gummy that gave you a boost. Going to sleep wasn’t on the agenda. Well, not until I got Pandora out of me.

“I think it’s fine,” I told her as I removed the crystal platter topper. “It’s the kind that revs you up.”

“Of course, in your dream state, there would be illicit drugs,” she huffed.

“First of all, pot is legal now, Shitty Whore. And secondly, you’re a fine one to talk about illicit anything.”

The Demon sighed dramatically and loudly. “Fine point. Well made. I suppose a little pick- me-up wouldn’t hurt. Alice in Wonderland always reminded me of an acid trip of sorts. We may as well enjoy ourselves if we have to participate.”

“How familiar are you with the story?” I asked, crossing my fingers and hoping she knew it well. I hadn’t read the book or seen the movie in forever.

“Very,” she stated as my tense body relaxed. “What do you want to know before we get wasted and jump down a rabbit hole?”

I brushed over her description of her version of the events because it made me itchy and got to the important parts. “What’s the theme of the story? The main point, I mean.”

“Embracing your true self,” she said without hesitation. “And the moral, if you want to call it that, is to answer the question posed by the Caterpillar—who in the world am I?”

I paced in front of the table, holding the orange gummy in my muddy hand. That wouldn’t do. If we were going to a tea party with Shaun Cassidy and a bunch of freaks, I couldn’t show up filthy. Putting the gummy back on the platter, I waved my hands in a circular motion. The mud disappeared from my clothes, boots, hands and face. Shockingly, I’d almost gotten used to the rank smell, but it was soul-cleansing to be clean.

“Tell me about the characters,” I pressed. “What do they represent?”

“Well, I’m unsure if I can recall all of them, but a few come to mind,” she said. “Wait. Did you just clean up? I no longer smell raw sewage.”

I laughed and groaned at the same time. “Yes. I’m clean. Get back to the book.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “The Cheshire Cat represents wisdom and guidance. The White Rabbit is symbolic of the obsession with time. And I believe the Mad Hatter symbolizes the unpleasant side of human nature.”

“What about Alice?”

“I think she’s just an everyman. Not sure.”

I felt a little like the White Rabbit right now. My obsession with time and getting us out of the dream state was weighing heavily on me. It was past time to keep playing the game. I snatched up the gummy, chewed and swallowed it before I could change my mind. The next step to getting back home was going down the rabbit hole.

Shit.

“You ready to jump into whatever’s next? Literally?” I asked Pandora.

“Not seeing that I have much of a choice,” she pointed out.

“You got me there,” I agreed, walking around the table and looking down into the hole. I couldn’t see a thing. It was just a dark and very deep hole. “The unknown is way more terrifying than the known.”

“That’s a fancy concept coming from someone like you,” Pandora said with a chuckle.

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