Page 4 of Escaping Wonderland

Though her surroundings had been swathed in deep shadow at first glance, Alice’s eyes quickly adjusted; she could seeeverything.

Clusters of foliage, much of which was twice as tall as Alice, took up most of the space between the huge trees. Giant, glowing green mushrooms grew in clusters along the bases of a few of the trees, and the massive leaves and flowers—the latter of which were so large they made sunflowers look miniscule—were scattered all over, many of them also glowing faintly. She couldn’t tell if they were reflecting light from overhead oremitting their own. Where it wasn’t cluttered with oversized plants, the ground was blanketed in thick, short grass. Most of the vegetation seemed familiar, but it was all too big, and it all looked a little…off.

A fearful chill crept through her body again. This didn’t make sense, this wasn’t right, but here it all was, right before her eyes.

This…this isn’t real.

I was just standing in my father’s office, thinking about…about starting to go through his personal belongings…about deciding what to…

She released a shaky breath.

It had taken her a few months after his passing to finally build enough courage to start the process of moving on, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Sorting his belongings didn’t mean she was forgetting him or disrespecting him, it only meant she was getting on withherlife…

And then those men came. They came right into the office, in the middle ofmyhouse, and dragged me out.

Everything had been so chaotic in those moments, so difficult to follow. She could recall her stepbrother, Jonathon, arguing with the men, while her stepmother, Tabitha, glared from the top of the stairs, but the men had said something about having a court-sanctioned obligation to take her. It had all happened so quick, she’d thought it was a dream, but…

I’m in an asylum. A…psychiatric hospital.

Butthisis no asylum…

Her memories from after they’d hauled her into their waiting vehicle outside her home were fuzzy. The events were jumbled and blurry, fraught with shadowy figures and echoing, unnatural sounds—andpain. Her skin prickled at the mere thought of the agony she’d endured.

Her eyes widened as she recalled the coffin the men had laid her in.

No, it hadn’t been a coffin; the woman, the doctor, had called it animmersion chamber, had mentioned a simulation.

Was that what they’d done? Had they placed her in that pod and connected her to some sort of fully immersive simulation? She’d toyed with immersive virtual reality a few times with her friends; it was a popular form of entertainment, allowing people to go anywhere, to be anything. But commercial units usually had safety features—the sort that always kept you aware that you were in a simulation. Most sensations in those simulations were muted, more like distantechoesthan the real thing.

This felt real.Tooreal.

She lifted a shaky hand to the back of her neck, slipping it under her hair, and found only unbroken skin—nothing clamped into the top of her spine.

Her trembling didn’t ease.

She looked down at herself, and her breath hitched. She was wearing a pale green hospital gown. Lowering her hand, she took hold of the gown’s hem and tugged it down, covering more of her bared thighs.

They undressed me. Theytouchedme.

Alice grasped the gown in both hands and squeezed the fabric until her fingers ached. Gut-wrenching shame suffused her, but it was joined by a spark of fury in her belly.

They’ll pay. As soon as I get out of here, I’ll make them all pay for what they did. If my father knew?—

Alice’s throat tightened with that thought. Her father wasn’t here. He wouldn’t be able to help her. He’d never be able to help her again.

Don’t think about that now, Alice. You need… You need to find a way out of this. Whateverthisis.

She glanced around again. She was sitting in the middle of the woods, but these weren’t normal woods by any measure. Everything was of exaggerated proportion, everything had just atouch of alienness to it. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck rose, and that prickling sensation returned to her skin. The longer she sat here, the more certain she was that someone was out there, watching her. She couldfeeltheir gaze upon her.

“Hello?” Alice called shakily. “Is anyone there?”

Her echoing voice was the only answer to her question.

She released her gown and raised her hands, pressing the heels of her palms against her eyes.

“Wake up,” she muttered, rocking back and forth. “Wake up, wake up,wake up! This isn’t real. It’s all a dream. I’ve just been really tired.” She pressed harder on her eyes—hard enough for it to hurt. “Just wake the hell up!”

Tears stung her eyes.

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