Page 86 of Jack of Diamonds

“Again!” I shouted, imagining all of Jack’s relentless training. “Again!” I kept slamming the leg of my bed down until I’d obliterated the worm into a gooey blue smear on the hard tile. Then I gave it a few more slams for good measure.

“Let me out of here!” I screamed, pulling on the doorknob and twisting it, but it was of no use. I started pounding my fists against the door. The tiny window was the size of a postcard—it offered no chance of escape. “Let me out of here! I don’t belong here! Please, somebody help me!”

But my cries went unanswered, leaving me alone with the echoes of my own despair. I sank to the floor, my body wracked with sobs as I fought against the rising tide of drug-induced darkness that threatened to consume me.

“Jack,” I whispered through the haze of tears and panic, clinging to the memory of his voice like a lifeline. “If you can hear me...please...do whatever you have to do to get me out of here.”

Silence.

So much silence.

I groaned, then shut my eyes, using my imagination to picture him and Chess, Ransom and Hatter and Callister, all gathered in the courtyard. I thought of them and only them, as hard as I could, fighting the unconsciousness of sleep.

Just before I drifted away, I heard the most beautiful sound.

Hold on, Alice...

We’re coming to get you.

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