Underland. Underneath the City.

Chapter 3

She gasped, snapping her eyelids open and jumping up and away from the till, her cheek hot from resting it on her hand. She looked up slowly and very nearly died on the spot. A tall lanky boy with spiky hair the colour of ginger biscuits sticking out from his hat was standing nearby flicking through a box of CDs.  His damp blue-black leather jacket with the bright stripy scarf clashed brightly but the baggy rugged looking jeans dulled them letting the colours become pleasing rather than an explosion. He defiantly knew how to dress, if not a little oddly, he really looked relatively normal, if not attractive, so why was he in Adagio? She frowned, but remembering that she was actually there to work she waited a few minutes watching him browse the boxes his lips pursed slightly before clearing her raw throat and smiling, "Can I help you?" The words were foreign but she smiled through it, her heart skittering a little when he lifted his icy eyes to hers, "No, thanks, I'm just looking." He smirked slightly like what he said was a joke. She raised her eyebrows but nodded taking a step away from the counter, unsure whether to call her uncle and tell him the great news, or stay and wait for him to buy something, if he actually did.
The boy hadn't taken his eyes off her since she'd spoken to him. His icy eyes were unnerving, and incredibly gorgeous. They were a strange and shocking clash with his ginger hair but somehow they worked, like his clothes. She couldn't decide what colour they were exactly, they sort of looked a foggy green from this angle but when he looked right at her they were a sharp white blue, it was kind of hypnotising, like a kaleidoscope. She still couldn't understand why on earth he was there, in the tiny unnoticed shop on a street based with offices just on this side of being in the city. 'He must be mad,' she thought. The strong smell of coffee was coming from him.
"Woah-ho!" sounded a gusty cry from the stairs as they creaked under her uncle's slight weight, "Ally, come take this tea quick, its burnin' ma fingers." She glanced to her uncle with his rough unshaved, cheeks wincing and holding out a tea stained mug to her. She rushed over to relieve him, not taking her eyes off the strange boy, "Uncle? We have a customer." He blinked for a second then a wide grin spread across his grey face "Well of course we do!" He looked at the boy who apparently hadn't taken his eyes off her either because he snatched his eyes back to the box in front of him. An elbow in her side took her attention back to the man next to her, he was grinning at her, and he said quietly, "Hey, he's good lookin' maybe even.... boyfriend material?" She laughed, "What happened to no fraternising with the customers?" A frown creased itself onto his expression, "You haven't had a boyfriend or even just a bit of fun in a while. You're always here or doing schoolwork you're so grown up all the time, ask him out, this once. And he hasn't taken his eyes off you yet has he?" He winked and she smiled, her cheeks warming a little, she hadn't exactly taken her eyes off him either, "Okaaaay, but what if he turns out to be a complete creep?" He considered this for a second, and then pulled a look of mock seriousness on his face "Then I shall beat him up. Simple." She sipped her tea chuckling.
The boy walked over to the counter and put down a CD holding his arms awkwardly by his sides, she put down her tea, taking the CD and scanning it, it was some band called 'time' her eyebrows went to fly up but she controlled them, she smiled at him, taking the money he put on the counter, "I've never seen you in town before, "She said trying to be casual about it as she took longer than necessary counting out his change.  Another smirk pulled his mouth, "You wouldn't have, I don't live here." His voice was strange, rough like velvet but with a hint at something that tugged in her memory. It sounded old, like he was a thousand years older than she was, like he'd lived through more pain and happiness than she could imagine. However, it a lilt to it like everything was funny, like actors do when on stage, almost eccentric.
"Oh," Disappointment dragged at the little word. It must have been on her face too because he smiled "I'm staying for awhile though, a few days, maybe a week." She bit the inside of her lip trying to avoid getting too excited, "How come? If... you don't mind me asking?" he shook his head, his hair moving to reveal a chain linking the lobe of his ear to the tip, on it hung a little playing card, too small to tell which one. Up close she noticed his hair which had just looked severely but neatly trimmed into spikes now looked like it had been hacked with a chainsaw, he smiled properly, "I'm looking for someone," He tapped his nose once, his nails bitten down to nothing. Shadows of no sleep hung under the ice of his eyes, he still smelt strongly of coffee and cake but also, strangely, of woods.
Hearing a jangle she looked down, at his waist attached to his belt loop at the front then disappearing behind was a thin chain with keys attached, each one different to the one before. The notches in them looked like they wouldn't work in any door she knew of. One of them didn't even have anything on it; just a loop and a bit sticking out that you would put in the door, nothing else.
"Really, maybe I could help you?" Ally looked back into his face and grinned in what she hoped was a winning way, her uncle smirking behind her. He considered this for a second, seeming to study her, deciding on something. "Maybe you could, I have a photo actually, see, she used to live here." He started rummaging in his jacket pocket taking out a broken pocket watch, some bits of paper, a pack of playing cards and a teabag full of...pins?
His fingers were calloused and full of tiny scratches, like they'd done a lot of work over the years, they shook a little too, not the hands of a teenager as he appeared to be. "Oh, really?" She blinked, her uncle took a step closer clearly interested. The boy nodded and finally found what he was looking for taking out a wad of paper and un-screwing it, "My name is Hatter, Max Hatter, and believe this or not, I used to know your great aunt, I think, I hope."
It wasn't that odd that he had met her, she was pretty famous amongst book lovers, and had lived a long time, longer than she should have. Ally used to spend every Saturday with her reading. She had been a lovely, kind, beautiful women in when she was old; Ally had always wanted to be just like her. Her aunt was the inspiration for the story Alice in wonderland, her granddad had been friends with Lewis Carol and when she was little she had fallen down a rabbit hole and knocked herself out. She dreamed she was in wonderland and, so the story goes, she then told Lewis Carol and he wrote it into the book. Through the looking glass was written by Lewis while he played a game of chess, it had nothing to do with her after the first story. And her aunt had always insisted it wasn't a dream, she deeply believed her wonderland was real.
Ally frowned confused and wary of this boy now; her uncle put a hand on the counter frowning at him watching. Max unfolded the old piece of paper and balled up inside it was a photo which he then slid across the counter. It was very old, and the picture was of a young girl, she was laughing, obviously very happy. The photo was so old it was in black and white. She was very little, about 3 or 4 and surrounding her were the strangest of people, one of them, was a tall lanky man wearing a suit that had been torn and burned and soaked and had lived through hell. His hair was cut oddly, sticking out at angles under his top hat; his grin was that of someone not quite all there. On the other side of the girl was another man, wearing a scruffy waistcoat with hair that stuck up like rabbit ears, his eyes were odd and mad, he had clear buck teeth too. Stood next to him was a small boy in what looked like some kind of boy-Lolita Victorian outfit. He had little white ears and white gloves and was holding a small fan in his hand which he appeared to be waving, a nervous grin lighting his face, however he was blurred a little like he had twitched or jumped. Behind them all sat a very grumpy looking man, wearing a well-tailored suit and holding a pipe in his hand, a tiny smile played at his lips, but he was surrounded in smoke. On the girls lap were two cats a large stripy one that appeared to be... grinning? Probably just hissing or yawning or something, the other cat was a small black kitten with a tiny bow round its neck, Dina, her aunts beloved cat.
She had to admit, the girl and the kitten did look just like the photos she had seen of her great aunt as a girl, and her cat looked just like Dina the old cat she always had with her up until she died.  She frowned, who were these people?
The man wearing the top hat did look like the boy before her, if an older dressed version. Her head was spinning. Whatever the hell was happening it had to be a joke, it had to be. "Is this a joke? Why do you have a photo of my aunt?" He sighed irritated and pointed a scarred hand at the man with the top hat, "That is me. I'm looking for her great niece, you." Her uncle suddenly stepped forward putting an arm in front of Ally forcing her to take a step back from the counter. "Hatter." He growled.  She blinked at him confused. "Uncle? What is going on?" He looked down at her then back up at the boy who looked oblivious to her uncle's clear rage; he blinked smiling stupidly, "You said that like you know me." Ally looked at them both unsure what to do, confusion and doubt clouding everything in her head. Her uncle glowered, "I do know you Hatter. I'm Ally's uncle, and I don't care what your here for. Leave." The boy, Max, blinked frowning slightly, "Ally as in....?" he said questioningly, seemingly forgetting her uncle's demand.
He didn't say anything, clearly lost in anger. Ally frowned confused and stepped round her uncle's arm, "Ally as in short for Alice but why do you want to know? What do you want? What has this got to do with my great aunt?" His eyes went a tiny bit wider at her name and he stared at her disbelief clouding his face, "Alice" he breathed, "I knew it"  He looked at her uncle, "Please, explain to her, it'll be easier coming from you, I'm sure you already know since you knew who I was."
Her uncle seethed "I will explain to her but she is not going with you. No matter what excuse you think of."
Max looked desperately at him, "please, we need her, she's the only one who can help us, ask her yourself, she knows what's happening to Underland." He pronounced it 'undrlnd' skipping over the vowels, his tone sounding strained and pleading. Her uncle shook his head, "Get out. You're not ruining Ally's life too." Max looked stung, he opened his mouth to say something but clearly thought better of it, looking into his face and turning round he said " Think about your dreams Ally, you're the only one who can help." He pulled up his jacket collar and walks out into the mist and rain, disappearing almost instantly, just as swiftly as he arrived.
She turned to her uncle; hands on hips, "Explain. Now."