Alice sat alone in the cold, dim holding cell, her face emotionless and eyes fixated on something distant. Fragmented memories from Alice's childhood emerged as she hummed an settling tune. Flashes of a rundown house appeared before her eyes, along with muffled screams and her father's drunken rage. She saw herself as a little girl, cowering in the cramped closet with her small hands over her ears, trying in vain to drown out the sounds of violence from downstairs. Her mother's cries and pleading mixed with the sickening thuds of flesh meeting flesh. When at last there was silence, Alice would emerge from her hiding place on trembling legs. Often, she found her mother slumped and sobbing on the kitchen floor, her pale face bruised and swollen. The young Alice did not understand the hatred between her parents. She only knew there was darkness in their home. As she grew older, the fights grew more frequent and brutal.

One night, the screaming reached a fever pitch and was abruptly cut short. With dread in her heart, Alice crept to the top of the stairs and peered down into the still house. On the floor below, her father stood over her mother's lifeless body, a crazed look in his eyes. He spotted Alice then and started for the stairs, causing her to shriek in terror. She turned and fled, running into the night as fast as her legs could carry her. Behind her, the wails of sirens grew louder, but Alice did not stop until she collapsed in the forest, exhausted and alone. There in the forest is when she first saw the white rabbit...

Alice was jolted from her reverie as the heavy cell door creaked open. Two large orderlies stood gripping her elbows as they led her from the holding area. She moved as if in a trance, barely registering her surroundings as fragmented memories continued to surface.

They emerged into the bright sunlight outside, temporarily blinding Alice after so long in the dim cell. As her vision adjusted, she saw they had arrived at the imposing courthouse. A crowd had gathered, shouting and jeering as she escorted up the stone steps.

"Madwoman!"

"Lock her up!"

"She's a danger to society!"

Alice tuned out the insults and stared straight ahead, showing no reaction to the onlookers. Inside, however, her heart pounded as the reality of the situation set in. She was about to stand trial for her supposed crimes—crimes that in her mind she did not commit, though she could no longer be sure what was real.

The orderlies pushed open the heavy doors and half-dragged Alice inside the austere courtroom. All eyes turned to stare as she shuffled to the defendant's table, eyes downcast. Deep in thought, Alice did not notice the judge had entered until a gavel struck, echoing in the silent room. Her trial was about to begin. As the droning voices of the court faded into the background, Alice's mind began to drift once more. She gazed out the grimy window at the forest in the distance, seeing not the gnarled treetops but the entrance to a burrow.

A twitching white rabbit peered out at her, its eyes gleaming red in the shadows. Beckoning. Alice rose unsteadily and shuffled towards the light, drawn by some unseen force. The jeers and shouts of the crowd melted away as she followed the rabbit down into the earth.

The burrow narrowed into a sloping tunnel, its earthen walls closing in around her slender frame. Alice continued blindly onwards, her hands trailing along the cool dirt. Up ahead, dancing motes of light hovering like will-o-wisps, guiding her ever deeper.

After what seemed like an eternity, the tunnel began to change.The dirt gave way to smooth stone, and the close press of the walls fell away. Alice emerged into a vast cavern, its ceiling lost to blackness high above. Mushroom clusters dotted the cavern floor, their caps glowing with an eerie phosphorescence that lit the way. Alice's eyes went wide, for everywhere she looked, impossible things were happening. Plants and trees grew to massive size, their twisting boughs forming natural archways and bridges across the yawning chasm.

As Alice gazed entranced at the surreal landscape before her, a cold chill crept over the cavern. The glowing fungi dimmed as shadows stretched long across the stone. A cheshire cat appeared grinning a twisted grin that seemed to widen unnaturally in the gloom as it faded from view. A sense of unease stole over Alice as the first drops of a crimson rain began to fall. They splattered on the mushrooms, staining their caps bloody hues. Thorns and briars sprang up, twisting around the trees and strangling their gnarled trunks. Poisonous flowers bloomed, their sickly-sweet scent cloying the air. Alice spun slowly, watching in horror as Wonderland transformed before her eyes.

The cavern walls bled, their stone faces contorting into grotesque grimaces. Bones and corpses of animals emerged from the earth, rising to stand amidst the twisted foliage as ghosts with empty sockets for eyes. From the depths of the chasm arose a cacophony of screams and mad cackling on the wind. Alice clapped her hands over her ears, but still the sounds wormed their way inside her mind. She fell to her knees amidst the crimson soak shaking violently as Wonderland was consumed by dark decay. Right in front of her, a scarlet dressed queen manifested laughing unnervinly wicked. She stopped abruptly, and when at last, Alice dared open her eyes, unnatural silence descended on the twisted woods. And in that silence, Alice heard the beating of her own heart as she layed eyes on the face of the blood queen standing in her midst with a face of her own except a few extra characteristics such as a top hat and cat eyes with the Cheshire grin to match.

"Who are you?" Alice asked, rising to her feet.

The doppleganger let out a chuckled sigh, snapping its head to the side with a disgusting bone crunch. "I am the Red Queen," she walked slowly towards her, Alice noticed not once did this creature blink. Her voice was as if three people spoke in perfect harmony. She conjured a black rose handing it to Alice, and as she grabbed it, a thorn pricked her finger. She winced, dropping the flower, and it cascaded quickly in between her shoes. She looked at the wound, it bled but the blood turned to a tar black liquid that started consuming her hand like a hastily growing fungus. She clawed at it, but it just made it spread. The more it grew, the more an overwhelming sense of death flooded Alice head as she saw flashes of her life play reels in her mind. The Doppleganger knelt down, peering at her as if scanning her facial features as she convulsed on the ground like a dying leech. "The question is who are you and why do you look like me!?"

The screams echoing in Alice's mind jerked her back to reality with a start. She found herself on her feet, chest heaving as she stared unseeing around the courtroom. The crowd had fallen deathly silent, all eyes fixed on her with a mixture of fear and revulsion. Slowly, Alice became aware of the judge regarding her from the bench, his brow furrowed deeply.

As their eyes met, he shook his head sadly and lifted the gavel. "This court has no choice but to declare Alice Liddell criminally insane," he boomed. "She is hereby committed to Rutledge Asylum indefinitely." At his pronouncement, Alice snapped. Memories of Wonderland's decay melded with the present, twisting the courtroom into a hellish vision. She saw not the judge but the Red Queen, condemning her with gleeful malice.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" Alice shrieked, lunging at the bench with hands curled into claws. Before she could reach her target, orderlies tackled her from both sides, bearing her struggling to the floor.

Chaos erupted in the courtroom as Alice thrashed and shrieked against her restraints. It took four large orderlies to subdue her flailing limbs and force her into submission. Her crazed laughter echoed off the high ceilings, mingling with the shouts and screams of the panicked onlookers. Benches were overturned as the crowd surged away from the deranged woman, mothers shielding children's eyes. The judge pounded his gavel furiously to restore order, but his cries went unheeded amid the pandemonium.

Alice writhed on the floor, her eyes rolling wildly as she was pinned in place. Frothing at the mouth, she snapped and snarled like a rabid animal at any who dared approach. Two orderlies gripped her ankles while another straddled her legs, pinning her thighs down with his weight.

The last guard struggled to wrap the straitjacket tightly around Alice's thrashing torso, working quickly to bind her arms to hersides. With a final yank of the buckles, she was immobilized. Her screams dissolved to muffled howls as the guards hoisted her limp body from the floor. Dragging and lifting the bucking, spitting form between them, the orderlies fought their way through the chaos towards the exit. Alice's crazed laughter followed in their wake as she was hauled away.

The courtroom faded into darkness, another lost memory as Alice slipped into an exhausted stupor. When she awoke, she found herself sitting alone on a hard wooden bench, her limbs still bound tightly in the straitjacket.

Through the small barred window, she saw only empty fields rolling by as the police carriage rattled down the barren road. Alice sat numb and unmoving, her mind as blank as the desolate landscape outside. All traces of the former woman she knew herself to be had been erased, leaving only a hollow shell. As the carriage wheels crunched over the gravel, Alice gazed, unseeing at the gathering clouds. Her breath fogged the small windowpane, but she made no move to wipe away the condensation. Inside, a deep emptiness had opened up, swallowing her memories and dreams into an abyss.

In the distance, a forbidding structure of dark stone loomed into view through the mist. Alice watched impassively as the carriage rolled to a creaking halt before the ominous iron gates of Rutledge Asylum. Her journey into madness had reached its destination, and Wonderland's hold on her soul was now complete. The carriage door swung open with a rusty squeal, jolting Alice from her numb stupor. A burly guard leaned in, his face set in a grim expression.

"End of the line, girl," he grunted, unbuckling her restraints.

Alice slid limply from the bench and allowed herself to be led without protest. Her bare feet dragged through the gravel as the guard half-carried her exhausted form. Before them, the iron gates stood open like a maw, beckoning her into the depths of Rutledge Asylum.

As they crossed the threshold, Alice gazed up at the towering edifice looming above. It was as if a great stone monster crouched upon the cliffs, its shadow engulfing the grounds. Narrow windows like eyes peered down, observing her every move. Somewhere within those walls, her fate awaited.

The guard hauled Alice onwards, paying no heed as she stumbled and fell upon the steps. Her hands, still bound, scraped raw upon the stone. With a grunt, he hoisted her upright once more and shoved her through the massive oak doors. They closed with a resounding boom, sealing Alice in the gloom of Rutledge's corridors.

The stone walls of Rutledge Asylum closed in around Alice as she shuffled through the winding corridors, flanked by two burly orderlies. Her mind still swirled with fragmented

memories of Wonderland and the madness of her trial. As she walked, lunatic cries and maniacal laughter echoed off the walls creating a haunting harmonious chorus that sent a chill down her spine. The orderly to Alice's left tightened his grip on her arm, his thick fingers digging into her flesh. She tried to block out the sounds of suffering that permeated this grim place. Ahead, an iron-barred cell came into view, its rusted door hanging open like a jagged tooth mouth. One of the orderlies shoved Alice inside with little care, and she stumbled to the damp floor.

As the cell door slammed shut behind her, Alice was plunged into an overwhelming darkness. She felt her way into a far corner crawling shakily as fear embedded itself in her core. Wrapping her arms around herself, Alice took in her new surroundings as her eyes began to adjust. Mildew clung to the stone walls, and a rancid smell hung in the air. In one corner, a blanket and sheet on top of what was a pathetic excuse for a bed. The only light came from a barred window high above, casting the cell in an eerie blue glow. Alice shivered as the screams and cries continued their dreadful harmony, an unrelenting reminder of her grim reality.

Clutching at the frayed edges of her brain, Alice wondered if she would end up just like the wailing souls in this terrible place. Huddled in the corner of her cell, Alice hugged her knees to her chest and rocked back and forth. Shadows danced across the moistened walls as the banshee howls echoed throughout the halls.

"It's not real, it's not real," Alice muttered to herself, squeezing her eyes shut.

But behind her lids, visions of Wonderland swirled—the grinning Cheshire Cat, the bloody Queen of Hearts. A shriek pierced the night, followed by more sadistic laughter from the queen that sent a chill down Alice's spine. She pressed herself further into the corner, as if trying to disappear into the stone itself. Her eyes darted around the cell, peering into every shadow as her breath came in ragged gasps.

Was Wonderland real, or a figment of her broken mind? Alice no longer knew. Alice clapped her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, continuing her desperate chant. "It's not real, it's not real..." But down in the depths of her current mental state, Alice was no longer sure if even she was real.

Heavy boots echoed in the distance, growing louder as they approached Alice's cell. She shrank further into the corner, hugging her knees tighter. The footsteps stopped outside her barred door, and a large ring of keys jangled. A burly orderly came into view, his thick neck straining against his uniform. He shoved a key into the rusty lock and turned, swinging the creaking door open.

"On your feet," the orderly grunted, beckoning with a meaty hand.

Alice didn't move, too paralyzed by fear. The orderly let out an exasperated sigh and stepped into the cell, grabbing Alice roughly by the arm. She yelped as he hauled her to her feet, calloused fingers digging into her skin.

"The doc wants to see you," the orderly said, dragging Alice toward the door. "Best not to keep him waiting."

Alice stumbled to find her footing as the orderly pulled her towards her unknown destination. His iron grip was impossible to escape from. And his pace she couldn't sync. Her mind whirled with panic—what horrors would this meeting with the mysterious Doctor hold? Soon Alice's questions would be answered, for better or worse, as she was pulled deeper into the bowels of Rutledge Asylum.

Dr. Bumby's office came into view, its heavy wooden door shut tight. The orderly knocked twice before a muffled voice answered."Come in."

The orderly shoved open the door and thrust Alice inside before slamming it shut behind her. Alice stumbled, catching herself on the edge of a mahogany desk. Behind it sat Dr. Angus Bumby, his name in a placard facing towards her on the edge.

Even seated, Dr. Bumby exuded a domineering presence. Though slight of frame, his piercing gaze seemed to pin Alice in place. Cold blue eyes peered at her from beneath a balding scalp, as if dissecting her very soul. When he spoke, his voice was soft yet carried an unsettling edge.

"So you're Alice. I've been eager to meet the girl who thinks she's capable of taking off a judges head in a full courtroom. Come, have a seat. Let's see what mysteries lie within that mind of yours. "

A chill crept up Alice's spine at his words. Something about Dr. Bumby set her on edge, though she couldn't place why. As she lowered into the chair across from him, Alice felt as though she were facing not a doctor, but some predatory creature assessing its next meal. What dark secrets did this man hope to uncover within her?

Dr. Bumby leaned forward, lacing his fingers. "Tell me about this Wonderland, Alice."

She hesitated. "It was so strange and vivid... I followed a white rabbit and fell down a hole. Everything was topsy-turvy."

As Alice spoke of the grinning cat and bloody queen, Dr. Bumby shook his head side to side. "Delusions and false memories, I'm afraid. You've clearly suffered some trauma."

"But it felt so real—"

The mind is a powerful thing, Alice. It can make us believe almost anything." Dr. Bumby's eyes bored into hers. "You killed those people, did you not? In a state of berserk madness? Probably killed all sixty seven of them. "

Alice shuddered. "I don't know...I can't remember."

"You must face the truth. Wonderland is not real. We'll treat the root of your insanity and you'll live a normal life."

But Alice couldn't shake the feeling that Wonderland held some deeper truth. As Dr. Bumby scribbled notes, she wondered if he was truly here to help, or if darker motives lurked beneath his calm facade. Either way, Alice knew her journey into the depths of her mind had only just begun. Alice shuffled back to her cell in a daze, Dr. Bumby's words echoing in her mind. Wonderland couldn't be real...could it? Back in the confines of her cell, she curled into a ball on the damp floor. As screams and cries endlessly rang out, Alice rocked back and forth, clutching her head. Visions of Wonderland swirled behind her closed eyes—the Cheshire Cat's grin, the bloody Queen's maniacal laughter. Their sounds mingled with those echoing down the asylum corridors until Alice couldn't tell reality from fantasy. Was she truly mad? Or did some deeper truth lie buried within her memories?

As the line between worlds blurred, Alice found herself falling once more, tumbling headlong into the rabbithole. Vivid hallucinations overtook her—she saw the Hatter's towering form looming over a decaying tea party, heard the White Rabbit's frantic cries to flee this terrible place. Alice screwed her eyes shut, but the visions refused to fade. She was losing herself in the maddening depths of her own mind, and with each new horror, the walls of her cell seemed to further take shape of a carasoul, threatening to nauseate her under the weight of her possible insanity. Trapped in this limbo between worlds, Alice could only pray for an escape from the parasitic darkness that consumed her.

Back in the corner, Alice rocked back and forth as Wonderland swirled in her mind. Through the haze of visions, she glimpsed movement by the cell door. Two gleaming red eyes peered into the gloom. A twitching nose and whiskers came into focus, followed by a furry white form. The White Rabbit, Alice thought with a gasp. But that was impossible.

As if hearing her thoughts, the Rabbit beckoned frantically, tiny paws waving through the iron bars. Alice saw his pink mouth form words: "Come! We must get away!" She blinked, and the Rabbit vanished. Had it been real, or another hallucination? Alice squeezed her eyes shut, but the Rabbit's urgent message echoed in her mind. We must get away... Was escape from this place of torment possible? Or would Alice remain trapped here to sink further into the depths of her own rotting mind? Only time would tell if she would heed the Rabbit's call or succumb to the beast that closed in around her. The clang of a food slot drew Alice from her visions. An orderly shoved a tray inside—a lukewarm bowl of gruel and a tin cup of water.

"Eat up," the orderly grunted before moving on.

But Alice couldn't stomach the thought of food, not with Wonderland and Dr. Bumby's words swirling in her mind. She was losing herself to the spirals of her own madness, and she dreaded the doctor's "treatments" were only going to make it worse. What darker motives did he have for her? Alice recalled his piercing stare, as if dissecting her very soul. A shudder passed through her—she couldn't let him break her down completely.

As cries echoed down the hall, Alice huddled in her corner, eyeing the tray with suspicion. Poison could lurk in any bite. No, she would starve before submitting fully to this place. Clutching at the last threads of her sanity, Alice waited for a sign—from Wonderland, or somewhere else—of a way to escape this living nightmare.

Huddled in the darkness, Alice let the tears come. She wept for her lost mind, for the souls suffering around her, and for the family she once had. As night fell, only her quiet sobs broke the silence of her cell. Shadows deepened in the corners, seeming to take on twisted shapes that writhed at the edge of her vision. Alice squeezed her eyes shut but found no escape—Wonderland had imprinted itself behind her lids. Exhaustion pulled at her, but each time Alice drifted toward sleep, cries and laughter jolted her awake with a start. She no longer knew if the sounds came from the asylum or from within the depths of her own fraying mind. Reality and delusion blurred until Alice wondered if she was truly alone in the cell, or if some nameless presence lurked just out of sight, waiting to drag her further into the abyss. Clutching herself, she wept until her tears ran dry, leaving her empty in the enveloping dark. As silence fell once more, Alice was swept away in a mental current spiraling her thoughts into an overflowing drain of misery.

Alice was led down a gloomy corridor by Dr. Bumby, her bare feet padding against the cold stone floor. She glanced

nervously at the strange devices lining the walls, trying to

ignore the muffled cries echoing in the distance. Dr. Bumby pushed open a heavy iron door, gesturing for Alice to enter. "This is where the real work begins, my dear," he said with an oily smile.

Alice stepped inside the stark treatment room, shivering at the sight before her. Tables were arranged with leather restraints, while sinister machines loomed in the corners. In the center of the room sat a large metal contraption, with wires and dials she dared not guess the purpose of.

"Take a seat my dear," Dr. Bumby said, patting one of the tables. Alice reluctantly obeyed, her heart pounding as the doctor began fastening the restraints around her wrists and ankles. She tugged against the bonds, to no avail. Dr. Bumby wheeled over the metal device, its whirring and clicking sending a chill down Alice's spine.

"Now let's see if we can purge that Wonderland from your mind, shall we?" he said, flipping a switch. A buzzing filled Alice's ears, growing louder and louder until— agony. Every nerve in her body screamed as the electricity coursed through her. She opened her mouth in a soundless scream, back arching against the table as colors exploded behind her eyes. Then, darkness. Alice awoke with a start, her body aching all over. Dr. Bumby loomed over her, holding a pocket watch that glinted under the lamplight.

"Now, my dear, tell me about Wonderland, he said in a low,"

hypnotic voice. "Describe it for me in perfect detail."

Alice tried to resist, but found herself drawn into a trance by

the watch's rhythmic swinging. Images began flashing through her mind as words tumbled unbidden from her lips.

She told of following the White Rabbit down the twisting rabbit hole, emerging in a bizarre landscape filled with impossible colors and shapes. Trees grew in spirals, the grass a vivid purple hue. Flowers as large as carriages bloomed, their petals shifting like kaleidoscopes before her eyes.Alice recounted meeting the grinning Cheshire Cat, whose disembodied smile sent shivers down her spine. She told too of attending the Queen of Heart's mad tea parties, where the guests changed shape and size without warning. And of nearly losing her head to the Queen's razor-sharp blade, over a simple mistake. With each vivid detail Alice supplied, Dr. Bumby's smile grew wider, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling light. By the time she finished her tale, Alice felt drained, yet strangely compelled to continue speaking of Wonderland's horrors and wonders for the doctor. Her grip on reality was slipping once more into the realm of madness.

Alice told of first discovering the rabbit hole hidden behind an ancient oak tree in the forest. She had followed the White Rabbit down into the darkness, unsure of what lay below. Emerging into the topsy-turvy world of Wonderland, Alice found the landscape had changed into something sinister and disturbing. Trees twisted in on themselves, their bark as black as coal. Poisonous flowers bloomed with razor-sharp pedals, hissing as she passed. The sky was a sickly green hue, and a crimson river flowed uphill. Alice walked its banks, watching in horror as the bloody waters carried severed body parts along its shores. In the distance, deranged laughter and screams echoed through the macabre forest.

"This is madness," Dr. Bumby interrupted, his eyes cold. "Wonderland is a fabrication of your diseased mind, a fantasy

created to escape reality. You will tell me no more of these

delusions, do you understand?" But Alice knew in her heart Wonderland was real, and that its terrors still lurked somewhere in the recesses of her memories.

She shivered, as much from the chill in the room as from the darkness that continued to haunt her thoughts. Dr. Bumby departed, leaving Alice drained in the treatment room. She lay still, replaying their session in her mind.

A scratching sound roused Alice from her stupor. Blinking

slowly, she turned to see a pair of gleaming red eyes peering

through the small window in the door. The White Rabbit beckoned frantically, motioning for her to follow. Alice rose unsteadily to her feet, stumbling towards the door on numb legs. She twisted the knob, but it refused to budge - she was locked in.

The Rabbit scratched at the door in panic, urging Alice to hurry. But she had no way of escaping this prison, no way of heeding his call to flee this wretched place. As Alice sank to the floor once more, the Rabbit let out a mournful cry before disappearing down the hall. She wastrapped under Dr. Bumby's control, lost in the depths of her fractured mind. Escape from Rutledge seemed impossible - unless she regained her sanity, or surrendered her mind to the asylum entirely.

Galvanized by the Rabbit's plea, Alice struggled to her feet once more. She threw her weight against the door with a cry,

ignoring the pain that lanced through her battered body.

Her heart raced as footsteps approached, accompanied by the jingling of keys. The lock clicked open and two hulking

orderlies entered, grabbing Alice by the arms. She thrashed and kicked, desperate to escape, but their grips were like iron

shackles.

"Unhand me!" Alice screamed, to no avail. The orderlies dragged her kicking and screaming down the hall, paying no heed to her pleas. She craned her neck, catching a fleeting glimpse of the White Rabbit's eyes peering from the shadows before it vanished.

Back in her cell, Alice pounded on the thick wooden door until her fists bruised and bled. Trapped once more in this living tomb, she sank to the floor in anguish. Her only hope was fading into the darkness of Rutledge, as Alice's tenuous grip on reality began to slip away into the nightmares of Wonderland.

That evening, Dr. Bumby paid Alice another visit in her cell. "I heard you caused quite a commotion earlier," he said, peering at her through the bars.

Alice glared back defiantly. "The Rabbit came for me. He wants me to escape this place."

Dr. Bumby chuckled. "My dear girl, there is no rabbit. It's all inyour head, a figment caused by your troubled mind."

"You're wrong," Alice insisted. "Wonderland is real. The Rabbit will help me get away from your...experiments." She shuddered at the memory of the electricity coursing through her body. The doctor's eyes hardened.

"You are gravely ill, Alice. These delusions will only worsen if you indulge them. From now on, there will be no more talk of rabbits or imaginary worlds. Is that clear?" Alice dropped her gaze, too exhausted to argue further. But in her heart, she knew the Rabbit was no delusion. Wonderland

held truths that Dr. Bumby feared coming to light. Her salvation might depend on surrendering to the darkness within. As Dr. Bumby's footsteps faded down the hall, Alice crawled onto her thin cot. Her body ached, her mind reeling from the day's torments.

The room spun dizzyingly, images and memories swirling

together in a kaleidoscope of color. Wonderland's twisted trees reached for her through the bars, their gnarled branches clawing at empty air. Alice squeezed her eyes shut, but the visions only intensified in the darkness. She saw herself strapped to the table once more, electricity coursing through her veins as Dr. Bumby's maniacal aughter echoed all around. Her breath came in ragged gasps, lungs straining for air that seemed thinner by the moment. Alice clutched her head, nails digging into skin, desperate to block out the cacophony raging inside.

With a shuddering sob, she collapsed back onto the cot,

consciousness slipping away on waves of pain and delirium. As the room spun into blackness, Alice knew only one thing for certain - her tenuous grip on sanity was unraveling with each new torment. In her fevered dreams, Alice found herself deep in Wonderland's murky forests once more. She walked aimlessly beneath twisting trees that blocked out the sky, their gnarled branches forming a dense canopy above.

Mist swirled at her feet as Alice wandered the winding paths, calling out for the White Rabbit to show himself. Only her echo answered amid the trees' groans and the scurrying of unseen creatures in the undergrowth. She stumbled upon a crimson river, its waters sluggish and foul-smelling. Written along the banks in jagged letters were messages and warnings Alice couldn't decipher. A crow cawed ominously in the distance, its call sending shivers down her spine.

Alice knew she was being watched - she could feel unseen eyes tracking her every move from the shadows. Spinning wildly, she glimpsed flickers of movement just beyond the treeline before they vanished without a trace. Exhausted and afraid, she sank to her knees amid the rotting leaves. As Wonderland's forest closed in around her, Alice knew only darkness and madness lay ahead if she lost her way. Alice awoke with a bloodcurdling scream, thrashing against unseen assailants. Her nightmare clung to the edges of consciousness as unfamiliar hands grabbed her flailing limbs.

"Someone help, she's gone mad!" a voice cried out. Two orderlies burst into the cell, rushing to subdue Alice as she kicked and writhed on the cot. One pinned her legs while the other straddled her torso, wrestling her hands behind her back.

"Easy there, you're safe now," the orderly panted, straining to keep her immobilized. But Alice was lost in the throes of terror, eyes wide and unseeing as guttural screams tore from her throat.The other orderly produced a leather strap, buckling it across Alice's heaving chest and binding her legs together. Only then did she begin to still, chest heaving as choked sobs replaced screams.

As Alice faded back into an exhausted stupor, Rutledge's walls closed in once more, trapping her within the prison of her shattered mind. The orderlies left Alice bound and gagged upon the cot. She thrashed weakly against her restraints, muffled cries fading into whimpers as consciousness ebbed once more. Through the bars, she saw Dr. Bumby observing with a frown.

"Clearly more drastic measures are needed," he muttered, motioning to the orderlies. They returned wheeling a cart bearing a stiff canvas jacket. Alice's eyes widened in terror as they wrestled her flailing form into the straightjacket, buckling it tightly across her torso.

"There, that should prevent any further incidents," Dr. Bumby said with satisfaction. He left without a backward glance asAlice sank back onto the cot, immobilized. Alone in the suffocating dark, Wonderland's forest crept back into Alice's mind. She was wandering its murky depths once more, trapped within this prison of leather and her own shattered psyche. As Rutledge's walls closed in, only madness lay ahead for the lost little girl within.