Wonder

“So he doesn’t know about me?”

“We let him pursue his plan with Carroll’s legacy,” Waltraud says. “I pretend I fear him the most when he talks to me, just to keep up the act. But he’s a pawn in Black Chess’s plan.”

This explains a lot about him in the future. The poor man is chasing a loom of nothingness. But I don’t want Waltraud to sense my sympathy. I’m not sure why my i

Maybe it’s because of what the Pillar showed me in the future. Maybe it’s been the Pillar’s plan from the begi

My head isn’t clear yet, and for whatever reason, I need to play along. “Good. It’s best to keep Dr. Truckle in the dark.”

Waltraud’s smile broadens. “Does that mean you’re not taking the pill? Does that mean you’ll stay one of us?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Not before I meet the Queen of Hearts. I need to ask her something.”

“Of course,” she says. “I will call her right away.”

And now the Queen is in the palm of my hand. I own her because I’m Black Chess’s favorite. Who would have thought?

Chapter 59

“What can I do for you, dear Alice?” the Queen of Hearts says, standing before me.

She hasn’t possessed the Queen of England’s body yet at this point. She looks as ugly as I’ve seen her in Wonderland. Stocky, short, her facial features almost unrecognizable. Like a frog, with bulging eyes, a lost nose, and a big mouth.

“Still as ugly as you’ve always been,” I mock her, testing my credibility.

“Thanks for the compliment.” She lowers her head, fidgeting with her hands. “I’m working on a new face in this world. Haven’t found a spell to get it, though.”

“How about Margaret?”

“She was the first one to arrive from Wonderland. She had someone surgically fix her. But she’s taller than me, so it’s easier for her. She’s in Parliament right now.”

“Proud of her,” I say. “She isn’t wasting time playing by the book.”

“I’ll tell her that. She’ll be happy.” She stops to think about it. “But maybe I shouldn’t tell her about you now. You know no one knows about you but me and Mr. Jay.”

I didn’t know that. It explains why none of the Wonderlanders knows about the sequence of the events in the future. I wonder how the Queen didn’t recognize me in the future, then. I’m sure I will know how along the way. “How about Waltraud? She knows who I am.”

“Don’t worry about that loser,” the Queen says. Waltraud isn’t in the room. “We’re feeding her a huge dose of Lullaby pills right now. She will not remember you. I believe that’s your wish, right?” She raises her eyes to meet mine. “I understand you don’t want to take the pill and spend the rest of life in the asylum.”

I nod, wanting her to spill the rest for me. Why did the Bad Alice want to forget about what she had done? It can’t be that I changed overnight. There must be a reason. I have to find out why.

“Mr. Jay told me about the deal. If you take the pill, we will have to take it, too,” the Queen says. “You don’t want us to remember you as well.”

So that’s why no one remembers me in the future. The Bad Alice had a change of heart and ordered her obituary, spending the rest of her life in an asylum.

“I’m impressed your stupid brain managed to fully understand my wishes,” I say, playing my part.

The Queen’s face twitches. She fears me, but she holds grudges. It makes sense. She once ruled Wonderland with her stupidity and anger. Then something happened after the circus. Who knows what? It’s hard to bring the subject to the table right now. “Do you happen to also remember why I need the pill?” I say. “I need to make sure you understand.”

“Of course,” she says. “Because of Jack. I’m really sorry.”

“What about Jack?”

“But you know why, dear Alice.”

“Just spit it out.”

“You regret having accidentally killed Jack on the bus,” she says. “Even though everyone on this bus had to die, Jack wasn’t meant to be on it. He didn’t have to die. I understand how this changed you. Love changes everything.”

Chapter 60

THE PAST: THE QUEEN’S LIMOUSINE, OUTSIDE THE ASYLUM

Now that I know what changed my dark heart, I tell the Queen she and Mr. Jay have to take the pill when I take it. I tell her that I’m still determined to forget and spend the rest of my life in the asylum.

The Queen complies, and confirms Mr. Jay has taken the pill. I only ask her to watch the sunset outside for one last time before I resort to my madness inside the dark asylum. The Queen complies, and now we’re outside in her limousine, driving around.

“You can still forget about the pill,” the Queen, sitting next to me, advises. “You can rule the world when we win the war. I have information that someone has found a way to bring the Wonderland Monsters into this world. Week by week they will arrive and wreak havoc on this world until we take our revenge on humans.”

I let her talk, not paying attention. I know the rest already. I even know the parts she doesn’t, like the Pillar helping me out of my dark world and turning me into a hero.

I am taking a deep breath. I will need it. I have a big plan ahead of me. I need to focus.

I have a handful of Lullaby pills hidden in my fist. When the limousine stops at an intersection, I pull them out and stuff them into the Queen’s mouth, choking her long enough until she swallows them all.

The driver tries his luck at fighting me. I twist his head with my hands, and he ends up staring backward at the comatose — and now amnesiac — Queen of Hearts. “I need you to drive me somewhere,” I tell him. “Or I’ll never fix your head.”

“I’ll do what you want,” he says. “Please, Alice. Don’t kill me.”

I turn his head back. It doesn’t fit exactly — it’s a little skewed at the cheeks — but he is glad he is alive.

“Thank you,” he says. “Where to?”

The million-dollar question. I focus hard, trying to remember Mrs. Tock’s address, the one she gave me through the pink pill in the Inklings. I think the Lullaby pill I took in the past messed with pill I took in the present where I came from.

Remember it, Alice. Come on!

As we chug through the streets of Oxford, I can’t remember the address. Maybe I’ve been exposed to too much emotional stress. I should remember it.

We kick the Queen out on the street. The driver puts her in a garbage can, telling me he loathed her and would do anything for me.

When he comes back, we drive left and right, everywhere, hoping the buildings will make me remember, hand me a clue.

Where does Mrs. Tock live now?

Then it comes to me. I’m not just in the wrong area. I’m in the wrong city. Mrs. Tock’s address is in London.

“London it is,” the driver says.

“I will need my wheelchair first,” I remind him — also reminding myself that I am a cripple.

“It’s fixed on top of the car. Don’t worry.”

“And I will need you to help me up a few stories in London. Got that?”

“I will do what you ask for,” he says. “May I ask where I will be lifting you up?”

“A hidden room in the Big Ben tower.”

Chapter 61

THE PAST: BIG BEN, LONDON

Mr. Tick and Mrs. Tock live in a hidden room in the Big Ben. It has a wall for a door that only opens when you knock on it six times, like a secret cave. They live in a lavish, huge room inside. The only disadvantage is the horribly loud sound each time the Big Ben strikes.

But being married since the begi