The Hatter kept a tight grip on my hand, and I didn't let go of Queenie. If we parted someone might get left behind. I could still see nothing, and occasionally I walked a little too fast and ran into the back of the Hatter. Queenie had the same problem.
"Hey!"
"Oops! Sorry Hatter!"
"You need to stop doing that Queenie!"
"Chess? Since when were you a part of this conversation?"
"Can we keep moving guys? That tea is getting colder all the time." After some time of walking, we could see a dim light up ahead. The Hatter stopped us and I could now see a tiny barred window. I peered through the window to see the Cheshire Cat tied to an unmade bed. He was shifting constantly and scratching the carpets.
"Poor Cheshire," The Hatter muttered. "He can't stand staying in one place." The Hatter pulled out an arrow from his hat and began unscrewing the barred plate. The Cheshire Cat looked up at us and grinned. Chess waved shyly at him. Finally the plate came away and clattered to the ground. We all froze, fearing a guard would have heard the noise. Luckily no one appeared. I peered over and grimaced.
"Er, Tarrant. It's a little high." He frowned in thought, then lit up.
"I know! Chess, you jump down."
"What? Why me!" The Hatter grabbed the collar of her jumper and held her out.
"Don't worry!" he said carelessly. "Cats always land on their feet!" I laughed.
"But Chess isn't a-" I stopped as the Hatter let go.
"CAT!" I yelled. Chess screamed and landed with a thump on the ground.
"Wow," I breathed. "I can't believe that actually worked!" It was a miracle. Chess was stood upright, completely unhurt. She brushed herself off and grinned at me. The Cheshire cat purred as Chess untied him. As soon as he was untied the Cheshire Cat leapt up into the window, dragging Chess up by his tail. We all squeezed into the tunnel and linked up again. The light faded away, and we were plunged into darkness again. Every now and then the Cheshire cat would yowl as Chess stepped on his tail.
"Ugh! Chess! You're so clumsy!"
"Shut up Hatter! You're not the one who had to jump out of that window!" Little trips like that kept on happening. Eventually we came to another window, barred like the last. I avoided getting squashed and managed to see through it as the Hatter was unscrewing it. Sat on a wooden chair, shaking like a leaf and clutching a spoon was the March Hare.
"Poor Thackery," tutted the Hatter.
"Who?" I asked.
"Thackery Earwicket. The March Hare." The March Hare leapt out of his seat as the Barred pane fell to the ground. He stared at the Hatter and with a cry of "Spoon!" he grabbed a book and threw it at the Hatter. He ducked just in time and grinned. For some reason the March Hare was not tied, and leapt up into the tunnel with ease. Again the darkness resumed, again we came to a window. Through this I could see a guard peering into a glass box, grinning. In the box, the Dormouse was running in an iron wheel.
"Oh no!" I whispered. "Poor Mallymkun (This is how to spell her name. I spelt it wrong before. You have my humblest apologies)!" The Hatter held a finger to his lips. I listened carefully.
"Run! Run you little rat!" mocked the guared, taunting the Dormouse.
"Ooh! If I had my sword, I'd stick ya right in the eye I would!" The guard laughed and left the room, slamming the door. The Dormouse stopped running and slammed herself against the glass. Her ears twitched as the Hatter began unscrewing the bars. She looked up at us and her eyes lit up. I waved and she turned away. It wasn't long before she had joined us. She climbed over me so she could be at the front with the Hatter. I sighed and chose to ignore this.
After another period of walking, I heard shouts behind us. I gasped, and the Hatter grabbed my arm as we began to run. I could hear the thudding feet behind me, half of them with us, half of them unheard before. They were chasing us. Carlotta had found us. Suddenly there was another tunnel connected to ours. The Hatter stopped us.
"Megan!" he whispered. "You and your friends go that way. The rest of us will carry on."
"Aren't you coming with us?"
"No. You're a strong girl. You and your friends have got enough brains to get yourselves out of here. Follow the tunnel until it ends. Nivens McTwisp will be at the end waiting for you."
"Who?" I asked, but it was too late. He was gone. I waved and Chess, Queenie and I began crawling through the new tunnel.
We crawled in darkness, and heard no further sound from the pursuing party. Eventually, I saw moonlight in the distance. I sped towards it. Just in time I realised we were still quite some way up. But Queenie didn't stop in time. She screamed and toppled out of the hole.
"Ella!"
I ran to the hole and looked out. Queenie was holding onto the edge, but only just. Her fingers slipped and she screamed. I grabbed her wrist just in time. Chess grabbed her other hand and we held on. Already I was struggling to hold on. I leaned further and further out, the wind whipping in and out my hair, dancing through it, caressing my face.
"I can't - hold - on" I grunted.
"Please don't let me go" Queenie whimpered. "I don't want to die." Tears streamed down my face. My arms were burning, but if I let go now, Queenie was as good as dead.
