THE CIRCUS
TIME REMAINING: 6 HOURS, 47 MINUTES
I stand, staring at the crowd in the circus with my heart pounding in my feet. What are they going to do to me?
When I think of it, the only real human in the cage is Lewis Carroll. Still, they didn’t spare him. Of course, because he was defending the Wonderlanders—so Lewis didn’t always think of them as monsters?
I assume they will do the same to me now.
Caught between running, and saving those in the cage, I realize this is some sort of memory. It’s doubtful I can change much about it. Whoever led me here wanted me to see this.
Why? I have no idea.
Maybe he wants me to sympathize with Black Chess and their crimes in the real world.
I am confused. Who’s mad, and who isn’t?
Those who turned evil after what happened to them in the cage, or those people throwing cotton candy at those poor souls?
“Run!” Fabiola shouts.
Her voice reminds me of the room she wanted me to see back in the maze.
I turn around and run, tears filling my eyes. On my way out, teacups smash all around me.
The way back into the maze seems easier. I think I know my way, and I wonder if any of those in the circus will follow me here.
As I run, I try to connect the dots.
So when I saw Lewis Carroll lock the Wonderland Monsters behind the doors of Wonderland, was he protecting the world from them, or protecting them from the world?
Fabiola said the circus happened in the last days before he locked them in, so it’s safe to think he was protecting them. Or maybe he was protecting some and locking up others.
I like this assumption better because, apparently, not all of those in the cage turned out to be part of Black Chess. Fabiola isn’t, for instance. The event at the circus had a different effect on each of them.
Also, I am not sure why I haven’t seen the Pillar, but I could have missed him in all this mess.
Panting, I reach the door.
I turn the knob and step into a room where people are gathered around a meal in Lewis Carroll’s studio.
The image brings instant tears to my eyes, and I fight the weakness in my body that’s bringing me down to my knees.