Alice Unbound Read online

  The person Alice sought wasn’t hard to spot. Bunni paced beside the long line outside of the town’s newest hot spot, fretting into her smartwatch. Alice’s breath caught in their throat: white halter top against light brown skin, form-fitting white capris, and powder-pink stilettos, the same colour as her bobbed wig. Their front pocket vibrated over and over as scolding texts poured in.

  Eventually Bunni looked up, glimpsing Alice walking casually toward her with hands in their pockets. Her own hands immediately found her hips and the woman in white stood akimbo, poised for battle.

  “Hey, Bunni, it’s me, Alice,” they said. Bunni really was beautiful when she was angry.

  “Do you know how late you are? Look at this!” she gestured to the queue, which trailed around the block.

  “I’m sorry. Again.” They proffered their arms out for a hug.

  Bunni offered up her wrist. “Can you read this? Can you see the time? Can you even tell time? Well? Can you?”

  Alice sighed. They peered at the fluorescent sign that wasn’t lit properly. It couldn’t have been a complete name, because a dark patch to the left made the letters appear misaligned. It Hole? Seriously?

  “What’s an It Hole?” they asked. “Are the S and H missing?”

  Bunni clucked her tongue. “It’s Rabbit Hole, stupid. And we are obviously not getting in for the opening, so you might as well take me to an S and H place right now.”

  “You know, you could at least say something about how I look,” said Alice.

  Bunni fumed at her watch again, and at the impossibly long line. When it dawned on her that Alice had said something, she glanced at their body and face and muttered, “You’re fine. I would have rethought the tie. Like your hair, though.”

  Alice shook their head. That would have to do. “What about my name?”

  “Your name is your name. How can anyone argue with it?” Her back was to Alice now while she made eye contact with a sturdy bouncer, who greatly approved of the woman before him.

  He leered at Bunni and waved her over. She gestured that Alice was her plus-one, and he didn’t seem bothered by that a bit. He’d probably try to hit on her later.

  Inside the club, Gryfünn belted out their one-hit-wonder, Drowned in My Own Tears. The song sounded a bit emo to Alice’s ears, and as with most tunes they despised, Alice changed the lyrics from:

  You are my entire heart

  I need you as my air

  I pray we never part

  Clandestine love affair

  to:

  I need to really fart

  and taint your precious air

  I hope the ground soon parts

  and sucks you into nowhere

  Bunni ran toward the stage, screaming like a teenager. This was her favourite band and she’d not stopped talking about the club opening for weeks. Alice wanted to join her, but not even the bliss of being beside Bunni tempted them to give their undivided attention to Gryfünn. Yeah, no. I’d rather hang upside down off a frozen balcony in January, in the nude, wearing a sign that reads, “Look Ma, I’m an icicle!”

  Alice shoved wireless earbuds in tightly, hoping to drown out the sound of cats being castrated without anesthetic. Picking up their phone to select a playlist, they jumped when they saw the screen go black again. Instantly, the smile reappeared.

  “If you like her, tell her,” said the app.

  Vitamins, thought Alice. That’s all I took before I left. Four of D, and I think a C. Maybe I shouldn’t have bought them from the organic shop. Who knows what’s in the fillers?

  They pressed two buttons on the phone, hoping to provoke a factory reset.

  “Stop that,” said the app. “Anyway, here’s what will eradicate that cacophony.”

  A rage of death metal surged into Alice’s consciousness, threatening to rip apart their eardrums with a driving double-kick beat, and a lead singer who sounded like Cookie Monster on steroids. Alice attempted to lower the volume.

  “Too loud?” said the creepy smiley app.

  Alice pressed and pressed the volume controls until they strained a ligament.

  “If you want something, you must ask me,” said the app. More teeth appeared in the smile.

  Alice looked around to make sure nobody stared and realized that was ridiculous. After all, it would just appear like they were speaking to a voice-activated device, as everyone did these days.

  “Volume down by thirty percent,” they said.

  “Was that so hard?” said the app, lowering the volume.

  Alice relented. They felt thirsty. Also claustrophobic as the crowds poured in, pressing firmly against Alice’s body. Holy crap, I’m not sure if I just lost my virtue! Alice pushed forward, taking their dry throat to the bar at a snail’s pace. It was not a great situation for someone who coveted their personal space. Losing patience, they ducked through a gap in the masses and dived for a lone seat at a table where some rando took a drag on his bong.

  “Um, hey, can I sit here?” asked Alice.

  “Looks like you’re doing a good enough job of it,” said the guy, blowing rings into the air.

  A voice rang through Alice’s earbuds. “Ask him to give you a treat. But don’t eat it until the right moment.”

  They peeked at their phone where an eye appeared above the grin and winked slyly. Alice looked up at Bong Guy and cleared their throat.

  “I’m parched, dude. Any chance I can get a drink around here?”

  “That’s not what I told you to say!” said the app.

  Alice removed the earbuds, and shoved their phone in their pocket. It vibrated like mad. Alice ignored it.

  “Bar’s over there, son,” Bong Guy pointed with the mouthpiece.

  “Yeah, I know, but it’s impossible to get to. And by the way, I’m not a guy-YI-YEEE!” Alice jumped out of their seat and quickly tossed the searing phone from their trousers. It landed face-up on the table. On the screen was not so much of a smiley face. More of an angry face.

  Bong Guy jumped when he caught a glimpse of it. “Whoa, dude,” – he turned Alice’s phone over to hide the app – “I didn’t know you were one of us. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. New hair?”

  Alice sat, mouth gaping, and picked up the phone, putting the buds back. They shook themself awake and cleared their throat. “Um, yeah, phone? Talk to me.”

  “First of all, don’t do that again.”

  “So noted.”

  “Second of all, ask the man for a treat.”

  “What kind of treat?”

  Bong Guy smiled and leaned toward Alice, exhaling smog into their face. “Right on, dude. You want a tart, dontcha?”

  “Don’t call me dude. I’m not a guy. Tart? The dessert or a woman with loose morals?”

  “Hey, I call my mom dude.”

  “Good for her. I don’t like it.”

  Bong Guy frowned and took another drag. “So, you want the tart or not?”

  “Again, person or baked good?”

  Bong Guy laughed. “You’re hysterical, dude— uh, person. Let’s shake on this budding friendship. It’s nice to have interests in common.” He held out his hand.

  “Take it,” the app said into Alice’s ear.

  Alice smiled awkwardly and shook the man’s hand. They felt a plastic packet with something hard inside pressed against their palm. When they tried to peek at it, Bong Guy chastised, “Not here, du— erm, person, not here. Keep it in your pocket until the signal. Geez, are you trying to blow our cover already?”

  “Sorry.”

  “Cwen will lose it completely if she finds out we stole her tarts.”

  “Cwen?”

  “Yeah. She’s over there, with Roy. It’s amazing we have them together in one place.” Bong Guy pointed with his mouthpiece again, as he blew more smoke rings in the air.

  The creepy smiley app had turned off the musical antidote, so Alice inwardly groaned at having to listen to Gryfünn’s latest hit, Everything Is Queer Today, a misdirected attempt at being i
nclusive. For some reason, the song had played on every local and online radio station. It must have been easier to avoid the plague than this musical train wreck. Alice prayed for a stroke – for either themself or the band. Alice wasn’t too fussy about whom.

  Trying to focus, Alice targeted their sights through a part in the crowd that revealed a large round table where a bunch of people seemed to be gambling. It was hard to make them out.

  “Head over,” said the app, sporting a wider, toothier smile. “See what you’re up against.”

  Seriously, how many teeth can one have? On second thought, since apps can be designed with more teeth than any living creature, I probably should just accept this at tooth value. They stood up and nodded to Bong Guy.

  “Later, person,” he said with a puff. “And remember, wait for the signal.”

  Alice ventured through the crowd, tripping on someone’s outstretched boot and crashing against two men slow-dancing. The startled couple offered a symphony of profanities.

  “You slaughterer of romance!” cried the guy in the over-sized felt top hat, who clutched his partner protectively. The other man wore a scowl of death, and a headband with furry brownish-greyish rabbit ears attached to the top.

  A killer rabbit? Alice resisted the urge to recite Monty Python sketches, and instead apologized profusely and fled the scene.

  Finally reaching the table with a gang of people around it, Alice had a better view of Cwen and Roy. Cwen looked strong and buxom in an Amazonian sense, clad in a red-leather dress that moulded her toned form perfectly. Her dark hair piled high on her head in a riot of corkscrew curls. Several tendrils escaped their bobby-pin incarceration and danced against her pale skin. Roy also had midnight locks, and would have been more handsome if he hadn’t conveyed such acute distress. He wore an ill-fitting, soft black leather jacket over a scarlet shirt, and nervously scratched his frizzy hipster beard. However odd a match, they seemed to be some sort of power-couple; everyone deferred to them in a sycophantic manner. Perhaps for this place, they’re hot poo, even though no true A-list couple would be ever caught dead in The Garden.

  “Straight flush, peasants!” Cwen tossed her cards on the table. All hearts. She reached for the pot piled high at the centre of the tabletop.

  “Not so fast,” said a man sitting at the nine o’clock spot. “Royal flush beats all!” He threw down the spades.

  Cwen said nothing, sitting upright. Roy cowed on her right. She turned to him and drew her finger across her throat. Roy gulped uncomfortably and nodded at the woman standing guard at Cwen’s left. The woman in turn nodded to two people who stood behind the man who’d just won the hand. They swooped in and pulled him from his chair, just as he reached for his winnings.

  “Hey! Let me go!”

  They held him firmly by the arms.

  “What did I do? Cwen, Cwen! What did I do?”

  Cwen inspected the cuticle of her index finger. “We don’t tolerate cheaters here, Jack. You must leave the game.”

  “But I—”

  “Permanently.” Cwen waved a hand dismissively and Jack disappeared into the crowd, escorted by what Alice assumed was Security. Hopefully, the man had merely been barred from the club. Hopefully.

  “Now, then,” said Cwen, “we need a new player.” She scanned the faces standing around the table. Most of those faces refused to look directly at her. However, her eyes sparkled when she noticed one person who appeared quite the noob.

  “You!” she barked. “The one with the horrible tie trying to free itself from its collar.”

  Alice pointed at their chest.

  “Yes, yes, you,” Cwen said impatiently. “Sit down.”

  “I really don’t know the game too well,” said Alice.

  “Perfect! Stan, pull out the chair for my new guest.”

  Someone obviously named Stan did her bidding. Alice felt all eyes on them as they sat. “Um, thanks, Stan,” they said over their shoulder.

  Stan grunted.

  “Your name, my dearest?” asked Cwen, suddenly all coquettish smiles. She dealt the cards in that gravity-defying way only experts manage. It was a skill Alice had always envied.

  “Alice. As in Cooper. My pronouns are they, them, and their.”

  A dimple deepened on Cwen’s left cheek. “Aren’t you a clever one? Well, then, my nonbinary friend, shall we play?”

  “Um, sure.”

  “But do remove your earbuds, dear. One might accuse you of cheating.”

  Alice’s eyes widened. They’d be losing their only connection to the smiley app. For once they actually wanted that creepy thing inside their head. They removed the left earbud but before they could take out the other, the app said, “The pink flamingo.”

  Cwen skillfully dealt the cards. Alice cleared their throat again and thought, Lose. All I have to do is lose. Then everything’ll be okay.

  They picked up their cards. Three jacks and two kings. A full house. Aw, gnads. Around the table the other players wore stoic poker faces. Considering the amount of sweat trickling into Alice’s pits and onto their forehead, they probably had all the tells in the known universe. Crap!

  When someone called out the betting round, Alice nearly announced they had no money. A mountain of chips poured from monstrously large hands. Cwen smiled with only her mouth. Her eyes glared wickedly.

  “A gift from me to you.” She laughed with certain malice.

  Alice put down the required red chips. As the other players folded, it never occurred to Alice to fold. Maybe because they felt eyes staring at their cards from behind. Is it still considered cheating to fake your own death in poker? They decided to ask for three cards. That should ruin my hand. It’ll also make me seem ambitious to the goons behind me.

  Cwen dealt the three cards. Alice picked them up. They had discarded the three jacks only to retrieve two kings and an ace. Now they had four kings, which was even better than a full house. Okay, Life, seriously?!

  Everyone stared at Alice now. Alice had no idea why.

  “Well?” said an overly rouged woman to their right. “Raise or check?”

  “Uh, um, check?”

  “Oh, come now,” said Cwen. “Will no one have the courage to put some money down on this friendly game? Nobody likes a coward, you know.” She glared pointedly at Alice.

  If I bet nothing, it’s bad. If I bet anything, it’s bad. If I bet everything, it’s super bad. But maybe she has another straight flush. Maybe she keeps straight flushes on her lap. That could be a thing, right? Hoping desperately the true cheat was Cwen, Alice pushed out ten black chips onto the table. Ten seemed to be a conservative number.

  “A thousand? Well done!” cried Cwen. “You impress me, young Alice.” Her almost black irises said otherwise. No doubt she was prepping her finger to cross her throat once more.

  The people to Alice’s left folded until it was Cwen’s turn to bet. “All in,” she said.

  “But, dear,” said Roy, “you can’t—”

  “I can do what I wish!” she retorted.

  Alice pushed the mountain of chips to the pot and threw down their cards. Cwen scowled. She had a full house.

  “L-look, you-you keep it,” sputtered Alice, pointing to the chips. “I-I don’t want it. I p-prefer a low-income Bohemian lifestyle, anyhow.” They tried to stand but were pushed back onto their chair.

  “Rooooy!” Cwen bellowed.

  Without warning, a siren roared and water spritzed out of overhead sprinklers. People screamed, mostly because their hair and outfits were drenched. A loudspeaker voice announced that this was an unexpected false alarm. The sprinklers stopped immediately. However, the diversion worked. Whoever’s hands had been on Alice had let go, so Alice bolted as fast as possible. Their phone vibrated and heated up again, but without scorching. Alice grabbed the plastic packet from their back pocket, looking at a beige pill with a raspberry gel-like center. Gee, it even looks like a tart. They popped it in their mouth and washed it down with whatever drink was nearest.
Ugh. I hate Scotch.

  The ingredients blazed through Alice’s system, changing their perception of their surroundings. The motley crew of patrons who were still there seemed to think all the wet was camp and fun, but dispersed throughout the club stood beings most definitely not human. Humanoid mauve faces, streaked with fluorescent orange and green patterns, scanned the crowds. Alice gasped, searching for Bunni. They pushed people out of the way, distinctly avoiding the aliens, to find their beloved friend.

  She hadn’t budged and danced sensually, soaked to the bone, to the pounding beat of the onstage horror. Sadly, Gryfünn were not aliens. That would have explained a lot, actually.

  “Bunni, Bunni!” Alice grabbed her arm. “We have to get out of here!”

  “Ugh, no way!” she protested. “This is my favourite tune. I’ve waited forever to see these guys play live.”

  “No, really, we have to get out of here!”

  “You go. I’m staying.”

  Alice spun about and saw more aliens; the highest concentration of them hung about Cwen’s table. Cwen herself stood out from the rest not only because of where she sat, but also because of her outrageously high bouffant in gradients of purple. Um, pretty gaudy. And she didn’t like my tie?

  Alice looked over at Bunni. Oh heck, let her hate me. They grabbed the woman, swept her off her feet, and onto their shoulder, like a sack of potatoes. A sexy sack of spuds, though, in pink stilettos.

  “Have you lost your mind? Put me down!” screamed Bunni as Alice panted and ran.

  They stopped when they noticed more aliens blocking the exit.

  “Crap!”

  “Put me down or else I’ll never speak to you again!”

  Alice did. As soon as Bunni’s heels touched the concrete floor, Alice grabbed her cheeks in their hands.

  “You’re going to think I’ve lost it, but we’re in big trouble. This place is crawling with aliens!”