Author's Note: This part happened in Alice's head.
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Halloween ended at midnight, though that little detail had always been overlooked. The haunted mansion sent its last group of thrill-seekers out of its estate before the last chime of the old grandfather's clock in the grand foyer. The employees left right after them, heading out to enjoy the rest of the night and festivities in a chorus of excitement. The odd doll experiment was quickly forgotten. The lights in the mansion went dark. Its time was over and it would go to sleep now... until the next Halloween.
Darren Romero headed back to the doll room. Alice's eyes were closed within the glass container. Even though she was propped and bound to the stand, she looked very much like sleeping beauty within the glass coffin. He didn't open the container and kiss her. He knew she was entirely out of it from the drugs.
He pushed out the glass container and down a corridor to an elevator. He had added it a few years ago, in an area which was closed to public, and pressed the button for the basement. As the door chimed close and descended through the floors, he found his heartbeat racing with excitement once more. His lips stretched into a macabre grin. He rapped his knuckles on the shell of the container, knew he wouldn't get any response. He had plenty of time for his next preparation.
=/=
"Don't run away from me, girl." A deep voice bellowed. "Don't you dare make me chase after you."
Alice ran down the narrow flight of stairs located near the servants' quarters. She couldn't remember who was shouting at her, her escape inspired by unadulterated fear. She knew she was heading in the direction of the stables, that it was safe there, but she had no idea why she would know that. Heavy footsteps sounded closer. She abandoned any more thoughts and instead prioritized survival. There was no mistaking the menace in the man's voice.
"Get back here this instant, you little whore. You know there's nowhere you can hide." His words were punctuated by the heavy thump of his boots. "No one will help you here. This is my estate now, and mother isn't here to tell me what to do."
She didn't stop until she reached the servants' door near the kitchen. She had been fortunate in not spotting any servants on her way here, but it seemed her luck had run out. The door refused to open no matter much hard she pushed. She pounded a fist on it in frustration, her mind spiraling in search for another escape route.
"There you are, little sister. I've finally found you." A tall man appeared behind her suddenly.
Alice whirled around, almost creaking her neck when she turned her neck too quickly. She froze. The man was familiar to her. It was none other than her employer, Darren Romero.
She tried to leap away from him but his large hand clamp down on her elbow, held her in place.
"Let me go, Mr. Romero. I want to go home," she pleaded, attempting to free her limb.
"Mr. Romero? Is this some kind of new game you've come up with?" The man chuckled. He took her chin in a forceful grip and made her look at him. This close to him, she was incredibly aware of not only his masculinity, but the threat it presented to her. As to what he wanted from her, she knew it all from his lascivious leer.
It was also the time she noticed something odd. This man was not Darren Romero. They looked very similar, but her employer was more broad-shouldered and three inches taller. Darren Romero looked like well-respected professor at a university. No one knew more about the false appearance he had put up than her. After all, she had stupidly fell for it, even had a crush on him.
Who was this man then? The more she thought about it, the more she realized the strangeness of her situation. The last thing she recalled was being strapped into the glass container and fainted. Was she dead now? Or was this another nightmare she was trapped in?
"Where do you think you're going? Back to the hospital? I've heard from the wardens what they do up there. They say you are a particular favorite of theirs, that you performed well. I'd to spend several thousand more to get you out. My banker was quite unhappy with my decision, but I am quite insistent. You're my sister, after all. Family stick together."
He leaned in closer to her, until she had to arch her neck painfully to look up at him, feel his body heat emanating from him. Her body trembled in aversion. "Why should you spread your legs for those men when you can do the same for me?"
He pushed her brutally against the wall. Air rushed out of her lungs. There was a loud tearing sound of fabric. Alice felt cool air on her breasts. The man had ripped her the collar of her dress right down the front. His eyes glowed as he stared at her bare body.
"Look at yourself. You look no different seven years ago when I took your virginity in your bed. But you're no longer innocent, are you? They say you lift your skirts and part your legs for any man who'd have you, that you welcome their seed into your womb until they got you with child. You've become quite the whore, haven't you?" His hand squeezed her hips and groped her ass, his touch presumptuous, his tone offensive.
A rush of anger roared through her. It felt odd, distant like an echo, as though it didn't belong to her. She spoke, but the words were not hers.
"It was rape. I didn't want any of that! They made me!"
He raised a brow. "They made you? Are you sure about that?" He pressed closer to her until his body heat was a brand on her skin. "Did they make you come like I did? Did you scream out your orgasm for them too? Did you beg for their cocks inside you in exchange for a climax?"
His voice was low, almost alluring, sent shivers down her spine. He grabbed one of her nipple and rolled it between his fingers until it hardened into erection. "How many times did you come for them? Are you sure you can forget the pleasure of being fucked by cock after cock? Do you feel empty between your thighs now, little sister?"
She found herself speaking. "You can't touch me. You're my brother."
The man laughed, throwing his head backwards as though he had never heard a joke so funny. "I already did, and I will continue to do so. Besides, no one would dare to naysay me. You are no Romero. Father has never once admitted you are of his blood. Or have you forgotten that you are still Amanda Wright?"
The name snapped all the pieces into place in Alice's mind. Somehow, she was her right now, and the man before her was Amanda Wright's brother. Alice remembered what Darren Romero said about the unfortunate woman, that she was driven mad by her family, sent to an asylum where she was tormented. A look around her and she realized they must be at the mansion, which must have been the Romero family home. Was she hallucinating? Had she been driven mad that she empathized with the life experiences of Amanda Wright? Was this what truly happened to Amanda Wright?
The man lost his patience. With a vicious movement, he widened the tear of her dress, let it drop onto the floor. Alice realized if she didn't run now she would be raped by this man. She had no intention of experiencing that part of Amanda Wright's life. She kicked back at his shin and twisted away from his grip. She was dressed only in her underwear now, the rest of her bare. She ran down the corridor where she came from, hoping like hell that she wouldn't meet anyone else right now.
"Get back here!" She heard him bellow as she ran up the stairs. "Get back here or I swear I'm going to lock you in the cellars and have you whipped! Do you hear me? You get back here right-"
Alice slid through an open door and slammed it shut, cutting off the furious rant abruptly. She pressed her ear to the door but heard nothing through it. Stepping back, she began to look around the room she was in. It appeared to be an unused room or something. The wallpaper on the wall was peeling and she was sure there was mildew in the corners. Strange for a wealthy household would have a room so neglected. She took a closer look around, jumped when the wooden floorboards creaked loudly. For the most part, the room was empty.
Except for a small door on the other side of the wall. She was distinctly reminded of the scene in Alice in Wonderland where the girl had to drink a shrinking potion in order to get through a door like this. But there was no such potion for her. Alice got onto her hands and knees and opened the door carefully, peering curiously into it. There was nothing beyond a long dark corridor she couldn't see the end of.
She has to go in.
Alice found herself obeying the strange thought which had popped into her mind, not even questioning it. The door was just big enough to fit her shoulders and hips, leaving little wriggle room. It didn't take long for claustrophobia to set in. The darkness was unsettling. She wished she could have a torch, even a lighter. Her knees and palms began to hurt. It was also getting hotter and she was starting to perspire.
She thought of abandoning the idea and heading back out, but she was too far gone. She bit her lower lip and persisted, though much slowly than before. She would reach the other side eventually, wouldn't she? How far can this corridor go? This must be some trick of the mind. If it is, she hopes she wakes up from it soon.
