Alice stared at the skeleton for longer than she wanted to admit, hoping to God it was a sick joke that it spoke to her and thanked her. No matter how many times she'd poked it with a ruler or tossed pieces of paper at it, it didn't say another word.

Squinting, Alice stepped around the bag of bones, her gaze flickering over the papers and books scattered on nearly every surface. 

Everything about this house was strange.

Her hands brushed over papers littered with complex mathematical equations, some of which she recognized from her time in college. She picked on up, her eyes skimming over the racing numbers that slowly grew more and more scrambled as the writing continued. 

Some of the papers held sketches of mystical-looking creatures, and biological notes written over the margins of the pages. It was lunacy, complete and utter nonsense from the mind of a madman. 

A mad man that happened to be her soul mate's twin brother, but mad nonetheless.

Alice set the pages back down, once against shifting around the skeleton to the mounted unicorn-looking animal head. Unable to stop herself, Alice reached out, her fingers streaking over the crisp white fur that still felt soft under her fingers.

She frowned.

What a sick joke...

Her hand fell to her side, propped on her hip as she continued to circle the cabin. It felt like stepping into a world where everything was a puzzle, and she had no idea how to solve it.

As Alice continued to explore the room, her eyes landed on a bookshelf, filled with ancient-looking books, ancient manuscripts, and dusty books. The titles and topics on the spines were hard to decipher, but she could make out a few words: "summoning," "cryptids," and "alchemy."

She gently picked up one of the books and flipped it open, her fingers running over the pages under each of the words. The scent of old books was almost soothing, despite the hint of smoke in the air she hoped was from a candle.

When was the last time she'd seen so many books and not been in a library?

It reminded her of her time in college, surrounding herself with textbooks in her dorm room, and studying the pages so she'd ace a biology test. 

As she flipped through the pages of the book, her eyes flickered across the words written in it. The pages were densely covered in handwritten notes, symbols, and diagrams. They were difficult to interpret, but some words stood out, such as "unicorns," "interdimensional gateways," and "summoning rituals."

"What the hell?" She muttered to herself, shaking her head.

It was all so strange.

Why would Stan's twin need to know anything about interdimensional gateways?

Alice snapped the book shut, shoving it back in its place, making sure it was exactly how it was before. She stepped around the strange skeleton and the unicorn, careful not to disturb the various trinkets or artifacts scattered around the room.

"Boss?" Alice called out, her voice echoing in the eerily quiet cabin.

Where had they gone?

"Boss?" She tried again, poking her head into what looked to be the kitchen, but the twins weren't there either.

"Stanley!" Alice tried again.

How did two adult men, two loud adult men, just disappear?

Alice walked around the cabin, glancing into different rooms. As she explored, her footsteps echoed on the old wooden floor, mixing with the odd sounds of creaking wood and distant noises. But there was still no sign of the twins. The cabin was large, but not large enough to completely lose two adults in.

That's when she felt it.

Or heard it.

The rattling of glasses and the scrape of wood against wood under her feet as if a giant had been woken under her feet. Alice glanced down and gasped, staggering backward as pinpricks of light burst from between the floorboards.

A series of metallic clanks and grinding voices sounded from beneath her and Alice found herself bathed in blinding blue-white light. Her hand moved to cover her face as she turned and tried to dash to the door Stan had disappeared into, but she couldn't grasp the purchase.

"Stanley!"

Alice cried out as her body pitched into the air, all gravity lost as she hovered in mid-air. The disorienting sensation was intense, and Alice desperately attempted to move towards the door, her voice filled with panic.

She wasn't the only thing that lost gravity. The books, papers, and trinkets she'd been observing floated and hovered around his, lazily spinning in circles before it was over.

Alice crashed to the ground with a hard thud, the force of gravity returning smacking the back of her head against the floorboards. Alice gasped, a mix of pain and having the wind knocked out of her leaving her body pinned against the floor.

What the hell was that?

She muttered under her breath, struggling to push herself back up. The sound of glass rattling and papers rustling filled the room as everything dropped to the ground.

It didn't matter what it was.

Alice forced herself to her feet, staggering as the force of gravity and her breathlessness tried to keep her down. She needed to find Stan and they needed to get the hell away from this cabin.

Steps heavy, Alice staggered into the room Stan had disappeared from, her hand bracing against the wall as she cried out his name, her voice cracking under the pressure.

"STANLEY!!"

She couldn't hear him.

She couldn't see him.

Where was he?

What had Ford done to him?

"BOSS!"

Alice cried out again, her hands catching her on the wall as she tried to rip at the panels. If Ford was so into the occult and whatever else, she wouldn't have been surprised if a secret tunnel or something was leading...

Somewhere.

"P-princess-"

Alice wheeled around at the sound of his voice, rough and broken as he leaned against an opened door in the wall, with a journal hanging loosely in his hand.

"I'm fine."

He looked less than fine, his free hand clutching at his right shoulder. She could see the faint lines of smoke rising from behind him, his hair messy and tousled as he stumbled toward her.

Alice shoved herself off the wall, struggling not to trip over the force of her movement.

"Stan!"

She cried out, her arms wrapping around his neck as she slammed into him. The smell of burning flesh filled her nose like the oil staining his red coat. He let out a soft groan, his hand burying itself into her hair and holding her against him.

Alice drew back, her gaze raking over him, until she saw the blood on her sleeve. She pulled her arm back, staring, before she forced his shoulder toward her.

There was a mark burned into his skin.

"Stanley-" Alice breathed, forcing her gaze to meet his. "What the fuck happened?"

Stan's brown eyes met her grey, his jaw clenching before he looked away.

"Ford's portal," he muttered, his voice tight. "He accidentally activated it and I... I shoved him and he... He got sucked in..."

Alice shook her head, disbelief filling her as she moved to unzip his coat. Her hands shook against his shoulder as she carefully pried the burnt ends from his skin and away from the brand. 

"W-what?"

For once in her life, Alice felt speechless.

Stan barely managed to suppress a pained noise as she pried his coat from his shoulders, his brow creased as he moved his head to the side and his eyes shut tight. 

"I need a cigarette."