Blood in Wonderland

Chapter 1: Bloody-wakey

I could feel rays of sun warm my face. The pillow was hard, and the bed, not comfortable at all. The springs were poking my porcelain skin. My head was throbbing, and I was beginning to feel nauseous. I had no memories of last night except for the fact that I drank a lot of shots and when I say a lot, I mean... a lot. Grumpily, I opened my eyes. I didn't recognize the place where I was. It was dirty and the furniture seemed cheap. I knew I didn't rent this room; I never would have had. 

"Slept well?"   

My heart skipped a beat, and I jumped out of the bed. My feet hit something on the ground, and I fell, grabbing the blankets with me. I couldn't scream, talk or even whisper, I felt sick and confused. 

Under the bed, there was someone, a body, a dead body. There were slashes from a knife all over the girl's skin. The blood was dry, and I didn't understand how I didn't smell the disgusting odour earlier. The grey shirt I was wearing, which wasn't mine, was also covered in a red and gross substance. I crawled back and stood on my two feet. My eyes were fixed on a cute, but psycho-looking guy around his twenties. His legs were resting on the bed, but his upper body was laying against the bed frame. His arms were behind his head.

The stranger's hair was dark brown, and a few locks were falling on his forehead. His eyes were a dark color, almost black, and a strange smile was drawn on his luscious lips which had blood on them. He was wearing a white shirt with red spots.

I was scared. He knew it. I couldn't show my fear. 

"Who the f*ck are you?"

"Your knight in shining armor, what do you think Val?"

He was playing with me. I had to get out of here and call the police. 

"Don't you remember? You asked if we could leave the bar because you said, and I quote: 'it was boring'."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even remember last night. What did you do to me?"

From the corner of my eye, I saw a door probably connecting to outside. I took a small step to the left. I could hear my heart's pulses against my skull.  

"Me? Nothing."

I didn't reply and gazed at him. I took a deep breath and without further thought, made a run for the mysterious door. I didn't even look back and threw it open. I sprinted outside but stopped a few seconds after. Tears started filling my eyes. 

We were in the middle of nowhere, in a rundown and disgusting motel near a void highway.

There were no cars passing by, not a single soul at bay. Nothing more except for a new SUV, a Toyota Land Cruiser. I ran to it, opened the door and looked for the keys, but ended up not finding them. 

"Need this?"

I span around, ready to fight to get out of here. The stranger was a few feet away from me. He dangled the keys and held it higher in the air. I was shaking, hard. I always loved to read horror and thriller novels, but to live an adventure like this, no. I didn’t want this. I knew I couldn't ask nicely; he wouldn't give them to me. 

"Let me leave and I won't talk about it."

"About what? The fact that you killed some girl?"

I could feel myself lose all my colors. The blood rushed down from my cheeks. 

"What? I didn't do anything, you did."

"Are you sure? I mean, I know what I saw. I was not alone to torture this poor girl. You're talented. I mean, not everybody can be so cold-blooded when murdering someone."

I was at lost. I didn't remember anything. Could this be true? I knew how to fight, and I didn't let anybody play with me, but killing someone? It wasn't me. He was lying to me. I shook my head.

"No. Give me the keys."

Surprisingly, the guy threw me the keys and I caught them before they could hit the ground. They were bloody, it was disgusting. 

"Alright. Mind to give me a lift into town my little killer?"

"Shut up. I don't even know you."

"Daniel. Now you know."

When I was about to go into the car, a hand grabbed me by my hair and slammed me against the bodywork. I grimaced when I felt the pain through my back. My heart was beating fast. I was playing the role of the tough girl, but deep inside, I was the scared victim. I hated to feel this way. I worked too hard in my life to feel this way. 

"I don't understand. What do you want? Yesterday, I just wanted to enjoy a single night when I couldn't care less about finding someone. Then, I wake up in a room with you, blood on my shirt and the dead body of a girl I've never seen in my life. What do you want? Why can't I remember anything from the night before? Huh?"

"Listen girly, YOU, and nobody else, decided to go in the Blood in Wonderland. What happened... You did that to yourself. You should have known. Only one drink in this bar and your soul isn't yours anymore. You're lucky that you didn't end up dead or maybe not, we never know. You should never have put a foot in this bar."

Tears were running down my cheeks. My lips quivered and I bit them to avoid bawling my eyes out. I didn't know if Daniel was talking with metaphors, but in either case, I was scared, really scared. I just wanted to go home and forget about everything. 

"Now, I'm going to drive if you don't mind. Don't want you to ruin my car, don't we.”