Wake Me From the Dead

There had never been a time in his young life when David had been able to be free and idealistic the way other children are. There had been too much work to do on the farm, too many injuries early on that had brought the stinging realization that the world was not a kind place. His father had been too demanding and his mother, in all her nurturing glory had not had enough pull on the family to give her Davie a chance to believe in himself. But his father was dead and there was no one left to impress or even look up to because Clint was gone as well and maybe it was for the best. For the first time in his life the boy was able to think about himself for one moment, and he wanted this moment to last forever. He couldn’t worry about everyone else all the time - it wasn’t fair for Hatter to have to take the world’s sorrows onto his own shoulders, he had his own sadness to deal with. In fact the boy hadn’t even been given a chance to really take in the fact of his older brother’s death, it was just a hazy truth hidden in the back of his mind. All of this long, murky rebellion was just a distraction for David, a way to forget his responsibility to the farm and to the dead ancestors of his to carry on the Hatter tradition. He needed for the rest of history to just let him be the man he was going to be, regardless of their wishes and demands. Hatter was going to be a good man in spite of everything that had tried to push him down and hold him back.

She was younger than he was, romantic, and living in her own world without even a thought about what else could be out there waiting to burst her little idyllic bubble. And her parents had aided her in becoming lost in this pristine dream because they had not wanted Alice to hurt the way others did. Hatter could understand this effort to protect their daughter, but could not comprehend how they could clip the wings of such a beautiful creature, just in the prime of her existence. Maybe if his parents had thought about his dreams, had wanted the best for him instead of pushing him to be someone he was not, David would not have fallen into the womanizing and promiscuity that had encompassed his father’s life. He had to admit that the pain of heartbreak was imminent in everyone’s life at least once, and mostly in his, he had been the one to break hearts, but there had still been that one girl who had hurt him seemingly beyond repair. That had been a long time ago, and he had whisked his heart away into a box and hidden it, so that he could not be hurt again. It was the reason perhaps, why Hatter only slept with girls and did not try to get to know them. If he did not know anything about them, the leaving was so much easier. Leaving Alice, yes that was her name, and now that he knew it would not be so easy for Hatter to just walk away the way he always did. Oh, maybe he’d come back and try to find her again when this silly thing was over, but what if he ended up dead? Where would all his good intentions be then?

It was as though the two had been lovers for years, the way they walked so close together in that easy embrace. No one would have taken Alice for an oyster in this pretty, little picture of young, Wonderland love. And he was aware enough to protect the both of them if someone should come along with a gun. No good solider would be without one of his own, and Hatter was glad that the girl had not been so bold as to reach around to touch his back, since she might feel the cool metal of his pistol, stuck into the back of his pants. Her tiny voice was thrilling, right in his ear like a little bird, sitting on his shoulder, singing for him. Hatter however, was slightly taken aback at her abrupt halting motion and the way she grabbed his arm so suddenly. The boy turned his head back to see why she stopped, thinking maybe she was scared of something she’d heard or seen and he meant to comfort her either way. But apparently that wasn’t the case since now she was telling him that he had to leave…Oh, she was trying to be noble and brave, wasn’t she? It was really quite adorable, how her fearful young face was so beautiful even in this wretchedly scary and perpetually dangerous situation. A half simper started at the left side of the boy’s face, his deep brown eyes alight with some sort of childish mischief.

His head cocked naturally to the right a bit and he looked as if he would burst out into a fit of laughter at the girl, but knew he could not, since she only had the best of intentions. ”My darling, if it is dangerous for me, then it is more so for you. At least I know how to take care of myself if someone attacks us.” He looked down at her slightly from underneath those long lashes of his, simply beautiful in all his boyish glory. It was then that he did something unthinkably foolish, and brash but totally in character. Bending slightly he swept her up into his arms and picked her up like a small child. Grinning widely, Hatter could only contain his laughter by not speaking, because the look on Alice’s face was absolutely priceless. He began to walk back in the direction of her house then, still with that huge grin on his face as though he had just made the most wonderful joke. Standing still for a quick moment, Hatter made his last offer, ”Now, are you going to cooperate with me or am I just going to have to carry you all the way home missy?” He could not help but chuckle at their situation, which was totally out of place in this ruined town, as they seemed to be in the midst of a children’s story, when in fact they were in the middle of a disaster. But there was something raging within them too, and as they fought against their hearts, about whether or not to give into this beautiful sort of childish love both of them knew they could not fight long.