In a way, I guess it made sense. Somehow, the evil woman plopped me into Stull Junction. But I still had no clue about the reasons behind her actions. Making me suffer for trying to leave didn’t make sense unless the answer was obvious.

Leaving Stull Junction meant I could leave her control over me. That had to be the reason. She didn’t want me dead. Given the pain and blood, killing me was easy for her. As I thought through the events that happened, one thing became obvious to me.

She wouldn’t leave me alive unless she needed me for something.

A few minutes later, we pulled into the Kildare General Hospital. By this time, the blood no longer ran from my eyes and my headache was gone. Still, my face looked like I lost a boxing match according to my wife. I dutifully went with her inside the entrance. Not long after, the nurse escorted us into a white room with Adele nervously pacing the floor. And I kept staring at her white and blue dress that looked more like a waitress’ uniform.

Naturally, my bleeding eye problem met with some skepticism, despite the dried red blood still covering some of my face and hands and a good portion of my white shirt. However, the woman respectfully wrote our description on the clipboard form she had in her hands. When the doctor arrived, he had a cigarette in his mouth. When he looked me over, I noticed his own eyes were bloodshot. The man nodded and hummed to himself while flashing a small light into my eyes. After whispering with the nurse about the chart in her hands, he came back to the table that I sat upon.

“Well, Mr. Dagger, you have an unusual case. Normally, I’d say this stems from a head injury, yet you and your wife said you didn’t strike your head. In fact, you state the symptoms happened before your wife hit the brakes.”

Of course, I had no intention of telling him about Miss Wonderful, so I downplayed everything.

“Yeah, it happened pretty fast. Maybe I bumped my head earlier this week and didn’t pay much attention to it.”

The doctor rubbed his cheek, nodding at my diagnosis.

“Certainly, that’s a possibility. You don’t show signs of subconjunctival hemorrhage which I would expect. Now, I could have an x-ray done on your skull to look for any problems.” He mulled over the idea.

I didn’t want to hang around much longer, so I resisted his idea.

“Doc, I haven’t felt dizzy and I’m back to normal. This only happened once. Do I need an x-ray? Hell, I didn’t bump my head that bad if I can’t remember it.”

The man looked at Adele, then back at me.

“I will tell you that rest is the best medicine sometimes. I want you to go home and get some rest. Now, if you have any pain or other symptoms at all, I want you back here to see me immediately.”

I nodded and put my fedora back on my head while Adele tried to insist on me staying at the hospital. She talked about the need for more tests. I smiled at her and took her by the arm.

“It’s alright, doc knows best. I’ll come running this way if this happens again. I think it’s just a freak thing that happened.”

Guiding her to the door, I thanked the doctor for his help. The nurse joined us while Adele continued to push for me to stay.

“Babe, I swear I feel fine. Let’s not worry right now. We’ll go home and have a quiet evening.”

She stopped in front of me and pressed both of her hands on my chest. The worry in her expression made me grimace.

“Don’t play a tough guy just because you’re a detective,” she said.

I grinned at her.

You have me so wrong.

I couldn’t explain, yet I didn’t want her to worry, so I kissed her instead.

“I can’t hug you with all this blood on me. But I promise that I’m not playing tough, alright? The pain is gone and I’m not bleeding anymore. But let’s consider the fact that they probably can’t test for something like this. Don’t you think the doctor would tell me to stay if he could do that? Come on, let’s think this through. If it happens again, then they can make me into a lab rat.”

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It cost me eight dollars and fifty cents to get out of the hospital. As we walked to the car, I shook my head in disbelief at the low cost. It remained difficult for me to accept the prices I found in Stull Junction. Fifteen cents will get you a hamburger, while a soda in the bottle goes for a nickel.

When we got to the apartment, Adele appeared to calm down. She asked me if I wanted anything, and I shook my head. Sitting on the couch, I let out a long breath. I felt bad for her. Seeing someone sitting next to you spilling out blood isn’t a pleasant experience.

“Get out of those clothes,” she told me.

Her hands came from behind the couch to press on my shoulders.

Tossing my head back, I grinned at her.

“You’re getting pretty aggressive,” I teased.

“I want to get the bloodstains out of the clothes, you idiot,” she playfully slapped my forehead.

Then Adele bent over and kissed me lightly on the lips.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled back. Adele stepped away, heading for the kitchen. I watched her with a sinking sensation in my belly at the pain I caused her. She’s going to hurt because of my injury. My curiosity at trying to leave the city led to this.

I’m such a damn fool.

~~~

As I pulled the car into a parking spot outside the building to my office, I decided I should put in a patent for power steering. Struggling to park that big automobile reminded me why I liked new technology. I looked up at the five-story building holding the office of Lane Dagger and yawned. The lack of sleep overnight caught up with me.

Thoughts and concerns kept me awake long after Adele went to sleep. The worries carried over into my dreams, forcing me to wake before the sun rose. I quietly got out of our large new bed and dressed. As I got ready to leave, I walked over to the other side of the bed and gave Adele a kiss on her lips which woke her. She sat up, promising to get me breakfast, but I told her to sleep in.

“I’m going to my office to wind things down there. I’ll be back early as I can.”

“What do you mean?”

“It means I have other ambitions and I don’t want you to worry about me,” I said with a smile. “Do you think I’ll be a good radio announcer? Maybe we can buy a radio station.”

Adele stared at me with a cute, confused expression.

“Where’s this coming from? You’ve never spoken about doing something like that.”

“I told you; things are changing. Now go back to sleep. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m going to have you in the middle of everything.”

As I looked up at the windows of my crazy office, I remembered the satisfied look on Adele’s face at my idea. Then, I wondered what Miss Wonderful would do now since I’m changing my path again. With a smirk, I slid out of the front seat.

Someday, I’ll spit in your face, lady! I haven’t forgotten my treatment.

While I stayed at the apartment, I completed my search of everything written or stored inside the rooms. Feeling I had a suitable understanding of my life with Adele and our situation, I next moved to the private detective occupation of Lane Dagger.

To be honest, I planned on getting out of this office as soon as I could. Realizing that I’m not cut out for this work, I’m thinking that maybe I’ll become involved in one of the local radio stations. My dreams of becoming a talking head weren’t dashed yet. Since television isn’t around here, I decided that becoming a radio announcer would be fun. Who knows, I might even have the voice for it.

My initial plan is to collect the files that are in the office for useful information, then wind down any commitments. I doubt there’s much for me to do since no one called the apartment looking for me during my time alone with Adele.

My quiet office can’t be that busy with work.

When I walked in, the empty chair at the desk swiveled around. The madness of what I witnessed reminded me to name my invisible secretary right then.

“Hello Alice. Sorry I’m late, but I got caught up with my wife. I hope your day is going well.” I told her as I stopped at the large metal water cooler that sits on metal legs sitting by the door.

Now, I used the name Alice after I remembered a book called Through the Looking-Glass. I know many people have never read the second book about Alice’s adventures. Hell, I never read it either, but I remembered watching some old cartoon based on the book when I browsed the Internet. Obviously, there’s no web here, not even a damn TV, but my point is that everything in Alice’s world is reversed, including logic, after she pushes through the mirror.

The name suits this place. Alice’s world in the fairy tale is pretty fucking weird. But it’s got nothing on the damn version of Wonderland that I’m living in.

As I stood there considering what I said, I’m pretty confident that Alice isn’t a ghost or spirit but more like a presence inside this office. It appears that she’s here whenever I arrive. I’m considering Alice as the perfect A.I. in a world that doesn’t have much in technology.

I’m curious if she’ll got mad at me using that name.

Watching the chair holding my invisible secretary turn back around and papers start shuffling on her desk, I shrug at the non-response and look over at the water cooler. The glass carbuncle filled with water beckons me since I’m sweating inside my wool clothes. I pull out this ridiculously small paper cup from a holder on the stand. When I pour the water, the carbuncle shakes and gives out a blu-lop sound as a large bubble rises inside. I smile like a kid and do it a couple of more times after swallowing down the water.

Sometimes the simplest things can be fun, I decided.