Rally woke Luna up. The shaft was back on the vent.

"Are you feeling well?"

The panther rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "I feel like pepper spray burned my head. But I'm good."

Rally glared at the ceiling. "The vent is bugged with a knockout gas trap. Someone definitely doesn't want us to escape."

Luna scanned the shaft. "You're right… Shit! We have to find another way to bust out."

"The door could be bugged too."

In her x-ray vision, Luna glanced at the metal walls. Another ventilation tunnel was behind the back wall, connected to the one above thr ceiling.

She approached the back wall and napped it, hearing a hollow sound. "There is a vent passage behind this wall. It goes up to the one above us."

Rally got up. "Good, is it hollow?"

Luna smiled. "Yes, I can rip this puppy wide open."

"It better not be bugged too."

"Trust me, it's clear." Luna stepped back and held up her fingers.

Her cyberium metal claws sprung out, sparkling in their shininess. She always kept them oiled in case she had to cut through tough alloy in her path. Plus, Humanimal girls love shiny, durable claws.

With one claw, Luna pieced the wall and cut around its surface, drawing a big circle. After she finished, she stabbed her claws into the wall and pulled the circle out.

The ventilation tunnel was huge and dark, leading up to the next tunnel. Luna couldn't tell if they were inside a building or beneath the park. But whatever the vent goes, Luna will find her partner at their unknown location.

She smiled at Rally. "Come on. Let's go and find my partner."

*****

Rei stepped into a room full of giant purple mushrooms, covered in green neon spots, towering over the dark grass. Yellow stars glimmered across the black walls and ceilings, making the room look like nightfall.

Somehow the mushroom chamber creeped Rei out. With darkness around, anything could jump out and attack her. Even the mushrooms might be traps, ready to crush her.

But Rei scanned each mushroom, detecting no mechanism inside the hollow sculptures. If the Cheshire Cat planted a trap without warning her, that would prove he doesn’t want her to survive in his so-called game. So far, only the puzzles had the deadly traps and they only activated when Rei started the trial. Even the Cheshire Cat gave her hints to ensure her survival.

He almost sounded like he wanted Rei to complete his obstacle course without dying. But why? What kind of sicko kidnaps women and hopes they will survive his death traps with a little help?

Did he grow bored at watching his victims fail in his sick games?

The only thing Rei needed to understand was that the Cheshire Cat was only a psychopath who loved watching his victims suffer. For murdering people, he has no redeeming qualities.

Toward the center, Rei reached a short mushroom stool with a giant caterpillar animatronic on tip. The contraption held a hookah stick connected to a bottle below his belly. His slimy skin glowed ghostly blue like the neon lights on the mushrooms around him.

"Here is your next challenge," said the Cheshire Cat's speaker. "The caterpillar asks who you are, but you cannot remember."

"What do you mean I cannot remember? I do remember!" Rei shouted.

"Hehehe. Then tell me."

"I don't need to tell you anything?"

"Why not?"

"Because I am a bounty hunter, and you do not have jurisdiction to question me."

"Why?"

"To protect my identity."

The Cheshire Cat chuckled. "What a nice excuse."

"I'm serious!" Rei shouted.

"If you cannot tell me, I will assume you can't remember. Hehehe."

Rei hissed as the fur behind her neck rose. If she doesn't tell him, he might not never shut his mouth. What else could he do if he knew her name? "It's Rei Young."

She imagined the cat smiling like a creep. Still, what use could he have studying her name?

"Alright then Rei. You may know your identity, but do you remember the poem from the book?" The speaker asked.

“What poem?”

“One hint is all you get. How Doth the Little Crocodile. Recites the poem while the caterpillar smokes. Hurry before you lose your mind.”

The caterpillar blasted pink smoke into Rei’s face from his mouth. Its strawberry minty flavor burned through her nostrils, reaching her brain. Her mind buzzed and her body wobbled. While dizzy, her vision watered as if she fell into the ocean.

An hallsgenic gas? Rei should have scanned the damn thing, but how could she avoid the gas without a mask?

“Tell me the poem if you want the cure,” the Cheshire Cat ordered. “The caterpillar will not stop smoking.”

More puffs from the machine clouded Rei’s senses. She slipped off her feet, but she grabbed onto a mushroom. Different colors danced around her like a rainbow.

Although her eyes were cybernetic, they only show what her mind might be seeing, just like normal eyes. She was freaking high as a kite.

“Focus, my Alice. Do you remember the poem?” The Cheshire Cat’s voice echoed.

Rei dung her claws into the mushroom. She felt like gravity was pushing her down. Everything around her spun like a rolling ball. “It’s… Rei!”

“In here, you are my Alice. Now what is the poem?”

Rei sucked her lips as tears dripped down her cheeks. “I don’t….. Know.”

“You never read the book?”

“Please…..” Rei breathed hard as the gas aroused her. “I don’t want to die…..”

“Can you remember the poem?”

Rei couldn’t think, couldn’t focus. The novel’s memory grew vague inside her spinning mind. “No…..”

The Cheshire Cat laughed. “Good! Alice doesn’t remember either. Being honest has saved your life.”

Rei closed her eyes, trying to block out the hallucinations. “Can…. I….. go now?”

“Don’t you want the cure?”

Rei licked the shroom, tasting only plastic. Her thirst grew heavy. “Ye…”

“Eat the caterpillar’s mushroom,” the Cheshire Cat instructed. “One side is poison, the other side is the cure. Choose carefully. Hehehe.”

Rei pushed herself off the mushroom and glanced at the caterpillar's toadstool. She activated her scanner, but her blurriness fogged her readings. She couldn't tell which side was the cure.

One wrong bite will instantly kill her.