Jacob's first thought was rabies or mange-there was something wrong
with the rabbit, and it seemed to be contagious to humans. The run
back to camp was interrupted by his leg pain, but it was the sensation
of fur filling the space between his skin and clothing that really
freaked Jacob out. He knelt there in a crouching position
unconsciously twitching his nose. Suddenly, he felt a bulge explode
at the base of his spine. He jumped forward - which was really back
toward where he had first encountered the rabbit. He had a tail. His
ears felt a bit weird too, but he refrained from reaching up to touch
them. He was amazed at how far his legs propelled him through the
forest. He was sailing through the air a good 20-30 feet.
Unfortunately, he hadn't thought about landing until his body hit the
pine needle covered forest floor and began tumbling through the bushes
and brush.
He had the presence of mind to jump and get airborne again, as soon as
he was able. He was now sailing toward the big wooden log that the
rabbit had been sitting on. He adjusted his feet to land on the log
and was pleased at his success. His shoes felt uncomfortably tight,
but he wasn't about to run around barefoot on pine needles. He looked
at his furry hand, and then got up the courage to reach up and touch
the floppy ear hanging off the side of his head. He shook his head.
This couldn't be happening. His natural stance now seemed to be a
somewhat hunched position, but he forced himself to stand upright. He
wobbled a bit, and stumbled backward off the log. He felt the pine
needles giving way beneath him. He was sliding backwards. The next
thing he knew he was falling down an earthen tunnel or maybe a steeply
sloped well. He bounced on his butt, slid, spun and tumbled all the
way down into the deep dark hole.
Finally, he rolled to an abrupt stop against a wall of roots. He
opened his eyes, and moved into his now natural crouching position,
and his eyes adjusted to the light. He couldn't quite figure out the
light source, but guessed it might be phosphorescent mold that was
making the cave-room glow. It was most definitely underground with
dirt floors and roots sticking out of the dirt walls, but the walls
were all flat and squared. Framed pictures hung on the walls. There
was an oriental rug on the dirt floor with a table in the center of
it. There were some items on the table. Then Jacob noticed the ball of
white fur disappearing down one of the three hallways that branched
off from the room. He leapt into action, bounding across the room. But
the white rabbit was faster and disappeared down the dark corridor,
apparently turning right about 30 feet down the tunnel. Jacob through
all caution to the winds. He wanted answers and despite the growing
discomfiture with hid ill fitting clothes and shoes, he bounded down
the hall after the rabbit. He skidded a bit nearly missing the turn,
then found himself descending deeper into the earth. The hall he was
plunging down got steeper and steeper, until he found himself tumbling
forward and downward again. This time he caught himself with his
forepaws and landed like a proper rabbit. This room was brightly
plastered in pink with rough hewn door frames and door. The shaft he
had fallen out of appeared to be insurmountable. He turned his
attention to the door on the opposite side of the room. The rabbit was
nowhere to be seen.
Jacob's attention was drawn to the sign on the door which read,
"Dress-Code Strictly Enforced: Please Change Into Proper Attire Before
Entering Realm - By Order of His Majesty The Queen."
Jacob rolled his eyes. He had always considered Alice in Wonderland a
kid's fairy story. But now the words "Off with his head" echoed in
his mind as his hand instinctively ran across this furry neck. Then he
noticed the racks of clothing in the two corners of the room. On the
left side hung clothing that looked conventionally human, and on the
right were some outlandish brightly colored garments that didn't look
like they'd drape right on a human. He glanced down at his own
clothing with fur sticking out of the stretched spaces in his shirt
between the buttons. He wasn't sure that he'd meet the dress code the
way he was dressed, and this clothing and shoes were binding in all
the wrong places. He began to unbutton his shirt. He was curious to
see what he looked like since all his fur had sprouted too. Maybe
there would be a mirror on the other side of the door.