It wasn’t that she was lost, exactly, more that someone else seemed to be in charge of where she put her feet. They moved entirely of their own accord, following a path she couldn’t see. She was just a passenger, along for the ride. Left, right. Left, right. Down corridors and passageways. Through doorways. Under archways. Past a long row of metal bars set back from the wall, separating her from the space beyond. A space where something squeaked and gibbered and made unspeakable sounds. There were other noises too: distant shouts and cries. Metal on metal, and every once in a while, something like an explosion. It was far above, and far removed, and didn’t seem to matter. Only one thing mattered. She just wasn’t sure what that was, exactly. Still, her feet seemed to know. She stopped abruptly in front of a small door. A hatch, cut into the rock. And as she reached for the handle, Alice was surprised to see the fire that jumped from her fingers and into the lock, burning it from the inside out so that the door sprang open.
