Chapter 2

Alice loved the feel of the late summer breeze whipping the far too short nightgown around her torso, separating itself completely from the thin black knickers almost painted on her delicious hips. The wind would wind itself up her front, and caress her nipples with careless abandon. They stood up and took notice of the attention, and pushed hard against the thin white cotton.

She skipped through the long grass, her hand in Joey's, as he attempted to keep up with her drunk-like dance, he more decently dressed in denim shorts and wrinkled t-shirt.

As soon as they were out of sight of the house, she stopped Joey dead in his tracks, planted her feet squarely on the hard dirt, and commanded his attention.

"Take them off, Joey."

"Sorry?"

"The knickers. You made me put them on. You take them off." The smile more than made up for the stern tone.

"Oh wondrous one. I live only to serve."

"Oh, I thought fucking was your calling."

"You think that's not a form of service?"

"Not the way you do it, no." The grin was repeated.

"Bitch!"

"Just take these, would you? And don't feel me up this time."

"No?"

"Yes!"

"Oh." Joey didn't touch her though, other than to hook his thumbs in the thin waistband, and draw the panties gently down the sides of her pale legs.

"Bastard."

"Serves you right. Are we still taking photos?"

"Mm-hmm. The innocent waif in the clover. That sort of thing."

"With no knickers?"

"It's hot."

"It's always hot."

"The weather."

"I knew that." Lifting the camera in his hands, he scanned around expertly for the best location. "Over there. See that small mound with the daisies? The stream will be in the background, and the sun is filtering down through the trees."

"God, I love it when you talk dirty. You want me to stand there, on the top?"

"Please."

"Should I pull the nightie down Joey?" Standing carelessly now amongst the daisies, Alice was pointlessly holding onto the hem of the too-short nightie, and though the sides were well down on her hips, the view from both front and rear would have been unsuitable for younger audiences.

"Tell you what. Hold it for now, and then when I tell you, let it go, and I'll snap a few frames as it lifts."

"You have the best ideas Joey. Like this?"

"Mmm-hmm. Now, let it go."

"Yeah?"

"That's great, but how about I give you these briefs back?"

"Oh, I should put them back on?"

"No, no. Just hold them in your hand. Oh, I know, hang them from a finger, as you let the nightie go."

"Got it." She got back in position, hands firmly holding the tight cotton down again, panties bundled in one hand, ready to swing down on a finger for the shot.

"Okay, I'm ready. You know how sexy you look, right?"

"Thanks honey. All my boys say that." She let go of the nightie, and then just as she hung the black scrap of cloth from one upraised hand, the wind caught it, swinging it up and out, and as the nightie flapped and rose in front of her, pale blonde bush plainly displayed now, and the camera clicked enthusiastically in Joey's grasp, the knickers flew off towards the stream. "Damn! Hold on Hon. I'll get them back."

Leaping off the mound away from Joey, she turned and spied the flying knickers, and chased them through the tall grass. Joey stared at her bouncing bum through the viewfinder, and kept on clicking. Twice she bent over to pick them up when suddenly the breeze picked up, and the chase was on again. Finally she cornered the errant undies in a hollow in the ground. In a parody of animal stalking, she crept up on them, and when she got close enough, she crouched momentarily on the ground, and then her near-naked body sprang effortlessly from the grass, her legs bent beneath her as she positioned herself, giggling, to land on the small blackness.

Straightening her legs now, she braced herself for the impact on the firm ground, cushioned only by the tiny triangle of cotton, but it never happened. Alice couldn't explain it, but somehow she fell through the ground, as though the grass covered a hole, though it didn't. Her minimal clothing caught a little on the surrounding twigs and roots though, and her nightie was suddenly up around her face, blocking her sight.

Frantically she pulled the offending material down to her waist, and realised she had still not hit the ground. Even if she had fallen in a hole, she should have reached the bottom by now. Looking down below her now, she was again unable to understand what was happening. She seemed to be falling slowly, very slowly, down a tunnel, or a well, surrounded by dirt, but the tunnel was becoming wider. She had time to look clearly at the bugs and tree roots as she fell, much more slowly than should happen with normal gravity.

Looking down again, she could see something strange falling below her, slightly faster than she was going. She realised it was her knickers, floating down the tunnel ahead of her. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable in her semi-naked state, and wished she could speed up, and catch them, but they seemed to be getting further away from her.

Even further down the tunnel, Alice thought she could see some light, and some sort of movement. With a shock, she realised that though she had never been here before, this place was something her grandmother had told her about. She used to tell her stories when she was a little girl, about her adventures down under the ground. Her grandmother had called the place Wonderland. Alice had always had a lot of respect for her grandmother, for whom she was named, but she had always thought the stories were a figment of the older Alice's imagination. Her grandmother had encouraged this belief, she was sure.

Recalling the stories caused a brief smile to cross Alice's face. Sure as hell, her granny had never been down here without her underwear!

Though no further time seemed to have passed, suddenly Alice was just a little above the floor of the tunnel, and her feet lightly touched the packed dirt below her, and she settled onto them with virtually no impact. Thinking sensibly for once, she looked around first for her knickers, but couldn't see them anywhere. The long tunnel rose directly above her, the top so far away that she couldn't see it, and four openings, like cave mouths, opened around her. The all looked the same, and she had no idea how to proceed from here.