Writing competition "133" based on my digital image: 'A Place in Wonderland'

Usually for these stories I don't write an introduction but just for the sake of clarity, I would like to disclaim that the setting as well as the names in regards to the plot is purely fictional..Thank you.

I live in a little village called Banista. It is situated at a remote but important spot. Some of the minerals we were lucky enough to find besides water was Gold, Zinc and Iron. As a result, upon discovery of each of these minerals, the occupation of resident members changed slowly but steadily and we also witnessed an influx of people seeking jobs or a means to mine for themselves. Over time, we adopted a way of making the tourists do all the menial chores so we could concentrate on mining and gaining more resources.

Everyone was swept away in the pool of mining that we forgot about defenses, administration and anything a small village will concern itself with. In no time even, those who were not able to access the minerals or make something of it were treated as less than humans. There was an old man who lived along the path that leads out the village. He was a very friendly person and did seek to keep up with the happenings in Banista. Sadly, Some three years ago, his wife died and as a result, he did a lot of wandering to avoid thinking. On his return one day, he spoke of a place he had found right past the forest and through an abandoned mine. Nobody believed him and only suffered the conversation because of his loss.
But as time went by, he was treated as an outsider and no one gave him even a nickel of time, we were all obsessed with owning and control.

Tales of our precious village soon spread and many sort to take control of it. Sadly, because everyone had his own mainstream income, nobody thought to do anything about this or to fortify the city, I guess greed just leaves you with everything but yourself.
Not so far from my village was a kingdom; Tish. Their city was well fortified and their military strength was nothing compared to ours. And because of their centralized rule, they sought many times to ally with my village and maybe assimilate us but the residents refused and threatened even the messengers that brought the proposal with death.

In no time, scnaty military personnels were seen at differents parts of the village, we initially thought they wanted patronage or were in search of jobs but soon learnt through a dissident that their objective was simple, TO SCOUT. Steadily but slowly, workers were being attacked on the way to the mines. These attacks were strategic and took out the most vital persons as well as those who could unite the people. Soon there was no resistance left to withstand a major strike.

It was at this time that the Ruler of Tish; King Vagabond came to our village and told us to evacuate the place in two days. He claimed he was building a dam and our village was in the way of it. Those who spoke up were silenced so we laid down and endured his trampy boots that was forced on us. The very instance King Vagabond and his army left, the whole village which was now scanty gave out a cry. It was then again that the Old man we all abandoned spoke up and offered to lead us to the place he had found, the place he claimed was hidden from plain site. The few young men remaining shut him up by saying they would fight to the last even if it claimed their lives but I knew better and went to meet the Old man whose name was Dan after the meeting.

He did welcome me warmly into his home and when I asked about the place he had called 'Wonderland' in front of everyone, his face lit up. And he went on without end talking about the beauty and abundance of the place. I honestly didn't want to believe but the fact that he was persistent and the details were constant and vivid, too vivid to be a lie, I reckoned we could make it our exit strategy.

The village was prepped for battle even before the time given elapsed. In uniform and togetherness the army of Tish marched into my village and just when they were right in the centre of it, we sprung the trap. Practically everyone was a miner and had good experience digging holes so we dug below the village (all hands on deck) added support beams which we could easily trigger from a distance and led the army into a pool of spikes. We knew we couldn't inhabit the village anymore but we weren't going to let them have it that easy. Our numbers though few, still counted when it came to doing what we knew best.

It was a huge gamble but we took it anyway and followed Dan to the place he had promised us. Couple of hours past the forest and down the mine, we found something we never thought existed, a place no one had inhabited or ruined. A place where everything was in abundance, hidden from the general world. We had found a place in Wonderland.