Dimensional Reality: Oz (Ch. 3)R

  Good eve to all.  Here’s the next chapter to DR: Oz.  I’ve decided not to post my HP story until later.  How much later I’ll figure out…well, later.  Anyway, I had a good Christmas and I’ll write an entry about it later.  But for now, here’s the next chapter in DR: Oz.  Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter 3

            Dorothy groaned and tried to turn over in her bed.  She felt a sharp pain in her wrists and ankles that woke her immediately.  She opened her eyes and saw she was not in her bed or anywhere in her bedroom.  She wasn’t anywhere that she recognized.  Dorothy also found that she was naked, tied up and suspended by her wrists and ankles to two poles in the ground.  She was only able to turn her head to look around.  Her surroundings looked like it had once been a small town, maybe even a city.  But everything was in ruins now.  It looked like this place had once been wondrous, even beautiful by the skilled and complicated architecture of the buildings but all of it was broken and dirty now.  She was tied up next to a round area that might have once had beds of flowers, now only with dirt and broken shards of pottery.  She could see her clothes and boots in a small dusty pile next to the broken flower beds.  Along the ground was what once had been a brick path, but now was faded and cracked, whole sections missing.  She heard a sound and turned her head to look.  She thought she had seen movement for a second.  Dorothy wasn’t sure if she should call for help or stay quiet.  She opted to stay quiet and a few moments later something moved out of the shadow of a half collapsed house.  As she tried to focus on it she saw it was joined by a few others.  They were small, about the size of children.  Yet they didn’t look or move like children.  Her rational mind told her they must be midgets, but something in the back of her mind kept bringing up the word munchkins.  The only munchkins she knew were in that old Wizard of Oz movie and as these got closer they didn’t look anything like the ones in the movie.  These “munchkins” were deformed and scarred.  Some of them had missing limbs or eyes and others had too many.  The small group walked over to her and simply stared at her.  She tried to speak and only managed a croak.  She swallowed painfully and managed to speak.

            “Will you help me?  Please free me.”

            They looked at each other for a couple of seconds and then burst out into harsh laughter.  As they laughed more Munchkins came out of the ruins and gathered around her.  They talked together in low guttural voices and began poking and prodding her.  Dorothy tried to struggle out of their hands and as they saw her efforts as fruitless, they became bolder, grabbing at her and scratching her with their long, dirty nails.  Dorothy screamed and struggled, unable to move from the rough hands on her.  Then there was a loud bellow and the crowd fell silent.  They moved back slightly from Dorothy and striding down the space the crowd created was another Munchkin.  He was bigger and stronger looking than the others.  He also looked more deformed and evil than any of the others.  He walked forward until he was standing by her head.  He leered down at her.

            “So you’ve finally come back to us Princess.  But it is too late to save us.  No magic house, no song and dance.  We are all that is left and look at us!  We called for you in our despair and our need.  But you did not come, you did not answer.  But you are here now and here you will remain.  You are ours now Princess.  And we will mark you as our own.  But we don’t want you moving too much now.”

            He reached into the rag he was wearing and pulled out what looked like a fang of some animal, it was dripping with a green fluid.

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face=”Times New Roman”>            “Please just let me go.  I don’t know what you’re talking about.  I’ve neve-“

            Dorothy’s voice shut off like a switch as he stabbed the fang into her thigh.

            “Hush little one.” He said darkly.

            Dorothy could almost feel the venom coursing through her system.  She felt nauseated, but almost drowsy at the same time.  Her vision started going in and out, blurry once second and crystal clear the next.  She found that no matter how much she fought to struggle against her bonds, her body refused to move.  She concentrated on seeing clearly and finally saw that the leader had stepped away from her to another munchkin doing something over a small fire.  He handed something to the leader and he started walking back toward her.  It took Dorothy longer to focus clearly on what she was seeing, but finally as he raised it higher she could tell what it was.  It was an iron brand, the end glowing a dull red.  Dorothy tried to struggle again or at least to scream but she couldn’t move or make a sound.  He grinned nastily at her.

            “Not to worry little one.  This won’t hurt me a bit.”

            He threw back his head and laughed as he advanced toward her…