by S. D. Stuart
Jasper called out to her from one of the tables where he had already piled food onto a plate in front of him. “This sure beats the half cooked rat tail I usually get at home.” Barbecue sauce ran down the sides of his mouth and dripped off his chin as he tore another chunk of rabbit meat from the bone and popped it into his mouth.
Mara took her over to a small basin filled with warm water and demonstrated washing her hands, which Dorothy did several times, before wiping them on a clean towel. Dorothy looked around at the families gathered together laughing and eating as Mara led her back to the table with Jasper and her mother. As Dorothy sat down, she leaned over to Mara. “What is this place?”
“This is the fellowship room. We come here to celebrate the day’s bounty.”
“Is this part of Carnival?”
“We do not participate in Carnival. It is not permitted by the Doctrine of Wisdom.”
Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m sorry, the what?”
“The Doctrine of Wisdom. The Prophet of OZ gave it to us to help us avoid the bad things in life.”
Mary leaned over Mara. “Please forgive my daughter. She rarely meets anyone from outside Chambers. What my daughter means is …”
Mara’s eyes lit up as she cut off whatever her mother was about to say. “The Doctrine tells of an outsider who will rescue us from this horrible place. We received word that a warrior has fallen from the sky and slain the wicked Marshal. Tonight is a special dinner. We are celebrating the arrival of our savior.”
Mary’s brow furrowed. “Mara, hush. Do not bother our guest with bedtime stories.”
Mara’s eyes sparkled as she peered deeply into Dorothy’s eyes. “Are you here to save us?”
“That is enough Mara. You may be excused.”
“But Mom …”
“Get ready for bed.”
“Abigail’s mom is letting her stay up for the dance.”
“Mara,” she hissed.
Mara pushed her plate back and stomped away from the table.
Mary watched her go before turning to Dorothy. She folded her napkin into her lap and stared at Dorothy with a nervous smile. “Please excuse my daughter. She has quite the imagination.”
“Is this doctrine a religion?”
“Don’t be silly. Religion is illegal in OZ. It is merely the principles by which we govern ourselves.”
Music swelled on the far side of the massive underground cavern. Mary looked over Dorothy’s shoulder and a wave of relief washed over her face. “The dance is about to begin, please feel free to join us.” Mary stood up quickly and left the table.
Jasper snatched a small roasted potato off his plate and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed it while he spoke. “I’ve heard about Chambers. Some hidden city beneath OZ where you can pray if you want to. The folks down here are all nut jobs.” He popped another potato into his mouth. “But they sure do know how to cook.”
Dorothy watched the dancing from the sidelines. She couldn’t believe that people could have so much fun while living in a prison. A few times, someone would sway and undulate over to her and try to coax her out onto the dance floor. She refused each time as politely as she could.
As her most recent dance suitor spun back into the throng of bodies, Eckert walked up and sat down next to her.
He nodded his head at the dancers moving in a slow circle like a school of fish. “You don’t dance?”
“Nope. Never was any good at it.”
“Me neither.”
They sat in silence and watched the crowd. He said something so softly that Dorothy didn’t quite hear him the first time. “What was that?”
Eckert half turned toward her and spoke louder. “What are your intentions?”
“I have no intentions. I just need a place to stay tonight. You know, away from whatever nightmare is going on outside.”
“They are good people. They took me in when I was at my lowest. I would do anything to protect them.” He turned to face her directly. “Anything.”
She didn’t know how to respond. They silently stared at one another, neither saying a word for nearly a minute. Eckert suddenly smiled. “I’m glad we had this talk.”
He stood up and waded through the dancing crowd.
As she watched the bodies sway and move to the rhythm provided by the drums, she reached to fiddle with her emerald necklace. It was something she often did out of habit while thinking. Her hand searched her neck in vain before she consciously remembered losing it in the crash and folded her hands in her lap.
She thought back on her own life and how unfair it seemed. Her mother dead. Her father missing. All of that paled in comparison to these people who were forced to live underground in OZ.
Yet, they seemed to be happy.
Not just faking it, but really happy.
Someone bumped into her as they sat down. She looked down as Mara looped an arm through hers and snuggled close. “Mother says I’m too young to dance, but I can watch.”
Dorothy smiled at her. “Your mother seems like a very nice person.”
“She is, for the most part. Other times, she acts like a mother.” She looked up at Dorothy. “Is your mother nice?”
Dorothy looked out into the circle of dancers. “Yes, she was very nice.”
Mara must have picked up that she referred to her mother in the past tense and squeezed her arm softly. “You should move to Chambers. We are safe here from the dangers outside.”
She didn’t know how to tell this little girl that she grew up outside of OZ. How could she begin to explain that life outside of OZ was not as dangerous as it was inside when her own mother died violently in one of the safest cities in the Southern Hemisphere?
She decided it was best not to say anything as she stifled a yawn. “I should be getting some sleep.”
“Will I see you in the morning?”
“I plan to leave very early.”
“Breakfast usually starts before the sun rises.” She looked at the dancers. “My guess is it will start even before that.”
“I will ask if you are awake before I leave. If you are, we can say goodbye.”
“I’d like that,” Mara said and pointed to a thick curtain that hung over an opening. “You can find a soft bed in the sleep chamber through there.”
“How will I know which bed to use?”
“Nobody owns anything in Chambers. You can just pick the first empty bed you find.”
Dorothy stood and made her way to the curtain Mara had pointed out.
On the other side of the curtain was another large chamber filled with beds.
Each bed had privacy curtains attached to the six-foot tall bedposts. Even though everyone slept in the same room, they all had a private place to sleep.
She found an empty bed near the entrance and pulled the privacy curtains closed. They did a good job of blocking out most of the subdued lighting of the sleep chamber, but nothing could muffle the noise still echoing down the hallway from the fellowship chamber. The musicians took occasional breaks, but had informed everyone they would be playing until the sun came up.
I guess it’s better than whatever was going on outside, Dorothy tried to reassure herself.
She settled into the soft bed and closed her eyes.
She was exhausted.
The last twenty-four hours had proven to eclipse anything in her life that came before. The airship crash. Walking half the day through OZ, and she still didn’t think she had really managed to get very far. She had heard stories of how big this place was, but it didn’t really hit home until she walked its streets on foot.
Dorothy drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
She woke instantly when something cut off her air supply. She nearly screamed in surprise but Eckert looked sternly at her with his hand still clamped tightly over her mouth.
Eckert put a finger to his lips. “Shh.”
Dorothy nodded that she understood.
He pulled his hand away from her mouth.
She whispered. “What’s going on?”
“Somebody’s looking for you.”
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Who?”
“She didn’t give a name, but she doesn’t look like a friend. Mary is stalling her while I sneak you out the back. It’s almost morning and you can travel outside.”
“What does she look like?”
“Black cloak. Brown hair. You know her?”
She mentally scrolled through the short list of people she had met after the crash and shook her head. “No.”
“We have to go quietly.”
Dorothy sat up. “I want to see her.”
“Follow me … What?”
“I want to meet with her.”
“Mary doesn’t trust this woman. She told me to get you out of here.”
“No. I can end this. I am the East Marshal after all.”
Eckert clearly did not know what to do. He was great at following orders, but Dorothy just gave him conflicting orders. He searched her face for some sign that she would follow him out of Chambers. When he didn’t see any, his shoulders dropped as he let out a sigh. “If I take you to see this woman, will you tell Mary that I tried to get you out?”
“Of course. You are doing the right thing. You’ll see.”
She followed him through several tunnels. She could hear voices as they approached another chamber entrance. One of the voices was Mary, and the other was the voice of a young woman. “I assure you, I will not tell anyone how to find the entrance to Chambers when I leave. As long as I get what I came for.”
“I’m not sure how we can help you. As I have already informed you, Amanda was it?”
Amanda nodded her head and Mary continued. “The Marshal left early this morning …”
Mary was shocked to silence when Eckert stepped aside to let Dorothy in to Study Chambers. The young woman, who Mary had referred to as Amanda, looked at Dorothy as she came in the room and her eyes darkened.
Dorothy smiled at her despite the obvious hostility. “I came back when I heard someone was looking for me. Now, what is so important that I had to return?”
Amanda stood up from her chair. “The West Marshal sent me to collect what belongs to her.”
Dorothy’s hand reached for the marshal star pinned to her chest and touched it lightly. She looked back up at Amanda. “According to the laws of this land, it belongs to me.”
“You are an outsider. You do not deserve to join the ruling family.”
“What ruling family?”
“Both the east and west regions of OZ were joined by blood. My mother and her sister were the marshals of both. I was next in line to inherit them. Not an outsider.”
“I thought you could only inherit a Marshal’s star by killing them?”
“Or by gift. When my aunt got too old, she was to give the East Marshal star to me.”
“I’m sorry to have ruined your plans.”
Amanda held out her hand. “You will give me my star.”
Dorothy took a step backward and covered the star with her hand. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Amanda dropped her head and studied the ground for a moment. She looked back up, as she removed a device, no bigger than a matchbox, from her cloak pocket. Her thumb hovered just above the single red button. “Have it your way.”
Amanda pushed the button.
Dorothy tensed for an explosion to rock Chambers.
Amanda smiled and raised the device to her lips.
“Shut them down.”
Dorothy never noticed the constant hum of the turbines that fed fresh air into the underground caverns until they powered down and stopped completely. The silence was deafening.
Eckert made a move toward Amanda. Her other hand appeared from inside her cloak holding a revolver and she pointed it at him. He stopped in his tracks and looked to Mary for guidance.
Mary looked at Amanda. “You can’t shoot everyone here.”
“We both want something. You want air for your families,” Amanda motioned toward Dorothy with the gun. “I want what she took from me.”
Mary stared unblinking at Amanda. “I will not allow bloodshed to defile Chambers. Take her out of here and leave us in peace.” She looked at Dorothy. “I am very sorry. I have over forty families to look after down here. We have enough troubles of our own and can’t afford to take yours on as well.”
Dorothy took a deep breath. “I understand.”
“I am truly sorry.” She looked at Eckert. “Please take our guest,” she glanced sideways at Amanda. “And her friend back to the surface. Once they are outside the compound, get some men to see how much damage was done to the turbines.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Amanda lowered her revolver but did not take her eyes off Eckert. “You might want to bring some spare electrical cable and welding equipment. My men will help with the repairs.”
Mary nodded her head. “That is most generous of you.”
Amanda smiled. “You have been very accommodating. It’s the least I can do.”
Mara pushed on the thin wire mesh grate. It gave way and fell to the ground. She hopped down and out of sight.
Jasper wriggled forward on his belly and looked out the opening she had just made. They were only a couple feet from the ground. He hopped down after her.
“What are we doing out here?”
“My mom used the phrase.”
“What phrase?”
“Any time she says that we can’t take on someone else’s problems, that is exactly what she wants us to do.”
He looked around at the empty warehouse. “When do the others get here?”
She looked at him quizzically. “What others?”
“The people who will be joining us to rescue the Marshal.”
She laughed. “We’re not meeting anyone. We are the only ones who can help your friend.”
“You’re crazy. We don’t even know how many men that maniac has up here. What can we do?”
“I saw the automaton you hid in the alley. The big one with the chainsaws. When they come out of Chambers, we can use it to rescue your friend.”
Jasper looked at Mara with a new sense of respect. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
They ran across the street and down the alley where the Woodsman and Scarecrow stood waiting.
They pulled the garbage off the Woodsman and looked up at him.
Jasper stared at the unblinking eye. “Hey, you.”
He stood stock-still and didn’t respond.
“Hey. Come with me.”
He didn’t move or react to Jasper who started jumping up and down more wildly.
“Yo. Idiot. I order you to follow me.”
The Woodsman remained perfectly still. Mara ran to the corner and peeked around it. She ran back to Jasper. “They’re just coming out of the warehouse. Maybe we need to think of something else.”
Jasper looked around him and spotted what he was looking for. “We haven’t tried everything yet.”
He picked up a long metal pipe. “Get ready to run.”
Amanda shoved Dorothy ahead of her out the door of the warehouse and onto the street. The sun peeked over the edge of the city skyline in the distance.
Amanda turned back toward Eckert. “My men can also repair the damage to the grate.”
He looked at her, no emotion on his face. “Don’t bother. We will be sealing up that entrance.”
Eckert looked sad as he swung the door closed and Dorothy heard the lock click.
Amanda pointed her revolver at her. “I could kill you right now and take the star.”
Dorothy lifted her chin in defiance. “You’re going to have to, because I need it.”
Amanda’s eyes burned with hatred. She grabbing Dorothy by the neck and slammed her into the wall. She shoved the revolver in her face. “Give it to me now!”
Before Dorothy could respond, they both heard the loud crashing of metal. Jasper darted around
the corner of the warehouse with Mara hot on his heels. A familiar metallic voice echoed from the alley they had just run from. “If you continue to run, evading arrest will be added to your guilty sentence.”
The Woodsman rounded the corner in pursuit of the two children. He stopped as his single eye focused on Amanda holding a gun to Dorothy.
“You are guilty of unauthorized possession of a firearm with intent to harm a Marshal. The sentence for this crime is death. Please remain still while I carry out your sentence.”
The Woodsman’s chainsaws whined to a fast blur.
Amanda turned the gun on the Woodsman and fired. The Woodsman moved toward her as the bullets pinged off his metal shell.
Amanda kept firing until she ran out of bullets.
“The crime of attempted destruction of city property has been added to your sentence.”
Amanda backed into the corner with nowhere to run. The Woodsman raised his arms, as he got closer. She knelt down on the ground and cried out.
Dorothy yelled, “As Marshal, I grant her a full pardon of all crimes.”
The Woodsman stopped and powered down the chainsaws.
Amanda stood up and dusted herself off. “Don’t think that by sparing my life that this is over.”
Amanda stepped around the Woodsman, keeping a close eye on the chainsaws before she turned and ran off.
The Woodsman’s eye rotated to watch her disappear around the corner. It rotated back to look at Dorothy. “Do you want me to pursue her?”
“No, Woodsman. Let her go.”
“Based on her language, she is still a threat.”
Dorothy smiled up at the Woodsman.
“That is why I have you to protect me.”
Scarecrow walked up to them. “What about me?”
“We still need to teach you how to fight.”
She looked around for Jasper and Mara, but they were gone.
“Jasper,” she called.
Jasper and Mara popped up from behind a trash can and ran over.
“Thank you both for saving me.”
The Woodsman spun up his chainsaws. Dorothy turned to him. “They are also pardoned.”
