Dorothy: The Darker Side of OZ v5

by Scott Stanford

  Creeping back through the carnival the three of them find the tin-man, standing strong in his monstrous frame as the lion arches his back, giving a growl as Dorothy comforts the animal with, ‘He’s our friend.’ Quickly they all make their way to the carnival entrance, as quiet as possible as they walk toward the gates, so sure they hadn’t been spotted. However, as they’re about to leave the scarecrow sees a man, his body shaking and his eyes nervous as he screams at the top of his voice, ‘LION!’ Without hesitation the tin-man strikes, knocking him to the floor as Dorothy looks back to the carnival, swiftly she hears faint voices and watches scattered lights flickering on in the distance.

  Screaming, ‘Run!’ Dorothy and the others move as fast as they can along the yellow road. The lion’s quicker than the rest, with his legs of solid muscle as he runs ahead, leaving the others in the distance as he looks back to the girl. So scared of being caught he thinks of running further, leaving them behind at first but waits, looking back as Dorothy and the scarecrow get closer. Thinking quickly he runs past them, toward the carnival as he approaches the tin-man. Knowing he’s too slow to outrun the horde the lion growls, ‘Get on!’ carrying the tin-man’s heavy weight as he feels his wounds re-open, the sharp metal cutting into him. Enduring it, running back to Dorothy and further ahead, so scared of being caught the lion roars, ‘Faster!’ Quickly, watching the lion speed in the distance Dorothy shouts, ‘Carry me!’ to the scarecrow and he drops his pitchfork, taking her in his arms as his tall legs jolt along the path.

  A while later, having travelled far along the yellow road and sure they’ve distanced themselves enough from the carnival they stop to rest on a small patch of grass. The lion’s body’s sore and he licks at his wounds as Dorothy feels her stomach ache for food. The scarecrow’s content, looking around the dark forest aimlessly, and the tin-man stands watching them all with little desire to do anything. Still, Dorothy holds the lion tightly for warmth as they rest on the grass, thinking that they need to build a fire, but sure it would attract unwanted attention. Opening her wicker basket Dorothy offers some bread to the lion even though there’s barely enough for herself. Refusing kindly he tells her he’ll find his own food later, and along with the scarecrow she tells the animal of their journey to the Emerald city. Feeling the comfort of the girl against his fur, the lion thinks of a friend he lost long ago and asks:

  ‘Do you think the wizard will be able to fix me? Give me back my pride, stop me being a coward? Give me e…enough courage to go back to the carnival one day? ’

  Dorothy strokes his head, caressing his scars as she asks, ‘He may, but why would you go back there?’ and the poor beast replies, ‘To find Mr Jack,’ with a snarl. Kissing his snout Dorothy throws her arms around him, imagining how much he’s suffered. She holds him tightly, kisses him again as he sobs, ‘I miss my friend, so much,’ and she tries not to cry, hoping the wizard can help him and praying he’s not as heartless as some rumours say.

  After eating her bread Dorothy and the others walk along the yellow road again, even though the young girl’s exhausted. Too anxious to leave the forest and not wanting to sleep on the ground at night she doesn’t want to stop moving, so the scarecrow insists on carrying her. Taking his hand she says, ‘Thank you,’ as he picks her up, holding her securely in his arms as the lion feels his stomach rumble. With hunger setting in he asks, ‘Could you please wait here a second? I need to find food.’ The tired girl yawns, ‘Of course,’ and he replies, ‘Are you still hungry? I could kill something for you?’ Dorothy shakes her head, disgusted by the thought as she nods, ‘No thank you,’ and the scarecrow queries, ‘If you can kill an animal that means you’re not a coward? To which the lion stares grimly before hunting for meat, ‘No, it means I know how to survive.’

  17

  With the sun creeping along her face Dorothy slowly wakes, even though she’s only been asleep an hour. Feeling warmth blanket over her as she lies cradled in the scarecrow’s arms the young girl slowly opens her eyes to look up at his nightmarish face, feeling content as he smiles, ‘Good morning sleepy head!’

  Gazing in front of her Dorothy stares out to the distance, thinking she’s still dreaming at first as she looks at the beautiful crisp green grass and the soft blue sky. With the dark woods behind them they walk along the glowing yellow road, paved with pristine bricks and surrounded by beautiful trees, plentiful with fresh fruit as Scarecrow lowers her to the ground. Smiling at the scarred lion he greets, ‘Good morning,’ and Dorothy strokes his head, looking to the heartless Tin-man as he solemnly strides, and she offers, ‘Good morning.’ Replying in his cold mechanical tone Dorothy hears him and turns around, looking at the twisted forest behind her as she stares at the tall brooding trees, so relieved to be out.

  Moving to the nearest tree she pulls away some fruit, biting into it hungrily as the juice pours down her hand and the scarecrow points, ‘How odd, what’s that?’ Lapping at the liquid she walks toward him, telling him it’s an apple as the sun glistens against its insides. Smiling she looks at the path ahead, its yellow bricks leading to the edge of a cliff as she runs in front of the others.

  Standing close to the peak of the road she feels stone crumble below her feet and looks to the other side, the sights picturesque as her eyes slowly drift beyond the yellow path. Turning to her right she looks to see the forest she’d passed through, miles long as the deflowered Munchkin country lies beyond it; its once green fields surrounding a small city as the dilapidated skyscrapers leer entwined with vines.

  She even tries to look beyond them but can only make out a dull shade of yellow surrounding Oz, the deadly sands. Then she turns to her left, looking down along the river as her eyes follow through miles of marshland and hills, then above the tall trees to see small villages and forests further away. To the south, the land is scattered with red mountains, deep forests, and as she squints she can see a porcelain white terrain.

  Then Dorothy looks to the land at the centre of Oz, as past the river, above the hills and beyond a vast landscape stands the Emerald city. Blinking her eyes at the sight, a great wall with bright green bricks spans for miles, surrounding the large metropolis and containing the buildings as their rustic roofs peer over the wall, a deep green glowing in the sky above them. Still, she finds none as impressive as the wizard’s castle. Within the city it rests on a tall hill as the bottom of the castle aligns with the tips of the tallest buildings, and the thick mound beneath it stands three hundred feet. Its winding path treks through weathered grounds that appear to be nothing more than a vast graveyard and Dorothy can’t believe her eyes. She looks at the tall trees aside the gothic castle, as it gleams an emerald green and its ominous spires stab crookedly into the sky.

  Her eyes railing away she follows the distant yellow road, leading from the great wall as it passes along a hill, through tranquil fields, curving through a distant village and miles of poppies, almost forming a single shape in the distance. Reseeding further, the road bends through another field and behind a hill as it twists to the cliff in front of her, where her eyes focus on the fallen bridge. Underneath its weak bricks, along the jagged rocks and down the tall cliff she stares to the river as if it’s a distant death. Hypnotised by how far down it is she watches the waters current crash fiercely against the rocks, peeling away layers of stone like acid and tearing away limbs from hanging trees.

  Turning around Dorothy stares at her friends as they look down the face of the cliff, and her smile slowly fades as the lion hesitates, ‘We’ll…we’ll have to climb down.’ Looking at him she asks, ‘And then what?’ as the tin-man interrupts, staring at the riverbank, ‘I can see trees down there, we’ll have to make a raft to get to the other side.’

  Ready to descend Dorothy feels her stomach pressed tightly against the crumbling peak as her hands grip at loose bricks and her legs dangle over the edge. Struggling to find secure stones at first her boots press against the structure as she lowers her body and looks down to her friends. Scarecrow w
as the first to climb down knowing that the others would need a secure path to follow, and that if he fell to the bottom he wouldn’t be able to feel it anyway. Behind him the cowardly lion follows begrudgingly, as despite being his idea Dorothy still had to persuade him that if they didn’t move quickly Mr Jack would surely find them. Hesitant with every move the lion’s heavy body causes loose stones to crumble between his paws as Dorothy starts to descend.

  Climbing down the face of the cliff she concentrates, feels her muscles taut as she watches the lion and calculates her next step with the shuffle of her body. Struggling at first, scared to lift a hand from one stone to another she soon becomes more confident, terrified of falling but left with no other choice than to follow the yellow road. Quickly glancing up she watches the tin-man climb down the rocks as she feels gravel fall to her face and holds her breath. Glad that she asked the tin-man to climb last she watches the stones crush in his palms, even the solid ones, as she’s sure if he descended first he’d have left them with no safe rocks to cling to.

  Trying not to focus on it and sure she needs all her concentration to climb safely Dorothy can’t help but think of the wizard of Oz, as his macabre castle dominates the land. Uncertain whether she can trust him, the young girl’s confident she has no other choice, no one else that can send her back home. She’s heard of his power, whispers through the carnival of his wonders, and warnings of how brutal a ruler he is as she wonders if they’re just rumours. She hopes he’ll be kind like Bopeia, and suddenly the rocks beneath her feet perish.

  Dangling from a single stone her nerves burn like seared meat, unsure what to do as she feels her hand slick with sweat and looks down to the savage river. Her strength weakening, fingers’ slipping from the rock one by one she flails her legs in panic, trying to find a secure ledge as a solid grip crushes her wrist. She looks up to the tin-man scared, his strength cutting off the circulation to her hand as she stares into his tortured eyes, trusting him. Swinging her legs she rests on a ledge, pressing her body against the surface as she feels the tin-man’s grip release. Whimpering, ‘Th…thank you,’ she massages her aching wrist and rests frozen against the wall.

  After climbing down the cliffs deadly face Dorothy falls to her knees, taking handfuls of dirt in her palms and smiling with a slight wince. Looking to the lion she can see him trembling and watches the scarecrow wander without thought, picking up odd stones and scratching his head as the tin-man reaches the bottom and looks to the brutal river. Without the need to stop he finds some nearby trees and starts to chop at the trunks as Scarecrow pulls pieces of fruit from their branches, placing peaches and plums in Dorothy’s basket.

  As they slowly build their raft Dorothy and the lion find thick vines to bind the wood, scouring along the dirty bank of the river as they grow tired. Watching the two try to secure the odd pieces of wood already chopped the tin-man kindly says, ‘Rest, it will take time to make the raft,’ though his generosity comes from a heartless chest as his mechanical tone cuts bluntly. Soon the lion and Dorothy rest on the bank as she huddles against his chest and thinks about Outika, wondering if she’s scouring the land for her. Dorothy had heard of the witch’s horrors, her dark domain, people whispering her name in fear, and the young girl looks at the furious water, lying awake as she hopes Outika never finds her.

  After a while, Dorothy looks to the river in surprise as a wooden raft waits at the edge of the water. Thanking the tin-man and excitedly showing the lion she eats a peach the scarecrow hands her, and smiles at him before sitting in the raft. Clenching tightly to the thin bag around her shoulders she feels Toto inside, confident he’s safe as the cowardly lion clambers beside her, pressing his body against hers as his weight causes the raft to tip, so he grumbles, ‘Don’t like water.’ Next the scarecrow steps onto the raft, so light he almost falls in the water as the vessel rocks. Pushing the raft away from the bank the tin-man quickly steps onboard in fear of getting his joints wet, as he hands the others long poles to guide them across the river.

  Despite the strong current they do well at first, their poles pushing at the rocks and mud beneath the water as they make their way to the middle of the river. Feeling the raft shake water splashes onboard as they make their way to the other side, but without warning the current gets stronger, starting to pull them downstream as the cowardly lion stutters, ‘C, can’t go that way, not west.’ Dorothy panics at the thought of what Bopeia said; to avoid the west as Outika shall surely make her a slave. Thrusting the long pole along the bottom of the river with all her strength she looks downstream in fear, screaming at her friends and they try to push against the current. Fighting the waves and trying to resist its pull the tin-man forces his pole through the water, rowing fiercely as the wood in his hands lodges between the rocks, snapping as Dorothy weakens and the lion trembles, dropping his pole in the water.

  Dragged downstream the raft sways, crashing into a set of jagged stones as they tear the vessel apart. Falling with the crash Scarecrow’s frail body’s impaled on the sharp rocks, breaking several of his bones as he looks to the others in the raft, forced downstream as the harsh waves pull them away. Looking down at his chest he sees the skin torn open, two of his ribs snapped and the jagged stone holding him in place, muttering, ‘Oh Dear!’ as he watches the raft get smaller in the distance and waves goodbye.

  Looking downstream the lion remembers everything he’d heard of the western witch, the stories Mr Jack would tell to give him nightmares, and his back arches in fear. Baring his teeth to the water the coward acts on instinct, scared of what the witch will do to him as he roars to Dorothy, ‘Grab my tail!’ Doing so quickly she watches the lion’s face cringe, leaping into the water as he almost drags her with him, but the strong tin-man acts quickly, clenching the girl’s hand as he holds onto the raft.

  Panicking in the water the lion’s swept back with the current at first. His mouth filled with water, fear crystallised in his eye he pulls with all his strength, struggling upstream against the tide as he eventually heaves the raft ashore. With his claws dug deep into the dirty ground he feels an aching pain in his poor tail, and Dorothy and the tin-man jump ashore before the raft is swept away. Crawling along the ground the lion slumps to his side, panting as the sun dries his fur and Dorothy watches the abandoned scarecrow. With his poor burlap face frowning he looks at her, and she stares at his sad button eyes as he waves.

  Whispering to herself, ‘I can’t leave him,’ she looks uphill to the yellow road, this one not as steep as the other side’s and she turns back to Scarecrow, ‘I’ll find help, don’t move okay!’ Nodding his head the poor man says, ‘I’ll try to remember,’ as the sparkle of his tangine necklace catches his eye and he smiles. Moving to the lion Dorothy stokes his head, ‘I know you’re hurting, and you’ve been very brave, but we have to get Scarecrow help.’ His legs sore he struggles to get up but extends his body as he stands on all fours, wanting to rest the limbs he’d used so vigorously to push against the current. He looks at Dorothy, breathing deeply with, ‘No, I’ll stay here, make sure he stays on the rocks,’ and the girl smiles at him. Asking, ‘Can you save him if he falls in the water?’ the lion hesitates, offering, ‘I’m scared…but I’ll try,’ as the young girl strokes him, looking out to the scarecrow one last time before running up the muddy bank.

  With the tin-man behind her she moves quickly, looking up to the grass mound as she claws at the mud and pulls her weight up the hill. Feeling the soft blades along her skin she knows she should be happy to see the beautiful greenery but ignores it, forcing herself up the mound. Reaching the top she doesn’t struggle, and instead runs to the yellow road as the tin-man soon joins her side. They move quickly along the path, looking in the distance to a poppy field as Dorothy starts to pant, feels herself tire. With her mouth dry and her legs sore she wants to stop but continues along the road, screaming loudly as she sees a bird fly above her head, ‘You, come here! I have silver.’ The winged creature turns its head, looking down to the girl as
it gets closer, wheezing, ‘Silver?’

  Unsure what the animal is Dorothy presumes it’s a stork, taking no notice of its irregular shape or cobwebbed wings as she grabs at her small pouch of money and pulls out a handful of silver. The creature’s orange eyes glow and it asks, ‘What do you want?’ as Dorothy tells it of the stranded scarecrow. Clicking its neck and eerily grinning, ‘Give me the silver and I shall carry your friend to safety,’ Dorothy smirks at the crafty bird, telling her that she can the silver when her friend’s safe. Squawking at her with its sharp beak the creature flies away quickly, down to the river as Dorothy watches it disappear. Thinking of running back, unable to see the scarecrow from where she is the tin-man places a hand on her shoulder, clenching her tightly, tempting, ‘Rest, you’ll need your energy, no need to run back.’ Looking at him and nodding her head hesitantly she knows he’s right, but worries about her friend.

  Down at the river Scarecrow suffers as the waves crash into his body, pressing him into the jagged rocks as his bones scrape against the stone. Straw pours from under his skin and worriedly he looks ashore to the lion, hearing his voice but too terrified to reply as he watches a winged creature descending towards him. The scarecrow screams, so scared the bird will try to take his eyes that he pulls his body furiously, chipping his bones against the rocks and tearing open his skin. Flailing his arms at the bird, swiping at its body Scarecrow fights and the stork-like creature moves quickly, squawking, ‘Keep still, you’re worth money to me.’ Grabbing at the scarecrow’s frail neck with her beak the bird pulls him from the jagged rocks, barely hearing his bones snap as his terrified shriek stabs at her ears.