The Scarecrow of OZ

by S. D. Stuart

“Because I promised your parents that I would look out for you and help you fulfill your destiny.”

  And so the lying began again. “Ha! You couldn’t have promised my parents anything. You told me yourself you rescued me from my dying mother’s arms right before some soldiers killed me.”

  “That part was true. Only, it didn’t happen exactly in the way I told you.”

  Caleb shook his head in disgust. “Then why don’t you enlighten me as to how it really happened.”

  “I told you that I was born and raised with hybrids. My closest friend was your father. Don’t give me that look. You wanted the truth, so here it is.

  “My mother and father were the only survivors of a shipwreck that washed them up onto the shore of an uncharted island. The hybrids found them and nursed them back to health, but kept them segregated from the colony. The ones who cared for my parents wore sackcloth over their entire body and hid the fact that they were part animal.

  “As my parents recovered, they were encouraged to exercise but warned to stay close to their shelter and not venture into the forest. By accident, my mother became lost one day and wandered through the restricted area of the island and stumbled right into the middle of the hybrid colony.

  “The hybrids had no intention of letting the world discover that they still existed, and thus could not let my mother go once she knew about them. The elders donned sackcloth to hide their animal appearance and approached my father. They told him my mother had broken the only rule given to them to obey and thus would not be allowed to leave the island. My father was given a choice. He could leave the island alone to rejoin civilization or be reunited with his wife and stay on the island forever.

  “He chose to stay and it was on that island that I was born. The only human child among a colony of hybrids.”

  “This story is getting tedious.”

  “Patience Caleb. I just wanted you to know how close I was to your father. I was only a couple of years older than him and we grew up as brothers. Even before he became king, he knew it was only a matter of time before the humans found their island. They were spreading across the world and becoming more dangerous with each generation. He made me promise that, no matter what happened, I would do everything in my power to keep the colony safe.

  “You were barely six months old when a small armada of three human ships found the island. Your father had just ascended to the throne and felt it was his duty to make first contact. He thought that by telling them the hybrids were a genetic experiment, they would show mercy. They did not. He was the first of many to die.

  “I spent two weeks hiding you in different caves on the island, staying just ahead of the marauders. When they finally left and the fires died out, I found the bodies of those killed and gave them a proper burial. Including your mother and father.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense. How could you have rescued me on the island at the same time you were supposedly rescuing me inside OZ?”

  “The reason I was unable to save your parents from the three ships full of marauders was that I brought them to the island.”

  “What!? Why?”

  “Your grandfather took full advantage of the fact that I was human and sent me out to infiltrate a group they believed knew the location of the ancient source of the hybrid’s power. A small clandestine group, calling themselves the Directors, was searching for the Brahmastra, an ancient artifact that would enable them to conquer the world. Part of the ancient texts they were using in their search made mention of the hybrids. I let my guard down for the briefest of moments and let slip that I already knew about animal-human hybrids. They made me tell them where the island was.”

  Caleb was staring into the face of pure evil. This man had lied to him his entire life and, when he finally told the truth, he admitted to being directly responsible for the death of his parents.

  “So you gave up my parents, the whole colony, just like that?”

  “They were… very persuasive.”

  “All this time, you made me believe you saved me when, the whole time, you were the one who killed my parents.”

  “I didn’t kill them.”

  “But you led the humans right to them, knowing what would happen.”

  “I’m sorry, Caleb. But it’s time you knew the truth.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there’s something you need to do…”

  “No! Not that. Why did you betray my parents?”

  Nero paused and looked deep into Caleb’s eyes, as if willing him to believe what he was about to say.

  “I did not betray your parents.”

  He had had enough of this. It was impossible to know if any of this was the truth. For all he knew, these could be all new lies hiding an even worse truth. Caleb shook his head and headed up the stairs. Away from the man who killed his parents. Away from the lies.

  Nero called after him. “What I did may have resulted in the death your parents, yes. But I did it under specific orders from the king at the time I was sent out. Your grandfather gave me explicit instructions to find out how close the humans were to finding the hybrid weapon.”

  Caleb pushed on the door, but it bumped against something heavy resting against it on the other side. He pushed harder, but his feet slid on the floor and the door refused to budge any further.

  He headed back down the stairs as Nero continued. “Your parents knew what was at stake.”

  Caleb peered into the darkness at the other end of the underground warehouse. “Is there another door down there?”

  “The group your grandfather sent me to infiltrate was getting closer to finding the Brahmastra. A weapon used at various times throughout history by different groups to conquer their known world. Its whereabouts was unknown for over a thousand years until an archaeological expedition, financed by the Directors, uncovered evidence of its final resting place.”

  Caleb grabbed a torch off the wall and made his way through the haphazardly placed artifacts and into the darkness of the ever-deepening warehouse. Nero shuffled along quickly behind him.

  “I had the Brahmastra in my hands only two days ago, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I lost it again. That would not be so bad if it weren’t for the armada of one thousand airships, each filled with soldiers, landing in OZ in less than a week. They will destroy everything in their path until they have the Brahmastra. We cannot let that happen. You cannot let that happen.”

  He continued on as straight a path as he could, but every step he took only revealed that the warehouse stretched even further into the darkness; the far wall always staying just out of reach of the flame from his torch. The flickering fire cut an arc through the air as he turned on Nero.

  “Your little story is very interesting, but I’ve had enough earth shattering revelations for today. How do I get out of here?”

  Nero panted from the exertion of trying to keep up with him.

  “You have to find the Brahmastra and destroy it.”

  “I don’t have to do anything. I promised to listen to you and then I could decide for myself what I wanted to do. I want to leave.”

  “But what about your destiny?”

  “What destiny? I’m nothing but a casino enforcer, thanks to you. I am not some great hero for the hybrids. I’ve been told I can leave after listening to you, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. And I want to take Dorothy with me.”

  Nero shook his head. “I’m sorry. If you want to leave, fine. But you will do so alone.”

  He leaned in close to Nero, the torch illuminating both their faces in the darkness. “When I come back for Dorothy, I will not be alone.”

  Chapter 8

  Caleb looked out the window of the airship as it descended. As promised, the Southern Marshal said he was free to leave the colony, but that also meant he had to leave the Southern Territories.

  And he had to do it without Dorothy.

  He was returning to the hybrid colony one last time to gather his belongings before the
Southern Marshal’s airship took him over the wall and back into the rest of OZ.

  He didn’t plan to stay out of the Southern Territories for very long. Just long enough to gather an army and return for Dorothy.

  He didn’t recognize the town rising up to meet the airship and quickly calculated they were landing too soon.

  He made his way forward to the cockpit.

  “Your instructions were to take me directly to the colony.”

  The pilot didn’t turn around but kept his attention locked on the window of the cockpit. “I’m not taking this ship anywhere near that much smoke.”

  Caleb followed the pilot’s gaze and his heart thumped heavily in his chest. Thick columns of black smoke rose along the horizon, as if half the hybrid colony had been set ablaze.

  The pilot continued. “There will be a carriage when we land that will take you the rest of the way.”

  “And how long will that be?”

  “Longer if you don’t leave the cockpit and let me do my job.”

  Caleb absentmindedly chewed on the piece of fingernail he’d bitten off while waiting for the airship to land. He bounded down the ramp before it touched the ground and searched for the carriage that should be waiting for him.

  There were no horses. There was no carriage.

  He approached the group of men tethering down the airship. He singled out the man who was directing the other men as they struggled to keep the airship steady while others tied the tether ropes to a large truck. Once the airship was tied down to the tether truck, one man could drive the truck to reposition the airship anywhere they needed.

  He tapped the foreman’s shoulder.

  “There’s supposed to be a carriage waiting here.”

  The foreman looked him over with a frown. “What do you want me to do about it?”

  “Where is it?”

  The foreman glanced at him. “We’re a little busy right now?”

  Caleb grabbed the foreman’s shoulder.

  “I must have that carriage immediately.”

  The foreman knocked Caleb’s hand away with his arm and took a step back. “Do we have a problem?”

  Caleb held his hands up, palms out. “No. No problem. I’m sorry.”

  “Good. You just be glad we got here in time to tether the ship. Anything else can wait.”

  Chuffing sounds drew Caleb’s attention to the tether truck that blew white puffs of steam from the boiler while it idled in position as the men tied the airship tethers to it. He remembered watching an airship launch from a tether truck before. The tether hooks on the truck were spring-loaded and controlled by mechanism in the driver’s cabin that allowed all the tether lines for an airship to be released simultaneously. While it took an entire ground crew for an airship to land, mechanizing the launch process meant that, once an airship was tethered to the truck, one man could tow the airship to the launching field and release it from the controls inside.

  Caleb glanced up and down the road. He could see a kilometer in both directions. Neither way showed that a carriage was on its way here.

  The hybrid colony was burning and he was too far away to help.

  A metal clanging sound drew his attention back to the tether truck as someone loaded more logs into the firebox, that heated the boiler, before slamming the iron door shut again and joining the rest of the crew in tethering the last of the ropes to the truck.

  Caleb studied the group of men. Those who had finished tying ropes to the truck had gathered around the foreman, the same man who had shooed him away earlier. Nobody was paying attention to him. Nor were they paying attention to the fact that he was slowly making his way to the front of the tether truck.

  Caleb considered himself to be smarter than most, and he’d seen men with more brawns than brains operate a tether truck. How hard could it be?

  He took one last look around to confirm that nobody was paying attention to him and hopped into the cabin of the steam-powered tether truck. He grasped the steering wheel with both hands and scanned his eyes over the numerous gauges in the dashboard before him. Each gauge had a needle that twitched to show the status of things he knew nothing about.

  He quickly realized he had no idea how to make the carriage move. He twisted the steering wheel back and forth like he’d seen drivers do anytime a horseless carriage went by on the street.

  Nothing happened. The truck stayed perfectly still.

  He could feel his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He frantically searched for any indication of what made the truck move. He could see only two levers. One stuck up out of the floor by his seat and the other protruded from the dash.

  He glanced out the dirt-smeared window and saw that the last of the tether lines had been secured to the truck. All of the men huddled together, except for the foreman, who broke from the group and headed for the truck. If the foreman caught him trying to steal the truck, he would definitely decide that they had a problem.

  Caleb reached out and yanked on the lever on the dash. Several angry shouts came from the group of men who scrambled to grab the tether lines he had just released before the airship floated away without a pilot on board.

  A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed the foreman was now running toward the truck yelling at him to get out.

  Caleb grabbed the second lever and shoved it forward. The pilot of the airship had chosen to land at the top of a low hill, so when Caleb released the brake, the truck began to roll forward down the hill.

  Behind him, several men joined the foreman in running after the truck and barking orders at him to stop.

  Even if he knew how to stop the truck’s accelerating descent down the hill, he would have refused. The colony needed him now, more than ever, and he was going to do everything he could to get there before it was too late.

  Of course, he would need to learn how to stop this thing sooner or later. Preferably, sooner.

  As the truck barreled downhill at increasing speed, he twisted the wheel back and forth and felt the truck lurch from side to side. He quickly discovered that small adjustments of the wheel kept him going, more or less, in a straight path down the hill.

  He looked back with relief to see he was leaving the men far behind. But he was almost out of hill and the ground was leveling out. The truck was starting to slow down and he still had no idea how to make it move under its own power.

  He frantically searched around inside the cabin of the truck, but he’d already pulled the only two levers he could see. The truck slowed to a fast walking speed, and was still slowing down.

  He jumped forward in his seat, trying to force the truck forward with his own body weight. It was no use. The ground had leveled out and all the momentum gained from the hill had been spent. The truck rolled to a dead stop.

  He craned his neck back to see the men still running down the hill after him. If he couldn’t get this thing moving again, they would catch up with their stolen truck and most likely take their frustration out on him. As he twisted back around in his seat, his foot hit something on the floor and the truck lurched forward a couple of feet before stopping again.

  He peeked under the steering wheel and saw there were two more levers poking up out of the floorboard. He tentatively pushed down on the first lever with his foot and nothing happened. He pushed it all the way down to the floor and still nothing happened. Leave it up to the humans to create something with extra levers that didn’t do anything.

  He pushed down on the other lever with a little more confidence and the truck shot forward, throwing him back into his seat and knocking his foot off the pedal. The truck motored down to a stop again.

  A quick glance behind saw the fastest of the men were already at the bottom of the hill. But all was not lost. He knew how to make the truck go.

  He eased his foot down on the lever, and the truck rolled forward under its own power. It didn’t take long for him to learn how to alternate pushing on the pedal and easing up on it to keep the truck going at a more control
led speed.

  Stopping was another matter, but one he didn’t need to worry about until he got to his destination.

  Caleb motored along through the countryside, and as he got closer to the colony, what he had feared before was becoming the reality. The amount of smoke billowing up from inside the boundary of the electrified fence could mean only one thing. Half the colony was already in flames.

  He pushed the lever all the way to the floor and clung to the steering wheel as he fought to keep the truck on the dirt road that led to the hybrid colony.

  A mad buzzing sound erupted from inside the dashboard right before there was a loud pop and several of the needles spun wildly in the gauges. The truck lurched under him followed by the loud hiss of steam escaping the boiler. He pushed down several times on the lever that made the truck go, but this time nothing happened.

  The truck rolled to a stop in the middle of the road and nothing he did made any difference.

  He was close enough to smell the fires burning inside the colony. And if he was close enough to smell it, he was close enough to run the rest of the way on foot.

  He crested the low hill and caught sight of the main gate to the colony. Hybrids were walking out of the burning compound; single file.

  It didn’t look like everyone was carrying everything they owned, but it certainly looked like everything they carried was now all they owned.

  He ran down the line toward the front gate. Nobody talked as they walked. Even the children labored under their belongings as they shuffled alongside their parents. Anyone who made eye contact with him as he ran, rather than say hello like they usually did, quickly looked away.

  Even though the only houses that burned were on the far side of the colony, he could feel the heat from the fires that hungrily consumed the hybrid village. And it chilled him to his bones.

  Up ahead, Zee guided the small horse that pulled a hay wagon filled with her family’s possessions.

  She spotted him running toward her and ducked her head as she urged the horse to move faster.

  “Zee, what’s going on?”

  She ignored him and pulled harder on the heavy noseband of the horse’s hackamore, a bit-less bridle. The horse responded by bucking his head and stamping a front foot.