Standing from his throne the scarecrow opens his arms, spreading them snidely as he boasts:
‘You can repopulate a city, make the people better, stronger. I just need to kill the Carnivorous first. Everything dies everything can be killed.’
‘You cannot kill the sky,’ The lion says, ‘You can pollute it!’ Scarecrow smirks, ‘You cannot kill love,’ The tin-man groans, ‘You can taint it!’ The scarecrow howls, slowly falling back into the throne, nursing his burlap head as he shakes his body. His twisted smile fades and the innocent expression creeps back, looking out to his friends as he dithers, ‘No no, not at all, it’s all wrong, not thinking right. We need to send Dorothy home.’, ‘But how?’ the young girl asks, feeling no sadness that the wizard betrayed her. Instead she’s persistent, even more adamant to get back to aunt Em and uncle Henry than before, as everything pushes her further away. Poking at his head, knowing that there’s something inside the scarecrow looks out to his company and bursts, ‘Monkeys! Can you fly Dorothy out of Oz, at least past the moving sands?’
Stepping forward Adam shakes his head regrettably, his strong voice slightly echoing through the hall as he looks up at the scarecrow, then to Dorothy: ‘I’m sorry but we can’t, we’re creatures of Oz and were made by the western witch. As far as I know no one has ever gotten past the desert, and I cannot risk my people trying. The magic that created us confines us to this land, and it may be rejected by your world. I’m sorry.’
‘We could make another balloon,’ the tin-man groans, but the scarecrow interrupts, standing quickly as he puts a finger to his mouth. ‘The witch, the witch, the witch!’ he repeats at first, bursting, ‘Dorothy can go north or south and one of the witches will help, but will they be powerful enough to send you home?’
Adam answers again, with a strict attitude and a firm voice as he reports: ‘Notou is more powerful, and even if we wanted to we couldn’t fly north. When we evacuated the city we saw the purple path covered in tar, we cannot risk flying over it with the night sky. We can take you to the south, but not as far as the Quadling country, despite being a good witch her land can still be dangerous, and the hammerheads would shoot us from the sky without warning.’
‘Then that’s it,’ the lion growls, ‘We’ll take Dorothy in the morning,’ but the scarecrow exclaims, ‘No, we have to leave now. It won’t take long for the Carnivorous to devour the city completely!’ Looking at her friends, proud of how courageous the lion is, and so happy that the tin-man and Scarecrow have what they wanted the young girl asks meekly, ‘Are, are you coming with me?’ Walking toward her with a gentle smile the scarecrow brushes a hand through her hair, twitching slightly as his button eyes open wide, ‘If I didn’t come with you I wouldn’t have much of a brain would I?’ Holding his hand she looks at him warmly, hearing the lion’s strong voice echo, ‘You saved me,’ as his dead eye weeps and he looks at her compassionately, ‘You’re my friend, and I can’t let you go alone.’ Stepping toward her he rubs his head against her neck, letting his mane tickle her face as he whispers in ear, ‘But I don’t want you to go.’ Feeling a tear in her eye she looks at his sad beaten face, feeling his cold snout against her skin as she realises how it must feel for him, after losing the only friend he had to Mr Jack’s carnival, the one who took his place is leaving him too. Wrapping her arms around the lion tears stain her cheeks, almost wondering if she even wants to go home. She suddenly feels relieved she didn’t get in the balloon, because she doesn’t want to say goodbye to her friends, not just yet. Looking up past the lion’s fur to the tin-man she asks, ‘Will you come with me too?’ though not just for protection, but because he’s become a part of her life in Oz. She thinks of the times he’s saved her, how she felt when he was attacked in the streets, and how she laid by his side in the cold workshop. Seeing the hesitation in his eyes she asks, ‘Please,’ and he looks down at the young girl, feeling a swelling in his chest he had almost forgotten.
‘I’ll come with you to the south,’ the tin-man groans sympathetically, ‘I want to see you home safely but I’m scared. Do you remember what I told you about my love, how she lived with an evil old woman…her house is in the south too, and I must go there, I…’ Gently moving from the lion Dorothy holds the tin-man’s gauntlet, careful not to prick her skin as she looks into his eyes, ‘I understand, but don’t be scared, she’ll be happy to see you. Come with us, we’ll be beside you…don’t leave me yet.’
As quickly as they could the strange travellers were soon flying through the air, leaving the Emerald city as Scarecrow looks behind him at the morbid green castle. Now covered in the carnivorous ooze, it drips along the steeples and clings to the spires, spreading along the buildings and creeping over the great wall as it whips into the sky hungrily. So concerned with the city he almost forgot how much he hated flying before, but now with a brain he smiles, sure that if anything with wings would try to harm him he’d simply be intelligent enough to catch the creature and open it up like he did the crows.
Flying over the red lands of the south Dorothy looks down at a forest of moving trees, watching their branches flail in the night as the monkeys slowly descend. Staring at a high wall made of clear white china, and a delicate village within it made of such beautiful colours Dorothy’s amazed, though the scarecrow doesn’t coo like he used to, and instead he looks inquisitively, thinking what kind of people live here. Gently lowering the travellers into the town the monkeys float above their heads and Adam bows to the young girl, asking, ‘Is there anything else you want of us?’ and she smiles up at him, ‘No, your free, thank you for bringing us this far.’ He looks at her with a modest smirk, announcing, ‘Yes we are, and we have you to thank,’ before flying higher into the sky and shouting, ‘We wish you the best of luck,’ as they disappear into the night.
Looking out at the dainty china village Dorothy smiles in amazement, from the sky she hadn’t noticed, but its houses and barns are no higher than her waist. Staring at such a brightly coloured village she looks at the animals kept in a pen, the cows no taller than ten inches, as without warning a swarm of people crowd the streets. Watching them Dorothy and her friends step backwards, but not the lion, he lets the horde come closer and stands his ground. Their footsteps clatter at the delicate white floor, and the animal had never seen such strange people. With bodies, and even their brightly coloured clothes made of nothing but china they stand with emeralds and jewels imbedded in their fragile skin, as the tallest is only as high as Dorothy’s knees. Dressed in beautiful robes and jewels, one wears a crown and some pointed hats, as milkmaids, clowns and royalty are painted the brightest of colours. Yet they still look horrific, as all of their china heads are broken; cracks spread along all of their faces, across rosy cheeks, through painted lips and eyes, as almost a hundred surround the guests.
Staring at them worriedly, Dorothy’s reminded of dreams she had as a child, one of evil dolls, the hideous broken toys hiding under the orphanage beds. Sure that he could just smash them to pieces the lion shows no fear, though to his surprise the crowned china man politely says, ‘I am the king of this village, what do you want? We do not take kindly to guests at night.’
Stepping forward Dorothy looks down to the small king, pleading, ‘Please Sir, we mean no harm. We’re on our way to see Notou and need a place to spend the night.’
Looking up at her the king’s sick painted smile catches her eye as he courteously says, ‘If that is the case you are more than welcome, though you will have to sleep in our barns, as they’re the only buildings we have that are big enough for giants to rest in.’
Nodding at him the young girl says, ‘Thank you so much,’ as she feels herself growing tired, and realises that every single china person is smiling at her. With a pair of sick red lips spread across every broken white face she hears the king shout, ‘Back to your homes, Princess, show them to the barn.’ As the horrid broken dolls walk back to their houses one small woman stands in an elegant pink dress as cracks spread along her face
to the back of her blond hair. Looking up at the guests daintily she requests, ‘Follow me,’ as she leads the travellers through the china village and shows them to the barn. Looking to the woman Dorothy thanks her and can’t help but ask, ‘What, what happened to you all, how are you all cracked?' Without shame, the princess replies with a brittle voice:
‘The Reverend said the time would come, and no-one believed him at first. Then one day as the sun shone on our village brightly, a hundred birds came from the sky and tried to take us to their nests. Some were dropped from too high up and couldn’t be fixed, but the rest of us were mended, and now our whole town’s pretty again.’
Looking at the daintily white woman Dorothy stares at her sick smile, and watches her gently curtsey before uttering, ‘Good night,’ and leaving them beside the barn. Watching her walk away, looking over the silent china village Dorothy whispers, ‘Do you believe her?’ as the scarecrow replies, ‘Not at all.’ Still, after a while Dorothy and the lion crawl into the barn, knowing they dare not move too much in case they break it. So holding each other they gently fall asleep, as Tin-man lies on the ground beside them closing his eyes, thinking of finding his love again and wondering if she’ll remember him. While the others sleep the scarecrow crawls through the village curiously, listening to the slightest of sounds as he wonders what the people are hiding. Eventually he spots a lit church and lies in the distance, watching through a window as he spots a china girl. With her face a pristine white she smiles with pretty colours spread all over her, and wonders why her head’s not broken. Lying still, with his body hidden in the darkness he watches her for an hour, wondering why she doesn’t move from the chair she’s sitting in. Then after some time the scarecrow witnesses a crowd of broken dolls walking into the church, as he realises the girl’s tied to the chair. Curiously, he watches without thinking of saving the girl, and instead he prepares himself, sure of what will happen as the king appears and holds a small hammer in his hands.
Without warning or sorrow, the ruler smashes the girl’s china face to pieces, letting her white skin clatter along the floor as the scarecrow finally understands the responsibilities of having a brain, and the power of being a ruler.
36
As morning comes, the travellers leave the china village without seeing a single person, or hearing a voice through the empty streets. The scarecrow keeps what he witnessed last night to himself, and soon enough they reach another white china wall. Climbing over it carefully they find themselves in a red marshland; full of bogs, and covered with tall thick grass as they wade their way to the south. Still with her compass, Dorothy checks the direction occasionally, leading them into a swamp as they struggle to find solid ground.
Surrounded with murky water, small mounds of ground and tall-deformed trees, the travellers struggle to see past a thick layer of fog, as a insidious scuttling sound echoes through the land. Feeling water at his feet the tin-man fears he may rust, but keeps focused on his surroundings as the scarecrow treads cautiously, wondering what’s beneath the swamp. Smelling the fresh air the lion leaps from one dry mound to the next as he feels the moss crunch between his paws and looks eagerly into the murky distance. Smiling at Dorothy he says, ‘I like this place,’ curious of what creatures live in the land as he bounds happily, thinking that the carnival would never come to this part of the country. Listening to the distant flow of ominous waters a loud howl suddenly travels through the swamp and the lion turns to his friends. ‘Get back!’ he growls, smelling a new scent as several figures charge from the fog ahead.
With a fearful roar the lion marks his territory, and as the animals emerge from the thick grey he watches one stumble into the swamp as the others scream, ‘It’s back, it’s back!’ Slowing their pace they run to the lion as he watches the different species joined in fear; antelope aside wolves, capybaras with jaguars and other strange species he’d never seen before. Looking to the animal drifting in the swamp the lion whimpers, he’d never seen a lioness until now, and he watches her dead body float with two large holes in her ribs. With his good eye weeping he growls, ‘What did this?’ and one of the unusual animals howls, ‘The female, she’s back, the eggs are hatching!’, then a she-wolf steps forward, limping as she informs the lion:
‘Spiders, bigger than elephants. Two came and devoured many of our family, then they spread their eggs around the swamp and left. Now the female’s back. Some of the animals here aren’t fighters, they’ll die. Please help us.’
Shocked, the lion gently nods his head, growling, ‘I will!’ as he stares at the dead lioness. The she-wolf thanks him and turns to the other animals, ordering, ‘The wounded go, those still able come back with me,’ as she looks at the lion, ‘Come, we’re heading south.’
Trudging through the swamp the lion and the she-wolf walk in front, as various animals walk behind, and Dorothy, Scarecrow and the tin-man trail at the end. With a keen eye the she-wolf watches the path ahead as the other animals look deep into the swamp surrounding them. Watching for spiderlings, sure their eggs will hatch soon the she-wolf leads the way, hearing the lion huff, ‘Are there anymore of my kind here?’ Her keen eyes quickly turn sympathetic as she gazes at him, ‘I’m sorry, there were before the spiders came, but not anymore.’ Saddened, the fierce lion asks, ‘You live here in peace, all the different species?’ and she smirks ironically, 'We try to, but I don’t even know how many are left anymore. I sent the weak and the ones unable to fight into hiding, but some of our strongest are dead, that’s why we need your help.’
Walking at the back Dorothy looks through the swamp, eyeing the fog and looking in front of her at the capybara as she whispers to Scarecrow, ‘Is that a four feet hamster?’ Just as he’s about to open his mouth the creature turns around, looking the young girl in the eyes as he shouts, ‘Hey, I’m not a hamster!’ Smiling lightly with, ‘Sorry,’ she looks at the capybara as the jaguar next to him licks his lips, ‘Sure smells like one though.’ Then with a light attack the rodent hits the jaguar on the nose, confusing him as he shouts, ‘I told you that’s not funny, and at least I don’t look like a rug!’ Dorothy hears the big cat murmur, ‘So cruel,’ as she giggles lightly, looking to the lion ahead of them with a smile.
Swiftly with a sniff of the air the she-wolf cries, ‘Spiderlings!’ as the jaguar turns his head to see them crawling along the marsh and dangling from the trees. The lion roars to threaten the arachnids but they leap in the air, ready to attack as the she-wolf howls, ‘Watch out, their poisonous!’ The spiders jump from the ground and dive from trees as the fierce animals’ swipe at them with their paws, and the weaker ones try their best to attack, whilst Scarecrow and the tin-man protect Dorothy. Cutting the arachnids in half with his axe the tin-man swings the blade with force, as the scarecrow swipes his arms in the air, cutting away their limbs with his barbwire stitching. With each spider a foot high, spewing from the marshland quicker than they can be torn down the she-wolf howls, ‘Retreat! Quick carry the slow, now!’
Without hesitation the strong carry the weak and the lion leaps to the tin-man, sure he’s the only one able to carry such a weight. Finding herself quickly thrown onto a jaguar’s back Dorothy grabs tightly as they speed through the marsh, and she watches behind her to see some of the animals fall, the spiderlings eating them immediately.
They run for miles, dashing past the newly hatched spiderlings and avoiding the eggs that spread through the swamp. Smelling the scent of the large female spider and finally reaching even ground the she-wolf orders the others to stop, watching their bodies slow as she goes ahead alone, her legs in agony from running as she gently limps again. With the scent stronger she barks, ‘Hide those unable to fight, she’s close,’ warning her pack as the tin-man walks toward her, ready to battle. Marching ahead the lion pushes him back, roaring, ‘No! Look after Dorothy, this is my fight!’ and the tin-man nods as a peculiar red animal escorts the strange friends with the weak, hiding them in an empty cave. Walking toward the shelter Dorothy looks aroun
d the land; filled with hills, and beautiful green trees, as she spots dead animals scattered along the ground, some half eaten and others trapped in spider webs.
Following the she-wolf, the lion and a pack of other animals tread carefully as thick webs surround them, and they walk into a forest filled with oak trees. Looking in the distance they see the spider sleeping on the ground, as fierce animals lie trapped in spider webs, and dozens of eggs surround the arachnid. Slowly approaching the monster the lion looks at its huge black body; its head striped with orange and twice the size of him. Getting closer to the sleeping spider, planning to attack while it’s asleep a tiger moves in first, baring its teeth and leaping into the air as the monster opens its four purple eyes. Reaching for the animal with a long leg it pulls the creature into his mouth and devours with sharp fangs as it stands, as tall as the trees, running at the others.
Howling, ‘Pull back!’ the she-wolf and her pack retreat, running through the forest as the spider chases quickly, knocking down the trees, spinning webs at the animals and crushing them under her legs. Side by side the she-wolf and the lion run, but as the arachnid hammers trees to the ground they separate and she pursues the wolf. Running with all of her strength, her injured leg in agony she knows she can’t fight the spider on her own, and as she starts to tire she looks up at the beast. Staring at its evil eyes the she-wolf watches in amazement as the lion leaps from a hill, roaring as he dives at the spider, latching onto its head as he claws her eyes out and sinks his teeth into her face. The fierce animal hacks away at her head as she shrieks in pain, her legs giving way as she crashes to the ground, pulling apart the trees as the she-wolf dives out of its way.
Dorothy: The Darker Side of OZ v5 Page 25