The fact that everyone within a mile could hear her music clearly without the added aid of her headphones didn't bother DJ one whit. Music was all about communication after all, and DJ was determined to communicate that she had better taste in tunes and didn't care enough to hear anyone else's opinion as far as the topic of melodic composition went. The funny looks she got from passing cars didn't bother her either. The only opinion she really cared about was Toto's, and he tended to agree with her.

Toto had just returned to her side, after having taken a side trip as they passed by Elmira Gulch's yard, presumably to chase cats, as he did most days. DJ had to smile at the thought. Toto was barely bigger than his quarry, and actually smaller than some of the mangy felines he ran around after, but that didn't daunt him at all. He was the fiercest little wolf dog DJ had ever seen, which was precisely why she had picked him out of his litter, despite his size. She wanted a pet with some spirit, and that's what she had gotten.

"Dorothy Jean Gale!" cried Aunt Em as the duo neared the rustic farmhouse where they resided. Aunt Em stood waiting for them on the steps, but DJ hesitated, unsure of what would happen next. Aunt Em was the only person who called her by her full name (which she despised) and so it was hard to tell if this title was currently being used as a term of endearment or as an expression of anger. It turned out to be the latter.

"I got off the phone with Elmira Gulch a minute ago, and she says that Toto bit her just now," Aunt Em proclaimed as them approached. She crossed her arms, awaiting her niece's reply.

DJ was impassive. "So?" she questioned calmly, unable to see why this pertained to her. As far as she was concerned, the old witch got what she deserved. She made a mental not to reward her puppy later.

"So? So it's unacceptable! You can't just let that dog run around wild biting people."

"He didn't bite a person. He bit Gulch. There's a difference. If you should feel sorry for anyone, it's Toto. Poor boy probably has a bad taste in his mouth now." DJ bent down to pat her dog's head as she said this, and he replied to her attention with a short, happy yelp.

Aunt Em looked to furious to reply for several seconds. After flailing her arms wordless for a few moments, she took a deep breath and hissed out her reply as best she could in her current state. "Inside. Now."

DJ decided that this time it might be better to obey her aunt's wishes. Sometimes she felt bad for her aunt, as well as her uncle, for having to put up with her while her parents traveled around, doing all sorts of exciting things without her. She knew she could be a pain sometimes, especially to a couple as old and set in their ways as Em and Henry. Then again, sometimes they could just be so damn stubborn that she wanted to run screaming from their Kansas farm, preferably after planting a bomb somewhere on the premises.

After crossing the threshold, DJ was informed that her scolding would commence as soon as Uncle Henry returned from doing some work in the barn, and in the meantime she might try to make herself look less like a hobo. DJ looked down at her clothing. She had spent the morning baby-sitting a pair of unruly eight year old twins from two farms down, and as a consequence, was smeared head to foot in muck from the game of Mud-ball that had ensued. DJ was tempted to remind her aunt that this wouldn't happen if she would be allowed to get a job better than watching other people's little brats, but wisely concluded that now might not be the best time.

After a quick shower, DJ proceed to dress in one of her favorite outfits, a just-short-enough skirt complimented by a low slung belt and a matching black corseted tank top. She also donned a pair of red and gray striped knee-high socks and proceeded to put her hair in pigtails to complete the school girl look. She turned to Toto, who was currently sitting on her bed. "What do you think? Too jail-bait?"

Toto yelped what may or may not have been a confirmation. DJ decided the hair was a bit too much, shook down her mid-length mahogany hair, and complimented her dog on his excellent taste. She looked out the window and was glad to see the clouds still matched her mood. There had been wind and talk of tornados all week, though none had appeared yet. DJ didn't mind. She like cloudy, gusty days such as this, even if it did mean that her and her friends' plan for a bonfire would have to be postponed till the sky cleared. It was just as well, considering that she was probably about to be grounded. DJ rolled her eyes at the thought. Who still got grounded at 18? Stupid, strict, red-neck relatives. College could not come soon enough.

Becoming lost in a happy daydream of a distant school filled with hunky coeds, DJ ideally paced her room, until picking up a katana that her parents had sent her after a visit to China. After that, the daydream changed to include her defending her dream school from hoards of undead zombies who had previously been hunky coeds. She twirled the blade, narrowly avoiding cutting off her own hands. She really should practice a bit more with this thing. Then again, it would be interesting to see how her parents would react if they found out their gift had maimed their daughter. Aunt Em had certainly been horrified enough when she first saw it.

As if on cue, DJ heard her aunt's voice from the living room. However, instead of summoning her, as she expected, it was inviting someone inside. DJ crept to the door and opened it a crack to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"So, where are those horrid little creatures?" she heard an ancient, raspy voice demand. She was slightly unnerved. What was Gulch doing her?

Despite her earlier irritation at her niece, Aunt Em got defensive in a hurry. "One of those 'horrid little creatures' is my niece, Elmira. And the other one is her favorite thing in this world, so I would suggest you keep your phraseology a tad more civil while in this house." DJ would have cheered if it wouldn't have given away her spying. Aunt Em continued, "Henry will be in shortly. We'll discuss everything then."

"I didn't come here to be left waiting," growled the old hag.

"Then don't bother too," replied the voice of Uncle Henry. DJ heard the screen door open and shut to admit him. "What can we do for you, Elmira?"

"You can fetch that little scam you shelter and her filthy mutt and bring them both here at once. I've got a problem with them and, one way or another, I'm solving that problem today."

DJ thought she heard Uncle Henry sigh, and was certain she heard the heavy thump of his boots coming down the hall towards her room. She quickly went to sit on the bed and acted as if she'd been there the whole time. There was a knock, and then the door swung open.

Uncle Henry glanced at his niece, smiled, and mouthed the word "jailbait." DJ smiled back. Uncle Henry was gruff enough, for sure, but was also fairly easy going most of the time. Still, it was time to be serious, and Henry's smile quickly faded to a grimace.

"I know you were listening in, so come along now." DJ winced at the thought of being found out, but proceeded to stand up and head towards the living room. "Oh, DJ," Uncle Henry added. "Leave the sword."

Well, it had been worth a try. DJ put the weapon back in its decorative sheath and followed her uncle and Toto towards the women in the other room. Upon seeing the little dark grey wolf dog, Gulch immediately grabbed him and stuffed him in a cat carrier she had brought with her.

"Hey! What the hell-" DJ started forward, but Uncle Henry held her back.

"Elmira?" he questioned, obviously just as surprised, but not wanting to start a ruckus with the demonic old woman.

"Don't give me any lip now. I've got a note straight from the sheriff and all. That dog bit me, and I want that thing euthanized and tested for rabies."

"Wait," cried DJ. "Euthanized as in killed?! No! You can't! He doesn't have rabies! You evil bitch!" She struggled against her uncle's hold.

Aunt Em, with shaky hands, accepted the piece of paper Gulch offered her and read it to herself. "It's true," she said quietly, upon finishing it. She sat down on the couch, giving her niece a look of sympathy that told DJ there was nothing to be done about it. From inside the cage, Toto was yelping like crazy, trying to get back to his owner.

"See now, little girl," criticized Gulch, "Maybe this will teach you to train your pets better." She turned to examine something on the wall. Despite her uncle firm hold, DJ took the opportunity give the old woman the finger, realizing too late that the object being examined was a mirror, and realizing a second later that she didn't care.

Gulch, on the other hand, whipped around furiously, showing surprising speed for a person her age. "Why you ill-mannered, wicked girl!" She grabbed the cage and slammed her way out the door, ignoring the howls of both pet and master as she left.

DJ was finally able to break her uncle's choke hold, and ran immediately back to her room, grabbed the already-at-hand katana, and spun out the door after them. She didn't know what she intended to do, but she wouldn't sit passively by while her best friend was driven off to be murdered. Still, by the time she reached the yard, Gulch had already driven off, and her aunt and uncle were grabbing her and stuffing her back inside the house. Distraught beyond consolation, DJ ran back to her room, crying, locked the door, and threw herself down on the bed to morn.

Although she intended to stay locked away forever, weeping over the loss of her dog, after about an hour DJ found herself out of tears. At this time, Aunt Em came and knocked quietly on the door.

"Dorothy, honey," she called softly. "Why don't you come out and try to eat something?"

DJ didn't reply, and eventually, she heard her aunt walk away. "How could she have?" DJ though. "How could she and Uncle Henry have just stood by and let her take away Toto like that?" DJ would have vowed revenge on both of them right then, if she hadn't suddenly heard a familiar yelp coming from atop the woodpile that sat just outside of her window.

"Toto!" she exclaimed, throwing the window wide open and pulling her fierce little monster inside. She forgot to shut the window, although her subconscious noted what her conscious could not about the sudden speed and ferocity of the wind. "How did you escape?"

Toto simply barked again, knowing full well that his mistress would never know about how he chewed his way through the flimsy, plastic latch of the pet carrier and almost managed to snap off Elmira Gulch's ugly nose as she attempted to remove him from the car.

At that moment, and for the second time that day, DJ heard her uncle's boot's coming down the hall. Since she was still mad at him, and didn't want to risk Toto being taken away again, DJ decided to do something particularly childish, and hid inside the closet.

To her uncle, things looked much worse as he enter the room, saw no sign of DJ, and the window standing open. He ran back to the kitchen, where his wife was waiting. "Em," he exclaimed. "Dorothy's gone!"

"What?" Aunt Em stood up in a panic. "You mean she ran away!?"

"It looks like it."

"Well, we've got to find her, Henry! We've got to find her before this tornado hits!"

"I know, I know!" shouted her husband. "You check to the north, I'll go south, and we'll meet back at the cellar in half an hour."

Over the rising sound of the wind, DJ heard nothing of this conversation, nor her aunt and uncle calling her name through the fields in vain. From the closet, she didn't hear them meeting up at the cellar with tears in their eyes, or breaking and continuing the search until it was almost too late. She didn't know that they were both crying as they climbed into the space under the barn, and she defiantly couldn't guess that, even as they bolted the doors, they were praying their dear niece had found a safe place to take shelter. She was too glorying in her victory, and plotting her revenge against the evil Ms. Gulch, unaware of the storm raging outside.