Tin Man
Imaris
Chapter One-The Twister
"DG? Table 4 needs their French fries," said the owner of the diner as he wiped his hands on his white apron. I was already finished with my shift so I was sitting at the counter. DG immediately went over and picked up the plate. As she passed me, she rolled her eyes.
"I swear. I hope this isn't the route my life is going," she muttered to me. I chuckled and stood up, stretching. DG's shift was over as this was her last order she had to deliver. Both her and I worked in a diner in a small town in Kansas. I watched as she gently placed the plate of French fries down in front of a family and turned around. "Bye, Sam. See you tomorrow."
Grinning and shaking my head, I grabbed my bag and waited for DG to get her jacket. Finally, we left the diner and began walking back to her house. It was a large farm. Her parents were wonderful people and her father was really handy around the farm equipment. I spent many a nights over her house because my own family was not really involved in my life as much as they should be. My mother died when I was very young, and my father remarried to a pure evil woman. She hated me and resented me and tried to make my life a living hell. DG and I had become best friends since working there. We'd also become best friends with Risik Brown. She would be coming over later on. I inhaled deeply and DG realized something was bothering me. She put a hand on my shoulder.
"Emma? What's wrong?" DG asked softly as we walked along a dirt path that led onto the farm. Our shoes crunched over the dirt and gravel. I sighed and decided to answer her. I knew she would understand. Both her and Risik were the best friends I'd ever had. They were there for me more than my real parents. DG's parents as well. They treated me like their second, err third daughter. I loved them. I reached up and tucked a few strands of chocolate brown hair behind my ear, exposing a small dangly diamond heart shaped earring.
"I found out that Nick was dating my best friend. Remember Amber Wilson? Well, it was her. I caught them spending some 'time' together. I told him to get lost," I muttered darkly. "God. Why can't I find a good guy?"
DG's blue eyes were filled with sadness as we eventually reached her farm. Immediately, the white farm house came into view, and I briefly felt my sadness vanish. This was one place I truly felt at home here. I spied Risik's Ford Taurus already parked in the driveway and realized she was already here. DG's dark brown hair blew softly in the gentle warm breeze. DG has been telling us about these dreams she was having. She keeps dreaming of a woman in a lovely lavender dress, really pretty, and other strange images. For me, personally, I think she's had another life or something. Risik believed DG was just under stress. We walked up the front steps and DG let us into the house. We spied her parents in the kitchen. Risik was already there and she looked up when she spied us. She broke into a grin and jumped up from her seat to give us a hug. DG hugged her back, but I returned the embrace rather stiffly. See, Risik was the type to get a swelled head. She thinks she had the perfect body and whatnot. She had this wavy and perfect brunette colored hair, aquamarine green eyes, a creamy and tan complexion, soft pink lips and just the overall model type appearance. She had lots of boyfriends in her lifetime. Me? I guess I was pretty. DG constantly tells me I'm pretty. I've got long chocolate brown hair, blue eyes, a light olive complexion and full heart shaped lips. But I've so much guy trouble it wasn't even funny anymore. My name is Emma Dawes. I'm 20 years old but I look much younger. DG was the same way. Risik was the only one that looked more 'mature' for her age…which is probably why she has a lot of luck with guys. Risik released me and I leaned against the kitchen counter. Her eyes were twinkling, which meant she either got a new boyfriend, or dumped the one she had now because of some stupid fault she found.
"You girls are staying over right?" DG's mother asked softly, her curly blond hair catching the sunlight that poured in through the window. Risik and I nodded.
DG pulled her father away for a moment, probably telling him about the 'dream' she had again. Risik turned to me.
"Oh Emma. I'm so sorry. I heard about Nick. That's completely disgusting. Of course, if he were with me he probably wouldn't have done that," she said.
Anger flared and I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. This was another reason why I couldn't stand Risik. I honestly didn't know why we all got along, but we did. Before I could retort, DG and her father returned and I ended up getting sidetracked.
However, I was still seething pretty badly. Later that night, DG pulled me aside. I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button up poplin blouse. I'd changed out of my blue and white checkered uniform from the diner. She stopped me in the hallway.
"What did Risik say?" she asked in a knowing tone.
"Said that if Nick had been with her, he wouldn't have left me," I growled at DG. "And frankly, I have no idea how she found out!"
DG shook her head. "I have no idea either. But this is a small town. News travels fast,"
Of course DG was right. I'd forgotten about being in this small town. I bit my bottom lip and stared off to the side of DG, a faint glimmer of tears forming in my eyes.
"It's just not fair. Is there something wrong with me? I mean why do guys cheat on me or whatnot?" I mused aloud to her. DG sighed and gave me a tight hug.
"I don't know, Ems," she whispered softly. "But you will find the right guy. Trust me."
I had to grin and began feeling a whole lot better. I lifted my right wrist and checked the time. It was around 11 pm. I released DG and went to take a step toward our room, when suddenly the weather outside changed. I peered out the window. Dark storm clouds rolled in and thunder began reverberating throughout the land. Lightning illuminated the sky.
"Huh. Looks like we're in for a storm," I said turning to DG. The door to Risik's room opened and she stepped out in a pair of grey jogging pants and a white tank top with a blue hooded jogging jacket over it. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail.
"What's wrong you two? Couldn't sleep because of the storm?" she cooed grinning teasingly.
I narrowed my eyes at her. There was a loud crash downstairs and I heard shouting. Panic began settling into my chest. I turned and saw DG's parents running up the stairs.
"Quick! To the attic!" her father said ushering us up to the attic.
"Dad?" DG asked alarmed as she allowed her parents to push us upstairs. "What's going on?"
"Long Coats," her father responded.
The three of us exchanged confused and scared expressions. By the time we hit the attic, a large dark funnel had appeared. A twister. Now, I was even more scared and terrified. I heard footsteps coming from beneath us as DG's father pushed open the window. By now, we were standing on a ledge as the twister came closer. Our hair whipped around in all directions and it was hard to stand still in one place. By now, the twister was right on top of us.
"Jump!" DG's father said as he shoved DG first, then Risik, and then me. I screamed and saw the center of the twister coming up to meet me before I was sucked into a black darkness.
I moaned and opened my eyes. I realized I was lying on my back now and felt warm sunlight on my face. Blinking, I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on grass in a forest. The sunlight was pouring through the tree tops, making little bars of light on the ground. Frantically, I looked around and spied DG lying next to me, and Risik not too far off. The house was completely destroyed. Bits and pieces of it lay scattered around. I slowly sat up and reached over to shake DG awake. She blinked a few times before sitting upright. Risik was up as well.
"Where are we?" DG asked confused.
"I have no idea," I said as I reached up and felt a small laceration on my forehead which was bleeding. Risik scooted closer to us.
"Where's mom and dad?" DG asked alarmed as we scanned the area, but they were nowhere to be found.
We heard the shrubs rustling in front of us and then two small men appeared. They were painted in different colors and were carrying spears.
"You are spies!" one hissed at us. "We have captured the spies for the Dark Queen!"
"Whoa. Hold on a second. We're not spies," DG said confused. "Who is the Dark Queen? And who are you? I'm DG, this is Emma and Risik."
The two small men looked at each other before answering.
"Spies would naturally try and lie," he said. "We're the Freedom Fighters, rebellion squad against the Queen."
There was a flurry of movement that I really couldn't remember and then we were placed in a cage high above the ground.
"Lovely," Risik said sulkily. "I sleep over at your houses and I end up in a nightmare."
"Knock it off," I said to her irritably. "I'm in this too. This isn't DG's fault."
Risik just glared at me before folding her arms in a huff and glaring through the tightly wound bamboo type cage 'bars'.
"They're munchkins," a voice said from somewhere above us.
We quickly raised our eyes and spied a man dressed in a rust colonial style double breasted blazer, over a white ruffled shirt and matching rust slacks. He had dark hair that was parted in the middle from a zipper. He was clinging to the utmost top part of the cage.
"Munchkins?" I asked confused too. DG and Risik just shrugged.
"I'm Glitch by the way," he said.
"I'm DG, and this is Emma and Risik," DG introduced herself.
I spied Risik's expression. I knew she was thinking that Glitch was attractive. I had to force myself to not roll my eyes. Not that I disagreed with her, but at a time like this naturally her mind would be on guys. We looked around. Glitch tapped DG on the shoulder.
"Um, your zipper's open," DG said lightly gesturing to the center part of his head.
"Oh sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "That's embarrassing."
He zippered it back up. I kept my mind occupied on other thoughts…like how we were going to get out.
"How on earth are we going to get out?" Risik asked.
"I have a plan," he said as he lifted his foot up and prepared to stomp out the bottom. I quickly clung to the sides of the cage and so did Risik. Once the bottom was clear of our feet, Glitch stomped it out and we swung the cage to the right, easily dropping out of the bottom onto a wooden bridge that connected to several parts.
"There's a dirt road," Glitch explained once we were all safely on the bridge and began making our way down it to the dirt road.
Finally, we hit the safety of the road and began walking along it. I was walking along the edge of it, hands tucked into my pockets. My hair whipped around my face gently from the warm breeze that blew.
"May I ask how you got here?" Glitch inquired curiously.
"We don't know. A twister," Risik responded. "But we can't find DG's parents anywhere. They had been with us."
Glitch nodded, understanding. Oddly, this place felt a lot like DG's parents house. Warm, welcoming and I felt at peace here. Strange, even though I'd never been here before, nor did I know where we were really. Sighing, I went to ask DG something, when she suddenly held up her hand and froze.
"Do you hear that?" she asked as she suddenly took off into the shrubs. We shrugged and followed her. The path led to a cabin. We could see some men holding one man by the arms and were punching him. I watched in horror as another man grabbed his wife I guess and pulled her aside.
"HEY!" DG yelled as she picked up a large stick and bolted toward them, hitting one of the men on the back of the neck. Suddenly, the scene vanished. We emerged from the shrubs and joined DG. She looked at Glitch.
"What just happened?" she asked clearly baffled.
"It's a hologram," Glitch said as he stood next to a long pole like object protruding from the ground. "Someone had to watch their family being tortured for so long."
We looked at each other before our eyes landed on a tin diving suit. DG dropped the stick and went over to it, easily opening it up. The door swung forward and opened, revealing a man with a long beard and hair. DG stepped back against us. The man stepped out of the suit and immediately headed toward the hologram pole. He did something to it and his beard and hair vanished, revealing a clean shaven man dressed in grey slacks, and a white shirt. He had short blond hair and blue eyes.
"Are you alright?" DG asked him with a worried expression.
He didn't answer at first but went around to the side of the cabin and grabbed a steel grey wide brim hat and pulled on the matching grey rain coat. Underneath it, a leather gun holster strap could be seen.
"I'm fine," the man answered shortly. "I need to find my family."
"Well we're looking for my parents," DG responded. "We can go with you."
"Sorry kid," the man said taking his eyes off DG and moving onto me and then Risik and onto Glitch. "It's too dangerous."
"I'm not a kid," DG said indignantly and firmly. "Besides, with you we'd be safe…since you do have a gun."
Finally, after a few moments, the man glanced from DG, to Glitch, to Risik and finally lingering on me.
"Fine," he relented. "I'm Wyatt Caine."
"I'm DG and this is Risik, Glitch and Emma," DG introduced herself as we began walking now. I really had no idea where we were going, but I hoped Caine knew.
He nodded and began leading us down the dirt path. DG walked in between Glitch and Risik with Caine leading the way. I followed on DG's left side, next to Glitch. I lightly poked her in the ribs, causing her to flinch and chuckle.
Immediately, Caine turned around with a concerned expression.
"Everything's fine," DG reassured him. "She just poked me."
DG was grinning. He nodded, but again his eyes remained on me. Risik began talking to Glitch, striking up a conversation with him. I knew what was going through her head. Sighing I turned my attention back to DG.
"Great," I muttered under my breath. "The one guy who is attractive turns out he has a wife and family."
DG looked at me sympathetically, but she was grinning still in a coy way.
"Emma! You're getting like Risik!" she laughed.
I scowled at her. "Please, if I ever do, shoot me!"
We giggled again before DG responded seriously.
"Ems. Don't worry. I have a feeling things will be okay," she said softly putting her arm around my shoulder and giving me a squeeze.
I gave her a faint smile as we continued walking. To my surprise, Caine dropped back a bit, now between DG and I.
There was one thing I never told DG. I was psychic. I was able to see glimpses into the future. I was scared that she'd ridicule me. Risik I knew would have a field day with it. So I kept my visions to myself, passing them off as 'strong feelings'. I'd had them ever since I was little. It was part of the reason why my step-mother hated me because I knew what was coming. She made me feel like a freak basically. I hated her for it. Snapping my thoughts to Nick, I realized around my neck I was still wearing the necklace that Nick had given me. It was the matching one to the earrings, but I liked the earrings. I reached up and grabbed the necklace and ripped it off my neck, tossing it into the bushes.
DG and Risik gave me understanding looks. Caine watched, clearly confused and stunned.
"Don't ask," I muttered.
He watched me for a few moments before I got that familiar flash going off before my eyes. I reached out and grabbed Caine's arm, seeing the blinding light moving across my eyes. I froze and saw a few pictures flashing across my mind like a movie playing. I could see a woman with dark hair standing on a balcony and a monkey with wings perched on the edge. I saw her whisper something before the monkey bat took flight. I saw her laughing. The flash vanished and I blinked a few times as the forest became clearer now, my vision returning to normal.
"Ems?" DG's voice broke through my thoughts. Her voice was filled with concern. I shook my head and looked at her. She had a scared expression on her face. I glanced to my left. Glitch and Risik also were watching me with fear. I realized I'd grabbed Caine's arm and quickly let go, embarrassed.
"Sorry," I said to him. "I have a bad feeling."
Caine didn't say anything when I apologized to him. Instead his blue eyes peered at me from under the brim of his hat.
"What type of feeling?" DG asked.
"There's someone evil here," I said. "Someone who wants to hurt us."
"We'll be fine," Risik said. "It's probably just your nerves."
"Yeah. That's it," I said passively forcing a smile to form onto my expression. DG smiled and gave me an affectionate poke before she, Glitch and Risik walked a head of me, leaving Caine and I to bring up the rear of the group.
