Chapter 28: The Tin Man's Game

The Tin Man and his men rounded up Highmuster, Larena, Fiyero, and Elphaba into a group as they kept Glinda separated from them but still fairly close. He led them, without being seen by any witnesses, to a large waterfall that wasn't far from the Upland ranch. The thunderous noise from the water would drown out any loud noises like a gunshot if it came down to that.

"What do you plan to do to us?" Larena asked in pure fear.

The Tin Man strolled around and held his chin like he was thinking. After a minute he's eyes lit up with pretend thought.

"I was thinking we play a little game," the Tin Man snickered as he eyed Glinda before drawing his gun.

"Are you going to kill all of us?" Fiyero asked, with a nervous gulp, when he noticed the evil look in the Tin Man's eyes.

"Not all of you," the Tin Man admitted. "I can be compassionate despite the rumor I have no heart. In all honesty, only one of you is going to die."

"Who are you going to kill?" Highmuster inquired.

The Tin Man shook his head. "Oh, it's not my choice. In fact it's Lady Galinda's choice."

"What?" Elphaba couldn't believe what she was hearing. Glinda's face had gone complete white after hearing this and shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm not going to pick anyone to die," Glinda retorted her voice trembled a bit.

The Tin Man then began to pace around them as he spoke. "Oh but you will for you see, here's how the game works, Galinda, so you better listen up. You have four people in front of you, your Father, your Mother, your gentleman friend, and your emerald protector. You pick one person out of these four. That one person you pick gets shot in the head, and the remaining three go unharmed. You have my word."

"And I'm suppose to trust your word?" the Upland heiress spat.

"Do you really have any other choice?" the Tin Man sneered.

"How about you kill me and let the others go," Glinda replied, in a voice that showed no fear.

The Tin Man chuckled heavily at this request. "I don't want you dead, Lady Galinda. You're coming with my band and me once this is all over. I never did get a chance to have some fun with you." The Tin Man pulled her close and smelled the heiress' hair. "Yes, you'll do quite nicely to scratch this aching itch I have."

"Bastard!" Elphaba snarled, as she tried to break free from the hold the Tin Man's thugs had on her, but they held on strong. It didn't help that Elphaba's bullet wound was howling at her with such intensity. How E. Thropp longed to punch the Tin Man's face until he was no longer recognizable to anyone.

Elphaba knew the Tin Man was heartless but even she thought he couldn't hit a new low. She was obviously wrong about that assumption.

"Wait, why do you want E. Thropp dead, isn't she part of your gang?" Fiyero asked in confusion.

The Tin Man and his men after hearing that began to laugh uncontrollably for a few moments. Tears nearly came to their eyes from laughing so hard. They were clearly enjoying themselves as some even held their sides.

The Tin Man finally answered after his laughter calmed, "Shit, son, do you even have a brain in that head of yours? E. Thropp isn't in anyway part of my gang. She's the one that took this blonde beauty from me in the first place. If it wasn't for her I would have had my fun, with Galinda, already and a dozen times more after that."

"You son of a bitch," Highmuster growled, as he spit in the Tin Man's direction.

The Tin Man ignored the disrespectful gesture, and turned his attention back to the blonde heiress. "You have five minutes Galinda to pick the one person you want dead. If you don't pick within the time allowed…I shoot them all. I don't think you want that, so if I were you I would pick one, and I would pick one soon."

"The decision shouldn't be hard, Galinda, just let them kill E. Thropp," Fiyero said, as he motioned to the green skinned woman. "She's been shot already, and with all the blood E. Thropp's lost she'll probably die anyway."

Glinda's eyes were filling up with tears of despair. "No, that's not right; Elphaba has done so much for me. She saved me."

"Glinda, just pick me and get it over with," Elphaba answered in an exhausted tone. The blood lost was affecting her more than she would like to think. "Oz won't miss a bounty-hunter."

"No, your life is just as important as anybody," the blonde heiress protested. "This is all crazy. No one should die."

"Nobody dying isn't part of the game," the Tin Man replied before letting out a deep burp.

"Galinda, the green one is offering herself up. Just pick her and end this madness!" Highmuster shouted his voice was full of anxiety.

"Yes, honey, pick E. Thropp and be done with it," Larena added her own voice was trembling from panic.

"Two minute warning," the Tin Man answered, as he checked the bullets in his gun.

"But…but…I can't…I mean…Elphaba she…" Glinda could only ramble on. Her mind was racing as the whole situation began to truly sink in.

"By the Unnamed God, Galinda, why can't you just pick E. Thropp?" Fiyero demanded. "What is so damn hard to make that choice?"

"Because…because I love her!" Glinda shouted before adding in a calmer voice, "I love E. Thropp. I'm in love with her. So excuse me, if I'm having trouble picking the love of my life to get killed right before my eyes." Tears were slowly pouring down her face as she spoke.

Mr. and Mrs. Upland as well as Fiyero had a look of utter shock on their faces. They couldn't believe that Glinda was actually in love with the emerald bounty-hunter. They knew that the heiress cared deeply about E. Thropp, but they never considered she was in love with her.

"Well that adds a bit more to the puzzle. I didn't know you swung that way Lady Galinda," The Tin Man snickered before turning his attention to the green woman. "So tell me E. Thropp is Galinda good in bed? I bet she makes the most arousing moans. I can only imagine, well, I guess I'll find out soon enough."

"Shut your damn mouth," Elphaba snarled as her hands balled into fists.

The Tin Man made a grotesque gesture with his hand then checking his golden pocket watch. "You better pick someone soon, Galinda or they ALL die! Do you understand that?"

"Shut up!" Glinda yelled at, as she began to cry much more heavily now. The stress of this painful decision was hitting her with extreme force.

"You're running out of time!" The Tin Man barked in fury.

Elphaba could feel her heart breaking for Glinda. She just couldn't let the heiress make a gut-wrenching decision like that. It would haunt her for the rest of her life. E. Thropp then eyed the waterfall carefully, and the gunslinger decided that she would make the choice for Glinda who would be killed. The green skinned bounty-hunter soon knew she only had one option… she would take her own life.