A/N: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. Things are going to get a little more complicated but more on that now. ;)
Chapter 4
Backup wasn't coming anytime soon. They only had the troops inside the walls and now some of them were going to have to watch the prisoners. Once the explosion sounded in the distance, the men who had been shooting at the Palace practically begged to get inside the walls. They were definitely not former Gale Force as they were too skittish. If the explosion had been known to them prior to it occurring, they would not have flinched so or given up.
Elphaba found herself flying out to investigate the scene of the explosion with the Flying Monkeys and Glinda at her side. It was eerie to see the streets of the Emerald City empty. Everyone had ducked for cover and they weren't interested in coming out.
The remnants of the building that was on fire had been some sort of meeting hall but that didn't really matter because there was hardly anything left of it. The green woman told the Flying Monkeys to watch both hers and Glinda's backs and they landed as close to the scene as they could. The heat from the fire drove them back and two were both surprised that they did not hear the clang of the fire brigade's bell. Perhaps the average citizen just wasn't interested in being outside and possibly getting into the middle of something. The problem was if the fire did not go out, the entire neighborhood could go up in flames.
"What should we do?" Glinda asked. Neither one of them could create a sudden rainstorm to extinguish the blaze. Weather had always been Morrible's department.
"Create a huge bubble and encase the building. If we starve it of oxygen then the flames will go out," Elphaba told her.
"What if there are people in there?" The blonde knew that removing the oxygen would kill anyone still alive.
"There isn't anyone alive after that. More than half the building has collapsed on itself blocking the only exit and what remains standing is burning hot enough that we can't get in there. Make the bubble!" Her friend ordered. Glinda nodded and attempted to make the largest bubble that she had ever made before. An ordinary bubble would not stand the heat but thanks to her magic, the blonde was able to create bubbles that were very resistant to just about anything. Admittedly though, projectiles still made her nervous when flying by bubble.
Forcing the large bubble to encase the building the two waited to see if Elphaba's idea would work. Slowly the hungry fire consumed the remaining oxygen inside the bubble and the flames diminished. Wanting to avoid a flare up, the green woman suggested they wait at least five minutes before popping it.
"So is the fire brigade laying down on the job or should we assume they knew this was going to happen?" Glinda asked as they waited.
"I don't know but I think we should be concerned about the potential for a secondary device," Elphaba frowned. The blonde swallowed. This whole thing was not making any sense and being exposed out here was making her nervous. That's when they heard the unmistakable screech of a Flying Monkey. Chistery came in for a landing next to Elphaba.
"What is it?" She asked.
"Movement from the buildings just south of here. No way to tell who it is or what their intentions are. We should move," he said.
"Ordinarily I'd say we need to stay but perhaps retreat is the best idea for the moment. The fire is basically out and the bubble will pop on its own right?" Elphaba turned to Glinda.
"It'll pop on its own eventually. Come on, let's get out of here. We need to regroup," the blonde said. Elphaba nodded and climbed back onto her broom. Glinda made herself a bubble and they took to the skies. Chistery called to his brethren and they all made a mad dash back towards the Palace and the safety of the walls. Well relative safety. While they had been gone things had taken a turn and there was only one person to blame – the Wizard.
To Be Continued…