Chapter Two: Caught in My Mind
"What the hell are you doing up there?" Jamie yelled as she ran up to Vince.
"The farmer stuck me up here. She said being a scarecrow was all I was good for, considering my birth defect. Plus, she was worried about keeping me out of trouble after I kept sneaking onto the Tin Man's property," he admitted sheepishly. "Could you let me down? It's kind of uncomfortable up here."
Jamie bit her lip, trying to remember how Dorothy got the Scarecrow down in the movie, before Vince finally told her which nail to twist. She yelped as her best friend hit the ground and rolled.
"You okay?" she asked, concerned.
"I've been better," he stood up and stretched. His muscles had to be sore from being stuck there for god knows how long.
"I know I'm going to regret asking, but what birth defect are you talking about?"
Scarecrow Vince blushed, muttering something under his breath about a cerebral cortex.
"What was that?" Jamie asked.
"I was born without a brain," he mumbled a bit louder.
"You mean metaphorically, right?" Jamie clarified. When her companion shook his head, her expression faltered. "Biology is a lot different here in this world," she added, once she'd regained the power of speech.
"I'm Vince," the scarecrow (needlessly) introduced himself.
"Orwell," was her automatic response. Jamie frowned, as she grasped his outstretched hand. What was she doing? There was no reason she couldn't be honest with Vince in a drug-induced hallucination. "That is, you can call me Jamie."
"Jamie, you're new in Oz, right? I've never seen you here before. Judging by what I overheard, you stopped somewhere awhile back to ask for directions, but you're still lost."
"Bingo," Jamie replied.
"Maybe I can help. Which way are you headed?"
"To the Emerald City; I'm going to ask the Wizard," whoever he turned out to be, "to send me home." She gazed at his face, half-wondering if she should remove the cape and give it over to him now. Vince was the one that knew how to use it.
"One of the witches gave you the cape," Vince observed before she could say anything.
"That's right, the Good Witch of the North gave it to me after I sort-of accidentally ran over the Witch of the East."
"If Raia gave you the cape, you should keep it," Vince assured her.
"To keep me safe from Gregor Molotov?" Orwell asked. "I have it on pretty good authority that he's going to seek his revenge for the whole me-killing-his-sister-thing. I imagine that would make me a pretty lousy traveling companion."
"Okay, yes, I was going to ask if you would mind if I go with you to see the Wizard. I wouldn't mind asking him for some brains.
"Gregor doesn't scare me. I'm not afraid of anything!" Vince bit his lip, before bending closer to her to make (another) confession. "Except for explosives," he whispered.
Explosives? Oh! The real Vince had almost been killed in an explosion! (As if she could forget the event that had put him in exile.)
"I don't blame you for that," she smiled. At least if she was going to be stuck in this dream, she had a friendly face to keep her company. Evidently Vince, whether real or imagined, would always keep her from feeling lonely. "To Oz?"
"To Oz."
~OZ~
Orwell's feet were killing her. She, Frodo, and Vince had been following that damn yellow-brick road for hours. She didn't know about her friend, but she was feeling exhausted and—her stomach grumbled—hungry.
How was it even possible to be exhausted when she was in a drug-induced sleep?!
"Vince, I don't suppose there are any rest stops along this route?" Where was a McDonald's—or better yet, a Starbucks—when you really needed one?
"You need a break," the scarecrow realized. He smacked himself on the forehead. "Of course you need a break. People need to eat and sleep," he sounded agitated.
"And that upsets you because…?" the blogger asked.
"I'm frustrated because that's something basic that I should have thought of—that anyone with a brain would have known! This is exactly why I was confined to that cornfield. If I had a brain maybe I could actually do something with my life!"
"Just so we're clear, you're not about to break out into song, are you?" she asked. True, no one in her hallucination had been singing so far, but you never knew.
"Sing—I just told you I hate my life, why would I burst into song?" her friend asked, now sounding more puzzled than pissed off.
"No reason. Look, things will be better after we reach the Wizard. He'll…" she trailed off. If her dream was following the movie, then the wizard wouldn't give Vince a brain…
…Because he doesn't need one. He's smarter than he thinks he is.
"Earth to Jamie!" Faraday snapped his fingers in Orwell's face. "You spaced out there for a minute. You really must be tired. Come on, there's a place up ahead we can stop for a while."
"There is?" She didn't remember Dorothy and Scarecrow finding a shelter for the night. She remembered something about apples and trees with big egos and fewer brains than a scarecrow and …
"Wait, you said the farmer was mad because you kept going to visit the Tin Man?"
"'Visit,'" Vince scoffed. "Oh god, you make it sound like we were pals or something."
"I take it you're not. But then…"
"I went there to taunt Heartless," Vince said, as a small château came into view. "I still say it was perfectly safe, since he's in no position to go taking a swing at anyone, but Dana wouldn't listen.
"There he is," her friend nodded towards a figure standing as still as a statue in front of what was apparently his castle.
She realized that she recognized that costume, except she was used to seeing it in red leather. In the Land of Oz, the costume was made of metal from head to toe—boots, pants, jacket, gloves and mask all a dull silver, marred by rust. His hands and feet were bound with thick grey chords. Duct tape covered the man's mouth so that he couldn't speak—and from what she could make of his expression, he had quite a few things he wanted to say to Vince. Indeed, he began screaming in rage, his words garbled by the tape.
"Oh my god!" Orwell exclaimed. "Dad?!"
Author's Note: Chapter title is from The Veils' song "Scarecrow."
I want to thank the guest who anonymously reviewed chapter one! This update is for you.
If anyone missed my recent Tumblr post, I promised the first person to review chapter nine of my other ongoing crossover, "Black Bird; Green Arrow," beta-ing services from yours truly. If you have questions, PM me or hit me up on Tumblr.
