Guys, I can't thank you enough for your continued reading and reviewing! Your kind words always brighten my day and keep me writing. I just wanted to remind you that ideas for drabbles are never unwelcome. Sometimes my creativity could use a little nudge. ;D Anyway, thanks so much, you guys!
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The Tin Man took another swing at the tree. The damn thing was nearly as stubborn as he was and wasn't taking kindly to being cut down. Although he had been chopping away at it for at least an hour, the tree was barely gouged at all and he was glad that being made of tin took away his ability to fatigue.
Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, and the Tin Man growled at it, daring it to come closer. He glared at the dark clouds gathering fairly close by. A bolt of lightning struck barely a mile away and the Tin Man self-consciously remembered that he was made of metal.
The clouds were moving toward him a bit too quickly for comfort, and the Tin Man turned to seek shelter. Before he had moved a yard, the sky seemed to explode with rain. In a matter of seconds, the Tin Man was drenched. He experimentally tried to move an arm, and found it rusted so much that he couldn't move it. He tried to swear but found that his mouth was also rusted shut.
He looked longingly at the oil can that was positioned on a stump only a few feet away, but could make no move to get it.
Great, he thought, I'm frozen here until someone stops and notices me and then has the sight of mind to loosen me up with the oil can. He looked at the almost never-traveled path beside him and tried to curse again. Isn't it typical that the first rain we have to relieve our drought-cracked land would have to land right where I was standing? He thought bitterly and started his long wait for a savior.