Dark grey clouds were brewing in the sky above as Aunt Em's car pulled up to a lonely building out in Cottonwood Fields. Dorothy thought the place looked kind of creepy from the outside and wondered what it looked like from the inside.
Aunt Em got out of the car, with Dorothy in tow, and pressed a doorbell button on the side of the door. It made a loud buzzing noise. The door opened and a stern-faced woman dressed in a black business suit greeted them.
"Please, come in," said the woman, gesturing them to come inside.
Aunt Em and Dorothy passed through the door and went inside. No sooner they did, a man with a brown beard and dressed in a business suit just like the woman's, entered from a door that lead to the operating room. The man shook hands with Em as he greeted her.
"Good morning, Mrs. Gale," said the man. Then he looked over at Dorothy and smiled. "And you must be Dottie."
"Dorothy." Aunt Em corrected.
"Ah, Dorothy. Yes of course." The man chuckled, and then he looked over at the woman dressed in black. "This is Nurse Wilson, and I am Dr. Worley." The doctor looked at his watch. "Now, shall we sit down and you can tell me why you've come all this way and what I can do to make you happy."
Dr. Worley smiled at Dorothy, who tried to put on a friendly smile but it was crooked. The only thing that can make me happy is being in the Land of Oz. Dorothy thought to herself.
In the doctor's office, Dr. Worley held the small key Dorothy had found as Dorothy told him all about the people she had met in Oz, while Aunt Em sat on a chair far aside from Dorothy.
"I came to Oz in the twister that nearly destroyed my farm six years ago. My dog Toto and I were trapped inside the house, and thought the house would be ripped to pieces for sure. But the house dropped down on the Wicked Witch of the East, killing her instantly. The Good Witch of the North, Glinda, gave me the Wicked Witch's magic ruby slippers because the Wicked Witch of the West, who was the sister of the witch under the house, wanted to steal them and use them for her own selfish reasons."
"Uh, just which witch are we talking about here?" Dr. Worley asked.
"Glinda is a beautiful and good witch, only bad witches are ugly, like the Wicked Witches of the West and the East," replied Dorothy.
"I see," said the doctor, "Now tell me about these three friends of yours?"
"The first friend I made was the Scarecrow. The crows make fun of him because they call him stupid. So I asked him to join me on my trip to the Emerald City to ask the Wizard for a brain. It was the Scarecrow who organized the rescue to save me from the Wicked Witch, and I told him that I would miss him most of all when I left Oz. Now the Tin Man used to be made of flesh and bone like everyone else, and was born a woodchopper. But when he fell in love with a lovely maiden, her mother bribed the Wicked Witch of the East to transform him into tin because things made of tin or metal don't have hearts and the Tin Man can't love anymore. The Scarecrow and I let him join us on our quest to ask the Wizard for a heart."
"Uh, Dorothy, you mentioned something about a tiger?" questioned Dr. Worley.
"No, a lion. A Cowardly Lion." Dorothy corrected him. "He was born a coward and left alone in the forest. My friends and I allowed him to accompany us to Emerald City to give him courage so he could be King of the Forest."
"And he can talk too, just like the Scarecrow and the Tin Man?"
"Yes. All the animals in Oz can talk, just like Wiser the owl. There are other creatures and living things that can talk, like Marshal Mallow. He's sort of a giant marshmallow who is the second in command of the garrison of Candy County. There's also the Dainty China Country where china porcelain dolls talk and walk, and their leader is the Dainty China Princess. And there's a forest of living trees that talk, where my friends and I made one of them into a boat and named him Tugg after a tugboat."
"Uh, what happened to the Wicked Witch of the West?"
"I melted her. She tried to set the Scarecrow on fire with a burning broomstick and I put out the fire with a bucket of water, and some of it got on her. She melted to nothingness because she was allergic to water. Her broomstick, as Glinda told me, was the source of her power and I gave it to the Wizard for the protection of Oz. But the broomstick was once stolen by the Jester, who is the younger brother of the Wicked Witches. He used it to take over Oz, but I got rid of the broomstick and threw it in a magic twister the Jester created to destroy me. The Jester jumped into the magic twister to go after the broomstick and he vanished."
"And did this Wizard send you home like you asked him to?"
"Well, he wasn't much of a wizard. He turned out to be a phony humbug and a normal human being like us. He used to be a circus magician until he came to Oz in a balloon long ago. The people mistook him for a wizard because his name bore the name of their land, and his tricks convinced them so. But he gave my friends what their hearts' desired but he couldn't take me home because the balloon left without me."
"Just exactly how did you get back from Oz?"
"With the ruby slippers."
"Exactly how do they work?"
"You put them on, tap your heels together three times, and say 'there's no place like home.'"
"Did you use them the second time you visited Oz?"
"No, the second time I went to Oz was being carried by a rainbow created by the Scarecrow's Rainbow Mover that he invented. Glinda sent me home right after I defeated the Jester."
"Dorothy, where are the ruby slippers now?"
Dorothy hesitated before answering. She hadn't really thought about the whereabouts of the ruby slippers in a long time. "I've lost them on the way back."
Dr. Worley stood up from his chair, walked over to Dorothy and handed the key back to her. "Well, I think I know just the thing to cheer Dorothy up." He pulled back a sheet that covered a huge, strange looking, electric machine. "Now this electrical marvel will make it possible for you to sleep again, and it will get rid of all those bad dreams you were telling me about."
Dorothy looked at the machine and felt uneasy. It seemed to have menacing looking face that glared right at her. "Will it hurt?"
"No, no, no, it just manages the flow of electricity," said Dr. Worley. He walked over to Em. "Now the brain itself is an electrical machine. It's absolutely nothing but a machine. When it malfunctions, one blow to the head, for example, then the brain produces useless excess currents…"
As Dorothy gazed at the machine, she noticed the reflection of another girl peering through the window behind Dorothy, who glanced back at the window and saw a very beautiful young girl, about a few years older than Dorothy. Her eyes sparkled like two emeralds and her lips were tinted like a tourmaline. All adown her back floated tresses of ruddy gold, dressed in a simple white gown with long sleeves and dainty silver slippers at her feet. The girl waved at Dorothy and gave her a friendly smile. Dorothy gave a little smile and returned the friendly wave.
"…those electrical currents are our dreams and visions, known as delusions, and wouldn't you know that we have found out that sometimes the brain malfunctions, just like the dreams that you have, Dorothy."
Hearing the doctor say her name, Dorothy quickly turned and looked at him. "Now we have the means to control those excess currents."
"Y-Y-Yes," Dorothy stuttered.
Fine by that," the doctor smiled.
Dorothy looked back at the window and saw that the mysterious beautiful girl had disappeared.
A little later after leaving the doctor's office, Aunt Em hugged Dorothy and kissed her on the forehead. "I must get back home to Henry before nightfall. You be a good girl and do everything the doctor and nurse tell you. Okay?"
Dorothy nodded her head in silence. Then she spoke, "Will you bring Toto when you come get me, Aunt Em?"
"Of course I will, honey." Then Aunt Em handed Dorothy a lunch pail. "You haven't eaten breakfast so I made you lunch."
"That won't be necessary," said Nurse Wilson. "We have excellent meals here."
"Oh, well, I've never let her out of my sight among strangers before," Em stated.
"Your niece is in real good hands, Mrs. Gale, "added Dr. Worley.
Aunt Em gave Dorothy one last embrace before heading out the door. Dorothy sadly watched the door shut just as Nurse Wilson hustled her to the upper levels and down the hall.
The sound metal wheels squeaked as a man dressed in white and with a long nose, pushed a stretcher bed with wheels as he walked past them.
"You won't be needing this," Nurse Wilson said when she took Dorothy's lunch pail and set it on the bed. The man continued to push the stretcher down the hall and Dorothy glared silently at the nurse for taking away her meal.
Nurse Wilson opened one of the bedroom doors and gestured Dorothy to go in. "Now Dorothy, you stay right here until we come get you. You can have a nap if you like," said the sour faced nurse, just before closing the door and locking it.
Dorothy climbed onto the bed and looked out the sanatorium window as her aunt drove away in her car It started to rain as the raindrops spattered among the windowsill and the thick frame window glass.
"I feel like I've been sent to a prison or an asylum," Dorothy sighed as she dropped down on the bed in despair. "If only I were in Oz right now. Oh, Scarecrow, why can't you use the Rainbow Mover to bring me there? Or if I had the ruby slippers, I could transport myself to Oz."
A small scuffling sound reached her ears as Dorothy looked up. There standing by the door was the same beautiful and mysterious blonde girl Dorothy had seen in the window of the doctor's office. The girl was holding a small Jack-o-Lantern pumpkin in her hands.
"Hello. This is for you. It's a gift." The girl said, approaching the farm girl. "It will be Halloween soon."
"Oh, thank you." Dorothy said, taking the pumpkin from her.
"Why did they bring you here, Dorothy?" asked the girl.
"Because I can't sleep…..and I talk about a place that I've been to but nobody believes it exists," answered Dorothy with a sad sigh.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, just like everyone else," Dorothy grumbled, turned away.
"I'm not like everyone else," said the girl, putting her hand under Dorothy's chin to make her look at her. "You can tell me. I believed you when I heard you speak of it."
"But who are you?" Dorothy asked.
There was a distant rumbling outside and distant moaning sounds echoed throughout the room. Loud distant screaming sent shivers down their spines. Then came the sound of wheels squeaking.
The girl sat up from the bed in alarm. "I have to go. I'll come back later for you."
The door handle jiggled as a key could be heard unlocking it. Dorothy looked around and realized that the girl was no longer in the room with her. "Where did she go? Did I imagine her?"
The door opened. Nurse Wilson stood next to the same man with the pointed nose and to a pretty but grumpy-looking nurse maid dressed in white. They both held the both ends of a stretcher bed.
"Would like to go for a ride, Dorothy?" Nurse Wilson asked, trying to sound amused.
Dorothy sighed in slight annoyance, stood up, and walked towards the bed, where the man in white helped her up on the stretcher and the nurse maid tied her down with belt buckles. After tying Dorothy down on the stretcher, the nurse maid and the man in white pushed and pulled the rolling bed down the hall, with Nurse Wilson slowly following them from behind.
"Did I just hear somebody scream earlier?" Dorothy asked, curiously.
"No, it was probably the thunder you heard outside," answered Nurse Wilson.
They entered the cold, dimly-light operating room where Dr. Worley had his electric machine ready. The stretcher was rolled up beside him and the machine as the doctor smiled down at Dorothy.
"Ah, Dorothy. How are you this evening?"
"I wish I wasn't tied down," muttered Dorothy.
Dr. Worley chuckled. "There's nothing to worry about." He picked up two earphones.
"What are those for?" Dorothy asked, nervously.
"Oh, when you're ready, we'll just put them on your head and over your ears, and soon it will draw out all those unpleasant dreams out of your head, then when you wake up, you'll never be bothered by them again. Testing, on…"
Dr. Worley turned on a switch that activated the machine. A strange electric arcing and loud buzzing hummed within the earphones and from the machine. Dorothy didn't like the sound of it. It made her blood run cold.
"Well, I think we're almost ready. Off." The doctor turned off the switch, and both the buzzing and arcing stopped.
Nurse Wilson placed the earphones over Dorothy's head and on her ears. Dorothy could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She knew she would never think of Oz again the second the electric shock would enter her brain. She knew for a fact that the Rainbow Mover could not save her in time.
"Ready?" Dr. Worley asked, looking over at the stern-faced nurse.
"Yes, Dr. Worley," replied Nurse Wilson, nodding.
Dorothy closed her eyes, waiting for the shock to come. Her eyes welled up in fluids as she thought about her Ozian friends for the last time. Goodbye Oz.
Just as Dr. Worley was about to turn the switch, there was a loud boom and a flash of lightning from the window. Electricity crackled as the lights flickered and soon, the room went dark.
"Good grief," muttered Dr. Worley. "The power's gone out."
"I'll see to that. You check the generator," said Nurse Wilson.
Everyone left the operating room, shutting the door and leaving Dorothy all alone in the dark room. Dorothy struggled to get loose but she was strapped tightly down on the stretcher that she couldn't free herself. She heard more distant screaming and another booming sound of the thunderstorm outside.
Suddenly, the earphones were removed from her ears, startled Dorothy. "Who's there?"
"Shh! It's me."
Dorothy looked up. Even if it was dark, she could make out the face and voice of the lovely blonde girl. Dorothy smiled, glad that the girl was here and had kept her word to come back and rescue her.
"Quick! I have to get you out of here!" The girl said as she worked quickly to unstrap Dorothy from the stretcher. "I managed to cut the wires of the generator so you wouldn't be damaged."
"Damaged, what are you talking about?" Dorothy asked, confused.
"You remember that screaming we heard? There are patients that have been damaged by Worley's treatment and locked in the cellar." The girl explained as she unstrapped the last belt buckle.
Dorothy gaped at the girl in shock. Had this girl never cut the power than she too would've fallen victim to treatment.
"Quick! Let's go!"
The girl gripped Dorothy's wrist and dragged her out into the hallway. Thunder cracked as both girls dashed through the hall. They heard men's voices and the girls hid themselves behind white sheets as several men walked by with flashlights. Once the heavy footsteps had died down, the two girls left their hiding places.
But as soon as they reached the bottom of the staircase, a door opened and Nurse Wilson spotted them, aiming the flashlight at them.
"SO!"
"Run, Dorothy!" The girl shouted, as both she and Dorothy ran past the enraged nurse, and out the back door and into the stormy night.
It was pouring rain real hard, and the wind and rain blew in their faces, but it didn't stop the girls as they raced into the darkened woods. Dorothy looked back to see lights following them and voices calling out.
"STOP! COME BACK HERE!" Nurse Wilson shouted as she and a few of the men in white pursued them.
The two girls screamed as they slipped on the wet muddy dip, and the blonde girl fell into a raging river. The girl managed to grab hold of a branch. "Dorothy, help!"
"I'll save you!" Dorothy yelled, as she carefully edged her way to branch, reaching a hand out to try and rescue her friend.
Nurse Wilson climbed down the river bank after them and reached out to grab Dorothy. Dorothy saw her and screamed. The nurse almost looked menacing to her even in the storm. Without even thinking, Dorothy leaped into the river.
The minute Dorothy did this, the tree branch broke loose and the blonde girl, along with Dorothy, were swept away by the strong current. Nurse Wilson looked on in shock as Dorothy and the blonde girl disappeared underwater.
Then, Dorothy emerged from the cold raging water and swan quickly to a nearby wooden crate. Pulling off two slates, Dorothy climbed inside and collapsed on the wooden floor, exhausted. The river's current carried the floating crate far, far away from shore, with Dorothy inside.
The moon shone high over the calm, serene ocean as the storm died down, and the stars twinkled merrily. And for the first time in months, Dorothy had fallen asleep. Little did she know that this little adventure of hers had just begun.