It was the biggest, most deadly tornado Kansas had ever experienced. Trees were ripped from their roots; taking years of topsoil with them, houses were torn from their foundations and reduced to splinters while the population listened fearfully from underground shelters, hoping in vain their properties were not already blown to bits.
And amid all this chaos was a 12 year old girl clutching her dog and basically running for her life.
She got to her house and flung the door aside, casting it off into the increasing wind
"Aunt Em! Aunt Em!" She called desperately running from room to room. She came to her bedroom. "Aunt Em – Ah!" She yelped as the window frame came loose and struck her in the head. She collapsed onto her bed, unconscious.
The house was lifted clear off the ground and into the tornado, spinning out of control, furniture sliding across the floor, cups, plates and silverware sliding out of their drawers, exploding into dangerous shards and imbedding themselves into the walls like bullets. Dust and debris came in from the windows, littering the floor with twisted wires, splintered remains of woodworks, and numerous plants that mashed together and became masses of undistinguishable vegetation flying about the house.
Finally, the house stopped spinning, the sudden change in momentum jolting Dorothy awake.
She cautiously picked her way across the house, grabbing an intact basket on her way out. She opened the front door and looked around in utter shock and confusion.
Her house had landed smack in the middle of a yellow road surrounded by lush, green fields dotted with occasional trees and other plants. It was the complete opposite image of Kansas - dry, dusty, boring Kansas.
Dorothy grinned in sudden elation. She had wished to be out of Kansas hadn't she? To escape nasty, old Gulch and social requirements that basically stated she should stay out of folk's way 'And find yourself a place where you won't get into any trouble' Her Aunt said to her that day. Well it seems she had accomplished this.
"We must be over the Rainbow!" she exclaimed jokingly in fearful excitement.
"Hey um - kid!" said a voice nearby.
Dorothy's head spun around so fast, she could have given herself whiplash. Standing a few feet away from her was a girl a good deal older than Dorothy. She was dressed in the most peculiar clothing Dorothy noticed. First she was wearing pants – pants! They weren't even overalls and clung to the girls legs as if they were a few sizes too small. Predictably, she was wearing a shirt – an inky, blue, V neck shirt and what looked to be a thin jacket with a hood and zipper. It was like she was wearing a shrunken, tighter fitting version of men's clothing. But what was stranger was the vehicle she was leaning against. It seemed to resemble an automobile but it nothing like the ones in Kansas. This one was sleek and had a rounded, futuristic look to it.
The strange girl spoke again. "I…I'm guessing you're not from here" she motioned towards the now more or less intact house that had landed in the middle of a road.
"No" said Dorothy "I'm not. I'm from Kansas"
"Like Kansas from Earth right?"
"Yessum…I am from Earth…" this was getting stranger by the second. Of course Dorothy was from Earth! Where else could she have originated from?
The girl continued "Do you know where you are?"
"Well I'm certainly not in Kansas"
"Nope you're not." The girl paused "You're in like…Oz"
"Oz?" she had never heard of such a place. Was it even in the States? Dorothy felt a sudden rush of fear run through her. How far was she from home?
"Yeah…how should I put this" The girl paused to think while Dorothy waited impatiently for an answer "Well…you're not anywhere in the States that's for sure"
Oh dear this is not good thought Dorothy "So where is Oz?"
"You know, I'm not entirely sure. I'm not from here either. I'm from New Jersey and I got here like 2 hours ago"
"Oh my!" said Dorothy in awe. "What a coincidence, how're you gettin home?" What a relief! A fellow American. Perhaps she could go with her.
"Well" said the girl "I was told to go see this guy – a Wizard actually. He apparently knows…or might"
She speaks strangely. Isn't Guy a boy's name? "Would you mind if I came with you?"
The girl seemed hesitant and brought her hand up to rub the nape of her neck in a sheepish manner.
"Well I…I wouldn't recommend it" she said, smiling apologetically
"Why ever not?" Dorothy said, stung.
"What – no! No, no" the girl said hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her as a pardoning gesture "It's got nothing to do with anything like that. It's just that I've ticked off this crazy, homicidal person so it's not a good idea to be travelling with me"
Dorothy raised her eyebrows, quite taken aback. The girl had certainly put that bluntly. "W – Well that…did you say homicidal?" Or was it merely a figure of speech?
"Yeah she's a Witch" she said, emphasizing the word Witch as if she were also unsure of the truth in it for Dorothy was hardly able to believe she heard correctly.
"Did you say Witch?"
"Yes believe it or not. I mean she can like teleport – but that could just be transportation and it's actually pretty good transportation I guess" she shrugged.
"Well you could say that" this was getting off topic "But if you're tryin to get back to the States'n all, I'd like to come with you."
"Yeah but there's the whole Witch thing"
"Well she hasn't come after you yet has she?"
"Erm …no" The girl replied slowly
"Well then maybe she ain't all that dangerous after all. Nobody likes to kill others"
"Yeah, well..."the girl seemed to put this into consideration, bringing Dorothy's hopes up. Perhaps she wouldn't have to go through this all alone after all "Well…it's been two hours already and like the Witch can teleport so she could have been done with me a while ago…" The girl looked up at Dorothy "But there's always the chance…"at Dorothy's genuinely disappointed expression, she quickly added "But I guess if things start acting up, you can just ditch so…" she paused as if reconsidering "Well…sure why not?"
Thank the Lord.
Dorothy grinned broadly and followed the girl to the vehicle. She hesitated as the door was slid – not opened – but slid open for her with unnaturally fluid movements. Was the girl going to be operating this thing? The thought was unsettling.
Oh, yeah!" said the girl suddenly "My names Becky by the way" she turned to Dorothy and seemed to notice her hesitation to enter the automobile. "You know" she - Becky said "If you get car sick, you can ride in the back"
"Nome its fine"
Dorothy found the interior to be better quality than she expected for an automobile. The seats had a more secure feeling to them, sort of like an easy chair but more compact. Her eyes widened as she glanced at the dashboard which was decorated with buttons and glowing numbers that seemed to shine with their own fluorescent light. Even the speed and gas metres were impressive. They were of the same basic design but they were much clearer, more neatly set and they sat under a dome of glass so its numbers were magnified. New Jersey, it seemed was much more advanced than Kansas – it was like stepping into the future.
Becky's voice broke her thoughts "You know, it would great if we had a GPS" she said jokingly
Dorothy agreed in a polite, general way, finding new respect in this peculiar girl. She suddenly brightened in realization.
"Does this err car play records?" she asked
Becky looked at her, her eyebrows raised "Records!"
"Yessum"
"Like records as in those huge disk things?"
"Um yes…"
"Well…it plays CDs" Becky replied in a funny voice and magically opened a compartment set into the dashboard in front of Dorothy. Dorothy rooted through the slim, plastic covers and picked one that seemed interesting. Dorothy had seen a few music band covers back in Kansas but they were nothing like the one now held in her hands. It had a single word written on it by an artist who had an impressive talent in precision (it couldn't have been typed – it had color). It had the word WANT written exactly in the middle, set against a black back color.
After a number of trials and of Becky casting sidelong glances at her, Dorothy finally managed to open the thing, revealing a cardboard thin disk with a hole in the middle like a mini version of a record disk.
"How'd you put this in?" she asked and Becky, with a peculiar look on her face pointed at a slot in the middle of the dashboard. Dorothy slipped the disk in halfway and the machine swallowed the rest. She sat back and listened, her eyes wide in shocked astonishment and disgust as Tapp by 3OH! 3 blared from the speakers, filling the car with never before heard techno music.
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