(The Terrible Wheelers)

*October 21st, 1905*

*Land of Ev*

Dorothy was surprised to find herself in this rather strange land which was mostly covered in red which confused her as she began to slowly walk across the strange land.

"Am I in Oz again? This sure doesn't look like Munchkin Country or anything so maybe we're just lost or something.." Dorothy had uttered out to herself in confusion while she picked up Billina and began to start walking until the sounds of Billina's clucking could be heard as they finally began to speak to their owner.

"Now where the heck am I?! I knew I should have stayed on the farm if it meant being swept away into this awful land!" Billina had finally spoken out in a rather annoyed tone of voice as this surprised Dorothy as she let out a yelp of surprise.

"B-Billina?! You could talk?! This means we're in Oz or what seems to be one of its neighboring areas, right?" Dorothy had spoken back to Billina while waiting for a response as the red hen nodded their head in agreement.

"Most likely! I was surprised that I could talk once entering this land since I usually couldn't talk back in Kansas.." Billina had answered back in a rather confused tone of voice while Dorothy nodded her head in understandment.

"Well, at least you could keep me company for the time being until we can find a way to get back home but it's also still pretty late in the night so maybe we should wait until the morning or something" Dorothy had spoken back to Billina as the red hen nodded their small head in agreement.

"You're right, I know you've gotten a good sleep already but that doesn't mean that I have to stay awake for your sake!" Billina had spoken back as this response made Dorothy chuckle in a rather cute way as she spoke to the red hen once more.

"Don't worry, you can sleep while I watch over you cause I usually have trouble falling asleep at times so you won't have to worry about a thing" Dorothy had spoken back to Billina once more while picking the red hen up as she proceeded to walk to the nearest tree and began to gently put Billina down.

"I wonder what the morning shall hold between the two of us…" Billina had spoken out in a rather sleepy tone of voice as she had slowly drifted off to sleep thus leaving Dorothy in her own thoughts.

"I wonder what the morning is gonna hold for us as well but I hope that we can get home so that my Aunt Em and Uncle Henry won't worry again.." Dorothy had whispered quietly to herself as laid back on the branch of the tree for the remainder of the night staring at the stars.

*10:22am*

The next morning had arrived as Billina had finally woken up to see Dorothy wide awake washing her face in a nearby pond which surprised her.

"Did you stay up all night or something?! You seem quite energetic at this time of the day?!" Billina had asked Dorothy in a rather curious tone of voice as the young girl nodded her head in confirmation which surprised the red hen.

"Of course, I'm quite a insomniac after all meaning I'm unable to sleep but I also was able to have a good night's sleep for ONCE yesterday but yeah, I was pretty much up all night" Dorothy had answered back while walking back to Billina while also drying her face carefully with her hands.

"Insomniac? You humans are awfully strange with your words and whatnot! But let's find a way to get out of this place so I could get back to my den!" Billina had spoken out in a rather confused tone of voice while feeling herself being picked by Dorothy.

"Well It's just how Humans are but I'm also hungry so maybe we should find some food before we depart from this tree" Dorothy had spoken back to the red hen as Billina simply stared back at her before speaking.

"You know, I'm also getting quite famished as well so I'm on the same boat as you but where in the world are we even gonna find food in a place like this!" Billina had spoken out to Dorothy in a rather confused tone of voice while Dorothy looked around before looking up at the very same tree to find small white boxes which caught her attention.

"I don't know but I think we might have found our breakfast and it could be that tree in which we spent the night in.." Dorothy had uttered out while pointing at the tree which made Billina rather excited.

"That could be food! Let's try and see if there's any food or not!" Billina had spoken out to their owner in a rather happy tone of voice as the pair had made their way towards the tree which contained many small boxes that had a good smell to them.

"They smell wonderful! Do you want to share with me or do you want your own? I know you can't eat as much food as me but since we're in Oz or whatever then things might change for you" Dorothy had asked Billina while picking out her small box as Billina finally began to provide an answer.

"I don't mind sharing but don't give me too much food and I would rather eat in small potions as if I was still in Kansas" Billina had advised to her owner as the hen had saw Dorothy opening the lunch box which consisted of a ham sandwich, a piece of chocolate cake, a pickle, a slice of cheese an apple, and a glass of ice cold lemonade which Dorothy found to be quite delicious.

"Of course" Dorothy simply replied back to the red hen while gently breaking each of the food into small separate pieces for Billina as she gently laid them on the floor.

"So, who rules this land? Maybe we can ask him for help in regards to getting us back home" Billina had asked Dorothy while eating their portion of the meal while waiting for an answer as the young girl began to speak.

"I'm not sure but if we were in Oz then I would say Scarecrow! He's a very good friend of mine and the last time I saw him, he was being crowned as King of Oz '' Dorothy had responded back with a smile on her face as she began to eat her meal and for the next few minutes the pair had eaten their meal until there was nothing left.

"That was good! I've never had anything like this and whoever planted this tree needs the highest praise!" Billina had spoken out in joy while letting out chicken noises which made Dorothy smile.

"I agree but this still doesn't beat Aunt Em's cooking in my opinion but the breakfast was still good nonetheless" Dorothy had spoken back to Billina while putting the food box back into the tree branch as she turned around to see Billina checking out something which made her curious.

"Billina, is there something wrong? You seem awfully focused on something and I'm curious to know why" Dorothy had asked Billina in a tone of curiosity while walking over to the red hen to notice a huge desert that was placed right in the center of between where they was standing and the other side which made the young girl gasp in shock.

"This desert! That's where my silver shoes fell! I still remember that event but I remember Glinda telling me that this desert is very dangerous and that nobody can't cross it or else it's instant death and speaking of that, It's also called the Deadly Desert" Dorothy had explained to Billina as this knowledge made the red hen clucker in shock.

"Now who decided it was a good idea to put a deadly desert in this place! This place doesn't seem that important to where you gotta place something like this in your world or whatever!" Billina had spoken out in a rather shocked tone of voice as the pair slowly walked over to the edge of the land they were currently standing at to stare at the large desert.

"I don't know but maybe it's to protect the Land of Oz from outsiders or those who want to do harm to this wonderful place" Dorothy had answered back while looking down to see a message that was formed within the sand which quickly caught her attention.

"Beware The Wheelers" The message had said as this made Dorothy and Billina rather curious as they've never heard about such a thing called Wheelers.

"Interesting, I wonder what Wheelers could be? I've never heard nor seen anything like them during my adventure in Oz back when I was eight.." Dorothy had spoken out in a tone of curiosity while Billina nodded their head in agreement.

"I'm on the same boat as you but if I was to guess then maybe automobiles that have terrible wheels, I guess!" Billina had spoken out in confusion as the pair turned around to continue on with their journey until both of them could hear faint laughter coming from an unknown direction which made the pair more cautious.

"W-What in the world is that sound?!" Dorothy had spoken out in confusion as she turned around to see two small figures quickly approaching her which prompted her to run.

"I don't know what's chasing us but it might be the Wheelers if I had to guess so it's best to RUN!" Billina had spoken out with extreme caution as quickly ran alongside Dorothy; however, the Wheelers had quickly caught up with the pair.

The Wheelers had the form of a man, except that it walked, or rather rolled, upon all fours, and its legs were the same length as its arms, giving them the appearance of the four legs of a beast.

"Stay away!" One of the Wheelers cried out in a high pitched voice which startled Dorothy and Billina as the pair quickly made a run for it with the clear goal in getting away from the creatures.

"Look! There's a hill nearby! We gotta climb it if we don't want to be caught!" Billina advised Dorothy as they could feel themselves being picked up by Dorothy while the young girl continued to run.

"Got it! I've dealt with many strange creatures such as the Kalidah! These Wheelers shouldn't be a problem for me! Just hang tight!" Dorothy had spoken back to the red hen while continuing to run until they had reached the hill which was rather rocky.

"Quickly! We don't want to get caught by those legged freaks!" Billina had cried out to their owner in a tone of panic as both them and Dorothy had climbed the rocky hill until they've reached a forest which left Dorothy out of breath.

"D-Did we lose them…" Dorothy had uttered out while catching her breath as she was met with Billina nodding their head in confirmation much to her relief.

"Of course and if you look below then the Wheelers can't climb up to get us! Isn't that great?!" Billina had responded back in a boastful tone of voice as the pair slowly walked over to see the Wheelers struggling to climb the hill due to their wheels.

"We'll get you next time! Once you and the red hen come down then we shall tear you guys into bits!" One of the Wheelers spat out in rage as this prompted Dorothy to finally stand up against the terrible creatures.

"Why are you guys so mean?! We didn't do anything to cause you guys such harm?" Dorothy had spoken out in a rather annoyed tone of voice as she placed her hands on her hips while waiting for an answer.

"Because you and the hen had stolen our food from the Lunch Pail Tree and it was quite rude indeed…." Another Wheeler had spoken out and this one appeared to be their leader due to him dressing more fancy and had a more soft spoken voice than the others as this made Dorothy raise her eyebrow.

"Well, we didn't know and we're sorry if we offended you guys or anything but please just go away and leave us alone" Dorothy had spoken back to the leader as she was met with the Wheeler shaking his head.

"I'm afraid not, It is the law here that whoever picks a lunch or dinner-pail without our permission must die immediately" The Wheeler leader had responded back as this was followed with the other Wheelers laughing rather manically which annoyed Dorothy and Billina.

"Such rude beings! I highly doubt it was theirs to begin with! They just wanted to cause trouble!" Dorothy had spoken out in annoyance as she sat down while having a pouty face.

"I agree but the good news is that the Wheelers can't get us but the bad news is that we're kinda trapped.." Billina had spoken back while nervously laughing to themselves as it turns out that the pair were trapped with the Wheelers circling around with their laughter being heard across the strange land.