(The City of Glass)
*January 15th, 1906*
*Land of Mangaboos*
Dorothy and the others continued to fall further underground as the frightened cries of Zeb could be heard.
"We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" Zeb cried out in fear while Dorothy had shaken her head in denial.
"No, we're not gonna die and just keep a calm and cool mind.." Dorothy had advised her cousin as everyone continued to fall further below the ground until a loud crash could be heard indicating that everyone had finally made it to the ground.
"W-Whoa! Where in the world are we?! Is everyone okay?!" Zeb had uttered out in shock while breathing heavily while Dorothy nodded her head.
"I'm fine but it seems Betsy has passed out, we should carry her back into the carriage.." Dorothy had responded back as she looked over at the unconscious body of her friend while Zeb quickly nodded his head in agreement.
"T-That sounds like a good idea but let's see if Jim and your cat are okay, I don't wanna travel if they're hurt but at the same time, I wanna get out of here" Zeb had responded back as he quickly turned around to check on Jim and to his luck, the horse seemed just fine along with Eureka and the carriage.
"Jim, that was quite a nasty fall, right? I'm just glad you are okay.." Zeb had spoken to his horse while gently petting it which prompted the horse to speak.
"You can say that again! My heart was racing faster than my fellow racing horses!" Jim had uttered back in a surprised tone of voice as this surprised Dorothy and Zeb greatly.
"Wait, you can talk?! I'm definitely dreaming! I must be still sleeping back at the station cause all of this is awfully strange" Zeb had spoken out while Dorothy had shaken her head in denial.
"No, you are not dreaming and it seems we're in the Land of Oz or somewhere in this fairyland and I've been there two times already" Dorothy had spoken out to Zeb while she gently grabbed Betsy's head while her cousin walked over to gently grab her legs.
"Really?! This must be a very realistic dream but let's just find a way out of this situation or else my folks would be furious" Zeb had responded back in a tone of worry and confusion as he and Dorothy carried Betsy towards the carriage and gently placed her inside.
"Say, I've recalled your Uncle Henry telling my folks that a tornado swept up y'all's old home nearly six years ago and you and your dog were in the house, was that true?" Zeb had asked Dorothy while entering the front seat to command Jim while Dorothy followed suite.
"Yes, it was terrible; however, I've eventually landed in this strange place and the rest is history" Dorothy had responded back while sitting next to Zeb as she saw the boy nodding his head in understandment.
"I see, well, perhaps you've gone mad from being lost for nearly fifty days! Isn't that right, Jim?" Zeb had spoken back to Dorothy while gently petting Jim in the process which briefly annoyed Dorothy.
"I believe she's telling the truth and I bet she's met plenty of good friends during her travels and if animals like me could talk then we're definitely in this fairyland that Dorothy is referring to" Jim had spoken back in defense of the young girl as this made Dorothy smile.
"See? Jim believes me! I'm not crazy or anything and I know what I've seen, heard, and even talked to" Dorothy had responded back while Zeb sighed to himself.
"W-Well, I-I guess you are right but let's find a way out of here…" Zeb had spoken out in an embarrassed tone of voice as he motioned his hands for Jim to start walking; however, a voice began to call out and it was none other than Eureka the cat.
"Wait! Aren't y'all forgetting about me?! Such rudeness from yall…" Eureka had called out from her small cage as this made Zeb jump in fear while Dorothy was surprised by the voice.
"Goodness gracious! You've scared us Eureka! Are you okay? That fall seemed pretty nasty" Dorothy had asked her cat while Zeb gave off a very confused look since all of this was new to him while Eureka began to speak.
"Okay?! I was practically scared! You know us Cats get frightened quickly but at least I'm not dead or anything so I guess that's a good thing" Eureka had responded back while Dorothy chuckled back with relief.
"Good point and I'm glad to hear that but we should get going.." Dorothy had spoken back while Zeb was still surprised at what he was seeing; however, he didn't want to even question it.
"Alright, let's go!" Zeb had commanded Jim as the horse had finally begun to move towards whatever was their destination and after a few minutes of moving, the gang saw a strange light.
Far below them they found six great glowing balls suspended in the air. The central and largest one was white, and reminded her of the sun. Around it were arranged, like the five points of a star, the other five brilliant balls; one being rose colored, one violet, one yellow, one blue and one orange. This splendid group of colored suns sent rays darting in every direction.
"W..What is this strange light.." Zeb uttered out as he had observed the strange lights while Dorothy, Jim, and Eureka were awestruck as well.
"It's quite beautiful.." Dorothy simply uttered out in surprise as she saw the lights zoom past her as one hitted Zeb thus making his skin blue and his hair pink for a brief moment which surprised Dorothy.
"Goodness Gracious! Look at you! Your skin is blue and your hair is pink! This place is truly stranger than Ev and Oz" Dorothy had spoken out to her cousin in a tone of shock and surprise while Zeb had a look of terror and shock.
"W-What do you mean?! Look at your face! Your face seems green! I'm totally fine!" Zeb had spoken back to Dorothy while observing this strange ordeal as he suddenly took deep breaths to maintain his cool.
"This place is awfully strange and these lights aren't helping either.." Jim had chimed into the conversation as there was silence for a few seconds before suddenly, the ground below them suddenly disappeared thus making everyone fall further once more which caused everyone to be caught off guard by this.
"W-What's going on now?! Can't we just travel in peace!" Eureka had cried out in annoyance as they had hissed loudly while Jim struggled to find a proper landing as everyone continued to fall.
"We're falling again! How long will this continue! This is most certinalty dreadful" Zeb had uttered out in a scared tone of voice as everyone continued to fall further and further below while Dorothy began to speak.
"Of course not, We are somewhere in the middle of the earth, so the chances are that we'll reach the other side in due time but it's sure quite big, isn't it?" Dorothy had responded back in a calm tone of voice as she was used to having such strange adventures in comparison to Zeb and even Betsy's scared reactions.
The gang continued to fall further below until coming towards a landing which was noticed by Jim.
"We should be coming towards a landing, I'll try to land so hang on tight!" Jim had advised Dorothy and Zeb as the two children held on to the bars as tightly as they could as Jim landed on the surface with ease much to the relief of Zeb.
"W-Where are we now because I think I see a city of sorts.." Zeb had asked everyone while pointing at the strange scene that was capturing his attention while Dorothy nodded her head in confirmation.
"I see it, it's a city but filled with glass…" Dorothy had spoken back as she and Zeb observed the strange sight.
They saw a landscape with mountains and plains, lakes and rivers, very like those upon the earth's surface; but all the scene was splendidly colored by the variegated lights from the six suns. Here and there were groups of houses that seemed made of clear glass, because they sparkled so brightly.
"I just hope this city has milk because I'm quite famished! I've been cooped up in this cage for hours upon hours! How dreadful indeed" Eureka had spoken out while sighing to herself while Dorothy chuckled to herself.
"Don't worry, I'm sure the people of this strange city could provide us some food but we're gotta find a way down below" Dorothy had spoken back to Eureka while the cat sighed to herself in annoyance as Jim finally began to move and strangely, the horse was floating in midair.
"How strange? This land seems to be making you float in mid air?!" Zeb had uttered out in shock while Jim chuckled to himself as he couldn't believe it as well.
"Well, It seems that everything is possible in this strange land but let's make our way towards the city!" Jim had responded back to Zeb as the horse quickly made his way towards the city and eventually, Jim and the others had finally made it to the Glass City.
This altercation had caught the attention of the residents and everyone had come out to see what was going on.
There were men and women, but no children at all, and the folks were all beautifully formed and attractively dressed and had wonderfully handsome faces. There was not an ugly person at all and yet, Dorothy was not especially pleased by the appearance of these people because their features had no more expression than the faces of dolls. They did not smile nor did they frown, or show either fear or surprise or curiosity or friendliness.
"W-Who are these people! Why are they staring at us and why do they smell like vegetables…" Zeb had uttered out in shock as he heard groans coming from the backseat indicating that Betsy had finally regained consciousness much to the relief of everyone.
"W-What's going on…" Betsy had uttered out in a groggy voice before crawling over to see the strange emotionless people which greatly surprised her.
"My goodness! Where in the world are we?!" Betsy had spoken out once more in surprise as Dorothy had heard this and began to answer her question.
"I don't know but we're in a very strange country indeed so I guess we have to wait and see if these strange people can help us.." Dorothy had responded back as she turned around to see someone from the crowd approaching them.
The man had a bright star on his head and seemed like a person of authority amongst the people of this strange land and he looked over at Dorothy and Zeb and began to speak.
"Tell me, invader, was it you that caused this place to rain stones? Speak and be honest with us, NOW!" The man with the star had asked the two children in a rather aggressive tone of voice as he waited for an answer as for a moment Dorothy and Zeb looked at each other while Betsy peaked from the back of the carriage as eventually, Zeb was the one to answer the question.
"No Sir, we didn't cause anything, it was a mighty Earthquake, a very big one" Zeb had responded back as this caused the man with the star to fall silent for a few seconds before opening his mouth to speak once more.
"And what is this earthquake that you speak of?" The man with the stat had responded back as Dorothy quickly responded back before Zeb could say anything else.
"Well, it's the shaking of the earth thus causing the ground to somehow crack open and thus we fell for quite some time before eventually landing here.." Dorothy had responded back to the man staring back at her with his expressionless and calm eyes.
"I see, well, the rain of stones had done so much damage to our city and with that, we find you guilty unless everyone is able to prove their innocence" The man with the star had spoken back as many whispers and laughter could be heard from the crowd.
"Is she and the others gonna receive death? I sure hope so! She's ugly anyways" A woman whispered from the crowds as the whispers began to grow louder and louder much to the dismay of Dorothy and the others.
"How shall we prove our innocence? Please tell us for we did not do anything wrong" Dorothy had asked the man with the star in a curious tone of voice as she waited for an answer.
"You must go to the house of the sorcerer and there, he shall discover the truth in regards to the incident…" The man with the stat had responded back to Dorothy in a serious tone of voice as the young girl nodded her head in agreement while Zeb and Betsy were worried.
"A-And what happens if we're found guilty…" Zeb had uttered out while sweating as he dreaded an answer and finally, he had gotten his answer.
"Oh, it's simple, if found guilty than you and everyone else being put to death" The man with the star had casually responded back as this answer greatly shocked everyone in the group.
"W-What!?" Zeb and the others cried out in shock as things were slowly turning grim for our heroes; however, despite it all, Dorothy remained calm as she had a feeling that someone was gonna save them but that will have to wait as the looming threat of punishment was nearing them..