Within the Pages

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

When we finally get to the log cabin, with 100 of Oz's finest men in tow, I'm struck by the thought that even though our group just shrunk, It's highly possible that it will shrink even more as we leave Oz. Dorothy and Toto will want to be going. Scarecrow and the Lion will probably be staying here.

I turn to Dorothy. "So what now?"

She looks almost undecided but she knows she should go home and let her family know that she is alright. "I have to go back home Jack. Earth might not be as amazing as Oz but it is home. Maybe we'll see each other again someday. Back on Earth, I mean."

"I guess you are right and maybe we will see each other." Despite me feeling like I'm about to loose someone else I care about, I close my eyes and imagine the words Kansas on a map of earth. A swift woosh fills the air around us as a swirling portal opens up. A wrecked farmhouse clearly seen through the portal. "Goodbye Dorothy." I mutter sadly.

"Goodbye Jack." Dorothy replies while leaning in and giving me a peck on the cheek. Then in no time at all she has grabbed Toto and jumps through the portal, it closing behind her just as swiftly.

Turning next to the scarecrow I continue, "I guess you two will be leaving as well."

"Well it is our home Jack. Thank you for freeing it." The lion answers for the two of them.

"Goodbye guys." I say as they head out into the forest and disappear. That just leaves the three of us.

All of a sudden I feel dizzy, almost falling to the ground. That portal took a lot out of me. I won't be able to make one to get to Wonderland. I'll have to rely on the books inside.

Walking slowly, trying not to fall, I work my way into the house and up the stairs, my sister, Goldie, and the four guards from before in tow.

I get to the room and see the bag on the floor. I bend over to it and surprisingly lift it up very easily for a bag that should be filled with books. Looking inside, I drop the bag to the ground, spilling ash out of the bag.

"What the hell? I cry out. "Where are the books!?"

"I don't know Jack." Goldilocks answers.

"All the magic is being reversed." My sister speaks up, her eyes widening.

"What do you mean?" My magic is being reversed? My mother's? Sister's?

"All the magic that your father used while he was alive to make things is being destroyed."

"So he made these books? So I have to wait for my power to be back again before I can teleport to Wonderland. That's the only way."

The Wicked Witch looks angry now. "CAN YOU ONLY THINK OF YOURSELF Jack?" She yells at me. She starts to cry again now. "All his magic is being destroyed. That doesn't just mean the books."

Not many people have yelled at me. Even the bullies in school hadn't yelled at me. They talked in normal voices as if I wasn't worth being yelled at. "Well what else could happen? I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Father made many wonderful things with his magic. Not only the books. He created the yellow brick road to lead to the Emerald City. Jack, our dad built the Emerald City itself."

"Ok? So the city gets erased from existence. Am I supposed to care about some city?" Why is this witch wasting my time?

"You don't get it do you? If the city gets erased then all the people in there...I don't even know what will happen. People could disappear with it. Or people that are on the higher floors could just fall through onto the ground. This could.." She gets cut off as rumbling shakes the log cabin we are standing in. We look at each other, worry evident on our faces.

Together we run downstairs and out the door to see a sight taken out of the worst nightmares people could have.