Over the Rainbow

I could feel myself beginning to feel again, and the first thing I felt was a pounding headache. I groaned.

“Sshhh.”

I couldn’t tell who whispered but I can tell you whoever it is, is male. I kept my eyes closed and listened. I could hear distant shouts, as well as low panting. It sounded like some one had just finished running a marathon, actually it sounded like a few some ones finished running a marathon.

Before I decided to see who those some ones were, I checked myself; I concentrated on my body to see how it felt. My head hurt, I felt like I was going to hurl and my limbs ached. I could also tell I was being held in someone’s arms. I opened my eyes to see the underside of Zacky’s chin. He must have felt me looking at him because he tilted his head so he was looking at me.

He smiled and whispered, “Hey.”

“Hey,” I croaked back. My voice sounded pretty gnarly.

“Aw,” I looked at a smiling Jimmy as he whispered. “You know, you don’t stay passed out as long as you used to.”

I gave him a groggy what-the-fuck look before my attention was drawn by a tiny yip. I looked in Jimmy’s arms where Pinkly was struggling happily so I talked to her to, “Hey.”

“Okay,” we all looked to Matt as he entered the small huddled group in a black tank and camo pants. He was all militaried out, “The just headed to the south wing, if we go out the west, we should be fine- you’re up!”

I just gave him a small nod and kept staring at him. He made my stomach churn, but in a good way.

“Alright,” Zacky said and started to stand and I realized I went up with him. I looked around me, the sudden raise was a rush and sort of freaked me out. “Lane, can you walk?”

I stared questioningly at him. Of course I could walk. I do it all the time! That’s like asking if I know how to breathe! Idiot.

“I’m taking that as a ‘no,’” Zacky said and handed me to Matt.

“Back in your arms again,” Jimmy cooed quietly, and I gave him a questioning look as well.

“Matt’s been carrying you since the we broke you out of the witch’s layer,” Jimmy explained as we followed Zacky.

Seeing the environment move steadily was really weird. Especially since I wasn’t moving- myself that is. I don’t know why it was so fascinating, it just was. I was staring dreamily at nothing when I was suddenly squeezed against Matt, and though I know he had stopped moving, we were shaking. It scared me, a lot.

“They’ve started the attack!” Matt yelled, shielding me with his body as rubble began to fall from the ceiling.

“Have we been gone that long already?” Jimmy asked.

After the shaking stopped, the boys picked up their pace; I also heard gun shots beginning to blaze somewhere in the distance. I looked to the direction we were running in and saw that there was a dark tunnel with specks of lights radiating at the top. It wasn’t until we got closer that I comprehended the lights were actually gas lamps.

The boys were running down the tunnel that I’m sure would have been a black hole if not for the gas lights sporadically placed. Eventually I saw a light at the end of the tunnel- a light at the end of the tunnel, that’s funny. So funny I giggled and said aloud, “Don’t go towards the light!”

It was followed by more of my laughter. I don’t know why, but the whole thing seemed like the funniest concept in the world. Matt yelled something to Zacky, who peeked over his shoulder in return with a raised eyebrow.

A few paces before the tunnel exit we stopped. Jimmy, Zack and Matt all conversed with each other quietly. I was looking at my surroundings upside down; my head was hanging off of Matt’s massive arm.

The world looked so much cooler wrong side up. The gaslights looked like little funky rocket ships, and the small, wet looking metal bucket on the ground looked like it was floating. I wonder if this is what Alice felt like when she fell through the rabbit hole.

“Oh no!” I gasped and bringing my head right side up. My eyes were wide with my epiphany and it captured the boys’ attention.

“Lane, what’s wrong?” Zacky asked, immediately closing the distance between us.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong, I’m high!” I exclaimed and started bawling. My throat hurt worse from my scratchy talking and my headache intensified as I cried.

“Sshh,” Zacky cooed with a tone of urgency. “Lane, you have to be quiet,” he looked sternly at me and I sniffled, letting the tears keep escaping my eyes. “Do you understand?”

I nodded in confirmation that I did indeed understand, and then I changed the subject, “Aren’t your arms tired yet?”

I had directed the question to Matt but Jimmy answered, “Not at all. Pinkly’s a little lady and damn light.”

“Oh, okay,” I smiled, forgetting that the answer was not the one I had asked for. “Carry on.”

I smiled dumbly and the boys shook their heads before conversing again. I began to see things a little more clearly; now that I knew what was wrong with me, I could handle myself a little better.

“Hey,” I said, looking at the mass of blue that seemed to be growing just out side the exit; they ignored me. “Hey,” I tried again, sounding much more like a whiney sick child. The still ignored me. “Hey!”

The last one caught their attention and they looked at me like they just noticed I was there.

“What?” Jimmy asked, Pinkly looking at me with just as much confusion as the boys. I swear she was just as smart as them.

“What’s that?” I asked, pointing at the growing blue mass.

“Shit!” I didn’t see who spoke because I was too enamored with the camouflage sleeve dangling from my arm. I looked down and saw that I was wearing a very large shirt that was made out of the same material as Matt’s pants. When I saw the colorful patches over the left breast, I knew it was Matt’s.

“Aw!” I smile at Matt, “You let me borrow your shirt! That’s so sweet!”

“We have to go back!” Zacky Yelled.

“Not happening,” Jimmy told him. “We’re surrounded.”

“Well,” I let out raspy laugh, “That ain’t good.”

“No,” Matt said, eyeing all around us like a trapped, desperate animal; “No, it’s not.”

“Well what do you know?” I heard a clearly un-amused, slight irritated but highly sarcastic voice. The witch walked through the blue mass, which was now easily identifiable as her flying monkey minions. “So, you’re alive.”

“Yep! Bet you’re happy ‘bout that!” I responded enthusiastically, a big dumb smile on my face.

“I want those shoes,” she said, her arms were crossed over her body in a pissed off manner.

“You can’t have them,” Jimmy said. “Leave Lane alone.”

I shifted in Matt’s arms and patted his shoulder. He seemed to get the hint because he carefully placed me on the ground. I probably would have lost my balance and fallen to the floor in a giggling heap had Matt not supported me by putting his arm around my waist.

“Shut up scarecrow,” she said flippantly.

“You sure are a hateful little thing!” I laughed, leaning into Matt’s side. By this point, I was coherent, just extremely ditzy and carrying a happy-go-lucky attitude. That should wear off soon though.

“You guys do know I will get those shoes right? It’s only a matter of time. I’ve already got what I needed out those useless trinkets you three lost- I don’t care that you have them.” I could feel the boys tense around me. “All I need now are those shoes, which will be mine soon enough. Take a look around boys, you’re surrounded,” She spread her arms out as if displaying all the monkeys; “You Lose. I win. Just make this easier on everyone and hand the girl over.”

“No!” Jimmy said, very passionately.

He still had Pinkly in his arms and it totally killed any sense of seriousness for me. I buried my face in Matt’s side so I wouldn’t distract them with my laughter. By the way Matt tucked me into his side, he probably thought I was freaked out, but really I was laughing so hard I was crying.

More harsh words were exchanged between my group and The Witch but I was too busy trying to get myself under control to pay attention. I had just barely gotten myself under control when I heard a shrill cry come from The Witch. I snapped my head to just in time to see her livid expression as she shot fire out of her fingertips towards us.

Several things happened at that moment. Zacky pulled Jimmy behind him, Matt pushed both Jimmy and I behind him, the castle shook dangerously, the monkey minions scattered and I fell next to the bucket.

The wet bucket.

The wet bucket that was not filled with water, but something else.

Right after the shaking stopped, I grabbed the bucket, ducked around Matt and Zacky and threw the contents of the pale on The Witch. All movements ceased. I looked at The Witch, who seemed shocked by my actions as I slowly bent down and picked up a piece of stone that had just fallen from the ceiling. Zacky grabbed my shoulder and brought me closer to he and Matt.

“Seriously?” The Witch asked, “Honey, we learned our lesson, water isn’t going to have any affect on me. If you were hoping I’d melt, you’re sorely mistaken.”

I took a quick glance at the boys around me to see they had disappointed looks on their faces.

“Waterproof huh? That’s nice information, but irrelevant. Take a whiff of that stuff on you Witch. It isn’t water, though I can guarantee you that you’ll wish it was,” I was tossing the piece of rubble up in the air and catching it with my hand. She pulled up her arm and smelled, then proceeded to make a disgusted face. “Not water, lighter fluid.”

With that, I tossed the rock at the ground like one would when skipping rocks on water. The rock hit a dry patch of floor by The Witch’s feet and sparked, just barely enough to catch her clothing on fire. She stared at shock at the flames that began to consume her body, and then it hit her. She shrieked as the flames grew to an unexpected height and changed color to a nasty puke green.

The castle shook relentlessly now, but I think we were all too consumed with the burning witch to notice. The Witch emitted a smell that I could only define as bitterness, jealousy and hate- it was a horrible smell. She didn’t burn like I expected her to, no blistering, peeling of flesh or anything like that, the flames just seemed to suck the moisture from her. All of it, and I mean all of it.

She got to looking like a mummy fairly soon in the burning, her screaming stopped and when the flames finally went out, there was nothing more than a pile of dust that was carried away by the wind.

We stood there for a few moments just watching the spot where The Witch had stood. My shoulder was grabbed and steered towards the exit, now that there wasn’t anything standing in our way, we could leave.

Does this mean I can leave?