Dorothy, Toto, Bo, Effigy, and Luav were out of the city within an hour, with all the stuff they brought in their bags, which were on their shoulders. The weight of their bags full of their possessions did not feel as much of a burden any longer since they had been given the task of killing Maridina, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Luav was cowering the whole first our after they had left the city and they had fallen off the beaten path and comfort of the familiar yellow brick road. Bo had made it a top priority to list and discuss the creatures and possible dangers they would face on their long, harrowing journey to the West of pangea of the planet of Oz.

"There's the kalidahs, and there's a hell of a lot more of them in the West. That's where the badlands begin and don't end until the land halts at the sea," Bo told them, "Maridina also has an entire fleet of monkeys with cybernetic parts, including wings. People say that the monkeys have these special chips in their brains that are connected to a honing device that she has.

"She also made the Winkies her slaves about fifteen to twenty years ago, and she uses them as her personal guard and army. I think someone told me once that she has the Winkies under her complete control, not unlike what she's got going on with her monkeys."

Luav shivered in fear. "I hope we don't run into any of them."

"It's inevitable that we'll be running into the monkeys and the Winkies," Dorothy muttered, "Don't fool yourself, Luav."

The Lion sighed and hung his head low with his large shoulders slumped.

Bo rolled his eyes. "Idiot. If you don't want to face them so badly, turn around and leave."

Luav lifted his head up, the curls of his long mane flying about. He let out a low growl as he raised his hackles.

"I can't! None of you, not even you, Dorothy, would understand why I can't turn back! I can't even tell you why I can't! I want to turn back and go home more than anything!" Luav growled loudly, ending with a low his.

"I am your personal robotic caregiver," Effigy said, "I would never leave your side willingly, Miss Dorothy Gale."

Dorothy gave the cowardly Lion the most apathetic look she had ever given anyone, completely ignoring Effigy. "You can go. Nobody's stopping you."

Luav hung his head low again as he fell silent.
Dorothy did not need to be told twice that the journey would be longer than their journey on the yellow brick road, and five times as dangerous. She wished that Bo had more weapons, that she had more weapons, that Effigy had defensive tactics in her programming, and that Luav wasn't such a coward.

They continued walking through the field until the dark, cloudy sky grew darker and darker. The wind howled, making Dorothy's ears ache and her face sting.

Bo dropped his backpack and just sat down. He looked absolutely and utterly exhausted, and Dorothy felt bad for him. He was the most resilient member of the group, besides Toto and Effigy.

Toto stopped beside Dorothy, and Effigy sat down and deactivated for the night. The robotic dog wagged his tail a little at her and sat down.

Dorothy pulled her backpack off and sat down on the grass, glancing at the group silently with a sigh begging to be released from her mouth so it would no longer be trapped in her lungs. She felt like she had known them forever known them forever, even though she had only known them for a few weeks. She was thankful that they had traveled this far with her, but she wished they didn't have to or didn't feel obligated to or whatever the reason why they were traveling all the way to the West with her so they could kill the Wicked Witch.

"You alright, Bo?" Dorothy asked, trying not to sound as drained and exhausted as she felt.

"Yeah. You?" Bo asked quietly with a slight shrug.

"Alright."

Things were silent for a moment, except for the chirps and songs of crickets and the unnamed creatures of the fields.

"How come none of you ever ask me how I'm doing?" Luav whined, breaking that peaceful silence. "My paws and legs are sore, my ears hurt from all of this wind, and I am feeling absolutely miserable."

"You whine and complain too much," Bo snapped hostilely, "That's why nobody asks you how you're doing. Now shut up, and let's all get some shut-eye so we can get going in the morning."

"We'll all feel better if we get some sleep," Dorothy said in agreement to Bo's last statement.

He nodded and laid down, using his backpack as a pillow as he always did.

Dorothy laid down as well as she closed her eyes. She was asleep almost before her head landed on the grass.

***

A scream pierced the silence of the night like a spear in the softest part of a person's gut.

Dorothy woke up with a gasp on the edge of her lips as she thrashed up off the ground as she forced her eyes open.

The screams and yells of hundreds of monkeys echoed through the darkness, even more overwhelming even in the night without their visual input.

Dorothy scrambled around, trying to push and kick the monkeys away. She slammed the back of her hand at one and hit its wing.

Her knuckles began to sting as they were sliced and broken by the sharp metal.

She screamed through gritted teeth as she elbowed one in the face. She felt several small hands grasp at her arms and legs, a fury of fur and gnashing teeth appearing in her short field of vision in the darkness.

There was a blast of a laser, and it illuminated the darkness for a split second as it hit one of the monkeys in the center of its chest.

"Dorothy!" Bo shouted as he fired another laser from his finger. "Dorothy!"

She screamed as her black, curly hair was yanked out of her head when she attempted to pull away and break free from the hold of the monkeys.

Another flash of a laser and a burst that somehow pierced through the screeching and hollering of the hundreds of monkeys.

There was a loud howl and cry from Luav-- Dorothy, even in her frenzied state of panic, knew that he must have been cowering and trying to prevent himself from being taken by the monkeys.

Toto barked loudly, and there was a bright burst from his nose. The burst exploded, and about two dozens of the monkeys that had surrounded him fell down to the ground, hopefully dead.

Furry fingers pushed into her trachea suddenly, sharp nails digging into her skin. Dorothy gasped for breath as she tried to pull away from the monkeys.

She couldn't move she couldn't move she couldn't move she could not move.

Her head was about to explode.

Dorothy choked and gasped for air.

All her senses had left her, and she was gone.