Red

Seeping between yellow brick

.

It tracked behind her as she walked

And lightly pinched the road beneath her with every step she made

.

This wasn't right.

The small girl knew it.

.

When the sun kissed her skin,

It wasn't warm.

It didn't tingle her flesh with a soft and glowing heat

Like she remembered so distinctly.

Instead,

It bit her

With sharp frozen teeth.

.

The land around her was barren and dry.

Bodies of folks who gave her shelter in the past,

Given her any kind of help,

Were limp and lifeless

And scattered along the road.

Tears threatened to fall

As they built heavily in her hazel eyes.

.

She couldn't even stop and care for them

-Even if they were dead-

Her feet kept her moving forward

No,

It was the shoes.

The silver slippers make her walk.

.

Dorothy hardly remembered putting them on,

But they still fit snuggly around her feet.

.

Now, what kept her from moving her head?

That had no answer,

But it was the truth.

She had passed two old friends some time ago

And was terrified to see the third.

.

The scarecrow

Was back on his post,

Tied at the hands

And staring at the ground.

No,

His chest.

It was ripped open.

Straw flowed from his stomach

And fire

Eat at his feet.

.

The tin woodman

Was where Dorothy had first found him, too.

Deep in the forest

Reddened by rust.

Especially where his tears trailed down his face.

When she had passed by,

His arms crumbled almost to ash.

His mouth and nose was already gone

As his endless tears

Had gnawed that away first.

.

Dorothy squeezed her eyes shut

As the slippers continued to guide her

Her lower lip trembled

As she mumbled soothing words to herself,

Even though her heart quaked in her chest

.

Somehow,

Somewhere in the back of her head,

Dorothy knew

That this nightmare wouldn't end.

Egad, I'm at it again. I promise the next thing I write will be happy…if I manage to keep away from the caffeine. XD I don't think I can make any promises.

Oh, before I forget, I have not ready any other book than the first. With that in mind, feel free to let me know what you think. :)

Thank you for reading,

Krudovana