The characters and setting are owned by the Sci-Fi channel and L. Frank Baum.
The song this chapter is based on, "Restless" by Sara Evans, is posted at the end of the story.
Those of you who took time out of your busy schedules to send me reviews for chapter 3 are so completely awesome. It really brightens my day to know that my work is appreciated.
Let me know what you think. I live on reviews.
As always, thank you for reading!
Restless
It was 3 am in the morning according to her watch which was still set to Kansas time – the rising and setting of the sun in the OZ seemed to be similar to that of Kansas so she kept wearing the timepiece, old habits die hard – and DG was just returning to the room she rented over the bar.
She was drained. Work was not what she expected, but then again she was in a different world now after all. Aside from the long hours for minimal pay and the serving of food, everything else was completely different. Being a waitress on the other side was so much easier and had more status than here in the OZ, if that was believable. Apparently in the OZ, or just the Realm of the Unwanted, she honestly didn't know, waitresses were nothing more than meat on feet.
While a diner in Kansas was not the best place to work for a young woman, she had her share of scum balls that overstepped their bounds, it was nothing compared to here. At Renegade's Refuge DG had never been pinched, grabbed, fondled or hit on so much in her whole life. There wasn't even a nice term for her services here. Being called a bar wench made her feel like she had stepped back in time into a pirate's bar.
The outfit was humiliating to wear. A red and black puffed out skirt that barely covered her butt cheeks had thousands of ruffles making her backside look huge. The red blouse was no better. It was the OZ's take on a halter top, bathing suit and pasties mixed into one. What she wouldn't give for some double-sided tape, just to be on the safe side. Carrying around a tray laden with drinks while simultaneously watching where you stepped with one eye and the coverings over your boobs with the other was a skill she was attempting to master. She needed a third eye to make sure she remained out of the reach of the patrons.
She had made the mistake of punching the first gentleman who pinched her ass when she walked by and got an earful from the owner. He told DG if she wanted to work anywhere in the realm she would do better to allow the men their fun and keep her hands to herself, unless she was using them in a pleasurable way. As if! The only consolation was the garish purple bruise the guy had over his swollen left eye.
Shutting the door behind her she set the 3 locks and leaned her back against it heavily. Her eyes were closed and her brow furrowed. This was a horrible experience. DG didn't know how much longer she could take living like that, but going back was not an option. It would only cause her to appear vulnerable and weak, something she couldn't allow.
Slowly she slid down the door until she was sitting tenderly on the dirty floor. Her feet ached and her butt and the backs of her thighs were bruised with the finger imprints of her customers. Removing the high-heeled shoes she rubbed at the aggravated blisters on the backs of her heels and the sides of her toes. They had ruptured sometime during the evening and were caked with dried blood. Sighing she leaned her head once more against the wood behind her body, closing her eyes in the process.
DG's stomach seized at a noise coming from somewhere in her room. Someone was there with her and she was in a real sticky situation. The door was bolted with 3 locks, locks too far above her to reach without standing, and standing would only result in drawing attention to the fact that the person hiding in the room had been found out. Magic was her only option.
She had just begun to release the light within her when a voice broke through her buzzing ears, along with the sound of hurried footsteps; footsteps that were getting awfully close.
"Think ya could humiliate me and get away with it, did ya?" a man's voice growled. As DG opened her eyes to begin her assault, the man beat her to the punch, literally. He backhanded her cheek so hard she thought she could actually see the blood vessels in her eye explode with the force. The side of her face that hadn't been battered by his hand had been bruised by the speed with which it hit the door.
Head throbbing, DG managed to roll away from her pursuer, taking his legs out from under him as she maneuvered herself to the side. With a loud thud he came down on his back, his head making an awful cracking noise as it landed on the corner of the small table against the wall. The table broke in two with the force, the pieces starting to cover in the blood that seeped from the ugly puncture wound in the man's skull.
She watched him take three shaky, gurgled breaths before he stopped moving altogether. Lying in a heap in the middle of her room was a dead man, a man she killed in self defense but she wondered how many of the upstanding citizens in this place would believe her tale.
Gingerly she lifted herself off the floor and looked down on the face of her attacker. It was the man she had punched her first night working in the decrepit bar. Damn. If this is what she could expect every time she stood up for herself there were going to be more incidents just like this one. Her feisty temper would make sure of that.
DG had to think quickly. Snatching a sheet off the cot she laid it on the ground next to the corpse. The man was large, at least six foot and easily weighed 250 pounds, making it difficult for the 5'3", 115 lb DG to muster up enough strength to roll the man onto the sheet. Once the corpse was fully covered in the linen now soaked in spots with red, she rushed to the window, heaving it open.
Standing still she took some steadying breaths as she allowed her magic to flow, reaching out with it to pick up the bundle and floating it out the window. Keeping it in the air, DG watched it make its way down the street and had it silently land in a dumpster on the corner. Quickly she closed the window and the blinds before shutting her eyes and crumpling to the floor.
Her right eye was a mess. She could feel the blood seeping out over the bottom lashes, he had really managed to do some damage, more than she thought possible having never been hit like that before. It was swelling more with each passing moment and was sure it would be a horrid shade of purplish-blue. The left, while tender, was at least a normal size.
There was no way to explain this away. If they found that body and saw her face they wouldn't have to be rocket scientists to put two and two together. She was in trouble.
Another noise in the room had her heart jumping into her throat. There wasn't any place in the room that could have concealed another person, there wasn't even a closet. The only reason the first intruder went unnoticed was that he had been hunkered down behind the cot. Now the cot had no more covers to use for hiding.
When her good eye shot open she noticed an eerie light coming from nowhere and illuminating the figure of a woman, a woman she had only ever seen in a holographic loop used to torture her friend. DG's head reeled; positive the blow had unhinged her senses.
"You aren't imagining me, DG," the woman said, smiling kindly at the girl crouched on the ground under the window.
DG felt like a fish out of water, certain that her gaping mouth did nothing to assuage that idea. It felt like forever before her voice would work when in reality it was only mere seconds.
"If you're here to tell me to stay away from your husband, you needn't bother," she whispered, breaking eye contact with the ethereal being. "I already left."
The giggle that arose from the glowing form of Adora was warm and knowing causing DG to turn her gaze back to the woman. "Sweet DG, I came to do the opposite." Taking a few steps forward she lowered her body to sit facing the young Princess. "I think you are perfect for Wyatt and I don't want you to give up on him."
Her mouth went completely dry she was so shocked. The closeness of the two women made her uncomfortable. This was Cain's wife, the love of his life and she was there to tell her to fight for his love. To say DG was confused would have been the understatement of the century.
"He loves you, always will," DG responded, her voice sounding foreign to her own ears. "He'll never love me like he loves you."
"Of course he won't," Adora said, still wearing that blasted smile. "We are unique women. Of course, he loves us differently. But equally, if you understand my meaning."
DG tore her eyes away from the woman to focus instead on the seams in the wooden floor. This was too much. Her brain was having a hard time understanding that this was indeed happening.
When she didn't answer, Adora continued on. "Wyatt is on his way here," she told the younger woman.
"I'm afraid he might be too late," DG whispered, her voice trembling. "Something's happened." Her eyes involuntarily shifted to the blood stain along the wall, Adora's following in their wake.
"I know," she said quietly. "You have to be strong and blend into the crowd until he gets here. Don't leave or they'll track you down."
Again DG returned her gaze to catch Adora's. "Why are you doing this?"
"I love Wyatt, he deserves to be happy and he's happy when he's with you." She reached out and took DG gently by the chin. "I owe you so much for saving him from that suit, it's the least I could do."
Standing, Adora took a few steps back. "Don't give up. If something were to happen to you I know he wouldn't survive it this time. I'll do my best to hurry him along." As she began to disappear she left DG with one final statement, "Love him enough for the both of us." With that, she was gone and the room went back to darkness.
DG was having trouble breathing. The shock of killing a man, not only seeing but also talking to a dead woman, and now the belief that Cain would be coming to get her was alarming. What would Cain say when he found her, if he found her? Would he berate her for leaving? Would he sweep her up in a hug at the sight of her? Would he grab her by the arm and lead her away without a word?
Her head throbbed and she began to lose sight of her surroundings. Suddenly her head was on the ground and she was lying on her side, unconscious.
The room spun around her and DG soon found herself in a lavishly decorated room, curled up in a nice, warm bed. Her face felt fine, like the events earlier in the night had never occurred. Her hair remained changed and if that was any indication she was sure her eyes were still the color of the emerald.
Sighing, DG noticed that there was a heart pounding loudly beneath her ear, finally making her aware that she was curled up against someone. Lifting her head off the soft cotton of the shirt on the man's chest she found herself staring into the striking blue eyes of Wyatt Cain.
He looked confused, like seeing her there was unexpected, not that she could blame him. She felt the same way.
"I miss you, Wyatt," she drawled, her fingers reaching out to run through his hair just as she had the night before she left the city. The blonde locks felt wonderful on her fingertips and she savored the expression on his face as she watched him slowly close his lids at the touch. "I need you so much, how could I ever think I could live without you?"
When he opened his eyes again she surveyed them as she leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek. The sensation was better than the last time, even if it was only a dream.
"Where are you, DG?" he asked her, and she could hear the desperation in his voice.
"You already know," she answered. "Hurry, Wyatt," DG whispered as he began to fade away. Her arms tightened around him, desperate to keep him there with her, but it was useless. All too soon he was gone and she was alone.
All too soon it would be morning. All too soon they would find the body and she would be in serious trouble.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ RestlessBy: Sara Evans
I'm a leaf on the river, fallen from the tall oak tree I'm restless Am I an angel, fallen from heaven's grace I'm restless Oh, to hold somebody close that cares What do you do, where do you go when nowhere feels like home?
drifting down this moving stream, wherever this life carries me
I'm a tumbleweed in a desert wind, just tumblin' while the sun's shinin'
I have no boundaries
Call me a gypsie
Just ramblin'
What do you do, where do you go when nowhere feels like home?
I'm restless
Oh, it feels like that somedays that I can't find my place
I guess God just made some of us to live and die by highway dust
Guess I just have to trust
On the days I'm crawlin'
This is my callin'
Just ramblin'
What do you do, where do you go when nowhere feels like home?
I'm restless
Oh, to finally find some roots somewhere
I know someday I'll find that it's out there
Until then I'll just keep movin'
And ramblin'
I'm restless
Just ramblin'
Oh, I'm restless