Oz: The Great and Powerful Junior Novel Disney Book Group (3 page)

C
HAPTER
T
HREE

Z WAS TERRIFIED
.
Frantically, he began to pull on ropes, desperate to land the balloon, angry mob or not. But the balloon wasn’t responding. Looking over his shoulder, Oz’s eyes grew wide as terror gripped him. Descending from the dark clouds was the one thing any Kansas native hated to see—an ominous swirling funnel. The storm had become a full-fledged tornado!

“Oh, no!” Oz cried. “No, no, no, no, no!”

Now Oz didn’t care about landing, he just wanted to get as far away from the tornado as possible. He cut the sandbags loose and cranked up the burner, hoping to lift the balloon up and over the tornado. But the storm was already upon him.

Winds lashed the basket, whipping Oz’s hair into his eyes and making his skin sting. Lightning flashed and then rain began to pour down. As the tornado moved closer and closer the noise of the howling wind became unbearable. Realizing there was no escape, Oz braced himself just as the cyclone blasted into the balloon, sucking it into its funnel.

Darkness swallowed Oz. He was whipped and whirled about as the basket was bashed and battered by the powerful winds. Peering over the basket’s edge, Oz’s eyes grew even wider. There was a picket fence heading straight toward him. As he watched in horror, several of the fence pickets ripped free and shot right at him. He ducked as the spears flew overhead, narrowly missing him.

The debris kept coming. A mailbox flew by and then a sign shot past. Oz saw grass and dirt and what looked like a stuffed bear. And just when he thought it couldn’t get worse, Oz saw his own trailer come swirling up through the funnel. It came right at him, its wood sides missing the balloon by mere inches. Oz let out a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived. The tornado whipped the trailer around, sending it right back at the balloon. There was a loud SMASH as the trailer slammed into the basket and sent the balloon spinning up and over itself. Oz held on for dear life as the balloon spun and spun. Finally, it righted itself. But the danger wasn’t over. The basket was falling apart. If it completely broke, Oz would never survive. He let out a cry.

“Please! I don’t want to die! I haven’t accomplished
anything yet!” he screamed into the howling wind. “Get
me out of here and I’ll do great things!” he yelled.

There was a flash of lightning and then a loud clap of thunder.

“Please give me a chance!” Oz went on. “I promise! I promise I can change!” he pleaded.

Exhausted, Oz slumped down. What was the point? Who would listen to him? More importantly, who would believe him? He wasn’t even sure he believed himself.

The balloon continued to spin. Up, up, up it went, climbing toward the top of the tornado. As Oz cowered in the basket, the balloon was launched violently out of the funnel. Then it began to fall—fast. Oz closed his eyes and held on desperately, waiting for the basket to crash to the ground and for his life to be over. Faster and faster it fell…

Until…everything went quiet.

Oz slowly opened his eyes. The wind had stopped and the howling scream of the twister was gone. Snowflakes drifted down silently, landing on Oz and melting into his suit. Looking up, he saw that the dark clouds were gone, replaced with sunshine and bright blue skies. Gingerly, Oz sat up and peered over the edge of the basket.

He was met with a riot of color. The balloon
was floating—miraculously—among tall, oddly-shaped mountains that rose up through bright white clouds. In the distance he could make out more mountains and an endless stretch of blue sky. It was breathtaking. Yet, something about it felt…off.

Suddenly, the weather instrument attached to the basket’s side stopped and then, after a moment, began spinning in the opposite direction. A moment later, there was a sharp downdraft and the balloon began plummeting down through the clouds. Oz grabbed the edge of the basket. The balloon fell past odd rock formations, narrowly missing one after another. Oz tried to steer but he couldn’t. The balloon was out of control. There was a RIIIPPP as the bottom of the basket caught on a sharp cliff edge, and it began to fall faster.

Looking down, Oz felt an odd sense of relief. He was very close to the ground. If he could just make it a few more feet…

SPLASH!

The balloon landed in a rushing river and immediately began to get swept along by the rapids. Oz groaned. Could he just catch a break? First a tornado. Then mountains. Now this? The roar of the river grew louder and Oz turned to look ahead. He gulped. He was definitely
not
catching a break. Up ahead was a huge waterfall!

Before Oz could even scream, the balloon hurtled over the edge of the waterfall. It began to once more plummet to the earth, but then Oz’s luck changed. The balloon partially inflated, allowing the basket to softly drop into the water below. Oz let out a cry of joy. He had survived!

He lifted his hands to the sky. “Thank you!” he cried. “Thank you, thank you, thank YOU!”

His screams bounced off the water and suddenly a school of flying fish popped up out of the river. They floated in the air around Oz, staring back at him with eyes that looked almost human. Oz shook his head. He had never seen anything like them before. Where had he landed?

His wonder quickly turned to panic, though, when he noticed that his basket was sinking. He couldn’t swim! Leaping out of the basket, he began to flail about, terror once more rushing through him.

“I can’t swim!” he shouted. “Help! I can’t sw—!”

Oz’s voice trailed off as his foot touched the river’s bottom. He was in the shallows! Standing up, he began to laugh at himself. How foolish could he be? Panicking over nothing! Noticing his black hat floating nearby, he bent down to get it. When he stood up, he was no longer alone.

C
HAPTER
F
OUR

TANDING ON THE SHORE
stood one of the most beautiful women Oz had ever seen. She was wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and tall riding boots. Over it all she wore a long red jacket. While her clothes were lovely, Oz was more entranced by her big brown eyes, thick, dark hair, and pouty red lips. There was something charming and innocent about her, despite the mischievous glint in her eye.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Oz cried. “I thought I was dead.” He paused. “Unless you’re an angel. Am I in heaven?” he asked.

The woman shook her head.

“Then there’s still hope for me!” Oz cried out, delighted. Looking up at the heavens he added, “You won’t regret this.”

On the shore, the woman cocked her head, seemingly confused. She looked up at the sky and then back at Oz. “I saw you fall from the sky,” she finally said.

Oz nodded. He had thought that was rather obvious. Still, the woman was beautiful. It couldn’t hurt to play up the adventure and get a little sympathy. “Yes. My balloon hit an inverted thermal and I couldn’t compensate with the…”

The woman cut him off. “I’d get out of the water if I were you,” she said.

Ah ha! It was already working! “It’s actually quite nice,” he said, smiling.

“You should be more concerned with the River Fairies, actually,” the woman replied, her dark eyes worried. “Their teeth are small but very sharp.”

River Fairies? What was she talking about? There were no such things as… He let out a yelp as he felt a sharp stab at his ankle. With another cry he began sloshing through the water toward shore. Safely on dry land, Oz looked about. There was something very odd about this place. The trees were so big and the flowers were so bright. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at the woman. “
Where
am I exactly?”

She smiled at him. “Where do you think you are?”

“I have no idea,” Oz replied, shrugging. “It’s like no place I’ve ever seen.”

The woman shook her head. “You’re in Oz,”
she said.

Oscar was even more confused. “That’s my name,” he said, but the woman offered no response. He continued on. “Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs!” he said with a tip of his hat. “But everyone calls me Oz.” With a flourish, he produced a bouquet of flowers from thin air and handed them to the woman, who became as giddy as a teenager at the gesture.

Immediately, the woman’s eyes lit up and she let out a scream of delight. “I knew it!” she cried happily. “The king’s prophecy was true.”

Suddenly, the woman’s face grew serious. “He said that a great wizard bearing the name of our land will descend from the heavens and save us all.”

“I don’t know about any of that…” Oz began. “I’m just trying to get to Milwaukee.”

“And here you are. Here to claim your throne,” the woman stated.

Oz was confused. “Claim my throne? You mean, like a king’s throne?” he asked.

“Well, yes. Because you will be our king,” the woman stated very matter-of-factly.

“Your king? Like in a palace, with a crown, and a scepter?” Oz said, starting to hope that this fantasy was true.

“Yes, a beautiful scepter and a grand palace. And you will save all the people!” she exclaimed.

But Oz was already starting to ignore her. “Was that a gold scepter?” he asked.

“Yes. There’s more gold than you could ever imagine.” Oz’s eyes lit up like beacons in the night sky. The beautiful and mysterious woman continued on. “And now Oz will be what it was, because you are the Wizard, aren’t you?”

And with the utmost conviction, Oz answered her. “Yes, I am the Wizard,” he stated.

But before either of them began to speak there came a loud shrieking from somewhere in the distance. Both Oz and the woman looked up. Silhouetted in the sky was what appeared to be large baboons—with wings.

“What was that?” Oz asked, gulping in fear at the sound from above.

“The Wicked Witch’s minions,” the woman replied, her voice ominous. “They’ve been sent to kill you.”

“Kill me?” Oz asked nervously. “Wicked Witch? What?” he said, more confused now than ever before.

“We’d better hurry or your reign will be over before it’s begun!” the woman said emphatically. Oz didn’t know what was going on, but he believed every word she said, so when she raced off into the forest, he immediately followed. After all, he wasn’t about to wait around to be killed by some crazy witch’s minions.

Oz followed the mystery woman into the dense and lush forest, amazed at the plant life and vegetation that grew all around him. But he didn’t have time to dwell on the beauty or the strangeness of the forest—not when they were being chased by flying baboons!

They raced across ravines and down hills. Oz barely had time to register the strange vegetation as he tried not to stumble on the uneven ground. The woman, on the other hand, clearly knew her way in the woods. At one point, she reached back and grabbed his hand, pulling him along as they stepped across a babbling brook. Realizing she was holding his hand, she blushed and pulled away. Up above, a shadow passed by, followed by several more. The Witch’s minions had found them again! They had to hide.

“I’m afraid,” the woman said.

“So am I,” Oz agreed.

Eventually they came to a clearing at the bottom of a majestic waterfall.

Frantically looking around, Oz tried to find someplace safe. Then, looking through the waterfall, he grabbed the woman’s hand and began running. There was a ledge he could just make out where they might be able to hide.

Reaching the falls, Oz boosted the woman up onto the ledge and behind the roaring water. He quickly followed.

They huddled behind the water, waiting, as the sound of the baboons faded. Oz turned and glanced at the woman beside him. She really was beautiful. Her cheeks were flushed from the run and her chest rose and fell as she breathed. If it weren’t for the whole running-for-their-lives thing, this quiet moment would have been a romantic one.

“Perhaps the Wicked Witch has summoned them back?” she asked, hopefully.

“I don’t like witches,” Oz whispered in reply. The woman smiled. “What’s so funny?”

“I too am a witch,” she answered. “I’m Theodora the Good.”

“You’re not a witch,” Oz said.

“Of course I am,” Theodora said matter-of-factly.

Oz sat up straighter. There was no way this beautiful woman could be a witch! “But…where are the warts?” he asked, perplexed. “Where’s the broom?”

“What would I do with a broom?” Theodora asked, cocking her head.

“Fly?” Oz replied. He thought it was quite obvious.

But Theodora was baffled. “With a
broom
? I don’t understand.”

She was clearly not joking. Theodora was a witch. Things were getting stranger and stranger by the minute. “Never mind,” Oz said.

But before Oz could continue, a large winged baboon flew down, its nose sniffing the air in front of the falls for a scent of its prey. Oz held his breath. The baboon came closer and closer. Thinking quickly, Oz lifted up his hat and took out a dove. Lifting his hands, the dove flew out from the cave and away from the falls. Seeing the movement, the baboon took off in chase.

Oz slipped off the ledge and turned to help Theodora down. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her easily. When she was safely on the ground, he moved closer to her, their noses practically touching.

“You were afraid?” she asked, confused at why the all-powerful Wizard would fear the flying baboons.

“Yes,” Oz began. “That something would happen to you,” he said, clearly masking his fear by turning the conversation back around to her. While she was a witch, Theodora was still just a woman, and he was a master at wooing women—especially beautiful ones.

The words made her heart beat faster and her limbs feel like jelly. Theodora stepped back, confused by these new feelings. As the two walked on through the forest, Theodora couldn’t help but steal glances at the man who fell from the sky, and each time she did, a smile crossed her face. She was sure everything was going to work out perfectly.