27B (COMPLETED)

(Above - Ariel) Chapter Eight

This chapter is dedicated to my bestie, Paige, who claims that she has more swagger than me any day:)

Gabriel...
2 years ago...
"This stupid car," Gabriel said to himself as it skidded on early October ice. It was uncommon for Pennsylvania to get so much ice in October, so he hadn't bothered to schedule a tire change until December. BIG mistake. A huge tractor trailor pulled into the lane in front of him. He swore under his breath as the traffic light turned red and the tractor trailor slid slowly to a stop, and he just missed wrecking the back of it. The light went green, and the tractor trailer started again to slowly move. Gabriel followed the truck, his heart beating fast and his knuckles white. As he drove across the intersection, he hit a patch of black ice. To his horror, he started to skid sideways across several lanes, along with two other cars. He reached down and made sure his seatbelt was secure; he had a deepening feeling that he would need it. The two other cars skidded off the road into a small snowbank, but he skidded straight into another intersection. He shielded his face as a minivan smashed on its horn as it barreled straight towards him. The impact was painless and quick, and by the time the airbag came out, he was already dead. The steering wheel had smashed into his chest, crushing his ribs and instantly killing him.

Ethan...
Present Day...
Ariel pointed to something in the distance. It looked like a garden or something. "That's the yellow brick road's start," she said. We all walked quickly towards it, excited to get to Emerald City. I didn't want to beat the crap out of him anymore, I just wanted answers. I even sort of believed him. Really, after everything that's happened to me today, there wasn't much I wouldn't believe. I also wanted to know how he knew this, and if I was half Angel half Demon too.
Suddenly, I was standing with my toes touching the edge of the path. The bricks were chipped and broken, and the yellow paint was peeling and worn. "What are you waiting for, the ruby slippers? Get going!" She swatted the back of my head and started to walk over the uneven bricks. After me was Harper, Little Red, and Rapunzel. "It's about a days walk. How come you want to go to Emerald City so badly?" She asked over her shoulder. She huffed, annoyed, and gathered her dress in her fists, hiking it up to her knees. I smiled at the back of her head because I didn't have to wear a big, heavy dress like she did. "I want to know how he knows that Sadie was half Angel half Demon, and also if I'm one too," I answered. She nodded, and dropped the dress to push the unnaturally red hair from her face. "Fair enough," she said, picking up the dress again. I went back to Little Red and took the babies basket from her. "I got her, Red," I said as I shifted the basket to the other hand gently, as if Albany was made of glass. She smiled at me, happy to be rid of the weight. "Thanks," she tapped Albany's nose lovingly, then drifted to the patch of flowers leaning against the edge of the yellow brick road. She bent down as much as her long, stiff dress allowed, then picked a few of the vibrent flowers that were so unnaturally colored that almost make me laugh. She came back over and arranged them in the basket so they weren't on top of Albany. Then she skipped ahead happily. I smiled and looked down at Albany. Her hair was a very, very light blonde that glinted in the sunlight, I guessed she was about 10 months. She was awake, writhing around in the basket happily. Her eyes were a light purple. It didn't surprise me, I mean, we were in Märchen. We heard a low, menacing growl coming from somewhere behind us. I whipped around, and set the baby behind me so she was safe from whatever was lurking in the woods. Ariel walked foreward, not concerned in the least bit. She stood at the edge of the woods, waiting with her arms crossed and her foot tapping.
A huge lion jumped out, his mane blowing in the sweet smelling wind. "ROAAAARRR!" He howled, gnashing his teeth. "Look, Lion," Ariel said, exasperated. She had her fingers pressed to her temples, as if she had a headache. "Just, go find Dorothy, okay? Or Tin Man. We're not re-enacting your fairy tale right now," she said. It was almost a sigh, as if Lion was too much for her to handle at that very moment. "Did I scare you?" Lion asked hopefully. "No," Ariel said flatly. "Well..." I said, catching my breath and picking up the basket again. "No!" Ariel said, cutting off what I was about to say. She clasped her hands together impatiently. "Please go find Dorothy. Or even your counselor, Jaleesa. Yeah, she could help you. Go find Jaleesa." She took his arm, slightly annoyed but trying not to show it, and led him into the forest. She came out a few minutes later, Lionless. "Weird..." I said, continuing to walk down the yellow brick road; the promise to finding out why Sadie had to die, and if she even had to at all.
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We had been walking for around six hours. My calves were burning and my head was aching. The bottoms of my feet were scorching, since I was barefoot and we were walking on hot bricks. I looked down at Albany, who was pouting with her little arms crossed and her little legs kicking. She was as hot as I was. I unbuttoned the top three buttons of my shirt and rolled up the sleeves, switching the basket from hand to hand as I went. Harper walked up next to me and took the basket handle with her left hand. She slowly moved her hand over so ours were touching, then she intertwined her fingers with mine around the basket handle. She did all this without looking my direction, and when I glanced over, she was looking straight ahead. We walked like that for a while, until she turned a corner and every one of our eyes widened and out heads tilted back. She took her hand from mine, leaving the weight of the basket to me, and pointed upward at the sky. At the highest turret of Emerald City.
Well, it wasn't really a turret. It looked more like a very tall, glimmering, shard of green glass sticking jaggedly into the blue sky. The yellow brick road tapered off into a foot wide path, then ended completely at the beginning of a lush green meadow. I stepped off the hot bricks as if they were flaming coals, and graciously walked into the meadow. Small white flowers grew around our toes and tilted back and forth in the light breeze, and every time we stepped on one and crushed it, it would sprout back up five seconds later. Emerald City was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We were getting to the point where the meadow slowly started to turn into a dirt road, with carriages and pedestrians kicking up dust and dirtying our faces. The people were beautiful in a weird, magical way. They all were wearing green, down to green blush and mascara, and even some people with green hair dye. One lady walked by with a headdress towering a foot above her head, completely made of grass and flowers from the meadow. She grinned at me, and I noticed that her lips had thick green lipstick on them. I felt out of place there, like it was weird for an outsider from another planet to intrude without taking the time to put on something green. But most people didn't give us a second thought, and they even thought Harper was one of them since her dress was a dark green with golden lace. Red, Ariel and Rapunzel stood out greatly since their dresses were red, pink and purple. It made them look like vibrent fairies in the midst of a dark green forest.
I took Harper's hand and she held on tightly, her thumb absentmindedly making light circles over the back of mine.
Emerald city was getting bigger every step we took towards it. We didn't really know what to do when we got there, but still we walked towards the huge chunk of Emerald jutting into the sky. "Ethan," Harper said under her breath, so Ariel, Red, and Rapunzel couldn't hear. "Are you still angry at Oz?"
I nodded slightly. I looked over and watched a single tear slip down her cheek before she blinked and got rid of the ones about to follow. "Please don't flip out when you meet him. Please, please don't," she said, her voice shaky. "Just find out what's happening, then you can flip out if he's a phony. But please don't explode. I won't if you won't," there were more tears on her cheeks now, and I could tell she was just talking to cover it up. She didn't even care about meeting Oz, she just wanted Sadie back. I stopped and held her by her shoulders. "Don't get hysterical," I said. She was crying freely now, tears running like a creek down her face. She just looked at me, and let out a quiet sob. "Stop it. Don't get hysterical," I said, shaking her shoulders gently. She nodded, swatting the tears away fiercely. "I'm good," she said. Ariel, Red, and Rapunzel were turned around and staring at us now, confused and worried. "It's okay," I said. "She's okay," I shooed them along with Harper following weakly behind me.
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After a little while, we were standing right in front of the beautiful, jagged, Emerald City. There were a million green people bustling around us, and they didn't seem to notice our gaping at the huge green structure. Harper had finally calmed herself, and she was clinging to my arm, her head tilted up to the top of the structure. I looked down at her. She really was beautiful. The sun shone on her face, and the light from the emerald surface of the building brightened her features. Her deep blue eyes had golden flecks in them, and they glinted in the dying sunlight. She looked up at me and smiled slightly. She looked like a picture on a magazine. "What?" She asked, smiling wider. I shook my head and took her cheek in my hand, then kissed her forehead lightly. I was still in so much pain and shock from the news about Sadie, and I really needed someone to distract me. And Harper did a really good job at it.
She drew in a short breath, surprised at my affection towards her, and I pulled away slowly. She smiled and looked ahead, where we saw Ariel, Rapunzel, and Red watching with wide eyes. Red started giggling, and I blushed. Harper grinned. Ariel rolled her eyes and turned around. She flipped her fiery red hair at us, then started walking towards the entrance to Emerald City. Harper looked up at me with a slight smile, then we walked, hand in hand, towards the door to Emerald City.
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There wasn't an actual door in the entrance, it just sort of led into the main lobby. "Woah," I said, gazing up at the glittering green ceiling. A green woman rushed over and grinned at us. My eyes widened when I saw that her teeth were green, along with her eyebrows, lips, and hair. "Hello, I'm guessing you want to stay the night? We have six rooms available. She walked over to a dark green counter and we followed her. She started naming all the available rooms. "Room 14A, room 46D, room 21E, room 16C, room 38F, and room 27B." Harper looked at me, worried that I would freak out or something. I mean, I was pretty unstable considering what I had been through in these couple days. 27B was my room number. I looked at Harper reassuringly, and she seemed to sigh with in relief. I looked behind the lady and at the white and green tiles checkering the wall. My head suddenly started spinning, and I remember thinking, "I'm gonna faint," then I felt my knees buckle underneath me. I crumpled to the ground, and Harper screamed. "Ethan!" She knelt by my side and held my face up so she could see it. My eyes fluttered closed, and the last thing I saw was Harper's face inches from mine, telling me to wake up, and Ariel behind her, screaming for a doctor. I heard Harper scream, "Quick! He fainted! Get water!" Then my muscles went limp and I blacked out.