Wickless

Monkey

       The night sky was filled with thousands, maybe even millions of little balls which burned bright. The bugs allowed the nocturnal animals to consume all that their bellies could handle. And all the while, Dee Dee laid on a blanket next to Clara. They were on Clara's land that belonged to her family; the grass was short and a bit moist because of the due from the morning. Dee Dee had thought she would have to explain herself to her friends, family, and Clara but all she had told them was that she simply gotten lost. It was plausible, logical especially since it was night when she had "took off".  She just hated how she caused so much worry and pain. It wasn't her intentions to be gone for so long and even then, she had hoped not much time would had passed when being in the Land of Oz. 

        Clara turned over on her side and propped herself up on her elbow. She placed her arm around Dee Dee's waist. Dee Dee winched in pain. Yes, the pain had subsided from when she was in Oz, when it was excruciating and she had hoped all the pain would have been gone by now; however, it wasn't the case. A little bit of pain still lingered but only when the spot was touched. 

       "Sorry." Clara took her hand away. After Dee Dee told her it was okay, Clara lifted up the side of Dee Dee's shirt. She used her cell phone for light and to get a better look at the spot. Clara's mouth came open just a bit as she saw the bruise. It was going away but Clara could tell it had been bigger. She placed Dee Dee's shirt down and laid onto her back, this time closer to Dee Dee. This time it was Dee Dee who turned over on her side and placed a hand over Clara's waist. She snuggled up to the other girl, putting her nose in the arch of Clara's neck. Dee Dee smiled. Clara smelled like sunflowers-sunflowers, the thought took her mind to Adina back in Oz. Dee Dee snapped her eyes opened and flinched her arm. Clara looked at Dee Dee, her brows a bit low. "What's wrong?" 

       "Nothing...I, uh, I uh-just keep thinking about the fall-" That's what she had told them all. She told them her side was in pain still because of the fall the night she "took off". Though the Kansas land was flat, some of the farms had branches or balls of hay that was easy to miss. 

       "Come here." Clara whispered. Dee Dee came closer to Clara and wondered if she should show more affection. They had been dating for about two weeks now-two weeks of side pain still reminiscing. If the pain-though little it was-persisted, Dee Dee would have to go back to Oz and inquire about the spell Adina had used on her. She had a doctor's appointment come Saturday so maybe the doctor would tell her what the hold up was. 

       Two weeks of dating and they hadn't kissed one another yet. Dee Dee didn't want to rush it but-

        From a distance, Dee Dee heard a low growl. She quickly set up and looked around. Clara set up beside Dee Dee also looking around, but she didn't see anything in the darkness. Either way, her date was already up on her feet. 

       "Did ya' hear that?" Dee Dee asked Clara. 

        "Uh..." Clara said, her eyes darting from left to right. She got up and placed a hand on Dee Dee's shoulder. 

       Together the two girls heard the growl again. As they peered into the darkness, there was a creature coming their way. And upon seeing the red eyes, the muscular figure, the wings, Dee Dee could put three and three together. She stepped in front of Clara. 

        "We need to get out of here." Dee Dee told her. 

       "I have a gun. There are some in the shed." Before Dee Dee could say anything. Clara ran off towards the shed on Clara's property. Clara called after Dee Dee to follow her. Dee Dee looked at the monkey and then back to Clara. There wasn't a desire for Clara to use a firearm but Dee Dee's magic only worked in the Land of Oz. So she thought. 

       Dee Dee ran after Clara and the two girls made their way to the shed just in the distance. The monkey rose up and it's wings flapped toward them. Dee Dee ran across a large rock and picked it up. She stepped back a few feet, spun around, and threw the rock at the monkey. The rock hit the monkey in the head and it screeched. It's hands covered it's face. 

       The teenage girls were able to make it to the shed. Together, they closed the shed by moving the two sliding doors together. Clara rushed over and turned on the light. When Dee Dee turned around, she saw numerous rifles hanging up on the shed's walls. She was shocked to see such an arsenal; yes, many farmers had fire arms but to have the amount Clara had-it made Dee Dee think maybe her own father had just as many. 

      Clara took a shot gun from the wall and ran to the drawer for the bullets. Dee Dee looked back at the door and saw through the crack, the monkey landed and was now walking toward the shed. She was confused since she knew it was Adina's parents that sent this monkey here. It was probably sent there the same way Adina was when she was delivering packages. Dee Dee pushed herself away from the door. She wanted to trust Adina, she really did but-but all of this was just too much. 

       Dee Dee was pushed to the side by Clara as she opened the shed's doors. She stepped out onto the field and held the shot gun up. 

       "Record this." She told Dee Dee. 

       "What for?" 

       Clara looked back at Dee Dee, shocked she would even ask a question such as that during a  time when everything was recorded for the whole world to see. Dee Dee took out her cell phone but when she held it up, the monkey didn't show up in the video. 

       "It's not showing up." She said. Clara smacked her lips and shot the monkey. The bullets soared through the air and pieced the monkey in it's chest. Dee Dee stepped forward and watched the monkey fall to the ground. 

       They stood there breathing heavy and the shot Clara fired still echoed in Dee Dee's ears. Dee Dee stepped forward and she along with Clara, witnessed the monkey slowly turn into black particles the size of sand drops. 

       "It's disintegrating." Dee Dee said but that didn't stop Clara from running forward. She reached down to touch it, but Dee Dee pulled her back. "Don't!" Clara looked at Dee Dee then stopped what she was about to do. Dee Dee picked up a branch that was near by, and poked the particles scattered across the ground in the shape of a body. The branch began to burn. Dee Dee threw the branch onto the ground. 

       "There's no way anyone's gon' believe us. They'd think we're crazy. What-was that a mutated gorilla or something from the zoo?" Clara said. She turned to Dee Dee and took her date's hand. "Let's go back to the house." Dee Dee followed behind Clara, but not before taking one last look at the used to be monkey.