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Disclaimer: I don't own tP, their creators do. Neither do I own "The Wizard of Oz" by Frank L. Baum. Just daring to borrow everyone for a little adventure. I'll give them back unharmed once I'm finished. No copyright infringements intended so please don't sue.
Title: Poppies are red…
By: CHris
Rated: G
The day had been horrible. Too much work to be done and everyone expected her to work 200 %. And there had been Jarod's present. He had sent her a bunch of poppies with an excerpt from "The wonderful wizard of Oz". He had referred to this book before but she had no idea what to do with this chapter. She had read and re-read it twice but was no closer to an answer than she had been when she had received the flowers. Broots had put them into a vase and onto her desk but since she hadn't been to her office since she hadn't had time to throw them away.
She sank onto her sofa and kicked off her high heel shoes. Alone at last. But on the other hand she missed someone to take her into a tight embrace or prepare dinner for her. She went to the fridge and took out a red apple, the only thing that was inside. She sat down on the sofa again and began munching the apple. She walked out of the door and onto the porch. A few red leaves were lying on the floor. Jarod? No, just from the tree over the street. She dumped the half-eaten apple into the bin and went into the bathroom. She undressed and took a shower. Since when did she have a red soap? She shrugged and stepped out of the shower.
She laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Red spots were dancing in front of her eyes and she closed them only to fall asleep and find herself in a most peculiar dream.
Parker looked around. Before her was a lovely, sunny country. A broad river now cut her off from this beautiful land. She looked around. A lion was sitting next to her along with a scarecrow. A man made of tin was busily working on a raft. A little dog was sitting in front of her, looking up expectantly. She looked at herself. She wore a blue and white dress and silver sparkling shoes. Was this part of "The wizard of Oz", she wondered.
The Tinman made her sit down in the middle of the raft and she held the dog in her arms. When the Lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the Scarecrow and the Tinman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.
They got along quite well at first, but w hen they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poles would not touch the bottom.
"This is bad," said the Tinman, "for if we cannot get to the land we shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves."
"And then I should get no brains," said the Scarecrow.
"And I should get no courage," said the Lion.
"And I should get no heart," said the Tinman.
"And I should never get back to Kansas," said Parker and wondered what had made her say that. IT was a dream after all and dreams could be changed to the dreamer's will, couldn't they?
"We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can," the Scarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river. Then,
before he could pull it out again--or let go--the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.
"Good-bye!" he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him.
Indeed, the Tinman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on Parker's apron.
Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.
Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind. Then the Lion said:
"Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail."
So he sprang into the water, and the Tinman caught fast hold of his tail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but
by and by, they were drawn out of the current, and then Parker took the Tinman's long pole and helped push the raft to the land.
They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried them a long way past the road of
yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.
"What shall we do now?" asked the Tinman, as the Lion lay down on the grass to let the sun dry him.
"We must get back to the road, in some way," said Parker and again wondered what had made her say that. That were exactly the words that had been used in the passage of the book Jarod had given her. But why was she dreaming this? What did it have to do with him or how would she be nearer to catching him?
"The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the road again," remarked the Lion.
So, when they were rested, Parker picked up her basket and they started along the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It was a lovely country, with plenty of
flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy. Even Parker felt happy.
They walked along as fast as they could, Parker only stopping once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tinman cried out: "Look!"
Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.
"What can we do to save him?" asked Parker.
The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them,
stopped to rest at the water's edge.
"Who are you and where are you going?" asked the Stork.
"I am Parker," answered the girl, "and these are my friends, the Tinman and the Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City."
"This isn't the road," said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck and looked sharply at the queer party.
"I know it," returned Parker, "but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again."
"Where is he?" asked the Stork.
"Over there in the river," answered Parker and felt like a little girl.
"If he wasn't so big and heavy I would get him for you," remarked the Stork.
"He isn't heavy a bit," said Parker eagerly, "for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so much."
She stuck out her tongue. At least that was something she could control. But why wasn't she able to control the dream if she was able to control parts of it? What had Jarod done to her?
"Well, I'll try," said the Stork, "but if I find he is too heavy to carry I shall have to drop him in the river again."
So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where Parker and the Lion and the Tinman and the little dog were sitting.
When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and the little dog; and as they walked along he sang "Tol-de-ri-de-oh!" at every step, he felt so gay.
"I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever," he said, "but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall find the Stork again and do her some kindness in return."
"That's all right," said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. "I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope
you will find the Emerald City and that Oz will help you."
"Thank you," replied Parker, and then the kind Stork flew into the air and was soon out of sight.
They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Parker's eyes.
"Aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the bright flowers.
"I suppose so," answered the Scarecrow. "When I have brains, I shall probably like them better."
"If I only had a heart, I should love them," added the Tinman.
"I always did like flowers," said the Lion. "They of seem so helpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these."
They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Parker did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep even though she had read this passage over and over again and knew that she was not allowed to rest. But she couldn't walk further and wanted to let herself sink to the floor.
But the Tinman would not let her do this.
"We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark," he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Parker could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies. But she wasn't asleep like the Dorothy in the book. She was wide awake. She could hear everything the others were talking but she couldn't move.
"What shall we do?" asked the Tinman.
"If we leave her here she will die," said the Lion. "The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already."
It was true; the little dog had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrow and the Tinman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers.
"Run fast," said the Scarecrow to the Lion, "and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big
to be carried."
So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.
"Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her," said the Scarecrow. So they picked up the little dog and put the dog in Parker's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping Parker between them through the flowers.
On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them.
"We can do nothing for him," said the Tinman, sadly; "for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."
"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow. "The Lion was a very good comrade for one so . But let us go on."
They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her. Parker listened to their talking about rescuing the lion, heard how the Tinman killed the Wildcat and all the while she was lying there with her eyes closed as fast asleep. It felt wrong to hear the whole world around her and not being able to do anything.
She opened her eyes. She was back in the waking world. She had no idea what this dream had been about but she thought she knew where she had to look for Jarod. Poppies were used in medical facilities to make drugs and he would be in the one with the largest amount of poppies. She got up, smiling.
She called Broots and ordered him to search for any facility that was using poppies. Broots groaned. It was only just half past five and normally he had about one hour left to sleep. But Parker wasn't someone who accepted a contradiction. He sighed and got out of bed. He dressed and made himself some strong coffee, left a note on the table for Debbie and got into his car to drive to the Centre.
Parker was already sitting in her office, staring at the bunch of poppies Jarod had send her. Broots handed her the list he had made and she pointed to the facility on top of the list.
"This is where we're going. Jarod's there."
They drove off towards the facility Broots had found: a medical research center that tried to develop pain reducing drugs from poppies that didn't have side-effects. The perfect place for Jarod to be, Parker mused. The white building was standing on a hill facing the ocean. It had many similarities to the Centre.
They entered and a young woman greeted them behind a counter.
"How can I help you?" she asked and smiled.
"Do you know this man?" Parker asked and pushed Jarod's photograph towards her. The young woman smiled and nodded.
"Yes, of course. Doctor Fraiser has been working here for the last two weeks. He only just left this morning. Are you Miss Parker?"
"Yes, why?"
She smiled again and disappeared through a small door behind her only to re-appear a few seconds later with a small box in her hand.
"He asked me to give this to you. Oh, and Miss Parker, he has spoken very highly of you. Are you related?"
"No," Parker spat. "In no way related and I'm glad for it."
"Sorry to hear that. Anything else I can help you with?"
"What has he been doing here?"
"I am sorry but I am not allowed to speak about his work to outsiders. But maybe the box can explain a few things to you. Goodbye," she called after them when Parker stormed out of the building again. When she was sitting in the car with Broots and Sam, who both hadn't said a word since they had left the Centre, she opened the box. One of his little red scrapbooks and a flower. A white lily.
Jarod had watched them from behind closed curtains from his office up in the building. At the reception Janet had done well and from the look on Parker's face he knew that she was on the hunt again. The silent scream he had seen from his windows made everything even better. The black Lincoln drove away leaving a cloud of dust behind. This time she would need longer to work out the clues – or so he hoped because his job wasn't finished yet and he hoped she would trace him back to this facility any time soon. And if she did, well, he had a backup plan anyway. But this time he had gotten away – once more.
Title: Poppies are red…
By: CHris
Rated: G
The day had been horrible. Too much work to be done and everyone expected her to work 200 %. And there had been Jarod's present. He had sent her a bunch of poppies with an excerpt from "The wonderful wizard of Oz". He had referred to this book before but she had no idea what to do with this chapter. She had read and re-read it twice but was no closer to an answer than she had been when she had received the flowers. Broots had put them into a vase and onto her desk but since she hadn't been to her office since she hadn't had time to throw them away.
She sank onto her sofa and kicked off her high heel shoes. Alone at last. But on the other hand she missed someone to take her into a tight embrace or prepare dinner for her. She went to the fridge and took out a red apple, the only thing that was inside. She sat down on the sofa again and began munching the apple. She walked out of the door and onto the porch. A few red leaves were lying on the floor. Jarod? No, just from the tree over the street. She dumped the half-eaten apple into the bin and went into the bathroom. She undressed and took a shower. Since when did she have a red soap? She shrugged and stepped out of the shower.
She laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Red spots were dancing in front of her eyes and she closed them only to fall asleep and find herself in a most peculiar dream.
Parker looked around. Before her was a lovely, sunny country. A broad river now cut her off from this beautiful land. She looked around. A lion was sitting next to her along with a scarecrow. A man made of tin was busily working on a raft. A little dog was sitting in front of her, looking up expectantly. She looked at herself. She wore a blue and white dress and silver sparkling shoes. Was this part of "The wizard of Oz", she wondered.
The Tinman made her sit down in the middle of the raft and she held the dog in her arms. When the Lion stepped upon the raft it tipped badly, for he was big and heavy; but the Scarecrow and the Tinman stood upon the other end to steady it, and they had long poles in their hands to push the raft through the water.
They got along quite well at first, but w hen they reached the middle of the river the swift current swept the raft downstream, farther and farther away from the road of yellow brick. And the water grew so deep that the long poles would not touch the bottom.
"This is bad," said the Tinman, "for if we cannot get to the land we shall be carried into the country of the Wicked Witch of the West, and she will enchant us and make us her slaves."
"And then I should get no brains," said the Scarecrow.
"And I should get no courage," said the Lion.
"And I should get no heart," said the Tinman.
"And I should never get back to Kansas," said Parker and wondered what had made her say that. IT was a dream after all and dreams could be changed to the dreamer's will, couldn't they?
"We must certainly get to the Emerald City if we can," the Scarecrow continued, and he pushed so hard on his long pole that it stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the river. Then,
before he could pull it out again--or let go--the raft was swept away, and the poor Scarecrow left clinging to the pole in the middle of the river.
"Good-bye!" he called after them, and they were very sorry to leave him.
Indeed, the Tinman began to cry, but fortunately remembered that he might rust, and so dried his tears on Parker's apron.
Of course this was a bad thing for the Scarecrow.
Down the stream the raft floated, and the poor Scarecrow was left far behind. Then the Lion said:
"Something must be done to save us. I think I can swim to the shore and pull the raft after me, if you will only hold fast to the tip of my tail."
So he sprang into the water, and the Tinman caught fast hold of his tail. Then the Lion began to swim with all his might toward the shore. It was hard work, although he was so big; but
by and by, they were drawn out of the current, and then Parker took the Tinman's long pole and helped push the raft to the land.
They were all tired out when they reached the shore at last and stepped off upon the pretty green grass, and they also knew that the stream had carried them a long way past the road of
yellow brick that led to the Emerald City.
"What shall we do now?" asked the Tinman, as the Lion lay down on the grass to let the sun dry him.
"We must get back to the road, in some way," said Parker and again wondered what had made her say that. That were exactly the words that had been used in the passage of the book Jarod had given her. But why was she dreaming this? What did it have to do with him or how would she be nearer to catching him?
"The best plan will be to walk along the riverbank until we come to the road again," remarked the Lion.
So, when they were rested, Parker picked up her basket and they started along the grassy bank, to the road from which the river had carried them. It was a lovely country, with plenty of
flowers and fruit trees and sunshine to cheer them, and had they not felt so sorry for the poor Scarecrow, they could have been very happy. Even Parker felt happy.
They walked along as fast as they could, Parker only stopping once to pick a beautiful flower; and after a time the Tinman cried out: "Look!"
Then they all looked at the river and saw the Scarecrow perched upon his pole in the middle of the water, looking very lonely and sad.
"What can we do to save him?" asked Parker.
The Lion and the Woodman both shook their heads, for they did not know. So they sat down upon the bank and gazed wistfully at the Scarecrow until a Stork flew by, who, upon seeing them,
stopped to rest at the water's edge.
"Who are you and where are you going?" asked the Stork.
"I am Parker," answered the girl, "and these are my friends, the Tinman and the Lion; and we are going to the Emerald City."
"This isn't the road," said the Stork, as she twisted her long neck and looked sharply at the queer party.
"I know it," returned Parker, "but we have lost the Scarecrow, and are wondering how we shall get him again."
"Where is he?" asked the Stork.
"Over there in the river," answered Parker and felt like a little girl.
"If he wasn't so big and heavy I would get him for you," remarked the Stork.
"He isn't heavy a bit," said Parker eagerly, "for he is stuffed with straw; and if you will bring him back to us, we shall thank you ever and ever so much."
She stuck out her tongue. At least that was something she could control. But why wasn't she able to control the dream if she was able to control parts of it? What had Jarod done to her?
"Well, I'll try," said the Stork, "but if I find he is too heavy to carry I shall have to drop him in the river again."
So the big bird flew into the air and over the water till she came to where the Scarecrow was perched upon his pole. Then the Stork with her great claws grabbed the Scarecrow by the arm and carried him up into the air and back to the bank, where Parker and the Lion and the Tinman and the little dog were sitting.
When the Scarecrow found himself among his friends again, he was so happy that he hugged them all, even the Lion and the little dog; and as they walked along he sang "Tol-de-ri-de-oh!" at every step, he felt so gay.
"I was afraid I should have to stay in the river forever," he said, "but the kind Stork saved me, and if I ever get any brains I shall find the Stork again and do her some kindness in return."
"That's all right," said the Stork, who was flying along beside them. "I always like to help anyone in trouble. But I must go now, for my babies are waiting in the nest for me. I hope
you will find the Emerald City and that Oz will help you."
"Thank you," replied Parker, and then the kind Stork flew into the air and was soon out of sight.
They walked along listening to the singing of the brightly colored birds and looking at the lovely flowers which now became so thick that the ground was carpeted with them. There were big yellow and white and blue and purple blossoms, besides great clusters of scarlet poppies, which were so brilliant in color they almost dazzled Parker's eyes.
"Aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the bright flowers.
"I suppose so," answered the Scarecrow. "When I have brains, I shall probably like them better."
"If I only had a heart, I should love them," added the Tinman.
"I always did like flowers," said the Lion. "They of seem so helpless and frail. But there are none in the forest so bright as these."
They now came upon more and more of the big scarlet poppies, and fewer and fewer of the other flowers; and soon they found themselves in the midst of a great meadow of poppies. Now it is well known that when there are many of these flowers together their odor is so powerful that anyone who breathes it falls asleep, and if the sleeper is not carried away from the scent of the flowers, he sleeps on and on forever. But Parker did not know this, nor could she get away from the bright red flowers that were everywhere about; so presently her eyes grew heavy and she felt she must sit down to rest and to sleep even though she had read this passage over and over again and knew that she was not allowed to rest. But she couldn't walk further and wanted to let herself sink to the floor.
But the Tinman would not let her do this.
"We must hurry and get back to the road of yellow brick before dark," he said; and the Scarecrow agreed with him. So they kept walking until Parker could stand no longer. Her eyes closed in spite of herself and she forgot where she was and fell among the poppies. But she wasn't asleep like the Dorothy in the book. She was wide awake. She could hear everything the others were talking but she couldn't move.
"What shall we do?" asked the Tinman.
"If we leave her here she will die," said the Lion. "The smell of the flowers is killing us all. I myself can scarcely keep my eyes open, and the dog is asleep already."
It was true; the little dog had fallen down beside his little mistress. But the Scarecrow and the Tinman, not being made of flesh, were not troubled by the scent of the flowers.
"Run fast," said the Scarecrow to the Lion, "and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can. We will bring the little girl with us, but if you should fall asleep you are too big
to be carried."
So the Lion aroused himself and bounded forward as fast as he could go. In a moment he was out of sight.
"Let us make a chair with our hands and carry her," said the Scarecrow. So they picked up the little dog and put the dog in Parker's lap, and then they made a chair with their hands for the seat and their arms for the arms and carried the sleeping Parker between them through the flowers.
On and on they walked, and it seemed that the great carpet of deadly flowers that surrounded them would never end. They followed the bend of the river, and at last came upon their friend the Lion, lying fast asleep among the poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them.
"We can do nothing for him," said the Tinman, sadly; "for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."
"I'm sorry," said the Scarecrow. "The Lion was a very good comrade for one so . But let us go on."
They carried the sleeping girl to a pretty spot beside the river, far enough from the poppy field to prevent her breathing any more of the poison of the flowers, and here they laid her gently on the soft grass and waited for the fresh breeze to waken her. Parker listened to their talking about rescuing the lion, heard how the Tinman killed the Wildcat and all the while she was lying there with her eyes closed as fast asleep. It felt wrong to hear the whole world around her and not being able to do anything.
She opened her eyes. She was back in the waking world. She had no idea what this dream had been about but she thought she knew where she had to look for Jarod. Poppies were used in medical facilities to make drugs and he would be in the one with the largest amount of poppies. She got up, smiling.
She called Broots and ordered him to search for any facility that was using poppies. Broots groaned. It was only just half past five and normally he had about one hour left to sleep. But Parker wasn't someone who accepted a contradiction. He sighed and got out of bed. He dressed and made himself some strong coffee, left a note on the table for Debbie and got into his car to drive to the Centre.
Parker was already sitting in her office, staring at the bunch of poppies Jarod had send her. Broots handed her the list he had made and she pointed to the facility on top of the list.
"This is where we're going. Jarod's there."
They drove off towards the facility Broots had found: a medical research center that tried to develop pain reducing drugs from poppies that didn't have side-effects. The perfect place for Jarod to be, Parker mused. The white building was standing on a hill facing the ocean. It had many similarities to the Centre.
They entered and a young woman greeted them behind a counter.
"How can I help you?" she asked and smiled.
"Do you know this man?" Parker asked and pushed Jarod's photograph towards her. The young woman smiled and nodded.
"Yes, of course. Doctor Fraiser has been working here for the last two weeks. He only just left this morning. Are you Miss Parker?"
"Yes, why?"
She smiled again and disappeared through a small door behind her only to re-appear a few seconds later with a small box in her hand.
"He asked me to give this to you. Oh, and Miss Parker, he has spoken very highly of you. Are you related?"
"No," Parker spat. "In no way related and I'm glad for it."
"Sorry to hear that. Anything else I can help you with?"
"What has he been doing here?"
"I am sorry but I am not allowed to speak about his work to outsiders. But maybe the box can explain a few things to you. Goodbye," she called after them when Parker stormed out of the building again. When she was sitting in the car with Broots and Sam, who both hadn't said a word since they had left the Centre, she opened the box. One of his little red scrapbooks and a flower. A white lily.
Jarod had watched them from behind closed curtains from his office up in the building. At the reception Janet had done well and from the look on Parker's face he knew that she was on the hunt again. The silent scream he had seen from his windows made everything even better. The black Lincoln drove away leaving a cloud of dust behind. This time she would need longer to work out the clues – or so he hoped because his job wasn't finished yet and he hoped she would trace him back to this facility any time soon. And if she did, well, he had a backup plan anyway. But this time he had gotten away – once more.
