Free Ticket to Nowhere: Chapter 6

A Stark Mystery

The spiraling funnel of certain doom was hot on our tail. We had only a bolt worth of gas, which comes out to around half a tank. You’d think the sky would be a little more giving. I read in a textbook once that Ben Franklin got a full tank on his first try.

“Hey, Snark Dust, buckle your seat belt,” Fred shouted. “Don’t make me tell you a third time, either. I’ve got a sack full of yellow bricks in the back with your name on it.”

“Do you really think you can outrun that thing?”

“Depends, if it’s one of Dorothy’s tricks I may as well slam on the brakes and hitch a ride on the clouds.”

“Aren’t we headed towards her anyway? May as well take a shortcut.”

“Check the rear-view, pal. That twister is throwing red bricks left and right. If we’re to meet Dorothy we’ve got to be stealthy about it. You’re wearing a trench coat, so I assume you know a little about the business. A real sleuth slips through the shadows. You’re a real sleuth aren’t you?”

“I bought this coat at a thrift shop.”

“We’re doomed.”

I heard a sharp crack at the back of the car. I turned and saw a red brick lodged between the defogger lines.