Kingdom Keepers(10)
Seconds later, they headed through yet another door. Outside again, they were only a few yards from where they’d been sitting only minutes earlier, the black hearse and the Fastpass line to their right. The entrance/exit was straight ahead.
The air came alive with the sound of piped-in music and the steady rumble of park guests talking.
Amanda glanced back at the Mansion. Her eyes went wide, and he knew they were in trouble. She practically pulled his arm off as she drew him into a small gift shop. They ducked behind a carousel of postcards.
The two security guys hurried past, only seconds behind them.
Finn stood beside Amanda, their arms touching.
“They’ve gone,” she said. “We lost them.”
Finn held up his father’s camera. “Let’s try to get a few more shots on our way out.”
5
“But you gotta help us!” Finn pleaded.
“Listen, I can’t,” said Brad, the Imagineer who had produced the DHI film shoot at MGM-Disney. Behind him the soundstage hummed with forklifts moving equipment around.
From the Magic Kingdom, Amanda and Finn had ridden a bus to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and then another to Disney-MGM. It was late in the afternoon now, going on evening. Finn had to get home soon or face being grounded.
Brad looked at Amanda a couple times. “Do I know you?” he finally inquired.
“She’s a friend,” Finn said, interrupting before Amanda could answer.
Again Finn showed him one of the four images on the digital camera. “That’s Willa. Remember? You must know how to find her. It’s important.”
“Your parents could make a formal request, I suppose.”
“Yeah, right! My parents?” Finn complained. “It’s not like I’m a stalker! I want a phone number, is all. Her school. Anything.”
Brad shook his head, said he was sorry, and stepped back onto the soundstage. Finn called out loudly, “What if I can prove there’s something wrong with the DHI technology?” This was his last resort.
Brad slowed a step, but did not stop completely.
“What if the DHIs are all in danger?”
Amanda and Brad looked at Finn curiously.
“What are you talking about, kid? There’s nothing wrong with the technology,” he said, taking a step closer.
“No?” Finn thought he had him now. “Get me the names of their schools. I’ll do the rest.”
“What’s wrong with the technology? There’s nothing wrong with the technology,” Brad said more forcefully. “Nice try.” He turned his back on Finn once again.
Finn said, “An old guy named Wayne. An Imagineer, like you.”
“Wayne Kresky? How do you know Wayne?” Brad sounded impressed.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Call Wayne. Ask him if he knows me.”
“You know Wayne,” Brad repeated, somewhat astonished.
“I know about the Overtakers.”
The color in Brad’s face drained away. Finn thought if he’d pushed him he would have fallen over.
“The sooner you clear this with Wayne, the better. The longer it takes for me to get to the other hosts, the greater the danger.”
Brad’s voice cracked as he said, “No one is in danger.”
Finn said, “Talk to Wayne.”
Finn signaled Amanda with his eyes: time to go.
A few minutes later they walked past the giant replica of Mickey’s sorcerer’s cap.
“What was that all about?” she asked. “What school do the Overtakers play for?”
“School?”
“They’re a sports team, right?”
“Oh…Right.” Finn said. He felt he owed her more than that. “Have you ever had a dream so real that when you woke up you were sure you’d just been wherever you’d been in the dream?”
“Everybody has dreams like that. For me…well…it’s more like a nightmare.”
“But what if somebody tells you something in the dream, something to look for when you wake up, and you wake up, and there it is?”
“I’d have to think about that,” she conceded.
Finn felt frustrated. He wanted to be alone, with time to think things through.
She said, “If you know this guy Wayne, maybe he could help you find the others.”
“No. He’s the one that asked me to find them.”
Amanda’s face twisted. “Oh.”
They reached the bus pickup point at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Her bus arrived.
She said, “The Overtakers aren’t a sports team, are they?”
“No.”
“And you’re not going to tell me what they are.”
“Maybe sometime.”
“I can help you, Finn. I want to help you. But you’ve got to let me in.”