Kingdom Keepers(15)
“Interesting. What guy with a hat?”
Finn didn’t want to go there. He’d call them pirates and that was that. “You really can’t see them?”
“Me? Heavens, no. I see the cars, but nothing else,” Wayne said excitedly. “And if you can see them, then maybe you can stop them. Or at least try to stop them.”
“Stop them from what, exactly?”
“Three nights ago at the end of the Fantasmics show, the dragon set Mickey on fire. Obviously, that’s not supposed to happen. Mickey is supposed to win. He jumped into the water. He’s all right. The crowd laughed. They didn’t get it. But Mickey could have…He could have…could be in some serious trouble. And then what?”
“But those are actors, right?”
“The dragon is a machine, an Audio-Animatronics machine. But that machine malfunctioned, didn’t it? It did something that it’s not programmed to do. How is that possible? How can that be explained?”
Finn thought, What a strange old man.
Wayne said, “You think I’m a strange old man.”
“Do not.”
“You’re the chosen leader of the DHIs. Don’t question it. Accept it. Without you, Finn, there is no plan.”
“What plan?” Finn gulped. Wayne seemed so serious all of a sudden.
Finn sensed something behind and to his right. He spun around and saw her. Charlene.
His breath caught. She was…glowing. A fuzzy light sputtered at the edges of her body and all around her head, like a halo. She wore a white nightgown. Her hair danced in the wind.
Some distance behind her stood Philby. He wore school clothes, like Finn. Finn recognized him immediately. They were missing Maybeck and Willa.
“Hey there!” a gruff voice called out.
Finn turned. The pirate in the black hat was addressing him.
Me? Finn’s expression said, though he kept his mouth shut.
Wayne asked, “What’s happening? Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he warned.
Charlene and Philby moved steadily closer.
Wayne, appearing distraught, admonished Finn. “You must not get ahead of yourself!”
Finn climbed out of the golf cart. Then, concentrating, he walked right through the cart to the other side. It’s all about what I’m thinking, he realized. If I focus on being a DHI, I’m nothing but light.
A shimmering Charlene approached a tree. She tried to walk through, but crashed into it instead. “How’d you do that?” she asked. “Why can’t I do it?” she asked Wayne.
Wayne seemed flustered. “You all need more time.” He glared at Finn.
The harsh grinding of metal dragging on pavement interrupted them as the pirates pushed the line of blue cars.
The one in the hat, with a broad moustache and thick black beard, hollered out, “Ahoy, there, matie! Lend us a hand, if you will.”
Finn stayed where he was.
“I said lend a hand!” hollered the elaborately dressed man. Behind him, the more scruffy pirates—machines!—pushed and dragged the blue cars. All of a sudden, Finn recognized them as the cars from the Buzz Lightyear ride. He’d been on it dozens of times.
“I’ll pass, thank you,” Finn said.
“Pass? I gave ye an order, me boy. Now heave to!” the captain growled.
“An order? I don’t think so.” Finn replied.
Charlene stepped back and dragged Philby with her. They ducked behind the tree.
“The name’s Blackbeard,” the man said. His mouth moved like a puppet’s. His arms and legs moved stiffly. His eyes mechanically shifted, from the left to the right, their motion disconnected from his speech.
Finn felt a spike of fear but hid it. “Is that so? And I suppose I’m Jack Sparrow?” he asked, smirking.
The captain stepped forward boldly, still a ways off. “Is ye now?”
The pirates stopped their pushing. They gathered behind their captain.
Finn counted six in all. They were dressed in ill-fitting costumes. They had scars on their faces and scabs on their hairy legs. They went barefoot, wearing dark pants that stopped at their calves, and blue-and-white striped shirts. But they weren’t human.
Blackbeard drew his sword. His six pirates drew knives. “I said lend a hand. You’re my conscript now, lad. I’d be obliged if you hove to.”
“You’re not ready,” Wayne hissed at Finn from the shadows. “I’d help you if I could see them, but I can’t.”
Finn felt a jolt of terror, unsure what to do. His legs, wobbly and rigid, were unwilling to move. He figured he could run faster than a bunch of mechanical pirates but wasn’t sure he wanted to test that theory. Besides, he couldn’t budge.