Kingdom Keepers(35)

“Sorry I’m late. Trouble at home,” Finn said.

As they stepped inside, the ride seemed to wake up. The familiar song started playing, a tune that they all knew by heart.

“It’s after closing, so why did the music suddenly start?” he asked.

Philby answered, “Don’t worry about it.”

Maybeck warned the others that it could be a trap. “Stuff like this doesn’t just happen.”

Finn told them about the music he’d heard coming from Frontierland. “Maybe there’s a party over there.”

Charlene said, “Wayne told me the rides and attractions are left on at night. Let’s just get it over with.”

“But the lights are off,” Finn said.

Indeed, the farther they moved down the ramp, the darker it grew. Only some emergency floodlights and exit signs were glowing. They provided enough light to see by, but just barely.

They all climbed into a boat, Finn sitting with Philby, Maybeck between Charlene and Willa on the bench behind.

“That song drives me nuts,” Charlene said. “The way it gets stuck in my head.”

“That song is why we’re here,” Philby reminded her. “It repeats the word sun over and over, and this is one of the original rides.”

The boat started moving. As it rounded a bend into the first scene, the music grew louder. Finn and his friends faced hundreds of dolls, all representing the different countries and continents of the world. They were Audio-Animatronics, so their limbs and mouths moved as they sang. The low light cast eerie shadows. An open arch up ahead led into the next scene.

“Do we even know what we’re looking for?” Charlene whined.

“A Fastpass back to our normal lives,” Maybeck snorted.

Charlene said, “It’s creepy in here. Real creepy.”

Willa pointed. “Hey! Did that doll move?” she asked.

Maybeck said, “They’re all moving, girl. They’re singing.”

“No, I mean—moving. As in walking.”

Maybeck laughed. The others followed—even Willa, who was glad for the chance to release the tension they were all feeling.

Their boat passed under the arch and into the next scene.

Behind them, when the DHIs were no longer looking, one of the British dolls leaned forward and snapped its glued feet off the deck of the display. It took a long stride forward. Four others did the same—two from France, two from Switzerland—their mouths moving along with the song lyrics as their feet broke free.

Looking for clues, Willa and Philby called out the various European countries represented by the dolls.

“It’s cold tonight,” Charlene complained. She crossed her arms.

Finn felt the unusual chill as well. He’d come to recognize that chill. He looked around for any sign of Maleficent.

Philby said, “Think in terms of the fable. It’s originally an ancient Chinese story, so we should focus on Asia, the ride’s next scene.”

“There!” Willa said, pointing. “I just saw a German move!

Now Finn looked back as well. “Philby?” he said.

The others turned to look. The boat rocked as they moved.

Charlene screamed. Maybeck said a word he wasn’t supposed to say. Philby plunged his hand into the dark water and shouted, “Paddle!”

Behind them, several dozen dolls had broken loose from the scene and were marching toward the water. Toward the boat.

The kids paddled, but the boat didn’t move any faster. It was locked onto a track and moved mechanically.

Behind them, the loose dolls banged into each other and tumbled over, but then stood up again. More and more of them leaned and wiggled and stretched and broke free from the various platforms. They marched down through the panoramas, throwing their legs forward like little soldiers, and fell over face-first into the water like lemmings.

The boat dragged slowly forward. The kids could not steer it right or left, nor move it any faster. More wide-eyed dolls fell off the platforms and plunged into the shining water. Miraculously, their arms began to stroke freestyle, and their feet to flutter kick. They were swimming.

“They’re coming right at us!” Willa shouted.

Finn heard little thuds as the first dolls arrived and banged into the hull of the boat.

“This isn’t happening,” Maybeck said, trying to sound calm.

“Shut—up!” said Charlene. “Do something!”

There were more of the dolls now—maybe fifty or more, all swimming toward the boat, their national costumes reduced to wet rags. They converged on the boat, stacking one atop the next, higher and higher in a floating pile. One doll flopped over the rail and into the boat. Then another, and another.

The boat passed into the Asia scene. None of the kids was looking for clues now.