“I don’t get it,” Charlene said.
“As I recall, Walt’s exact words to Wayne were: ‘I have plans for this place that should put things into perspective.'”
Finn explained, “In the late fifties and sixties, 3-D movies were all the rage. Walt was an illustrator and moviemaker. He would have known all about perspective. These days the 3-D movies are some of the coolest things in the parks. I think Walt mentioned it to Wayne for a reason, and Wayne and the others never picked up on it. Perspective; 3-D. You have to wear special glasses. That’s why Maybeck and the girls are returning to It’s a Small World tonight.”
“What?” Charlene said.
“We missed the clue,” Finn explained. “We should have found something. Those dolls did not want us in there—or maybe they wanted our attention on them and not the scenery. What if we weren’t looking from the right perspective?”
Philby asked, “You think the glasses are the answer?”
“Philby and I are going to take the next clue—clouds—while you guys are at It’s a Small World checking out the Mayan sun, this time with glasses.”
“Isn’t going back there a little risky?” Charlene asked nervously.
Maybeck said, “It’s the last place they’ll look. Lightning doesn’t strike twice, and all that.”
A coil of wind swirled outside of the teepee, tossing up dust. It quieted the group. They waited a minute or more to feel a chill or see Maleficent, but there was nothing.
Charlene asked, “What do you suppose happens to us back home in bed if we get busted on this side?”
Silence.
“I think my parents are suspicious,” Willa announced.
“Mine are, too,” Finn added. “They think I’m sneaking out.”
“My mom’s all uptight,” Charlene confessed.
“Going to bed at eight doesn’t help things,” Maybeck said. “My aunt thinks I’ve totally lost it.”
Finn asked Philby and Willa what, if anything, they’d learned about clouds, the next clue in the fable.
Philby explained, “There are clouds in so many rides. Pooh. Peter Pan. But the ride with the most clouds, and the biggest clouds, is Splash Mountain. That’s where Finn and I will start.”
“Start what?” Charlene asked.
“When we’re inside the attractions,” Philby announced, “we all wear the glasses. We’ll ‘gain a better perspective.’ Let’s meet back at the apartment at ten. The button is up there. Use it if you have to.”
“Listen up,” Finn said, moving invisibly toward the teepee door and eventually into the area where he could be seen. “Majority rules. If you guys need to leave the park, then use the remote.”
Maybeck asked, “What if it takes all of us at the same time? What if we’re wrong about needing to be close to it?”
“Then we’ll find out the hard way,” Philby said.
“We should get going,” Maybeck said anxiously.
“What’s the matter?” Charlene asked Maybeck. “You got a hot date?”
Maybeck smirked. “Not with you I don’t.”
The four others booed him. Maybeck went right on grinning, unperturbed.
19
Finn and Philby climbed into Splash Mountain’s waterway carefully. The dark water was cold. Finn didn’t like the feeling at all. “Are we sure,” he whispered to Philby, “that this is worth it?”
“Do we have a choice?”
They slogged their way through the first part of the ride, around some turns, and soon encountered a rubber conveyor incline that proved a tough climb. It grew darker the deeper they went into the ride. Aside from his cold, wet legs, Finn felt a different chill all through his body. He considered mentioning it to Philby, but he didn’t want to sound afraid like Charlene.
They climbed through a second tunnel, much longer and darker than the first. It had stairs on either side for maintenance and emergency evacuation. Only the orange night sky, and a slight glow from their holograms, offered any light. Once through this second tunnel, they rested briefly before passing a massive tree on their left. In one scene there was a ladder hanging from a branch, with a laundry line to their right. Here the water current was strong and the going more treacherous.
Philby said softly, “I think we ought to float.”
“What?”
“Float,” he repeated. Philby lowered himself fully into the water and leaned back. The water current quickly carried him away from Finn.
Reluctantly, Finn did the same, not wanting to be left behind.
Both boys maintained their balance and direction by keeping one hand on the steel rail meant to guide the ride’s boats.