Kingdom Keepers II(15)

Finn dared to raise an eye above the wall: he saw a pair of Cast Members that he took to be security guards, searching the crowd.

“They’re looking for us,” he told Philby. “Might be Overtakers. Might just be Disney Security.”

“We’ll get across the Hub and catch up to the girls. We’re just two kids now among all the others.”

It was true: the rain had stopped and the crowds had returned. An announcement was repeated several times, apologizing for the fact that the Park would close early due to the weather. Cinderella Castle had been roped off.

Finn nodded his agreement.

The two boys crossed the busy Hub outside of the castle. As they reached its center a number of lights came back on, and the look and feel of the castle was restored. Some firemen were packing up.

And there, looking down on them from the castle plaza, were Charlene and Willa.

The girls looked terrified.





11


AT TWO MINUTES BEFORE MIDNIGHT, as Finn was preparing to IM with Philby, Maybeck, and the others, his messaging window showed an unexpected visitor. The Instant Messaging program was only connected to people on his buddy list, so the appearance of this uninvited visitor was somewhat surprising, unsettling, and even alarming. His parents made a big deal out of how unsafe the Internet could be, how stalkers often trolled for kids by pretending to be kids themselves. And while he thought his parents overdid their warnings, he knew that stuff happened. The appearance of the uninvited guest made him wonder if it was happening to him.

I’m from the firehouse.

Finn’s breath caught. Wayne lived above the fire-house in the Magic Kingdom. Could this possibly be Wayne? His Wayne? He’d been missing for a long time now.

WAYNE? Finn typed. But nothing appeared in the IM window. It was as if the program was blocking that name from being written, the way some Web sites prevented the use of certain words. He considered how to work around the problem. Then he typed again.

W…A…Y…N…E…?

you always were the clever one. my name was supposed to be blocked, but separating the letters! brilliant!

Finn wasn’t convinced it was Wayne on the other end of this written conversation. He could be an imposter.

Finn typed: you have something I found, but you kept.

it’s magical, what is it?

He anxiously awaited the answer. This question, he felt, would determine if it was in fact Wayne.

uncle wait’s pen

Finn cursed at the screen, not meaning to. It really was Wayne. No one but he and the other DHIs knew that answer.

An unusual feeling overcame Finn. For months he’d wondered if Wayne had died or been captured by the Overtakers. Thrilled to now reconnect with him, he let his fingers hover over the keyboard.

Where to start?

A Disney old-timer and former Imagineer, Wayne knew more about Disney World than any living person. He had once counted Walt Disney himself as a personal friend. A legend in Disney circles, his name often appeared on blogs.

He was responsible for Finn and his friends’ becoming DHIs in the first place. He had created the concept and had overseen the development of the software. More important, as far as Finn could tell, he controlled a secret group of Cast Members that opposed the Overtakers’ attempt to gain control of the Magic Kingdom.

we’re not safe here. do you have video abilities?

yes.

then go onto the web site: www.dgamer.com/vmk. it’s a secure link. but before you do that, you’ll need to write something something down.

Finn wondered if Wayne had been in a coma or something. He typed: vmk was shut down months ago.

to the public, yes. the site had to be closed for security reasons. write this down. at the sign-on, use the username: imagineer1. your password is our uncle’s full name spelled backward with no dashes or spaces.

Finn quickly scribbled down yensidtlaw. walt-disney spelled backward.

okay. got it.

you will see a video link button on the landing page. right click on that button: it will open up a video chat with me. see you in a minute.

The sudden closing of VMK had come as a shock to Finn and his friends. News that the Web site remained accessible surprised him. But he didn’t doubt Wayne for a moment. Wayne lived and worked in a secret world. He was full of surprises.

* * *

“It’s really you,” Finn gasped, seeing the man’s weathered face on his computer screen. There was no telling how old Wayne was, but he wasn’t young.

The video signal wasn’t perfect: static overlaid Wayne’s face, and the sound of his voice was crackling and uneven. He looked and sounded older than Finn remembered him.

“You don’t have much time,” he said, causing gooseflesh to ripple up Finn’s arms.

“Excuse me?” Finn replied.