Kingdom Keepers II(64)

The guide pointed out the purpose of several of the rooms, explaining in some detail about the care and attention lavished on the animals in the Park. This facility was so advanced it was used not only for Disney-owned animals, but for all sorts of wild animals rescued throughout the state. Finn found himself getting caught up in the tour as Amanda tugged on his shirt. They stopped, and the tour went along without them.

On the wall was a corkboard. Pinned to it were photographs of some of the recovered animals—including a gorilla with a broken leg. There were maps and brochures tacked to the board as well.

“The tattoo!” Amanda said.

She was right: the similarity of the subjects was unmistakable. A photo of a gorilla with a broken leg and a tattoo sketch of the same thing.

“But how does it help us?”

“I don’t know,” Amanda said, “but we’re in the right place.”

Finn studied the rest of the stuff thumbtacked to the corkboard. One of the items was a very large satellite photo of the entire Animal Kingdom. Finn spent a good deal of time—probably too much, according to his mother—on Google Earth. He loved everything about satellite photos. Using the image, it took him only seconds to establish where they were: in a complex of buildings near the top right of the photo at the end of a loop that was obviously the train line.

And then he saw them: an M near the bottom, and a C near the top.

For a moment his breath caught; it felt as if a bone were stuck in his throat. His hands were moving before he knew exactly what he was doing. He pulled the thumbtacks from the four corners of the satellite photo.

“How stupid could we be?” he muttered.

“Finn? What’s going on?” Amanda asked, the concern apparent in her voice.

“Hey!” came a man’s voice. “You can’t do that! Put that back!”

Finn glanced to his right. The man was a long way off, at the end of the hallway.

“Finn?” Amanda said heatedly.

“They’re both here: the M she wrote in her diary, and ‘Under the Sea’!” Finn answered. He pointed to the satellite photo, which he had turned counterclockwise.

The man picked up his pace, heading toward them. “Hey there!” he called out.

“It wasn’t ‘Under the S-e-a,'” Finn spelled. “But, under the letter C!” Turning the photo, he traced the prominent shape at the top of Asia. It was very clearly a big bold letter C, formed by an arched bridge. “She’s here. Jez…is under the C on the map.”

“Oh…my…gosh!” Amanda squealed with excitement. “You found her!”

“It’s the tiger yards,” Finn said, recognizing the route of the Jungle Trek. “Maybeck and I walked right by there.”

The man was nearly upon them.

Finn kept hold of the satellite photo, already folding it as he turned to Amanda and shouted harshly, “I think it’s time we…RUN!”





49


AMANDA AND FINN turned the corner. At the far end of the hallway glowed a red EXIT sign. Finn was already in the process of texting a D-Gamer message.

Finn: chernabog!





The green fairy rounded the far corner, coming between Finn and the EXIT sign. She held a black kitty in her arms.

She set the cat down, waved her hand over it, and it stretched and grew to the size of a panther. The man pursuing Amanda and Finn skidded to a stop.

“Silly, silly boy,” Maleficent said, aiming her finger at him. “Won’t you ever learn to mind your own business?”

“Who are you?” the man shouted from well behind Finn.

“Pest!” she called out, waving her finger at the man. The panther took off—running right past Amanda and Finn—and chased the man around the corner.

Finn pushed the fear from his thoughts and drove away his anger. He whispered, “Examination room,” and pointed subtly with his left hand, holding it behind his back. “Get the others. We’ll meet up at the trek.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Amanda informed him. “Not without Jez.”

He couldn’t allow her defiance to ruffle him. Above all, he had to clear his mind of any frustration, resentment, or ill will toward others. As he did, he felt the familiar tingling sensation in his toes and fingers, and he knew it was starting. Knew, without looking, that he was crossing over.

In the past, he had only been able to sustain his waking-DHI form for a matter of a minute or two. Somehow he knew it would have to be longer this time—that this was to be a test of his strength.

He suspected that by becoming his DHI, he risked the Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. This was uncharted territory, but he had to do something to counter Maleficent’s power.