“You’re the one who saw it, not me. Listen, I’m not sure of anything,” Finn said. “You want to head down, I’m not going to stop you or anything.” He added, “But I’m going after that balloon, Security or no Security. Amanda was pointing at the castle, and that’s good enough for me.”
“How could she possibly know anything about it?” Philby asked.
“How can we possibly go to sleep at night and wake up as DHIs inside the Park? When was the last time any of this made sense?”
Philby pursed his lips. He nodded. “Yeah, okay. You’re right. If they toss us, so what? We go down fighting.”
“Exactly.” Finn peered around the edge of the wall.
“What do you see?”
The man in the straw hat was gone.
“I think he’s coming after us.”
4
MAYBECK DUCKED INSTINCTIVELY as the sky flashed, and, only moments later, thunder boomed and rolled in a long series of endless echoes. A few early raindrops splattered in huge globs onto the footpath, and the air smelled dusty and sweet—ozone—foretelling the electrical charge it carried.
Charlene stiffened with the crack of thunder. “I…do…not…do…lightning,” she said.
The Park guests scattered for cover, quickly emptying the paths.
“Then forget what Finn said and come with me!” Willa said, taking Charlene by the hand. “The parade blocked Jez and Amanda from coming over the bridge. They’ll probably head past the Haunted Mansion and through Fantasyland to reach the castle. We’re going this way,” she said, pointing in the direction of Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, “to cut them off. Maybeck, you go around past the Mansion. Hopefully, one of us finds them before we meet up somewhere near Peter Pan.”
“See you in a minute,” Maybeck said.
“It’s hard to see much, so pay attention,” she said. The swirling clouds had brought an early darkness.
“Never fret. Eyes like a hawk,” said Maybeck.
“What about the monkeys?” Charlene mumbled. “What if that was some kind of omen?”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Maybeck.
They split up, Willa dragging Charlene by the arm. Maybeck jogged off.
Park guests waved at Willa and Charlene. Some braved the increasingly steady rain to chase after them, calling for autographs. Willa pressed on.
Charlene said, “We’re getting wet.”
“That’s what usually happens with rain,” Willa said.
“We can’t get wet!” she complained. “DHIs don’t get wet. The rain runs right through them. We can’t disappoint the kids like that!”
“Are you worried about the kids, or your hair?”
“Both, I guess.”
“Okay. So let’s run faster.”
5
AMANDA AND JEZ RAN THROUGH the light rain, dodging clusters of guests who were determined to stick it out and wait for the fireworks.
“It’s not far now,” Amanda said, spotting the spires of Cinderella Castle.
Jez didn’t answer.
Amanda glanced back. It wasn’t like her sister to avoid a chance to make a snide comment. “Keep up! You’re falling behind,” she called out. Jez was a fast runner; it made no sense that she should lag. She seemed to be running at a steady pace, no faster, no slower, no matter what Amanda said or how fast she ran.
The rain made the walkway more slippery. Amanda slowed and shortened her strides to avoid falling. When she looked back, Jez was still running at the same pace, the same stride. She apparently had magical footing—she didn’t slip.
Amanda stopped and turned fully around and stared at her sister. How could she not slip even a little bit?
Despite the falling rain, Jez’s shirt was…dry, her hair perfectly in place.
What a princess, Amanda thought.
But then she tensed.
Jez’s feet landed on the wet walkway. No splash.
“Jez? Stop! Answer me, Jez!” Amanda cried out.
But Jez just kept on running toward her. The same perfect form and posture. The same perfect Jez.
Jez finally did stop, though she remained several yards off, like a fearful animal.
There was a reason her shirt and hair were both dry: the rain fell through her, hitting the walkway below.
Amanda stepped forward, now only inches from her sister. The rain fell harder, soaking her own hair and shoulders. Jez remained dry.
“Say something,” Amanda whispered.
She reached out her arm and swung it from right to left, cutting her sister in half, her hand passing right through.
A hologram. A DHI.
“Where’s my sister?” Amanda managed to choke out, the drops of water now flowing down her cheeks having nothing to do with the rain. “What have you done to her?”