Kingdom Keepers VI(66)

Knives banged against the chair as Amanda marched steadily toward the two chefs.

“Go on!” she shouted. Reluctantly, Finn and Mattie moved toward the exit doors, the table held before them like a shield. With all attention on Amanda, only one knife flew in their direction. It slammed into the wall by the doors, and hung there, shivering violently.

Amanda crouched and called out loudly, “I’m counting to three. You will put down your knives or pay the price.”

“Oh! Listen to her! I’m terrified!” one of the chefs said to the other.

“One…two…”

Finn knew the timing was meant for him and Mattie more than the chefs.

“Three!”

Amanda dropped the chair and shoved her open palms at the two chefs. The men were lifted off their feet and crashed into the wall. One was nicked by a flying cleaver. Blood streamed down his neck.

“Criminy!” the other chef called out in an Australian accent.

“Go!” Finn said, shoving Mattie out the door.

He then surprised himself by picking up the table and throwing it as effortlessly as a Frisbee across the dining room. Like pulling the carpet in the auditorium. Again, the demonstration of strength shocked him.

The chefs saw the table coming fast, aiming to decapitate them, and slipped down flat on the floor. The table struck, punching a hole in the wall over the chefs’ heads.

“Such sweet children!” the Aussie said. He and the other man scurried on hands and knees back into the kitchen. Amanda limped for the door, drained of energy by her use of her powers. Finn reached for her—she’d lost her hologram—and helped her through the doorway.

He texted an emergency code.

In seconds, Charlene and Willa converged, rounded them up like Secret Service agents handling diplomats, and rushed the three upstairs to Storey Ming who, pointing to starboard, led the way. They were in the District, the ship’s warren of nightclubs and bars. Unlike the orderly layout of the rest of the ship, the District’s few hallways were curved, and clubs phased into each other, further confusing the visitor. The kids ran past a grouping of single-occupant restrooms. Storey skidded to a stop and ushered all of them into one. She closed the door and locked it. It was a small, crowded space. Storey kept her ear to the door and a finger to her lips. She held up her palm, like a traffic cop.

Footsteps could be heard. Then the thunk of a nearby bathroom door closing and locking. Storey nodded, as if to say, Okay. Quietly unlocking and opening the door, she checked both ways and signaled for them to follow.

Hurrying through the 687 Lounge, they drew immediate attention. All the ship’s bars were Adults Only. A Cast Member with unfocused eyes and an awkward gait approached from the far side of the lounge, clearly intending to intercept them. Another OT zombie.

As a group, the Keepers jogged into the neighboring District Lounge. Having violated the age rule there as well, they had two crew members after them—one zombie, Finn thought, one not. It was too dark to determine the color of the crew members’ eyes, but the Keepers weren’t sticking around for any close-ups.

Finn could no longer hold on to Amanda’s hologram arm, but realized as she jogged beside him that she was back to full power. They reached the District’s forward entrance where, unfortunately, they encountered a third crew member.

“We’re going!” Storey called out to the lady guard.

“Hold on a second!” the woman shouted. “We…want…to…talk—”

She took off after them. The kids broke into a sprint.

“Why are we running?” Willa panted.

“What are we going to do, tell them a couple chefs were practicing their knife throwing on us?” Finn said. “That would go over big.”

Rule #1: Kids are faster than grown-ups.

Rule #2: Disney crew members aren’t grown-ups, in the grown-up sense.

“I know who you are!” shouted the crew member, now only a matter of yards behind them.

“You…don’t…know…who…I…am!” Amanda charged the woman.

Finn and the others kept running. The crew member crossed her arms in preparation for a full-speed collision. Amanda’s DHI passed through her.

Slack-jawed, the woman stared at the hologram in disbelief. “Wow.”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Amanda stepped through the wall and out onto the jogging track. She waved back at the gawking crew member from the far side of one of the hallway’s large circular windows.

The woman’s fellow staff members arrived, out of breath. Two of them looked down the empty hall, and saw the kids were gone.

“Must…pursue,” one of them said in a strange monotone—like someone who’d been hypnotized onstage during one of the magic shows.