HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 3

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  “Those dogs sure are happy to see each other.”

  Lance saw an opening. “Yeah, it would be a shame to rip them apart again. We could leave Dug here, you know.”

  “Rip them apart?”

  “Dad!”

  “Lance, how could you suggest such a thing?!”

  “Do we get to keep Dug!?”

  “I don’t want to lose Dug!”

  “Nice try, buddy.”

  “Hey, worth a shot.” Lance grumbled the words into his iced tea.

  “Really, Lance?” Kimberly was almost laughing as she looked at her husband. “Why don’t we tell Adam and Beth what happened today? Isn’t that why you wanted to come?”

  The word ‘steak’ was lost in a cough. “Right. Hey, Peter. Show Uncle Stingy here the clue you found.”

  Peter gave a chuckle but knew not to get in the middle of the nickname game. “Sure. What do you think of this?”

  The excitement could be seen in the Michaels’ faces as they read through the poem. “Yeah, I’d say the handwriting is Walt’s all right. But I’m not sure if this is the same paper we had. What do you think, Beth?”

  “Well, it is serrated on the sides, but it does feel a bit thinner to me.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.” Adam’s voice began to get more excited and enthused. “You know, we could pull out those old Disneyland books of yours and start researching mermaids at the Park. Are they in the library or the extra room upstairs?”

  “Mom! Dad!”

  Adam and Beth looked up from the clue at the shrill voice. Catie stood staring at them, hands on her hips, Peter right beside her. “What?” They looked back and forth at the disapproving looks obvious on the kids’ faces. “What’s wrong? What’s with the attitude?”

  Eyes wide, Catie hadn’t expected that response and looked to Peter for support. At his slight nod, she cleared her throat. “We…we would rather do this by ourselves.”

  Adam glanced over at Lance and Kimberly and got a ‘that’s what we got, too’ look. “Oh, I see. I thought that’s why you brought it all over. That mermaid is pretty cool.”

  “We just wanted to show you, not have you solve it, Dad.”

  “Okay. I understand. Just like that time, I guess.” He could see the two kids visibly relax when he handed the clue back to Catie. “But, if you need any help or want to use any of Mom’s books, go ahead.”

  Glad to see her dad understood, Catie gave him a wide smile. “Thanks, Dad. Come on, Peter. Let’s go to my room and see what we can find on the computer.”

  “They’re getting so big.” Beth gave a wistful sigh as they ran off. “Can’t believe the twins are eleven already.”

  Adam gave his wife a hug. “So, Lance, I take it their search was uneventful this time.” He felt Beth shudder slightly in his arms. They both still worried about the possible threat of that woman Omah and wondered if they did the right thing in letting it continue.

  The smiles and friendly feelings vanished like morning dew in the hot sun. Lance nodded, serious again. “Even though the entire security force is on alert, Wolf and I both went with them to the old boat dock. We won’t take any chances. Peter, for some reason, thinks she really doesn’t want to hurt him. But, like I said, we aren’t taking any chances.”

  “We sure didn’t have this problem when we were doing our Hidden Mickey quests. It’s odd it’s happening to Peter and Catie.”

  Lance gave a laugh. “No problems? Adam, you jumped off the steam train in the big tunnel and rappelled into the little caverns. And the three of us jumped out of the boat in Pirates of the Caribbean and hid behind the bed in the Captain’s Quarters!”

  “Well, we didn’t have anyone chasing us.” Beth glanced over at Kimberly. “But you had your uncle after you, and what about Nimue?” She then looked Lance straight in the eye. “Are you sure you and Wolf have this handled? Will the twins and Peter be safe?”

  With the understanding of a parent, Lance repeated his earlier assurance to the worried Adam and Beth. “Wolf and I will do everything we can to keep them safe. You know that, Beth.” He felt Kimberly slip her hand into his for a quick, reassuring squeeze. “We don’t want anything to happen to Catie or Peter. I don’t think you need to worry about Alex, though. He doesn’t seem at all interested in continuing this adventure.”

  That realization about Alex surprised Adam. It had taken a lot for him to hand the clue—and the reins—back to Peter and Catie and not take over. “Well, whoever does continue it, we all agree that their safety comes first. And, you know you can count on Beth and me to help if you need anyone to go with them.”

  “Appreciated.” A humorous glint came into Lance’s eyes that overrode the seriousness of the situation. “I don’t think you need to worry overmuch. Wolf is taking this woman’s continual disappearances personally. It’s going to be his mission to see it through.”

  Lost in their own personal thoughts, the four adults quietly watched the sun slowly sink far down the hill behind Adam’s re-creation of Tom Sawyer’s Island. The lighting sensors took over and soon the Island and the yard were bathed in warm oranges and yellows.

  The blue and white flat-bottom boat slowly moved through the narrow channel. Seated alone in the middle of the front seat, Catie had the entire boat to herself. The four rows behind her were empty. Eager to enter one of her favorite rides, she had an unsettling feeling that she was being watched. That in itself wouldn’t be unusual in a place as busy as Disneyland, but it didn’t feel like the casual glance of a guest waiting for the next boat. The feeling intensified as she got further away from the loading dock and her boat bumped around the first corner. The sensation seemed to come from above her, somewhere amid the manicured lawns and flowers.

  An unexpected movement caught her eye. The animal topiaries on the high banks appeared to be following the movement of the boat as it floated by. But when the girl turned her head to check out this phenomenon, the large closely-cropped bushes seemed to have frozen in place.

  She gave a slight shiver. “That’s really spooky.” She glanced over her shoulder once more at the large moose but could see nothing out of the ordinary. “Gosh, might as well be in the Haunted Mansion.”

  The steady water current pushed her into the entrance of the large gold and white, sparkling façade of Its a Small World. A cold blast of air hit her in the face as the brilliant sunlight began to fade. On a hot summer day the refreshing air would be a welcome relief from the Southern California heat. This air, however, wasn’t so inviting. It felt….a little more menacing to the girl who hugged her arms as goose-bumps broke out. The familiar welcome signs lining the banks were dull and dark. The glitter and sequins that covered them caught an occasional glint of light and gave off a feeble wink of color in the darkness. The familiar Small World song she wanted to sing along with could not yet be heard.

  A trickle of fear started to send shivers down Catie’s spine when the little boat rounded the next corner. The warm, colorful lighting for each display was turned off and, instead, the stark industrial overhead lighting made everything look dull and flat. The beautiful costumed dolls were in different clusters than their usual arrangements. It was as if they were in the middle of a deep discussion when she intruded. Dressed in white costumes of Iceland and Denmark, one group had their arms crossed as they surrounded the figures from Spain and England. The can-can dancers had tight hold on ropes that held the soaring kites straining overhead—and they didn’t look too happy about it. One of the girl’s pink-feathered headdress was broken and hung off to the side. Next to them, the sparkling tiger from Siam was crouched low to the ground as it watched the Antarctica penguins. Circled around the out-of-place penguins, yellow hyenas from the Africa scene rocked back and forth and appeared to be silently laughing at the little birds’ dilemma.

  Worried, Catie turned in her seat to look for the next boat behind her. She needed the reassurance that somebody, anybody else was there and everything was all right. Only, there wa
s no other boat behind her. The channel was empty.

  “I’m safe at Disneyland. I’m safe at Disneyland. Nothing will hurt me. They’re only dolls.” She made the words play over and over in her mind as her strange voyage continued. Instead of going in their usual circles, some of the figures danced in a straight line as if they were on their way to the next room. A few were perched on the edge of the channel like they were attempting to get in the boat with her. “I’m safe. They’re only rearranging the displays. I got in here by mistake. That’s why the music is off.”

  Crouched down on the floor of the boat now, Catie anxiously peered from below the silver hand rail. As the boat traveled forward, the overhead lights began to flicker on and off. “Please don’t go out,” she whispered, her voice pleading. “Please don’t go out. This is the happiest crew that ever sailed the seas. This is a happy crew. Please….”

  As the small boat bumped around the next corner, the large pink hippo turned its head to look at Catie as it entered the room. The rhinoceros beating on the blue and pink drum stopped to look at the fuzzy monkey high above its head. Before the monkey could respond, the elephant lifted its trunk and let out a loud trumpet. It was the first noise she had heard above the mechanical clicking and whirring of the dolls’ movements—and it was terrifying. Were they alerting the others that she was coming?

  Heart pounding, Catie ducked her head down as the treacherous lights flickered one more time and finally went out. But it wasn’t completely dark. There were odd glowing lights from different flowers on display and even the eyes of some of the animals were lit from within.

  “Please come back on! Come on, lights. I need you.”

  Catie’s favorite scene was next but she was too afraid to enjoy it. One of the koala bears had gotten into the kangaroo’s pouch and the bright blue platypus was hanging onto the sequined sun. The green and yellow sea turtles had come down from their wires to protectively surround the three mermaids who huddled in a group behind the seaweed backdrop. The beaks of the turtles snapped at the girl when she dared to peek out to see where she was.

  Just before she could duck back down again, Catie saw the heads of all the dolls and all the animals suddenly turn to the right. All their sporadic movements stopped. Those who had been on the march immediately froze in place and the turtles moved closer to the frowning mermaids.

  Scared as she was, Catie was also so mesmerized that she had to see what they saw. Her head turned of its own accord to follow their gazes. Her breath caught in her throat as a pair of sharp blue eyes peered around the edge of the South Seas entry. These eyes weren’t like the round, lifeless eyes on the figures. These were living eyes, blinking, staring, real eyes…and they were now following the movement of Catie’s boat.

  Only then did she realize her boat wasn’t moving forward any longer. The flowing water had stopped and her boat wasn’t inching any closer to the grand finale room. After that room was the longed-for exit where she knew she could get out into the welcome sunlight and safety. She scooted over to the edge of the boat as far away as possible from those evil blue eyes and made a frantic, feeble attempt to paddle the water with her hands. Anything to get the boat moving again.

  It didn’t work. The boat stayed where it was as if it was anchored to the bottom of the bright blue flume.

  “I know you, girl.”

  She heard the voice that came from the direction of those piercing eyes. Reluctantly she looked back. She had no choice. Her head turned back toward the sound.

  “I know you. I know what you want. Do you hear me, girl?”

  As Catie’s hand came up to her throat, the blue eyes blinked and could not be seen any longer. A moment of relief washed over her. Maybe it was gone. Whatever it was.

  Maybe…. No, there the eyes were again, only closer to the circle of turtles which hissed. The lights flickered on for a brief moment and Catie immediately wished they hadn’t.

  On the bank she saw a wolf. Not the warm, fuzzy, feather-covered kind that she expected to see on this ride. This wolf wasn’t blue or pink or yellow. It didn’t have pastel flowers covering its hide. This wolf was real. Its coat was a deep red with a thick undercoat of black hairs. The black outlined its ears which were down and pointed back, its head dropped in the attack position, feet—those huge feet—placed far apart. The sides of the wolf heaved as if it had exerted itself and was trying to regain its strength. The eyes narrowed as the bushy tail slowly swept back and forth, back and forth. It took a step closer and then another and the turtles snapped at it and moved even closer to the mermaids.

  “Stay away from me!” Catie cried out as the animal slowly approached the boat and her heart pounded even faster in her chest. “Stay away!”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, girl. I want my mermaid.”

  Catie leaped from the boat just as the wolf jumped into the empty fifth row. The animal’s feet hit a watery patch and skidded, its chin banged on the rail and its mouth slammed shut with a loud SNAP.

  The terrified girl didn’t look back to see how badly it was hurt but ran through the huddled dolls. Fireworks started to explode on the other side of the channel and a thick, acrid smoke filled the room.

  Catie pulled the bottom of her shirt up to cover her mouth and nose as she ran. “One more corner.” Just ahead of her, she should see the signs saying good-bye in all the different languages. The figures and the animals in the grand finale room, all dressed in white and gold, were frozen in place as the explosions shook the ground under their feet. The girl dodged this way and that, every moment expecting fangs to sink into her leg.

  Wavering fingers of golden-gray sunlight began to stream in through the smoke. With embers raining down all around her, Catie kept her head tucked low as she ran.

  “Come back here, girl! You can’t get away. I know where you are!”

  The voice of the wolf became more and more distant as Catie burst out through the exit. Gulping in great breaths of clean air, she looked left and right to try and guess the best way to escape. She chose left and headed for the main part of Disneyland, frantically looking for anyone who could help her. An empty, parked boat was used as a stepping stone to get over the water and she ran up the exit ramp. Her whirling mind momentarily wondered where all the people were before it suddenly switched back to “Run!”

  Sprinting slightly downhill as she neared the main part of Fantasyland, she picked up speed as she ran. Just as she reached the edge of the old Motor Boat Cruise dock, somehow, someway, that red wolf stepped out into Catie’s path. Smoke from the fire eerily rose from its coat that was covered in ashes.

  In that split second Catie knew she couldn’t stop. She was going to run right into the waiting fangs of the wolf and she closed her eyes.

  “No! No! I can’t….”

  “Stop!”

  “Catie. Catie? Are you all right?”

  The girl’s eyes popped open, her breath was hard gasps. “I…I….” Her eyes wide and unseeing, her head jerked side to side. “Where’s the wolf?”

  “Catie, honey. You must have had a bad dream. Are you awake?”

  Her eyes came into focus and she stared into the kind, brown eyes of her mother. “Wolf.”

  “You were dreaming about Uncle Wolf?” Beth sat on the edge of Catie’s rumpled bed and ran a soothing hand over the girl’s hair. She had never before seen her daughter so distraught. “You’re okay, honey. Everything’s okay now.”

  Hearing her mother’s calming voice, Catie gave a little whimper and scooted closer. “It was a bad dream.”

  “Yeah, I kinda figured that. You want to tell me about it?” Her hand kept up its soothing motion and moved to the girl’s back.

  “I was on It’s a Small World at Disneyland.”

  Beth gave a small giggle. “I think your brother would agree that would be terrifying.”

  The unexpected humor seeped into Catie’s consciousness and helped her to relax. She gave a half-hearted laugh that came out as a snort. “It was, like,
so silly, Mom. I was on a boat all by myself and all the dolls were, well, weird. And then a wolf came out of the background and talked to me.”

  “A talking wolf? Now that’s weird. I don’t remember any wolf in Small World.”

  “It was a real wolf, not a doll.” She shook her head as if to clear the images out of her mind. She lifted her strained face to her mother. “Can I sleep with you and Daddy tonight?”

  Beth gave her a tight hug. “Sure you can, honey, until you have to get up for school. Just tell yourself it was only a dream, okay?”

  As Catie followed her mother to the master bedroom, she tried to do just that.

  But the images wouldn’t leave her mind.

  Later that afternoon, while Catie and Alex finished up some homework, their parents had a serious, private discussion.

  “Do you think the kids have had too much trauma? Could this be why Catie had that nightmare? It’s not like her to have bad dreams like that.”

  “I don’t know, Beth. I know she’s been worried about that woman following Peter, but I thought she was more excited than scared. Wouldn’t she have come to us if it was too much for her?” Adam ran a hand through his wavy hair. He wasn’t sure what to do. “We both know these treasure hunts Walt left in place are exciting, but they aren’t supposed to be dangerous.” He paused and looked back at his wife. One possible decision that ran through his mind probably wouldn’t go over very well with either Catie or Peter. He gave a sigh before he voiced his thought. “Maybe we should pull the plug on this Hidden Mickey search. Or finish it ourselves for them.”

  Beth took a deep, calming breath. Their dog Sunnee wandered over and pushed Beth’s hand up so she would scratch her golden head. Beth automatically patted the dog without realizing it. “That would probably break their hearts. Would you have wanted someone to step in and pull the plug?”

  Adam lowered his voice and looked around even though he knew the kids weren’t close enough to hear. “Well, we did have a gun pointed at us toward the end. But, we were adults, not eleven and thirteen.”