“Lance….”
“Okay, then, we’re all set.” One thing Adam didn’t envy was whatever Lance was about to do to Kimberly. He had been on the receiving end of those ‘diversions’ way too many times. “Beth, do you have something ready to drop into the water? Whatever it is you have to be totally upset about it.”
Beth held out her hand, an innocent smile on her face. “Honey, could I use your phone for a minute.”
As his hand dropped into his pocket, Adam noticed the mischievous glint in her eyes. “Hey, use your own phone! I need mine for work!”
“Just kidding. I have something else to use.” Beth gave a light laugh as she watched Lance and Kimberly climb into the front row of the next boat. Her smile froze as Peter and Catie got into the back row. Heart pounding, she tried to tell herself that everything would be fine. The worse thing that could happen would be the kids getting caught and taken to Security. But then, she reasoned, Wolf would be there, so that wouldn’t be so bad. She shook her head to concentrate on what she needed to do as the first boat began its slow journey toward the entrance of the ride.
Peter and Catie, along with everyone else in the general vicinity, looked back when Beth suddenly let out a loud shriek. Picked up by the gentle current, she frantically waved her arms and pointed at her water bottle already bobbing in front of the boat.
Adam called out that he would get it and hopped out of the boat—much to the dismay of the ride operators. Their closely-followed rules and time schedules were being broken right and left and they needed to get Adam back in the boat.
“Sir? You need to get back in the boat. We’ll get it for you. No, don’t get in the water! Don’t…. Oh gosh! Sir?”
Adam took his time to reach the water bottle and then held it up in the air as if he had accomplished a daring feat of bravery. “Got it! Don’t worry, honey, it’s fine.” He sloshed back through the water, slowly pulled himself up on the dock, and climbed back into the boat as if nothing odd had just happened.
Frustrated and not sure what to do, the ride operator hurriedly signaled the control tower to let the boat go. Adam gave an oblivious happy wave and shouted, “Thanks!” as their boat entered the channel, ignoring the surly looks from the cast members. Some of the people in line were laughing as they lowered their cameras and phones. You never knew what some crazy guest would do.
“Hope that next clue is worth ruining my shoes.” Adam had his arm across the back of the rail behind Beth. Water pooled at his feet as it ran off of his soaked pant legs.
Once their boat had gotten underway, Beth had to control her giggles. “You should have seen your face! You looked so proud of yourself for rescuing my water bottle! Those cast members wanted to kill you.” Her mirth sobered as she looked at the empty ride flume in front of them. “Do you think we gave the kids enough time?”
Adam gave a slight shrug and sighed. “Hope so. The only way it could have taken any longer was if I had swum a few laps.”
“You’ll have to remember that one for next time!”
“Next time? Yeah, next time.”
Unaware of what had transpired at the loading dock, the ones in the first boat only knew it must have been successful. After repeatedly checking, they saw they had a clear channel behind them. With that knowledge came a slight lessening of tension. Adam had apparently put on a good enough performance and, now that the South Seas scene was just around the next bend, Lance had to do his job.
“Ouch!” Kimberly gave a startled yelp when Lance pinched her in the bottom. She sprang to her feet and immediately had to put her hands out to steady the rocking boat.
Lance stood next to her and tried to give her an awkward hug. “Now, come on, baby. Don’t be like that. How about a little kiss?”
As desired, all heads in the boat turned to watch the drama in the front row. Peter nudged Catie and motioned for her to jump. The boat was only inches from the wide edge of the flume and was already rocking side to side. Nobody would notice. That had been Peter’s fear that his and Catie’s movements would make the boat dip to the side. Now his dad had arranged for that to be covered over.
“Get your hands off me, you cad!” Kimberly saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and knew the kids had made the three-and-a-half-foot drop down the side of the waterway. She didn’t dare turn her head to see them run to the very end of the blue set and climb up onto the sparkling platform. “I don’t know why I trusted you. Mother was right about you.” She dropped back into her seat and pulled Lance down beside her. “Don’t touch me! And quit rocking the boat!”
“All I wanted was a little kiss.”
Arms folded across her chest, Kimberly gave off the simmering vibe of righteous indignation. The adults in the rows behind them, glad to have something different to see, kept their eyes glued on the angry blonde woman. Their kids, already tired of the drama, turned back to the lovely scenes around them. When withering silence from the front row was all that was left, the adults’ wandering attention returned to the dancing dolls. Nobody seemed to notice the back row of their boat was now empty.
“Mommy? What happened to that boy and girl?”
“What boy and girl, sweetie?”
“The ones that took the back row. You know I wanted to sit there but they already took it.”
When Mommy turned to look behind them as their boat neared the loading dock, her eyebrows went up in surprise. “You’re right. What did happen to them?”
Sweetie just shrugged and turned back to the giraffe and the bird made out of green bushes and bright pink flowers up on the bank.
A casual remark to the cast member unloading their boat was taken as anything but casual. “Are you sure, ma’am? Are you sure there were two kids in that row?”
“Yes, I’m positive. We always sit in the back row, but it was already taken.”
“Where were you when you noticed they were gone? What scene were you in?”
A confused look on her face, the woman’s face turned toward the façade of Small World. “Umm, I’m not sure. They all look the same after a while.”
“We were the room where everyone’s all white.” The little girl, listening intently, filled in the missing blank.
As the mother and daughter walked off, Kimberly and Lance watched in dismay as the cast member picked up her walkie-talkie. Lance knew she had to report the possibility of someone loose in the ride to the lead—the person in charge of the cast members on that attraction. There was nothing they could do but hope Peter and Catie had enough time to accomplish what they needed to do.
Adam and Beth’s boat came next and unloaded. Lance’s eyes narrowed at the sight of Adam’s soggy pant legs when the couple joined them. “What in the world did you do?”
After Adam proudly recounted his brilliant idea, he was disappointed that Lance and Kimberly didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm.
Kimberly’s next words wiped the smile off his face. “I think the kids were seen by someone.”
Beth gave a tight-lipped nod. “We know. We saw them for a split second before they went through an exit door. I think the cast members finally spotted them.”
Lance got his radio out of Kimberly’s purse. “I’ll let Wolf know there might be a problem. If they do get caught, I want him to be the security guard who goes inside to get them.”
“They haven’t stopped the ride, so they must be handling it from behind the scenes.”
After alerting Wolf, Lance led them to the shade of the gift shop—right where Omah had stood earlier. Unseeing of all that went on around them, the four adults merely stared at the glittering white and gold building. “I guess all we can do is wait. This is where the kids are supposed to meet us.”
“I hate waiting.”
Three heads slowly nodded in unison to Adam’s mumbled words.
Crouched down, Peter and Catie sprinted down the narrow space between the ride flume and the raised platform. They found a gap between the black entry wall of the South Seas room and
the set where Peter could pull himself up. On his stomach, he helped Catie with the climb. Once in place, they ran behind the multi-layered walls of seaweed and the walls painted to resemble being underwater. As far back as they were they wouldn’t be seen by a passing boat. The coral near the mermaids was tall enough to conceal them. They took a moment to catch their breath as they huddled in the darkness behind the set. Other than the singing and the clicks and whirrs of the mechanics around them, they could hear no other sound.
“We did it, Catie! I don’t think anyone saw us.”
The news of their success did nothing to relieve the pounding of her heart. Ever cautious, she peeked around the nearest corner to see if the next boats had caught up to them. “How long do you think we have?”
With the stealth of a Ninja, Peter crawled around a stand of pink seaweed and slithered over behind the first mermaid. “I don’t know. But we still need to hurry.”
With one last, fearful glance at the empty ride flume, Catie joined her partner-in-crime. “It’s so dark back there. Do you think there’s a big backdrop to keep out the light like we found in the Haunted Mansion?”
Intent on finding the next capsule, Peter barely heard her whispered words. “Hmm? What? Oh, yeah, probably. That’s how the cast members can work without being seen. I just wish I could have found the layout of this ride to show exactly where the outside exits are.”
Eyes wide, Catie gave a gasp. “I thought you knew where everything was!”
Oops. He instantly realized he probably shouldn’t have shared that last bit of information. “Oh, umm, I think I know. But the satellite map I was looking at wouldn’t zoom in close enough.” He glanced over and saw that her face had gone white—noticeable even in the shimmering blue that played over them. “Its okay, Catie, really. Just help me find the capsule so we can get out of here.” He turned back to run his hand over all the seaweed trying to find anything that felt like it didn’t belong.
She merely nodded and began to copy Peter’s movements. “Should we just concentrate on the golden mermaid or should we try the others, too?”
Peter gave a shrug. “Well, according to the clue, I think just this one.”
“Was she always in this spot?” She blushed when Peter turned to stare at her and felt she had to defend her question. “I…I was just wondering if we were looking in the right place. You know how things change. Ariel didn’t use to be in here at all.”
“No, no, you’re right.” Peter gave a quick glance at the ride flume when he thought he heard voices. He just couldn’t tell if the sounds were from the next boat or from cast members. “I forgot all about that. This mermaid used to be on top, in Ariel’s place. She had a crown on her head, if I remember the picture right. Good work, Catie!”
Her pleasure at his words was short-lived. “I think I hear someone talking, Peter. I don’t think it’s coming from a boat. It’s back there.”
“Yeah, I heard it, too. Hurry up.”
“But, what if the clue’s up at the top where Ariel is? How will we get up there without being seen?”
Peter glanced up at Ariel sitting in her mother-of-pearl shell, a smile on her face as she waved at the passing boats. The shell was held between two tall set pieces, one painted in muted greens and the other in subtle shades of blue. A tall piece of blue seaweed was off to one side of the shell as the scalloped bottom sat atop a pink piece, all covered with shimmering glitter. “Catie, you take the blue seaweed and I’ll work on the pink one.”
Both of the kids moved as fast as they could. The sounds they heard were getting closer—and they were coming from backstage. Anxious and frustrated, Catie was about to give up. “I don’t see anything, Peter. I…wait, what’s this?”
“You found something?” Peter stood from his hidden position and went over to Catie. Her hand was positioned on what looked like a board set crossways on the back of the set piece. There were no other boards like it that they could see. He gave a tentative tug, but it held firm as the tall seaweed swayed a little. “I think you’re right. Get me that little gold screwdriver out of the top pocket. Hurry, Catie. Those voices are getting louder. I think they may be looking for us.”
“Hurry, Peter! I don’t want to get caught.”
Peter grunted as he worked on the small brass screws that held the board in place. “Gosh, it’s really stuck.”
“I think I see a flashlight moving around over there! There has to be a boat coming, too. It’s been way too much time. We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Your mom and dad should be in the front row.”
“I don’t care! Hurry!”
Peter had managed to pry the board a little ways away from the backing. Ignoring the two screws, he tugged with all his might and the board finally tore off the set.
“There they are!”
Both kids looked over to their right as two cast members came into view and shouted at them. “Back here, Catie! Jump off the platform and head toward that exit we saw at that wall of silver threads!”
“Okay, but that’s where the next boat is coming from.”
Adam and Beth had a mere glimpse of the two kids as they ducked into the emergency exit door. The brilliant white interior slowly faded to black as the door automatically shut and clicked. As they turned their attention back to the ride, they saw the seaweed next to Ariel still tottered back and forth.
“They’re on the run.” Beth had a tight grip on Adam’s arm when she spotted the bobbing beams of two flashlights behind the set. That was enough to tell her that the kids had been spotted and were being chased. It took all she had not to jump out of the boat and run to help.
Even though he felt the same as his wife, Adam patted her hand and tried to pry her fingers from their death grip on his arm. “It’ll be all right, honey. That’s what happened to me in the big tunnel between New Orleans Square and Critter Country after I rappelled into the little blue cavern. I was spotted by the engineer of the train that was bearing down on me.”
Beth allowed herself to be distracted and leaned into him. “What did you do? I hadn’t joined the quest at that point.”
“Ran like…uhm…as fast as I could. Ended up rolling down the stairs next to Splash Mountain.” He shook his head and had to laugh at the sight he must have presented to the people waiting in line as he fell into them. “The kids are smart. And, Wolf is back there…somewhere…to help.”
“I want to….”
“I know. I do, too, but we can’t do anything right now. Look, we’re almost outside already.”
“I have my employee I.D. with me, Adam. Maybe I can….”
“Honey, let’s just go tell Lance and Kimberly what we saw and wait—like we’re supposed to.”
“Grrr.”
“I agree completely.”
“There they are! Stop! You two kids, stop right now!”
Peter grabbed Catie’s hand and ran around the tall black walls that hid the backstage area from the riders’ eyes. They jumped over various cables and wires as they sought out the glowing red letters that spelled Exit. “There has to be an outside door close by. There wouldn’t be so many emergency exits inside the ride if there wasn’t one. It goes out onto a road or something outside.”
“They’re getting closer, Peter.”
“I know. Look! There it is. There’s the exit! Finally. Come on, Catie! Faster!”
The two kids burst out of the exit door, chests heaving from a mixture of excitement and nerves. Expecting to find Wolf, they looked around in dismay. As Peter had expected, they were on a roadway between the show buildings of Small World and Roger Rabbit. But, as Peter had not expected, it was empty.
“Where’s Wolf?”
“I don’t know, Catie. But we can’t stand around here waiting for him. Those cast members should be coming out that door any minute now.”
Catie looked in every direction. All she could see were buildings and cars and trees. “Where do we go? Where do we go?”
Peter mad
e an instant decision and pointed. “Over there are the trees between Fantasyland and Toontown. We have to go that way to find our parents.”
“Is there a door or does the road keep going?”
“I don’t know. Just run!”
They headed south down the roadway, down the length of the building that housed Roger Rabbit‘s Car Toon Spin Ride.
“What are these tracks for? The train doesn’t come this way at night, does it?”
At Catie’s panted question, Peter glanced down at their feet as they ran. “No, it can’t be the steam train. The tracks are too narrow. And, besides, the train’s roundhouse is in the other direction.”
Both kids could see that they were quickly running out of road and no obvious way out. Relief came when Peter pointed with his free hand. “There’re two doors! Go in through the small one.”
Just as the door to the Small World building burst open, the two kids disappeared into the doorway Peter had indicated. Flashlights in hand, the two cast members looked both ways on the empty road. Not knowing which way the kids had gone, they radioed their supervisor that they couldn’t find the two children and inquired what should be done. After giving the descriptions of what they thought the kids were wearing, they went back into the show building.
“Oh, wow! Look through that window, Catie!”
“Peter, we need to get out of here! We don’t belong here either. What is it?” Her curiosity got the better of her and she came back to Peter’s side. “Hey, that’s a Jolly Trolley. This must be where they keep them at night.”
“That would explain the tracks outside, too. If they need repairs or something, there must be a machine shop back the other way.”
Catie tugged on his arm. “Come on, Peter. This has to be a cast member only area. We need to go!”
Cautiously they opened the door and peered out. They found themselves next to the colorful entrance of Roger Rabbit. The large fountain was just across from them. Holding a broken steering wheel, Roger Rabbit himself posed on top of a gushing fire hydrant, water coming out of his ears. There was a long line of guests who circled the fountain as they waited to ride. “Act like you know what you’re doing, Catie. Act casual.”
HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 3 Page 12