Peter pointed at the entrance. “They’re still open. Another group just went in.”
Without even a glance at the Mansion, Wolf indicated for them to follow him. He took them to a bench facing the Rivers of America—the same one where they had sat with Kimberly. The Columbia had been docked in Fowler’s Harbor and the Mark Twain was awash in brilliant white lights as it sat at dock. They could now hear the happy yells from passengers getting in one last thrill ride on Big Thunder.
“What is it, Wolf?”
He surprised them both with his question. “So, tell me, what do you know about the time/space continuum?”
“Uh, like nothing.” Peter wondered where this could possibly go.
Lance just shrugged. “You tell us.”
“You asked earlier why we didn’t come back through Big Thunder. Well, I was testing a theory.”
“Testing? We’re guinea pigs?”
Wolf’s serious expression cracked into a small smile. “Something like that. I knew if we came back through the Earthquake Tunnel it would be approximately the same day we left. The time of the second trip, that is.” He paused and ran a hand through his hair. This was always so difficult to understand—let alone explain. Tom Sawyer Island was quiet as he stared at it. There were only a few lights around the mill and the Fantasmic! stage. “As you know, we succeeded in going back earlier in time and prevented the mansion from burning down.”
“Master Gracey still got killed.” Peter shivered. “Constance probably went to jail.”
“We don’t know anything except what we experienced, Peter. Perhaps she got away. We don’t know. What I’m trying to explain is that I wanted to come back the same day I originally took Todd Raven through the storm. And the only way to do that was to use the river portal. If we used Big Thunder we would have been a week—or more—later. To me it was too risky. By doing it this way there is no chance of any residual memory in anyone, especially Kimberly. She’s the only one we talked to about the changes, right?”
Lance and Peter just nodded. There wasn’t anyone else except a few people in the Park who pointed them to the Old House on the Hill. Peter hadn’t said anything to his brothers or any of his friends at school. He figured he would have looked weird.
“So, you’re saying we’re back where we started a week ago? It’s like Peter and I never went through the portal? But, you took Raven after the Park closed. It’s an hour or so earlier. Where is he then?”
“He would still be at the Golden Horseshoe with Miss Lily. That part wouldn’t have changed. It all happened—to us. We’re just back early because of the quirks of the vortex.”
“What about Kimberly? She knew what time we left the house and she was supposed to shut down the river for us.”
Wolf rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s possible she now thinks we went before the Park closed and is waiting to hear what happened.”
“What about the week we had before we went back to fix everything? I still remember being at Master Gracey’s mansion twice and going to school, too.”
Two security guards walked past their bench and nodded hello to Wolf and Lance. They were on their way to Critter Country to begin the sweep to clear everyone out of the Park now that it was closed.
“We’ll just have to re-live that week. Lance, you will have the normal security duty like always. Peter, you will have school and whatever happened at home. The only difference is that you will re-live a couple of days that you already went through. Why do you look so happy?”
Peter was grinning ear to ear. “’Cause it looks like I’m going to get an A in algebra this time!”
His dad frowned at him. “What? On a test you already took?” At Peter’s nod, his eyebrow shot up. “And what did you get the first time? You never mentioned this at home.”
The wide grin faded. “Uh, not quite an A.”
“How not quite?”
“Uh, it might have been a C-minus.”
“Pete, you know what we discussed about your math homework.”
Wolf looked back and forth at the banter. He was relieved that they seemed to take the time travel differentials in stride and he wouldn’t have to keep trying to explain it. He leaned on the railing to rest his leg and stared at the placid water.
“Hey, I’m doing my best. You know I hate math.”
“You should have told me you were having a problem. I’ll be glad to help. You have to think of your college applications coming up in a few years. You need to do well in math.”
“Maybe I don’t want to go to college. Uncle Wolf didn’t go to college and he’s doing fine.”
Wolf turned from his position and looked at Peter. “Hey, don’t pull me into this. This is between you and your parents.”
“But you didn’t.” Peter was insistent. Wolf had always been one of his heroes and he wanted to be more like him. Well, maybe not the turning into a wolf thing….
Wolf held up a calming hand toward Lance who was about to jump into the fray again. “Let me talk to Peter for a minute. Come over here to the keelboat dock, Peter.”
The smoking dock was empty and they sat together on one of the benches. Wolf rubbed his leg as he questioned the boy. “What’s this about not wanting to go to college?”
“I dunno. Just something I was thinking about. You didn’t go.”
“Says who?” Wolf decided to challenge him.
“You did.”
“When?”
“Uh, I don’t know. You never mentioned it so I thought you didn’t. Mom and Dad talk about their college days a lot.”
Wolf looked back at Lance who was busy wringing water out of his pant legs. “Well, as a matter of fact, I did graduate from college.”
“Oh, yeah? When was that?” Now it was Peter’s turn to challenge Wolf.
“In 1880.” He let that sink in for a moment. Peter’s mouth opened to say something but it never came out. “And in 1930.”
“Where…where did you go? How….?”
“You know how, Peter.”
“You went back in time? But you would’ve been a wolf.”
“No, I didn’t go back in time. I just lived.” He gave a shrug. “Once I hit a certain age, I quit getting older. I don’t know why or how. It just happened. You saw that picture in your dad’s office with your grandfather and Walt. Do I look any different now?”
Peter just shook his head as he stared at his friend. “Wow, that’s kinda cool.”
“Kinda. Has its drawbacks, but I don’t need to get into that right now. In answer to your other question, I first went to Harvard and then I went to Yale.” Wolf’s lips turned up briefly in a secret smile. Lance didn’t know any of this.
“So, what did you study in college, Uncle Wolf? Are you some kind of doctor or something we don’t know about?”
“No, I didn’t study medicine. My major was History. Seemed appropriate.”
“Bet you did well in that!” Peter gave a brief laugh and then became serious again. “So, do you think I have to go to college?”
Wolf looked up at the gold stars that accented the name Columbia painted on the back of the ship. It wasn’t a decision for him to make. “That’s up to you and your parents. You just have to figure out what it is that you want to do and be the best you can be.”
“I’m a junior Guardian, you know. Maybe I’ll be the head Guardian one day. With you, that is,” he quickly added. “That would be cool!”
“There’s a lot of time before any decisions have to be made. You, and probably Catie, will make good Guardians. Just keep up on your homework, okay?”
“Catie? Oh, yeah. So much has happened I forgot about her.”
“Well, she hasn’t forgotten about you.” Wolf had a small smile on his face as he slowly got to his feet. “Let’s get back to your dad. It’s probably time to call your mom and tell her I’m back. It will be interesting to hear how you explain why you and your dad are wet when you get home. You�
�ll have to fill me in later.”
“But we came with you in the Mustang.”
Wolf hoped he didn’t have to go into a long explanation again. “Nope. This is a week earlier, remember? Your dad’s car is in the parking lot.”
Peter slowly shook his head. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“Tell me about it.” Wolf pulled him in for a quick hug. “You’ll do fine, Junior Guardian. Oh, and put that Key to Disneyland back where you found it before your mom knows it’s missing. Maybe you won’t be grounded for life now.”
Flashback to Disneyland – 1969
“Is it open yet, Mike? It looks to me like the building is finished.” Michelle peered through the closed iron gates at the white mansion. “But, then, it’s been way that for a couple of years now.”
Jessie pulled on her dad’s hand. “What does the sign say, Daddy? Lift me up!” When Jessie was settled on her dad’s shoulders, she gave a shudder. “That sign looks scary. I don‘t like that skull.”
“I think it’s supposed to be scary, honey. They are calling it a Haunted Mansion. Do you still want me to read what it says?”
With her arms securely around his neck in an attempt to fortify herself against the promise of spooky things, Jessie merely nodded. The blue feather that stuck out of her white felt hat bobbed up and down.
“Not so tight, sweetheart. Daddy’s choking.” Michelle smiled as she looked up from her guide map. “We could go up into the Swiss Family Treehouse next. She wasn’t old enough to enjoy it the last time we came.”
“I want Daddy to read the sign first!”
The large, ornate sign was attached to one of the brick posts that held the fittings of the restrictive gate. At the top—as Jessie had spotted—was a small white skull with empty eye sockets. It had bat-like wings with ghoulish fingers at the tips that dropped down the sides of the black sign.
“NOTICE! All Ghosts and Restless Spirits: Post-lifetime leases are now available in the Haunted Mansion….”
“Who’s Lisa, Daddy?”
“Lease, honey. Not Lisa. It’s like renting something, only you have to sign a contract and promise you’ll stay there a certain length of time. You can’t just leave whenever you want to.”
The big, brown eyes looked back at the Mansion. “Oh, I don’t know if I’d want to stay in that house.”
“I don’t think the sign is for you, honey.” Michelle gave a little chuckle as she pushed her white plastic sunglasses back up her nose as Mike continued to read.
“Don’t be left out in the sunshine! Enjoy active retirement in the country club atmosphere, the fashionable address for famous ghosts and ghosts trying to make a name for themselves! Leases include license to scare the daylights out of guests visiting the Portrait Gallery, graveyard and other happy haunting grounds. For reservations, send résumé of past experiences to: Ghost Relations Department, Disneyland. Please! Do not apply in person.”
The arms around Mike’s neck tightened again. “What do you say we go see the Swiss Family Treehouse, Jessie?” He pointed over toward the Mark Twain. At the negative shake of his wife’s head, he aimed his finger in the other direction—at Adventureland. “I hear it’s just like the house in the movie Swiss Family Robinson. Remember when we went to see the movie? You really liked the baby elephant.”
Distracted by the promise to see something new, Jessie’s arms relaxed and she held out her hand for the map her mom was using. “Will there be a baby elephant?”
“I don’t know, honey. Let’s go see.”
Disneyland
“How long do we have until we have to meet your dad and Michael?”
Peter glanced at his watch. It was just after ten in the morning. “He said our reservation at the Blue Bayou is at six, so we have around eight hours.”
Catie Michaels had a wide grin on her cute face. With a quick motion, she tucked her brown bangs behind an ear and held herself back from doing her version of the happy dance. She hadn’t seen much of Peter since they had found the secret room above New Orleans Square in the Court of Angels and she missed him—more than she would admit to anyone. Since she was two years younger than Peter and lived in a different town, they went to different schools and had to rely on the Internet and the frequent visits between the families to keep in touch. She had really enjoyed their adventure—scary as it had turned out to be when the thief came after them—and hoped it meant that she and Peter would spend even more time together. “Sorry. What did you ask?” She had been in the middle of a daydream about having a romantic dinner with Peter at the Blue Bayou restaurant. She gave a wistful sigh at the possibility of sharing a fruit punch with two straws as the boats of Pirates of the Caribbean floated by their table. Somehow Lance and Michael hadn’t appeared in her dream.
Peter hadn’t noticed her preoccupation as he led the way through Adventureland. Their plan was to ride Indiana Jones right when their FastPasses got them in at ten-twenty. It was Saturday and there were a lot more guests in the Park than on a weekday. He came to a stop when a row of strollers met the line of guests that headed into the Jungle Cruise. “Excuse me.” He politely tried to cut through the solid line of people. “I asked why Alex didn’t come. I can’t remember what you told me earlier.”
A small twinge of feminine disappointment ran through Catie when she realized he didn’t recall every word she ever spoke to him. “Oh. He had a softball game. Mom and Dad went with him to watch. I…I wanted to come with you.”
With a grab at her hand so he didn’t lose her in the crowd, Peter worked their way through the mass waiting in Indy’s stand-by line. His back to her, he didn’t see the happy smile spread over her face again. “That’s right. I forgot he had softball. I hope he can come next time…. You have the FastPasses, right? I’m sure glad we don’t have to wait in the regular line. It says there’s a seventy-minute wait already.” He dropped her hand as soon as they showed the passes and hurried up the wooden walkway toward the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. “This is the coolest line in the Park!”
Designed to look like it came straight out of an Indiana Jones movie, the line wove through an ancient underground dig in the desert. With a slight decline, the queue went deeper and deeper with a few ‘air holes’ near the ceiling. These holes had tree roots growing through them to show the downward progression. There was so much to see inside the queue that most people didn’t realize how far they actually walked and that they even went under the train tracks at one point.
Right before they reached the Projection Room that showed the popular film of safety tips, the line stopped. After standing still for ten minutes, a cast member dressed as an explorer in the 1940’s announced that the ride had temporarily broken down. A disappointed groan went through the people that waited in the packed room. With the promise of a return pass, they all turned around and headed back the way they had come.
“Rats.” Catie gave a sigh as they retraced their steps. “I wanted to try and see Bones this time. I’ve never been quick enough.”
Peter knew she referred to one of the hanging skeletons in the Skeleton Cave. If you were fast and looked back far enough to the left, you could see Bones who sported a pair of black Mickey Mouse ears. “Well, we can try again later. Mikey won’t want to ride it, but maybe Dad will let us before we head home.”
Her disappointment faded quickly. Catie was just glad to be there with Peter—Bones or no Bones. “Big Thunder?”
Peter had a different location in mind—a ride that he had waited over two weeks to go on. Once home from the trips with Wolf, they found the security guard had been correct—Peter’s mother didn’t remember any of their adventures. Still, on general principles, his dad left Peter grounded for two weeks. This was his first day of being free and Lance knew exactly where his son would want to go. As a favor to their best friends Adam and Beth Michaels, their daughter Catie had come along with them. If Peter’s youngest brother Andrew hadn’t been sick, it would h
ave been an outing for the whole family.
“Maybe later. How about the Haunted Mansion?” Peter headed there without giving Catie a chance to agree or disagree. “I want to see if anything has changed.”
Catie had to hurry to keep up with his eager stride. “Changed? Why would they change anything? The Halloween overlay won’t be until September.”
Peter mumbled “Oops” under his breath. He hadn’t mentioned any of his travels to Catie—and hadn’t planned on doing so. His dad and Wolf knew it would be best to keep it within the family. Wolf knew the importance of keeping his past and strange abilities secret. Besides, who would believe him? “Um, well, you know. Maybe they added something to the attic or the graveyard. It’s fun to try and find things you didn’t see before.”
As he stumbled through his explanation, Catie looked at him oddly but didn’t question him. She was just happy to ride through the dark scooted over next to him pretending to be scared.
As they entered the flickering foyer and crowded in with all the other guests, they found themselves next to two kids who were closer to Catie’s age than Peter’s. The girl was ten and she was holding the hand of an obviously scared younger boy. “You just stick close to me, Mopher. I’ll protect you from all the goblins and ghosts.”
“I ain’t too scared, Rebecca. And don’t call me Mopher! My name is Tim!” Long used to her treatment, his protest was half-hearted as they slowly shuffled into the Stretching Room. His neck was craned upward to see the pictures high above their heads. The organ music that played in the background added to the eerie atmosphere and caused him to be more scared than he wanted his cousin to know.
Rebecca dropped his hand once they came to a stop. “You know, Mopher, I didn’t tell you this before, but I looked at your entry ticket. The one you got at the entrance? You know what it said?”
“Tim,” he mumbled. His curiosity overcame his irritation. “What’d it say?”
“You know how there are only nine-hundred and ninety-nine ghosts in here?” When the boy slowly nodded, Rebecca gave him a smirky smile. “Well, it said you were chosen to be ghost number one-thousand!”
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