Amanda Return-that would have to still be up to Philby-but the fob offered her and Maybeck a way out. The rising confidence in Maybeck’s eyes suggested he might know what she was thinking.
Finn was always on time for everything, but he wasn’t necessarily early.
“Tell them why they’re doing this, Terry,” Charlene said.
“Oh, yes, by all means. Please!” said Hugo.
Maybeck’s eyes found the clock. “Because Maleficent’s prison cell is controlled electronically, and this facility provides Disney World’s backup power.”
Judging by the state of alarm on Cruella’s face, he’d hit a home run. Charlene tried to keep her own surprise from showing. This was the first she’d heard his theory.
“So, really,” Charlene said, “where do you think the rest of us are right now?”
“PULL THE SWITCH, YOU LITTLE TWIT!” Cruella shouted at Hugo.
Charlene’s thumb warmed the plastic button on the fob, rubbing back and forth, so tempted to send them all back from where they’d come.
Finn inched forward, a tightness gripping his chest immediately, his DHI’s blue outline dimming. His eyes slowly adjusted to his own faint glow.
The cave walls sweated, the air dank, the space narrow and confined. His head swooned. He moved forward tentatively as the tunnel turned slightly, and he gasped.
Cruella De Vil. Asleep on some furs atop an air mattress. He leaned closer; her eyeballs danced beneath her eyelids. It looked…
Just beyond Cruella, the Evil Queen slept on her back, hands folded across her belly, her crown in place. Her lips and nose were twitching. She seemed to be grinning slightly.
He had them.
For a moment, the shock of the discovery proved too much; he simply stared. If he could tie them up, gag the Queen so she couldn’t throw spells, then wait for sunrise and the return of the Characters to their various attractions, then maybe, just maybe, the Imagineers had two more prisoners. Two more generals, Shan-Yu would have said.
He had his two shoelaces. A sash around the Queen’s robe. A plan formed in his head.
The way their eyes moved behind their lids was disturbing. He couldn’t stop himself from looking.
He checked a watch that hung from Cruella’s neck:
12:59. In one minute he would be Returned-that is, if he and Amanda were close enough to the hub. He had no desire to test the system. But he needed more time. He began unlacing his shoes frantically. They would never get another chance like this.
Spinning in self-admiration, the Evil Queen’s green-outlined DHI, glued to her own reflection, noticed three gorillas behind her.
Charlene caught the changes to the Queen through the control room windows. There was Maybeck, his arms beginning to shake from holding the chair for so long; Cruella, advancing the glowing end of her cigarette at Charlene’s perfect complexion; Hugo Montcliff, his hand on a master switch.
“What are you three doing standing around?” she heard the Queen complain. “I said ‘Get them!’ ”
The gorillas charged the door, more afraid of the Queen than some broken glass.
Charlene was no Jess-but she could see the future. The gorillas were going for Terry. He would not have a chance.
Maybeck heard the door break open and understood that he was the target. He had never hurt another person-not like he was about to hurt this kid. But he brought the chair down onto Hugo holding the switch with a vengeance.
Hugo Montcliff saw the look in Maybeck’s eyes and knew the fate that awaited him. He was, in fact, going to be squished like a bug. He pulled the switch.
Charlene pushed the button. The fob fell into the drawer.
The two facility workers taped into the chairs screamed through their gags in unison; the kids and the two costumed freaks
Finn was just tying the Queen’s hands together when she sat bolt-upright. He screamed at the top of his lungs and fell back.
Seeing Finn so close, the Queen screamed as well, the released terror echoing off the tunnel’s sheer stone walls.
Cruella’s eyes bugged open. It took a moment for her to reorient herself.
In the uncomfortable moment that followed, the only sound was the steady drip of condensation coming off the rock walls.
For Finn, their coming awake was like living a horror movie. The Queen began untying her hands with her teeth. Cruella rolled over on her furs. Finn saw the Queen’s hands coming loose-her ability to throw a spell was only seconds away. He backed off, looking down at his own hands with their faint blue outline. In his current state he wasn’t going to walk through the door any time soon.
“Well, what do we have here?” the Evil Queen said, knowing perfectly well what she had here. She had Finn. Cornered.
He banged his back into the door. He willed himself to
“What’s happening to him?” Cruella asked.
Finn looked down at his hands-sputtering and translucent. Like nothing he’d ever seen.
“Where’d he go!?” shouted Cruella.
“Who turned out the lights?” the Queen said.
Finn stood still, wondering why everything had gone pitch-black and why they couldn’t see him. It took him several long seconds to grasp the situation: he was in DHI shadow, his DHI no longer providing a glow in the tunnel
“No, no, no!” Cruella said. “It’s the power failure. We did it! We succeeded! By tomorrow morning at seven o’clock we’ll be whole aga-”
“SILENCE!” the Queen erupted. “Say nothing more. He’s still here, you fool. FIND HIM!”
“I can’t see my own nose!” Cruella complained. “And I have a big nose.”
“Hold your arms out. We should be able to
Finn knew everything the Queen had said was true. He made himself small, arms at his side, and ducked down into a squat, his ears intent upon hearing the sound of their shuffling feet as they moved toward him.
He was going to be caught. The tunnel was too narrow to slip past them. His best chance was surprise. He charged.
Cruella shrieked. He felt her arms spin like a propeller. He averted his face, knowing the Queen was next.
“Umph!” she said, as he hit her and went down with her onto the air mattress. She grabbed for him, but he rolled and clawed the wall and moved off her. He glued his back to the wet stone, anticipating their next move.
“This way!” the Queen roared.
In their haste, the two moved past him.
