Disney at Dawn

Amanda eyed Fi

“I’ve got bigger secrets than this, believe me.”

“It was closed up. Abandoned. We always enter by the back. We’re very careful. Only once have I used the front door, and that’s when you and your mother dropped me off here. I wasn’t even sure it could open.”

“And the neighbors?”

“What neighbors? It’s stores and stuff. No one’s ever said anything. It’s only been a couple of months. The water’s on. It’s cold; no hot water, but it works. We shower at school. The toilets work.”

“This is way cool.”

“It’s not great, but it’s what was available. We had to think fast.”

“Don’t Fairlies have money?” he asked.

“If you’re going to tease me, we’re done here.”

“Can’t take a joke?”

“Not about that. And yes, I have an after-school job. But right now, I think we both could use some sleep.” She yawned.

“No! We can’t sleep,” he said. “Wayne says if any of us—the DHIs—go to sleep, we might get trapped the way Maybeck did last time. He said the only way to protect ourselves is to find Jez, get her to safety, and then find and crash the second server.” He let this sink in. “We need your help. That is, only if you want to.”

“Of course I want to.”

He liked the idea of her being involved. She was the most unusual girl he’d ever met. He wondered what powers she might have and why she wouldn’t tell him about them. “You were going to join us on IM,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, well…my computer access is through our local library. A little late for that.”

“So what about her journal? Can I see it? Maybe she left clues or something. We don’t know what we’re looking for, and it’s a huge park. We’re all real tired, and we haven’t started. We don’t know for sure she’s in the Animal Kingdom. Wayne thinks so, but no one knows for sure. I don’t know if you can help, but—”

“Absolutely. I absolutely want to help if I can.”

She took off, out the bedroom and down the dark hall. A light popped on in the next room, casting a trapezoid of light against the far wall, where a mural of a woman’s stern face had been painted. She seemed to be looking at Fi

She returned, clutching a leather journal. Reluctantly, she passed it to Fi

Fi

In the upper-right-hand corner of a page crowded with sketches was a drawing of a castle being struck by lightning. Fi

13

FINN CLIMBED BACK UP the fire rope to his bedroom window, while below him, barely seen, Amanda waited for him, straddling his mother’s mountain bike, which he’d loaned her.

His mission was to get hold of his father’s BlackBerry; to make sure his parents didn’t worry about him or question where he’d gone; and to borrow his little sister’s DS for Amanda, who didn’t own one.

He reached his parents’ bedroom on tiptoe and quietly opened the door. His mother was snoring; his father lay on his side facing the window. The clock on his mother’s end table read 4:08 AM.

He found his father’s dresser in the dark and patted around, searching for his BlackBerry. On Saturdays, his father only took his phone if he went on an extended errand. Fi

He returned to his mother’s side of the bed and quietly turned the clock so that it faced away from the bed, where it couldn’t be read by his mother. Then he gently shook her awake. She was a heavy sleeper, and he was counting on her not coming fully awake.

“Mom…”

Her eyes squinted open, saw him, and then shut again.

“Fi

“It’s just after six,” he lied, wishing he didn’t have to. “I’m going on my bike over to the skate park. Might go to Blizzard Beach later. I’ll call.”

“Don’t forget sunscreen.” She opened her eyes a little more and looked for the clock, but she made no effort to turn it around. This he’d been counting on.

“I’ll call,” he repeated.

There was precedent here: early Saturday morning rides at the skate park were part of his routine. Bikes weren’t allowed in the half pipe after 9 AM on weekends. He often got up early and returned for a late breakfast. By adding the bit about Blizzard Beach—a favorite among his friends—he’d bought himself the rest of the day.

“Take your father’s phone,” she said, rolling over.

“Ah…okay,” he said, his hand tapping his pocket.

He put away the fire-escape rope and left the house by the back door, joining Amanda and climbing onto his bike.

“How’d it go?” she asked.

“Worked out great. I’m good to go for the rest of the day.”

“Your parents let you leave the house at four in the morning?”

“Not exactly. But we’re cool.”

Had he looked overhead he might have felt otherwise: hanging upside down from the gutter of his house, the large bat with the blue tint on its wings dropped free and flew away. Flapping frantically, it circled just above the two bikes as they sped off down the empty street, red safety lights flashing in the dark.

14

THE FOOD-SERVICE STEP VAN had double tires in the back and mud flaps that carried silhouettes of silver mouse ears on their black rubber.

The man behind the wheel had florid cheeks, blue eyes, and bushy eyebrows. He spoke in a deep voice to Fi

“Everyone in back. Find places to hide in case they check back there.” He popped open his door. “It’ll be pitch black in there once I pull that door down, so hurry!”

Fi

“Okay,” the driver said. “That’s good. Stay like that. All set?”

The door came down hard, with a bang of finality. It was dark as a cave inside. The refrigerator unit up near the cab wheezed loudly as it blew an icy wind, freezing them.

“Dang…” Maybeck said. “This is how I always imagined prison.”

“What if one of us is afraid of the dark?” Charlene asked timidly.

“Then she should hold on to Willa, Charlene,” said Maybeck.

“I didn’t say it was me!” Charlene said.

“Right,” said Maybeck.

The truck grumbled and groaned as it lurched around a series of corners toward the back side of the Animal Kingdom. Pretty soon its brakes squealed to a stop. Fi

“I dropped my purse,” Charlene a

Fi

“I can’t see!” she hissed again.

Sounds of the door hardware rattled at the back of the truck. The back door was definitely about to be lifted.