Disney at Dawn

And angry.

The orangutans screamed loudly from the bathroom.

Maybeck said to Philby, “I know you feel like a zombie. I’ve been there. But we have to hurry. We’ve got to get you out of here.”

46

FINN AND MAYBECK escorted Philby and Willa to the train platform for the Wildlife Express Train. Amanda had a

Charlene was still keeping an eye on the bat enclosure. The ice truck had not been moved.

The kids stood around watching Fi

“Rob?”

“Yeah? Who’s this?”

“My name is Fi

“Jez’s. Yeah, I know.” He didn’t sound too thrilled. “She talks about you and the others all the time.” Too much of the time, his tone of voice implied.

“Have you seen her by any chance? Heard from her?”

“No. Why?”

“Just curious,” Fi

“What’s up with that?”

“Just asking.”

“Because?”

“Yeah, well…listen…I know this is going to sound stupid, but if there was one thing Jez could change about you, what would it be?”

“Is this some kind of contest or something?”

Fi

“Yeah, that’s it exactly,” Fi

“The one thing she would change?”

“Yes. That’s the question.”

A long hesitation on the other end of the call. “My clothes. She doesn’t like my jeans, man. I wear ‘em kinda low.”

“Your jeans?”

“Yeah. Did I answer right?”

“I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Fi

“I can tell you the one thing I’d change about her,” Rob volunteered, not giving Fi

“Anagrams,” Fi

“What’s that?” Rob asked.

“It’s what you call that: an anagram is a word that can be made from the letters of another word.”

“Never heard of it.” He paused. “So what about my prize? Do I win a prize?”

“Ah…we’ll let you know. Thanks for your answers.” Fi

“Anagrams,” Philby said. “You think it’s worth a try?”

“Do we think what is worth a try?” Maybeck asked.

“Jez wrote ‘change Rob’in her diary—”

“And inside the tree stump,” Willa added.

“Some kind of code?” Fi

“Give me the BlackBerry,” Philby said, reaching toward Fi

“I really don’t think we should call him back,” Fi

“I’m not calling anyone. The BlackBerry has Internet. We can settle this pretty quickly.”

Fi

The small screen showed a long list of possible letter combinations.

“‘Branch ego,’” he read from the screen. “‘Corn bag he.’” They laughed. “‘Herb can go.’”

“Let me see that.” Willa moved in next to Philby, to where their shoulders touched. No one missed how close she got to him, least of all Maybeck, who suddenly started shifting anxiously. Willa studied the screen and spoke in a quiet voice.

“We’ve done this before,” she reminded him. “The clues from the Stonecutter’s Quill. Remember? We solved that anagram without a Web site.”

“That’s because we didn’t have a BlackBerry. There’s nothing here,” Philby said.

“There are no proper names,” Willa said.

“So?” Philby challenged.

Willa took the BlackBerry out of Philby’s hand and held it where she could study it clearly. Then she calmly returned the BlackBerry to Philby, who passed it back to Fi

“So I’ve got one,” she said, capturing the full attention of the others. She meant this as a challenge. She remained incredibly close to Philby, and she was looking him directly in the eyes. “One word. A name. A Disney name.”

“I give up,” Fi

“I don’t! Wait! Wait!” Philby barked, not wanting to lose to Willa.

“A Disney name?” Maybeck asked. “But then that’s got to be it. What is it, Willa? Tell us what it is!”

“Give up?” she asked Philby, her voice a hoarse whisper. There was something going on between these two. And Maybeck didn’t like it.

“No…No…” Philby pleaded.

“He gives up,” Maybeck said. “WE ALL GIVE UP.”

Willa’s eyes scrunched, as if to convey her disappointment in Philby. But Philby didn’t see her. His eyes were closed, his lips moving as if reading to himself.

“Chernabog!” Philby shouted out.

“And I was about to give up on you,” Willa said, obviously impressed.

“The creature from Fantasia?” Fi

“You ever see that movie?” Maybeck questioned. “He is one mean dude.”

“And guess what?” Willa said. “Chernabog’s not only the most evil of all the Disney villains, he happens to be a demon with bat wings!”

The kids went silent, the air suddenly shattered by the train’s sharp whistle, a

47

HE’S THE BADDEST OF THE BAD. The most evil Walt Disney ever created.” Philby was in fine form, back to himself, alert from the sleep he’d gotten and able to think more clearly than either Maybeck or Fi

Charlene remained behind in the jungle just outside the bat enclosure. She blended in well there and, having found a log to stand on with her stilts, could keep an eye on the activities backstage by peering over the top of the wall. The back doors of the ice truck had been shut, Maleficent inside. As far as Charlene could tell, before entering the back of the truck neither Maleficent nor the monkeys and apes had realized the cages were empty. The tarps used to contain the captive DHIs and to block their projections from showing had also served to fool their captors.

Once the line was moving, Maybeck, Fi

As the train arrived at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, the kids split up. Park visitors trudged up the long path toward the Conservation Station. They were a team now, protective of one another and concerned for each other’s safety. These kids, who had once been strangers, were now anything but—brought together by a common enemy and the strange manifestations of a technology gone wrong. To remind them of their previous lives would have been foolish, for they could barely remember a time when falling asleep did not mean crossing over into a strange world, and where a white-haired old man had not controlled their shared fate.

Fi

“I’m starving,” said Willa.

“Later,” said Philby.

“What’s so important?” Fi

“We have to act while they’re distracted. And I have to get back to the AnimalCam before someone realizes how many cameras that station has access to.”

“Act?” Fi

“One of the sketches from the diary.” She unfolded the original page of the diary and pointed out the ape on crutches. “It’s a tattoo. A washable tattoo for the children. It’s given to them after the private tours of the vet clinic. I think our passes will get us back there, but I didn’t want to leave my station for too long. And since the veterinary clinic means animals, I thought it was better to get some help and maybe do this as a team.”