Kris's POV:

"Want to hang out after work?" I asked Lucy as she helped me restock the shelves. "Our shift ends during that weird chunk of time between the parade & the fireworks."

"Sure!" Lucy said. "We might as well let the families with little kids get out, & wait until there's less traffic."

To some, my job may look like just another retail job. To me, my job was a dream come true. I am a Cast Member in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. I work in one of the gift shops in Adventureland, which might not be the most glamorous position, but I loved it.

"We can go on a ride or two, if you don't believe the rumors…" Lucy said.

"What rumors?" I asked.

"You haven't heard?" She took a quick glance around us, making sure there weren't any Guests listening to us, & then lowered her voce to a whisper. "Some of the AA's have been acting weird." AA's were what we called the Audio Animatronics used throughout the parks. "Apparently, they're one bear short over at the Country Bear Jamboree. Buzz, over at Space Ranger Spin, was moving at twice the speed he was programmed to move. Even just this morning, at the Great Movie Ride over at Studios, some of the characters from the Wizard of Oz were sitting on the roof top with Mary Poppins!"

"I guess the Cast Members working there had to step in time to fix that!" I said, laughing. "Seriously, though, I think whoever's starting the rumors is a little too obsessed with Kingdom Keepers."

"Yeah, I know, right? Maybe Ridley Pearson is back in town!" Lucy said, laughing.

We would soon find out that the rumors were true.

We walked around for a while after work, trying to find a relatively short line. We eventually settled on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Tran. It wasn't the most thrilling ride, but we both had a soft spot for Snow White.

Tonight's ride would end up be more thrilling than we had expected...

We had just entered my favorite part of the ride, where you actually go through the mine shaft. Lucy & I were sitting in the middle of the car, so we heard people ahead of us making a big fuss about Happy. As we turned the corner, we saw why.

The scene was supposed to have Happy & Bashful, picking away at the rock looking for gems…but Happy was somehow taking steps forward. His arm movements continued, even though his pickax was aimed at nothing. We passed as he stepped to the edge of the track…with his pickax now aimed to come down on my head.

Lucy screamed, but I jumped up (as much as possible with the safety restraints) & grabbed Happy's arm, pushing against it to try to stop it from swinging downward. Whoever was sitting behind me also leaped into action, & I heard a strange whirring sound. Happy fell backward, deactivated, as I toppled back into my seat.

I sat there for a moment, catching my breath.

"Are you ok?" Lucy asked as we started to climb out of the mine.

"I think so." I said. "That was weird." I turned to the person sitting behind me. He was dressed in a tweed suit with a bow tie.

"Thank you." I told him.

"No trouble at all." He answered, tucking whatever device he had used into his jacket pocket. He seemed touched that I had thanked him.

Suddenly, those rumors made a lot more sense.

Was this all just a maintenance issue…or was there something lurking in the shadows of the Magic Kingdom?

I just want to make a quick disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the Disney Parks in any way. The information used in this story is the result of a combination of Internet research, memories from my trip a few years ago, & some good old fashioned hand waving & logical guessing. This is purely a work of fiction.

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