Chapter 3

Sam had Dean drop him off near the monorail to Disney World after explaining how to get to Lake Buena Vista from there. He was going to pay for his ticket out of his own pocket, but he considered it worth it to satisfy a deep seated curiosity. He had stopped talking about the place years ago because it seemed to annoy Dean, but it remained alive in his mind, branded there every year by dozens of his classmates' "What I did this Summer" reports. He realized, despite recent advertising, that the place was for kids, but the opportunity to see this strange new world was worth Dean's teasing.

His first year roommate at Stanford, Alex, wasn't someone he talked to often, even when he was still at Stanford, but they had kept up an email acquaintance. When Alex had passed on his friend who worked at Disney's 'hilarious email', Sam had been intrigued. Some research had turned up the Lake Buena Vista disappearances, but not a word from Big Brother Disney.

And yet Cinderella, at the end of her shift and still in costume, had walked off into a supposedly dead end drainage ditch and disappeared. Two other employees saw her do so, one of whom was Alex' friend. They had thought she was simply going for a cigarette, only later realizing that she didn't smoke. And yet, Disney was saying she had quit. Not that she had disappeared.

When he'd done the research for this hunt, he'd been surprised by how many stories – legends, really – revolved around Disney World. Half the rides had urban legends associated with them, and Disney itself generated its own mythology. Was Walt Disney really cryogenically frozen under the park, and did a hamburger really cost over ten dollars inside the walls? Sam was thinking "no" to the first and "yes" to the second.

He gaped in disbelief at the sheer amount of stuff the families around him were bringing in. A gigantic stroller nearly ran him over as he got off the monorail. Then there was a long wait in the hot sun for his ticket. He had been prepared for Dean's scorn, but he was surprised by how worried the woman behind the counter looked. It belatedly occurred to him that a young man getting a single ticket for the park with no family or friends in sight was unusual. He flashed her a conspiratorial smile. "I'm surprising my girlfriend. She's here with her family."

Sam wasn't as good at it as Dean, but sometimes, he could improvise with the best of them. The girl behind the counter, Mariette, softened. "You have a nice day," she said, handing him his ticket and scant change.

"Thanks."

He wandered in a daze down the main street. It was like entering a different world. He felt a pang of regret he had never managed to come here (or to Disneyland) with Jess.

Inside his backpack was Dean's backup EMF detector. Sam's plan was to wander the areas where Cinderella had disappeared, plus any rides with associated legends. If the EMF beeped, he'd just say it was his cell phone. He studied the giant map of the place, then headed off.

Several hours later, he was exhausted from pushing through crowds and sneaking around the employee areas (the ones he could reach). He couldn't believe how long the lines were. It took him three hours to get on Space Mountain, and the EMF never made a sound. He had managed the People Mover, but now it was already time to meet Dean and all he had to show for it was the dying batteries on the EMF.

His joy at seeing whole, normal families enjoying themselves had been replaced hours ago by annoyance at how whiny the children got when they were tired. He couldn't help but think that Dean had been right to keep John Winchester away from this place.

He made his dispirited way to the parking lot. The Impala was waiting in the Pluto section as they had planned. Dean had his seat back and his eyes closed. The windows were rolled down to catch the scant breeze.

Sam approached quietly, mentally running through his list of options for messing with his sleeping brother. Dean foiled that by opening his eyes just as Sam got close enough.

"You find out they have a height limit?" asked Dean.

Sam decided to ignore the taunt. "There's no EMF anywhere around Cinderella's Castle."

Dean smiled. "Where's the recorder? I think you need to repeat that."

"Getting hard of hearing in your old age?" Dean frowned for a second, and Sam counted victory as his. "I thought I'd try the rides with the most stories about them to see if I'd get a hit, but it took me four hours to ride two of them. We need to find a better way to do the rest."

"Already ahead of you, Sammy." Dean flourished two colorful pieces of paper at him.

Sam took them. "Season tickets?"

"Visited three of our victim's houses. The only thing they have in common is that they really like Disney World. The mayor said the other one was always going too."

"Great," said Sam. Dean could be very efficient when he wanted to be. "Maybe there's some spirit praying on the emotionally susceptible somewhere in the park"

"Low level hypnotism," said Dean. "Could be a few different things. No EMF in the houses."

Sam nodded. "Did they give you the season passes?" Dean had been posing as a private investigator hired by one of the relatives of the missing people. Perhaps the mayor had been friendly.

Dean shook his head in mock disappointment. "Left them out in the open while I was looking around the house. Does that count as giving them to me?" Dean didn't wait for an answer. "Which is why you'll have to turn on the charm before we go in again, Samantha." He rolled up the windows to the car while Sam looked over the top pass. There, in neat type, was the name Samantha Johnson.

"Dean!"