First things first, Happy New Year :)
Second: loveliveLOL: I'm so jealous! We're going to Disney in a few months, but I still can't wait! I hope you had a wonderful...or shall I say magical time! :P
Third: Amandapanda7: You're just too good! Both answers were right!
Fourth: KingdomKeeper1121: I love cliffhangers...oops ;) But I do love you (and all the people reading this)!
And lasty: Apparently I need to challenge y'all more often! 8 reviews last chapter! Just 2 away from triple digits! How awesome! You guys are the best! Thanks again!
And just for that, I give y'all one pretty awesome chapter-if I don't say so myself!
Chapter 25: Toilet Paper, A Ring & A Baseball Bat
December 1, 2358
EPCOT
Spaceship Earth
6:53 AM
The sound of the gun clattering to the floor should have been loud and obnoxious, but to Philby it was white noise. Her voice was all he heard.
She stepped forward out of the shadows and his heart broke into a million pieces. He saw the cuts on her arms, legs and face. He saw the toilet paper wrapped around her left shoulder and the deep red color seeping through. Her hair was falling out of the messy braid, but she hadn't bothered to fix it. The gun she had used to fire at him with earlier was now sticking out of back pocket. She looked like she hadn't slept in days.
But that didn't matter, she still looked as beautiful as ever.
Her eyes locked with him, making his heart skip a beat.
"It is you," she said in a small voice.
He rushed forward and pulled her into his embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, as if letting go meant losing him. He could feel her tears staining his shirt but he didn't care. He held onto her tight, careful not to put too much pressure on her shoulder. He never planning on letting go.
She pulled back just far enough so that she could look at his face.
"You…you found me." Her smile made his heart melt.
"Did you ever doubt me?" He didn't care that Charlene was standing behind him. He didn't care that any of Maleficent's soldiers—or heaven forbid Maleficent herself—could be in the ride watching them. All he cared about was the girl in his arms.
He closed the gap and kissed her. He wrapped his arms tighter around her and deepened the kiss. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, because time seemed to stop.
Charlene's forced cough brought the kiss to an end. Philby—unwillingly—let go of his wife and she gave Charlene a hug. When they separated, Willa walked back over to Philby, immediately grabbing his hand.
Charlene glanced between the two of them and smiled. "Well that was easy. Let's head back to the entrance and wait for the others." She checked her watch and her face scrunched up.
"What's wrong?" Willa asked her.
"It's not even 7! We were supposed to meet at 10. We're gonna be waiting a long time."
"That's okay," Willa said as she looked up at Philby, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I'd love to have some down time."
Philby kissed her on the top of her head.
"I need to get a look at that shoulder too," Philby added.
"Yeah, what happened?" Charlene chimed in.
Willa looked over at her shoulder. The first layer of toilet paper was slowly peeling off, but she didn't bother fixing it. "I'll explain later. Let's get out of here first."
He walked over and grabbed his gun that he had dropped and motioned for the exit. "Shall we?" He offered his arm to Willa.
Willa took his arm with a huge smile on her face. "We shall."
The couple walked down the steps back toward the ride's entrance with Charlene in tow.
Once back at the entrance, Philby led Willa to one of the benches still in tact and they sat down together. Charlene sat on the ground in front of them, legs pulled up to her chest.
"So what happened Willa?" Charlene asked, breaking the silence.
Willa looked down at her hands. "Where do you want me to start? So much has happened in the past few days." Philby draped his right arm over her shoulders, pulling her close.
"How about after Amanda was taken away from Animal Kingdom Lodge?"
Willa glanced up at Philby. "How do you know that?"
"We've found everybody except Finn."
"Oh." Willa looked back down at her hands. "Well…after Amanda got taken…I…I…"
"What do we do with her?" The first soldier asked the second. "The higher ups haven't given us an order with this one."
"I say we kill her." The second one replied. Willa knew both of them realized she was right there. It only made hearing this conversation that much more painful. These two idiots were deciding her fate. Right in front of her.
"You sure the boss is gonna like that?"
"She only wants the one guy. We already gots him."
"True, true," the first soldier stared at Willa, deep in thought. "I guess nobody would miss this one if she was to die."
"Probably true, but we should ask."
"Why ask when you can do something now?" The first soldier's mischievous look wasn't making her feel any better. "We can claim it was an accident."
"Or that she got unruly and tried to escape?" The second one returned the wily grin to his partner.
"I likes your idea much better."
The first soldier pulled out a knife and stabbed Willa in her left shoulder. Since she was still tied to the chair and gagged, her screams were muffled. The soldier pulled out the knife and laughed, as if this was some kind of sick game.
"I…uh…was left there for a day or so before they tried moving me somewhere here in EPCOT. I somehow managed to get away from them and ran into the Land." Willa pointed behind her, in the general direction of the Land pavilion. "In the bathroom there, I…well, I did this." She pointed to the toilet paper covering up her knife wound on her shoulder.
Philby took his arm back and turned his whole body to face her. "Mind if I take a look?"
"You don't have any medical supplies. Wouldn't it be better to wait for some? What if it's infected?"
"There's some back in the jeep." Philby turned to Charlene. "Mind getting me the first aid kid?"
"Sure thing," Charlene said as she jumped up, heading out of the main gates toward the parking lot.
Philby slowly started unraveling the toilet paper from her shoulder. "It's really smart to use this to stop the bleeding. I wouldn't have thought of that."
"Yes you would have," Willa muttered under her breath, still staring at her hands. "It wasn't that innovative."
Philby kissed her cheek. "I think it was." He tore off some more toilet paper and threw it on the ground. Willa watched as it landed gracefully at their feet. "I'm just glad you're alive. I don't know what I'd do if you were killed."
Willa felt like she should say something, but she couldn't.
Philby glanced over his shoulder, probably checking for Charlene. He turned back to face her and lowered his voice. "I think I know a way to get back home."
Willa looked up at him, eyes wide. "What?"
"While I was still working as a doctor back in Indonesia, I got a hold of something. Back then, I didn't know what it was, but now I do." He pulled out some kind of weird talisman on a black string out of his pocket and handed it to her. "It's got some kind of power in it. If I break it, it'll take me and everybody within a certain distance back to our world."
Willa looked it over. "Where did you get this?"
"The Shadow Man gave it to me." Willa raised an eyebrow. "I'm serious, Willa!"
"How do you know you can trust him?"
Philby got this faraway look in his eyes. He always got that look when he was recalling something from his past. "He said that we weren't the only ones who wanted to get away from this world. I…I think some of the Overtakers are stuck here and are trying to get rid of Maleficent too."
"You think they're trying to rebel against her too?"
Willa could not believe what she was hearing. Overtakers rebelling against each other? It was like a dream come true!
"I think so." He leaned a little closer. "We could go home, Willa. Be a family again."
He kissed Willa on her forehead this time. "We need to find Finn first."
Philby lowered his gaze to the talisman in her hands. "That's why I haven't used it yet. Or told anybody about it, except you. I don't want them to know just yet."
Willa handed the talisman back to her husband and watched as he shoved it back in his pocket. "This is a mighty big secret you're keeping, Philby."
"I know," Philby took her hands in his, looking her directly in the eyes. "I love you, Willa."
"I love you too, Philby."
Philby closed the gap between them and kissed her gently on the lips. He then turned his attention to her shoulder, continuing to take off the toilet paper.
"Where's Lizzie?" Willa asked him.
"She's with Wayne. He's keeping her safe back at his apartment."
"Oh." Willa felt unwanted tears stream down her face. When it hit the cut on her cheek, it burned, but she didn't cry out.
Philby cupped her chin with his free hand, gently raising her head so that she had no choice but to look him in the eyes. "What's wrong sweetheart?"
"It's just…we missed her first birthday…and…who knows if we'll see her second…"
Philby kissed the tip of her nose. "Don't you think like that. I promise nothing's ever going to happen to either of you."
"But—"
"But nothing." Philby wiped the tear off of her cheek and kissed her on her forehead.
December 1, 2358
Magic Kingdom
Wayne's Apartment
12:04 P.M.
"Hey Charlene, can I…uh…talk to you for a second?" A nervous Maybeck asked her. He shoved both hands into his pockets, his right hand curling around the small black box resting there.
At ten, when all of them had met up and reunited with Willa, they had all decided to reconvene at Wayne's apartment. Storey and Maybeck had made the point to stay at opposite sides of the room to avoid each other. He still didn't want to talk to her after their fight.
When Willa saw Lizzie, she scooped her up, despite her hurt shoulder. It was so overwhelming and emotional, even Maybeck got a few tears in his eyes—not that he would ever admit it.
Most of them had stayed in the living room, trying to get their mind off the weird situation by playing some old board game. Maybeck walked into the kitchen and sat down at the small dining table. Charlene sat down in the chair next to him, pulling it closer to his. They were far enough from the board game to talk without having to worry about people overhearing them.
"What's up Terry?" She asked him.
He took both of his hands out of his pocket and clasped them together, resting them on the table. He made sure to keep the black box in his pocket. He didn't want Charlene to see it, at least not yet.
"Before this whole curse thing started, you and I were…"
"Broken up," Charlene interrupted. "Yeah, I remember." She hung her head.
"Charlene," Maybeck took her hands in his. "Is there any part of you that still loves me?"
"Why do you ask?" He could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She was most definitely holding something back.
"Because…" Maybeck shook his head, changing his mind on what he originally wanted to say. "Just answer the question, Charlene."
"I…I…" Charlene swallowed, breaking eye contact for a second, but not letting go of his hands. "Of course there still is, Maybeck. There will always be a part of me that loves you."
Maybeck nodded and reached for the small black box in his pocket. "Well that's good." He offered her a quick, weak, nervous smile. He got out of his chair, pushing it behind him a little, and got down on one knee. He opened the box, revealing Charlene's old engagement ring.
Charlene gasped, staring at the ring.
"Terry…"
"Charlene, I still love you. Heck, I'll always love you. When we get back to the real world, I want to give the whole engagement thing another try if you want to."
Charlene wiped a tear off of her cheek and let out a small laugh. "You're forgetting the question."
The biggest smile grew on his face. "Will you marry me Charlene, for real this time? No backing out. Just me and you forever."
"Yes," Charlene said, holding back tears. Maybeck took out her ring and put it back on her finger. He kissed her before sitting back in his chair.
"This is the same ring," Charlene said in amazement. "My ring."
"I didn't have the guts to get rid of it. I was hoping I'd get the chance to ask you again." Maybeck winked at her.
Charlene got up from her chair and sat in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"You're willing to take me back just like that?" She asks him, her face very close to his. "No questions asked?"
He kissed her cheek. "I'd always take you back, Charlie. I don't have to ask any questions. You're the love of my life. End of story."
Charlene rested her head on his shoulder. She still seemed like she was holding something back. He moved his shoulder, forcing her to pick up her head. She looked him in the eyes and he saw worry. Nothing else.
It was almost as if him proposing hadn't happened. His self-confidence was falling to the floor.
"What's wrong babe?"
Normally she would have scolded him for calling her babe. When she didn't, Maybeck knew something was horribly wrong.
"Charlene?" He let go of her.
Charlene hung her head and muttered something incoherent.
"What was that?" He asked her in the quietest whisper he could manage.
"I can't have kids," she whispered. "I'll never be a mom."
For a moment, neither of them did anything. After collecting his thoughts, Maybeck snaked his arms back around her waist and kissed her on the cheek. He kept his lips near her ear. "That's okay," he whispered. "You can't have kids, so we won't have them. It's okay."
"Is it?" Charlene turned her head to face him. They were inches from each other. "I know you'd be a great dad."
"What about the time you thought you were pregnant? After the first year of college?" Maybeck blurted out without thinking about it. He wanted to punch himself in the face. He wasn't supposed to know about that—he had overheard that conversation.
Charlene straightened up and looked at him. "You knew about that? Did Jess tell you?"
"No! I…uh…overheard you telling her."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because…because I was afraid." Maybeck paused. "I wasn't ready to be a dad. I mean we were nineteen."
Charlene's laugh had a sad tone to it. "Yeah, we were."
"But how was that even possible if you…can't…you know—"
"Can't have kids?" Charlene blurted out. "Turns out I was just a week late. According to the nurse, it happens all the time."
"Oh."
Willa walked into the kitchen. Her left shoulder was now properly bandaged. Lizzie was trailing behind her. Upon seeing Maybeck and Charlene, Lizzie ran over.
"Uncle Maybeck! Aunt Charlie!"Charlene pulled Lizzie into her lap. "Why are you crying Aunt Charlie?"
Charlene wiped the tears from her face. "I'm just…" she glanced at Maybeck. "I'm just so excited."
"Why's that?" Willa asked as she pulled a large stack of plates out of the cabinet. Maybeck's stomach growled just thinking of lunch.
"Well…" Maybeck began. Charlene got up and sat back in her chair, still holding Lizzie. Maybeck grabbed Charlene's hand and held it up for Willa to see. "We're getting married when we go back home."
"What?" Willa turned and gasped at the sight of the room. "Oh my gosh, you guys! That's so exciting!"
Willa gave both of them a hug. "This is awesome!"
"Want to be the maid of honor?" Charlene asked Willa. "Again?"
Both girls laughed. "Did you even have to ask?"
Philby walked into the kitchen. "What's going on?"
Lizzie walked over to her father and he picked her up. "Aunt Charlie and Uncle Maybeck are getting married, daddy!"
Philby looked right at Maybeck. "Really? They are?"
Charlene held up her hand, showing off the engagement ring. "We are."
"Well it's about bloody time!" Philby put Lizzie on the ground and gave Maybeck a hug. "Congrats man."
"Be my best man?"
"You bet! We're going to have the best bachelor party the world's ever seen!"
The mischievous gleam in Philby's eyes showed Maybeck that he wasn't kidding one bit.
December 1, 2358
Holding Cell #3
Undisclosed Location
7:48 A.M.
"Wake up Finn," Dillard whispered as he shook Finn. Finn jolted awake.
"What's going on?"
"It's about time." Dillard stood up and stretched.
Finn looked around confused. "How can you tell what time it is in this place? It's super dark and the door is never opened."
"It's about to be opened." Dillard said nonchalantly as he continued to stretch.
"What are you talking about?" Finn asked as he stretched. His whole body was sore from sitting on the stone floor all day. The bruises were starting to turn purple and blue. A few more days and they would be gone. His cuts weren't infected, which was good, but they were still annoying.
Dillard smirked. "Help's on the way."
"What?"
The door to the cell burst open, revealing one of Maleficent's soldiers. "Follow me."
"Took ya long enough!" Dillard said to the soldier. They quickly shook hands and headed for the door.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who are you?" Finn pushed the soldier away from Dillard.
"Marcus you idiot!" Marcus whispered harshly. "Now follow me if you want to make it out of here alive."
Finn turned back to Dillard with an angry expression. "You never told me about—"
"I told you you wouldn't like it!" Dillard replied, rolling his eyes. "Now, let's go."
Dillard pushed Finn out the door.
"Follow me and don't get lost." Marcus said as he started working his way down the hallway, gun at the ready. Finn didn't want to go anywhere with Marcus, but they didn't have a choice.
They walked down the hallway, turned left, then a right, then two more lefts and one more right before they saw their first guard. Marcus didn't hesitate to shoot the guard square in the chest.
Marcus pushed past the dead guard, stepping over him as if he didn't exist, and kept going down the hall. They ran into three more guards down two different hallways before finally reaching a door. Marcus kicked it open and sprinted across what looked like a parking lot. Finn and Dillard followed without thinking twice.
Marcus ran to a black jeep parked in the far corner of the lot and smashed in the window with his gun, unlocking the car from the inside. He jumped in and started to hot wire the car. Dillard jumped into the backseat and Finn jumped into the passenger seat.
Once Marcus got the car's engine working, he put the car into drive and floored the gas. Finn had no clue where they were, but Marcus seemed to know. Even though he was driving like a maniac, he seemed to know where he was going.
"It's about time you got here Marcus," Dillard said from the backseat.
"Why are you here?" Finn asked through gritted teeth. Now that they weren't escaping, Finn's anger had caught up to him.
"Saving your sorry butt. You're welcome by the way."
"Why save me?" Finn asked Marcus. "You hate me."
"True, but I need to talk to Amanda."
"No way." Finn crossed his arms. "Not happening."
"It's important," Marcus said through gritted teeth as he turned around a corner. Finn recognized one tall building in the distance.
"Where are we headed?" Finn asked him, changing the subject. There was no way he was going to let Marcus anywhere near Amanda.
"Tower of Terror," Dillard answered.
"I hope you're not scared," Marcus joked, flashing Finn a smirk. Finn rolled his eyes.
"As long as I get back to Amanda, I don't care where we go." Finn looked over at Marcus. "You're not talking to her, so don't get any ideas."
"I just have to say one quick thing."
"No."
Dillard interfered on Marcus' behalf. "Come on, Finn—"
"No!" Finn yelled. He stewed for a moment before talking, this time in a much quieter voice. His tone was still harsh. "Not after how you've treated her. As long as I'm around, I'm never going to let you anywhere near her."
"You're being ridiculous," Marcus said.
"Am I? You tried to use her! How could I ever let a guy like you near a girl like her? You don't deserve her!"
"Oh, like you do?"
Dillard leaned forward in the backseat. "Come on, Marcus, let's just—"
"He's right, Dillard." Finn mumbled. "I don't deserve her." Finn turned to face Marcus. "But at least I treat her the way she deserves to be treated."
Jess burst into the apartment, running straight to the bedroom. She didn't even bother knocking, because she didn't care. She had to make sure it worked. Her sister was the first on her list.
She saw a young man with brown hair and green eyes laying down on the bed. He was fast asleep and clearly not waking up any time soon. It took her a second to recognize the sleeping man as Finn Whitman, her brother-in-law.
"Amanda?" Jess called out. She looked around the room, but couldn't see her sister anywhere.
Instead of hearing her sister answer her, she heard a scream coming from the master bathroom. Jess hurried across the bedroom and burst into the bathroom.
She saw her sister sitting on the floor next to the bath tub holding a small white stick in her hand. Her hands were trembling, tears streaming down her face.
"A-A-Amanda?" Jess whispered. She had never seen her sister so frightened.
Amanda looked up at her, eyes full of terror.
"What's wrong sis?" Jess knelt in front of her. Amanda handed her the white stick in her hand.
"I was right," Amanda whispered. "I…I…I am pregnant."
Amanda looked up right at Jess and burst into tears again. "Finn's still stuck there…and…and I…I can't do this without him, Jess. What if he never wakes up?"
December 2, 2358
Magic Kingdom
Wayne's Apartment
3:06 A.M.
Jess bolted awake. She had reminded herself that not all of her dreams were correct. Sometimes she got things wrong. Ursula never showed up in Seven Seas Lagoon. Amanda isn't pregnant back in the real world. They didn't make it back without Finn.
After a few minutes of trying to fall back asleep, Jess gave up. She got off of the couch and walked as quietly as she could toward the bathroom. She noticed the light underneath the door. She hesitated before knocking. Somebody could have just left the light on, but she decided to knock, just in case.
"S-s-somebody's in here," Amanda's voice was barely audible through the door.
"Amanda?" Jess whispered. "Are you okay?"
Jess heard the water faucet turn on. "Jess? Uh…I'm fine…"
Jess rolled her eyes and opened the door, quietly closing it behind her. "Come on Amanda, I know you better than anyone. I know you're lying."
Jess crossed her arms and looked at her sister in the bathroom mirror. "What's wrong Amanda? It's the middle of the night."
"I just got a little sick." Amanda picked up her toothbrush and started putting on the toothpaste. Jess noticed how shaky her hands were.
"Are you sure you're alright sis? You're shaking."
"I…I…I'm fine. That's all." Amanda shoved the toothbrush in her mouth to prevent Jess from asking her any more questions. When she was done, she turned around and faced her sister. "I'm fine, Jess. Just go back to bed."
Amanda pushed past her sister and out of the bathroom.
Jess splashed some water on her face and went back to the couch. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep but her most recent dream was still in her mind. Was Amanda really pregnant? Were they really going to go back to 2014 without Finn? She wouldn't allow it. Even though she and Finn fought a lot, she did love him like a brother. She did appreciate all the things that he had done for Amanda. She couldn't ever imagine leaving him in this place, especially since they hadn't found him yet. The stubborn boy still had yet to be found. For all she knew he could be dead, not that she would ever wish that on her brother-in-law.
A knock on the apartment door brought Jess out of her thoughts. She opened her eyes, thinking it was some kind of fluke. A second knock made her realize there was actually someone at the door.
She got up off the couch and walked toward the door quietly. She reached for the baseball bat Maybeck had hidden behind the rocking chair by the door. She counted to three and opened the door and shoved the baseball bat into the knocker's chest.
Jess underestimated her middle-of-the-night strength and ended up knocking the person at the door to the ground. She was about to knock him out with the baseball bat when he called out.
"Jess!"
Jess lowered the baseball bat and gasped when she saw his face.
"Patrick?"
Hmm...what do y'all think? Patrick's here. Maybeck & Charlene are back together. Finn, Marcus & Dillard are on the run. Jess has a crazy dream.
So much coming up in the next few chapters! Here's a little hint at what's coming next chapter (spoiler alert):
1) Jess gets a harsh reality check. 2) Marcus reveals what he's been wanting to tell Amanda all this time. 3)...I've decided to keep this one a secret ;)
Keep up the reviews guys! I'd love to see 100 reviews pretty darn soon! I know you can do it! I hope y'all have a wonderful New Year! I'll do my best to update soon! :)