"Life in the Stars"
"Yo Ho Ho… It Be Down Ye Go, Mate!"
Chapter 24
XXIV
The group transported to the ground very early for their third day at Disney
World and arrived to find a small surprise.
"Whoa!" said Zorel as he looked around. "this isn't the MGM
Studios!"
"No kidding!" Danyy agreed, looking around.
"Looks familiar, though," Maya said. Andya and Joleesa agreed.
"Yeah," …Yeah!" said Zorel. "I know this place! This is Tom
Sawyer's Island… not far from the fort and the cave."
Max smiled watching their initial confusion and final enlightenment.
"Michael and I decided to move the ship during the night," Max told
them. "Here we'll be closer to the things we want to see today. Also, it
might not be a bad idea to move the ship often… just in case."
Rayyn looked at Rachel, "Did you know about this?" Rachel smiled. Taz
looked at Tracie; she just smiled, too.
"They did," said Mareeya. "They all knew it. They just wanted to
see if we would notice."
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Meanwhile, at MGM Studios, Zwolinski was first in line and just entering the
park as the gates opened. He headed immediately for the last place he had seen
the "aliens" when they were returning to their ship the night before.
Zwolinski had brought along a huge backpack and several sidepacks loaded down
with specialized camera equipment, heat sensors, night vision lenses and
goggles, an infrared detector and camera with special film… and basically
everything that the well-dressed spy shouldn't be without… plus a well-hidden
automatic pistol and ammunition. He was having a bit of trouble coordinating
everything and walking at the same time, but it was obvious that every single
piece of this equipment was a "treasure" to him. As he arrived at the
area behind the Backlot Tour ride, "Catastrophe Canyon," he set
everything down and took out each item, one piece at a time, then began taking
pictures of the open sky around the area.
Soon, Zwolinski had acquired a small crowd of curious onlookers.
"Uh… sir, we were just wondering…" said one older, baldheaded man
with a heavy New Jersey accent, "Just what is it you're taking pictures
of?"
Zwolinski tried to hustle him away with just a look, but he wouldn't be
discouraged. His wife repeated the question, grating on Zwolinski's nerves all
the more.
"Birds! Okay? I'm a bird lover! Now scram… all of you! Get the Hell outta
here."
The old man looked at his wife. She shook her head, "He ain't no boyd
luvah, Pookie… If he's lookin' fuh boyds, it's jus' t'pull theah fethahs
out." He nodded.
After two hours of taking pictures of every inch of sky in the area, Zwolinski
found himself facing a new group, a Disney security team, who also wanted to
know what he found so interesting about the skies here. As his actions were
highly suspicious and as he was unwilling to tell them anything more than he
had told the old New Jersey couple, he found himself being politely but firmly
escorted out of the park.
Not one to be that easily deterred, Zwolinski returned an hour later with
somewhat less equipment and entered the Magic Kingdom.
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At the same time, Max and company were enjoying some of the attractions that
they had not seen the previous day in the Magic Kingdom. They were just getting
into several boats to cruise the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride when
Michael and Zwolinski spotted each other at the same time. Zwolinski jumped
into a boat two boats behind the last boat in Max and Michael' group, forcing
the other riders out so that he would have it to himself.
As the boats meandered through the ride, some of the children noticed Michael
and Max whispering and looking back at Zwolinski. Zorel, especially, with his
keen ears, picked up quickly on their situation and the danger they faced. As
the riders floated into the large open cavern sea where the pirate ship lay at
anchor shooting fake cannonballs at the passing boats, Zorel decided to give
the cannons a little "oomph," but for this he needed Liz-Jolee's
help. Leaning over, he whispered into her ear, and she nodded, glancing back
cautiously at Zwolinski. The next three cannonballs that were fired from the
pirate ship turned out to be real, with a little help from Liz-JoLee z'Varec,
and Zorel guided them to their target with three rapid-fire power blasts. All
three cannonballs rained down smack in the middle of Zwolinski's boat, which
promptly sank in the middle of the lagoon, as the animated pirates raucously
sang "Yo, Ho, Ho…"
Michael was quite proud of his son, Zorel, and of Liz-JoLee z'Varec as well,
and was letting everyone know it as they exited the "Pirates of the
Caribbean" ride. Max and Michael decided, however, that since Zwolinski
appeared to be alone -something they could handle- and since it might be awhile
before he dried out and could find them again in any case, they should not let
him keep them from seeing the rest of the attractions. Liz and Maria agreed. So
did Jim and Kathleen and all the others. The escorts weren't sure exactly what
they were facing in this man, Zwolinski, but they agreed, too, trusting in Max
and Michael's decision and their abilities.
The fact is, the Antarian "tourists" were able to enjoy the rest of
the morning and a wonderful Character Lunch at Cinderella's Palace without
Zwolinski finding them or spoiling their fun. Everyone was delighted with
Cinderella's Palace, and Nina was all smiles.
It was after lunch, when they were getting into the little flying ships that
carry visitors through the Peter Pan ride that Zorel spotted Zwolinski looking
around nearby and notified his Dad, who passed the word on to Max. At first,
Zwolinski didn't see them, but as the last car was going in, Zwolinski caught a
glimpse of one of the riders and realized they were the ones he was seeking. He
rushed past the crowd and jumped into one of the ships behind them, pushing the
children aside who had been about to get into it. As the little ships rolled
along the rails into the attraction, the rails abruptly ended and the ships
rolled off the end of the rails… but they didn't fall… they flew… passing over
the land and over the sea, dropping down lower near the pirate ship where
Captain Hook and Smee were firing at the visitors as they passed overhead. Of
course, the cannonballs weren't real, and no one ever really gets shot down…
well, not until today anyway. It wasn't one of Zwolinski's more brilliant days…
shot down by pirates for the second time at Disney World.
The sets of the Peter Pan ride are what is known as "forced
perspective," that is, they are not really life-sized and far below as
they seem to be but are actually much smaller than life and much closer to the
riders. Consequently, Zwolinski plummeted about ten feet, landing like a giant
on top of the little sets, hurting only his pride for the most part. He did not
take long getting out and back on the trail of the ones he had declared his
"enemies."
After "Snow White's Adventure" and "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride,"
the group ended up at the "It's A Small World" ride. "It's A
Small World" is a gentle, pleasant ride from beginning to end, in wide
boats that pass slowly through jungles and countries inhabited by nothing more
dangerous than thousands of animated dolls of the world, as the sound system
plays, "It's a small world after all…" There are no cannons… no
pirates… so when Zwolinski spotted the group floating into this
"safe" ride, he commandeered a boat and followed them in. Somehow,
though, his boat got caught up in a freak whirlwind and sank, which had never
happened before in the history of Disney World.
Mareeya Whitman received lots of congratulations from the other children after
they exited. They knew that the power to control wind was one that only Mareeya
among them had. She smiled guiltily… but proudly.
Nina had secured priority tickets early in the morning for the group to have
dinner at "Chef Mickey's" in the Contemporary Resort, which turned
out to be a great hit, especially with the children, as Goofy cooked for them
and the characters all came around to "say hello" and have their
pictures taken with the visitors.
After dinner, the group headed back to the ship for the night before Tom
Sawyer's Island closed. Their run-ins with Zwolinski today had seemed almost
comical, and to the children, even fun, but the adults knew that Zwolinski was dangerous.
He carried a gun, which he would not hesitate to use on any of them without
remorse or pity. His only goal in life was to capture and dissect them in the
"White Room." He was unstable. And although any of their powers
vastly outweighed his meager abilities, he could not be dismissed as a danger.
Sooner or later, Max and Michael and the other adults knew, Zwolinski would
exact his vengeance or would have to be dealt with one way or another.
----------------------End of Chapter 24