Carlos felt the burn of shame radiating all over his body as Cruella dragged him through the busy town centre on a leash; he could feel the stares and hear every whisper word but his mother was acting like nothing was wrong.
They arrived at Jafar's Treasure Trove and just one look at the place made Carlos miss Jay; he'd spent so many days watching the Arabian teen dash in and out of the store with handfuls of stolen goods.
"stay out here." Cruella snapped, tying the leash to a rusted pole outside the store.
Pushing away the further burning feeling in his face Carlos stood as still as he dared, "can I have my laptop?" he asked quietly.
Cruella's bony fingers instinctively gripped the device inside her coat, her eyes narrowed, "why?" she hissed.
"so I can start setting up the connection." The young De Vil lied, "that way you won't have to wait ages."
The cogs were turning in Cruella's head, it gave her a furious look, before she slowly handed the laptop over and swished into the store.
Relief washed over Carlos at having his laptop back, opening it he was glad it still had power, closing it quickly he started to think how to escape; the pole he was tied to was so rusted even Carlos knew he could break it.
After a few failed attempts, and one small gash on his hand, the pole crumbled away, thankfully falling into some boxes beside and Carlos was running away as fast as his aching feet would allow.
Hiding down an ally for what seemed like forever Carlos tried to think of a plan; years ago he'd travelled across the Isle of the Lost, so maybe he could do it again and nobody would follow him.
Carlos heaved a sigh, knowing the journey ahead was a long, dangerous one, and he opened his laptop to have one last look at the photos he had of his friends before the battery died forever.
What he wasn't expecting was for a small symbol to be flashing in the corner; there was a connection to the barrier.
Carlos's heart skipped a beat, it was a real connection, he must be in a weak spot, and he felt like crying at his sheer dumb luck.
Composing himself Carlos peeked out to see how far it would be to run to the entrance way, he figured he could still make it even in bare feet.
With shaking fingers the young De Vil pressed the button hard and sprinted out from his hiding space, thankful for his Tourney training made him quick and nimble.
The residents of the Isle stopped dead in their tracks as the barrier around them began to designate for the second time that week, they were all in such a state of awe none of them saw Carlos darting through them towards the entrance.
Carlos's feet and lungs burned but he kept on, eyes locked on the broken bridge beyond the entrance.
"Stop him!" Cruella's screeching voice shot through the crowd but it was too late.
Gulping down air Carlos stopped on the very edge of the bridge, stone falling from under his feet, his laptop lit up as all the connections were made at once and with one last look back, looking his mother dead in the eye, he pressed the button again; locking the Isle back down.
Cruella's pounded on the barrier like a rabid animal and foaming at the mouth.
Trembling all over, either from adrenalin or fear, Carlos went to press the next button to activate the bridge only to be confronted with a black screen; all the sudden activity had caused his laptop to die.
Carlos was stuck on the broken bridge.
Looking up at the people behind the barrier Carlos could see his mother's smug face, she knew what had happened and she knew he had nowhere to go now.
A different kind a panic set into the young De Vil, he glance down at the rough waters beneath him, knowing he wouldn't survive the fall and even if he did he couldn't swim; there was no way back inside the Isle either with his laptop dead.
"you're going to die there runt." Cruella's voice penetrated the barrier, "what a fitting punishment." She cackled.
Carlos's laptop fell from his shaking hands with a clatter, part of it breaking away as it hit the stone, and he felt tears stinging his eyes; he didn't want to die, many times he thought he'd been close but he was so scared.
Cruella's sickeningly twisted smile made him feel physically ill; she was going to watch him die and was going to take every pleasure out of it.
Long after the residents had gone back to their lives Cruella still stood watching Carlos panic.
"they'll never accept you back." Cruella finally said after hours of just watching.
Carlos had finally turned his back on her, standing on the very edge of bridge and wondering if he should end it all quickly, he heard her speak and he knew it was the truth.
He'd stolen from the King, he'd hacked into every security system available, he'd opened the barrier twice and he'd run away without a word to anyone.
"when the authorises get here they'll just put you back in here." Cruella said smoothly, "you'll never be allowed back in Auradon."
"I know." Carlos whispered hoarsely, not so his mother could hear.
"you're just too evil, there's no change in you from when you first left." Cruella De Vil was twisting the knife in deep, "here you've already stolen, lied and broken property."
Carlos tried his best not to cry because he knew no matter what he said to anyone they wouldn't believe him and place him straight back on the Isle with his mother.
"come to think of it, didn't you have some little friends?" Cruella enjoyed others suffering, "can't think much of you, can they. After all you've been gone for five days." Her words were cruel but true.
In vein Carlos put his hands over his ears and clamped his eyes tight shut to block her out; the young De Vil didn't need to be told how little others cared about him but he missed them and pictured them in his mind's eye as he decided to step off the edge.
As Carlos shuffled forwards his heart thumped hard against his chest, he could feel the leash whipping his legs in the wind and he tried to keep his mind of his friends smiling facing.