A/N: Hey readers. I hope you're enjoying the novel so far. Here is chapeter four. This chapter is long and intense. Be prepared. Enjoy!
The kids walked into the park right before closing using their employee passes, and wearing disguises. They stayed in one of the bathrooms until the park closed. When they no longer heard the commotion of the thousands of guests leaving, and the footsteps of the janitors cleaning up, the kids stepped out of the bathroom onto Main Street USA. Wanda and Wayne had both gone back to their homes.
"Well" said Willa. "Where do we start?" All of the keepers looked at Finn. This was one of the disadvantages of being "the leader". Everyone always looked to you for a plan, and sometimes, you didn't have one.
"I honestly have no idea." said Finn. "We didn't really talk this through very much."
"I say we pair up and search the park for clues." said Amanda. "If one group finds something, they should text the others." They all agreed that this was a good plan.
"Okay" said Philby. "We've decided to split up into groups, but we still don't know where those groups are searching."
"I have an idea" said Willa. "I think we should search the places where all the good characters are."
"That's a good concept" said Jess. "But that's pretty much everywhere."
"Good point" said Willa. "I didn't think about that."
"What if we searched the places where the princesses are?" said Amanda. "I think they might be trying to get all the princesses now. It's just a thought. They might be trying to get the characters in groups, and if they are, then they're going for the princesses. It would make sense considering that Jess and Wayne saw them taking Cinderella.
"O.k." said Finn. "Let's start with that." Amanda smiled. She liked it when Finn agreed with her.
"O.K." said Finn. "Amanda and I will go to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique. Willa and Philby, you two go to the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. Jess and Charlene, you guys go to Cinderella Castle. That place is the home to tons of princesses."
"Sounds good" said Willa.
"O.K" said Finn. "Keep your eye out for clues and be careful. You never know who's an overtaker. When you're done, come right back here to the emporium. Good luck everyone. I'll see you soon." They all looked at each other. It was anything, but a happy look. It was a look of concern. It was a look of fear. It was a look of sympathy and friendship. It was a look that they knew could be the last one that included all of them, for quite some time.
Willa and Philby stopped dead as they approached the bridge to adventure land.
"Did you feel that?" asked Willa.
"Yeah" said Philby. "The overtakers are definitely close. That means we're on the right track." Maleficent, one of the overtakers' leaders, brought the cold with her where ever she went. Whenever one of the keepers felt this unmistakable cold, they knew that she was near. To a keeper, the cold meant danger.
"Maybe we shouldn't go." said Willa. "If the overtakers are here than we're probably walking straight into a trap!"
"We might be, but we can't worry about that. Right now we have to stop the overtakers from capturing Princess Jasmine." said Philby. Willa looked at him. He could see the fear on her face. He reached down and took her hand. Together they took a deep breath and crossed the bridge. As they approached The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, fear filled their bodies. They had had many encounters with park attractions at night, and it never ended well.
"Okay." said Willa. "Let's start by just searching the ride area for clues. If we can avoid getting on the ride, we should. The less chance we have of being captured, the better." The two crawled through the waiting area slowly and carefully, searching for clues that may have been left by Walt Disney. When they reached the end of the queue, they had found nothing. Willa stood up and saw someone sitting in one of the carpets. She wasn't sure whether she should run, or approach the person.
"Aladdin?" called the figure. "Darling where are you?" It was easy to hear that it was a female and that she was fighting back tears. Willa knew that she had heard this voice before, but she couldn't figure out where.
"This isn't funny." called the figure. Willa struggled to remember who this voice belonged to. It was on the tip of her tongue. "ALADDIN?" the girl speaking broke into tears. Suddenly, Willa remembered where she had heard the voice. It was the voice of Princess Jasmine.
"Philby!" she called. "Get over here. I found Princess Jasmine." Philby came running over.
"Hello?" Jasmine called. "Who's there?" Willa walked up and sat down next to her.
"Hi." she said. "My name's Willa, and I'm a Kingdom Keeper"
"Oh my goodness!" said Jasmine. "You are! Maybe you can help me. A few days ago, I woke up in the morning, and Aladdin wasn't there. I called out to him, thinking that he was already awake, but he didn't answer." Jasmine was trying not to cry. "I've been looking for him ever since, but I can't find him. I'm just so scared that he's been captured by the overtakers." Jasmine broke out into tears again. Willa put her hand on her shoulder. She motioned for Philby to come over. He sat down in the back of the carpet.
"It's okay" Willa said. "We'll find him."
"I think you should know what's going on." said Philby. "We've made some discoveries lately and the truth is…" but suddenly, the carpets began to rise up as if the ride were starting.
"Philby?" asked Willa. "Did you start the ride?"
"No." said Philby. They both knew what this meant. Something bad was about to happen. Something very bad.
"Everyone put on your seatbelts!" screamed Willa. She picked up the two halves of the seat belt, but they wouldn't fit together. The opening was sealed shut. Jasmine and Philby tried the same only to end with the same result. Now, there was no mistaking it. This was the work of the overtakers.
"HOLD ON TIGHT!" Willa screamed. Suddenly the carpets picked up speed. An unnatural speed.
"The carpets never go this fast." said Philby.
"I know." said Willa. "I think we've already established that when the overtakers control a ride it's never the same as the actual ride. Now hold on!" The three held on as tight as they possibly could, but the carpets only got faster, and faster, and faster, until they must have been going at least eighty miles an hour. Suddenly, the carpets began to jerk up and down quickly and sharply. The carpets got faster, and the jerks got stronger and Willa felt as if she was about to throw up. On and on the carpets went, faster and faster, jerkier and jerkier. Suddenly, a chill filled the air and a cold wind froze as it hit their skin. Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and it got colder and colder. This could only mean one thing, Maleficent. An electric fence surrounded the moat that lay underneath the carpets. There was no way out. They had two choices; stay in the carpets, or jump into the moat.
"We have to Jump!" Willa screamed. "It's our only way out!"
"Into the water?" said Philby. "Are you nuts? How are we supposed to get out once we're in? That water is probably freezing! Maleficent has probably already got the temperature down to below zero! We'll get hypothermia!"
"It's better to cut our losses down there and try to find an emergency exit! If we stay up here we'll either get captured, or die, and honestly, I don't feel like dying or getting captured and I don't think you do either so jump!"Willa said.
"You make a good point." said Philby.
"I don't exactly feel comfortable jumping off of this thing." said Jasmine.
"You have to trust us!" Willa screamed. "Everyone jump on the count of three. Ready? One…" but before Willa could reach two, her eye caught the giant camels that normally spit water at the guests to cool them off. Their eyes were glowing green like demon's. They began to walk towards the moat, and they stepped right through the electrical fence as if it wasn't even there. It didn't hurt them in the slightest bit. They bent down, and sucked the water out of the moat. The water was replaced by what looked like a huge portal; something that would surely lead them right into the hands of the overtakers.
"…Never mind! Abort mission! Stay in the carpets and hold on!" screamed Willa. The three held on for their lives as the carpets continued to get faster and the jerks got stronger. Suddenly the carpets began to spin in full circles. As the carpet flipped upside down, the three held on to the carpets edge, but it continued spinning. Every second they were switching their hands from the inside to the outside, until the spins were so fast that it was nearly impossible not to miss.
"We can do it." Willa screamed. "Just hold…" but before she could finish her sentence, Jasmine's hand missed the inside of the carpet, and she went falling towards the portal. Willa reached for her, but it was too late. Jasmine was being sucked into a portal, and Willa and Philby had no idea where she was. Suddenly, the carpets stopped twirling, and Willa and Philby climbed back into the bench. The carpets continued to speed up. The jerks continued to increase in intensity. The air continued to grow colder. The wind continued to get faster. The snow continued to fall harder. The portal remained where the moat should have been, but the camels were back in their place. The electrical fence was still surrounding the moat. If the two remained on the ride, they would have no chance of surviving.
"We have to jump the fence." said Philby.
"But if we miss we're toast." cried Willa. "Literally. If we miss, we either fall into the portal, or get charred by the electric shock."
"We have to try." said Philby "If we try, we might succeed. If we don't try, we're doomed." Willa looked at him. He could see the fear on her face. He put his hand on her shoulder and wiped a tear from her eye.
"Don't worry." he said calmly. "We're gonna be OK" The truth was, he was feeling exactly like Willa. He was terrified and wasn't sure if they would make it out alive, and uncaptured. But Willa was even more terrified than him. He had to stay calm. He had to stay calm for Willa.
"I would suggest going all clear." said Willa, fighting back tears. "But I don't think either of us can manage it right now. Not after all we've been through today. Not with what we're going through right now." Philby knew that she was right. Neither of them was going to be able to release all fear from their body and become pure light. Philby grabbed Willa's hand.
"We're not going to be able to see where we're going" he said. "The ride is moving too fast. We're just going to have to jump, and hope for the best." Willa wasn't sure she would be able to do what she was about to do, but she trusted Philby. She knew he was right. If they jumped they had at least a slight chance. If they stayed where they were, they were not going to make it. That she was sure of. She felt Philby's fingers disjoin from hers. He stood up, and warily, she did the same.
"Once you're over the fence, don't look back. Run as fast as you can and don't stop until you're out of Adventure Land. If I don't meet you out there just forget about me. I'll be okay. Just get yourself out." he said.
"No way." said Willa. I'm not going back to the emporium without you."Willa said. Philby put his arms on her shoulders and kissed her. The kiss only lasted five seconds, but it was one of the most magical things Willa ever experienced. He let go, and she just stood there, looking at him for three seconds.
"I'll be fine." he said. "You have to trust me. Now jump on the count of three. One…"Willa's heart was racing. The thought that she might get captured, or die, right now terrified her.
"Two…" Willa had knots in her stomach. She couldn't do it. She was going to die in a magic carpet crash. She would never come home from summer vacation. Her parents would mourn the loss of their child until the minute that they died. She was going to die young, on a theme park ride. It would be all over the news. The secret would be out. The whole world was going to know about the overtakers. A war between two different worlds was about to begin, and there was nothing she could do about it.
"THREE!" It was like an involuntary movement. Without even thinking about it, Willa jumped. She jumped far. Was it survival instinct? Did Philby push her? Then, she realized that she didn't have to think. She had just simply done it. She flew through the air, her heart racing. She closed her eyes. She was about to fall into the portal, she knew it. She was going to open her eyes and see Maleficent's wrinkly green skin in front of her. The keepers were going to have two people to look for. This was it. Philby would have to continue on without her. But before she knew it, she had touched ground. She opened her eyes, and there she stood, next to one of the stone camels.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" she heard Philby scream. "RUN!" Willa took off. It was the fastest she had ever run in her life. She could barely feel her feet under her. A minute later she was standing outside the bridge to adventure land. Ten seconds later Philby appeared behind her breathing heavily.
"You were brilliant." he said. "You totally took charge back there."
"Thank you." she said. "I'm flattered, but now's not the time to talk about that; Now's the time to get out of here."
"Good Idea." said Philby. He grabbed her hand and together they ran off laughing.
A/N: What did I tell you? Intensity. Got any questions about the novel? Feel free to leave them in a review and I promise I will reply to everyone. I might not answer your question because it would give something away, but I promise I will reply to you and answer honestly. Chapter five up next. Enjoy!- Kingdomkeepers365