you know your history. What is inevitable once evil gains power?”
Philby answered, “It wants more. Empires. Wars. That kind of stuff.”
“We call them the Overtakers,” Wayne whispered.
Finn felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Who?” Philby asked, also in a whisper.
“We—the Imagineers, I’m talking about—needed something mortal, something part…a hybrid…that could cross over to the character world. That’s what we call it: crossing over. We’ve suspected for years that the characters ‘come alive’—if you will —once the gates are closed.
We’ve had evidence of this for some time. But when the trouble started happening, we knew we needed…you—someone who could see the Overtakers. Interact with them. Stop them.”
“This is crazy,” Charlene mumbled.
“Walt knew the time would come. The world gets out of balance. The dark forces rule. History is full of such times. They can last hundreds of years unchecked. It’s like a plague, this dark thought. There’s no music. No art. Only tyranny and war. Madness.”
Charlene said, “I think I’ve heard enough. I’d like to wake up now. In my own bed. ”
Wayne continued, “You asked to hear this. So listen.”
The kids remained seated, their full attention on Wayne.
“As I said, Walt knew such a time would come. He left us a treasure map, for a scavenger hunt, something the Overtakers could not easily figure out, even if they obtained it, which they never have. Most of them are machines, you see—audio-animatronics and figures from attractions. Only a handful can think, can communicate. But they control the others.”
“The Stonecutter’s Quill,” Finn mumbled. Wayne had mentioned it the first time they’d met.
“The what ?” Philby asked.
“It’s a fable,” Wayne said. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. We must wait for the others.”
“I, for one,” Charlene said, “am never coming back. So if you’ve got something to say, you’d better say it.”
Wayne paced as he talked. “Think about it. The Pirates, Maleficent, Cruella DeVil, Ursula—all with so much belief fueling them, belief, to draw upon. It was inevitable, I suppose.”
“ What was inevitable?” Charlene asked.
Wayne didn’t seem to hear her. “And so many others, all in the same place at the same time
—here, in this park. The belief supporting them, making them stronger. Making them real.”
Finn explained to Charlene and Philby, “This has something to do with the fire-breathing dragon and Mickey in Fantasmic.”
Wayne said, “That’s not the end of it. We have rides close unexpectedly. The laser cars go missing. Costumes disappear. The parade route is changed, with no one the wiser. Small, harmless stuff so far, but for how long? Did you see the news? A hundred padlocks were stolen from a hardware store. The security tapes revealed nothing, showed no one inside the store. Mark my word: those padlocks were stolen—one minute on the shelf, the next, missing. So, how’d that happen? How long until the rest of us can see them? How long until they can burn us the way they burned Finn tonight? What happens then? What happens when they realize there’s a whole big world outside these park walls? What if they want to expand their empire? What then?” He stopped. He was red-faced and breathing hard. Finn thought he looked a little sick.
“Maybe you should sit down,” Finn suggested.
“It wasn’t until the hurricane that we realized how far this had come.”
“The hurricane,” Finn repeated softly.
“A hurricane changed course while out at sea and then headed directly here to Orlando. I’ll accept that as coincidence, a fluke of nature.” Wayne, clearly growing agitated, collected himself.
“But do you know what happened to that storm after it passed over here? Check it out on the Internet. It lost power. Came in here at one strength and left considerably weaker. You think it just rained and blew itself out? We
Philby answered, “It wants more. Empires. Wars. That kind of stuff.”
“We call them the Overtakers,” Wayne whispered.
Finn felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
“Who?” Philby asked, also in a whisper.
“We—the Imagineers, I’m talking about—needed something mortal, something part…a hybrid…that could cross over to the character world. That’s what we call it: crossing over. We’ve suspected for years that the characters ‘come alive’—if you will —once the gates are closed.
We’ve had evidence of this for some time. But when the trouble started happening, we knew we needed…you—someone who could see the Overtakers. Interact with them. Stop them.”
“This is crazy,” Charlene mumbled.
“Walt knew the time would come. The world gets out of balance. The dark forces rule. History is full of such times. They can last hundreds of years unchecked. It’s like a plague, this dark thought. There’s no music. No art. Only tyranny and war. Madness.”
Charlene said, “I think I’ve heard enough. I’d like to wake up now. In my own bed. ”
Wayne continued, “You asked to hear this. So listen.”
The kids remained seated, their full attention on Wayne.
“As I said, Walt knew such a time would come. He left us a treasure map, for a scavenger hunt, something the Overtakers could not easily figure out, even if they obtained it, which they never have. Most of them are machines, you see—audio-animatronics and figures from attractions. Only a handful can think, can communicate. But they control the others.”
“The Stonecutter’s Quill,” Finn mumbled. Wayne had mentioned it the first time they’d met.
“The what ?” Philby asked.
“It’s a fable,” Wayne said. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. We must wait for the others.”
“I, for one,” Charlene said, “am never coming back. So if you’ve got something to say, you’d better say it.”
Wayne paced as he talked. “Think about it. The Pirates, Maleficent, Cruella DeVil, Ursula—all with so much belief fueling them, belief, to draw upon. It was inevitable, I suppose.”
“ What was inevitable?” Charlene asked.
Wayne didn’t seem to hear her. “And so many others, all in the same place at the same time
—here, in this park. The belief supporting them, making them stronger. Making them real.”
Finn explained to Charlene and Philby, “This has something to do with the fire-breathing dragon and Mickey in Fantasmic.”
Wayne said, “That’s not the end of it. We have rides close unexpectedly. The laser cars go missing. Costumes disappear. The parade route is changed, with no one the wiser. Small, harmless stuff so far, but for how long? Did you see the news? A hundred padlocks were stolen from a hardware store. The security tapes revealed nothing, showed no one inside the store. Mark my word: those padlocks were stolen—one minute on the shelf, the next, missing. So, how’d that happen? How long until the rest of us can see them? How long until they can burn us the way they burned Finn tonight? What happens then? What happens when they realize there’s a whole big world outside these park walls? What if they want to expand their empire? What then?” He stopped. He was red-faced and breathing hard. Finn thought he looked a little sick.
“Maybe you should sit down,” Finn suggested.
“It wasn’t until the hurricane that we realized how far this had come.”
“The hurricane,” Finn repeated softly.
“A hurricane changed course while out at sea and then headed directly here to Orlando. I’ll accept that as coincidence, a fluke of nature.” Wayne, clearly growing agitated, collected himself.
“But do you know what happened to that storm after it passed over here? Check it out on the Internet. It lost power. Came in here at one strength and left considerably weaker. You think it just rained and blew itself out? We
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