HIDDEN MICKEY ADVENTURES 2

by Nancy Temple Rodrigue

  “I was in my office. With all the noise I thought a jet went by overhead. I see you’re back.”

  Not in any mood to chat, Wolf merely grunted. “Obviously. Listen, Lance. Go grab Peter. We need to get going. I found another portal.”

  After taking a sip of the coffee in his Disneyland-embossed mug, Lance glanced at his watch. “It’s Monday, Wolf. Pete’s in school. He won’t be out for another couple of hours.”

  Wolf looked at Lance as if he had sprouted two heads. “Monday? What happened to Friday? Thought he was grounded.”

  “He is grounded, but he still has to go to school. Even though he would love it if he didn’t.”

  Lance had left the front door open so Kimberly was able to join the men without being noticed. Only hearing part of the conversation, she looked from Lance’s amused face to Wolf’s irritated one. “Is something wrong? Aren’t you coming inside, Wolf?”

  Wolf’s stare turned on her. “We need to get to Disneyland. I found another portal and, if what I think is true, we only have a couple of hours to get it right.”

  Kimberly’s face went pale. She had hoped Wolf would be unsuccessful and things would calm down. Lance was anxious to go back to the past and Peter asked every day when Uncle Wolf would come back for them. If Wolf hadn’t found a way, they would have to realize the ‘changes,’ as they called them, were actually the reality. Now it looked as if her family would be placed in danger again. “So soon?”

  The look on Wolf’s face softened. His hand reached out as if he was going to place it on her shoulder, but it fell back to his side. “I know you worry, Kimberly. I understand that. But, this has to be done. We’ve gone over and over it. There’s no other way.”

  She turned mutely to Lance for backup, but could tell he was excited. Plus, he still insisted that Disneyland wasn’t as it should be.

  When he saw her look of concern, he took her in his arms. “Please don’t worry. We’ll be all right, honey. I promise.”

  “You can’t make that promise. There’re too many unknowns. You know that.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she leaned against the warmth of his shoulder.

  “We’ll come back to you and everything will be fine.”

  “It’s not worth the risk.” She just couldn’t let it go.

  Wolf had stood back, uncomfortable with the scene in front of him—one that he had helped caused. His sharp hearing could catch every word they said and that made him feel even guiltier. What if something did happen to Peter or Lance? There were so many variables he couldn’t control. And, because he would be a wolf, it would be even more difficult. He gave a sigh as he looked at his watch. They really needed to go. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get them out of their private conversation.

  Lance looked at him over his wife’s shoulder and gave him the “What?” look.

  A point at his watch and then his car, Wolf made it clear they had to leave.

  Kimberly got one last hug before Lance pulled away. “We’ll have to take Peter out of school a little early.”

  Now that they were back on track, Wolf nodded. “You’ll both need to wear exactly what you had on last time. Do you remember what that was for both you and Peter?”

  Since she couldn’t fight it any longer, Kimberly gave a heavy sigh of resignation. Hidden inside the pocket of her sweater was a large brass key that she now handed to Lance.

  He recognized it immediately and lit up. “The Key to Disneyland! What are you doing with that? I thought you hid it from us.”

  A small smile crept over her face. “I did. Apparently our boy ‘borrowed’ it. It was in his pocket when he jumped into the river.”

  “Then that must have been his touchstone to this world.” Wolf nodded to himself. “That’s why he didn’t have any trouble remembering….” He broke off when Kimberly started to become alarmed again, and got the conversation back to where it needed to be. “Since you know which pants he had on, why don’t you go get them and the same shirt. Lance, you too, and attach the name tag on the inside like you did last time.”

  When they were back on the porch again, Kimberly gave Lance one last hug and then turned to Wolf. “You want me to shut the river down again? I think they’re getting kind of tired of having nothing running on the river during the busy season.”

  “Not this time. You need to close Big Thunder Railroad.” He saw the surprised look on both their faces. “It’s the Earthquake Tunnel. I’ll explain later how we found that one—once I figure it out. Let them process through everyone in line, but close off the entrance. I don’t want it to sound like an emergency evacuation.”

  Kimberly could only nod silently as the two men climbed into Wolf’s Mustang. Tears threatened to run down her face as she turned to go do her duty as one of the Guardian’s of Walt. When the last roar of the car’s engine died away, she leaned her head against the closed front door.

  The tall red and yellow spires of Big Thunder Mountain stood out in vivid contrast to the cloudless blue sky. The screams of the riders who tore through the desert landscape had been silenced by the sudden closure. Impatient guests questioned the cast member dressed like a miner stationed at the wooden entry gate. Over and over he explained that the ride would be down for an undetermined ‘while.’

  The red-veined rock entry he blocked off wound through a miniature desert filled with authentic mining equipment and finally passed underneath the wooden buildings of Rainbow Ridge. Some of these buildings had been part of the previous attraction in that location—The Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland. This beloved ride had been a slow-moving train that wove through scenes made famous in Walt’s documentary series called True Life Adventures.

  Wolf, Lance and Peter bypassed the entrance and made their way to the exit of the ride. There were two exit ramps and Wolf chose the one on the left. Dressed in his security outfit, no one questioned him going into a closed ride. Lance and Peter, however, received some curious looks from guests who wondered why two people were being escorted by security into the ride. When the threesome passed under the rock archway and out of sight, the curiosity faded and the guests headed for other destinations in the Park. It was too beautiful a day to waste wondering what others were doing.

  Once inside the silent loading area, Wolf motioned for Peter and Lance to follow him. To enter the first tunnel, they had to make their way past the U. B. Bold engine that was parked just past the regular stop line. It took a couple of moments for their eyes to adjust to the darkness after the brilliant sunlight outside. Wolf didn’t have that problem. He unerringly led them to a hidden door in the rocks just before the colored pools of water that marked a tribute to the former Mine Train. The doorway put them into the next tunnel that actually came later in the ride—the earthquake tunnel. The shaking motion and rumbling sounds had been turned off and the projected falling rocks were frozen in place up at the top of the hill. There was an emergency evacuation stairway on the right side of the tunnel made to look like the surrounding rocks, and this was where Wolf stopped.

  When he turned to his curious companions, he had to call Peter back. The boy, finally able to touch everything that he usually just zoomed by on the ride, looked for another doorway to other parts of the ride. “Peter, stop that. This is where we need to be. I’m going to call the storm and we’ll have to run up these stairs before it disappears.”

  “In here? I thought it had to be on the river.”

  “I thought so, too, Peter. But, it took Mato and me a few days and some bad trips before we found this tunnel was the right one. Don’t ask.” He could see that Peter was about to delve into it. “Just move fast and don’t let go of each other. Lance, you grab my shoulder like before. No matter what, don’t let go. Understand?”

  His howl echoed through the tunnel. Peter gave a nervous laugh. “You sounded like the coyotes on that turn outside! People will think the ride is open again.”

  “I never sound like a coyote. Lousy scavengers….�
� Wolf broke off his grumbling when the familiar wind began to blow through the bottom of the tunnel and out the top. “Start climbing!”

  The shaking in the tunnel was now caused by the force of the wind and the vortex as it filled the center of the tight area. The pink sparkles suddenly blinked into existence high above them and swirled into a funnel cloud.

  “We have to reach that tornado.”

  Lance tried to stop his run up the stairs but Peter pushed against him from behind. Afraid they might fall onto the train tracks and tumble back to the main level, he gritted his teeth. “Do I look like Toto to you?”

  “Get ready to jump! Peter, are you holding onto your dad?”

  “This is so cool!”

  Lance felt the change come over Wolf and managed to grab his tail before the wolf disappeared into the vortex. “Sorry.” He had to yell over the pounding wind when Wolf growled from the pain. With Peter’s grip tight on his arm, he told his son to jump.

  “Are we dead?”

  “Maybe, Petey. I haven’t opened my eyes to check.”

  “You two okay?”

  One of Peter’s eyes managed to open when a shadow fell across his face. He stared up at the gray muzzle of a wolf. Startled and forgetting it was Wolf, he tried to roll backward away from the huge animal. He gave a groan of pain when his spine connected with a pine tree.

  “Relax, Peter, it’s just me.” Wolf’s head shook head side to side. He had to sit down when a wave of vertigo washed over him. “Wow. That was one mean trip. You okay now?”

  Peter rubbed his sore back. As he got slowly to his feet, he tested his legs and found nothing broken. “Yeah, I’m fine. It was easier in the water.” Going over to the wolf, he squatted down beside him and began to stroke his back. “That was kinda scary when we had to jump out into the air like that. Do we have to do that to go home?”

  When he recognized that the boy was shaken by the vortex, Wolf let Peter continue to pet him. “Lance, you need to get up. We have to get moving. Mato is supposed to be nearby with some horses.”

  As if to keep it from falling off, Lance held his head tightly between his hands. Only his eyes moved as he looked around. “I thought we’d be inside Rainbow Ridge. Where is it?”

  Wolf tilted his head. “North that way about a quarter mile. We came out near one of the old mining tunnels. And, just so you don’t ask, no, we don’t have time to explore them.”

  “How do we know if this is the right time period or not?” Lance glanced at his watch, but it had quit working.

  At the edge of the clearing Wolf let out a series of yips. He immediately heard an answering call that came from the south. “Mato’s on his way.” He stretched his hind legs out and arched his back to work out the kinks. “Come on. We need to move. I don’t want any of the miners to find me. Gun or pick axe, it’s all the same reaction.” With a slight turn of his head, he answered Lance’s question. “We won’t know until Mato gets here. He was supposed to stay in the mining town until the next newspaper came out. From what he and I found out, we will have either a week or a day before the Gracey’s anniversary party.”

  “Why so much of a difference?”

  One black shoulder lifted upward. “That’s just the way time passes here. It isn’t an exact science. I think we’ll be good, though.” He raised his muzzle to sniff the breeze. Mingled in with the sharp pine and the nearby river was the unmistakable smell of horses. “Mato’s almost here. We thought you two would rather ride than walk all the way to the village and then on to New Orleans.”

  “Much appreciated. My head still isn’t clear.” Lance could now hear the hooves striking against rock and an occasional whinny.

  They met up with Mato at Bear Lake, one of the last remnants of Nature’s Wonderland—both in Disneyland and here in the wilderness. A fish jumped in the still water as Lance and Peter mounted the mustangs and headed for the Shaman’s village.

  “Okay, remember what we discussed, Pete. Do everything exactly like you did last time—just make sure there aren’t any candles in the attic.”

  “I know. I know. Sheesh, Dad, we’ve gone over this like a million times. We already took out things that weren’t important—like I don’t have to come out near the Mark Twain in the dark. I just have to be wet and looking at the pet cemetery.” The horses were left back at the village after they decided to walk to the mansion like the first time. Already hidden behind the crypt for a couple of hours, they waited for dawn to break. Peter was jittery and anxious to get on the move.

  His dad, though, kept a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. “I realize we’ve gone over it a lot, Pete. But we can’t keep coming back to try and fix our time. We have to get it right the first time. You need to keep your head and be serious about this.” Lance’s expression showed the seriousness of the situation as he looked into his son’s face. “Now, go throw yourself in the river.”

  His dad’s and Wolf’s warnings loud in his ears, Peter did try to remember everything that had happened before. This time, though, he knew what would come and was worried about his reactions. The element of surprise wouldn’t be there, but he still had to act as if it was.

  After he executed a fine cannonball into the river, he climbed out and ran across the dewy grass of Gracey’s yard. As he looked at the headstones in the graveyard, he could hear Constance come toward him. The anticipation caused his heart to pound and he knew he had to act shocked and then pretend to faint.

  “Who are you? What are you doing at Gracey Manor?”

  “Showtime,” Peter muttered to himself. After he whirled around on his heels, he stared open-mouthed at the bloody axe in her hand. With great dramatic flair he threw the back of his hand against his forehead and staggered two steps to the left. A pitiful groan came from his lips as his eyes rolled up. As his body slowly sunk to the ground, he was careful to keep an arm over his eyes. His right leg kicked out once and then he was still.

  Hand to her heart, Constance rushed to his side. “Oh, you poor boy! He’s soaked through.” A frantic look around revealed that no one was near, so she had to run to the house and fetch the butler.

  Behind the crypt, as they watched Peter being carried into the house, Lance slowly shook his head. “That’s my boy.”

  “I sure hope you don’t encourage him to go into acting,” was Wolf’s dry take on Peter’s performance. “At least he’s inside the mansion and we’re on track. Once we see Gracey leave for New Orleans you can go into action. You remember everything you said and did?”

  “Photographic memory, my friend. Photographic memory. I’ll be fine.” Hidden from sight of both the house and the river, Lance sat on the damp ground with his back against the cold crypt. Eyes closed, he turned his face toward the sun for warmth as it began to burn off the traces of fog.

  Wolf’s derisive snort showed his small regard for Lance’s abilities. “Just don’t overdo it. You only have to get in and out of the mansion and then we go the Golden Horseshoe. And remember to press the name tag into your chest so you don’t start to forget.”

  “Yes, mother. Are you always this nagging as a wolf?”

  Wolf looked at Lance’s clothes with narrowed eyes. “If I remember correctly—even without a photographic memory—your clothes had been ruined in the river. You look pretty fresh and clean.”

  “I always look pretty, fresh, and clean.”

  “Didn’t you say the butler tried to send you to the back of the house if you were hungry? If he didn’t want you at the front door, that would indicate you looked pretty rough.”

  Lance opened one eye and glared at his friend. “You have no faith in my acting ability.”

  “If what I just saw Peter do is any reflection of the Brentwood Family Acting Troupe, then, no, I don’t. Go jump in the river so you’ll have time to dry off before Gracey leaves.” For once Wolf was glad he was not in human form. His wolf face couldn’t convey his deep amusement. He’d always wanted to tell Lance to go
jump in the river. But, on the other hand, if he had been himself, he would have just picked up Lance and tossed him into the water without a word.

  “It’s awfully cold.”

  “Peter did it.”

  “Well, yes, there is that. How about if I just splash some drops on my clothes and rumple my hair?”

  “The longer you wait, the longer it’ll take you to dry off. I could drag you there with my teeth.” Wolf made it sound like an offer, but Lance knew better.

  With a martyr’s sigh, Lance slowly got to his feet. Knowing Wolf would make sure he got wet—one way or another—he would rather do it his way. Time was wasted as he removed his shoes and socks, and he visibly shuddered when he stuck his bare toe in the cold river. “Are you sure I can’t just….”

  His question was never finished. Silently and swiftly, the wolf ran up from behind and headbutted Lance into the water.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” Wolf sat back on his haunches as Lance floundered to get his footing on the muddy riverbed. Lance was given the wolf’s shoulder-shaking version of uncontrolled laughter.

  Peter found his role more difficult than he thought it would be—especially in regards to the master of the house. The immediate dislike he had felt toward Master Gracey the first time was magnified this time around. Peter had to hold himself back from saying anything different or acting disrespectfully to the man he regarded as the tormentor of his friend Constance. He wanted to tell the man off but knew that would have bad consequences. To be evicted from the house now would ruin all their careful plans—and he had no doubt Gracey would do just that. Holding his tongue, he went through all of the same polite motions and finally asked if he could please explore the house.

  When Gracey gave him the expected nod, Peter ran from the room and headed upstairs, the Key to Disneyland grasped firmly in his hand. After the door to the library was slammed shut, he took a moment to peek into another locked room he hadn’t tried before. With hopes to find either Madame Leota’s head in a glass ball or the row of mirrors with the Hitchhiking Ghosts, he was disappointed to find the room was apparently unused. All of the furniture was covered with sheets and dust was thick on the wooden floor.