Go the Distance

06

The group entered Auradon and made their way to the courtyard. Maia and Elias noticed that everyone was asleep. A purple dress and sandals caught Maia's eye. Her parents.

She ran up and started shaking them, but they didn't wake.

Elias walked up to his sister and said quietly, "We'll wake them up. I don't know how yet, but we will."

Evie looked around. "They're asleep. Everyone."

Maia stared at her phone. "I can't get Ben."

"Or Dizzy or Doug."

"Or Jane," Carlos said. "The signal's out."

Celia pointed at the big building to their left. "Is that Auradon Prep?"

Carlos nodded and smiled. "Yeah. When everybody wakes up, you're going to love it."

Maia looked for a signal and Gil discovered grapes, which he thought was cantaloupe. It quickly dawned on Maia how clueless the VKs were and she rolled her eyes.

Elias glanced at Gil and said, "Cantaloupe is delicious. When we have a moment, you should try it. Maia doesn't like it, which I don't understand."

Harry grabbed a guy's wallet and pulled out some money. "I believe I deserve a compensation for my muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor."

Jay took the money from Harry. "You do. Me not squashing you like a bug."

Harry turned to him. "You think I'm scared of you, Jay?"

"Guys!" the girls and Elias cried.

"Mm!" Dude added suddenly.

Carlos frowned at him. "Dude."

Dude burped. "Delicious."

"Dude, really?"

Dude's eyes widened. "What? It wasn't me. I swear. Okay, It was me."

"Hey, do you know what happened here?"

"Yup. Audrey showed up. She put everybody to sleep. And then she turned some of them to..."

"Guys," Evie called. "Hannah turned to stone."

They made their way towards Hannah as Jay said, "All right, everybody stay on their toes."

Uma frowned. "Look, since we're here, let's check the school."

Mal shook her head. "No. Audrey went straight for the crown, so, I think it's safe to assume that she's gonna go for Ben and his castle next." She took her friend's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Says who?" Uma challenged.

"Says me."

"Says you. And that's supposed to mean something to me?"

Maia stepped between them and frowned. "Hey! We have more pressing matters right now."

Evie nodded. "Guys."

"To the castle," Mal ordered.

They made their way to the castle and as soon as they entered, Maia immediately cried, "Ben!"

"This way," Dude instructed as he led us around a corner.

Maia frowned. "Ben could be asleep anywhere."

"Or turned to stone," Celia added.

She shot her a look. "Not helpful."

Evie covered Celia's mouth. "Okay."

"Ben!" Maia cried.

They made their way to Ben's office and saw claw marks. The curtains, among other things, were torn to shreds. Dude was sitting in the middle of the room staring at them. "I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me, people."