Dedicated To Disney

4: Hit Me With A Hint

I parked my SUV in the parking area marked specifically for workers and staff. As I pulled the keys out of the ignition, I let out a sigh and leaned back against the cushioned seat for a moment of relaxation. I wondered if Zeke was still upset with me today. It wouldn't be good for my supervisor to have a tick against me.

As I slipped out of the car and locked it, a strong breeze danced past, tipping my baseball hat off of my head. My fingers wrapped around only air when I grabbed at it and it hit the concrete road, blowing away.

I instinctively raced after it as the wind picked up, crouching as I sprinted to reach out and grab at it again. As it rolled along the ground, I managed to latch my fingers around the back strap, but an extra surge of wind caused me to overbalance and topple over. At the speed I was going, as I hit the hard road, I did an ungraceful somersault that left me momentarily dizzy before I found myself sprawled on my back. I gave a wheeze of pain, trying to drive out the burn in my limbs before rolling onto my stomach and moving to stand.

Something glinted in the sunlight next to a nearby sewer. I squinted to get a better look. Unfortunately, squinting didn't always help. I walked over to investigate, securely slapping my hat back onto my head as a tiny object came into sight. I stooped down and picked it up.

It was a smooth, pink, circular gem. It wasn't very large, but it wasn't small enough to be an earring. I gazed at it a moment. Was this a hint to something big?

Or, the reasonable voice inside of me said, it could just be something a visitor dropped. Don't get too Sherlock Holmes.

I grazed my finger over it, a small scratch denting its smooth pink surface. Probably from its tumble. I quickly pocketed the item before moving to get inside ComplexDisney. I didn't want to be late.

🔹✨🔹✨🔹✨🔹

I hadn't seen Zeke all day, which was a good thing. I was still trying to figure out a way to get into quarantine, and I didn't want him breathing down my back because he no longer trusted me. Peter Pan was the only one who arrived with wounds, so maybe he knew something the others couldn't remember. In order to get answers, I had to get inside. How do I get inside?

"I bet you're thinking," Olaf stated as he watched me set his bucket of dinner down. "Anna gets the same look on her face when she thinks."

"Yeah, I'm thinking."

He picked the bucket of ice cream up, his carrot crooked on his face. He let out his trademark chuckle before sitting down to eat. I made my way across the ice to look up and try to see where the snow was falling from. Small holes decorated the lid of the exhibit. They blew snow inside in a nonstop flurry, the snowflakes spiraling downward like a small tornado. I frowned. "I wonder how they made the snow."

"Elsa probably helped," Olaf piped matter-of-factly, shoving some ice cream into his mouth.

I shook my head, smiling slightly before exiting the exhibit and locking the door behind me. Things here were more complicated than it seemed. Some things just didn't add up correctly and it was frustrating because I didn't know how to piece them together. There was the fact that somehow fictional characters were turning up randomly. That was the biggest problem. Then there was the founders not doing anything to stop it, despite them saying they were. That didn't make sense besides the one assumption that they enjoyed all of the money they were making off of the place.

I pulled the pink gem out of my pocket and leaned against the exhibit wall. I couldn't understand why I didn't dispose of it. I just felt this attachment; like it was a key to something. A hint. As I looked longer, this strange but faint feeling quickly sparked inside of me. The gem looked vaguely familiar, but whatever memory it may have been attached to, I couldn't recall.

I slipped it back into my pocket as I begin to trek down the path to the Royal Rounds park. I needed to go see the boy from Old Yeller in Ordinarily Disney. Maybe, since he arrived just yesterday, something was still fresh in his mind.

As I walked, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to search up his name. I felt a bit guilty not knowing much about the movie, but I only saw it once, and I was six-years-old. I couldn't remember any of it except that there was a dog and the movie was sad.

I hit the search button just as I walked into somebody. A yelp of surprise left my lips before I looked up to find Zeke in front of me. He grabbed my wrist to keep me on my feet as I nearly lost my balance and studied me closely.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his tone almost accusing.

I hastily turned the screen off on my phone as his eyes flicked down to it grasped in my hand. "Nothing. Just taking a stroll."

"You're supposed to stay in Creational Creatures," he said, letting go of my wrist and folding his arms.

"I need to go to the bathroom," I lied, a surge of guilt overtaking me. I always hated lying. I made it a goal not to, but in this case, I couldn't let him stop me from trying to fix the world.

His eyes narrowed. "It's a twenty minute walk from Creational Creatures to any other park, and there is a bathroom back there."

"It, uh...It...It's crowded," I said pathetically, hoping that he didn't go to investigate the empty restroom.

"Why'd you stutter?" He very obviously did not believe me. I forced myself not to fidget in my nervous state. He watched with a scowl, waiting for my answer.

"Well, what do you expect?" I finally blurted with a surprising amount of irritation. "I really need to go! It's not helping me think straight! So, if you'll excuse me, I will now find a non-crowded bathroom so I can get back to work with a clear mind!"

A shocked look flashed across his face before he hid it and smiled tightly, moving to the side. "Fine. But I better find you back in your area within an hour."

Shoot.

"Fine," I said before doing a little dance to convince him that I had no more time for chit-chat and taking off into a sprint. Once I rounded a corner, I ran down the path for what felt like a lifetime before passing through the Ordinarily Disney gate. I avoided hitting anybody in the crowds of people as their voices chorused through the air. It was appropriate that they had VillaVillains right at the back of ComplexDisney behind Animal Island. That way, if a villain were to escape, they would have a hard time navigating to the front gates.

Every time I stepped through the VillaVillain gates, I got a nervous feeling that one would escape. Meeting one outside of the glass, even if I was working to rescue them too, would be traumatizing. They were villains, after all.

As I raced farther into Ordinarily Disney I slowed down and pulled my phone out, turning the screen back on.  The boy's name was loaded in my Google search.

Travis Coates.

Okay. Travis. Sounds about right. I walked past exhibits, my eyes peeled for one marked for Travis Coates. Smee from Peter Pan knocked against his exhibit to try and get my attention but I ignored it. Why isn't he in VillaVillains? He's Hook's little helper.

I dropped my phone into my pocket as the name on a plait came into view.

Travis Coates.

Here goes nothing.