1 “L adies and gentlemen, girls and boys, wel- come to the D23 presentation we’ve all been waiting for! Eight years ago Disney Imagineers, under the direc- tion of Disney Legend Wayne Kresky, came up with an innovative and game-changing alternative to our old friend, Pal Mickey. Five young men and women from Orlando became our first Disney Hosts Interactive, or DHIs. That’s also an acronym for Daylight Hologram Imaging! Which gives you a small hint of whom you’re about to meet!” The packed crowd in Ballroom B, Level 3 of the Anaheim Convention Center broke into thunderous applause. The speaker, a man named Joe Garlington, a well-known Disney Imagineer, was like his boss, Bruce Vaughn, considered a Disney celebrity. “As hologram characters within the parks, these five courageous young people have not only introduced thousands of families to the magic of our attractions, but they’ve also, as a group, become known to all of us as . . . wait for it . . . the . . .” 1 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” Hundreds of people screamed in unison: “Kingdom Keepers!” Another brace of applause rattled the folding walls separating the line of ballrooms. “That’s right! So please help me give it up to the five people most responsible for saving our beloved Disneyland from outside threats: Finn, Willa, Philby, Maybeck, and Charlene—our company treasure, the Kingdom Keepers!” The crowd jumped to its feet, cheering and waving, shooting off photos in a blinding explosion of flashing white lights. The five teens charged up onto the riser and waved back at the crowd. They slipped onto raised stools, grab- bing the wireless microphones left there for them. The interview began in earnest. Finn Whitman, who’d matured from a gawky middle-school boy into a young man with a strong jaw and penetrating eyes, was identified as the leader of the group. Dell Philby, a redhead with a soft British accent who was both a rock climber and a computer whiz, was dubbed the MacGyver of the group, though the old television show reference was lost on many in attendance. The gorgeous blonde, Charlene, received additional applause because she currently starred in a Disney Channel show. By far the most athletic of the five, she answered questions about how some of her more 2 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” difficult battles with Disney villains had helped lead to the rescue of Disneyland. Terry Maybeck stood slightly over six feet tall, his dreads making him look even taller. He made jokes about being the only African-American of the five, but became uncharacteristically serious when discussing his artist’s eye and his tendency to take great personal risks when required. The clear stud of the group, Maybeck received the most screaming from the girls when his short interview concluded. Willa Angelo spoke softly; Joe had to pry responses from her. She begrudgingly admitted that she’d assumed the role of Philby’s high-tech counterpart. Joe also coaxed from her that she’d received a 34 on the ACT, a nearly perfect score, and had earned full scholar- ship offers from UCLA, Washington University, and Wellesley College. She wouldn’t tell the group which she’d accepted, however. The event lasted a total of fifteen minutes. Another roar of applause sent the Kingdom Keepers off to a greenroom where they would wait before being led to a poster-signing event in the main hall. Accompanied by a pair of Cast Members, the five cut across a wide concourse on their way to the room. A large gathering of well-wishers and fans already crowded the area, cheering for the Keepers like they were actors or rock stars. Event programs waved; people called out 3 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” for autographs. The Keepers were happy to oblige, stop- ping to sign their names or pose for a quick selfie. During one such photo-op, Finn Whitman caught sight of a girl with dark olive skin and a hint of Asian eyes, squinting with concern. Amanda. He winked at her. But she shook her head vigorously, her eyes darting to her left. Following her gaze, Finn caught sight of Jess, held back by the cluster of fans. No great surprise. The two girls traveled everywhere together. “Two peas in a pod,” Maybeck’s aunt Bess called them. Jess waved her arms, clearly signaling No. Finn worked to communicate through facial expressions, What? Jess pointed to her head. Amanda made a signal like she was sleeping. Finn understood: Jess had dreamed something bad—a special ability she possessed. Amanda pointed across the hall and shook her head more vio- lently. Finn and the others were aimed where Amanda was pointing as she called out, “Don’t go in there!” Finn tugged on Philby’s shirt. “Not the greenroom.” “Are you kidding me? We stay out here, we’ll be eaten alive.” “Amanda and Jess.” Finn pointed them out. The crowd took on a life of its own, pushing and surging in the direction of the greenroom’s door. The fans knew 4 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” where the Keepers were headed, and in the process of following them, they were herding the Keepers in that direction. Amanda and Jess slipped behind the crowd, Amanda looking as if she might cry. “Seriously,” Finn shouted to Philby, “I think Jess dreamed something bad about this.” He won Philby’s attention. Jess’s dreams were not to be ignored. As Philby stopped short, Finn crashed into him. Finn planted his feet, resisting, but the crowd’s will won out. “This is ugly!” Charlene cried. The dreaded door swung open. “We do not want to go in there,” Finn said. “I get it!” Philby said. “But I don’t think we have . . .” The Keepers were pushed into the greenroom. Cast Members fought off the fans and shut the door. Willa screamed. A man in a waiter’s uniform lay writhing on the floor, green foam oozing from his mouth and nostrils. His eyes were rolled back into his head, showing only the milky white of his eyeballs. He twitched and jerked. A seizure. Maybeck hollered, “Someone call an ambulance!” 5 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” 2 T he paramedic team left the greenroom in a hurry, an oxygen mask held tightly over the face of the unconscious man. “At least he’s alive,” Willa said. “He didn’t look it at first.” “It’s coincidence,” said Charlene. “Nothing more.” “Let’s hope so,” said Philby. “What? You can’t be serious!” Finn objected. “Don’t go all conspiracy theory on us, Whitman,” Maybeck said. “Do not start with that whole ‘Wayne left us a message’ thing again.” “He did, but so did Amanda and Jess. Out there in the hall, Amanda tried to stop us from coming in here. Jess knew it was dangerous! Look, we all agreed to figure out the connection between Wayne’s watch and Walt’s music box. What happened to that idea? Why didn’t we see it through?” “See?” Maybeck raised his voice, angrily. The Keepers occupied a large, round table. He and Willa drank coffee. With the paramedics gone, this was their first opportunity to talk privately. 6 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” “Please, Finn, do not blow this thing up to more than it is.” Charlene looked at him over the rim of a plastic cup. “What it is,” Finn said loudly, “is tampering. That poison was intended for us!” The other Keepers scoffed. “Did you see how big that guy was?” Finn said. “He survived because he didn’t eat that much. Anybody want to dig through the trash and eat a whole sandwich, and see how you do?” Finn waited. “Didn’t think so. There was only one group of people that food was meant for. Us. This is our greenroom. Think about it.” “The Overtakers are dead, dude,” Maybeck said. “I’m not saying they aren’t. But Walt’s pen is not in those photos, and not in Jess’s sketch of Walt’s desk, either.” “That’s because if we hadn’t found his pen in One Man’s Dream, we’d never have redrawn the park with Wayne.” Maybeck sounded defensive. “We’d never have saved the park. Solving the Stonecutter’s Quill would have been for nothing.” “And my argument was,” Willa said, “that the park is whole again, so obviously none of this message stuff matters.” “The park is whole because we fixed it!” Finn cried. “We fixed it using a pen that isn’t in the original 7 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” photos of the attraction. So how did the pen get there?” No one had an answer. “You’re saying we chase down some recording in Walt’s apartment—a recording we don’t even know exists.” Charlene sighed, and then added, “I have a TV show to shoot, let’s not forget.” “I have college coming up,” Willa said. “Imagineering school,” Philby said. Maybeck said proudly, “Art Center.” “You gotta let it go, Finn.” Charlene sounded genu- inely concerned. “I know Wayne anointed you as his successor. I get how that weighs on you. But seriously, you are obsessed.” Her eyes softened. “We just want to help you.” “We’re still the Keepers. We’ll always have that,” Willa said, “but we’re moving on.” “Someone tried to poison us,” Finn repeated. “Jess saw it coming. That means nothing to you guys?” “Food poisoning, dude. No worries.” Maybeck tried for a joke that didn’t land. “Have any of you considered the alternative?” Finn directed this at Philby. Although the two boys often found themselves on opposite sides of the playing field, they had also figured out how to work well together over the past several years. “Why don’t you tell us?” Willa said. 8 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” “Don’t act like you’re my therapist!” Finn said bit- terly. “This is me, you guys!” “You’re paranoid,” said Maybeck. “Slightly psycho,” said Charlene, “but we love you.” “Seriously, though,” Philby said. “What’s the alter- native?” Finn moved his attention around the table slowly, meeting each of his friends eye to eye. Then he spoke in a smoky, furtive voice that didn’t sound anything like him. “Why does Wayne leave us a message from the grave? Why did he instruct Wanda to give me his watch with a code on it?” “You need to grieve, dude. The rest of us have come to terms with losing him.” “Okay. I need to grieve. Note to self. But, why would he do that? I’ll tell you why! Wayne has been working for years, maybe decades, to figure out how all of this happened in the first place. Where did the Overtakers come from? That means he’s done all sorts of research. Right? Stop smirking, Maybeck. Hear me out. Philby, after the Disneyland thing, you tried to tell us that the Overtakers were still around.” “I was delusional.” “Maybe. But if it’s not the Overtakers, who tried to poison us? I mean, if you’ll accept for a moment that it 9 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16” wasn’t coincidence that food intended only for us nearly killed someone,” Finn added sarcastically. “That’s a big stretch, I know. But let’s say I’m right—as crazy as we all agree I am. Wouldn’t that point to someone, as in a human, a living human, who’s trying to put an end to us? This is the only time we’ve been together in public since the final battle. That’s coincidence?” A few seconds of silence overtook the four others. Then they all nodded at once, mumbling, “Yup.” “Coincidence.” “Of course it is.” “I’m going to say what no one else is going to say.” Charlene sounded grim. “And only because I care so much about you, Finn! No other reason than that.” She paused for effect. “We’re moving on. Our holograms are still in all the parks. We’ll live on there until they replace us. Hopefully that’ll be a long, long time from now. But the real us . . . We’ve graduated, Finn. From high school, and from the Kingdom Keepers. The war’s over, and you’re like one of those guys on a street corner in an army uniform with a cardboard sign. I feel sorry for you, okay? We all do. And that’s a creepy, awful way to feel about someone you’re so close to.” More heads bobbed. Finn felt about two inches tall. His throat caught. He couldn’t speak. “We need to get to that music box and find what- ever Wayne left for us.” Finn tried to hide his trembling, 10 Trim 5 1/4” x 7 13/16”