This was the end.
He would show them what a freaking Small World it was. There was about to be a rain of destruction on Main Street, U.S.A.
113
Disney World. You’ve probably been. I’m assuming that most of America has been there, because you all seemed to be there the day that we went. All of you at the same time.
When the gates opened, we poured in with the rest of the crowd and found ourselves on Main Street, U.S.A. It was, well, adorable. I admit it freely. Old-fashioned storefronts, an ice-cream parlor, a trolley line in the middle of the street—all painted bright, cheerful colors. Everything was pristine, everything in perfect shape.
“I want to go in every shop,” Nudge said, awed. “I want to see every single thing.”
“Don’t these people have jobs?” Fang muttered. “Why aren’t these kids in school?”
I ignored him. If he had backed me up, we wouldn’t be here.
“We need to pick the most important things,” I said, as we headed toward Cinderella’s Castle. “In case we can’t stay too long.”
“I vote for Pirates of the Caribbean,” said Total. He was wearing a small leather halter and a special vest that said “Guide Dog at Work. Do Not Pet. Thank You.” We’d bought sunglasses for Iggy, so the two of them had quite the team costume.
“Ooh, Swiss Family Treehouse!” said the Gasman.
“Yeah!” Angel agreed.
Nudge stopped and stared up at the castle. “It’s so . . . beautiful.”
“Yeah,” I said, smiling at her. Inside, of course, I was wound tighter than a yo-yo. All these people—we were horribly exposed and yet contained within a crowded space, so I was twitching like a water drop on a hot skillet.
Avoiding the worst of the crowds, we headed for Adventureland.
“Yes! Pirates of the Caribbean!” Total said. If he could have made a fist, he would have punched it.
Being in a dark, enclosed, watery place with a bunch of strangers sounded like a nightmare to me, but as usual I was in the sensible minority. We got in line, and actually, it didn’t take too long to get onto a boat. I was trying hard to keep it together for the younger kids, but my heart was pounding and sweat broke out on my forehead. I glanced at Fang and saw that he was just as twitchy as I was. Because we were the only two who had any freaking sense.
Please, I begged silently, please do not let my last moments on earth be me crammed into a tiny boat in the dark, surrounded by mechanical singing pirates.
Yes, that would be cruel, my Voice said snidely.
I ignored it.
114
“I want my own treehouse like that,” Gazzy said around a mouthful of cotton candy. “I mean, for all of us. Wouldn’t that be so cool?”
“So, so cool,” Angel agreed, ice cream dripping down her wrist. “Can we do the Swiss Family Treehouse again?”
I handed her a napkin. “Maybe after lunch.” Biting off a piece of my ice-cream sandwich, I did another 360 sweep. No Erasers. I couldn’t say for sure we were the only mutants here because, you know, Disney World. But so far no one had morphed right in front of us.
“We could make one,” Iggy said. “Find a humongous tree and build our own treehouse.”
“Yeah!” said Gazzy, pushing another wad of cotton candy into his mouth. “We could do it! I know we could.”
I rubbed his shoulder. “Okay. I’ll put that on our list of things to do. Try not to eat too much junk, huh, Gazzy? I don’t want you hurling on Splash Mountain.” He grinned at me, a lighthearted child’s grin that tugged at my heart. Yeah, yeah, if only.
“This way to Frontierland,” Fang said, pointing to a sign.
I scanned the crowd again, then looked down at my map. “First Frontierland, and then—looks like the only good thing in Liberty Square is the Haunted Mansion.”
“I want to see Mickey’s Country House,” Angel said.