Free Kingdom Keepers VII by Ridley Pearson Page B

“There are cameras everywhere,” he says. “We’d better get you all in the car ASAP.”
    “Cameras,” Philby says.
    “Smile,” says Joe.
    * * *
    Having had no time to talk the night before, the Keepers inundate Charlene with questions about life in L.A. and what it’s like to be a television star. Mostly they’ve been communicating this past year on Instagram and by text, so the excitement of all five of them being together as themselves and not as DHIs is infectious. Charlie is humble about her success on television, perhaps overly so, not wanting to create distance from her closest friends. A slight tension hangs in the air, nonetheless—she is making money, real money, and is on her way to fame, and she carries some of the trappings: her jeans, jewelry, shoes—even her haircut speaks of a lifestyle none of the others can afford. Her attempt to make her life out to be normal isn’t working.
    By the time the van pulls through the security gate and the Keepers look out at the Legends terrace where, the night before, all heaven and earth seemed to implode, a brooding silence shrouds them.
    They are dropped off. They take their backpacks—their duffels and Rollaboards will be delivered later—and follow Joe as a group.
    “I’ll give you the dime tour,” he says. But it’s more a dollar than a dime. The studio lot is laid out like a town, as it appeared the night before to their DHIs; it’s cut up into small village blocks that are home to bungalows, three-story office buildings and, occasionally, a giant soundstage. Finn spots the barnlike Mill at the far end of a street. Everywhere the grass is mowed perfectly. The streets are clean of oil stains and dirt. It’s quiet and there aren’t any people around. Joe points out the commissary where they will eat meals with other Cast Members, takes them inside one of the office buildings, and walks them down a hallway of extraordinary Disney art. The images of Maleficent give them all chills.
    Joe explains the history of the studio and Walt Disney Pictures, detailing the lot’s role in dozens of Disney film classics. The Keepers are captivated. They listen. They try to absorb all the information. They laugh. Philby and Willa seem to keep up, to the consternation of the other three. Soon, Charlene is no longer special; she’s just better dressed.
    As they descend a set of stairs, Joe explains how the Animation group came to be physically linked by tunnel to the Ink and Paint building. His explanation is lost on every Keeper: they are no strangers to tunnels—the most recent encounter was in the jungles of Mexico. This tunnel is well lit and well organized, but it hardly matters. Finn fights off the ghost of Maleficent transfiguring into a dragon; Philby recalls the server room off the Magic Kingdom’s Utilidor.
    “Speaking for the group,” Maybeck says, winning Joe’s attention, “I think it’s safe to say we’re not big fans of tunnels. Creepy dark places seem to attract creepy dark creatures, and note to self: creepy dark creatures are the bad guys.”
    “That attitude may need to change,” Joe says.
    They reach a thick metal door that hangs on rollers like the door to a horse’s stall. He slides it back, revealing a storage room containing a mishmash of street signs and other Disney memorabilia. He waves the Keepers inside and motions for Maybeck to slide the heavy door shut. Maybeck does so with Charlene’s help.
    Against the far wall lean several colorful doors, seemingly left over from movie sets. Two, a red one and a black one, have no hinges and overlap. Beside them lean a purple and a green door, both on hinges and hung in their door frames. Next is a dark blue door. On it is painted a white star with the words MR. DISNEY below it.
    Like the others, the blue door leans against the wall at an angle. It is blocked by a stack of furniture atop a heavy-looking library desk with a leather top. Joe prattles on about the history of the storage