Chapter 4: Kingdom Desolation

The sight was bewildering. The castle lay wasted with massive holes blown in its sides and rubble below the remains. Uprooted greenery and fallen trees littered the scene. The buildings of Main Street were either demolished or ablaze. The kids gasped. Their pace slowed as they walked into the central hub.

“This is unreal,” Elliott said, astonished at the sight.

The group remained speechless. Worse than a train-wreck, they were beholden to a sight unlike any other.

After a moment, “Come on,” came Alice. “Let’s check Main Street for others.”

They moved toward Main Street. As they paced through the devastated buildings, they took turns shouting “Hello!” and “Is anybody there?!” No voices; No bodies.

At the end of the street lay the Disneyland Limited derailed, placing itself in front of both exit tunnels. The sight of such a mammoth piece of machinery disheveled sent chills down their spines. This storm was mightier than they had every witnessed.

“There has to be a way out of here,” suggested Caleb.

“Maybe. But we should continue to look for others,” replied Elliott.

“Ya? Why? A search party will be through here in no time, but I’m not waiting around for that,” pressed Caleb.

“Hate to burst your bubble, but Disneyland, ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, is probably low on the totem for Search & Rescue. More so if most were evacuated safely,” chimed Alice.

Caleb glared at Alice, without much more to say.

“Come on. Let’s move back toward Tomorrowland,” led Elliott.

Nightfall was in full effect. The group trudged off, warmth and illumination bleed from the fiery buildings along their path.

A quick, untimely thought crept into Elliott’s mind: All of his girl problems were irrelevant. Followed by the thought that even after being exposed to such a horrific scene, girls could still enter his mind. Then finally, a thought of his family. Until now, he had not thought if they had made it out alive. This startled Elliott but he chosen to keep his thoughts to himself. They were all dealing with much and the day’s events were beginning to wear on them.

“I’m getting sleepy, Elliott,” called Alice.

“I’ll bet. Let’s find shelter in Tomorrowland. Maybe we can cozy in one of the shops or under the old People Mover track,” replied Elliott.

They continued into Tomorrowland. It looked just as desolate and demolished.

“Finally, Tomorrowland looks like the future,” joked Caleb.

The rest of the group shot him a unified glared.

“Kidding… Jeeze.”

They continued into the heart of Tomorrowland.

“Shhh… Do you hear that?” asked Alice.

“Hear what?” Caleb bit back.

“It sounds like voices… coming… coming from over there,” replied Alice, pointing at the Space Mountain queue. “What is that light?”

Elliott noticed a pale blue flickering glow. “Let’s be careful,” he encouraged.

The group quietly crept toward Space Mountain queue. The clarity of the voices grew as did the flickering of the light. Shadows cascaded against the queue’s rear wall.

“Hello?” Elliott called.

The voices hushed and the light immediately went out. Scampering footsteps could be heard rushing up to the top of the queue. They were spooked.

“Great. We’re stuck in this creepy park with a group of jerks that plan on creeping us out,” spouted Caleb.

“Are they running from us, I wonder?” inquired Alice. “Let’s see what’s up there.”

“I’m not going up there! Those weirdos might try to kill us. I didn’t get out of that burning building to be killed by a bunch of crazies.”

“Fine, you can stay there. I’m going to check out what’s going on up there. Cameron? Elliott? You guys coming?”

Cameron nodded and moved toward Alice.

“Come on Elliott. There’s no where else to go, and I’m not hanging out with cranky pants,” responded Alice, waving Elliott over.

Elliott headed over to Alice. “You stay here. Stand guard,” he instructed Caleb.

“You’re not going to tell me what to do. I’ll lead the way.” Caleb joined the group and they headed up the Space Mountain ramp.

They climbed slowly. A smell of smoke was in the air.

“Do you smell that? It smells like a bonfire,” suggested Elliott.

Sure enough, they reached the top of the first ramp to find a pile of smoking wood and three empty water bottles.

“Wish they would have left the fire burning. We could certainly use a torch. We need a bit of light,” said Alice.

How had they forgotten to grab any sourse of light or fire? Elliott scolded himself for not thinking of it. It was at that moment when a bright flash went off right in Elliott’s eyes.

“Ugh! What the — “ exclaimed Elliott.

“Cam’s got a flashlight!” said Alice excitedly.

“Ha! Well done Cameron!” Elliott exclaimed whincing. “Now let’s get it out of my eyes.”

“Oh! Sorry about that!” apologized Cameron.

The flashlight was a small, keyring style Maglite. It did not emit much light, but some was better than none.

“Let’s keep going,” pushed Elliott.

Caleb was again reluctant but continued with the rest of the group. They continued to scale the ramps that led up to the courtyard atop the Space Mountain queue. Once they reached the top, the group slowed.

“Where could they have gone?” asked Elliott.

“I knew this was a dumb idea,” started Caleb. “Whatever we saw up here is creeping me out even more now. There’s no where else for them to go. The entrance to the ride is probably locked down. Let’s just go back down.”

“No, no. Just hold on for a second…” Elliott paused for some thought. “Alice wait here with Caleb. Cameron, come with me over to the entrance.”

Cameron and Elliott moved slowly to the entrance of Space Mountain, hidden behind the backside of a large planter. As they peered around the corner of the entrance opening, they found that the entrance was, in fact, left open. Elliott and Cameron continued into the front of the entrance, flashing the light into the dark tunnel ahead.

Elliott called back to Alice and Caleb in a fairly loud whisper, “it’s open. Should we go in?”

There was no answer. Elliott and Cameron looked at each other, perplexed. They turned back to look out at the moonlit courtyard. There was no sign of Alice or Caleb.

Elliott called out, “Alice! Caleb! Al — “

“What are you yelling about?”

Elliot jumped. Caleb’s voice had come from behind Elliott and Cameron.

“What the hell! Don’t scare me like that!” shouted Elliott.

“Sorry, man. We just wanted to see if those creeps ended up on the other side of the planter. No biggie.”

Breaking the silence of the park, a loud creak emanated from inside of the Space Mountain tunnel. The group shouted and jumped. Cameron’s keys slipped out of this hand, knocking the flashlight against the concrete. The light went out. He was quick to pick up the bundle of keys and began hitting the flashlight. Heavy breathing from the members of the group could be heard. They were frozen. Caleb peered down the tunnel while Alice and Elliott began helping with the flashlight. As they jostled, twisted, and fiddled, the flashlight began to send flickers of light down the tunnel.

After one particular flicker, Caleb thought he noticed something at the end of the tunnel. Another flicker; Nothing. Caleb shook off his initial chill. Another flicker shot down the tunnel and two glints of light shot back. He thought he had seen the image of a face. The terror came back. Caleb found it hard to breathe. Someone or some thing was coming their way… fast! A cold sweat began to build up. He felt paralyzed. Another flicker shot down the hall. Whatever it was was getting closer. Caleb turned and ran, spooked beyond belief. The rest of the party turned and watched Caleb flee down the queue’s ramp. Then, they heard panting from behind. Slowly, the group turned.

“Gah!” they all jumped in unison.

“Shhh!!!” cried a large body behind them.

Elliott, Alice, and Cameron, trying to compose themselves, stared up at the silhouette. The figure seemed to stand above them, the moonlight cascading around it’s head and shoulders. The flashlight flickered and then held it’s own. The figure was exposed.

“Millie?” came Elliott.

“Elliott?! Oh my gosh! Elliott!”

Millie leapt forward and embraced Elliott. All of the sudden, those “irrelevant” thoughts of girls came rushing back. Millie was hugging him!

“Follow me,” Millie exclaimed hurriedly. She turned and disappeared into the darkness of the tunnel.

Elliott turned toward Alice and Cameron. “I know her. We met earlier today… before all of this… craziness.”

“What about Caleb?” asked Alice.

Elliott paused and gazed out over the Space Mountain courtyard and onto the demolished Tomorrowland.

“We can search for him in a bit. Maybe Millie knows a way out of this place. That will appeal to Caleb.”

The group agreed to follow Millie into the darkness of the tunnel. They continued down, wrapping around each sharp corner, their path briefly illuminated by the flickering of Cameron’s flashlight. The futuristic space-station decor was haunting in the darkness. It felt like something out of a horror film. The group remained quiet as they traversed the corridors. Though Millie was ahead and seemed to know her way, there remained a palpable tension within Elliott, Alice, and Cameron. A once joyous and mysterious attraction of this ride, set to the majesty of outer space, had suddenly become a terrifying and claustrophobic experience. Independently, the members of the group course-corrected their wandering thoughts of what lurked in the darkness.

“Millie? What’s down here?” asked Elliott.

Just as he finished the question, the group turned the final corner and into the grand plaza of Space Mountain. From the upper deck where the group had entered, they gazed below. The plaza was illuminated by a soft glow, not unlike the one cast by the fire outside in the queue. The group rounded the upper pathway, moving around the giant, spacecraft that hung from the roof, obstructing their view of the lower platform. Once their view was clear, their destination became clear. On the lower platform sat a group of four kids surrounding a bonfire.

“They’re what’s down here.” replied Millie.

The group of strangers looked up at Millie and the outsiders she led. She continued and escorted Elliott, Alice, and Cameron around the path and down onto the lower platform. The group below stood up around the fire, awaiting Millie’s approaching entourage. One of the kids, a very large and oddly muscular dark-skinned boy met the group at the roller-coaster track divide that sliced through the lower platform. He extended his hand and assisted each of the new faces, along with Millie, over the parked rocket-ship shaped coaster cars.

Once they had all crossed, Millie began with introductions.

“This is Jeremy but we we’ve decided to call him Tank,” said Millie, gesturing an upturned palm to the giant boy that had assist them.

“Over here we have twin sisters Genevieve and Carter.” The sisters looked a bit younger than Elliott, both with bright red hair. Genevieve, wearing what appeared to be a leather jacket, jeans, and leopard flats, seemed more interested in her looks than the new group, while Carter, garbed in a Star Wars hoodie, jeans, and converse, looked eager to greet them.

“And lastly, Jenny,” Millie gestured over toward an asian girl.

“It’s Jenn,” she corrected as she began sizing up the newcomers. She was dressed in a bomber jacket, black mini-skirt, dark tights, and bright red flats.

Millie turned to Elliott, Alice, and Cameron. “This is Elliott. And… I’m sorry… I didn’t get your names,” said Millie, looking toward Alice and Cameron.

Elliott took the lead and extended his arm to shake hands with the new kids. “I’m Elliott,” he restated, firmly shaking hands with Tank and Carter. Genevieve gave a tiny squeeze that could hardly qualify has a hand shake. Jenn gripped Elliott’s hand tight and shook.

“Wow! Quite the grip!” exclaimed Elliott.

Jenn did not respond. She stared coldly into Elliott’s eyes. Elliott squinted back and slowly released his hand from her grip.

Elliott turned to Alice and Cameron.

“This is Alice. She found me stranded over in Adventureland.”

Alice waved at the group.

“And this is Cameron. Nearly burned to death in Frontierland.”

Alice and Cameron’s greetings followed in similar suit. Alice did however receive a positive reaction from Genevieve with a compliment on her ballet flats. Cameron remained fairly quiet as he shook hands with the other party.

Elliott continued, “there was a fourth member but I think Millie’s scared him off. Then again, he was already spooked when you all darted off from your bonfire outside.”

“Bonfire? What bonfire?” Jenn asked.

“Just outside in the queue below,” replied Elliott.

The new group stared at Elliott, speechless. A chill shot through everyone.

“The Phantoms,” offered Millie, quietly.

“The what?” questioned Alice.

“The Phantoms,” restated Millie. “Sorry. It was the first name that came to mind.

“After the storm passed, I found myself alone near the Matterhorn. I was fumbling about, looking for bodies, dead or alive. Any sign that I wasn’t imagining what had just happened. I came across Tank hiding in a snack shack. I think it was called Edelwieiss or something.

“Tank and I made our way into Fantasyland, searching through the rides. As we exited Peter Pan, we noticed something odd at the castle gate. It looked like three cloaked figures fiddling with the ground. I shouted at them, thinking they might be other survivors, and they bolted. For an event as strange as the storm, that was certainly the cherry on top.

“Tank and I continued back into Tomorrowland and spotted them again, hovering over an area next to Innoventions. This time, we ran after them.”

“A mistake,” interjected Tank’s deep voice.

Millie paused and looked at Tank. She turned back to the group. “Instead of fleeing as they did before, they turned and charged toward us.” Millie paused again, shaken. “We didn’t see much before we high-tailed it out of there. But what we did see was hideous… mangled faces under those cloaks. They didn’t appear to be any faster than us. Tank and I were lucky enough to hide away inside of Alice in Wonderland. That’s where we found the Buchanan Twins,” Millie pointed at Guenevive and Carter. “Watching from one of the ride’s tunnel openings, we saw them approach Fantasyland. We were able to see the confusion amongst them. They seemed perplexed and looked to head back the way they came.

“We knew we couldn’t just stick around in the ride all night so we decided to sneak out and look for an exit from the park. We took a peek at Main Street but saw the remains of the train…”

“We saw that too…,” interjected Elliott.

“Beyond belief,” Millie continued. “At that point, we hadn’t found a way out and figured it would be sundown before long. We collected some materials from the remnants of Main Street. Wood, water, snacks. Carter was lucky enough to score some matches at the bakery. There wasn’t a ton of shelter on Main Street so we decided to check other avenues. That’s when we heard an explosion in Frontierland. As we were trying to figure out what happened, we saw the Phantom’s cross through the main hub toward the noise.

Elliott, Alice, and Cameron looked at one another.

“After they passed, we decided that we needed to move in the opposite direction. We made way for Tomorrowland. After we arrived, Tank and I decided that we needed to know what the Phantom’s were so entranced with at front of Innoventions. There were spots they were hovering around but we couldn’t see anything worth while.

“We were back on our search for shelter when out popped Jenny— sorry—Jenn from the exit of Space Mountain. She was kind enough to show us through the exit and down onto this platform so we set up camp.

“Wow… you guys have had quite the day,” stated Alice.

“Duh…” replied Genevieve.

Alice shot an intense glare at Genevieve. It was returned with a similar look.

“So how did you know we were out there?” asked Elliott.

“You were belting, ‘Hello?!’ at the top of your lungs. How could we not hear that? And apparently we weren’t the only ones,” replied Millie.

“Right… if that wasn’t you down below… it must have been the Phantom’s. But if I was so loud, why didn’t they come after us?”

“Beats me.” replied Millie.

“Wait. Before Millie told her story, you said there was another in your camp?” Jenn interjected.

“Ya. Caleb.” replied Elliott.

It hit the group all at one. Caleb was out there alone, amongst the Phantoms.

“We have to go find him,” said Elliott, grabbing a piece of wood from the fire to use as a torch.

“Chill, dude. I’m not going back out there,” said Genevieve.

“She’s right,” chimed in Millie. “Cam, Alice, Jenn, twins, you stay here. Tank and I will go with Elliott. We’ve seen those things in action.”