“This way, Michael, we can hide in here,” said Midnight.
“Snow White’s Super Scary Adventures?” The boy questioned
“Yes, I know. That wasn’t the name of the real attraction, but from what we’ve seen so far, I’d say it’s about as close as we’ll get to the real thing.”
The large cat and his friend entered the queue line and quickly made it to the boarding area, where they were greeted by a creepy cast member.
His build was tall and lanky. The gray, dusty clothes he wore were two sizes too small. His hair was dirty blond and unevenly cut, which matched his long, boney face and crooked-teeth smile. Pinned to his uniform vest was a well weathered name tag which read: Scare E Joe. A tiny black spider emerged from his vest pocket, crawling up his name tag, it began to spin a web just as their ride vehicle approached.
“Please…be seated,” Joe said—motioning for the cat and boy to board.
The ride vehicle was shaped like a poison-covered apple with a skull-like coating dripping over its candy apple red skin in the rear. A generous area was carved out in front, offering red seats and black interior. The lowered nose, also done in red, extended outward—allowing for plenty of leg room.
Michael slid into the arced, bench seat as Midnight followed suit.
Joe pushed the control tower button, sending them on their way.
“Good luck on your adventure,” said Joe with a wink and devilish grin.
Both riders looked at the cast member, troubled by his comment, as their attraction vehicle circled round a smoking wishing well. They banked left past Snow White, but something was noticeably different. Her hair was streaked with gray and the complexion of her skin was wrinkled like that of an old hag. The clothes upon her frail body were colorless and weathered, and the birds surrounding her were red-eyed crows instead of doves.
As they passed the foreboding figure, she turned to them and said with black-marble eyes, “Go ahead, take a bite. It won’t hurt.”
Her eyes turned from black to red—her face and hair morphing into that of the wicked witch, just as they broke through the entryway doors into darkness.
“Did you see that?” said Michael.
“All of it,” the cat replied.
The gateway doors slammed behind them with a mighty THUD, as a magic mirror lit up just ahead. Growing twenty feet tall, chartreuse flames burned at its core.
Their vehicle continued to move forward, picking up pace, as the giant face in the mirror spoke. “No one is fair as her.”
Before either could reply, their vehicle crashed though the mirror, shattering it to pieces, then plummeted through the air towards a dark forest of doom.
They crashed into angry, twisted trees, which called to the other trees, rallying to destroy the ride vehicle and anything in it.
“Run, Michael!” The cat shouted. “We have to make it back to the crowds.”
They jumped from the busted up apple car and took off like a shot.
“Crowds? I don’t see any signs of other people,” said the boy.
Running through the woods, everything came alive. Shrubs grew arms, logs stuck out their stubby limbs attempting to trip up the intruders. Rain began to pour, turning the ground to slippery mud. The wind began to howl and lightning danced across the sky, taking out trees left and right in an attempt to strike them down. Their surroundings seemed suddenly real.
“Look, there’s a cave carved into the hillside up ahead,” said Midnight. “We can duck in there for protection.”
They sprinted to the cave entrance, leaving the storm and wicked forest behind.
Inside was dark and cool. Dripping water echoed from beyond the cavernous torch-lit walls.
Michael and Midnight followed the warm glow of the flames—their shadows cast upon the jagged walls, large and looming over them, with hidden agenda at hand.
The lit trail descended downward, winding round—leading them to a body of calm water populated by a labyrinth of large stone walls and arched ceilings. A hand-carved boat made of wood was conveniently docked along the waterway where the trail ended.
“What now?” said Michael.
“Unless you want to fight your way back through the evil forest we just came from, I’d say it’s our only choice,” Midnight replied.
“Im not going to argue with that,” said the boy.
“Then climb aboard.”
Midnight followed Michael into the boat. As the cat turned to take one last look back, the lurking shadows on the wall caught his attention.
“Grab the paddle and start paddling,” the cat said.
Michael immediately picked up on the shadows, now creeping along the arched ceiling and headed in their direction.
“I’m on it,” the boy replied as he began to paddle quickly, leading them away from the dock, down a dark, unknown waterway.
The distorted shadows of Michael and Midnight continued to follow from above. Splitting from two, to four, then eight shadows and more—eventually morphing into a murder of real crows which began to swarm the boat.
Midnight leapt and swatted several ghastly birds into the water, as Michael continued to paddle frantically. But the cawing and pecking of the black-feathered beasts proved to be too much for the boy.
“I can’t see where I’m going.”
“Just keep paddling, Michael,” said the cat—swatting another crow into the water.
“There’s too many. Ouch! Stop pecking me, silly birds!” said the boy, trying to keep his focus on the task at hand.
“I see a stairway just off the dock ahead,” said Midnight. “It may be a way out of here. I’ll take care of the crows, you keep paddling.”
The large cat launched himself twenty feet, straight up into the air. A pair of wings magically sprung out from his back. His tail grew to ten feet long. Before the birds could respond, Midnight began to swat the cawing crows, three and four at a time, with his enormous tail. They crashed into the flanking walls, the water, and even each other—evaporating into thin air.
Michael continued to frantically paddle—their boat, now just a few strokes away from the dock. He dropped his paddle and reached out for the docking rope. Grabbing it, he quickly secured the boat and jumped out—paddle in hand.
WHACK! SMACK! CRACK!
“I got three of ‘em,” said Michael, as he continued to swing wildly at the crows who dared attack him.
“That’s showing ‘em, young lad,” shouted the cat, who spun around and took out at least twenty more.
The remaining crows redirected their target, focusing on the boy. They dove down from above, cawing madly, their eyes blood red.
Michael crouched down then took off in a full sprint towards his attackers. Jumping into the air, he twirled his paddle like an airplane propeller, turning the crows into a cloud of dust and feathers, before landing perfectly in a three point stance.
“Way to go, Michael,” Midnight shouted in victory. Magically retracting his wings, he swooped down and glided into a walk, his tail shrinking back to normal size.
“I think I’ve had enough crow for one day,” said Michael, smirking.
“You can say that again,” said the cat, as they began their ascent up the tower staircase made of stone.
A stray crow flew up from behind. Lucky to have been late for the fight, the red-eyed creature spotted the enemy entering the stairway. Soaring upwards, the evil bird darted through a small window in the tower to alert the others of approaching intruders.
© 2024 Charles E. Zitta. Charles E. Zitta and Disney and the Wonder Within blog novels are in no way part of, endorsed or authorized by, or affiliated with the Walt Disney Company or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
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