"You had to yell, right?" Charlie asks when Gillian and I arrive at the coon hat stand.
-I? It wasn't me who... -I stop and look again towards the area where I saw Gallo. I see him across the street struggling to push his way through the packed mass of tourists. And we are running out of space. Ahead, the street ends at a waist-high wooden revolving door. To our left, Gallo continues to approach.
"This way," Gillian says, pointing to the right.
Charlie shakes his head. It doesn't matter if that's the best way to get out of there; he does not intend to grant her that opportunity. With a quick movement he opens the wooden door and runs down what appears to be the slope of a paved driveway. He makes a beeline for a green wooden wall that surrounds the entire park. It must be at least three meters high. There is no way we can get over it.
"Has he gone crazy?" -ask Gillian.
"Charlie... come back!" -shout, running after him. It is dead end street! "When he reaches the highest point of the path, it descends towards the green wall. From where I'm running, just past the revolving door, I see that he has nowhere to go. Get out of there! -shout. But Charlie continues to move on.
When I get to the top of the path I can finally see what it is that has caught his eye. At first he hadn't noticed...the little sign on the wall that says "Cast Members Only."
-Wow! Gillian exclaims when she sees him.
From the main door we could not see it, since the angle did not allow it. But when you reach the highest part of the slope, it becomes obvious that what seemed like a single wall is really two walls that overlap, although they never touch. Charlie continues on his way, turns right and disappears. It is not a dead end but another optical illusion.
Following in Charlie's footsteps I weave through the opening and start running down another long, paved driveway. It's like being in a solar
back, the park fades behind us and all the colors and music are replaced by the gray of concrete and a deep silence. Next to us, a compact green building reeks of something putrid, making it utterly obvious where Disney dumps their waste. At first Charlie runs toward it—if we're going to get out of here, he knows we have to stay out of sight—but the stench keeps him on his way, which continues toward the back of the lot.
In front of us the situation does not seem to improve. The nearest buildings are a few trailer homes and an old warehouse with a blue sign in faded blue letters that reads: Wizarding World Scenery.
"The trailer homes…" Gillian says.
Charlie heads purposefully towards the warehouse. A few steps ahead of me he turns to check if Gallo has also followed this path. That's when I see the pain on his face. Charlie has concrete gray skin, he is completely exhausted. Gillian and I approached him. Even with medication he couldn't keep up with this rate.
"Just a few more feet, brother...
we are almost there.
Outside the warehouse fifteen parade floats are parked in three neat rows under a rusty metal awning. The smell of fresh paint surrounds us, and alongside the brightly colored floats, dozens of empty paint cans tell us where everyone is. It's drying time. No one.
We hurried past the painted floats and into the warehouse. The interior is like a gigantic aviation hangar—skyscraper ceiling, vaulted ceiling, and lots of dark, dusty space—but instead of planes, it houses more floats. Five rows of them fill the entire right side of the hangar, but unlike the ones painted on the outside, these are covered in Christmas lights. Disney's Electric Light Parade. At night, everything is on. But now in the shadows of the huge warehouse—alone in the dark—he is dead and lifeless. I don't like this place at all.
To the left, piled on the floor, is a bunch of disused remnants: giant rocking horses, a huge Aladdin treasure chest, two popcorn carts, chandeliers, and even a few disco balls in a corner. .
Without wasting a second, the three of us looked for a place to hide and...
In the distance you can hear the footsteps of someone who is running.
Charlie and I look at each other. He crawls away to the left; Gillian pushes me to the right. I think of fighting, but Gallo is too close. It's time to hide. Stumbling after Gillian, I hide behind a huge carriage that's shaped like Cinderella's carriage; Charlie goes into a closet on the wall and closes the door. And, a second later, my brother has disappeared.
"Don't ever push me like that again!" I tell Gillian, my eyes burning.
But she doesn't seem to care. She remains focused on Gallo.
"Do you think he's seen us?" Her," she whispers, crouching behind the float.
"Quiet!", she indicated with a finger in front of her lips. Outside, the footsteps grow louder. Crouching and looking diagonally through the wheels of the float, I see the tall shadows of Gallo and DeSanctis stretching out across the floor at the hangar entrance. Gallo reaches inside his jacket and pulls the gun out of him.
Neither of them makes a single noise as they enter the warehouse. They may be assassins, but they're still secret service members. Gallo signals to his partner and they both spread out to inspect the place. His movements are slow, methodical. First they look in the most obvious places to hide: Aladdin's huge chest. A gigantic teacup that appears to be on wheels. Rooster slams open the chest. DeSanctis opens the door on the side of the cup. Both are empty. Like alley cats prowling for dinner, they wander into the warehouse, circling and slowly registering every detail. They're trying to dig around our heads... figure out where we might be...
Rooster points to the closet.
I feel like my whole body is going numb.
DeSanctis nods with a confident smile. She walks over to the door and holds up three fingers. At three.
Gallo points his gun at the closet. One...
I put my hand under my jacket
and I take out the gun that we took from Gallo at the train station.
Two...
DeSanctis grabs the doorknob. I creep quietly down the aisle between the rows of floats. Gillian looks at me like I've gone crazy, but I'm not going to let them...
Three...
DeSanctis pulls on the door but it barely budges. Charlie holds her from the inside.
"They're here," DeSanctis says. He tugs again, and the door swings open just before closing again.
"You're only making things worse!" Rooster warns.
DeSanctis struggles with the door, looking increasingly angry.
"That's enough," Gallo says, pulling the partner away from him. He raises the gun and shoots the doorknob twice. I'm going to scream, but no sound comes out of my mouth.
With a final yank, DeSanctis finally gets the closet door open. A step-chair dangles from the inside doorknob...and then falls heavily to the floor. I crane my head, straining to see the rest of the damage…praying to hear Charlie's voice. But there is only silence.
"What the hell is this?" Gallo asks, puzzled as he peers into the closet.
It's not until DeSanctis moves from the closet that I can see what they're both looking at: the dark tile floor… the electric meters on the walls… and no sign of Charlie. At the other end is an open door. It's not a closet. It's a room. A room that communicates with the other half of the building.
I laugh to myself and look up. Run, Charlie, run!
DeSanctis and Gallo start the chase. I turn to share the good news with Gillian. But when I do, I step on a Christmas light that is next to the float. There is a sharp sound and I freeze. Shit.
"What was that?" Rooster asks.
I crouch down and look for Gillian in the hallway. But she is not there.
-You come? DeSanctis asks.
"I'll join you in a bit," Gallo says as he turns back to the floats. I want to check something.