Heat flashed through him, and all the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck rose with his fright.

He knew what he had to do: he had to cross over. The lion couldn’t hurt a DHI. But as the enormous cat began to flex, as if preparing to strike, Finn’s fear was not to be conquered. The lion opened its mouth and let out a tremendous roar that seemed to come from all around. It surrounded Finn and shook the ground. It didn’t sound natural. Finn threw his hands out, fending off the attack. He swooned, feeling dizzy.

And then, at once, several hands grabbed him and began to drag him away.

He heard applause and laughter.

He blinked his eyes open but was immediately blinded by the sun in the sky.

He averted his eyes and happened to catch a glimpse of one of the hands wrapped around his arm: black and calloused, with long, thin fingers. The hand was connected to a hairy arm.

Finn wrenched his head around.

He was being dragged off by a pair of orangutans. He tried to break the grip of the one on his left, and the thing bared its teeth and lunged toward his face as if to bite him. Finn jerked away, narrowly missing those teeth.

They were dragging him toward the jungle. They were kidnapping him.

And the audience thought it was all part of the show.

42

MAYBECK HEARD THAT ROAR and ran for the gardener who was watering the trees. He stole the hose out of the man’s hands. Not really a man—more like a college kid. The guy didn’t appreciate someone stealing his hose.

Maybeck’s aunt Jelly had a mutt named Porky who considered their small backyard his domain. About once a month some stupid neighborhood dog would decide to visit their backyard without an invitation from Porky, typically resulting in a dogfight of epic proportions.

The first time Maybeck had tried to break up one of the fights, he’d nearly gotten his hand bitten off. He’d been saved by Jelly, who had broken up the fight with the garden hose. Ever since, Maybeck had used a strong burst of hose water to separate Porky and his prey.

He took the hose and sprinted toward the large apes who were dragging his friend across the pavement. He fought his way through the thick crowd, which was actually laughing and cheering.

Maybeck gave the hose one last tug, but he’d reached its limit. It would extend no farther.

He squeezed the handle and shot a burst of water at the lion. The water pressed right through the animal.

A DHI!

Next, Maybeck aimed the hose at the nearest orangutan, hitting him squarely in the head. The ape was real. It let go of Finn to block the water streaming toward its face.

Again, the audience let out a cry of approval, clapping and hollering.

The ape shot a glance at Maybeck as if to challenge him, then quickly seemed to reconsider, and turned back toward Finn.

Maybeck blasted the other ape.

Finn broke loose just as the gardener jumped onto Maybeck from behind, wresting the hose from his grip.

Finn scrambled to his feet, slipped on the wet blacktop, and went down hard. Both orangutans rushed him, and Finn rolled out of the way, causing the two apes to collide. He got to his feet and took off toward Maybeck, who knocked the gardener aside, opening a small hole in the crowd, which Finn charged through.

The two took off at a full sprint, the orangutans following, their backs hunched, their teeth bared.

Finn glanced over his shoulder, but it slowed him.

“Don’t look back!” Amanda said into his ear. “I’ve got you. The Lion King show is running! You can lose them in there!”

“This way!” Finn shouted at Maybeck, who had heard Amanda as well.

They angled slightly toward the large, open pavilion, where a flash of bright color and loud African music confirmed the show was underway.

“They’re gaining on you,” Amanda warned. “Zigzag!”

Finn and Maybeck immediately cut left and right, right and left, in random patterns. Rather than run straight and intercept them, the orangutans followed their paths exactly, and the boys, having the longer strides, increased their leads.

“It’s working!” Amanda cheered them on.

Together the boys burst into the show already in progress. Four sets of wooden bleachers rose from a theater-in-the-round, at the center of which were colorfully dressed acrobats performing on a giant trampoline, with trapeze artists spinning overhead.

As Finn slowed, Maybeck didn’t hesitate for a second. Perhaps it was the result of forward momentum, perhaps because the Lion King stage set blocked their way; but Maybeck ran right up a ramp, hit the trampoline, and vaulted his way through the air and across to the other side. He tucked into a somersault, rolled to standing, and went running down the opposing ramp—right out of the pavilion.

Trying to avoid a collision with the ramp, Finn skidded and tucked his legs under him as if sliding into home plate. He braced himself to be crushed into the side of the stage, only to fly through the fabric skirt that surrounded it and find himself under the movable stage platform and the giant trampoline at its center. He crawled toward the other side, looking back to see two orangutans right behind him.

He glanced overhead. The trampoline’s fabric stretched toward the concrete floor as the acrobatic show continued above him. Whenever anyone hit the trampoline, the fabric stretched so low that Finn had to lie flat; he couldn’t squat without the risk of being crushed. Watching the orangutans approach, he suddenly saw his situation not as a threat but an opportunity: he could use the trampoline to his advantage.

Doubting that he and Maybeck could outrun the two apes, Finn turned and took a stand. The apes were faster and stronger than he, but Finn had the edge in intelligence. He remained directly under the pulsating trampoline, now turning to face the two apes, who immediately slowed with this challenge.

Finn egged on the apes, drawing them toward him, while keeping an eye on the pattern of the stretched trampoline fabric. There were currently four performers on the trampoline. The pattern of jumps was: the four corners; the center; the four corners.

Finn belly-crawled to the right. The nearest ape took the bait, turning to intercept him. The trampoline suddenly caved in over the ape’s head, stretching toward the ground. The ape, caught between the trampoline and the concrete, was crushed by the weight of the acrobat. The ape was flattened. It cried out sharply, rolled away, and took off at a run in the opposite direction.

The trampoline came down immediately in front of the other ape, and that proved enough motivation. This one took off as well, following his buddy. Finn rolled and crawled out the other side and then sprinted for the sunlight outside the pavilion.

Maybeck had waited for him. Maybeck, who never thought of anyone but himself.

They took off running before either said a word, but as they reached full stride, Finn, the slower of the two, managed to pull even with Maybeck, though only briefly.

“Thanks,” Finn called out to Maybeck. “I think we now know what happened to Philby!”

“The water shot right through the lion,” Maybeck said. “It was a DHL”

“Maleficent’s building an army,” Finn told him. “An army of animals,” he added. Maybeck flashed him a suspicious and disbelieving look. “Wayne told me,” Finn said.

Finn turned and led Maybeck toward the Park entrance, still at a full run.

“Where are you going?” Maybeck huffed.

“The button,” Finn said. “The remote control. We can’t free Willa and Philby without the button.”

43

HAVING WITNESSED THE ENCOUNTER with the, Amanda kept a close eye on Finn and Maybeck as they headed toward the Park entrance. She had a good understanding of the camera system by now, enabling her to guide the boys and check the area both in front and behind for any sign of Overtakers.