"I get why they play music during the day," I said, grunting as I hoisted the bag of mulch into the trailer, "but are we seriously going to have to listen to this all night?"
My cousin, Reggie, shrugged. "I've been here 4 years and honestly, I just tune it out now." He reached into his pocket. "I think I have a pair of earplugs if you want..."
"All good!" I laughed. "Just complaining for the sake of complaining." I lifted the trailer hitch. "Ok, lets go!"
Reggie carefully maneuvered the truck and trailer in the service entrance. "Thanks again for filling in on short notice," he said. "I know this is your weekend, and-"
I waved a hand at him. "No worries. I'm always good to make an extra buck, and besides - who wouldn't want to see the magic kingdom after dark?"
Reggie smiled, and pulled up in front of the castle. "This is where we start," he said, jumping out of the truck. I followed suit.
The park was eerie, in a friendly kind of way. Other contractors darted around, cleaning and polishing the park to the iconic level of cleanliness for which it was known. Everything was lit up and was every inch the storybook land I remembered as a child, down to the-
"Reggie, is that-?"
A group of princesses were wandering down the drawbridge of the castle, an image straight out of the animated movies from my childhood. Childhood? Who was I kidding, I still loved Disney movies! I reached out a hand to wave, but Reggie smacked it down.
"Don't," he warned in a low tone, one eye on the women.
I laughed. "Seriously? Am I embarrassing you in front of your coworkers?"
Reggie's eyes narrowed and I stopped laughing. "Just don't," he repeated. "The characters are..." He trailed off, face screwed up as he searched for the right words. "They're...they're characters. Just don't interact with them, ok? Now get back to work."
I'd never seen this look on Reg's face before, and it sobered me up. "Sorry dude," I muttered, and I dug back into the flowerbeds with increased vigour. But I kept an eye on the princesses as they sashayed past. They had a whole new level of authenticity than what I remembered; it looked like Mulan was carrying a samurai sword and Belle was hefting what I could only assume was a Lumiere replica.
The women disappeared into the dark, heading towards Frontierland, and Reggie heaved a sigh. I was about to ask him what was up when it happened.
There was a screech, a stutter, and then the happy music stopped. Reggie stood straight up like a meerkat, eyes wide open. "Reg-" I started.
"RUN!" He bellowed, and took off like a shot, pelting towards Fantasyland. I dropped my shovel and followed him, sprinting like I hadn't in years.
I heard footsteps and cackling behind us. "What's - going - on?" I heaved.
"The princesses," Reggie called over his shoulder, the Matterhorn looming above us. "They're killers!"
We reached the gates of the Matterhorn and Reg leapt over the fence. "Go, go, go!" he yelled, jumping into a car. I slid in behind him as a scream echoed behind me. I twisted in time to see an awful sight.
Employees were sprinting towards the Matterhorn from all angles, and hot on their tails were the princesses. I watched in horror as Cinderella caught up to a man in a janitor's jumpsuit and stabbed him in the neck with the heel of her glass slipper.
I screamed. "Reg, do something!!" The car shuddered to life and we started into the mountain. We could hear cars clattering behind us as employees followed us up the climb. "How's this going to help us?!" I cried, shaking Reg's shoulder.
"We need height," Reggie said. "The princesses don't climb, they're not allowed to. Plus we have the yeti on our side."
I laughed manically. "But it's not rea-" I started, then realized how ridiculous I sounded. We were being chased by Cinderella, so the animatronic yeti being real wasn't a huge stretch.
We reached the peak of the hill, and Reggie jumped out. "This way!" he beckoned, and we headed up a tunnel as the car clattered downwards.
"Why are they like that?" I asked as we twisted upwards.
"A long time ago, the corporation found a chemical that helps enhance the happy quality of their characters," Reg said as we reached a door. He pulled out a key, unlocked it, and we barricaded ourselves into the small space. "So they started putting it in the food here, and profits soared. But they discovered that when audio stimuli stops..." he shuddered. "They become monsters. So they roam the park at night, happy until the music stops-"
"But why does it stop?!" I asked. "Who would stop the music if they know what it does?!"
Reggie laughed bitterly. "The Disney masters like to have fun, bidding on which princess will get the most kills, which employees will die. Why do you think they hire so many people?"
We huddled there, screams echoing in the distance until there was another screech and "it's a small world" started up. We waited another 5 minutes, just in case, then headed back down a ladder on the side of the mountain. I twitched at every sound, every time the song changed, and when I hit the ground, I started looking for the nearest path to the entrance.
"No," Reggie grabbed me. "We have to finish," and he dragged me back to the castle.
It was the longest night of my life, and by the time Reggie dropped me off, I was a wreck. I sprinted in the front door of my house and threw myself onto the couch, sobbing.
"Daddy, daddy, what wrong?" My three year old daughter came toddling up. "Here, hold Belle, she make it all better."
Not only do I need therapy now, but I owe my daughter a new toy and have to replace a window.